Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/77

* MOTLEY. 61 Colonisation von yen England, a paper show- ing accurate knowledge of the historj- of New England and of tlie Puritan movement, and dis- playing philosophical insight. The same year saw the appearance of his ilerry-ilount, an his- torical novel dealing with an episode in the early life of the Massachusetts Colony. With this novel, and with an unsuccessful term in the Massachusetts Legislature, ended what may be called Motley's experimental period. He saw the true path for his genius to follow, and he was seized with the desire to write, to cite his own words, "one particular history,' that of the Dutch. Having obtained the approbation of the historian W. H. Preseott, on whose territory he feared he might be trespassing, he began to gather material in America, and in 1851 he set sail for Holland to continue his researches. In 1856 ap- peared the History of the A'ise of the Dutch He- public, a work in three volumes, published at his own expense. The same year ilotley returned to Boston, where he remained about a year: then he went to England in 1S5S. Here he received the degree of D.C'.L. from Oxford, and in 1860 he published the first two volumes of his Bistory of the I'nited yetherlands. In England he did his country good service by sending (1861) to the London Times two letters on the causes of the American Civil War. which helped to dissipate the British misunderstanding of American affairs. In 1861 he was appointed Minister to Austria, and in Vienna he served the United States faith- fully and with tact, until misimderstanding and calumny caused him to resign in 1867. In 1868 appeared the last two volumes of the Bistory of the United Xetherlands. a book which sustained the high reputation of his earlier work and its own earlier volumes. President Grant, on his election, appointed Alotley Minister to England, but he recalled him in November of the following year (1870). for what appear to have been unsatisfactory reasons. Motley then retired to private life, and began work on the last of his histories. This was The Life and Death of John of Barneicld. Advocate of Holland; with a View of the Primary Causes and Movements of the Thirty years' War (1874), which, in two volumes, virtually completed his plan of the history of Holland and the Dutch. It was his last work. He had suffered an in- capacitating paralii-tic stroke in 1873. and the death of his wife in 1874 was a heavy blow. He himself lingered three years longer, and died in Dorchester. England. May 29, 1877. Motley takes rank with the most distinguished of American historians. His work presents a fin- ished and often brilliantly colored picture of the times and the country with which it deals. It was written only after a thorough examination and analysis of all available documents, and is philosophical as well as pictorial in its treat- ment. It is full of an inspiring love of freedom, has the advantage of dealing with an heroic movement, displays marked skill at characteriza- tion, and often flashes with wit. His Correspond- ence is scarcely less brilliant, and affords many glimpses of interesting personages, both Amer- ican and European. The histories are published in good English and American editions. There is a memoir by his intimate friend, Oliver Wendell Holmes ( Bos- ton, 1878) ; The Correspondence of John Lothrop MOTOR ORGAN. Motley was edited (New York, 1889) by G. W. Curtis. MOTMOT (onomatopoetic, in imitation of the bird's note). A bird of the family Momotidse, related to the coraciiform bee-eaters, todies, and kingfishers. The niotmots are peculiar to tropical America, and only one of the 15 species occurs as far north as the United States. They are birds of very brilliant plumage and about the size of a blue jay, but more slender in form; are solitary in habits, and live on insects, reptiles, and fruits. Their most peculiar feature is the long tail, in which the middle pair of feathers are longer than the rest, and have a peculiar shape which has caused them to be called 'racket- feathers.' The cause of the peculiarity has been greatly discussed, but there is much evidence to TAILS OF MOTMOTS. a. Lesson's motmot. t-entral reotrices perfect: b, the eame, reotrioes denuded : c, Mexican motmot. central r«c- trices affected while yet growing ; d, blue-headed motmot showing • rackets ' resulting from complete denudation of a part of the feather. show that it is brought about by the birds them- selves biting away the vanes from the denuded part. One species (Momotus cwruliceps) reaches the Mexican botmdary of the United States. Con- sult: Belt, Saturalist in Sicaragua (London, 1888) : Murie. Ibis (London, 1892). See Plate of KiKGFISHEBS, ilOTMOTS. ETC. MOTOORI NORINAYA, m6't6-o'rI no'ri- nfi'ya (17301S0II. A .Japanese scholar, the greatest authority, until the era of modern re- search, tipon the customs, liistory. poetry, and religion of ancient .Japan. He wrote many books, his most important being a commentary on the Kojiki I Records of Ancient Matters, tiie oldest extant Japanese book). The commentary is in forty-four volumes. It was begun in 1764 and finished in 1796. Upon the publication of the first part students came to Motoori from all parts of .Japan. In 1801 he lectured in Kioto to crowds, princes and nobles being among his auditors. His influence increased after his death, and his writings are thought to have aided in bringing on the recent changes in the Empire. He is reganleii as a nia^ter of literary style. MOTOR CARRIAGES AND VEHICLES. See AiTOMoniLE. MOTOR-GENERATOR. See Dyxamo Elec- tric M.CIIINF.RY. MOTOR ORGAN (Lat. motor, one who moves, from more-re, to move). A structure which when stimulated moves the parts at- tached. Motor organs are found at the base of leaves and leaflets in various plants, particularly members of the bean family ( Leguminoste). They are formed bv the modification of the structure