the English church, he must have reached the age of 23, and he usually remains in this office one year at least. In Congl. churches deacons are assistants in pastoral work.

DEACONESSES (ancillæ, ministræ, viduæ, virgines, episcopa, presbytera), female ministers or servants of the church or Christian society in the time of the apostles (Rom. xvi. 1). They co-operated with the deacons, showed the women their place in the church-assemblies, assisted at the baptism of persons of their own sex, instructed those who were about to be baptized as to the answers they should give to the baptismal questions, arranged the agapa or love-feasts, and took care of the sick. In the 3d c., it seems to have been also part of their duty to visit all Christian females who were suffering imprisonment, and to be hospitable to such as had come from afar. In very early times, they were consecrated to their office by ordination in the same manner as other ecclesiastical or spiritual personages; later, however, they were inducted into their office by prayer without the imposition of hands. Until the 4th c., the D. had to be either maidens or widows who had been only once married, and 60 years of age; but after the council of Chalcedon, the age was fixed at 40. Their assistants were called sub-deaconesses. After the 6th c., in the Latin church, and after the 12th c., in the Greek church, the office of deaconess was discontinued; but the former has retained the name. In monasteries, for example, the nuns who have the care of the altar are called deaconesses. In the Reformed church of the Netherlands, also, those elderly females are called D. who take care of lying-in women and of the poor. The advantages resulting to a Christian community from such an order are too obvious to require exposition. It has been a serious misfortune to the church at large, that the office has been allowed to fall into disuse; and the wide-spread institution at the present day in the churches of Great Britain and America of ladies' district-visiting societies, Dorcas societies, etc., satisfaotorily shows the necessity of practically supplying, to some extent at least, the want of this primitive office. There is a movement going on at present for the introduction of the order of deaconesses into the church of England.

DEACON OF A TRADE, the president, for the time being, of certain incorporations in Scotland, in which country, before the passing of the Burgh reform act (3 and 4 Will. IV. c. 76), the deacons of trades or crafts represented the trades in the respective towncouncils. They were elected by the incorporations, but generally under the control of the town-council. The subordinate incorporation presented a list of six of its members to the town-council, by whom three of the names were struck off. The leet, thus shortened, was returned, in order that the deacon for the ensuing year should be chosen from it. By the act just referred to (s. 19), it is enacted that the deacons shall no longer be recognized as official and constituent members of the town-council, the power of the crafts to elect deacons and other officers for the management of their affairs being reserved (s. 21). This more limited privilege is now exercised independently of the town-council. The deacon-convener of the trades in Edinburgh and Glasgow (s. 22), is still a member of the town-council. One of the duties of the deacon in former times was to essay, or try, the work of apprentices, previous to their being admitted to the freedom of the trade. See DEAN OF GUILD. After this explanation, it need hardly be added that these deacons have no connection with ecclesiastical affairs, and are in no respect to be addressed like deacons in a spiritual sense.

DEAD, in seafaring language, is very frequently employed as part of a designation or phrase having, in general, a meaning somewhat opposite to that of active, effective, or real. The chief of such phrases are the following: D. eyes are circular, flattish wooden blocks, which, with other apparatus, form a purchase or tackle for extending the standing rigging and other purposes. D. flat is the name for one of the midship-timbers. D. lights are strong wooden shutters to close cabin-windows: on the approach of a storm, it is customary to take out the glass-windows, as being too fragile, and replace them with D. lights. D. rising is a name for that part of a ship's bottom where the floor-timbers terminate, and the lower futtocks or foot-hooks begin. D. ropes are such as do not run in blocks. D. wood consists of blocks of timber laid upon the keel, especially fore and aft; it is piled up, and fastened to the keel with iron spike-nails; the chief object is to give solidity and strength to the ends of the ship. To these may be added D. wind, a seaman's designation for a wind blowing directly against a ship's course. DEAD, BURNING OF THE. See BURIAL: CREMATION.

