DE MORGAN, AUGUSTUS (1806-1871).—Mathematician,b.in India, anded.at Camb., was one of the most brilliant of English mathematicians. He is mentioned here in virtue of hisBudget of Paradoxes, a series of papers originallypub.inThe Athenæum, in which mathematical fallacies are discussed with sparkling wit, and the keenest logic.
DENHAM, SIR JOHN (1615-1669).—Poet,s.of the Chief Baron of Exchequer in Ireland, wasb.in Dublin, anded.at Oxf. He began his literary career with a tragedy,The Sophy(1641), which seldom rises above mediocrity. His poem,Cooper's Hill(1642), is the work by which he is remembered. It is the first example in English of a poem devoted to local description. D. received extravagant praise from Johnson; but the place now assigned him is a much more humble one. His verse is smooth, clear, and agreeable, and occasionally a thought is expressed with remarkable terseness and force. In his earlier years D. suffered for his Royalism; but after the Restoration enjoyed prosperity. He, however, made an unhappy marriage, and his last years were clouded by insanity. He was an architect by profession, coming between Inigo Jones and Wren as King's Surveyor.
DENNIS, JOHN (1657-1734).—Critic, etc.,s.of a saddler, wasb.in London, anded.at Harrow and Caius Coll., Camb., from the latter of which he was expelled for stabbing a fellow-student, and transferred himself to Trinity Hall. He attached himself to the Whigs, in whose interest he wrote several bitter and vituperative pamphlets. His attempts at play-writing were failures; and he then devoted himself chiefly to criticising the works of his contemporaries. In this line, while showing some acuteness, he aroused much enmity by his ill-temper and jealousy. Unfortunately for him, some of those whom he attacked, such as Pope and Swift, had the power of conferring upon him an unenviable immortality. Embalmed inThe Dunciad, his name has attained a fame which no work of his own could have given it. Of Milton, however, he showed a true appreciation. Among his works areRinaldo and Armida(1699),Appius and Virginia(1709),Reflections Critical and Satirical(1711), andThree Letters on Shakespeare. Hed.in straitened circumstances.
DE QUINCEY, THOMAS (1785-1859).—Essayist and miscellaneous writer,s.of a merchant in Manchester, wasb.there. The aristocratic "De" was assumed by himself, hisf., whom he lost while he was still a child, having been known by the name of Quincey, and he claimed descent from a Norman family. HisAutobiographic Sketchesgive a vivid picture of his early years at the family residence of Greenheys, and show him as a highly imaginative and over-sensitive child, suffering hard things at the hands of a tyrannical elder brother. He wased.first at home, then at Bath GrammarSchool, next at a private school at Winkfield, Wilts, and in 1801 he was sent to the Manchester Grammar School, from which he ran away, and for some time rambled in Wales on a small allowance made to him by his mother. Tiring of this, he went to London in the end of 1802, where he led the strange Bohemian life related inThe Confessions. His friends, thinking it high time to interfere, sent him in 1803 to Oxf., which did not, however, preclude occasional brief interludes in London, on one of which he made his first acquaintance with opium, which was to play so prominent and disastrous a part in his future life. In 1807 he became acquainted with Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Southey, and soon afterwards with C. Lamb. During the years 1807-9 he paid various visits to the Lakes, and in the latter year he settled at Townend, Grasmere, where Wordsworth had previously lived. Here he pursued his studies, becoming gradually more and more enslaved by opium, until in 1813 he was taking from 8000 to 12,000 drops daily. John Wilson (Christopher North), who was then living at Elleray, had become his friend, and brought him to Edinburgh occasionally, which ended in his passing the latter part of his life in that city. His marriage to Margaret Simpson,dau.of a farmer, took place in 1816. Up to this time he had written nothing, but had been steeping his mind in German metaphysics, and out-of-the-way learning of various kinds; but in 1819 he sketched outProlegomena of all future Systems of Political Economy, which, however, was never finished. In the same year he acted as ed. of theWestmoreland Gazette. His true literary career began in 1821 with the publication in theLondon MagazineofThe Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. Thereafter he produced a long series of articles, some of them almost on the scale of books, inBlackwood'sandTait'smagazines, theEdinburgh Literary Gazette, andHogg's Instructor. These includedMurder considered as one of the Fine Arts(1827), and in his later and more important period,Suspiria De Profundis(1845),The Spanish Military Nun(1847),The English Mail-Coach, andVision of Sudden Death(1849). In 1853 he began acoll.ed. of his works, which was the main occupation of his later years. He had in 1830 brought his family to Edinburgh, which, except for two years, 1841-43, when he lived in Glasgow, was his home till his death in 1859, and in 1837, on his wife's death, he placed them in the neighbouring village of Lasswade, while he lived in solitude, moving about from one dingy lodging to another.
