A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature Part 31

M'COSH, JAMES (1811-1894).--Philosophical writer, _s._ of an Ayrs.h.i.+re farmer, was a minister first of the Church of Scotland, and afterwards of the Free Church. From 1851-68 he was Prof. of Logic at Queen's Coll., Belfast, and thereafter Pres. of Princeton Coll., New Jersey. He wrote several works on philosophy, including _Method of the Divine Government_ (1850), _Intuitions of the Mind inductively investigated_ (1860), _Laws of Discursive Thought_ (1870), _Scottish Philosophy_ (1874), and _Psychology_ (1886).

M'CRIE, THOMAS (1772-1835).--Biographer and ecclesiastical historian, _b._ at Duns, and _ed._ at the Univ. of Edin., became the leading minister of one of the Dissenting churches of Scotland. His _Life of Knox_ (1813) ranks high among biographies for the ability and learning which it displays, and was the means of vindicating the great Reformer from a cloud of prejudice and misunderstanding in which he had been enveloped. It was followed by a _Life of Andrew Melville_ (1819), Knox's successor as the leader of the Reformers in Scotland, also a work of great merit. M'C. also _pub._ histories of the Reformation in Italy and Spain. He received the degree of D.D. in 1813.

MACDONALD, GEORGE (1824-1905).--Poet and novelist, _s._ of a farmer, was _b._ at Huntly, Aberdeens.h.i.+re, and _ed._ at the Univ. of Aberdeen, and at the Independent Coll., Highbury. He became minister of a congregation at Arundel, but after a few years retired, on account partly of theological considerations, partly of a threatened, breakdown of health. He then took to literature, and _pub._ his first book, _Within and Without_ (1856), a dramatic poem, _Poems_ followed in 1857, and _Phantasies, a Faerie Romance_, in 1858. He then turned to fiction, and produced numerous novels, of which _David Elginbrod_ (1862), _Alec Forbes_ (1865), _Robert Falconer_ (1868), _The Marquis of Lossie_ (1877), and _Sir Gibbie_ (1879), are perhaps the best. He also wrote stories for children of great charm and originality, including _The Princess and the Goblin_, _At the Back of the North Wind_, and _Ra.n.a.ld Bannerman's Boyhood_. As a novelist he had considerable narrative and dramatic power, humour, tenderness, a genial view of life and character, tinged with mysticism, and within his limits was a true poet. On retiring from the ministry he attached himself to the Church of England, but frequently preached as a layman, never accepting any remuneration for his sermons.

MACKAY, CHARLES (1814-1889).--Poet and journalist, _s._ of a naval officer, was _b._ at Perth, and _ed._ at the Royal Caledonian Asylum, London, and at Brussels, but much of his early life was spent in France.

Coming to London in 1834, he engaged in journalism, _pub._ _Songs and Poems_ (1834), wrote a _History of London_, _Popular Delusions_, and a romance, _Longbeard_. His fame, however, chiefly rests upon his songs, some of which, including _Cheer, Boys, Cheer_, were in 1846 set to music by Henry Russell, and had an astonis.h.i.+ng popularity. In 1852 he became ed. of the _Ill.u.s.trated London News_, in the musical supplement to which other songs by him were set to old English music by Sir H.R. Bishop. M.

acted as _Times_ correspondent during the American Civil War, and in that capacity discovered and disclosed the Fenian conspiracy. He had the degree of LL.D. from Glasgow in 1846.

MACKENZIE, SIR GEORGE (1636-1691).--Lawyer and miscellaneous writer, _s._ of Sir Simon M., of Lochslin, a brother of the Earl of Seaforth, was _ed._ at St. Andrews, Aberdeen, and Bourges, called to the Bar in 1659, in 1677 became Lord Advocate, in which capacity he was the subservient minister of the persecuting policy of Charles II. in Scotland, and the inhumanity and relentlessness of his persecution of the Covenanters gained for him the name of "b.l.o.o.d.y Mackenzie." In private life, however, he was a cultivated and learned gentleman with literary tendencies, and is remembered as the author of various graceful essays, of which the best known is _A Moral Essay preferring Solitude to Public Employment_ (1665).

