For further details of deep-sea dredging, especially of the hauling machinery and management of the gear, the special reports of the various expeditions must be consulted. Commander Tanner, U.S.N., has given inDeep Sea Exploration(1897) a very full and good account of the equipment of an exploring ship; and to this book the present article is much indebted.
For further details of deep-sea dredging, especially of the hauling machinery and management of the gear, the special reports of the various expeditions must be consulted. Commander Tanner, U.S.N., has given inDeep Sea Exploration(1897) a very full and good account of the equipment of an exploring ship; and to this book the present article is much indebted.
Modifications and Additions to the Dredge.—From 1818, when Sir John Ross brought up a fine Astrophyton from over 800 fathoms on a sounding line in Baffin’s Bay, instances gradually accumulated of specimens being obtained from great depths without nets or traps. The naturalists of the “Porcupine” and other expeditions found that echinoderms, corals and sponges were often carried up adhering to the outer surface of the dredge and the last few fathoms of dredge rope. In order to increase the effectiveness of this method of capture a bar was fastened to the bottom of the dredge, to which bunches of teased-out hemp were tied. In this way specimens of the greatest interest, and frequently of equal importance with those in the dredge bag, were obtained. The tangle bar was at first attached to the back of the net. From the “Challenger” expedition onward it has been fixed behind the net by iron bars stretching back from the short sides of the dredge frame which pass through eyes in their first ends (fig. 15). The swabs are thus unable to fold over the mouth of the dredge. Rope lashings to the lips of the dredge are sometimes added, and a weight is tied to the larger bar to keep it down.
Occasionally the tangle bar is used alone (Agassiz), and one form (Tanner) has two bars, stretching back like the side strokes of the letter A from a strong steel spring in the form of an almost complete circle. The whole is pulled forward from a spherical sinker fastened in front of the spring apex; and should the apex enter a crevice between rock masses, the side bars are closed by the pressure instead of catching and bringing up. This is said to be a very useful instrument among corals.
The Blake Dredge.—In the soft ooze which forms the bottom of deep seas the common dredge sinks and digs much too deeply for its ordinary purpose, owing partly to its chief weight bearing on the frame only, partly to its everted lips. To obviate these defects Lieutenant Commander Sigsbee of the “Blake” devised the Blake dredge. Its novel features were the frame and lips. The former was in the form of a skeleton box; that is, a rectangle of iron bars was placed at the back as well as the front or mouth of the net and four more iron bars connected the two rectangles. The lips instead of being everted were in parallel planes—those, namely, of the top and bottom of the net. The effect of this was to minimize digging and somewhat spread the incidences of the weight. Another advantage was that the net being constantly distended by its frame, and, moreover, protected top and bottom by an external shield of canvas, quite delicate specimens reached the surface uninjured. The dredge weighed 80 ℔ and was 4 ft. square and 9 in. deep.Rake Dredges.—These are devices for collecting burrowing creatures without filling the dredge with the soil in which they live. Holt used, at Plymouth, a dredge whose side bars and lower lip were of iron, the latter armed with forward and downward pointing teeth which stirred up the sand and its denizens in front of the dredge mouth. The upper lip of the dredge was replaced by a bar of wood. The bag was of cheese-cloth or light open canvas, and the whole was of light construction. The apparatus was very useful in capturing small burrowing crustacea. The Chester rake dredge is a Blake dredge in front of which is secured a heavy iron rectangle with teeth placed almost at right angles to its long sides and in the plane of the rectangle. Each of these instruments has a width along the scraping edge of about 3 ft.Fig. 16.—Conical Dredge being hoisted in.Triangular and Conical Dredges.—Two other dredges are worthy of mention. The triangular dredge, much resembling Müller’s but with a triangular mouth, and hung by chains from its angles, is an old fashion now not in general use. It is, however, very useful for rocky ground. At the Plymouth marine laboratory was also devised the conical dredge (1901), the circular form being the suggestion of Garstang. This dredge (fig. 16) was intended for digging deeply. It is of wrought iron, and of the following dimensions: diameter of mouth 16 in., length 33 in., depth of ring at mouth 9 in. Its weight is 67 ℔. As at first used the spaces between the bars are closed by wire netting; if used for collecting bottom samples it is furnished with a lining of strong sail-cloth.Its weight and the small length of edge in contact with the ground cause this dredge to dig well, and enable the user to obtain many objects which though quite common are of rare occurrence in an ordinary dredge. Thus on the Brown Ridges, a fishing-ground west of Holland, althoughDonax vittalusis known from examination of fish stomachs to be abundant, it is rarely taken except in the conical dredge: the same is true ofEchinocyamus pusillus, which is in many parts of the North Sea abundant in bottom samples and in no ordinary dredgings. With the sail-cloth lining the conical dredge fills in about 10 minutes on most ground, and no material washing out of fine sediment occurs on hauling. In shallow seas such as the North Sea commercial beam and other trawls are now used as quantitative instruments in the estimation of the fish population, especially of thePleuronectidae.Use of Small Trawls for Dredging.—Although these trawls do not here concern us, certain adaptations of small beam trawls for biological exploration are of such identical use with the dredge, and differ from it so little in structure and size, that they may be here described.A small beam trawl was first used from the “Challenger” (fig. 17). It was sent down in 600 fathoms off Cape St Vincent, the reason for its use being the frequency with which the dredge sank into the sea-bottom and there remained until hauling. The experiment was entirely successful. The sinking of the net was avoided, the net had a much greater spread than the dredge, and in addition to invertebrates it captured several fish. After this the trawl was frequently used instead of the dredge. Indeed tangle bar, dredge and trawl form a series which are fitted for use on the roughest, moderately rough and fairly firm, and the softest ground respectively, although the dredge can be used almost anywhere.From Sir Charles Wyville Thomson’sVoyage of the “Challenger.”By permission of Macmillan & Co., Ltd.Fig. 17.—Trawl of the “Challenger.”The frame of the “Challenger” trawl consisted of a 15 ft. wooden beam which in use was drawn over the sea-bed on two runners resembling those of a sledge, by means of two ropes or bridles attached to eyes in the front of the runners or “trawl heads.” A net 30 ft. long was suspended by one side to the beam by half-a-dozen stops. The remainder of the net’s mouth was of much greater length than the beam, and was weighted with close-set rolls of sheet lead; it thus dragged along the bottom in a curve approximately to a semicircle, behind the beam. The net tapers towards the hinder end, and contains a second net with open bottom, which, reaching about three-quarters of the way down the main net, acts as a valve or pocket. Both heels (or hinder ends) of the trawl heads and the tail of the net were weighted to assist the net in digging sufficiently and to maintain its balance—an important point, since if the trawl lands on its beam the net’s mouth remains closed, and nothing is caught.The main differences of this trawl from the dredge are the replacement of scraping lip by ground rope, the position of this ground ropeand the greater size of the mouth. The absence of a lip makes it less effective for burrowing and sessile creatures, but the weighted ground rope nevertheless secures them to a very surprising extent. The position of the ground rope is an important feature, as any free swimming creature not disturbed until the arrival of the ground rope cannot escape by simply rising or “striking” up. This and the greater spread make the trawl especially suitable for the collection of fishes and other swiftly moving animals. The first haul of the “Challenger” trawl brought up fishes, and most of our knowledge of fish of the greatest depths is due to it.A tendency to return to the use of the small beam trawl for deep-sea work has lately shown itself. That used by Tanner on the “Albatross” has runners more heart-shaped than the “Challenger’s” instrument; the net is fastened to the downward and backward sloping edge of the runner as well as to the beam, being thus fixed on three sides instead of one; and a Norwegian glass float is fastened in a network cover to that part of the net which is above and in front of the ground rope in use, to assist in keeping the opening clear. These floats can stand the pressure at great depths, and do not become waterlogged as do cork floats. The largest “Albatross” trawl has a beam 11 ft. long, runners 2 ft. 5 in. high, and its frame weighs 275 ℔.Agassiz or Blake Trawl.—This is generally considered to possess advantages over the preceding, and is decidedly better for those not experts in trawling. Its frame (fig. 18) consists of two iron runners each the shape of a capital letter D, joined by iron rods or pipes which connect the middle of each stroke with the corresponding point on the other letter. The net is a tapering one, its mouth being a strong rope bound with finer rope for protection till the whole reaches a thickness of some 2 in. It is fastened to the frame at four points only, the ends of the curved rods, and thus has a rectangular opening.From Alexander E. Agassiz’sThree Cruises of the “Blake.”By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co.Fig. 18.—Agassiz or Blake Trawl.The chief advantage of this frame is that it does not matter in the least which side lands first on the bottom; it is to the other trawls what Ball’s dredge is to an oyster dredge. The course can also be altered during shooting or towing the Blake trawl with far greater ease than is the case with others. An Agassiz trawl very successful in the North Sea has the following dimensions: length of the connecting rods and therefore of the mouth 8 ft., height of runners and of mouth 1 ft. 9 in., extreme length of runners 2 ft., length of net 11 ft. 3 in., weight of whole trawl 94 ℔, 63 of which are due to the frame.