De Q. stands among the great masters of style in the language. In his greatest passages, as in theVision of Sudden Deathand theDream Fugue, the cadence of his elaborately piled-up sentences falls like cathedral music, or gives an abiding expression to the fleeting pictures of his most gorgeous dreams. His character unfortunately bore no correspondence to his intellectual endowments. His moral system had in fact been shattered by indulgence in opium. His appearance and manners have been thus described: "A short and fragile, but well-proportioned frame; a shapely and compact head; a face beaming with intellectual light, with rare, almost feminine beauty of feature and complexion; a fascinating courtesy of manner, and a fulness, swiftness, and elegance of silvery speech." His own works give very detailed information regarding himself.Seealso Page'sThomas De Quincey: his Life and Writings(1879), Prof. Masson'sDe Quincey(English Men of Letters).Collected Writings(14 vols. 1889-90).
DERMODY, THOMAS (1775-1802).—Poet,b.at Ennis, showed great capacity for learning, but fell into idle and dissipated habits, and threw away his opportunities. Hepub.two books of poems, which after his death werecoll.asThe Harp of Erin.
DE VERE, AUBREY THOMAS (1814-1902).—Poet,s.of Sir Aubrey de V., himself a poet, wasb.in Co. Limerick, anded.at Trinity Coll., Dublin. In early life he became acquainted with Wordsworth, by whom he was greatly influenced. On the religious and ecclesiastical side he passed under the influence of Newman and Manning, and in 1851 was received into the Church of Rome. He was the author of many vols. of poetry, includingThe Waldenses(1842),The Search for Proserpine(1843), etc. In 1861 he began a series of poems on Irish subjects,Inisfail,The Infant Bridal,Irish Odes, etc. His interest in Ireland and its people led him to write prose works, includingEnglish Misrule and Irish Misdeeds(1848); and to criticism he contributedEssays chiefly on Poetry(1887). His last work was hisRecollections(1897). His poetry is characterised by lofty ethical tone, imaginative power, and grave stateliness of expression.
DIBDIN, CHARLES (1745-1814).—Dramatist and song writer,b.at Southampton, began his literary career at 16 with a drama,The Shepherd's Artifice. His fame, however, rests on his sea songs, which are unrivalled, and includeTom Bowling,Poor Jack, andBlow High Blow Low. He is said to have written over 1200 of these, besides many dramatic pieces and two novels,Hannah Hewitt(1792), andThe Younger Brother(1793), and aHistory of the Stage(1795).
DICKENS, CHARLES (1812-1870).—Novelist,b.at Landport, near Portsmouth, where hisf.was a clerk in the Navy Pay-Office. The hardships and mortifications of his early life, his want of regular schooling, and his miserable time in the blacking factory, which form the basis of the early chapters ofDavid Copperfield, are largely accounted for by the fact that hisf.was to a considerable extent the prototype of the immortal Mr. Micawber; but partly by his being a delicate and sensitive child, unusually susceptible to suffering both in body and mind. He had, however, much time for reading, and had access to the older novelists, Fielding, Smollett, and others. A kindly relation also took him frequently to the theatre, where he acquired his life-long interest in, and love of, the stage. After a few years' residence in Chatham, the family removed to London, and soon thereafter hisf.became an inmate of the Marshalsea, in which by-and-by the whole family joined him, a passage in his life which furnishes the material for parts ofLittle Dorrit. This period of family obscuration happily lasted but a short time: the elder D. managed to satisfy his creditors, and soon after retired from his official duties on a pension. About the same time D. had two years of continuous schooling, and shortly afterwards he entereda law office. His leisure he devoted to reading and learning shorthand, in which he became very expert. He then acted as parliamentary reporter, first forThe True Sun, and from 1835 for theMorning Chronicle. Meanwhile he had been contributing to theMonthly Magazineand theEvening Chroniclethe papers which, in 1836, appeared in acoll.form asSketches by Boz; and he had also produced one or two comic burlettas. In the same year hem.Miss Ann Hogarth; and in the following year occurred the opportunity of his life. He was asked by Chapman and Hall to write the letterpress for a series of sporting plates to be done by Robert Seymour who, however,d.shortly after, and was succeeded by Hablot Browne (Phiz), who became the illustrator of most of D.'s novels. In the hands of D. the original plan was entirely altered, and became thePickwick Paperswhich, appearing in monthly parts during 1837-39, took the country by storm. SimultaneouslyOliver Twistwas coming out inBentley's Miscellany. Thenceforward D.'s literary career was a continued success, and the almost yearly publication