DEAD, JUDGMENT OF THE (in ancient Egypt). The papyrus rolls found with the Egyptian mummies contain a description of the fate of the departed subsequent to their death. Even in the least complete specimens, the most important scene is seldom wanting that, namely, in which the dead is led by the hand of Ma, the goddess of truth and justice, into the judgment-hall of the nether world, before Osiris, the judge of the dead. The god's throne faces the entrance. In the middle of the hall stands a huge balance, with an ostrich feather, the symbol of truth, in one scale, and a vessel in the. form of a human heart in the other. A female hippopotamus appears as accuser. Above sit 42 gods, each of whom specially presides over one of the 42 sins from which the deceased has to clear himself. The gods Horus and Anubis attend to the balance, while the ibis-headed Thoth-Hermes, the justifier, writes down the result, which is naturally assumed to be favorable. Such is the judgment of the dead in the Egyptian Hades. But, according to Diodorus, a human judgment had already been passed upon the

departed previous to burial. Before the sarcophagus was launched upon the holy lake over which it was to be ferried by Charon, the friends and relatives of the dead, together with 42 judges, assembled on the shore. Each was permitted to bring an accusation against him, and if it were proved, the solemnities of burial were withheld. A false accuser, however, was severely punished. Even unjust and unpopular monarchs were often deprived of sepulture by this process.

DEAD, PRAYING FOR THE. See PRAYER.

DEAD COLOR, in painting, any color that has no gloss, or reflecting quality. DEADENING OF NOISE. An easy method of preventing annoyance from the noise of machinery is to place rubber cushions under the legs of work-benches, sewingmachines, or other appliances whence noise may proceed. Chambers's Journal describes a factory where the hammering of fifty coppersmiths was scarcely audible in the room below, their benches having under each leg a rubber cushion. Kegs of sand or sawdust may be used for the same purpose. A few inches of sand or sawdust is first poured into each keg; on this is laid a board or block upon which the leg rests, and around the leg and block is poured fine dry sand or sawdust. Not only all noise, but all vibration and shock are prevented; and an ordinary anvil, so mounted, may be used in a dwelling-house without annoying the inhabitants. To amateurs, whose workshops are usually placed in dwelling-houses, this device affords a cheap and simple relief from a great annoyance.

DEAD-FREIGHT, the compensation paid by the merchant who freights a whole ship to the ship-master for the space which he fails to occupy. It is rather a claim for damages for the loss of freight, than freight itself, and consequently, apart from positive stipulation, the ship-master has no lien for dead-freight over the goods on board. His claim must, consequently, be made effectual by a personal action against the freighter.

DEADHEAD, the superfluous length which is given to a gun in the casting, so that dross may be disposed of while the gun is left in a perfect state, which is accomplished by sawing off the extra length.

DEAD-LETTER OFFICE, a division in the U. S. post-office department at Washington for the reception, care, and disposition of letters and packages (except newspapers) that are uncalled for or cannot be delivered to the parties to whom they are directed at the various post-offices of the country. A statement of the business of this office for the year 1879 will give an idea of its importance and efficiency: The whole number of dead letters and packages received and disposed of during the year was 2,996,513, a decrease of 190,292 from receipts of the previous year. The fact that while there has been an increased number of letters mailed annually in this country, a reduced number has been sent to the department as dead, presents an anomaly which can be explained only upon the theory of increasing efficiency of the delivery service, and the growing popularity of the return-request system. The extent of the latter will be illustrated by the statement that of the 533,934 letters mailed in a single day at Baltimore, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, 287,835 bore upon the envelope some clew by which they could be restored to the writer if undelivered, without the intervention of the dead-letter office. The present system of treating insufficient prepaid letters is the most satisfactory of any which has yet been devised for disposing of that unfortunate class of correspondence. It is as follows: Those that bear a name and address, or a business card, post-office box, or other designation by which the writer can be identified, are immediately restored to the owner, or his attention invited to the deficiency of postage, by the postmaster at the mailing office. Of the balance, all "local" or " drop" letters are delivered by the postmasters to the persons addressed, upon payment by them of the neces sary postage, after due notice of the fact and cause of detention. The remainder are sent to the dead-letter office, and are at once examined by an expert, who, taking into consideration the places of origin and destination of each letter, determines whether it can be returned to the writer in less time than would be required to collect the postage from the addressee and forward the letter to destination. And each letter is then treated in the way decided to be the quicker. Whenever a doubt exists, or where the difference is very small, the postage is collected and the letter forwarded, thus preserving the seal intact. The whole number of dead letters received and disposed of in 1884 was 4,751,872. The amount realized by the sale of articles for which no owner can be found is deposited in the U. S. treasury. The proceeds of the sale in 1884 were $1915.43. The money separated from dead letters which cannot be restored to the sender is also placed in the treasury, and the amount thus deposited in 1884 was $7239.47. Of the letters opened, 17,387 contained $33,770.17 in money; 20,204 contained drafts, checks, etc., to the value of $1,576,948.13; 95,191 contained merchandise, books, etc.; 34,397 contained receipts, paid notes, etc.; 38,348 contained photographs; 84,088 postage stamps, and 3,837,655 nothing of value. The late postmaster-general Maynard ordered that such useful printed matter as had previously been sold for waste paper should be distributed among the inmates of the various hospitals, asylums, and other charitable and reformatory institutions in the District of Columbia. The practice still prevails, and 23,152 magazines, pamphlets, illustrated papers, Christmas cards, valentines, etc., were disposed of in that way.

