733 



DETMOLD. 



DEVIZES. 



734 



Jews ; the gymnasium consisting of an elementary, a commercial, and 

 a classical school ; the seminary for school-masters ; and the school 

 of industry for the spinning of flax and cotton. The manufactures 

 are unimportant ; they consist principally of woollen cloth, stockings, 

 hats, tobacco, spirits, and beer : the retail trade is almost exclusively 

 in the hands of the Jews. The town however carries on a consider- 

 able trade in corn. In the environs are the ducal villas of Louisium 

 and Georgium, the gardens about which are much admired, as are also 

 the gardens of Worlitz, about six miles from the town. The Drehberg, 

 which is the burying-place of the dukes of Anhalt-Dessau, is planted 

 with shrubs, and surmounted by a building with a lantern and 

 cupola. On the Stieglitzberg near the Elbe, is a monument to the 

 Duke of Dessau, who fell at the battle of Torgau. 



DETMOLD. [LiPPE.] 



DETROIT, the principal city and port of Michigan, United States 

 of North America, stands on the right bank of the Detroit River, or 

 Strait, which connects lakes St. Clair and Erie, in 42 19' N. lat., 83 

 W. long., 526 miles N.W. from Washington. The population in 1810 

 was 770, in 1820 it was 1442, in 1840 it was 9192, in 1850 it had 

 increased to 21,019. 



The city occupies a convenient site, rising from the river, along 

 which it extends for a mile and a half with a depth of nearly a mile. 

 The streets are laid out upon a somewhat elaborate plan, that of a 

 rectangle for 1200 feet from the river, while farther back it forms 

 a triangle. Eight principal streets, each 200 feet wide, diverge from 

 a spacious open area called the Grand Circus, and divide the back 

 part of the city into triangular portions ; the secondary streets are 

 120 feet, the others 60 feet wide, and they usually intersect at right 

 angles. The private houses are mostly of wood ; the public buildings, 

 many of which line a main avenue which runs parallel with the 

 river, are generally substantial edifices of brick or stone. Of these 

 the chief are the United States land-office, the old state-house, the 

 state buildings, law courts, and penitentiary, county and city 

 courts and markets, the Roman Catholic cathedral, &c. Detroit 

 contains four Roman Catholic, two Episcopalian, three Methodist, 

 two Presbyterian, and two Baptist churches, and a Congregational, a 

 German Lutheran, and a sailors' church ; a branch of the State uni- 

 versity, several public and primary schools, a Protestant and a Roman 

 Catholic orphan asylum, and numerous other religious and benevolent 

 institutions ; a museum, and historical, medical, and literary insti- 

 tutes ; and supports thirteen newspapers, three of which are published 

 daily. Several of the churches are large and handsome buildings. 

 The city is well supplied with water, but badly drained and paved ; 

 there are several public squares and open spaces; the most noted is 

 known as the Campus Martins. 



Detroit is a rapidly increasing place, being admirably situated for 

 the purposes of commerce and manufactures. The river is above 

 half a mile wide opposite the city, and has a depth varying from 

 12 to 48 feet; the harbour is secure and accessible at all seasons. 

 Steamers ply regularly every day from all parts, and the inland traffic 

 i greatly facilitated by the Michigan Central, and Detroit and Pontiac 

 railways. Most of the agricultural products of Michigan are shipped 

 from Detroit. The coast trade is very considerable, and an extensive 

 trade both legal and contraband is carried on with Canada. The 

 shipping belonging to Detroit amounts to about 25,000 tons, a large 

 proportion being propelled by steam. Ship-building is an important 

 branch of the industry of the place. In the town are five large 

 steam saw-mills, which are said to cut 9,000,000 feet of lumber and 

 4,000,000 laths annually. There are besides several foundries, steam- 

 engine and boiler-factories, iron-works, brass-works, pail-factories, 

 sash-works, steam flour-mill?, tanneries, breweries, potteries, &c. 

 There is also a large wholesale trade for the supply of the interior of 

 the state. The town contains four banks, with a capital (Dec. 31, 1851) 

 of 761,228 dollars, and a circulation of 607,588 dollars. 



Detroit was founded by some French from Canada in 1683. It 

 was taken by the English in 1759. After the declaration of American 

 independence, Detroit was twice taken by English troops. It has 

 been once entirely destroyed, and several times severely injured by 

 fire. In 1802 it was incorporated, but the act of incorporation was 

 repealed in 1810. Its present charter of incorporation as a city was 

 granted in 1815 ; since which date its population has multiplied 

 more than twenty-fold. Until 1847 Detroit was the capital of 

 Michigan, but in that year the seat of government was removed to 

 Lansing ; Detroit however is by far the largest and most important 

 place in the state. 



(Colton, Statittical Gazetteer of tlie United 'States, 1853 ; Haskell 

 and Smith, &c.) 



DEULK. [NOBD.] 



