M O F 
doctrine; and is faid to have had no little weight in de¬ 
termining Galileo to renounce the hypothefes of Ariftotle 
and Ptolemy, and to embrace the new fyft'em. He was 
the author of,, i. Ephemerides. a. Epitomen Aft^ono- 
mite. 3. Chafmatum aliquot terribilium et portentofo- 
rum Defcriptio. 4.. Examen Calendarii Gfegoriani; and 
other works of merit. Freheri Theairum Vir. Enid, 
MO'EY, a final 1 ifland in the Eaftern Indian Sea. Lat. 
5. 50. S. Ion. 132. 50. E. 
MO'EZ (Canal of). See Kalits ul Fars. 
MOF'FAT, a large village in the county of Dumfries, 
Scotland, is fituated upon the banks of the river Annan, 
at the diftance of fifty miles fouth-weft from Edinburgh, 
and is diftinguifhed chiefly as the molt celebrated water¬ 
ing-place in the northern divifion of our ifland. It Hands 
up'on a confiderable eminence, encompaffed on the call, 
welt, and north, fldes by hills of different heights, fome 
of which are inclofed and cultivated, and others laid 
out as paflure-lands. A fine holm, or valley, extends to 
the fouth, carrying in its bofom the limpid Itream of the 
Annan. The principal llreet, declining in the direction of 
this vale, commands a charming view of it, for the fpace 
of feveral miles. The houfes here are for the molt part 
well built, and the ftreets are kept exceedingly clean and 
fmooth ; and from their height and gravelly foundation 
dry lo rapidly, that in an hour after the heavieft rain the 
inhabitants may promenade without the fmalleft incon- 
venience. There is one capital inn in the village, where 
the poft-office is kept, and feveral fmaller ones, as well as 
excellent lodging-houfes, fit for the reception of the molt 
genteel families. Here are an aflembly-room and a bowl¬ 
ing-green. 
The Moffat Well is fituated about a mile and a half 
from the village, having an excellent carriage-road lead¬ 
ing to it, and a long room, ftables, and other conveni¬ 
ences, for the accommodation of company. The valu¬ 
able medicinal properties of this well were firfh difcovered 
about 160 years ago; fince which time it has been con- 
ftantly held in great eftimation. Its waters are power¬ 
fully diuretic, and generally allowed to be effectual in the 
cure of fcurvy and fcrofula, if the patient’s lungs are 
not injured previoufly to the ufe of them. When poured 
into a glals, the water fparkles like champagne; and is lb 
extremely volatile, that it cannot be drunk in perfection 
unlefs ad the fountain. According to the late Dr. Gar¬ 
net, who paid confiderable attention to this fubjeft, when 
analyfed, it is found to contain of muriat of foda (com¬ 
mon fait), 36 grains; fulphuretted hydrogen gas, 10 cu¬ 
bic inches; azotic gas, 4 ditto; carbonic acid, 5 ditto. 
At the diftance of four miles from Moffat, is another 
mineral fpring, called the Hartfell Spaw, becaufe ifl’uing 
from a rock of alum-flate in a tremendous ravine, on the 
fide of a mountain of that name. The chief mineral fub- 
ftances of this water are the fulphats of iron and alumine, 
which give it a powerful tonic quality. It is principally 
ufed, therefore, in cafes of weaknefs; but has likewife 
been found ferviceable in tetterous complaints and obfti- 
nate old ulcers. This well is honoured with high enco¬ 
miums by Dr. Johnfon. Several other chalybeate and 
petrifying fprings have been difcovered in the country 
adjacent to this village. One at Evan-bridge is equal in 
ftrength to the wells at Harrowgate ; but it has hitherto 
been entirely negiefted. 
The vicinity of Moffat is no lefs fruitful in. remains of 
antiquity than in falubrious fprings. Part of a druidical 
temple is ftill vifible dole to the bank of a rivulet which 
palfes out of a fmall lake, and falls into the water, de¬ 
riving its name from the village. Near this fpot are like¬ 
wife veftiges of a Roman.road; and feveral ftations and 
encampments of that people. A piece of gold was found 
a few years ago in a mofs adjoining to the road, which is 
fuppoled to have formed part of fome military ornament. 
