DUNBAR, William, a Scottish poet, entered the Franciscan order and became an itinerant preaching friar, in which capacity he wandered over the length and breadth of the land, enjoying good cheer by the way; was some time in the service of James IV., and wrote a poem, his most famous piece, entitled “The Thistle and the Rose,” on the occasion of the King’s marriage with the Princess Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII.  His poems were of three classes—­allegoric, moral, and comic, the most remarkable being “The Dance,” in which he describes the procession of the seven deadly sins in the infernal regions.  Scott says he “was a poet unrivalled by any that Scotland has produced” (1480-1520).

DUNBLANE, a town in Perthshire, 5 m.  N. of Stirling, with a beautiful cathedral, which dates back as far as 1240; of the diocese the saintly Leighton was bishop.

DUNCAN, ADAM, VISCOUNT, a British admiral, born at Dundee; entered the navy in 1746; steadily rose in rank till, in 1795, he became admiral of the Blue and commander of the North Sea fleet in 1795; kept watching the movements of the Dutch squadron for two years, till, at the end of that term, it put to sea, and came up with it off Camperdown, and totally defeated it, June 11, 1797 (1731-1804).

DUNCAN, THOMAS, a Scotch artist, born at Kinclaven, Perthshire; painted fancy and Scoto-historical subjects, and a number of excellent portraits; his career, which was full of promise, was cut short by an early death (1807-1845).

DUNCIAD, THE, a satire of Pope’s in four books, the “fiercest” as well as the best of his satires, in which, with merciless severity, he applies the lash to his critics, and in which Colley Cibber figures as the King of Dunces.

DUNCKER, MAX, a historical writer, born in Berlin; held a professorship at Halle and Tuebingen, and became a minister of State; wrote among other works a work of great learning, in seven vols., entitled the “History of Antiquity” (1811-1886).

DUNCOMBE, T. S., an English politician, M.P. for Finsbury, one of the extreme Liberal party of the time, presented to the House of Commons the Chartist petition in 1842; denounced Sir James Graham, the Home Secretary of the day, for opening Mazzini’s letter, and advocated Jewish emancipation (1796-1861).

DUNDALK (12), capital of co.  Louth, Ireland, 50 m.  N. of Dublin; a place of considerable trade and manufactures; is an ancient city; Edward Bruce, the last king of all Ireland, was crowned and resided here; it was besieged and taken more than once, by Cromwell for one.

DUNDAS (of Arniston), the name of a Scottish family, many of the members of which have distinguished themselves at the bar and on the bench.

DUNDAS, HENRY, VISCOUNT MELVILLE, a junior member of the above family; trained for the bar; rose to be Lord Advocate for Scotland and M.P. for the county of Edinburgh; opposed at first to Pitt, he became at last his ablest coadjutor in Parliament, and did important services in connection with the military and naval defences of the country; his power was sovereign in Scotland; his statue, mounted on a lofty column, adorns one of the principal squares of the New Town of Edinburgh (1741-1811).