Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/320

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312 DUNABURG DUNCAN connected by canals with the Volga, the Dnie- per, the Beresina, the Niemen, and Lake Ilmen. Its waters abound in fish. DUNABURG, or Dvinabnrg, a fortified town of Russia, in the government of Vitebsk, on the Diina, 110 ra. S. E. of Riga; pop. in 1868, 27,- 822. It has a considerable trade and famous annual fairs. The principal exports are flax, IK-IMP, tallow, and timber. It is connected by railway with Riga, St. Petersburg, and Khar- kov. The fortress, built in 1825, on a site chosen by Stephen Bathori in 1582, is an important strategical point. Dunaburg was founded by the Livonian knights in the 13th century, and was successively annexed to Po- land, Sweden, and Russia, and has remained in the possession of the latter power since 1772. DUNBAR, a seaport town of Haddingtonshire, Scotland, at the mouth of the frith of Forth, 27 m. E. by N. of Edinburgh ; pop. in 1871, 3,320. It has manufactories of soap, iron, steam engines, sail cloth, and cordage, and some trade. Vessels of 300 tons can enter the harbor, but the navigation is somewhat danger- ous. I) unbar is a place of great antiquity, and its castle, now in ruins, was formerly a famous stronghold. In 1296 the Scots were defeated here with great slaughter by the English army of Edward I. In 1337 Black Agnes, countess of Dunbar, defended the castle for nearly five . months against the earl of Salisbury. Another important battle was fought near this town in 1650 between Cromwell with 11,000 men and Gen. Lesley at the head of a Scottish army twice as large, hi which the latter was deci- sively defeated. DUNBAR, William, a Scottish poet, born in Salton about 1460, died about 1525. He re- ceived the degree of master of arts from the university of St. Andrews in 1479, became a Franciscan friar, and travelled over England and France. Returning to Scotland, he was received at the court of James IV., whom he delighted with his poetical compositions, and with the charms of his conversation. His poems show a mastery of almost every kind of verse. Some of them were printed in 1508; many remained for two centuries in manuscript, but their fame has steadily in- creased since their publication at Edinburgh and Perth in 1770 and 1778. "The Thistle and Rose " was a nuptial song to celebrate the marriage of King James IV. with the princess Margaret of England. "The Dance" is an imaginative poem, in which Mahoun (a name of Satan derived from Mohammed) asks his principal ministers to entertain him with a mummery, whereupon the seven deadly sins present themselves and deliver verses, which are severe criticisms upon the vices of the time. The short poem of "The Merle and Nightingale" is a picture of the contest be- tween earthly and spiritual affections, the merle recommending a lusty life in love's ser- vice, and the nightingale declaring that all love is lost but upon God alone. All the poems of Dunbar abound in allegory. A complete edi- tion was published in Edinburgh in 1824 by David Laing, with a life of the poet. DUNCAN, king of Scotland. See MACBETH. DUNCAN, Adam, Viscount Duncan of Camper- down, a British admiral, born in Dundee, Scot- land, July 1, 1731, died near Edinburgh, Aug. 4, 1804. He early entered the navy, was made a post captain in 1761, and distinguished himself under Keppel in the attack on Havana. In 1780 he was placed in command of a ship under Rod- ney, and in the engagement off Cape St. Vin- cent was the first to bring his vessel into action, capturing one of the heaviest of the Spanish ships. In 1787 he. became rear ad- miral, and in 1795 admiral of the blue. In the latter year he took command of the united English and Russian squadron in the North sea, where within two years he annihilated the Dutch commerce. In 1797 he blockaded a large fleet under De Winter in the waters of the Texel, when a serious mutiny broke out in his own squadron. Insubordination had become general in the British navy, and Dun- can had but two ships faithful to him. Yet when he advanced against the mutineers, their dissensions caused several of their ships to drop the red flag and return to duty, and the sedi- tion was quickly ended. The Russian fleet was withdrawn. Duncan put into Yarmouth roads for repairs and provisions, where intelligence was brought to him that De Winter had put to sea. He immediately set sail, and with a fa- vorable wind and by a masterly manoauvre placed himself between the Dutch and their retreat. The two fleets met between Camper- down and Egrnont, within five miles of the coast, Oct. 11. De Winter was drawing fast toward the land, but Duncan began the action without waiting to form a line. De Winter maintained the contest for some time with his own flag ship after the rest of his fleet had either been captured or had quitted the action, and struck his colors only when his ship was entirely disabled. The loss of the English was 1,030 killed and wounded, while that of the Dutch was considerably greater. The English took nine sail of the line and two frigates. The victory created the utmost enthusiasm in England, where it was hailed as a presage of the downfall of the maritime power of Hol- land, long the most formidable rival of Eng- land on the seas. Duncan was rewarded with a peerage and a pension of 2,000. He re- mained in active service against the Batavian republic till 1800, after which he retired. DUNCAN, Thomas, a Scottish artist, born at Kinclaven, Perthshire, May 24, 1807, died in Edinburgh, May 25, 1845. He was professor of coloring and drawing in the academy of Ed- inburgh, and an associate of the royal acade- my. His picture of " Charles Edward asleep after the battle of Culloden, protected by Flora McDonald," has been frequently engraved. Among the finest of his other pieces are " Charles Edward and the Highlanders enter-