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DAHLIA, a well-known plant, which receives its name from Dahl. a Swedish botanist. DANTE (Dan-te), the sublimest of the Italia 1 poets, was born at Florence, 1265; died

1321.

DARLING, GRACE, an heroic girl, daughter
of the keeper of the North Sunderland
lighthouse, on the coast of England. A
steam-vessel having been wrecked in 1838
on the rocks known as the Great Hark-
ars, Grace, who was then twenty-two
years old, persuaded her father to go with
her to the rescue of the crew in an open
boat. There was a raging sea; but they
went, and saved nine persons, who other-
wise would have perished. Grace died a
few years after this event. See Words-
worth's poem on her, p. 201.
DAUPHIN; formerly the title of the eldest son
of the King of France. The editions of the
classics which were made for the use of
the dauphin are entitled in usum del-
phini.

DAVY, SIR HUMPHREY, an eminent chemist,
He was an
b. in England 1778, d. 1829.
agreeable writer and poet. 317.
DEATH, Thoughts on, 309, 318.
DECEMBER, the twelfth month of our year,
from the Latin decem, ten, because in the
Roman year it constituted the tenth
month, the year beginning with March.
DEFLECT, to turn aside, deviate.
DEGERANDO, a French writer, author of an
excellent work on self-education. He died
in 1842. He was a distinguished member
of the French Institute.

The Mind its own Educator, 322.
DEIST, one who believes in the existence of
God, but not in revealed religion.
DEMOSTHENES, Character of, 243.

Democracy of Athens, 266.
DEMURE (from the French des mœurs, of
good manners), sober, downcast.
DE QUINCEY, THOMAS, a powerful but ec-
centric writer, born in England about
1790. The account of Joan of Arc (p.
259) is chiefly taken from his masterly
review of Michelet's (Meesh-la's) narra
tive in his History of France.
DERIVATIVE (from the Lat. de, from, and
rivus, a small stream), flowing or proceed-
ing from. A derivative word is one which
takes its origiu in another word.
DER VIS, a Persian word, meaning poor; in
Mahometan countries, a religious person
leading an austere life.
DERZHA'VIN, GABRIEL, a Russian poet and
statesman, born 1743, died 1819.

llis

Ode to the Deity (see p. 153), as we learn
from the translator, Dr. Bowring, has
been translated into Japanese, by order
of the emperor, and is hung up, embroi-
dered with gold, in the Temple of Jeddo.
It has also been translated into the
Chinese and Tartar languages, written on
a piece of rich silk, and suspended in the
imperial palace at Pekin'.

DE'UM, the accusative case of the Latin word
Deus, God. "Te Deum" are the first
words of a celebrated Latin hymn, begin-

ning "Te Deum laudamus," W prarse
thee, O God.

DEWEY, REV. ORVILLE, On Death, 318.
DIALOGUE (from the Gr. dia, and legein, to
discourse together), a conversation be
tween two or more persons. The follow
ing are dialogues :

Adam and Orlando, 319.

A Sister Pleads for a Brother, 320.
Gil Blas and the Archbishop, 340.
The Trade of War, 343.
Brutus and Cassius, 350.
Franklin and the Gout, 355.
From Hamlet, 371.

Wolsey and Cromwell, 421.

DIAMETER, from the Gr. dia, through, and
metros, measure; a straight line passing
through the centre of a circle, and divid-
ing it into two equal parts.
DIAMOND, the most valuable of gems. The
word is pronounced either in three syl-
lables (di-a-mond) or in two (di'mond).
DIAPASON (Gr. dia, through, and pasōn,
all), in music, the octave or interval which
includes all the tones. By a bold meta-
phor, Dryden has beautifully availed
himself of this expression in his Ode, p.

416. DICKENS,

CHARLES, a popular English
author, born in Portsmouth, 1812.
The World of Waters, 206.

The Wind and Rain, 208.
Alfred the Great, 244.
DILEMMA (Gr.), a puzzling situation, where
each alternative is bad.
DIOGENES (Di-ōj'e-nės), surnamed the Cynic,

was a philosopher of ancient Greece;
born 414 B. C. He is said to have had
an interview with Alexander the Great at
Corinth, at which. on the king's asking
him if he could oblige him in any way, the
Cynic replied, "Yes, you can stand out of
the sunshine." The Cynics were so called
from the Greek word kunikos, dog-like,
because of their morose, snarling mode of
speech.