Letters held for postage numbered: Foreign address, 13,959; domestic address, 117,070; misdirected, 366,524; blank, 14,134; unmailable, containing lottery tickets, etc., 1797; addressed to hotels, 112,648; fictitious addresses, 24,383.

Packages held for postage were 9774; misdirected, 10,596; blank, 13,389; unmailable, 7775; excess of weight or measure, 1144.

Foreign letters and packages received and disposed of by the dead-letter office numbered 477,198; of these, 456,630 were returned to the country of origin; 591 were delivered to addressees; misdirected letters to the number of 12,070 were forwarded to the correct address.

The number of letters and packages originating in the U. S. and returned by foreign countries as undeliverable was 210,436. The letters, newspapers, parcels, etc., received in the returned letter offices of Great Britain, 1887-88, numbered 13,436,600.

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE. See BELLADONNA.

DEAD NETTLE, Lamium, a genus of plants of the natural order labiata, having a 5-toothed calyx and a 2-lipped corolla, the upper lip arched, the lower lip trifid. The name D. N.-popularly in some parts both of England and Scotland, Dee nettle is also often extended to the genera galeopsis and galeobdolon, genera very similar to lamium, the first of which is sometimes distinguished by botanists as hemp-nettle, the second as weasel-snout. Lamium purpureum, L. incisum, L. album, and galeopsis tetrahit, are very common British weeds, some of them appearing in almost every garden, cornfield, or piece of waste ground. L. purpureum and L.album are sometimes boiled as pot-herbs in Sweden. It is probably to G. tetrahit, or G. versicolor, also very common in Scotland, much larger plants, and rough with strong hairs, rather than to any species of lamium, that the popular belief relates of a power residing in the hairs of the D. N., particularly when the plant is dried, as in haymaking, of causing irritation in the hands of persons handling them, which, extending throughout the system, occasionally terminates in death. They do not, however, seem to possess any poisonous property. The subject is one perhaps deserving of more attention than it has received. DEAD-RECKONING, a term in navigation, signifying the calculation of a ship's place at sea, made independently of celestial observations. The chief elements from which the reckoning is made are: The point of departure, i.e., the latitude and longitude sailed from, or last determined; the course or direction sailed in (ascertained by the compass); the rate of sailing-measured from time to time by the log (q.v.); and the time elapsed. The various principles or methods followed in arriving at the reckoning from these data are known as plain-sailing, middle-latitude sailing, etc. See SAILINGS. But the data themselves are liable to numerous uncertainties and errors, owing to currents, leeway (q.v.), fluctuations of the wind, changes in the declination of the compass, etc.; and therefore the results arrived at by the dead-reckoning have to be corrected as often as is possible by observation of the heavenly bodies. See NAVIGATION, LATITUDE, LONGI

TUDE.

