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* MEISTERSINGER. 284 MEKONG. rliTtlim and rhyme in tliis loinplioated poetry, in all of which we obs^erve a sinjjular likeness to the technicalities invented or slavislily aped by the lesser, and indeed often enough l)y the better, poets two centuries earlier in Southern France. The best feature of the nieistersin-jer's art was that it throve among the humbler folk, refined them, gave them a sense of nationality, opened the way for the artistic treatment of better themes, and spread widely the lovd of artistic music among those who needed most a sense of form. Consult: Grimm, Ucbcr den alldeutsclien ileistergesatig (Giittingen, 1811); Plate, '"Die Kunstausdriicke der Meistersinger," in Slrassburger Studieii. vol. iii. (Strassburg, 1888) : Martin, "Urkundliehes iibcr die Meister- siinger zu Strassburg," in i^trasxhtirgcr Hiudtvn (ib.i 1882) ; Streinz. "Der Meistergesang in Miih- ren." in Sievers's Bvitr'ige (llalle, 18!)4) ; Cyri.a- eus Spangenberg, Von dcr Mitsica uiid den Mcis- tcisiiiKjern, written in 1584, ed. by A. von Keller (Stuttgart, 1801); yUrnherycr Meistersinger- prolokolle 157o-18(>9, ed. by Dreschcr, in liiblio- ihck des litterarischen Vereins in Shittyart (Stuttgart, 1808); Mey, Der Meistergesang iti (iesrhichtc und Kuiist (Leipzig. 1001 i. MEISTERSINGER VON NURNBERG, nurnlifMK. Die. A musical comedy in three acts by Richard Wagner; first produced in Munich. June 21, 1808. The scene of the play is Nurend)erg in the sixteenth century. Walter von Stolzing. a young knight, loves and is loved by Eva. the daughter of the goldsmith Pogner. Her father, however, lias otr<'red her hand as a prize in the forthcom- ing meistersinger tournament, and to avoid losing her. Walter determines to qualify for and take part in the contest. He succeeds in being ac- cepted as a candidate, .and with the help of Hans Sachs, the famous cobbler meistersinger. defeats his rival. Beekmesser, and wins the girl. The play is indirectly a satire on Wagner's critics, the' old and pedantic Tieckmesser typifying the worst elements of musical conservatism, while Walter represents Wagner himself. See Meister- singer. MEITZEN, mits'en, August (1822-). A German statistician, born in Breslau and edu- cated at Heidelberg and Tiibingen. He was a prominent member of the Statistical Bureau, and in 187.5 was made professor of the science of statistics and of political economy at the Uni- versity' of Berlin. His contributions to the science of statistics include: /*/( inlernalionale land- und forsttnrtsclinflliehe lilatistil: (1873) and flisriiirhir, Theoric und Teehnil; der fyta- tistik (1880) ; and he also wrote Die Mitrerant- uorlli(Viheit der flcbildelen fiir das M'ohl der arlii llriidrn Klnssen (1870). MEJERDA, majer'da, or MEJIRDA. A riviT ill Ndnliern Africa. It risiv, in the Great Atlns Mountains in Algeria, and after an east- ern and northeastern course of over 200 miles, mainly through Tunis, flows into the Gulf of Tunis on the Mediterranean. 24 miles north of the capital. It was the ancient Bagradas, with its mouth at I'tiea, now Bu-C'hateur, 7 miles to the siMilh. MEjfA, mft-iie'A, Toma's (e.l812-fi7). A Mexican general, an Indian by race. He took a prominent |iart in the war with the United State's, and served with Miram(<n (q.v.) and Zuloaga against Juarez in 1858 and 1859. On the occasion of the French intervention he did good sen'ice on the Imjx'rialist side. He was present at the siege of Quen'taro in 18G7, was captured with other officers in Maximilian's army, and was with them court-martialed and shot. See Maximilian. MEJIR'DA. A river of Northern Africa. See JlE.IKIillA. MEKHITARISTS, mek'I-tar-ists. A congre- gation of Armenian Christians who reside on the island of San Lazaro at Venice, but have also obtained a footing in France, Austria, Turkey, Russia, and elsewhere. They derive their name from Mekhitar (i.e. the Comforter) Da Petro (born 1070. died 1740), who in 1701 founded at Constantinople a religious society for the purpose of dill'iLsing the knowledge of the old .Armenian language and literature. In 1702 the society removed to the Morea, then under the rule of Venice, and founded a convent at ilodon. Pope Clement XI. in 1712 confirmed the congregation, gave it the Benedictine rule, and made .Mekhitar its abbot. The war between Turkey and X'enice compelled its transference in 1715 to Venice, where, on the island of San Lazaro, the Mekhi- tarists held a convention in 1717. In 1773 a split in the congregation occurred, and a branch is now establishe<l in Vienna. The Mekliitarists acknowl- edge the supremacy of the Koman Pontill. The most useful occupation of the Venetian liranch is printing the classic writings of .rnieiiian litera- ture, including an Armenian translatiun of the Bible (I7.'J4) ; their editions are universally ad- mitted to be the best and most correct. They also issue a journal, which is much read through- out the Levant. Those in Vienna conduct a Ger- man bookstore. For the history of tlio.se at Venice, consult : Bore. Le coureni de Haint Lazare d Venise, ou histoire sueeinete de I'ordre des Michitanstes armeniens (Paris, 1837); also Langlois. /.c couient arm^nien de Vcni.ie (Paris, ISOO) ; for those at V'ienna, consult Sclierer, Die Mrrhiliirislrn in Wien (5th ed., Vienna, 1802). MEKLONG, m:-klong'. An imjiortant port on the suulli coast of Siain at the mouth of the Meklong River. 40 miles southwest of Bangkok (.Map: Siam, D 4). The population is about 10.000. consisting chiefly of Chinese merchants and Siamese fishermen. MEK'NEZ. A city in Morocco. Sw yU:qvyEZ. MEKONG, ma-kong'. or CAMBO'DIA. The largest river of Indo-CI'hina. Its ultimate source has not been ascertained, but it is supposed to rise in the mountains of Central Tilict. not far from the sources of the Vang-tsekiaiig (Map: Freneli IndoChina. E ■"> I . It Hows in a generally southeast diri'ction. first thi.iUgh the Chinese Empire, where it is generally called Lan-tsang. first the boundary between Burma and Tongkinp, then between the latter and Siam. Its lower course is through Cambodia and Cochin-China. The course of the Mekong after it enters Indo- China becomes very crooked and interrupted by rapids ;ind falls, which prevent the use of this great river as a waterway. II is only for the insignificant part of its leiigtti bclnw Khong, a town in the southeastern corner of Siam, that the river bi'comes navigable. Here its How be- comes less turbulent as it enters its great alluvial plain. Finally it divides into a number of arms, forming a marshy delta which occupies almost the
 * iiid then through Indo-Chiiia, where it furins at