The Blake Dredge.—In the soft ooze which forms the bottom of deep seas the common dredge sinks and digs much too deeply for its ordinary purpose, owing partly to its chief weight bearing on the frame only, partly to its everted lips. To obviate these defects Lieutenant Commander Sigsbee of the “Blake” devised the Blake dredge. Its novel features were the frame and lips. The former was in the form of a skeleton box; that is, a rectangle of iron bars was placed at the back as well as the front or mouth of the net and four more iron bars connected the two rectangles. The lips instead of being everted were in parallel planes—those, namely, of the top and bottom of the net. The effect of this was to minimize digging and somewhat spread the incidences of the weight. Another advantage was that the net being constantly distended by its frame, and, moreover, protected top and bottom by an external shield of canvas, quite delicate specimens reached the surface uninjured. The dredge weighed 80 ℔ and was 4 ft. square and 9 in. deep.
Rake Dredges.—These are devices for collecting burrowing creatures without filling the dredge with the soil in which they live. Holt used, at Plymouth, a dredge whose side bars and lower lip were of iron, the latter armed with forward and downward pointing teeth which stirred up the sand and its denizens in front of the dredge mouth. The upper lip of the dredge was replaced by a bar of wood. The bag was of cheese-cloth or light open canvas, and the whole was of light construction. The apparatus was very useful in capturing small burrowing crustacea. The Chester rake dredge is a Blake dredge in front of which is secured a heavy iron rectangle with teeth placed almost at right angles to its long sides and in the plane of the rectangle. Each of these instruments has a width along the scraping edge of about 3 ft.
Triangular and Conical Dredges.—Two other dredges are worthy of mention. The triangular dredge, much resembling Müller’s but with a triangular mouth, and hung by chains from its angles, is an old fashion now not in general use. It is, however, very useful for rocky ground. At the Plymouth marine laboratory was also devised the conical dredge (1901), the circular form being the suggestion of Garstang. This dredge (fig. 16) was intended for digging deeply. It is of wrought iron, and of the following dimensions: diameter of mouth 16 in., length 33 in., depth of ring at mouth 9 in. Its weight is 67 ℔. As at first used the spaces between the bars are closed by wire netting; if used for collecting bottom samples it is furnished with a lining of strong sail-cloth.
Its weight and the small length of edge in contact with the ground cause this dredge to dig well, and enable the user to obtain many objects which though quite common are of rare occurrence in an ordinary dredge. Thus on the Brown Ridges, a fishing-ground west of Holland, althoughDonax vittalusis known from examination of fish stomachs to be abundant, it is rarely taken except in the conical dredge: the same is true ofEchinocyamus pusillus, which is in many parts of the North Sea abundant in bottom samples and in no ordinary dredgings. With the sail-cloth lining the conical dredge fills in about 10 minutes on most ground, and no material washing out of fine sediment occurs on hauling. In shallow seas such as the North Sea commercial beam and other trawls are now used as quantitative instruments in the estimation of the fish population, especially of thePleuronectidae.
Use of Small Trawls for Dredging.—Although these trawls do not here concern us, certain adaptations of small beam trawls for biological exploration are of such identical use with the dredge, and differ from it so little in structure and size, that they may be here described.
A small beam trawl was first used from the “Challenger” (fig. 17). It was sent down in 600 fathoms off Cape St Vincent, the reason for its use being the frequency with which the dredge sank into the sea-bottom and there remained until hauling. The experiment was entirely successful. The sinking of the net was avoided, the net had a much greater spread than the dredge, and in addition to invertebrates it captured several fish. After this the trawl was frequently used instead of the dredge. Indeed tangle bar, dredge and trawl form a series which are fitted for use on the roughest, moderately rough and fairly firm, and the softest ground respectively, although the dredge can be used almost anywhere.
The frame of the “Challenger” trawl consisted of a 15 ft. wooden beam which in use was drawn over the sea-bed on two runners resembling those of a sledge, by means of two ropes or bridles attached to eyes in the front of the runners or “trawl heads.” A net 30 ft. long was suspended by one side to the beam by half-a-dozen stops. The remainder of the net’s mouth was of much greater length than the beam, and was weighted with close-set rolls of sheet lead; it thus dragged along the bottom in a curve approximately to a semicircle, behind the beam. The net tapers towards the hinder end, and contains a second net with open bottom, which, reaching about three-quarters of the way down the main net, acts as a valve or pocket. Both heels (or hinder ends) of the trawl heads and the tail of the net were weighted to assist the net in digging sufficiently and to maintain its balance—an important point, since if the trawl lands on its beam the net’s mouth remains closed, and nothing is caught.
The main differences of this trawl from the dredge are the replacement of scraping lip by ground rope, the position of this ground ropeand the greater size of the mouth. The absence of a lip makes it less effective for burrowing and sessile creatures, but the weighted ground rope nevertheless secures them to a very surprising extent. The position of the ground rope is an important feature, as any free swimming creature not disturbed until the arrival of the ground rope cannot escape by simply rising or “striking” up. This and the greater spread make the trawl especially suitable for the collection of fishes and other swiftly moving animals. The first haul of the “Challenger” trawl brought up fishes, and most of our knowledge of fish of the greatest depths is due to it.
