Part 6

DICKENS, Charles, one of the greatest English novelists, born 7th Feb., 1812, at Landport, Portsmouth, died 9th June, 1870. His father, John Dickens, was then in the employment of the Navy Pay Department, but subsequently became a newspaper reporter in London. Young Dickens received a somewhat scanty education, was for a time a mere drudge in a blacking warehouse, and subsequently a clerk in an attorney's office. Having perfected himself in shorthand, however, he became a newspaper critic and reporter, was engaged on _The Mirror of Parliament_, and _The True Sun_, and in 1835 on _The Morning Chronicle_. For some time previously he had been contributing humorous pieces to _The Monthly Magazine_; but at length, in 1835, appeared in _The Morning Chronicle_ the first of that series of _Sketches by Boz_ which brought Dickens into fame. It was followed in quick succession by a pamphlet entitled _Sunday under Three Heads, by Timothy Spark_ (1836); _The Tuggs at Ramsgate_ (1836); _The Village Coquette_, a comic opera (1836); and a farce called _The Strange Gentleman_ (1836). In the same year Chapman & Hall engaged the new writer to prepare the letterpress for a series of comic sketches on sporting subjects by Seymour, an artist who had already achieved fame, and suggested as a subject the adventures of an eccentric club. Seymour committed suicide soon after, and H. K. Browne joined Dickens as illustrator, the result being the immortal _Pickwick Papers_. The great characteristics of Dickens's genius were now fully apparent, and his fame rose at once to the highest point it was possible for a writer of fiction to reach. A new class of characters, eccentric indeed, but vital representations of the humours and oddities of life, such as Mr. Pickwick, Sam Weller and his father, Mr. Winkle, and others, was made familiar to the public. Under the name of _The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club_ this work was published in 2 vols. 8vo, in 1837. In the same year Dickens was engaged as editor of _Bentley's Magazine_, to which he contributed _Oliver Twist_, a work which opened up that vein of philanthropic pathos and indignant satire upon institutions which became a distinguishing feature of his works. Before the completion of _Oliver Twist_, _Nicholas Nickleby_ was begun, being issued complete in 1839. As the special object of _Oliver Twist_ was to expose the conduct of workhouses, that of _Nicholas Nickleby_ was to denounce the management of cheap boarding-schools. _Master Humphrey's Clock_, issued in weekly numbers, contained among other matter two other leading tales, _The Old Curiosity Shop_ and _Barnaby Rudge_, the latter a historical tale, going back to the times of the Gordon riots. It was published complete between 1840 and 1841. In 1841 Dickens visited America, and on his return he wrote _American Notes for General Circulation_ (1842). His next novel, _Martin Chuzzlewit_ (1844), dwelt again on his American experiences. This work also added a number of typical figures--Mr. Pecksniff, Mark Tapley, Sarah Gamp, and others--to English literature. The series of _Christmas Tales_, in which a new element of his genius, the power of handling the weird machinery of ghostly legend in subordination to his own peculiar humour, excited a new sensation of wonder and delight. These, enumerated consecutively, were: _A Christmas Carol_ (1843), _The Chimes_ (1844), _The Cricket on the Hearth_ (1845), _The Battle of Life_ (1846), _The Haunted Man_ and _The Ghost's Bargain_ (1847). The extraordinary popularity of these tales created for a time a new department in literature, that of the sensational tale for the Christmas season. In 1845 Dickens went to Italy, and on his return _The Daily News_, started on 1st Jan., 1846, was entrusted to his editorial management; but, despite his early training, this was an occupation uncongenial to his mind, and in a few months the experiment was abandoned. His _Pictures from Italy_ were published the same year. Next followed his novel of _Dombey and Son_ (1848), and _David Copperfield_, a work which has a strong autobiographical element in it (1849-50). In 1850 Dickens became editor of the weekly serial _Household Words_, in which various original contributions from his own pen appeared. In 1853 his _Bleak House_ came out. _A Child's History of England_, commenced in _Household Words_, was published between 1852 and 1854. _Hard Times_ appeared in _Household Words_, and was published in 1854. _Little Dorrit_, commenced in 1856, dealt with imprisonment for debt, the contrasts of character developed by wealth and poverty, and executive imbecility, idealized in the Circumlocution Office. In 1859, in consequence of a disagreement with his publishers, _All the Year Round_ superseded _Household Words_; and in the first number of this periodical, 28th May, was begun _A Tale of Two Cities_. _Great Expectations_ followed in the same paper, on 1st Dec., 1860. In _All the Year Round_ also appeared a series of disconnected sketches called _The Uncommercial Traveller_, published in 1868. _Our Mutual Friend_, completed in 1865, and published in the usual monthly numbers, with illustrations by Marcus Stone, was the last great serial work which Dickens lived to finish. It contained some studies of characters of a breadth and depth unusual with Dickens, and is distinguished among his works by its elaborate plot. The first number of his last work, _The Mystery of Edwin Drood_, was issued on 1st April, 1870, and only three numbers had appeared when he died somewhat suddenly, at his residence, Gad's Hill Place, near Rochester, on 9th June. He had considerably overtaxed his strength during his later years, more especially by his successive series of public readings from his own works, one series being delivered in America between 1867 and 1868. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Dickens's work as a novelist is firmly based upon a wide and keen observation of men. The essence of his art was caricature, and for comic effect he, therefore, often exaggerated the abuses he attacked. His characters exhibit little more than one trait or quality, but the single trait or quality which they embody is truly conceived, and exhibited with great vitality and humour. His creative power was immense, and his great humour is admitted by all, even by those who consider his pathos as overdrawn. In spite, therefore, of all that is grotesque and overstrained in his work, he has been rightly placed amongst the great artists.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Forster, _Life of Charles Dickens_; George Gissing, _Charles Dickens: a Critical Study_; G. K. Chesterton, _Charles Dickens_; R. H. Shepherd, _The Bibliography of Dickens_; Sir F. T. Marzials, _Life of Charles Dickens_; E. Pugh, _The Charles Dickens Originals_; P. H. Fitzgerald, _Memoirs of Charles Dickens_.