DIPLOMA (from the Gr. diploo, I fold up), a
document, signed and sealed, conferring
some privilege, right or honor. Thus a
letter or writing of an university, confer
ring a degree, is called a diploma.
DIPH'THONGS. See p. 16.
DISC, or DISK (from the Gr. diskos, a round
plate, a quoit; diskos being derived from
dikein, to throw, whence its application
to the form of the thing thrown. The
word dish has a similar derivation). Disk,
in astronomy, means the face of the sun
and moon, as they appear to observers on
the earth.

DISCHARGE. A debtor is said to have his

discharge when he has a release or acquittance in full from his debt. DISCIPLE (from the Lat. disco, I learn), a learner; a follower.

DISCOVER, literally, to uncover. Mark the distinction between this word and to invent. We discover what already existed; we invent when we make something to be which hitherto was not. Harvey "dis

A

covered" the circulation of the blood; but Watt "invented" the steam-engine. Dock, the place where a criminal stands in court; also, a ship-builder's yard. dry dock has flood-gates to admit the tide, or prevent its influx, as occasion may require.

DOGMA, an opinion; that which seems true to one (from the Gr. dokein, to seem). Dogmatism, positive assertion, without proof.

DOUBLOON, a Spanish coin of the value of two pistoles.

DRAGOON', to force to submit.

DRAMA (dra'ma, or drăm-a). This word is from the Gr. drao, I act or do; and means a composition in which the action or narrative is not related, but represented. Adj., dra-măt'ic. See extracts, p. 383; also Dialogues. DRAWING-ROOM, a room to which the company withdraw from the dining-room. DRYDEN, JOHN, a celebrated English poet. Born 1563; died 1631. Futurity, by, 113.

Ode on Cecilia's Day, 416. DUMAS, ALEXANDER, a French miscellaneous writer, very voluminous.

Inconvenient Ignorance, 181. Fall of a Mountain, &c., 106. Imprisonment of Bonnivard, 142, DUMPS, a gloomy, depressed state of mind. It is not an elegant word. DYMOND, JONATHAN, on Duelling, 330.

EAGLE. The figure of an eagle was the standard of the Romans; and has been adopted as the emblem of the United States.

EARLY RISING, Thoughts on, 225. ECHO (Gr.), the return or reverberation of a sound. Plural, echoes.

ECLAT (èk-kla', the a as in father), a bursting forth; hence, applause, pomp, show. ECLIPSE (Gr. ekleipo, I cease, faint away, or disappear), the obscuration of the light of a heavenly body, 174.

ECLIPTIC, the sun's path in the heavens. It has been called the ecliptic because eclipses only happen when the moon is on the same plane, or very near it.

ECONOMY (Gr. oikos, a house, and nomos, a law), originally, the thrifty management of a family; hence applied to individual and public concerns.

EDUCATION. This important word is traced to the Latin e, from, and duco, I lead. Thus education must educe; and that (says Trench) is to draw out, and not to put in. To draw out what is in the child, the immortal spirit which is there, this is the end of education; and so much the word declares.

Thoughts on, 184, 322. EDWARD, the Prince of Wales, surnamed the Black Prince, son of Edward III. of England, was born in 1330, died 1376. While in France, in 1356, he won the great battle of Poictiers (pronounced in French Pwa-te-a', the first a as in water). E'ER (ar), a contraction for ever. Do not

confound this contraction with Ere, which

see.

ELECTRICITY (Gr. elektron, amber), the substance in which the property of attraction after friction was first noticed.

Electric Telegraph, The, 378. EL'EGY, commonly a plaintive poem, as is implied by the Greek name, which signi fies to cry alas! alas! (E! E! legein)

Elegy in a Country Church-yard, 272. ELEMENTARY SOUNDS, Table of, 17. ELEUSINIAN, from Eleusis, an ancient city of Attica, north-west of Athens, and famous for the celebration of certain heathen religious rites, the chief design of which is said to have been to inculcate a belief in the immortality of the soul, and in the unity of the Deity.