A tendency to return to the use of the small beam trawl for deep-sea work has lately shown itself. That used by Tanner on the “Albatross” has runners more heart-shaped than the “Challenger’s” instrument; the net is fastened to the downward and backward sloping edge of the runner as well as to the beam, being thus fixed on three sides instead of one; and a Norwegian glass float is fastened in a network cover to that part of the net which is above and in front of the ground rope in use, to assist in keeping the opening clear. These floats can stand the pressure at great depths, and do not become waterlogged as do cork floats. The largest “Albatross” trawl has a beam 11 ft. long, runners 2 ft. 5 in. high, and its frame weighs 275 ℔.
Agassiz or Blake Trawl.—This is generally considered to possess advantages over the preceding, and is decidedly better for those not experts in trawling. Its frame (fig. 18) consists of two iron runners each the shape of a capital letter D, joined by iron rods or pipes which connect the middle of each stroke with the corresponding point on the other letter. The net is a tapering one, its mouth being a strong rope bound with finer rope for protection till the whole reaches a thickness of some 2 in. It is fastened to the frame at four points only, the ends of the curved rods, and thus has a rectangular opening.
The chief advantage of this frame is that it does not matter in the least which side lands first on the bottom; it is to the other trawls what Ball’s dredge is to an oyster dredge. The course can also be altered during shooting or towing the Blake trawl with far greater ease than is the case with others. An Agassiz trawl very successful in the North Sea has the following dimensions: length of the connecting rods and therefore of the mouth 8 ft., height of runners and of mouth 1 ft. 9 in., extreme length of runners 2 ft., length of net 11 ft. 3 in., weight of whole trawl 94 ℔, 63 of which are due to the frame.
It is instructive to note how closely our knowledge of bottom-living forms has been associated with the instruments of capture in use. As long as small vessels were used in dredging, the belief that life was limited to the regions accessible to them was widely spread. The first known denizens of great depths were the foraminifera and few echinoderms brought up by various sounding apparatus. Next with the dredge and tangles the number of groups obtained was much greater. As soon as trawls were adopted fish began to make their appearance. The greatest gaps in our knowledge still probably occur in the large and swiftly moving forms, such as fish and cephalopods. As we can hardly hope to move apparatus swiftly over the bottom in great depths, the way in which improvement is possible probably is that of increasing the spread of the nets; and a start in this direction appears to have been made by Dr Petersen, who has devised a modified otter sieve which catches fish at all events very well, and has been operated already at considerable depths.
Of the economy of quite shallow seas, however, we are still largely ignorant. Much as has been learnt of the bionomics of the sea, it is but a commencement; and this is of course especially true of deep seas. The dredge and its kindred have, however, in less than a century enabled naturalists to compile an immense mass of knowledge of the structure, development, affinities and distribution of the animals of the sea-bed, and in the most accessible seas to produce enumerations and morphological accounts of them of some approach to completeness.
(J. O. B.)
DRELINCOURT, CHARLES(1595-1669), French Protestant divine, was born at Sedan on the 10th of July 1595. In 1618 he undertook the charge of the French Protestant church at Langres, but failed to receive the necessary royal sanction, and early in 1620 he removed to Paris, where he was nominated minister of the Reformed Church at Charenton. He was the author of a large number of works in devotional and polemical theology, several of which had great influence. HisCatechism(Catéchisme ou instruction familière, 1652) and hisChristian’s Defense against the Fears of Death(Consolations de l’âme fidèle contre les frayeurs de la mort, 1651) became well known in England by means of translations, which were very frequently reprinted. It has been said that Daniel Defoe wrote his fiction of Mrs Veal (A True Relation of the Apparition of Mrs Veal), who came from the other world to recommend the perusal ofDrelincourt on Death, for the express purpose of promoting the sale of an English translation of theConsolations; Defoe’s contribution is added to the fourth edition of the translation (1706). Another popular work of his wasLes Visites charitables pour toutes sortes de personnes affligées(1669). Drelincourt’s controversial works were numerous. Directed entirely against Roman Catholicism, they did much to strengthen and consolidate the Protestant party in France. He died on the 3rd of November 1669.
Several of his sons were distinguished as theologians or physicians. Laurent (1626-1681) became a pastor, and was the author ofSonnets chrétiens sur divers sujets(1677); Charles (1633-1697) was professor of physic at the university of Leiden, and physician to the prince of Orange; Peter (1644-1722) was ordained a priest in the Church of England, and became dean of Armagh.
DRENTE, a province of Holland, bounded N. and N.E. by Groningen, S.E. by the Prussian province of Hanover, S. and S.W. by Overysel, and N.W. by Friesland; area, 1128 sq. m.; pop. (1900) 149,551. The province of Drente is a sandy plateau forming the kernel of the surrounding provinces. The soil consists almost entirely of sand and gravel, and is covered with bleak moorland, patches of wood, and fen. This is only varied by the strip of fertile clay and grass-land which is found along the banks of the rivers, and by the areas of high fen in the south-eastern corner and on the western borders near Assen. The surface of the province is a gentle slope from the south-west towards the north-east, where it terminates in the long ridge of hills known as the Hondsrug (Dog’s Back) extending along the eastern border into Groningen. The watershed of the province runs from east to west across the middle of the province, along the line of the Orange canal. The southern streams are all collected at two points on the southern borders, namely, at Meppel and Koevorden, whence they communicate with the Zwarte Water and the Vecht respectively by means of the Meppeler Diep and the Koevorden canal. The Steenwyker Aa, however, enters the Zuider Zee independently. The northern rivers all flow into Groningen. The piles of granite rocks somewhat in the shape of cromlechs which are found scattered about this province, and especially along the western edge of the Hondsrug, have long been namedHunebedden, from a popular superstition that they were “Huns’ beds.” Possibly the word originally meant “beds of the dead,” or tombs.
Two industries have for centuries been associated with the barren heaths and sodden fens so usually found together on the sand-grounds, namely, the cultivation of buckwheat and peat-digging. The work is conducted on a regular system of fen colonization, the first operation being directed towards the drainage of the country. This is effected by means of drainage canals cut at regular intervals and connected by means of cross ditches. These draining ditches all have their issue in a main drainage canal, along which the transport of the peat and peat-litter takes place and the houses of the colonists are built. The heathlands when sufficiently drained are prepared for cultivation by being cut into sods and burnt. This system appears to have been practised already at the end of the 17th century. After eight years, however, the soil becomes exhausted, and twenty to thirty years are required for its refertilization. The cultivation of buckwheat on these grounds has decreased, and large areas which were formerly thus treated now lie waste. Potatoes, rye, oats, beans and peas are also largely cultivated. In connexion with the cultivation of potatoes, factories are established for making spirits, treacle, potato-meal, and straw-paper.Furthermore, agriculture is everywhere accompanied on the sand-grounds by the rearing of sheep and cattle, which assist in fertilizing the soil. Owing to the meagreness of their food these animals are usually thin and small, but are quickly restored when placed on richer grounds. The breeding of pigs is also widely practised on the sand-grounds, as well as forest culture. Of the fen-colonies in Drente the best known are those of Frederiksoord and Veenhuizen.
