If the British druids made no contemptible proficiency in several parts of real and useful learning, it cannot be denied that they were also great pretenders to superior knowledge in certain vain fallacious sciences, by which they excited the admiration, and took advantage of the ignorance and credulity of mankind. These were magic and divination; by which they pretended to work miracles, and exhibit astonishing appearances in nature; to penetrate into the counsels of heaven, to foretel future events, and to discover the success or miscarriage of public or private undertakings. Their countrymen not only believed that the druids were possessed of these powers, but they were celebrated on this account by the philosophers of Greece and Rome. In Britain' Says Pliny, the magic arts are cultivated with such astonishing success, that the Britons seem to be capable of instructing even the Persians themselves in these arts. They pretend to discover the designs and purposes of the gods. The Eubates or Vates, in particular, investigate and display the most sublime secrets of nature; and by auspices and sacrifices they foretel future events.' They were so famous for the supposed veracity of their predictions, that they were not only consulted on all important occasions by their own princes and great men, but even sometimes by the Roman emperors. Stonehenge, and several other works of the druids, were believed to have been executed by the art of magic, for many ages after the destruction of their whole order. The natural and acquired sagacity of the druids, with their long experience in public affairs, enabled them to form very probable conjectures about the event of enterprises. These conjectures they pronounced as oracles when they were consulted; and they pretended to derive them from inspecting the entrails of victims, observing the flight of certain birds, and other mummeries. By such arts they obtained and preserved the reputation of prophetic foresight among an ignorant and credulous people. They worshipped the Supreme Being under the name of Esus, or Hesus, and the symbol of the oak; and had no other temple than a wood or a grove, where all their religious rites were performed. Nor was any person admitted to enter that sacred recess unless he carried with him a chain, in token of his absolute dependence on the Deity. Indeed, their whole religion originally consisted in acknowledging that the Supreme Being, who made his abode in these sacred groves, governed the universe; and that every creature ought to obey his laws, and pay him divine homage. They considered the oak as the emblem, or rather the peculiar residence, of the Almighty; and accordingly chaplets of it were worn both by the druids and people in their religious ceremonies; the altars were strewed with its leaves, and encircled with its branches. The fruit of it, especially the misletoe, was thought to contain a divine yirtue, and to be the peculiar gift of heaven. It was therefore sought for on the sixth day of the moon with the greatest earnestness and anxiety; and when found, was hailed with such raptures of joy, as it almost exceeds imagination to conceive. As soon as the druids were informed of this fortunate discovery, they prepared every thing ready for the sacrifice under the oak, to which they fastened two white bulls by the horns; then the archdruid, attended by a prodigious number of people, ascended the tree, dressed in white; and with a consecrated golden knife, or pruninghook, cropped the misletoe, which he received in his sagum or robe, amidst the rapturous exclamations of the people. Having secured this sacred plant he descended the tree; the bulls were sacrificed, and the Deity invoked to bless his own gift, and render it efficacious in those distempers in which it should be administered. The consecrated groves, in which they performed their religious rites, were fenced round with stones, to prevent any person's entering between the trees, except through the passages left open for that purpose, and which were guarded by some inferior druids, to prevent any stranger from intruding into their mysteries. These groves were of different forms: some quite circular, others oblong, and more or less capacious, as the votaries in the districts to which they belonged were more or less numerous. The area in the centre of the grove was encompassed with several rows of large oaks set very close together. Within this large circle were several smaller ones, surrounded with large stones; and near the centre of these smaller circles were stones of a prodigious size and convenient height, on which the victims were slain and offered. Each of these being a kind of altar, was surrounded with another row of stones, the use of which cannot now be known, unless they were intended as cinctures to keep the people at a convenient distance from the officiating