SIAM (9,000 of Siamese, Chinese, Shans, and Malays), occupies the
central portion of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, wedged in between Annam
and Cambodia (E.) and Burma (W.), and extending down into the Malay
Peninsula; the wide Gulf of Siam forms the southern boundary; the rich
alluvial valleys of the Menam and the Mekhong produce great quantities of
rice (chief export), teak-wood, hemp, tobacco, cotton, etc., but of the
land surface only about one-twentieth is cultivated, a large portion of
the rest lying under forest and jungle; the Siamese are indolent,
ignorant, ceremonious, and the trade is mainly in the hands of the
Chinese; the mining of gold, tin, and especially rubies and sapphires, is
also carried on. Buddhism is the national religion, and elementary
education is well advanced; government is vested in a king (at present an
enlightened and English-educated monarch) and council of ministers; since
Sir J. Bowring's treaty in 1856, opening up the country to European trade
and influences, progress has been considerable in roads and railway,
electric, telephonic, and postal communication. BANGKOK (q. v.)
is the capital. In 1893 a large tract of territory NE. of the Mekhong was
ceded to France.
SIAMESE TWINS, twins born in Siam, of Chinese parents, whose bodies
were united by a fleshy band extended between corresponding breast-bones;
were purchased from their mother and exhibited in Europe and America,
realised a competency by their exhibitions, married and settled in the
States; having lost by the Civil War, they came over to London and
exhibited, where they died, one 2½ hours after the other (1811-1874).
SIBBALD, SIR ROBERT, physician and naturalist, born in Edinburgh, of
Balgonie, Fife; established a botanic garden in Edinburgh, and was one of
the founders of the Royal College of Physicians (16411712).
SIBERIA (5,000), a vast Russian territory in North Asia (one and a
third times the size of Europe), stretching from the Ural Mountains (W.)
to the seas of Behring, Okhotsk, and Japan (E.), bounded on the N. by the
Arctic Ocean and on the S. by China and the Central Asiatic provinces of
Russia; forms in the main an immense plain, sloping from the Altai and
other mountain ranges on the S. to the dreary, ice-bound littoral on the
N., drained by the northward-flowing Obi, Irtish, Yenesei, Lena, &c.,
embracing every kind of soil, from the fertile grain-growing plains of
the S. and rich grazing steppe-land of the W. to the forest tracts and
bogland of the N. and experiencing a variety of climates, but for the
most part severely cold; hunting, fishing, and mining are the chief
industries, with agriculture and stock-raising in the S. and W. The great
Trans-Siberian Railway, in construction since 1891, is opening up the
country, which is divided into eight "governments," the chief towns being
Tomsk, Irkutsk, Omsk, and Tobolsk; three-fifths of the population are
Russians, chiefly exiles and descendants of exiles. Russian advance in
Asia against the Tartars was begun in 1850, and was carried on by warlike
Cossack marauders, followed by hunters, droves of escaping serfs, and
persecuted religious sects.
SIBYL, name given to a woman, or rather to a number of women, much
fabled of in antiquity, regarded by Ruskin as representing the voice of
God in nature, and, as such, endowed with visionary prophetic power, or
what in the Highlands of Scotland is called "second-sight"; the most
famous of the class being the Sibyl of Cumæ, who offered King Tarquin of
Rome nine books for sale, which he refused on account of the exorbitant
sum asked for them, and again refused after she had burnt three of them,
and in the end paid what was originally asked for the three remaining,
which he found to contain oracular utterances bearing on the worship of
the gods and the policy of Rome. These, after being entrusted to keepers,
were afterwards burned, and the contents replaced by a commission
appointed to collect them in the countries around, to share the same fate
as the original collection. The name is applied in mediæval times to
figures representative of the prophets who foretold the coming of Christ;
the prophets so represented were reckoned sometimes 10, sometimes 12 in
number; they are, says Fairholt, "of tall stature, full of vigour and
moral energy; the costume rich but conventional, ornamented with pearls
and precious stones."
SICILIAN VESPERS, name given to a massacre of the French in Sicily
at the hour of vespers on the eve of Easter Monday in 1282, the signal
for the commencement being the first stroke of the vesper bell; the
massacre included men and women and children to the number of 8000 souls,
and was followed by others throughout the island.
SICILY (3,285), the largest island in the Mediterranean, lying off
the SW. extremity of Italy, to which it belongs, and from which it is
separated by the narrow strait of Messina, 2 m. broad; the three
extremities of its triangular configuration form Capes Faro (NE.),
Passaro (S.), and Boco (W.); its mountainous interior culminates in the
volcanic Etna, and numerous streams rush swiftly down the thickly-wooded
valleys; the coast-lands are exceptionally fertile, growing (although
agricultural methods are extremely primitive) excellent crops of wheat
and barley, as well as an abundance of fruit; sulphur-mining is an
important industry, and large quantities of the mineral are exported;
enjoys a fine equable climate, but malaria is in parts endemic; the
inhabitants are a mixed--Greek, Italian, Arabic, &c.--race, and differ
considerably in language and appearance from Italians proper; are
ill-governed, and as a consequence discontented and backward, even
brigandage not yet being entirely suppressed. Palermo, the largest city,
is situated on the precipitous N. coast. As part of the "Kingdom of the
Two Sicilies," comprising Sicily and Naples, it was overrun by Garibaldi
in 1860, and in the same year was incorporated with the kingdom of Italy.
