DIBDIN in Leicester fields, called Sans-Souci, in which he performed till 1805, when he retired from professional life. A pension of 200 was pro- cured for him, of which in 1806 he was de- prived by the whig ministry of Lord Grenville. The tory administration, which came into power the succeeding year, restored his name to the pension list, but his improvidence kept him in poverty until his death. His theatrical compositions, 47 of which are enumerated in the "Biographia Dramatica," amount to about 100. But his reputation rests mainly upon his songs, of which he wrote 900, or as some say 1,200. His nautical songs and ballads are among the finest in the language; and some of them, like " Poor Tom Bowling," written on the death of his brother Thomas, a sea cap- tain, and " Poor Jack," are established favor- ites. They were set to simple and expressive melodies, and were exceedingly popular at the beginning of the present century. He pub- lished "A Complete History of the Stage " (5 vols. 8vo, 1795), an autobiography prefixed to a collection of his songs (4 vols. 8vo, 1803), and some miscellaneous works of no great value. A new edition of his songs, with a memoir by his son Thomas, illustrated by George Cruik- shank, was published in London in 1850. II* Thomas, son of the preceding, born in London in 1771, died there, Sept. 16, 1841. He adopt- ed the profession of his father, and for many years appeared before the public as actor, au- thor, and composer. His songs and dramatic pieces are probably as numerous as those of his father, but are now comparatively forgotten. He published a " Metrical History of England " (2 vols. 8vo, 1813), and " Reminiscences " (2 vols., 1828). He died in poverty, while em- ployed in compiling an edition of his father's sea songs, for which he received an allowance from the lords of the admiralty. III. Thomas Frosrnall, an English bibliographer, nephew of Charles Dibdin, born in Calcutta in 1776, died Nov. 18, 1847. He was educated at Oxford and studied law, but afterward took orders, and received the degree of doctor of divinity. In 1807 he became editor of a weekly journal called " The Director," and in 1809 published in the form of a dialogue his "Bibliomania," reprinted with great enlargements in 1811 (new ed., enlarged, 2 vols. royal 8vo, 1842). In 1818 he travelled abroad, and in 1824 was appointed rector of St. Mary's, Bryanstone square, which post he held until his death. In 1814-'15 he published, under the title of " Bibliotheca Spenceriana," an account of the rare books in Earl Spencer's library, to which he afterward added a description of the earl's seat at Althorp, and an account of the Cassano library purchased by him, the whole in 7 vols. 8vo. ^ His principal works besides those above mentioned are : u Introduction to a Knowledge of rare and valuable Editions of the Greek and Roman Classics" (1802 ; 4th ed., entirely re- written, 2 vols. 8vo, 1827) ; " Typographical Antiquities of Great Britain " (4 vols., 1810- DICENTRA '19); "Bibliographical Decameron" (3 vols., 1817) ; " Bibliographical, Antiquarian, and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany " (3 vols., 1821); " Reminiscences of a Literary Life " (2 vols., 1836) ; " Bibliographical, Anti- quarian, and Picturesque Tour in the Northern Counties of England and Scotland " (3 vols., 1838). DIBRANCHIATES, a division of cephalopod mollusks, having two gills or branchiae, an ink gland, and, with few exceptions, a rudimentary internal shell. The division includes the ar- gonaut, cuttle fish, octopus, squid, and spirula, of living forms, and the extinct belemnites. All are naked-skinned except the argonaut or paper nautilus, the female of which has a single-chambered shell for the protection of her eggs, not connected with the body. DICE (plural of die), small cubes of ivory, bone, stone, or wood, used in gaming. Each of their six faces is marked with a different number of points, from 1 to 6, in such a way that the numbers upon any two opposite sides together count 7. They are shaken and thrown from a box upon a table, and the game depends upon the number of points presented by the upper faces. This is one of the most ancient of games. Plutarch makes it an early invention of the Egyptians. Dice have been discovered in Thebes, made of bone or ivory, and similar to those in use at present. Hero- dotus ascribes the invention of this, as of all other games of chance, to the Lydians. It is al- luded to by JEschylus and Sophocles. The chief distinction between the ancient and the mod- ern game is, that in the former three dice were employed, and in the latter ordinarily but two are used. The Greeks gave to the various throws that were possible the names of their divinities and heroes, the best throw being called Aphrodite. This game was adopted by the Romans, and the example of some of the emperors, especially of Nero, gave it a dangerous popularity. Wealthy Romans du- ring the declining period of the empire fre- quently staked their entire fortunes upon a single chance. It was introduced into France in the reign of Philip Augustus, and has con- tinued a favorite game. DICE (Gr. A**?), in Greek mythology, the goddess of justice, daughter of Zeus and The- mis and sister of Eunomia (good rule) and Irene (peace). She appears as one of the HorsB, and as an attendant of the father of the gods, and in the tragedians also as an avenging and rewarding divinity. Her office was not only to punish injustice, but to reward virtue. DICENTRA (Borkh.), the generic name of some showy herbaceous perennials, of which several species are found wild in the United States. Of these latter, a very delicate and singularly flowered one is D. cucullaria (De Candolle), called Dutchman's breeches, the form of the corolla, with its spurs, resembling that article of apparel suspended in an inverted position. These blossoms are cream-colored
