T. Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, liv. (1557).

Davus sum, non Oedipus. I am a homely man, and do not understand hints, innuendoes, and riddles, like Oedipus. Oedipus was the Theban who expounded the riddle of the Sphinx, that puzzled all his countrymen. Davus was the stock name of a servant or slave in Latin comedies. The proverb is used by Terence, Andria, 1, 2, 23.

Davy, the varlet of Justice Shallow, who so identifies himself with his master that he considers himself half host half varlet. Thus when he seats Bardolph and Page at table, he tells them they must take "his" good will for their assurance of welcome.—Shakespeare, 2 Henry IV. (1598).

Daw (Sir David), a rich, dunder-headed baronet of Monmouthshire, without wit, words, or worth, but believing himself somebody, and fancying himself a sharp fellow, because his servants laugh at his good sayings, and his mother calls him a wag. Sir David pays his suit to Miss [Emily] Tempest; but as the affections of the young lady are fixed on Henry Woodville, the baron goes to the wall.—Cumberland, The Wheel of Fortune (1779).

Daw (Marjorie) Edward Delaney, writing to another young fellow, John Flemming, confined in town in August by a broken leg, interests him in a charming girl, Marjorie Daw by name, whom he has met in his (Delaney's) summering-place. His description of her ways, sayings and looks so works upon the imagination of the invalid that he falls madly in love with her—without sight. As soon as he can travel he rushes madly down to "The Pines" where his friend is staying, and finds instead of Delaney a letter:

... "I tried to make a little romance to interest you, something soothing and idyllic, and by Jove! I've done it only too well ... I fly from the wrath to come—when you arrive! For, O, dear Jack, there isn't any colonial mansion on the other side of the road, there isn't any piazza, there isn't any hammock,—there isn't any Marjorie Daw!"

Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Marjorie Daw (1873).

Dawfyd, "the one-eyed" freebooter chief.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).

Dawkins (Jack), known by the sobriquet of the "Artful Dodger." He is one of Fagin's tools. Jack Dawkins is a young scamp of unmitigated villainy, and full of artifices, but of a cheery, buoyant temper.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist, viii. (1837).

Dawson (Bully), a London sharper, bully, and debauchee of the seventeenth century.—See Spectator, No. 2.

Bully Dawson kicked by half the town, and half the town kicked by Bully Dawson.—Charles Lamb.

Dawson (Jemmy). Captain James Dawson was one of the eight officers belonging to the Manchester volunteers in the service of Charles Edward, the young pretender. He was a very amiable young man, engaged to a young lady of family and fortune, who went in her carriage to witness his execution for treason. When the body was drawn, i.e. embowelled, and the heart thrown into the fire, she exclaimed, "James Dawson!" and expired. Shenstone has made this the subject of a tragic ballad.

Shenstone, Jemmy Dawson.

Dawson (Phoebe), "the pride of Lammas Fair," courted by all the smartest young men of the village, but caught "by the sparkling eyes" and ardent words of a tailor. Phoebe had by him a child before marriage, and after marriage he turned a "captious tyrant and a noisy sot." Poor Phoebe drooped, "pinched were her looks, as one who pined for bread," and in want and sickness she sank into an early tomb. This sketch is one of the best in Crabbe's Parish Register (1807).

Day (Justice), a pitiable hen-pecked husband, who always addresses his wife as "duck" or "duckie."

Mrs. Day, wife of the "justice," full of vulgar dignity, overbearing, and loud. She was formerly the kitchen-maid of her husband's father; but being raised from the kitchen to the parlor, became my lady paramount.

In the comedy from which this farce is taken, "Mrs. Day" was the kitchen-maid in the family of Colonel Careless, and went by the name of Gillian. In her exalted state she insisted on being addressed as "Your honor" or "Your ladyship."

Margaret Woffington [1718-1760], in "Mrs. Day," made no scruples to disguise her beautiful face by drawing on it the lines of deformity, and to put on the tawdry habiliments and vulgar manners of an old hypocritical city vixen.—Thomas Davies.

