Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/359

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IfONTROSE 297 MONTT Edinburgh and 42 S. S. W. of Aberdeen, on a level peninsula between Montrose Basin and the mouth of the river South Esk. A fine suspension bridge (1829), 432 feet long, leads to Inchbrayock or Rossie Island, in the Esk's channel, and is continued thence by a drawbridge. The foreign trade (timber its staple), is chiefly with the Baltic and Canada; and the average tonnage of ships entering the port exceeds 90,000 tons per annum. Flax spinning is the principal industry; and ropes, canvas, soap, etc., are also manufactured. It has memories of Ed- ward I., the two Melvilles, the Great Marquis, the Old Pretender, Dr. Johnson, and Lola Montez. Pop. about 13,000. MONTROSE, JAMES GRAHAM, MARQUIS OF, a Scotch noble, and a distinguished royalist leader under Charles I., known, in English history, as the "Great Marquis"; born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1613. He took an active part on the side of the king, was created a marquis, and in a few months gained the battles of Perth, Aberdeen, and In- verlochy. In 1645 his fortune changed; and after suffering a defeat from Lesley, at Philiphaugh, near Selkirk, he was obliged to leave the kingdom; in 1648 he landed in Orkney with a few followers, but was soon overpowered, conveyed to Edinburgh, and there decapitated and quartered May 21, 1650. MONTSERRAT (mont-se-raf) (Latin Mons Serratus, so named from its saw- like outline), a mountain of Catalonia, in N. E. Spain, 30 miles N. W. of Bar- celona. Its height is 4,055 feet. The mountain owes its celebrity to the Bene- dictine abbey built halfway up it, with its wonder-working image of the Virgin, and to the 13 hermitages formerly perched like eagles' nests on almost inac- cessible pinnacles. In 1811 the French, under Suchet, plundered the abbey, burned the library, shot the hermits, and hanged the monks. The place in 1827 became the stronghold of the Carlist in- surrection. MONTSERRAT, one of the Lesser Antilles, belonging to Great Britain; 27 miles S. W. of Antigua; length about 11 miles, breadth 7 miles; area 32 square miles; pop. about 12,000. The surface is rery mountainous and heavily timbered. Sugar and limes and lime juice are the principal products. The island, ruled by a president and a legislative council, is the healthiest in the West Indies. The island was discovei-ed in 1493, and colo- nized by the British in 1632. It has re- mained in their hands ever since, except for two short intervals (1664-1668 and 1782-1784), when it was in the posses- sion of France. Chief town, Plymouth. MONT ST. ELOI, Flanders, Belgium. Scene of action between British and Ger- mans, Mar. 12, 1915. The Germans blew up part of the height and in a dash- ing advance overwhelmed the British trenches around it, and won a consider- able stretch of defenses. At 9 p. m. the British organized a counter-attack which was carried out by two companies of the Royal Irish, the Leinster Regiment, and the 4th Rifles in support, commanded by Colonel Prowse. The British fought until daybreak, winning some trenches, but leaving the Germans in possession of the Mont and front trenches. Their losses were 40 officers and 680 men killed, wounded, and missing. MONT ST. MICHEL {mong sang me- shel'), a steep, fortified, isolated rock, in Mont St. Michel Bay, off the coast of the depax-tment of Manche, France. On its summit is an irregular town, with an abbey and a church dating from the 11th century. Its ancient castle, formerly a prison, has been restored. Its solid ram- parts date from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries; in 1880 it was connected by a dyke with the mainland. The whole bay, 15 miles wide at the mouth, 8 miles N. to S., is nearly dry at low water. MONTT, JORGE, former President of Chile; bom in 1846. Trained in the navy, he led the fleet under his command to the support of Congress when a break came between it and President Balma- ceda at the end of 1890, carrying its members to Iquique, where a new gov- ernment was created. When in the hos- tilities which ensued President Balma- ceda and his army were defeated in the vicinity of Valparaiso, Senor Montt was chosen as the new president. His regime showed his sincerity as an adherent of constitutional government, and after in- itiating numerous reforms, including the establishment of the currency on a gold basis and the extension of the powers of local councils, he gave way in 1896 to Seiior F. Errazuriz, who had been elected as his presidential successor. MONTT, PEDRO, President of Chile, born in 1846. When 26 he was elected deputy, and continued to hold his seat in the Chamber till after 1900, acting some- times as speaker, and occasionally with a seat in the Cabinet. In 1886 he was Minister of Justice and Public Instruc- tion, and after that Minister of Industry. Following the deposition of President Balmaceda he was sent to Washington to represent Chile, and on his return be- came Minister of the Interior. In 1906,