onsent of one and all of them; his
novels, however, appeal only to a select few, but by them they are
regarded with unbounded admiration, some giving preference to this and
others to that of the series; "The Ordeal of Richard Feveril," published
in 1859, is by many considered his best, though it is over "The Egoist"
that Louis Stevenson breaks out into raptures; Meredith has most
sympathetic insights into nature and life, has a marvellous power in
analysing and construing character, and shows himself alive to all the
great immediate interests of humanity; _b_. 1828.

MEREDITH, OWEN, the _nom de plume_ assumed by Edward Robert Bulwer
Lytton, from his descent from a Welsh noble of the name.

MERGUI, a small seaport near the mouth of the Tenasserim, British
Burma, which exports birds' nests to China.

MERIDIAN, an imaginary great circle passing through the poles at
right angles to the equator.

MERIMEE, PROSPER, a great French writer, born in Paris; abandoned
law, to which he was bred, for literature; became under Louis Philippe
inspector-general of historical documents, and travelled in that capacity
in the S. and W. of France, publishing from time to time the fruits of
his researches; he wrote in exquisite style stories, historical
dissertations, and travels, among other works "Guzla," "Chronicles of
Charles IX.," the "History of Don Pedro, King of Castile," "Letters to an
Unknown"; he was a man of singularly enigmatic character (1802-1870).

MERIO`NETH (49), a mountainous county of North Wales, abutting on
Cardigan Bay, between Carnarvon and Cardigan; lofty peaks, Aran Mowddy,
Cader Idris, and Aran Benllyn; rivers, Dee and Dovey, and Lake Bala
afford picturesque scenery; the soil is fit only for sheep-grazing; but
there are slate and limestone quarries, manganese and gold mines; the
county town, Dolgelly (2), on the Wnion, has woollen and tweed
manufactures.

MERIVALE, CHARLES, dean of Ely, born at Exeter; held a succession of
appointments as lecturer; wrote a history of Rome from its foundation in
753 to the fall of Augustus in 476, but his chief work is the "History of
the Romans under the Empire," indispensable as an Introduction to Gibbon
(1808-1893).

MERLE D'AUBIGNE, JEAN-HENRI. See D'AUBIGNE, MERLE.

MERLIN, a legendary Welsh prophet and magician, child of a wizard
and a princess, who lived in the 5th century, and was subsequently a
prominent personage at King Arthur's' court; prophecies