SICKINGEN, FRANZ VON, a German free-lance, a man of a knightly
spirit and great prowess; had often a large following, Götz von
Berlichingen of the number, and joined the cause of the Reformation; lost
his life by a musket-shot when besieged in the castle of Landstuhl; he
was a warm friend of Ulrich von Hutten (1481-1523).
SICYON, a celebrated city of ancient Greece, was situated near the
Corinthian Gulf, 7 m. NW. of Corinth; was an important centre of Grecian
art, especially of bronze sculptures and painting; in the time of Aratus
(251 B.C.) figured as one of the chief cities of the Achæan League; only
a few remains now mark its site.
SIDDONS, SARAH, the greatest tragic actress of England, born at
Brecon, the daughter and eldest child of Roger Kemble, manager of an
itinerant theatrical company; became early a member of her father's
company, and at 19 married an actor named Siddons who belonged to it; her
first appearance in Drury Lane as Portia in 1755 was a failure; by 1782
her fame was established, after which she joined her brother, John
Kemble, at Covent Garden, and continued to act there till her retirement
in 1812; she was distinguished in many parts, and above all Lady Macbeth,
in which character she took farewell of the stage; she appeared once
again in London after this in 1815, for the benefit of her brother
Charles, and again a few nights in Edinburgh in aid of a widowed
daughter-in-law (1755-1831).
SIDEREAL YEAR, the period during which the earth makes a revolution
in its orbit with respect to the stars.
SIDGWICK, HENRY, writer on ethics, born at Shipton, Yorkshire;
professor of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge; "Methods of Ethics," being a
compromise between the intuitionalists and utilitarians, "the Principles
of Political Economy," and the "Elements of Politics"; he holds a high
place in all these three studies; _b_. 1838.
SIDLAW HILLS, a range of hills extending from Kinnoul Hill, near
Perth, NE. to Brechin, in Forfarshire; most interesting point Dunsinane
(1114 ft.).
SIDMOUTH (4), a pretty little watering-place on the S. Devonshire
coast, 14 m. ESE. of Exeter; lies snugly between high cliffs at the mouth
of a small stream, the Sid; is an ancient place, and has revived in
popularity since the opening of the railway; has a fine promenade 1½ m.
long.
SIDMOUTH, HENRY ADDINGTON, VISCOUNT, statesman, born in London, the
son of a physician; studied at Oxford, and was called to the bar, but
gave up law for politics, entered Parliament in 1783, and was Speaker
from 1789 till 1801, in which year, after the fall of Pitt over Catholic
emancipation, he formed a ministry, assuming himself the offices of First
Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. This ministry of
the "King's Friends" went out of office in 1804, after negotiating the
Peace of Amiens (1802), and in subsequent governments of Pitt Sidmouth
held various offices, being an unpopular Home Secretary from 1812 to
1821; created viscount in 1805 (1757-1844).
SIDNEY or SYDNEY, ALGERNON, a noted politician and soldier
of extreme republican views, second son of Robert, second Earl of
Leicester; first came into public notice in 1641-1642 by his gallant
conduct as leader of a troop of horse in the Irish Rebellion; came over
to England in 1643, joined the Parliamentarians, rose to a colonelcy and
command of a regiment in 1645; was subsequently governor of Dublin and of
Dover (1647), entered Parliament (1646), and although appointed one of
the commissioners to try Charles I., absented himself from the
proceedings, but afterwards approved of the execution; withdrew from
politics during Cromwell's Protectorate, but on the reinstating of the
Long Parliament (1659) became a member of the Council of State; was on a
diplomatic mission to Denmark when the Restoration took place, and till
his pardon in 1677 led a wandering life on the Continent; intrigued with
Louis XIV. against Charles II., assisted William Penn in drawing up the
republican constitution of Pennsylvania, was on trumped-up evidence tried
for complicity in the Rye House Plot and summarily sentenced to death by
Judge Jeffreys, the injustice of his execution being evidenced by the
reversal of his attainder in 1689 (1622-1683).
SIDNEY, SIR PHILIP, poet, and one of the most attractive figures at
Elizabeth's court, born at Penshurst, Kent, the son of Sir Henry Sidney,
lord-deputy of Ireland; quitted Oxford in 1572, and in the manner of the
time finished his education by a period of Continental travel, from which
he returned imbued with the love of Italian literature; took his place at
once in the court of Elizabeth, his uncle, the Earl of Leicester, being
then high in favour, and received rapid promotion, being sent as
ambassador in 1576 to the court of Vienna; nor was his favour with the
queen impaired by his bold "Remonstrance" against her marriage with the
Duke of Anjou, and in 1583 received a knighthood; two years later, "lest
she should lose the jewel of her dominions" the queen forbade him to
accompany Drake to the West Indies, and appointed him governor of
Flushing, but in the following year he received his death-wound at the
battle of Zutphen gallantly leading a troop of Netherlander against the
Spaniards; his fame as an author rests securely on his euphuistic prose
romance "Arcadia," his critical treatise "The Defence of Poesy," and
above all on his exquisite sonnet-series "Astrophel and Stella," in which
he sings the story of his hapless love for Penelope Devereux, who married
Lord Rich; was the friend of Edmund Spenser, and the centre of an
influential literary circle (1554-1586).
SIDON, an ancient Phoenician city on the E. of the Mediterranean, 20
m. N. of Tyre, with an extensive commerce; was famed for its glass and
purple dye; also suffered many a reverse of fortune.
