orests, and these, with cattle, hides, and india-rubber, constitute the
exports; gold, iron, copper, lead, and sulphur are found, and the natives
are skilled in working metals; the Malagasys possess civilised
institutions; slavery was abolished in 1879; a quarter of the population
is Christian; the heathen section, though untruthful and immoral, are
affectionate, courageous, and loyal; Antananarivo (100), the capital, is
situated in the interior, and has many fine buildings; chief ports,
Tamatave on the E. and Majunga on the NW. coasts; the island has been
under French protection since 1890, and is a French colony since 1896.

MADEIRA (140), the chief of a group of small volcanic islands with
precipitous coasts, in the Atlantic, 400 m. off Morocco; has peaks 6000
ft. high and deep picturesque ravines; the island is a favourite resort
for consumptives; the climate is very mild and equable, the rainfall
moderate, and the soil fertile; crops of cereals and potatoes are raised;
oranges, lemons, grapes, figs, and bananas abound; Madeira wine is
famous, and the chief export; Funchal (21) is the capital, with an
exposed harbour and some good buildings; the islands form a province of
Portugal.

MADEIRA RIVER (i. e. river of the wood), formed by the junction of
the Mamore and Beni on the borders of Bolivia and Brazil, flows 900 m.
NE., and joins the Amazon, as an affluent its longest and largest, and
forms a magnificent navigable waterway.

MADELEINE, CHURCH OF THE, one of the principal and wealthiest
churches in Paris, erected in the style of a Greek temple, and the
building of which, began in 1764, was not finished till 1842, both the
interior and exterior of which has been adorned by the most distinguished
artists.

MADGE WILDFIRE, a pretty but giddy girl in the "Heart of
Midlothian," whom seduction and the murder of her child drove crazy.

MADISON, JAMES, American statesman and President, born at Port
Conway, Virginia, educated at Princeton; devoted himself to politics in
1776; he took part in framing the Virginia constitution, and subsequently
secured religious liberty in the State; with Jay and Hamilton he
collaborated to establish the federation of the States and to frame the
Federal Constitution; the "three-fifths" rule, which won the adhesion of
the slave-holding States, was his suggestion; elected to the first
Congress, he attached himself to Jefferson's party, and was Secretary of
State during Jefferson