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280 MATSUMAE the Norse (4to, 1781), and in 1783 produced an " Essay on the Evidence relating to the Poems attributed to Thomas Rowley." In 1794 he published the first part of an anonymous poem, of which three other parts subsequently ap- peared, entitled " The Pursuits of Literature," remarkable for severe criticisms on literary men and opinions. It was followed by a variety of minor satirical pieces, after which he pub- lished an edition of the works of Thomas Gray, with his life and additions (2 vols. 4to, Cam- bridge, 1814). The latter part of his life was passed at Naples, where he published much in the Italian language and on Italian literature. MAWMAE, or Maternal, a city of Japan, in Yezo at the mouth of a small river on the S. coast, lat. 41 30' N., Ion. 140 3' E., about 42 m. 8. W. of Hakodate ; pop. estimated at 50,000. It was the seat of the daimio Matsu- daira Idzu no Kami, and contains a castle, such as is usually found in a daimio's capital. It carries on a thriving trade with Hakodate, and with Awomori on the main island, across the strait of Tsugaru. Next to Hakodate it is the largest town in Yezo. Matsumae derives its importance in the eyes of foreigners from the fact that here the Russian captain Golovnin was imprisoned from 1811 to 1813. The ques- tion of opening Matsumae as a port of foreign commerce was discussed by Commodore Perry with the Japanese in 1854, but without suc- cess. The name Matsumae was applied by some of the earlier navigators both to the isl- and of Yezo and to the strait of Tsugaru. MATSYS, Metsys, or Messys, Qnintin, a Flemish painter, born in Louvain about 1460, or ac- cording to some authorities in Antwerp in 1450, died in Antwerp about 1530. He was brought up as a blacksmith, in which trade he continued until about his 20th year, when, according to the popular story, he became enamored of a painter's daughter, and to win her hand forsook the anvil for the easel. He painted in the hard style of the early Flemish masters, colored highly, and was distinguished for minuteness of finish and force of expres- sion, particularly in religious subjects; although elsewhere he exhibits a cheerful conception of life, and occasionally considerable humor. His chief work is the great altarpiece in the mu- seum at Antwerp, consisting of a centre and two wings; in the former is represented the " Descent from the Cross," of which Sir Joshua Reynolds says: "There are heads in this pic- ture not exceeded by Raphael;" the latter are devoted to incidents in the history of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. The artist received but 300 florins for this work ; but Philip II. subsequently endeavored in vain to purchase it, and Elizabeth of England is said to have offered 64,000 florins for it. One of his best authenticated works is that in Windsor castle known as "The Misers," of which sev- eral repetitions are in existence. The heads are painted in a masterly manner. About 70 pictures are ascribed to him, and these are MATTERHORN widely distributed throughout the chief gal- leries of Europe, and are highly prized. MATTER, Jacques, a French philosopher and historian, born at Alt-Eckendorf, Alsace, May 31, 1791, died in Strasburg, June 23, 1 864. He was intended for the legal profession, and after studying under private tutors and at the gym- nasium of Strasburg and the university of G6t- tingen, he went to Paris, where he attended the lectures of the faculty of letters, and wrote his Essai historique sur Vecole d 1 Alexandrie, which received a prize from the academy in 1816, and was published in 1820. By favor of Royer-Collard and Guizot he received in 1819 a professorship in the college of Strasburg, which he exchanged two years afterward for the direction of the gymnasium and the pro- fessorship of ecclesiastical history in the Prot- estant academy of the same city. He pub- lished Histoire critique du gnosticisme (2 vols., Paris, 1828), and Histoire universelle de Vfiglise chretienne (3 vols., 1829-'32). In 1828 he was appointed inspector of the academy of Stras- burg, and in 1831 corresponding member of the academy of inscriptions. His treatise De V influence des mceurs sur les lois et des lois sur les mceurs (Paris, 1832) received from the acad- emy an extraordinary prize of 10,000 francs. In 1832 he was appointed by Guizot general inspector of the university of Paris ; in 1845 he became inspector general of public libra- ries, and subsequently he devoted himself to lit- erary labors at Strasburg. Among his other works are: Histoire des doctrines morales et politiques des trois derniers siecles (3 vols., 1836-'7) ; De Vaffaiblissement des idees et des etudes morales (1841) ; Schelling et la philo- sophie de la nature (1842) ; De Vetat moral, politique et litteraire de VAllemagne (2 vols., 1847) ; Histoire de la philosophic dans ses rapports avec la religion (1854); Philosophic de la religion (2 vols., 1857); La morale, ou la philosophic des mceurs (1860); Saint-Mar- tin, le philosophe inconnu (1862) ; and Em- manuel de Swedenborg (1863). MATTERHORN (Fr. Mont Cervin; Ital. Monte Silvio), a mountain of the Pennine Alps, be- tween the canton of Valais, Switzerland, and the Val d'Aosta, Italy, 14,835 ft. high. It is one of the grandest peaks in the world. In the view from the Riff el its precipices rise 4,000 ft. to a summit which appears like the wall and steep roof of a house. From Breuil, in the Val Tournanche, the whole Italian face is a series of terraced walls. From the north and south the mountain appears like a tower, and from the east and west it has the form of an obelisk. At the height of 11,096 ft. is the pass of Mont Cervin, traversed in summer by mules and horses, and exhibiting the remains of rude fortifications, supposed to have been erected two or three centuries ago as a de- fence against incursions from the Valais. Up to 1865 the Matterhorn was the last of the great Alpine peaks that remained unsealed. The first attempts to ascend it were made by