[Metternich, Clement, Prince von], Austrian diplomatist, born at Coblenz; served as ambassador successively at the courts of Dresden, Berlin, and Paris, and became first Minister of State in 1809, exercising for 40 years from that date the supreme control of affairs in Austria; one of his first acts as such was to effectuate a marriage between Napoleon and the Archduchess Maria Theresa, himself escorting her to Paris; he presided at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and from that date dominated in foreign affairs in the interest of the rights of kings and the repression of popular insurrection; he had to flee from Vienna in 1848, but returned in 1851, after which, though not called back to office, he continued to influence affairs by his advice (1773-1859).
[Metz] (60), strongest fortress in Lorraine, on the Moselle, 105 m. SW. of Coblenz, captured in 1870 from the French, who had held it since 1552; has a cathedral, library, museum, and school of music; industries are unimportant; the trade is in liquor, leather, and preserved fruits.
[Meung, Jean de], mediæval French satirist; continued the unfinished "Roman de la Rose," in which he embodied a vivid satiric portraiture of contemporary life (1250-1305 ?).
[Meuse], river, 500 m. long, rises in Haute-Marne, France, and becoming navigable flows N. through Belgium, turns E. at Namur, where the Sambre enters from the left, N. again at Liège, where it receives the Ourthe from the right; enters Holland at Maastricht, is for a time the boundary, finally trends westward, and joins the Rhine at the delta.
[Mexico] (12,050), a federal republic of 27 States, a district, and two territories, lying S. of the United States, between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, and including the peninsulas of Lower California in the W. and Yucatan in the E.; is nearly half as large as Europe without Russia; it consists of an immense plateau 3000 to 8000 ft. high, from which rises the Sierra Nevada, 10,000 ft., running N. and S., and other parallel ranges, as also single peaks. Toluca (19,340 ft.), Orizaba (18,000), and Popocatapetl (17,000); the largest lake is Chapala, in the centre; the rivers are mostly rapid and unnavigable; the chief seaports are Vera Cruz (29) and Tampico (5) on the E. and Acapulco on the W., but the coast-line is little indented and affords no good harbours; along the eastern seaboard runs a strip of low-lying unhealthy country, 60 m. broad; on the Pacific side the coast land is sometimes broader; these coast-lines are well watered, with tropical vegetation, tropical and sub-tropical fruits; the higher ground has a varied climate; in the N. are great cattle ranches; all over the country the mineral wealth is enormous, gold, silver, copper, iron, sulphur, zinc, quicksilver, and platinum are wrought; coal also exists; the bulk of Mexican exports is of precious metals and ores; there are cotton, paper, glass, and pottery manufactures; trade is chiefly with the United States and Britain; imports being textile fabrics, hardware, machinery, and coal; one-fifth of the population is white, the rest Indian and half-caste; education is backward, though there are free schools in every town; the religion is Roman Catholic, the language Spanish; conquered by Cortez in 1519, the country was ruled by Spain and spoiled for 300 years; a rebellion established its independence in 1821, but the first 50 years saw perpetual civil strife, and wars with the United States in 1848 and France in 1862; since 1867, however, when the constitution was modelled on that of the United States, there has been peace and progress, Ponfirio Diaz, President since 1876, having proved a masterly ruler. Mexico (327), the capital of the republic, 7000 ft. above the level of the sea, in the centre of the country, is a handsome though unhealthy city, with many fine buildings, a cathedral, a picture-gallery, schools of law, mining, and engineering, a conservatory of music, and an academy of art; there are few manufactures; the trade is chiefly transit.
[Mexico, Gulf Of], a large basin between United States and Mexican territory; is shut in by the peninsulas of Florida and Yucatan, 500 m. apart, and the western extremity of Cuba, which lies between them; it receives the Mississippi, Rio Grande, and many other rivers; the coasts are low, with many lagoons; ports like New Orleans, Havana, and Vera Cruz make it a highway for ships; north-easterly hurricanes blow in March and October.
[Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand], Swiss poet and novelist, native of Zurich; has written "Der Heilige" and many other novels; b. 1825.
[Meyerbeer], illustrious musical composer, born at Berlin, of Jewish birth; composer of operatic music, and for over 30 years supreme in French opera; produced "Robert le Diable" in 1831, the "Huguenots" in 1833, "Le Prophète" in 1844, "L'Étoile du Nord" in 1854, the "Dinorah" in 1859 (1791-1864).
[Mezzofanti, Giuseppe], cardinal and linguist, born at Bologna; celebrated for the number of languages he knew, some 58 in all; lived chiefly in Rome, and was keeper of the Vatican library; Byron called him "a walking polyglot" (1771-1848).
[Mezzotint], a mode of engraving on steel or copper in imitation of Indian ink drawings, the lights and shades of the picture being produced by scraping on a black ground.