of his works constituted the main events of his life.Nicholas Nicklebyappeared in serial form 1838-39. Next year he projectedMaster Humphrey's Clock, intended to be a series of miscellaneous stories and sketches. It was, however, soon abandoned,The Old Curiosity ShopandBarnaby Rudgetaking its place. The latter, dealing with the Gordon Riots, is, with the partial exception of theTale of Two Cities, the author's only excursion into the historical novel. In 1841 D. went to America, and was received with great enthusiasm, which, however, the publication ofAmerican Notesconsiderably damped, and the appearance ofMartin Chuzzlewitin 1843, with its caustic criticisms of certain features of American life, converted into extreme, though temporary, unpopularity. The first of the Christmas books—theChristmas Carol—appeared in 1843, and in the following year D. went to Italy, where at Genoa he wroteThe Chimes, followed byThe Cricket on the Hearth,The Battle of Life, andThe Haunted Man. In January, 1846, he was appointed first ed. ofThe Daily News, but resigned in a few weeks. The same year he went to Switzerland, and while there wroteDombey and Son, which waspub.in 1848, and was immediately followed by his masterpiece,David Copperfield(1849-50). Shortly before this he had become manager of a theatrical company, which performed in the provinces, and he had in 1849 started his magazine,Household Words.Bleak Houseappeared in 1852-53,Hard Timesin 1854, andLittle Dorrit1856-57. In 1856 he bought Gadshill Place, which, in 1860, became his permanent home. In 1858 he began his public readings from his works, which, while eminently successful from a financial point of view, from the nervous strain which they entailed, gradually broke down his constitution, and hastened his death. In the same year he separated from his wife, and consequent upon the controversy which arose thereupon he broughtHousehold Wordsto an end, and startedAll the Year Round, in which appearedA Tale of Two Cities(1859), andGreat Expectations(1860-61).Our Mutual Friendcame out in numbers (1864-65). D. was now in the full tide of his readings, and decided to give a course of them in America. Thither accordingly he went in the end of 1867, returning in the following May. He had a magnificent reception, and his profitsamounted to £20,000; but the effect on his health was such that he was obliged, on medical advice, finally to abandon all appearances of the kind. In 1869 he began his last work,The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which was interrupted by his death from an apoplectic seizure on June 8, 1870.
One of D.'s most marked characteristics is the extraordinary wealth of his invention as exhibited in the number and variety of the characters introduced into his novels. Another, especially, of course, in his entire works, is his boundless flow of animal spirits. Others are his marvellous keenness of observation and his descriptive power. And the English race may well, with Thackeray, be "grateful for the innocent laughter, and the sweet and unsullied pages which the author ofDavid Copperfieldgives to [its] children." On the other hand, his faults are obvious, a tendency to caricature, a mannerism that often tires, and almost disgusts, fun often forced, and pathos not seldom degenerating into mawkishness. But at his best how rich and genial is the humour, how tender often the pathos. And when all deductions are made, he had the laughter and tears of the English-speaking world at command for a full generation while he lived, and that his spell still works is proved by a continuous succession of new editions.
SUMMARY.—B.1812, parliamentary reporterc.1835,pub.Sketches by Boz1836,Pickwick1837-39, and his other novels almost continuously until his death, visited America 1841, startedHousehold Words1849, andAll the Year Round1858, when also he began his public readings, visiting America again in 1867,d.1870.
Lifeby John Foster (1872),Lettersed. by Miss Hogarth (1880-82). Numerous Lives and Monographs by Sala, F.T. Marzials (Great Writers Series), A.W. Ward (Men of Letters Series), F.G. Kitton, G.K. Chesterton, etc.
DIGBY, SIR KENELM (1603-1665).—Miscellaneous writer,b.near Newport Pagnell,s.of Sir Everard D., one of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, wased.at Oxf., travelled much, and was engaged in sea-fighting. Brought up first as a Romanist, then as a Protestant, he in 1636 joined the Church of Rome. During the Civil War he was active on the side of the King, and on the fall of his cause was for a time banished. He was the author of several books on religious and quasi-scientific subjects, including one on theChoice of a Religion, on theImmortality of the Soul,Observations on Spenser's Faery Queen, and a criticism on Sir T. Browne'sReligio Medici. He also wrote aDiscourse on Vegetation, and oneOn the Cure of Woundsby means of a sympathetic powder which he imagined he had discovered.
