5S6 



DALLAS DALRYMPLE. 



United States. In November, 181 6, peace being re- 

 stored, the finances arranged, the embarrassment of 

 the circulating medium daily diminishing, and soon 

 to disappear under the influence of the national bank, 

 \\ liicli it had so long been his effort to establish, Mr 

 J 'alias resigned his Honourable station, mid returned 

 to the practice of the law in Philadelphia. His bush- 

 ness was considerable, and his talents as an advocate, 

 were employed not only at home, but from almost 

 every quarter of the Union. In the midst of his 

 biilliam prospects, exposure to cold, and great pro- 

 fcssioiial exertions in a very important cause, brought 

 on an attack of the gout in his stomach, at Trenton, 

 of which he died, Jan. 16, 1817. 



DALLAS, ROBERT CHARLES, one of the friends 

 mill biographers of Lord Byron, was born in Ja- 

 maica, and studied law in the Inner Temple. When 

 lie came of age, he married, and went to Jamaica, 

 where he liad received a lucrative appointment, but 

 was obliged to leave the island on account of the ill 

 health of his wife. He went to France, then to 

 America, with a view to settle there, but, being dis- 

 appointed, returned and devoted himself to literature. 

 II is productions, including translations, are numer- 

 ous. His novels have been collected and published 

 in seven volumes, 1 Vino. Lord Byron made him a 

 present of the copyright of Childe Harold and some 

 other of his early works, which afforded him much 

 pecuniary advantage. 



DALMATIA ; an Austrian kingdom, including 

 four circles Zara, Spalatro and Macarsca, Ragusa, 

 Cattaro. lying on the Adriatic sea, bounded by Cro- 

 atia, Bosnia, and Albania, and having several islands 

 belonging to it. Since 1814, with the exception of 

 the Turkish part, it has been entirely subject to the 

 emperor of Austria, and contains 5800 square miles, 

 320,000 inhabitants, in twenty-two towns, thirty- 

 three boroughs, and 914 villages. Dalmatia, for- 

 merly an important kingdom, was, after many unsuc- 

 cessful attempts, subjected by the Romans under Au- 

 gustus. After the decline of the Western Empire, it 

 was first under the dominion of the Goths, then under 

 that of the Eastern Emperors. In the first half of the 

 seventh century, it was conquered by the Sclavo- 

 nians, who erected it into a kingdom, which lasted 

 till 1030, when it was, in part, united with Hungary, 

 under king St Ladislaus ; another part placed itself 

 under the protection of the then powerful republic 

 of Venice for security against the attacks of the 

 Turks, who, however, afterwards, took a part from 

 the Venetians. By the peace of Campo-Fonnio 

 (October 17, 1797), the Venetian part of Dalmatia, 

 as well as Venice itself, was made over to Austria ; 

 but, by the treaty of Presburg, in 1805, Austria ced- 

 ed it to the French emperor, who first united it with 

 the kingdom of Italy, and in 1810, with Illyria, al- 

 though he caused it to be governed by a general- 

 orovvediiore. 



The causes of the small population of this fertile but 

 poorly cultivated country, are the excessive use of spi- 

 rituous liquors, the noxious exhalations of the marshes 

 in various districts, the frequent emigrations, and the 

 habit of private revenge, which extends even to the 

 third and fourth generations. It contains impenetra- 

 ble forests, and regions covered with marshes. The 

 Dalmatians are a nandsome race, bold seamen, and 

 good soldiers, if they are well commanded. The for- 

 mer military power of Venice rested entirely upon 

 this province. The Dalmatians, in general, are ac- 

 cused, and probably not unjustly, of deceitfulness 

 and rapacity : the desire of independence is almost 

 universal. A peculiar feature of their character is, 

 that many of them prefer the heroic death (as they 

 term it) by the spear, to a natural and peaceful death 

 in the midst of their family. They speak a Sclavonic 



dialect. The Morlachians, who dwell in the inte- 

 rior of the country, and among the mountains, and 

 in the Turkish government ol I let-seek, constitute 

 but a part of the nation. '1 hey are excellent soldiers, 

 but have a strong inclination for robbery and drinking: 

 yet they are hospitable, benevolent, and faithful in 

 their promises. Averse to every kind of restraint, 

 they live in a sort of natural condition. '1 liey have 

 always been a good wall against the attacks of the 

 Turks. 



The inhabitants of the islands are principally em- 

 ployed in fishing, and are servants on the continent, 

 or sailors in merchant-ships. The islands are not 

 very productive. Several have good harbours, and 

 afford much timber for ship-building. The inhabi- 

 tants of the continent are employed in agriculture 

 and the breeding of cattle. They have some com- 

 merce, and devote themselves chiefly to the sea. As 

 long as their soil produces no more than it does at 

 present, their trade and industry cannot be important, 

 more particularly since the great commons, according 

 to the ancient Dalmatian custom, are not separated, 

 and the overgrown landed estates of individuals are 

 not divided on their decease. The Dalmatians export 

 tallow, hare-skins (which latter are brought from 

 Bosnia), some oil, figs, wine, brandy, wax, and salt 

 fish, from different ports ; and receive, in exchange, 

 linen, cloth, coffee, and sugar, but only in small quan- 

 tities, so that the money-balance is on their side. 

 There are gold, iron, and coal mines in the country, 

 but they remain unwrought. Zara, the capital, and 

 the seat of the governor, has 5000, Spalatro 6800, 

 inhabitants. The district of Cattaro, which is under 

 the dominion of Austria, is sometimes comprised in 

 Dalmatia, but properly belongs to Albania, and lies 

 in a semicircular form, round the gulf. The thirteen 

 famous inlets (Bocche di Cattaro) form the safest 

 harbours on the Adriatic sea, and present some fine 

 prospects. The inhabitants of the district are esti- 

 mated at 30,000. They are excellent seamen, and 

 were inclined, under the lax government of the Vene- 

 tians, to robbery, particularly by sea. By land, theii 

 resolution and boldness render them the most for- 

 midable enemies of the Turks in that quarter. The 

 steep, rough, and barren heights of Montenegro sur- 

 round this province in a semicircular form. The 

 Turkish port of Dalmatian which extends from Bos- 

 nia to Albania, and belongs to Bosnia, contains the 

 province of Herzegovina, with the town of that name, 

 and the towns of Scardona and Trevigno. See the 

 Travels to Dalmatia and Ragusa, by E. F. Germar 

 (Leipsic, 1817), which is particularly rich in natural 

 history. The splendid work on Dalmatia by general 

 Dejearo (Paris, 1825) exhibits the entomological 

 wealth of the country. 



DALMATICA ; a long, white gown, with white 

 sleeves, formerly worn by the Dalmatians, and, since 

 the time of pope Sylvester I., by the Roman Catholic 

 deacons, over the alba and stola. Also, a part of the 

 ornamental dress formerly worn by the German 

 emperor at the time of his coronation. It was kept 

 in Nuremberg, and put on in Frankfort. 



DALRYMPLE, ALEXANDER, an eminent modern 

 hydrographer, was the son of Sir James Dalrymple, 

 of Hailes near Edinburgh, where he was born in 

 1737. In 1752 he went out to India as a writer in the 

 service of the East India Company. While there he 

 made hydrography his particular study ; and in 1759 

 he was engaged in a voyage of observation, in the 

 course of which he displayed his talents to advan- 

 tage. In 1763 he returned to England ; and when 

 it was determined to send an expedition to the 

 South Sea, to observe the transit of Venus, Mr Dal- 

 rymple would have been employed to conduct it, but 

 he insisted on having the command of the vessel 



