DUCAT imperial family, and himself held a high position at the court of Constantine Palæologus, the last emperor of Constantinople. After the conquest of that city by Mohammed II. he took refuge with the prince of Lesbos, Dorino Gateluzzi, and was appointed by him and his successors to various diplomatic missions. He accompanied his master to Constantinople, when he went to do homage to the sultan, and his prudence and skill succeeded in saving the independence of Lesbos. Under Nicholas Gateluzzi, however, the wrath of Mohammed was called down upon the island, and it was united in 1462 to the Ottoman empire. Though Ducas survived this event, nothing more is known of his life. It is probable that he retired to Italy, and wrote in his old age the history which has come down to us. This work, divided into 45 chapters, begins with an outline of universal chronology, and does not become detailed and truly instructive till the reign of John Palæologus I., and it terminates abruptly in the middle of a sentence, at the capture of Lesbos in 1462. It is the most difficult of all the Byzantine histories, written in a barbarous style, but is judicious and impartial. DUCAT, a gold coin, which has been long in circulation in a large part of Europe. The first ducats are said to have been struck in the 12th century in Sicily by Roger II., and to have received their name from the device which was inscribed upon them: Sit tibi, Christe, datus, quem tu regis, iste ducatus. A little later ducats of various kinds became current in Italy, and especially in Venice; and they spread thence through Switzerland, the Germanic states, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, and Spain. In Spain, however, at present, the ducat is only a money of exchange. In Germany the ducats, being made in 1559 a legal coin of the empire, soon displaced the gold florins, and were generally struck with the likeness of the sovereign princes upon them. The ducats of Austria and Holland are the only ones which have acquired a very extensive circulation. Those of Holland are the most widely spread, bearing an emblem of a knight armed cap-a-pie. This emblem was for a short time exchanged for the likeness of King Louis of Holland. The value of the ducat varies somewhat in different countries, but it is generally little more than that of 2 American dollars. There are also silver ducats in France and Spain, having half this value. (See COINS.) DUCHÁTEL, CHARLES MARIE TANNEGUY, count, a French economist and politician, born in Paris, Feb. 19, 1803. Prior to 1830 he took an active part in editing the Globe, one of the leading organs of the liberalists. In 1827 he published a work on pauperism, which competed unsuccessfully for the academic prize, and in which he showed himself a disciple of the principles of Malthus, and proposed as a remedy for the sufferings of the poorer classes the formula of "labor, economy, and prudent marriages." He began his parliamentary career in 1832, was named secretary-general of the finances in 1833, and in 1835 was appointed to the ministry of commerce. He resigned with his colleagues in Feb. 1836, but became a member of a new cabinet 6 months later as minister of the finances The new doctrinaire ministry, however, was soon overthrown, being followed by the administration of Molé, and Duchâtel now became one of the most energetic leaders of the opposition. At the accession of the cabinet of Soult and Guizot in 1840 he came again into power as minister of the interior, and retained this position with but a short interruption till the revolution of 1848, since which he has lived in retirement. The measures supported by him both as deputy and minister were generally of a financial character, but he also took a prominent part in the establishment of railways and telegraphs in France. DU CHÂTELET, GABRIELLE EMILIE (LE TONNELIER DE BRETEUIL), marchioness, noted for her intimacy with Voltaire, and for her literary attainments, born in Paris, Dec. 17, 1706, died in Lunéville, Aug. 10, 1749. She was married at an early age to the marquis du Châtelet-Lomont, and afterward divided her time between science and dissipation, in both of which she became a proficient. Not even a love affair with the fascinating duke de Richelieu could withdraw her from her studies. In 1733 she became the mistress of Voltaire, and the next year removed with him to Monjeu near Autun, and afterward to the château of Cirey, where the marquis extended to her paramour the indulgence he had always shown to herself. Here they passed several years in unrestrained freedom, both actively engaged in literary pursuits, especially in the study of the English philosophers, Newton and Locke. The marchioness composed her Dissertation sur la nature et la propagation du feu; Institutions de physique, a synopsis of Leibnitz's philosophy, and various other essays; while