DILKE, CHARLES WENTWORTH (1789-1864).—Critic and writer on literature, served for many years in the Navy Pay-Office, on retiring from which he devoted himself to literary pursuits. He had in 1814-16 made a continuation of Dodsley'sCollection of English Plays, and in 1829 he became part proprietor and ed. ofThe Athenæum, the influence of which he greatly extended. In 1846 he resigned the editorship, and assumed that ofThe Daily News, but contributed toThe Athenæumhis famous papers onPope,Burke,Junius, etc., and shed much new light on his subjects. His grandson,the present Sir C.W. Dilke,pub.these writings in 1875 under the title,Papers of a Critic.
DISRAELI, B., (seeBEACONSFIELD).
D'ISRAELI, ISAAC (1766-1848).—Miscellaneous writer, was descended from a Jewish family which had been settled first in Spain, and afterwards at Venice.Ed.at Amsterdam and Leyden, he devoted himself to literature, producing a number of interesting works of considerable value, includingCuriosities of Literature, in 3 series (1791-1823),Dissertation on Anecdotes(1793),Calamities of Authors(1812),Amenities of Literature(1841); also works dealing with the lives of James I. and Charles I.D. was latterly blind. He was thef.ofBenjamin D., Earl of Beaconsfield(q.v.).
DIXON, RICHARD WATSON (1833-1900).—Historian and poet,s.of Dr. James D., a well-known Wesleyan minister and historian of Methodism,ed.at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and Oxf., took Anglican orders, was Second Master at Carlisle School, Vicar of Hayton and Warkworth, and Canon of Carlisle. Hepub.7 vols. of poetry, but is best known for hisHistory of the Church of England from the Abolition of Roman Jurisdiction(1877-1900).
DIXON, WILLIAM HEPWORTH (1821-1879).—Historian and traveller,b.near Manchester, went to London in 1846, and became connected withThe Daily News, for which he wrote articles on social and prison reform. In 1850 hepub.John Howard and the Prison World of Europe, which had a wide circulation, and about the same time he wrote aLife of Peace(1851), in answer to Macaulay's onslaught. Lives ofAdmiral BlakeandLord Baconfollowed, which received somewhat severe criticisms at the hands of competent authorities. D. was ed. ofThe Athenæum, 1853-69, and wrote many books of travel, includingThe Holy Land(1865),New America(1867), andFree Russia(1870). His later historical works includeHer Majesty's Tower, andThe History of Two Queens(Catherine of Arragon and Anne Boleyn). Though a diligent student of original authorities, and sometimes successful in throwing fresh light on his subjects, D. was not always accurate, and thus laid himself open to criticism; and his book,Spiritual Wives, treating of Mormonism, was so adversely criticised as to lead to an action. He wrote, however, in a fresh and interesting style. He was one of the founders of the Palestine Exploration Fund, and was a member of the first School Board for London (1870). He was called to the Bar in 1854, but never practised.
DOBELL, SYDNEY THOMPSON (1824-1874).—Poet,b.at Cranbrook, Kent,s.of a wine-merchant, who removed to Cheltenham, where most of the poet's life was passed. His youth was precocious (he was engaged at 15 andm.at 20). In 1850 his first work,The Roman, appeared, and had great popularity.Balder, Part I.(1854),Sonnets on the War, jointly withAlexander Smith(q.v.) (1855), andEngland in Time of War(1856) followed. His later years were passed in Scotland and abroad in search of health, which, however, was damaged by a fall while exploring some ruinsat Pozzuoli. D.'s poems exhibit fancy and brilliancy of diction, but want simplicity, and sometimes run into grandiloquence and other faults of the so-called spasmodic school to which he belonged.
DODD, WILLIAM (1729-1777).—Divine and forger,ed.at Camb., became a popular preacher in London, and a Royal Chaplain, but, acquiring expensive habits, got involved in hopeless difficulties, from which he endeavoured to escape first by an attempted simoniacal transaction, for which he was disgraced, and then by forging a bond for £4200, for which, according to the then existing law, he was hanged. Great efforts were made to obtain a commutation of the sentence, and Dr. Johnson wrote one of the petitions, but on D.'s book,Thoughts in Prison, appearing posthumously, he remarked that "a man who has been canting all his days may cant to the last." D. was the author of a collection ofBeauties of Shakespeare,Reflections on Death, and a translation of theHymns of Callimachus.