priest. Suetonius, in his life of Claudius, assures us the druids sacrificed men; and Mercury is said to be the god to whom they offered these victims. Diodorus Siculus (lib. vi.) observes it was only upon extraordinary occasions they made such offerings; as to consult what measures to take, to learn what should befal them, &c., by the fall of the victim, the tearing of his members, and the manner of his blood gushing out. Augustus condemned the custom, and Tiberius and Claudius punished and abolished it. DRUIDÆ, or DROIUM, in ancient geography, the principal place of the Druids in Gaul; where they met annually in a consecrated grove, according to Cæsar. It was also called Durocases; and is now named Dreux. DRUM, n. s. & v. n. Dan. tromme; Dut. trommel; Germ. trombe; perhaps from Arab. drub a dub, to beat: but in Ang.Sax. dryminga is a soft murmuring sound; and Skinner thinks the word is formed from the sound. An instrument of military music; the tympanum of the ear; and, from the hum made, a concourse of persons. A drum-major is a chief drummer. Let's march without the noise of threatening drume Shakspeare. Drummer, strike up, and let us march away. Id. In drums, the closeness round about, that preserveth the sound from dispersing, maketh the noise He hates the field in which no fife or drum Attends him; drives his cattle to a march; And sighs for the smart comrades he has left. Cowper. There is no variety of notes referable to the gamut in the beating of a drum, yet, if it be performed in musical time, it is agreeable to our ears; and therefore this pleasurable sensation must be owing to the repetition of the divisions of the sounds at certain intervals of time, or musical bars. Darwin. Often in the hottest morn in summer, you may see her on a little squat pony, with her hair plaited up behind like a drummer's, and puffing round the ring on a full trot. Sheridan. And swiftly forming in the ranks of war; And the deep thunder peel on peel afar; And near, the beat of the alarming drum Roused up the soldier e'er the morning star. Byron. DRUM, is a martial musical instrument, in the form of a cylinder, hollow within and covered at the two ends with vellum, which may be stretched or slackened by small cords and sliding leathers attached. This instrument is said to have been invented by Bacchus, who, as Polyenes reports, gave his signals of battle with cymbals and drums; and the Saracens, who invaded Palestine, first introduced it into Europe. The drums are sometimes made of brass. Those belonging to the Blues are silver. Kettle-drums are two sorts of large basins of copper or brass, rounded at the bottom and covered with vellum or goat-skin, which is kept fast by a circle of iron, and several holes, fastened to the body of the drum, and a like number of screws to stretch it at pleasure. They are used among the horse. We give the following account of the different beats of the drum from James's Military Dictionary. The March, to command them to move, always with the left foot first. Tat-too, or Tap-too, to order all to retire to their quarters. To Arms! for soldiers who are dispersed, to repair to them. The Réveillé always beats at break of day, and is to warn the soldiers to rise, and the sentinels to forbear challenging, and to give leave to come out of quarters. The Retreat, a signal to draw off from the enemy. It likewise means a beat in both camp and garrison a little before sun-set, at which time the gates are shut, and the soldiers repair to their barracks, &c. The Alarm, to give notice of sudden danger, that all may be in readiness for immediate duty. The Parley, or Chamade, a signal to demand some conference with the enemy. Long March, a beat which was formerly used in England; on the sound of which, the men clubbed their firelocks, and claimed and used the liberty of talking all kind of ribaldry. The Church Call, called, also, Beating the Bank; a beat to summon the soldiers of a regiment, or garrison, to church. The Pioneer's Call, known by the appellation of round heads and cuckolds! come dig; this is beaten in camp to summon the pioneers to work. The Serjeants' Call, a beat for calling the serjeants together in the orderly-room, or in camp, to the head of the colors. The Drummers' Call, a beat to assemble the drummers at the head of the colors, or in quarters at the place where it is beaten. The Preparative, a signal to make ready for firing. The Warning Drum, a beat to give officers and soldiers time to assemble for their meals in camp or quarters. The Roust-beef of Old England, a beat to call officers to dinner. DRUMMER, OF DRUM, he that beats the drum; of whom each company of foot has one, and sometimes two. Every regiment has a drummajor, who has the command over the other drums. They are distinguished from the soldiers by clothes of a different fashion: their post, when a battalion is drawn