Voltaire wrote Le siècle de Louis XIV., Mérope, Alzire, and Mahomet. During a visit to the court of Stanislas, the ex-king of Poland, at Lunéville, the faithless lady fell in love with the marquis de Saint Lambert, a captain in the guard, by whom she had a daughter, and a few days after giving birth to this child she died at the palace of Lunéville. Several of her works were published posthumously, including Principes mathéma tiques de la philosophie naturelle (translation of Newton's Principia, with a commentary, 1756); Doutes sur les religions révélées, adressés à Voltaire (8vo., Paris, 1792); Lettres inédites à M. le comte d'Argental (12mo., Paris, 1806). DUCHE, JACOB, an American clergyman, born in Philadelphia in 1739, died there in Jan. 1798. He was graduated at the college of Philadelphia, afterward the university of Pennsylvania, in 1757, and completed his education at Cambridge, England. In 1759, having received a license from the bishop of London, he was ordained an assistant minister of Christ church in Philadelphia, of which in 1775 he became rector. He was a man of brilliant talents and impressive eloquence, and at the meeting of the second congress in 1775, just after the outbreak of the war of the revolution, he was invited to open the congress with prayers. By sermons delivered before congress, and before the patriots of the army, he established his character not only for eloquence but for patriotism; and being in 1776 chosen chaplain to congress, he resigned his salary for the relief of the families of those patriots who had fallen in battle. Yet he lost confidence in the cause of independence, and in 1777 addressed a letter to Washington in which he pictured the hopelessness of resistance, and urged him to cease his desperate and ruinous efforts. Washington transmitted the letter to congress, and, Duché having fled to England, his estate was confiscated as that of a traitor. He returned to America in 1790, but never regained influence or position. He published while in London 2 volumes of sermons, written in an easy and elegant style, which passed through several editions. His wife was a sister of Francis Hopkinson, and his daughter married John Henry, whose political manoeuvres in 1812 caused some excitement. The literary character of Duché has been variously estimated. Wharton and Graydon term him weak and vain; Sabine attributes to him brilliant talents, impressive oratory, and fine poetic taste; while all unite in denouncing him, in the language of John Adams in 1777, as an apostate and traitor." DUCHESNE, ANDRÉ, a French historian, whose labors gained him the title of the father of French history, born in Isle Bouchard, Touraine, in 1584, died in 1640. He was geographer and historiographer to the king, and died by being crushed under a cart, while on his way from Paris to his country seat. Beside his published works he left more than 100 volumes in MS. Among the most important of the former are Historia Normannorun Scriptores Antiqui (fol., Paris, 1619); Historia Francorum Scriptores (fol., Paris, 1633-'5); and some genealogical histories. His son, FRANÇOIs, born in 1616, died in 1640, was also historiographer to the king, and wrote a history of the popes (2 vols. fol., Paris, 1653). DUCHESNE DE GISORS, JEAN BAPTISTE JOSEPH, a French painter, born in Gisors, department of Eure, Dec. 8, 1770, died there, March 25, 1856. He removed to Paris at an early age, and made himself prominent in 1812 by a remarkable portrait of Napoleon. After the restoration of the Bourbons he became court painter. His miniature of the duchess de Berry is considered a unique specimen of the art. He was much employed by the royal families of England and Belgium, and between 1840 and 1848 was engaged in executing a commission from the French government to continue the series of paintings on enamel in the Louvre commenced by Petitot. He also executed a series in enamel for Queen Victoria after the miniatures of Sir William Ross. Some of the latter, painted in his 82d year, are of the highest excellence. DUCIS, JEAN FRANÇOIS, a French poet, born in Versailles, Aug. 22, 1733, died there, March 31, 1816. He made his first appearance in the literary world as the author of the unsuccessful tragedy of Amélise. He afterward adapted several of the plays of Shakespeare to the French stage, and in this had considerable success. Of his original dramatic works the best is his Abufar, ou la famille Arabe. In the latter part of his life he wrote some shorter poems which are graceful and sweet. He was an adherent of the Bourbons, and refused the place of senator, with 50,000 francs a year, offered him by Napoleon, though he was at the time in great poverty. His works were published at Paris in 1819 in 3 vols. DUCK, a name applied to birds of the family anatida, of the order anseres or natatores. The familiar external characters are a