angle equal to the course. The result is that the scale of the map increases from the equator toward either pole. In projecting a chart on Mercator's projection the earth is supposed to be a perfect sphere, and one minute of longitude at the equator, or one geographic mile, is taken as a unit. The parallels of latitude at the bottom and top, beginning at some meridian, are divided into equal parts, each of which contains some convenient number of minutes; the extreme meridians are divided into parts which continually increase in passing from the equator toward the pole; these parts are taken from a table of meridional parts corresponding to a convenient number of minutes, usually the same number that is employed on the parallel of latitude; the corresponding points are united by straight lines, and the outlines of continents, islands, oceans, and the like are then laid down from their known geographical positions with such other information as may be useful to the navigator. This draws the land masses out of proportion, as it makes them too long from E. to W. as the poles are approached. But the practical advantages of the projection outweigh this objection.

Mer'cer, Hugh, abt. 1721-77; American soldier; b. Aberdeen, Scotland; was a surgeon in the army of the Young Pretender, and after

Mer'cersburg Theol'ogy, name given to the within the German Reformed movement Church of the U. S. because it originated in the theological seminary of that body at Mercersburg, Pa., which grew out of the doctrines embodied in Dr. Schaff's inaugural address, as theological professor there, on the "Principles of Protestantism," which was translated and indorsed in an introduction by the other theological professor, Dr. J. W. Nevin, 1845. Its distinctive points were: (1) The Christo-centric idea of theology. (2) The Church, the body of Christ, like the human body, passes through various stages of development, in each of which it properly discards features of the previous stage (in this way medieval Romanism was justified, and likewise its rejection by the Reformers). (3) A liturgical worship was commended.

Mer'cia, largest and most powerful of the seven Saxon kingdoms in England; comprised the central part of the country from the Thames to Yorkshire. It was an independent state, 585-825, with the exception of a short period when it was subdued by Northumbria. In 825 it was conquered, and merged into the Kingdom of Wessex.

MERCIER

Mercier (mĕr-se-á'), Honoré, 1840-94; Canadian politician; b. at St.-Athanase, Province of Quebec; was educated at St. Mary's College, Montreal; and called to the bar in 1867. He edited Le Courrier de St.-Hyacinthe, 186264, and in it vigorously opposed the confederation of the provinces; sat in the Dominion Parliament, 1872-74; was Solicitor General, Province of Quebec, 1879. He did his best to create a French-Canadian national party in Quebec, and in the election of 1886 swept the province on a racial cry. He became Prime Minister in 1887, and was returned to power in 1890, but was defeated 1891. He was member for St.-Hyacinthe in the Legislative Assembly, 1879-90, and became member for Bonaventure Co. in the Legislative Assembly, 1890. Mer'cury. See HERMES,

Mercury (named from the god Hermes or Mercury) planet which travels nearest to the sun at a distance of nearly four tenths that of the earth. When near its greatest E. elongations, which occur at intervals of four months, it may be seen in the W. half an hour to an hour after sunset. Its position makes it hard to study, and little is known about it. It is 3,500 m. in diameter, is 35,392,000 m. from the

sun, round which it revolves in about eighty eight of our days. It revolves on its own axis in twenty-four hours, five minutes, thirty seconds. Mercury passes between the earth and sun more than three times in each year, and when during one of these passages it is near its nodes it appears to pass across the face of the sun. Such an occurrence is called a transit of Mercury, and, though less important than a transit of Venus, is yet of interest to astronomers. Transits of Mercury occur at intervals of thirteen, seven, ten, three, ten, three, etc., years, always either in May or November. The following table shows the transits that will occur before 1941, and the Atlantic times of middle of transit:

