M O N 
covered a number of mounds, or barrows, which were 
burying-places of the ancients. Wilkes's Briti/h Direftory. 
MONCKTON FAR'LEY, a village in Wiltlhire, not 
far from Salifbury, but on the borders of Somerfetfhire. 
In the year 1744, l'orne labourers being employed to level 
a piece of ground ufed for a warren, belonging to Webb 
Seymour, efq. of this place, found the pillar ot a church, 
and, about four feet under the rubbilh, difeovered a chan¬ 
cel of a very curious Roman pavement in chequer-work, 
adorned with various figures j the bricks about four inches 
fquare, and an inch thick. The place is about twenty- 
four feet each way, its fituation being eaft and well. In 
the front are four flat Hones, under which perfons are in¬ 
terred : the fecond Hone from the fouthward has a French 
infeription on it, and.the effigies of Lawrence, who is rc- 
prefented in his prior’s habit, in the pollure of praying: 
he was buried in 616. The fubllance of the infeription 
is, He defires you to pray for his fins, See. The other 
three Hones are without inferiptions. In the north angle 
of the chancel is a tomb like a feat, with the following 
infeription on its furface in Gothic charafters: 
Hicjacet Ilhertus de Chatboniate de Se, 
Qui cum Brotoua dedit hie perpluria dona. 
(< Here lies Ilbertus de Chatboniate of Seend, who with 
Brotona gave here feveral gifts.” 
It has alfo the fame infeription on the fide in Roman and 
Saxon charafters. About two-thirds of the chancel, to 
the eaflward, is a Hep afeending to the altar, where a 
fepulchre was opened, difeovering the Ikeleton of a man 
who was upwards of fix feet high. On the flat Hone of 
this fepulchre is carved in baflo relievo his buH, and un¬ 
der that a lion, as an emblem of his charafter. This per- 
fon, by his near interment to the altar, we may fuppofe 
might be the founder of this abbey or monaflery. To 
the fouth fide of the altar is a floor, about four feet un¬ 
der the rubbifli of the fame pavement with the former, 
and about ten feet fquare; but no body is interred there. 
On the north fide of the altar, which it is imagined was 
in the church-yard, was another fepulchre opened, with 
the lower part of a Ikeleton, but the upper part wanting. 
Farther to the northward is a yew-tree, which is a plain 
demonflration that this was a church-yard belonging to 
the abbey. To the wefl and northward are feveral very 
large Hone pillars with various figures cut on them, which 
appear as frefli as if immediately hewn out of a quarry. 
As to the dimenfions of this church, it is impoffible to 
give an exa£l account how far it extended; for there were, 
about forty years ago, to the fouthward, at a confiderablc 
dillance, dug up three more fepulchres, but without any 
inferiptions on them. 
MONCLAR', a town of France, in the department of 
the Lot; ten miles eaft-fouth-eaft of Montauban, and 
twenty-eight fouth of Cahors. Lat.43. 58.N. lon.i.4o.E. 
MONCLAR', a town of France, in the department of 
the Lot and Garonne: feven miles vveH of Villeneuve 
d’Agen, and nine north-eaH of Tonneins. 
MONCLA'VA, a town of New Leon, on the Rio Saludo. 
MON^O'N, a tow n of Spain, in Arragon, with a caflle: 
feven miles fouth of Balbaflro, and twenty-five north- 
weft of Lerida. 
MONCONTOU'R, a town of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of the Vienne: feven miles fouth-fouth-wefl of 
Loudun, and twenty-two north-north-wefi of Poitiers. 
Lat.46.55.N. lon.0.4.E. 
MONCONTOU'R, a town of France, in the department 
of the North Coafls : nine miles fouth-fouth-wefl of Lam- 
balle, and ten fouth-fouth-eaft of St. Brieuc. 
MONCO'NYS (Balthafar de), a writer of travels, was 
born at Lyons, and received the early part of his educa¬ 
tion in the Jefuits’ college of that city. The plague, 
which in 1628 defolated many countries, forced him to 
quit his native place; and he went to Spain, where he 
completed his fludies at the univerfity of Salamanca. He 
attached himfelf to mathematics, chemiflry, and aftro- 
logy; and in Portugal, which he vifited, he gained confi- 
Vol. XV. No. 1073. 
MON 619 
derable reputation by his facility in forming horofeopes. 