Abel Day, a puritanical prig, who can do nothing without Obadiah. This "downright ass" (act i. I) aspires to the hand of the heiress Arabella.—T. Knight, The Honest Thieves.

This farce is a mere réchauffé of The Committee, a comedy by the Hon. Sir R. Howard (1670). The names of "Day," "Obadiah," and "Arabella" are the same.

Day (Ferquhard), the absentee from the clan Chattan ranks at the conflict.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).

Day of the Dupes, November 11, 1630. The dupes were Marie de Medicis, Anne of Austria, and Gaston, duc d'Orléans, who were outwitted by Cardinal Richelieu. The plotters had induced Louis XIII. to dismiss his obnoxious minister, whereupon the cardinal went at once to resign the seals of office; the king repented, re-established the cardinal, and he became more powerful than ever.

Days Recurrent in the Lives of Great men.

BECKET. Tuesday was Becket's day. He was born on a Tuesday, and on a Tuesday was assassinated. He was baptized on a Tuesday, took his flight from Northampton on a Tuesday, withdrew to France on a Tuesday, had his vision of martydom on a Tuesday, returned to England on a Tuesday, his body was removed from the crypt to the shrine on a Tuesday, and on Tuesday (April 13, 1875) Cardinal Manning consecrated the new church dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket.

CROMWELL'S day was September 3. On September 3, 1650, he won the battle of Dunbar; on September 3, 1651, he won the battle of Worcester; on September 3, 1658, he died.

HAROLD'S day was October 14. It was his birthday, and also the day of his death. William the Conqueror was born on the same day, and, on October 14, 1066, won England by conquest.

NAPOLEON'S day was August 15, his birthday; but his his "lucky" day, like that of his nephew, Napoleon III., was the 2nd of the month. He was made consul for life on August 2, 1802; was crowned December 2, 1804; won his greatest battle, that of Austerlitz, for which he obtained the title of "Great," December 2, 1805; married the archduchess of Austria, April 2, 1810; etc.

NAPOLEON III. The coup d'état was December 2, 1851. Louis Napoleon was made emperor December 2, 1852; he opened, at Saarbrück, the Franco-German war August 2, 1870; and surrendered his sword to William of Prussia, September 2, 1870.

Dazzle, in London Assurance, by D. Boucicault.

De Bourgo (William), brother of the earl of Ulster and commander of the English forces that defeated Felim O'Connor (1315) at Athunree, in Connaught.

Campbell, O'Connor's Child.

De Courcy, in a romance called Women, by the Rev. C.R. Maturin. An Irishman, made up of contradictions and improbabilities. He is in love with Zaira, a brilliant Italian, and also with her unknown daughter, called Eva Wentworth, a model of purity. Both women are blighted by his inconstancy. Eva dies, but Zaira lives to see De Courcy perish of remorse (1822).

De Gard, a noble staid gentleman, newly lighted from his travels; brother of Oria'na, who "chases" Mi'rabel "the wild goose," and catches him.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Wild-goose Chase (1652).

De l'Epèe (Abbe). Seeing a deaf and dumb lad abandoned in the streets of Paris, he rescues him, and brings him up under the name of Theodore. The foundling turned out to be Julio, count of Harancour.

"In your opinion, who is the greatest genius that France has ever produced?" "Science would decide for D'Alembert, Nature [would] say Buffon; Wit and Taste [would] present Voltaire; and Sentiment plead for Rousseau; but Genius and Humanity cry out for De l'Epee, and him I call the best and greatest of human creatures."—Th. Holcroft, The Deaf and Dumb, iii. 2. (1785).

De Valmont (Count), father of Florian and uncle of Geraldine. During his absence in the wars, he left his kinsman, the Baron Longueville, guardian of his castle; but under the hope of coming into the property, the baron set fire to the castle, intending thereby to kill the wife and her infant boy. When De Valmont returned and knew his losses, he became a wayward recluse, querulous, despondent, frantic at times, and at times most melancholy. He adopted an infant "found in a forest," who turned out to be his son. His wife was ultimately found, and the villainy of Longueville was brought to light.—W. Dimond, The Foundling of the Forest.