Mercury, Hydrargyrum (hi-drär'jl-rum), or Quick'silver, only simple metal which is liquid at the ordinary temperatures; occurs as a native metal, like gold, silver, copper, etc., and has been known to mankind from time immemorial. Its chlorides were also known of old -corrosive sublimate and the red oxide to the Arabians, and calomel to the alchemists. Its sulphide, cinnabar, has been used as a pigment from the most ancient times. Besides the native metal, it occurs chiefly as cinnabar, its most abundant ore. The most famous localities in the U. S. are in New Almaden and New Idria, Cal., named after the two most productive European localities, Almaden in Spain and Idria in Carniola. Pure mercury is almost silver white, of mirrorlike luster, which luster it preserves perfectly in air free from sulphur. Like silver, it is tarnished superficially by sulphurous emanations. Dust also may adhere and tarnish it, but it is readily restored to perfect brilliancy by straining, or even by pouring through a glass funnel,

MERGANSER

to which the dust or tarnish films will adhere. The worse enemies to its purity are other metals. No metal should ever be allowed to touch it except iron or platinum.

Mercury when pure has a density of 13.596 at 0° C. (32° F.). When it is frozen, which requires a reduction of temperature to about 39° F. below zero, it forms a tinlike mass, which is crystalline, but malleable. It boils, when pure, at 357.25° C. (675° F.), yielding a transparent, colorless vapor 6.7 times as heavy as air. When exposed to the air at or near its boiling point, it is slowly oxidized to the red oxide, which, when exposed again to a still higher heat, is decomposed into its elements. The most important commercial use of mercury is in the working of the ores of gold and silver. It is also used in the amalgamation of the zincs of voltaic batteries, in making looking glasses, in barometers, thermometers, steam gauges and other pressure gauges, in dental amalgams (with copper). In the laboratory it is a valuable agent in eudiometry (for confining gases), in mercurial pumps, and in other ways.

It is used for preparing several important medicinal compounds, including calomel and corrosive sublimate.

of Mercy, religious order founded in Dublin by Mer'cy, Sis'ters of, or Or'der of Our La'dy Miss Catharine McAuley, 1830. The rule of St. Augustine, modified to suit the active duties of the sisterhood, was adopted by them, approved by Gregory XVI, 1835, and formally confirmed by him, 1840. The Sisters of Mercy have in view, besides other charities, the visitation of the sick and prisoners, the instruction of poor girls, and the protection of virtuous women in distress. They are subject to the bishops, and have no general superior. The sisterhood is divided into two classes, The habit of choir sisters and lay sisters. the order is a black robe with long loose sleeves, a white coif, and a white or black veil. In the streets a bonnet of black crape is worn instead of the coif and veil. The order spread rapidly over Great Britain and her colonies, and the sisters have numerous institutions throughout the U. S.

Mer'edith, George, 1828-1909; English novelist and poet; b. Hampshire; studied law, but early devoted himself to literature; published novels and stories, including "The Shaving of Shagpat," "Farina: a Legend of Cologne," "The Ordeal of Richard Feverel," "Evan Harrington," "Emilia in England," now called 'Sandra Belloni," "Vittoria," Rhoda Fleming," "The Adventures of Harry Richmond,” Beauchamp's Carer," "The Egoist," "The Tragic Comedians," "A Diana of the Crossways," and "The Amazing Marriage"; also

Poems," "Modern Love and Poems of the English Roadside with Poems and Ballads," "Poems and Lyrics of the Joy of Earth," "Ballads and Poems of Tragic Life," and "A Reading of Earth."

Meredith, Owen. See LYTTON.

Mergan'ser, name given to several birds of the family Anatida, differing from the true ducks in having a slender bill, slightly hooked

MERGER

at the tip, armed with little recurved processes which serve as teeth. This style of bill has earned for the mergansers the popular name of sawbill. Another common name in the

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (Merganser serrator). 1. Male. 2. Female.

U. S. is sheldrake. The mergansers are expert divers and feed on fish. The males are handsome birds with a striking plumage of black and white. The largest species is the goosander (Mergus merganser), common to the Old and New Worlds.

Mer'ger, in law, the absorption or extinguishment of one estate, right, or interest by another of a higher grade, when both become vested in the same person in one and the same right. The doctrine has generally found its principal application in the law of real estate; but within recent years, and especially in the U. S., it has been applied to combinations of large financial interests of a common character, such as railroads and competing corporations.

Merian (ma're-ăn), Matthæus, 1593-1650; Swiss engraver; b. Basel; abt. 1623 settled in Frankfort as engraver on copper, and afterwards started a publishing house which was continued by his heirs. His most important work is the immense series of plates of the cities, towns, villages, and castles of France and Germany. He is known as "the elder " to distinguish him from his son (1621-87), a painter and engraver. His daughter Maria Sybille (1647-1717) and her daughters were painters of insects and flowers; his grandson Jan was a miniature painter.

Merida (měr'ē-thä), ancient, Augusta Emerita, town in Badajoz, Spain; on the Guadiana; 36 m. E. of Badajoz. During the Roman Empire it was the capital of Lusitania. Among the remains of that time are the superb bridge over the Guadiana, 2,575 ft. long and containing eighty-one arches, and the triumphal arch of Trajan in the middle of the city. Of the magnificent aqueduct from the laguna of Albuera thirty-seven enormous piers are still standing, with ten arches in three tiers built of brick and granite. Pop. (1900) 9,124.

MERIVALE

Merida, capital of State of Yucatan, Mexico; on a plain, 22 m. from its port of Progreso on the Gulf of Mexico; was founded by Francisco de Montejo, 1542, on the site of the Maya city of Thó; the latter is still the Maya name of the place. The cathedral, several monasteries, now used for secular purposes, and many dwellings date from the sixteenth century. Merida has faculties of theology, law, medicine, etc., forming a university, and numerous other educational institutions. Its modern commercial activity is largely due to the trade in sisal hemp. Pop. (1900) 43,630.

Mer'iden, city in New Haven Co., Conn.; about midway between New Haven and Hartford; is widely noted for the extent and variety of its manufactures, which include silverplated ware, Britannia metal goods, hardware, cutlery, steel pens, glassware, cabinet organs, malleable iron, iron and brass castings, machinery, etc. According to the U. S. census of 1905 there were 97 factory-system " plants operated on a capital of $16,442,113, and yielding products valued at $13,763,548. The city is the seat of the State School for Boys, and has the Curtis Home for Orphan Children and Aged Women, a model high school, and a city hospital. Pop. (1906) 25,880.

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Merid'ian, of a place, the intersection of the earth's surface with a plane passing through the place and the earth's axis. It is a N. and S. line. If the plane of the meridian of a place is prolonged to intersect the celestial sphere, the line in which it cuts that sphere is the celestial, or astronomical, meridian of the place. The magnetic meridian of a place is the intersection of the earth's surface with a vertical plane passed through the axis of a freely suspended magnetic needle at the place. The angle between this meridian and the true meridian is called the declination or variation of the needle. See LONGITUDE.

Merid'ional Parts, parts of the meridian, as used in Mercator's system, extending from the equator, and computed for all latitudes differing by a minute up to some limit, usually 83°. These parts are tabulated, and are used in this form for projecting maps and charts and for solving problems in Mercator's sailing. See MERCATOR'S PROJECTION.

Mérimée (ma-re-ma'), Prosper, 1803-70; French author; b. Paris; held various places in the civil service; became, 1831, inspector of the archæological and historical monuments of France; entered the Academy, 1844; was made Senator, 1853; works include "Historic of Castile," the novels or small romances Monuments," "History of Don Pedro I, King lomba" and Carmen," "La Guzla," lyrical poems, professedly translated from the Spanish.

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Mer'ivale, Charles, 1808-93; English historian; b. Barton Place, Devonshire; was university preacher at Cambridge, 1839-41; Hulsean lecturer, 1862, and Boyle lecturer, 1864-65; chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, 1863-69; became Dean of Ely, 1869. He wrote "The Fall of the Roman Republic,"

MERIVALE

History of the Romans under the Empire," "Conversion of the Roman Empire," ""Conversion of the Northern Nations," etc.

