Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/466

* UEZEBEON. 426 MEZZOTINT. ing to the Arctic Circle, and eastward to Sibe- •riii, and cultivated in the United States. The other two species grow in Southern Europe. Daphne Laureola, s]iurf>e laurel, lias large ever- green leaves and yellowishgrcen llowers in a.xil- iarv clusters. Daphne tJniduin. spurge (lax, has narrow, deciduous leaves, and small white flow- ers in terminal racemes. Formerlv the l)ark was extensively employed in medicine. The dried bark is inodorous, but has a persistently acrid and burning taste. The bark of Daphne Gnidum is darker, and that of Daphne Laureola is more gray and has a greenish cast. They resemble niezereou in acridity. The root bark of the three species is the strongest, but the stem bark is the more common. It is used as an adjunct to sar- saparilla in making the compound decoction and the compound extract of that drug. The juice of the fresh bark is irritant and is said to blister the skin. See Daimixe. MEZHIRYETCHIE, me'zhf-re'chye. A town in the Government of Siedlce, Russian Poland, about SO miles from Siedlce. It manu- factures leather, brass articles, etc.. and had a population of 13,081 in 18!)7. MEZIERES, niA'zyar'. A fortified town in the northeast of France. It is the capital of the Department of Ardennes, at the confluence of the ifeuse and 'i'nce. and on a l>ranch of the Eastern Railroad (Map: France. L 2). The town manu- factures annnunition, and has iron and copper foundries, but most of its iron industry has been transferred to Charleville, with which it is connected by a suspension bridge. In 1521 the Chevalier Bayard, with 2000 men, successfully defended the place against 40.000 Spaniards under Charles '. In 1815 the town held out for six weeks against the .llies. who besieged it after the battle of Waterloo. In the Franco-German war of 1870-71. Mezi^res capitulated after a can- nonade of two days. Population, in 1901, 7884. MEZIERES, Alfred .Je. FR.?f90is (1826 — ). A French critic, born at Rehon (Moselle), November lO, 1820. He became professor of for- eign literature at Xaney (1854) and Paris (Sorbonne. ISCl), Academician (1874), and Deputy (1881). His publications are main- ly literary studies. Among them may be named: Shakespeare, sen mures et ses critiques i 1801 ) : I'ri'decessrurs ct conlemporains de Shalce- sprare (1803) : Conlemporains et siiecesseurs dc Shakespeare (1804): Dante et Vltalie nonreUe (18G5); Petrarqne (1807): Goethe, lea ocuvres expUquees par la vie (1872-73). His later books. En France (1883). Uors de France (1883). Miraljcau (1891), have had a more political ten- dency. The Ilrrue drs Deux Mondrs and the Temps have published many articles by Mezi&res. MEZIERES, :^LRIE Jeanxe Laboras de. , I'irnili novelist. Sec RicconoNi, Marie J. L. OK, MEZIRIAC, nift'zA'r<i'fik'. See Bachet. MEZbTTJR. m.-'ze-tnijr. A town of Hungary, situ:ited on an ;illlnent of the Kiiros. 80 miles southeast of Hudapest (Map: Hungary, (i 3). It is (he seat of a gymnasium and has manufactures of ptitterv and trade in cereals and domesdc ani- mals. P'opuladon. in ISOO, 23.757: in 1000. 25,- 38."!. niniitly Magyars. MEZZO, med'zft (T(.. middle). A term gen- erally used in nuisio rn conjunction with some other word, as mezzo-forte, moderately loud; mezzo-piano, rather soft; niezza -voce, "with a moderate strength of tone; mezzo-orchestra, with half the orchestra, etc. When written alone and apjilied to the grand iiiano-fortc it indicates that the soft pedal is to be used. But mezzo-soprano means a voice lying half way between the high soprano and contralto. MEZZOFANTI, med'zA-fjln'te, Giuseppe ( 1774-1,S4!I). An Italian linguist and a cardinal in the Church of Rome. He was born in Bologna ; was educated there, and became a i)riest in 1797, professor at the university in 18(14, and university lilirarian in 1812. In 'lS31 he went to Rome, where he was appointed librarian of the Vatican and secretary of the College of the Propaganda, and in 1838 was raised to the rank of cardinal. He acquired a European reputation liy his linguistic attainments, and at the time of "his death was credited with knowing fifty-eight languages. Con- sult HusseH's Life uf Canlinal Me:::ofanli (Lon- don, 1858) : and the biogra]iliies bv JIanavit (Paris. 18.i3), Bellesheim (Wiirzburg, 1880), and Mitierrutzner (Bri.xcn, 1885). MEZ'ZOTINT (It. mczzotinto, half-black). A styli' rir method of engraving on a copper or steel plate, which is at first ju-eparcd by making on it a ground willi an instniment called a cradle or a mezzotint grounder. This instru- ment is a flat plate of hardened steel, of which one side is brought to a segment of a circle with a sharp cutting edge, the bevel of which is so engraved with fine parallel lines that it re- sembles a file, and the edfre iiself is brought to a ridge of very fine points. This has to he rocked across the plate many times, in four or more directions, tmtil. by this operation, the whole surface is reduced to a close-set mass of small teeth or points. The plate thus lirickcd by this grounder oiTers a unifonnly roughened surface, and upon this surface the eii- graver begins his proper work. Now, this pre- pared plate, if covered with printers' ink. would yield an entirely black impression; so it is the business of the engraver to work from dark to light, or from black to white. This he does with various instruments adajited to the pur- pose, such as scrapers and burnishers: the scra])er employed to diminish the burr and such asperity of surface as tends to retain too much ink, and the burnisher to remove all surface roughness when the highest light or jiure white is required in the design or picture he is producing. Mezzotint is admirably ada|)ted to the repro- duction of those works in which broad efTects of li!.'lit and shade are dominant, as opposed to (hose where close line, contour, and small detail are demanded. Among the greatest mezzotint engravers may he mentioned: .James .lc.rdell (d. 1705) . .Tames Watson. .1. Raphael Smith, and Valentine Green. David Lucas was very successful in reproducinjf the landsca]X"S of Constable. Besides its coni- jiaradve inadequacy in depicting gi-ea( detail, mezzo(in( has ano(her limi(a(ion — i(s failure to bear nnich prinling. The burr is soon destroyed in the copper ])la(es. and although steel i.s more enduring, mezzotint on (his medium is still far behind line engi-aving in reproduciive possiblli- (ies. From twenty-five to thirty impressions of the first class are all that may be drawn from copper plates. The original inventor or dis-