American Revolution; and after the outbreak of the French Revolution as a representative of the nobility in the Constituent Assembly he urged the abolition of the privileges of his order. After the overthrow of the constitutional monarchy of 1791 he joined Mme. de Staël, with whom he was long intimate, at Coppet in Switzerland, and returned to France in 1795, then to become quite as closely attached to Mme. Récamier, whose memoirs give a vivid picture of him. In 1821 Montmorency was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, and as representative of France at the Congress of Verona (1822) urged armed intervention in Spain in behalf of Ferdinand VII. Consult Vetillard, Notice sur la vie de M. le duc de Montmorency (Le Mans, 1826).
MONT′MOREN′CY, Falls of. A picturesque cascade, 150 feet wide and 265 feet high, at the mouth of the Montmorency River, an affluent of the Saint Lawrence, six miles northeast of Quebec, Canada (Map: Quebec, E 4). They supply the power for Quebec's electric plants and are much visited by tourists.
MONTORO, mṓn-tō′rṓ. A town of Southern Spain, in the Province of Cordova. It is situated on a rocky peninsula formed by the south bank of the Guadalquivir, 18 miles east-northeast of Cordova (Map: Spain, C 3). The river is here spanned by one of its best bridges, built in the sixteenth century by popular subscription. In spite of the uneven ground, the streets are well paved, and they are lighted by electricity. Until a few years ago the town was quite without a water supply, but water is now brought through iron pipes from springs five miles distant, and distributed to 12 fountains. One of the largest and best hospitals of Southern Spain is located here. There are many interesting Roman, Gothic, and Moorish remains. The chief industry is the manufacture and exportation of olive oil. Population, in 1900, 11,376.
MONTORSOLI, mṓn-tôr′sṓ-lḗ, Fra Giovanni Angelico (or Angiolo) da (1507-63). A Florentine sculptor and architect. He was born at Montorsoli; worked in Florence, Genoa, Bologna, and Messina; visited Paris; and died in 1563 in Florence, where he was interred in a tomb erected by himself (1561) in the chapter-house of the Annunziata Church. He was for a short time connected with the Order of the Servi, whence the Fra commonly prefixed to his name. His earliest important work was at Genoa (1522-25), where he built or enlarged the Serra and Doria palaces, and remodeled the interior of the Church of San Mateo, to which he added a chapel with a monument to Andrea Doria. Between 1530 and 1534 he assisted Michelangelo on the Medicean Chapel, Florence, for which he carved the statue of Saint Cosmas. In 1547 he went to Messina, where he executed the fountain in front of the cathedral and another near the custom-house, and built several chapels in the cathedral, the Church of San Lorenzo, and the lighthouse.
MONTOUR, mŏn-tōōr′, Esther. An Indian chieftainess, usually known by the name of ‘Queen Esther.’ She is reputed to have been the granddaughter of Count de Frontenac, and became the wife of Eghobund, a chief of the Senecas. Owing to her strength of mind, she gained great influence among her people. She several times visited Philadelphia with the delegates of the Six Nations, and is said to have comported herself on such occasions with dignity and good manners. Despite some good qualities, however, she was at heart a savage, and in the Wyoming massacre of July, 1778, tomahawked more than a dozen helpless prisoners in revenge for the death of her son, who was killed the day before. Consult Cook, General Sullivan's Indian Expedition (Auburn, 1887).
MONTPELIER, mŏntpē′lyẽr. A city, the capital of Vermont, and county-seat of Washington County, 40 miles southeast of Burlington; on the Winooski River, and on the Central Vermont, the Montpelier and Wells River, and the Montpelier and Barre railroads (Map: Vermont, D 4). The handsome Capitol is built of granite, its dome rising to a height of 124 feet and surmounted by a statue of Agriculture. Among other features of the city are the State Library, the Wood Art Gallery, the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Washington County Grammar and Montpelier Union School Library, and the Montpelier Seminary. Montpelier is the home of Admiral George Dewey and of Rear-Admiral Charles E. Clark. The principal industries are granite working and the manufacture of saddlery, hardware, and saw-mill and other machinery. The city controls an important trade with the surrounding region, which is largely agricultural, and is the centre of large insurance interests. Under a revised charter of 1900 the government is vested in a mayor, annually elected, and a unicameral council which confirms the executive's appointments of police, and elects superintendents of streets and water, health officer, overseers of the poor, and minor officers. The city owns and operates the waterworks. Population, in 1890, 4160; in 1900, 6266. A charter to the land about Montpelier was secured in 1781, but no settlement was made until 1787. In 1791 Montpelier was organized as a town, and in 1805 became the capital of the State; it was incorporated as a village in 1855, and in 1894 it was chartered as a city. Consult: Thompson, History of Montpelier, 1781-1860 (Montpelier, 1860); Hemenway, History of the Town of Montpelier (ib., 1882).
MONTPELLIER, môn′pĕl′lyắ′. The capital of the Department of Hérault, France, on the Lez, and an important railroad junction, 480 miles south of Paris, 76 miles northwest of Marseilles, and 7 miles from the Mediterranean (Map: France, K 8). Montpellier has an imposing appearance, seen from a distance; its suburbs are clean and well built, but the older portion of the town has dark and narrow streets. Boulevards have replaced the ancient walls and mediæval fortifications, of which the only remains are the citadel and the twelfth-century Tour de la Babotte. The principal attraction is the Peyrou or public square on high ground commanding splendid views of the Alps, the Cévennes, the Pyrenees, and the Mediterranean, and ornamented with a triumphal arch and equestrian statue, both commemorating Louis XIV. The water-works, water tower, and aqueduct, having a double-arched structure 2893 feet long, are monumental features. The most noteworthy buildings are the cathedral, the theatre, the exchange, the halls of justice, the prefecture, the observatory, and the university buildings. Montpellier has a botanical garden, the oldest in Europe, a public library of