DEAD SEA (anc. Lacus Asphaltites), called by the Arabs Bahr Loot, or Sea of Lot, is situated in the s.e. of Palestine, in lat. 31° 10' to 31° 47′ n., and occupies a central position between long 35° and 36° east. It is about 40 m. long, with an average breadth of 9 miles. The depth of the D. S. varies considerably: soundings in the n. have given about 220 fathoms; this depth, however, gradually lessens towards the southern extremity, where the water is shallow. Its surface, which is lower than that of any water known, is 1312 ft. below the level of the Mediterranean. The shape is that of an elongated oval, interrupted by a promontory which projects into it from the s.e. The D. S. is fed by the Jordan from the n., and by many other streams, but has no apparent outlet, its superfluous water being supposed to be entirely carried off by evaporation. Along the eastern and western borders of the D. S., there are lines of bold, and in some cases perpendicular cliffs, rising in general to an elevation of upwards of 1000 ft. on the w., and 2,000 ft. on the east. These cliffs are chiefly composed of limestone, and are destitute of vegetation save on the e. side, where there are ravines, traversed by fresh-water springs. The n. shores of the lake form an extensive and desolate muddy flat, marked by the blackened trunks and branches of trees, strewn about, and incrusted with salt, as everything is that is exposed to the spray of the Dead sea. The southern shore is low, level, and marshy, and desolate and dreary in the highest degree; the air is choking, and no living thing to be seen. On this shore is the remarkable mass of rock called Usdum (Sodom). It is a narrow rugged ridge of hill, extending 5 m. n.w., and consisting of rock-salt. Large blocks have broken off from this hill, and lie strewn in all directions along the shore, adding to its dreary and death-like aspect. To the n. of Usdum, and at DO great distance, is the supposed site of the ancient Sodom. Although the hills surrounding the D. S. are principally composed of stratified rock, yet igneous rocks are also seen; there are also quantities of post-tertiary lava, pumice-stone, warm springs, sulphur, and volcanic slag, clearly proving the presence here of volcanic agencies at some period. The neighborhood of the D. S. is frequently visited by earthquakes, on which occasions it has been observed that this lake casts up to its surface large masses of asphaltum, of which substance the cups, crosses, and other ornaments that are made and sold to pilgrims at Jerusalem chiefly consist. The long-entertained belief, that the exhalations from this lake were fatal, is not founded upon fact; birds have been seen

Deaf.

flying over, and even sitting upon its surface. Within the thickets of tamarisk and oleander, which here and there may be seen upon its brink, the birds sing as sweetly as in more highly favored quarters. A curious plant grows on the borders of the D. S., the asclepias procera, which yields fruit called the apples of Sodom, beautiful on the outside, but bitter to the taste, and when mature, filled with fiber and dust.

The water of the D. S. is characterized by the presence of a large quantity of magnesian and soda salts. Its specific gravity ranges from 1172 to 1227 (pure water being 1000). The proportion of saline matter is so great, that whilst sea-water only contains 80 parts of salts in the 1000 parts, the water of the D. S. contains about 250, or eight times more than that of the ocean. The saltness of the D. S. has been explained in several ways; but there is no need to advert to more than one. It is a circumstance attending all lakes or collections of water without any outflow, that the water acquires an infusion of salt, its feeders constantly bringing in this material, while none can go off by evaporation. It may, moreover, be remarked that, if the D. S. was formerly at a higher level, and brought down to its present pitch by evaporation, a deposit of salt, such as we see on its banks, would be the natural consequence. Considerable deposits of common salt, sulphate of lime, and carbonate of lime have been formed along the bottom of the lake; and there is reason to believe that the deposits of rock-salt which occur in Cheshire, Poland, and other places, have been formed at remote periods by depositions in lakes similar to those of the Dead sea.

DEAD'S PART. The portion of the movable estate of the deceased which remains over, after satisfying the legal claims of his wife and children, should he have left such, is known in Scotland as the dead's part. It is so called, because it is with reference to this portion of his possessions alone that he possessed the power of disposal by will or testament. The D. P. may be increased by renunciations or discharges of their legal rights by the wife or the children, so as to include the whole movable estate, but these discharges must be express. The D. P. may also be increased or diminished by the conventional provisions of a marriage contract. See MARRIAGE CONTRACT, and SucCESSION, MOVABLE, IN SCOTLAND.

A distribution of the personal estate of the deceased, similar to that which is still followed in Scotland, prevailed, in accordance with the ancient customs, within the city of London and the province of York, and was probably common to the whole island (see Stephen's Com. ii. 222, and note). These customs have now been abolished by 19 and 20 Vict. c. 94. See SUCCESSION, PERSONAL, IN ENGLAND.

DEAF AND DUMB. Persons who are born deaf, or who lose their hearing at a very early age, are dumb also; hence the compound term deaf-and-dumb. But the primary defect is deafness; dumbness is only the consequence of it. Children ordinarily hear sounds, and then learn to imitate them; that is, they learn to repeat what they hear other persons say. It is thus that every one of us has learned to speak. But the deaf child hears nothing; cannot therefore imitate, and remains dumb.

