MAS 
fihee; but at prefent it has a great number of good 
lroufes, newly-erefted mofques, and a ftrong caftle, in 
which the bey refides, attended by a numerous and fplen- 
did retinue. The Bedouins in its vicinity are exempt 
from taxes, and merely ferve as volunteers in cafes of ne- 
ceflity : forty miles eaft-fouth-eaft of Oran. 
MASCARAFB, or Mas'erie, a town of Syria, be¬ 
longing to a powerful Arabian prince : three days’jour¬ 
ney fouth-fouth-eaft from Damafcus. 
MASCAR'DI (Augultin), an Italian writer, was born 
in 1591 of a good family at Sarzana in the territory of 
Genoa. At an early age he entered among the Jefuits, 
which fociety he quitted upon an invitation from pope 
Urban VIII. who made him his chamberlain of honour, 
and nominated him in 1628 to the profefibrlhip of elo¬ 
quence in the College of Sapienza at Rome. Mafcardi 
was carelefs and fond of pleafure, which caufed him to 
be overwhelmed with debts, and perhaps Ihortened his 
days. He died of a confumptive diforder at Sarzana in 
1640, at the age of forty-nine. Cardinal Bentivoglio, 
who was his intimate friend, fpeaks of him as one of the 
mod learned and eloquent perfons of his time. He com- 
pofed both in Latin and Italian. His works are, 1. Syl- 
varum Lib. iv. 2. Profe volgari. 3. Difcorfi morali fu 
la Favola di Cebeti. 4. La Congiura del Conte Giovan- 
Luigi Fiefchi. 5. Dell’ Arte Hiftorica, 6. Differtati- 
ones de Affeftibus. 7. Proluliones Ethicae. Of thefe, 
the molt valued is his work on the Art of writing Hif- 
tory, firft publilhed in 1636, and republilhed with addi¬ 
tions by Pirani in 1646. His account of the confpiracy 
of Fiefco, firft publilhed in 1629, gained him reputation, 
though it is not written in a good tafte, and is rendered 
tedious by long harangues. It was tranflated into 
French; and the work of cardinal de Retz on the fame 
fubjeft is only a free tranflation of that of Mafcardi. 
Gen. Biog. 
MASCAREN'HAS, a town of Portugal, in the pro¬ 
vince of Tras os Montes : four miles north of Mirandela. 
MASCA'RI, a town of Sicily, in the valley of Demo- 
na : nine miles fouth-weft of Taormina. 
MAS'CARIN, one of the Gallapagos Illands, in the 
Pacific Ocean. Lat. 1. 12. S. 
MASCARO'N (Julius), a French prelate and very ce¬ 
lebrated preacher, war the fon of an eminent advocate in 
the parliament of Aix, and born at Marfeilles in the year 
1634. He entered when young among the priefts of the 
Congregation of the Oratory; and at the age of twenty- 
two was lent to teach rhetoric at Mans. Here he- became 
acquainted with the famous Collar, who, on obferving 
that he had inherited from his father an uncommon ta¬ 
lent for eloquence, advifed him to cultivate particularly 
that of the pulpit. His firft appearance was at Saumur, 
where he foon acquired the higheft reputation as a 
preacher, which induced feveral of the proteftants to be¬ 
come his frequent hearers. Defirous of attaching fo able 
a preacher to his church, the bilhop of Mans made him 
one of its prebendaries; but his fame foon reached the 
capital, where he was appointed to preach a courfe of 
Advent-fermons, at the church belonging to his congre¬ 
gation in the ftreet of St. Honore. Here his auditories 
were as crowded as at Mans; and the principal members 
of the French academy, who had long maintained a lite¬ 
rary correfpondence with his father, gave their ftamp of 
approbation to his wonderful qualifications. In 1666, he 
was appointed to preach the Advent-fermons at court, 
and the I^ent-fermons in the following year ; .and was 
fo much admired by Louis XIV. that from that time 
till 1671 he was fele&ed to preach the Advent and Lent 
fermons in alternate years. fn 1671, the king no¬ 
minated him bilhop of Tulle, in the Lower Limolin ; he 
then retired to his diocefe, where he frequently charmed 
and edified his fioek by the exercife of his pulpit-talents, 
and preached occafionally in the cathedrals of Touloufe 
and Bourdeaux. In 1675, he was again called to court, 
to preach the Lent-l'ermons, as he was alfo two years af« 
MAS 463 
terwards ; and, in 1678, he was tranflated to the fee of 
Agen. This diocefe abounded in proteftants, to whole 
converfion he feduloufty applied himfelf, and is faid to 
have been fuccefsful in perfuading vaft numbers of them 
to enter within the pale of the church. From this time 
he was frequently called to Paris, to pronounce the fune¬ 
ral orations of diftinguilhed characters, pr to officiate as 
Lent and Advent preacher to the court, till the year 
1694, when he appeared there for the lalt time in this ca¬ 
pacity, and was equally admired and applauded as in his 
younger years. In the following year, at the requeft of 
the French clergy, he pronounced the difcourfe on the 
opening of their aflembly ; after which he took his leave 
of Paris, and retired to fpend the remainder of his days 
in the difcharge of his epifcopal functions. He died in 
1703, beloved and regretted by all ranks, particularly by 
the poor, to whom he had been a moll liberal benefaflor, 
and who were the heirs of all his property. None of the 
fermons of Mafcaron have been publilhed, excepting a 
volume of his Funeral Orations, printed in 1740, in 
X2ino. Moreri. 