SIEBENGEBIRGE, a range of hills on the right bank of the Rhine, 20
m. above Köln, distinguished by its seven high peaks.
SIEGFRIED, a hero of various Scandinavian and Teutonic legends, and
especially of the "NIBELUNGEN LIED" (q. v.), was rendered
invulnerable by bathing in the blood of a dragon which he had slain,
except at a spot on his body which had been covered by a falling leaf; he
wore a cloak which rendered him invisible, and wielded a miraculous sword
named BALMUNG (q. v.).
SIEMENS, WERNER VON, a celebrated German electrician and inventor,
born at Lenthe, Hanover; served in the Prussian artillery, and rendered
valuable services in developing the telegraphic system of Prussia;
patented a process for electro-plating in gold and silver, and was the
first to employ electricity in exploding submarine mines; retired from
the army in 1849, and along with Halske established a business in Berlin
for telegraphic and electrical apparatus, which has become notable
throughout the world, having branches in several cities; made many
contributions to electrical science; was ennobled in 1888 (1816-1892).
SIEMENS, SIR WILLIAM (Karl William), younger brother of the
preceding, born at Lenthe, Hanover; like his brother took to science, and
in 1844 settled in England, naturalising in 1859; was manager of the
English branch of the Siemens Brothers firm, and did much to develop
electric lighting and traction (Portrush Electric Tramway); his inventive
genius was productive of a heat-economising furnace, a water-meter,
pyrometer, bathometer, &c.; took an active part in various scientific
societies; was President of the British Association (1882), and received
a knighthood in 1883 (1823-1883).
SIENNA or SIENA (28), an interesting old Italian city of much
importance during the Middle Ages, in Central Italy, 60 m. S. of
Florence, is still surrounded by its ancient wall, and contains several
fine Gothic structures, notably its cathedral (13th century) and
municipal palace; has a university and institute of fine arts; silk and
cloth weaving, and a wine and oil trade are the chief industries.
SIERRA, the name given to a range of mountains with a saw-like
ridge.
SIERRA LEONE (75), a British maritime colony since 1787, on the W.
coast of Africa, having a foreshore of 180 m. between Rivières du Sud
(N.) and Liberia (S.); includes the peninsula of Sierra Leone proper with
its densely-wooded Sugar-Loaf Mountain, and a number of coast islands,
and stretches back to a highland eastern frontier ill defined; the
climate is hot, humid, and unhealthy; has been called "The White Man's
Grave"; is fertile, but not well exploited by the indolent negro
population, half of whom are descendants from freed slaves; ground-nuts,
kola-nuts, ginger, hides, palm-oil, &c., are the principal exports.
FREETOWN (q. v.) is the capital. The executive power is
exercised by a governor and council of five.
SIERRA MADRE, the main cordillera system of Mexico, extending in a
northerly direction to Arizona, and forming the western buttress of a
fertile plateau stretching eastwards; to the W. the States of Sinaloa and
Sonora slope downwards to the sea.
SIERRA MORENA, a mountain chain in South Spain, forming the
watershed between the valleys of the Gaudiana (N.) and Guadalquivir (S.);
has valuable deposits of lead, silver, quicksilver, and other metals.
SIERRA NEVADA, 1, a mountain range in South Spain, 60 m. in length;
lies for the most part in Granada, crossing the province E. and W. in
bold, rugged lines, and clad on its higher parts with perpetual snow,
whence the name; Mulhacen (11,660 ft.) is the highest peak. 2, A mountain
system in California, stretching NW. and SE. 450 m., and forming the
eastern buttress of the Great Central Valley; highest peak Mount Whitney
(14,886 ft.). 3, A lofty mountain group in Colombia, South America,
stretching NE. almost to the borders of Venezuela.
SIEYÈS, ABBÉ, a conspicuous figure all through the French
Revolution, the Consulate, and the Empire, who thought in his simplicity
that the salvation of France and the world at large depended on sound
political institutions, in the drafting of which he spent his life; was
born in Frèjus, of the bourgeois class; represented Paris in the States
General; sat in the Centre in the Legislative Assembly; renounced the
Christian religion in favour of the Goddess of Reason; projected a
constitution which was rejected; supported Napoleon; fled to Belgium on
the return of the Bourbons, and returned to France in 1830, by which time
he was politically defunct (1748-1836).
SIGISMUND, emperor of Germany, son of the Emperor Charles IV., was
markgrave of Brandenburg, king of Hungary, and palatine of the Rhine;
struggled hard to suppress the Hussites; held the Council of Constance,
and gave HUSS (q. v.) a safe-conduct to his doom; he is the
"Super Grammaticam" of Carlyle's "Frederick" (1362-1437).
SIGISMUND is the name of three kings of Poland, the last of whom
died in 1632.
SIGNORELLI, LUCA, the precursor of Michael Angelo in Italian art,
born at Cortona; studied at Arezzo under Piero della Francesca, and
became distinguished for the accurate anatomy of his figures and for the
grandeur and originality of design exhibited in his admirable frescoes of
religious subjects at Loretto, Orviëto, and elsewhere (1441-1525).
SIGOURNEY, MRS., American authoress, was a prolific writer; wrote
tales, poems, essays, chiefly on moral and religious subjects; was called
the American Hemans (1791-1863).
SIGURD. See SIEGFRIED.
