MON 
736 
year 1731, Ills curiofity led him to vifit the tomb of the 
abbe de Paris, with the intention of examining with a 
critical eye the wonders faid to be there performed ; but 
he was fo completely impofed upon by the a£tors in thofe 
impoftures, that his fears were alarmed, and fo far aided 
the deception praftifed on his weak judgment, that he 
returned home a fudden convert to their delufions. From 
this time he threw off the character of a debauchee, and 
became a fuperftitious fanatic, maintaining on all occa- 
fions, with the zeal of an apoftle, the reality of the mar¬ 
vellous cures which were pretended to be effected by the 
relics of the abbe de Paris. When, in the year 173a, the 
Chamber of Requefts was exiled from the metropolis, he 
was banifhed to the mountains of Auvergne. In this re¬ 
tirement, his zeal, fo far from fubfiding, acquired freflr vi¬ 
gour ; and he formed the defign of drawing up a metho¬ 
dical account of the miracles at the abbe’s tomb, accom¬ 
panied with proofs in fupport of their genuinenefs. On 
this defign he employed liimfelf after his return to Paris ; 
and, having printed his work, under the title of “ The 
Truth of the Miracles wrought through the Interceffion 
of M. Paris,” &c. in 4to. went to Verfailles, where he pre- 
fented a copy of it, fplendidly bound, to the king. This 
performance was applauded by the fuperftitious or inter- 
efted advocates for the miracles in queftion, as a mafter- 
piece of eloquence and unanfwerable demonftrations ; 
while it was juftly pronounced by the fober part of the 
world, to be an unequalled compound of weaknefs and 
fanaticifm. The coniequence of its publication was the 
arreft of the author, and his imprifonment in the Baftille. 
From that place he was removed in fucceftion to different 
prifons, and finally to the citadel of Valence, where he 
died in 1754, about the age of fixty-eight. Gen. Biog. 
MONTGISCA'RD, a town of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of the Upper Garonne : feven miles north-weft of 
Villefranche, and twelve fouth-fouth-eall of Touloufe. 
MONTGOLFIE'R (Stephen-James), famous as the 
inventor of aeroftatic balloons, was born at Annonay, 
thirty-fix miles from Lyons, and there carried on an ex- 
tenfive manufa£ture of paper in conjunction with his bro¬ 
ther. They were diftinguifhed for their ingenuity in this 
branch, and were the firft in France who made the beau¬ 
tiful vellum-paper. Soon after their firft experiments in 
Aerostation, (fee that article, vol. i. p. 165, 6.) the 
annual prize of the Academy of Sciences was awarded to 
Stephen ; and from that era, October 19, 1783, the atmo- 
fphere has been a new field of human daring. Ke was far¬ 
ther rewarded for his difcovery by admiifion into the 
Academy of Sciences, the cordon of St. Michael, and a 
penfion of 2000 livres. He died in 1799. 
MONTGOLFIE'R (Jofeph), brother of the preceding, 
had not a very regular education,' but it was fo far fcien- 
tiftc as early toinfpire him with an ardent tafte for mecha¬ 
nics. At the ufual period of life, he entered into his fa¬ 
ther’s bufinefs of a paper-maker; but he does not feem 
to have poffeffed a turn of mind adapted for a mere tradef- 
man; and, though he propofed many fchemes for the 
improvement of the manufacture, the cautious difpoli- 
tion of the old man regarded them as chimerical projects, 
and the affair ended in the fons forming a feparate efta- 
blifhment. His plans were not very fuccefsful in a pecu¬ 
niary point of view ; and indeed it would appear that his 
attention was more directed to the different branches of 
natural philofophy than to the routine of trade, his fa¬ 
vourite objects being hydraulics and aeroftation. The 
difcovery of the balloon, in conjunction with his brother, 
which excited the greateft aftonifhment in the minds both 
of the learned and the unlearned, and which acquired for 
the inventor a degree of temporary reputation that has 
feldom been equalled, has been already noticed. An¬ 
other great difcovery by Jofeph Montgolfier was a ma¬ 
chine for raifing water, called the hydraulic rum; a lefs 
fplendid invention than the balloon, but more really in¬ 
genious, and probably of more real utility. M. Delambre 
M O N 
informs us, that the clafs of fciences belonging to the 
Inftitute conferred on him the decennial prize for this 
inftrument. Thefe fcientific labours are fufiicient to enti¬ 
tle him to the.rank which he has obtained among the 
fcientific men of the age. He died May 26,1810. Memoirs 
of the Inftitute of France, 1811. 
MONTGOMERY, a town of North Wales, in a county 
of the fame name, fituated on a rocky hill near the Severn. 
It was formerly walled, and had a caftle, built foon after 
the conqueft ; but both were deftroyed in the civil wars 
of the feventeenth century. The town and caftle are fup- 
pofed to have been built by Baldwyn, lieutenant of the 
marches to William the Conqueror, from whom it was 
called Tre Faldwyn; but took the prefent name from 
Roger de Montgomery, earl of Shrewfbury, who won the 
caftle of Baldwyn. In the year 1094, it was taken by the 
Welfh ; and many were the Ikirmifties at different times 
for the poffefllon of the place. In the year 1231, it was 
taken and burned by Llewellin prince of Wales, who in¬ 
humanly put the whole garrifon to the fword. By whom 
it was again re-edified fubfequent to this period is uncer¬ 
tain ; but that it did not long remain in its ruined con¬ 
dition is clear from the circumftance of a conference being- 
held here in 1268, when peace was concluded between 
England and Wales, through the mediation of Ottoboni, 
pope Clement’s legate in Britain. After this, no event 
of material confequence immediately connected with the 
hiftory of this place happened till the era of the civil wars 
in the reign of Charles I. when lord Herbert, the then 
proprietor of the caftle, garrifoned it for the king ; but was 
fo intimidated by the approach of the parliamentary army, 
that he wrote to their general, fir Thomas Middleton, 
declaring his readinefs to join the republican ftandard ; 
which he accordingly did. The advance of the royal 
forces, under lord Byron, however, foon after rendered 
it prudent for fir Thomas to retire to Ofweftry, leaving 
only a very fmall garrifon in the caftle; but, having been 
there reinforced, he again marched back to its relief, 
when a moft defperate engagement enfued, in which the 
royalifts, though much fuperior in numbers, were com¬ 
pletely defeated. The caftle fubfequently met with the 
fame fate as moft of thofe which had, at any time, declared 
for the king, being difmantled by order of the houfe of 
commons, and never again repaired. It ftood on the ex¬ 
tremity of an eminence, to the north of the town; and ap¬ 
parently impending over it. From the fmall remains now- 
in exiftence,it is impoffible to determine eitherits lhape or 
extent; but it is faid to have been of great fize, and mag¬ 
nificently built. That it was a place of ftrength and im¬ 
portance in former times cannot be doubted, if any credit 
is to be given to the records of hiftory. Indeed it ftill re¬ 
tains convincing proof of its ftrength; one fide of the 
ridge on which it was feated being extremely lofty, and 
almoft perpendicular in acclivity ; while the others, which 
are lefs fteep, have the defence of four large foffes cut out 
of the folid rock, over which draw-bridges have been 
thrown. 
The town of Montgomery is pleafantly fituated on an 
eminence of inferior height to that on which the ruins of 
the caftle appear. It is clean and neatly built, and ftill 
bears evident marks of its having been anciently fur- 
rounded by a wall. In Leland's time great part of this 
wall was handing; and that writer mentions four gates 
then in ruins, called “ Kedewen gate, Chirbury gate, 
Arthur’s gate, and Kerry gate;” and alfo fome remains 
“ of broken tourets,” of which the white tower was 
“ the moft notable:” only a few traces of thefe are now 
left. The guild-hall here is a very handfome edifice, at 
which all the public bufinefs of the town is tranfafted ; 
and near the (cite of the caftle a large county gaol has 
been lately erefted. The church is built in the form of a 
crofs, and contains feveral monuments of the Herbert fa¬ 
mily. That in honour of Richard Herbert, efq. father of 
the celebrated k>rd Herbert of Cherburg, is particularly 
diftinguilhed 
