M A L 
and the late Dr. Malkelyne at London; and the tafte 
which M. Mallet acquired for aftronomy was no doubt a 
confequence of his intimacy with thefe eminent men. In 
this fcience he was greatly aflifted by his profound know¬ 
ledge of the mathematics, in which he was continually 
e.xercifing his genius and talents. He wrote two papers 
on the calculation of chances, which were inferted in the 
Acla Helvetica ; and, at the requeft of L a lande, he calcu¬ 
lated a table of the aberration and nutation of the (tars 
of the firft and fecond magnitude, which was publilhed in 
the Connoiffance des Temps, and afterwards in Lalande’s 
great work on altronomy. On his return, he lived fome 
time in the bofom of his family, till he was appointed by 
the academy of Peterlbnrgh, by the recommendation of 
Lalandeand Bernouilli, to obferve the tranfit of Venus in 
1769, at one of the northern ftations made choice of for 
that purpofe. He was accompanied by J. L. Piclet ; but 
the objeit of their million was in a great meafure loft by 
the unfavourablenefs of the weather. On his return, he 
formed an intimate acquaintance with J. A. Piftet of Ge¬ 
neva, who afiifted him in his aftronomical observations, 
with inftruments which Mallet had procured at his own 
expenfe from England. In 1777 he was elected a member 
of the commiflion appointed to draw up a plan for fet¬ 
tling the difputes by which the harmony of the little re¬ 
public had for fifteen years been difturbed, and which 
were at length filenced for fome time, by the intervention 
of foreign powers. Though Mallet was not at all ambi¬ 
tious of literary fame, he was honoured with unfolicited 
marks of diftinftion by feveral foreign focieties. He was 
one of the members of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, 
and fome of his beft aftronomical obfervations may be 
found in the memoirs of that learned fociety. He main¬ 
tained an epiftolary correfpondence with the moll learned 
aftronomers in Europe ; and at his country houfe, where 
he fpent the greater part of his time, he employed himfelf 
in making aftronomical obfervations, and in converfing 
with the neighbouring farmers on fubjefls of rural eco. 
Jiomy. He was vifited by many foreigners of diftindfion ; 
and was univerfally efteemed for his talents, integrity, 
and benevolence. He died in the year 1790, of an apo¬ 
plexy. Gen. Biog. 
MALLETUR', a town of Hindooftan: fixty miles eaft- 
fouth-eaft of Cochin. 
MALLEVIL'LE, a town of France, in the department 
of the Lower Loire ; three miles eaft of Savenay, and fif¬ 
teen north-welt of Nantes. 
MAL'LI, in ancient geography, the inhabitants of the 
country now called Moultan, which fee. Their capital 
was fituated not far from the river Rauvee (anciently Hy- 
draotes), fomewhat below the prefent town of Toulumba, 
which is a famous pafs on the Rauvee, between Lahore 
and Moultan. 
MALLICOL'LO, or Manicola, one of the largeft of 
thole illands called New Hebrides, in the South.Pacific 
Ocean ; about eighteen leagues long, and from five to feven 
wide. This illand was dilcovered by Quiros, in the year 
1606. The land is moderately elevated, and containing 
fome forelts with large trees; the foil rich and fertile 5 
•vegetable produdlions abundant and various. The inha¬ 
bitants are reprefented by Capt. Cook, who vifited the 
illand in 1774, as the molt ugly ill-proportioned people 
he ever law, except thofe of Terra del Fuego. They are 
3? very dark-coloured, and rather diminutive, race, with 
long heads, flat faces, and monkey countenances. Their 
hair, moltly black or brown, is Ihort and curly ; but not 
quite fo loft and woolly as that of a negro. Their beards 
are very ftrong, crifp, and bulhy, and generally black and 
Short. But what molt adds to their deformity, is a belt, 
or cord, wdiich they wear round their waift, and tie fo 
tight over their belly, that the fhapeof their bodies is not 
unlike that of an overgrown pifmire. The men go quite 
naked, except a piece of cloth or a leaf, ufed as a wrapper. 