DICKSONIA, a genus of Leptosporangiate ferns, section Gradatae, mostly large tree-ferns, such as _D. antarctica_, a native of Australia and New Zealand, often grown in greenhouses.

[Illustration: Portion of a Four-year-old Dicotyledonous Woody Stem cut in Winter

B, Bast. B.K., Bark external to the first periderm layer, corresponding to the primary cortex. C, Cambium ring. E, Early wood. J, J, J, Junction of the wood of successive years. L, Late wood. M, Medulla. M.R., Medullary rays, various views. P, Protoxylem. 1, 2, 3, 4, The four successive annual rings.]

DICOTYLEDON (d[=i]-kot-i-le'don), a plant whose seeds are readily recognized by the embryo containing a pair of cotyledons or seed-leaves, which are always opposite to each other. Dicotyledons are further characterized by their netted-veined leaves and their 'open' vascular bundles containing a cambium; the parts of the flower are commonly in fours or fives. In Bentham and Hooker's system the class is divided into four subclasses--Thalamiflorae, Calyciflorae, Corolliflorae, and Monochlamydeae. Engler's system recognizes only two subclasses, viz. Archichlamydeae and Sympetalae.

DICTAPHONE, an adaptation of the gramophone, in which the principle of that invention is applied to the requirements of modern business. Letters or memoranda are spoken into the machine, which 'records' them on waxen cylinders. The machine is then passed on to a shorthand writer or typist (or the cylinder may be transferred to a duplicate machine), and the recorded matter is dictated. The motive power is electricity; the speed of dictation is capable of adjustment to that of the writer; and by means of an accessory machine the records can be scraped and re-used.

DICTA'TOR, an extraordinary magistrate of the Roman Republic, first instituted B.C. 501. The power of naming a dictator, when an emergency arose requiring a concentration of the powers of the State in a single superior officer, was vested by a resolution of the Senate in one of the Consuls. The dictatorship was limited to six months, and the person who held it could not go out of Italy. This rule was laid aside during the first Punic War. The dictator was also forbidden to appear in Rome on horseback without the permission of the people, and he had no control over the public funds without the permission of the Senate. He had the power of life and death, and could punish without appeal to the Senate or people. All the other magistrates were under his orders. Originally the dictator was a patrician, but in 356 B.C. the plebeian Marcius Rutilus was called upon to fill the office of dictator. The term is now often applied to rulers enjoying or exercising extra-constitutional power.--Cf. A. H. J. Greenidge, _Roman Public Life_.

