MEMEL

MEMEL, a seaport of E. Prussia, in the government of Königsberg, is situated at the entrance of a large inlet of the Baltic called the Kurische Haff, near the mouth of the Dange, 74 miles N.N.E. of Königsberg; Lat. of lighthouse 55. 43. 7. N., Long. 21. 6. 2. E. The town consists of three parts—the old town, the new town, and Frederick's Town; besides several suburbs. It was surrounded by walls in the time of the Teutonic knights, and is still fortified, having a citadel with four bastions, built in 1250, and part of which is now employed as a prison. Memel contains two Lutheran churches, one Calvinistic, and one Roman Catholic church, a synagogue, several schools and benevolent institutions, two arsenals, an exchange, and a theatre. The harbour, which is spacious and secure, is obstructed by a bar at the entrance of the Kurische Haff; where the depth of water is never more than 18, and sometimes as low as 13 feet; so that large vessels are obliged to load and unload in the roads. The harbour is commanded by the citadel; and at the entrance stands the lighthouse, 128 feet high, with a very brilliant stationary light, which is visible to the distance of 20 miles. The principal articles of manufacture are woolen cloth and scap; and there are also in Memel breweries, distilleries, shipbuilding yards, &c. The position of the town on the Baltic, and its proximity to the Russian frontier, render it a place of considerable trade. The following is an account of the number and tonnage of the vessels which have entered and left the port from 1851 to 1854:—

The number of vessels belonging to Memel was in 1855, 85, and in 1856, 88. The principal exports are,—timber (chiefly oak and fir), corn, hemp, flax, oil, wool, hides, tallow, &c.; and the imports consist of salt, coal, herrings, cutlery, cotton, yarn, &c. The town was partially destroyed by fire in 1854. Pop. 10,769.

MEMMI or DI MARTINO, SDIONE, a celebrated Italian painter, was born about 1285 at Siena. According to Vasari, he was a pupil of Giotto, and in 1298 was engaged under that master in the mosaic of the Navicella at Rome. But as Memmi was then only fourteen, Vasari's account has been doubted by Rumohr, Lanzi, and others. He was, how-

Memmi—ever, a close student of Giotto's works, and at an early age painted the portico of St Peter's at Rome in the style of that artist. So notable was this performance that he was immediately invited to the papal court at Avignon. Here he became intimate with Petrarcha; and the respective arts of the painter and the poet were employed to commemorate their mutual friendship. Memmi painted the portrait of Laura, the lady-love of his friend the poet; Petrarcha, in return, immortalized Memmi in two of his sonnets. After producing at Avignon many good pictures, both in fresco and distemper, Memmi returned to Siena, and was employed in the decoration of the palace and cathedral of that city. Invited to Florence by the general of the Augustines, he painted in the chapter-house of Santo Spirito a masterly and elaborate picture of the Crucifixion. Soon after his return to Siena his last illness attacked him. He contrived, however, to travel to Avignon, and there he died in 1344.

A few of Memmi's numerous productions still exist. In the Campo Santo at Pisa are his stories from the life of San Ranieri, and his famous "Assumption of the Virgin." His histories of Christ, San Domenico, San Pietro Martire, and part of his history of the Preaching Friars, are found in the chapter-house of the Spanish Friars at Florence. Petrarcha's manuscript copy of Serrius on Virgil, which is preserved in the Ambrosian Library of Milan, contains a miniature of exquisite conception by Memmi. It represents Virgil engaged in composition, and raising his eyes heavenward to catch the ray of inspiration. A shepherd, a husbandman, and a warrior standing before him intimate the respective subjects of the Bucolics, Georgics, and Æneid. The function of the critic is indicated by a representation of Statius drawing aside a veil of delicate transparency.

"Memmi's works," says Vasari, "prove that he possessed great power of imagination, and was well versed in the best methods of composing his groups in accordance with the manner of those days." A great tribute is paid to him by Petrarcha: "I am acquainted," he says in one of his letters, "with two illustrious painters,—Giotto the Florentine, of great fame among moderns, and Simone of Siena." (Vasari's Lives of the Painters, and Lanzi's History of Painting.)