Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/329

Rh during his lifetime, and published " The Rest of the Nations" (Portland, 1826); "Our Chronicle of '26: a Satirical Poem" (Boston, 1827); "The Martyr's Triumph " and " Buried Valley" (1888) ; "The Passions" (1886); and a "Poem at Amherst Col- lege," delivered 27 Aug., 1839 (Amherst, 1839).

MELLO, Antonio Joaquim de (mel'-lo), Brazilian R. C. bishop, b. in Itu, 29 Sept., 1791 ; d. there, 16 Feb., 1861. He entered the army in early life, but in 1810 resigned and studied theology, being ordained priest in 1814, and acquired soon afterward a reputation as a popular preacher. In 1820 he sided with the Liberal party, and in 1822 he assisted in gaining the independence of Brazil, being an intimate friend of Father Feijo, whom he assisted in the government from 1882 till 1836. From 1840 till 1851 he devoted liimself to developing in the country an interest in the improvement of primary instruction. In 1852 he was appointed by Pedro II. bishop of Sao Paulo, and, although he declined, on account of his advanced age, the emperor insisted, and he accepted. During his administration the seminary of the diocese and the College of the Irmas de Sao Jose were founded.

MELLO, Francisco Manoel, Portuguese author, b. in Lisbon, 23 Nov., 1611; d. there, 13 Oct., 1665. He served as a soldier in the Netherlands, and became brigadier-general in 1635. Returning to Spain in the same year he served till 1640, when he entered the service of the Duke of Braganca. Having killed one of his adjutants in a fit of passion he was imprisoned till 1652, when he was liberated on condition that he should emigrate to Brazil. He remained ten years in the latter country, over which he travelled extensively, and devoted his time to literary studies. Mello wrote over one hundred volumes both in Spanish and Portuguese. His works include &ldquo;Relação dos successes da Armada que a companhia geral do commercio expeden ão Estado do Brazil a anno de 1549&rdquo; (Lisbon, 1650); &ldquo;Historia dos movimientos en el Brazil el anno 1650&rdquo; (1651); &ldquo;Ephemerides de varia historia Portugueza, em cinco relãçóes dos successos pertencentes a este reino&rdquo; (1660-'6). Mello was also a poet, and composed tragedies and comedies, some of which are deposited in manuscript in the Royal library of Lisbon.

MELSHEIMER, Frederick Valentine, clergyman, b. in Regenborn, Brunswick, Germany, 29 Sept., 1749; d. in Hanover, Pa., 4 July, 1814. He was educated at Helmstaedt, came to this country as chaplain of German troops, landing at Quebec on 1 June, 1776. In May, 1779, he accepted a call as pastor of five Lutheran congregations in Dauphin county, Pa., and served them until 1784 as a licensed preacher. He removed to Manheim, Lancaster county, in 1784, was ordained to the ministry by the Lutheran ministerium of Pennsylvania in 1785, and was pastor at New Holland in 1786-'89. In 1787 he became an instructor in Franklin college, Lancaster, and he was pastor at Hanover, York county, in 1790-1814. He was the earliest local investigating entomologist in this country, and his services in this deparment are frequently referred to by Thomas Say and other scientists. He published &ldquo;Wahrheit der christlichen Religion, mit Beantwortung deistischer Einwürfe&rdquo;; &ldquo;Gespraeche zwischen einem Protestanten und römischen Priester&rdquo; (Hanover, 1797); and &ldquo;Catalogue of the Insects of Pennsylvania&rdquo; (1806).

MELVIL-BLONCOURT, Sainte Suzanne (mel-vil-blon-koor), West Indian reformer, b. in Pointe-à-Pître, Guadeloupe, 23 Oct., 1825. He is the son of wealthy mulattoes, and received his early education in Basse-Terre, but finished it in

Paris, where he was graduated in law in 1846. He then devoted himself to the anti-slavery cause, wrote several pamphlets on abolition, organized a club of which the members pledged themselves to do justice to the negroes, and won to their cause several statesmen, including Victor Schoelcher. In 1848 Schoelcher was made under-secretary for the colonies, and, being reminded of his promises by Melvil, caused a decree to be issued freeing all the slaves in the French dominions. The liberated negroes showed their gratitude by electing Melvil their deputy to the constituent assembly in 1848. In 1849, and during the whole of Napoleon III.'s reign, Melvil devoted his time to literary purposes, wrote on the colonies in most of the French magazines, and published biographies of many colored citizens of South America. In 1871 he was again elected deputy of Guadeloupe, but was condemned for participation in the commune, and took refuge in Switzerland till 1880, when he was allowed to return to his own country. He is preparing a complete edition of his sketches of the West Indies.

MELVILLE, George Wallace, engineer, b. in New York city, 10 Jan., 1841. He was educated in his native city, and entered the U. S. navy in July, 1861, as third assistant engineer, with rank of midshipman, and has passed through all the in- termediate grades to that of chief engineer, with the rank of lieutenant- commander, which heattained in 1881. He was engineer of the "Jeannette," which sailed from San Francisco, 8 July. 1879, under the command of  with the object of discovering an opening to the supposed polar sea by a northeast passage near Wrangel land. After the sinking of the "Jean- nette," 13 June, 1881, Engineer Melville accom- panied De Long over the ice to Bennett island, and after the party divided, Lieut. John W. Dan- enhower being disabled, commanded one of the " Jeannette's " boats on the subsequent perilous passage to one of the eastern mouths of the Lena delta, which was reached on 17 Sept., 1881. He now searched for Lieut. De Long and his party, and discovered some of the huts where De Long had stayed, and obtained from the natives certain of his records. In the following spring Melville explored the delta thoroughly for traces of the missing party, and about the end of March the remains of De Long and his eleven companions were found. Melville subsequently returned to the United States, and was appointed chief of the bureau of steam-engineers, with the rank of com- modore, 8 Aug., 1887, and engineer-in-chief of the U. S. navv. He is the author of " In the Lena Delta" (Boston, 1885).

MELVILLE, Herman, author, b. in New York city, 1 Aug., 1819; d. in New York, 28 Sept., 1891. His grandfather was a member of the Boston tea-party, served in the Revolution, and is supposed to have been the last American that adhered through life to the cocked hat. His maternal grandfather was Peter Gansevoort {q. v.). His fa-