Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/527

 DAN

[ 1*3 ]

DAN

fwell'd as big as one's Arm, inflamed and red as Blood • an d what was moft extraordinary, all the Mufcles of his Arms, Thighs and Legs, torn and feparated from their Parts. The Magistrate, at length, taking Cognizance of the Cafe, and the Phyficians, being confulted;. they gave their Opinion, that the Brands had been but ill extin- ouifiVd : the Confequence of which mull be, that as all 3, e Cellars mChartres abound with Saltpetre, the unufual Heat in this, had rais'd a malignant Vapour, which had done the Mifchief : and that a good Quantity of Wa- ter muft be thtown in to put out the Fire, and lay the Vapour. This perform'd, a Dog, and a lighted Candle were let down withoutlnjury to either : An infallible Sign the Danger was over.

A third Hiflory we fhall add from Doftor Connor, in his Diff'ert.Med.'Phyf. Some People digging in a Cellar at 'Paris, for fuppofed hidden Treafu're; after a few Hours working, the Maid going down to call her Matter, found them all in their digging Poftures : but ftark dead. The Perfon who managed the Spade, and his Attendant who fhovel'd off the Earth, were both on Foot, and feem- jngly intent on their feveral Offices : The Wife of one of them, as if a-weary, was fatdown on theSide of aHopper, very thoughtful, and leaning her Head on her Arm : And a Boy, with his Breeches down, was evacuating on the Edge of the Pit; his Eyes flx'd on the Ground :° All of them, in fine, in their natural Poftures and Actions, with open Eyes, and Mouths that feem'd yet to breath ■ but ttiff as Statues, and cold as Clay.

DAMSEL, from the French Damoifel, or Damoifeau, an Apellation anciently given to all young People of Gen- tee], or Noble Extract ion of either Sex; As to the Sons and Daughters of Knights, Barons, and even Kinns. Thus, in Hiflory, we read oTDam/el in, Damfefl.ouis le Gros, Damfel Richard, Prince of Wales. T'afquier will have the the Word aDiminutive ofDam, an ancient Word for Lord; as in fome Authors we KsADamDieu for Lord God; llam Chevalier, Sic. Tho' in its feminine Senfe he takes it to come ftamDame. Others derive the Word from Somicellus, or Domnicellus, aDiminutive of Domnus, wwfiparvus Domnus. Accordingly, dn Conge obferves, that it has been fometimes wrote Domenger. — They who hold the Signory of Commercy, M. de laRoque tells us, anciently held it under the Title of Damoifeau : And M. de Marca allures us, that the Noblefle of Seam is flill divided into three Bodies or Claffes; The Barons, the Cavers, and the liamfels, Domicellos, call'd in that Country Domengers. The Kings of 2)e»mark and Siiie- den have here the fame Title, as appears from T'ontanuss Hift. of Denmark, L. VII. and VOL ml Entry ofUpfals Hlft. of Sweden, L. III. From the Sons of Kings, the Apellation pafs'd to thofe of Great Lords and Barons; and at length, to thofe of Gentlemen who were not yet Knights. At prefent59tf»z/?/is applied to all Maids, or Girls not yet married; provided they be not of the loweft Clafs of People.

Damsel is fometimes alfo applied to a kind of Utenfil put inBeds, to warm old Mens Feet withal. It confifts of a hot Iron inclofed in a hollow Cylinder, which is wrap'd round with linnen Cloth, and keeps its Warmth a long Time. Some call it a 'Him.

DANAIDES, in theAncient Mythology, theDaughters dUanais, orDanaus, lXth King of Argos, and Brother ofFgyftus. They were 50 inNumbet, and were efpous'd to the 50 Sons of their Unckle Bgyptus. Danaus fearing the Accompli flim ent of an Oracle, which had foretold that he fhould be expell'd his Kingdom by aSon in Law, per- fwaded his Daughters to murther, each of them, her Hus- Mnd,thefirftNight; which they perform'd, all batHyperin- neftre, who fpared her Husband Lynceus. In Vengeance for this Crime of the 40 Danaides, the Poets have con- demn' d them to Hell,to be continually cmploy'din filling a Cask perforated at Bottom. TheDanaides are fometimes alfo call'd Selides, from their Father, who was the Son of 'he Egyptian Selus.

DANCETTE, in Heraldry, is when the Out-lino of any Bordure, or ordinary, is inden- ted very largely; the Largenefs of the In- dentures being the only "Thing that diftin- guiflies itftom Indented. SeelNDENTED. There is alfo a bearing of a Bend, called double Dancette; thus^He beareth Azure, a Bend double Dancette Argent.

r^CHE', in Heraldry, the fame with Indented; or, «s others will have ir, with 1)ancette. See Indented ana Dancette.