Persons who lose their hearing later in life are not to be classed among the deaf and dumb. Having learned to speak before their hearing was lost, they can readily communicate with others, though deaf themselves; and if they are educated, there are still open to them all the stores of knowledge contained in books, from which the juvenile deaf and dumb, ignorant of all written and spoken language, are utterly excluded. It is this latter class alone which we have to deal with in our statistics, which is contemplated in our census enumerations, and for which our institutions for the education of the deaf and dumb are specially designed.

The term "deaf and dumb" is somewhat unfortunate, as embodying and repeating the error that the affliction is twofold. It affects two organs, certainly, but only, as above described, in the way of cause and effect. The organ or hearing is wanting, but the organs of speech are present; they merely lack the means of exercise. The ear is the guide and directress of the tongue; and when she is doomed to perpetual silence, the tongue is included in the ban; though, if we could by any means give to the ear the faculty of hearing, the tongue would soon learn for itself to fulfill its proper office. To correct the error involved in this apparent misnomer, some authorities use the terms deaf-dumb and deaf-mute. The latter seems to be a customary expression in America, as in France it is sourds-muets. In the Holy Scriptures, the same original word is translated "deaf" in some places (as in St. Mark vii. 32), and “dumb or "speechless" in others. (See Matt. ix. 33, and Luke i. 22.).

This affliction is very much more common than, for a long time, and up to a recent period, it was supposed to be. Happily, however, along with the knowledge of its extensive prevalence, have come the means of alleviating it, by education. It was only when the schools now in existence began their usual work, and caused inquiries to be made, that the actual numbers of the deaf and dumb began to appear. In every place where it was proposed to establish a school-in Paris, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Yorkshire, and in New York-the objection was immediately started, that children could not be found in sufficient numbers to require such schools. Their promoters, however, knew better than this, and persisted in their design. They soon had the satisfaction of converting the objectors into their warmest supporters; and the institu

tions thus established, in the localities just named, are now the largest, the most useful, and the most prosperous in the world.

The facts thus ascertained, and the calculations based upon them, continued to be the only statistics upon the subject of deaf-dumbness in Great Britain and Ireland until the census of 1851: then, for the first time in this country, the number and ages of the deaf and dumb formed a part of the inquiry. In Ireland, further investigations were subsequently made, which resulted in the collection of a mass of valuable information upon the causes of deafness, the social condition of the deaf-mute, and other kindred subjects, which were published in Reports on the Status of Disease in that country. There, each inquiry was conducted under a special commission; in Great Britain, it was directed by the registrar-general, and its first purpose was to ascertain the number and ages of the deaf and dumb of each sex. It would have been well if it had been limited to this, for the educational statistics were grossly incorrect and deceptive.

The returns gave the following particulars of the number of the deaf and dumb at that date, and the proportion which they bore to the whole population:

This result of 1 in 1590 for all the British population was very remarkable, on account of its close approximation to the average for the whole of Europe, which was stated in the same returns to be 1 in 1593. In the course of the next ten years, the whole population had increased from 27,511,801 to 29,321,288, and the deaf and dumb had also increased, from 17,300 to 20,311.

Another period of ten years is passed. The total of the population has increased to 31,845,379, but the deaf and dumb have decreased; they have become absolutely fewer in number; and the diminution is found to exist in every registration district in England except two. In Yorkshire, the number is scarcely altered.

The distribution of the deaf and dumb, varying, as it does, so much in different districts, has always pointed to the fact that the affliction must be to some extent influenced by local causes, whatever these may be. The census of 1851 showed that, for one deafmute in Lancashire, there were two in Herefordshire; for one in Huntingdonshire, three in Herefordshire; for one in the east riding of Yorkshire, two in Worcestershire; for one in Durham, two in Derbyshire and two in Cornwall.

The results of the inquiry made ten years later, were, in the main, conformable to these. Then, as previously, the south-western division showed the largest proportion of the deaf and dumb in all England, and Herefordshire occupied the same position among the counties; and though, in the next decennial period (1861-71), the absolute number of the deaf and dumb had actually decreased, the relative distribution of the whole remained about the same. The numerical decrease, as compared with 1861, was found in every district in England, except the north-western (Lancashire and Cheshire), the northern, and Yorkshire. In London, and some other places, the ratio of the deaf and dumb to the whole population was affected by the residence of large numbers of deaf-mute children, collected from various parts of the country, into the institutions there established for their education. Taking the general proportion for the whole of