6?G DEL 
tertain of his abilities and erudition, that, when in pur- 
fnance of the advice of the celebrated M. Arnaud, they 
had determined on giving a new edition of the works of 
St. Auguftine, fatlier Delfau was fixed upon as the fit¬ 
ted: perfon to be entrufted with the execution of that de- 
frgn. To tliis work he applied himfelf with all his 
powers, and had made confrderable progrefs in it, when 
an anonymous publication made its appearance, intitled, 
VAbbe Commcndatairc, that, from the freedom and force 
with which it attacked the practice of holding benefices 
in covmendam, andexpofed abufes in the management of 
monadic revenues, excited no fmall difpleafure in the 
clerical body. Of this publication father Delfau was 
fufpecled to be the author, though, as it afterwards ap¬ 
peared, very unjtiftly, and was banilhed to a convent in 
the Lower Bretagne. By this fentence he was unfor¬ 
tunately prevented from completing the grand work 
which he had undertaken. He had not long been in his' 
place of exile before he u'as ordered to Bred, to preach 
on a public feftival ; when the veffel in which he took 
It is paffage from Landevenec to that place was wrecked, 
and he was unhappily drowned, juft after he had com¬ 
pleted the thirty-ninth year of his age. In the violent 
controverfy which took place betwebn the canons regular 
of St. Auguftine and the Benedictines, father Delfau 
publiflied a Latin difiertation on the fide of the quedion 
embraced by his community. He alfo publifhed, An 
Apology for Cardinal Fttrftemberg, unjudly arrefted'at 
Cologne by the Imperial Troops ; and a well-written 
hidorical eulogy, intitled, The Epitaph of Cafmir, King of 
Poland, who, after having abdicated his Crown, retired 
into France, and became Abbot of St. Germain des Pres. 
D.ELFI'NO, a town of European Turkey, and capital 
of Lower Albania, where the pacha refides : 356 miles 
weft of Conftantinople, and fixty fouth-fouth-weft of Edef- 
fa. Lat. 40. 4. N. Ion. 39. i.E. Ferro. 
DELFT, a city of Holland, (ifuated on a canal called 
the Schie, which, after traverfing the city, runs into the 
Meufe, at Schiedam and Dclftdtaven ; the figure is a long 
fquare. Godfrey le Bofiu, duke of Lorraine, having con¬ 
quered Holland, began to build this city in 1075. The 
country about it is agreeable, but fo low, that if great 
care were not taken to keep the dikes and fluices in good 
repair, they would run great hazard of being overwhelm¬ 
ed with the waters. This city was formerly much cele¬ 
brated for beer, of which it exported large quantities : 
as likdwifefor that peculiar kind of glazed earthen-ware, 
called Delft, from this place of its original manufacture. 
The magiftracy is conipofed of four burgomafters, and 
feven echevins, jointly with the vroedfehap, or common 
council, who name the efcout for three years, and con¬ 
tinue him, if they judge proper. The city holds a third 
rank in the dates, and has many handfome houfes and 
grand public buildings. Delft has often experienced 
the calamities of war, and unfortunate accidents. In the 
fourteenth century, Albert de Bavaria, comte of Hol¬ 
land, took the city, after a fiege of fix weeks, difmant- 
tledand ruined the 'cattle, and obliged the citizens to pay 
10,000 crowns, becaufe they had favoured the factions of 
the Houks againft the Cabillautins. In 1536, the city was 
reduced to allies by a dreadful fire, during which a dork, 
not being able to Live her young, was obferved to preci¬ 
pitate herfelf into the flames. - It was foon after built 
with greater magnificence. In 1654, it was again greatly 
damaged by fire, which dedroyed a magazine (in which 
was fiored a great quantity of gunpowder) and above 500 
houfes; Tince which the powder magazine is built at 
forne didance from the town. Before the reformation. 
Delft had ten religious houfes, belides hofpitals and cha¬ 
pels. The celebrated Hugo Grotius was a native of this 
place. Twenty-nine miles fouth-fouth-wed of Amfter- 
dam, and eight north-wed of Rotterdam. Lat. 52. 1. N-> 
Ion. 21.47. E. 'Ferro. 
