MOKAN-OLDEN. 788 MORAVIA. voice enabled )ier to siiijr roles so diverse as Elisabeth in TaiiiihauMr and Ortiud in Lohen- grin, while she ajipeared also as Brtinnhilde. Isolde. Fidelio. Xoniia. Donna Anna, and Fides. She visited Xew York City in 1880, and after- wards taught singing in Berlin. HOB A STONES. A group of stones near Vpsala, Sweden, interesting on account of their historical associations. The kings of Sweden on their election anciently swore fidelitv to the laws of the laud near these stones, after which the judges, on behalf of the people, took the oatli of allegiance to the monarch, whose name was then inscribed on one of the stones. In 1770 the renuiining ten stones were protected by an in- closing building. MORAT, nii'ra', A town of about 2400 in- habitants, in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzer- land, on the lake of ilorat, S^-! miles north by west of Fribourg, It is famous for the victory of the Swiss and their allies, 25,000 in number, over Charles the Bold (q.v. ), Duke of Burgundy, with an army of 35,000 men, .June 22, 1470. MORATfN, mo'ra-ten', Le.^xdro FernAiXdez DE (17001828), A Spanish dramatist, born in JIadrid, the son of Xicolas Fernandez dc Moratin, A year spent at Paris had much influence upon the artistic development of the young poet, who was later to make the iloliOresque drama success- ful in Spain. Itcturning to Madrid in 1778, he gained the favor of the powerful Godoy, and was allowed to have his play in verse. El vicjo y la niiia, produced upon the stage at Madrid in 1790. This drama was followed by a more im- portant piece (in prose), the Cafe, also called the Comedia nucva (1792), a sharp satire upon the wretched playwrights of the day. At the ex- pense of the Covcriimcnt. M(n'ati'n went abroad to study the foreign stage. From Paris he passed on to London, and after a year in that metropolis, where he began his translation of Hamlrt (published in 1798), he journeyed through Holland, Flanders, Germany, Switzer- land, and Italy. After his return he was for a while a member of the bureau established to reform the theatre. His third comedy. El barun, originally written as a zarzuela or vaudeville, was performed in 180.3. and the next year wit- nessed the ajipcarance of a third comedy in verse, the Mojigatu (The Female Hypocrite). With the Si dc laa nii'ias. the second of his prose com- edies, he reached the height of his power and fame, Moliftre was the guiding star of Moratfn the Younger in all his dramatic compositions. Yet MoratJn displays originality, for he excel- lently describes the manners of his time and handles dialogue with skill. Though he adhered to the French system of unities, he also adopted certain peculiarities of the native Spanish stage, dividing his plays into three acts. u-Ing the favorite short rominwr verse, and introducing some truly Spanish intrigue into his plots. Taking him for all in all, he was the best dra- matist that Spain had had since the ffiqlo dc Oro. Tn 1812 Morattn brought out a successful trans- lation of Moli^re's Ecnlc dm niarin. At Barce- lona, in 1814. there was a representation of his version of MoliJTe's Mi'drrin mnltiri' liti. He was at Bayonne and Bordeaix after 1821. and at Bordeaux he finished his historical account of the Spanish stage, Origrnm del icntro espniiol. lie died in Paris in 1S2S. His works may be read in volume ii. of the Bihliotcca dc autorcs csijanoles. Consult Ford's edition of the Si de las nii'ias (Boston, 1899). MORATIN, NicoL.s Fernandez de (1737- 80). A Spanish playwright, called the Elder, born in Madrid. He was a teacher as well as a man of letters, and had a chair of poetry in the Imperial College. The chief significance of the work of the elder Moratin lies in the fact that he contributed to the success of the principles of literary art imported from France. Spanish literature had greatly degenerated when this reform movement to which Moratin belonged undertook to improve matters by following the rigid rules of French classicism. MoratJn illus- trated these rules in a comedy, Peliinctru (printed in 17()2), and a tragedy, Liicrccia, neither of which appeared upon the stage. His drama Hermt.sind<i and his tragedy (luzmiin el bucno were performed with some success. Of his other productions there may be mentioned the Diana, a sliort poem on the chase; the narrative, or epic poem as he called it. Lax n^ivcs de Cortes, celebrating the burning of his ships by the Con- quistador; and his well-known rpiintillas on a bull-fight. Consult his works in volume ii. of the Biblioteca dr diitores cspanoles : and the j5oem on the bull-fiirlit in J. D. M. Ford, A Spanish Anthologi/ (New York, 1901). MO'RATO'RITJM (Xeo-Lat., neu. sg. of Lat. moratoriiis, relating to delay, from mora, delay I . .
extraordinary act of a government, by which
the collection of all debts is suspended for a spe- cified time. A recent instance is the moratorium decreed by Argentina in 1890 at the time of the great financial crisis which led to the suspension of the Barings of London. Sueli an act may cause inlernational complications. MORAVA, nio'rftvil. The largest river of Scrvia. It is formed by the union at Stolac. Servia, of the southern and the western Morava, the former rising in the Turkish Vilayet of Kossovo. and the latter on the southwest boun- dary of Servia (Map: Tiirkey in Europe, C 2), The united stream enters the Danube 30 miles east of Belgrade, The -Morava is about 240 miles long, and is navigable for small boats 50 )niles from its mouth. MORA'VIA (tier. ..l/Vi/ircH). -V margrnviate and <r<iwnland of .Austria-Hungary, bounded by Prussian Silesia, .ustrian Silesia, Hungary, Lower Austria, and Bohemia (Map: Austria, E 2). Area, 8578 scpiarc miles. It is traversed along the northern boundary by the Sudetic Mountains, along the eastern boundary by the Carpathians and the White Mountains, and along the western boundary by the Bohemian- Moravian highlands, which descend in terraces toward the valley of the March. ^loravia be- longs to the basin of the Danube, and is watered by its tributary, the Jlarch, which flows throiigh tiie centre of the country from north to soith. The climate is generally mild. The mean annual temperature is 48° at Briinn. The mineral <le- posils include iron, lignite, coal, graphite, sul- phur, lead, and copper. .Ml these are exploited to some extent, the output in 1900 having been vahied at .$3,242,027. There are a number of sulphur and saline springs. .Agriculture is the principal industry, Moravia
