[1] _Hist. of Eng. Poetry_, iii. 70.
[2] Revived at Drury Lane (1751) as _The Prentices_, in 1775 as _Old
City Manners_, and said to have suggested Hogarth's "Industrious and
Idle Prentices."
MARSTON, PHILIP BOURKE (1850-1887), English poet, was born in London on
the 13th of August 1850. His father, JOHN WESTLAND MARSTON (1819-1890),
of Lincolnshire origin, the friend of Dickens, Macready and Charles
Kean, was the author of a series of metrical dramas which held the stage
in succession to the ambitious efforts of John Tobin, Talfourd, Bulwer
and Sheridan Knowles. His chief plays were _The Patrician's Daughter_
(1841), _Strathmore_ (1849), _A Hard Struggle_ (1858) and _Donna Diana_
(1863). He was looked up to as the upholder of the outworn tradition of
the acted poetic drama, but his plays showed little vitality, and
Marston's reviews for the _Athenaeum_, including one of Swinburne's
_Atalanta in Calydon_, and his dramatic criticisms embodied in _Our
Recent Actors_ (1888) will probably claim a more enduring reputation.
His _Dramatic and Poetical Works_ were collected in 1876. The son,
Philip Bourke, was born in a literary atmosphere. His sponsors were
Philip James Bailey and Dinah Mulock (Mrs Craik). At his father's house
near Chalk Farm he met authors and actors of his father's generation,
and subsequently the Rossettis, Swinburne, Arthur O'Shaughnessy and
Irving. From his earliest years his literary precocity was overshadowed
by misfortunes. In his fourth year, in part owing to an accident, his
sight began to decay, and he gradually became almost totally blind. His
mother died in 1870. His _fiancée_, Mary Nesbit, died in 1871; his
closest friend, Oliver Madox Brown, in 1874; his sister Cicely, his
amanuensis, in 1878; in 1879 his remaining sister, Eleanor, who was
followed to the grave after a brief interval by her husband, the poet
O'Shaughnessy, and her two children. In 1882 the death of his chief
poetic ally and inspirer, Rossetti, was followed closely by the tragedy
of another kindred spirit, the sympathetic pessimist, James Thomson ("B.
V."), who was carried dying from his blind friend's rooms, where he had
sought refuge from his latest miseries early in June of the same year.
It is said that Marston came to dread making new friendships, for fear
of evil coming to the recipients of his affection. In the face of such
calamities it is not surprising that Marston's verse became more and
more sorrowful and melancholy. The idylls of flower-life, such as the
early and very beautiful "The Rose and the Wind" were succeeded by
dreams of sleep and the repose of death. These qualities and gradations
of feeling, reflecting the poet's successive ideals of action and
quiescence, are traceable through his three published collections,
_Songtide_ (1871), _All in All_ (1875) and _Wind Voices_ (1883). The
first and third, containing his best work, went out of print, but
Marston's verse was collected in 1892 by Mrs Louise Chandler Moulton, a
loyal and devoted friend, and herself a poet. Marston read little else
but poetry; and of poetic values, especially of the intenser order, his
judgment could not be surpassed in sensitiveness. He was saturated with
Rossetti and Swinburne, and his imitative power was remarkable. In his
later years he endeavoured to make money by writing short stories in
_Home Chimes_ and other American magazines, through the agency of Mrs
Chandler Moulton. His popularity in America far exceeded that in his own
country. His health showed signs of collapse from 1883; in January 1887
he lost his voice, and suffered intensely from the failure to make
himself understood. He died on the 13th of February 1887.
He was commemorated in Dr Gordon Hake's "Blind Boy," and in a fine
sonnet by Swinburne, beginning "The days of a man are threescore years
and ten." There is an intimate sketch of the blind poet by a friend,
Mr Coulson Kernahan, in _Sorrow and Song_ (1894), p. 127. (T. Se.)
