MAO 
Domenico Frefchi, was performed at Padua in a manner 
fo fplendid, that fome of the decorations recorded in the 
printed copy of the piece feein worthy of notice in this 
work. The mufical drama confided of poetry, mufic, 
dancing, machinery, and decorations; and it would be 
curious to point out the encroachments which any one of 
thefe conltituent parts at different periods has made upon 
the red. In the beginning it was certainly the intention 
of opera legifiators to favour Poetry, and make her mif- 
trefs of the lead ; and it was a long while before Muiic ab¬ 
solutely took the lead. Dancing only dept into import¬ 
ance during the lad century; but very early in the 17th 
century, machinery and decorations were fo important, that 
little thought or expenfe was bedowed on poetry, mufic, 
or dancing, provided fome means could be devifed of ex¬ 
citing adoniihment in the fpeftators, by fplendid feenes 
and ingenious mechanical contrivances. In the opera of 
Berenice jud mentioned, there were chorufes of one hun¬ 
dred virgins, one hundred foldiers, and one hundred horfe- 
men in non armour, forty cornets of horfe, fix trumpet¬ 
ers on horfeback, fix drummers, fix enfigns, fix faebuts, 
fix great fiutes, fix tnindrels playing on Turkiih indru- 
ments, fix others on o6tave-flutes, fix pages, three ferjeants, 
fix cymbalids, twelve huntfmen, twelve grooms, fix coach¬ 
men for the triumph, fix others for the procefiion, two 
lions led by two Turks, two elephants by two others, 
Berenice’s triumphal car drawn by four horfes, fix other 
cars with prifoners and (polls, drawn by twelve horfes, fix 
coaches for the proceffion. Among the feenes and repre- 
fentations in the firft add, was a vad plain, with two tri¬ 
umphal arches; another, with pavilions and tents; a fquare 
prepared for the entrance of the triumph; and a fored for 
the chace. Aft II. the royal apartments of Berenice’s 
temple of vengeance; a fpacious court with the view of 
the prifon ; and a covered way for the coaches to move in 
proceffion. Aft III. the royal dreffing-room, completely 
furniffied ; dable with one hundred live horfes ; portico 
adorned with tapedry; a delicious palace in perfpeftive. 
And, befides all thefe attendants and decorations, at the 
end of the firft aft there were reprefentations of every 
fpecies of chace; as of the wild boar, the dag, deer, and 
bear; and at the end of the third aft, an enormous globe 
defeended from the Iky, which opening divided itfelf into 
other globes that were fufpended in the air, upon one of 
which was the figure of Time, on a fecond that of Fame, on 
others, Honour, Nobility, Virtue, and Glory. Had the fab¬ 
rics of fingers been at this time equal to the prefent, the fup- 
port of fuch expenfive and puerile toys would have inclined 
the managers to enquire not after the bed but the cheaped 
performers they could find ; as fplendid ballets often oblige 
them to do now; and it is certain, that, during the feven- 
teenth century, the didinftive charafteridic charm of ail 
opera was not the mufic, but the machinery. The French 
eltabliffied mufical dramas in their court and capital dur¬ 
ing the rage for mythological reprefentations, to which 
they have condantly adhered ever fince; and, when they 
are obliged to allow their mufical compofition and fingrng 
to be inferior to that of Italy, they comfort themfelves and 
humble their adverfaries by obferving, that their opera 
is, at lead, a fine thing to fee \ “ C’ed au nioins un beau 
i'peftacle, qu’un opera en France.” 
MACHI'NULA, f. A word ufed by Scott for the fmall 
corpufcles of matter which vary their motion and didances 
.on every contraftion or dilatation of a mufcle or organ. 
MA'CHIR, [Heb. one that knows.] Son of Manaffeh, 
and grandfon of Jofeph ; chief of the family of the Ma¬ 
ch i rites. Num. xxvi. 29. His fons were Pereffi and Shereffi ; 
his daughter married Hezron of Judah, and was mother 
to Segub, and grandmother to Jair. 1 C/iron. ii. at, 22, 
vii. 16. 
MA'CHIR, fon of Ammiel, of the city of Lo-Debar, 
with whom Mephiboffieth was brought up. 2 Sam. ix. 5. 
MACH'IRITE, f. A defeendant of Machir. 
MACHISCHE'VO, a town of Ruffia, in the govern¬ 
ment of Tobolfk: thirty-fix miles weft of Ifchitn, 
M A C 49 
MACH'LEN, a town of France, in the department of 
the Scheldt : four miles fouth of Deinfe. 
