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DOLPHIN-DOMAIN.

to produce sickness in persons who eat it for the first time); skin smooth, soft, with a layer of very white fat or blubber under it; liver large, yielding a larger quantity of oil than the blubber. The orifice from whence the water, inspired by the mouth, is ejected, is of a semilunar form, with a kind of valvular apparatus, and opens on the vertex, nearly over the eyes. The volume and developement of the brain have induced naturalists to consider the dolphin an animal of unusual intelligence, and capable of feeling an attachment to man. Many stories are related of its docility, but, unfortunately, want confirmation. The skeleton presents a modification of the principal bones of the higher mammifera, and the absence of many of minor importance. The structure of the ear renders the sense of hearing very acute, and the animal is observed to be attracted by regular or harmonious sounds. Owing to the flattened form of the cervical vertebræ, which amount to seven, the neck is very short, and, the two first being immovably connected, the motion is very limited. A single bone, composed of or replacing those of the arın, is the support of the pectoral fins: it articulates with a peculiar shaped scapula, and the muscular arrangement is such as to give the fin great force. The whole number of vertebræ amounts to fifty-three, the sacrum being produced to support the tail. Compactness and strength are the characteristics of the genus, and the muscular powers of the tail are proverbial. The food of the dolphin consists of fish, mollusca, &c.; and shoals of dolphins are observed to hover round the herring and other fisheries, in pursuit of their prey. When one of a shoal is struck, the rest are observed to pursue it immediately, probably for the purpose of devouring the wounded animal. One or two young are produced by the female, who suckles and watches them, with great care and anxiety, long after they have acquired considerable size. It is stated by some authors, that they cease growing at ten years of age, and live eighty or a hundred years. The dolphin respiring by lungs, and not in the manner of fishes, it is compelled to rise to the surface, at short intervals, to breathe, throwing out the water from the blow-hole, or aperture on the head, like a cloud of steam. The color varies in different individuals: some are black, olive or gray, and others mottled, or even quite white. The inhabitants of ancient Byzantium and Thrace pursued a regular fishery of the dolphin, destroying them

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with a kind of trident attached to a long line. Figures of this animal are found on antique coins, and very good representations of it occur on the Corinthian medals. DOLPHIN of navigators; a fish, the coryphæna hippuris of authors; celebrated by travellers and poets in their marvellous recitals of its changes of color when expiring. Such changes do occur, and are curious, but by no means so much so as romantic travellers would have us believe. The color of the dolphin is silvery white, spotted with yellowish. Body compressed, elongate, gradually decreasing from the front (which is very obtuse) to the tail; dorsal fin extending from the nape nearly to the caudal; caudal fin large, furcate; anal nearly reaching the base of the caudal; pectorals somewhat falciform; length usually four or five feet, though specimens of six feet in length are occasionally taken. Few fish are more agile, or swim with greater velocity. They abound within the tropics, and are found in all temperate latitudes. In the neighborhood of the equator, they commit great havoc in the immense shoals of flying fish which inhabit those regions, and which constitute the principal food of the coryphana. It is remarkable that, in swallowing their prey, the position of the cap tured fish is reversed, and it passes down the throat head foremost: by this manœuvre the fins are prevented from impeding its passage. The flesh of the dolphin is coarse and dry, but, to those who have subsisted for a long while on salted provisions, is very acceptable. At certain times, and in particular localities, the flesh acquires a deleterious quality, which has often proved fatal to persons who have eaten of it. The best antidote to its poisonous effect is a copious emetic, administered as soon as any symptom of poison is apparent. The dolphin bites freely at a hook baited with a piece of salted meat, or better with a flying fish, and, from its great strength, affords fine sport to the fisherman.

