DOMINOES 



1840 



States .the holiday which corresponds most 

 closely to it in spirit and observance is Inde- 

 pendence Day, the Fourth of July. See BRIT- 

 ISH NORTH AMERICA ACT. 



DOMINOES, dom'inoze. Few indoor games 

 which children play have more fascination for 

 them than dominoes, in which small, rectan- 

 gular pieces of wood or ivory, plain on one side 

 and divided by a line into two parts on the 

 other side, are used. The blocks are generally 

 black and thus the name domino, which is the 

 name of a black mask, was given to the small 

 blocks from which the game gets its name. 

 There are twenty-eight dominoes in a regular 

 set, and these are marked with dots on the 

 side where the line divides the piece into two 

 parts. One of these dominoes is blank on 

 both sides of the dividing line, while the rest 

 are numbered downward through all combina- 

 tions from double six to double naught. 



In playing the game, the dominoes are 

 placed face downward and after mixing them 

 v/ell each player is allowed to choose a certain 

 number, usually five; the first player is the 

 one who has the highest double among his 

 five dominoes. Suppose it is the 4-4. Then 

 the next player must play so that one end will 

 match this domino, for instance a 4-5. The 

 following player must match by playing the 

 4 or 5. Thus the game goes on, and if one 

 cannot play he draws from the pile left until 

 he gets one which will match. After the pile 

 is all used a player must "pass" if he cannot 

 match that is, he must miss his turn. The 

 one who first plays off all his dominoes wins, 

 or if the game is blocked, the one who has the 

 lowest number of dots wins. Many special 

 ways for making the game more difficult have 

 been added to the original game, and these are 

 called by different names, such as muggins, 

 all fives and block game. 



This game is valuable as well as interesting 

 to young children, for it teaches them addition, 

 and tends to make them watchful and alert; 

 older children learn much in the power of con- 

 centration and planning, as it is a game of skill 

 as well as chance. B.C. 



DOMITIAN, domish'ian (51-96), a cruel 

 Roman emperor, whose persecution of Chris- 

 tians and murder of men of talent, learning 

 and wealth finally led to his assassination. 

 During the first part of his fifteen years as 

 ruler many good laws were passed, but his am- 

 bition and jealousy soon over-balanced his 

 judgment. After the tyrant had been assas- 

 sinated with the aid of his wife, the Senate 



ordered his name erased from all public monu- 

 ments and books. In the reign of Domitian the 

 Roman general Agricpla extended the boun- 

 daries of the empire into the interior of Scot- 

 land and built a line of forts from the Firth of 

 Forth to the Firth of Clyde. 



DON, dahn, an important river in Russia. 

 flowing southward from a small lake in the 

 government of Tula. After a course -of 1,150 

 miles it empties into the Sea of Azov. It is 

 navigable for 800 miles from the sea and is 

 important as a commercial route. In its upper 

 course it flows through low-lying, swampy land, 

 but for the greater part it runs through rich 

 agricultural and timber districts. At one point 

 it approaches within thirty-seven miles of 

 the mighty Volga River, with which it is con- 

 nected by a canal. The waters of the Don 

 carry a great volume of internal products, 

 especially lumber, grain and cattle. It abounds 

 in fish, and the fisheries give employment to 

 thousands of men and women. Its chief tribu- 

 taries are the Donetz, Sosna, Voronezh, Ma- 

 nytch and Medvieditza. At its mouth is the 

 port of Azov, growing steadily in importance 

 as the river traffic increases. 



DONATELLO, donahtel'o (1386-1466), an 

 Italian artist, the founder of modern sculpture. 

 He was the son of a wool merchant, but was 

 early adopted by wealthy relatives, and in 

 their home learned to love things beautiful and 

 artistic. He worked at the goldsmith's trade, 

 and when Brunelleschi, the great architect, 

 was attracted to the boy and took him to 

 Rome, Donatello was at once able to support 

 himself by his skill in working metals. After 

 several years of study of statuary in Rome, 

 Donatello returned to Florence, the home of 

 his childhood, where he made many statues 

 for the cathedral and campanile, besides doing 

 much work for important patrons. His two 

 statues of Saint Peter and Saint Mark were 

 greatly admired, but when he produced Saint 

 George, the man in armor, it was considered his 

 masterpiece. Michelangelo, when he saw it 

 over a hundred years later, stood before it a 

 few moments and then said, "March!" The 

 statue was so real and full of life that it 

 seemed a soldier ready to obey orders. 



In 1433 Donatello went again to Rome. His 

 work from that time shows the influence of 

 classic art, but he added to it his own genius, 

 which put motion and grace into his figures. 

 Until his day men had carved their statues 

 as part of the buildings in which they stood. 

 In 1434, when Donatello returned once more 



