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MONTCLAIR

1256

MONTESQUIEU

render of Quebec.1' See Montcalm and Wolfe by Parkman.

Montclair7, N. J., a picturesque, progressive town in Essex County, five miles northwest of Newark and 14 from New York, many of whose merchants and professional men have their homes here. It is on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western and New York and Greenwood Lake railroads. The state normal school for northern New Jersey is located at Mont-clair Heights, a charming suburb which has an elevation ot 370 feet above tide-water. Montclair has fine churches, schools, libraries, banks and other adjuncts of a growing city. Population 21,550.

Montebello, Duke of. See LANNES, JEAN.

Monte Carlo (mon'td kdr'lo}, a small town in Monaco, known as a great resort of gamblers. The gaming rooms are built on ground owned by the Prince of Monaco, and are owned by a stock-company. The number of visitors often reaches 400,000. See MONACO.

Montefiore (mon't$-fe~d'ra), Moses, a Jewish philanthropist, was born at Leghorn, Italy, Oct. 24, 1784, though London was the home of his parents. He inherited wealth and became a successful stockbroker. He became prominent in all efforts to improve the condition of the Jews, making seven journeys to the east and visiting Poland, Russia, Rumania, Damascus and Jerusalem, to investigate their condition and relieve their oppressions. His last jpurney was made when he was 92 years old. He established colonies of Jews and refuges for the poor in Palestine. His benevolence was not confined to his own race; he gave largely to all charitable institutions, and in 1835 was one of the parties to the contract to pay $75,000,000 to the owners of slaves in the British dominions to compensate them for freeing their slaves. He was knighted in 1837, and in 1864 made a baron, in recognition of his services to the poor. He died at Ramsgate, in England, July 28, 1885, over 100 years old. See Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore.

Montenegro (mon-td-nd'grd), a small, independent state in southern Europe, in the Balkan peninsula, covering 3,630 square miles, less than half the size of New Jersey. Its extreme length is a little over 100 miles, with a width of 80 miles. It has ai low coast region on the Adriatic and then a mountain region, 6,500 to 8,000 feet high, broken up into peaks and crags, ravines and gorges, with rivers running often for miles underground. The mountains are well-wooded and give good pasturage. There is very little of the country that can be cultivated; the farms are small, and the fields are little patches clinging to the mountain-sides. Corn, rye, oats, barley, potatoes and fruits are the products. The people live

in small stone-houses in villages. They are Slavs, belong mainly to the Greek church, and number about 230,000. They are sturdy mountaineers, whose business for many generations has been to fight the Turks. Montenegro formed part of the Servian empire in the i4th century, but secured its independence when Servia was conquered by the Turks. At one time the Montenegrins were governed by bishops, but in 1851 they separated the state from the church, elected a prince and made the throne hereditary in his family. The country is progressing rapidly. Good roads have been built, fields cultivated and a standing army maintained. There is a rich literature of patriotic songs and ballads, and Prince Peter II (1830-51) was one of the greatest poets that has written in the Servian language. The first Slavonic books were printed in Montenegro in the i$th century. The capital is Cettinje* (population 4,300). See Montenegro by Denton and A Winter in Albania by H. C. Brown.

Monterey', a city, the capital of the inland state of Nuevo Leon in northern Mexico. It is a well-built town with tasteful houses, handsome churches, a cathedral, colleges and government buildings. It is one of the most prosperous manufacturing towns of Mexico. It was founded in 1599. In the Mexican War it was besieged and taken by the American forces under General Taylor, Sept. 24, 1846. Population 81,006.

Montesquieu (mon'tes-ke-e'), Charles de Secondat, Baron de, a French writer of eminence, was born near Bordeaux, Jan. 18, 1689. He was also called Charles Louis de la Brede. He was councilor of the parliament of Bordeaux and, afterward, president. His studies at first were in the direction of the natural sciences, but, his eyesight failing, he turned his attention to literary work. His first success followed the publication of the Persian Letters, pretending to have been written by two Persians who visited Paris. They are satires on French customs and society. He spent three years in travel, observing the institutions and habits of foreign countries. In England he remained two years, seeing its best society and studying its philosophy in the writings of Locke and others. His ablest work, Thoughts upon the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and of their Decay, appeared in 1734. Another great work, the product of 20 years of toil, was The Spirit of Laws in 1748. While this book came too late to save France from the Revolution, it guided its bes,t thinkers in the restoration of order and civil government. His eyesight failed entirely before his death, which took -place in Paris, Feb. 10, 1755. Montesquieu's literary style is characterized by vigor, suggestiveness and a remarkable facility for apt illustration.