DOMAIN, OF DEMAIN, or DEMESNE (in French domaine), in its popular sense, denotes the lord's manor-place, with the lands thereto belonging, which he and his ancestors have from time to time kept in their own occupation. In England the domains of the crown (terræ dominicales regis) denote either the share reserved to the crown, in the distribution of landed property at the time of the conquest, or such as came to it afterwards, by forfeitures or other means. They are, at present, contracted within a very narrow com

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pass, having been almost entirely granted to private subjects; and though this was often done in a most injudicious manner, it has been of great benefit to the English nation, by diminishing the power of the crown, and making it dependent on the grunts of parliament; whilst, in many other countries, the wealth of the crown has rendered it independent, and strong enough to oppress the subjects, and undertake wars injurious to the public wel fare. The rents and profits of the demesne lands of the crown constitute, at present, one branch of the king of England's ordinary revenue. (For more information respecting the history of crown lands in England, see the article Civil List.)

In France, there are several different kinds of domains:-1. Domaine de l'état, or public domains, comprising highways, harbors, rivers, canals, sea-coasts, banks of rivers, fortifications, &c. (Code Napoleon, a. 538-541), to which the estates of the emigrants were also added (Charte Const., a. 9). 2. Domaine or dotation de la couronne (Senatus Cons. of January 30, 1810, and law of Nov. 8, 1814). To this class belong the palaces, gardens, forests, farms, crown jewels, &c., of the sovereign, which are all inalienable, and not chargeable with debts, and pass thus from each king to his successor. 3. Domaine privé consists of such estates as the king acquires as a private person, and over which he exercises an entire control. But whatever portion of this the king does not dispose of by testament becomes, at his death, a part of the public domains; so, also, whatever a prince possesses, before he ascends the throne, becomes a part of the public domain at the moment he becomes king, and his debts, at the same time, become charges on the public treasury. 4. Napoleon had also a domaine extraordinaire (law of Jan. 30, 1810), which consisted of his acquisitions by conquests, and were kept entirely at his disposal: these supplied the means of donations to his generals, &c. The domaine extraordinaire has been also retained by the Bourbons (law of May 22, 1816). The administration of these donations was conducted with great wisdom; and Napoleon, as Las Cases relates, dwelt with pleasure on this branch of his government. (See Dotations of Napoleon.) There also existed, formerly, domains which were inalienable in the ruling family, but did not belong to the state; and in some countries there are still such. The question, what part of the domain a sovereign may alienate,

what are public domains, and what the private property of the ruling family, &c., is extremely difficult to be decided, in states in which the origin of the domains goes back to periods when few political subjects were distinctly settled, and par ticularly in countries in which there is no constitution binding the sovereign, and settling the distinction between these different kinds of property. Power will generally decide, instead of justice, whenever it is for the advantage of the sovereign, as has often been the case in Germany. An important question arose in Germany, in regard to the sale of the domains in the kingdom of Westphalia, during the reign of Jerome. The elector of Hesse-Cassel and the duke of Brunswick, having resumed possession of their countries, which had been included in that kingdom, declared the sales void, because, as they said, they never had acknowledged the king of Westphalia. Prussia, which received back a part of the territory which constituted the kingdom of Westphalia, acknowledged the validity of the sale, because it had recognised Jerome Bonaparte as king. Much discussion took place respecting these sales. Austria, as well as Prussia, showed a disposition to favor the purchasers. The diet of the Germanic confederacy showed its weakness on this occasion, as it could effect nothing against the elector and the duke. (Whoever wishes to read a full account of these transactions, is referred to the article Domainenverkauf, in the German Conversations-Lexikon.)

For the public lands of the U. States, see the article United States.

DOMAT, John; an eminent French lawyer, who was born in the province of Auvergne, in 1625. He was king's advocate in the presidial court of Clermont, for thirty years. He died at Paris, in 1696. His treatise, entitled Les Loix civiles, dans leur Ordre naturel, was published in 1694, 3 vols. 4to.; and after his death appeared three volumes more, on public law, &c. An improved edition of his works was published in 1777, and there is an English translation of them, 1720, 2 vols. folio.