Merivale, Herman, 1806-74; English statesman and author; brother of Charles Merivale; b. Dawlish, Devonshire; was called to the bar, 1832; Prof. of Political Economy at Oxford, 1837-42; Under Secretary for the Colonies, 1848-60; became Perpetual Under Secretary for India; author of "Five Lectures on the Principles of a Legislative Provision for the Poor in Ireland," "Lectures on Colonization and Colonies," "Historical Studies," "Life of Sir Henry Lawrence."

Merle d'Aubigne (merl dō-ben-yā'). See D'AUBIGNE.

Merle. See BLACKBIRD.

Mer'lin, Ambrosius, ancient Welsh prophet and enchanter, traditionally stated to have lived in the fifth century A.D. His legendary history is given by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his "Historia Brittonum," where he is represented as having sprung from the intercourse of a Welsh princess with a demon, and to have been the adviser of kings Vortigern, Uterpendragon, and Arthur. He figures largely in all the Arthurian poems from Spenser to Tenny

son.

Merlin, Caledonius Sylvestris (THE WILD), legendary British seer; said to have lived at Strathclyde in Scotland in the sixth century. His grave is still shown at Drummelzier on the Tweed, where he was killed on returning from an incursion into Northumbria. He seems to have been a copy of his Welsh prototype.

Merlin, little hawk of Europe, Falco asalon. It is swift and courageous, as well as docile in confinement, and hence it was once exten

مدة

MERLIN.

sively employed for hawking at small game. It is represented by the pigeon hawk in the U. S.

Mer'maid, imaginary marine being, having the form of a woman to the waist, and end

MEROVINGIANS

ing in the tail of a fish. Mermen, the males of this supposed species, are also described. The probability is that the appearance of the dugong or some other marine animal in places where it was not well known may have given rise to the stories regarding this fabulous being. The sirens, nereids, and water nymphs of poetry are all forms of the same creature.

MERMAID.

Merodach (měr'ō-dǎk), or Bel Merodach, second of the minor Babylonian gods, astronomically identified with the planet Jupiter. The name was at first a mere epithet of the god Bel, and by degrees superseded the proper name. Bel Merodach is represented as the son of Ao and Davke, and the husband of Zirbanit. Babylonian kings were often named after him, as Merodachbaladan and Evil-merodach.

Mérode (ma-rōd'), François Xavier Marie Frederic Ghislain de, 1820-74; Belgian prelate; b. Brussels. His mother was a niece of Lafayette; and his father, Count Félix de Mérode, took a leading part in the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Xavier entered the Belgian army, 1841; afterwards studied theology in Rome, and was ordained priest, 1850. He was rapidly promoted; was papal Minister of War, 1860-65, and, 1866, became Archbishop of Melitene and private almoner to the pope. He devoted a large portion of his patrimonial wealth to the improvement of the streets and squares of Rome and to archæological excavations, and still more to founding charitable institutions and schools.

Meroë (měr'ō-ē), name given by Cambyses to the Ethiopian city Saba in honor of his sister who died there. It was situated on the Nile, between the fifth and sixth cataracts, in Upper Nubia. After the decay of Napata to the N., it became the Ethiopian capital, the chief place of an independent kingdom, in the tenth and ninth centuries B.C. The name was also applied to the ancient kingdom of which Meroë was the capital, and whose kings, "So" and Tirhaka, invaded Egypt. It also survives as the name of a wretched village on the ancient site. The Isle of Meroë is the name of a tract in S. Nubia, having an area of 577,480 sq. m., between the Nile and its tributary, the Atbara.

Me'rom, biblical name (Josh. xi, 5) for Huleh, a lake in N. Palestine; triangular in form, the apex pointing S., about 4 m. long, and its greatest breadth 31.

Merovingians (měr-o-vin'ji-ǎnz), name of the first Frankish dynasty in Gaul or France; so called from Meroveus, King of the Ripuarian Franks (448-58). He was succeeded by Childeric I (458-81), whose son Clovis, the conqueror of Gaul and the first Christian monarch of the Franks, left his possessions in 511 to his sons Thierry or Theodoric, Clodomir, Childebert, and Clotaire. Clotaire, the youngest, reunited the empire of the Franks (55861). On his death it was again divided by his four sons, Charibert reigning in Paris, Gon