Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/260

242 Dinajpur forms part of the rich arable tract lying between the Ganges and the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Although essentially a fluvial district, it does not possess any river navigable throughout the year by boats of 4 tons burden. Rice forms the staple agricultural product. It consists of three species, the dman or winter rice (the great harvest of the year), the dus or autumn rice, and the boro or spring rice. The dman and d us rice are each subdivided into several varieties. The other crops are oats, barley, millet, maize, oilseeds, pulses, jute, sugar-cane, betel leaf, tobacco, and vegetables. The imperial road from Barhampur to Darjiling runs through the district for a distance of about 130 miles, and the new Northern Bengal State Railway intersects the district for about 30 miles. The climate of the district, although cooler than that of Calcutta, is very unhealthy, and the people have a sickly appearance. The worst part of the year is at the close of the rains in September and October, during which months few of the natives escape fever. The average maximum temperature is 92 -3, and the minimum 74 8. The average rainfall is 85-54 inches. The population in 1872 amounted to 1,501,924 souls, equal to 364 persons per square mile,—the Hindus forming 46 8 per cent, and the Mahometans 52 8 per cent.

, the principal town and administrative headquarters of the above district, is situated on the east bank of the Purnabhaba river, in 25 38 0&quot; N. lat. and 88 40 46&quot; E. long. The town seems to have declined in import ance of late years. In 1808 it was estimated to contain 5000 houses ; the census of 1872 returned only 3031. Population in 1872:—Hindus, 5847 ; Mahometans, 7016 ; Christians, 99 ; others, 80:—total (7700 males and 5342 females), 13,042. The disparity in the proportion of the sexes arises from the fact that many of the shopkeepers and traders have houses in the country where they leave their wives and children.  DINAN, a town of France, in the department of Côtes du Nord, about fifteen miles inland, on the left bank of the Ranee. The river is navigable for vessels of 150 tons up to the foot of the great granite viaduct which was completed in 1852 across the ravine between the town and the suburb of Lanvallay. The town has a highly picturesque appearance, not only from the position which it occupies on the rocky heights above the river, but also from the numerous remains which it still preserves of the architecture of earlier days. There are considerable portions of the ancient ram parts and towers ; the castle of the still looks down from its height ; and many of the houses in the Rue de Jarzuel and the Rue de la Larderie can boast of almost equal antiquity. Of the public buildings may be mentioned the church of St Sauveur, dating from the to the ; the church of St Malo; the town-house, which was formerly a hospital ; and the monastery of the Capuchins, now used as a benevolent institution. Besides a good general trade, the inhabitants carry on the manufacture of linen, sailcloth, cotton, thread, beetroot-sugar, and salt. About half a mile from the town are the ruins of the castle and the Benedictine abbey at Lehon, of which the latter is called in the country the Chapelle des Beaumanoirs ; near the neighbouring village of St Esprit stands the large lunatic asylum of Les Bas Foius, founded in ; and at no great distance is the now dismantled chateau of La Garaye, which was rendered so famous in the by the philanthropic devotion of the count and countess whose story is told in Mrs Norton's well-known Lady of La Garaye. The principal event in the history of Dinan is the siege by the English under the duke of Lancaster in, during which Duguesclin and an English knight called Thomas of Canterbury engaged in single combat. The memory of the Breton hero's victory is preserved by the name of the Place Duguesclin, which marks the site of the lists. Population in, 7469.  DINANT, a town of Belgium, at the head of an arrondissement in the province of Nainur, about twelve miles south of Namur, on&quot; the railway between that city and Givet. It occupies a narrow site between the River Meuse and a rocky limestone hill which is crowned by a castle ; its streets are consequently short and crowded, and a considerable number of its houses are built on terraces cut out on the declivity. A cathedral of the, richly decorated in the interior, two hospitals, and a Latin school are its principal buildings ; and among its industrial establishments are paper-mills, glass-factories, salt-refineries, oil-mills, flour-mills, and works for the cutting and polish ing of the black marble which is quarried in the neighbour hood. Population in, 6428.

1em  DINÁPUR, a town and military station of British India, is situated on the right or south bank of the Ganges, and on the East Indian Railway, in the district of Patna, province of Behar, about ten miles west of Patna. The town, which stretches along the river bank for about a mile, consists mostly of thatched cottages, one story high, and is not laid out with regard to order or symmetry. Several handsome villas, however, surround the place the residences of the European officers and the richer natives. Barracks sufficiently large to accommodate 1200 men are situated in Dinapur. In the sepoy garrison of the place took part in the mutiny of that year, but after a conflict with the European troops were forced to retire from the town. Population about 18,000.  DINARCHUS (Δείναρχος), the orator, son of Sostratus, was born at Corinth about (Ol. 104, 4). Thus, like at least one greater member of the decade, Lysias, this last of the ten Attic orators was not an Athenian citizen. But his career at Athens, as a resident alien, was at least commenced early in life. When not more than twenty-five, he was already active as a writer of speeches for the law courts. He had been the pupil both of Theophrastus and of Demetrius Phalereus, and had early gained a certain fluent force, and a versatile command of style, which gave him some oratorical repute. His first important contact with public life was in The Areopagus, after inquiry, reported that nine men had taken bribes from Harpalus, the fugitive treasurer of Alexander. Ten public prosecutors were appointed. Dinarchus wrote, for one or more of these prosecutors, the three speeches which are still extant—one &quot; Against Demosthenes,&quot; one &quot;Against Aristo- giton,&quot; one &quot; Against Philocles.&quot; The authenticity of the speech against Demosthenes was indeed denied by Demetrius of Magnesia, chiefly on the ground that it is largely composed of matter taken from Æschines. Westermann went further, and doubted the genuineness of all three speeches. But Schäfer—who justly remarks that the absence of originality and of character is itself characteristic of Dinarchus—is probably right in accepting the general opinion that they are authentic. It must always be borne in mind that Dinarchus was a Corinthian, a mere resident alien at Athens, whose sympathies were in favour of an Athenian oligarchy under 