DOME. (See Architecture, vol. i. page 336, right column; also the article Cupola.}

DOMENICHINO; the name, among artists, of Domenico Zampieri, a painter of great eminence, of the Lombard school, born at Bologna, in 1581. He was sent to study first with Calvart, and afterwards with the Carracci. From the slowness of his performance, he was named, by his fellow

DOMENICHINO-ST. DOMINIC DE GUZMAN.

students, the or of painting; but Annibal Carracci predicted that the ox would "plough a fruitful field." Having contracted a great friendship for Albano, he joined him at Rome, and his former master, Annibal Carracci, jealous of Guido, procured for him the execution of one of the pictures for a Roman church, which had been promised to that great painter. It was a custom with Domenichino to assume, for a time, the passion he was depicturing; so that, while working by himself, he was often heard to laugh, weep and talk aloud, in a manner that would have induced a stranger to suppose him a lunatic. The effect was, however, such, that few painters have surpassed him in lively representation. His Communion of St. Jerome has been considered, by some connoisseurs, inferior only to the Transfiguration of Raphael; and the History of Apollo, which he painted in ten frescoes, for cardinal Aldobrandini, is also much admired. Although a modest and inoffensive man, his merit excited so much envy, that he retired to his native city, where he married, and employed himself two years on his famous picture of the Rosary. He was afterwards recalled to Rome, by Gregory XV, who created him his first painter, and architect of the Vatican. Losing this post after the pope's death, he accepted an invitation to Naples, to paint the chapel of St. Januarius. But here he encountered a jealousy so rancorous, that his life became altogether imbittered by it; and so great was his dread of poison, that he prepared all his eatables with his own hand. He died in 1641, at the age of sixty. Domenichino, who understood every branch of his art, produced nothing excellent with out study and labor; but, in consequence of his great premeditation, no painter has given his pieces more of the properties belonging to the subject. At the same time, his designs are correct; and he succeeded equally in the grand and the tender. Nearly fifty of his pieces have been engraved.

DOMESDAY OF DOOMSDAY BOOK, a very ancient record, made in the time of William the Conqueror, which now remains in the exchequer, and consists of two volumes; the greater contains a survey of all the lands in most of the counties in England, and the less comprehends some counties that were not at first surveyed. The Book of Domesday was begun by five justices, assigned for that purpose, in each county, in the year 1081, and finished in 1086. It was of such authority, that the Conqueror himself submitted, in

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some cases wherein he was concerned, to be governed by it. Camden calls this book the Tax-Book of king William; and it was further called Magna Rolla. There is likewise a third Book of Domesday, made by command of the Conqueror; and also a fourth, being an abridgment of the other books.

DOMICIL. The dwelling had peculiar privileges among the Romans; it was regarded as inviolable; for example, no debtor could be arrested in his domicil; no officer of the police or court could pass the threshold of a private house, to arrest even a person who did not dwell there. These rights and privileges still belong to the dwelling-house in England, the Netherlands and the U. States of America. The name domicil implies, in general, a place of residence; in a narrower sense, the place where one lives, in opposition to that where he only remains for a time. (See Appendix.)

DOMINGO, St. (See Hayti.)

He

DOMINIC DE GUZMAN, St., founder of the Dominican order, born in 1170, at Calahorra, in Old Castile, applied himself, in his early years, with zeal and ability, to the acquisition of knowledge, was made canon and archdeacon at Osma, in Castile, and was employed with others by pope Innocent III, to discover, confute, and punish heretics, especially the Albigenses in France. This was the origin of the court of the inquisition, and St. Dominic is considered as the first inquisitorgeneral. As he prescribed to the members of his order a certain number of Pater Nosters and Ave-Marias daily, he is supposed to have introduced the rosary. died at Bologna, in 1221, and in 1233 was canonized by Gregory IX. In the examination, previous to the canonization, it was proved that he had converted more than 100,000 souls to the true faith. An interesting comparison might be made between St. Dominicus and St. Franciscus, certainly two of the most powerful minds among the saints. St. Franciscus labored all his life to relieve the poor and persecuted, to propagate the gospel among the lower classes, who, in those convulsed periods, were almost entirely excluded, in most countries, from education and instruction in Christianity; whilst St. Dominicus strove to spread Christianity by persecution. The character of the two founders is deeply imprinted on the two orders-the humble Franciscans and the zealous Dominicans. Dante speaks of these two saints, in one of the most beautiful passages in his Paradise.

