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 DUEFEE DURHAM duress is admitted with much greater liberality. In general any contract entered into under duress of imprisonment, and in order to obtain relief therefrom, may be avoided for the com- pulsion ; a reasonable fear of unlawful injury to one's person or reputation, or of destruction to one's property, may also constitute a valid defence; and in some cases it has been held that fear of unlawful imprisonment is legal duress, and that even detention of goods may be sufficient to avoid one's contract where he has no other speedy means than the giving of the contract for obtaining possession of them. DURFEE, Job, an American author and jurist, born in Tiverton, R. I., Sept. 20, 1790, died there, July 26, 1847. He graduated at Brown university in 1813, studied law, and in 1820 was chosen representative in congress, where he served during two terms. For several terms he was a member of the state legislature, and in 1828 speaker of the house of represen- tatives. In 1833 he was appointed associate justice of the supreme court of Rhode Island ; and in 1835 he became chief justice, an office which he held until his death. In 1832 he published a poem in nine cantos, entitled " What Cheer," an account of the departure of Roger Williams from Salem, his adventures in the wilderness, and the settlement of Rhode Island. He also wrote a philosophical treatise called " Panidea," to prove the pervading in- fluence and presence of God throughout nature. His works were collected and published with a memoir by his son (8vo, Providence, 1849). D'URFEY, Thomas, a humorous English poet, born in Exeter about 1650, died in London, Feb. 26, 1723. He was of a French Protestant family which had fled from La Rochelle in 1628, when it was besieged by Louis XIII., and had settled in Exeter. Abandoning law for literature, he wrote ballads, sonnets, irreg- ular odes, and more than 30 pieces for the theatre. The last were very successful; but as they are written in the licentious style prev- alent after the restoration, they are not now represented upon the stage. He used to sing his own songs, and counted among his patrons King Charles II., Queen Anne, and even Wil- liam III. His best known work, besides his plays, was a collection of songs and ballads, partly by himself, entitled " Wit and Mirth, or Pills to purge Melancholy" (6 vols. 12mo, London, 1719-20). DURHAM. I. A N. E. county of England, bordering on the North sea and on the coun- ties of Northumberland, Cumberland, West- moreland, and York, bounded N. partly by the river Tyne and S. by the Tees ; area, 973 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 685,045. Its general as- pect is mountainous, particularly in the west- ern part, where it is traversed by branches of a range of hills which has been called the English Appenines. From these several ridges shoot off, and some of them, projecting as far as the sea, terminate in tall cliffs and head- lands. The rivers Tyne, Tees, and Wear are navigable for a considerable part of their course, and have important towns and toler- able harbors at their mouths. The valley of the Tees, particularly near its estuary, has much alluvial soil, under careful cultivation, or devoted to pasturage. Here the famous Durham cattle are most extensively reared. Scarcely less celebrated are the Teesdale sheep, more highly prized than any other English breed. In the table lands of the western part, where cultivation is not attempted, are rich veins of lead ; and east of this district is the Newcastle coal region, the most extensive in Great Britain. Iron, firestone, and millstone are also found in large quantities. Limestone, some of it peculiarly excellent, underlies a large portion of the county. Numerous rail- ways and navigable rivers facilitate transpor- tation. The principal manufactures are iron work, pottery, glass, coal, tar, salt, linen, and woollen. With the exception of the groves attached to country seats of the nobility, and some portions of the vale of Derwent, there is little woodland. Durham was formerly a county palatine, the bishop possessing regal rights within its borders ; but his jurisdiction was transferred to the crown in the reign of William IV. The county consists politically of two divisions, each of which sends two mem- bers to the house of commons. II. An episco- pal city and parliamentary borough, capital of the county, built on seven small hills, and near- ly encompassed by the river Wear, which is here crossed by several bridges, 60 m. N. N. W. of York; pop. in 1871, 14,406. The river banks are skirted by plantations, hanging gar- dens, and beautiful public walks, beyond which the houses rise one above another, until they are crowned by the grand cathedral and an ancient Norman castle, on the summit of a rocky eminence. The division between the cathedral and the river has many elegant resi- dences. The old town, N. of the castle, con- tains most of the shops, and a market place with a fountain. Among the public buildings and institutions are a town hall in the Tudor baronial style, a. number of schools, an infirm- ary, hospitals, reading rooms, libraries, assembly rooms, a theatre, seven parish churches, various chapels, a school of art, and a university. A college was founded here as early as 1290 by the prior and convent of Durham, which was afterward enlarged, and under Henry VIII. was transferred with all its endowments to the dean and chapter. The present university was opened in 1833, and incorporated in 1837. It has two colleges, University and Bishop Hat- field's hall, instituted in 1846 for divinity stu- dents. The cathedral was founded in 1093. Its length, including the western porch, is 507 ft., its greatest breadth 200 ft., and it has a central tower 214 ft. high, besides two low towers, once surmounted by spires. The pre- dominant style is early Norman, but in the various additions are specimens of the differ- ent styles which had prevailed in England up