Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/312

 304 DUKES COUNTY Austria bear the title of archduke. The title of duke, or properly prince (Russ. KniazK), was originally borne by the czars of Russia, and that of grand duke or grand prince still distin- guishes the princes of that house. The kings of Poland were grand dukes or grand princes of Lithuania. Italy until recently had several sovereign dukes, as the grand duke of Tuscany, and the dukes of Modena and Parma. The title exists also in the Netherlands, and in Por- tugal and Spain. In England the dukedom is the highest dignity in the peerage. It was in- troduced by Edward III., who in 1337 created his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, then earl of Chester, duke of Cornwall, and subse- quently prince of Wales, when the dukedom merged in the principality, and has ever since been vested in the heir apparent to the crown. The second dukedom was conferred, March 6, 1351, upon Henry Plantagenet, son and heir of the earl of Derby, under the title of duke of Lancaster, which dignity expired at his decease without male issue, but was reconferred in 1362 upon John of Gaunt, who had espoused the duke's second daughter, and eventually sole heiress, the Lady Blanche Plantagenet. In the reign of Elizabeth, in 1572, the whole order became extinct ; but it was revived about 50 years afterward by her successor in the per- son of George Villiers, duke of Buckingham. A duke is styled "his grace" and the "most noble," and is officially addressed by the crown as " our right trusty and right entirely beloved cousin and councillor." The present prince of Wales, besides being duke of Cornwall, is duke of Rothsay ; his brother Prince Alfred is duke of Edinburgh ; the grandson of King George III. is duke of Cambridge ; and be- sides those of the royal family there are in Great Britain 21 English, 8 Scottish, and 2 Irish dukes. DUKES COUNTY, a county of Massachusetts, consisting of a number of islands in the At- lantic ocean, with an aggregate area of 118 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,787. Martha's Vine- yard, the largest island, lies about 5 m. S. of Barnstable co., from which it is separated by Vineyard sound. The others are Chappaquid- dick island and No Man's Land, and the Eliza- beth group. In 1872 there were 4 vessels, of 1,297 tons, engaged in the whale fishery, and 39 vessels entered and cleared in the coast- wise and carrying trade. The county consti- tutes a customs district, of which the port of entry is Edgartown. For the year ending June 30, 1872, there were registered, enrolled, and licensed 20 vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 2,611. Many of the inhabitants are engaged in foreign commerce. A great part of the sur- face is occupied by low forests, but there are cultivated tracts yielding good crops of pota- toes, hay, and grain. The total value of agri- cultural products in 1870 was $56,280; of live stock, $63,555. Capital, Edgartown DUKINFIELD, or Dnckinfleld, a town of Cheshire, England, on the bank of the Tame, DULCE opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, of which it is a suburb, 7 m. E. of Manchester; pop. in 1871, 26,329. There are extensive coal mines, one of which is 2,070 ft. deep. The growth of the town from a population of 1,737 in 1801 is due to its cotton manufactures. DULAURE, Jacqnes Antoine, a French author and statesman, born at Clermont-Ferrand in 1755, died in Paris, Aug. 19, 1835. He stud- ied architecture and engineering, but turned his attention to literature, and on the break- ing out of the revolution joined the repub- lican party. In 1792 he was elected member of the convention, in which he voted for the execution of the king, but afterward became connected with the Girondists. During the reign of terror he supported himself in Switz- erland as an engraver. He afterward returned to France and was elected to the council of 500, but retired from public life after the revolution of the 18th Brumaire, 1799. Among his works are : Histoire civile, physique et morale de Paris (7 vols. 8vo, 1821 ; latest ed. by Leynadier, 8 vols., 1856), and historical sketches of the revolution (6 vols., 1823-'5). As a historian he has not the reputation of impartiality. DULCAMARA, the name under which the dried young branches of solanum dulcamara (bitter- sweet or woody nightshade) are used in medi- cine. Its virtues, which are supposed to de- pend partly at least upon the alkaloid solania, are entirely extracted by water, and it is gener- ally given in decoction. It is slightly narcotic and diuretic, but is not largely used. It is given also in solid extract, fluid extract, and in- fusion. The dose of the decoction is about four tablespoonfuls ; of the fluid extract, half a teaspoonful to a teaspoonful. DULCE. I. A lake of Guatemala, on the E. coast, near the gulf of Honduras, with which it communicates through a smaller lake, called the Golfete, and the river Dulce or Angostura. It is also called Lake Izabal. It is about 30 m. long by 12 broad, and has from 30 to 60 ft. of water in the deeper parts, shoaling gradually to- ward the shores. It is formed apparently by the expansion over a valley of the waters of the river Polochic, which enters it on the west. On its S. bank is the little village of Izabal. The Golfete is 15 m. long by 3 broad, and has a depth of from 12 to 15 ft. The Rio Dulce, through which both lakes reach the sea, is a narrow strait winding through densely wooded and almost perpendicular hills. A bar at its mouth prevents the entrance of ves- sels drawing over 6 ft. On the left bank is the little village of Livingston, named after the founder of the Louisiana code, which was once adopted in Guatemala. II. A gulf of Costa Rica, on the Pacific coast, formed by a penin- sula whose point. Cape Matapalo, is in lat. 8 3' N., Ion. 83 15' W. It covers an area of about 800 sq. m. A river of the same name flows into the gulf near its N. extremity, after a course of 75 m. III. A river of the Argentine