SIKHS (lit. disciples), a native religious and military community,
scattered, to the number of nearly two millions, over the Punjab, and
forming some fifteen States dependent on the Punjab government; founded
(1469) by Baber Nanak as a religious monotheistic sect purified from the
grosser native superstitions and practices; was organised on a military
footing in the 17th century, and in the 18th century acquired a
territorial status, ultimately being consolidated in to a powerful
military confederacy by Ranjit Singh, who, at the beginning of the 19th
century, extended his power over a wider territory. In 1845-46 they
crossed their E. boundary, the Sutlej, and invaded English possessions,
but were defeated by Gough and Hardinge, and had to cede a considerable
portion of their territory; a second war in 1848-49 ended in the
annexation of the entire Punjab, since when the Sikhs have been the
faithful allies of the English, notably in the Indian Mutiny.
SIKKIM (7), a small native State in North-East India, lying on the
southern slopes of the Himalayas, between Nepal (W.) and Bhotan (E.);
under British protection; the ruling family being Buddhist, and of
Tibetan descent.
SILAGE, the name given to green fodder, vegetables, &c., stored in
stacks or pits (or silos) under heavy pressure, the process being known
as ensilage. The practice of thus preserving green crops for fodder dates
from earliest times, but its general adoption in Britain only began in
1882 since when its spread has been rapid. Originally the process in
vogue involved slight fermentation, resulting in "sour silage," but in
1884 it was found that by delaying the application of pressure for a day
or two a rise of temperature took place sufficiently great to destroy the
bacteria producing fermentation, the result being "sweet silage." Both
kinds are readily eaten by cattle.
SILENCE, WORSHIP OF, Carlyle's name for the sacred respect for
restraint in speech till "thought has silently matured itself, ... to
hold one's tongue till _some_ meaning lie behind to set it wagging," a
doctrine which many misunderstand, almost wilfully, it would seem;
silence being to him the very womb out of which all great things are
born.
SILENUS, a satyr who attended Dionysus, being his foster-father and
teacher; assisted in the war of the giants, and slew Enceladus; had the
gift of vaticination; is represented as mounted on an ass and supported
by other satyrs.
SILESIA (4,224), a province of South-East Prussia, stretching S.
between Russian Poland (E.) and Austria (W. and S.); the Oder flows NW.
through the heart of the country, dividing the thickly forested and in
parts marshy lands of the N. and E. from the mountainous and extremely
fertile W.; rich coal-fields lie to the S., and zinc is also a valuable
product; agriculture and the breeding of cattle, horses, and sheep
flourish, as also the manufacture of cottons, linens, &c.; Breslau is the
capital; for long under the successive dominions of Poland and Bohemia,
the Silesian duchies became, in the 18th century, a _casus belli_ between
Austria and Prussia, resulting in the SEVEN YEARS' WAR (q. v.)
and the ultimate triumph of Frederick the Great of Prussia.
SILESIA, AUSTRIAN (602), that portion of the original Silesian
country preserved to Austria after the unsuccessful struggle with
Prussia; forms a duchy and crownland of Austria, and extends SW. from the
border of Prussian Silesia; agriculture and mining are the chief
industries.
SILHOUETTE, name given to the profile of a portrait filled in with
black; a design familiar to the ancients, and in vogue in France during
the reign of Louis XV.
SILISTRIA (12), a town of Bulgaria, on the Danube, 70 m. below
Rustchuk; occupies a fine strategical position, and is strongly
fortified; withstood successfully a 39 days' siege by the Russians during
the Crimean War; cloth and leather are the chief manufactures.
SILIUS ITALICUS, a Roman poet; was consul in the year of Nero's
death, and his chief work an epic "Punica," relating the events of the
Second Punic War, a dull performance.
SILLIMAN, BENJAMIN, American chemist and geologist, born in North
Stratford (now Trumbull), Connecticut; graduated at Yale, and was called
to the bar in 1802, but in the same year threw up law for science; became
professor of Chemistry at Yale, a position he held for 50 years (till
1853); did much to stimulate the study of chemistry and geology by
lectures throughout the States; founded (1818) the _American Journal of
Science_, and was for 28 years its editor; during 1853-55 was lecturer on
Geology at Yale; his writings include "Journals of Travels in England,
Holland, and Scotland" (1779-1864). BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, son of
preceding, also an active scientist along his father's lines; founded the
Yale School of Science, and filled the chairs of Chemistry at Louisville
(1849-1854) and at Yale (till 1869); was co-editor of the _Journal of
Science_ (1845-85), and wrote various popular text-books of chemistry and
physics (1816-1885).
SILLOTH (3), a watering-place of Cumberland, on the Solway Firth, 20
m. W. of Carlisle; has good docks and an increasing commerce.
SILURES, one of the ancient British tribes occupying the SE. of
Wales; conjectured to be of Non-Aryan stock, and akin to the Iberians;
offered a fierce resistance to the invading Romans.
SILVANUS, an Italian divinity, the guardian of trees, fields, and
husbandmen; represented as a hale, happy, old man.
SILVER AGE, the age in the Greek mythology in succession to the
Golden; gold being viewed as the reality, and silver the idle reflection.
See AGES and GOLDEN AGE.
SIMEON, ST., the aged seer who received the infant Christ in his
arms as He was presented to the Lord by His mother in the Temple; usually
so represented in Christian art.
SIMEON STYLITES, famous as one of the PILLAR SAINTS (q. v.).
SIMFEROPOL (36), a town in the Crimea, 49 m. NE. of Sebastopol;
surrounded by gardens, orchards, and vineyards; exports a great quantity
of fruit.