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DOMINICA DOMINICANS.

DOMINICA; one of the Caribbee islands in the West Indies, belonging to Great Britain; situated between Guadaloupe and Martinico; about 29 miles in length, and 16 in breadth, containing 186,436 acres of land. Colquhoun estimated the population, in 1812, at 26,500. An article on the state of the English colonies, in the Edinburgh Review, gives it, in 1823, as only 16,554. This same article gives the imports from this island into Great Britain, in 1823, at 39,013 quintals of sugar, 17,136 quintals of coffee, and 14,310 gallons of rum. It was discovered by Columbus, Nov. 3, 1493, on Sunday-hence its name. It contains many high and rugged mountains, among which are volcanoes, that frequently discharge eruptions. From some of these mountains issue springs of hot water, whose medicinal virtues are much commended. Dominica is well watered, there being upwards of 30 rivers in the island, besides a great number of rivulets. The soil, in most of the interior country, is a light, brown-colored mould, and appears to have been washed from the mountains. Towards the sea-coast, and in many of the valleys, it is a deep, black, and rich native earth, which seems well adapted to the cultivation of all the articles of West Indian produce. The principal towns are Portsmouth and Roseau or Charlotte's Town. Lon. 61° 23′ W.; lat. 15° 32′ N.

DOMINICAL LETTER, in chronology; properly called Sunday letter; one of the seven letters of the alphabet, A B C D EF G, used in almanacs, ephemerides, &c., to designate the Sundays throughout the year. In our almanacs, the first seven letters of the alphabet are commonly placed to show on what days of the week the days of the month fall throughout the year. And because one of those seven letters must necessarily stand against Sunday, it is printed in a capital form, and called the dominical letter; the other six being inserted in different characters, to denote the other six days of the week. Now, since a common Julian year contains 365 days, if this number be divided by 7 (the number of days in a week), there will remain one day. If there had been no remainder, it is obvious the year would constantly begin on the same day of the week; but, since one remains, it is plain that the year must begin and end on the same day of the week; and therefore the next year will begin on the day following. Hence, when January begins on Sunday, A is the dominical or Sunday letter for

that year: then, because the next year begins on Monday, the Sunday will fall on the seventh day, to which is annexed the seventh letter, G, which, therefore, will be the dominical letter for all that year: and, as the third year will begin on Tuesday, the Sunday will fall on the sixth day; therefore F will be the Sunday letter for that year. Whence it is evident, that the Sunday letters will go annually in retrograde order, thus, G, F, E, D, Č, B, A; and, in the course of seven years, if they were all common ones, the same days of the week and dominical letters would return to the same days of the months. But, because there are 366 days in a leap-year, if the number be divided by 7, there will remain two days over and above the 52 weeks, of which the year consists. And, therefore, if the leap-year begins on Sunday, it will end on Monday; and, as the year will begin on Tuesday, the first Sunday thereof must fall on the 6th of January, to which is annexed the letter F, and not G, as in common years. By this means, the leap-year returning every fourth year, the order of the dominical letters is interrupted, and the series cannot return to its first state till after four times seven, or 28 years; and then the same days of the months return in order, to the same days of the week as before. The dominical letter may be found universally, for any year of any century, thus: Divide the centuries by 4, and take twice what remains from 6; then add the remainder to the odd years, above the even centuries, and their 4th. Divide their sum by 7, and the remainder taken from 7 will leave the number answering to the letter required. Thus, for the year 1878, the letter is F. For the centuries, 18, divided by 4, leave 2; the double of which, taken from 6, leaves 2 again; to which add the odd years, 78, and their 4th part, 19, the sum, 99, divided by 7, leaves 1, which, taken from 7, leaves 6, answering to F, the sixth letter in the alphabet. (See Cycle, and Calendar.)

DOMINICANS, called also predicants or preaching friars (prædicatores), derived their name from their founder, Dominic. At their origin (1215, at Toulouse), they were governed by the rule of St. Augustine; and the principal object of their institution was to preach against heretics. They retained these rules and regulations after they had adopted a white habit, similar to that of the Carthusians, and the character of monks, in 1219. They were called Jacobins in France, because their first convent at Paris was in the rue St.

