Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/166

MASK. 140 MASKINONGE. tlircmgli llic iiiiuRs and pantomimes of the Ro- mans ami the early Italian com media dclVaite (•comedy of masks'), has been chietly confined to that class of entertainments in which the very names o.f the characters, like Pantaloon and Harlequin (q.v.), have been derived from Italy. The use of masks at costume-balls also orifiinated in Italy, when the domino, or half- mask, worn l>y ladies, liecamc esiiccially p(i])nlar. The name licath-masks is given to masks, usu- ally of ])laster, made after death. In the prepara- tion of these masks the face of the dead body is usuallv covered with oil. and i)laster of Paris is then a|)plicd. After the plaster lias liardened it is removed, being prevented by the oil from adliering too closely to the skin. Into the mold thus formcil fresh plaster is poured, and the re- sulting cast is the death-mask. Such masks are of the utmost value as exact resemblances of the faces from which they are taken, allliough the change of contour caused by death necessarily impairs to some e.tent their value: Similar masks are occasionally made from living men. Here, however, the mobile e.xpression is f re- quentlv of necessity sacrificed, so that it is in gcnera'l true that the more expressive the living face, the fainter is the likeness, while a set and determined face gives, as a rule, a clear and accurate mask. Tlu' use of death-masks is both ancient and widespread. The Romans made them of wax, while among the Egyptians ar.d in the ruins of Hissarllk masks of thin gold plate have been found, and among the American Indians occasional sj)eeimens have been discov- ered. Among certain groups of savages, masks play an important rSle in their ceremonials. They are sometimes constructed to imitate living forms, as of animals, but more often to portray mvtlinlogical characters. As a consequence the in'iagination of the maker is allowed a certain frceibim, and tlie result is seen in the grotesque productions which are familiar from the ethno- logical collections of our nniseums. They are most conunonly employed in shamanistic rites and in dances" of a religious and more or less secret character. Their use is perhaps most pri)mincnt in North .^nu'rica, particularly among llic Iribes on the North I'acific Coast, and in the islands of the South Seas, notably in the Me- lanesian group. Consult: Altmann, Die Masken rlr.i Schau.ii>iiltis (3d ed.. Herlin. ISnil) : Sand, Mnsi/ucs ct bonffons (Paris, 18G0) ; Ficoroni, /)<• lAirrix Hccnici» et Fifiuris Comicis (Rome, 17:)4) ; id., Lc niaschcrc scrnirhe c Ic fifjiire comiclic d'antichi Romaiii (Rome. 1730) ; Benn- dorf, Antihr dcsirlitshclmc mid Stiiiilvnilm<isl:ni (Vienna, Li^VS) ; Dall, MukKs. l.iihnls. mid Ccr- lain Aborifiinal Ciixtonix (Washington, IS.S,')) ; Frobenius, Die Ma.ikrii uiul llcheimbiindc Afrilcas (Halle, ISnS) : Hutton, I'orlrails in I'lasler (New York. 1804). MASK. In architecture iind dcccnalion. the face of a human being or animal, convention- alized in character: sometimes calleil a maxrarnn (Krench). The Greeks and Romans copied the tragic and comic masks of tlieir actors in sculp- ture and painting for decorative jiurposcs. and similar designs, but willi ixag'_'<'rated grotcsque- ness, were popular with the laic licnaissanee ar- tists, especially of the Pnroque i>criod. for the key.stones of doorways and other prominent posi- tions. See Gargoyle; Antefix. MASK. A kind of dramatic entertainment. See il.vsijiE. MASKAT, mu-skiit'. A town of Arabia. See Ml .SC.N.T. MASKED PIG. An extraordinary breed of domestic swine, cultivated in .Japan. It is black, has a short head, broad forehead and nuizzle, great ears, and deeply furrowed skin; and thick folds of skin, which "are harder than the other parts, resembling the plates on the Indian rhi- noceros, hang about the shoulders an<l rum)i. MAS'KEGON (Swamp People). A wander- ing AI.L;i.ii(|uian people, an offshoot of the Ojibua, scattered over the immen.se swamp region of British .merica, stretching from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson liay, including the basins of the Nel- son and Severn rivers. In former times they lived entirely by liunting and fishing, to which those upon reservations now add lumbering and a little farming. As they are ollicially classed with the Cree and tJjibwa, no reliable estimate of tlieir population can be given, but they may numlicr from 1.500 to 2000. MAS'KELL, William (c.I814-nn). An Eng lish theologian, born at Bath. From University College, Oxford, he graduated B... in 183(1. and the next year took holy orders. In lS4'i be be- came rector of Corscombe in Dorsetshire, where he began his researches in Church history. |)ar- ticularly in the .Vnglican ritual. He produced at this period the Ancient Liliirgn of the Church of England (1844) ; IJistory of the Martin Mar- prelate Controversy (1845); and Moniimenta Ritiialia Ecctcxiw Ani/lieanw (1S4G). These works jdaced him among the most able exponents of High Church doctrines. Resigning Corscombe, he became Vicar of Saint Jlary Church near Torquav, and domestic cliaiilaiu to the Bishop of Exeter' ( 1847). His earlier investigations were now followed by Uoli; Baptism (1848) : .1» En- qiiirii into the Doctrine of the Church of Entjland npoii Atisolntion (1849) ; and v volume of doc- trinal sermons. He took an active ))art in the Gorham controversy (q.v.) ; and when Gorham Mon his case in the Privy Council, Haskell went over to the Church of Rome ( 18.i0 ) . To t he Priv.v Coinu'il he had addressed two mcTUorable letters on the Present Position of the Hii/h Church Party (18o0). Maskcll never took orders in the Church of Rome. His later life was |)assed in the west of England, where he restimed his learned researches, publishing, among several works, Protestant Pitiialisis (1872) and Irorics Ancient and Media nil (187.5). He died at Pen- zance. April 12, 1800. MASKELYNE, m;-is'kr-lln, Xevil (1732- ISIli. An i'.nglish astronomer, born in London. He was e(lucal<'d at Westminster and at Cam- bridge; carried out niuuerous investigations char- acterized by extreme accuracy of work, and be- came in 17ti;5 roval astrononuT and clircclor of the obscrv;ilory at Greenwich. He fouinlid The Xaalieal Almanac in 1707. and published The Hrilish Mariner's Guide (17(13): A si ninomical 0/),vcnvi/i'..,i.s- (I7(i.5): and other works. MASKINONGE, or MUSKELLUNGE (Al- gonkin. great piekeicl. from mas. great -f Ici- 7ionae. Chii.i)eway dialect l-enozhn. Uinoje. pick- erel, from A-ciio.sr," long) . The great pike (Lucius niasiiuinonqy. or Esor iwbilior) of the lakes of tlw Northern I'liited States and Western Canada,