SIMLA (15, but largely increased in summer), the chief town of a
district in the Punjab, and since 1864 the summer hill-quarters of the
British Government in India; beautifully situated on the wooded southern
slopes of the Himalayas, 7156 ft. above sea-level, and 170 m. N. of
Delhi; has a cool and equable climate, and possesses two vice-regal
palaces, government buildings, beautiful villas, &c.
SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE, a prolific American writer, born at
Charleston, South Carolina; turned from law to literature; engaged in
journalism for some years, and found favour with the public as a writer
of poems, novels, biographies, &c., in which he displays a gift for
rapid, vivid narrative, and vigour of style; "Southern Passages and
Pictures" contains characteristic examples of his poetry, and of his
novels "The Yemassee," "The Partisan," and "Beauchampe" may be mentioned
(1806-1870).
SIMON, JULES, French statesman and distinguished writer on social,
political, and philosophic subjects, born at Lorient; succeeded Cousin in
the chair of Philosophy at the Sorbonne; entered the Chamber of Deputies
in 1848; lost his post at the Sorbonne in 1852 for refusing to take the
oath of allegiance to Napoleon III.; subsequently became Minister of
Education under Thiers (1871-73), a life-senator in 1875, and in 1876
Republican Prime Minister; later more conservative in his attitude, he
edited the _Echo Universel_, and was influential as a member of the
Supreme Educational Council, and as permanent secretary of the Academy of
Moral and Political Sciences; his voluminous works include treatises on
"Liberty," "Natural Religion," "Education," "Labour," &c., and various
philosophic and political essays (1814-1896).
SIMON, RICHARD, a celebrated French biblical scholar, born at
Dieppe; entered the Congregation of the Oratory in 1659, and became
professor of Philosophy at the College of Juilly; was summoned to Paris,
and under orders of his superiors spent some time in cataloguing the
Oriental MSS. in the library of the Oratory; his free criticisms and love
of controversy got him into trouble with the Port-Royalists and the
Benedictines, and the heterodoxy of his "Histoire Critique du Vieux
Testament" (1678) brought about his withdrawal to Belleville, where he
remained as curé till 1682, when he retired to Dieppe to continue his
work on Old and New Testament criticism; he ranks as among the first to
deal with the scriptural writings as literature, and he anticipated not a
few of the later German theories (1638-1712).
SIMON MAGUS, a sorcerer, one who by his profession of magic
aggrandised himself at the expense of the people of Samaria, and who,
when he saw the miracles wrought by the Apostles, and St. Peter in
particular, offered them money to confer the like power on himself;
Peter's well-known answer was not without effect on him, but it was only
temporary, for he afterwards appeared in Rome and continued to impose
upon the people so as to persuade them to believe him as an incarnation
of the Most High. Hence Simony, the sin of making gain by the buying or
selling of spiritual privileges for one's material profit.
SIMONIDES OF AMORGOS, a Greek poet who flourished in the 7th century
B.C.; dealt in gnome and satire, among the latter on the different
classes of women.
SIMONIDES OF CEOS, one of the most celebrated lyric poets of Greece;
spent most of his life in Athens, employed his poetic powers in
celebrating the events and heroes of the Persian wars; gained over
Æschylus the prize for an elegy on those who fell at Marathon; composed
epigrams over the tombs of the Spartans who fell at Thermopylæ, and in
his eightieth year was crowned victor at Athens; shortly after this was
invited by Hiero to Syracuse, at whose court he died; his poetry was
distinguished at once for sweetness and finish; he was a philosopher as
well as a poet (556-467 B.C.).
SIMOOM or SIMOON, a hot, dry wind-storm common to the arid
regions of Africa, Arabia, and parts of India; the storm moves in cyclone
(circular) form, carrying clouds of dust and sand, and produces on men
and animals a suffocating effect.
SIMPLON, a mountain in the Swiss Alps, in the canton of Valais,
traversed by the famous Simplon Pass (6594 ft. high), which stretches 41
m. from Brieg in Valais to Domo d'Ossola in Piedmont, passing over 611
bridges and through many great tunnels, built by Napoleon 1800-6.
SIMPSON, SIR JAMES YOUNG, physician, born, the son of a baker, at
Bathgate, Linlithgowshire; graduated M.D. at Edinburgh in 1832; was
assistant to the professor of Pathology and one of the Presidents of the
Royal Medical Society before his election to the chair of Midwifery in
1840; as an obstetrician his improvements and writings won him wide
repute, which became European on his discovery of chloroform in 1847; was
one of the Queen's physicians, and was created a baronet in 1866;
published "Obstetric Memoirs," "Archæological Essays," &c. (1811-1870).
SIMROCK, KARL JOSEPH, German scholar and poet, born at Bonn; studied
at Bonn and Berlin, where he became imbued with a love for old German
literature, in connection with which he did his best-known work;
modernised the "Nibelungen Lied" (1827), and after his withdrawal from
the Prussian service gave himself to his favourite study, becoming
professor of Old German in 1850, and popularising and stimulating inquiry
into the old national writings by volumes of translations, collections of
folk-songs, stories, &c.; was also author of several volumes of original
poetry (1802-1876).
SIMS, GEORGE ROBERT, playwright and novelist, born in London; was
for a number of years on the staff of _Fun_ and a contributor to the
_Referee_ and _Weekly Dispatch_, making his mark by his humorous and
pathetic Dagonet ballads and stories; has been a busy writer of popular
plays (e. g. "The Lights o' London," "The Romany Rye") and novels (e. g.
