DORMANT 406 DORT DORMANT, in heraldry, in a sleeping posture. DORMER WINDOW, a window pierc- ing a sloping roof, and having a vertical frame and gable of its own. The gable is sometimes in the plane of the wall, or is founded on the rafters; sometimes a succession of stories on the roof are pro- vided with dormers. DORMOUSE, a small European mam- mal, which has been elevated into the type of a family, Myoxidse, having a greater affinity to the Scinridse (squir- rels) than to the Muridse, and some place them under the former family. The name dormouse refers to the torpid state in which it passes the severe part of the winter, hence it has even been called the Sleeper. DORNICK, a species of figured linen, named from Tournay or Doomik in Flanders. The "mystery," introduced into England, was long confined by law to inhabitants of Norwich and Pulham. DORPAT, or DERPT, a town of Esthonia. The university, founded in 1632, by Gustavus Adolphus, was re-es- tablished by Alexander I. in 1802, and since May, 1887, has been thoroughly Russianized, the final reorganization of the law faculty taking effect in 1889. Dorpat was a Hanse town in the 14th and 15th centuries, and was alternately captured by the Swedes, Poles, and Rus- sians till 1704. Now called Yuriev. Pop. about 45,000. DORRANCETON, a borough of Penn- sylvania, in Luzerne co. It is opposite Wilkes-Barre, and on the Susquehanna river, and on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad. It is entirely a residential city. Pop. (1910) 4,016: (1920) 6,334. DORSANES, the Indian Hercules. D'ORSAY, ALFRED, COMTE. a French leader of fashion; born in Paris, Sept. 4, 1801. He entered the army at an early age, and was quartered at Valence in 1822, when he became ac- quainted with Lord and Lady Blessing- ton, and renounced his military career for their society. In 1827 he married Lord Blessington's only daughter by a first marriage, but a separation followed, and Lord Blessington having died in Paris in 1829, D'Orsay returned to Eng- land with Lady Blessington, where they became the center of a highly distin- guished circle. He displayed consider- able artistic talent and taste, both as a fainter and sculptor. Having shown indness and hospitality to Louis Napo- leon when an exile in London, D'Orsay after the coup d'etat of 1852 was nomi- nated Directeur des Beaux Arts, but he did not live to enjoy it. He died in Paris, Aug. 4, 1852. DORSE {Morrhua CallaHus) . a fish of the cod genus, called also Baltic cod. DORSET, or DORSETSHIRE, a county of England, in the southern part. It is situated on the English Channel, between Devonshire and Hampshire, and has an area of 987.9 square miles. The chief industries are agriculture and stock-raising. Along the coast are many of the most popular watering places of England, including Lyme Regis, Brid- port, and Lulworth. The capital is Dorchester. Population of the county, about 225,000. DORSET, EARLS OF. See Sack- VILLE. DORSETIAN DOWNS, THE, the up- lands of Dorsetshire, England. DORSTENIA (named after Dr. T. Dorsten, a German botanist), a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Urticacex. The receptacle is slightly concave and broad, bearing numerous naked flowers. D. contrayerva, D. hous- toni, and D. brasiliensis furnish the con- trayerva root of commerce. They are natives of tropical America. The rhi- zome is used as a stimulant tonic, and diaphoretic. DORT, or DORDRECHT, a town of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland; on an island formed by the Maas, 10 miles S. E. of Rotterdam. An inundation in 1421, in which upward of 70 villages were de^hroyed and 100,000 people drowned, separated the site on which Dort stands fiom the mainland. It is one of the oldtst, as in the Middle Ages it was the richest of the trading towns of Holland; and its trade is still considerable. Among its chief buildings are a Gothic cathedral (1363) and a handsome town hall (1339). The town is traversed by canals, and the largest ships are accommodated in its roomy harbor. Close by are a large number of shipyards, corn and saw mills, and manu- factories of oil, sugar, ironwares, and machinery. Dort was founded in 1013. Here, in 1572, the states of Holland, after the revolt from Spain, held their first assembly; and sat from Nov. 13, 1618, to May 19, 1619, the conclave of Protestant divines known as the Synod of Dort, which condemned the doctrines of Arminius as heretical, and affirmed those of Calvin. Dort is the birthplace of the brothers De Witt, of Cuyp, and Ary Scheffer; to the last a statue was erected in the market-place in 1862. Pop. (1918) 53.828.