From Portugal he travelled into the Eafl, for the purpofe 
of increafing his knowledge in the occult fciences, as they 
■were called, and tracing the remains of the philofophy of 
Hermes Trifmegiflus and Zoroafter. Difeovering, per¬ 
haps, the vanity of the purfuit, he returned to France, 
and devoted himfelf to mathematical and phyfical fludies, 
which engaged him in correlpondence with mod of the 
learned men of his time. He died at Lyons in 1665 : foon 
after which his Travels were publiffied, in 3 vols. 4to. 
They are faid to contain many rare and very curious ob- 
fervations. Gen. Biog. 
MONCOO'RAH, an ifland in the mouth of the Gan¬ 
ges, about twelve miles long, and three broad. Lat. 22 
20. N. Ion. 91. 10. E. 
MONCOUTAN'T, a town of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of the TwoSevr.es: thirteen miles north-weft of 
Partenay, and thirteen fouth-fouth-eafl of Chatillon. 
MONCRABEAU' sur SE'VRE, a town of France, in 
the department of the Lot and Garonne : fix miles fouth 
of Nerac,and thirteen fouth-weft of Agen. 
MONCRI'F (Francis-Auguftin Paradis de), a French 
poet and polite writer, was born of a family in middle 
life at Paris in 1687. He was defigned for fome profeffion 
fuited to his rank; but his polite and agreeable manners 
threw him among the youth of fuperior condition ; and a 
propenfity for poetry ftill further diverted him from or¬ 
dinary employments. He therefore devoted himfelf to 
the literary profeffion, and to the hope of obtaining pa¬ 
tronage from the great; and one of his firft compofitions 
was an “ Ode on the Death of Louis le Grand,” the prin¬ 
cipal objeft of which was to conciliate the favour of the 
regent. The loftier flights of the lyric mufe were not, 
however, thofe in which he excelled; and he is chiefly 
diftinguiffied as an ingenious and agreeable writer of lit¬ 
tle theatrical pieces, complimentary verfes, madrigals, 
and efpecially ballads, or what the French call romances, 
of which he has compofed fome of the moft touching fim- 
plicity. He read with grace, and afted agreeably in the 
dramatic interludes then in vogue; and thus, without 
any mean or unworthy arts, rendered himfelf acceptable 
to the moft cultivated focieties, at the fame time, by his 
diferetion and good-humour, avoiding all that might give 
offence. He obtained the polls of private fecretary to the 
count of Clermont, and reader to the queen ; was received 
into the French Academy, and afibciated to thofe of 
Nanci and Berlin ; and was admitted to the privilege of 
the entrees, at court, by Louis XV. who refufed that fa¬ 
vour to Voltaire. Thus he verified a maxim of his own, 
that “ One of the fruits naturally to be expeiled from 
intelledlual talents, is that of being able to pafs life agree¬ 
ably.” He was liberal to his poor relations, zealous in 
the fervice of his friends, and grateful for pall favours ; 
an inftance of which laft quality he gave in his requeft to 
be allowed to follow into his retreat the count d’Argen- 
fon, exiled in 1757. Thus Moncrif lived, enjoying per- 
fe£l health till a lhort time before his death, which took 
place in 1770 at the age of 83. His principal works are, 
1. Eflai fur la Neceffite et fur les Moyens de Plaire; an 
elegant and inftru&ive work on the art of becoming agree¬ 
able in fociety. 2. Les Ames rivales, an ingenious ro¬ 
mance founded on the fiflion of the metempiycolis. 3, 
Les Abderites; a comedy. 4. Poefies diveries; and fe¬ 
veral little dramatic pieces of the opera kind. His HiJ- 
toire dcs Chats, a fportive trifle, was criticiled at the time 
with undue feverity, and is now forgotten. His works 
were publilhed colle&ively in 1761, in 4 vols. nmo. Nc- 
crologe dcs Homines celebres. 
MONCUC'Q, a town of France, in the department of 
the Lot: fix miles north-north-eaft of Lauzerte, and 
twelve fouth-weft of Cahors. Lat. 44. 20. N. Ion. j. 17. E. 
MON'DA, or Mun'da, in ancient geography, a river 
of Lufitania, running mid-way from eaft to weft into the 
Atlantic, between the Durius and Tagus, and waffling 
Conimbrica. Now the Mondego , a river of Portugal, 
which fee. 
8 C 
MON'DA, 
