Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/785

 DELHI DELIRIUM TREMENS 781 a dynasty known to Europeans as the Patan or Afghan, and to oriental historians as that of the "slaves of the sultan of Ghor." In 1398 the city was desolated by Tamerlane, and in 1526 it was seized by Baber, the founder of the long line of Mogul emperors. With the changes of the sceptre the empire alternately waxed and waned, at one time (1340) embracing al- most the whole peninsula, at another (1398) restricted to a few miles around the capital. Under the Moguls it recovered more than half its former possessions. Akbar removed the throne to Agra, but Shah Jehan in 1631 built the present city close to old Delhi, and made it the royal residence. The Mohammedans still call it Shahjehanabad, the "city of the king of the world." Nadir Shah, the Persian usurper, captured it in 1739, massacred thou- sands of the inhabitants who had rashly at- tacked his troops, and bore away plunder to the value of nearly $100,000,000, including the famous peacock throne and the great koh-i-noor diamond, now in the possession of the British crown. From this time dismemberment rapid- ly went on. The Great Mogul lost all but the shadow of sovereignty, and at last fell into the hands of the Mahrattas, who were defeated near Delhi in September, 1803, by the British under Lord Lake. The titular emperor was released from captivity, a pension of 100,000 a year was assigned him, a resident was appointed at his court, and the British exercised the govern- ment in his name. In 1827 the empty show of power was taken from him, 50,000 being add- ed to his allowance ; and though still revered by Mohammedans as the descendant of Timour, his sway was thenceforth confined to the 12,- 000 members of his family who filled his palace and swallowed up his pension. When the sepoy mutiny broke out in 1857, Shah Mo- hainmed Bahadour, then 90 years old, took command of the city, appointed officers, and resumed the imperial state to which he had long been a stranger. The British lost no time in preparing for the reconquest of a city on which the fate of India was thought to hang. A force arrived before Delhi June 8, but for many weeks was not strong enough to risk an assault; and it was not till September that a general attack was made. The army then numbered about 10,000 men. The siege guns opened fire on the llth, and on the 14th, a breach having been effected, the assault was ordered. Several positions were carried, but it was not until the 20th that the entire city was secured. The insurgents fled, and with them the king, who took refuge in the sub- urban palace near the Outtub Minar, where he surrendered the next day on promise of his life. He was subsequently tried for participa- tion in the mutiny; his nominal sovereignty was declared extinguished, and he himself sentenced to transportation for life. A large part of the city was reduced to ruins during the siege, but it has since almost entirely re- covered its former importance. DELILLE, Jacques, a French poet, born at Aigue-Perse, Auvergne, June 22, 1738, died in Paris, May 1, 1813. He was a natural son of a lawyer named Montanier, became known in 1769 by his translation of Virgil's Georgics, and in 1774 became a member of the academy, and soon afterward professor of Latin poetry in the college de France. In 1782, on the publi- cation of his original poem, Lesjardins, he was presented through the favor of the count d'Ar- tois with an abbey, with a yearly income of 30,000 livres. He was arrested during the reign of terror, but saved by the interposition ' of Chaumette. For the celebration of the fete de Vetre supreme he wrote, at the request of Robespierre, an ode on the immortality of the soul. His subsequent works were translations of the ^Eneid and "Paradise Lost," and several didactic poems, among them La pitie, descrip- tive of suffering and heroism during the reign of terror. His later years, during which he became blind, were spent quietly at Nanterre. The most complete edition of his works is in 16 vols. 8vo (1824-'5). An edition in one volume was published in 1833. DELINIERS, Jacques Aiitoine Marie, viceroy of Buenos Ayres, born at Niort in France, Feb. 6, 1756, shot at Buenos Ayres in 1810. He entered the Spanish navy, attained tbe rank of captain, and during the war with Great Brit- ain was sent on a mission to South America. On the capture of Montevideo in June, 1806, by the English under Beresford, Deliniers, be- ing then at Buenos Ayres, collected a force and marched against the conquerors, whom he compelled to capitulate (Aug. 12). For this exploit, in accordance with the wish of the people, he was made viceroy of Buenos Ayres. Montevideo was, however, recaptured by the British, under Auchmuty, Feb. 3, 1807. Soon after Deliniers was attacked by the English in the vicinity of Buenos Ayres, and driven with- in its walls. The English immediately be- sieged it, but were finally obliged to retire with great loss. Deliniers shortly afterward compelled them to engage to abandon Monte- video and the whole country of the Plata within two months. Afterward espousing the royal cause, he was driven from the city by the party of independence ; but he had recovered his power when a new viceroy, Don Balthasar de Cisneros, was sent out from Spain to replace him. Deliniers received the title of count of Buenos Ayres, and was ordered to return to Europe, but retired to Mendoza. His deposi- tion produced a revolution which compelled Cisneros to abdicate ; but when Deliniers with 2,000 men attempted to reestablish the royal authority, he was defeated and captured by the revolutionists, and shot with several others. DELIRIUM TREMENS, Delirium Ebriositatis, or Mania a Potn, a disease caused by the abuse of spirituous liquors, and characterized by tre- mor, sleeplessness, and delirium. An essential character is cerebral debility caused by exhaus- tion from over-stimulation. It is remarkable