of the Revolution. Denon afterwards made the acquaintance of Bonaparte at the house of Madame Beauharnais, that rendezvous of distinguished men. He accompanied the general in his expedition to Egypt, where he alternately wielded the pen and the sword, and it is said with equal dexterity. Two years after his return to France he published his great work on Egypt, "Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypt, pendant les Campagnes du Géneral Bonaparte," 2 vols. folio, 1802. It contains drawings, made by himself, of all the most interesting and striking Egyptian monuments, and is alone sufficient to immortalize his name. Denon was about the time of the publication of this work appointed by Napoleon directeur-géneral des musées. He was a great admirer of Bonaparte, whom he accompanied also in the campaigns of Austria, Spain, and Poland. It was he who directed the imperial spoiler in choosing works of art from the museums and picture-galleries of conquered cities to enrich the collections in the Louvre. Denon is said to have often made his sketches from the most perilous point of the battle-field. At the Restoration he lost the superintendence of the museums. The rest of his life he spent in retirement, occupying himself chiefly with the preparation of a general history of art. This work he did not live to finish. He died at Paris in 1825.—R. M., A.
DENS, Peter, born at Boom, near Antwerp, in 1690, was educated at Mechlin and Louvain for the ecclesiastical state. After being ordained priest in 1715, he was promoted successively to the offices of synodal examiner, and president of the seminary in the archdiocese of Mechlin, and finally to that of archpriest of the cathedral. His exertions as a teacher were incessant. Besides his labours in the seminary, he used to collect around him every Sunday a great crowd of poor persons, whom he instructed in the rudiments of the christian doctrine. He was greatly instrumental in systematizing the study of theology, and was the sole author of two works—one on the "Virtue of Religion," the other on the "Sacrament of Penance." The body of theology which goes by his name is, with the exception of these two treatises, the work of other hands. He died in 1775, at the age of eighty-five.—T. A.
DENTATUS, Manlius Curius, a noble Roman belonging to the gens Curia. Whilst tribune of the people, he signalized himself in the popular interest at the consular elections, by his opposition to the interrex Appius Claudius, the Blind. During his first consulship, 290 b.c., he triumphed twice; once for successfully terminating the Samnite war, and again for his victories over the Sabines. If we may believe Aurelius Victor, he enjoyed an ovation about 285, for success against the Lucanians; two years later we find him prætor. In his second consulship, 275, he vanquished Pyrrhus and drove him from Italy, and in consequence obtained another triumph. Of the rich spoils, he retained but a single wooden vessel for sacrificial purposes; part of them, however, defrayed the expense of the aqueduct from the Anio to the city, built by him during his censorship in 272. Elected a second time consul in 274, he fought with success against the Samnites, Lucanians, and Bruttians, and at the close of the war retired to his Sabine farm. In reward for the varied and eminent services he had rendered to the country, the republic gave him a house and 500 jugera out of the Sabine lands; and after his death, which occurred in 270, the expression of gratitude was continued in a handsome dowery to his daughter.—R. B.