MAS'CAT, or Maskat, a town of Arabia. This is 
the principal town of the province of Oman; fo that the 
fcheik or imam is by many travellers called King of Maf- 
cat. It Hands at one end of a beautiful plain, on 'the 
fide of a fmall gulf, encompafled with fteep rocks, form¬ 
ing an excellent harbour, in which the largeft vellels may 
find Ihelter. This harbour is likewife protected by forts, 
and the city thus fortified both by art and nature. Ar¬ 
rian called it Mofca\ and fpeaks of it as being, even then, 
a great emporium of the trade of Arabia, Perfia, and In¬ 
dia. Mafcat has ever enjoyed this advantage ; and even 
at prefent poflefies a confiderable trade. The Portuguefe 
made themfelves mailers of it in 1508. Two churches, 
one of which is nowi'a magazine, and the other the houfe 
of the wali, or governor, ltill remain, to Ihow that they 
were once eftablilhed here. One hundred and fifty years 
after their conqueft of Mafcat, the Portuguefe were 
driven hence by the Arabs, through the aid of a Banian, 
who had been robbed of his daughter by the Portuguefe 
governor. In no other Mahometan city are the Banians 
fo numerous as in Mafcat; their number in this city 
amounts to no fewer than 1200. They are permitted to 
live agreeably to their own laws, to bring their wives 
hither, to fet up idols in their chambers, and to burn 
their dead. At Mafcat, Europeans pay five per cent, 
upon imports, Mahometans fix and a half, and Jews and 
Banians feven per cent. The imam’s natural fubje£ls 
pay fix per cent, in kind, upon dates exported ; which 
are the principal article that the country affords. Maf¬ 
cat is the key of Arabia and Perfia ; and the Whole trade 
is carried on by Banians. The cultoms of this port only 
are the chief lupport of imam’s forces. Their govern¬ 
ment is the ftriifeft of any in either Perfia or Arabia ; a 
ftranger may walk in the ftreet in any hour in the night 
without the leaft molellation. Theft is never pardoned ; 
any perfon caught therein fuffers either death or the lofs 
of a hand ; by this means the merchandife lies in the 
ftreet at all times fafe. It is 220 miles fouth-fouth-eaft: 
of Gambron, and 940 eaft of Mecca. Lat. 23. 22, N. 
Ion. 74. 50. E. 
MASCAT'LAN, a town of Mexico : fixty miles of 
Acapulco. 
MASCAU', a.town of the duchy of Stiria : eight miles 
fouth-eall of Windifch Weiftritz. 
MASCAU'TANS, an Indian nation, inhabiting near 
lake Michigan, and between that and the Miftilfippi. 
The number of warriors is 400. Lnt.42. N. Ion. 90.-YV. 
MASCHAR'SKA, an illand of Rulfia, in the Frozen 
Sea, near the weft coaft of Nova Zembla. Lat. 73. N. 
Ion. 52.14. E. 
MASCHIGI'KA, a bay on the north-weft coaft of 
Nova Zembla. Lat. 76. 25. N. Ion. 59. 14. E. 
MAS'CHIL, f. [Heb. to give initru&ion.J A title of 
feveral of the pkd.ias of David. 
MASCHI'TO, 
