fly remembered, and
which made him known to Pope, Young, and others. In 1726 he changed his
name to Mallet to make it more pronounceable by Southern tongues. His
_Excursion_, an imitation of Thomson, was _pub._ in 1728. At the request
of the Prince of Wales, whose sec. he had become, he wrote with Thomson a
masque, _Alfred_ (1740), in which _Rule Britannia_ first appeared, which,
although he claimed the authorship, is now generally attributed to
Thomson. He also wrote a _Life of Bacon_; and on Bolingbroke bequeathing
to him his manuscripts and library, he _pub._ an ed. of his works (1754).
On the accession of George III., M. became a zealous supporter of Lord
Bute, and was rewarded with a sinecure. In addition to the works above
named M. wrote some indifferent dramas, including _Eurydice_, _Mustapha_,
and _Elvira_. Dr. Johnson said of him that he was "the only Scotsman whom
Scotsmen did not commend."

MALONE, EDMUND (1741-1812).--Critic, _s._ of an Irish judge, _b._ in
Dublin, and _ed._ at Trinity Coll. there, studied for the law, but coming
into a fortune, decided to follow a literary career. Acute, careful, and
sensible, he was a useful contributor to the study of Shakespeare, of
whose works he _pub._ a valuable ed. in 1790. He also aided in the
detection of the Rowley forgeries of Chatterton, and the much less
respectable Shakespeare ones of Ireland. At his death he was engaged upon
another ed. of Shakespeare, which was brought out under the editorship of
James Boswell (_q.v._). M. also wrote Lives of Dryden and others, and was
the friend of Johnson, Goldsmith, Reynolds, and Burke.

MALORY, SIR THOMAS (_fl._ 1470).--Translator of _Morte d'Arthur_. Very
little is known of him. An endeavour has been made to identify him with a
Sir Thomas Malory of Warwickshire, who fought successively on both sides
in the Wars of the Roses, sat in Parliament 1444-45, and _d._ 1471. In
his book he strove to make a continuous story of the Arthurian legends,
and showed judgment alike in what he included and omitted.

MALTHUS, THOMAS ROBERT (1766-1834).--Economist, _s._ of a landed
proprietor, was _b._ near Dorking, and _ed._. at Jesus Coll., Camb., of
which he became a Fellow. Taking orders he became incumbent of Albury,
Essex. He travelled much on the continent, collecting information as to
the means of livelihood and mode of life of various peoples. In 1798 the
first ed. of his famous _Essay on Population_ appeared, and in 1803 a