Owing to the general condition of poverty which prevailed after the French evacuation in the second decade of the 19th century, attention was turned to the means of industry offered by the unreclaimed heath-lands in the eastern provinces, and in 1818 the Society of Charity (Maatschappij vanWeldadigheid) was formed with Count van den Bosch at its head. This society began by establishing the free agricultural colony of Frederiksoord, about 10 m. N. of Meppel, named after Prince Frederick, son of William I., king of the Netherlands. An industrious colonist could purchase a small farm on the estate and make himself independent in two years. In addition to this, various industries were set on foot for the benefit of those who were not capable of field work, such as mat and rope making, and jute and cotton weaving. In later times forest culture was added, and the Gerard Adriaan van Swieten schools of forestry, agriculture and horticulture were established by Major vanSwietenin memory of his son. A Reformed and a Roman Catholic church are also attached to the colony. To this colony the Society of Charity later added the adjoining colonies of Willemsoord and Kolonie VII. in Overysel, and Wilhelminasoord partly in Friesland. The colony of Veenhuizen lies about 7 m. N.W. of Assen, and was founded by the same society in 1823. In 1859, however, the Veenhuizen estates were sold to the government for the purpose of a penal establishment for drunkards and beggars.
Owing to its geographical isolation, the development of Drente has remained behind that of every other province in the Netherlands, and there are few centres of any importance, either agricultural or industrial. Hence the character and customs of the people have remained peculiarly conservative. Assen is the chief town. In the south Meppel and Koevorden absorb the largest amount of trade. Hoogeveen, situated between these two, owes its origin to the fen reclamation which was begun here in 1625 by Baron van Echten. In the following year it was erected into a barony which lasted till 1795. The original industry has long since moved onwards to other parts, but the town remains a prosperous market centre, and has a considerable industrial activity. Extensive fir woods have been laid out in the neighbourhood. Zuidlaren is a picturesque village at the northern end of the Hondsrug, with an important market. The railway from Amsterdam to Groningen traverses Drente; branch lines connect Meppel with Leeuwarden and Assen with Delfzÿl.
History.—The early history of Drente is obscure. That it was inhabited at a remote date is proved by the prehistoric sepulchral mounds, theHunebeddenalready mentioned. In the 5th and 6th centuries the country was overrun by Saxon tribes, and later on was governed by counts under the Frankish and German kings. Of these only three are recorded, Eberhard (943-944), Balderic (1006) and Temmo (1025). In 1046 the emperor Henry III. gave the countship to the bishop and chapter of Utrecht, who governed it through the burgrave, or châtelain, of Koevorden, a dignity which became hereditary after 1143 in the family of Ludolf or Roelof, brother of Heribert of Bierum, bishop of Utrecht (1138-1150). This family became extinct in the male line about 1232, and was succeeded by Henry I. of Borculo (1232-1261), who had married the heiress of Roelof III. of Koevorden. In 1395 Reinald IV. (d. 1410) of Borculo-Koevorden was deposed by Bishop Frederick of Utrecht, and the country was henceforth administered by an episcopal official (amptman), who was, however, generally a native. With its popularly elected assembly of twenty-four Etten (jurati) Drente remained practically independent. This state of things continued till 1522, when it was conquered by Duke Charles of Gelderland, from whom it was taken by the emperor Charles V. in 1536, and became part of the Habsburg dominions.
Drente took part in the revolt of the Netherlands, and being a district covered by waste heath and moor was, on account of its poverty and sparse population, not admitted into the union as a separate province, and it had no voice in the assembly of the states-general. It was subdued by the Spaniards in 1580, but reconquered by Maurice of Nassau in 1594. During the years that followed, Drente, though unrepresented in the states-general, retained its local independence and had its own stadtholder. William Louis of Nassau-Siegen (d. 1620) held that office, and it was held later by Maurice, Frederick Henry, William II. and William III., princes of Orange. At the general assembly of 1651 Drente put forward its claim to admission as a province, but was not admitted. After the deaths of William II. (1650) and of William III. (1702) Drente remained for a term of years without a stadtholder, but in 1722 William Charles Henry of the house of Nassau-Siegen, who, through the extinction of the elder line, had become prince of Orange, was elected stadtholder. His descendants held that office, which was declared hereditary, until the French conquest in 1795. In the following year Drente at length obtained the privilege, which it had long sought, of being reckoned as an eighth province with representation in the states-general. Between 1806 and 1813 Drente, with the rest of the Netherlands, was incorporated in the French empire, and, with part of Groningen, formed the department of Ems Occidental. With the accession of William I. as king of the Netherlands it was restored to its old position as a province of the new kingdom.
DRESDEN, a city of Germany, capital of the kingdom of Saxony, 71 m. E.S.E. from Leipzig and 111 m. S. from Berlin by railway. It lies at an altitude of 402 ft. above the Baltic, in a broad and pleasant valley on both banks of the Elbe. The prospect of the city with its cupolas, towers, spires and the copper green roofs of its palaces, as seen from the distance, is one of striking beauty. On the left bank of the river are the Altstadt (old town) with four old suburbs and numerous new suburbs, and the Friedrichstadt (separated from the Altstadt by a long railway viaduct); on the right, the Neustadt (new town), Antonstadt, and the modern military suburb Alberstadt. Five fine bridges connect the Altstadt and Neustadt. The beautiful central bridge—the Alte or Augustusbrücke—with 16 arches, built in 1727-1731, and 1420 ft. long, has been demolished (1906) and replaced by a wider structure. Up-stream are the two modern Albert and Königin Carola bridges, and, down-stream, the Marien and the Eisenbahn (railway) bridges. The streets of the Alstadt are mostly narrow and somewhat gloomy, those of the Neustadt more spacious and regular.
On account of its delightful situation and the many objects of interest it contains, Dresden is often called “German Florence,” a name first applied to it by the poet Herder. The richness of its art treasures, the educational advantages it offers, and its attractive surroundings render it a favourite resort of people with private means. There are a large number of foreign residents, notably Austro-Hungarians and Russians, and also a considerable colony of English and Americans, the latter amounting to about 1500. The population of the city on the 1st of December 1905 was 516,996, of whom 358,776 lived on the left bank (Altstadt) and 158,220 on the right (Neustadt). The royal house belongs to the Roman Catholic confession, but the bulk of the inhabitants are Lutheran Protestants.
Dresden is the residence of the king, the seat of government for the kingdom of Saxony, and the headquarters of the XII. (Saxon) Army Corps. Within two decades (1880-1900) the capital almost at a single bound advanced into the front rank of German commercial and industrial towns; but while gaining in prosperity it has lost much of its medieval aspect. Old buildings in the heart of the Altstadt have been swept away, and their place occupied by modern business houses and new streets. Among the public squares in the Altstadt must be mentioned the magnificent Theaterplatz, with a fine equestrian statue of King John, by Schilling; the Altmarkt, with a monument commemorative of the war of 1870-71; the Neumarkt, with a bronze statue of King Frederick Augustus II., by E. J. Hähnel;the Postplatz, adorned by a Gothic fountain, by Semper; and the Bismarckplatz in the Anglo-American quarter. In the Neustadt are the market square, with a bronze equestrian statue of Augustus the Strong; the Kaiser Wilhelmplatz; and the Albertplatz. The continuous Schloss-, See- and Prager-Strasse, and the Wilsdruffer- and König Johann-Strasse are the main streets in the Altstadt, and the Hauptstrasse in the Neustadt.
