106 DALMATIA-DAMASCENUS. dition. They have always been a good wall against the attacks of the Turks.The inhabitants of the islands are principally employed in fishing, and are servants on the continent, or sailors in merchant-ships. The islands are not very productive. Several have good harbors, and afford much timber for ship-building. The inhabitants of the continent are employed in agriculture and the breeding of cattle. They have some commerce, and devote themselves chiefly to the sea. As long as their soil produces no more than it does at present, their trade and industry cannot be important, more particularly since the great commons, according to the ancient Dalmatian custom, are not separated, and the overgrown landed estates of individuals are not divided on their decease. The Dalmatians export tallow, hare-skins (which latter are brought from Bosnia), some oil, figs, wine, brandy, wax, and salt fish, from different ports; and receive, in exchange, linen, cloth, coffee and sugar, but only in small quantities, so that the money-balance is on their side. There are gold, iron and coal mines in the country, but they remain unwrought. Zara, the capital, and the seat of the governor, has 5000, Spalatro 6800, inhabitants. The district of Cattaro, which is under the dominion of Austria, is sometimes comprised in Dalmatia, but properly belongs to Albania, and lies, in a semicircular form, round the gulf. The 13 famous inlets (Bocche di Cattaro) form the safest harbors on the Adriatic sea, and present some fine prospects. The inhabitants of the district are estimated at 30,000. They are excellent seamen, and were inclined, under the lax government of the Venetians, to robbery, particularly by sea. By land, their resolution and boldness render them the most formidable enemies of the Turks in that quarter. The steep, rough and barren heights of Montenegro surround this province in a semicircular form.The Turkish part of Dalmatia, which extends from Bosnia to Albania, and belongs to Bosnia, contains the province of Herzegovina, with the town of that name, and the towns of Scardona and Trevigno. See the Travels to Dalmatia and Ragusa, by E. F. Germar (Leipsic, 1817), which is particularly rich in natural history. The splendid work on Dalmatia by general Dejearo (Paris, 1825) exhibits the entomological wealth of Dalmatia. DALMATICA; a long, white gown, with white sleeves, formerly worn by the Dalmatians, and, since the time of pope Sylvester I, by the Roman Catholic deacons, over the alba and stola.-Also, a part of the ornamental dress formerly worn by the German emperor at the time of his coronation. It was kept in Nuremberg, and put on in Frankfort. DAL SEGNO (Italian) means from the sign. In music, this expression denotes, that the singer or player ought to recommence at the former place, where the same mark is put. DALZIEL, Thomas; a Scotch officer, taken prisoner at the battle of Worcester, and confined in the Tower, from which he escaped to Russia, where the czar made him a general. At the restoration, he returned to England, and Charles II made him commander-in-chief of his forces in Scotland. He was singular in his dress and appearance. After the death of Charles I, he never shaved his beard, which grew white and bushy, and descended to his middle. He generally went to London once or twice a year to kiss the king's hand, and the singularity of his appearance drew crowds of boys after him. He is mentioned by Scott in his description of the defeat of the Covenanters in Old Mortality. DAM, DAMM; the end of many German and Dutch geographical words, signifying a dam or sluice; as in Amsterdam, the sluices of the Amstel. DAMAGE-FEASANT. Beasts are said to be damage-feasant, or doing damage, when those of one person are found upon the land of another without his permission and without his fault; for if the owner of a field or enclosure adjoining upon another enclosure neglects to repair his fences, and the beasts pass through, he cannot seize them as damage-feasant. But if the beasts break into a close from the highway, where they were wrongfully left to run at large, the owner of the close may take them up, or distrain them as damagefeasant, though the fence of the close on the side next the highway was defective; for the owner is not obliged to make a fence against beasts where they cannot be lawfully left at large. The owner of land has a right to sue the owner of the beasts in trespass for the damage done by them to his crops, &c., but the law gives him also the means of stopping the damage, for he may distrain and impound the beasts. Damascenus, John; John of Damascus, afterwards called also John Chrysorrhoas; author of the first system of Christian theology in the Eastern church, or the founder of scientific dogmatics. He first endeavored to give a full system of DAMASCENUS-DAMASKEENING. dogmatics, founded on reason and the Bible, which had hitherto been elaborated in the Greek church only in parts, as ecclesiastical controversies arose. His explanation of the orthodox faith, in four volumes, enjoyed, in the Greek church, a great reputation. He also wrote Dialectics, a system of logic on the principles of Aristotle, and prepared a collection of philosophical passages, extracted from ancient works, in alphabetical order, &c. The best edition of his Greek works is that by P. Mich. Lequien (Paris, 1712, 2 vols., fol.). After being in the service of a caliph, he became a monk in the convent of Saba, near Jerusalem, and died about 760. He must not be confounded