flowing directly s., it enters upon the Hungarian plain, a vast sandy and alluvial flat, in which it is continually forcing new channels and silting up old ones, sometimes sweeping away towns, or capriciously removing its waters to a distance of several miles from such as were formerly built upon its banks. Here it receives from the n. the Waag and the Gran, while the Drave from the w. adds considerably to its volume. After this accession the river turns towards the c., and joined by the waters of the Theiss and Temes from the n., sweeps past Belgrade, forming the boundary between Servia and Hungary. Still flowing eastward, the D., leaving Orsova, passes the famous "Iron Gate," a broad plateau of rock 1400 yards wide, over which the water formerly rushed with an overpowering noise. This rapid, which was followed by a series of whirlpools, eddies, and shallow falls, formed an effectual bar to the upward progress of vessels, no craft drawing more than 2 ft. of water being able to pass it. In 1847-49, however, the obstruction formed by the Iron Gate" was to some extent removed by blasting, so that now vessels of 8, and even 9 ft. draught, can pass at certain seasons of the year, although the majority of vessels engaged on this part of the river draw no more than 4 ft. of water. A few miles further on, it enters a plain, and proceeding uninterruptedly, forms the boundary between Wallachia and Bulgaria. From the Carpathians it receives the Schyl and the Aluta, and from Mt. Balkan the Morava. Increased by these rivers and by numberless streams, it progresses through a district fertile indeed, but badly cultivated and thinly peopled, occasionally broadening like a sea, as at Hirsova, and encircling many islands. After being joined by the Serith and the Pruth from the n., and after dividing into several branches forming deltoid islands, it flows eastward into the Black sea. The principal mouth is the Sulina, by which the greater number of ships enter. The D., which is the chief natural highway for European commerce, is throughout the greater part of its course surrounded by picturesque and impressive scenery—at one time flanked with lofty mountains, again having on each side dense and far-extending forests. At the peace of Paris, in 1856, the navigation of the Danube was declared free to all nations, and its management was intrusted to two commissions, one representing the European powers, another named by the states on the banks of the river. At the Berlin congress of 1878, it was stipulated that no ships of war should navigate the D. below the Iron Gate. The Danube steam navigation company, which has done much to increase the commerce, possesses upwards of 150 steamers and 600 tow-boats.

DANU'BIAN PRINCIPALITIES. See MOLDAVIA AND WALLACHIA.

DANVERS, a t. in Essex co., Mass., 15 m. n.n.e. of Boston, with which it is connected by rail; pop. '80, 6,638. In 1852, George Peabody, who was a native of this town, gave a sum finally amounting to $200,000 for the promotion of knowledge and morality among the inhabitants. This was the foundation of the Peabody institute and its fine library.

DANVILLE, a city and the seat of justice of Vermilion co., Ill., on Vermilion river, 16 m. above its junction with the Wabash; connected by railroads with all parts of the country; 125 m. s. of Chicago; pop. '80, 7,735. Coal-mining is the chief source of the city's importance.

DANVILLE, the co. seat of Boyle co., Ky., on a branch of Dick's river; connected by rail with Louisville and Nashville; 42 m. s. of Frankfort; pop. '70, 2,542-1210 colored. It is the seat of Centre (Presbyterian) college, founded 1819, and Danville theological seminary (Presbyterian), founded 1853. Pop. '80, 3,074.

DANVILLE, the seat of justice of Montour co., Penn., on a branch of the Susquehanna, 50 m. n.e. of Harrisburg; pop. '80, 8,346. There are rich deposits of anthracite, great quantities of which find the way to market through the Pennsylvania canal and various railroads. Iron manufacturing, however, is the principal business; of railway bars alone, 75,000 are made annually.

*DANVILLE, a t. in Pittsylvania co., Va., on the river Dan, 120 m. w.s. w. of Richmond, reached by the Richmond, Danville, and Piedmont railroad; pop. 1880, 7,526. After the abandonment of Richmond, April, 1865, Danville became for a few days the capital of what remained of the Southern confederacy. See Supp., page 901.

