Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/666

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662 DANAfi trielle de Mulhouse. The principles there es- tablished have led to the American method of bleaching, of which Persoz, in his Traite de T impression des tissues, says that " it realizes the perfection of chemical operations." DANAE, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, and mother of Per- seus. An oracle had predicted that a son of Danae would one day kill Acrisius, and the lat- ter, to prevent the fulfilment of the prophecy, shut up Danae in a brazen tower. But Jupi- ter visited her by transforming himself into a shower of gold and descending through the roof, and Danae gave birth to a son. Acrisius placed the mother and child in a chest, and cast them into the sea ; but Jupiter watched over their safety, and wafted them to the isl- and of Seriphus, where they were kindly re- ceived by King Polydectes. Perseus grew up, and did afterward kill his grandfather by an accident. Another legend relates that Danae went to Italy, where she became the mother of Daunus, the ancestor of Turnus, who was king of the Rutuli when ^Eneas arrived in Italy. I) AX AIDES, according to the Grecian legend, 50 daughters of Danaus, married to the 50 sons of their uncle ^Egyptus. (See DANAUS.) Their father made them promise to murder their husband* on their wedding night. This prom- ise they all fulfilled except Hypermnestra, who spared her husband Lynceus. Her father im- prisoned her for this act, but she afterward gained his forgiveness, and was restored to her husband, who after the death of Danaus succeeded to the throne of Argos. According to some writers, he murdered Danaus with his own hands. The other Danaides buried the bodies of those they had slain, and after this expiatory act were purified from their crime by Mercury and Minerva. Danaus, to procure other husbands for them, instituted public games, in which his daughters' hands were the prizes of the victors. Though the idea is ap- parently inconsistent with that of their purifi- cation, the Danaides were represented as con- demned in Hades to pour water into sieves, in the vain endeavor to fill them, mocked, like Sisyphus, with the delusive hope of ultimate success. This is the generally received version of the story of the Danaides ; but some poets represent Lynceus as avenging the death of his brothers by the murder of all the sisters save his wife. Other portions of the myth are differently given. DANAUS, in Grecian mythology, the son of Belus and grandson of Poseidon (Neptune) and Libya. He was the father of 50 daughters (the Danaides), and the mythical progenitor of the Danai or Argives. At the division of the possessions of Belus, Danaus received the kingdom of Libya, while his twin brother ^Egyptus became the ruler of Arabia. Believ- ing that the 50 sons of his brother were plot- ting against him, Danaus fled with his daugh- ters to Argos, sailing thither in a ship which he had built, and landing on the way at DANCE Rhodes, where he erected a statue to Athena Lindia. Arrived in Argos, he was made king of the country by the people, in consequence of an omen which seemed to the Argives to point to this choice. The sons of ^Egyptus, however, followed him to his new kingdom, but professed friendly intentions, and asked and received his daughters in marriage. (See DANAIDES.) According to some writers, Da- naus died a natural death ; but according to others, he was slain by Lynceus, the only sur- vivor of his brother's sons.. DANBURY, a borough in the town of the same name, one of the county seats of Fairfield co., Connecticut, 28 m. "W. by N. of New Haven, and 53 m. N. N. E. of New York ; pop. of the town in 1870, 8,753 ; of the village, 6,542. It is the terminus of the Danbury and Norwalk rail- road, and of a branch of the Housatonic line. Still river, an affluent of the Housatonic, flows through the town and furnishes good water power. The village is built principally on a single street, 1 m. long, and presents a hand- some appearance. Lake Kenosha, about 2 m. distant, is a favorite resort for boating and fishing. From Deer hill in the vicinity a fine view of the village is obtained. It has long been noted for its manufacture of hats, the first factory having been established in 1780. There are now ten companies engaged in the business, having an aggregate capital of $500,- 000, of which four make 216,000 hats a year. The Danbury shirt company produces 230,000 shirts annually. The manufacture of sewing machines is also carried on. There are two national banks with $577,000 capital, a public library, a high school, and nine churches. Danbury was settled in 1684. In 1771 Robert Sandeman, from whom the sect of Sandema- nians derives its name, died here. The town was attacked and burned by the British in 1777, when Gen. Wooster, the American com- mander, was mortally wounded. In 1854 a monument was erected to his memory, and an- other has recently been raised in honor of the citizens of Danbury who fell in the civil war. DANBY, Francis, a British painter, born in "Wexford, Ireland, Nov. 16, 1793, died proba- bly at Exmouth, England, Feb. 17, 1861. Among the best known of his early pictures are "Christ Walking on the Sea," "The Em- barkation of Cleopatra on the Cydnus to meet Mark Antony," "The Opening of the Seventh Seal," &c. His later works are more familiar to the general public through the medium of the illustrated art journals. Such are the "Ship on Fire," "Departure of Ulysses from Ithaca," and " Caius Marius among the Ruins of Carthage." Two of his sons have also ac- quired some distinction as painters. DANCE, George, an English architect and ar- tist, son of a distinguished architect of the same name, born in 1741, died in London, Jan. 14, 1825. He had already secured a reputa- tion when he was commissioned in 1770 to build Newgate prison, which was his principal