Its outer edge was adorned with a border, in which were 
the following letters formed by cutting through the in- 
terftices, iov. avg. vot. xx. Veftiges of a Britilh en- 
M O G 611 
campmentmay be feen about three miles fouth-eaft from 
the village. On the road between it and the well is a 
large mound, of a conical form, with a very deep ditch 
round it: another of fmaller dimenfions Hands at the dif¬ 
tance of a few hundred yards. A mile eaft from the Ro¬ 
man road are tw r o caves, cut out of freeftone-rock; they 
are of a large fize, but by whom formed, or for what pur- 
pole, it is difficult to conje£ture. Many ruins of old 
towers are vifible in this parifli, as well as in the adjoining- 
one of Kirkpatrick-juxta; fome of which are placed in 
fmall enclofures, defended by walls and ditches. Among 
the more remarkable of the entrenched parks, as they are 
called, is the park of Achencafs, where the walls meafure 
fifteen feet in thicknefs, and upwards of twenty in height. 
Sinclair s Statiftical Account of Scotland. 
MOFTEN I'SLAND, an ifland in the North Sea, north 
of Switzbergen : it is of a round form, about two miles 
in diameter, with a lake or large pond of water in the. 
middle; and between this lake and the fea the ground 
is from half a cable’s length to a quarter of a mile broad : 
the whole ifland, befides this pond, is covered with gra¬ 
vel and fmall Hones, without the leaft verdure or"ve- 
getation of any kind. The navigators of the Carcafs, 
who vifited this ifland in 1773, law only one piece of 
drift-wood, about three fathoms long, with a root on it, 
and as thick as the fliip’s mizen-maft, which had been 
thrown up near the high part of the land, and lay upon 
the declivity towards the pond. They alfo faw bears, 
and a number of wild ducks, geefe, and other fea-fowls, 
with birds’ nefts, all over the ifland. They found 
an infeription over the grave of a Dutchman, who was 
buried there in July 1771. The tide feemed to flow eight 
or nine feet; and a current was found which carried the 
fhip to the north-weft from the ifland, but which before 
carried it to the fouth-eaft, at the rate of a mile an hour, 
towards it. On the weft fide is a fine white fandy bottom, 
from two fathoms, at a fhip’s length from the beach, to 
five fathoms, at the diftance of half a mile. It is re¬ 
marked as furprifing, that no notice fliould be taken of 
this ifland by the old navigators; unlefs it may be fup- 
pofed that it did not then exift, and that the ftreams from 
the great ocean up the weft fide of Spitzbergen, and 
through the Waygat’s flioals, meeting here, railed this 
bank, and occasioned the cjuantity of ice that generally 
blocks up the coaft in its vicinity. Lat. 80. 5. N. Ion. 12. 
30. E. Phipps's Voyage towards the North Pole. 
MOF'HAK, a fmall town of Arabia, in the province 
of Yemen, fituated on the fummit of a fteep hill. This 
town has a dola. The revenue of the town, and of the 
territory annexed to it, is enjoyed by one of the imam’s 
fons. Mofhak lies in the route from Sana to Beit el 
Fakih. 
MOGADO'R, or Mogodo'r, a feaport town of Africa, 
in the empire of Morocco. This place, which the Moors 
call indifferently Sacra, or Mogador, receives its name 
from a faint, held here in great veneration by the name 
of Sidi Mogodoor, wdiofe tomb is to be feen at a fmall 
diftance to the fouth of the town. Mogador formerly had 
a wretched caftle, built by the Portuguefe, to preferve a. 
communication with their lettlements, to the fouth of 
this coaft. This caftle alfo protected the entrance of a 
harbour, formed by a channel between the main land and 
a fmall ifland. Such a iituation appearing favourable to 
make it a place of trade, the prefent emperor refoived to 
found a city here; and the wealthier Moors began to 
build houfes, to pleafe their lovereign. Foreign mer¬ 
chants were invited to do the fame; and, to induce them, 
large abatements were offered in the cuftom-duties. Thefe 
promifes, however, though folemnly made, were not fo 
fcrupuloufly oblerved. This city, which was begun in 
1760, is now completely finifhed. It contains a great, 
number of houfes, handfomely and folidly built. The 
ftreets are all in ftraight lines, and there is no town in. 
the empire in which we fee fuch a regularity of plan. It 
is furrounded with walls; and batteries are ereited, not. 
only. 
