Dampier, William (1652-1715).—Discoverer and buccaneer, b. near Yeovil. After various seafaring adventures, and leading a semi-piratical life, he was in 1688 marooned on Nicobar Island, but escaped to Acheen, returned to England in 1691. He pub. his Voyage Round the World (1697), and A Discourse of Winds (1699). He was then employed by government on a voyage of survey and discovery (1699-1700), in the course of which he explored the north-west coast of Australia and the coasts of New Guinea and New Britain. In 1701 he was wrecked upon Ascension Island, from which he was rescued by an East Indiaman. He was afterwards court-martialled for cruelty, and wrote an angry but unconvincing vindication. His Voyage is written in a style plain and homely, but is perspicuous and interesting.
Dana, Richard Henry (1787-1879).—Novelist and critic, b. at Camb., Mass., was called to the Bar in 1817. Among his novels are Tom Thornton and Paul Felton, both somewhat violent and improbable tales, and his poems, which are better, include The Buccaneer (1827), and The Dying Raven. He is, however, stronger as a critic than as a writer. He wrote largely in The North American Review, and for a time conducted a paper, The Idle Man, which contains some of his best work.
Dana, Richard Henry, Jr. (1815-1882).—Miscellaneous writer, s. of the above, ed. at Harvard, but on his eyesight giving way shipped as a common sailor, and gave his experiences in Two Years before the Mast (1840). Called to the Bar in 1840, he became an authority on maritime law. Other books by him are The Seaman's Friend (1841), and Vacation Voyage to Cuba (1859).
Daniel, Samuel (1562-1619).—Poet, s. of a music master, was b. near Taunton, and ed. at Oxf., but did not graduate. He attached himself to the Court as a kind of voluntary laureate, and in the reign of James I. was appointed "Inspector of the children of the Queen's revels," and a groom of the Queen's chamber. He is said to have enjoyed the friendship of Shakespeare and Marlowe, but was "at jealousies" with Ben Jonson. In his later years he retired to a farm which he owned in Somerset, where he d. D. bears the title of the "well-languaged," his style is clear and flowing, with a remarkably modern note, but is lacking in energy and fire, and is thus apt to become tedious. His works include sonnets, epistles, masques, and dramas. The most important of them is The History of the Civil Wars between York and Lancaster in 8 books, pub. in 1604. His Epistles are generally considered his best work, and his sonnets have had some modern admirers. Among his poems may be mentioned the Complaynt of Rosamund, Tethys Festival (1610), and Hymen's Triumph (1615), a masque, and Musophilus, a defence of learning, Defence of Rhyme (1602).
Darley, George (1795-1846).—Poet, novelist, and critic, b. at Dublin, and ed. at Trinity Coll. there, he early decided to follow a literary career, and went to London, where he brought out his first poem, Errors of Ecstasie (1822). He also wrote for the London Magazine, under the pseudonym of John Lacy. In it
