1771; "La Prerogative de l'Eglise," 1788; and "Les Droits de la Conscience," 1791.—J. T.
MASCHERONI, Lorenzo, an eminent Italian mathematician, was born at Bergamo in 1750, and died in Paris on the 30th of July, 1800. Up to the age of twenty-seven, he cultivated literature and theology with much distinction; but from that time forth he devoted himself to the study of mathematics. One of his works is a mathematical curiosity of the highest order; it is called "Geometria del Compasso" (the geometry of the compasses), and contains a system of geometry in which all the theorems are proved and problems solved by means of circles alone, without the aid of straight lines.—W. J. M. R.
MASCLEF, François, was born at Amiens in 1662, and applied himself at an early age to the study of the oriental languages, in which he gradually attained extraordinary erudition. Educated for the church, he was at first a curate in his native diocese, and obtaining the confidence of his bishop, De Brou, was appointed head of the theological seminary of the district, and was also made a canon. His opinions, however, having a tendency towards jansenism, he lost his appointment, when De Brou, who died in 1706, was succeeded by Sabbatier. He then devoted himself with increased zeal to his favourite studies, and his intense application hastened his death, which took place in 1728. His chief work, the "Grammatica Hebraica," was published in 1716, and a second edition of it appeared three years after his death. It is still considered to be the best Hebrew grammar without the vowel points. His other writings were of a theological character.—W. J. P.
MASERES, Francis, a distinguished English mathematician and lawyer, was born in London on the 15th of December, 1731, and died at Reigate in May, 1824. He was the grandson of an officer of the French guard, who being a protestant, had fled to Holland on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, and entered the service of the prince of Orange, afterwards William III. Francis Maseres studied science and literature with high distinction at Clare Hall, in the university of Cambridge; he then applied himself to the study of law, and was called to the bar. About 1763 he was appointed attorney-general of Lower Canada, which office he held till 1770. He returned to England by way of Boston and New York, and having made himself acquainted with the nature and causes of the discontent which prevailed there against the British government, he published a work called "The Canadian Freeholder," in which he strongly urged the necessity of adopting moderate and conciliatory measures towards the American colonists. In 1773 he was appointed cursitor baron of the exchequer, and in 1779 recorder of the city of London, which office he held for forty-two years. He wrote various economical and political treatises, in which he advocated schemes for constitutional reform, and for the improvement of the condition of the working-classes. His most important mathematical work was a dissertation "On the Negative Sign in Algebra," in which he very justly found fault with the paradoxical manner in which most of the mathematicians before his time had explained the meaning of that sign; but committed the error of rejecting many of the true results at which they had arrived by the use of that sign, notwithstanding such defective explanations. The work nevertheless had a good effect, by compelling subsequent mathematical writers to interpret negative and imaginary symbols in a clear and logical manner. He edited and published new editions of many valuable works: of these the most important is entitled "Scriptores Logarithmici," being a collection of the writings of authors on the subject of logarithms.—W. J. M. R.
MASERS DE LATUDE. See Latude.