up, is on the flanks, and on march it is betwixt the divisions. DRUMBLE, v. n. A diminutive of drum; probably from the noise of a sluggish stream. Hence drumbly, or drumly, is stagnant: see below. To drone; to be sluggish, : Take up these cloaths here quickly where's the cowlstaff? Look, how you drumble! carry them to the landress in Datchet Mead. Shakspeare. Merry Wives of Windsor. DRUMLY, adj. From drumble. Stagnant thick; muddy. Then bouses drumly German water, Burns. An' clear the consequential sorrows, Love-gifts of Carnival signoras. DRUMMOND (William), the son of Sir John Drummond, of Hawthornden, knight of the black rod to king James I., was born in Scotland in 1585. He was educated at Edinburgh, where he took the degree of A. M. In 1606 he was sent by his father to study civil law at Bourges in France; but, having a dislike for the .aw, he returned to his agreeable seat at Hawthornden, where he applied himself with great assiduity to classical learning and poetry. Here he wrote his Cypress Grove, and, about the same time, Flowers of Zion, in verse. But on the death of a lady, to whom he was about to be married, he went to Paris and Rome. He travelled through France, Germany, and Italy, where he visited the universities; and, after an absence of eight years, returned to his native country. On the appearance of a civil war, he retired again; and is now supposed to have written his History of the Five James's, kings of Scotland, which was not published till after his death. He was steadily attached to Charles I.; and, in a piece called Irene, he harangues the king, nobility, and clergy, about their mutual mistakes, fears, and jealousies; and lays before them the consequences of a civil war. His attachment to the king was so strong, that when he heard of his being executed, he is said to have been overwhelmed with grief, and to have lifted up his head no more. He died in 1649, leaving behind him several children: the eldest of whom, William, was knighted by Charles II. He was the intimate friend of Michael Drayton and Ben Jonson; the latter of whom, at the age of forty-five, travelled from London on foot to visit him at Hawthornden. An edition of his works, with his life prefixed, was printed in folio at Edinburgh in 1711. Among all the writers of the seventeenth century, who flourished after the death of Shakspeare, there is not one whom a general reader of the English poetry of that age will regard with so much and so deserved attention, as William Drummond. His thoughts are generally bold and highly poetical: he closely follows nature, and his verses are delicately harmonious. On the death of Henry prince of Wales, in 1612, Drummond wrote an elegy entitled Tears on the death of Moeliades; a name which that prince had used in all his challenges of martial sport, as the anagram of Miles à Deo. DRUNK'ARD, DRUNKEN, DRUNK ENLY, DRUNKEN'NESS. See DRINK. DRUPA, or Druppa. See BOTANY. The cherry, plum, peach, apricot, and all other stone fruit are of this kind. The term, which is of great antiquity, is synonymous to Tournefort's fructus mollis ossiculo, soft fruit with a stone;' and to the prunus of other botanists. The stone or nut, which in this sort of fruit is surrounded by the soft pulpy flesh, is a kind of ligneous or woody cup, which contains a single kernel or seed. This definition, however, will not apply to every seed-vessel denominated drupa in the Genera Plantarum. The almond is a drupa, so is the seed vessel of the elm trees and the genus rnmphia, though far from being pulpy or succu lent; the first and third are of a substance like leather, the second like parchment. The same may be said of the walnut, the pistachia nut, guetterda, quisqualis, jack-in-a-box, and some others. The seeds of the elm schrebera, stagellaria, and the mango tree, are not contained in a stone. The seed-vessel of burr-reed is dry, shaped like a top, and contains two angular stones. DRURY (Robert), an English mariner, and a humble but respectable author, was born in Leicestershire. In 1702, while a boy, he was shipwrecked in the Degrave, East Indiaman, on the south side of the island of Madagascar, and lived in captivity there for fifteen years. On his return he published, in 1743, an account of the island, and of his own adventures, in a plain unadorned manner, and being corroborated as far as it went by the journal of Mr. Benbow, the son of the admiral, who was wrecked at the same time, his book has always been considered authentic. It was republished in 1808. Drury became porter at the India-house, and inherited some little property, but when he died is not known. DRUSES, DRUZES, or more properly Duruz, signifying riches, or sensual comforts, the great rewards of their faith, a remarkable nation in Palestine, inhabiting the environs of Mount Lebanon, of whose origin and history we have considerable details from the