in the ancient art of war, were bundles of combustible materials, set on fire to give light in the night, or to annoy the enemy; when they were employed for the latter purpose they were shot out of a bow, or fixed to a javelin, and thus thrown into the enemies engines, ships, &c. in order to burn them. Pitch was always a principal ingredient in the composition. The malleoli had also the name of pyroboli.

MALLET or MALLOCH, (David) an English poet, but a Scotsman by birth, was born in that country about 1700. By the penury of his parents, he was compelled to be janitor of the high school at Edinburgh; but he surmounted the disadvantages of his birth and fortune; for when the Duke of Montrose applied to the college of Edinburgh for a tutor to educate his sons, Malloch was recommended. When his pupils went abroad, they were entrusted to his care; and having conducted them through their travels, he returned with them to London. Here, residing in their family, he naturally gained admission to persons of high rank and character, and began to give specimens of his poetical talents. In 1733, he published a poem on Verbal Criticism, on purpose to make his court to Pope. In 1740, he wrote a Life of Lord Bacon, which was then prefixed to an edition of his works; but with so much more knowledge of history than of science, that, when he afterwards undertook the Life of Marlborough, some were apprehensive lest he should forget that Marlborough was a general, as he had forgotten that Bacon was a philosopher. The old duchess of Marlborough assigned in her will this talk to Glover and Mallet, with a reward of £1000, and a prohibition to insert any verses. Glover is supposed to have rejected the legacy with disdain, so that the work devolved upon Mallet; who had also a pension from the late duke of Marlborough to promote his industry, and who was continually talking of the discoveries he made, but left not when he died any historical labours behind him. When the prince of Wales was driven from the palace, and kept a separate court by way of opposition, to increase his popularity by patronizing literature, he made Mallet his under-secretary, with a salary of £200 a year.—Thomson likewise had a pension; and they were associated in the composition of the Masque of Alfred, which in its original state was played at Cliefden in 1740. It was afterwards almost wholly changed by Mallet, and brought upon the stage of Drury Lane in 1751, but with no great success. He had before published two tragedies; Eurydice; acted at Drury Lane in 1731; and Mustapha, acted at the same theatre in 1739. It was dedicated to the prince his master, and was well received, but never was revived. His next work was Amyntor and Theodora (1747), a long story in blank verse; in which there is copiousness and elegance of language, vigour of sentiment, and imagery well adapted to take possession of the fancy. In 1753, his masque of Britannia was acted at Drury Lane, and his tragedy of Elvira in 1763; in which year he was appointed keeper of the book of entries for ships in the port of London. In the beginning of the last war, when the nation was exasperated by ill success, he was employed to turn the public vengeance upon Byng, and wrote a letter of accusation under the character of a Plain Man. The paper was with great industry circulated and dispersed; and he for his seasonable intervention had a considerable pension bestowed upon him, which he retained to his death. Towards the end of his life he went with his wife to France; but after a while, finding his health declining, he returned alone to England, and died in April 1765. He was twice married, and by his first wife had several children. One daughter, who married an Italian of rank named Cilesta, wrote a tragedy called Almida, which was acted at Drury Lane. His second wife was the daughter of a nobleman's steward, who had a considerable fortune, which she took care to retain in her own hands. His stature was diminutive, but he was regularly formed; his appearance, till he grew corpulent, was agreeable, and he suffered it to want no recommendation that

Mallet (Edme) was born at Melun in 1713, and enjoyed an easy in the neighbourhood of his native place till 1751, when he went to Paris to be professor of theology in the college of Navarre, of which he was admitted a doctor. Boyer, the late bishop of Mirepoix, was at first much prejudiced against him; but being afterwards undeceived, he conferred upon him the see of Verdun as a reward for his doctrine and morals. Janenfisn had been imputed to him by his enemies with this prelate; and the Gazette which went by the name of Ecclesiastical, accused him of impiety. Either of these imputations was equally undeserved by the Abbé Mallet; as a Christian, he was grieved at the disputes of the French Church; and, as a philosopher, he was astonished that the government had not, from the very beginning of those divisions imposed silence on both parties. He died at Paris in 1755, at the age of 42. The principal of his works are:

1. Principes pour la lecture des Poètes, 1745, 12mo. 2 vols. 2. Essai sur l'Etude des Belles-Lettres, 1747, 12mo. 3. Essai sur les bienfaits oratoires, 1753, 12mo. 4. Principes pour la lecture des Orateurs, 1753, 12mo. 5. Histoire des Guerres civiles de France sous les règnes de François II., Charles IX., Henri III., & Henry IV., translated from the Italian of d'Avila.

In Mallet's works on the Poets, Orators, and the Belles Lettres, his object is no more than to explain with accuracy and precision the rules of the great masters, and to support them by examples from authors ancient and modern. The style of his different writings, to which his mind bore a great resemblance, was neat, easy, and unaffected. But what most rendered his memory estimable, was his attachment to his friends, his candour, moderation, gentleness, and modesty. He was employed to write the theological and belles-lettres articles in the Encyclopédie; and whatever he wrote in that dictionary was in general well composed. Abbé Mallet was preparing two important works when the world was deprived of him by death. The first was Une Histoire générale des Guerres depuis le commencement de la Monarchie; the second, Une Histoire du Concile de Trente, which he intended to set in opposition to that of Father Paul translated by Father le Courayer.