Mets, Laikent nt:, a Flemish prelate, was born at (irammont about l.o20. He studied theologj' at Lou- vain, became a curate at Dciuse, almoner and canon of
METSIAH
201
MEUILLON"
Saint-GuJula's church at Brussels, and shortly after the opening of the year 1562 he was appointed vicar to cardinal de Granvelle, archbishop of Malines, and in- stalled ecclesiastical judge, or official, for the district of Brussels. In 1569, the University of Louvaia constituted liini the conservator of its privileges and vested rights, ^^iuch were then hotly contested. Laurent de Mets did not long discharge the intricate functions of this last oflice, fur in November, 1569, he was preferred to the bishopric of Bois-le-Duc. Mets founded a seminary, and published a Ritual ibr the use of liis clergy. In Nos^ember, 1577, he was constrained to yield to tlie in- surrection of the Calvinists. At first he took refuge in C(jIogne, and then in Namur, where, in 1578, Gregory XIII invested him with the episcopal see rendered va- cant by the death of Anthony Ilavet. lie died at Namur, 1580. He is the author oi' .St,,ti:hi Sijnmll Dinri.^uine Buscoducensis anno Domini :\I1)I.XXI ( IJois-U-Diic, 1571, 8vo) ■.—Mammle ra.^lonun Jiar<sis .s^/nrdnniisi.^, (ibid. 1572, 4to). See Paquot, Mhnoires pour servir a VIdstoire Uttcrdire des Pays-Bas, xii, 319-'27; Yalere Andre, Bibliof/ieca Belgica ; Guillaume Gazet, llistoire ecclesiastique des Pays-Bas. — Foppens, Bibliotlieca Bel- <jica, p. 810.
Metsiah. See Taljilo.
Mettray, Reformatory of. This noted insti- tution for tlie relbrmation of juvenile delinquents is the parent of all institutions of this character, and deserv^es our notice therefor. The object of the Reformatory of Mettray and other like institutions, which have, espe- cially of late, been fast multiplying, is the mild punish- ment and ultimate restoration to society cf juvenile de- linquents. The founder of the reformatory — whose la- bors, like those of the prison reformers of our daj-, de- serve to be cherished forever — was M. Demetz, a French lawyer, a member of the Parisian bar, who, struck with the evUs and hardships attending the committal to pris- on of young persons, and considering the training and habits of scarcely responsible criminals, condemned to languish hopelessly for a time, incapable of producing results other than their emerging worse than when they entered, resolved, in conjunction with the vicomte Bre- tigneres de Courteilles, to found a school which should have for its object the reformation of this class of offend- ers. In 1839, accordingly, the Reformatory, or, as it is called, the Colony of Mettray, was set on foot, about five miles from the city of Tours, in France. From that day to this, M. Demetz has, by liis assiduous labors and self- devoteilness, rendered to France and Europe one of the greatest benefits that could be conferred on society, proving that, by agricultural and other labors of indus- try, and well-considered rules of organization and disci- pline, the neglected and criminal may be trained to take their place honestly and honorably in society; the re- lapses into crime being in the institution of Mettray only '3.81 per cent. See Prison Rkform. (J. H.W.)
Metus, an aged and venerable Christian of Alex- andria, who, in the persecution of that city A.D. 249, for refusing to blaspheme his Saviour, was first beaten with clubs, tlien pierced with sharp reeds, and finally stoned to death. Quinta and ApoUonia, two Christian females, and many others whose names are not preserved, were feUow-sufferers. Fox, Booh of Martyrs, p. 26 ; ReVuj. Cydop. s. v.
Metz, an important fortified city of the province of Lorraiue, lately conquered by the Prussians in their con- test with France, and situated on the jNIoselle, at its con- fluence with the Seille, holds an important position in Church history.
This place, known to the Romans by the name of Bicodorum, was the chief town of a people called the Mediomatrici, whose name it took at a later date. In the 5th century the corrupted form Afettis first came into use, whence the modern Metz. It was destroyed by the Huns in 452. At the death of Clovis it became the capital of Austrasia, and later the capital of Lor-
raine. In 985 it became a free imperial town. It was finally secured to France by the peace of Westphalia in 1648, and was held by the French until ceded to the Germans in 1870. It has a popidation of over 50,000, somewhat diminished of late by the excursions of fami- lies unwilling to live under Prussian rule. Its streets are wide and clean, and it contains numerous spacious squares. The cathedral, a Gothic edifice, begun in 1014, and finished in 1546, is remarkable for its bold- ness, lightness, and elegance, and has a beautiful spire of open work, 373 feet in height. The church of Notre- Dame-de-la-Ronde is a noteworthy structure. Its choir was built in 1 130. Metz contains also many other no- ble edifices and institutions, religious, civil, and military. Its industry is active, the chief employments being lace- making, tanning, embroidering, and the manufacture of brushes, clothing for the army, flannels, pins, and canes; there are also brass and copper foundries.
Metz figures quite prominently in the history of re- ligious persecutions during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Huguenot war, especially, affected the peace of the Protestants of this place. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes was put in force at this place only five days after its publication. More than 4000 people left the place. (Comp. La persecution de Veylise de Metz, d'ecrite par le sieur Olry [2d ed], by O. Cuvier [Paris, I860]).