DANCE, an agreeable Motion of the Body, adjufted by nn to the Meafures or Tune of a Violin, or Voice. Some sutmguifh the high Dance, confifiing of Capers, Gam-

wwv\

bades, &c. from the low Dance, which isTerra aTerra, or clofe to the Ground. In the CarrouCel of!<:;„„ V ■ XIII. there wereZWof Horfes. Thelnventtonlf S Dances is attributed to the Sybarites. TheWord is French Dance, form'd of the German Dante, which fignifies the' fame Thing. Socbart derives it from the Arabic Tanza mAGuichart from the Hebrew |>n doubts, which have all the fame Signification. Menage, after Salmafms de- rives the French Danfer to dance, from the LatinVrafe-e to condense ^ and full; as holding it a Practice among the ancient Fullers, to leap and dance as they full'd' their Clothes. '

Dancing has always been in Ufe among all Nations both civilized and barbarous : Tho' held in Eflecm amon» '°,™ e i and m Contempt among others. Dancing, of it felf, no doubt is harmlefs. There is a Time, fays the ¥%■?Z }°! iauce J, And fometimes it is even made an Aft of Religion Thus David danced before the Ark, to honour God, and exprefs his Excefs of Joy for its Return into the City of Swn Socrates learnt to dance of Afpafia. And the People of Crete and Sparta went to the Attack, dancing. On the other hand, Cicero reproaches Gabiuius, aConfularMan, mt| having danced. Tiberius expelled the dancers out of Rome. And Domitian excluded fe- veral Members from the Senate, for having danced. Caflor ml (Pollux are faid to be the firft whS taught the Art of Dancing; and that to the Cardans: Tho' 'others attri- bute the Invention to Minerva; who danced fax low after the Defeat of the Giants.

The Ancients had thtce kinds of Dances: The firft Grave, call d Emmelia, anfwering to our low Dances and 'Pa-Danes. The fecond Gay.call'd Cordax; anfwerin? to omCourants, Galliards, Gavots and Vaults. The third, call'd Siccinnis, was a Mixture of Gravity and Gayety! Neoptolemus, Son of Achilles, taught the Cretans a new Sort of Dance, call'd <Pyrrichia, or the Inmd Dance, to be ufed in going to War. But according to the Fable, the Curetes firft invented this Dance, to amufe and di- vert the little Jupiter with the Noife, and Clafh of their Swords, beating againft their Bucklers. Dioioms Sicn- lus in the IVth of his Sibliotheca affures us, that Cvbel- Daughter of Menon, King of Thrygia, and Dindymena, his Wife, invented divers Things, and among others the Flageolot of feveral Pipes, Dancing, the Tabour and the Cymbal. Numa, tis certain, militated a Sort of Dance for the Sain, Pnefts of Mars, who made Ufe of Weapons therein. From thefe Dances was compofed another, "! ld Saltatio Mimtcomm, or the Buffoons Dance; Wherein the Dancers were drefs'd in little Corflets with Gilt Morions Bells on their Legs, and Swordsand Bucklers in their Hands. Luaan has an exprefs Treatife and fa- ints Tollux, a Chapter on this Head; Jthenaws, C/lius Rh^iiginus,wAScaliger,n\fomak<:mem\oMofihKDance. ^.V sno ]^ n y Ys ^^°M^I'hoiuotArbeau,s.Danci:ig- Mafter of Tans, gave an Orcbefography, wherein all the Steps and Motions of a Dance are writ, or noted down; as the Sounds of a Song are fcored in Mafic. Tho' the famous Seauchamp has fome Pretentions to be the Inventor of this Secret, and accordingly procured an Arret in his Favour.

Dancing is_ufually an Effefl, and Indication of Toy among moft Nations : Tho' Mr. 'Ralleprat affures us, that there are People in South-America, who dance to inow their Sorrow.

Rope Dancer, Schoenobates. A Profeffor of Philo- fophy at Vautzic publifVd a Differtation on Rope-dan- cers, deFunambulis; full of Learning, and an uncommon Knowledge of Antiquity. He defines.a Rope-dancer, a Perfon who walks on a thick Rope faften'd to two oppo- fttePofts; which .sprec.fely, what is exprefs'd W to ZatiuWordFunambitlus being a Compound of Funis, Rope and Ambulo, walk. But out Rope-dancers do more, for they not only walk, but dance ami leap upon tho Rope The Ancients, 'tis certain, had their R^-Uncm as well as we. Witnefs the Greek Words Neurobate? Schoenobates, and the Latin Fuuambulus, which eve/; where occur. They had like-wife their Cremnob^s an! Onbates that ,s, Peoplewho walk'd on the Brinks of Pre cipiccs. Nay more, Suetonius inGalbaC.6. Seneca in his gjthEpulle and <Pliny Lib. VIII. Cap.,, mak ^" „ of Elephants that were taught to walk on the Rope!

iW^C^r^^T/^ md Co »m™tator on &- race, .takes Occafion to obferve on the Xth Satire ofrhe

I to h 3t ¥ e f ala Cormm/s was Ae firft, who ufed theVIoiAFunambnlns; and th&trerence had itfi-om him. But Mr. Groddecfl, the learned Profeffor above mentioned, fhewstnat he is miftaken, and that Meffala liv'd after ■i e, n l' c , e - The Eufinefs is, Acron confounds Valerius MeJlala,vib.ogatt\\eS\v-Tam<:Corvinns in the War againft the Gauls about 200 Tears before Terence, with one of his Defcendants, who was a famous Orator in the Time of Horace.

Mr.