577 



DESTOUCHES, PHILIPPE-NERICAULT. 



D'HILLIEKS, LOUIS-BARAGUAY. 



67, 



In 1804 he had himself proclaimed emperor of Haiti, under the name 

 of Jacques I., ami established his court in imitation of that which 

 Bonaparte had just formed in France. But his cruelty and arbitrary 

 conduct towards his former comrades led to a conspiracy, at the head 

 of which were the negro chief Christophe, and Pethiou, a mulatto. 

 They rose upon Dessalines at a review, in October 1806, and killed 

 him on the spot. Christophs succeeded him as emperor of Haiti, by 

 the name of Henri 1. 



DESTOUCHES, PHILIPPE-NERICAULT, was born at Tours, 

 in 16SO. He much displeased his relations by turning actor, when 

 they had designed him for the law. He wandered from town to town 

 as director ul a company of comedians, among whom he was distin- 

 guished by his strict morality and his great regard for religion. His 

 first dramatic piece, ' Le Curieux Impertinent,' (founded on the 

 episode of the same name in Don Quixote) was acted in 1710, and 

 received with enthusiastic applause. Tbree pieces which followed 

 seem to have had more success than they merited, in 1 7 1 7 Destouches 

 accompanied Cardinal Dubois to England, where he married an 

 English Human Catholic lady, with whom on his return to France he 

 retired to an estate in the country, where he passed nearly all the 

 remainder of his life. In 1723 he was chosen a member of the 

 Academy. About this time commenced his great reputation as a 

 dramatist, for though his former piece* had been successful, they rose 

 little above mediocrity. His ' Philosophe Mario ' raised him to a high 

 rauk among the comic writers of France, and the envious critiques 

 which were written against it only showed how highly it was valued. 

 ' Le Glorieux,' which followed, WAS by some critics considered even 

 superior to ' Le Philosophe MarieY and La Harpe seems to be of this 

 opinion. He continued to write for the stage till his sixtieth year, 

 though the pieces he produced were not equal to the two already 

 mentioned; one of the most favourite was 'LaFausse Ague's,' a farcical 

 comedy reaembling Uurphy's ' Citizen.' From that time he devoted 

 himself to theology, and wrote several e^ays against infidelity. He 

 died in l\. 



DEVEREUX. [ESSEX, EARL OF.] 



D'K\VE.S, SIR SYMONDS, was born at Coxden, in Dorsetshire, 

 December 18, 1602. From the Grammar school of Bury St. Edmunds 

 he proceeded to St. John's College, Cambridge, and having completed 

 the usual course of study there, went to London, entered upon the 

 study of the law, and in due time was called to the bar. But being 

 heir to considerable property, and seeing the threatening state ot 

 public affairs, he did not commence practice, but retired to his property 

 at Stow Hall in Suffolk, and to the life of a country gentleman. In 

 1639 he was high-sheriff of Suffolk, and received the honour of 

 knighthood. In the following year he was elected member of parlia- 

 ment for Sudbury ; and he was created a baronet by Charles I. in 

 1641. D'Eives was a puritan in religion, and naturally adhered to the 

 same party in politics ; but he was opposed to the adoption of 

 extreme measures against the king, and was one of the members 

 expelled from the House by tho application of Pride's purge. He 

 died April 18, 1050. Sir Symonds D'Ewes was a man of considerable 

 learning and great industry, an 1 lie made an extensive collection of 

 records and historical manuscripts which he placed at the service of 

 the learned, and which were largely used by Selden and other con- 

 stitutional writers and inquirers of that day. He did not himself 

 publish anything, except two speeches which he delivered in the House 

 of Commons one an endeavour to establish the superior antiquity of 

 Cambridge over Oxford University (4to, 1642), and another, a dis- 

 proof of the authenticity of the Greek postscripts of the Epistles of 

 Timothy and Titus (directed of course against the claims of episco- 

 pacy) ; but a work of considerable value compiled by him was 

 published some forty years after his death by his nephew Mr. Paul 

 BoWM : ' The Journals of all the Parliaments during the reign of 

 Queen Elizabeth, both of the House of Lords aud Commons,' fol., 

 Loud., 1682. A more rcmarka' jo record of tho man however was 

 published in 1845: 'The Autobiography and Correspondence of Sir 

 bimunds D'Ewe, li.rt., during the reign of James I. aud Charles I.; 

 edited by J. 0. Halliwcll, Esq.,' 4 vols. 8vo. It extends down to 1636 

 only, and consequeutly does not reach the period when contemporary 

 notes of one who was at the same time a moderate puritan, an actor in the 

 parliamentary struggles, and an observer of the great events preceding 

 the death of Charles, would have been peculiarly valuable; but it 

 contains, amidst a great deal that 11 wholly valueless, much interesting 

 information illustrative of his times, and of many of hU more eminent 

 contemporaries. D'Ewea himself it shows to have been a thorovigh 

 pedant, with a certain amount of shrewdness as well as of learning, 

 and a im.it marvellous stock of conceit. 



DE WITT, JOHX, was born at Dort, in the province of Holland, 

 in September 1625. His father was burgomaster of his native town, 

 and member of the states of Holland, in which capacity he was an 

 opponent of the House of Orange, whose power and influence had 

 been looked upon with jealousy ever since the time of Barneveldt by 

 a considerable party in that province. [BARNEVKI.DT.] John de 

 Witt, who inherited his father's principles, was made in 1652 grand 

 pensioner of Holland, an office which gave him great influence over 

 thn <lHi ; >iT:itions of the States-General or Federal Assembly of the 

 Seven United provinces, in whi;h tin; vnt- of tV: ri-h and populous 

 province of Holland generally carried with it that of the majority. 



