* 
19 6 M A L 
arife in a genuine admirer of the ancients, as the degra¬ 
dation of a copy even of the majeftic harmony of Virgil, 
by an admixture of analyflng profe ?” 
Malfilatre had purpofed to continue his plan, by pub- 
lifliing the Genius of all the more popular Latin poets; 
and Catullus, Horace, Propertius, and Tibullus, are men¬ 
tioned by his editor as forming a part of that delign. 
The work would certainly have been a proof of the hardi¬ 
hood and application of its author; but we cannot ap¬ 
plaud either the fpirit or the tafte of fuch an undertaking. 
Monthly Review, N. S. vol. lxx. 
MALG AR'DEN, a town of Weftphalia, in the bifhopric 
of Ofnabruck : three miles wefl-fouth-wert of Vorden. 
MALGO'RA, a river of Italy, which runs into the 
Qrona near Gorgonzuola. , 
MAL'GRACE, f. [from Lat. male , evil, and gratia , fa¬ 
vour.*] A disfavour. Cole. 
MALGRA'TO, a town of Italy, in the department of 
the Lario: ten miles north-eaft of Como. 
MALGUEN AC', a town of France, in the department 
of the Morbihan : three miles weft of Pontivy. 
MAL'HAM, a village in Yorkfhire, on the borders of 
Weftmoreland ; a few miles from Ingleton in that county. 
It has two fairs, June 25 and October 4. 
About a mile and a half from Malham, and between it 
and Ingleton, is a fcoop out of the moor (the moor form¬ 
ing a high back-ground to Malham as you approach it) in 
which is a very remarkable chafm or chine, into the belly 
of the hill, called Gordale Scar. This is a very grand and 
pleafing fpeflacle. The approach to it from the road is 
■up a narrow valley, along the courfe of the rivulet which 
runs from the fear. The height of its limeftone walls ac¬ 
cords with the Hope of the hill, the higheft or fartheft fide 
being reckoned about 250 feet high ; their ruggednefs is 
foftened by patches of grafs and ledges of fhrubs at dif¬ 
ferent heights. This may be called the antichamber of 
the ffcar, which becomes vifible to the right on reaching 
the end of this firft excavation. Notwithftanding the ex¬ 
pectations that now have been formed, travellers are fur- 
prifed at the grandeur and beauty of the feene. This 
chafm, open to the Iky, and to which no roof can be ima¬ 
gined ever to have exifted, is fpacious and nearly circu¬ 
lar. The area or floor of it is a foft herbage, fpread over 
lime-ftones of various fliape and fize, the rivulet running, 
jh the centre, acrofs it. The concave fweep of cliff fur¬ 
rounding it, on the right of us, is black and frightful, 
overhanging its whole bafe in the mod threatening man¬ 
ner. Sitting under the cover of this huge canopy, a fhel- 
ter from the ftorm, the moft interefting Iketch (for a An¬ 
gle view) of the whole fear may be taken. The fweep of 
the cliff, inclofing it on the oppofite fide, is ferpentine ; 
the fine fwell, like a round tower, of one part of it, it- 
felf a fine objeft, bare, and of the perpendicular height of 
300 feet, appears to fhut up this circular chafm, by nearly 
joining w ith the oppofite fide. The colour of this cliff is 
more cheerful, particularly when the fun fhines on it; a va¬ 
riety of trees overhang the precipice, and are feen on the 
ledges on its tides. Finely fituated in the interval where 
thele oppofite fides nearly meet, a waterfall is feen mid¬ 
way dafhing among large liineftones, through which it 
breaks it way, over a bright yellow earth, till it forms the 
tranfparent ltream at the bottom. Walking farther into 
this firft chafm, vifitors are very agreeably furprifed by 
the view of another cafcade, a ftory higher, in an inner 
recefs or chafm. This fecond chafm is much fmaller, and 
alfo nearly round, but is only lefs remarkable than the 
firft, by being of lefs dimenfions. Its area, to which you 
climb up the rocks through which the water breaks its 
way, is level with the top of the waterfall firft feen, and 
is then not flat, but filled with maffes of rock that appear 
to have fallen. In this recefs, the water enters the fear 
through a hole near the top, arched in a rude way, and 
makes a fall among the huge ftones with which this chafm 
is filled, nearly as high as the one into the larger chafm, 
which is here feen below us. To any travellers making 
M A L 
tbefe caves part of their route, we fhould recommend their 
being at Malham in the morning, as this is a very fmall 
place, and the accommodation not very good. They 
might leave this place in the afternoon,, fo as to reach 
Ingleton to fleep.—Yordas Gave and Weathercote Cave, 
in this neighbourhood, have been already deferibed under 
that article, uol. xi. p. 46, 7. 