The most imposing churches include the Roman Catholic Hofkirche, built (1739-1751) by C. Chiaveri, in rococo style, with a tower 300 ft. high. It contains a fine organ by Silbermann and pictures by Raphael Mengs and other artists, the outside being adorned with 59 statues by Mattielli. On the Neumarkt is the Frauenkirche, with a stone cupola rising to the height of 311 ft.; close to the Altmarkt, the Kreuzkirche, rebuilt after destruction by fire in 1897, also with a lofty tower surmounted by a cupola; and near the Postplatz the Sophienkirche, with twin spires. In the Neustadt is the Dreikönigskirche (dating from the 18th century) with a high pinnacled tower. Among more modern churches may be mentioned: in the Altstadt, the Johanneskirche, with a richly decorated interior; the Lukaskirche; and the Trinitatiskirche; and in the Neustadt, the Martin Luther-Kirche and the new garrison church. Apart from the chapels in the royal palaces, Dresden contains in all 32 churches, viz. 21 Evangelical, 6 Roman Catholic, a Reformed, a Russian, an English (erected by Gilbert Scott) with a graceful spire, a Scottish (Presbyterian), and an American (Episcopal) church, the last a handsome building, with a pretty parsonage attached.
Of secular buildings, the most noteworthy are grouped in the Altstadt near the river. The royal palace, built in 1530-1535 by Duke George (and thus called Georgenschloss), was thoroughly restored, and in some measure rebuilt between 1890 and 1902, in German Renaissance style, and is now an exceedingly handsome structure. The Georgentor has been widened, and through it, and beneath the royal apartments, vehicular traffic from the centre of the town is directed to the Augustusbrücke. The whole is surmounted by a lofty tower—387 ft.—the highest in Dresden. The interior is splendidly decorated. In the palace chapel are pictures by Rembrandt, Nicolas Poussin, Guido Reni and Annibale Caracci. The adjoining Prinzen-Palais on the Taschenberg, built in 1715, has a fine chapel, in which are various works of S. Torelli; it has also a library of 20,000 volumes. The Zwinger, begun in 1711, and built in the rococo style, forms an enclosure, within which is a statue of King Frederick Augustus I. It was intended to be the vestibule to a palace, but now contains a number of collections of great value. Until 1846 it was open at the north side; but this space has since been occupied by the museum, a beautiful Renaissance building, the exterior of which is adorned by statues of Michelangelo, Raphael, Giotto, Dante, Goethe and other artists and poets by Rietschel and Hähnel, and it contains the famous picture gallery. The Brühl palace, built in 1737 by Count Brühl, the minister of Augustus II., has been in some measure demolished to make room for the new Ständehaus (diet house), with its main façade facing the Hofkirche; before the main entrance there is an equestrian statue (1906) of King Albert. Close by is the Brühl Terrace, approached by a fine flight of steps, on which are groups, by Schilling, representing Morning, Evening, Day and Night. The terrace commands a view of the Elbe and the distant heights of Loschwitz and the Weisser Hirsch, but the prospect has of late years become somewhat marred, owing to the extension of the town up the river and to the two new up-stream bridges. The Japanese palace in the Neustadt, built in 1715 as a summer residence for Augustus II., receives its name from certain oriental figures with which it is decorated; it is sometimes called the Augusteum and contains the royal library. Among other buildings of note is the Hoftheatre, a magnificent edifice in the Renaissance style, built after the designs of Semper, to replace the theatre burnt in 1869, and completed in 1878. A new town hall of huge dimensions, also in German Renaissance, with an octagon tower 400 ft. in height, stands on the former southern ramparts of the inner town, close to the Kreuzkirche. In the Altstadt the most striking of the newer edifices is the Kunstakademie, constructed from designs by K. Lipsius in the Italian Renaissance style, 1890-1894. The Albertinum, formerly the arsenal, built in 1559-1563, was rebuilt 1884-1889, and fitted up as a museum of oriental and classical antiquities, and as the depository of the state archives. On the right bank of the Elbe in Neustadt stand the fine buildings of the ministries of war, of finance, justice, the interior and education. The public monuments of Dresden also include the Moritz Monument, a relief dedicated by the elector Augustus to his brother Maurice, a statue of Weber the composer by Rietschel, a bronze statue of Theodor Körner by Hähnel, the Rietschel monument on the Brühl Terrace by Schilling, a bust of Gutzkow, and a statue of Bismarck on the promenade. In the suburbs which encircle the old town are to be noted the vast central Hauptbahnhof (1893-1898) occupying the site of the old Böhmischer railway station, the new premises of the municipal hospital and the Ausstellungs-Halle (exhibition buildings).
The chief pleasure-ground of Dresden is the Grosser Garten, in which there are a summer theatre, the Reitschel museum, and a château containing a museum of antiquities. The latter is composed chiefly of objects removed from the churches in consequence of the Reformation. Near the château is the zoological garden, formed in 1860, and excellently arranged. A little to the south of Dresden, on the left bank of the Elbe, is the village Räcknitz, in which is Moreau’s monument, erected on the spot where he was mortally wounded in 1813. The mountains of Saxon Switzerland are seen from this neighbourhood.
Art.—Dresden owes a large part of its fame to its extensive artistic, literary and scientific collections. Of these the most valuable is its splendid picture gallery, founded by Augustus I. and increased by his successors at great cost. It is in the museum, and contains about 2500 pictures, being especially rich in specimens of the Italian, Dutch and Flemish schools. The gem of the collection is Raphael’s “Madonna di San Sisto,” for which a room is set apart. There is also a special room for the “Madonna” of the younger Holbein. Other paintings with which the name of the gallery is generally associated are Correggio’s “La Notte” and “Mary Magdalene”; Titian’s “Tribute Money” and “Venus”; “The Adoration” and “The Marriage in Cana,” by Paul Veronese; Andrea del Sarto’s “Abraham’s Sacrifice”; Rembrandt’s “Portrait of Himself with his Wife sitting on his Knee”; “The Judgment of Paris” and “The Boar Hunt,” by Rubens; Van Dyck’s “Charles I., his Queen, and their Children.”
Of modern painters, this magnificent collection contains masterpieces by Defregger, Vautier, Makart, Munkacsy, Fritz von Uhde, Böcklin, Hans Thoma; portraits by Leon Pohle, Delaroche and Sargent; landscapes by Andreas and Oswald Achenbach and allegorical works by Sascha Schneider. In separate compartments there are a number of crayon portraits, most of them by Rosalba Carriera, and views of Dresden by Canaletto and other artists. Besides the picture gallery the museum includes a magnificent collection of engravings and drawings. There are upwards of 400,000 specimens, arranged in twelve classes, so as to mark the great epochs in the history of art. A collection of casts, likewise in the museum, is designed to display the progress of plastic art from the time of the Egyptians and Assyrians to modern ages. This collection was begun by Raphael Mengs, who secured casts of the most valuable antiques in Italy, some of which no longer exist.
