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 492 MICHAEL PAL^EOLOGUS MICHAUX MICHAEL PALEOLOGIS. See BYZANTINE EMPIRE, vol. iii., p. 517. MICHAEL ROMANOFF. See RUSSIA. MICHAELIS, Johann David, a German Biblical scholar, born in Halle, Feb. 27, 1717, died in Gottingen, Aug. 22, 1791. He graduated at Halle in 1739, and in 1743 began to deliver lectures there on the historical books of the Old Testament. In 1745 he was appointed pro- fessor of philosophy at Gottingen. For nearly 20 years he edited the Gottinger gelehrte An- zeigen. His principal works are : a translation of the Hebrew Bible; "Introduction to the New Testament," translated into English by Bishop Marsh; and Das MosaiscJie Becht (2d ed., 5 vols., Gottingen, 1776-'80), translated into English by Dr. Alexander Smith, under the title of "Commentaries on the Laws of Moses" (4 vols., London, 1814). MICHAELMAS, the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, Sept. 29. It is more celebrated for popular customs connected with it than for any peculiar religious observance. It was an old custom in England to mark the day by electing civil magistrates, perhaps in allusion to the analogy between the superintendence of magis- trates and that of guardian angels, of whom St. Michael was reputed the prince. A more famous custom is that of eating roast goose, which has been traced at least as far back as 1471 ; and it is said that one of the strongest objections of the English commonalty to the reformation of the calendar was based on the confusion which would follow if Michaelmas day was not celebrated when stubble -geese are in their highest perfection. MICHAUD, Joseph, a French author, born at Albens, Savoy, June 19, 1767, died in Passy, Sept. 30, 1839. In 1791 he published a Voyage litteraire to Mont Blanc and the adjoining regions, followed by an oriental tale entitled Origine poetique des mines d'or et d? argent, neither of which attracted much notice. He next became a defender of the monarchy ; and for publishing an anti-revolutionary satire en- titled Declaration des droits de Vhomme, he was obliged for a time to conceal himself. In Sep- tember, 1792, he established La Quotidienne, a daily journal in the royalist interest, the char- acter of the articles in which caused him to be condemned to death, but the efforts of his friend Giguet preserved him from the guillo- tine. Adhering steadily to his opinions under the directory, he was banished after the 18th Fructidor (Sept. 4, 1797), and took refuge among the Jura mountains, whence he returned to France in November, 1799. He opposed the consulate with no less acrimony than he had shown toward the convention and the directory; and for an anonymous pamphlet, Adieux a Bonaparte (Paris, 1800), he was con- fined for a short time in the Temple. In 1801 appeared his Histoire des progres et de la chute de V empire de Mysore, sous le regne d'Hyder Ali et de Tippo Sa'ib (2 vols. 8vo), followed by the Biographie moderne (4 vols. 8vo, Leipsic, 1802), printed in Paris by the brothers Michaud, a publishing firm established at the commence- ment of the century by himself, his brother Louis Gabriel, and Giguet. This publication was the germ of the later and more elaborate work, the BiograpMe unwerselle, published by the same house. In 1803 he published Le prin- temps d'un proscrit, a poem written during his exile, which passed through many editions. His royalist views changed, and in 1810 he ad- dressed a congratulatory poem to Napoleon on occasion of his marriage with Maria Louisa, under the title of Fragment d>un treizieme litre de VEneide, and another in 1811 commemora- ting the birth of the king of Rome. His most important work, Histoire des croisades (1811 et seq.) went through five editions in his life- time, the last being in 1840-'41 (6 vols. 8vo), and has been translated into the principal lan- guages of Europe. He published an abridg- ment of it (2 vols. 12mo, 1838), and in further illustration of the subject produced the Biblio- theque des croisades (4 vols.), and Correspon- dance d" 1 Orient (7 vols.), the latter a record of his extensive travels in company with his pupil, Poujoulat, through those portions of the East traversed by the crusaders. After the over- throw of the empire Michaud reestablished the Quotidienne, but during the hundred days it became a mere vehicle of news. He published an account of the hundred days, of little his- torical value, which passed through 27 editions, and continued until the close of his life, in spite of feeble health, to devote himself to his- torical researches. Among his last publica- tions were an edition of Renault's Abreg'e chro- nologique de Vhistoire de France, with a con- tinuation to July, 1830, and a Collection de memoires pour servir d Vhistoire de France, which was commenced in 1836, in conjunction with Poujoulat, and published in 34 vols. 8vo. His name has been most popularly associated with the Biographie unwerselle, published be- tween 1811 and 1828, which, with its supple- ment, 1834-'40, comprised 85 vols. 8vo. He was a member of the French academy and of the academy of belles-lettres, and held other positions of honor and emolument. His broth- er Louis GABRIEL, known as Michaud the younger (born in Bourg in 1773), had a large share in editing and writing the Biographie unwerselle, and commenced a new edition (vol. i., 1854), which was completed after his death (March 12, 1858) in 45 volumes. He also wrote several historical and biographical works. MICHAUX. I. Andre, a French botanist, born in Versailles, March 7, 1746, died in Mada- gascar, Nov. 13, 1802. He studied under Ber- nard de Jussieu, and was afterward a pupil at the jar din des plantes, and an associate of La- marck and Thouin in their botanizing excur- sions. After travelling in the Pyrenees and Spain he accompanied the French consul to Persia, and remained in the East for two years making botanical collections and observations. In the " garden of Semiramis " near Bagdad