DANZIG (Polish Gdansk), an important seaport of Prussia, and fortress of the first rank, in the province of Prussia, is situated on the left bank of the western branch of the Vistula, about 3 m. from its mouth in the Baltic. D. is an ancient place, Laving been in existence at least as early as the 10th c., and its possession was long an object of ambition to the Danes, Swedes, Pomeranians, and Teutonic knights, the last of whom obtained and held it for a considerable period. In 1454, it became a free city under Poland, and remained so until 1793, when it fell under the dominion of Prussia, in whose hands, except during the years 1807-14, when it existed as a separate dukedom under Napoleonic rule, it has since continued. D. is surrounded by ramparts and wet ditches, and is otherwise strongly fortified, and the garrison possesses the means of laying the surrounding country under water on three sides. The city is traversed by the Motlau and Radaune, tributaries of the Vistula, the former of which is deep enough to admit, vessels of 8 or 9 ft. draught up to the town. The principal port, however, is at Neufahrwasser, at the mouth of the Vistula, which river cannot be entered by large vessels on account of the sand-bars across it. Many of the streets of D. are

Daphne.

narrow and crooked, but the principal street, intersecting it from e. to w., abounds in fine specimens of antique architecture, and has altogether a most picturesque appear. ance. Among the most noteworthy buildings are the cathedral, a fine structure, com menced in 1343, but not finished until 1503, and possessed of a noble and widely cele brated picture of the "Last Judgment" (the painter of which is unknown), the church of St. Catharine, Trinity church, the fine old town-hall (which has lately been restored at a cost of 60,000 thalers), the exchange, etc. D. was at one time a prominent member of the Hanseatic league, and is still one of the chief commercial cities of northern Europe. To provide for its immense trade in grain, it has enormous granaries, capable of containing 500,000 quarters of corn, and built on an island forming one of the parts of the town where, in order to prevent fire, no person is permitted to live, nor lights allowed. In 1880, 105,034 tons (of 1000 kilos.) of wheat and other grain were exported, of which 39,939 tons went to Great Britain. The value of timber exported in 1879 was £573,755; and in 1880, £808,800; the largest quantity going to Great Britain. Besides grain and timber, there are some minor articles of export, as black beer, amber, spirits, etc. The annual value of the exports is about 60,000,000 marks (£3,000,000); of the imports, about 120,000,000 marks. In 1880, 1894 vessels entered, and 1876 cleared the harbor. The inhabitants of D., of whom the majority are Protestants, numbered in

1880, 108,551.

DAOUDNUG'UR, a t. in the province of Behar in India, stands on the right bank of the Sone. D. is about 90 m. to the e. of Benares, being in lat. 25° 3′ n., and long. 84* 27' east. It is a wretched-looking place, most of its thoroughfares being mere passages, It possesses, however, a considerable trade, manufacturing coarse fabrics both of wool and of cotton. Pop. '80, 11,058.

DAOU'RIA, a country of Asia, partly in the Russian government of Irkutsk, and partly belonging to the Chinese territory of Mantchooria. Its limits are not exactly defined. The Daourian mountains, offsets of the Yablonoi mountains, traverse it from n.e. to s. w., and separate it from the region of lake Paikal. The mountains are fertile in minerals.

DAPH'NÉ, a magnificent grove and sanctuary in ancient times, near Antioch (q.v.). The grove was finely laid out in walks of cypress and bay trees, and as the chief resort of all the dissolute persons in the city, became the scene of the greatest debauchery. In the center, surrounded by the luxuries of nature and art, glorious gardens, fountains, baths, colonnades, stood the temple of Apollo and Diana, which was invested with the privileges of an asylum, and became for centuries a place of heathen pilgrimage. The progress of Christianity gradually revived in the Antiochenes the purer instincts of virtue and decorum, and the grove was finally abandoned. Julian the apostate, in his vain endeavor to resuscitate the lifeless corpse of paganism, visited D., and made the altars of the temple smoke once more with incense; but on his departure, they were again neglected, until one night the altars and the statues were discovered to be in flames. They were consumed to ashes; and so perished forever the gods of Daphne.

Ď. owed its origin to Seleucus Nicator. He planted the grove, built the temple, and gave the place a mythological history in connection with the river Peneus and the nymph Daphne, who was here turned into a laurel or bay tree, whence the grove of D. received its name. Modern travelers are not agreed as to its site. Pococke and Richter decide in favor of Beit-el-Maa, about 5 m. from Antioch; while Forbiger and Kinneir consider Babylas the true position.

