Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/317

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

DUMBARTON DUMFRIES 309 evinced decision and energy during the revolu- tion of 1830, and was instrumental in the eleva- tion of Louis Philippe to the throne. Besides the work above mentioned, he left some inter- esting personal memoirs, since published by his son under the title of Souvenirs. II. Chretien Leon, count, a French soldier, son of the pre- ceding, born in 1800, died at Passy, Feb. 20, 1873. He served in Spain in 1823, and sub- sequently in Algeria, was severely wounded at the siege of Constantine, and became the principal aide-de-camp of Louis Philippe. After the revolution of 1848 he joined the Orleans family in England, and attended the count d'Eu, son of the duke de Nemours, on his marriage, Oct. 15, 1864, with the princess Isabella of Brazil. He returned with the Or- leans princes to France during the German in- vasion, and fought gallantly. DUMBARTON, a royal, parliamentary, and municipal burgh and seaport of Scotland, chief town of Dumbartonshire, situated on the left bank of the Leven, near its junction with the Clyde, 13 m. N. W. of Glasgow ; pop. in 1871, 11,414. It consists of one long semicircular street, and smaller streets and alleys diverging from it. On the opposite bank of the river is the suburb of West Bridgend, connected with it by a stone bridge. The principal business is ship building, both in wood and iron, there being five large yards employing over 3,000 men. A marine engine factory employs 400 men, and there are also two founderies, a forge, glass and bleaching works, a manufactory of patent windlasses, and a brewery. Dumbar- ton is supposed to have been the Roman sta- tion Theodosia. At the confluence of the Le- ven with the Clyde, a mile below the town, is Dumbarton castle, famous in Scottish history, on an isolated precipitous rock upward of 500 ft. high and about a mile in circumference at the base. It is known to have been a strong- hold 1,000 years ago, and it has sustained many sieges. Sir William Wallace was im- prisoned here before being taken to London for execution. DUMBARTONSHIRE, a W. county of Scotland, anciently called Lennox, consisting of two detached portions, the larger lying between Lochs Lomond and Long and the frith of Clyde, the smaller between the counties of Lanark and Stirling ; area, including a portion of Loch Lomond, 320 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 58,839. The surface is mostly mountainous, and the soil, except in the lowlands, is poor. The best land, however, is highly cultivated, producing potatoes, grain, beans, and turnips. Large tracts are devoted to pasturage, and there are several nurseries for raising timber. The principal minerals are coal, ironstone, lime- stone, and slate. Capital, Dumbarton. DUMDUM, a town and military station of Bengal, British India, 6 m. E. N. E. of Cal- cutta. It is the headquarters of the Bengal artillery, and the seat of a training school for young officers and recruits from England. It contains handsome establishments for the offi- cers, a large church, a free school, a depot of musketry, and a cannon foundery. DUMERIL. I. Andre Marie Constant, a French physician and naturalist, born in Amiens, Jan. 1, 1774, died in Paris, Aug. 2, 1860. From 1800 to 1818 he was professor of anatomy and physiology, and subsequently of pathology, in the medical faculty of Paris. In 1825, on the death of Lacepede, whose adjunct professor he had been for 22 years, he assumed his functions as professor of herpetology and ichthyology at the museum of natural history. During four years he also lectured on natural history in the central school of the Pantheon in place of Cuvier. In his most celebrated production, L" 1 erpetologie generate (10 vols. 8vo, with an atlas of plates, 1835-'50), which contains the first attempt at a systematic description of all known reptiles, he had Bibron as collaborator. His other prin- cipal works are Elements des sciences natu- relles (5th ed., 1848), Ichthyologie analytique (1856), and Entomologie analytique (2 vols. 4to, 1860). II. Angnste Henri Andre, son of the preceding, born in Paris, Nov. 30, 1812, died there, Nov. 12, 1871. He studied medicine, taught natural history and geology at various colleges in Paris, and in 1857 succeeded his father as professor in the museum of natural history. In 1869 he was elected as a member at large of the academy of sciences. He wrote Des odeurs, de leur nature et de leur action pTiysiologique (1843), Histoire naturelle des poissons (vol. i., 1865), and many disquisitions relating to reptiles and fishes. DUMFRIES, a royal, parliamentary, and mu- nicipal burgh of Scotland, capital of Dumfries- shire, situated on the left bank of the Nith, 6 m. from its mouth and 64 m. S. by W. of Edin- burgh ; pop. in 1871, 15,435. It is irregularly built, but the streets are wide, well paved, and well lighted. Many of the houses, which are generally of red sandstone, are remarkable for elegance, and there are many handsome villas on the hills overlooking the town. There are 13 churches of different denominations, 4 en- dowed and 30 unendowed schools, and a num- ber of charitable, literary, and scientific insti- tutions. The chief manufactures are woollen cloths, hats, hosiery, shoes, and baskets. There are also large tanneries and breweries. Week- ly cattle markets are held on an open space by the river called the "Sands," where large numbers of live stock are transferred to Eng- lish dealers. Maxwelltown, a suburb on the opposite side of the river, is connected with the town by two bridges, one ancient, the other a handsome modern structure. Dum- fries dates as a burgh from the reign of David I. In 1306 John Comyn was stabbed here by Robert Bruce in the chapel of the Minorite convent. The town was often plundered and burned in the border wars. Robert Burns resided here for several years preceding his death, and his monument is in the burial ground of St. Michael's church.