Church of Scotland. He died at Amsterdam on the 28th April 1860. Da Costa ranked first among the poets of Holland after the death of Bilderdijk. His principal poetical works were Alphonsus I. (1821), a tragedy ; Poesji (1821); God met ons (1826), Festliedern (1828); Vijf- en-twintig Jaren (1840) ; Hagar (1852) ; De Slag van Nieu- poort (1857), and De Mensch cn-de Dichter. He also translated the Prometheus of ^Eschylus, and edited the poetical works of Bilderdijk in 16 volumes. He was the author of a number of theological works, chiefly iu connec
tion with the criticism of the gospels.DACOTAH. See Dakota.
DACTYLS. See Corybantes.
DÆDALUS, from the identity of his name with SatSdAAetv, " to carve," and Sat SoAa, " carved images," appears to have been, not a real person, but a legendary representative of the art of carving and sculpture in Greece in the time before Homer, who speaks of him (Iliad, xviii. 590) as having made a "chorus" for Ariadne in Crete, which Hephaestus took as the model of his " chorus," or dance, on the shield of Achilles. Works of art of an extremely early date, but especially wooden images of deities, were ascribed to Daedalus or his descendants, and there were many traditions of the wonders he had done in sculpture. Most of the tools used in wood carving and sculpture were believed to have been invented by him. He was the first to open the eyes of statues, so that they seemed to look at the spectator, and to separate the legs so that they seemed to walk. A statue of Heracles by him had to be tied to prevent its running away, when the hero, angry at its resemblance to himself, threw a stone at it. The greater freedom which early Greek artists iutroduced into their figures was always contrasted with the stiffness of Egyptian statues, and hence it was necessary for the legend to represent Daedalus as having been some time in Egypt. Two of the earliest centres of art in Greece were Crete and Attica, and in the legends of both, Daedalus is involved, the story being that he had fled from Athens after killing his skilful nephew Talus, had gone to Crete in the time of Minos, had there constructed the famous labyrinth, and made a " chorus " for Ariadne and a cow for Pasiphae, and had been then thrown into prison, but escaped along with his son Icarus by means of wings. Icarus, however, fell into the sea and perished. Daedalus reached Sicily, where, protected by the king against Minos, who pursued him, he is said to have constructed several important works.
DAFFODIL, the name of a group of plants of the genus Narcissus, and natural order Amaryllidaceae. The common daffodil, N. Pseudo-narcissus, is common in woods and thickets in most parts of the N. of Europe, but is rare in Scotland. Its leaves are 5 or 6 in number, are about a foot in length and an inch in breadth, and have a blunt keel and flat edges. The stem is about 18 inches long, and the spathe single-flowered. The flowers are large, yellow, scented, and a little drooping, with a corolla deeply cleft into 6 lobes, and a central bell-shaped nectary, which is crisped at the margin. They appear early in the year, or, as Shakespeare says, " come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty." The stamens are shorter than the cup, the anthers oblong and converging ; the ovary is globose, and has three furrows ; the seeds are roundish and black. Double and other varieties of the flower are commonly cultivated in gardens. The bulbs are large and orbicular, and have a blackish coat ; they, as well as the flowers, are reputed to be emetic in properties. The Peruvian Daffodil and the Sea Daffodil are species of the genus Ismene.
DAGGER, a weapon which, in relation to its comparatively short blade, may be considered a diminutive of the sword. Specially designed to inflict wounds by the act of stabbing, the dagger is sharp at the point, but it is equally adapted for cutting purposes with its keen edge. Al savage races have highly valued the dagger in some modifications of its simplest type ; while at certain periods it has been included among the military weapons of civilized nations, and, in our own time, is well known as the dirk, Early in the 14th century a dagger straight in the blade, and called a misericorde either because the sight of it caused the vanquished to cry out for mercy, or from its use in mercifully ending the sufferings of the hopelessly wounded became a companion weapon to the sword among the knights of Europe ; and, accordingly, from about 1330 till the end of the succeeding century, in many knightly effigies it is often represented as attached on the right side by a cord or a chain to the sword-belt. The misericorde varied in size, the length of the blade sometimes causing it to appear almost like a second sword, while at other times the blade and the hilt were nearly of equal length. This weapon and its sheath were often elaborately adorned. It was customary to secure it from accidental Joss by a guard- chain fastened to a mamelliere of the breast-armour, of which chain the other end was secured to the hilt of the weapon by a ring either fixed on the apex of the pommel or travelling along the grip. Occasionally the misericorde was fixed to the body-armour by a staple ; or, more rarely, it was connected with a gypciere or pouch. A similar weapon, with a longer blade than the ordinary misericorde, was habitually worn by civilians, including judges, during the Middle Ages ; such weapons bore the name of anlace or basilarde. By nobles and knights the misericorde was worn when they had exchanged their armour for the costume of peace. It is recorded, besides, that when they appeared at a tournament, and on some other occasions, ladies at that time wore daggers depending, with their gyp- cieres, from their girdles. Thus, writing of the year 1348, Knighton speaks of certain ladies who were present at jousts as " habentes cultellos, quos daggerios vulgariter dicunt, in powchiis desuper impositis." A sword having a blade much shorter than the principal knightly weapon of the same class, and distinguished as an estoc, which, like the civilian anlace or basilarde, may be considered to be a variety of the dagger, occasionally formed a part of the equipment of the mediaeval man-at-arms ; and it is the scabbard of such a weapon that Jiangs as a characteristic memorial above the tomb and tlie effigy of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral. Much ingenuity and skill liave been lavished on the adornment of daggers, and in render ing the bladss more capable of inflicting severe wounds. Daggers also were sometimes made to poison as well as wound. Some Italian daggers, of stiletto type, have the blade made to expand laterally, by the action of delicate and powerful springs. Others, like the cris of the Malays, have wavy blades.
DAGHESTAN, a government in Asiatic Russia, en the eastern slopes of the Caucasus, bounded by Circassia, Grusia or Georgia, and the Caspian. As its name implies, it is of a very rugged and mountainous character, with the exception of a narrow strip along the sea-coast. It is watered by the tributaries of the Sulakand other streams that find their way to the Caspian. The district is geolo gically of great interest, and its strata have been investi gated by Abich in his Sur la structure et la geologic du Daghcstan, 1862. Lead, iron, and sulphur are worked to some extent The chief town is Derbent. See Caucasus, vol. v. p. 254.
