Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/356

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320
MIFFLIN
MILBERT

of his society liberated their slaves. He was an elder of the Society of Friends, and travelled from state to state preaching- his anti-slavery doctrines among his people, and in the conrse of his life vis- ited all the yearly meetings on the continent. He was much encouraged in his work by the words of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. Referring to these, he writes : " Seeing this was the very substance of the doctrine I had been concerned to promulgate for years, I became animated with hope that if the representatives were men, and in- culcated these views among the people generally, a blessing to this nation would accompany these en- deavors." In 1782 he appeared before the legisla- ture of Virginia, and was instrumental in having a law enacted that admitted of emancipation, to which law may be attributed the liberation of several thousand negroes. In 1783 he presented a memorial to congress respecting the African slave- trade, and he subsequently visited, in the further- ance of his work, the legislatures of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. In 1791 he presented his noted " Memorial to the President, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the United States " on the subject of slavery, and, on account of some reflections that were cast on him, he published a short time afterward his serious expostulations with the house of representatives in relation to the prin- ciples of liberty and the inconsistency and cruelty of the slave-trade and slavery. These essays show the undaunted firmness and zeal of the writer, his cogent reasoning and powerful appeals to the un- derstanding and the heart. From conviction he was against war, and on principle opposed the Revolution. On the day of the battle of German- town he was attending the yearly meeting of the Quakers at Philadelphia, and the room in which they were assembled was darkened by the smoke of the battle. At this meeting the Friends renewed their " testimony " against the spirit of war, and chose Mifflin to undertake the service of communi- cating it to Gen. Washington and Gen. Howe. To perform this duty, he had to walk in blood and among the dead bodies of those that had fallen in the fight. In his conversation with Washington he said : " I am opposed to the Revolution and to all changes of government which occasion war and bloodshed." After Washington was elected presi- dent, Mifflin visited him in New York, and in the course of the interview the president, recollecting an assertion of Mifflin's at Germantown, said : " Mr. Mifflin, will you please tell me on what prin- ciple you were opposed to the Revolution ? " " Yes, "Friend Washington, upon the principle that I should be opposed to a change in the present government. All that was ever gained by revolu- tion is not an adequate compensation for the poor mangled soldiers, for the loss of life or limb." To which Washington replied : " I honor your senti- ments ; there is more in that than mankind have generally considered." With reference to Mifflin, Brissot, in his "New Travels in the United States of America " (London, 1792), says : " I was sick, and Warner Mifflin came to me. It is he that first freed all his slaves ; it is he who, without a pass- port, traversed the British army and spoke to Gen. Howe with so much firmness and dignity ; it is he who, fearing not the effects of the general hatred against the Quakers, went, at the risk of being treated as a spy, to present himself to Gen. Wash- ington, to justify to him the conduct of the Qua- kers ; it is he that, amid the furies of war, equally a friend to the French, the English, and the Ameri- cans, carried succor to those who were suffering. Well ! this angel of peace came to see me." MIGNOT, Louis Reniy, painter, b. in Charles- ton, S. C, in 18ol ; d. in' Brighton, England, in September, 1870. Pie was the son of a Baltimore confectioner, studied art in Holland, opened a studio in New York city about 1855, and became known as a landscape-painter. He went with Frederick E. Church to South America, where he painted some tropical scenes. He was elected an associate member of the Academy of design in 1858, and an academician in 1859. When the civil war began, desiring neither to return to his native state nor to remain in the north, he emi- grated to Europe, and settled in London in 1862. He made studies in Switzerland and other parts of Europe, and painted works that found recogni- tion. Among his earlier pictures are " Twilight in the Tropics," " Southern Harvest," " Tropical Scenery," and " Source of the Susquehanna," which was exhibited at the Paris exposition of 1867. He also painted •' Niagara," a view from the American side. He exhibited at the Royal academy in London " Lagoon of Guayaquil, South America " and " A Winter Morning" in 1863, "Evening in the Trop- ics " in 1865, " Under the Equator " in 1866, " Tin- tern " in 1867, and " Sunset off Hastings " in 1870. " Mount Chimborazo " was shown in 1871. After his death a collection of his paintings was placed on exhibition in London.


MIJARES, Jacobo (me-hah'-res), Mexican cler- gyman, b. in Puebla de los Angeles, Mexico, in 1695 ; d. in Guadalajara in 1751. He became a Jesuit in 1713. After his ordination he was professor of philosophy in various Mexican colleges, and then filled successively the posts of rector of the col- leges of Oajaca and Guadalajara. He published " Elogio de la Inmaculada Concepcion de la Vir- gen Maria" (Mexico, 1730) and " El Penitente in- struido y el^Confesor asegurado" (1747).


MILANES Jose Jacinto (me-lah-nays'), Cuban poet, b. in Matanzas, Cuba, in August, 1814 ; d. in November, 1863. He studied in his native city, which at that time was poorly endowed with the means of furnishing an education. He showed a remarkable talent for poetry from his boyhood, but his first poems were published in " Aguinaldo Habanero" (Havana, 1887). He then established his residence in that city, where his drama *' El Conde de Alarcos" was performed with success in 1838. This drama made its author famous at once, and was soon translated into German. George Ticknor, in his " History of Spanish Literature," says that it " contains passages of very passionate poetry." Soon afterward he composed his drama " Un poeta en la corte." In the mean time he had published in the reviews and literary papers several poems, some of them deemed among the best Span- ish lyrics. He published " Mii*6n Cubano," a series of social sketches (1842) ; but his reason began to fail, and the physicians recommended change of life. He travelled through the United States and Europe accompanied by his brother, but without any improvement, and when he had returned to his native country he was hopelessly insane. His " Complete Works " have been issued (4 vols., Ha- vana, 1846; 2d ed., enlarged. New York, 1865). The second edition, besides the two dramas already mentioned, contains three dramatic works, five legends, numerous poems, " Cancionero de Tristan Morales," and other productions of less interest. Almost all his works have been translated into German, and many of his poems into English, French, and Italian.


MILBERT, Jacques Gérard, French naturalist, b. in Paris, 18 Nov., 1766 ; d. there, 5 June, 1840. He showed early in life a disposition for art. In