DICTIONARY (from the Lat., _dictio_, a saying, expression, word), a book containing the words, or subjects, which it treats, arranged in alphabetical order. It may be either a vocabulary, or collection of the words in a language, with their definitions; or a special work on one or more branches of science or art prepared on the principle of alphabetical arrangement, such as dictionaries of biography, law, music, medicine, history, or philosophy. Amongst dictionaries of the English language, the earliest seem to have been those of Bullokar (1616) and Cockeram (1623). That of Dr. Johnson, published in 1755, made an epoch in this department of literature. Previous to this the chief English dictionary was that of Bailey, a useful work in its way. An enlarged edition of Johnson's dictionary, by the Rev. H. J. Todd, appeared in 1818; and this, again enlarged and modified, was issued under the editorship of Dr. R. G. Latham (1864-72). The best-known American dictionary of the English language is that by Noah Webster, published in 1828, and since entirely recast. Richardson's dictionary, published during 1836 and 1837, was valuable chiefly for its quotations. Ogilvie's _Imperial English Dictionary_, based on Webster, and first published between 1847 and 1850, has been issued in a remodelled and greatly enlarged form (4 vols. 1881-2 and subsequently, Charles Annandale, LL.D., editor). It is one of the encyclopaedic dictionaries. Cassell's _Encyclopaedic Dictionary_ is another extensive work (1879-88). The largest completed English dictionary is the _Century Dictionary_ (New York, 1889-91, 6 vols. quarto). _The Standard Dictionary_ is another American work. A new English dictionary 'on historical principles', first edited by Sir J. A. H. Murray, LL.D., with the assistance of many scholars, and now edited by Dr. Henry Bradley, is being published at the Clarendon Press since 1884. Among foreign dictionaries are the polyglot dictionary of Calepino (1502), the Latin and Greek _Thesaurus_ of Robert and Henry Stephanus, the Italian _Vocabulario della Crusca_ (1612), &c. The chief etymological dictionary of English words is that by Professor Skeat (1882). Among French dictionaries (for French people) the chief is that of Littr['e]; among German, the dictionary begun by the brothers Grimm.

DICTYOTACEAE, a family of Brown Algae, section Cyclosporeae. _Dictyota dichotoma_, with a delicate, flattened, repeatedly forked thallus, is not uncommon in sandy pools on our coasts. The plants are of three kinds, viz. [male], bearing antheridia; [female], bearing oogonia; and neuter, producing tetraspores. The oospores give rise to neuter plants, the tetraspores to [male] or [female] plants. This is one of the best instances of 'homologous' alternation of generations, i.e. that type in which the different generations are identical in form, differing only in their reproductive organs and in the number of chromosomes in their nuclei. Another genus is Padina.

DIDACTIC POETRY, that kind of poetry which professes to give a kind of systematized instruction on a definite subject or range of subjects. Thus the _Georgics_ of Virgil and the _De Rerum Natura_ of Lucretius profess to give, the one a complete account of agriculture and kindred arts, the other a philosophical explanation of the world. Other examples of purely didactic poetry are Horace's _Ars Poetica_, and Pope's _Essay on Criticism_. In a larger sense of the word most great poems might be called didactic, since they contain a didactic element in the shape of history or moral teaching, Dante's _Divina Commedia_, Milton's _Paradise Lost_, or Goethe's _Faust_, for example. The difference may be said to be this, that in the one case the materials are limited and controlled by nothing but the creative fancy of the poet, while in the other they are much more determined by the actual nature of the subject treated of.

DIDEL'PHIA, one of the three subclasses of the Mammalia (the others being Monodelphia and Ornithodelphia), comprising only one order, that of Marsupials or pouched mammals.