The time appeared favourable to the anti-Orange party. William II. 

 of Orange, the last stadtholder. had died in 1650, aud his posthumous 

 son, afterwards William III. of England, was an infant. The object 

 of De Witt and his party was to prevent in future tho union of the 

 offices of stadtholder, captain-general, and high-admiral in one aud 

 the same person, which had rendered the princes of the House of 

 Orange almost equal to sovereigns, and which was certainly incon- 

 sistent with the title of a republic, assumed by the united provinces. 

 It must however be observed, that each of these provinces, forming 

 a separate state, was in fact governed by an aristocracy, the respective 

 states or legislature of each consisting of the nobles and the deputies 

 of the principal towns, who were elected by the wealthier burghers ; 

 the great majority of the people having no share in the elections. 

 Generally speaking then, the so-called republican party, at the head 

 of which were successively Barneveldt and De Witt, struggled for tho 

 continuation or extension of their collective power against the Housu 

 of Orange, whose influence tended to establish a form nearly 

 monarchical. But that House was popular with the lower classes, 

 and was supported by the majority of the clergy. The nature of the 

 institutions of the United Proviuces mny be seen in the Act of Union 

 of Utrecht, which was th*-ir declaration of independence. During 

 the minority of William III., the office of stadtholder was considered 

 as abolished, and the States-General exercised the supreme authority : 

 De Witt was the soul of their deliberations, and he managed, espe- 

 cially the foreign relations of the country, with great ability. He 

 negociated the peace with Cromwell in 1654, by a secret article of 

 which it was agreed that no member of the House of Orange should 

 be made stadtholder or high admiral. 



After the restoration of Charles II., Da Witt, dreading the family 

 connection between him and young William, sought the alliance of 

 France in lb'64. A war broke out between England and the United 

 Provinces, which was at first favourable to the English, but Da Witt, 

 by his firmness and sagacity, repaired the losses of his countrymen ; 

 and while negociations for peace were pending, he hastened their 

 conclusion by sending an armament under Ruyter, which entered the 

 Thames and burnt some of the English shipping in the Medway. This 

 was followed by the peace of Breda, July 1667. The enci-oaching 

 ambition of Louis XIV., who aimed at taking possession of the Spanish 

 Netherlands, now excited the alarm of De Witt, who hastened to form 

 a triple alliance with Englmd and Sweden, in order to guarantee tho 

 possessions of Spain. In his anxiety to secure his country against the 

 approach of the French, he caused the treaty to be ratified by the 

 States-General at once, instead of first referring it, according to the 

 provisions of the Federal Act, to the acceptance of the various provinces 

 separately. This was a cause of violent obloquy against De Witt. 



While thus occupied with the foreign relations he did not forego 

 his plans concerning the internal policy of his country, and the per- 

 manent exclusion of the Orange family from power. In 1067 the states 

 of Holland, at his suggestion, passed " a perpetual edict," abolishing 

 for ever the office of stadtholder. De Witt at the same time introduced 

 the greatest order and economy into the finances of the province of 

 Holland. But all De Witt's calculations, both foreign and domestic, 

 were baffled by the intrigues with which Louis XIV. contrived in 1H72 

 not only to detach Charles II. from the Dutch alliance, but to engage 

 him in a counter-alliance with himself against Holl-md. The French 

 armies now suddenly invaded the United Provinces, Louis XIV. entered 

 Utrecht, and his troops were within a few miles of Amsterdam. There 

 appears to have been great neglect on the part of the officers, civil and 

 military, of the United Provinces, in not having taken measures for 

 resistance, and especially in not having placed their fortresses in a 

 state of defence ; aud the blame was chiefly thrown upon De Witt. In 

 this emergency, William, the young prince of Orange, was -called to 

 the command of the forces both by land and sea ; but this did not 

 satisfy the popular clamour. Cornelius De Witt, Johu's brother, who 

 had filled several important stations, both civil and military, was 

 accused, evidently through mere malignity, of having plotted against 

 the life of William of Orange, was thrown into prison at the Hague, 

 and tortured ; but as he could not be convicted of the charge, ho was 

 sentenced to banishment. His brother John, whose life had been 

 already attempted by assassins, resigned his office, and went to the 

 Hague in his carriage to receive his brother as he came out of prison. 

 A popular tumult ensued ; the furious mob, instigated by the partisans 

 of the house of Orange, forced its way into the prison, and murdered 

 both brothers with circumstances of the greatest atrocity. Such was 

 the end of this distinguished statesman, whose private character and 

 simplicity were a exemplary as his abilities were high. He wrote 

 his ' Memoirs,' which were published in his lifetime, and in which there 

 is much information on the political and financial condition of Holland 

 at the time. 



(Cerisier, Uiatoire des Provinces Units; Sir William Temple, 

 Observations on the United Provinces ; The Netherland Jf Marian, 8vo, 

 Amsterdam, 1675, Ac.) 



D'HILLIERS, LOUIS-BARAGUAY, was born at Paris on the 13th 

 of August 1764, and was a lieutenant when the revolution broke out. 

 In 1793 he was appointed to a brigade in Custine's army, aud almost 

 immediately after quartsr-master-general. Sent to prison during the 

 lt<i_;ii of Terror, owing to his attachment to his unfortunate frimd 

 Cujtiue, his life was saved by the fall of Robespierre. He took part 



