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Tiberias, and Eon Naphtali at Babylon, who were the 
beft of the profeflion, and who, according to Balhage, 
were the inventors of the Mafora, ftourifhed at this time. 
Bach of thefe publifhed a copy of the whole Hebrew text, 
as correft, fays Dr. Prideaux, as they could make it. The 
Eaftern jews have followed that of Ben Naphtali, and the 
Weftern that of Ben Afcher; and all that has been done 
fince is to copy after them, without making any more 
corrections or maloretical criticifms. The learned Wal¬ 
ton, in the appendix to his Polyglott, has given us all the 
various readings of Ben Afcher and Ben Naphtali and the 
Oriental and Occidental Jews, and alfo of the Keri and 
Chetib; but we are ftill farther indebted to Dr. Kennicott 
for his admirable Hebrew Bible, and the Differtatio Ge- 
lieralis annexed to it. 
The Arabs have done the fame thing by their Noran 
that the Maforites have done by the Bible : nor do the 
Jews deny their having borrowed this expedient from the 
Arabs, who firft put it in practice in the feventh centurj\ 
There is a Great and a Little Mafora, printed at Venice, 
and at Bafil, with the Hebrew text, in a different charac¬ 
ter. Buxtorf has written a maforetic commentary which 
he calls Tiberias. See on this fubjeft, Dr.Brett’s Differ- 
tation on the ancient Verfions of the Bible, &c. Lond. 
1760. or Bifhop Watfon’s Collection of Theological Trafts, 
vol. iii, Kennicott, ubi fupra, and Diflertations; Jen¬ 
nings’s Jewifli Ant. and Calmet’s Dift. of the Bible. 
MAS'ORITES, Jewifli doctors, authors of the Mafora, 
MASOU', a fmall ifland near the coaft of China. Lat. 
30. 47. N. lor.. 121. 4. E. 
MASO'VIA, or Masu'reh, a late palatinate of Poland, 
one of the molt ancient, and one of the laft that remained 
annexed to the crown. In the partition which Boleflaus 
III. made of the Polifti dominions, between his four fons, 
in 1138, Mafovia was given to his fecond fon (afterwards 
Boleflaus IV.) who was fucceeded by his fon Lefco. The 
latter bequeathed it to Cafimir, his father’s brother; and, 
after this, it devolved by inheritance on Cafimir’s youngeft 
fon Conrad. Hence it appears that this province had its 
own dukes for a long time. Duke Wenceflaus became a 
vafial to John king of Bohemia, in the year 1329 ; but 
Charles, that monarch’s fon, having transferred the fove- 
reignty of Mafovia to Cafimir the Great, king of Poland, 
Siemonit duke of Mafovia was obliged to be inverted 
with this country as a fief dependent on Poland. In the 
year 1526, the male line of the dukes of Mafovia being 
extinft, the duchy became immediately fubjeft to Po¬ 
land ; and king Sigifinund I. having firft confirmed the 
rights and laws of the inhabitants, annexed it to Great 
Poland in 1529. King Stephen, in 1576, endowed Ma¬ 
fovia with the fame rights and privileges as the reft of 
the kingdom ; but permitted the inhabitants to retain 
fome of their ancient cuftoms. This province has been 
twice given to the queens of Poland as a dowry; and 
for fome time was governed by a ftadtholder, appointed 
by the king. No other religion but popery was tolerated 
in this province; thofe of other profeftions being treated 
with the greatelt feverity; if a Lutheran or Calvinift mi- 
nifter was found in Mafovia, his punilhment was death. 
Staravolfcius computed the number of noble families in 
this country to be, in his time, no lefs than 55,000. Ma¬ 
fovia Gonfifted of two palatinates, viz. Czerfk, or Mafovia 
Proper, and Polotfk. This palatinate was feized by Pruf- 
fia, in the general divifion ;• at the peace of Tilfit it was 
taken from Pruflia and given to Saxony, forming a part 
of the duchy of Warfaw; and, by the Aft of the Con- 
grefs of Vienna, (June 9, 1815.) it reverts to Prufiia. 
MA-S'PA, a town of South America, in the audience 
of Quito: forty miles north-weft of Arehidona. 
MASPALO'MA, a town on the fouth-eaft coaft of 
Canary Ifland : twelve miles fouth of Palmas. 
