as " a fine and continuous story, of which the writer and the nation celebrated by him have equal reason to be proud ; a narrative that will remain a prominent ornament of American genius while it has permanently enriched English literature on this as well as on the other side of the Atlantic." The most authoritative of the Dutch critics sub- jected it to close questioning, but recognized it as perhaps the most classical of Motley's productions. With his strong feeling for religious as well as political liberty he could not avoid disturbing the prejudices of the old-fashioned Calvinists like Groen von Prinsterer. In the story of John of Bar- neveld the careful reader will get at many points of Motley's personal history and feelings through the thin disguise of his narrative. The death of Mrs. Motley in 1874 found him already in an enfeebled state and left him with little hope of any future activity, yet never wholly giving up the thought of further literary labors. An attack of an apo- plectic nature had practically disabled him. He seemed to live almost wholly in the past, yet his affections were warm toward the living, and with his few friends he was always as interesting, and occasionally as cheerful, as in his earlier days. He passed the summer and a part of the autumn of 1875 in Boston and its vicinity. This was his last visit to the United States, and those who met him saw but too clearly that his working-days were over. His first apoplectic attack was in August, 1873. This left some partial paralysis, so that he walked with an imperfect gait and was glad of a friendly arm to assist him. His mental powers were not clouded, but he was not equal to any se- rious intellectual labor. On 29 May, 1877, Sir William Gull, who had been his medical adviser for years, was summoned to his daughter's resi- dence in Dorsetshire, where Motley was staying, but did not reach the place until he was no longer living. He was buried by the side of his wife in Kensall Green cemetery, near London. On 3 June, Dean Stanley delivered a sermon in Westminster Abbey, in which he referred with feeling and elo- quence to Motley as '• one of the brightest lights of the western hemisphere, the high-spirited patriot, the faithful friend of England's best and purest spirits, the brilliant, the indefatigable historian, who told as none before him had told the history of the rise and struggle of the Dutch Republic. So long as the tale of the greatness of the house of Orange, of the siege of Leyden, of the tragedy of Barneveld, interests mankind, so long will Holland be indissolubly connected with the name of Mot- ley in that union of the ancient culture of Europe with the aspirations of America, which was so re- markable in the ardent, laborious, soaring soul that has passed away." Expressive tributes of respect to his memory were paid by the historical societies of Massachusetts and New York. The list of hon- ors conferred upon him is very long, and includes degrees from the English universities, from Har- vard and New York, and honorary membership in many learned associations of various countries. The last honor, and one of the highest conferred on him, was his election as foreign associate of the French academy of moral and political sciences. A uniform edition of his works, in nine volumes, is published in New York. See "John Lothrop Motley, a Memoir," by Oliver Wendell Holmes (Boston and London, 1878).
MOTOLINIA, or BENAVENTE, Toribio de
(mo-to-leen'-yah), Spanish missionary, b. in Bena-
vente, Zamora, late in the loth century; d. in
Mexico, 9 Aug., 1568. He came to Mexico with
the first twelve Franciscan friars in 1523. When
the Indians of Tlaxeala saw them entering bare-
footed and travel-worn, they exclaimed " Moto-
linia ! " On asking the signification of that word.
Friar Toribio was told that it meant " poor fellow,"
and adopted it as his surname. He soon learned
the Mexican language and was assigned to the
missions of the pi-ovinces of Tapachula and Hue-
xotzingo, where he converted and baptized thou-
sands of Indians, and in 1529 he colonized in Hue-
xcotzingo the Indians that had fled from persecu-
tion in Guatemala. In 1530 he was sent to Tlax-
eala, and. by order of the president, Ramirez Fuen-
leal, was one of the founders of the city of Puebla
de los Angeles, where he chanted the first mass on
16 April. He was afterward superior of the con-
vent of Tezcuco, and in 1548 was elected provincial
of Santiago. He wrote " Doctrina Cristiana en
lengua Mexicana," " De Moribus Indorum," and
"Relacion del viaje a Guatemala." The manu-
scripts of these works were lost, but in the convent
of Texcoco there exists a copy of the first in Span-
ish (Seville, 1532), with the written indorsement of
Bishop Zumarraga "to Father Motolinia to be
translated." The second was largely used by
Father Torquemada in his historical work, and
Clavijero mentions it. Of the third a large part
was translated into Aztec by Friar Juan Bautista
and printed under the title of " Vida y Martirio de
los tres niilos nobles de Tlaxeala, Cristobal, hijo
del cacique Acxotecatl, Antonio y Juan " (Mexico,
1601). Leon Pinelo also gives the name of another
work of Motolinia, " Relacion de las cosas, ritos,
ceremonias e idolatria de los indios de la N. E." ;
but Nicolas Antonio proved that it is nothing but
an extract under the title " Moribus Indorum."
MOTT, George Scudder, clergyman, b. in New
York city, 25 Nov., 1829. He was graduated at
the University of the city of New York in 1850,
and at Princeton theological seminary in 1853.
He was pastor of a Presbyterian church at Rahway,
N. J., till 1858, at Newton, N. J., in 1859-69, and
from that time has had charge of the church in
Flemington, N. J. In 1873 he declined the pro-
fessorship of sacred rhetoric in Lincoln university.
The degree of D. D. was conferred on him by
Princeton in 1874. For several years Dr. Mott has
been president of the New Jersey Sabbath union.
He has contributed to the " Princeton Review "
and the " Presbyterian Review," and, besides tracts,
sermons, and historical addresses, has published
" The Prodigal Son " (Philadelphia, 1863) ; " The
Resurrection of the Dead " (New York, 1867) ; and
" The Perfect Law " (1868), translated for mission-
ary purposes into Spanish and Portuguese.
MOTT, Gershom, soldier, b. near Trenton, N. J., 7 April, 1822 ; d. in New York city, 29 May, 1884. He was the grandson of Capt. John Mott, of the Continental line, who guided the army of Gen. Washington down the Delaware river to the victory at Trenton. After leaving Trenton academy at the age of fourteen he entered upon commercial life in New York city. At the beginning of the Mexican war he was commissioned as 2d lieutenant in the 10th U. S. infantry. After the war he was collector of the port of Lamberton, N. J., and in 1855 became an officer of the Bordentown bank. On 4 Aug., 1861, he was commissioned as lieutenant-colonel of the 5th New Jersey volunteers, and afterward was made colonel of the 6th regiment, and received a severe wound in the second battle of Bull Run. He was promoted brigadier-general of volunteers on 7 Sept., 1862, and again badly wounded at Chancellorsville. On 1 Aug., 1864, he was brevetted major-general for distinguished services during the war. On 6 April, 1865, he was