Many "De Valmonts" I have witnessed in fifty-four years, but have never seen the equal of Joseph George Holman [1764-1817].—Donaldson.

Deaf and Dumb (The), a comedy by Thomas Holcroft. "The deaf and dumb" boy is Julio, count of Harancour, a ward of M. Darlemont, who, in order to get possession of his ward's property, abandons him when very young in the streets of Paris. Here he is rescued by the Abbé De l'Epèe, who brings him up under the name of Theodore. The boy being recognized by his old nurse and others, Darlemont confesses his crime, and Julio is restored to his rank and inheritance.—Th. Holcroft, The Deaf and Dumb (1785).

Dean of St. Patrick (The), Jonathan Swift, who was appointed to the deanery in 1713, and retained it till his death. (1667-1745).

Deans (Douce Davie), the cowherd at Edinburgh, noted for his religious peculiarities, his magnanimity in affection, and his eccentricities.

Mistress Rebecca Deans, Douce Davie's second wife.

Jeanie Deans, daughter of Douce Davie Deans, by his first wife. She marries Reuben Butler, the Presbyterian minister. Jeanie Deans is a model of good sense, strong affection, resolution, and disinterestedness. Her journey from Edinburgh to London is as interesting as that of Elizabeth from Siberia to Moscow, or of Bunyan's pilgrim.

Effie [Euphemia] Deans, daughter of Douce Davie Deans, by his second wife. She is betrayed by George [afterward Sir George] Staunton (called Geordie Robertson) and imprisoned for child-murder. Jeanie goes to the queen and sues for pardon, which is vouchsafed to her, and Staunton does what he can to repair the mischief he has done by marrying Effie, who thus becomes Lady Staunton. Soon after this Sir George is shot by a gypsy boy, who proves to be his own son, and Effie retires to a convent on the Continent.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II).

therefore.jpg J.E.Millais has a picture of Effie Deans keeping tryst with George Staunton.

therefore.jpg The prototype of Jeanie Deans was Helen Walker, to whose memory Sir W. Scott erected a tombstone in Irongray churchyard (Kirkcudbright).

Dean (Elder). Rigid and puritaincal church, official who brings a charge of heretical opinions and blacksliding against his pastor's wife in John Ward, Preacher, Margaret Deland (1888).

Death or Mors. So did Tennyson call Sir Ironside the Red Knight of the Red Lands, who kept Lyonors (for Lionês) captive in Castle Perilous. The name "Mors," which is Latin, is very inconsistent with a purely British tale, and of course does not appear in the original story.—Tennyson, Idylls ("Gareth and Lynette"); Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 134-137 (1470).

Death from Strange Causes.

Æschylus was killed by the fall of a tortoise on his head from the claws of an eagle in the air.—Pliny, Hist. vii. 7.

Agath'ocles (4 syl.), tyrant of Sicily, was killed by a tooth-pick, at the age of 95.

Anacreon was choked by a grape stone.—Pliny, Hist. vii. 7.

Bassus (Q. Lucilius) died from the prick of a fine needle in his left thumb.

Chalchas, the soothsayer, died of laughter at the thought of his having outlived the time predicted for his death.

Charles VIII., conducting his queen into a tennis-court, struck his head against the lintel, and it caused his death.

Fabius, the Roman praetor, was choked by a single goat-hair in the milk which he was drinking.—Pliny, Hist. vii. 7.

Frederick Lewis, prince of Wales, died from the blow of a cricket ball.

Itadach died of thirst in the harvest field, because (in observance of the rule of St. Patrick) he refused to drink a drop of anything.

Louis VI. met with his death from a pig running under his horse, and causing it to stumble. Margutte died of laughter on seeing a monkey try ing to pull on a pair of his boots.

