DELPHINE, a novel by Mme. de Stael; presumed to be an idealised picture of herself.

DELTA, the signature of D. Macbeth Moir in Blackwood’s Magazine.

DELUC, JEAN ANDRE, geologist, born in Geneva; lived in England; was reader to Queen Charlotte, and author of several works (1727-1817).

DELUGE, name given to the tradition, common to several races, of a flood of such universality as to sweep the land, if not the earth, of all its inhabitants, except the pair by whom the land of the earth was repeopled.

DEM`ADES, an Athenian orator, a bitter enemy of Demosthenes, in the interest of Philip of Macedon; put to death for treason by Antipater, 318 B.C.; was a man of no principle, but a great orator.

DEMARA`TUS, king of Sparta from 510 to 491 B.C.; dispossessed of his crown, fled to Persia and accompanied Xerxes into Greece.

DEMAVEND, MOUNT, an extinct volcano, the highest peak (18,600 ft.) of the Elburz chain, in Persia.

DEMBEA, a lake, the largest in Abyssinia, being 60 m. long and 6000 ft. above the sea-level, from which the Blue Nile issues.

DEMBINSKI, HENRY, a Polish general, born near Cracow; served under Napoleon against Russia, under Kossuth against Austria; fled to Turkey on the resignation of Kossuth; died in Paris (1791-1864).

DEMERARA, a division of British Guiana; takes its name from the river, which is 200 m. long, and falls into the Atlantic at Georgetown.

DEMETER (lit.  Earth-mother), the great Greek goddess of the earth, daughter of Kronos and Rhea and sister of Zeus, and ranks with him as one of the twelve great gods of Olympus; is specially the goddess of agriculture, and the giver of all the earth’s fruits; the Latins call her Ceres.

DEMETRIUS, the name of two kings of Macedonia who ruled over the country, the first from 290 to 289 B.C., and the second from 240 to 229 B.C.

DEMETRIUS, or DIMITRI, the name of several sovereigns of
Russia, and of four adventurers called the four false Dimitri.

DEMETRIUS I., Soter (i. e. saviour), king of Syria from 162 to 150 B.C.; was grandson of Antiochus the Great.  D. II., Nicator (i. e. conqueror), king of Syria from 143 to 125 B.C.  D. III., Eucaeros (i. e. the happy), king of Syria in 95, died in 84 B.C.

DEMETRIUS PHALEREUS, an eminent Athenian orator, statesman, and historian, born at Phalerus, a seaport of Athens; was held in high honour in Athens for a time as its political head, but fell into dishonour, after which he lived retired and gave himself up to literary pursuits; died from the bite of an asp; left a number of works (345-283 B.C.).

DEMIDOFF, a Russian family distinguished for their wealth, descended from a serf of Peter the Great, and who amassed a large fortune by manufacturing firearms for him, and were raised by him to the rank of nobility; they were distinguished in the arts, in arms, and even literature; ANATOL in particular, who travelled over the SE. of Europe, and wrote an account of his travels, a work magnificently illustrated.