DIDEROT (d[=e]d-r[=o]), Denis, a French writer and philosopher, born in 1713, at Langres, in Champagne, died in 1784. He was educated in the school of the Jesuits, and afterwards at Paris, at the College of Harcourt, but declined to study law, preferring to earn his living by teaching mathematics. His first works were the _Essai sur le M['e]rite et la Vertu_ (1745); and the _Pens['e]es Philosophiques_ (1746), a pamphlet against the Christian religion. His _Lettre sur les Aveugles [`a] l'Usage de Ceux qui Voyent_ is in the same strain. These heterodox publications cost him an imprisonment for some time at Vincennes. Diderot now tried writing for the stage, but his pieces were failures. In 1749 he had begun, along with D'Alembert and some others, the _Encyclopaedia_. At first it was intended to be mainly a translation of one already published in English by Chambers. Diderot and D'Alembert, however, enlarged upon this project, and made the new _Encyclopaedia_ a magnificently comprehensive and bold account of all the thought and science of the time. Diderot, besides revising the whole, undertook at first the mechanical arts, and subsequently made contributions in history, philosophy, and art criticism. But the profits of all his labour were small, and it was only the liberality of the Empress Catherine, who purchased his library for 50,000 livres and made him a yearly allowance of 1000 livres, that saved Diderot from indigence. In 1773 he visited St. Petersburg to thank his benefactress and was received with great honour. On his return to France he lived in retirement, passing the last ten years of his life in writing and conversations, wherein, as Marmontel said, he was at his best. Besides his articles in the _Encyclopaedia_ he wrote numerous works, some of which were published after his death. Among the best known are _Le Neveu de Rameau_, a kind of philosophical dialogue which Goethe thought worthy of translation; _Essai sur la Peinture_, and _Paradoxe sur le Com['e]dien_, suggestive essays on the principles of painting and

## acting; two lively tales, _La Religieuse_ and _Jacques le Fataliste_. On

account of his great interest in almost every branch of human knowledge, Voltaire nicknamed him 'Pantophile Diderot'.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: T. Carlyle, _Essay on Diderot_; F. Bruneti[`e]re, _['E]tudes Critiques_; R. L. Cru, _Diderot as a Disciple of English Thought_.

DIDO, or ELISSA, the reputed founder of Carthage. She was the daughter of a king of Tyre, called by some Belus, by others Metten or Matgenus. After her father's death, her brother Pygmalion murdered her husband Sicharbas, or as Virgil calls him Sychaeus, with the view of obtaining his wealth. But Dido, accompanied by many Tyrians of her party, fled with all the treasure over sea, and, landing on the coast of Africa, founded Carthage about 860 B.C. The story is told by Virgil, with many inventions of his own, in the _Aeneid_ (Books i and ii).

DIDOT (d[=e]-d[=o]), a famous house of printers, booksellers, and typefounders at Paris. The founder was _Francois Didot_, born in 1689, died 1757. Of his sons _Francois-Ambroise_ (born 1720, died 1804) and _Pierre-Francois_ (born 1732, died 1795) the first distinguished himself in the type-founding art as an inventor of new processes and machines, the second was equally eminent for his bibliographical knowledge, and contributed much also to the advancement of printing.--_Pierre_ (born 1761, died 1853) succeeded his father Francois-Ambroise in the printing business. He made himself famous by his magnificent editions of classic authors in folio, amongst which his Virgil (1798) and his Racine (1801) may be

## particularly mentioned. He did much also for the improvement of types. He

is known also as an author.--_Firmin_ (born 1764, died 1836), the brother of Pierre, took charge of the type-founding, was the inventor of a new sort of script, and an improver of the stereotype process.--_Ambroise-Firmin_ (born 1790, died 1876), and _Hyacinthe-Firmin_ (born 1794, died 1880) occupied a distinguished position amongst the publishers of Paris. The former left a collection of MSS. which was worth, at the time of his death, about two million francs. The house has now extended its trade into everything connected with bookselling, paper-making, and bookbinding.

DIDSBURY, a district of Manchester, on the Midland Railway, 4 miles south by east of Manchester, a place of residence of many Manchester business men. There is an important Wesleyan Training College there. Pop. 9234.

[Illustration: Didunculus strigirostris]

DIDUN'CULUS, a genus of birds allied to the pigeons, and comprising only the one species, _D. strigirostris_, native to some of the Samoan Islands. This bird is of special interest as being the nearest living ally of the extinct dodo. It has a length of about 14 inches, with a glossy plumage verging from a velvety black on the back to greenish black on the head, breast, and abdomen. The large beak, which is nearly as long as the head, is greatly arched on the upper half, while the lower is furnished with two or three tooth-like indentations.

DIDYM'IUM, a rare metallic element, occurring along with _lanthanum_ in the mineral cerite as discovered by Mosander in 1842. It has been resolved into two new elements: _Praseodymium_ (Pr, 140.9) and _Neodymium_ (Nd, 144.3).

DIE, a metallic stamp for impressing a design or figure upon coins or other metallic objects. See _Dies_ and _Die-sinking_.

DIE (d[=e]), an ancient town, France, department of Dr[^o]me, 26 miles south-east of Valence; with an ancient cathedral and Roman remains. Pop. 4000.