He also wrote legal, political, and antiquarian works of value, including _Inst.i.tutions of the Law of Scotland_ (1684), _Antiquity of the Royal Line of Scotland_ (1686), _Heraldry_, and _Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland from the Restoration of Charles II._, a valuable work which was not _pub._ until 1821. M. was the founder of the Advocates' Library in Edin. He retired at the Revolution to Oxf., where he _d._

MACKENZIE, HENRY (1745-1831).--Novelist and miscellaneous writer, _s._ of a physician in Edin., where he was _b._ and _ed._ He studied for the law, and became Controller of Taxes for Scotland. He was the author of three novels, _The Man of Feeling_ (1771), _The Man of the World_ (1773), and _Julia de Roubigne_ (1777), all written in a strain of rather high-wrought sentimentalism, in which the influence of Sterne is to be seen. He was also a leading contributor to _The Mirror_ and _The Lounger_, two periodicals somewhat in the style of the _Spectator_. In his later days he was one of the leading members of the literary society of Edinburgh.

MACKINTOSH, SIR JAMES (1765-1832).--Philosopher and historian, was _b._ at Aldowrie, Inverness-s.h.i.+re, _s._ of an officer in the army and landowner, _ed._ at Aberdeen, whence he proceeded to Edinburgh to study medicine, in which he _grad._ in 1787. In the following year he went to London, where he wrote for the press and studied law, and in 1791 he _pub._ _Vindiciae Gallicae_ in answer to Burke's _Reflections on the French Revolution_, which was well received by those who, in its earlier stages, sympathised with the Revolution, and procured for him the friends.h.i.+p of Fox, Sheridan, and other Whigs. Called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1795, he delivered before that society in 1799 a brilliant course of lectures on _The Law of Nature and Nations_, which greatly increased his reputation. In 1804 he went out to India as Recorder of Bombay, and two years later was appointed a Judge of the Admiralty Court. He remained in India until 1811, discharging his official duties with great efficiency.

After his return he entered Parliament in 1813 as member for Nairns.h.i.+re, and attained a considerable reputation as a forcible and informing speaker on questions of criminal law and general politics. On the accession of the Whigs in 1830 he was made a member of the Board of Control for India. He also held from 1818-24 the Professors.h.i.+p of Law and General Politics at Haileybury. His true vocation, however, was to literature, and it is to be regretted that so much of his time and strength was withdrawn from it, his writings being confined to a _Dissertation on the Progress of Ethical Philosophy_ in the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, a sketch of the History of England for Lardner's _Cabinet Cyclopaedia_, a Life of Sir Thomas More for the same, a fragment of a projected _History of the Revolution of 1688_, and some articles in the _Edinburgh Review_.

MACKLIN, CHARLES (1697?-1797).--Actor and dramatist, _b._ in the north of Ireland, was one of the most distinguished actors of his day, s.h.i.+ning equally in tragedy and comedy. Having killed another actor in a quarrel he was tried for murder, but acquitted, and _d._ a centenarian. He wrote, among other comedies, _Love a la Mode_ (1759) and _The Man of the World_ (1781), which were the only ones printed. He was the creator of Sir Pertinax Macsycophant, a famous burlesque character.

M'LENNAN, JOHN FERGUSON (1827-1881).--Sociologist, _b._ at Inverness, and _ed._ at Aberdeen and Camb., was in 1857 called to the Scottish Bar, and was subsequently Parliamentary Draftsman for Scotland. His main contribution to literature is his original and learned book, _Primitive Marriage_ (1865). Another work, _The Patriarchal Theory_, left unfinished, was completed by his brother (1884). These works and other papers by M. gave a great impulse to the study of the problems with which they deal, and cognate questions. M. received the degree of LL.D. from Aberdeen in 1874.

"MACLEOD, FIONA," (_see_ SHARP, WILLIAM).

MACLEOD, NORMAN (1812-1872).--Scottish divine and miscellaneous writer, _s._ of the Rev. Norman M., D.D., a distinguished minister of the Scottish Church, studied at Edin., and was ordained in 1838. He became one of the most distinguished ministers, and most popular preachers of his Church, was made one of the Royal Chaplains in Scotland in 1857, and became a trusted friend of Queen Victoria. He was the first ed. of _Good Words_, to which he contributed many articles and stories, including _Wee Davie_, _The Starling_, and _The Old Lieutenant and his Son_.