DAPH'NE, a nymph in Grecian mythology, of the woods some say, and some say of the water. She was pursued by Apollo, and prayed for help from her mother (the earth), whereupon the ground opened and she disappeared. From the place there grew a laurel, a tree sacred to Apollo, and to all poets and heroes.

DAPHNE, a genus of plants of the natural order thymeleaceae, having a 4-cleft, funnelshaped perianth, the throat of which is destitute of scales, eight stamens, and a oneseeded succulent fruit. All the species are shrubs or small trees, some having deciduous, and some having evergreen leaves, all of them possessing in all their parts a more or less considerable acridity, which in some is so great, that they are even caustic; and the berries are poisonous, whilst, however, the flowers of some are deliciously fragrant. To this genus belongs the DAPHNE MEZEREON, well known both for the fragrance of its flowers and for its medicinal uses, naturalized in some places of England. The GAROU bush (D. gnidium), a native of the s. of Europe, less hardy than the mezereon, has the same medicinal properties and uses, which is also in some measure the case with many other species. The only species certainly a native of Britain is the SPURGE LAUREL (D. laureola), an evergreen shrub, 3 to 4 ft. high, with obovate-lanceolate leaves, which grow in tufts at the end of the branches, and give it a remarkable appearance. It grows well under the shade of trees. It is naturalized, rather than a native of Scotland.-D. Japonica, a species recently introduced from Japan, has exquisitely lemon-scented leaves. From the bark of some species of D., and of the most nearly allied genera, paper is made in different parts of the east, particularly Nepaul paper from that of D. cannabina. Slips of the inner bark are boiled in a lye of woodashes for half an hour till quite soft, are then reduced to a homogeneous pulp by beat

ing with a wooden mallet in a mortar, churned with water into a thin paste, and poured through a coarse sieve upon a cloth stretched on a frame. The paper is subsequently polished by friction, with a shell or a piece of hard wood, and is remarkable for its toughness, smoothness, and durability. Most of the paper used in Thibet is made from the bark of different species of D. and allied genera, particularly of Edgeworthia gardneri, a beautiful shrub, with globes of waxy, cowslip-colored, deliciously fragrant flowers, growing on the Himalaya, at an elevation of 6,000 to 7,000 feet. The bark of dais Madagascariensis is also made into paper in Madagascar, and that of gnidia daphnoides into ropes.

DAPHNEPHO'RIA, a festival held once in nine years at Thebes in honor of Apollo. There was a procession in which the chief_figure was a boy chosen for his beauty and strength, and having both parents living, Behind him moved a troop of maidens carry. ing green boughs and singing hymns to the god. The boy dedicated a bronze tripod in the temple of Apollo.

DAPH'NIA. See WATER-FLEA.

DAPH'NINE is a bitter, astringent, crystalline substance present in different species of daphne. It is analogous to asparagine. See ASPARAGUS.

DAPH'NIS, in mythology, a Sicilian youth of rare beauty, the son of Mercury and a nymph He became a herdsman on Mt. Etna, where he won the love of a maid, who, for his supposed unfaithfulness, punished him with blindness. Thereupon his father carried him away to heaven. To Daphnis is ascribed the invention of bucolic poetry. DA PONTE, LORENZO, 1749-1838; an Italian poet, for many years a resident of New York, where he died. Exiled from Venice for writing a satirical poem, he went to Vienna, where he became one of the secretaries of Joseph II. There he wrote for the stage, among other works the librettos of Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro. After the emperor's death, he went to London, where he was secretary and poet of the Italian opera. In 1805, he emigrated to New York, where he taught Italian, and in 1828, was chosen professor of that language in Columbia college. He wrote memoirs of his life, a number of dramas, and translated various English works into Italian. DARABGHERD', or DARAB', a t. of Persia, in the province of Farsistan, lat. 29° n., long. 54° 30' east. It is situated on a small river, in the midst of an extensive plain, and is surrounded by lemon and orange groves. At one time, it was a place of great extent and importance, but most of it is now in ruins, and its pop. is not more than 15,000 or 20,000.