DELFT-WARE,yi a kind of pottery made at Delft in 
Holland, from whence its name, which formerly fuppiied 
all Europe, until it was lupplanted by a yellow pottery 
DEL 
made in France, which has fince given place to the queen’s- 
ware, and various kinds of porcelain fabricated in Eng¬ 
land. Pottery may be diftinguiflied into two kinds j 
namely, that which has a tranfparent varniih or glaze, 
and that which has an opake glaze. The queen’s-ware, 
the done-ware, and various kinds of china, are of the 
former fort. The Delft-ware, and other kinds of coarfe 
china, are of the latter fort. In every kind of pottery 
it is an object of great importance that the expanfions 
and contractions of the glaze and the body, fnould be 
nearly the fame at like temperatures : but this definable 
property is feldorn found in veffels covered with an opake 
glaze or enamel. As the Delft pottery has fallen into 
diftife, it feerns of lefs confequence to enquire into its 
compofilion, more efpecially as this difufe has been oc- 
cufioned by the production of better potteries. Pure clay 
is not a fit material, when ufed alone, for the making of 
Delft-ware. Different kinds of earths mixed together 
are found to fucceed better. Pieces of ware made of 
clay alone would require too much time to dry; they 
would crack and would lofe their form, unlefs made ex¬ 
ceedingly thick. An addition of marie is found to leflen 
the contraction of the clay, renders it lefs. compact, al¬ 
lows the water to efcape in the drying of the ware with¬ 
out alteration of the form, and affords a better ground 
for the enamel, which appears more gloffy and white 
than when laid on clay alone. The kinds of clay which 
are chiefly ufed in the compofition of Delft-ware, are 
the blue and green. But a mixture of blue clay and 
made would not be fufficiently folid, and would be apt 
to fcale, unlefs it were expofed to . a fire more ir.tenfe 
than what is commonly ufed for burning Delft-ware. To 
give a greater folidity fome red clay is added, which, on 
account of its ferruginous matter, pofleffes the requifite 
binding quality. The proportions of thefe ingredients 
vary, according to the different qualities of the earths 
employed. Tiiree parts of blue clay, two of red, and 
five of marie, form the compofition ufed in the bed: mo¬ 
dern manufactories. The preparation of the white ena¬ 
mel with which this ware is glazed, is another effential 
part in which many artifts fail. M. D’Antic recom¬ 
mends for this purpofe a mixture of an hundred pounds 
of calx of lead, with about a feventh part of that quan¬ 
tity of calx of tin for common Delft, or a fourth part of 
calx of-tin for the fined Delft; an hundred or an hun¬ 
dred and ten pounds of fine fund; and about twenty or 
thirty pounds of fea-falt, or fait of glafs. 
DELFT'HAVEN, a fea-port town of Holland, fitu- 
ated on the north fide of the Meufe, with a canal cut to 
join the Schie, by means of which boats may pafs to 
Delft, the Hague, and other places. It is ftrongly for¬ 
tified, and well defended by dams : two miles fouth-weft 
of Rotterdam, and eight fouth-foutli-eaft of Delft. 
DELF'ZUYI., a fortrefs of the United Dutch States, 
in Groningen, in the Ommelands, fituated at the mouth 
of the river Damfter, where it empties itfelf into the 
Ems. It has often been demoliftied and rebuilt, and is 
now a ftrong place, fortified with good ramparts, feven 
baftiqnSj'and a citadel, with large and deep ditches ; the 
harbour is very convenient, and will contain a great num¬ 
ber of vedels. The Spaniards laid fiege to it in 1581, 
under the conduCt of the comte de Rennebourg, who, 
having blocked up the river Ems and the fea coaft, com¬ 
pelled them to furrender after fixteen days, on condition 
that five companies of deferters were permitted to depart 
unmolefted. In 1590, prince Maurice retook it, fince 
which it has remained in the poffefiion of the dates : 
eleven miles weft.fouth-weft of Emden, and fifteen north- 
eaft of Groningen. Lat. 53. 19. N. Ion. 24. 6. E. Ferro. 
DEL'HI, a country of Hindooftan, bounded on the 
north by the mountains of Thibet, on the eaft by the 
country of Thibet and the fubah of Oude, on the foutli 
by the countries of Agra and Agimere, and on the weft: 
by Moultan ; about 165 miles in length, and 140 in 
breadth. It is divided into feveral provinces or circars, 
and contains many cities and towns. Several parts of it 
produce 