MARSTON MOOR, BATTLE OF, was fought on the 2nd of July 1644 on a moor
(now enclosed) seven miles west of York, between the Royalist army under
Prince Rupert and the Parliamentary and Scottish armies under the earl
of Manchester, Lord Fairfax and Lord Leven. For the operations that
preceded the battle see GREAT REBELLION. Rupert had relieved York and
joined forces with the marquess of Newcastle's army that had defended
that city, and the Parliamentarians and Scots who had besieged it had
drawn off south-westward followed by the Royalists. On the morning of
the 2nd of July, however, Rupert's attack on their rearguard forced them
to halt and deploy on rising ground on the south edge of the moor, their
position being defined on the right and left by Long Marston and
Tockwith and divided from the Royalist army on the moor by a lane
connecting these two villages. The respective forces were--Royalists
about 18,000, Parliamentarians and Scots about 27,000. The armies stood
front to front. On the Royalist right was half the cavalry under Rupert;
the infantry was in the centre in two lines and the left wing of cavalry
was under General (Lord) Goring. The lane along the front was held by
skirmishers. On the other side the cavalry of the Eastern Association
under Lieut.-General Cromwell and that of the Scots under Major-General
Leslie (Lord Newark) formed the left, the infantry of the Eastern
Association under Major-General Crawford, of the Scots under Lord Leven,
and of the Yorkshire Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax was in the
centre and the Yorkshire cavalry under Sir Thomas Fairfax was on the
right wing.
During the afternoon there was a desultory cannonade, but neither side
advanced. At last, concluding from movements in the enemy's lines that
there would be no fighting that day, Rupert and Newcastle strolled away
to their coaches and their soldiers dismounted and lay down to rest. But
seeing this Cromwell instantly advanced his wing to the attack (5 p.m.).
His dragoons drove away the skirmishers along the lane, and the line
cavalry crossed into the moor. The general forward movement spread along
the Parliamentary line from left to right, the Eastern Association
infantry being the first to cross the road. In Rupert's momentary
absence, the surprised Royalist cavalry could make no head against
Cromwell's charge, although the latter was only made piecemeal as each
unit crossed the lane and formed to the front. Rupert soon galloped up
with his fresh second line and drove back Cromwell's men, Cromwell
himself being wounded, but Leslie and the Scots Cavalry, taking ground
to their left, swung in upon Rupert's flank, and after a hard struggle
the hitherto unconquered cavalry of the prince was broken and routed.
Then, being unlike other cavalry of the time, a thoroughly disciplined
force, the Eastern Association cavalry rallied, leaving the pursuit to
the Scots light horse. On the Parliamentary right, Goring had swept away
the Yorkshire horse, and although most of his troopers had followed in
disorderly pursuit, Sir Charles Lucas with some squadrons was attacking
the exposed right of Leven's infantry. At the same time the
Parliamentary infantry had mostly crossed the lane and was fighting at
close quarters and suffering severely, Newcastle's north-country
"White-Coat" brigade driving back and finally penetrating their centre.
Lord Leven gave up the battle as lost and rode away to Tadcaster. But
the Scots on the right of the foot held firm against Lucas's attacks,
and Cromwell and Leslie with their cavalry passed along the rear of the
Royal army, guided by Sir Thomas Fairfax (who though wounded in the rout
of his Yorkshire horse had made his way to the other flank). Then, on
the ground where Goring had routed Fairfax, Cromwell and Leslie won an
easy victory over Goring's scattered and disordered horsemen. The
Eastern Association infantry had followed the horse and was now in rear
of the Royalists. The original Parliamentary centre of foot, a remnant,
but one containing only the bravest and steadiest men, held fast, and
soon the Royalist infantry was broken up into isolated regiments and
surrounded by the victorious horse and foot of the enemy. The
White-Coats retreated into an enclosure and there defended themselves to
the last man. The rest were cut down on the field or scattered in the
pursuit and at nightfall the Royalist army had ceased to exist. Some of
Rupert's foot regiments made their way to York, but the dispirited
garrison only held out for a fortnight. Rupert rallied some six thousand
of the men and escaped over the hills into Lancashire, thence rejoining
King Charles in the south. But the Northern army, the main hope of the
Royalist cause, was destroyed.
