Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/293

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MATTERHORN MATTHEW 281 guides from the direction of Breuil in 1858 and 1859, and the highest point attained was the "Chimney," about 12,650 ft. In July, 1860, three Englishmen, Alfred, Charles, and Sandbach Parker, of Liverpool, without guides, ascended 12,000 ft. In August Prof. John Tyndall and Vaughan Hawkins accomplished 12,992 ft. In July 1861, the Messrs. Parker made another effort, and reached a few feet beyond the point attained by them the previous year. In August Edward Whymper ascended to the " Chimney." In July, 1862, Tyndall as- cended 13,970 ft. In 1863 and 1864 Whymper made unsuccessful attempts to reach the sum- mit. On July 14, 1865, Mr. Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, the Rev. Charles Hudson, The Matterhorn, from the Eiffel. Mr. Hadow, and four guides started from Zer- matt, and on the day following accomplished the ascent. In descending the Matterhorn the rope connecting the party broke, and Michel Croz, one of the guides, Lord F. Douglas, and Messrs. Hudson and Hadow were plunged down a precipice 4,000 ft. The body of Douglas was never found; the others were buried at Zer- matt. Three days later (July 17) a successful ascent was made from Breuil by Jean Antoine Carrel and others. The next ascent was made in August, 1867, by Craufurd Grove. In July, 1868, Mr. Elliott with two guides reached the summit from the north side ; and in the same summer Prof. Tyndall was the first to ef- fect the passage of the mountain across the crest from Breuil to Zermatt. The crest of the Matterhorn is a line of snow, 580 ft. long, and 6 ft. higher toward the east than toward the west. On the eastern face a hut has been built at a height of 12,526 ft., and since 1868 numerous ascents have been made. MATTEIieCI, Carlo, an Italian savant, born in Forli, June 21, 1811, died in Leghorn in June, 1868. He studied at Bologna and in Paris, returned to Forli in 1831, and there began his scientific experiments. He removed to Florence in 1834, and in 1837 became professor of phy- sics and director of the laboratory at Ravenna, and in 1840 professor of physics at Pisa. For his experiments in electro-physiology he took a prize at the French academy of sciences in 1844, and also the Copley medal of the royal society of London. He constructed the first line of telegraph in Tuscany, in 1846, and was made superintendent of the telegraph service. He became a senator in 1848, a member of the council in 1859, and after the establishment of the kingdom of Italy a member of the national senate and inspector general of telegraphs, and in March, 1862, minister of public instruction. His principal works are on the phenomena of electro-physiology (1840), physics, electricity applied to the arts, and the physico-chemical phenomena of living bodies. MATTHEW, Saint, one of the twelve apostles, and author of the first Gospel. The New Tes- tament tells us little of his personal history. He was a son of Alpheus, and a receiver of customs at the lake of Tiberias. Jesus, while passing one day, said to him: "Follow me;" and Matthew at once obeyed. Most exegetical writers assume that the publican Levi, whose call to the discipleship is recorded by Mark and Luke, is the same person as Matthew ; but among the opponents of this view are Ori- gen, Grotius, Michaelis, and Ewald. After the ascension of Christ, Matthew was at Jeru- salem, with the other apostles. Then history loses sight of him. Tradition relates that he .preached the gospel for 15 years in Jerusalem, 'and then turned to other nations. Among these are mentioned the Ethiopians, Macedo- nians, Syrians, Persians, Parthians, and Medes. He is said to have been burned alive in Arabia Felix ; and according to Baronius, his body was brought to Palermo in 954. The Roman Cath- olic church keeps his festival on Sept. 21, the Greek on Nov. 16. The Gospel of Matthew, according to the unanimous tradition of the ancient church, was composed in Hebrew, or rather the Syro-Chaldaic idiom spoken at that time in Palestine. Following Erasmus, many eminent Protestant theologians, as Calvin, Be- za, Lightfoot, Credner, De Wette, Ewald, Har- less, Bleek, Schenkel, Keim, and Volkmar, and among Roman Catholics Hug, have contested the correctness of this tradition, and advocated the originality of the Greek text ; but the op- posite theory has also found defenders, prom- inent among whom are Meyer and Lange. A considerable number of distinguished theo-