"Rogues and Vagabonds," "Dramas of Life"); contributed noteworthy
letters to the Daily News on the condition of the London poor; _b_. 1847.
SIMSON, ROBERT, mathematician, born in Ayrshire; abandoned his
intention of entering the Church and devoted himself to the congenial
study of mathematics, of which he became professor in the old university
at Glasgow (1711), a position he held for 50 years; was the author of the
well-known "Elements of Euclid," but is most celebrated as the first
restorer of Euclid's lost treatise on "Porisms" (1687-1768).
SINAI, MOUNT, one of a range of three mountains on the peninsula
between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Akaba, at the head of the Red
Sea, and from the summit or slopes of which Moses is said to have
received the Ten Commandments at the hands of Jehovah.
SINCERITY, in Carlyle's ethics the one test of all worth in a human
being, that he really with his whole soul means what he is saying and
doing, and is courageously ready to front time and eternity on the stake.
SINCLAIR, name of a Scottish family of Norman origin whose founder
obtained from David I. the grant of Roslin, near Edinburgh.
SINCLAIR, SIR JOHN, philanthropist and statistician, born at Thurso
Castle, bred to the bar; succeeding to the family estate devoted himself
to his duties as a landed proprietor; sat for different constituencies in
Parliament; published in 1784 "History of the Revenue of the British
Empire," and in 1791-99, in 21 vols., "Statistical Account of Scotland"
(1754-1835).
SIND, SINDH, or SCINDE (2,903), a province of North-West India,
in the Presidency of Bombay; extends from Beluchistan and Punjab (N.) to
the Indian Ocean and Runn of Cutch (S.); traversed by the Indus, whose
delta it includes, and whose broad alluvial valley-tracts yield abundant
crops of wheat, barley, hemp, rice, cotton, etc., which are exported, and
give employment to the majority of the people; N. and E. are wide
stretches of desert-land, and in the S. are the Hala Mountains; was
annexed to the British possessions after the victories of Sir Charles
Napier in 1843; chief city and port is Kurrachee.
SINDIA, the hereditary title of the Mahratta dynasty in Gwalior,
Central India, founded in 1738 by Ranojee Sindia, who rose from being
slipper-bearer to the position of hereditary prime minister of the
Mahrattas; these princes, both singly and in combination with other
Mahratta powers, offered determined resistance to the British, but in
1803 the confederated Mahratta power was broken by Sir Arthur Wellesley,
and a large portion of their territory passed into British hands. Gwalior
having been restored (1805), and retaken in 1844, the Sindia dynasty was
reinstated under a more stringent treaty, and Boji Rao Sindia proved
faithful during the Mutiny, receiving various marks of good-will from the
British; was succeeded by his adopted son, a child of six, in 1886.
SINGAPORE, 1, (185, chiefly Chinese), the most important of the
BRITISH STRAITS SETTLEMENTS (q. v.); consists of the island of
Singapore and upwards of 50 islets, off the southern extremity of the
Malay Peninsula, from which it is separated by a narrow strait (2 to ½ m.
broad); is hot, humid, and low-lying, yet healthy, and possessing a
fertile soil which grows all kinds of spices, fruits, sugar-cane, coffee,
etc.; purchased by the British in 1824. 2, Capital (160) and port, on the
Strait of Singapore, close to the equator; the chief emporium of trade
with the East Indies and South-Eastern Asia generally; is a picturesque
and handsome town, strongly fortified, and an important naval coaling
station and depôt, with spacious harbour, docks, etc.
SINOLOGY, the science treating of the language, literature, laws,
and history of the Chinese.
SINON, a wily Greek who beguiled the Trojans and persuaded them to
admit the Wooden Horse into the city, to its ruin.
SINOPE (8), a seaport of Turkey in Asia, situated on a narrow
isthmus connecting with the mainland the rocky headland of Cape Sinope
which projects into the Black Sea, 350 m. NE. of Constantinople;
possesses two fine harbours, naval arsenal, Byzantine ruins, etc.; an
ancient Greek town, the birthplace of Diogenes, and capital of
Mithridates; it was captured by the Turks in 1461, who themselves in 1853
suffered a disastrous naval defeat in the Bay of Sinope at the hands of
the Russians.
SION, capital of the Swiss canton of Valais, on the Rhine, 42 m. E.
of Lausanne; is a mediæval town, with an old Gothic cathedral, and in the
neighbourhood ruined castles.
SIOUT or ASIOOT (32), capital of Upper Egypt; commands a fine
view near the Nile, 200 m. S. of Cairo; has a few imposing mosques and a
government palace; is a caravan station, and noted for its red and black
pottery; occupies the site of the ancient city of Lycopolis.
SIOUX or DAKOTA INDIANS, a North American Indian tribe, once
spread over the territory lying between Lake Winnipeg (N.) and the
Arkansas River (S.), but now confined chiefly to South Dakota and
Nebraska. Failure on the part of the United States Government to observe
certain treaty conditions led to a great uprising of the Sioux in 1862,
which was only put down at a great cost of blood and treasure; conflicts
also took place in 1876 and 1890, the Indians finding in their chief,
Sitting Bull, a determined and skilful leader.
SIRDAR, a name given to a native chief in India.
SIREN, an instrument for measuring the number of aërial vibrations
per second, and thereby the pitch of a given note.