DARAGUNJ', a t. of India, in the British district of Allahabad (q.v.), on the left bank of the Ganges, opposite to Allahabad, with which it is connected by a ferry. The bed of the Ganges is here about a mile wide, two thirds of the width being occupied in the dry season with wet sand and mud, over which the passage is difficult. Pop. 9,000.

D'ARBLAY, MADAME FRANCES, 1752-1840; daughter of Charles Burney (q.v.), an English professor of music. Frances taught herself to read and write. From her 15th year she lived in an exceptionally brilliant circle of literary men, musicians and actors. As her step-mother disapproved of her scribbling," she burned all her manuscripts, among them a History of Caroline Evelyn, a story of which her first published novel Evelina was the sequel. About the same time (not much beyond her 15th year), she began her famous diary, which extended over a varied and interesting life of 72 years further. Her novel Evelina, or a Young Lady's Entrance into the World, was planned when she was about 16, written some years later, but not published until she was 26; and then by stealth. She disposed of it through her brother to Dr. Lowndes for $100, and did not herself know of its appearance until she saw an advertisement of it in the newspapers, after it had been everywhere commented upon with unqualified praise. The proud father, who had been in the secret, told it to Mrs. Thrale, and the authoress was at once admitted to the literary coterie of which Dr. Johnson was the center. The great lexicographer entertained a friendship for her which caused Boswell a jealousy as keen as it was absurd. Her Cecilia, or the Memoirs of an Heiress, was even more suc cessful. In 1786, she obtained the position of second keeper of robes to queen Charlotte, wife of George III., and for five years her chief business was to assist the queen to dress, and look after her lap-dog and snuff-box, perhaps now and then to read to her. After five years she resigned, and in 1793, married M. D'Arblay, a French artillery officer. The next year her only child (who became the Rev. A. D'Arblay) was born. From 1802 to 1812, she was with her husband in France, and in 1814, published The Wanderer, or Female Difficulties. Her husband died in 1818. She was not remarkable for personal beauty; was small, retiring, rather prudish, delighting to be lionized, while she dreaded nothing so much as to be thought unfeminine or eccentric. Her novels are now not much read, but her Journal and Letters, full of egotism, are known everywhere. Her mania was to succeed as a dramatic writer, and Mrs. Siddons and Kemble appeared in one of her tragedies at Drury Lane in 1795, but the piece was a complete failure.

DARBOY, GEORGES, 1813–71; a French Roman Catholic ecclesiastic, ordained a priest in 1836. In 1855, he became titular vicar-general of Paris. In 1859, he was appointed bishop of Nancy, and in 1863, advanced to archbishop of Paris, where he was in high favor with the court, being appointed grand officer to the legion of honor. He was a strenuous upholder of episcopal independence. At the Vatican council he maintained the rights of the bishops, and strongly opposed the doctrine of papal infallibility; but when it had been declared, he was one of the first to submit. During the war with Germany he was indefatigable in works for sick and wounded soldiers. He refused to leave his post during the siege, or to seek safety in flight during the brief triumph of the commune. On April 14, 1871, he was arrested by the communists as a hostage, and May 27, he was murdered in prison, dying in the attitude of blessing, and uttering words of forgiveness. He was the author of a number of works, among which are a life of Thomas à Becket, and a translation of the Imitation of Christ.

DARBUNG', a mountain torrent of Bussahir, Hindustan, with a course of only 27 m., rises about 15,000 ft. above the sea, in lat. 31° 57′ n., and long. 78° 25′ e., and loses itself in the Sutlej, the most easterly of the five rivers of the Punjab, in lat. 31° 43' n., and long. 78° 35' east. About 7 m. above the point of confluence having already descended 6,000 ft. in 20 m.-the D. is crossed by a wooden bridge of 33 ft. in length; and even somewhat further up, it is bordered by several villages. Its source has been described as a scene of terrific desolation, consisting of fields of snow and ice half hid under stones and rubbish.

DARBYITES. See PLYMOUTH BRETHREN.