MARSUPIALIA (from Lat. _marsupium_, a "pouch," or "bag"), the group of
mammals in which the young are usually carried for some time after birth
in a pouch on the under-surface of the body of the female. The group,
which has also the alternative title of Didelphia, is by some
authorities regarded as a sub-class of the mammalia of equal rank with
the Monotremata, while by others it is brigaded with the placentals, so
that the two together form a sub-class of equal grade with the one
represented by the monotremes. There is much to be urged in favour of
either view; and in adopting the former alternative, it must be borne in
mind that the difference between monotremes and marsupials is vastly
greater than that which separates the latter from placentals. In
elevating the marsupials to the rank of a sub-class the name Metatheria
has been suggested as the title for the higher grade, with Marsupialia
as the designation for the single order by which they are now
represented. It is, however, less liable to cause confusion, and in many
other ways more convenient to employ the better known term Marsupialia
in both senses.
Marsupials may be defined as viviparous (that is non-egg-laying)
mammals, in which the young are born in an imperfect condition, and
almost immediately attached to the teats of the mammary glands; the
latter being generally enclosed in a pouch, and the front edge of the
pelvis being always furnished with epipubic or "marsupial" bones. As a
rule there is no allantoic placenta forming the means of communication
between the blood of the parent and the foetus, and when such a
structure does occur its development is incomplete. In all cases a more
or less full series of teeth is developed, these being differentiated
into incisors, canines, premolars and molars, when all are present; but
only a single pair of teeth in each jaw has deciduous predecessors.
The pouch from which the marsupials take their name is supported by the
two epipubic bones, but does not correspond to the temporary
breeding-pouch of the monotremes. It may open either forward or
backwards; and although present in the great majority of the species,
and enclosing the teats, it may, as in many of the opossums, be
completely absent, when the teats extend in two rows along the whole
length of the under-surface of the body. Whether a pouch is present or
not, the young are born in an exceedingly imperfect state of
development, after a very short period of gestation, and are immediately
transferred by the female parent to the teats, where they remain firmly
attached for a considerable time; the milk being injected into their
mouths at intervals by means of a special muscle which compresses the
glands. In the case of the great grey kangaroo, for instance, the period
of gestation is less than forty days, and the newly-born embryo, which
is blind, naked, and unable to use its bud-like limbs, is little more
than an inch in length.
As additional features of the sub-class may be mentioned the absence
of a corpus callosum connecting the right and left hemispheres of the
brain,[1] and of a fossa in the septum between the two auricles of the
heart. In the skull there are always vacuities, or unossified spaces
in the bones of the palate, while the "angle," or lower hind extremity
of each half of the lower jaw is strongly bent inwards so as to form a
kind of shelf, and the alisphenoid bone takes a share in the formation
of the tympanum, or auditory bladder, or bulla. Didelphia, the
alternative name of the group was given in allusion to the
circumstance that the uterus has two separate openings; while other
features are the inclusion of the openings of the alimentary canal and
the urino-genital sinus in a common sphincter muscle, and the position
of the scrotum in advance of the penis. The bandicoots alone possess a
placenta. Lastly the number of trunk-vertebrae is always nineteen,
while there are generally thirteen pairs of ribs.
As regards the teeth, in all cases except the wombats the number of
upper incisors differs from that of the corresponding lower teeth. As
already stated, there is no vertical displacement and succession of
the functional teeth except in the case of a single tooth on each side
of each jaw, which is the third of the premolar series, and is
preceded by a tooth having more or less of the characters of a molar
(see fig. 1). In some cases (as in rat-kangaroos) this tooth retains
its place and function until the animal has nearly, if not quite,
attained its full stature, and is not shed and replaced by its
successor until after all the other teeth, including the molars, are
in place and use. In others, as the thylacine, it is rudimentary,
being shed or absorbed before any of the other teeth have cut the gum,
and therefore functionless. It may be added that there are some
marsupials, such as the wombat, koala, marsupial ant-eater and the
dasyures, in which no such deciduous tooth, even in a rudimentary
state, has been discovered. In addition to this replacement of a
single pair of functional teeth in each jaw, it has been discovered
that marsupials possess rudimentary tooth-germs which never cut the
gum. According to one theory, these rudimentary teeth, together with
the one pair of functional teeth in each jaw that has vertical
successors, represent the milk-teeth of placental mammals. On the
other hand, there are those who believe that the functional dentition
(other than the replacing premolar and the molars) correspond to the
milk-dentition of placentals, and that the rudimentary tooth-germs
represent a "prelacteal" dentition. The question, however, is of
academic rather than of practical interest, and whichever way it is
answered does not affect our general conception of the nature and
relationships of the group.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Teeth of Upper Jaw of Opossum (_Didelphys
marsupialis_), all of which are unchanged, except the third premolar,
the place of which is occupied in the young animal by a molariform
tooth, represented in the figure below the line of the other teeth.]