with Nicholas of Da mascus. DAMASCUS; a city of Syria, the capital of the pachalic of the same name, situated in a fertile plain amidst extensive gardens, forming a circuit of between 25 and 30 miles. The streets are in general narrow, of regular width, though not in straight lines: they are well paved, and have elevated footpaths on each side. Damascus contains above 500 large and magnificent houses, which are entitled to the name of palaces: each house has a canal or fountain. The mosques and chapels are also numerous, and the grand mosque is of great extent and magnificence. An hospital for the indigent sick is attached to the edifice. This mosque is said to have been, originally, a Christian church, and the cathedral of Damascus. The mosques are mostly fronted by a court. One mosque is beautifully adorned with all kinds of fine marble, like mosaic pavement; and the tower or minaret of another is entirely cased with pantiles. There are several hospitals here, of which the finest is that constructed by the sultan Selim, consisting of a spacious quadrangle, lined by an interior colonnade, which is entirely roofed by 40 small domes, covered with lead. On the south side of the court is a mosque, with a magnificent portico and two fine minarets, which is surmounted by a sparious cupola. There is a Greck, Maronite, Syrian and Armenian church. There are eight synagogues of the Jews. The castle, situated towards the south-west part of the city, and about three quarters of a mile in circuit, is a fine rustic edifice, with three square towers in front, and five on cach side. This city is the seat of a considerable trade. It was celebrated for the manufacture of sabres, of such peculiar quality as to be perfectly elastic and very hard. Extensive manufactures are carried on in silk and cotton stuffs. Leath 107 er is likewise an article of manufacture here, but no linen is made. A great quantity of soap is fabricated, and exported to Egypt. Dried fruits and sweetmeats are sent to Turkey. Cotton cloths, handkerchiefs, slippers, copper kettles, horse-shoe nails, tobacco-pipes, and spiceries, shawls, and the rich fabrics of Surat, are brought through Bagdad; iron, lead, tin, cochineal, broadcloth, sugar, and suchi other European articles as are required in the city, come through Saida, Bairout and Tripoli. Commerce is carried on chiefly by caravans, of which the principal is that in which the pilgrims annually proceed to Mecca. Three caravans besides, each accompanied by above 2500 armed men, go thrice a year to Bagdad, the journey occupying 30 days; those to Aleppo travel twice or thrice a month; besides which, there are many to different parts of Syria. Damascus is a place of great antiquity, and is alluded to in the account of the time of Abraham. The population amounts, according to Burckhardt, in his Travels through Arabia, to 250,000, including many Catholics and Jews; the remaining inhabitants are Mohammedans. 136 miles N. Jerusalem. Lon. 36° 30′ E.; lat. 38° 30′ N. The true DAMASK; an ingeniously manufactured stuff, the ground of which is bright and glossy, with vines, flowers, and figures interwoven. At first, it was made only of silk, but afterwards of linen and woollen, as, for example, damask table-cloth. According to the opinion of some, this kind of weaving was derived from the Babylonians; according to others, invented at a later period, by the inhabitants of Damascus, from which latter place it is thought to have derived its name. damasks are of a single color. If they consist of variegated colors, they are called ras de Sicile. The gauze damask also belongs to the silk damask. In modern times, the Italians and Dutch first made damask; and Europe was supplied, as late as the 17th century, from Italy alone, chiefly from Genoa. But the French soon imitated it, and now surpass the Italians. Damask is also brought from India and China, which is very well imitated by the English. At present, damask is made in great quantities in Germany, of three different kinds, Dutch, French and Italian. DAMASKEENING, or DAMASKING, the art of inlaying iron or steel with other metals, especially gold and silver, is of great antiquity. It is principally used at present for sword-blades, guards, gripes, cocks of 108 DAMASKEENING-DAMPIER. pistols, &c. Herodotus mentions a saucer so ornamented: so also were the shields of some of the forces of the Samnites which fought against Rome. It was a favorite manufacture with the ancients. We know not at what time it so flourished at Damascus as to have derived its name from this city. DAMIENS, Robert Francis; notorious for his attempt to assassinate Louis XV; born in 1715, in the village of Tieulloy, in the former province of Artois; the son of a poor farmer. His vicious inclinations early obtained him the name of Robert-lediable. He twice enlisted as a soldier, and was afterwards a servant (cuistre) in the college of the Jesuits at Paris, but, in 1738, left this service in order to marry. He then served in different houses of the capital, poisoned one of his masters, stole 240 louis-d'or from another, and saved himself by flight. He then lived five months at St. Ömer, Dunkirk and Brussels, and expressed himself in the most violent manner concerning the dissensions between the king and the parliament. At Poperingue, a little village near Ypres, he was heard to say, "If I return to France, I shall die; but the first of the land will die also, and you will hear of me." His mind was disordered when he returned to Paris, at the end of 1756. In