DOMINICANS-DOMINO.

Jaques. The Dominican nuns were established, in 1206, by St. Dominic, and increased in numbers after 1218, when he founded a nunnery in Rome. They follow the same rules; they are required, also, to labor, which is not expected of the friars, on account of their higher duties. A third establishment of St. Dominic was the military order of Christ, originally composed of knights and nobleinen, whose duty it was to wage war against heretics. After the death of the founder, this became the order of the penitence of St. Dominic, for both sexes, and constituted the third order of Dominicans. These Tertiarians, without making any solemn vows, enjoy great spiritual privileges, for the observance of a few fasts and prayers; they continue, also, in the enjoyment of their civil and domestic relations. Some few companies of Dominican sisters of the third order, particularly in Italy, united in a monastic life, and became regular nuns; the most celebrated of whom is St. Catharine of Sienna. That they might devote themselves with success to the promulgation and establishment of the Catholic faith, which was, in fact, the object of their institution, and the first proof of their zeal for which they gave in the extirpation of the Albigenses, the Dominicans received, in 1272, the privileges of a mendicant order, which contributed greatly to their rapid increase. They filled not only Europe, but the coasts of Asia, Africa and America, with their monasteries and missionaries. Their strictly monarchical constitution, which connected all the provinces and congregations of their order under one general, secured their permanent existence, and a unity in their successful efforts to obtain influence in church and state. They made themselves useful by preaching, which was much neglected at the period of their establishment, and by their missions; respectable and serviceable to the church by the distinguished scholars they produced, such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas; and formidable as managers of the inquisition, which was committed exclusively to them, in Spain, Portugal and Italy. After they had obtained permission to receive donations, in 1425, notwithstanding their original vow of absolute poverty, they ceased to belong to the inendicants, and, in the enjoyment of rich benefices, superior to other orders, they paid more attention to politics and theological science. They gave to kings father-confessors, to universities instruct

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ers, and to the pious rosaries; and for all they were richly rewarded. From their establishment they found dangerous rivals in the Franciscans (q. v.), and engaged in contests with them, the heat and bitterness of which have been perpetuated by the hostilities of the Thomists and Scotists (see Duns, and Schoolmen), and have continued even to modern times. These two orders divided the honor of ruling in church and state till the 16th century, when the Jesuits gradually superseded them in the schools and courts, and they fell back again to their original destination. They obtained new importance by the censorship of books, which was committed, in 1620, to the master of the sacred palace at Rome, who is always a Dominican. What the reformation took from them in Europe, the activity of their missions in America and the East Indies restored. In the 18th century, the order comprised more than 1000 monasteries, divided into 45 provinces and 12 congregations. To the latter belonged the nuns of the holy sacrament, in Marseilles, established by Le Quien, in 1636, under the strictest rules. They dress in black, with white mantles and veils, while the Dominican nuns wear white, with black mantles and veils. The Dominican order is now flourishing only in Spain, Portugal, Sicily and America: they have hopes of a revival in Italy. The good Las Casas (q. v.) belonged to this order.

DOMINIQUE LE PÈRE, harlequin of the Italian theatre (properly, Gius. Dominico Biancolelli), born at Bologna, in 1640, was invited, in 1660, to Paris, by cardinal Mazarin, where he played the harlequin with the greatest applause, till his death, in 1688. The French comedians wished to prevent the Italians from bringing French pieces on their stage, and Louis XIV gave both parties an audience. Baron and Dominique were ordered to appear as their deputies. The former having spoken, in the name of the French, it was Dominique's turn to plead his cause; and he asked the king how he should speak. "Speak as you please," answered the king. "That is all I want," rejoined the harlequin; "I have won." The king received this sally with a laugh, and from that time the Italian theatre represented French pieces without opposition.

DOMINO; formerly a dress worn by priests, in the winter, which, reaching no lower than the shoulders, served to protect the face and head from the weather. At present, it is a masquerade dress, worn

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