Matsimae, Or Matsmai

Matsimae, Or Matsmai, a city of Japan, in Yezo, at the mouth of a small river on the S. coast, hit. 41° 30' ST., Ion. 140° 3"E., about 42 m. S. W. of Hakodate; pop. estimated at 50.000. It was the seat of the daimio Matsu-daira Idzu no Kami, and contains a castle, such as is usually found in a daimio's capital. It carries on a thriving trade with Hakodate, and with Awomori on the main island, across the strait of Tsugaru. Next to Hakodate it is the largest town in Yezo. Matsumae derives its importance in the eyes of foreigners from the fact that here the Iiussian captain Golovnin was imprisoned from 1811 to 1813. The question of opening Matsumae as a port of foreign commerce was discussed by Commodore Perry with the Japanese in 1854, but without success. The name Matsumae was applied by some of the earlier navigators both to the island of Yezo arid to the strait of Tsugaru.

Matteo And Giuseppe Campani

Matteo And Giuseppe Campani, two brothers, natives of the diocese of Spoleto, Italy, lived in the latter half of the 17th century. Matteo, the elder brother, or Campani Alimenis, as he was called, was a curate in Rome. Both of them are known in science as opticians. Matteo was the inventor of illuminated clock dials, and celebrated for being the first to grind object glasses of great focal length; 205 palms, or 160 feet focal distance, being the largest. With Campani's object glasses, two of the satellites of Saturn Were discovered. He was the inventor of the magic lantern, and made some experiments with triple eye-glasses, to destroy chromatic aberration. The thermometrical irregularities of pendulum vibrations also engaged his attention. The younger brother, Giuseppe, was also an optician and astronomer, constructing his own telescopes.

Matthews

Matthews, an E. county of Virginia, bordering on Chesapeake bay; area, 68 sq. in.; pop. in 1870, 6,200, of whom 2,096 were colored. It is a peninsula, having the Piankatank river on the N., the Chesapeake on the E., and Mobjack bay on the S. W., and is connected with the mainland by an isthmus 1 in. wide; length 20 m., greatest width 8 m. It has a level surface and moderately fertile soil. The chief productions in 1870 were 3,268 bushels of wheat, 104,867 of Indian corn, and 13,577 of oats. There were 390 horses, 2,269 cattle, 957 sheep, and 4,055 swine. Capital, Matthews.

Matthew L Davis

Matthew L Davis, an American writer, born in 1766, died at Manhattanville, N. Y., June 21, 1850. Originally a printer, he early attached himself in politics to the fortunes of Aaron Burr, and advocated his elevation to the presidency at the time when the balance hung so long undecided between him and Jefferson. For many years he was a newspaper correspondent in Washington. He wrote "Memoirs of Aaron Burr" (2 vols., 1836), and edited "The Private Journal of Aaron Burr, with Selections from his Correspondence " (2 vols., 1838).