the beginning of the next year, he went to Versailles, took opium for two or three days, and prepared for the crime, which he attempted January 5. As Louis XV was on the point of getting into his carriage, to return from Versailles to TriaDamiens stabbed him, although he was surrounded by his train, in the right side, with a knife. The assassin was seized. The most cruel tortures he bore with resolution, and could not be induced to confess that he had any accomplices. He asserted that he should not have committed the act had he been bled, as he requested, and that he thought it meritorious. He was condemned to be torn in quarters by horses, and the sentence was executed March 28, 1757, on the Place non, de Grève at Paris. Damietta, DAMIETTA, or DAMIAT; a large city of Lower Egypt, first built at the east mouth of the Nile, and called Thamiatis, under the government of the Lower Empire; 85 miles N. N. E. Cairo; lon. 31° 49′ 45′′ E.; lat. 31° 25 N.: population, according to Binos, 30,000; according to Savary, 80,000. Damietta daily increased as Pelusium declined. The chief disadvantage of Damietta is the want of a harbor; yet it is the emporium of commerce between Egypt and Syria, situated on the Phatmetic branch of the Nile. The city is without walls, built in the form of a crescent, on the winding bank of the river, six miles from the sea. It is larger and not less agreeable than Rosetta, and has several squares. Bazars filled with merchandise, okals, or khans, under the porticoes of which are Indian stuffs, silks from mount Lebanon, sal ammoniac, and quantities of rice, bespeak it a commercial place. The houses, especially near the river, are very high. Most of them have pleasant saloons built on the terraces; from which charming places, open to every wind, there is a view of the grand lake lying on the other side, and of the Nile, which traverses a rich country between them both. Various grand mosques, with high minarets, ornament the city. The public baths, faced with marble, are similar to those of Cairo. Multitudes of boats and small vessels incessantly fill the port of Damietta. Some, named sherm, serve to load and unload the ships that anchor in the road; others are coasting pilot-boats. There is a great trade between this city and Syria, Cyprus and Turkey. DAMON and PYTHIAS; two illustrious Syracusans, celebrated as models of constant friendship. Pythias had been unjustly condemned to death by Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily, but obtained permission to arrange his affairs in a neighboring place, on condition that his friend should remain as a pledge of his return. Damon surrendered himself at the prison, ready to suffer death instead of Pythias, if he did not return at a fixed time. Unexpected impediments detained him. Damon, still fully convinced of the faithfulness of his friend, is already on the way to the place of execution; already the people begin to murmur, and to pity his credulity, when Pythias suddenly rushes through the crowd into the arms of his friend. While they demand cach to die for the other, the spectators melt into tears, and Dionysius himself approaches, pardons them, and entreats them to admit him a third in their friendship. Schiller has described this adventure in an excellent ballad (Die Bürgschafs), and it is the subject of a popular English tragedy. DAMPERS; certain movable parts in the internal frame of a piano-forte, which are covered with cloth, and, by means of a pedal, are brought into contact with the wires, in order to deaden the vibration. DAMPIER, William, a celebrated English navigator, was born in 1652. He DAMPIER-DAMPS. was descended from a good family in VOL. IV. 10 109 They are written by himself in a strongly descriptive style, bearing all the marks of fidelity; and the nautical remarks display much professional and even philosophical knowledge. His observations on natural objects are also extremely clear and particular; and he writes like a man of good principles, although he kept so much indifferent company. DAMPS are certain deleterious gases which are extricated in mines. They are distinguished by miners under the names of choke-damp and fire-damp. The former is found in the deepest parts of mines. It extinguishes candles, and often proves fatal when it has been suffered to accumulate in large quantities. It consists for the most part of carbonic acid gas. The firedamp, which prevails almost exclusively in coal mines, is a mixture of light carbureted hydrogen and atmospheric air, which explodes with tremendous violence whenever it comes in contact with flame. The injuries which formerly occurred so frequently, both to the machinery and the lives of miners, arising from the fire-damp, are now almost completely obviated by the fine invention of sir Humphrey Davy, the safety-lamp. It consists of a cylinder of wire gauze, about four inches in diameter and a foot in length, having a double top, securely fastened by doubling over to a brass rim, which screws on to the lamp itself below. The whole of the wire gauze is protected, and rendered convenient for carrying, by a triangular wire frame and a ring at the top. The wire gauze is made either of iron or copper, the wire being at least one thirtieth of an inch in diameter, and woven together so as to leave 625 apertures in a square inch. The body of the lamp is of riveted copper, or of massy cast brass or cast iron, the screws fitting so completely as to leave no aperture into the body of the lamp. When the lamp is lighted, it affords