pen of M. Volney, to which we subjoin the more modern observations of Messrs. Niebuhr, Burckhardt, &c. Twenty-three years after the death of Mahomet, the disputes between Ali his son-in-law and Moaduia governor of Syria, occasioned the first schism in the empire of the Arabs, and the two sects subsist to this day: but, in reality, this dif ference related only to power; and t Mahommedans, however divided in opinion respecting the rightful successor of the prophet, were agreed with respect to their dogmas. It was not until the following century, that the perusal of Greek books introduced among the Arabs a spirit of discussion and controversy, to which till then they were utter strangers. The conse quence was, as might be expected, by reasoning on matters not susceptible of demonstration, and guided by the abstract principles of an unintelligible logic, they divided into a multitude of sects and opinions. At this period, too, the civil power lost its authority; and that kind of religion, which derives from it alone the means of preserving its unity, shared the same fate. The nations which had received the religion of Mahomet, mixed with it their former absurd notions; and the errors which had anciently prevailed over Asia again made their appearance, though altered in their forms. The Metempsychosis, the doctrine of a good and evil principle, and the renovation after 6000 years, as it had been taught by Zoroaster, were again revived. In this political and religious confusion, every enthusiast became an apostle, and every apostle the head of a sect. No less than sixty of these were reckoned, remarkable for the numbers of their followers, all differing in some points of faith, and all disavowing heresy and error. Such was the state of these countries, when, at the commencement of the eleventh century, Egypt became the theatre of one of the most extravagant scenes of enthusiasm and absurdity ever recorded in history. The following account is extracted from the eastern writers. In the year of the Hejira 386 (A. D. 996), the third caliph of the race of the Fatemites, called Hakem B' Amr-Ellah, succeeded to the throne of Egypt at the age of eleven years. He was one of the most mad and capricious princes of whom history has preserved the name, not excepting Caligula himself. He caused the first caliphs, the companions of Mahomet, to be cursed in the mosques, and afterwards revoked the anathema: he compelled the Jews and Christians to abjure their religion, and then permitted them to resume it. He prohibited the making slippers for women, to prevent them from coming out of their houses. He burnt one half of the city of Cairo for his diversion, while his soldiers pillaged the other. He prohibited the pilgrimage to Mecca, fasting, and the five prayers; and at length carried his madness so far as to desire to pass for God himself! He ordered a register of those who acknowledged him to be so, and the number amounted to 16,000! This impious pretension was supported by a prophet, named Mohammed Ben Ismael, who came from Persia into Egypt, and taught that it was not necessary to fast or pray, to practise circumcision, to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, or observe festivals; that the prohibition of pork and wine was absurd; and that marriage between brothers and sisters, fathers and children, was lawful. To ingratiate himself with Hakem, he maintained that this caliph was God himself incarnate; and instead of his name Hakem B' Amr-Ellah, which signifies governing by the order of God, he called him Hakem B' Amr-Eh, governing by his own order. Unluckily for the prophet, his new god had not the power to protect him from the fury of his enemies, for they slew him in a tumult almost in the arms of the caliph, who was himself massacred soon after on mount Mokattam, where he, as he said, had held conversation with angels. The death of these two chiefs did not stop the progress of their opinions; a disciple of Mohammed Ben Ismael, named Hamzah Ben Ahmud, propagated them with indefatigable zeal in Egypt, in Palestine, and along the coast of Syria, as far as Sidon and Berytus. His proselytes being persecuted by the sect in power, they took refuge in the mountains of Lebanon, where they were better able to defend themselves; at least it is certain, that, shortly after this era, we find them established there, and forming an independent society. The difference of their opinions disposes them to be enemies; but the urgent interest of their common safety forces them to allow mutual toleration, and they have always appeared united, and have jointly opposed, at different times, the Crusaders, the sultans of Aleppo, the Mamelukes, and the Ottomans. The conquest of Syria by the latter, made no change in their situation. Selim I. on his return from Egypt, meditating no less than the conquest of Europe, disdained to