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Meurs, or Mceurs, capital of the above district, sealed onthe Khine, 16 miles N. \V. of Dusseldorp. Lon. 6. 41. E. Lat.51. 29. N.

MEURSIUS, John, a learned and laborious writer, born atLosdun, near the Hague , in 1579. He early discovered a fond-ness for the sciences. At 13 he wrote Greek verses, and at 16 acommentary on Lycophron . He went to study the law at Or-leans with the son of Barneveidt, whom he accompanied in histravels, hi 1610 he was made professor of history at Leyden ;and afterwards Greek professor. In 1611 the magistrates of theUnited Provinces appointed him to write the history of his coun-try. He married in 1612, Anna Catherina Bilberbeccia, descend-ed from a very ancient family in Pomerania , who possessed manyamiable qualities. During 14 years residence at Leyden, he pub-lished more works than the whole body of professors had donefrom the fpundation ot the university in 1575. His writings havenow spread his reputation in every part of Europe . Christian IV.king of Denmark , in 1625, conferred on him the places of historio-grapher royal, and professor of history and politics in the aca-demy of Bora, where he resided 12 years. In 1638 he had a vio-lent attack of the stone, from which he recovered, but died of aconsumption induced by it, 20th Sept 1639. He left behindhim a son and a daughter. He was the author of many excellenthistorical, critical, and miscellaneous works ; but had no hand ina scandalous indecent piece, published iir his name, intituledMeursii Elegantke Latinx Sermonis: which was the productionof one Westrenius, an advocate of Copenhagen. Meursius ’sworks may be divided into four classes: 1. Those relative toAthens ; 2. Historical pieces ; 3. Miscellaneous dissertations; and4. Various authors, with his notes and corrections.

MEURTE, or MEUKTIIE, a department of France , con-taining part of the late province of Lorraine ; bounded on the E.by the department of the Lower Rhine; S. by that of the Vos-ges; W. by that of Meuse ; and N. by that of Moselle ; about05 miles long from E. to \V. and 35 broad. Nancy is the ca-pital.

Meurthe, or Mf.urtf., a river of France , which rises in thedepartment of Vosges, and joins the Moselle , five miles belowNancy .

MEUSE, orMAESE, a department of France , containing thelate duchy of Bar. Bar-le-Duc is the capital .

Meuse, or Maese, a river of France and Holland , which risesin Mount Vauge, and joins the Wahal below Grave.

Meuse, or Maese, a department of Holland , comprehendingthe late province of Zealand. Middleburg is the capital .

Meuse, Interieure, and Meuse , Lower, a department ofFrance, formed out of the late Austrian Netherlands ; compre-hending part of the bishopric of Liege . Maeslricht is the ca*

^ MEW, or SEA-MALT.. See Larus.

MEWAT, a hilly country of Ilindostan, lying W. of theJumnuh, S. W. of f)elhi, and N. W. of Agra ; 130 miles longfrom E. to W. and about 90 broad. It abounds with woods.

MEWING, the falling off or change of hair, feathers, skin,horns, or other parts of animals, which Happens in some annually,in others only at certain stages of their lives; but the generalityof beasts mew in the spring.

MEXAT OCEM, a town of Persia, on the Euphrates . Lon.42.57. E. Lat. 33. 0. N.

MEXICANO, a river of N. America, in Louisiana , whichruns into the Gulfof Mexico .

MEXICO, or NEW SPAIN, an extensive country in N.America, bounded on the N. by New Mexico , and on the S. E.by the isthmus of Darien, where its breadth is not more than 60miles; its western coast being washed by the Pacific Ocean , andthe gulf of California ; and its eastern by the gulf of Mexico , andthe Caribbean sea. It lies between 83 and 110 W. long, and ex-tends from 7° 30' to 30°40' N. lat. being2000 miles long, and itswidest part to the N. above 600 broad. In general it is a moun-tainous country intermixed with many rich valleys; but the highestmountains are near the coast of the Pacific Ocean , many of whichare volcanoes. The eastern shore is a fiat country, full of bogsand morasses, overflowed in the rainy season, which is at the sametime as our summer; although Mexico is chiefly within the tor-rid zone,the climate is temperate and healthy.No country abounds

more with grain, fruits, roots, and vegetables; many of them pe-culiar to the country, or at least to America . It is celebrated torits mines of gold and silver, and has quarries of jasper, porphyryiand exquisite marble. Cochineal is almost peculiar to this coun-try ; its indigo and cocoa are superior to any in America ; and it 3logwood has been long an important article of commerce. Amongthe quadrupeds are the puma ami jaquar, bears, elks, wolves,deer, &c. The puma and jaquar have been inaccurately denomi-nated by Europeans lions and tigers; for they possess neither theundaunted courage ot the former, nor the ravenous cruelty of thelatter. The domestic animals of Europe , particularly horned cat-tle, have multiplied there almost with incredible rapidity. Num-bers of these having been suffered to run wild, now range over thevast plains in herds from 30, to 40,000 ; they are killed merelyfor the sake of their hides, which are annually exported, in vastquantities, to Europe . New Spain is divided into three audiencesof Guadalajara, Mexico , and Guatimala ; subdivided into pro-vinces; the principal of which in each audience is, GuadalajaraProper, Mexico Proper, ami Guatimala Proper. The wholecountry is governed by a viceroy.

Mexico , Gulfof, an immense bay or gulf of the Atlantic, onthe coast of N. America , extending 600 miles from N. to S. be-tween the N. E. point of Yucatan and S, coast of E. Florida;and 700 from E. to W. between Cuba and the coast ot Mexico .

Mexico , New, so called because of its being discovered laterthan Old Mexico, a country of America , hounded on the N. byhigh mountains, beyond which is a country altogether unknown Iby Louisiana on the E. by New Spain on the S. and on the W*by th« gulf of California , and the Colorada, extending above 10<1miles from E. to W. and about 900 from S. to N. but the 20thpart of the country within these limits is neither cultivated nor in-habited by Spaniards nor Indians. As it lies in the midst of thetemperate zone, die climate, in general, is very pleasant; the sum-mers, though very warm, are neither sultry nor unwholesome ; andthe winters, though pretty sharp, are, for the most part, clear andhealth)'. The greatest encomiums are lavished on the fertility otof the soil, the richness of the mines, ami the variety of valuablecommodities produced in this country. It is beautifully divers''fled with fields, meadows, rising grounds, and rivers; aboundingwith fruit and trees, turquoises, emeralds, and other preciousstones, mines of gold and silver, a great variety of wild and tamecattle, fish and fowls. Upon the whole, it is one of the pleasantest*richest, and most plentiful countries in America , or any pait otthe world. It is divided into four districts ; viz. New Mexico proper, New Leon, New Navarre, and California . The capitais Santa Fe .

MEXITLI, the god of war, among the ancient Mexican **The worship of this idol was most horribly bloody.

M EZANIJERAN, a province of Persia ; bounded E. byChoiasan ; S. by Chusistan and Irak ; W. by Chilan, and N. bythe Caspian sea. The S. part is mountainous, but very healthful!the N. is so extremely fertile, that it is styled the garden of Pens ’* 1 'Silk is the chief manufacture. Forbad is the capital.

Mezanderan, a town in the above province, 80 miles W. S*W. of Ferrabad.

MEZERAi, or MEZERAY, Francis Lubes de, an cm 1 'nent French historian, the son of Isaac Eudes, a surgeon, w*as bod’at Rye, in Lower Normandy , in 1610 ; and took the surname otMezeray, from a hamlet near Rye. Having studied at Caen , b ediscovered a strong inclination to poetry; but going to Paris , heapplied himself to politics and history, and procured the place o’commissary at war, which he held for two campaigns. lie the”shut himself up in the college of St. Barhe, in the midst of l>oofc sand MSS. and, in 1643, published the first volume of the Historyof France, in folio ; and some years after the second and third*He surpassed all who had written the history of France befor®him, and was rewarded by the king with a pension of 4000 livre 5 *In 1668, he published an Abridgement of his History of Frail®®'in three vols. 4to, which was well received by the public: but 3lie inserted in that work (iie origin of most of the taxes will) vet yfree reflections, Mr. Colbert complained of it, when MezerUJfpromised to correct what he had done in a second edition ;those corrections being only palliations, the minister caused halfhis pension to be suppressed. Mezeray complained of this in

severe terms; when he obtained no other answer than the

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