DEUXPONTS (Germ. Zweibruden), formerly a duchy but now a 

 bailiwick in the south-western part of the Bavarian Palatinate, is 

 bounded S. by France, and W. by the Prussian Khein-Provinz. It 

 hag an area of about 1181 square miles, and a population of about 

 150,000. The general character of the country is mountainous, with 

 many gentle eminences, whose declivitirs and lowest parts are rich in 

 woorlH, corn-fields, pastures, and vineyards. The principal river is 

 the Blies, into which flow the Erlbach, Hornbach, Schwolb, and other 

 small streams. Deuxponts produces rye, barley, oats, and other grain ; 

 rapeseed, flax, and hemp are cultivated in large quantities. Much 



attention is paid to the rearing of horses and cattle, and to the breed- 

 ing of sheep. There is abundance of wood. The minerals are iron, 

 copper, and freestone. There are few manufactures. The duchy 

 formerly belonged to the crown of Sweden ; but came by inheritance 

 to the kings of Bavaria. 



from the Houiburg station on the railway from Speyer to Paris 

 through Saarbruck and Metz : population, 7300. It is very prettily 

 situated among gardens and luxuriant meadows, encircled by emi- 

 nences and woods. The town, which consists of the Old and New 

 Towns, is surrounded by a wall, has a pleasant suburb, and is regu- 

 larly built. The dukes of Zweibriickeu resided in the old palace, 

 which was partially destroyed by the French ; part of the remains 

 have been converted into a Catholic church. There are two Protestant 

 churches, a gymnasium and lyceum, an orphan asylum, an hospital, 

 and a school of industry. The inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, 

 sheep-farming, and in the manufacture of woollen cloth, linen, cotton, 

 leather, oil, tobacco, and steel-ware. The Bipont edition of the Greek 

 and Latin classics was printed here from 1779. Deuxpouts is the seat 

 of the judicial tribunals for the bailiwick as well as of its local govern- 

 ment. Close to the town is Schifflick, a country-seat built by Stanislaus 

 Lesczinski, king of Poland, which has been converted into an establish- 

 ment for breeding horses. 



Deuxponts, Zweibriicken, or in its Latinised form, Bipoutium, 

 derives its name from the site of its old castle between two bridges. 

 Its origin is unknown, nor is it mentioned in history until the year 

 1197, when it was the property of the counts bearing its name. On 

 the extinction of the direct line, in 1394, the earldom fell into the 

 possession of Ruprecht, the elector-palatine, who divided it among 

 his three sons in 1410, all of whom being dukes, the country itself 

 was thenceforward denominated a duchy. During the Thirty Years' 

 War it was besieged by the Imperialists. Deuxpouts suffered also 

 severely during the campaigns of Louis XIV., and the French held it 

 until 1697. As the duke in the meantime had died childless, it fell 

 to the next heir, Charles XII. of Sweden, and, upon his decease, to 

 the count-palatine ; this prince also dying without children in 1723, 

 the duchy reverted to the house of Birkeufeld, the ancestors of the 

 family who now occupy the throne of Bavaria. In 1793 Deuxponts 

 was taken possession of by the French, but it was restored to Bavaria 

 in 1816, when other adjacent territories were added to it, and the 

 whole was annexed to its dominion by the name of the Palatinate or 

 the Province of the Rhine. 



DEVENTER, a fortified town in the province of Overyssel, in 

 Holland, is situated on the right bank of the Yssel, at the point where 

 that river is joined by the Schipbeek, 9 miles S. from Zwoll, 50 miles 

 E. by S. from Amsterdam, and has about 15,000 inhabitants, including 

 the garrison. Deventer was formerly a free imperial city, and a 

 member of the Hanseatic league. The town is surrounded by a wall 

 flanked with numerous towers, and defended by a broad deep ditch. 

 The cathedral is a fine gothic building, with an excellent set of bells. 

 There are six other churches in the town, which has also a handsome 

 town-hall. The athenxum or college contains a well-chosen and 

 extensive library. An observatory was founded here in 1839. The 

 industrial products of Deventer are iron-ware, hosiery, carpets, and 

 linen. It is famous for its gingerbread called Deventer Koek, many 

 thousands of pounds of which are exported. The town trades laigely 

 in cattle, corn, butter, cheese, beer, wool, and turf. The environs are 

 fertile and well cultivated ; the banks of the Yssel are dotted with 

 pretty country-houses. Assize courts are held in the town. 



DEVIZES, Wiltshire, a borough and market-town, having separate 

 jurisdiction, and the seat of a Poor-Law Union, in the hundred of 

 Potterue and Cannings, in 51 20' N. lat., 1 58' W. long., 22 miles 

 N.W by N. from Salisbury, and 89 miles W. by S. from London. 

 The borough is governed by 6 aldermen and 18 councillors, and 

 returns two members to the Imperial Parliament. The population of 

 the borough in 1851 was 6554. The living of St. John, a rectory with 

 the vicarage of St. Mary attached, is in the archdeaconry of Wilts 

 and diocese of Salisbury. Devizes Poor-Law Union contains 28 parishes 

 and townships, with an area of 59,396 acres, and a population in 1851 

 of 22,236. 



In ancient records this place is called Devisae, De Vies, Divisis, &c. 

 In the reign of Henry I. a strong fortress was erected here by Roger, 

 bishop of Salisbury, which his nephew Nigel, bishop of Ely, garri- 

 soned with troops, but he was obliged to surrender the fortress to 

 Stephen, together with 40,000 marks, the bishop's treasure. The castle 

 w;is afterwards seized by Robert Fitz-Herbert for Matilda, but on her 

 arrival he refused to deliver it up, and was subsequently hanged as a 

 traitor to both parties. About the end of the reign of Edward III. 

 the castle was dismantled. 



Devizes was besieged by Sir William Waller in the Parliamentary 

 war, but just as tha Royalists were preparing to capitulate, Lord 

 Wilmot, who had been dispatched by the king from Oxford, appeared 

 on Roundaway Hill with 1500 horse and two pieces of artillery. Sir 

 William withdrew his forces from the town, and attacked Lord Wilmot, 

 but was totally discomfited. 



The first charter of incorporation was by the Empress Matilda, 