D'EON de Beaumont, Charles Genevieve Louis Auguste André Timothée, commonly known as the Chevalier D'Eon, one of the most singular adventurers of the last century, was born at Tonnerre, in what is now the department of the Yonne, 5th October, 1728. Son of an avocat, he was destined for the bar, and pursued his studies at the college Mazarin with distinguished success, displaying, along with intellectual capacity, a remarkable skill in bodily exercises, especially fencing. Avocat and doctor of law, he had for a time an inclination towards the church, but this soon passed away, and was succeeded by literary activity. He became associated with Fréron in the Année Litteraire. His true bent, however, was towards politics, or what passed for such; and at twenty-five he published two works on finance, which produced some impression, and paved the way for his future advancement. His pushing and intriguing disposition had been, we may suppose, busily at work, when, two years afterwards, we find him despatched on a secret mission to Russia by Louis XV., with whom, until the death of that monarch, he kept up a secret correspondence. D'Eon is said at this period to have borne a feminine appearance very different from the particularly manly and soldierlike one universally ascribed to him in after years. Be this as it may, it would seem that, with the connivance of the French court, he donned female habiliments and became lectrice to the Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Almost more wonderful—but all is marvellous in D'Eon's history—he succeeded, if report is to be believed, in changing the whole policy of Russia, and in gaining over the Empress Elizabeth (it was the eve of the Seven Years' war) from her contemplated alliance with Prussia and England to one with France and Austria. During those years of dim negotiation, D'Eon flits to and fro between St. Petersburg, Paris, and Vienna, now a woman—now a man. In 1756 the lectrice of the preceding year reappears in St. Petersburg in men's clothes, as French secretary of embassy, and figuring as the brother of his former self! Anon he is an officer of dragoons, fighting and receiving wounds. In the May of 1762 he re-emerges at London as secretary of embassy to the French ambassador, the duke de Nivernois, and deep in the negotiations which preceded the peace of Paris of the following year. For his services in procuring that peace he received the cross of St. Louis, and by and by he was appointed, on the return of the duke de Nivernois to Paris, minister-resident, and then plenipotentiary of France at the court of London. D'Eon had culminated, and henceforward his fortunes begin to wane. According to his own account, madame de Pompadour was jealous of his secret correspondence with Louis XV., and resolved on his destruction. The count de Guerchy was sent as ambassador to London, bearing instructions to D'Eon to act as secretary of embassy under him. D'Eon denied the genuineness of the instructions, and alleged that Guerchy was bent on kidnapping him. In the London courts of law, there were actions by D'Eon against Guerchy for attempts upon his person; and by de Guerchy against D'Eon for libel. In the meantime, doubts were raised in society as to D'Eon's sex, and bets to very large amounts were laid for and against his manhood. Roaming hither and thither, not allowed to re-enter France, D'Eon began to be dangerous to the government of his native country. He published some private and confidential documents which had come into his possession, when he was the accredited agent of France; and both impoverished and in debt, he threatened, if not stopped, the publication of others still more important. On the accession of Louis XVI. Beaumarchais (afterwards of Figaro celebrity) was deputed to proceed to London and negotiate with D'Eon. The latter was to acknowledge himself a woman, don female habiliments, and give up the papers, in return for which he was to receive a consideration. Beaumarchais succeeded, and, shrewd as he was, seems to have been completely duped by D'Eon's assumption of feminity. In less than two years after the signature of the agreement, the question of D'Eon's sex was solemnly tried before Lord Mansfield, 1st July, 1777. The trial was instituted to determine wagers made on the delicate question. Medical and other evidence brought to prove that D'Eon was a woman, was not rebutted by "the other side;" and Lord Mansfield and a jury solemnly pronounced him a female. A month or so afterwards, D'Eon, who had not personally figured in the proceedings before Lord Mansfield, arrived at Versailles, and seems to have remained in France until 1784, when he received permission to return to London for his library and other effects. He was still a resident of the English metropolis, when the Revolution of 1789 broke out; and he remained in England until his death, occasionally appearing at public assauts d'armes, and displaying great cunning of fence. In 1791 a catalogue of the books and other property of "Madémoiselle D'Eon," to be sold in London by auction, was published, with a preliminary explanation of the causes which had led to the step. Up to his death in 1810, he is said to have received a pension from George III., and is known to have been very kindly treated by Father Elisée, the chief surgeon of Louis XVIII. From the autumn of 1777 to his death in London on the 21st May, 1810, he had worn female attire, and represented himself to be a woman; but immediately after his death the deception was detected. A medical examination of his body was made, in the presence of persons of note and position, by Copeland the eminent surgeon, who published a certificate declaring that D'Eon was a male. Numbers of persons visited the chamber of death, and convinced themselves of the imposture which D'Eon had practised. The