MACH'LINE, or Mach'lene, a town of Scotland, in 
the county of Ayr: ten miles wed of Ayr. 
MACHNADE'BAI, [Hebrew.] A man’s name. 
MACH'lNO, a river of North Wales, which unites with 
fome of the dreams to form the Conway. 
MACHONOW'KA, a town of Poland, in the palati¬ 
nate of Braclaw : fixty miles ead of Braclaw. 
MACH'PELAH, or Mac'phela, according to the 
Vulgate, was the cave that Abraham bought of Epbron, 
wherein to bury his wife Sarah. Gen. xxiii. 9. But others* 
with more probability, think, that in this place Machpe- 
lah is the name of the plain wherein the field containing 
the cave was fituated ; for, at verfe 17 of our tranfiation- 
we read, The field of Ephron , which zvas -in Machpelah. In 
the Arabic language, Machpelah fignifies “ ffiut up, or 
walled up ;” fo that the cave called Machpelah was pro¬ 
bably a tomb hewn into the rock, and doled up, or willed 
up, that no one might enter, and that thieves might not 
make it a retreat; in ffiort, that it might not be violated 
or profaned. Tombs thus ffiut or walled up, are dill ufed 
in the ead. If this fenfe be admitted, the text might be 
rendered <{ the cave that was ffiut up,” indead of the cave 
of Machpelah. 
MACIIRIAN'ICH BAY, a bay of Scotland, on the 
wed coad of Kin tyre. Lat. 55. 27. N. Ion. 5. 43. W. 
MACH'RIET, a town of the duchy of Wurzburg 5 
fix miles fouth-ead of Lauringen. 
MACH'SA, a town of Arabia, in the province of Ye¬ 
men : twenty-five miles ead-fouth-ead of Zebid. 
MACHU'A, a town of Hindoodan, in the circar of 
Sirowy: twenty miles north of Jalour. 
MA'CHUL,/ An inltrument of mufic among the He¬ 
brews, See the article Music. 
MACF 1 YNLETH', a town of Wales, in the county of 
Montgomery, on the river Dovy, over which is a done 
bridge, which divides it from Merionethlhire. It has a 
weekly market on Monday ; and fairs on May 16, June 2 6 
July 9, September 18, and November 25, for ffieep, horned 
cattle, and horfes. It was here that Owen Glendowev 
exercifed the fird afts of his royalty in 1402. Here he 
accepted the crown of Wales, and affembled a parliament- 
the houfe wherein they met is yet danding, but divided 
into tenements. The inhabitants of this town are chiefly- 
employed in handicraft-bufinefs, that of tanning being 
carried on to a confiderable extent, as is alio the manu° 
fa ft ure of flannel, and of what are provincially termed 
webs, and Welffi plains or cottons : thefe are a coarfe fore 
of thick white cloth, made in pieces from ninety to one 
hundred and twenty yards in length : this article formerly 
constituted a portion of the export trade, but latterly has 
been appropriated to clothing the army, and for-home- 
confumption. It is thirty-two miles wed of Montgomery, 
and 198 welt of London. Lat. 52. 25. N. Ion. 3. 50. W, 
MACIARE'TA, a town of Etruria-: ten miles fouth 
of Sienna. 
MACIECO'W, a town of Poland, in the palatinate of 
Chelm : forty miles ead of Chelm. 
M ACJEJEW'ICE, a town of Poland, in the palatinate 
of Lublin : forty-four miles north-north-wed of Lublin. 
MACIG'NO, f. in-mineralogy, the Italian name of a 
rock, which is employed for the purpofes of building at 
Florence, and throughout Tufcany, where it is faid to 
conditute entire mountains of a d ratified Itrufture. Patrin, 
who calls it une pierre marneufe et micacee, has given the fol¬ 
lowing account of this uleful done : There are two va¬ 
rieties of macigno with regard to colour; one of them 
called pietra bigia , is of a greyifh-yellow ; the other, de¬ 
nominated pietra ferer.a, of a bluiffi-grey colour. This 
latter, of which molt of the houfes of Florence are built 
has the inconvenience of becoming black when expofed 
to the air, and at length to decompofe. The pietra bigia„ 
which contains much oxyd of iron, poflefles greater foli- 
dity, and is Id's afted upon by the atpiofphere; it is cai- 
2 eulated 