MALHAR', a town of Hindooftan, in Vifiapour s 
twenty miles eaft of Poonali. 
MALHAT'TY, a town of Bootan : fixty miles north 
of Dinagepour. 
MALHER'BE (Francis de), a celebrated French poet, 
was born about 1556 at Caen, of an ancient but decayed 
family. His father, who was an inferior law-officer, be¬ 
came a Calvinift before his death 5 which fo much dif- 
pleafed the fon, whofe maxim was “ That a gentleman’s 
religion fh'ould be that of his prince,”'that he left his na¬ 
tive province, and entered into the houfehold of Henry 
d’Angouleme, natural fon of king Henry II. governor of 
Provence. He married the widow of a eounfellor, by 
whom he had feveral children, who all died before him. 
It does not appear how he paffed the earlier part of his 
life, nor how foon he diftinguifhed himfelf as a poet. We 
only learn that Du Perron mentioned him to Henry IV. 
as one who had furpaffed all other compofers of French 
poetry ; and that two or three years after this time, in 
1605, Malherbe firft came to court, being then about in 
his fiftieth year. The king received him into his fervice, 
and gave him a horfe, a table, and a liberal falary. After 
the death of Henry, he had a penfion from the queen- 
dowager, Mary de Medecis. He died at Paris, in 1628. 
Though the recorded incidents of his life are few, feveral 
anecdotes have been given refpefting his charader and 
manners. His temper feems to have been far from amia¬ 
ble : he was fplenetic and farcaftic, and bad little feeling 
for the common charities of kindred. He was perpetually 
at law with fome of his relations; and once, on bein^ re¬ 
proved for it by a friend, he replied, “ With whom would 
you have me go to law ? with the Turks and Mufcovites, 
who conteft nothing with me ?” He compofed an epitaph 
for one M. d’Is, whofe heir he was; in which he expreffed 
a wifli for the death of his father and mother, and all his 
relations. This was, indeed, an effufion of pleafantry; 
but a man of tender affections could never have jefted in 
fuch a manner. His bons mots were frequently rude and 
fevere. To a young lawyer of family who ftiowed him a 
poem of his compofition, he faid, “ Had you the alterna¬ 
tive of being hanged or writing thefe verfes ? nothing lefs 
could excule you for producing fuch a ridiculous piece.” 
Dining once with the archbifhop of Rouen, he fell afleep 
after dinner. The prelate waked him to go and hear a 
fe/inon he was to preach : “ I can fleep well enough with¬ 
out that,” faid Malherbe. He was equally fparing in his 
praife of others, and extravagant in his own praife; yet 
he was not one of thofe poets who extol the importance 
of their own art; and he ufed to maintain that poets de- 
ferved little encouragement from the ftate, to which they 
were of no more ufe than players at bowls. He was, how¬ 
ever, greedy of prefents ; and it was faid of him “ that he 
afked alms with a fonnet in his hand.” He was extremely 
licentious in fpeaking of women, and very lax in point of 
religion. When the poor afked charity of him, with the 
promife of their prayers in his behalf, he would tell them 
that he thought their intereft in heaven was very fmall 
and that he lhould prefer the fame offer from Monf. de 
Luynes or fome other court-favourite. In his lalt illnefs 
he was with difficulty perfuaded to confefs himfelf, and 
not till a friend ufed the argument, that, as he had pro- 
fefl'ed to live like other men, he (hould alfo die like them. 
His “ruling palfion,” that of guarding the purity of the 
French language, fhowed itfelf an hour before he expired, 
when he reproved his nurfe for ufing a word that was not 
of good authority; and to his confellor, who reprimanded 
him for fuch trifling at a time fo awful, he replied, that 
“ he could nut help it, and that he would defend the pu- 
1 rity 