MASHAM, Mrs. Abigail, was the daughter of Mr. Hill, a Turkey merchant, residing in the city of London. Her mother was sister to Richard Jennings, the father of Sarah, duchess of Marlborough. By unfortunate speculations Mr. Hill lost his fortune, and left his widow and children in distress. Abigail was compelled to seek a livelihood in service, and became waiting woman to Lady Rivers of Chaffers, Kent. Her mother had recourse to the powerful assistance of her relative, Lady Churchill, who took charge of one of her boys, and rendered other needful succours to the family. A vacancy occurring in the household of Princess Anne, Abigail Hill was, at the instigation of her protectress, appointed bed-chamber woman to the princess. The great Sarah had not the faintest suspicion that her meek and modest poor relation could ever be anything but a humble and trustworthy dependent on herself. When Anne became queen, Harley, who was intriguing for the overthrow of Marlborough, and was in some way related to Mr. Hill, made use of Abigail to gain access to the queen. Finding she was in love with a page named Masham, who did not care for her, the politician employed a courtier to whisper hopes of fortune in the young man's ear. The queen was made confidant in the love affair, to the exclusion of the duchess of Marlborough, who felt that she had been supplanted in the queen's favour, when she learnt in 1707 that Abigail had been secretly married to Masham in Dr. Arbuthnot's apartments. Mrs. Masham's further history, her intrigues with Harley for the fall of Marlborough and the whigs, her quarrel with Harley, and intrigues with Bolingbroke are to be found in the annals of Queen Anne's reign. Her influence was on the decline in the last years of the queen, who demurred to making Masham a peer, on the ground that Abigail suited her better as a servant than she would as a great lady. The peerage, however, was granted in 1711. On the death of the queen, Lord and Lady Masham withdrew from court. Lady Masham died 6th December, 1734. Her character has been variously described. Swift speaks of her as possessing many sterling qualities, rarely found at court. Lord Dartmouth says she was mean, vulgar, and ill-tempered.—R. H.
MASHAM or MARSAM, Damaris, the friend of Newton and of Locke, the second wife of Sir Francis Masham of Oates, was the daughter of Dr. Ralph Cudworth, and was born at Cambridge in 1658. Her knowledge was varied and extensive, and she published one religious work on the love of God, and another on a Christian life. Died in 1708.—D. W. R.
MASINISSA, King of the Massylians in Numidia, born about 239 b.c., held a command in the Carthaginian army in Spain under Hasdrubal, the son of Cisco, whose daughter Sophonisba had been promised to him in marriage. During his absence his betrothed was given by the Carthaginians to Syphax, king of a neighbouring Numidian tribe, whose alliance against Rome could only be secured on that condition. This act alienated Masinissa from their cause; and after a series of ineffectual efforts to wrest the Massylian sceptre from his cousin Lacumaces, who was supported by Syphax, he repaid the Romans for the release of his nephew, Missiva, by joining the standard of Scipio, 203 b.c. The efficient services which he rendered to that general in the course of the war, and particularly at the battle of Zama, were rewarded with the restoration of his hereditary dominions; and the addition of the kingdom of Syphax made him sole sovereign of Numidia. He continued a firm ally of the Romans, and had taken the field to assist them in the third Punic war, when he died, 150 b.c., leaving three sons, Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastanabal.—W. B.
MASIUS or MAES, Andrew, a learned orientalist, born at Linnich, near Brussels, in 1526, who possessed the celebrated Syriac MS., now lost, which contained the version given by Origen of a great part of Deuteronomy and Joshua, and of other historical books of the Old Testament. His erudition was extensive. Died in 1573.—D. W. R.
MASKELYNE, Nevil, D.D., Astronomer-royal of England, was born in London on the 6th October, 1732. He received his education at Westminster and Trinity college, Cambridge, where he took the degree of B A. in 1754. His attention was turned to astronomy by the great total eclipse of 1748. He took orders in 1755, but it does not appear that he ever held any living in the church. Having made the acquaintance of Dr. Bradley he devoted himself to the study of astronomy, and assisted that eminent observer in computing his Tables of Refraction. In the year 1761 an opportunity presented itself for showing his astronomical acquirements. The approaching transit of Venus on the 6th November, excited a deep interest throughout Europe, and the British government sent Dr. Maskelyne to St. Helena to observe it, with the view of determining the parallax of the sun, but cloudy weather interfered with his observations. In 1764 he was sent by the admiralty to Barbadoes to ascertain the comparative merits of the sea chronometers, which competed for the prize offered by the government, and upon his report the prize of £20,000 was given to Mr. Harrison. In these two voyages Maskelyne acquired such information respecting the defects in our system of nautical education, and the want of proper tables for assisting the sailor in finding his longitude, that he was led to propose the publication of the Nautical Almanack—a work which he superintended from 1767, the first year of its publication, till the time of his death. In 1765 he was appointed to
