n, _mal'aria, bad air_,) a noxious vapor or
exhalation; a state of the atmosphere or soil, or both, which, in
certain regions, and in warm weather, produces fever, sometimes of great
violence.

_Mammon_, riches, the Syrian god of riches. See St. Luke, xvi. 11, 13,
St. Matthew, vi. 24.

_Martineau_, (Harriet,) a woman who has become somewhat celebrated by
her book of travels in the United States, and by other works.

_Mexico_, a country situated southwest of the United States, and
extending to the Pacific Ocean.

_Miasms_, such particles or atoms, as are supposed to arise from
distempered, putrefying, or poisonous bodies.

_Michilimackinac_, or _Mackinac_, (now frequently corrupted into
_Mackinaw_, which is the usual pronunciation of the name,) a military
post in the State of Michigan, situated upon an island about nine miles
in circuit, in the strait which connects Lakes Michigan and Huron. It is
much resorted to by Indians and fur traders. The highest summit of the
island is about three hundred feet above the lakes, and commands an
extensive view of them.

_Midsummer_, with us, the time when the sun arrives at his greatest
distance from the equator, or about the twenty-first of June, called,
also, the summer solstice, (from the Latin _sol_, _the sun_, and _sto_,
_to stop_ or _stand still_,) because, when the sun reaches this point,
he seems to stand still for some time, and then appears to retrace his
steps. The days are then longer than at any other time.

_Migrate_, to remove from one place to another; to change residence.

_Mildew_, a disease of plants; a mould, spot, or stain, in paper,
cloths, &c., caused by moisture.

_Militate_, to oppose, to operate against.

_Millinet_, a coarse kind of stiff muslin, formerly used for the
foundation or basis of bonnets, &c.

_Mineralogy_, a science which treats of the inorganic natural substances
found upon or in the earth, such as earths, salts, metals, &c., and
which are called by the general name of minerals.

_Minutiae_, the smallest particulars.

_Monasticism_, monastic life; religiously recluse life, in a monastery,
or house of religious retirement.

_Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley_, one of the most celebrated among the
female literary characters of England. She was daughter of Evelyn, Duke
of Kingston, and was born about 1690, at Thoresby, in England. She
displayed uncommon abilities, at a very early age, and was educated by
the best masters in the English