Unfortunately the homology of the functional series does not by any
means end the uncertainty connected with the marsupial dentition; as
there is also a difference of opinion with regard to the serial
homology of some of the cheek-teeth. For instance, according to the
older view, the dental formula in the thylacine or Tasmanian wolf is
i. 4/3, c, 1/1 p. 3/3, m. 4/4 = 46. On the other hand, in the opinion
of the present writer, this formula, so far as the cheek-teeth are
concerned, should be altered to p. 4/4, m. 3/3, thus bringing it in
accord, so far as these teeth are concerned, with the placental
formula, and making the single pair of replacing teeth the third
premolars. It may be added that the formula given above shows that the
marsupial dentition may comprise more teeth than the 44 which form the
normal full placental complement.
As regards geographical distribution, existing marsupials, with the
exception of two families, _Didelphyidae_ and _Epanorthidae_, are mainly
limited to the Australian region, forming the chief mammalian fauna of
Australia, New Guinea, and some of the adjacent islands. The
_Didelphyidae_ are almost exclusively Central and South American, only
one or two species ranging into North America. Fossil remains of members
of this family have also been found in Europe in strata of the Oligocene
period.
_History._--The origin and evolution of the Australian marsupials have
been discussed by Mr B. A. Bensley. In broad contrast to the views of Dr
A. R. Wallace, this author is of opinion that marsupials did not effect
an entrance into Australia till about the middle of the Tertiary period,
their ancestors being probably opossums of the American type. They were
then arboreal; but they speedily entered upon a rapid, although
short-lived, course of evolution, during which leaping terrestrial forms
like the kangaroos were developed. The short period of this evolution is
at least one factor in the primitive grade of even the most specialized
members of the group. In the advance of their molar teeth from a
tritubercular to a grinding type, the author traces a curious
parallelism between marsupials and placentals. Taking opossums to have
been the ancestors of the group, the author considers that the present
writer may be right in his view that marsupials entered Australia from
Asia by way of New Guinea. On the other hand there is nothing absolutely
decisive against their origin being southern.
Again, taking as a text Mr L. Dollo's view that marsupials were
originally arboreal, that, on account of their foot-structure, they
could not have been the ancestors of placentals, and that they
themselves are degenerate placentals, Mr Bensley contrasts this with
Huxley's scheme of mammalian evolution. According to the latter, the
early monotremes which became specialized into modern monotremes, gave
rise to the ancestors of the modern marsupials; while the modern
placentals are likewise an offshoot from the ancestral marsupial stock.
This phylogeny, the author thinks, is the most probable of all. It is
urged that the imperfect placenta of the bandicoots instead of being
vestigial, may be an instance of parallelism, and that in marsupials
generally the allantois failed to form a placental connexion. Owing to
the antiquity of both placentals and marsupials, the arboreal character
of the feet of the modern forms of the latter is of little importance.
Further, it is considered that too much weight has been assigned to the
characters distinguishing monotremes from other mammals, foetal
marsupials showing a monotreme type of coracoid, while it is probable
that in the long run it will be found impossible to maintain the
essential dissimilarity between the milk-glands of monotremes and other
mammals.
Another view is to regard both marsupials and placentals as derivates
from implacental ancestors more or less nearly related to the creodont
carnivora, or possibly as independently descended from anomodont
reptiles (see CREODONTA). Finally, there is the hypothesis that
marsupials are the descendants of placentals, in which case, as was
suggested by its discoverer, the placenta of the bandicoots would be a
true vestigial structure.