the miner all the light which he requires, and renders him perfectly secure, even though entirely enveloped with the explosive mixture, which, with an ordinary light, would immediately prove fatal. The first effect of the fire-damp atmosphere is to increase the length and size of the flame. When the carbureted hydrogen forms as much as one twelfth of the volume of the air, the gauze cylinder becomes filled with a feeble blue flame, but the flame of the wick appears burning brightly within the blue flame, and the light of the wick augments until the inflammable gas increases to one sixth or one fifth, when it is lost in the flame of the fire-damp, which now fills the cylinder with a pretty strong light. As long as this explosive mixture of gas exists in contact with the lamp, so long it will give light; and when it is extinguished, which happens when the foul air constitutes as much as one third of the volume of the atmosphere, the air is no longer proper for respiration; for though animal life will continue when flame is extinguished, yet it is always with suffering. A coil of platinum wire being fixed above the wick of the lamp, within the gauze cylinder, the metal continues to glow long after the lamp is extinguished, and affords a sufficient light to enable the miner to make his escape. The effect of the safety-lamp is supposed to depend on the cooling agency of the wire gauze, exerted on the portion of gas burning within the cylinder. Hence a lamp may be secure where there is no current of an explosive mixture to occasion its being strongly heated, and yet not safe when the current passes through it with great rapidity. But any atmosphere, however explosive, may be rendered harmless by increasing the cooling surface, which may be done either by diminishing the size of the apertures, or by increasing their depth, both of which are perfectly within the power of the manufacturer of the wire gauze. DAN (perhaps from dominus, like the Spanish don, and the Italian donna, from domina); the old term of honor for men, as we now say master. It is used by Shakspeare, Prior, Spenser. DAN (Hebrew; meaning judgment); one of the 12 patriarchs, the 5th son of Jacob. The Danites were one of the 12 tribes of Israel. DANAË; daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. She was shut up by her father in a brazen tower, because an oracle had declared that a son of his daughter should put him to death. But Jupiter, inflamed with passion for the charming virgin, transformed himself into a golden shower, and descended through the apertures of the roof into her embraces. When Acrisius discovered that his daughter had become a mother, he exposed her, with her child, in a frail boat, to the violence of the waves. But the sea-goddesses, anxious for the preservation of the son of Jove, commanded the billows to waft the skiff safely to Seriphos, one of the Cyclades. l'olydectes, or rather Dictys, the governor of the island, received her, and educated the child, which he named Perseus. (q.v.) DANAÏDES; the 50 daughters of Danaus, who was a son of Belus, and, at first, lived in Libya, with his brother Ægyptus, who had 50 sons. In consequence of a quarrel with his brother, Danaus, with his daughters, fled to Argos. The 50 sons of Ægyptus followed him thither, expressed a desire for a reconciliation, and asked the daughters of Danaus in marriage. He was obliged to consent to the proposal; but, as he put no confidence in his nephews, and had, moreover, been informed by an oracle, that one of his sons-in-law should slay him, he bound his daughters, by a solemn oath, to murder their husbands on their bridal night. They all kept their promise except Hypermnestra, who saved the life of her husband Lynceus. As a punishment for their crime, the daughters of Danaus, in the infernal world, were condemned perpetually to draw water in sieves. Of this tradition the ancients gave the following historical explanation:-The daughters of Danaus were said to have discovered fountains in the dry country of Argolis, and constructed cisterns there. DANCING. The disposition to rhythm and measured motion, is deeply implanted in human nature. As soon as man, in a rude state, wishes to express elevated feelings, whatever be their cause-joy, devotion, patriotism-he makes use of rhythm, or measured language, and the dance, or measured movements. This is the origin of the symbolical dance, which, among all nations, in the first stages of civilization, is used as an expression of excited feeling. The operation of the principle of imitation, which led to the invention of the drama, gave birth also to the imitative dance-the pantomime. Dancing, in the course of time, took the character of an art. Grace became one of its chief objects, and it was much cultivated as an elegant amusement in the intercourse of society, and an elegant spectacle in public entertainments. Its ancient character, however, of an expression of religious or patriotic feeling, gradually declined, as the progress of refinement and civilization produced its invariable effect of restraining the full expression of the feelings and emotions. This circumstance, added to the chastened and didactic character of the Christian religion, probably prevented the dance from being admitted among the rites of the Christian religion; but it has always been cultivated among Christians, as an agreeable amusement and elegant exhibition. As an amusement of social assemblages, the dance has sunk much below the character of an art. The polite assemblies of the |