M A J 
■fcmlow richly; and the herfelf, with the aJEftance o»f Godet 
bifliop of Chartres, drew up a fet of rules for it, which 
were a model of prudence and good fenfe. It was for the 
youngladies of St. Cyr that (lie engaged Racine to compofe 
his facred dramas of Either and Athaliah, in which they per¬ 
formed their parts fo well, that, faid (he, “ they (hall never 
aft again.” The tender devotion of the quietifts, en¬ 
forced by the eloquence of Fenelon, had nearly got foot¬ 
ing in this female feminary, when the cry of herefy ex¬ 
cited againft it alarmed the foundrefs, and occafipjaed its 
profcription. Her happieft hours feem to have been paffed 
in this peaceful manfion ; and, after the death of the king, 
in 1715, the made a final retreat to it, thenceforth refign- 
ing all concern with the great and political world, and 
aiding as the direftrefs of the inftitution and the inftruft- 
refs of the young people educated in it. She was occa- 
fionally vifited by a few very particular friends, among 
whom her former pupil, the duke of Maine, was always 
received with the expreffions of truly maternal affeftion. 
She was generally regarded with much refpeft, and re¬ 
ceived unbounded veneration and attachment from the 
v.hole houfe of St. Cyr. She died there in 1719,' at the 
age of eighty-four. A colleftion of “ Letters of Mad.de 
Maintenon,” in nine volumes imio. appeared in 1756, 
which, though lefs eafy and natural than thofe of Mad. 
de Sevigne, are very well written, and contain many 
things worthy of notice. Siecle de Louis XIV. Gen. Biog. 
MAINTENON', a town of France, in the department 
of the Eure and Loire. Here is an imperfeft aqueduft, 
made for the purpofe of conducting the water from the 
Eure to Verfailles : twelve miles fouth-weft of Dreux,*and 
nine north of Chartres. 
MA'INTOP,/. The top of the mainmaft: 
From their maintop joyful news they hear 
Of (hips, which by their mould bring new fupplies. Dryden. 
MA'INYARD^y. The yard of the mainmaft. 
MA'JO BAM'BA, a town of Peru, in the jurifdiftion 
of Chacapoyas. 
MA'JOR, adj. [major, Lat.] Greater in number, quan¬ 
tity, or extent.—The true meridian is a major circle paf- 
fing through the poles of the world and the zenith of any 
place, exaftly dividing the eaft from the weft. Brown .— 
In common difeourfe we denominate perfons and things 
according to the major part of their charafter : he is to be 
called a wife man who has but few follies. Watts’s Logick. 
■—Greater in dignity : 
Fall Greek, fall fame; honour, or go, or ftay; 
My major vow lies here. Shahefpeare. 
MA'JOR, f. in the art of war, the name of feveral offi¬ 
cers of very different ranks and functions. 
Major- General, the next officer to the lieutenant-gene¬ 
ral, (lee vol. xii.) whofe office it is to receive orders from 
the general, or, in cafe of his abfence, from the lieutenant- 
general of the day ; which orders he is to diftribute to the 
brigade-majors, with whom he is to regulate the guards, 
convoys, detachments, &c. On him the whole fatigue 
and detail of duty of the army reft. It is the major-ge¬ 
neral of the day who is charged with the encampment of 
the army, who places himfelf at the head of it, when it 
marches’, who marks out the ground of the camp to the 
quarter-inafter-general, and who places the new guards 
for the fafety of the camp. On the day when the army 
is to march, he diftates to the field-officers the order of 
the march, which he has received from the general ; and 
on other days he gives them the parole. In a fixed camp 
he is charged with the foraging, with reconnoitring the 
ground for it, polling the efcorts, &c. In fieges,, when two 
Separate attacks are made, the fecond belongs to him ; but, 
if there be only one, he takes, either from the right or left 
of the attack, that which has not been chofen by the 
lieutenant-general. When the army is under arms, he 
affifts the lieutenant-general, and executes his orders. If 
the army marches to an engagement, his poft is at the 
' Vol. XIV. No. 964. 