_Classification._
Existing marsupials may be divided into three main divisions or
sub-orders, of which the first, or Polyprotodontia, is common to America
and Australasia; the second, or Paucituberculata, is exclusively South
American; while the third, or Diprotodonts, is as solely Australasian
inclusive of a few in the eastern Austro-Malayan islands.
1. _Polyprotodonts._--The Polyprotodonts are characterized by their
numerous, small, sub-equal incisors, of which there are either five or
four pairs in the upper and always three in the lower jaw, (fig. 2)
and the generally strong and large canines, as well as by the presence
of from four to five sharp cusps or tubercles on the crown of the
molars. The pouch is often absent, and may open backwards. For the
most part the species are carnivorous or insectivorous.
[Illustration: From Flower, _Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc._
FIG. 2.--Front View of Skull of the Tasmanian Devil (_Sarcophilus
ursinus_) to exhibit polyprotodont type of dentition.]
The first family is that of the true or American
opossums--_Didelphyidae_, in which there are five pairs of upper
incisors, while the feet are of the presumed primitive arboreal type,
the hind foot having the four outer toes sub-equal and separate, with
the first opposable to them all. With the exception of the
water-opossum, forming the genus _Chironectes_, all the living members
of the family may be included in the genus _Didelphys_. The latter
may, however, be split up into several sub-generic groups, such as
_Metachirus_, _Philander_, _Marmosa_ (_Micoureus_ or _Grymaeomys_),
_Peramys_, _Dromiciops_, &c. The small South American forms included
in _Marmosa_, which lack the pouch, and have numerous teats, and molar
teeth of a primitive type, are doubtless the most generalized
representatives of the group (see OPOSSUM; and WATER-OPOSSUM).
Nearly allied is the Australian family _Dasyuridae_, characterized by
the presence of only four pairs of upper incisors, the generally small
and rudimentary condition of the first hind toe, which can but seldom
be opposed to the rest, and the absence of prehensile power in the
tail; the pouch being either present or absent, and the fore feet
always five-toed. The stomach is simple, and there is no caecum to the
intestine, although this is present in the opossums.
The largest representative of the family is the Tasmanian wolf, or
thylacine, alone representing the genus _Thylacinus_, in which the
dentition numbers i. 4/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/4, m. 3/3 = 46; with the
incisors small and vertical, the outer one in the upper jaw being
larger than the others. Summits of the lower incisors, before they are
worn, with a deep transverse groove, dividing it into an anterior and
a posterior cusp. Canines long, strong and conical. Premolars with
compressed crowns, increasing in size from before backwards. Molars in
general characters resembling those of _Sarcophilus_, but of more
simple form, the cusps being less distinct and not so sharply pointed.
Deciduous molar very small, and shed before the animal leaves the
mother's pouch. General form dog-like, with the head elongated, the
muzzle pointed, and the ears moderate, erect and triangular. Fur short
and closely applied to the skin. Tail of moderate length, thick at the
base and tapering towards the apex, clothed with short hair. First
hind toe (including the metacarpal bone) absent. Vertebrae: C. 7, D.
13, L. 6, S. 2, Ca. 23. Marsupial bones unossified. The gradual
passage of the thick root of the tail into the body is a character
common to the Tasmanian wolf and the aard-vark, and may be directly
inherited from reptilian ancestors (see THYLACINE).
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--The Tasmanian Wolf, or Thylacine (_Thylacinus
cynocephalus_).]
The next genus is represented solely by the Tasmanian devil,
_Sarcophilus_ (or _Diabolus_) _ursinus_, a medium-sized animal with a
dental formula similar to that of the dasyures, but with teeth (fig.
2) approximating to those of the thylacine, though markedly different
in details. The first hind toe is absent.
