Magdeburg
a city of Prussia, province of Saxony, on the Vol. VI-Cyc-F Elbe, 74 miles S. W. of Berlin, and 50 miles E. S. E. of Brunswick; lat. 52° 8' N.; long. 11° 40′ E., a fortress of the first class, and from the recent improvement in its defenses one of the strongest in Europe; one of the most important commercial places of Prussia, it is divided into five parts: the Old Town, the New Market, and the Friedrichstadt, or tower fort, the New Town, and the quarter called Sudenburg. The most remarkable among its public buildings are the cathedral, containing the tomb of Otho the Great, the ducal palace, and the town hall. The citadel, on an island in the Elbe, serves also as a state prison, Baron Trenck and Lafayette having, among others, been confined in it. Manufactures considerable, consisting of silk, linen, cotton, and woolen fabrics, oil cloth, gloves, leather, tobacco, etc., with numerous tanneries, distilleries, etc. A large quantity of salt is made in the neighborhood. The transit and commission trade is very considerable. Magdeburg is a city of old date, having been mentioned as early as the reign of Charlemagne. It suffered greatly in the wars of the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1806 it was taken by the French, and was annexed to the new kingdom of Westphalia by the treaty of Tilsit in 1807. It was restored to Prussia in 1814. Pop. about 290,000.
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Magdeburg Hemispheres
a celebrated invention designed to show atmospheric pressure. About 1650 Otto von Guericke, burgomaster of Magdeburg, prepared two hollow hemispheres of copper. Their edges were ground and polished, so that when placed together, oiled, and twisted slightly, they formed an air-tight globe. One of the hemispheres was fitted with a stopcock through which the inventor exhausted the air by means of an air-pump. He exhibited his apparatus before scientific men of the day and before the emperor, Ferdinand III, at the Diet of Ratisbon. When full of air the hemispheres fell apart of their own accord. When the air was exhausted they could not be pulled apart by two men. The experiment is still a familiar one in the school laboratory. The force with which the hemispheres are held together may be obtained readily. It is fifteen pounds for every square inch of the cross-section of the united hemispheres.
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Magellan
the incorrect but generally received name of
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Magellan
STRAIT OF, a sea-passage separating South America on the S. from Tierra del Fuego; length 375 miles, breadth from 2½ to 17 miles. It was discovered by Magellan in 1520, and first thoroughly explored by King and Fitzroy in the "Adventure" and "Beagle" The wider E. half is (1826-1836). by level, gently-rolling grassy bordered by plains. The narrower W. half is shut in by steep, wooded mountains; the current runs strong through it, and the W. winds are a great hindrance to sailing vessels. There are several fine harbors along this part of the strait.
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Magenta
an Italian town, 18 miles W. of Milan. Here, on June 4, 1859, 55,000 French and Sardinians defeated 75,000 Austrians, the latter losing 10,000 (besides 7,000 prisoners), and the allies only 4,000. For this victory Macmahon received his dukedom.
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Magenta
DUC DE. See MACMAHON.
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Maggiore
LAGO, one of the largest lakes in Italy, the Lacus Verbanus of the Romans, situated for the most part in Italy, but also partly in the Swiss canton of Ticino; length 39 miles, breadth from 1/2 mile to 5½ miles; 646 feet above sea-level, with a maximum depth of 1,158 feet. The river Ticino flows through it. In a S. W. expansion of the lake are the BORROMEAN ISLANDS (q. v.). On the N. and W. it is surrounded by granitic mountains, 7,000 feet high, on the S. and E. by vineyard-covered hills.
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Maggot
larva of an insect; a grub.
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Magic
maj'ik, a general name for a wonderful effect produced by a mysterious cause. We have the word from Persia, where the priestly caste, the wise men of the Medes and Persians, were called Magi. Magic is akin to enchantment, sorcery, witchcraft, alchemy, and other superstitions. Idolatry has its basis, not in veneration, but in a belief in magical power to do good and evil. A belief in magic is common to all primitive peoples. It dies hard. The African rain doctor shook his medicine bag to bring up a shower. The magi pronounced mystical words to drive away the pestilence. Aladdin rubbed his magical lamp to make the genii appear. The fourteenth century quack rubbed healing salve on the edge of the instrument instead of on the wound, relying on magic. Nor is a belief in magic yet dead. The American Indian still dances to bring on a rain; the Mohammedan wears a sacred amulet; the would-be financier advocates making money with a printing press; and the invalid relies on patent medicines and incredible cures. All believe that, in some mysterious way, the desired result may be brought about. See Idolatry ; Superstition
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Magic
the art or pretended art of putting in action the power of spirits; the science or art of producing preternatural effects by the medium of supernatural means, or the aid of departed spirits, or the occult powers of nature. A belief in magic is to be reckoned among the earliest growths of human thought. The practice of magic had its origin in the belief in an objective connection between two things a man and a rude drawing or image image of him, or two eventsas between the birth of a child and the rising or setting of a particular star, when, in truth, the connection could only be subjective. Black magic: Magic proper, or that division of it which in former times fell into the hands of unofficial persons, or was practiced with malefic intentions. Celestial magic: A supposed supernatural power which gave to spirits a kind of dominion over the planets, and to the planets an influence over man. Natural magic: The art of applying natural causes to ral produce. Superstitious effects apparently or goetic magic supernatu-: : The invocation of devils or demons involving the agreement supposition between of some them tacit and human or express beings. White magic: (a) Magic practiced for the benefit of others. (b) The art of performing tricks and exhibiting illusions by aid of apparatus, excluding feats of dexterity in which there is no deception, together with the performance of such automaton figures as are actuated in a secret and mysterious manner.
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