Philom'enes (4 syl.) died of laughter at seeing an ass eating the figs provided for his own dessert.—Valerius Maximus.

Placut (Phillipot) dropped down dead while in the act of paying a bill.—Backaberry the elder.

Quenelault, a Norman physician of Montpellier, died from a slight wound made in his hand in the extraction of a splinter.

Saufeius (Spurius) was choked supping up the albumen of a soft-boiled egg.

Zeuxis, the painter, died of laughter at sight of a hag which he had just depicted.

Death Ride (The), the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava, October 25, 1854. In this action 600 English horsemen, under the earl of Cardigan, charged a Russian force of 5,000 calvary and six batallions of infantry. They galloped through the battery of thirty guns, cutting down the artillerymen, and through the calvary, but then discovered the batallions and cut their way back again. Of the 670 who advanced to this daring charge, not 200 returned. This reckless exploit was the result of some misunderstanding in an order from the commander-in-chief. Tennyson has a poem on the subject called The Charge of the Light Brigade.

For chivalrous devotion and daring, "the Death Ride" of the Light Brigade will not easily be paralleled.—Sir Edw. Creasy, The Fifteen Decisive Battles (preface).

Deb'on, one of the companions of Brute. According to British fable, Devonshire is a corruption of "Debon's-share", or the share of the country assigned to Debon.

Deborah Debbitch, governante at Lady Peveril's—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the the Peak (time, Charles II.).

Deborah Woodhouse. The practical sister of the spinster pair who cherish (respectively) a secret attachment for Mr. Dermer. Miss Deborah is an admirable cook, and an affectionate aunt and considers that in religion a woman ought to think just as her husband does.—Margaret Deland, John Ward, Preacher (1888).

Decem Scriptores, a collection of ten ancient chronicles on English history, edited by Twysden and John Selden. The names of the chroniclers are Simeon of Durham, John of Hexham, Richard of Hexham, Ailred of Rieval, Ralph De Diceto, John Brompton of Jorval, Gervase of Canterbury, Thomas Stubbs, William Thorn of Canterbury, and Henry Knighton of Leicester.

December. A mother laments in the

the death of two sons, one of whom fell in battle, while the other perished at sea.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Poems, (1882).

De'cius, friend of Antin'ous (4 syl.).—Beaumont and Fletcher, Laws of Candy (1647).

Dedlock (Sir Leicester), bart., who has a general opinion that the world might get on without hills, but would be "totally done up" without Dedlocks. He loves Lady Dedlock, and believes in her implicity. Sir Leicester is honorable and truthful, but intensely prejudiced, immovably obstinate, and proud as "county" can make a man; but his pride has a most dreadful fall when the guilt of Lady Dedlock becomes known.

Lady Dedlock, wife of Sir Leicester, beautiful, cold, and apparently heartless; but she is weighed down with this terrible secret, that before marriage she had had a daughter by Captain Hawdon. This daughter's name is Esther [Summerson] the heroine of the novel.

Volumnia Dedlock, cousin of Sir Leicester. A "young" lady of 60, given to rouge, pearl-powder, and cosmetics. She has a habit of prying into the concerns of others.—C. Dickens, Bleak House (1853).

Dee's Spec'ulum, a mirror, which Dr. John Dee asserted was brought to him by the angels Raphael and Gabriel. At the death of the doctor it passed into the possession of the Earl of Peterborough, at Drayton; then to Lady Betty Grermaine, by whom it was given to John, last duke of Argyll. The duke's grandson (Lord Frederic Campbell) gave it to Horace Walpole; and in 1842 it was sold, at the dispersion of the curiosities of Strawberry Hill, and bought by Mr. Smythe Pigott. At the sale of Mr. Pigott's library, in 1853, it passed into the possession of the late Lord Londesborough. A writer in Notes and Queries (p. 376, November 7, 1874) says, it "has now been for many years in the British Museum," where he saw it "some eighteen years ago."