DODDRIDGE, PHILIP (1702-1751).—Nonconformist divine and writer of religious books and hymns,b.in London, anded.for the ministry at a theological institution at Kibworth, became minister first at Market Harborough, and afterwards at Northampton, where he also acted as head of a theological academy. D., who was a man of amiable and joyous character, as well as an accomplished scholar, composed many standard books of religion, of which the best known isThe Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul(1745). In 1736 he received the degree of D.D. from Aberdeen. Hed.at Lisbon, whither he had gone in search of health. Several of his hymns,e.g.,Ye Servants of the Lord,O Happy Day, andO God of Bethel, are universally used by English-speaking Christians, and have been translated into various languages.
DODGSON, CHARLES LUTWIDGE ("LEWIS CARROLL") (1832-1898).—Mathematician and writer of books for children,s.of a clergyman at Daresbury, Cheshire, wased.at Rugby and Oxf. After taking orders he was appointed lecturer on mathematics, on which subject hepub.several valuable treatises. His fame rests, however, on his books for children, full of ingenuity and delightful humour, of whichAlice's Adventures in Wonderland, and its sequel,Through the Looking-glass, are the best.
DODSLEY, ROBERT (1703-1764).—Poet, dramatist, and bookseller,b.near Mansfield, and apprenticed to a stocking-weaver, but not liking this employment, he ran away and became a footman. While thus engaged he producedThe Muse in Livery(1732). This was followed byThe Toy Shop, a drama, which brought him under the notice of Pope, who befriended him, and assisted him in starting business as a bookseller. In this he became eminently successful, and acted as publisher for Pope, Johnson, and Akenside. He projected andpub.The Annual Register, and made a collection ofOld English Plays, also ofPoems by Several Handsin 6 vols. In addition to the original works above mentioned he wrote various plays and poems, includingThe Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green(1741), andCleone(1758).
DONNE, JOHN (1573-1631).—Poet and divine,s.of a wealthy ironmonger in London, where he wasb.Brought up as a Roman Catholic, he was sent to Oxf. and Camb., and afterwards entered Lincoln's Inn with a view to the law. Here he studied the points of controversy between Romanists and Protestants, with the result that he joined the Church of England. The next two years were somewhat changeful, including travels on the Continent, service as a private sec., and a clandestine marriage with the niece of his patron, which led to dismissal and imprisonment, followed by reconciliation. On the suggestion of James I., who approved ofPseudo-Martyr(1610), a book against Rome which he had written, he took orders, and after executing a mission to Bohemia, he was, in 1621, made Dean of St. Paul's. D. had great popularity as a preacher. His works consist of elegies, satires, epigrams, and religious pieces, in which, amid many conceits and much that is artificial, frigid, and worse, there is likewise much poetry and imagination of a high order. Perhaps the best of his works isAn Anatomy of the World(1611), an elegy. Others areEpithalamium(1613),Progress of the Soul(1601), andDivine Poems. Collections of his poems appeared in 1633 and 1649. He exercised a strong influence on literature for over half a century after his death; to him we owe the unnatural style of conceits and overstrained efforts after originality of the succeeding age.
DORAN, JOHN (1807-1878).—Miscellaneous writer, of Irish parentage, wrote a number of works dealing with the lighter phases of manners, antiquities, and social history, often bearing punning titles,e.g.,Table Traits with Something on Them(1854), andKnights and their Days. He also wroteLives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover(1855), andA History of Court Fools(1858), and ed. Horace Walpole'sJournal of the Reign of George III.His books contain much curious and out-of-the-way information. D. was for a short time ed. ofThe Athenæum.
DORSET, CHARLES SACKVILLE, 6TH EARL of (1638-1706).—Poet, was one of the dissolute and witty courtiers of Charles II., and a friend ofSir C. Sedley(q.v.), in whose orgies he participated. He was, however, a patron of literature, and a benefactor of Dryden in his later and less prosperous years. He wrote a few satires and songs, among the latter being the well-known,To all you Ladies now on Land. As might be expected, his writings are characterised by the prevailing indelicacy of the time.
DORSET, THOMAS SACKVILLE, 1ST EARL of, AND LORD BUCKHURST (1536-1608).—Poet and statesman, wasb.at Buckhurst, Sussex, the onlys.of Sir Richard S., anded.at Oxf. and Camb. He studied law at the Inner Temple, and while there wrote, in conjunction with Thomas Norton,Ferren and PorrexorGerboduc(1561-2), the first regular English tragedy. A little later he plannedThe Mirror for Magistrates, which was to have been a series of narratives of distinguished Englishmen, somewhat on the model of Boccaccio'sFalls of Princes. Finding the plan too large, he handed it over to others—seven poets in all being engaged upon it—and himself contributed two poems only, one onBuckingham, the confederate,and afterwards the victim, of Richard III., and anInductionor introduction, which constitute nearly the whole value of the work. In these poems S. becomes the connecting link between Chaucer and Spenser. They are distinguished by strong invention and imaginative power, and a stately and sombre grandeur of style. S. played a prominent part in the history of his time, and held many high offices, including those of Lord Steward and Lord Treasurer, the latter of which he held from 1599 till his death. It fell to him to announce to Mary Queen of Scots the sentence of death.