MAS'PHA, or Mas'phb, in fcripture-geography, a 
country at the foot of Mount Iiermon, towards the 
fprings of Jordan, Jofhua fays it was inhabited by the 
liivites, 
Vol. XIV. No. 990. 
MAS 501- 
MAS'PHA, or Mase'pma, a town of Judea, which be¬ 
longed to the tribe of Gad, fituated in the north and eaft 
part of the tribe of Gad. This town was taken and de- 
ftroyed by Judas Maccabseus. 
MAS'PKE, or Masphat, a town of Judea, in the tribe 
of Benjamin. In this town were fometimes held the ge¬ 
neral aflemblies of the Ifraelites. It was rebuilt by Afa 
king of Judah. Here Judas Maccabasus and his brethren 
aflembled, in order to fight with Lyfias, general of the 
army of Antiochus. 
MASQUE, f. See Mask, p, 465 & feq. 
Masque de Fer, or Man with the Iron Majk, a remarkable 
perfonage fo denominated, who exifted as a ftate-prifoner 
in France during the latter part of the 17th century. 
The circumftances of this perfon form an hiftorical pro¬ 
blem, which has occafioned much inquiry, and given rife 
to many conjectures. At the beginning of the revolution 
in France (1789), the curiofity of the public was revived 
upon this fubjeft ; and it was found, upon the deftruc- 
tion of the Baftile in that year, that no documents rela¬ 
tive to this extraordinary perfonage could be difeovered 
there. We therefore referred to the prefent article for 
refuming the fubjeft, which, in confequence of the return 
of the Bourbons into France, may be faid to have again 
become interefting, as there is little doubt but the party 
was a member of that family. 
The authenticated particulars concerning the Iron Mafk 
are as follows: A few months after the death of cardinal 
Mazarine, there arrived at the ifle of Sainte Marguerite, 
in the fea of Provence, a young prifoner whofe appear¬ 
ance was peculiarly attracting. His perfon was above the 
middle fize, and elegantly formed ; his mien and deport¬ 
ment were noble, and his manners graceful; and even 
the found of his voice, it is faid, had in it fomething 
uncommonly interefting. On the road he conftantly 
wore a mafk made with iron fprings, to enable him to 
eat without taking it off. It was at firft believed that 
this mafk was made entirely with iron ; whence he ac¬ 
quired the name of the Man with the Iron Mafk. His 
attendants had received orders to difpatch him if he at- 
tempted to take off his mafk or difeover himfelf. He 
had been firft confined at Pignerol, under the care of the 
governor M. de St. Mars; and, upon being fent from 
thence to Sainte Marguerite, he was accompanied thither 
by the fame perfon, who continued to have the charge of 
him. He was always treated with the nioft marked re- 
fpeft ; he was ferved conftantly in plate; and the gover¬ 
nor himfelf placed his difhes on the table, retiring im¬ 
mediately after, and locking the door behind him. He 
tu-to'yoit (thee’d and thou’d) the governor; who, on the 
other hand, behaved to him in the moft refpeftful man¬ 
ner, and never wore his hat before him, nor fat down in 
his prefence unlefs he was defired. The marquis de Lou- 
vois, who went to fee him at St. Marguerite, lpoke to him. 
Handing, and with that kind of attention which denotes 
high refpeft. 
During his refidence here, he attempted twice, in an 
indireft manner, to make himfelf known. One day he 
wrote fomething with his knife on a plate, and threw it 
out of his window towards a boat that was drawn on- 
fhore near the foot of the tower. A fifherman picked it 
up and carried it to the governor. M. de St. Mars was 
alarmed, and afked the man, with great anxiety, whether 
he could read, and whether any one elfe had feen the 
plate ? The man anfwered, that he could not read, that 
he had but juft found the plate, and that no one elfe had 
feen it. He was, however, confined till the governor was 
well affufed of the truth of his affertions. Another at¬ 
tempt to difeover himfelf proved equally unfuccefsful. 
A young man, who lived in the ifle, one day perceived 
fomething floating under the prifoner’s window ; and, on 
picking it up, he difeovered it to be a very fine fiiirt writ¬ 
ten all over. He carried it immediately to the governor; 
who, having looked at fome parts of the writing, afked 
the lad, with an appearance of anxiety, if he had not 
$ M had 
