s, and completed in 1663, but not
published till 1667; 1671 saw "Paradise Regained" and "Samson
Agonistes"; he had been blind since 1652; he married Elizabeth Minshull
in 1663, who comforted him in his closing years; a man of fervent,
impulsive temperament, and a lover of music, he was sincere in
controversy, magnanimous in character, and of deep religious faith; the
richness, melody, and simplicity of his poetry, the sublimity of his
great theme, and the adequacy of its treatment, place him among the
greatest poets of the world; in later years he leaned to Arianism, and
broke away from the restraints of outward religious practice; his last
prose work, a Latin treatise on "Christian Doctrines," was lost at the
time of his death, and only recovered 150 years later (1608-1674).

MILWAUeKEE (285), chief city of Wisconsin, U.S., on W. shore of Lake
Michigan, 80 miles N. by W. of Chicago. Exports grain, iron ore, &c.;
manufactures flour, machinery, and pig-iron.

MIMES, dramatic performances among the Greeks and Romans, in comic
representation of scenes in ordinary life, often in extempore dialogue.

MIMIR, in the Norse mythology the god of wisdom, guardian of the
sacred well which nourished the roots of the TREE IGGDRASIL (q. v.),
and a draught of whose waters imparted divine wisdom.

MINARETS, a salient feature of Mohammedan architecture, are tall
slim towers, in several storeys with balconies, from which the muezzin
calls the people to prayer, and terminated by a spire or finial.

MINERVA, the Roman virgin goddess of wisdom and the arts, identified
with the GREEK ATHENA (q. v.); born full-armed from the brain of
Jupiter, and representing his thinking, calculating, inventive power, and
third in rank to him.

MINERVA PRESS, a printing establishment in Leadenhall Street,
London, which about a century ago issued a set of trashy, extremely
sentimental novels with complicated plots, in which hero and heroine were
involved before they could get married.

MINGHETTI, MARCO, Italian patriot and statesman, born at Bologna; a
man of liberal views; a friend and associate of Cavour; held office under
him as Minister of the Interior in 1862; was ambassador to the Court of
St. James's in 1868, and Prime Minister at Rome from 1873 to 1876
(1818-1886)

MINIMS, an order of monks founded by St. Francis of Paula in 1453, a
name which signifies "the least" to express super-humility.

MINNEAPOLIS (203), city of U.S.,