526 MIDDLETON MIDLAND MIDDLETON, Thomas Fanshawe, an English scholar, born at Kedleston, Derbyshire, Jan. 26, 1769, died in Calcutta, July 8, 1822. He was educated at Christ's hospital, London, and Pembroke hall, Cambridge, took orders, and while curate of Gainsborough in 1792 he edited a periodical called the " Country Spec- tator." His principal work is " The Doc- trine of the Greek Article applied to the Criti- cism and Illustration of the New Testament " (London, 1808). He was prebendary of Lin- coln in 1809, archdeacon of Huntingdon in 1812, and consecrated as first bishop of Calcutta, May 8, 1814. His sermons, charges, and tracts were collected and published with a life by Dr. Henry Kaye Bonney (London, 1824), and his life was also written by the Kev. Charles Webb Le Bas (2 vols. 8vo, London, 1830). MIDDLETOWN, a city, port of entry, and one of the shire towns of Middlesex co., Connecti- cut, on the right bank of the Connecticut river, 30 m. above its mouth, 24 m. N. E. of New Haven, and 15 m. S. of Hartford ; pop. of the city in 1870, 6,923, exclusive of 4,203 in the town. It is situated at the intersection of a branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hart- ford railroad with the Connecticut Valley and the New Haven, Middletown, and Willimantic lines. The city has a gradual ascent from the river, with which the principal streets run par- allel, crossed at right angles by others ; it is well built, chiefly of brick, and has many fine situ- ations and elegant mansions in the environs. It has a custom house built of Portland free- stone, and a court house. The wharves have 10 ft. of water, and can accommodate such vessels as can cross the bar. During the year ending June 30, 1873, there were 229 en- trances, tonnage 231,675, and 7 clearances, ton- nage 720, all coastwise. There were belong- ing in the district 115 sailing vessels of 11,008 tons, 25 steamers of 5,815 tons, and 7 barges of 1,234 tons. There are four national banks, with an aggregate capital of $969,300, two savings banks with more than $8,000,000 of deposits, and important manufactures, embra- cing cottons, foundery products, britannia ware, hardware, silver-plated ware, rules, chisels, sewing machines, pumps, webbing, tape, guns, screws, leather, &c. The city has a daily and two weekly newspapers, and a bi-weekly, a high school and six other public schools, and 15 churches. It is the seat of the insane asy- lum, the state industrial school for girls, Wes- leyan university (see WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY), and Berkeley divinity school (Episcopalian). The last named institution was established in 1854, and in 1873-'4 had 5 professors, 34 stu- dents, and a library of 14,000 volumes. MIDDLETOWN, a village of Orange co., New York, at the intersection of the Erie, the New York and Oswego Midland, and the New. Jersey Midland railroads, 21 m. W. by S. of NewlHirirli. and 55 m. N. N. W. of New York ; pop. in 1870, 6,049. It is in the midst of a wide un- dulating plain, partly between and partly upon several gradually sloping hills. The view to the north and south is unbroken, while on the west it is bounded by the Shawangunk moun- tains and on the east by the Highlands along the Hudson and the mountains beyond. In the S. W. part of the village is Hillside cemetery, containing 50 acres, handsomely laid out and adorned. The streets are broad, clean, well shaded, sewered, lighted with gas, and bor- dered with flagged sidewalks. Water is sup- plied from a reservoir of 80 acres, 2 m. from the village, elevated from 100 to 200 ft. above its level. It has a fire department, a police force, and a board of health. There are many substantial business blocks, a fine masonic hall, neat cottages, and handsome residences. The state homeopathic asylum for the insane oc- cupies a building capable of accommodating from 80 to 100 patients, with a wing in course of construction (1874) designed to accommo- date 175 more. Middletown is surrounded by a rich dairy and stock-raising district, from which it derives a large and profitable trade. It has manufactories of saws, files, hats, fur- naces, carpet bags, agricultural implements, lawn mowers, gloves, blankets, patent medi- cines, flavoring extracts, &c. There are sev- eral hotels, an opera house seating 1,000 per- sons, public halls, two national banks, a sa- vings bank, five brick school houses with a system of graded schools, a female seminary, several private schools, a library and reading room, a daily and three weekly newspapers, and nine churches. MIDGE, a small fly. ^ee DIPTEEA. MIDIANITES, a nomad or half -nomad people of northern Arabia, who in the time of the early history of the Hebrews dwelt in the vicinity of the Arabian gulf and Dead sea, especially between Mt. Sinai and Moab. They are de- rived in Scripture from Midian, the son of Abra- ham by Keturah, and appear occasionally as merchants, and more frequently, like Bedouins, making raids into the neighboring territories of the Hebrews. Moses, who was himself the son-in-law of a Midianite priest, Jethro, waged a war of extermination against those of their tribes who in conjunction with the Moabites had enticed the Hebrews to idolatry when they were approaching Canaan. Gideon seems to have broken their power by his great victory over them and their allies the Amalekites. Some critics, to remove difficulties arising from apparently contradictory Scriptural state- ments, distinguish between Abrahamite and Cushite tribes of the same name, the former of whom, descendants of the same Semitic stock, lived in hostility to the Hebrews, while the daughter of Jethro is identified with the Cushite wife of Moses, mentioned in another part of his history (Num. xii. 1). MIDLAND, an E. central county of the southern peninsula of Michigan, intersected by Tittibawassee river and drained by its branches, the Chippewa, Salt, and Pine rivers ; area, 550 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 3,285. The surface is