MACNEILL, HECTOR (1746-1818).--Poet, was in the West Indies 1780-86, and clerk on a flags.h.i.+p. He wrote various political pamphlets, two novels, and several poems, _The Harp_ (1789), _The Ca.r.s.e of Forth_, and _Scotland's Skaith_, the last against drunkenness, but is best known for his songs, such as _My Boy Tammy_, _I lo'ed ne'er a Laddie but ane_, and _Come under my Plaidie_.

MACPHERSON, JAMES (1736?-1796).--Alleged translator of the Ossianic poems, _s._ of a small farmer at Ruthven, Inverness-s.h.i.+re, studied for the Church at Aberdeen and Edin., became teacher of the school in his native parish, and afterwards tutor in a gentleman's family. In 1758 he _pub._ _The Highlander_, an ambitious poem in 6 cantos, which, however, attracted no attention. But in the following year he submitted to John Home (_q.v._), the author of _Douglas_, certain writings which he represented to be translations from ancient Gaelic poems. By the help of Home and some of his friends M. was enabled to _pub._ a considerable number of his _Fragments of Poetry translated from the Gaelic and Erse Languages_. These were received with profound and widely-spread interest, and gave rise to a controversy which can hardly yet be said to be settled. While some authorities received them with enthusiastic admiration, others immediately called their genuineness in question. In the first instance, however, a subscription was raised to enable M. to make a journey in search of further poetic remains, the result of which was the production in 1761 of _Fingal_, an epic in 6 books, and in 1763 of _Temora_, also an epic, in 8 books. The fame which these brought to their discoverer was great, and the sales enormous. In 1764 M. went as sec. to the Governor of Pensacola in Florida. Returning in 1766 he settled in London, became an energetic pamphleteer in support of the Government, and in 1780 entered Parliament, and was next year appointed to the lucrative post of Agent for the Nabob of Arcot. He retired in 1789, and bought an estate in his native parish, where he _d._ in 1796.

Great doubt still rests upon the subject of the Ossianic poems: it is, however, generally admitted that M. took great liberties with the originals, even if they ever really existed in anything at all resembling the form given in the alleged translations. No ma.n.u.scripts in the original have ever been forthcoming. Few, however, will deny that M.

either discovered, or composed, a body of poetry unlike anything that has preceded it, of unequal merit, indeed, but containing many striking and beautiful pa.s.sages, and which unquestionably contributed to break up the tyranny of the cla.s.sical school and thus prepare the way for the romantic revival.

MAGINN, WILLIAM (1793-1842).--Journalist and miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Cork, became a contributor to _Blackwood's Magazine_, and afterwards foreign correspondent to _The Representative_, a paper started by J.

Murray, the publisher, and when its short career was run, one of the leading supporters of _Fraser's Magazine_. One of the most brilliant periodical writers of his time, he has left no permanent work behind him.

In his later years he fell into intemperate habits, and _d._ in poverty.

MAHONY, FRANCIS SYLVESTER (FATHER PROUT) (1804-1866).--Humorist, _b._ at Cork, and _ed._ at the Jesuit Coll. at Clongoweswood, Co. Kildare, at Amiens, and at Rome, becoming a member of the society, was Prof. of Rhetoric at Clongoweswood, but was soon after expelled from the order. He then came to London, and became a leading contributor to _Fraser's Magazine_, under the signature of "Father Prout." He was witty and learned in many languages. One form which his humour took was the professed discovery of the originals in Latin, Greek, or mediaeval French of popular modern poems and songs. Many of these _jeux d'esprit_ were _coll._ as _Reliques of Father Prout_. He wittily described himself as "an Irish potato seasoned with Attic salt." Latterly he acted as foreign correspondent to various newspapers, and _d._ at Paris reconciled to the Church.

MAINE, SIR HENRY JAMES SUMNER (1822-1888).--Jurist, _ed._ at Christ's Hospital and at Camb., where he became Regius Prof. of Civil Law 1847-54.