waste his time before the rocks of Lebanon. Soliman II. his successor, incessantly engaged in important wars, either with the knights of Rhodes, the Persians, the kingdom of Yemen, the Hungarians, the Germans, or the emperor Charles V. had no time to think of the Druses. Emboldened by this inattention, and not content with their independence, they frequently descended from their mountains to pillage the Turks. The pachas in vain attempted to repel their inroads; their troops were invariably routed or repulsed. And it was not till 1588, that Amurath ÌII. wearied with the complaints made to him, resolved, at all events, to reduce these rebels, and had the good fortune to succeed. His general, Ibrahim Pacha, marched from Cairo, and attacked the Druses and Maronites, with so much address and vigor, as to force them into their strong holds in the mountains. Dissension took place among their chiefs, of which he availed himself to exact a contribution of upwards of 1,000,000 of piastres, and to impose a tribute which has contiuued to the present time. This expedition was the epocha of a considerable change in the constitution of the Druses. Till then they lived in a sort of anarchy, under the command of different sheiks or lords. The nation was likewise divided into two factions, such as is to be found in all the Arab tribes, and which are distinguished into the Kaisi and Yamani parties. To simplify the administration, Ibrahim permitted them only one chief, who should be responsible for the tribute, and execute the office of civil magistrate; and this governor, from the nature of his situation, acquiring great authority, became almost the king of the republic; but, as he was always chosen from among the Druses, a consequence followed, which the Turks had not foreseen, and which was nearly fatal to their power. The chief thus chosen, having at his disposal the whole strength of this people, was able to give it unanimity and energy, and naturally turned it against the Turks; who, by becoming their masters, had not ceased to be their enemies. They took care, however, that their attacks should be indirect, so as to save appearances, and only engaged in secret hostilities. About this time, viz. in the beginning of the seventeenth century, the power of the Druses attained its greatest height; which it owed to the talents and ambition of the celebrated Faker-el-din, commonly called Fakardin. No sooner was this prince advanced to be the chief of that people, than he turned his whole attention to humble the Ottoman power, and aggrandise himself. In this enterprise he displayed an address seldom seen among the Turks. He first gained the confidence of the Porte, by every demonstration of loyalty and fidelity; and as the Arabs at that time infested the plain of Balbec, and the country around Acre, he made war upon them, freed the inhabitants from their depredations, and thus rendered them desirous of living under his government. The city of Bairout was situated advantageously for his designs, as it opened a communication with foreign countries, particularly with the Venetians. Faker-el-din availed himself of the misconduct of the aga, expelled him, seized on the city, and even had the art to make a merit of this act of hostility with the divan, by paying a more considerable tribute. He proceeded in the same manner at Saide, Balbec, and Sour; and at length, about A. D. 1613, saw himself master of all the country as far as Adjaloun and Safad. The pachas of Tripoli and Damascus sometimes opposed him by open force, though ineffectually, and sometimes endeavoured to ruin him at the Porte by secret insinuations; but the emir, who maintained there his spies and defenders, defeated every attempt. At length, however, the divan began to be alarmed at the progress of the Druses, and made preparations for an expedition capable of crushing them. Whether from policy or fear, Faker-el-din did not think proper to wait this storm. He had formed connexions in Italy, on which he built great hopes, and determined to go in person to solicit the succours they had promised him; persuaded that his presence would increase the zeal of his friends, while his absence might appease the resentment of his enemies. He therefore embarked at Bairout; and after resigning the administration to his son Ali, repaired to the court of the Medici at Florence. The arrival of an oriental prince in Italy did not fail to attract the public attention. Enquiry was made into his nation, and the origin of the Druses became a popular topic of research. Their history and religion were found to be so little known, as to leave it a matter of doubt, whether they should be classed with the Mahommedans or Christians. The crusades were called to mind; and it was suggested, that a people who had taken refuge in the mountains, and were enemies to the natives, could be no other than