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398 MEPfflBTOPHELES MERCER 1815 (2 vols., Stuttgart, 1853); Geschichte der letzten 40 Jahre (2 vols., 3d ed., 1865) ; Preus- sen und Oesterreich im Jahre 1866 (1866) ; Ge- schichte des framosischen Krieges ton 1870 (1871); Horn's Unrecht (1871) ; Geschichte der neuesten Jeauitenumtriebe in Deutschland 1870 -'72 (1873); and Kritik des modernen Zeitbe- wusstseins (2d ed., 1874). His library was pur- chased by the German government in 1874 for the university of Strasburg. MEPHISTOPHELES, in old popular legends, the familiar spirit of the magician Faust, the second of the fallen archangels, and the most powerful chief of the infernal legions after Satan. The name is by some derived from the Greek pi), not, 0o>f, light, and ^'Aof, lov- ing. He is chiefly known as the malignant, scoffing fiend of Goethe's " Faust." MEQIIXEZ, or Miknas, a city of Morocco, in the province of Fez, near the Seboo, 36 m. W. S. W. of Fez; pop. about 70,000. It is situ- ated in a valley of a mountainous district, and is surrounded with triple walls. Most of the houses are one story high, but are neat and sub- stantial. The principal buildings are several mosques, a castle founded in 1674 by Sultan Muley Ismail, and a palace which is occasional- ly the residence of the sovereign, adorned with marble columns, fountains, and fine gardens. There are manufactures of painted crockery and leather. In the vicinity are large plantations of olives. There is an extensive trade at Me- quinez in most of the products of the country. MERC AD ANTE, Saverio, an Italian composer, born in Altamura in 1797, died in Naples, Dec. 18, 1870. At the age of 12 he entered the royal college of music at Naples, and studied the violin and flute, but soon devoted himself to the study of dramatic art and to composing for the voice. In 1818 a cantata of his com- position was performed at the theatre Del Fon- do, and for 25 years he wrote opera after opera with great rapidity, many of them meeting with no success. In 1833 he became chapelmaster at the cathedral of Novara. In 1836 his opera / Briganti was brought out at Paris, but failed even with such great singers as Rubini, Tambu- rini, Lablache, and Grisi. In 1840 he became di- rector of the royal conservatory at Naples, but his sight failed him, so that in 1862 he became completely blind, and was obliged to dictate whatever he composed. Of his 40 odd operas II giuramento is now best known. MERCATOR, Gerard, a Flemish geographer, born at Rupelmonde, March 5, 1512, died in Duisburg, Dec. 2, 1594. He learned engraving, and Charles V. employed him on maps. In 1559 he was appointed cosmographer to the duke of Juliers and Cleves. He published de- scriptions and maps of Europe, France, Ger- many, the British isles, and the world. His method of laying down charts and maps, by a projection of the surface of the earth in piano, is still in use. The most important of his works are: Chronologia a Mundi Exordio ad 1568 (Cologne, 1569) ; Tabula Geographic ad Men- tern Ptolemai restitutes (1578) ; De Creatione ac Fabrica Mundi, a treatise prefixed to the uniform edition of his maps (1594) ; and Atlas, sive Geographicce Meditationes de Fabrica Mun- di etfabricati Figura (Duisburg, 1595). MERCED, a central county of California, in- tersected by the San Joaquin river, and wa- tered by the Merced and Mariposa, its tributa- ries; area, 1,975 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 2,807, of whom 186 were Chinese. It is bounded W. by the Coast range. The soil is very fer- tile. It is traversed by the Visalia division of the Central Pacific railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 218,162 bushels of wheat, 14,456 of Indian corn, 142,436 of bar- ley, 13,830 of Irish and 11,330 of sweet pota- toes, 231,072 Ibs. of wool, 232,530 of butter, 229,298 of cheese, and 8,195 tons of hay. There were 2,362 horses, 49,531 cattle, 46,525 sheep, and 9,054 swine. Capital, Snelling. MERCER, the name of counties in eight of the United States. I. A W. county of New Jersey, bordering on Delaware river ; area, 260 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 46,386. The surface is uneven, and somewhat elevated toward the N., and the soil is fertile. It is traversed by the New Jer- sey, the Camden and Amboy, the Belvidere and Delaware, and the Mercer and Somerset rail- roads, and the Delaware and Raritan canal. The chief productions in 1870 were 149,238 bushels of wheat, 545,547 of Indian corn, 428,- 143 of oats, 222,207 of potatoes, 17,516 Ibs. of tobacco, 25,425 of wool, 500,342 of butter, and 28,767 tons of hay. There were 4,464 horses, 6,801 milch cows, 3,529 other cattle, 9,384 sheep, and 6,738 swine; 4 manufactories of agricultural implements, 1 of freight and pas- senger cars, 21 of men's clothing, 4 of ground coffee and spices, 1 of cotton goods, 3 of wool- len goods, 1 of drugs and chemicals, 65 of wagon materials, 3 of India-rubber and elastic goods, 5 of forged and rolled iron, 2 of nails and spikes; 6 of iron castings, 7 of machinery, 1 of lead and zinc, 9 of sash, doors, and blinds, 14 of stone and earthen ware, 1 of wire work, 8 saw mills, and 15 flour mills. Capital, Tren- ton. IL A W. county of Pennsylvania, bor- dering on Ohio, drained by the Shenango and several smaller creeks ; area, 624 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 49,977. The surface is undulating and the soil fertile. Extensive coal mines are found, also iron and limestone. It is traversed by the Atlantic and Great Western railroad, the Erie and Pittsburgh, the Shenango and Allegheny, and the Franklin division of the Lake Shore ; also by the Beaver and Erie canal. The chief productions in 1870 were 341,922 bushels of wheat, 24,850 of rye, 639,743 of Indian corn, 883,965 of oats, 68,625 of buck- wheat, 149,124 of potatoes, 618,422 Ibs. of flax, 246,639 of wool, 1,516,067 of butter, 101,530 of cheese, and 58,422 tons of hay. There were 11,390 horses, 15,570 milch cows, 18,489 oth- er cattle, 68,038 sheep, and 15,414 swine; 38 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 1 of dressed flax, 3 of forged and rolled iron, 2 of