This magic speculum is a flat polished mineral, like cannel coal, of a circular form, fitted with a handle.

Deerslayer (The), the title of a novel by J.F. Cooper, and the nickname of its hero, Natty or Nathaniel Bumppo. He is a model uncivilized man, honorable, truthful, and brave, pure of heart and without reproach.

Deerfield. The particulars of the captivity of the Williams family of Deerfield, (Mass.), are told by John Williams, the head of the household. The Indians entered the town before dawn Feb. 29, 1703, broke into the house, murdered two children and a servant and carried the rest into the wilderness. Mrs. Williams being weak from a recent illness, was killed on the journey.—John Williams, The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion (1707).

Defarge (Mons.), keeper of a wine shop in the Faubourg St. Antoine, in Paris. He is a bull-necked, good-humored, but implacable-looking man.

Mde. Defarge, his wife, a dangerous woman, with great force of character; everlastingly knitting.

Mde. Defarge had a watchful eye that seldom seemed to look at anything.—C. Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, i. 5 (1859).

Defender of the Faith, the title first given to Henry VIII, by Pope Leo X., for a volume against Luther, in defence of pardons, the papacy, and the seven sacraments. The original volume is in the Vatican, and contains this inscription in the king's handwriting; Anglorum rex Henricus, Leoni X. mittit hoc opus et fidei testem et amicitiæ; whereupon the pope (in the twelfth year of his reign) conferred upon Henry, by bull, the title "Fidei Defensor," and commanded all Christians so to address him. The original bull was preserved by Sir Robert Cotton, and is signed by the pope, four bishop-cardinals, fifteen priest-cardinals, and eight deacon-cardinals. A complete copy of the bull, with its seals and signatures, may be seen in Selden's Titles of Honor, v. 53-57 (1672).

Defoe writes The History of the Plague of London as if he had been a personal spectator, but he was only three years old at the the time (1663-1731).

Deggial, antichrist. The Mohammedan writers say he has but one eye and one eyebrow, and on his forehead is written CAFER ("infidel")

Chilled with terror, we concluded that the Deggial, with his exterminating angels, had sent forth their plagues on the earth.—W. Beckford, Vathek (1784).

Deird'ri, an ancient Irish story similar to the Dar-Thula of Ossian. Conor, king of Ulster, puts to death by treachery the three sons of Usnach. This leads to the desolating war against Ulster, which terminates in the total destruction of Eman. This is one of the three tragic stories of the Irish, which are: (1) The death of the children of Touran (regarding Tuatha de Danans); (2) the death of the children of Lear or Lir, turned into swans by Aoife; (3) the death of the children of Usnach (a "Milesian" story).

Dek'abrist, a Decembrist, from Dekaber, the Russian for December. It denotes those persons who suffered death or captivity for the part they took in the military conspiracy which broke out in St. Petersburg in December, 1825, on the accession of Czar Nicholas to the throne.

Dela'da, the tooth of Buddah, preserved in the Malegawa temple at Kandy. The natives guard it with the greatest jealousy, from a belief that whoever possesses it acquires the right to govern Ceylon. When the English (in 1815) obtained possession of this palladium, the natives submitted without resistance.

Delaserre (Captain Philip), a friend of Harry Bertram.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).

De'lia, Diana; so called from the island Delos, where she was born. Similarly, Apollo was called Delius. Milton says that Eve, e'en

Paradise Lost, ix. 338, etc. (1665).

Delia, any female sweetheart. She is one of the shepherdesses in Virgil's Eclogues. Tibullus, the Roman poet, calls his lady-love "Delia," but what her real name was is not certain.

Delia, the lady-love of James Hammond's elegies, was Miss Dashwood, who died in 1779. She rejected his suit, and died unmarried. In one of the elegies the poet imagines himself married to her, and that they were living happily together till death, when pitying maids would tell of their wondrous loves.

Delian King (The). Apollo or the sun is so called in the Orphic hymn,

Akenside, Hymn to the Naiads (1767).