the offspring of the crusaders. This conceit was too favorable to Faker-el-din for him to endeavour to disprove it; he was artful enough, on the contrary, to pretend he was related to the house of Lorraine; and the missionaries and merchants, who promised themselves a new opening for conversion and commerce, encouraged his pretensions. When an opinion is in vogue, every one discovers new proofs of its certainty. The learned in etymology, struck with the resemblance of the names, insisted that Druses and Dreux must be the same word; and on this foundation formed the system of a pretended colony of French crusaders, who, under the conduct of a count de Dreux, had formed a settlement in Lebanon. This hypothesis, however, was completely overthrown by the remark, that the name of the Druses is to be found in the itinerary of Benjamin Tudela, who travelled before the time of the crusades. Indeed the futility of it ought to have been sufficiently apparent at first, from the single consideration, that had they been descended from any nation of the Franks, they must have retained at least the traces of some European language; for a people, retired into a separate district, and living distinct from the natives of the country, do not lose their language. That of the Druses, however, is almost a pure Arabic. After a stay of nine years in Italy, Faker-el-din returned to resume the government of his country. During his absence, his son Ali had repulsed the Turks, appeased discontents, and maintained affairs in good order. Nothing remained for the emir, but to employ the knowledge he had acquired, in perfecting the internal administration of govern ment, and promoting the welfare of the nation; but, instead of the useful arts, he abandoned himself to the frivolous and the expensive, for which he had imbibed a passion in Italy. He built numerous villas; constructed baths, and planted gardens; he even presumed, notwithstanding they are prohibited by the Koran, and without respect to the prejudices of his country, to employ the ornaments of painting and sculpture. The consequences of this were, the Druses, who paid the same tribute as in time of war, became dissatisfied. The Yamani faction was roused into revolt, the people murmured at the expenses of the prince, and the luxury he displayed renewed the jealousy of the pachas. They attempted to levy greater tribute: hostilities again commenced, and Faker-el-din repulsed the forces of the pachas; who took occasion, from this resistance, to render him suspected by the sultan himself. Amurath III. incensed that one of his subjects should dare to enter into a competition with him, resolved on his destruction; and the pacha of Damascus received orders to march, with all his forces, against Bairout, the usual residence of Faker-el-din; while forty galleys invested it by sea, and cut off all communication. The emir, who depended on his good fortune and succours from Italy, determined at first to brave the storm. His son Ali, who commanded at Safad, bravely opposed the progress of the Turkish army, notwithstanding the great disparity of his forces; but after two engagements, in which he had the advantage, being slain in a third attack, the face of affairs was greatly changed, and every thing went to ruin. Faker-el-din terrified at the loss of his troops, afflicted at the death of his son, and enfeebled by age and luxury, lost his courage. He sent his second son to solicit a peace of the Turkish admiral, whom he attempted to seduce by presents; but the admiral, detaining both the presents and envoy, declared he would have the prince himself. Faker-el-din, intimidated, took flight, and was pursued by the Turks, now masters of the country. He took refuge on the steep eminence of Niha,' where they besieged him ineffectually for a whole year, when they left him at liberty: but shortly after, the companions of his adversity, wearied with their sufferings, betrayed and delivered him up to the Turks. He was carried to Constantinople, where Amurath, pleased to behold at his feet a prince so celebrated, at first treated him with that benevolence which arises from the pride of superiority; but afterwards yielded to the instigations of his courtiers, and, in one of his violent fits of passion, ordered him to be strangled. After the death of Faker-el-din, his posterity still continued in possession of the government, as vassals of the Turks. But this family failing in the male line at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the authority devolved, by the election of the sheiks, on the house of Shelah er Shihab, in which it still continues. The only emir of that house who merits notice is Melhem, who reigned from 1740 to 1759, retrieved the losses of the Druses, and restored them to that consequence which they had lost by the defeat of Faker-el-din. Towards the end of his life, |