MAIL. (1) (Through Fr. _maille_, from Lat. _macula_, a spot or hole, the mesh of a net), properly a metal ring or link which, joined closely with other links, formed the fabric of body and other armour in the middle ages, till it was superseded by plate-armour. The word "mail," properly applied to this form of chain-armour, is also used of armour generally, whether plate or chain, and is also transferred to the horny defensive coverings of animals, such as the tortoise, crab, &c. (see ARMS AND ARMOUR). (2) (O. Eng. _mál_, speech; probably the same as O. Saxon _mahal_, assembly; in meaning connected with O. Norse _mále_, stipulation), a Scots law term meaning rent, tax. "Mails and duties" are the rents, whether in kind or money, of an estate. In English the word only survives in "blackmail" (q.v.). (3) (Through O. Fr. _male_, mod. _malle_, a Teutonic word surviving in Dutch _maal_), properly a bag, especially one used in travelling; this word, which appears in Chaucer, is now applied chiefly to the despatch and delivery of postal matter. In this sense "mail" is properly the bag in which such matter is conveyed, and hence is applied to the contents of the mail, postal matter collectively, and to the train, carts, or other means used in the despatch and delivery of the same. In general usage "mail" is confined to the "foreign" as opposed to the "inland" despatch of letters, &c., and to which the word "post" is chiefly applied; in official language, the word refers to the inland despatch. The word appears also in "mail-coach," a coach used for conveying the mails, and in "mail-cart," a cart similarly employed. This word is also applied to a light low vehicle propelled or drawn by hand, suitable for young children. The "mail phaeton" is a type of phaeton with high seat for two persons and drawn by a pair of horses. MAILLY, LOUISE JULIE, COMTESSE DE (1710-1751), mistress of Louis XV. of France, was the daughter of Louis, marquis de Nesle. She was the eldest of three sisters who succeeded one another as favourites of the king. In 1726 she married her cousin, Louis Alexandre de Mailly. Although Louis XV. had paid her attentions from 1732, she did not become titular mistress until 1738. She did not use her position either to enrich herself or to interfere in politics. She was supplanted by her sister, the duchess of Châteauroux, and obliged to leave court in 1742. See E. and J. de Goncourt, _La Duchesse de Châteauroux et ses soeurs_ (1879); Toussaint, _Anecdotes curieuses de ... Louis XV._ (2 vols., 1905); J. B. H. R. Capefigue, _Mesdemoiselles de Nesle et la jeunesse de Louis XV._ (1864).