D A R 



#76 



D A R 



Daphne 



Dar-fur. 



the mountain of Leopoldsperg, from which there is a 

 splendid view of Vienna in all its extent. The passen- 

 gers land at NussdorfF, where there is a custom-house. 

 After passing Vienna, the Danube flows to the south- 

 east, forming an immense number of islands, one of 

 which, the island of Lobau, is famous for the scene of 

 the bloody battles which terminated the coalition of 

 1809. The Danube then passes Presburg, and en- 

 ters Hungary below the town of Haimburg. Its course 

 is a little to the south-east from Presburg to Comorn ; 

 but it afterwards runs almost due east to Waitxen, be- 

 yond which it runs directly south nearly to its junction 

 with the Drave. It then moves in a south-east direc- 

 tion towards Belgrade, Semendria, and Widdin. After 

 resuming its easterly course, it forms the limits between 

 Wallachia and Bulgaria, and at last discharges itself by 

 several channels into the Black Sea. Between Buda and 

 Belgrade it is so deep, that it could be navigated by 

 men of war ; but on account of the cataracts, it is not 

 navigable to the Black Sea. 



The water of the Danube is generally of a yellow 

 and clayey colour, and is impregnated with argillaceous 

 particles. It contains a great number of different spe- 

 cies of fish, which become very fat and delicate, from 

 the quantity of plants and seeds which are brought 

 down by the mountain torrents.- 



For fuller details respectingthe subject of the Danube, 

 the reader may consult the following books: L'Antiquaire 

 du Danube, anoldviork; Hess Voyages en Allemagne, torn, 

 hi.; Arndt Beuchstuckc a us einer Iiciss nach Wien, vol. i. 

 Leipzig, 1801 ; but particularly Donau-Reise von Ke- 

 gensburg bis Wien, mit Angabe alter Orischqflen und 

 ihrer Merhvurdigkeiten. Ratisbon, 1802. (V) 



DAPHNE, a genus of plants of the class Monandria, 

 and order Monogynia. See Botany, p. 203. 



DARDANA, or the town of the Dardanelles, is a town 

 of Turkey, in the province of Romelia, situated at the 

 foot of the castle of the Dardanelles. It is about a mile 

 ■and a half in circuit. Cotton stuffs are manufactured 

 here, and also sail-cloth. A kind of earthen ware is made 

 in great quantities, to the amount of 1(5,000 crowns an- 

 nually. Small vessels are built here, and wax, oil, cot- 

 ton and wine are exported. Dr Clarke informs us, that 

 in the recess of a small bay, before reaching the town, 

 is the best situation for viewing the part of the strait, 

 where Xerxes is supposed to have passed with his ar- 

 mies ; and from this place the two castles have a very 

 striking appearance. The wine of the Dardanelles, 

 which is of ared colour like that of Tenedos, is preferable 

 to the latter, and keeps to a great age ; and after being 

 Tcept 20 or 30 years, it loses its colour but not its 

 .strength. It is called the Vino della Lege, and is made 

 chiefly by Jews. It is sent to Constantinople, Smyrna, 

 Aleppo, and even to England. Its price is about two- 

 pence a bottle. In 1766', this town received great in- 

 jury from an earthquake. The number of houses is 

 1200, among which 200 are Greek, 100 Armenian, and 

 50 Jewish. East Long, of the old castle 26° 1.9' 30", 

 N. Lat. 40° 9'. See Clarke's Travels, vol. ii. p. 64-. (w) 

 DAR-FUR, * a country in the interior of Africa, 

 and situated toward the east of what is generally cal- 

 led the central division of that quarter of the globe, 

 extends from 11° to 15° 0' N. Lat. and from 25° 40' 

 to 29° 20' E. Long. The people of this country pos- 

 sess no written documents ; and little dependence can 

 be placed upon what they relate of tlieir early history. 

 The people of Dageou, a country more towards the 



west, and who are said to have come from the vicinity Dar-fur. 

 of Tunis, conquered the country now called Fur, but ^-"" , Y - "'"« 

 were at length exhausted by intestine wars. The pre- 

 sent race of kings then succeeded, supposed to have 

 been of Moorish origin, and to have been driven from 

 the north by the Arabs. Some of the earlier princes 

 are still spoken of by the names Solyman, Mohammed, 

 &c. ; but very contradictory accounts are given of the 

 genealogy and succession of the different monarchs. 

 The reign of Solyman is commonly mentioned as the 

 sera, when Islamism was introduced into the country ; 

 and Mr Browne is inclined to place the reign of that 

 prince between the years 1650 and 1680. 



The monarch is completely desjjotic ; and has no Governv 

 council to controul or assist him in his office. He con- rnent. 

 siders the soil and its productions as his personal pro- 

 perty, and the people as his slaves. He has no restraint 

 but the Koran, though, in cases of extreme oppression, 

 the Fukkara, or ecclesiastics, express their disappro- 

 bation sometimes with considerable boldness, but they 

 possess no regular authority, and the prince fears no- 

 thing so much as any alienation in the minds of the 

 soldiery. In the provinces, his power is delegated to 

 officers generally called Meleks, who possess an autho- 

 rity equally arbitrary. If a province has been recently 

 conquered, or annexed to the kingdom, the chief is 

 permitted to retain the title of Sultan, but owes his 

 appointment and renders tribute to the Sultan of Fur. 

 The crown is properly hereditary, descending to the 

 oldest son, or in default of heirs male, to the oldest bro- 

 ther of the deceased monarch ; but this received rule of 

 succession is frequently set aside, and the strongest 

 claimant becomes the sovereign. In this manner Abd- 

 el-rachman had gained possession of the supreme 

 power in the year 1787 ; but in 1795, when Mr 

 Browne penetrated into his dominions, his severe re- 

 gulations and personal avarice had excited the discon- 

 tent of his subjects, and particularly of the soldiery, to 

 such a degree, as threatened a speedy termination to 

 his reign. When the sovereign appears in public, all 

 the spectators, as he passes, are obliged to be bare- 

 footed, to fall on their knees, and if they are his sub- 

 jects, to bow themselves to the earth. Even the Meleks, 

 when they approach the throne, are required to creep 

 on their hands and knees. On a great day of public 

 audience, described by Mr Browne, the king was seat- 

 ed on his throne under a lofty canopy composed of va- 

 rious Syrian and Indian stuffs of different patterns, hung 

 loosely on a light frame of wood. The Meleks were 

 seated at some distance on the right and left, and be- 

 hind them a line of guards, with a small piece of cop- 

 per, and a black ostrich feather in the front of their 

 caps, a spear in the right hand, and a target of tie hide 

 of the hippopotamus on the opposite arm, while their 

 dress consisted only of a cotton shirt of the manufacture 

 of the country. Behind the throne were 14 or 15 eu- 

 nuchs, splendidly but clumsily clothed in habiliments 

 of cloth or silk ; and the space in front was filled with 

 petitioners and spectators to the number of more than 

 fifteen hundred. A band of hired encomiasts stood on 

 the monarch's left hand, crying out, as loud as possible, 

 during the whole ceremony ; " See the buffalo, the 

 offspring of a buffalo, a bull of bulls, the elephant of 

 superior strength, the powerful Sultan Abd-el-rachman- 

 el-rashed ! May God prolong thy life ! O ! Master — 

 may God assist thee and render thee victorious !" 



The religion of the country is that of Mahomet, and, Rcigion. 



* Dar, signifies a kingdom or district and Far, a deer, a name supposed to have been 

 conquerors, indicating the rapidity of their flight. 



iven to the natives by the Mahoraedan 