DI['E] (di-[=a]), ST., a town, France, department of Vosges, on the Meurthe, 25 miles E.N.E. of Epinal. Both iron and copper are worked; there are marble quarries; and numerous manufactures are carried on. Pop. 19,029.

DIEBITSCH-SABALKANSKI, Hans Karl, a Russian general, born at Grossleippe, in Silesia, in 1785, died 9th June, 1831. He was educated at the military school of Berlin, but in 1801 quitted the Prussian service for that of Russia. He was present at the battles of Austerlitz and Friedland, served with distinction in the campaign of 1812, took part in the battles of Dresden and Leipzig, and was made lieutenant-general at the age of twenty-eight. He had the chief command in the Turkish War of 1828-9, stormed Varna, and made the famous passage of the Balkans, for which the surname of Sabalkanski was conferred on him. In 1830 he commanded the army sent against the revolted Poles, but did not distinguish himself in this service.--Cf. Bantych-Kamenski, _Biographies of Russian Field-marshals_.

DIEFFENBACH (d[=e]'fen-b[.a]_h_), Johann Friedrich, German surgeon, born at K[:o]nigsberg in 1792, died in 1847. After having studied at Bonn and Paris, he settled in Berlin, where his talent as an operator soon attracted notice. Surgery is particularly indebted to him for new methods of forming artificial noses, eyelids, and lips, and curing squinting and stammering.

DIEGO GARCIA. See _Chagos_.

DI'ELECTRIC, in electricity, a name applied by Faraday to any medium through or across which electrostatic induction can take place. See _Electricity_ (Electrostatics). Faraday first showed that electrostatic induction was not action at a distance, but took place by means of the insulating medium separating the two conductors. The medium he named a _dielectric_, and measured its specific inductive capacity by taking that of common air as unity.

DIELY'TRA, or DICENTRA, a genus of plants, of the nat. ord. Fumariaceae or Fumitories. The best known is _D. spectabilis_, a native of Northern China and Siberia, now common in European and other gardens. It blossoms in April and May, and its long drooping racemes of purplish-red blossoms present a very graceful appearance. It grows freely in the open air. It is sometimes called bleeding heart or virgin's heart from the shape of the blossoms.

DIEMEN (d[=e]'men), Anton van, Dutch administrator, was born in 1593, died in 1645. Having gone to India, he speedily rose to the highest dignities, and was at length, in 1636, made Governor-General. He administered the government with much ability, and contributed much to the establishment of the Dutch commerce in India. Abel Tasman, whom he sent with a vessel to the South Seas in 1642, gave the name of _Van Diemen's Land_ to the island now called Tasmania.

DIEPPE (d[=e]-ep'), a seaport town, France, department of Seine-Inf['e]rieure, on the English Channel, at the embouchure of the Arques, 93 miles N.N.W. of Paris. Almost the only public edifices worth special notice are the two Gothic churches, St. Jacques, begun in the thirteenth century, and St. R['e]mi, founded in 1522, and the old castle (1433), now a barracks. To the west of Dieppe proper is the suburb La Barre; and on the opposite side of the harbour Le Pollet, inhabited chiefly by sailors and fishermen. The old port is spacious, but a new channel with its own harbour system has been added, and vessels of 20-foot draft can now enter. Dieppe is one of the chief watering-places of France, and is much frequented by visitors in summer and autumn. The great bathing establishment forms a luxurious retreat for bathers and invalids, and includes a ballroom. The manufactures include works in ivory, horn, and bone, lace-making, sugar-refining, and shipbuilding. There is a busy fishery, and the foreign trade is still considerable. There is constant steam intercourse between this port and Newhaven. In early times Dieppe was the chief port of France, but its prosperity diminished after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). During the European War Dieppe was an important Allied base. Pop. 23,973.

DIERX, L['E]ON, French poet, born in the Island of R['e]union in 1838. Educated in Paris, he became one of the foremost of the Parnassians. His works include: _Aspirations_, _Po[`e]mes et Po['e]sies_, _La rencontre_, and _Les Amants_. His collected poems (1889-90) were crowned by the Acad['e]mie. He died in Paris, 11th June, 1912.

DIES AND DIE-SINKING. Die-sinking is the art of preparing dies, a die being a plate or block, usually of metal, so cut or shaped as to be capable, by means of stamping or pressure, of transferring a given design to some article which is to be manufactured in quantity. The pressure may be applied by any sort of power, from hand to hydraulic.