ELIZABETH, Queen of England, was the daughter of Henry VIII. by his queen Anne Boleyn. She was born 1533, died 1602. See pp. 145, 247.

ELLIOTT, EBENEZER, sometimes called the "Corn-law rhymer" and "the poet of the poor," was born in England in 1781, died 1849.

Woman's Mission, by, 359. ELLIPSE, an oval figure; the curve in which the planets perform their revolutions about the sun. It presents to the eye, at once, variety and regularity, and is, therefore, preferred by painters to the circle for the outline of their pictures. For the grammatical use of the word, see p. 54.

ELLIPTICAL, having the form of an ellipse. ELOQUENCE, the art of clothing thoughts in the most suitable expressions, in order to produce conviction or persuasion.

Eloquence of Statesmen, 266.

Moral and Religious Eloquence, 313.
Eloquence of Science, 404.

EMERALD, a mineral of a beautiful green color, obtained in greatest perfection from Peru. In value it is rated next to the ruby.

EMERSON, R. W., The Snow-storm, 433. EMPHASIS, see pp. 39, 40. EMPORIUM, a Greek word, meaning a trading-place. It is now adopted into Eng lish, and signifies a city or place where great commercial transactions are made. EMPYREUMA, a Greek word, meaning the offensive smell produced by fire applied to organic matters, chiefly vegetable, in close vessels. Empyreumatic oil is obtained from various substances in this way.

ENCYCLOPÆDIA (from the Gr. en, in, kyclos, a circle, and paideia, instruction), a circle of instruction; a dictionary of science, the arts, &c. ENDICOTT, JOHN, governor of the colony of Massachusetts, 1644.

ENGHIEN, Duc d' (Duke D'ang-ghe-ng'; the first a as in father), son of the Duke of Bourbon, was born in France in 1772. Being accused of conspiracies against Bonaparte as First Consul, although nothing was proved against him, he underwent sentence of death, 180k.

ENTREPOT (ang-tre-po', the a as in father,
the e as in her), a warehouse for the
deposit of goods.
EPHEMERAL (e-fem'eral). This is from the
Gr. ephi, for, and emera, a day; perish-
ing with the day; short-lived.
EPIC (Gr. epos, a word), a poem of the nar-
rative kind, describing generally the ex-
ploits of heroes.

EPICURE, one given to luxury; so called
from Epicu'rus, a Greek philosopher,
whose doctrines did not, however, author-
ize the sensual construction which was
wrested from them.

EPITOME (e-pit'-o-me), an abridgment, an
abbreviation, or compendious abstract.
EPOCH (p-ok or e-pok). This is from the
Gr. epecho, I stop, and means a certain
fixed point of time, made famous by some
remarkable event, from whence ensuing
years are numbered.

ERA differs from epoch in this era is a
point of time fixed by some nation or de-
nomination of men; epoch is a point
fixed by historians and chronologists.
ERE (ar), before; sooner than; supposed
to be from the Saxon er, signifying the
morning. Being pronounced like E'er,
this word is sometimes mistaken for it.
ES'SAY, in literature, a short treatise, or
tract. Lord Bacon first used it in this

sense.

EUREKA (eu-re'-ka) a Greek word, meaning,
I have found. See p. 275.
EURIPIDES (U-rip'i-dēs), a Grecian tragic
poet, b. 480 B. C. He was torn in pieces
by the dogs of King Archela'us, whose
guest he was. Sophocles, who survived
him, publicly mourned his loss.
EVAN DER is said to have built on the Tiber,
at the foot of the Palatine Hill, a town
which was incorporated with Rome. He
taught the arts of peace.

EVAN GEL (from two Gr. words, meaning to
tell well, to announce good tidings),
the Gospel; the history of Christ's life
and resurrection.

EVERETT, EDWARD, b. in Massachusetts,
1794. Quoted pp. 185, 187, 249.
EXAMINE; said to be from the Latin, ex-
ämen, the tongue or beam of a balance.
EXCEL'SIOR, the comparative degree of the
Latin adjective, excelsus, high; so that
it means higher. 285.
EXCOMMUNICATE, to expel from the com-
munion of the church.
EXILE, THE POOR, 82.

