DELAUNAY, Louis Arsène (1826—). A French actor, born in Paris. He made his first appearance at the Odéon in 1846, and for two years was engaged there as leading juvenile. In 1848 he appeared as Durante in Le Menteur, at the Théâtre Français, and in 1850 became a regular member of that theatre. In 1877 he was appointed professor of dramatic declamation at the Conservatoire. He received the decoration of the Legion of Honor in 1883, and retired from the stage in 1887. He was one of the most accomplished of the French actors, finding his parts in the plays of Augier, De Musset, Victor Hugo, and Pailleron.
DELAUNAY, Jules Elie (1828-91). A French figure and portrait painter, born in Nantes. He was the pupil of Lamothe and Flandrin, and gained the prix de Rome in 1856. His notable decorative paintings are to be found in the foyer of the Opera House, the Hotel de Ville, the Church of the Trinity, and the Panthéon, in Paris. The paintings in the Panthéon, representing scenes from the life of Saint Genevieve, he did not live to complete. Among his best works are: “The Plague at Rome” (1869), a water-color called his masterpiece; “Diana,” a fine nude; and “The Death of the Centaur Nessus”—all in the Luxembourg. He also painted portraits, among which that of his “Mother” and that of “Mademoiselle Toulmouche” are among his best canvases. His work is characterized by great attention to form, firm modeling, and a noble, rather severe style of composition. He was awarded a first-class medal at the Paris Exposition of 1878, and the medal of honor in 1889. In 1878 he became an officer of the Legion of Honor, and the following year was made a member of the Institute.
DE LAUNE, de lō̇n, Etienne. See Laune, Etienne de.
DEL′AVAN. A city in Walworth County, Wis., 62 miles southwest of Milwaukee; on the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad (Map: Wisconsin, E 6). It is the seat of the State School for the Deaf. The city is noted for its mineral springs, and, with Delavan Lake in the vicinity, is a popular place of resort. Population, in 1890, 2038; in 1900, 2244.
DELAVIGNE, de-lȧ′vē̇′ny’, Jean François Casimir (1793-1843). A French lyric poet and dramatist, born in Havre, April 4, 1793. He won distinction from the French Academy in 1811, and was elected a member of it in 1825. His first important writings were dithyrambic poems, Les messéniennes (1818), antique in form, but present and direct in their allusions to the disasters of the last Napoleonic years. These gave stirring expression to popular emotions, especially to the rancor and fears of the Liberals at the reactionary rule of the restored Bourbons. They achieved sensational success. In 1819 he turned the same talent to celebrate Joan of Arc, thus appealing to a universal patriotic sentiment before either Hugo or Lamartine had begun to touch the French heart with their Napoleonic verses. The forerunner should not be forgotten in the greatness of his successors, and in drama Delavigne is as important as either to the continuity of historic development. He stands between Beaumarchais and Emile Augier, almost the sole talented representative of dignified comedy, and while his dramatic work, taken chronologically, represents almost every phase of the conversion of a strict Classicist into a moderate Romanticist, his merits of prudent eclecticism are in danger of being obscured by the glories of his successors. His L'école des vieillards (1823) still holds the boards by its lively dialogue, graceful style, and ingenious invention. Marino Falieri (1829) anticipates the Hugoesque mingling of tragic and comic elements, preserving an academic correctness of form without following the classic rules. Other plays still occasionally acted and often read are: Les vêpres siciliennes (1819); Louis XI. (1832); Les enfants d'Edouard (1833); and La fille du Cid (1839). Delavigne was elected to the Academy in 1825, and in 1830 rose to the political occasion, as he had done after Waterloo. His song, “La Parisienne,” set to music by Auber, rivaled for a time the “Marseillaise” itself, and “La Varsovienne” was sung as a battle march by the rebelling Poles. Indeed, it is as a poet of politics, a man of the hour, that Delavigne is at his best. At times very popular, he needed striking occasions to evoke his genius. When he became contemplative he was commonplace, but in direct appeal he wrote with terse vigor. His private life was above reproach. He died in Lyons, December 11, 1843. There are several editions of his works (Paris, 1845, 1855, 1863), and a convenient one of the Poems and Plays (ib., 1863).
DEL′AWARE. One of the thirteen original States of the United States, constituting one of the Middle Atlantic States (Map: United States, L 3). It lies between latitudes 38° 27′ and 39° 50′ N. and longitudes 75° 2′ and 75° 47′ W. It is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania; on the east by the estuary of the Delaware River and by Delaware Bay, which separate it from New Jersey, and by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south and west by Maryland. It is next to the smallest of the States, and has a total area of 2050 square miles, of which 1960 square miles is land and 90 square miles is water surface. It has a length of about 100 miles from north to south, with a greatest width of 35 miles and a least width of 15 miles. At the entrance to Delaware Bay is Cape Henlopen, opposite Cape May, N. J.
Topography. The topography of Delaware is extremely simple, and presents little diversity of features. Almost the entire State is on the nearly level coastal plain, and probably averages less than 50 feet above sea-level. In the extreme north the surface is rolling, but the highest hill only attains an altitude of 280 feet above the sea-level, while the only relief to monotonous level in the central and southern portions is the central sandy ridge, not exceeding 70 feet. The streams of Delaware, while numerous, are all small. In the northern part of the State the streams flow in an easterly or southeasterly direction across it from Pennsylvania and Maryland, and empty into the Delaware. Nearly all the State, however, lies on the peninsula between Delaware and Chesapeake bays, and the divide between their waters traverses the State from north to south, keeping at a uniform distance from the east coast. Thus, as the State broadens southward, a relatively greater part of it lies west of the divide in the south than in the north. None of these rivers is navigable, although the estuary-like mouth of Christiana Creek permits the as-
