culous powers in
the spirit world, one, it would seem, of "the spirits of just men made
perfect."

MAHDI (i. e. religious leader), a name given to any Mohammedan
fanatic who arises in the interest of the Mohammedan faith, summons the
Moslems to war, and leads them to repel the infidel; a kind of Mohammed
Messiah armed with the sword for the conquest of the world to the faith.

MAHDI, MOHAMMED AHMED, a Mohammedan fanatic, born in Dongola, and
who, at the head of an army of dervishes, raised his standard for the
revival of Islam in the Soudan; he was unsuccessfully opposed by the
Egyptians, and Khartoum, occupied by them, fell into his hands, to the
sacrifice of General Gordon, just as the British relief army under Lord
Wolseley approached its walls in 1885, a few months after which he died
at Omdurman.

MAHDISM, a hope cherished by devout Moslems of a Mahdi to come who
will lead them on to victory against the infidel and to the conquest of
the world.

MAHMUD II., Sultan of Turkey; crushed a rebellion on his accession
by putting his brother to death, on whose behalf the janissaries had
risen, as they afterwards did to their annihilation at his hands by
wholesale massacre; by the victory of Navarino in 1827 he lost his hold
of Greece, which declared its independence, and was near losing his
suzerainty in Egypt when he died; his reign was an eventful one
(1785-1839).

MAHOMET. See MOHAMMED.

MAHON, LORD, EARL STANHOPE, statesman and historian; wrote "History
of the War of the Succession in Spain," "History of the Reign of Queen
Anne," and "History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of
Versailles" (1805-1875).

MAHONY, FRANCIS, an Irish priest, born in Cork, who took to
journalism, and is known by his _nom de plume_ of Father Prout;
contributed to _Fraser's Magazine_, and was foreign correspondent to the
_Daily News_ and the _Globe_; was famous for his elegant translations
(1804-1866).

MAHOUN, a contemptuous name for Mahomet, transferred in Scotland to
the devil, who was called Old Mahoun.

MAHRATTAS, a warlike Hindu race in Central India, occupying a
territory watered by the Nerbudda, Godavari, and Kistna, who at one time
kept up a struggle for the supremacy of India with the British, but were
finally subdued in 1843.

MAI, ANGELO, cardinal, distinguished scholar and editor; became
librarian of the Vatican; was distinguished for deciphering
PALIMPSESTS (q. v.), and thus dis