MARLOWE, CHRISTOPHER, English dramatist and poet, precursor of Shakespeare; son of a shoemaker at Canterbury; besides a love poem entitled “Hero and Leander,” he was the author of seven plays, “Tamburlaine,” in two parts, “Doctor Faustus,” “The Jew of Malta,” “Edward the Second,” “The Massacre of Paris,” and “Dido,” the first four being romantic plays, the fifth a chronicle play, and the last two offering no particular talent; he dealt solely in tragedy, and was too devoid of humour to attempt comedy; “In Marlowe,” says Prof.  Saintsbury, “two things never fail him long—­a strange, not by any means impotent, reach after the infinite, and the command of magnificent verse”; his life was a short one (1564-1593).

MARMONT, Duke of Ragusa and marshal of France, served under Napoleon, and distinguished himself on many a battlefield; received the title of duke for his successful defence of Ragusa against the Russians; was present at Wagram, Luetzen, Bautzen, and Dresden, but came to terms with the allies after the taking of Paris, which led to Napoleon’s abdication in 1814; obliged to flee on Napoleon’s return, he came back to France and gave his support to the Bourbons; left Memoirs (1774-1852).

MARMONTEL, JEAN FRANCOIS, French writer, born at Bort; author of “Les Incas,” “Belesaire,” and “Contes Moraux;” “was,” says Ruskin, “a peasant’s son, who made his way into Parisian society by gentleness, wit, and a dainty and candid literary power; he became one of the humblest yet honestest, placed scholars at the court of Louis XV., and wrote pretty, yet wise, sentimental stories in finished French, the sayings and thoughts in them, in their fine tremulous way, perfect like the blossoming heads of grass in May” (1723-1799).

MARMORA, SEA OF, 175 m. long and 50 broad, lies between Europe and Asia Minor, opening into the AEgean through the Dardanelles and into the Baltic through the Bosphorus; the Gulf of Ismid indents the eastern coasts; Marmora, the largest island, has marble and alabaster quarries.

MARNE (435) and HAUTE-MARNE (244), contiguous departments in the N.E. of France, in the upper basin of the Marne River; in both cereals, potatoes, and wine are the chief products, the best champagne coming from the N. In the former, capital Chalons-sur-Marne, building stone is quarried; there are metal works and tanneries; in the latter, capital Chaumont, are valuable iron mines and manufactures of cutlery and gloves.

MAROCHETTI, BARON, Italian sculptor, born in Turin; after working in Paris, came to this country in 1848, and executed several public statues, one of the Queen among others (1805-1867).

MARONITES, a sect of Syrian Christians, numbering 200,000, dwelling on the eastern slopes of Lebanon, where they settled in the 7th century, and who joined the Roman Catholic Church in 1445, while they retain much of their primitive character; they maintained a long sanguinary rivalry with their neighbours the DRUSES (q. v.).