DAMBULA 



DA MI ETTA 



ence of the Emperor Henry III., and died twenty- 

 thn-e days after hi* accession. 



Dam hula, or DAMUKL, a vast Buddhist rock- 

 ti-niph' in < v\lon, 40 miles N. of Kandy, con- 

 taining, among a profusion of carvings, figures of 

 liuddha of extraordinary magnitude, oee CEYLON. 



Dailic i I. HI. iliniiinn, 'a mistress'), a title of 

 honour which long distinguished Ugh-OOrO Ia<lie8 

 from tln> wives of citizens and of the commonalty 

 in general, and which -till is the accurate title of a 

 knight's wife (see also BARONET). In the age of 

 chivalry, it was customary even for a queen to 

 he so called 1>> her chosen knight ( ' the dame 

 of his heart, of his thoughts,' &c.). In conse- 

 quence of the greater courtesy shown towards 

 women of higher rank, arose the custom of pre- 

 fixing the word nut to dame, as a special proof of 

 veneration and homage. Hence, too, the Virgin - 

 mother was called in France Notre Dame ( ' <>m- 

 Lady ', as if no single Christian could exclusively 

 claim the privilege of serving her with the homage 

 of his heart ). The daughters of the king of France, 

 as soon as they came into the world, were called 

 MnilniiK- : and this was also the sole title of the 

 wife of the king's eldest brother. In England, the 

 word Dame, though not much used, is now applied 

 to married women of all classes ; but has recently 

 acquired a special significance in connection witn 

 the Primrose League (q.v.). It is also applied 

 specially to the mistress of a small elementary 

 school, especially if elderly and ignorant. Madame 

 is shortened into MadamU a usual term of address 

 for ladies in general, but still also a word of honour, 

 applicable, in particular cases, to majesty itself. 

 Thus Tennyson in dedicating his poems to Queen 

 Victoria, speaks as a chivalrous troubadour might 

 have done 



Take, Madam, this poor book of song. 



Dame's Violet (Hesperu), a genus of Cruci- 

 ferse, closely allied to stock and wallflower ; natives 



chiefly of the 

 middle and south 

 of Europe, and 

 temperate Asia. 

 One only, the 

 Common Dame's 

 Violet or Rocket 

 (H. matronalis), 

 occurs wild in 

 Britain as a gar- 

 den escape. The 

 usually lilac- 

 coloured flowers 

 are scentless by 

 day, but very 

 fragrant at night, 

 on which account 

 this plant is cul- 

 tivated in flower- 

 pots by German 

 ladies. The cus- 

 tom appears to 

 have been an old 

 English one also, 

 and from it the 

 plant derived its 

 technical name. 

 The Night- 

 scented Rocket 

 ( If. tristis ) is also 

 a favourite flower 

 in Germany. 



There are many florist's varieties ranging on each 

 side of the familiar lilac tint to purple or white, 

 often also variegated, and single or double. 



Damiant. PIETRO, a great Italian ecclesiastic 

 of the llth century, was born in 1007 at Ravenna, 



Common Dame's Violet (ffetpcris 

 matronalit). 



herded swine in his boyhood, but roue by his learn- 

 ing and devotion to tne interest* of the church to 

 be cardinal and Bishop of (Julia (1057). He sup- 

 ported with vigour the ecclesiastical policy of 

 Hildobnind (afterwards Gregory VII.), without 

 sharing bin arrogance and ambition, and was eni- 

 iilo\.-d iii many important minions. He died at 

 Faeiiza in 1072. His letters, speeches, and other 

 writings were collected by Cardinal Cajetan, and 

 often reprinted (best ed. 4 vols. Ven. 1/43). See 

 the Life by Neukirch (Gtttt. 1875). 



Damiaiiiis ST. See COSMAS. 



Damicn, FATHER. Joseph Damien, born at 

 Louvain, 3d January 1841, in 1873 devoted himself 

 to the awful duties of spiritual guide to the lepers 

 confined to the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Sent 

 on a mission to Honolulu, win-re he heard from the 

 bishop the neglected state of the lepers, some 700 

 or 800 in number, who lived on that small island, 

 he volunteered to establish himself amongst them ; 

 and from 1877 onwards became physician of their 

 souls and bodies, their magistrate, teacher, car- 

 penter, gardener, cook, anu even gravedigger at 

 need. For long he worked on single-handed at his 

 noble labours, but was ultimately joined by another 

 priest. For twelve years he escaped all contagion 

 of the fatal disease, though in constant contact 

 with the sick and dying; but in 1885 the malady 

 appeared in him ; yet he continued unabated his 

 heroic labours till near his death, 10th April 1889. 

 There are lives by Clifford (1889) and Cooke ( 1889). 



Dainiens, ROBERT FRANCOIS, the would-be 

 murderer of Louis XV., was 'born in 1714 near 

 Arras. Already known in his youth as Robert le 

 Diable, he was by turns a soldier and a servant in 

 Paris ; in 1756 he was forced for a robl>ery to 

 flee to Belgium, but ventured to return to Paris 

 about the end of the year. Already he had formed 

 the plan to murder the king, either, as he him- 

 self alleged, on account of Ids conduct towards 

 the parliament, or because, as was generally 

 asserted, he was instigated by the Jesuit*. On 

 4th January 1757 he went to Versailles, next day 

 followed the king and his courtiers about every- 

 where, and about six o'clock at night, when the 

 king was entering his carriage to leave Trianon, 

 managed to stab him. Damiens was seized l>efore 

 he could finish the deed, and was nearly three 

 months later adjudged by the parliament to a 

 horrible death. The hand >vhich had attempted 

 the murder was burned at a slow fire ; the fleshy 

 parts of his body were then torn off by pincers, 

 and melted resin and oil poured into the wounds ; 

 finally, he was torn to pieces by four horses. The 

 fragments of his body were burned, the house in 

 which he was born pulled down, and his family 

 banished from France for ever. 



Damietta (Arab. Dimi/at), a town of Lower 

 E<rypt, situated on the right bank of the chief 

 eastern mouth of the Nile, about 8 miles from its 

 mouth in the Mediterranean. It is irregularly but 

 well built, and has some handsome mosques and 

 marble baths, and of course several bazaars. Its 

 commerce lias been much injured by the prosperity 

 of Alexandria, but it still carries on a considerable 

 trade in exporting rice, fish (from Lake Menzala), 

 coffee, and dates ; and imports charcoal, soap, and 

 manufactured goods. It is the terminus of a branch- 

 railway from Cairo. The cambric (kasttb) known 

 n* i/iniiti/ received its name from Damietta, where it 

 was first manufactured, but it is so no longer ( Lane- 

 Poole, Art of the Saracens), and the leather-work 

 for which it was famous has also declined. A bar 

 at the mouth of the river prevents vessels of more 

 than fifty or sixty tons burden from ascending to 

 the city. Pop. about 30,000. The existing town 

 was erected alter 1251, but, prior to that, a city of 



