Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/390

 378 MEMBRE MEMMI between muscles and points of bone over which they glide. They are all shut sacs, ex- cept where the Fallopian tubes in most verte- brates open into the abdominal cavity. Se- rous and synovial membranes by their polished and well lubricated surfaces secure the free movement of contiguous organs, as in the in- testines, lungs, and joints ; in health their fluid is only sufficient for this purpose, but in a state of inflammation the amount is largely in- creased, as in the dropsical effusions of perito- nitis, pleurisy, pericarditis, hydrocephalus, and synovitis ; their sensibility in the normal state is nothing, but in diseased conditions may be- come acute, as in pleurisy and peritonitis. Bichat gives the name of fibrous membranes to the aponeuroses of muscles, the capsules of the joints, the sheaths of the tendons, the pe- riosteum, the dura mater of the brain, the sclerotic coat of the eye, &c. ; these are never free, but are in contact with and adherent to the parts surrounding, and not moistened by secreted fluid; they are whitish, of a pearly and often shining lustre, and may form sacs, sheaths, or extended layers of thin tissue ; possessing elastic and inelastic fibrous tissue, they afford strength to organs, retain the muscles and tendons in place, give the shape to the limbs, favor the movements of the skin and superficial muscles, and assist the venous circulation. Membranes, especially the serous, may be formed as the accidental products of disease, as in cysts in various parts of the body. False membranes are layers of coagulated fib- rine or lymph exuded upon inflamed surfaces, presenting the external form of true mem- branes, but destitute of organization; under the influence of violent or special inflamma- tions they may endanger life by closing pas- sages, as in the false membrane thrown out in croup. (See LYMPH.) The membranes of the fostus are alluded to under EMBRYOLOGY, and several other membranes under the names of the organs to which they specially belong. MEMBRE, Zenobius, a Franciscan missionary, born at Bapaume, France, in 1645, killed in Texas about 1687. He was the first novice in the Recollect province of St. Anthony, and was sent to Canada in 1675. Three years later he accompanied La Salle's expedition to the west, remained at Fort Orevecceur with Tonty, and aided him in mediating between the Iro- quois and Illinois. He subsequently descended the Mississippi with La Salle, and wrote a narrative which was published by his cousin, Father Christian Le Clercq, in his &tabtiue- ment de la foi. He returned to France in 1 682, and became warden of a convent at Bapaume. He accompanied La Salle on his expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi, and was left by him in the fort in Texas, where with the rest he was massacred by the Indians. Membr6 was esteemed for his mildness and virtues. His narrative was claimed by Hennepin, and is. by some even at the present time supposed to have been written bv La Salle. MEMEL, the northernmost town of Prussia, in the province of East Prussia, on the Baltic sea near the Russian frontier, at the N. end of the Kurisches Haff, and at the mouth of the river Dange, 72 m. N. N. E. of Konigsberg; pop. in 1871, 19,019. It is fortified and well built, has several churches, an excellent naval school, a gymnasium, a high school for girls, and various charitable institutions. The har- bor is commodious and safe, and its entrance from 13 to 15 ft. deep. A fort was built on the N. end of the Kurische Nehrung in 1866. A considerable part of the trade between Rus- sia and Germany passes through the town. It is the centre of the Baltic timber trade. The other principal exports are grain, linseed, hemp, flax, hides, and tallow, most of which are received from Russia and Poland. The chief imports are salt, coal, colonial produce, herrings, and manufactured goods. The im- portant manufactures are articles of amber, soap, and brandy. There are iron founderies, chain factories, and about 60 saw mills, and the ship building is considerable. Memel was built in the middle of the 13th century by the Teutonic knights. In the 17th century it was for some time in the possession of the Swedes, and in 1757 it was taken by the Russians. In 1854 the town was nearly destroyed by fire. MEMEL RIVER. See NIEMEN. MEM LING, or Hemling, Hans, a Flemish painter, born probably near Bruges about 1425, sup- posed to have died in Spain in the beginning of the 16th century. He was a pupil of Roger of Bruges, and was one of the best artists of the school of Van Eyck. He visited Italy and Germany in middle life, and is said to have served Charles the Bold of Burgundy in the twofold capacity of painter and soldier. After the battles of Granson and Morat (1476), he gained admittance into the hospital of St. John in Bruges, penniless and disabled by wounds, and painted for the institution some of his finest works. Two of these, altarpieces with wings, are inscribed with his name and the date of the year, 1479. In the chapel of the hospital is also the celebrated reliquary of St. Ursula, a shrine about 4 ft. long, with the his- tory of the saint on the longer sides in six com- partments. These pictures are among the most interesting productions of the Flemish school. MEMMI, Simone, or more properly SIMONE DI MAETINO, an Italian painter, born in Siena about 1283, died in Avignon about 1345. He is said to have been a pupil of Giotto, and was one of the first to modify the severity and hardness of the Byzantine manner by imitating the softer style of his master. After the death of the latter he was invited to the papal court at Avignon, where he is said to have painted the portrait of Laura de Sade, on account of which he is mentioned in two of Petrarch's sonnets. At Avignon he also executed a min- iature illumination for a manuscript Virgil, once owned by Petrarch and now preserved in the Ambrosian library at Milan.