The Japanese palace contains a public library of more than 400,000 volumes, with about 3000 MSS. and 20,000 maps. It is especially rich in the ancient classics, and in works bearing on literary history and the history of Germany, Poland and France. There are also a valuable cabinet of coins and a collection of ancient works of art. A collection of porcelain in the “Museum Johanneum” (which once contained the picture gallery) is made up of specimens of Chinese, Japanese, East Indian, Sèvres and Meissen manufacture, carefully arranged in chronological order. There is in the same building an excellent Historical Museum. In the Grüne Gewölbe (Green Vault) of the Royal Palace, so called from the character of its original decorations, there is an unequalled collection of precious stones, pearls and works of art in gold, silver, amber and ivory. The objects, which are about 3000in number, are arranged in eight rooms. They include the regalia of Augustus II. as king of Poland; the electoral sword of Saxony; a group by Dinglinger, in gold and enamel, representing the court of the grand mogul Aurungzebe, and consisting of 132 figures upon a plate of silver 4 ft. 4 in. square; the largest onyx known, 62⁄3in. by 2¼ in.; a pearl representing the dwarf of Charles II. of Spain; and a green brilliant weighing 40 carats. The royal palace also has a gallery of arms consisting of more than 2000 weapons of artistic or historical value. In the Zwinger are the zoological and mineralogical museums and a collection of instruments used in mathematical and physical science. Among other collections is that of the Körner museum with numerous reminiscences of the Goethe-Schiller epoch, and of the wars of liberation (1813-15), and containing valuable manuscripts and relics. Founded by Hofrath Dr Emil Peschel, it has passed into the possession of the city.
Education.—Dresden is the seat of a number of well-known scientific associations. The educational institutions are numerous and of a high order, including a technical high school (with about 1100 students), which enjoys the privilege of conferring the degrees of doctor of engineering, doctor of technical sciences, &c., a veterinary college, a political-economic institution (Gehestiftung), with library, a school of architects, a royal and four municipal gymnasia, numerous lower grade and popular schools, the royal conservatorium for music and drama, and a celebrated academy of painting. Dresden has several important hospitals, asylums and other charitable institutions.
Music and the Theatres.—Besides the two royal theatres, Dresden possesses several minor theatres and music halls. The pride of place in the world of music is held by the orchestra attached to the court theatre. Founded by Augustus II., it has become famous throughout the world, owing to the masters who have from time to time been associated with it—such as Paër, Weber, Reissiger and Wagner. Symphony and popular concerts are held throughout the year in various public halls, and, during the winter, concerts of church music are frequently given in the Protestant Kreuz- and Frauen-Kirchen, and on Sundays in the Roman Catholic church.
Communications and Industries.—Dresden lies at the centre of an extensive railway system, which places it in communication with the chief cities of northern and central Germany as well as with Austria and the East. Here cross the grand trunk lines Berlin-Vienna, Chemnitz-Görlitz-Breslau. It is connected by two lines of railway with Leipzig and by local lines with neighbouring smaller towns. The navigation on the Elbe has of recent years largely developed, and, in addition to trade by river with Bohemia and Magdeburg-Hamburg, there is a considerable pleasure-boat traffic during the summer months. The communications within the city are maintained by an excellent system of electric trams, which bring the more distant suburbs into easy connexion with the business centre. A considerable business is done on the exchange, chiefly in local industrial shares, and the financial institutions number some fifty banks, among them branches of the Reichs Bank and of the Deutsche Bank. Among the more notable industries may be mentioned the manufacture of china (seeCeramics), of gold and silver ornaments, cigarettes, chocolate, coloured postcards, perfumery, straw-plaiting, artificial flowers, agricultural machinery, paper, photographic and other scientific instruments. There are several great breweries; corn trade is carried on, and an extensive business is done in books and objects of art.
Surroundings.—The environs of the city are delightful. To the north are the vine-clad hills of the Lössnitz commanding views of the valley of the Elbe from Dresden to Meissen; behind them, on an island in a lake, is the castle of Moritzburg, the hunting box of the king of Saxony. On the right bank of the Elbe, 3 m. above the city, lies the village of Loschwitz, where Schiller, in the summer of 1786, wrote the greater part of hisDon Carlos: above it on the fringe of the Dresdner Heide, the climatic health resort Weisser-Hirsch; farther up the river towards Pirna the royal summer palace Pillnitz; to the south the Plauensche Grund, and still farther the Rabenauer Grund.
History.—Dresden (Old SlavDrezga, forest,Drezgajan, forest-dwellers), which is known to have existed in 1206, is of Slavonic origin, and was originally founded on the right bank of the Elbe, on the site of the present Neustadt, which is thus actually theoldtown. It became the capital of Henry the Illustrious, margrave of Meissen, in 1270, but belonged for some time after his death, first to Wenceslaus of Bohemia, and next to the margrave of Brandenburg. Early in the 14th century it was restored to the margrave of Meissen. On the division of Saxony in 1485 it fell to the Albertine line, which has since held it. Having been burned almost to the ground in 1491, it was rebuilt; and in the 16th century the fortifications were begun and gradually extended. John George II., in the 17th century, formed the Grosser Garten, and otherwise greatly improved the town; but it was in the first half of the 18th century, under Augustus I. and Augustus II., who were kings of Poland as well as electors of Saxony, that Dresden assumed something like its present appearance. The Neustadt, which had been burned down in the 17th century, was founded anew by Augustus I.; he also founded Friedrichstadt. The town suffered severely during the Seven Years’ War, being bombarded in 1760. Some damage was also inflicted on it in 1813, when Napoleon made it the centre of his operations; one of the buttresses and two arches of the old bridge were then blown up. The dismantling of the fortifications had been begun by the French in 1810, and was gradually completed after 1817, the space occupied by them being appropriated to gardens and promenades. Many buildings were completed or founded by King Anthony, from whom Antonstadt derives its name. Dresden again suffered severely during the revolution of 1849, but all traces of the disturbances which then took place were soon effaced. In 1866 it was occupied by the Prussians, who did not finally evacuate it until the spring of the following year. Since that time numerous improvements have been carried out.
See Lindau,Geschichte der Haupt- und Residenzstadt Dresden(2 vols., Dresden, 1884-1885); Prölss,Geschichte des Hoftheaters in Dresden(Dresden, 1877); Schumann,Führer durch die königl. Sammlungen zu Dresden(1903); Woerl,Führer durch Dresden; Daniel,Deutschland(1894).
See Lindau,Geschichte der Haupt- und Residenzstadt Dresden(2 vols., Dresden, 1884-1885); Prölss,Geschichte des Hoftheaters in Dresden(Dresden, 1877); Schumann,Führer durch die königl. Sammlungen zu Dresden(1903); Woerl,Führer durch Dresden; Daniel,Deutschland(1894).