M A J ifj.) 
head of the guards of the army, until they are near enough 
to the enemy, to enjoin their different corps ; after which 
he returns to his own proper poft; for the major-generals 
are difpofed in the order of battle as the lieutenant-gene¬ 
rals are, to whom, however, they are fubordinate, for the 
command of their divifions. The major-general has one 
aid-de-camp and one brigade-major. 
Major of a Regiment, the next officer to the lieutenant- 
colonel, (fee vol. xii.) generally promoted from the eldeft 
captain : he is to take care that the regiment be well exer- 
cifed, to fee it march in good order, and to rally it in cafe 
of being broken in aftion : he is the only officer among 
the infantry that is allowed to be on horfeback in time of 
aftion, that he may the more readily execute the .colonel’s 
orders. The major of a regiment of horfe, as well as foot, 
ought to be a man of honour, integrity, understanding, 
courage, adlivity, experience, and addrefs: he (houid be 
jnafter of arithmetic, and keep a detail of the regiment in 
every particular; he (houid be (killed in horfernanfhip, 
and ever attentive to his bufinefs. One of his principal 
funftions is, to keep an exaft rofter of the officers for 
duty ; he (houid have a perfect knowledge in all the mi¬ 
litary evolutions, as he is obliged by his poft to inftruft 
others, Sec. 
Town Major, the third officer in order in a garrifon, 
and next to the deputy-governor. He (houid uruierlhn 1 
fortification ; and has a particular charge of the guards, 
rounds, patroles, and centinels. 
Brigade-Mhiov., is a particular officer appointed for that 
purpofe only in camp: he goes every day to head-quar¬ 
ters to receive orders from the adjutant-general : there he 
writes exaftly whatever is diftated to him: from thence 
he goes and gives the orders, at the' place appointed for 
that purpofe, to the different majors or adjutants of the 
regiments which compofe that brigade, and regulates 
with them the number of officers and men which each are 
to furnifti for the duty of the army ; taking care to keep 
au exaft rofter, that one may not give more than ano¬ 
ther; and that each march in their turn : in (Iiort, the 
major of brigade is charged with the particular detail in 
his own brigade, in much the fame way as the adjutant- 
general is charged with the general detail of the duty of 
the army. He fends every morning to the adjutant-gene¬ 
ral an exaft return, by battalion and company, of the 
men of his brigade miffing at the retreat, or a report ex- 
preffing that none are abfent: he alfo mentions the offi¬ 
cers abfent with or without leave. As all orders pafs 
through the hands of the majors of brigade, they have 
infinite occaiions of making known their talents and 
exaftnefs. 
Major of Artillery, is alfo the next officer to the lieu¬ 
tenant-colonel. His poft is very laborious, as the whole 
detail of the corps particularly refts with him ; and for 
this reafon all the non-commiffioned officers are fubordinate 
to him, as his title of Serjeant-major imports. In this qua¬ 
lity they mu ft render hirn’an exaft account of every thing 
which comes to their knowledge, either regarding the 
duty or wants of the artillery and loldiers. He (houid 
poffefs a perfeft knowledge of the power of artillery, to¬ 
gether with all its evolutions. In the field he goes daily 
to receive orders from the brigade-major, and communi¬ 
cates them with the parole to his fuperiors, and then dic¬ 
tates them to the adjutant. He (houid be a very good 
mathematician, and be well acquainted with every thing 
belonging to the train of artillery, See. 
Major of Engineers, commonly with us Called Sub di¬ 
rector, (houid be very well (killed in military architefture, 
fortification, gunnery, and mining. He.ffiould know how 
to fortify in the field, to attack and defend all forts of 
pofts, and to conduft the works in a fiege, &c. 
Aid- Major, is on fundry occafions appointed to aft as 
major, .who has a pre-eminence above others of the fame 
denomination. Our horfe and foot guards have their 
guidons, or fecond or third majors. 
Serjeant- Major, is a non-commiffioned officer of great 
U u tr.ult 
