ffected, trunk and upper limbs later
in severe cases, the face very rarely. It was accompanied by pyrexia,
gastro-enteritis, deep-seated pains in limbs and body, and burning and
pricking of the skin. Various rashes appeared early in the attack, while
eczema, desquamation and even ulceration supervened later. Anaemia was
very marked, giving rise in Mauritius to the name of acute anaemic
dropsy. The duration of the disease was very variable, the limits being
three weeks and three months. Death was often sudden, resulting chiefly
from cardiac and respiratory complications. The cause of the disease has
remained obscure, but there is reason to suppose that it was originally
imported from the Madras famine tracts.

DROPWORT, in botany, the common name for a species of _Spiraea_, _S.
filipendula_ (nat. ord. _Rosaceae_), found in dry pastures. It is a
perennial herb, with much divided radical leaves and an erect stem 2 to
3 ft. high bearing a loose terminal inflorescence of small white
flowers, closely resembling those of the nearly allied species _S.
Ulmaria_, or meadowsweet.

Water Dropwort, _Oenanthe crocata_ (nat. ord. _Umbelliferae_), is a tall
herbaceous plant growing in marshes and ditches. The stem, which springs
from a cluster of thickened roots, is stout, branched, hollow and 2 to 5
ft. high; the leaves are large and pinnately divided, and the flowers
are borne in a compound umbel, the long rays bearing dense partial
umbels of small white flowers. The plant, which is very poisonous, is
often mistaken for celery.

DROSHKY (Russ. _drozhki_, diminutive of _drogi_, a wagon), a light
four-wheeled uncovered carriage used in Russia. Properly it consists of
two pairs of wheels joined by a board. This forms a seat for the
passengers who sit sideways, while the driver sits astride in front. The
word _Droschke_, however, is applied especially in Germany to light
carriages generally which ply for hire.

DROSTE-HULSHOFF, ANNETTE ELISABETH, FREIIN VON (1797-1848), German poet,
was born at the family seat of Hulshoff near Munster in Westphalia on
the 10th of January 1797. Her early mental training was largely
influenced by her cousin, Clemens August, Freiherr von Droste zu
Vischering, who, as archbishop of Cologne, became notorious for his
extreme ultramontane views (see below); and she received a more liberal
education than in those days ordinarily fell to a woman's lot. After
prolonged visits among the intell