Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/716

* MIYAJIMA. 638 MOA. tifully wooded island in the Bay of Hiroshima, Japan, cek-brated as the site of one of the most ancient Shinto shrines of the countrj". The temple is dedicated to the goddess Benten, wor- shiped by women for attractiveness and by men for wealth. It was l)uilt in the year 527. The island is also notable for its deer, and the absence of dogs. Priests, rniagecarvers. fisher- men, and inn-keeijers make up the population. MIYAKO, mi-yii'kd. Another name for Kioto, a city of Japan. MIZON, me'zO.x', Louis Alexandre Antoine (1853-99). A French naval officer and explorer in Africa. He was born in Paris; studied at the Kaval School (18(9-72), and in 1877 was sent out to accompany Brazza on liis expedition to the region of the Ogowai River. He was stationed at Franceville for si. years, and in 1886 he pub- lished charts of the Ogowai. Four years after- wards he was sent to .darnawa, where he pro- moted French commercial interests in the Niger country and greatly irritated Great Britain. The latter power in 189.'!, after Mizon had made a treaty with the Sultan of Hamarua. declared llamarua a British jjrotectorate, and forced ilizon's recall. In 189o he was made French resident at JIajunga in Madagascar. He died in 1899 as Governor of the colony at Jibuti in French Sonialiland. MIZ'PAH. or MIZTEH (Heb., watch, out- look). The name of several places in Palestine, of which the most imimrlant are: (1 I The heap of stones and pillar set up by .Jacob and his brethren as a witness of the covenant between Jacob and Laban. It was also called Galeed by Jacob, and .Jegar-sabadutha by Laban (Gen. xx.i. 44-49). the latter being the Western Ara- maic rendering of the Hebrew t/al-'ed ('heap of testimony'). The narrative points to the exist- ence of a sanctuary in (Jaleed which was known as Jlizpah. The pillar and the Ilea]) of stones are to be regarded as objejrts for the cult — the former a Baal symbol, the latter a boundary stone, serving also as an altar. It was at this sanctuary that Israel was emamped before the conflict with the .mmonites (Judges x. 17). which, as Gen. xxxi. 2'y informs us, lay in Gilead (upon which Gal-ed represents a play). The indications in the Old Testament are insutlicieiit for determining the site of the place with certainty. It lay north of the .Jabbok, ami perhaps near the modern .Jerash, which answers the conditions involved. (2) The place in the territory of Benjamin where Israel gathered liefore punishing the tribe of Benjamin for their outrage on the concubine of the Levite at Gibcali (.Judges xix.-xx.), and probably also the place where Samuel assembled Israel to resist the Philistines and subsequently to present Saul as King (I. Sam. x. 17 sqq.). though it is also possible that the two places may be distinct. The location is not certain. It nia.v be a point on the mountain ridge north of Shafat. These gnlherings again indicate the presence of a sanctuary at Mizpah, and the con- tinued importance of (be place is made manifest by its choice as a seat of government under (Icda- liali (II. Kings xxv. 23: Jer. xl. 6K In post- exilie times we meet with references to Mizpah, and it is of special interest to note that in the days of the Maccalwes Mizpah again lx>come« a gathering-place for Hie .Tews (I, Maec. iii. 4(1). Besides these two Mizpahs there are references in the Old Testament (a I to the land of Mizpah (■losh. xi. 3) and the valley of .Mizpah ( ib.. xi. 8), which are identical. This .Mizpah is men- tioned in connection with the battle of Merom (q.v. ), and may be located near Hennon. A fourth Jlizpah was situated in the 'lowland' of Judea (Josh. xv. 381, and a fifth in Jloab (I. .'sam. xxii. 3). The use of Mizpah as an inscrip- tion for memorial rings is based upon the words occurring in connection with the setting up of the "heap' of stones by .Jacob and his brethren: "The Lord watch between me and thee" (Gen. xxxi. 49). MIZZEN, or MIZEN". See Mast. MJbSEN, myc'zm. The largest lake in Xor- wa,v, situated in one of the most fertile valleys of the country, 3(i miles northeast of Christiania ( Map : Xorway. DO). Its length is 02 miles, its width averages only two. and nowhere ex- ceeds 10 miles. It receives the Laugen River at Lillehammer and empties its waters through the Vormeii into the Glommen, Its depth is remark- able, reaching in the southern ]iart 141)0 feet, its bottom being here 1050 feet below sea-level. The vicinity of the lake is very popular as a summer resort, and steamers ply on it regularly during the ice-free season, which in the southern part, on account of its great depth, sometimes lasts tluougliout the year. MNEMONICS, ne-mon'iks. See Memory. MNEMOSYNE, nu-mos'i-n6 (Lat., from Gk. yivr/iioaivtj). Ill classical mythology', the goddess of memory, daughter of L'ramis and Gaia. By Zeus she became the mother of the Muses (q.v.). Sie (JRKKK Religion. MNESICLES. iics'i-klez (Lat.. from Gk. ilt-ijaix'Mji, MtK'nikhls). A Greek architect, who built the Propyhea of the Acropolis at Athens. His name was found on an inscription in its ruins, and Plutarch mentions him as its archi- tect. MO'A (Maori name). . general name for a family ( Dinornithida 1 of extinct ratite birds of New Zealand, some of which were of gigant ic |)ro- j)ortions. The existence of their remains, and of legends among the Maoris relating to them, was first published in 1838, The exploration of Xew Zealand revealed bones of these birds in great profusion, on the surface, in peat bogs, in sea- side sand-dunes, and especially in certain caves where the dry air had in some cases preserved not only the ligaments, binding skeletal ))arls to- gether, but even pieces of dried skin and feathers, which still retained their chestnut and white col- ors, while footprints and broken egg-shells have also been found. Prehistoric camping-grounds always furnisli many charred bones and frag- ments of egg-shells. There is evidence that the extermination was completed about the date of the diseoveiT of .America by Columbus. The nioas form a family more nearly assorted in structure with the emeus, cassowaries, and. kiwis than with the ostriches. They were in or-, gani/jition nearest to the kiwis (.pteryx), but distinguished by their short beaks and by having after-shafts upon the feathers. They attained not only to great numbers and size in the isola- tion of Xew Zealand (where they were exposed to no enemies until man came), btit to a remarkable variety, some twenty species being now recog- nizable. Some were not larger than turkeys.