Called to the Bar in 1850, he went in 1862 to India as legal member of the Government. On his return he was in 1870 appointed Prof. of Comparative Jurisprudence at Oxf., which office he held until his election in 1878 as Master of Trinity Hall. He became Whewell Prof. of International Law at Camb. in 1887, and was the author of many valuable works on law and the history of political inst.i.tutions, and profoundly influenced the study of jurisprudence. Among his writings are _Ancient Law_ (1861), _Village Communities_ (1871), _Early History of Inst.i.tutions_ (1875), and _Dissertations on Early Law and Customs_ (1883).

MAIR, or MAJOR, JOHN (1469?-1550).--Historian, studied at Camb. and Paris, was the teacher of John Knox and George Buchanan. In 1506 he was a Doctor of the Sorbonne, and in 1519 became Prof. of Divinity at St.

Andrews. He wrote, in Latin, treatises on divinity and morals, and a _History of Greater Britain_, in which the separate histories of England and Scotland were brought together, _pub._ at Paris (1521). In his writings, while upholding the doctrinal teaching of Rome, he was outspoken in condemning the corruptions of the clergy.

MAITLAND, SIR RICHARD (1496-1586).--Poet, _f._ of M. of Lethington, Sec.

of State to Mary Queen of Scots. In his later years he was blind, and occupied himself in composing a _History of the House of Seaton_, and by writing poems, _e.g._ _On the New Year_, _On the Queene's Maryage_, etc.

He held various offices, chiefly legal, but appears to have kept as far as possible out of the fierce political struggles of his time, and to have been a genially satirical humorist.

MALCOLM, SIR JOHN (1769-1833).--Indian soldier, statesman, and historian, _b._ at Burnfoot, Dumfriess.h.i.+re, went to India in 1782, studied Persian, was employed in many important negotiations and held various distinguished posts, being Amba.s.sador to Persia and Governor of Bombay 1826-30. He was the author of several valuable works regarded as authorities, viz., _A History of Persia_ (1815), _Memoir of Central India_ (1823), _Political History of India from 1784 to 1823_ (1826), and _Life of Lord Clive_ (1836).

MALLET, originally MALLOCH, DAVID (1705-1765).--Poet and miscellaneous writer, _ed._ at Crieff parish school and the Univ. of Edin., where he became acquainted with James Thomson, and in 1723 went to London as tutor in the family of the Duke of Montrose. In the following year appeared his ballad of _William and Margaret_, by which he is chiefly remembered, and which made him known to Pope, Young, and others. In 1726 he changed his name to Mallet to make it more p.r.o.nounceable by Southern tongues. His _Excursion_, an imitation of Thomson, was _pub._ in 1728. At the request of the Prince of Wales, whose sec. he had become, he wrote with Thomson a masque, _Alfred_ (1740), in which _Rule Britannia_ first appeared, which, although he claimed the authors.h.i.+p, is now generally attributed to Thomson. He also wrote a _Life of Bacon_; and on Bolingbroke bequeathing to him his ma.n.u.scripts and library, he _pub._ an ed. of his works (1754).

On the accession of George III., M. became a zealous supporter of Lord Bute, and was rewarded with a sinecure. In addition to the works above named M. wrote some indifferent dramas, including _Eurydice_, _Mustapha_, and _Elvira_. Dr. Johnson said of him that he was "the only Scotsman whom Scotsmen did not commend."

MALONE, EDMUND (1741-1812).--Critic, _s._ of an Irish judge, _b._ in Dublin, and _ed._ at Trinity Coll. there, studied for the law, but coming into a fortune, decided to follow a literary career. Acute, careful, and sensible, he was a useful contributor to the study of Shakespeare, of whose works he _pub._ a valuable ed. in 1790. He also aided in the detection of the Rowley forgeries of Chatterton, and the much less respectable Shakespeare ones of Ireland. At his death he was engaged upon another ed. of Shakespeare, which was brought out under the editors.h.i.+p of James Boswell (_q.v._). M. also wrote Lives of Dryden and others, and was the friend of Johnson, Goldsmith, Reynolds, and Burke.