In the "native cats," or dasyures, constituting the genus _Dasyurus_,
the dental formula is i. 4/3, c. 1/1, p. 3/3, m. 3/3: total 42. The
upper incisors are nearly equal and vertical, with the first slightly
longer, narrower, and separated from the rest. Lower incisors sloping
forward and upward. Canines large and sharply pointed. First two
premolars with compressed and sharp-pointed crowns, and slightly
developed anterior and posterior accessory basal cusps. Molars with
numerous sharp-pointed cusps. In the upper jaw the first two with
crowns having a triangular free surface; the last small, simple,
narrow and placed transversely. In the lower jaw the molars more
compressed, with longer cusps; the last not notably smaller than the
others. Ears of moderate size, prominent and obtusely pointed. First
hind toe rudimentary, clawless or absent; its metatarsal bone always
present. Tail generally long and well clothed with hair. Vertebrae: C.
7, D. 13, L. 6, S. 2, Ca. 18-20 (see DASYURE).
The genus _Phascologale_ comprises a number of small marsupials, none
exceeding a rat in size, differing from the dasyures in possessing an
additional premolar--the dentition being i. 4/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/4, m.
3/3: total 46--and in having the teeth generally developed upon an
insectivorous rather than a carnivorous pattern, the upper middle
incisors being larger and inclined forward, the canines relatively
smaller, and the molars with broad crowns, armed with prickly
tubercles. The muzzle is pointed. Ears moderately rounded, and nearly
naked. Fore feet with five sub-equal toes, with compressed, slightly
curved pointed claws. Hind feet with the four outer toes sub-equal,
with claws similar to those in the fore feet; the first toe almost
always distinct and partially opposable, though small and nailless,
sometimes absent.
In some respects intermediate between the preceding and the next genus
is _Dasyuroides byrnei_, of Central Australia, an animal of the size
of a rat, with one lower premolar less than in _Phascologale_, without
the first hind toe, and with a somewhat thickened tail. The pouch is
incomplete, with two lateral folds, and the number of teats six.
_Sminthopsis_ includes several very small species, with the same
dental formula as _Phascologale_, but distinguished from that genus by
the narrowness of the hind foot, in which the first toe is present,
and the granulated or hairy (in place of broad, smooth and naked)
soles. A pouch is present, and there are eight or ten teats. Nearly
allied is the jumping _Antechinomys laniger_, of East Central
Australia, an elegant mouse-like creature, with large oval ears,
elongated limbs, a long and tufted tail and no first hind toe. In
connexion with the large size of the ears is the excessive inflation
of the auditory bulla of the skull.
From all other members of the family the marsupial, or banded,
ant-eater (_Myrmecobius fasciatus_) differs by the presence of more
than seven pairs of cheek-teeth in each jaw, as well as by the
exceedingly long and protrusile tongue. Hence it is made the type of a
distinct sub-family, the _Myrmecobiinae_, as distinct from the
_Dasyurinae_, which includes all the other members of the family. From
the number of its cheek-teeth, the banded ant-eater has been regarded
as related to some of the primitive Jurassic mammals; but this view is
disputed by Mr Bensley, who regards this multiplicity of teeth as a
degenerate feature. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that this
marsupial retains in its lower jaw the so-called mylo-hyoid groove,
which is found in the aforesaid Jurassic mammals. _Myrmecobius_ has a
total of 52 or 54 teeth, which may be classed as i. 4/3, c. 1/1, p. +
m. (8 or 9)/(8 or 9). The teeth are all small and (except the four
posterior inferior molars) separated from each other by an interval.
Head elongated, but broad behind; muzzle long and pointed; ears of
moderate size, ovate and rather pointed. Fore-feet with five toes, all
having strong pointed, compressed claws, the second, third and fourth
nearly equal, the fifth somewhat and the first considerably shorter.
Hind-feet with no trace of first toe externally, but the metatarsal
bone is present. Tail long, clothed with long hairs. Fur rather harsh
and bristly. Female without pouch, the young when attached to the
nipples being concealed by the long hair of the abdomen. Vertebrae: C.
7, D. 13, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 23. The single species, which is a native of
western and southern Australia, is about the size of an English
squirrel, to which its long bushy tail gives it some resemblance; but
it lives entirely on the ground, especially in sterile sandy
districts, feeding on ants. Its prevailing colour is chestnut-red, but
the hinder part of the back is marked with broad, white, transverse
bands on a dark ground.
[Illustration: From Gould.