Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/396

384 MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY MENDEZ PINTO the Birmingham festival, the first performance taking place there Aug. 26, 1846. Mendels- sohn had been engaged for nine years upon this composition, and had resigned the post of inspector of music in Berlin in order to super- intend its performance in England ; and short- ly before his death he was again in London to attend the sacred harmonic society's concert at Exeter Hall. He had resumed his place at Leipsic since 1845 ; and shortly after his return there from his visit to England in 1847, his health was impaired by grief at the sudden death of his beloved sister Fanny Hensel. A tour to Switzerland for the recovery of his strength brought only temporary relief ; a re- lapse took place soon after his return to Leip- sic, and he died in the prime of his manhood from an affection of the brain. Many of his posthumous compositions have been published, including a fragment of an oratorio entitled "Christus," some scenes of "Loreley," a ro- mantic opera, the trumpet overture, the 8th book of his " Songs without Words," and the " Reformation " symphony. Among the most famous of his many published works are his music for Goethe's "Walpurgis Night," the "Antigone" and " (Edipus" of Sophocles, and Racine's Athalie, organ compositions, his sym- phonies, and a great number of admirable sona- tas, concertos, trios, &c. In his " Songs with- out Words" for the pianoforte, Mendelssohn opened a new vein of beauty, and produced an indispensable work for pianists by throwing aside language and replacing it with musical sentiment, at the same time keeping in view the scope and character of the instrument, and inventing charming traits of accompaniment. Mendelssohn's appreciation of dramatic effect, so remarkably displayed in his music to the " Midsummer Night's Dream," led his friends to expect from him important contributions to the lyrical drama; but his admiration for Bach and Handel and the difficulty that his fastidious taste found in obtaining a satisfac- tory libretto led him to devote himself to oth- er branches of musical composition. In his oratorios he had the tact to write dramatically, and with freedom from too constant a use of fugue and from antiquated formalisms. Men- delssohn was as much beloved for the beauty of his character as for his genius. His life was comparatively free from struggles and cares, and from his earliest childhood he was per- mitted to indulge his tastes without hindrance. He devoted himself exclusively to his profes- sion, with severe study and a serene and dis- passionate mind. His life has been written by W. A. Lampadius (Leipsic, 1848; English translation, New York, 1865). See also " Rec- ollections of F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy," by Edward Devrient (English translation, London, 1869); Goethe und Mendelssohn, by Karl Men- delssohn (English translation, London, 1872) ; and Mendeksohn-Bartholdi/, Brief e und Erin- nerungen, by Ferdinand Ililler (Cologne, 1874; English translation, London, 1874). MEYDES, a city of ancient Egypt, situated in the delta, near the point where the Mendesian arm of the Nile flows into the lake of Tanis. It was a considerable place under the Pha- raohs, was one of the homes assigned to that division of the native army called by Herodotus Oalasiries, and was celebrated for the manufac- ture of a perfume known as the Mendesium unguentum. It was in ruins in the first cen- tury B. C. ; its remains are seen in the mounds of Ashmoun on the canal leading to Menzaleh. It was the seat of the worship of a deity rep- resented under the form of a goat, whom the Greek writers on Egypt call Pan, but who was probably Khem, one of the great gods of Egypt, and the symbol of the generative principle. MENDEZ PINTO, Frrnam. a Portuguese adven- turer, born near Coimbra about 1510, died near Lisbon, July 8, 1583. At an early age he went to the East Indies, and in 1537 embarked as a volunteer against the Turks in the Indian ocean and Red sea. After various adventures he was captured by the Turks near the strait of Bab- el-Mandeb, carried to Mocha, sold as a slave, and ransomed by the Portuguese governor of Ormuz, who furnished him with the means of returning to India. He was afterward em- ployed in several expeditions, was again en- slaved and ransomed, and was involved in ship- wrecks and conflicts with pirates. In May, 1542, he and some other Portuguese were per- suaded by a Chinese pirate to undertake an expedition to the island of Calempui, not far from Peking, where, as. they were led to be- lieve, were the tombs of 17 Chinese kings, con- taining vast treasures. Their attempt to plun- der these tombs was only partially successful, and they fled terrified at the alarm raised by the guardians of the treasures. Shortly after- ward they were again shipwrecked on the Chi- nese coast. Pinto with a few others got on shore ; but they were apprehended as thieves and set to work in repairing the great wall. In a few months they were delivered by an in- road of Tartars, who carried them to assist in the siege of Peking, and then took them to Tartary. After a short residence in that coun- try Pinto went in the train of an ambassador to Cochin-China, and from there made his way to Macao. Here he enlisted in the service of a Chinese pirate, whose vessel was driven by a gale to the coast of Japan, which had not then been visited by Europeans. Pinto was well received by the Japanese, and after a con- siderable stay in their country he sailed back to Ningpo (then called Liampo) with the Chi- nese pirate. His report of the discovery of Japan and its great wealth and magnificence created such an excitement among the Portu- guese at Ningpo, that in 15 days nine hastily equipped ships were despatched for the new Eldorado. Eight of them foundered, and the one in which Pinto sailed was -driven to the Loo Choo islands, then first seen by Europeans, and wrecked there. After many fresh adven- tures Pinto found his way back to China. He