Droshky, a kind of light, four-wheeled carriage used by the Russians. It is not covered, and in some types there is in the middle a sort of bench placed lengthways on which the passengers ride as on a saddle; but the name is now applied to various kinds of vehicles, as to the common cabs plying in the streets of German cities.
Drouais (drö-ā), Jean Germain, French historical painter of considerable repute, born at Paris in 1763, died at Rome 1788. His chief pictures are: The Canaanitish Woman at the Feet of Jesus, Dying Gladiator, and Marius at Minturno.
Drouet (drö-ā), Jean Baptiste, Comte d'Erlon, French general, born 1765, died 1844. He served in the campaigns of the Moselle, Meuse, and Sambre (1793-6), in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo, where he commanded the first corps d'armée. In 1834-5 he was Governor-General of Algeria, and in 1843 was made a marshal.
Drouyn de Lhuys (drö-an˙ dė lwēs), Édouard, French statesman and diplomatist, born 1805, died 1881. He entered the diplomatic service in 1831, and was chargé d'affaires at the Hague during the events which led to the separation of Belgium from Holland. In 1840 he was head of the commercial department under the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Opposition to Guizot caused his dismissal in 1845. He became Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1848, Ambassador to London in 1849; and again Foreign Minister in 1851, and in 1863. On the fall of the empire he fled to Jersey, but subsequently returned to France.
Drowning means death by the air being prevented from entering the lungs owing to the mouth and nostrils being immersed in a liquid, the liquid being commonly water. Death may, therefore, occur by drowning in a small quantity of water. Thus a child may fall head downwards into a tub and be drowned, though the tub is not half full of water, sufficient to cover the mouth and nostrils being all that is necessary, and a man overcome by a fit or by drunkenness may fall on a road with his head in a ditch or pool of water, and thus meet death. Death is thus due to suffocation, to the stoppage of breathing, and to the entrance of water into the lungs. When death has been caused by drowning, the skin presents the appearance called goose-skin (cutis anserīna), the face and surface of the body generally are usually pale, a frothy liquid is found in the lungs and air-passages, and about the lips and nostrils; water may be found in the stomach, and clenched fingers, holding substances grasped at, may serve to show that a struggle has taken place in the water, and that the body was alive at the time of immersion. Complete insensibility arises, it is probable, in from one or two minutes after submersion, recovery, however, being still possible, and death occurs in from two to five minutes. So long as the heart continues to beat, recovery is possible; after it has ceased it is impossible. Newly-born children and young puppies stand submersion longer than the more fully grown.
For the restoration of the apparently drowned several methods are suggested. Those of Dr. Silvester, recommended by the English Humane Society, and Dr. Benjamin Howard, of New York, will be described.
Whichever method is adopted, the following steps must first and immediately be taken: Pull the body up on to dry ground. Send immediately for medical assistance, warm blankets, dry clothing, brandy and hot water, if any one
is at hand to send. No delay must be permitted, however, in treating the drowned, so that if only one person is on the spot he must begin to treat the victim instantly, without seeking assistance. Remove all clothing from the neck and chest. Fold the articles of dress removed so as to make a firm pillow, which is to be placed under the shoulders, so that the upper part of the body is slightly raised and the head slightly thrown back. Cleanse the mouth and nostrils, open the mouth and pull forward the tongue. If natural efforts to breathe are made, try to stimulate them by brisk rubbing of the sides of the chest and of the face. If no effort to breathe is made, proceed to produce the entrance and outflow of air from the lungs by Silvester's or Howard's method.
Silvester's method: Stand or kneel behind the person's head, grasp each arm at the elbow, draw both arms simultaneously upwards till they are extended in line with the body, as a man places them when he stretches himself. Let this movement occupy about two seconds. This enlarges the chest and causes the entrance of air to the lungs. Without a pause carry the arms down to the sides, making them overlap the chest a little, and firmly press them on the chest. This movement should occupy other two seconds. It expels air from the lungs. Repeat the movements, and maintain them steadily and patiently at the rate of fifteen times a minute, until breathing has been fully restored, or until medical aid arrives, or until death is certain. An hour is not too long a time to persist, and so long as there seems the least effort to breathe the movements must be persevered in.
