Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/657

* MISDEMEANOR. 585 MISHNA. a course which, dbviously, would be improper in dealing with felonies. See Fkloxy and Law, Criminal. MISENO, nieza'no (Lat. Misenum), Cape. A promontorj' projecting into the Bay of Naples on the northwest and connected with the main- land by a narrow strip of coast, nine miles south- west of the city of Naples. On the outskirts of the promontory are the scanty rviins of the ancient city of Misenum, including the Piscina Mirabilis, a huge reservoir with a wcll-])reserved vaulted roof, supported by pillars, and the (Irotto Dra- gonara, a subterranean vaulted structure, of un- certain use. Misenum was made by Augustus the naval station for a division of the Roman fleet, and for that purpose a great harbor with three basins was constructed, of which the inner is now a lagoon, the Mare Jlorto. The town was destroyed by the Saracens, a.d. 8!)0. MISE OF AMIENS, ii'meTuV (OF., Fr. mise, putting, expense, judgment, from Lat. mitlere, to send). The name given to the decision of Louis IX. of France, delivered as arbitrator between Henry IIL of England and his barons on .January 23, 1264. All points in dispute were decided in favor of Henry, and the Provisions of Oxford (q.v.) were specifically annulled. See Mont- fort, Simon de; Henry IIL MISE OF LEWES, IQ'is. The name given to the capitulation of Henrj- III. of England after the battle of Lewes, in which on May 14. 1204, the barons defeated and captured him. This treaty greatly limited the royal power, and upon it Simon tie Montfort sought to estaldish a new constitution for England. See Montfort, Simon I)E; Hknry 111. MISEBABLES, me'za'ra'bl', Les. A noted rninuuce by 'ictor Hugo, begun in 1846, but in- trrrupted by the author's political activity. It was completed during Hugo's stay in Saint Peter's. Guernsey, and was published in 1862, the first part appearing simultaneously in Paris, Knissels, London, New York, Madrid, Berlin, ^;iint Petersburg, and Turin. It formed ten olumes. divided into five parts, entitled Fantine, I'li.sctte, ilarius, L'idi/Ue rue Pliiinrl, and Jean 1 iiljnni. The interest centres tliroiighout on Ic an Valjean, a fallen man who achieves his own rcliabilitation after long physical and mental suffering and degradation. The leading charac- ters, Valjean. .Javert, and Gavroche, are crea- tions of Hugo. The saintly Bishop Mynil or Bienvenu is modeled on De Miolles, Bishop of Digne ; Marius represents the author's idea of himself in his youth, and the Baron Pontmercy i- intended as a sketch of Hugo's father. The iork embodies the fruits of long observation and ~lndy set down with keen exactness and force. MISERERE, miz'e-re're (Lat., have mercy). The name, taken from its first word, of the Psalm which is the 50th in the Vulgate and the 51st in the Authorized Version: the principal one of the seven penitential Psalms, commonly understood to have been composed by David in his remorse after being rebuked by Nathan for his sin with Bathsheba. It is used on numerous penitential occasions in the Roman Catholic Church, and forms part of the service for Ash Wednesday in the Anglican Prayer-Book. MISERERE. A jirojection on the under side of tlic seal-- of the stalls of mediaeval churches, chapels, and other ecclesiastical buildings. They are usually ornamented with carved work, and are so shaped that when the seats proper are raised they form a su])port at a higher level to a person resting upon it. Aged and infirm ecclesiastics were allowed to use these during long services. MISFEASANCE (OF. mesfaisance, wrong, from mesfaire, imsfcrre, Fr. mefaire, to do wrong, from mcs-, from I>at. minus, less -}- faire, from Lat. faccre, to do). Doing a lawful act in an improper or negligent manner; contrasted with malfeasance and with nonfeasance. When misfeasance results in legal damage to a person, it amounts to an actionable tort (q.v.), although the same act may be a breach of contract also, as when a common carrier injures a passenger by the negligent use of its property or improper conduct of its servants. MISHAWAKA, mish'a-wn'ka. A town in Saint .Joseph County, Ind., four miles east of South Bend, the county-seat ; on the Saint Jo- seph River, and on the Chicago and Grand Trunk, the Elkhart and Western, and the Lake Shore and Jlichigan Southern railroads (Map: Indiana, CI). It has good water power from the river, and is noted as a manufacturing centre, the prod- ucts including windmills, heavy machinery, pul- leys, agricultural implements, furniture, church organs and furniture, gasoline engines and launches, paper pulp, flour, and knit felt, and felt boots and rubbers. The government is ad- ministered under a charter of 1809, which pro- vides for a mayor, chosen every two years, and a unicameral council. The city owns and operates the water-works and electric light plant. One of the oldest cities in northern Indiana, Jlishawaka was settled in 1828 and was incorporated in 1834 as "Saint Joseph Iron Works," the change to its present name being authorized by special legislative act in 1838. Population, in 1800, 3371; in 1000, 5560. MISHTWIS. The natives of the :Mishmi Hills in the valley of the Brahnuiputra in North- eastern India. By language they are related to the adjacent peoples of Indo-China (Chins, Shans, Lushai, etc.). These primitive tribes are very interesting from a sociological point of view. Among them the custom that the favorite child (without respect to age) inherits prevails. The marriage customs are also peculiar. Consult: Cooper, r/ie Mishmco Flillx (London. 1873) : Dal- ton. Descriptive Ethnoloijtj of licnqcil (Calcutta, 1872). MISH'NA (Heb., explanation, from shutuih, to learn). The body of the 'oral law,' or the juridico-political. civil, and religious code of the .Jews. As such it forms a kind of com- plement to the Pentateuchal codes, which it ex- plains, amplifies, and inunutably fixes in accord- ance with traditional usage, enforced by the application of the peculiar exegetical methods developed in the rabbinical schools of Babylonia and Palestine. The Mislinaic laws were subse- quently submitted to a process of exposition similar to that which the biblical enactments underwent, and hence there arose, as a supple- ment to the Mishna, the Gemara (q.v.), embodying the discussions on the Mishna by the rabbis of Babylonia and Palestine from the third to the k