Duessa
du-es'sa, in Spenser's Faerie Queene, a loathsome old witch. The name Duessa means "double-mind," or "false-faith"; and Duessa is represented as the daughter of Falsehood and Shame. She assumes the name of Fidessa and the appearance of a young and beautiful woman in distress. In this disguise she entices the Red-Cross Knight into the Palace of Pride, and leads him to drink of an enchanted fountain, which so paralyzes him that he is overcome by a giant. Una sends Prince Arthur to the rescue. He slays the giant, saves the knight, strips Duessa of her disguise, and drives her into the wilderness. Duessa appears under various disguises in several cantos of the poem. It is supposed that Spenser intended Duessa to typify the anti-Elizabethan party in religion and politics. In the fifth book she is said to represent Mary, Queen of Scots, taken as a type of the enmity of the Romish Church toward Queen Elizabeth. Whatever political and religious significance The Faerie Queene may have had in Spenser's time, is long since forgotten, but its romantic beauty and poetic imagery will endure for all time. See Spenser ; Faerie Queene
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
Dufferin
FREDERICK TEMPLE HAMILTON-BLACKWOOD, MARQUIS OF, a British statesman and author, son of the 4th Baron Dufferin; born in Florence in 1826. He began his public services in 1855, when he was attached to Earl Russell's mission to Vienna. Subsequently he was sent as commissioner to Syria in connection with the massacre of the Christians (1860); was under Indian secretary (1864-1866); under secretary for war (1866); chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1868-1872); Governor-general of Canada (1872-1878); ambassador at St. Petersburg (1879-1881); at Constantinople (1882); sent to Cairo to settle the affairs of the country after Arabi Pasha's rebellion (1882-1883); Viceroy of India (1884-1888); ambassador to Italy (1889), and to France (1891). He died Feb. 12, 1902.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Duffy
SIR CHARLES GAVIN, an Irish patriot; born in County Monaghan in 1816; early devoted himself to journalism in Dublin and Belfast, returning to the former in 1842 to start along with Thomas Davis and John Dillon the "Nation" as the organ of the Young Ireland party. Tried and convicted for sedition with O'Connell in 1844, but saved by the House of Lords quashing the conviction, he aided his great chief in the agitation for repeal and next helped him to found the Irish Confederation. He had an active share in promoting the Tenant League and the Independent Irish party, and on the break-up of the latter emigrated to Australia in 1856. After some time of practice at the Melbourne bar, following the establishment of the Victorian constitution, he rose in 1857 to be Minister of Public Works, of Lands in 1858 and 1862, and Prime Minister in 1871. He was defeated next year, was knighted in 1873, and in 1877 elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. His little work, "The Ballad Poetry of Ireland" had been for 30 years a household book in his native country, when in 1880 he published "Young Ireland; a Fragment of Irish History, 1840-1850," and in 1883 its sequel, "Four Years of Irish History, 1845-1849." He died Feb. 9, 1903.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Dugong
a marine animal belonging to the sea cows. It is several feet in length. It is related closely to the manatee of the Florida coast. It lives on seaweed in the border waters of Australia, the Indian Ocean , and the Red Sea. The dugong has a ruddy head, almost human in outline. The female swims with one flipper, clasping the young to the breast with the other. When she dives she shows a fish-like tail. It is supposed that the mermaid myth first told by Arab seamen arose from seeing this creature. The dugong is almost extinct. See Manatee ; Mermaid
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
Duilius
Consul B. c. 260, gained a victory over the Carthaginian fleet by means of grapplingirons, which drew the enemy's ships toward his, and thus changed the sea-fight into a land-fight. This was the first naval victory that the Romans had ever gained, and the memory of it was perpetuated by a column which was erected in the forum, and adorned with the beaks of the conquered ships (Columna Rostrata). 2026 Editor's Note: Following his landmark victory at the Battle of Mylae, Duilius served as censor in 258 BC alongside Lucius Cornelius Scipio . While he was later appointed dictator to oversee elections in 231 BC, he never held another military command after his initial naval success. (Ed: BR 2026-06-25)
Only in 1000 Classical Characters
Dukhonin
GENERAL, a Russian soldier, on the General Staff during the World War, who succeeded General Kornilov in command of the Russian army when the latter was arrested by the Provisional Government for his attempt to assume dictatorial powers in the summer of 1917. General Dukhonin was in command at the front when the Bolsheviki precipitated their revolution and came into power, during the second week of November, 1917. When commanded by the Soviet Government to send a flag of truce through the lines to open negotiations with the Germans, for the purpose of discussing peace terms, General Dukhonin refused, whereupon he was displaced by Abram Krylenko. A few days later he was thrown off a moving train by his own soldiers and killed.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Dukla Pass
the largest and most accessible pass through the Carpathian Mountains. Through this the Austrians conducted their main operations against the Russians in the southernmost part of the eastern front, during the first six months of the World War. On Dec. 25, 1914, the Russians began a strong offensive into the Carpathians which resulted in their capture of all the passes through the mountains, including Dukla. In the spring campaign of 1915 the Austrians attempted to recapture the Carpathian passes, and sanguinary battles were fought in this region, especially in Dukla, where the Russians retained their positions, being dislodged from all the others, with one exception, Lupkow Pass. The final Russian retirement from the Carpathian passes was caused by lack of munitions and other war supplies, rather than by the assaults of the enemy.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Dulcimer
one of the most ancient musical instruments, used by various nations in almost all parts of the world, and, in shape and construction, having probably undergone fewer changes than any other instrument. In its earliest and simplest form, it consisted of a flat piece of wood, on which were fastened two converging strips of wood, across which strings were stretched tuned to the natural scale. The only improvements since made on this type are the addition of a series of pegs, or pins, to regulate the tension of the strings, and the use of two flat pieces of of wood formed into a resonance-box, for the body. The German name, Hackbrett (chopping-board) points to the manner in which it was played, the wires being struck by two hammers, one held in each hand of the performer. The fact which makes the dulcimer of the greatest interest to musicians is that it is the undoubted forefather of our pianoforte.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia