MIRES. 582 HIBBOB. amounted to 1,500,000.000 francs. Arrested for frniiil in 1800. lie was condemned' to imprison- ment, but was freed in 1802. He resumed bank- inj; operations, but people came to distrust his promises of magnificent possibilities. He was a man of infinite resources, quick to plan, daring to act, carrying out his immense coups by gigan- tic combinations, overcoming all opposition by the onset of billions and with the liclp of his hired journjijists and politicians, lie jjublishcd ill 1870 Vn crime judicinirr, and carried on a lively war of pamphlets with his enemies. MIR'FIELD. A maruifacturing town in the West Hiding of Yorkshire, England, eight miles east-southeast of Halifax (Map: England, E 3), one of the chief railway centres, in the country. It lias manufactures of woolen fabrics, car- pet?, and blankets. Population, in 1891, 11,707; in mm. 11. .300. HIB'IAM. The sister of Moses and Aaron. In tjie triple tradition of the career of Hoses (q.v. ), as embodied in the Book of Exodus, Miriam apjiears only in the narrative of the Elohist. (8ce Eloiiist and Y.viiwisr.) She is called a 'prophetess' and is represented as cele- brating the deliverance of the people from Egj'pt as the leader of a female choir (Ex. xv.). Ai)art from this, she is mentioned again only in con- nection with Aaron's rebellion against Moses, in which Miriam stands on Aaron's side. She is smitten with leprosy as a punishment (Num. xii.), but after seven days' isolation (Lev. xiii. 5) is healed by Yahweh at Moses' solicitation. Her death takes place at Kadesh (Xum. xx. 1). Miriam, though not expressly named, is Uiought to be the sister referred to in the story of Moses' infancy (Ex. ii.), who acts as a nurse and pro- tector to him. The name may bo connected with Merari, one of the sons of Levi (Ex. vi. 16), and a very plausible view is to assume that Aaron and Miriam represent priestly families, the one at Horeb. the other at Kadesli, who were joined to the early traditions of the Hebrews by virtue of reminiscences that some of the clans once followed the cult at the sanc- tuaries in the two places named. The associa- tion iM'tween Moses, Aaron, and Miriam onctf established gave rise to further elaboration which was adjusted to the general priestly narrative in the Pentateuch. The allusion in Micah vi. 4 to 'Moses, Aaron, and iliriam' as the forerunners in the rcilcmplinn of Israel, is a vahiatile indica- tion for tlii> pcriiiil at which the combination of tlic three in popular tradition an<l legcml had taken place. MIRIBEL, nK^'rc'bel'. .Mauie Fraxoois .To- SEI'H UK ( I8:il0.'!). . French general. He was born at .Montbonnot, stmlicd at the Kcole Poly- technique and at the Military -Vcadeiny of Metz, and at twenty-four was commissioned a lieuten- ant of artillerv and sent to the Crimea. He fought in Italy in 18.59 and in Mexico (18G2- Co|: served on the international conimission dealing with the use of explosive bullets; and in ISOS was appointed military attache in Saint Petersburg. .Miribel fought bravely at Champigny and liuzcnval in the Franco-Prussian War: comiiiandi'd a corps of artillerv against the f'ommiinc; and in 1877 became chief of the general staff. His reappointment to this post in 1881 created great excitement, and he resigned after the fall of Gainl)ettn'.s Ministry. In 1890 he was once more made chief of staff with greater powers than before, and showed himself an able administrator. MIRIM, me-rex', or Lagoa Mini. A lake or lagoon in the extreme southeastern corner of Brazil, on the boundary of Uruguay (Map: South America, DC). It is 130 miles long and from 5 to 25 miles wide, and is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a low sandy tract from 15 to 40 miles wide, containing several true coast lagoons. It receives a number of small rivers from the west, and, though its shores are low and marshy, it is not in direct com- munication with the ocean, but discharges its waters northward into the Lagoa dos Patos (q.v.). Like the latter, it was evidently formed through the cutting off by sand-bars of a large bay of the ocean. The water of Lake ilirim is fresh, and tides are not felt in it. MIRITI (m^re'te) PALM. See Mauritia. MIRKHOND, mcr-Kond'. Haman ed mx (1433-98). A distinguished Persian historian, born of Sayyid descent from a Bokharan f:unily probably near Xisha|)ur. About 1474. under the patronage of Mir Alisbir, Mirkhond began his historical work, entitled liaiczat-uxsafa, or 'Gar- den of Purity.' It is of great value, and. on the whole, is a very remarkable com]iilation, being, ( save for the seventh volume, which deals with the latter part of the fifteenth centurv, and must have been by Mirkliond's son, Khondcmir ( 1475- 1334). the work of a single man. Beginning with mythical times, the Garden, contains biographical notices of the leading Persian notables <l(iwn to 1523. The part on the early kings was trans- lated by Shea (London. 1S32) ; that on the Sas- sanids, into French by S. de Sacy (Paris, 1793) ; on the Samanids, into Latin by ^Vilken (Berlin, 1832), and into French by Dcfremery (Paris, 1845) ; on the Seljuks, by VuUcrs into German (Giessen. 1837) : and the stor^' of ilohammed by Kehatsek into English (London. 1893). MIRROR (OF. mireor, miroiir, Fr. miroir, It. mtrntorc, iitiradorf. from Lat. mirari, to look, from miruK, wonderful; connected with Gk. ftei- SS.i', mcidan, Skt. smi, to smile). An object hav- ing a smooth or polished reflecting surface by which virtual or real images of an object are produced. Mirrors are used largely for toilet and decorative purposes, and also in scientific apparatus and in numerous other practical devices to concentrate, scatter, or divert rays of light or heat. The action of the mirror depends on the law of reflection where it is stated that the angle of reflection must equal the angle of incidence and be in the same plane. This op- tical principle was well known to the ancients and was doubtless long preceded by an actual practical knowledge of the instrument. Prob- ably for ages after the civilization of man com- menced, the still waters of ponds and lakes were the only mirrors. ^Ve read in the Pen- tateuch of mirrors of brass being used by the Hebrews, while it is known that mirrors of bronze were in very common use among the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and many specimens are preserved in musenms. Praxiteles taught the use of polished silver for mirrors in the year B.C. 328., and polished mir- rors of obsidian or natural glass were used by the Romans. Mirrors of glass were first made at Venice in