Delight of Mankind (The), Titus the Roman emperor, A.D.40, (79-81).

Thomson, Liberty, in. (1725).

Della Crusca School, originally applied in 1582 to a society in Florence, established to purify the national language and sift from it all its impurities; but applied in England to a brotherhood of poets (at the close of the last century) under the leadership of Mrs. Piozzi. This school was conspicuous for affectation and high-flown panegyrics on each other. It was stamped out by Gifford, in The Baviad, in 1794, and The Moeviad, in 1796. Robert Merry, who signed himself Della Crusca, James Cobb, a farce-writer, James Boswell (biographer of Dr. Johnson), O'Keefe, Morton, Reynolds, Holcroft, Sheridan, Colman the younger, Mrs. H. Cowley, and Mrs. Robinson were its best exponents.

Del'phine, (2 syl.), the heroine and title of a novel by Mde. de Staël. Delphine is a charming character, who has a faithless lover, and dies of a broken heart. This novel, like Corinne, was written during her banishment from France by Napoleon I., when she travelled in Switzerland and Italy. It is generally thought that "Delphine" was meant for the authoress herself (1802).

Delphine Classics (The), a set of Latin classics edited in France for the use of the grand dauphin (son of Louis XIV.). Huet was chief editor, assisted by Montausier and Bossuet. They had thirty-nine scholars working under them. The indexes of these classics are very valuable.

Delta  of Blackwood is D.M.Moir (1798-1851).

Del'ville (2 syl.), one of the guardians of Cecilia. He is a man of wealth and great ostentation, with a haughty humility and condescending pride, especially in his intercourse with his social inferiors.—Miss Burney, Cecilia (1782). Deme'tia, South Wales; the inhabitants are called Demetians.

Drayton, Polyolbion, v. (1612).

Deme'trius, a young Athenian, to whom Egeus (3 syl.) promised his daughter Hermia in marriage. As Hermia loved Lysander, she refused to marry Demetrius, and fled from Athens with Lysander. Demetrius went in quest of her, and was followed by Helena, who doted on him. All four fell asleep, and "dreamed a dream" about the fairies. On waking, Demetrius became more reasonable. He saw that Hermia disliked him, but that Helena loved him sincerely, so he consented to forego the one and take to wife the other. When Egeus, the father of Hermia, found out how the case stood, he consented to the union of his daughter with Lysander.—Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream (1592).

Deme'trius, in The Poetaster, by Ben Jonson, is meant for John Marston (died 1633).

Deme'trius, (4 syl.), son of King Antig'onus, in love with Celia, alias Enan'thê.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Humorous Lieutenant (1647).

Deme'trius, a citizen of Greece during the reign of Alexius Comnenus.—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).

Demiurgus, that mysterious agent which, according to Plato, made the world and all that it contains. The Logos or "Word" of St. John's Gospel (ch. i. I) is the demiurgus of platonizing Christians.

Democ'ritos (in Latin Democritus), the laughing or scoffing philosopher, the Friar Bacon of his age. To "dine with Democ'ritos" is to go without dinner, the same as "dining with Duke Humphrey," or "dining with the cross-legged knights."

People think that we [authors] often dine with Democritos, but there they are mistaken. There is not one of the fraternity who is not welcome to some good table.—Lesage, Gil Blas, xii. 7 (1735).

Democritus Junior, Robert Burton, author of The Anatomy of Melancholy (1576-1640).

Demod'ocos (in Latin Demodocus), bard of Alcin'ous (4 syl.) king of the Phæa'cians.

Milton, Vacation Exercise (1627).

Dem'ogor'gon, tyrant of the elves and fays, whose very name inspired terror; hence Milton speaks of "the dreaded name of Demogorgon" (Paradise Lost, ii. 965). Spenser says he "dwells in the deep abyss where the three fatal sisters dwell" (Faëry Queen, iv. 2); but Ariosto says he inhabited a splendid palace on the Himalaya Mountains. Demogorgon is mentioned by Statius in the Thebaid, iv. 516.

