Chapter Dalling and Bulwer to Darwin of D by Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

Dalling and Bulwer to Darwin

Dalling and Bulwer, William Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer, 1st Lord (1801-1872).—Elder brother of Lord Lytton (q.v.), and a distinguished diplomatist. He represented England at Madrid, Washington (where he concluded the Bulwer-Clayton Treaty), Florence, Bucharest, and Constantinople, and was raised to the peerage in 1871. He was the author of a number of books of travel and biography, including An Autumn in Greece (1826), a Life of Byron (1835), Historical Characters (1868-70), and an unfinished life of Lord Palmerston.

Dampier, William (1652-1715).—Discoverer and buccaneer, born near Yeovil. After various seafaring adventures, and leading a semi-piratical life, he was in 1688 marooned on Nicobar Island, but escaped to Acheen, returned to England in 1691. He published his Voyage Round the World (1697), and A Discourse of Winds (1699). He was then employed by government on a voyage of survey and discovery (1699-1700), in the course of which he explored the north-west coast of Australia and the coasts of New Guinea and New Britain. In 1701 he was wrecked upon Ascension Island, from which he was rescued by an East Indiaman. He was afterwards court-martialled for cruelty, and wrote an angry but unconvincing vindication. His Voyage is written in a style plain and homely, but is perspicuous and interesting.

Dana, Richard Henry (1787-1879).—Novelist and critic, born at Cambridge, Mass., was called to the Bar in 1817. Among his novels are Tom Thornton and Paul Felton, both somewhat violent and improbable tales, and his poems, which are better, include The Buccaneer (1827), and The Dying Raven. He is, however, stronger as a critic than as a writer. He wrote largely in The North American Review, and for a time conducted a paper, The Idle Man, which contains some of his best work.

Dana, Richard Henry, Jr. (1815-1882).—Miscellaneous writer, son of the above, educated at Harvard, but on his eyesight giving way shipped as a common sailor, and gave his experiences in Two Years before the Mast (1840). Called to the Bar in 1840, he became an authority on maritime law. Other books by him are The Seaman’s Friend (1841), and Vacation Voyage to Cuba (1859).

Daniel, Samuel (1562-1619).—Poet, son of a music master, was born near Taunton, and educated at Oxford, but did not graduate. He attached himself to the Court as a kind of voluntary laureate, and in the reign of James I. was appointed “Inspector of the children of the Queen’s revels,” and a groom of the Queen’s chamber. He is said to have enjoyed the friendship of Shakespeare and Marlowe, but was “at jealousies” with Ben Jonson. In his later years he retired to a farm which he owned in Somerset, where he died Daniel bears the title of the “well-languaged,” his style is clear and flowing, with a remarkably modern note, but is lacking in energy and fire, and is thus apt to become tedious. His works include sonnets, epistles, masques, and dramas. The most important of them is The History of the Civil Wars between York and Lancaster in 8 books, published in 1604. His Epistles are generally considered his best work, and his sonnets have had some modern admirers. Among his poems may be mentioned the Complaynt of Rosamund, Tethys Festival (1610), and Hymen’s Triumph (1615), a masque, and Musophilus, a defence of learning, Defence of Rhyme (1602).

Darley, George (1795-1846).—Poet, novelist, and critic, born at Dublin, and educated at Trinity College there, he early decided to follow a literary career, and went to London, where he brought out his first poem, Errors of Ecstasie (1822). He also wrote for the London Magazine, under the pseudonym of John Lacy. In it appeared his best story, Lilian of the Vale. Various other books followed, including Sylvia, or The May Queen, a poem (1827). Thereafter he joined the Athenæum, in which he showed himself a severe critic. He was also a dramatist and a profound student of old English plays, editing those of Beaumont and Fletcher in 1840. So deeply was he imbued with the spirit of the 17th century that his poem, “It is not beauty I desire,” was included by F. T. Palgrave in the first edition of his Golden Treasury as an anonymous lyric of that age. He was also a mathematician of considerable talent, and published some treatises on the subject. Darley fell into nervous depression and died in 1846.

Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882).—Naturalist, son of a physician, and grandson of Dr. Erasmus Darwin (q.v.), and of Josiah Wedgwood, the famous potter, was born and was at school at Shrewsbury. In 1825 he went to Edinburgh to study medicine, but was more taken up with marine zoology than with