Chapter Duff to Dyer of D by Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

Duff to Dyer

Duff, Sir Mountstuart E. Grant (1829-1906).—Miscellaneous writer, was M.P. for the Elgin Burghs, and Lieut.-Governor of Madras. He published Studies of European Politics, books on Sir H. Maine, Lord de Tabley, and Renan, and a series of Notes from a Diary, perhaps his most interesting work.

Dufferin, Helen Selina (Sheridan), Countess of (1807-1867).—Eldest daughter of Tom Sheridan, grand- daughter of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (q.v.), and sister of Mrs. Norton (q.v.). She and her two sisters were known as “the three Graces,” the third being the Duchess of Somerset. She shared in the family talent, and wrote a good deal of verse, her best known piece being perhaps The Lament of the Irish Emigrant, beginning “I’m sittin’ on the stile, Mary.” She also wrote Lispings from Low Latitudes, or Extracts from the Journal of the Hon. Impulsia Gushington, Finesse, or a Busy Day at Messina, etc.

Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan (1816-1903).—Poet, born in Monaghan, early took to journalism, and became one of the founders of the Nation newspaper, and one of the leaders of the Young Ireland movement. Thereafter he went to Australia, where he became a leading politician, and rose to be Premier of Victoria. His later years were spent chiefly on the Continent. He did much to stimulate in Ireland a taste for the national history and literature, started The Library of Ireland, and made a collection, The Ballad Poetry of Ireland, which was a great success. He also published an autobiography, My Life in Two Hemispheres.

Dugdale, Sir William (1605-1686).—Herald and antiquary, was born at Coleshill, Warwickshire, and educated at Coventry School. From early youth he showed a strong bent towards heraldic and antiquarian studies, which led to his appointment, in 1638, as a Pursuivant-extraordinary, from which he rose to be Garter-King-at-Arms. In 1655, jointly with Roger Dodsworth, he brought out the first vol. of Monasticon Anglicanum (the second following in 1661, and the third in 1673), containing the charters of the ancient monasteries. In 1656 he published the Antiquities of Warwickshire, which maintains a high place among county histories, and in 1666 Origines Judiciales. His great work, The Baronage of England, appeared in 1675-6. Other works were a History of Imbanking and Drayning, and a History of St. Paul’s Cathedral. All Dugdale’s writings are monuments of learning and patient investigation.

Du Maurier, George Louis Palmella Busson (1834-1896).—Artist and novelist, born and educated in Paris, in 1864 succeeded John Leech on the staff of Punch. His three novels, Peter Ibbetson (1891), Trilby (1894), and The Martian (1896), originally appeared in Harper’s Magazine.

Dunbar, William (1465?-1530?).—Poet, is believed to have been born in Lothian, and educated at St. Andrews, and in his earlier days he was a Franciscan friar. Thereafter he appears to have been employed by James IV. in some Court and political matters. His chief poems are The Thrissil and the Rois (The Thistle and the Rose) (1503), The Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins, a powerful satire, The Golden Targe, an allegory, and The Lament for the Makaris (poets) (circa 1507). In all these there is a vein of true poetry. In his allegorical poems he follows Chaucer in his setting, and is thus more or less imitative and conventional: in his satirical pieces, and in the Lament, he takes a bolder flight and shows his native power. His comic poems are somewhat gross. The date and circumstances of his death are uncertain, some holding that he fell at Flodden, others that he was alive so late as 1530. Other works are The Merle and The Nightingale, and the Flyting (scolding) of Dunbar and Kennedy. Mr. Gosse calls Dunbar “the largest figure in English literature between Chaucer and Spenser.” He has bright strength, swiftness, humour, and pathos, and his descriptive touch is vivid and full of colour.

Dunlop, John Colin (circa 1785-1842).—Historian, son of a Lord Provost of Glasgow, where and at Edinburgh he was editor, was called to the Bar in 1807, and became Sheriff of Renfrewshire. He wrote a History of Fiction (1814), a History of Roman Literature to the Augustan Age (1823-28), and Memoirs of Spain during the Reigns of Philip IV. and Charles II. (1834). He also made translations from the Latin Anthology.

Duns Scotus, Johannes (1265?-1308?).—Schoolman. The dates of his birth and death and the place of his birth are alike doubtful. He may have been at Oxford, is said to have been a regent or professor at Paris, and was a Franciscan. He was a man of extraordinary learning, and received the sobriquet of