They faw but few women, and they were not lels ugly 
than the men 5 their heads, faces, and Ihoulders, are paint* 
M A L 203 
ed red ; they wear a kind of petticoat; and fome of them 
had fomething over their Ihoulders like a bag, in which 
they carry their children. Their ornaments are ear-rings 
made of tortoife-lhell, and bracelets, wrought with thread 
or cord, and ftudded with (hells, worn jult above the el¬ 
bow. Round the right wrift they wear hogs’ tulles, bent 
circular, and rings made of ftiells; and round their left a 
round piece of wood, defigned probably to ward ofF the 
bow-ftring. The bridge of the nofe is pierced, in which 
they wear a piece of white ftone, about one inch and a 
half long, and of a curved form. As figns of friendlhip, 
they prefent a green branch, and fprinkle water with the 
hand over the head. Their weapons are clubs and fpears, 
made of very hard wood, and bows and arrows. The 
bows are four feet long, made of a ftick fplit down the 
middle, and partly circular; the arrows are a fort of 
reeds, fometimes armed with a long (harp point of bone, 
and the points were covered with a fubftance found to be 
poifon. Their arrows they carefully preferve in a quiver ; 
and fome of them are armed with two or three points, 
each with fmall prickles 011 the edges, to prevent the ar¬ 
row from being drawn out of the wound. Their lan¬ 
guage is different from that of any other nation. Their 
houfes are like thofe of the other illes, low, and covered 
with palm-thatch. Their fruits, fuch as the bread-fruit, 
plantain, and cocoa-nut, are not fo good as thofe of 
the Society or Friendly Illes ; but their yams appeared to 
be very good. Their animals are pigs and fowl; they had 
not fo much as a name for a dog, and confequently they 
had none ; for which reafon Capt. Cook left them a dog 
and a bitch. Pieces of cloth, and marbled paper, were 
articlespvhich they mod: efteemed; but edge-tools, nails, 
and bea*ds, they feemed to difregard. Upon the whole 
thefe people appear to be of a race totally diftinff from 
thofe of the Friendly and Society Illands; their form, lan¬ 
guage, and manners, are widely different; they feem to 
correfpond in many particulars with the natives of New 
Guinea, particularly in their black colour and woolly hair. 
They go almoft naked but keep their bodies entirely free 
from pumflures, which is one particular that remarkably 
diftinguilhes them from the other tribes of the Pacific. 
Ocean. The population, according to Mr. Forfter, may 
amount to 50,000, who occupy 600 fquare miles of ground. 
The fame author informs us that the women appeared to 
be oppreffed, defpifed, and in a ftate of lervility. Their 
mufic had nothing remarkable in it, either for harmony 
or variety, but feemed to Mr. Forfter to be of a more 
lively turn than that at the Friendly Illands. 
The harbour, vifited by Capt. Cook, is fituated on the 
north-eaft fide of Mallicollo, not far from the fouth eaft 
and in lat. 16. 25. 20. S. Ion. 167. 57. 23. E. and was called 5 
by him Port Sandwich. It lies in fouth-weft by fouth 
about one league, and is one third of a league broad. A 
reef of rocks extends out a little way from each point • 
but the channel is of a good breadth, and has in it from 
forty to twenty-four fathoms of water. In the port the 
depth of water is from twenty to four fathoms.; and it is fo 
Iheltercd, that no winds can dilturb a Hi ip at anchor there. 
Another great advantage is, that you can lie fo near the 
fhore, as to cover your people who may be at work upon 
it. Two reddilh fill), refembling a large bream, and of 
the fame lize, were caught in the harbour, which ap¬ 
peared, by their effects on thofe who partook of them, to 
be poiionous. This fort of filh is mentioned by Quiros 
under the name of pargos. Cooke's Second Voyage, vol. ii. 
MALLIEN', a town of Prullia, in Oberland : nine miles 
fouth of Paffenheim. 
MAL'LlNG, or West Malling, or Town Mai¬ 
ling, a town in the county of Kent, fituated on a brook 
which runs into the Medway ; with a weekly market on 
Saturday; and three fairs, Aug. 12, Oft. 2, and Nov. j-„ 
This parifh was anciently taxed to contribute tpwards the 
repair of the third arch or pier of Rochefter-bridge. 
Themanorof Malling was given, fays Lambard, “toBu>-- 
bicus billiop of Rocheiter, by king Edmund, the brother. 
oft 