Battle of Dresden.The battle of Dresden, the last of the great victories of Napoleon, was fought on the 26th and 27th of August 1813. The intervention of Austria in the War of Liberation, and the consequent advance of the Allies under the Austrian field-marshal Prince Schwarzenberg from Prague upon Dresden, recalled Napoleon from Silesia, where he was engaged against the Prussians and Russians under Blücher. Only by a narrow margin of time, indeed, was he able to bring back sufficient troops for the first day’s battle. He detached a column under Vandamme to the mountains to interpose between Schwarzenberg and Prague (seeNapoleonic Campaigns); the rest of the army pressed on by forced marches for Dresden, around which a position for the whole army had been chosen and fortified, though at the moment this was held by less than 20,000 men under Gouvion St Cyr, who retired thither from the mountains, leaving a garrison in Königstein, and had repeatedly sent reports to the emperor as to the allied masses gathering to the southward. The battle of the first day began late in the afternoon, for Schwarzenberg waited as long as possible for the corps of Klenau, which formed his extreme left wing on the Freiberg road. At last, about 6 p.m. he decided to wait no longer, and six heavy columns of attack advanced against the suburbs defended by St Cyr and now also by the leading troops of the main army. Three hundred guns covered the assault, and Dresden was set on fire in places by the cannonade, while the French columns marched unceasingly over the bridges and through the Altstadt. On the right the Russians under Wittgenstein advanced from Striesen, the Prussians under Kleist through the Grosser Garten, whilst Prussians under Prince Augustus and Austrians under Colloredo moved upon the Moczinski redoubt, which was the scene of the most desperate fighting, and was repeatedly taken and retaken. The attack to the westward was carried out by the other Austrian corps; Klenau, however, was still far distant. In the end, the French defences remained unshaken. Ney led a counter-attack against the Allies’ left,the Moczinski redoubt was definitely recaptured from Colloredo, and the Prussians were driven out of the Grosser Garten. Thecoupof the Allies had failed, for every hour saw the arrival of fresh forces on the side of Napoleon, and at length the Austrian leader drew off his men to the heights again. He was prepared to fight another battle on the morrow—indeed he could scarcely have avoided it had he wished to do so, for behind him lay the mountain defiles, towards which Vandamme was marching with all speed.
Napoleon’s plan for the 27th was, as usual, simple in its outline. As at Friedland, a ravine separated a part of the hostile line of battle from the rest. The villages west of the Plauen ravine and even Löbda were occupied in the early morning by General Metzko with the leading division of Klenau’s corps from Freiberg, and upon Metzko Napoleon intended first to throw the weight of his attack, giving to Victor’s infantry and the cavalry of Murat, king of Naples, the task of overwhelming the isolated Austrians. The centre, aided by the defences of the Dresden suburbs, could hold its own, as the events of the 26th had shown, the left, now under Ney, with whom served Kellermann’s cavalry and the Young Guard, was to attack Wittgenstein’s Russians on the Pirna road. Thus, for once, Napoleon decided to attack both flanks of the enemy. His motives in so doing have been much discussed by the critics; Vandamme’s movements, it may be suggested, contributed to the French emperor’s plan, which if carried out would open the Pirna road. Still, the left attack may have had a purely tactical object, for in that quarter was the main body of the Prussians and Russians, and Napoleon’s method was always to concentrate the fury of the attack on the heaviest masses of the enemy,i.e.the best target for his own artillery. A very heavy rainstorm during the night seriously affected the movements of troops on the following day, but all to Napoleon’s advantage, for his more mobile artillery, reinforced by every horse available in and about Dresden, was still able to move where the Allied guns sank in mud. Further, if the cavalry had to walk, or at most trot, through the fields the opposing infantry was almost always unable to fire their muskets. “You cannot fire; surrender,” said Murat to an Austrian battalion in the battle. “Never,” they replied; “you cannot charge us.” On the appearance of Murat’s horse artillery, however, they had to surrender at once. Under such conditions, Metzko, unsupported either by Klenau or the main army beyond the ravine, was an easy victim. Victor from Löbda drove in the advanced posts and assaulted the line of villages Wolfnitz-Töltschen; Metzko had to retire to the higher ground S.W. of the first line, and Murat, with an overwhelming cavalry force from Cotta and Burgstädl, outflanked his left, broke up whole battalions, and finally, with the assistance of the renewed frontal attack of Victor’s infantry, annihilated the division. The Austrian corps of Gyulai arrived too late to save it. A few formed bodies escaped across the ravine, but Metzko and three-fourths of his men were killed or taken prisoners.
Meanwhile Ney on the other flank, with his left on the Pillnitz road and his right on the Grosser Garten, had opened his attack. The Russians offered a strenuous resistance, defending Seidnitz, Gross Döbritz and Reick with their usual steadiness, and Ney was so far advanced that several generals at the Allied headquarters suggested a counter-attack of the centre by way of Strehlen, so as to cut off the French left from Dresden. This plan was adopted, but, owing to various misunderstandings, failed of execution. Thus the Allied centre remained inactive all day, cannonaded by the Dresden redoubts. One incident only, but that of great importance, took place here. The tsar, the king of Prussia, Schwarzenberg and a very large headquarter staff watched the fighting from a hill near Räcknitz and offered an easy mark to the French guns. In default of formed bodies to fire at, the latter had for a moment ceased fire; Napoleon, riding by, half carelessly told them to reopen, and one of their first shots, directed at 2000 yards range against the mass of officers on the sky-line, mortally wounded General Moreau, who was standing by the emperor Alexander. A council of war followed. The Allied sovereigns were for continuing the fight; Schwarzenberg, however, knowing the exhaustion of his troops decided to retreat. As at Bautzen, the French cavalry was unable to make any effective pursuit.
The forces engaged were 96,000 French, Saxons, &c., and 200,000 Austrians, Russians and Prussians. The French losses were about 10,000, or a little over 10%, those of the Allies 38,000 killed, wounded and prisoners (the latter 23,000) or 19%. They lost also 15 colours and 26 guns.
DRESS(from the Fr.dresser, to set out, arrange, formed from Lat.directus, arranged,dirigere, to direct, arrange), a substantive of which the current meaning is that of clothing or costume in general, or, specifically, the principal outer garment worn by a woman (seeCostume). The verb “to dress” has various applications which can be deduced from its original meaning. It is thus used not only of the putting on of clothing, but of the preparing and finishing of leather, the preparation of food for eating, the application of cleansing and healing substances or of bandages, &c., to a wound, the drawing up in a correct line of a body of troops, and, generally, adorning or decking out, as of a ship with flags. In the language of the theatre the “dresser” is the person who looks after the actor’s wardrobe and assists him in the changing of his costumes. For the printer’s use of “dresser” seeTypography.
DRESSER, in furniture, a form of sideboard. The name is derived from the Fr.dressoir, a piece of furniture used to range ordresserthe more costly appointments of the table. The appliance is the direct descendant of the credence and the buffet, and is, indeed, a much more legitimate inheritor of their functions than the modern sideboard, which, as we know it, is practically an 18th-century invention. It developed into its present shape about the second quarter of the 17th century, and has since then changed but little. As a piece of movable furniture it was made rarely, if at all, after the beginning of the 19th century until the revival of interest in what is called “farmhouse furniture” at the very beginning of the 20th century led in the first place to the construction of many imitation antique dressers from derelict pieces of old oak, and especially from panels of chests, and in the second to the making of avowed imitations. The dresser conformed to a model which varied only in detail and in ornament. Its simple and agreeable form consisted of a long and rather narrow table or slab, with drawers or cupboards beneath and a tall upright closed-in back arranged with a varying number of shallow shelves for the reception of plates; hooks for mugs were often fixed upon the face of these shelves. Towards the end of the 17th century small cupboards were often added to the superstructure. The majority of these dressers were made of oak, but when, early in the Georgian periodmahogany came into general use, they were frequently inlaid with that wood; holly and box were also used for inlaying, most frequently in the shape of plain bands or lines. A peculiarly effective combination of oak and mahogany is found in the dressers, as in other “farmhouse furniture,” made on the borders of Staffordshire and Shropshire. The excellence of the work of this kind in that district and in the country lying west of it may perhaps explain the expression “Welsh dresser,” which is now no more than a trade term, not necessarily suggestive of the place of origin, and applied to all dressers of this type. They are most frequently found in the houses of small yeomen and substantial farmers, into which fashion penetrated slowly. The dresser is now most familiar as necessary plenishing of the kitchen, in which it is invariably a fixture. In form it is essentially identical with the movable variety, but it is usually much larger, is made of deal or other soft wood, and the superstructure has no back.