DOUCE, FRANCIS (1757-1834).—Antiquary,b.in London, was for some time in the British Museum. Hepub.Illustrations of Shakespeare(1807), and a dissertation onThe Dance of Death(1833).
DOUGLAS, GAVIN (1474?-1522).—Poet, 3rds.of the 5th Earl of Angus, wasb.about 1474, anded.at St. Andrews for the Church. Promotion came early, and he was in 1501 made Provost of St. Giles, Edin., and in 1514 Abbot of Aberbrothock, and Archbishop of St. Andrews. But the times were troublous, and he had hardly received these latter preferments when he was deprived of them. He was, however, named Bishop of Dunkeld in 1514 and, after some difficulty, and undergoing imprisonment, was confirmed in the see. In 1520 he was again driven forth, and two years laterd.of the plague in London. His principal poems areThe Palace of Honour(1501), andKing Hart, both allegorical; but his great achievement was his translation of theÆneidin ten-syllabled metre, the first translation into English of a classical work. D.'s language is more archaic than that of some of his predecessors, his rhythm is rough and unequal, but he had fire, and a power of vivid description, and his allegories are ingenious and felicitous.
Coll.ed. of works by John Small, LL.D., 4 vols., 1874.
DOYLE, SIR FRANCIS HASTINGS (1810-1888).—Poet, belonged to a military family which produced several distinguished officers, including hisf., who bore the same name. He wasb.near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, anded.at Eton and Oxf. Studying law he was called to the Bar in 1837, and afterwards held various high fiscal appointments, becoming in 1869 Commissioner of Customs. In 1834 hepub.Miscellaneous Verses, followed byTwo Destinies(1844),Œdipus, King of Thebes(1849), andReturn of the Guards(1866). He was elected in 1867 Prof. of Poetry at Oxf. D.'s best work is his ballads, which includeThe Red Thread of Honour,The Private of the Buffs, andThe Loss of the Birkenhead. In his longer poems his genuine poetical feeling was not equalled by his power of expression, and much of his poetry is commonplace.
DRAKE, JOSEPH RODMAN (1795-1820).—Poet,b.at New York, studied medicine,d.of consumption. He collaborated with F. Halleck in theCroaker Papers, and wrote "The Culprit Fay" and "The American Flag."
DRAPER, JOHN WILLIAM (1811-1882).—Historian,b.at St. Helen's, Lancashire, emigrated to Virginia, and was a prof. in the Univ. of New York. He wroteHistory of the American Civil War(1867-70),History of the Intellectual Development of Europe(1863),andHistory of the Conflict between Science and Religion(1874), besides treatises on various branches of science.
DRAYTON, MICHAEL (1563-1631).—Poet,b.in Warwickshire, was in early life page to a gentleman, and was possibly at Camb. or Oxf. His earliest poem,The Harmonie of the Church, was destroyed. His next wasThe Shepherd's Garland(1593), afterwards reprinted asEclogues. Three historical poems,Gaveston(1593),Matilda(1594), andRobert, Duke of Normandie(1596) followed, and he then appears to have collaborated with Dekker, Webster, and others in dramatic work. Hismagnum opus, however, wasPolyolbion(1613?), a topographical description of England in twelve-syllabled verse, full of antiquarian and historical details, so accurate as to make the work an authority on such matters. The rushing verse is full of vigour and gusto. Other poems of D. areThe Wars of the Barons(1603),England's Heroical Epistles(1598) (being imaginary letters between Royal lovers such as Henry II. and Rosamund),Poems, Lyric and Heroic(1606) (including the fine ballad of "Agincourt"),Nymphidia, his most graceful work,Muses Elizium, andIdea's Mirrour, a collection of sonnets, Idea being the name of the lady to whom they were addressed. Though often heavy, D. had the true poetic gift, had passages of grandeur, and sang the praises of England with the heart of a patriot.
