Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/183

Rh him to send a large lot of warming-pans to the West Indies as part of an assorted cargo. The captain put his Yankee ingenuity to work, called them skimmers, and introduced them into a sugar-making establishment, where they met with such favor that the whole lot was soon sold to great advantage. Dexter purchased a country seat in the town of Chester, N. H., and again made an ostentatious display of his wealth in an absurd ornamentation of his house, in erecting magnificent stables and enormous pigeon-houses; but, as he became quarrelsome, the neighbors frequently repaid his impudence with a horse-whipping. When the news of the death of Louis XVI. reached Boston, Dexter was there, and at once hastened to Newburyport and bribed the sextons to ring the passing-bell before he circulated the tidings of the monarch's death. In anticipation of his own death, he had an elegant coffin made and a tomb prepared, and arranged a mock funeral (supposed by many to be real), and caned his wife because she failed to shed tears at the pageant. His remarks at times showed great acuteness, as on one occasion, when the papers were teeming with Lord Thurlow's famous remark, &ldquo;When I forget my king, may my God forget me,&rdquo; he travestied it to &ldquo;When I forget myself, may God forget me.&rdquo; Were this all there were to relate of Lord Timothy Dexter's achievements, he might be regarded with a contempt that still left room for pity; but his bacchanalian orgies and licentious escapades preclude almost every feeling but that of disgust. Toward the close of his career he appears to have regretted his follies. The disposition of his wealth was judicious, and showed that he was not wanting in regard for his relatives. Being desirous of reputation as an author, he published a book entitled &ldquo;A Pickle for the Knowing Ones,&rdquo; and, having been annoyed by the printers about punctuation, he retaliated by writing a pamphlet without a point of any kind, and at the end filled half a page with points in a mass, inviting the readers to &ldquo;pepper the dish to suit themselves.&rdquo;

DE ZENG, Frederick Augustus, Baron, soldier, b. in Dresden, Saxony, in 1756; d. in Clyde, N. Y., 26 April, 1838. He received a military education, and at the age of eighteen became lieutenant of the guard in the service of the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel. He saw service in Moravia and Bohemia, and in 1776 received the court appointment of gentleman of the chamber. He came to this country about the close of 1780 as captain of one of the Hessian regiments in the British service. He was honorably discharged from the German service in 1783, and in 1784 married an American lady and purchased an estate at Red Hook, N. Y. He was naturalized in 1789, and in 1792 commissioned major of a battalion of militia in Ulster county, N. Y., in which county he had become joint owner with Chancellor Livingston of a large tract of land. He was intimate with Gov. Clinton, interested like him in the opening of the interior water communications of the state, and personally surveyed in 1790-'2 the entire country from Albany to the Genesee river. He was connected with Gen. Schuyler in the Western Inland Lock Navigation company, and in 1796 was one of three who established near Albany a manufactory of window-glass, the first in the state, which proved a financial success until 1815, when it closed, owing to failure of fuel in the neighborhood. In 1812 he suggested measures that resulted in the improvement of the navigation of Seneca river and its associated lakes, and in 1814-'5 began what ultimately became the Chemung canal. He resided at Kingston, Ulster co., and later at Bainbridge,

Chenango co., N. Y., where he built and owned the bridge over the Susquehanna river.

DEZIEL, Joseph David, Canadian R. C. prel- ate, b. in Maskinongo, province of Quebec, 21 May, 1806 ; d. in Levis, 25 June, 1882. He was educated in the theological schools of Quebec, and ordained a priest in 1830, and was appointed vicar at Riviere du Loup the same year. He became pastor of St. Joseph de Levis in 1843, and first cure of Notre Dame de Levis in 1852. He was the founder of the town of Levis, and also founded in that place the church of Notre Dame, the Commercial and classical college, the convent of the Sisters of Char- ity, and St. Joseph's hospital. He was a prelate of the church, and was secret cameriere to Pope Leo XIII. He was not less distinguished for his. love of science than for his piety and benevolence.

DIAS, Bartholomeu (de'-as), Portuguese navi- gator, b. about the middle of the 15th century ;: lost at sea, 29 May, 1500, while on his way from Brazil to India. In 1486 he sailed on an expedi- tion to explore the western coast of Africa, and, without knowing it, was carried around the south- ern point of the continent and landed at the mouth of Great Fish river, where he discovered that he was on the eastern coast. The stormy cape which he doubled on his return in 1487 he called Cabo Tormentoso, a name which the king of Portugal changed into Cabo de Boa Esperancia, or Cape of Good Hope. He subsequently sailed on another African expedition under Vasco da Gama, and commanded one of the vessels of the fleet with which Cabral discovered Brazil.

DIAS, Gonçalves Autonio, Brazilian poet, b. in Caxias, Brazil, 10 Aug., 1823 ; d. at sea in 1866. At an early age he studied law and philosophy at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Returrling to his native land, he for a time practised law in Maranhao, and thence went to Rio de Janeiro, re- tiring from his profession and devoting himself to science and literature. Afterward he became pro- fessor of history in the Dom Pedro II. college. Prof. Dias made several visits to France and Ger- many in the interest of science and for his health. Among his writings are Primeiros Cantos " (Rio de Janeiro, 1846) ; " Leonor de Mendonga," a drama (1847) ; " Segundos Cantos " (1848) ; " Ultimos Can- tos " and " Os Tymbivas," an epic (Leipsic, 1857) ; and " Diccionario da lingua Tupy," an Indian dia- lect (1858). Dias also wrote many interesting pa- pers on historical subjects, especially on the migra- tion of the Indian tribes, and also a good report entitled " Brazil e Oceania."

DIAS, Henrique, Brazilian soldier, b. in Pernambuco at the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century; d. in Recife, 31 Aug., 1661. He was of pure African blood, and received but scanty education. In 1633 the Portuguese army was suffering continuous defeats from the invading Dutch forces, who advanced to the conquest of the country, when a party of negroes, headed by Dias, appeared before Gen. Matias de Albuquerque, commanding the Portuguese, and offered to fight against the invaders. Albuquerque confirmed Dias as captain of his men, and on 18 Sept. of the same year Dias rendered great service, guiding an expedition of 200 Portuguese to cut off the march of 1,000 Dutch troops that were coming to the relief of Iguarassu. The battle was bloody, and the negro captain fought bravely and was wounded. Till 1635 Dias took part in all the engagements, but on 8 July of that year he was taken prisoner at the fort of Arraial do Bom Jesus, after a three-months' siege and a heroic defence. The Dutch, mistaking the negro for a man of no importance.