DEMETZ. 107 DEMISE. One of the conclusions of this report is that the penitentiaries of Pennsylviinia, organized on the plan of isolating the young pri>oners, were inellieient. ))enietz's eliief serviees, however, were in eonnixlion with a reforniatorj- founded by him on an entirely novel plan at Mettray near Tours. Hundreds of young eriniinals were gath- ered by him into this reformatory at the expira- tion of their terms of imprisonment, and there they were given inslruetion and agrieullural work which entilled them to moderate eompensa- tion. The remarkable results thus aehievcd led to the introduction of this system not only throughout France, but in several other Euro- pean countries. DEMI', or DEMY (Fr. demi, Lat. dimidius, half). A term in licraldrv. .
animal is said
to be demi when only the upjx'r or fore half of it is repiesented. fn inanimate objects, the de.xter half per pale is usually intended, when it is said to be demi. though a demi /Irur-dc-lis. for ex- ample, may lie a flfiir-dc-lis divided per fess. DEMI-CANNON. A large gmi used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and perhaps later. It is said to have had a length of 12 to 14 feet, a diameter of bore of Ct% inches, and to have fired a ball of Xi pounds weight; there is some doubt about this, as a solid spherical shot for a C'S-inch gun oight to weigh over 40 pounds. The powder-eharge and mvizzle velocity are not stated, but the poinf-blank range was estimated at (i- paces and ils range at 2000. See Gi'.NS, X.iv.i.. DEMI-CULVERIN. A variety of gun of about the same date as the demi-eaimon (q.v. ). It was about nine feet long, had a bore of about four inches, and threw a b,-iH of nine pounds weight. Its point-blank range was estimated at 174 paces and its range at ISOO. See Artillery; Ordnance. DEMIDOFF. dye-me'dof. Princes of San Donato. A nnble and wealthy Russian family, the most distinguished nuMubers of which are: (1) XlKiT. Demidoff (c.Ui(i.">-e.l720K the found- er of the family, a runaway serf, who amassed an immense fortune as a manufacturer of arms. He established numerous forges and foundries in the Urals, and died after 1720. (2) .kinfi Df.midoff (died e.l740). son of Xikita. brought over skilled German miners to examine the rich deposits of gold, silver, and copper in the river valleys of SilKria. The Government made him a Councilor of State. (3) Prokop (1710-1786), -on of Akinfi, established a commercial school in .roseow in 1772. (4) Paii. Demiooff (1738- 1821), cousin of Prokop, traveler and scientist, gave a museum of natural history to the Uni- versity of ^loscow, and founded the DemidofT Museum of Yaroslav. (ijl Xikoi.ai. f'nuiit Demi- doff (177.3-1S28), nephew of f'ail. married the Countess Strogonoff. and became .i Privy Coiui- eilor and Imperial Chamb<'rlain. H<' distinguished him.self in the war against the Turks. In 1812 he raised a regiment and fought at its head against Xapoleon. (0) Axatole (1812-70), •-on of Xikolai, displayed great enthusiasm for h'ttcrs and the sciences. His principal book, published in Paris in IS."?!), entitled '/"mrc/.s in Snulhcni Ifiift^in rnul f'rimin. is the record of a great seienlifif expedition undertaken at his ex- pense. In 1841 he married Matliilde de Mont- Voi. VI.— 8. fort, daughter of .lerome Bonaparte. The mar- riage was dissolved by nuitual consent in 184G. Hospitals, schools, and museums all over Russia icstify to the traditional niunilicenee of the Dcmiihjils. DE MILLE, Henry CninciiiLL (18.50-1)3). .
-American playwright, one of the authors of The
11 i/c, Ijuid Cli II iiitc;/, nnd other pieces. He was born in Xorth Carolina and educated at Columbia Col- lege, from which he was graduated in 1875. For several years thereafter he was a teacher. In 1882 he became examiner of plays at the Madison Stpuire Theatre, and later be was an actor under A. M. Palmer's management. His first play. Utlmars Dduijhier. was produced in 1883 with- out success. In 1884 he produced The Main hine, by himself and Charles Barnard. In collabora- tion with David Belasco he wrote The Wife ( ))roduced in 1887 at the Lyceum), which proved a great success, and in the following seasons they brought out jMid Chiniile;/ ; The Charity Hall; and Men and Women. In 1801, apart from Belasco, he adapted from the German The Lost Paradise. He died at his home in Pompton, X. .1., February 10, 1893. DE MILLE, .Tames (1837-80). A Canadian autlinr. liorn at Saint .John. New Brunswick. He graduated at Brown University in 18.54. was pro- fes.sor of classics in Acadia College (W'olfville, Xova Scotia) in 1800-6.5, and from 1865 until his death, wcupied the chair of history and rhetoric in Dalhousie College (Halifax, Nova Scotia). His ])ublications include: Andt/ O'Hara (1860) : The Soldier and the Spy (18G3) ; The Dodge Cluh (2 vols., 1866-60); The .American Baron. (1870); The Living Link (1874): and A Castle in Spain (published anonymovisly in Harper's Ma[/ii~ine, 1882-83). DEMI-MONDE (Fr.. half-world). The bet- ter class of courtesans in Paris and other cities, including a class whose reputation is a little aboe that of the others, and yet not good enough to warrant their reception in recognized society. The term originated with Alexandre Dumas the Younger. DEMISE (OF. fem. of demis, from Lat. de- mitlere. to hand down). In the most general sense, a transfer or conveyance of an interest in land. Technically the term is employed in two distinct senses: First, to denote a lease or letting of land for a term of years: .second, to describe the transmission of the royal authority, dignity, and estates from one sovereign to his successor. The phrase '"demise of the crown" does not signify the death of the sovereign, but the transfer or devolution of the kingdom, wheth- er that occurs as the result of the death or of the voluntary abdication of the sovereign. Prob- ably, howevci', it wottld be restricted to the case of .a normal transfer of the crown in the succes- sion established by law. and not to a change in the succession by revolution or otherwi.se. How- ever this nuiy be. the ithrase 'demise of the crown' is the legal expression of the notion in- volved in the popular phrase. 'The king never dies.' It indicates that the government does not come to a full stop on the death or abdication of its head, but that the royal authority is eon- tinimus and permanent, passing at once, without a break or jar, to him who is to exercise it next. This conception of the matter, so important to the welfare of the kingdom and the stability of