He's the first-begotten of Beëlzebub, with a face as terrible as Demogorgon.—Dryden, The Spanish Fryar, v. 2 (1680).

Demon. Increase Mather tells a long and circumstantial story of The Demon at William Morse His House, time of visitation being 1679. "The true story of these strange disturbances is as yet not certainly known," he says. "Some (as has been hinted), did suspect Morse's wife to be guilty of witchcraft."—Increase Mather, An Essay for the Eecording of Illustrious Providences (1681). Demoph'oôn (4 syl.) was brought up by Demêter, who anointed him with ambrosia and plunged him every night into the fire. One day, his mother, out of curiosity, watched the proceeding, and was horror-struck; whereupon Demêter told her that her foolish curiosity had robbed her son of immortal youth.

This story is also told of Isis.—Plutarch, De Isid. et Osirid., xvi. 357.

therefore.jpgA similar story is told of Achillês. His mother Thet'is was taking similar precautions to render him immortal, when his father Pe'leus (2 syl.) interfered.—Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautic Exp., iv. 866.

Demos'thenes of the Pulpit. Dr. Thomas Rennell, dean of Westminster, was so called by William Pitt (1753-1840).

Dendin (Peter), an old man, who had settled more disputes than all the magistrates of Poitiers, though he was no judge. His plan was to wait till the litigants were thoroughly sick of their contention, and longed to end their disputes; then he would interpose, and his judgment could not fail to be acceptable.

Tenot Dendin, son of the above, but, unlike the father, he always tried to crush quarrels in the bud; consequently, he never succeeded in settling a single dispute submitted to his judgment.—Rabelais, Pantagruel, in. 41 (1545).

(Racine has introduced the same name into his comedy called Les Plaideurs (1669), and Lafontaine in his Fables 1668).

Dennet (Father), an old peasant at the Lists of St. George.—Sir W. Scott, Ivanhoe (time, Richard I.).

Dennis the hangman, one of the ringleaders of the "No Popery Riots;" the other two were Hugh, servant of the Maypole inn, and the half-witted Barnaby Rudge. Dennis was cheerful enough when he "turned off" others, but when he himself ascended the gibbet he showed a most grovelling and craven spirit.—C. Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1841).

Dennis (John), "the best abused man in English literature." Swift lampooned him; Pope assailed him in the Essay on Criticism; and finally he was "damned to everlasting fame" in the Dunciad. He is called "Zo'ïlus" (1657-1733).

Dennison (Jenny), attendant on Miss Edith Bellenden. She marries Cuddie Headrigg.—Sir W. Scott, Old Mortality (time, Charles II.).

Dermer (Mr.), a little bachelor lawyer, whose face has "a pinched, wistful look" under the curls of his brown wig. He lives in a dreary house, with a testy housekeeper, and a timid little nephew-ward, and spends many of his lonely hours in trying to decide if he loves Miss Deborah Woodhouse the utilitarian, or aesthetic Miss Ruth. On his death-bed, he gives an old daguerreotype of himself to Miss Ruth.

D'Éon de Beaumont (Le Chevalier), a person notorious for the ambiguity of his sex; said to be the son of an advocate. His face was pretty, without beard, moustache, or whiskers. Louis XV. sent him as a woman to Russia on a secret mission, and he presented himself to the czarina as a woman (1756). In the Seven Years' War he was appointed captain of dragoons. In 1777 he assumed the dress of a woman again, which he maintained till death (1728-1810).

Derby (Earl of), third son of the Earl of Lancaster, and near kinsman of Edward III. His name was Henry Plantagenet, and he died 1362. Henry Plantagenet, earl of Derby, was sent to protect Guienne, and was noted for his humanity no less than for his bravery. He defeated the Comte de l'Isle at Bergerac, reduced Perigord, took the castle of Auberoche, in Gascony, overthrew 10,000 French with only 1000, taking prisoners nine earls and nearly all the barons, knights, and squires (1345). Next year he took the fortresses of Monsegur, Montpezat, Villefranche, Miraumont, Tonneins, Damazin, Aiguillon, and Reole.