DARCET, JEAN PIERRE JOSEPH, 1727-1801; a French chemist who wasted a fortune in the pursuit of his favorite science, sometimes suffering extreme privations. He was tutor to Montesquieu's sons, and assisted the father in his mental labors, particu larly in preparing The Spirit of the Laws, and in his last moments defended him against the attacks of the Jesuits. In chemistry, Darcet made many valuable discoveries. In 1774, he was appointed professor of chemistry in the college of France, and in 1784, he became a member of the academy of sciences, and director of the porcelain manufactory at Sèvres. When the revolution began, he went with Robespierre and Danton.

DARDANELLES' (ancient Hellespont), a narrow channel separating Europe from Asia, and uniting the sea of Marmora with the Grecian archipelago. It extends from n.e. to 8. w., between lat. 40° to 40° 30' n., and long. 26° 10' to 26° 40' e., having a length of about 40 m., and a breadth varying from less than 1 to 4 miles. From the sea of Marmora, a strong current runs through the strait to the archipelago. To prevent an attack on Constantinople from the archipelago, the D. is strongly fortified on both sides, with many guns of immense caliber. A treaty concluded between the five great powers and Turkey in 1841, arranged that no ship of war belonging to any nation save Turkey should pass the D. without the express consent of Turkey; all merchant ships being also required to show their papers to the Ottoman authorities. These provisions were confirmed at London in 1871 and at Berlin in 1878. The D. is celebrated in ancient history on account of Xerxes and Alexander having crossed it, the former in 480 B.C., to enter Europe; and the latter in 334 B.C., to enter Asia. The point at which Xerxes crossed, by two separate bridges, was in the neighborhood of Abydos, on the Asiatic shore, opposite to Sestos. Alexander crossed at nearly the same place; and here also young Leander nightly swam across to visit Hero-a feat performed in modern times by lord Byron for "glory."

DAR'DANUS, in Greek mythology, the ancestor of the Trojans. It is said that he crossed over from Samothrace to the Troad by swimming on an inflated skin, and founded the kingdom of Dardania before the existence of Troy. He is called a son of Zeus and the pleaid Electra; and the Iliad represents that Zeus loved him more than his other sons.

DARDEN, MILES, 1798-1857; b. N. C., and supposed to be one of the largest of men. He was 7 ft. high, and at the time of his death weighed over 1000 lbs. His coffin was 8 ft. long, within an in. of 3 ft. deep, and 2 ft. 8 in. wide.

DARDENNE, Mo. See page 901.

DARE, a co. in n.e. North Carolina, on Albemarle sound, including a number of islands along the coast; 350 sq.m.; pop. '80, 3,245-367 colored. It is covered to a large extent with red cedar and cypress swamps. Co. seat, Manteo.

DARE, VIRGINIA, the first child b. in America of English parents, at Roanoke, Va. (now N.C.), Aug., 1587. She was the grand-daughter of John White, who was sent out by sir Walter Raleigh as governor of the colony, which had an unknown fate.

DA'RES, a Trojan priest of Hephaestus (Vulcan) in the time of the Trojan war, to whom an account of the war has been attributed, though there is no doubt that the work was written at a much later period.

DARFUR', a country of Africa, e. of Sudan, is generally said to be situated in lat. 10° to 16° n., and in long. 22° to 28° e.; but its limits are not very clearly defined. D. towards the s. is hilly, the principal elevation being a mountainous ridge called Marrah, which traverses the country longitudinally, and is the source of numerous streams. Towards the n. D. is level, sandy, and almost destitute of water. During the rainy

season, which commences in June, and continues till Sept., it exhibits a rich vegeta tion. The principal products are wheat, millet, rice, maize, and sesame. Tobacco, which is used by the natives in every form, abounds. Water-melons, also, are abundant during the rainy season. Among the fruits are tamarinds and dates. The minerals are chiefly copper and iron. The wealth of the inhabitants of D. consists chiefly in cattle. Horses, sheep, camels, and game abound. D. carries on a considerable trade with Egypt, Mecca, and the inland countries of Africa; it was once a notorious center of the slave-trade. The Furani are an intelligent, well-built race, and have long been Mohammedans. Their numbers are variously estimated at from 3 to 4 millions, the former esti mate being that of the Egyptian governor-general. D. was annexed to Egypt in 1874–75, and the organization of the country into 4 provinces (Umshanga, Fasher, Dara, and Kakkabia) is now complete. The residence of the governor is Fasher, whence a regular postal service conveys letters to Khartum in 10 days. Kobe is the chief trading

town.

