de. The name _Directoire_ or Directory was given to the body which
held the executive power in France from October 1795 until November 1799
(see FRENCH REVOLUTION).

DIRGE, a song or hymn of mourning, particularly one sung at funerals or
at a Service in commemoration of the dead. It is derived from the first
word of the antiphon _"Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam
meam"_ (Guide, O Lord, my God, my way in Thy sight), of the opening
psalm in the office for the dead in the Roman Church. The antiphon is
adapted from verse 8 of Psalm v.

DIRK, a dagger, particularly the heavy dagger carried by the Highlanders
of Scotland. The dirk as worn in full Highland costume is an elaborately
ornamented weapon, with cairngorms or other stones set in the head of
the handle, which has no guard. Inserted in the sheath there may be two
small knives. The dirk, in the shape of a straight blade, with a small
guard, some 18 in. long, is worn by midshipmen in the British navy. The
origin of the word is doubtful. The earlier forms were _dork_ and
_durk_, and the spelling _dirk_, adopted by Johnson, represents the
pronunciation of the second form. The name seems to have been early
applied to the daggers of the Highlanders, but the Gaelic word is
_biodag_, and the Irish _duirc_, often stated to be the origin, is only
an adaptation of the English word. It may be a corruption of the German
_Dolch_, a dagger. The suggestion that it is an application of the
Christian name "Dirk," the short form of "Dieterich," is not borne out,
according to the _New English Dictionary_, by any use of this name for a
dagger, and is further disproved by the earlier English spelling.

DIRSCHAU, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Prussia, province of West
Prussia, on the left bank of the Vistula, 20 m. S. from Danzig and at
the junction of the important lines of railway Berlin-Konigsberg and
Danzig-Bromberg. Pop. (1905) 14,185. It has a Roman Catholic and a
Protestant church and several schools. The river is here crossed by two
fine iron bridges. The older structure dating from the year 1857,
originally used for the railway, is now given up to road traffic, and
the railway carried by a new bridge completed in 1891. Dirschau has
railway workshops and manufactories of sugar, agricultural implements
and cement. During the war with Poland, Gustavus Adolphus made it his
headquarters for many months after its capture in 1626.

DISABILI