DEXTER

dexter, timothy (1747-1806), american merchant, remarkable for his eccentricities, was born at malden, massachusetts, on the 22nd of february 1747. he acquired considerable wealth by buying up quantities of the depreciated continental currency, which was ultimately redeemed by the federal government at par. he assumed the title of lord dexter and built extraordinary houses at newburyport, mass., and chester, new hampshire. he maintained a poet laureate and collected inferior pictures, besides erecting in one of his gardens some forty colossal statues carved in wood to represent famous men. a statue of himself was included in the collection, and had for an inscription "i am the first in the east, the first in the west, and the greatest philosopher in the western world." he wrote a book entitled _pickle for the knowing ones_. it was wholly without punctuation marks, and as this aroused comment, he published a second edition, at the end of which was a page displaying nothing but commas and stops, from which the readers were invited to "peper and solt it as they plese." he beat his wife for not weeping enough at the rehearsal of his funeral, which he himself carried out in a very elaborate manner. he died at newburyport on the 26th of october 1806. dextrine (british gum, starch gum, leiocome), (c_{6}h_{10}o_{5})_{x}, a substance produced from starch by the action of dilute acids, or by roasting it at a temperature between 170° and 240° c. it is manufactured by spraying starch with 2% nitric acid, drying in air, and then heating to about 110°. different modifications are known, e.g. amylodextrine, erythrodextrine and achroodextrine. its name has reference to its powerful dextrorotatory action on polarized light. pure dextrine is an insipid, odourless, white substance; commercial dextrine is sometimes yellowish, and contains burnt or unchanged starch. it dissolves in water and dilute alcohol; by strong alcohol it is precipitated from its solutions as the hydrated compound, c_{6}h_{10}o_{5}.h_{2}o. diastase converts it eventually into maltose, c_{12}h_{22}o_{11}; and by boiling with dilute acids (sulphuric, hydrochloric, acetic) it is transformed into dextrose, or ordinary glucose, c_{6}h_{12}o_{6}. it does not ferment in contact with yeast, and does not reduce fehling's solution. if heated with strong nitric acid it gives oxalic, and not mucic acid. dextrine much resembles gum arabic, for which it is generally substituted. it is employed for sizing paper, for stiffening cotton goods, and for thickening colours in calico printing, also in the making of lozenges, adhesive stamps and labels, and surgical bandages. see otto lueger, _lexikon der gesamten technik_. dey (an adaptation of the turk, d[=a]i, a maternal uncle), an honorary title formerly bestowed by the turks on elderly men, and appropriated by the janissaries as the designation of their commanding officers. in algeria the deys of the janissaries became in the 17th century rulers of that country (see algeria: history). from the middle of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century the ruler of tunisia was also called dey, a title frequently used during the same period by the sovereigns of tripoli. dhammap[=a]la, the name of one of the early disciples of the buddha, and therefore constantly chosen as their name in religion by buddhist novices on their entering the brotherhood. the most famous of the bhikshus so named was the great commentator who lived in the latter half of the 5th century a.d. at the badara tittha vih[=a]ra, near the east coast of india, just a little south of where madras now stands. it is to him we owe the commentaries on seven of the shorter canonical books, consisting almost entirely of verses, and also the commentary on the netti, perhaps the oldest p[=a]li work outside the canon. extracts from the latter work, and the whole of three out of the seven others, have been published by the p[=a]li text society. these works show great learning, exegetical skill and sound judgment. but as dhammap[=a]la confines himself rigidly either to questions of the meaning of words, or to discussions of the ethical import of his texts, very little can be gathered from his writings of value for the social history of his time. for the right interpretation of the difficult texts on which he comments, they are indispensable. though in all probability a tamil by birth, he declares, in the opening lines of those of his works that have been edited, that he followed the tradition of the great minster at anur[=a]dhapura in ceylon, and the works themselves confirm this in every respect. hsuan tsang, the famous chinese pilgrim, tells a quaint story of a dhammap[=a]la of k[=a]nchipura (the modern konjevaram). he was a son of a high official, and betrothed to a daughter of the king, but escaped on the eve of the wedding feast, entered the order, and attained to reverence and distinction. it is most likely that this story, whether legendary or not (and hsuan tsang heard the story at k[=a]nchipura nearly two centuries after the date of dhammap[=a]la), referred to this author. but it may also refer, as hsuan tsang refers it, to another author of the same name. other unpublished works, besides those mentioned above, have been ascribed to dhammap[=a]la, but it is very doubtful whether they are really by him. authorities.--t. watters, _on yuan chwang_ (ed. rhys davids and bushell, london, 1905), ii. 169, 228; edmund hardy in _zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen gesellschaft_ (1898), pp. 97 foll.; _netti_ (ed. e. hardy, london, p[=a]li text society, 1902), especially the introduction, passim; _theri g[=a]th[=a] commentary_, _peta vatthu commentary_, and _vim[=a]na vatthu commentary_, all three published by the p[=a]li text society. (t. w. r. d.)