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MARQUETTE

1176

MARSEILLES

men they left Mackinaw in two canoes on May 17, and reached the Mississippi on June 17, by way of Green Bay, Fox River and a short portage to the Wisconsin. Near the mouth of the Ohio they found Europeans and were told by the Indians that it was not more than ten days' journey to the sea. They then went as far as an Indian village, probably near the mouth of the Arkansas, and now felt sure that they were not more than two or three days' journey from the mouth. They also were certain that the river emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, not> as had been thought, in Virginia or California. Not wishing to be captured by the Spaniards, they pointed their canoes upstream. They reached Mackinaw by way of the Illinois in September, having covered a distance of 2,500 miles. On the way back Pere Marquette had promised the Kaskaskia Indians to come and preach to them, and after a year's sickness he set out for their country in October, 1674. Sickness forced him, however, to winter on the Chicago, and he did not reach the Indian village till the spring of 1675. He had hardly begun his mission when he became certain he could not live much longer, and set out to go back. He only got as far as the little river flowing into Lake Michigan, which bears his name, where he died. The story of his voyage and missionary journeys is told in Shea's Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley.

Marquette, a town in Marquette County, Michigan, is situated 420 miles north of Chicago on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Iron-ore is mined and shipped in great quantities, besides being used in its furnaces and foundries. It also has sawmills, machine-shops and a slate-quarry. It is the seat of a Catholic bishopric. Population 11,503.

Marryat (mar'rt-at), Frederick, English novelist and captain in the navy, was born in Westminster on July 10, 1792. In 1806 he went to sea as midshipman under the famous Captain (Lord) Cochrane. He saw active and dangerous service off France and Spain and on the Mediterranean, and rose to be a commander when but 23. He gave up the command of the 28-gun frigate, ^Ariadne, in 1830, and the remainder of his life was spent as a writer. In 1837 Marryat made a tour of the United States and stayed two years. As a writer of sea-stories he has no superior. Aside from Dickens, no English novelist has awakened heartier and more honest laughter. His books became immensely popular as soon as they appeared, and will always be the delight of boyhood. Mr. Midshipman Easy, Jacob Faithful, Frank Mildmay, Peter Simple and The Phantom Ship are perhaps the best. Marryat died from overwork at Langham, Norfolk, Aug. 9 1848. See Life and Letters by Florence Marryat, his daughter,

Mars, the war-god of the Romans, is identified with Ares, the war-god of the Greeks. He was regarded as the father of the Romans, through Romulus, and was worshipped by them with great honor. To the Romans he was a god of nature and fertility, as well as of the vigor of war. Thus March (Lat. Martius), the beginning of spring, is given his name. But the Greeks thought of Mars as a sender of war and pestilence, a quarrelsome, unlovely god. He was not widely worshipped in Greece; although the Areopagus, the sacred hill of Athens, was named from Ares. The Romans had a spear and shield as emblems of Mars, said to have fallen from heaven; and the woodpecker and the wolf also were symbols held characteristic of the god.

Mars. See PLANETS.

Marseillaise (mar'sa'yaz'} La, the stirring song or hymn of the French republicans, was written in 1792 by Rouget de Lisle, a young officer then stationed at Strassburg. He composed both words and music one night in April, after dining with the mayor of the city. He called it a Song of the Army of the Rhine. It was quickly carried by the revolutionists to the chief cities. It was brought to Paris by the volunteers of Marseilles, who sang it as they entered the city and when they marched on the Tuileries. So the Parisians called it La Marseillaise. Forbidden to be sung during the restoration and the second empire, it again became the national hymn on the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War.

Marseilles (mdr-sdlzf), the second city of France, is situated on the Mediterranean about 27 miles east of the mouth of the Rhdne. It is the chief trade-port of France. The chief industry is the making of soap, vegetable-oils and oil-cake. Soda, sugar, macaroni, iron, lead, zinc, ties and leather are also manufactured. There are large flour-mills and wine-vaults, and much fishing is done. The city is mainly built on the slopes overlooking the harbor. Its chief buildings are the cathedral, two interesting early churches, the health-office of the port, the museum, the Longchamp palace and the public library. There also are a botanical and zoological garden, an observatory and many special schools. Marseilles was the birthplace of Thiers. It is one of the oldest towns of France, and was founded by Phoceans (Greek colonists) from Asia Minor about 600 B. C. For 900

?ears it was a center of Greek civilization, t sided with the Romans against Carthage, its rival, and with Pompey against Caesar, who stormed it in 49 B. C. It was held in turn by the Saracens, Charles of Anjou and Alphonso V of Aragon, and came into the hands of Henry III of France in 1575. Its trade has grown rapidly since the French conquest of Algiers and the opening of Suez Canal. Population