Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/39

 MULLEIN lobed; stamens five, the upper three with bearded filaments; the fruit a thick, ovoid, two-celled capsule, containing numerous small seeds. The plant is found all over Europe and MULLER 31 Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). the temperate parts of Asia, and has long been naturalized in this country. Were it not a weed, the mullein would be valued as an orna- mental plant, as a single well grown specimen is a stately object ; but its chief importance is as a weed, and its presence indicates slovenly culture. Although it so abundantly seeds the ground, it is not difficult to eradicate if taken while young. The leaves have a mucilaginous and bitter taste, and slight narcotic properties, and have long been used in domestic medicine to allay coughs and other irritations, and ex- ternally as an emollient application to tumors, piles, &c. ; on account of its use in diseases of cattle, one of its common names in England is bullock's lungwort. The down upon the leaves, when perfectly dry, makes a good tinder ; the same substance served the ancient Greeks for lamp wicks, and the Romans dipped the stalks in suet to make funeral torches. High taper and hig or hag taper are old English names for the plant, and refer to its use in the incantations of witches. Moth mullein ( V. blattaria) is less common than the other, and more abundant in the eastern states than else- where ; it is from 2 to 4 ft. high, with leaves and stem smooth and green ; the flowers are in a leafy raceme, and yellow, or white with a tinge of purple ; the filaments of the stamens are all bearded with violet-colored wool, which gives to the very ephemeral flowers no little beauty. This is also an introduced plant, hav- ing abroad an equally wide range with the pre- ceding, and is of no other importance than as a weed for the farmer to get rid of. The white mullein ( V. lychnitis) is of rare occurrence in Pennsylvania and New York; its stem and leaves are clothed with a thin, powdery pubes- cence, and its yellow flowers (only rarely white) 580 VOL. xii. 3 are in a pyramidal panicle. It is also from Europe, where as well as here it hybridizes with the common mullein, and produces some puzzling intermediate forms. Some species rank as ornamental plants, including V. Chaixii from the Pyrenees, which, unlike the others, is perennial ; its abundant flowers are yellow, with a violet throat, and arranged in a large pyramidal panicle. MULLMHOFF, Karl Victor, a German philolo- gist, born at Marne, Holstein, Sept. 8, 1818. He studied in Berlin, and graduated in 1837 at Kiel, where he became professor of the Ger- man language and of ancient history. In 1858 he was transferred to the university of Berlin. His writings relate mainly to early German lit- erature and philology, and include Altdeutsche SpracJiproben ; Denkmaler deutscher Poesie und Prosa aus dem 8. bis 12. Jahrhundert, with Scherer (Berlin, 1864); and Deutsche Alterthumskunde (1870). MILLER, Charles Louis, popularly known as Miiller de Paris, a French painter, born in Paris, Dec. 22, 1815. He studied under Oo- gniet and Gros, and in the school of fine arts, and in 1837 exhibited his first picture, " Christ- mas Morning." From 1850 to 1853 he was di- rector of the manufacture of Gobelin tapestry, and in 1864 he succeeded Flandrin in the acad- emy of fine arts. Among his principal works are " The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew," "The Massacre of the Innocents," "Prima- vera," and "The Appeal of the Victims of the Reign of Terror." The last, his masterpiece, contains portraits of the most illustrious vic- tims. In 1855 he exhibited a large painting, Vive Vempereur, illustrating a poem by Mery, representing an episode in the battle before Paris, March 30, 1814, which gained for him a medal of the first class. Among his later works are "Desdemona" (1868), and "Lan- juinais at the Tribune " (1869). MULLER, Friediich, a German painter and poet, born in Oreuznach in 1750, died in Rome, April 23, 1825. He early devoted himself to paint- ing and copperplate engraving, and in his 18th year published several collections of etchings, which attracted much attention from their originality. In 1776 he went to Rome, and studied the works of Michel Angelo ; but his taste for the grotesque constantly, increased and gave a fantastic character to his productions. He was chiefly known as a guide in Rome, where he was called Muller the painter. He succeeded better as an author than as an artist, writing idyls, romances, ballads, and dramas. His best drama is Niobe. A complete edition of his works has been published (3 vols., Hei- delberg, 1811 ; 2d ed., 1825). MULLER, Friedrich, a German philologist, born at Jemnik, Bohemia, March 5, 1834. He com- pleted his studies in Vienna from 1853 to 1857, and was employed as a librarian there from 1858 to 1866, when he became extraordi- nary and in 1869 ordinary prof essor of com- parative philology and of Sanskrit at the uni-