That most deserving Earl of Derby, we prefer Henry's third valiant son, the Earl of Lancaster. That only Mars of men.

Dayton, Polyolbion, xviii. (1613).

Derby (Countess of), Charlotte de la Tremouille, Countess of Derby and Queen of Man.

Philip (earl of Derby), King of Man, son of the countess.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).

Daniel Deronda, pure young fellow whose influence for good over men and women is marvellous, and explicable only upon the principle that virtue is mightier than vice. "You could not have seen his face thoroughly meeting yours without believing that human creatures had done nobly in times past and might do more nobly in time to come."—George Eliot, Daniel Deronda.

Der'rick, hangman in the first half of the seventeenth century. The crane for hoisting goods is called a derrick, from this hangman.

Derrick (Faith). The rural heroine of Susan Warner's novel Say and Seal (1860).

Derrick (Tom), quarter-master of the pirate's vessel.—Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).

Derry Down Triangle (The), Lord Castlereagh; afterwards marquis of Londonderry; so called by William Hone. The first word is a pun on the title, the second refers to his lordship's oratory, a triangle being the most feeble, monotonous, and unmusical of all musical instruments. Tom Moore compares the oratory of Lord Castlereagh to "water spouting from a pump."

Dervish ("a poor man"), a sort of religious friar or mendicant among the Mohammedans.

Desboroug-h (Colonel), one of the parliamentary commissioners.—Sir W. Scott, Woodstock (time, Commonwealth).

Desdemo'na, daughter of Brabantio, a Venetian senator, in love with Othello the Moor (general of the Venetian army). The Moor loves her intensely, and marries her; but Iago, by artful villainy, induces him to believe that she loves Cassio too well. After a violent conflict between love and jealousy, Othello smothers her with a bolster, and then stabs himself.—Shakespeare, Othello (1611.)

The soft simplicity of Desdemona, confident of merit and conscious of innocence, her artless perseverance in her suit, and her slowness to suspect that she can be suspected, are proofs of Shakespeare's skill in human nature.—Dr. Johnson.

Desert Fairy (The). This fairy was guarded by two lions, that could be pacified only by a cake made of millet, sugar-candy, and crocodiles' eggs. The Desert Fairy said to Allfair, "I swear by my coif you shall marry the Yellow Dwarf, or I will burn my crutch."—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("The Yellow Dwarf," 1682).

Deserted Daughter (The), a comedy by Holcroft. Joanna was the daughter of Mordent, but her mother died, and Mordent married Lady Anne. In order to do so he ignored his daughter and had her brought up by strangers, intending to apprentice her to some trade. Item, a money-lender, acting on the advice of Mordent, lodges the girl with Mrs. Enfield, a crimp, where Lennox is introduced to her, and obtains Mordent's consent to run away with her. In the interim Cheveril sees her, falls in love with her, and determines to marry her. Mordent repents, takes the girl home, acknowledges her to be his daughter, and she becomes the wife of the gallant young Cheveril (1784).

therefore.jpg This comedy has been recast, and called The Steward.

Deserter (The), a musical drama by Dibdin (1770). Henry, a soldier, is engaged to Louisa, but during his absence some rumors of gallantry to his disadvantage reach the village, and to test his love, Louisa in pretence goes with Simkin as if to be married. Henry sees the procession, is told it is Louisa's wedding day, and in a fit of desperation gives himself up as a deserter, and is condemned to death. Lousia goes to the king, explains the whole affair, and returns with his pardon as the muffled drums begin to beat.

Desmas. The repentant thief is so called in The Story of Joseph of Arimathea; but Dismas in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. Longfellow, in The Golden Legend, calls him Dumachus. The impenitent thief is called Gestas, but Longfellow calls him Titus.