SIRENS, in the Greek mythology a class of nymphs who were fabled to
lure the passing sailor to his ruin by the fascination of their music;
Ulysses, when he passed the beach where they were sitting, had his ears
stuffed with wax and himself lashed to the mast till he was at a safe
distance from the influence of their charm. Orpheus, however, as he
passed them in the Argonautic expedition so surpassed their music by his
melodious notes, that in very shame they flung themselves into the sea
and were changed into boulders.
SIRIUS or THE DOG-STAR, the brightest star in the heavens, one
of the stars of the Southern constellation of _Canis Major_; is
calculated to have a bulk three times that of the sun, and to give 70
times as much light. See DOG-DAYS.
SIRKAR, a name used in India to designate the government.
SIROCCO. See SIMOOM.
SISMONDI, JEAN CHARLES LÉONARD SIMONDE DE, celebrated Swiss
historian, born at Geneva; son of a Protestant clergyman of Italian
descent; the family fortune was lost in the troublous days of the French
Revolution, and exile in England and Italy followed, but in 1800 Sismondi
returned to Geneva, and having received a municipal appointment gave
himself to literary pursuits; the works which have established his
reputation are his great histories of "The Italian Republics in the
Middle Ages," "European Literature," and "A. History of the French";
wrote also on political economy (1773-1842).
SISTINE CHAPEL, celebrated chapel of the Vatican at Rome,
constructed by order of Pope Sixtus IV., and decorated with frescoes by
Michael Angelo, representing a succession of biblical subjects, including
among others the "Creation of the World," the "Creation of Man," the
"Creation of Woman," the "Temptation of Eve," the "Deluge," "Judith and
Holophernes," "David and Goliath," "The Last Judgment," &c.
SISTOVA (12), a town of Bulgaria, on the Danube, 33 m. above
Rustchuk; carries on trade in wine, leather, and cereals; was captured by
the Russians in 1877.
SISYPHUS, a mythical king of Corinth, who for some offence he gave
the gods was carried off to the nether world, and there doomed to roll a
huge block up a hill, which no sooner reached the top than it bounded
back again, making his toil endless.
SITKA or NEW ARCHANGEL (1), capital of Alaska, on the W. coast
of Baranof Island, overhung by snowy mountains; has a good harbour;
salmon fishing and curing the chief employment of most of the
inhabitants, mostly Indians.
SIVA or ÇIVA, the Destroyer in the Hindu trinity, in which
Brahma is the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver; Vishnu representing, as
it were, death issuing in life, and Siva life issuing in death, the
transition point, and Brahma, who, by means of them, "kills that he may
make alive." He is worshipped as "Mahâdêva" or the great god, and his
worshippers are called Saivas or Çaivas, as distinct from those of
Vishnu, which are called Vaishnavas. The LINGA (q. v.) is his
symbol, in emblem of the creation which follows destruction. See Psalm
xc. 3.
SIVAJI, the founder of the Mahratta power in India, a bold warrior
but an unlettered, of Rajput descent, brought up at Poona; began his
career at 19; on his succession assumed the title of rajah in 1664, and
was enthroned at Raigpur in 1674, and died sovereign of the whole Deccan
(1627-1680).
SIX ARTICLES. See BLOODY STATUTE.
SIXTUS, the name of five popes. S. I., St., Pope from 116 to
125; S. II., st., pope from 257 to 259; S. III., Pope from 432
to 440; S. IV., pope from 1471 to 1484; S. V., Pope from 1585
to 1590; of whom only two are of any note.
SIXTUS IV., born near Savona, the son of a fisherman; became general
of the Franciscans; succeeded Paul II. as Pope; was notorious for his
nepotism; abetted Pazzi in his conspiracy against the Medici at Florence,
but was a good administrator, and a man of liberal views; _b_. 1414.
SIXTUS V., born near Monalto, of poor parents, was of the Franciscan
order, and famed as a preacher; was elected successor to Gregory XIII.,
during whose pontificate he affected infirmity, to reveal himself a
vigorous pontiff as soon as he was installed; set himself at once to
stamp out disorder, reform the administration, and replenish the
exhausted treasury of the Church; he allowed freedom of worship to the
Jews, and yet was zealous to put down all heresy in the Christian States
of Europe; his services to Rome were not repaid with gratitude, for the
citizens destroyed his statue on his death; _b_. 1521.
SIZAR, a poor student at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford,
so called from the size or allowance of food they were recipients of out
of the college buttery.
SKAGER-RACK, an arm of the North Sea stretching NE. between Norway
and Denmark, and connecting the Cattegat with the North Sea, 140 m. long
and 70 broad, the deep water being on the Norwegian coast.
SKALD, an old Scandinavian poet, a reciter or singer of poems in
praise of the Norse warriors and their deeds.
SKEAN-DHU, a small dirk which a Highlander wears in his stocking.
SKEAT, WALTER WILLIAM, English philologist, born in London;
professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge; author of "Etymological Dictionary
of the English Language," and a great authority on Early English
literature; the first Director of the Dialect Society, established in
1873; _b_. 1835.
SKEGGS, MISS, a character in the "Vicar of Wakefield," boastful for
her aristocratic connections and delicacy of taste, but vulgar at bottom.
SKELTON, JOHN, early English satirist, his chief poetic works being
"Why come ye not to Courte," a satire against Wolsey; the "Book of Colin
Clout," against the corruption of the Church; and the "Book of Phyllyp
Sparrow," the grief of a nun for the death of her sparrow; Erasmus calls
him "the glory and light of English letters" (1460?-1528).