EXIT, the third person of the Latin verb
exeo, I go out; literally, he or it goes
out; hence the departure of a player
from the stage; a way of departure, pas-
sage out of a place.

EX'ODUS, a way, or passage out; egress, de-
parture; the title of the second book of
Moses, which describes the journey from
Egypt.

EX'PLETIVE, a word not necessary to the
sense; one used to fill a space.
EXTEMPORE (ex-tem'-po-re), on the spur of
the moment, at the time; from the Lat.
words ez, from, and tempore, the time.

Avoid the blunder of pronouncing this
word (extempore) in three syllables.
EXTRAORDINARY (eks-tror'-de-na-ry).
EXTRINSIC, external, outward.

FABLE (Lat. fari, to speak). In English
it is applied to any feigned thing; gene-
rally a story inculcating a moral precept.
See pp. 67, 71, 72, 92, 130, 286, 412.
FALL OF A MOUNTAIN, 105
FAME. The root of this word meaning
simply to speak or talk (good or ill), fame
may be either favorable or the contrary.
We often find that both praise and de-
traction are much exaggerated in men's
mouths; hence the proverb, "common
fame is a common liar," 64, 309.
FAUST. The au pronounced like ow in how.
FEBRUARY is from the Lat. februo, I cleanse;
because on the fifteenth of this month the
great feast of purification, called februa,
was held among the Romans.
FENELON, Archbishop of Cambray, in France,
a great writer, and most amiable man,
was b. 1651, d. 1715.

Fidelity in Little Things, 85.

Cicero and Demosthenes, 243.
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA, 281.
FERRA'RA, an ancient and famous city of
Italy; once the capital of a sovereign
duchy.

FEUDALISM. The feudal system was that
form of government anciently subsisting
in Europe, under which a victorious leader
allotted considerable portions of land,
called fiefs, or feuds, to his principal offi-
cers, who, in their turn, divided their
possessions among their inferiors; the
condition being that the latter should
render military service both at home and
abroad.

FIELD. This word (says Trench) properly
means a clearing where the trees have
been felled, or cut down, as in all our
early English writers it is spelled without
the i, "feld," and not "field."
FIJI (fe-jee), one of the S. Pacific islands.
FIRE-WATER, the appropriate name given by
the Indians to intoxicating liquors.
FLEECY TROOPS. By a figure known as
periphrasis (circumlocution), the poet
thus designates sheep, 186.

FLINT, TIMOTHY, an American writer, and a
missionary to the Mississippi valley. He
died in 1839. See pp. 299, 302.
FLORENCE, capital of the Grand Duchy of
Tuscany, and one of the finest cities in
the world. The present population is
106,899.

FLUKES, the broad triangular plates at the
extremity of the arms of an anchor. The
fins of a whale, from their resemblance,
are sometimes thus called.
FLYING FISH, THE. 217.
FOLIO (Lat. folium, a leaf), a book of the
largest size, formed by once doubling a
sheet of paper.

FOOLSCAP, a kind of paper, usually about
seventeen inches by fourteen. The deriva-
tion of the word is uncertain.

FO'RAY, a sudden or irregular incursion in | a border war. FORD, JOHN, an English dramatic writer, b. 1586, d. 1670. See p. 295. FORECASTLE (fore-kas-sl), that part of the upper deck of a ship forward of the foremast; also, in merchant vessels, the forward part, under the deck, where the sailors live.

FOREST, from the root of the Lat. word foras, meaning out of doors.

FORMULA, a prescribed form or order; a model.

FOʻRUM, a Latin word, meaning literally,

what is out of doors, an outside space or place in Rome a public place where causes were tried, and orations made. FOSTER, JOHN, a much-esteemed English writer, b. 1770, d. 1843. See pp. 104, 331.

FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, distinguished as an essayist, a philosopher, and a statesman, was born in Boston, Mass., Jan. 17th, 1706, and died in Philadelphia, the city of his adoption, April 17th, 1790. He discovered the identity of lightning with electricity, and obtained a lasting scientific reputation thereby.

