MOSES 319 MOSQUE and commanded him to return to Egypt and lead his people from the house of bondage. In obedience to this command, Moses, after much opposition, eventually brought the Israelites out of Egypt, passed the Red Sea, and came within MOSES sight of the Promised Land; when, in consequence of the transgressions of the people, they were turned back and con- demned for 40 years to wander in the wilderness, till the whole generation of offenders had died. This national mi- gration, known as "The Exodus of the Hebrews," took place about 1300 B. C. Moses was not allowed to enter the land of Canaan. He died in his 120th year. on the confines of Canaan. Moses is con- sidered the author of the first five books of the Old Testament — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, The Decalogue, given through Moses, and many of the broader provisions of the Mosaic laws form the basis of all pres- ent moral and legal codes. MOSES, GEORGE HIGGINS, United States Senator from New Hampshire, 1918-1924; born in Maine in 1869; graduated from Dartmouth College in 1890. In the same year he became pri- vate secretary to the governor of New Hampshire; then, from 1893 to 1906, he was secretary to the State Forestry Com- mission. He was a delegate to the Repub- lican National Conventions of 1908 and 1916. President Taft appointed Moses Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- potentiary to Greece and Montenegro, a position which he held from 1909 to 1912. Senator Moses was a vigorous opponent of the ratification of the Treaty of Ver- sailles when that document was laid be- fore the Senate. M0SKV7A, a branch of the Volga's tributary, the Oka, rises in a marsh in the E. of Smolensk, flows E. to the city of Moscow, and thence 112 miles S. E. to the Oka. Its total course is 305 miles. It is navigable from its mouth to Mos- cow, except between November and April, when it is generally frozen, and is con- nected directly with the Volga by the Moskwa Canal. MOSLEM (Arabic, muslim, a true be- liever; plural, 'muslimin, hence the cor- rupt form, musidman), a general appel- lation in European languages for all who profess Mohammedanism. MOSLER, HENRY, artist; born in New York City in 1841; he began by studying wood engraving and painting at Cincinnati and in France and Ger- many, attaining a reputation in Paris, where he lived for years. His first pub- lic work was as draughtsman on "The Omnibus," a Cincinnati comic weekly. He won numerous gold medals and sim- ilar distinctions here and abroad, among them the cross of the Legion of Honor. His best known works include: "The Re- turn," "Wedding Feast in Brittany," "Rainy Day." He died in 1920. MOSQUE, a Mohammedan temple or place of worship. A mosque has three essential parts, the Mihrab, or Hall of Prayer, which marks the direction oi Mecca; a place for the ablutions, which precede prayer; and finally a large space for the entry and departure of the faith- ful, for the reading of the Koran and prayers. In this space are the maksura,
