MYNN, ALFRED (1807-1861), perhaps the greatest of the older cricketers, was born at Goudhurst, in Kent, on Jan. 19, 1807, and died in London on Nov. 1, 1861. A huge man, stand ing 6 ft. 1 in. and weighing 18 to 20 stone, he was an all-round cricketer, but it is on his bowling that contemporary records lay most stress. "His delivery was noble, walking majestically up to the crease," and his bowling came so sharply in from leg that there is reason to suppose he may have been one of the first to practise the swerve. Two outstanding incidents in his career may be noted. Before the return North v. South match at Leicester, in 1836, he was hurt in practice. Going in to bat, he made 146, when he had to retire in great pain. He was hurried to London, and nearly had to have his leg amputated. In 1838 he won two great matches for the championship of England at single wicket, at which he was never beaten, against Dearman of Sheffield. There are many portraits of Mynn; the best known is in the picture of the All England XI. of 1847. No other cricketer, except "W.G." himself, ever captured so completely by his prowess and personality the hearts of his generation; his epitaph, which appeared in Bell's Life, is one of the most famous pieces of cricket literature. It begins with the echo of an old controversy: Jackson's pace is very fearful, Willsher's hand is very high and ends as the changing seasons pass, As our champion lies a-sleeping underneath the Kentish grass, Proudly, sadly we will name him, to forget him were a sin; Lightly lie the turf upon thee—kind and manly Alfred Mynn See Scores and Biographies, vol ii. 0860 ; R. Daft, Kings of Cricket (1893) ; H. S. Altham, History of Cricket (1926).
MYRA (mod. Dembre), an ancient town of Lycia situated a short distance inland between the rivers Myrus and Andracus. Its early history is obscure. St. Paul touched Myra on his last journey westward, and changed into "a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy." In the 3rd century St. Nicholas, of Patara, was its bishop. Theodosius II. made Myra the Byzantine capital of Lycia, and as such it was besieged and taken by Harun al-Rashid in 8o8. The town seems shortly afterwards to have decayed. A small Turkish village occupied the plain at the foot of the acropolis, and a little Greek monastery lay about a mile westward by the church of St. Nicholas. The latter has formed the nucleus of modern Dembre. The western scarp of the acropolis has been sculptured into a number of sepulchres imitating wooden houses with pillared façades, some of which have pediment reliefs and inscriptions in Lycian. The theatre lies at the foot of this cliff and is partly excavated out of it, partly built. The church of St. Nicholas lies out in the plain, at the western end of Dembre. Its floor is far below the present level of the plain, and until recently the church was half filled with earth. The ancient church is of the domed basilica form with throne and seats still existent in the tribunal. There are also extensive ruins of Andriaca, the port of Myra, about 3 m. west, containing churches, baths, and a great grain store, inscribed with Hadrian's name. They lie along the course of the Andraki river, whose navigable estuary is still fringed with ruined quays.