Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/276

 264 MASSINISSA MASTER AND SERVANT ody of stylo. " The Duke of Milan " i9 one of the best of his tragedies; "The Picture," "A Very Woman," "A City Madam," and " A New Way to Pay Old Debts," are among his best tragi-comedies. The last alone retains a place on the stage, for which it is indebted to its effective delineation of the character of Sir Giles Overreach. The best edition of his works is that by W. Gifford (4 vols., London, 1805 ; new eds., 1813 and 1850). His plays, with those of Ford, and with an introduction by Hartley Coleridge, were published in 1848. MASSINISSA. See MASINISSA. MASSON, Daiid, a Scottish author, born in Aberdeen, Dec. 2, 1822. He was educated at Marischal college, Aberdeen, and at the uni- versity of Edinburgh, and at 19 became editor of a Scottish provincial newspaper. Two years later he went to London, and became a contributor to the magazines, subsequently spent several years in Edinburgh in a similar capacity, and about 1847 established himself again in London. In 1852 he was appointed professor of the English language and literature in University college, London, and in 1865 of rhetoric and English literature in the univer- sity of Edinburgh. He has published " Essays, Biographical and Critical, chiefly on English Poets" (1856); "Life of John Milton" (2 vols., 1859-71); "British Novelists and their Styles " (1859) ; " Recent British Philosophy, including Remarks on Mr. Mill's Answer to Sir William Hamilton" (1865); "Essays on Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats " (1874) ; and "Chatterton" (1874). From 1859 to 1868 he was editor of " Macmillan's Magazine." MASSOWAH, or Massonah, a seaport town be- longing to Egypt, on an island in the Red sea, in the bay of Massowah, 250 m. N. E. of Gon- dar, and 420 m. N. W. of Aden; lat. 15 36' N., Ion. 39 21' E. ; pop. about 6,000. The island is a barren rock about m. long, and from 300 to 400 yards broad. The harbor is deep, shel- tered, and safe, and can accommodate about 50 vessels. The inhabitants have no water, save what they can collect in tanks. In 1859 the French acquired the port of Zula, about 25 m. S. of Massowah. Owing to the increasing commerce with Abyssinia and Darfoor, Masso- wah has of late become of great importance. Since 1865 it has been the seat of an Egyptian governor, subordinate to the governor general of Soudan. In 1874 this office was held by the Swiss traveller Werner Munzinger. MASTER AND SERVANT. The word servant (Lat. ervu) is a generic term embracing all persons bound or obliged to render service to others, and therefore including slaves; but where slavery does not exist, a servant is un- derstood to be one who by contract has bound himself to render service to another, who in respect to the subject matter of the contract is his master. The law of England distinguishes domestic from other servants, and presumes a hiring when no time is specified to be for a year; but in the United States this distinc- may be verbal or in writing ; if it be for more than a year, it must be in writing, or it will be valid only so far as the parties have acted un- der it. When the time of service is fixed, nei- ther party has a right to terminate the contract except for cause ; and what would be sufficient excuse is sometimes a question of difficulty. The master, if it is part of the contract that the servant shall reside with him, is bound to provide suitably for his wants, though not to furnish him medical attendance or medicine in case of sickness ; and ill treatment or blows inflicted upon him are a breach of the implied terms of the contract. On the other hand, the servant must obey all proper directions of the master in respect to the service, must attend faithfully to his duties, and be guilty of no grossly immoral or indecent behavior. The penalty if the servant shall leave the service without sufficient cause, or if the master shall wrongfully discharge him, is the payment of such damages as the other party can show he has sustained ; and it is generally held that, as such a contract is an entirety, either party violating it can have no remedy against the other, but on the contrary will be liable to the other for a failure to perform it on his part for the whole period. But where no time is limited by the contract of service, either party may terminate it at his option, except perhaps that where the compensation is to be made by the week, month, or year, a strong if not con- clusive inference might arise that the hiring at the outset was for one of these terms, and for another if the service continued after one had expired, and so on. An apprentice is a ser- vant, but subject to some peculiar rules. (See APPRENTICE.) Stewards, factors, and bailiffs are also considered as servants pro tempore; and for some purposes any one who assists an- other in his business, though only as a matter of kindness or favor, is by the law placed in the same category. The most important of these purposes is the protection of third persons who may be injured by the wrongful or negligent act of the person thus in the service of another. The rules of liability in these cases may be thus stated. Where a wrongful act is done by a servant by direction of the master, or in his presence so that his consent may fairly be im- plied, or as the natural or probable result of directions given by the master, or in the exer- cise of a discretion which the master has given, the master is answerable in damages to the person injured. So if the servant in the course of his employment conducts himself so negli- gently, or manages the business with such want of skill or prudence, as to cause an injury to another, the master must respond therefor. These rules, however, do not make the master liable for anything done or omitted by the ser- vant when not acting in his service, or under his express or implied command ; but if the servant steps aside from his duty to commit an intentional wrong, he alone is liable there-
 * tion is not recognized. The contract of hiring