DRUPE. 478 DRUSES. layer, as in tlio pein/h, iilum. cherry, etc. See Khuit. For illustnitioii, sec Plate of Drvpes. DRUPELET. A siimll drupe, as the individ- ual 'yrains' of a blackberry, raspberry, etc. Sec l-'llllT. DRU'RY, Diti- (17251823). An Enjjlish en- toniolojiist, born in London. Uis Illustrations of Exotic Entomoloijii (2 vols., 1773-82) is a work containing much valuable material and il- lustrated «itli a lar-re numlicr of beautiful figures. licside tins, he wrote several other works and gathered a remarkably fine collection of in*f<-ts. DRURY LANE. A street in London, leading from the Strand to ().ford Street and the British Museum. It was named after Sir William Drury's house, which during the reign of Henry Vlll. stood where the entrance from the Strand is now. It was a fashionable quarter under the Stuarts, but in Queen Anne's time its re- spectability had begun to decline. DRURY LANE THEATRE. A famous Lon- don playliouse. li was lir-l built, under royal patent, in ltiG3. by Thomas Killigrew ((|.v.), whose company was known as the King's Com- pany, in distinction from the Duke's Company of Davenant ((|.v. ). The house was originally called the Theatre Royal. Burned in 1()72. it was rebuilt in 1074 from designs by Sir Chris- topher Wren. In the years that followed, rivalry between the two companies was so ill- sustained that in 1682 they were united. A dozen years later, however, Betterton (q.v.) and others of the company made their well-known secession to Lincoln's Inn Fields, and in 1709 continued bad management brought the theatre to a close. CoUey Cibber and his associates renewed its prosperity, and Carrick's manaue- ment, which followed (174(i-7()). was perhaps the most famous in its history, with "Peg' Wollington and "Kitty' Clive as leading stars. In I7'.>1 the old building made way for a new structure which was opened three years later and managed by Sheridan. In 180(1 this again was destroyed by fire, and in 1S12 the present house was opened. The acting of Kean gave it prosperity for a time, but since his day Drury Lane and its managers have suffered numerous vicissi- tudes. In rcciMit years it has been devoted largely to spectacular pieces and English opera. Consult: Stirling, OW Drunj l.nnr (London, 1S81). and Doran. Tn and About Drury Lane (London. LSSl). DRURY'S BLUFF, B.vttle of. See Ber- Min III NdRF.D. DRUSES, drooz'pz. A people of mixed origin, who inhabit a district in Syria, comprising the southern jiortion of the Lebanon and the western slope of . ti-Lel)anon. as well as a large portion of the region of the Hnuran. In the first-men- tioned district they hold cxelu-ive jiossession of about 40 towns and villages, and divide the pos- session of about 200 more with the Maronites (q.v.), while 80 villages in other parts of Anti- Lebanon are peopled by them. They number about (lO.onO. and are probably derived from Kurdish. I'l-rsian. and .rab stock. Their religion is fundamentally Mohammedan, but of a peculiar type, which Ihey adhere to with stern fanaticism. Early in the eleventh century Hakem. the Fati- niite Caliph of Egjpt, a cruel tyrant hated by his people, caused the incarnation of God in himself to be publicly preached in Cairo by his confessor, Darasi, who thereby brought upon himself the active hatred of the people. He escaped to the U'banon. where he was re- ceived by the mountaineers and taught his new religion. From him the name Druses is probaldy derived. It was, however, by llanize, a Persian disciple of liakem. that the faith was given the form in which the Druses hold it. The Druses have maintained their religious and po- litical indepenrteni-e for nearly nine centuries. 'J'heir faith mingles the teachings of the Mosaic law, the Christian Gospels, the Koran, ami the Suli allegories. Their seven cardinal principles are: (1) veracity in dealings with each other; (2) mutual protection and resistance: (3) renuncia- tion of other religions; (4) belief in the divine incarnatiim in Hakem; (.">) contentment with the works of tJod ; (ti) submission to His will; (7) separation from those in error and from demons. They believe in one God who has re- vealed Himself ten times upon earth as mortal man. the incarnation in Hakem being the tenth and last. They believe in the transmigration of souls, with constant advancement and linal puri- fication. Their teachings enjoin abstinence from wine and tobacro, from profanity and obscenity. They are divided into the Akals, or initiated, and the Djahils, the ignorant. The latter :ire free from all religious duties. Between 1S40 and 18liO there was bitter strife between the Druses and their immediate neighbors, the Maronitc Chris tians. Owing to the shocking barbarities per- petrated by the Druses in IStiO, the European l)owers undertook to intervene in defense of the Christians. A French jirmy was dispiitchcd to Syria in August and ;t commission of the powers was appointed to investigate the facts. The Druses escaped into the Hauran desert, and it was found that Turks and Damascene fanatics were really responsible for stirring up the strife in which the Maronites had acted with a vin- dictivencss equal to that of the Druses. Punish- ment was meted out to the Jlohannuedans who were principally responsible, and among others Achmet Pasha, the (iovernor of Danuiscus. was shot. In .Jinie. 18(11. the troops rcturnc'd to France, and the commissioners drew up a scheme of L'ovcrnment for the Lebanon. It provided for a Christian governor, ajipointed by the Porte, and the division of the region into seven dis- tricts, under chiefs of the religion prevailing in each. Fuad Pasha, an Armenian (Christian, was the first governor, and the district I'liiefs included four Maronites, one Dnisc. one ortho- dox (ireek. and one sei)aratist (Ireek. The Con- stitution did not satisfy the Maronites. whose revolt, under .Joseph Karan. kept the l.ebanon in a very unsettled state till 18(17. During this period the sovcrnor had to restrain the Druses from attacking the ^Maronitc villages. They had no superior educational establishment until Fuad Pasha founded and endowed one at .bcili. Polygamy is unknown anmng them. They jios- sess an extensive thecdogical literature. They have, with incredible toil, carried the soil of the valleys u|i and along the hillsiiles. whiih are hii<l out in terrace>. planted with null- berry, olive, and vine. Their chief trade is the maiiufaeture of silk. Corn is raised, though in very small quantities. DeirelKaniar is the principal town. Consult: Barl of Carnarvon,