large flattened bill, covered with a soft epidermis rather than horn, and with its sides armed with lamella or small teeth-like processes; the tongue is fleshy, with dentated margins; the wings are moderate; the feet at or near the centre of equilibrium; the anterior toes joined by a web; the neck is long. The number of vertebra is large, especially in the neck; the sternum and pelvis are large and wide, the former with a well developed keel, and posteriorly with 2 openings or deep indentations; the fibula is not entirely anchylosed to the tibia. The gizzard is fleshy and large; the intestines are about 5 times as long as the bird, and the cæcal appendages often as long as the body; the trachea and inferior larynx generally bulbous. The ducks are divided into 3 subfamilies, anatina or river ducks, fuligulina or sea ducks, and erismaturina or spiny-tailed ducks. I. The anatina have the bill equal in width and height, depressed at the tip, which has a hard nail, and the inner portion of the lateral margins lamellated; the tarsi are compressed, and generally as long as the inner toe; the hind toe is bordered with a slight membrane from base to tip. These ducks prefer fresh water, feeding along the edges of streams rather than diving, eating small mollusks and soft aquatic plants; some feed on the land, and roost and build their nests in trees; they are powerful fliers, and have a wide geographical range. In the genus dafila (Leach) is the pin-tail duck (D. acuta, Linn.), having the bill lead-colored with a black spot at the tip, a long slender neck, the wing speculum of a purple or coppery red with deep green reflections and black border, the feathers with broad white tips, and a long and pointed light gray tail, dark brown in the middle; in the adult male the head, cheeks, throat, upper part of front neck, and sides are dark brown; a small part of hind neck dark green, almost black; the upper parts in general undulated with narrow bars of brownish black and yellowish white; wings grayish; upper tail coverts cream-colored; an oblique white band on the side of the neck; lower parts white, undulated like the back or the sides, and lower tail coverts black, white-edged at the side. The female and young are variegated with brown and brownish white; the speculum is dusky green, and the long tail feathers are DUCK wanting; they are sometimes called gray ducks. The male is about 29 inches long to end of tail, extent of wings 36 inches, weight about 2 lbs.; the females are smaller. It is most commonly seen on the inland ponds of the west and south of the United States from early autumn to spring, in company with teals, widgeons, and mallards; the breeding place is in the far north, in passing to and from which the birds are seen on the coast. They are very graceful on the water, rarely dive, and are less shy than most others of the family; a favorite article of food is the beech nut; they will also eat tadpoles, leeches, insects, and even dead animal matter; the flesh is much esteemed for food. Several species are found in South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, migrating to temperate regions from the north. The typical genus anas (Linn.) includes the mallard or common wild duck, the origin of the domesticated species. The mallard (A. boschas, Linn.) has a bright purple speculum with green reflections and black border, the secondaries broadly tipped with white, and the secondary coverts with white ends and black border; the head and neck deep green, a white ring around the middle of the neck; the breast reddish brown; fore part of back light brown, the rest darker, and rump black with green reflections; upper surface of wings grayish brown; sides and lower parts pale gray with dusky bars; the length is about 24 inches, extent of wings 36, and weight 2 to 3 lbs.; the females are smaller, of a brownish color, with a less brilliant speculum and the head and neck with dusky streaks. This species is smaller but more beautiful than the domestic races which have sprung from it; the wild bird may be known from the tame by its soft and pliable feet, which in the latter become hard and wider from walking over gravel and roads. The mallard is found abundantly from New York southward and westward, being replaced to the northward, according to Audubon, by the velvet duck (oidemia fusca, Linn.); it is rarely seen on salt water, except when migrating. The flight is strong and rapid, easily commenced from land or water; when alarmed it utters many loud quacks; it is truly omnivorous, devouring any thing eatable, even carrion and small animals that come in its way; beside man, its principal enemies are hawks and owls, the raccoon, lynx, and the snapping turtle. The flesh of the young birds is much esteemed; the large hybrids produced from the mallard and Muscovy duck are excellent for the table; this species also breeds