SKENE, WILLIAM FORBES, Scottish historian, born in Kincardineshire,
bred to law; devoted 40 years of his life to the study of the early, in
particular the Celtic, periods of Scottish history, and was from 1881
historiographer for Scotland (1809-1892).
SKERRYVORE, a rock with a lighthouse, one of an extensive reef 10 m.
W. of Tiree, on the west coast of Scotland; the light is a revolving one;
is seen at the distance of over 18 nautical miles.
SKIDDAW, a mountain in Cumberland, 3054 ft. in height; is some 6 m.
from Keswick, whence it is of easy ascent.
SKIMPOLE, HAROLD, a plausible character in "Bleak House," who was in
the habit of sponging his friends.
SKINNER, JOHN, author of "Tullochgorum," born in Bervie,
Aberdeenshire; originally a schoolmaster; became an Episcopal clergyman
(1721-1807).
SKIPTON (10), a market-town in Yorkshire, 26 m. NW. of Leeds;
population largely engaged in agriculture; has manufactures of cotton and
woollen goods.
SKOBELEFF, MICHAEL, a Russian general, distinguished himself by his
bravery in the Russian service, particularly in the Russo-Turkish War of
1877-78; was a leader in the Panslavist movement; died suddenly
(1841-1882).
SKYE (16), next to Lewis the largest of the Hebrides Islands,
belongs to the Inner group, and is included in Inverness-shire, from the
mainland of which it is separated by the narrow channel Kyle Rhea; has a
deeply indented coast-line, and a picturesquely diversified surface of
mountain, moor, and loch; the most notable features being the lofty
Coolin Hills (highest point 3234 ft.), Loch Coruisk, Glen Sligachan, and
the wild columnar height of basalt, the Quiraing; sheep and Highland
cattle are raised, and valuable ling, cod, and herring fisheries are
carried on in the coastal waters. Portree is the chief town and port, but
is little better than a small village.
SLADE, FELIX, antiquary and art-collector; left his art-collection
to the British Museum, and money to found Slade professorships of art at
Oxford, Cambridge, and London Universities (1789-1868).
SLAVE COAST, name given to the Bight of Benin, in West Africa, from
Lagos to the Volta River.
SLAVONIA, a kingdom that at one time included Croatia and that lies
between the Drave and the Military Frontier.
SLAVS, an important branch of the Aryan race-stock, comprising a
number of European peoples chiefly in East Europe, including the
Russians, Bulgarians, Servians, Bohemians, Poles, Croatians, Moravians,
Silesians, Pomeranians, &c. At the dawn of history we find them already
settled in Europe, chiefly in the neighbourhood of the Carpathians,
whence they spread N., S., and W., assuming their present position by the
7th century. They are estimated to number now 100,000,000, and the
various languages spoken by them are notable, compared with the Teutonic
and Celtic tongues, for their rich inflections.
SLAWKENBERGIUS, an author quoted and referred to in "Tristram
Shandy," distinguished by the length of his nose, and a great authority
on the subject of noses.
SLEEPING BEAUTY, a princess who was by enchantment shut up to sleep
100 years in a castle surrounded by a dense forest, and was delivered
from her trance at the end of that term by a prince, to admit whom the
forest opened of itself.
SLEIPNIR, in the Scandinavian mythology the horse of Odin, which had
eight legs, as representing the wind with its eight principal "airts."
SLESWICK-HOLSTEIN (1,217), a province of North Prussia, stretching
up to Denmark, between the North Sea and the Baltic; various canals cross
the country, bearing to the coast the export produce--corn and cattle;
the land is highly cultivated, and fishing is an important industry on
the Baltic coast; Flensburg, the chief seaport, and Sleswick (15), the
capital, are both situated on inlets of the Baltic; the latter lies 28 m.
NW. of Kiel, consists of a single street 3½ m. long, and possesses a fine
Gothic cathedral with a fine altar-piece, &c., the sections representing
the history of the Passion of Christ.
SLICK, SAM, a clockmaker and pedlar, a character illustrating Yankee
peculiarities, and remarkable for his wit, his knowledge of human nature,
and his use of "soft sawder," a creation of JUDGE HALIBURTON'S
(q. v.).
SLIGO, 1, a maritime county of North-West Ireland (98), in the
province of Connaught; fronts the Atlantic on the N. between Mayo (W.)
and Leitrim (E.), Roscommon forming the S. boundary; the land, sloping N.
to the coast from the Ox Mountains, is chiefly under grass for cattle
pasture, and divided into small holdings; Sligo Bay is a fine sheet of
water, and in the S. and E. are the picturesque Loughs Arrow and Gill;
the manufacture of coarse woollens and linens and fishing are the
principal industries; the Moy, Owenmore, and Garvogue are navigable
rivers. 2, At the mouth of the Garvogue stands Sligo (10), the county
town, 137 m. NW. of Dublin; has ruins of a 13th-century Dominican abbey,
a Roman Catholic cathedral, and exports cattle, corn, butter, &c.
SLOANE, SIR HANS, physician and naturalist, born in co. Down,
Ireland, of Scotch descent; settled as a physician in London; attained
the highest distinction as a professional man; his museum, which was a
large one, of natural objects, books, and MSS. became by purchase the
property of the nation, and formed the nucleus of the British Museum
(1660-1753).
SLÖJD (sleight), a system of manual training adopted to develop
technical skill originally in the schools of Sweden and Finland; is
education of the eye as well as the hand.