7VI A r 
MAT'LLY, a town of France, in the department of the 
SaSne and Loire; four miles fouth-eaft of Marcigny. 
MAILLY le CHATEAU', a town of France, in the 
department of the Yonne : twelve miles fouth of Auxerre, 
and twelve north-weft of Avalon. 
MAILROSS'j a village in Northumberland, on the bor¬ 
ders of Scotland. Here was a feminary from whence 
faring the fir ft hi (hop of the fee of Lindisfarn. 
To MAIM, v, a. \maitan , Goth, to cut off; mthaigner , 
to maim, old Fr. mehaina, Armor, mancus, Lat.] To de¬ 
prive of any neceffary part; to cripple by lofs of a limb ; 
originally written, from the French, mayhem. —The multi¬ 
tude wondered when they faw the dumb to fpeak, the 
maimed to be whole, and the lame to walk $ and they glo¬ 
rified God. Matth. xv. 31. 
You wrought to be a legate ,* by which power 
You maim'd the jurifdiCtion of all biiliops. Shakefpeare. 
MAIM, / Privation of foine effential part; lamenefs, 
produced by a wound or amputation.—Surely there is 
111 ore caufe to fear, left the want thereof be a maim, than the 
ufe a blemilh. Hooker. 
Humphrey, duke of Glo’fter, fcarce himfelf, 
That bears fo (hrewd a maim-, two pulls at once ; 
A lady banifh’d, and a limb lopt off? Shakefpeare. 
Injury; mifchief: 
Not fo deep a maim, 
As to be caft forth in the common air, 
Have I deferved. Shaktfpeare's Richard II. 
Effential defeft.—A noble author eileems it to be a maim 
in hi (lory, that the afts of parliament (hould not be recited. 
Hayzuard. 
MAIMAT'SCHIN, a Chinefe frontier-town, or village, 
on the confines of Siberia, oppofite to Kiakta, which fee, 
vol. xi. p. 7°4* I ts name denotes the Fortrefs of Com¬ 
merce. It is fituated about 140 yards fouth of the fortrefs 
of Kiakta, and nearly parallel to it. Midway between this 
place and the Ruffian fortrefs, two pofts about ten feet 
high are painted, in order to mark the frontiers of the 
tvvo empires 5 one is infcribed with Ruffian, the other with 
Manftiur, characters. Maimatfcbin is fortified with a 
wooden wall, and a finall ditch about three feet broad j 
the latter having been dug in the year 1756, during the 
war between the Chinefe and Kalmucs. The town is of 
an oblong form ; its length is feven hundred yards, and 
its breadth four hundred. On each of the four fides a 
large gate faces the principal ftreets ; and over each of 
thefe gates is a wooden guard-houfe for the Chinefe gar- 
rifon, which confifts of Mongols in tattered clothes, and 
armed with clubs. Without the gate, which looks to the 
Ruffian fortrefs, at the diltance of about eight yards from 
the entrance, the Chinefe have raifed a wooden fconce, fo 
as to interrupt all view of the ftreets from without. _ This 
town contains zoo houfes, and about 1200 inhabitants. 
Its two principal ftreets, about eight yards broad, crols 
each other in the middle at right angles, with two by- 
ftreets running from north to fouth. They are not paved, 
but laid with gravel, and kept very clean. The houfes are 
ipacioUs, uniformly built of wood, and of only one ftory, 
about fourteen feet in height; they are plaftered and 
white-wafhed 5 they are conftrufted round a court-yard of 
about feventy feet fquare, which is ftrCwed with gravel, 
and appears neat. Each houfe confifts of a fitting-room, 
fome warehoufes, and a kitchen. The windows are large, 
and, on account of the dearnefs of glafs and Ruffian talc, 
are generally of paper, excepting a few panes of glafs in 
the iitting-roorti. The afpeft of the fitting-room is feldom 
towards the ftreet; it is a kind of (hop, in which the fe- 
veral patterns of merchandife are placed in receffes, fitted 
up with (helves, and feeured with paper doors for the pur- 
pofe of keeping out the dull:. In this room there are fe¬ 
deral niches, covered with filk curtains, before which are 
placed lamps, that are lighted upon feftivals; thefe niches 
contain painted paper idols, n Itone or metal veffel, In 
Vol. XIV. No* 964, 
M A I 1.37 
which the afhes of incenfe are collefled, feveral finall or¬ 
naments, and artificial flowers. 