with the black duck and the gadwall, the latter hybrid being very handsome, retain ing the yellow feet and barred plumage of the one and the green head of the other parent. The black or dusky duck (A. obscura, Gmel.) is so called from its general dusky plumage; the speculum is green, with purple reflections and black border, and the secondaries are tipped with white. In shape and habits it resembles the mallard, and no doubt could be easily domesticated; the flesh of the young birds is ex 645 cellent, and the feathers are soft and elastic. The shoveller duck (spatula clypeata, Linn.), or spoon-bill as it is called by sportsmen, has the bill twice as broad at the end as at the base, much rounded, with the sides at the base so closely pectinated as to resemble the teeth of a fine comb; the head and neck are glossy green, upper part of breast white, rest of lower parts chestnut, except the lower tail coverts, and a black band across the vent; sides yellowish with dark pencillings; secondaries greenish, the inner with terminal white spots; primaries dark brown, with white shafts; lesser wing coverts light blue; speculum golden green; rump greenish black, white at the sides; tail dark brown, with pointed feathers broadly edged with white; length about 21 inches, extent of wings 32, weight 1 to 1 lbs. It associates with teals, mallards, and gadwalls, and is omnivorous; its flesh is much prized, and Audubon says that no sportsman who is a judge will pass a shoveller to shoot a canvas-back; it is comparatively a rare duck, and is most common in the southern and western states. The Australian genus malacorhynchus (Swains.) is nearly allied to the shoveller. The Muscovy duck (cairina moschata, Linn.), more properly called musk duck, is distinguished by the rounded red tubercle or carbuncle on the top of the bill at the base; the color is glossy black, with the wing coverts white; by its lobed hind toe it connects the river ducks with the next subfamily. It is of large size, being about 33 inches long; it has an odor of musk, proceeding from the coccygeal glands, which is communicated to the flesh; in its pure state it is difficult to raise, but it breeds well with the mallard, and in this domesticated state its plumage is more white, and the musky odor is absent. It is supposed to have originally come from South America, whence it has spread over the world. To the river ducks belong the genera tadorna (Leach), the European sheldrake, this name in America being applied to a merganser; aix (Boie), the wood or summer duck; mareca (Steph.), the widgeon; querquedula (Steph.), the green-winged teal; pterocyanea (Pr. Bonap.), the blue-winged teal; and chaulelasmus (Gray), the gadwall; these will be described under their respective common names. II. The sea ducks, or fuliguline, have the bill higher than broad, depressed at the tip, which is armed with a broad strong nail; the wings are moderate and pointed, the tail generally short and wedgeshaped, the tarsi compressed and much shorter than the middle toe; the toes long and united by a full web, the outer as long as the middle; the hind too short, with a deep membranous web. These ducks are generally marine, feeding on mollusks and small fish, which gives to their flesh a strong flavor; most are excellent fliers. The genus fuligula (Steph.) includes the scaup duck and the ring neck. The scaup duck (F. marila, Linn.) has the head, neck, fore part of back, and breast black, glossed with purple and green, and the last two tinged with brown; the rest of the upper parts and ab 646 domen brownish black; the middle back, scap- Its the autumn from their breeding places in the DUCK beyond the others; length to end of tail feathers 23 inches, and extent of wings 30. The feathers are dense and blended, enabling the bird to resist the extreme cold of the arctic regions; in the winter it is found in all the Atlantic districts; it is timid, a swift flier and ready diver; the flesh is tough and fishy. The pied duck (camptolaimus_Labradora, Gmel.) has the wing coverts and secondaries white, forming a large patch on the wings; the cheeks are furnished with bristly feathers; the bill is orange at the base, black at the end, with the sides of the upper mandible very thin, and the under deeply serrated; a black band on the top of the head; rest of head and upper neck white; in the middle of neck a broad black ring, the same color passing down the back; lower neck white; upper breast and sides black; lower plumage brownish black, as are the primaries and their coverts; the length is 20 inches, extent of wings 30, and weight nearly 2 lbs.; the female is bluish gray above, ash-gray below, with secondaries and sides of head white. This species, called the skunk and sand-shoal duck, does not seem to go further south than Chesapeake bay; it is essentially a marine bird, rarely entering rivers; it procures