Remarks on his Character, 331. Turning the Grindstone, by, 103. Dialogue with the Gout, 355. FRATZEL, The Silent Teacher, by, 286. FREDERICK, generally called the Great, King of Prussia, was born in 1712, and died 1786; a strict military disciplinarian, and friendly to literature.

FRIAR, from the French frère, a brother; in

a restricted sense, a monk who is not a priest.

FRIDAY, the sixth day of the week. The name is derived from Freya, a Saxon goddess.

FROWARD (fro-ward), peevish, perverse; its radical meaning being, turned or looking from.

FULTON, ROBERT, an American engineer and projector, born in Pennsylvania, in 1767, died 1815. His first steamboat was put upon the Hudson (as described by Judge Story, p. 324) in 1807. The merit of a prior invention was claimed by John Fitch, also an American.

GALAXY (Gr. galak'tos, of milk), the Milky Way; the long, white, luminous track visible across the heavens at night, from horizon to horizon. It consists entirely of stars, scattered by millions, like glittering dust, on the black ground of the general heavens.

GALEN, one of the greatest physicians of ancient times, b. in Asia, 256. GASTRIC JUICE, the peculiar fluid secreted by the stomach, and essential to diges

tion.

GE-NEVA, the most populous and industrious town of Switzerland, on the Rhone. GENIUS. The Latin root of this word means to produce, to bring forth, 147, 214. GEN'OA (Jen'oa), a famous seaport city of northern Italy, on the Mediterranean.

GEN'TILE (Lat. gens, a nation). The Jews designated all not professing their religion as "the nations; " hence the word Gentile came to mean any person not a Jew or a Christian, a heathen.

GIBBON, EDWARD, the celebrated English. historian, was b. 1737, d. 1794. In his great work, "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," he does not always do justice to his Christian characters. The same energy and virtue which, appearing in a heathen or a Mahometan, fills his heart with fervor, and his lofty periods with a swelling grandeur, leaves him cold and impassible, or cavilling and contemptuous, when it is exhibited in the cause of Christianity. 144. GIBRALTAR, a strongly fortified seaport town and colony, belonging to G. Britain, near the southern extremity of Spain, where it occupies a mountainous promontory. The Strait of Gibraltar, between Spain and Morocco, is about fifty miles long, and from nineteen to twenty-three broad.

GIL BLAS (Zhil Blas). It is difficult to express in English the exact pronunciation of the French g. The nearest approach to it is zh, the z being sounded as in azure. The a of Blas has the first elementary sound (see p. 17), and the s is sounded. See Le Sage, Santillanë, SigSee above).

nor.

In

GIRONDE (Zhe-rund'. French history, the Gironde were, during the revolution, a celebrated political party, termed Girondins, from La Gironde (the department in which Bordeaux is situated), which sent to the legislative assembly of 1791 three of the chief leaders of the party, 291. GITTERN. See Arion." GLADIATOR (Lat. gladius, a sword), a sword-player, a prize-fighter, 94. GLASS. "Looks in a glass," &c., p. 321. The allusion here is to the imposition practised by fortune-tellers, who pretended to see future events in a běryl, or crystal glass.

GLOAMING, the twilight; probably the word is a corruption of glooming. GNOMON (no-mon), a Greek word, meaning one who knows; in a dial, the pin which by its shadow tells the hour. GoldAU (Gol-do'), a village of Switzerland, which was overwhelmed by the fall of part of the mountain of Rossberg, Sept. 3d. 1806. The account (p. 106) is substantially true.

GOLDSMITH, OLIVER, a celebrated poet, historian, and essayist, was born in Ireland in 1731; died 1774. He was one of the most genial and elegant writers of his day; but, notwithstanding his great reputation, activity, and success, his life was embittered by perpetual debts and difficulties.

The Village Preacher, 218.
The Discontented Miller, 222.
Retirement, 256.

GOOSE-QUILL. The proverb, p 64, indicates

the superiority of mental force over physical; that "the pen is mightier than the sword."

GORGON, a fabled mouster, the sight of which turned the beholder to stone. GOSPEL (Saxon, godspell; god, good, and spell, history), the Christian revelation. GRATTAN, HENRY, one of the most eloquent of Ireland's orators, b. 1746, d. 1820.

