DU RSLEY

seS sor of Aggstein; and, in 1281, it was taken and |nartiallv destroyed by Frederick, the last of the Ba- jbenber^ers. No events of consequence are recorded !to have taken place in it from that time to the year '1645, when the Swedes are supposed to have reduced 'it to its present ruinous condition. The little town :at its foot, with its handsome church, is prettily situ- ja t e d; and when, in 1741, a party of French and |Bavarian cavalry forded the Danube, in hopes tosurprise it, the citizens hit upon a plan as novel asingenious. They barred up their gates as well asthev could, laid logs of firewood on the walls, inimitation of cannon, chalked the rims of their hats,to give them the appearance of white lace, accordingto the uniform of their troops at that time, and parad-ing up and down with much drumming and bustle,taking care that their hats only should be seen abovethe walls, absolutely induced the enemy to believethat the place was strongly garrisoned ; and theyaccordingly wheeled to the right without firing a shot,to the infinite joy and amusement of the inhabitants,who certainly well deserved their escape.

On the 11th of November, 180.5, the defiles be-hind this town were the scene of a murderous conflictbetween the French, under Mortier and Dupont, andthe Prussians, under Doctorof and the Austrian ge-neral, Schmidt; Mortier, who had instructions fromNapoleon to march upon Krems, and was anxious toprevent the Russians passing into Moravia, hurriedforwards with Gazan’s division and a brigade of dra-goons, being followed, at some distance, by Dupont’sdivision and some Dutch regiments. Below Diirren-stein fie encountered the advanced guard of Milora-dowich, which he drove back to the gates of Stein,making a few prisoners : but this slight success hadnearly led to his ruin, for, at the same instant, anotherstrong corps of Russians, led by generals Schmidtand Doctorof, descended the mountains in his rear ;and general Essen, having reinforced Miloradowich,and thrown himself before Loiben, the French werebetween two fires. Mortier had no remedy but tocut his way, if possible, through the column in hisrear, and so effect a junction with Dupont, to whomhe had, fortunately for himself, sent orders to quickenhis march. Major Henriod, at the head of the 100thregiment, charged the Russians, and a horrible car-nage ensued in the narrow defiles, crowded withinfuriated soldiery. Two pieces of artillery whichMortier had with him, decided the issue of the combatin his favour, his adversaries being destitute of can-non. The brave Austrian, Schmidt, fell at the firstdischarge ; and Doctorof, endeavouring to withdrawhis troops from the ravine, was suddenly attacked inthe rear by the division of Dupont, and thus foundhimself, in his turn, between two fires. With muchdifficulty he effected a retreat over the mountain hehad just descended ; and the desperate troops ofMortier rushing into the defile, as they imagined, onthe bayonets of their enemies, found themselves, be-fore they were aware, in the arms of their friends andcountrymen. From twelve to 1500 men were loston each side, and the allies received a terrible blowin the death of general Schmidt, the friend and com-panion in arms of the archduke Charles.

DuitsLEY, a town in the county of Gloucester.The inhabitants are principally employed in the ma-nufacture of cloth. In 1739, a handsome market-house was erected, with a statue of queen Anne atthe east end of it. Dursley has a population of 3226

- D WI N A. ‘ 655

persons, and the annual value of the real propertyamounts to 5565/. It is 108 miles W. of London,and 15 S. of Gloucester. Lon. 2° 23' W., lat. 51°44' N.

Dcssm.dorf. Capital of the government of Diis-seldorf, in the Prussian province of Juliers-CIeves-Berg, formerly the capital of the duchy of Berg. Itis situated in a beautiful plain on the Rhine and theDitssel, which unite under its walls. This town wasbombarded by the French in 1794, and the castleand many of the finest buildings were destroyed. Itis one of the finest towns on the Rhine ; some of thestreets are regularly laid out; the houses are of brick.It contains 2200 houses and 27,000 inhabitants, andis divided into the Old Town, New Town, andCharles’s Town. The New Town was built by theelector John William. The buildings resemblepalaces, and the principal street is adorned withlime-trees. Charles’s Town owes its existence to theelector Charles Theodore, from whom it derives itsname. It has recently been much embellished, andcontains several spacious squares. The collegiatechurch, and principal parochial church, which con-tains the tombs of the ancient dukes of Juliers andBerg (among which the marble mausoleum of theduke John is distinguished), deserve mention. TheJesuits’ church, which is, however, too much orna-mented ; the bronze statue, by Crepello, of theelector John William, which stands in the market-place, and a marble statue of the same elector, by thesame artist, in the yard of the castle (which is nowin ruins) ; the observatory, in what was formerly theJesuits’ college, and the beautiful scientific apparatus,are also worthy of attention. The gallery of paint-ings, containing the richest collection of the works ofReubens, and other great artists of the Dutch andFlemish schools, and formerly the chief ornament ofDiisseldorf, has been removed to Munich ; only thevaluable collection, containing 14,241 original designs,23,445 copperplates and casts in plaster, is still re-tained for the use of the academy of arts at Diissel-dorf. The town has some important silk and cottonmanufactories and sugar refineries, with glass founde-rics and vinegar and soap manufactories. Diisseldorfis one of the principal commercial towns on theRhine. It is thirty miles N. E. of Aix-la-Chapelle,and sixty-two S. W. of Munster. Lon. 6° 46' 25" E.,lat. 51° 13' 42" N.

Dustee, a river of Persia, which has its sourcein the interior. It flows through the province ofMekran, from the southern shore, and discharges itselfinto the Indian Ocean.

Dutchess, a county of the state of New York, inNorth America. It is situated on the eastern hankof the Hudson river. It is forty-nine mil* in lengthand twenty-two in width. This county, taken as awhole, is fertile and pleasant; its agriculture is in avery improved state, and the manufactures hhve alsomade a considerable progress. It has a populationof about 70,000 persons, and sends six members tothe house of assembly.

Duyvei.and, an island of the Netherlands, in theprovince of Zealand. It is nine miles long and sixbroad ; it contains several villages, the principal ofwhich is East Duvveland. Lon. 3° 51' E., lat.51° 41' N.

Dwina, a large river in European Russia, whichhas its source in a lake of the same name. It passesby Velir, Witepsk, Polotsk,Drissa, and Dunaburg, and