MALORY, SIR THOMAS (_fl._ 1470).--Translator of _Morte d'Arthur_. Very little is known of him. An endeavour has been made to identify him with a Sir Thomas Malory of Warwicks.h.i.+re, who fought successively on both sides in the Wars of the Roses, sat in Parliament 1444-45, and _d._ 1471. In his book he strove to make a continuous story of the Arthurian legends, and showed judgment alike in what he included and omitted.

MALTHUS, THOMAS ROBERT (1766-1834).--Economist, _s._ of a landed proprietor, was _b._ near Dorking, and _ed._. at Jesus Coll., Camb., of which he became a Fellow. Taking orders he became inc.u.mbent of Albury, Ess.e.x. He travelled much on the continent, collecting information as to the means of livelihood and mode of life of various peoples. In 1798 the first ed. of his famous _Essay on Population_ appeared, and in 1803 a second greatly enlarged. Its leading proposition, supported by much learning, is that while population increases approximately in a geometrical ratio, the means of subsistence do so in an arithmetical ratio only, which, of course, opened up an appalling prospect for the race. It necessarily failed to take into account the then undreamed-of developments whereby the produce of the whole world has been made available for all nations. The work gave rise to a great deal of controversy, much of it based on misunderstanding. M. was Prof. of Political Economy at Haileybury.

MANDEVILLE, BERNARD DE (1670-1733).--Satirist, a native of Dort in Holland, who having studied medicine at Leyden, came over to England to practise his profession. In 1705 he _pub._ a short poem, _The Grumbling Hive_, which in 1714 reappeared with a prose commentary, and various dissertations on the origin of moral virtue, etc., as _The Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices Public Benefits_, and in 1729 was made the subject of a persecution for its immoral tendency. It was also vigorously combated by, among others, Bishop Berkeley and William Law, author of _The Serious Call_. While the author probably had no intention of subverting morality, his views of human nature were a.s.suredly cynical and degrading in a high degree. Another of his works, _A Search into the Nature of Society_ (1723), appended to the later versions of the _Fable_, also startled the public mind, which his last works, _Free Thoughts on Religion_ and _An Enquiry into the Origin of Honour and the Usefulness of Christianity_ did little to rea.s.sure.

MANDEVILLE, SIR JOHN.--Was the ostensible author only of a book of travels bearing his name, written about the middle of the 14th century, giving an account of journeys in the East, including India and the Holy Land. It appears to have been compiled from the writings of William of Boldensele, Oderic of Pordenone, and Vincent de Beauvais. The name of Mandeville was probably fict.i.tious.

MANGAN, JAMES CLARENCE (1803-1849).--Poet, _b._ at Dublin, _s._ of a small grocer, was brought up in poverty, and received most of his education from a priest who instructed him in several modern languages.

He then became a lawyer's clerk, and was later an a.s.sistant in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. He contributed verses of very various merit to a number of Irish newspapers, and translations from the German to _The Dublin University Magazine_. By some critics his poetical powers were considered to be such as to have gained for him the first place among Irish poets; but his irregular and intemperate habits prevented him from attaining any sure excellence. His best work, generally inspired by the miseries of his country, often rises to a high level of tragic power, and had his strength of character been equal to his poetic gift it is difficult to say to what heights he might have attained. He _d._ of cholera.

MANLEY, MRS. MARY DE LA RIVIERE (1663 or 1672-1724).--Novelist, dramatist, and political writer, _dau._ of Sir Roger Manley, was decoyed into a bigamous connection with her cousin, John M. Her subsequent career was one of highly dubious morality, but considerable literary success.

Her princ.i.p.al works are _The New Atalantis_ (_sic_) (1709), a satire in which great liberties were taken with Whig notabilities, _Memoirs of Europe_ (1710), and _Court Intrigues_ (1711). She also wrote three plays, _The Royal Mischief_, _The Lost Lover_, and _Lucius_, and conducted the _Examiner_. In her writings she makes great havoc with cla.s.sical names and even with spelling. She was a vivacious and effective political writer.

MANNING, ANNE (1807-1879).--Miscellaneous writer. Her best known works are _Mistress Mary Powell_, which first appeared in _Sharpe's Magazine_ in 1849, and _The Household of Sir Thomas More_, a delightful picture of More's home life told in the form of a diary written by his daughter Margaret. Her writings have much literary charm, and show a delicate historical imagination.