On Lord Chatham, 246. GRAHAME, JAMES, a Scottish poet, b. 1765, d. 1811. Winter Sabbath, by, 433. GRAVITATION (from the Lat. gravis, heavy) is a force which binds the universe together. It causes the falling of heavy bodies to the earth's surface, and, by a wonderful balancing of the same force, the heavenly bodies are kept within their proper paths. See Newton.

GRAY, THOMAS, an English poet, b. 1716, d. 1771. His Elegy (p. 272) is the most celebrated of his poems. It is related by Lord Mahon, that the evening before the capture of Quebec (1759) Gen. Wolfe, while on the St. Lawrence in a boat with some of his officers, repeated this elegy, then new, aloud, and said, "Now, gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem than take Quebec." See Curfew. GREECE. The effects of Grecian art, literature, and philosophy, upon the world, promise to be as enduring as its civilization. They can hardly be estimated. GREGA'RIOUS (Lat. grex, a herd), going in flocks or herds; not liking to live alone. GRIFFIN, GERALD, an Irish poet and miscel laneous writer, who died young, about the year 1840.

Love due to the Creator, 179. GUATEMALA,

pronounced Gwa-te-mala; the a in the first and third syllables like that in father.

GUILLOTINE (gil-lo-ten'), a machine for beheading in France, named from its inventor, Dr. Guillotin.

GUINEA, a piece of money, so called because it was originally coined of gold brought from the coast of Guinea.

GUTTIEREZ, pronounced Goot-ti-a'reth. GYGES (jyjes), according to Plato, was a shepherd of Lydia, who had a ring, with which, by turning a stone in it, he could become invisible.

GYMNASTIC, pertaining to athletic exercises. The Greek root gymnos means naked, the ancients being naked in their exercises.

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HAMLET (believed to be from the sams Saxon root as home, anciently written hame), a small village; a lttle cluster of houses in the country.

HAMPDEN, JOHN, one of England's best patriots, was born in London in 1594. He strenuously resisted the impositions of the royal government. Being mortally wounded in the civil war against the king, he died, after six days of great suffering, in 1643. He was a devout Chris. tian; and his last words were, "O, Lord, save my country. 0, Lord, be merciful " and here his specch

to

failed him, and he fell back and expired. HARVEY, WM., a celebrated physician, b. in England 1578, d. 1658. He discovered the circulation of the blood, of which he published an account in 1628.

HASTINGS, WARREN, born in England in 1733, d. 1818. He was appointed by the East India Company governor of their possessions: but, being accused of having governed tyrannically, and extorted large sums of money, he was impeached by the British House of Commons, but finally acquitted, 268.

American

HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL, an author, born about 1809; in 1853 appointed consul to Liverpool by President Pierce.

A Rill from the Town Pump, 231. HAZLITT, WM., an English critic and essayist, who died in 1830. He was a vigorous writer, but apt to be borne away by violent prejudices.

HEBREWS, Literature of the, 389. HECTOR, the chief hero of the Trojans in their war with the Greeks. He was slain by Achilles.

HEMANS, FELICIA DOROTHEA, the most popular poetess of England, was born at Liverpool in 1795, died 1835. She married young, but her marriage was infelicitous. She wrote much for the magazines of the day; and many of her lyrics are of a high order of merit.

The Graves of a Household, 105. Hymn of the Mountaineers, 239. The Captive's Dreams, 310. HENDERSON, JOHN, Account of, 167. HENRY, PATRICK, an American orator and statesman, born in Virginia 1736, died 1799. His early opportunities of educa tion were very limited, but he rose above all impediments into great distinction as one of the most eloquent men of any age. He was a strenuous advocate for American independence. Extract from, 271. HERSCHEL, SIR JOHN, born in England 1790, a son of the celebrated astronomer, Wm. Herschel, and eminent for his mathemati cal and literary attainments.

On a Taste for Reading, 399. Wonders of the Universe, 406. HES'PERUS, a name given to the planet Venus when she follows the sun or appears in the evening; when she appears in the morning before sunrise, the same planet is called Lucifer.

HET-E RO GENEOUS (Gr. eteror other, and

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