by diving over sand bars shellfish and small fry; its flesh is not considered a delicacy. The genus somateria (Leach) contains the eider and the king duck, which will be described under the former title. The genus oidemia (Flem.) includes those sea ducks which are erroneously called coots in New England. The velvet duck (0. fusca, Linn.) has the plumage generally black, with a spot under the eye and a large patch on the wings, formed by the secondaries, white; hence the name white-winged coot; the base and sides of the bill black, the sides bright red, and the nail orange or flesh-colored; iris bright yellow; the length is 22 inches, extent of wings 39, and weight about 3 lbs.; the female is sooty brown, the lower parts lighter. These birds are seen in large flocks in the autumn along the Atlantic coast, when they are shot in great numbers from boats stationed near the shore; on account of the density of the plumage they require a heavy charge to kill them; though breeding in lakes and rivers, they are rarely seen during migration away from the sea. The flesh is dark, with a fishy flavor, but is relished by some persons. The surf duck (0. perspicillata, Linn.) has a bill of a reddish orange color, paler on the sides, with a black patch at the side of the base of the upper mandible; the plumage is black, except a white patch on the crown and hind neck; the eyes white; legs and feet reddish orange; the length is 20 inches, extent of wings 33, and the weight 2 lbs; the female has a brownish tinge to the black plumage. This is also called coot, and associates with the preceding species, which it resembles in its habits; it is frequently called black duck; it is shy, and difficult to shoot except on the wing; the flesh is tough and fishy. The American scoter, or butter-bill coot, has a bill of a deep 647 orange color at the base and black at the end; the general color of the plumage is black, bluish on the hind neck, the scapulars tinged with green; tail graduated; the length is 19 inches, and the extent of wings about 32. This associates with the other species of the genus. The O. nigra (Linn.) is a European bird. It is probable that the American scoters, like other birds breeding in the far north, are occasionally seen in Europe. III. The spiny-tailed ducks, erismaturinæ, have the bill elevated at the base and depressed at the tip, with a nail; the wings are short and concave, with the ends of the quills incurved; the tail is lengthened, of narrow, rigid feathers, slightly protected with coverts above and below; the tarsi are shorter than the middle toe, compressed; the toes long, united by a full web, the hind toe long with a broad web. These ducks are short fliers from the smallness of their wings, and their geographical distribution is not extensive. In the genus biziura (Leach), peculiar to Australia, there hangs from the lower mandible a large compressed wattle; the wings are very short, and furnished with 2 blunt tubercles at the shoulder. The best known species is B. lobata (Shaw). The ruddy duck (erismatura rubida, Wils.) has a grayish blue bill, the iris hazel, and the eye situated very high up; upper part of the head black, terminating in a point behind; sides of the head white; chin with a yellowish brown tinge; upper parts and sides reddish brown; lower parts white, with dusky bars; the tail black, short, and rounded; wings blackish brown; the length is 15 inches, extent of wings 22, and weight 14 lbs. The plumage varies much at different ages. It is common in Chesapeake bay, where it is called salt-water teal; it is found all along the coast and on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It is an excellent diver, but is by no means shy; when young and fat the flesh is tender and of good flavor. The saw-bill ducks will be described under MERGANSER, to which subfamily they belong.-The domestic duck is derived principally from the mallard, mixed in some cases with the musk duck and the gadwall, and perhaps the black duck. The variety considered the best here is the Aylesbury duck, from the town of that name in Buckinghamshire, England; many thousand pounds sterling worth of ducks are sent annually to London from this place, and almost all the broods are hatched under hens, as being more certain sitters; the most prized are pure white, with pale bill and legs. The advantages of this breed are their great size, easy management, and productiveness; they are early layers and good hatchers, and easily raised; beside, they are ornamental, with fine, white, downy feathers, pure skin, and white, delicate, and savory flesh; from their size they are the most profitable; at the age of 8 months a pair should weigh from 10 to 12 lbs. The large Rouen duck, originally from France, very prolific in eggs, is about 30 inches long; the back is sooty black; it is generally believed to be a half domesticated |