DREUX, a town of north-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Eure-et-Loir, 27 m. N.N.W. of Chartres by rail. Pop. (1906) 8209. It is situated on the Blaise, which at this point divides into several arms. It is overlooked from the north by an eminence on which stands a ruined medieval castle; within the enclosure of this building is a gorgeous chapel, begun in 1816 by the dowager duchess of Orleans, and completed and adorned at great cost by Louis Philippe. It contains the tombs of the Orleans family, chief among them that of Louis Philippe, whose remains were removed from England to Dreux in 1876. The sculptures on the tombs and the stained glass of the chapel windows are masterpieces of modern art. The older of the two hôtels-de-ville of Dreux was built in the early 16th century, chiefly by Clément Métezau, the founder of a famous family of architects, natives of the town. It is notable both for the graceful carvings of the façade and for the fine staircase and architectural details of the interior. The church of St Pierre, which is Gothic in style, contains good stained glass and other works of art. The town has a statue of the poet Jean de Rotrou, born there in 1609. Dreux is the seat of a subprefect. Among the public institutions are tribunals of first instance and of commerce, and a communal college. The manufacture of boots and shoes, metal-founding and tanning, are carried on, and there is trade in wheat and other agricultural products and poultry.
Dreux was the capital of the Gallic tribe of theDurocasses. In 1188 it was taken and burnt by the English; and in 1562 Gaspard de Coligny, and Louis I., prince of Condé, were defeated in its vicinity by Anne de Montmorency and Francis, duke of Guise. In 1593 Henry IV. captured the town after a fortnight’s siege. It was occupied by the Germans on the 9th of October 1870, was subsequently evacuated, and was again taken, on the 17th of November, by General Von Tresckow. In the 10th century Dreux was the chief town of a countship, which Odo, count of Chartres, ceded to king Robert, and Louis VI. gave to his son Robert, whose grandson Peter of Dreux, younger brother of Count Robert III., became duke of Brittany by his marriage with Alix, daughter of Constance of Brittany by her second husband Guy of Thouars. By the marriage of the countess Jeanne II. with Louis, viscount of Thouars (d. 1370), the Capetian countship of Dreux passed into the Thouars family. In 1377 and 1378, however, two of the three co-heiresses of Jeanne, Perronelle and Marguerite, sold their shares of the countship to King Charles V. Charles VI. gave it to Arnaud Amanien d’Albret, but took it back in order to give it to his brother Louis of Orleans (1407); later he gave it back to the lords of Albret. Francis of Cleves laid claim to it in the 16th century as heir of the d’Albrets of Orval, but the parlement of Paris declared the countship to be crown property. It was given to Catherine de’ Medici (1539), then to Francis, duke of Alençon (1569); it was pledged to Charles de Bourbon, count of Soissons, and through him passed to the houses of Orleans, Vendôme and Condé.
DREW, the name of a family of American actors.John Drew(1827-1862) was born in Dublin and made his first New York appearance in 1846. He played Irish and light comedy parts with success in all the American cities, and was manager of the Arch Street theatre in Philadelphia. He visited England in 1855, and Australia in 1859, and died in Philadelphia. His wife,Louise Lane Drew(1820-1897), was the daughter of a London actor, and in 1827 went to America, appearing as the Duke of York to the elder Booth’s Richard III., and as Albert to Edwin Forrest’s William Tell. After this she starred as a child actress, and then as leading lady. She had been twice married before she became Mrs Drew in 1850.From1861 to 1892 she had the management of the Arch Street theatre in Philadelphia. In 1880 she toured with Joseph Jefferson in his elaborate revival ofThe Rivals, playing Mrs Malaprop to perfection. She had three children, John, Sidney and Georgiana, wife of Maurice Barrymore (1847-1905), and mother of Lionel and Ethel Barrymore, all actors. The eldest son,John Drew(b. 1853), began his stage career under his mother’s management in Philadelphia as Plumper inCool as a Cucumber, on the 22nd of March 1873; and after playing with Edwin Booth and others, became leading man in Augustin Daly’s company in 1879. His association with this company, and with Ada Rehan as the leading lady, constituted a brilliant period in recent stage history, his Petruchio being only one, though perhaps the most striking, of a series of famous impersonations. In 1892 he left Daly’s company, and began a career as a “star.”
DREW, SAMUEL(1765-1833), English theologian, was born in the parish of St Austell, in Cornwall, on the 6th of March 1765. His father was a poor farm labourer, and could not afford to send him to school long enough even to learn to read and write. At ten he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and at twenty he settled in the town of St Austell, first as manager for a shoemaker, and in 1787 began business on his own account. He had already gained a reputation in his narrow circle as a keen debater and a jovial companion, and it is said that he had several smuggling adventures. He was first aroused to serious thought in 1785 by a funeral sermon preached over his elder brother by Adam Clarke. He joined the Methodists, was soon employed as a class leader and local preacher, and continued to preach till a few months before his death. His opportunities of gaining knowledge were very scanty, but he strenuously set himself to make the most of them. It is stated that an accidental introduction to Locke’s great essay determined the ultimate direction of his studies. In 1798 the first part of Thomas Paine’sAge of Reasonwas put into his hands; and in the following year he made his first appearance as an author by publishing hisRemarkson that work. The book was favourably received, and was republished in 1820. Drew had begun to meditate a greater attempt before he wrote hisRemarks on Paine; and, encouraged by the antiquary John Whitaker, he published hisEssay on the Immateriality and Immortality of the Soulin 1802. This work made the “Cornish metaphysician,” as he was called, widely known, and for some time it held a high place in the judgment of the religious world as a conclusive argument on its subject. A fifth edition appeared in 1831. Drew continued to work at his trade till 1805, when he entered into an engagement with Dr Thomas Coke, a prominent Wesleyan official, which enabled him to devote himself entirely to literature. In 1809 he published hisEssay on the Identity and General Resurrection of the Human Body, perhaps the most original of his works, which reached a second edition in 1822. In 1814 he completed a history of Cornwall begun by F. Hitchins. In 1819 he removed to Liverpool, being appointed editor of theImperial Magazine, then newly established, and in 1821 to London, the business being then transferred to the capital. Here he filled the post of editor till his death, and had also the supervision of all works issued from the Caxton Press. He was an unsuccessful competitor for the Burnett prize offered in 1811 for an essay on the existence and attributes of God. The work which he then wrote, and which in his own judgment was his best, was published in 1820, under the title ofAn Attempt to demonstrate from Reason and Revelation the Necessary Existence, Essential Perfections, and Superintending Providence of an Eternal Being, who is the Creator, the Supporter, and the Governor of all Things(2 vols. 8 vo). This procured him the degree of M.A. from the university of Aberdeen.Among Drew’s lesser writings are aLife of Dr Thomas Coke(1817), and a work on the deity of Christ (1813). He died at Helston in Cornwall on the 29th of March 1833. He was a man of strong mind, honourable spirit and affectionate disposition, energetic both in speech and in writing.