DRUMMOND, HENRY (1851-1897).—Theological and scientific writer,b.at Stirling, anded.at Edin., he studied for the ministry of the Free Church. Having a decided scientific bent he gave himself specially to the study of geology, and made a scientific tour in the Rocky Mountains with Sir A. Geikie. Some years later he undertook a geological exploration of Lake Nyassa and the neighbouring country for the African Lakes Corporation, and brought home a valuable Report. He alsopub.Tropical Africa, a vivid account of his travels. He became much associated with the American evangelist, D.L. Moody, and became an extremely effective speaker on religious subjects, devoting himself specially to young men. His chief contribution to literature was hisNatural Law in the Spiritual World, which had extraordinary popularity.The Ascent of Manwas less successful. D. was a man of great personal fascination, and wrote in an interesting and suggestive manner, but his reasoning in his scientific works was by no means unassailable.
DRUMMOND, WILLIAM (1585-1649).—Poet, was descended from a very ancient family, and through Annabella D., Queen of Robert III., related to the Royal House.Ed.at Edin. Univ., he studied law on the Continent, but succeeding in 1610 to his paternal estate of Hawthornden, he devoted himself to poetry.Tears on the Death of Meliades(Prince Henry) appeared in 1613, and in 1616Poems, Amorous, Funerall, Divine, etc.His finest poem,Forth Feasting(1617), is addressed to James VI. on his revisiting Scotland. D. was also a prose-writer, and composed aHistory of the Five Jameses, Kings of Scotland from 1423-1524, andThe Cypress Grove, a meditation on death. He was also a mechanical genius, and patented 16 inventions. D., though a Scotsman, wrote in the classical English of the day, and was the friend of his principalliterary contemporaries, notably of Ben Jonson, who visited him at Hawthornden, on which occasion D. preserved notes of his conversations, not always flattering. For this he has received much blame, but it must be remembered that he did notpub.them. As a poet he belonged to the school of Spenser. His verse is sweet, flowing, and harmonious. He excelled as a writer of sonnets, one of which, onJohn the Baptist, has a suggestion of Milton.
Lifeby Prof. Masson (1873),Three Centuries of Scottish Literature, Walker, 1893.Maitland Clubed. ofPoems(1832).
DRYDEN, JOHN (1631-1700).—Poet, dramatist, and satirist, wasb.at Aldwincle Rectory, Northamptonshire. Hisf., from whom he inherited a small estate, was Erasmus, 3rds.of Sir Erasmus Driden; his mother was Mary Pickering, also of good family; both families belonged to the Puritan side in politics and religion. He wased.at Westminster School and Trinity Coll., Camb., and thereafter, in 1657, came to London. While at coll. he had written some not very successful verse. HisHeroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell(1658) was his first considerable poem. It was followed, in 1660, byAstræa Redux, in honour of the Restoration. The interval of 18 months had been crowded with events, and though much has been written against his apparent change of opinion, it is fair to remember that the whole cast of his mind led him to be a supporter ofde factoauthority. In 1663 hem.Lady Elizabeth Howard,dau.of the Earl of Berkshire. The Restoration introduced a revival of the drama in its most debased form, and for many years D. was a prolific playwright, but though his vigorous powers enabled him to work effectively in this department, as in every other in which he engaged, it was not his natural line, and happily his fame does not rest upon his plays, which are deeply stained with the immorality of the age. His first effort,The Wild Gallant(1663), was a failure; his next,The Rival Ladies, a tragi-comedy, established his reputation, and among his other dramas may be mentionedThe Indian Queene,Amboyna(1673),Tyrannic Love(1669),Almanzar and Almahide(ridiculed in Buckingham'sRehearsal) (1670),Arungzebe(1675),All for Love(an adaptation of Shakespeare'sAntony and Cleopatra) (1678). During the great plague, 1665, D. left London, and lived with his father-in-law at Charleton. On his return hepub.his first poem of real power,Annus Mirabilis, of which the subjects were the great fire, and the Dutch War. In 1668 appeared hisEssay on Dramatic Poetryin the form of a dialogue, fine alike as criticism and as prose. Two years later (1670) he became Poet Laureate and Historiographer Royal with a pension of £300 a year. D. was now in prosperous circumstances, having received a portion with his wife, and besides the salaries of his appointments, and his profits from literature, holding a valuable share in the King's play-house. In 1671 G. Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, produced hisRehearsal, in ridicule of the overdone heroics of the prevailing drama, and satirising D. as Mr. Bayes. To this D. made no immediate reply, but bided his time. The next years were devoted to the drama. But by this time public affairs were assuming a critical aspect. A large section of the nation was becoming alarmed at the prospect of the succession of the Duke of York, anda restoration of popery, and Shaftesbury was supposed to be promoting the claims of the Duke of Monmouth. And now D. showed; his full powers. The first part ofAbsalom and Achitophelappeared in 1681, in which Charles figures as "David," Shaftesbury as "Achitophel," Monmouth as "Absalom," Buckingham as "Zimri," in the short but crushing delineation of whom the attack of theRehearsalwas requited in the most ample measure. The effect; of the poem was tremendous. Nevertheless the indictment against Shaftesbury for high treason was ignored by the Grand Jury at the Old Bailey, and in honour of the event a medal was struck, which gave a title to D.'s next stroke. HisMedalwas issued in 1682. The success of these wonderful poems raised a storm round D. Replies were forthcoming in Elkanah Settle'sAbsalom and Achitophel Transposed, and Pordage'sAzaria and Hushai. These compositions, especially Pordage's, were comparatively moderate. Far otherwise was Shadwell'sMedal of John Bayes, one of the most brutal and indecent pieces in the language. D.'s revenge—and an ample one—was the publication ofMacFlecknoe, a satire in which all his opponents, but especially Shadwell, were held up to the loathing and ridicule of succeeding ages, and others had conferred, upon them an immortality which, however unenviable, no efforts of their own could have secured for them. Its immediate effect was to crush and silence all his assailants. The following year, 1683, saw the publication ofReligio Laici(the religion of a layman). In 1686 D. joined the Church of Rome, for which he has by some been blamed for time-serving of the basest kind. On the other hand his consistency and conscientiousness have by others been as strongly maintained. The change, which was announced by the publication, in 1687 ofThe Hind and the Panther, a Defence of the Roman Church, at all events did not bring with it any worldly advantages. It was parodied by C. Montague and Prior in theTown and Country Mouse. At the Revolution D. was deprived of all his pensions and appointments, including the Laureateship, in which he was succeeded by his old enemy Shadwell. His latter years were passed in comparative poverty, although the Earl of Dorset and other old friends contributed by their liberality to lighten his cares. In these circumstances he turned again to the drama, which, however, was no longer what it had been as a source of income. To this period belongDon Sebastian, and his last play,Love Triumphant. A new mine, however, was beginning to be opened up in the demand for translations which had arisen. This gave D. a new opportunity, and he produced, in addition to translations from Juvenal and Perseus, his famous "Virgil" (1697). About the same time appearedThe Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, andAlexander's Feast, and in 1700, the year of his death, theFables, largely adaptations from Chaucer and Boccaccio. In his own line, that of argument, satire, and declamation, D. is without a rival in our literature: he had little creative imagination and no pathos. His dramas, which in bulk are the greatest part of his work, add almost nothing to his fame; in them he was meeting a public demand, not following the native bent of his genius. In his satires, and in such poems asAlexander's Feast, he rises to the highest point of his powers in a verse swift and heart-stirring. In prose his style is clear, strong,and nervous. He seems to have been almost insensible to the beauty of Nature.
SUMMARY.—B.1631,ed.Westminster and Camb., became prolific playwright,pub.Annus Mirabilisc.1666, Poet Laureate 1667,pub.Absalom and Achitophel(part 1) 1681,Medal1682,MacFlecknoe1682,Religio Laici1683, joined Church of Rome 1686,pub. Hind and Panther1687, deprived of offices and pensions at Revolution 1688,pub.translations including "Virgil" 1697,St. Cecilia's DayandAlexander's Feastc.1697, andFables1700, when hed.
Sir W. Scott's ed. withLife1808, re-edited in 18 vols. by Prof. Saintsbury (1883-93); Aldine ed. (5 vols., 1892), Johnson'sLives of the Poets, etc.
DUFF, SIR MOUNTSTUART E. GRANT (1829-1906).—Miscellaneous writer, was M.P. for the Elgin Burghs, and Lieut.-Governor of Madras. Hepub.Studies of European Politics, books on Sir H. Maine, Lord de Tabley, and Renan, and a series ofNotes from a Diary, perhaps his most interesting work.
DUFFERIN, HELEN SELENA (SHERIDAN), COUNTESS OF (1807-1867).—Eldestdau.of Tom S., grand-daughter ofRichard Brinsley S.(q.v.), and sister ofMrs. Norton(q.v.). She and her two sisters were known as "the three Graces," the third being the Duchess of Somerset. She shared in the family talent, and wrote a good deal of verse, her best known piece being perhapsThe Lament of the Irish Emigrant, beginning "I'm sittin' on the stile, Mary." She also wroteLispings from Low Latitudes, or Extracts from the Journal of the Hon. Impulsia Gushington,Finesse, or a Busy Day at Messina, etc.