Mitford
MARY RUSSELL, an English writer; born in Alresford, Hampshire, England, Dec. 16, 1787; when 10 years old she drew a lottery prize of $100,000. Her father (a physician), having dissipated several fortunes, she adopted literature. Her most famous works were: "Our Village" (5 vols. 1824-1832); and "Recollections of a Literary Life" (1852-1854). Other works were the tragedies "Julian" (1823), "The Foscari" (1826), and "Rienzi" (1828), all produced by Macready or Charles Kemble; "Belford Regis" (1835), a novel; poems, short stories, juvenile stories, etc. She died in Swallowfield, Jan. 10, 1855.
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Mitford, Mary Russell
Mary Russell (1787-1855), an English writer. She was a native of Hampshire. Her mother died when she was a child. Her father was a spendthrift. He spent a fortune and became dependent on his daughter. She was very proud of his social qualities and sprightliness. At the age of ten she won a $100,000 prize in a lottery. Her scapegrace father spent it. She rented a small cottage and labored with her pen to keep up appearances. She wrote a number of books once popular but now forgotten. Her reputation as a writer rests on Sketches of English Rural Life. They appeared first as a serial in The Lady's Magazine. They were afterwards published in a volume under the name of Our Village. In these sketches her style is thought to resemble that of Irving. She is considered a forerunner of this kind of writing, now so popular.
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Mitford, William
William (1744-1827), an English historian. He was a native of London and was educated at Oxford. On the advice of the historian, Gibbon, then a fellow officer in an English regiment, he undertook the preparation of A History of Greece. He was a Tory in politics. This so colored his views that he wrote of the Athenian democracy as though it were a treacherous rabble, and elevated Philip to the rank of a great statesman and military commander. His history has been superseded largely by that of Grote, a more accurate and trustworthy treatise.
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Mithra
mith'ra, or Mithras, in Persian mythology, the god of light and later god of the sun. He stood as mediator between Ormuzd and the world. His worship was introduced into Rome and later into Germany. Of all the pagan deities Mithras was the last to give way to the influences of Christianity. Mithras is represented in art as a handsome youth wearing a Phrygian cap and tunic. He is kneeling on a bull which he is about to sacrifice. A dog, a serpent, and a scorpion are also attacking the bull.
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Mithraic Mysteries
(See Mysteries .)
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Mithras
The god of the sun among the Persians. Under the Roman emperors his worship was introduced at Rome. The god is commonly represented as a handsome youth, wearing the Phrygian cap and attire, and kneeling on a bull, whose throat he is cutting. 2026 Editor's Note: Mithraism was a Roman mystery religion, distinct from the earlier Persian worship of Mithra, and was especially popular among the Imperial Roman army from the 1st to the 4th century AD. The cult was a rival to early Christianity, faced persecution from Christians in the 4th century, and was suppressed and eliminated by the end of that century. (Ed: BR 2026-06-27)
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Mithridates First
He was king of Pontus and tributary to the crown of Persia: his attempts to make himself independent of that fealty proved fruitless, being defeated in a battle which he had provoked, and having to sue for peace. 2026 Editor's Note: Mithridates I of Pontus (reigned 281–266 BC) is the likely subject of this entry, not his more famous descendant Mithridates VI Eupator. He founded the Kingdom of Pontus in 281 BC, a Hellenistic state that endured until the Roman conquest in 63 BC. (Ed: BR 2026-06-29)
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Mitis Metal
The name given to an alloy of aluminum with wrought iron. For the production of castings in this metal, the wrought iron is heated until it has become pasty, and then treated to a small quantity of aluminum, which immediately liquefies the iron in a fit condition for pouring into the moulds. These so-called mitis castings, it is claimed, have all the properties, excepting fibre, that wrought iron possesses, besides being much softer than cast iron. Wrought-iron or mild-steel scrap is usually the basis of this metal; but no matter what the kind of material be, it is preferable that it should not contain more than 0.1 per cent of phosphorus when the best results attainable are desired. About 3 1/2 ounces of aluminum are sufficient for 100 pounds of iron. See ALUMINUM.
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Mitla
a ruined city of Mexico, 15 miles S. E. of Oaxaca, with extensive remains of a prehistoric race.
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Mito
a city of Cochin-China, on an arm of the Mekong river. It has important trade interest, and has a college and hospital. Pop., about 30,000.
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Mitosis
the phenomena of indirect nuclear division of the cells that are growing, or undergoing the changes in the egg which result in the development of the embryo. The first processes are marked by a rearrangement of the nuclear network into a series of loops on V-shaped bodies. During these changes a minute body in the cytoplasm divides in half, forming two cells at opposite poles, the nucleus between. Each consists of a centrosome with a radiating : mass. The chromosomes of the nucleus are arranged with ends opening outward and closed ends near the center, and they divide along the contact plane, half joining and being incorporated with each centrosome. As the cell is contracted between the centrosomes a new nucleus is developed in each of the two portions by a process practically the reverse of that just given. The result is the formation of daughter cells, from the mother cell, each containing half of the chromatin elements of equal weight and quality. Chromatin particles are generally believed to be the carriers of heredity.
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Mitrailleuse
originally the French term for a weapon designed to fire a number of cartridges in a short time, but now used generally for all machine guns. A Belgian invention, it was first used on a large scale in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The weapon consisted of a group of combined rifle barrels with breech-action mechanism. The cartridges in steel blocks, were successively dropped into a breech slot, and replaced on discharge by a fresh plate. See MACHINE GUN.
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