DAR'GAN, WILLIAM, was b. about the beginning of the present century in county Carlow, Ireland, where his father was a large farmer. D. received, when young, a good education, and after spending some time in the office of a surveyor, where he acquired a high reputation for integrity and assiduous industry, he went to England, and was employed under Telford, who was then constructing the Holyhead road. Inspired perhaps by the example of that great engineer, D. now resolved to carve out a similar path for himself in his own country, and having returned to Ireland, obtained some small "jobs," the beginnings of a career crowned with the most splendid success-for he became one of the first capitalists in Ireland. It was D. who contracted for the first railway ever executed in Ireland (the Dublin and Kingstown), and he was afterwards connected with most of the great undertakings in that country, such as the making of railways, canals, tunnels, and embankments. He was also an extensive holder of railway stock, a steamboat proprietor, flax-grower, and farmer. He planned the industrial exhibition of Dublin (1853), with the view of developing more vigorously the material resources of his native country; and as a help towards its realization, placed £20,000 in the hands of a working-committee. This sum was gradually increased to about £100,000. The exhibition was opened on the 12th of May, 1853, by the lord-lieutenant; and was visited by the queen and prince Albert, when the honor of knighthood was offered to D., but was declined. In so far as the industrial exhibition was a personal speculation on the part of D., it was a failure, for he lost, it is said, £20,000 by it; but in every other respect it was highly gratifying to him, and to every genuine lover of his country. William D. was not one of those sham patriots with whom Ireland has been too often afflicted. He died Feb. 7, 1867.

DAR'IC, a gold coin of ancient Persia, used in Greece as well as Asia. It was much like the Greek stater. On the obverse is the figure of an archer kneeling, and on the reverse a royal palla. It was named from Darius Hytaspis. Its value for its times cannot now be definitely fixed; but in American gold it is not far from 7 dollars.

DARIEN, the name of a gulf on the northern coast of South America, and of the isthmus connecting the grand northern and southern divisions of the new world.-1. Gulf of D., the most southerly portion of the Caribbean sea, about 70 m. in length from n. to s., and 25 from e. to west. The shores are in most places steep, and are in many places fringed with shoals. The southernmost part of the gulf is called the bay of Choco, into which the considerable river Atrato debouches.-2. The isthmus of D. is a term commonly used as interchangeable with that of isthmus of Panama (q.v.), now the more usual name. D. was also the name given to a province in the republic of New Granada, corresponding to what is now the state of Panama in Colombia. One of the earliest Spanish settlements on the mainland was in D., the region being then called also by the Spaniards Castilla de Oro ("the Golden Castile") and forming the best known part of their Tierra Firma. In 1513, the conquistador Balboa, governor of the Darien settlement, crossed the isthmus with 290 men, and on 26th Sept. first caught sight of the Pacific ocean. As early as 1528, the idea of a ship canal across the isthmus was entertained; in 1826, a line for such a canal was traced between Panama and Portobello; and between 1843 and 1874, repeated surveys were undertaken by French, English, and American engineers with the same view. One of the most recent schemes proposed to take advantage of the lower course of the river Atrato, and so lay outside the isthmus, properly so called. But in all the surveys the height to be surmounted between ocean and ocean, and other great though not insuperable difficulties, have prevented the realization of any of the projects. (See INTEROCEANIC SHIP CANAL, also see under PANAMA.) The prin cipal ports on the northern shore of the isthmus are Chiriqui, Colon or Aspinwall on Limon bay, Portobello, San Blas, and Puerto Escoces on Caledonia bay.

DARIEN SCHEME, THE, one of the most disastrous speculations on record, and one which caused an unprecedented excitement in Scotland from 1695-in which year the Darien company was established by act of the Scottish parliament, sanctioned by royal authority-till 1701, when the last of the disappointed adventurers returned home. The D. S. was projected by William Paterson, the founder of the bank of England. Its object was to plant a colony on the Atlantic side of the isthmus of Panama, and so form a commercial entrepôt between the eastern and western hem