The fouth-weft quarter of the town is inhabited by the 
merchants of Bukiiaria, who bring to Ruffia cotton, (tuffs, 
and half-filks, fpun and raw cotton, lamb-(kins, precious 
(tones, gold duff, unprepared nitre, fal ammoniac, &c. 
The governor of Maimatfchin has the care of the police, 
as well as the direction of all affairs relating to commerce ; 
he is generally a perfon of rank, often a mandarin, who, 
having been guilty of mifconduCt in fome other ftfttion, is 
fent here by way of punishment. His power is confider- 
able; and, though his (alary is not large, the prefents he 
receives annually from the merchants amount to a confi- 
derable fum. The mod remarkable public buildings in 
Maimatfcbin are the governor’s houfe, the theatre, and 
two pagodas. In the (mall pagoda is a picture reprefent- 
ing the god Tien, which, according to the explanation of 
the molt intelligent Chinefe, fignifies the Molt High God, 
who rules over the thirty-two heavens. He is represented 
in a fitting pofture, with his head uncovered, and encir¬ 
cled with a ray of glory; holding in his right hand a 
drawn (word, and extending his left as in the a&t of giving 
benediction. On one fide of this figure are two youths; 
on the other a maiden and a grey-headed old man are de¬ 
lineated. In this temple there are no altars ; it is opened 
only on feftivals, and ftrangers cannot lee it without a 
fpecial order. The great pagoda, which is larger and 
more magnificent than the former, is acceffible to all 
ftrangers, under the conduit of a prieft. We cannot here 
deferibe in detail the various parts of this ftrufture; the 
temple, which is an elegant Chinefe building, and richly 
decorated, contains five idols of a coloffal flature, filling 
the whole northern fide. The principal idol is denomi¬ 
nated Ghedfur, or Gheffur Chan ; his fize is gigantic, and 
his face gliltens like burnifhed gold ; on his head he has 
a crown, and his garments are made of the richeft (ilk ; in 
his hand is a tablet, to which he directs a (teady attention. 
Two finall female figures, refembling girls about fourteen 
years of age, ftand on each fide of the idol. The other 
idols are of an enormous fize, though lefs in magnitude 
than Gheffur Chan. Tapers and lamps are kept burning 
day and night before the idols. There are various uten- 
fils in the temple, marked with Chinefe devices and in- 
feriptions; and, among others, a hollow wooden black, 
lacquered helmet, which all devout perfons Itrike with a 
wooden hammer whenever they enter the temple. The 
firft day of the new and full moon is appointed for the 
celebration of worthip, upon each of which days no Chi¬ 
nefe ever fails to make his appearance once in the temple. 
Their principal feftivals are held in the firft month of the 
year, called the white month, and anfwering to our Fe¬ 
bruary. 
The merchants of Maimatfchin come from the northern 
provinces of China, chiefly from Pekin, Nanking, Sartd- 
chue, and other principal towns. They come hither with¬ 
out their wives and families; for there is not one woman 
at Maimatfchin. This circumltance is owing to the po¬ 
licy of the Chinefe government, which totally prohibits 
women from having the (lighted intercourle with fo¬ 
reigners. The following goods are allowed by the Ruffian 
government to be exported free of duty : viz. all forts of 
paper. Ruffian cloth (except the common cloth ufed by 
peafants), and fpirrts diftilled from fruits. Goods im¬ 
ported, which are duty-free, are raw and dyed wools, glafs- 
coral, falfe pearls, white lead, fans, fewing-needles, printed 
cottons, ginger, confectionary, rice, toys, mulicai and 
other inftruments, porcelain, earthen-ware, lacquered and 
enamelled goods, furniture, and ornamental articles. The 
exportation of arms, warlike (lores, powder and lead, Spe¬ 
cie, gold and filver in ingots, ftaliions and mares, hides, 
beaver-hair, pot-a'(h, re fin, and hemp-yarn, is prohibited ; 
as is aifo the importation of fait, fpirits, poifons, and cop¬ 
per coin. Since the year 1754, the merchants of European 
Ruffia, who traded with Kiakta and Maimatfchin, were 
allowe'd, on account of the diltance, to pay the duties 
S a there 
