Rupert's Land, a name given by Prince Rupert to territory the drainage of which flows into Hudson Bay or Strait.
Rush, Benjamin, a noted American physician and professor, born at Byberry, near Philadelphia; studied medicine at Princeton and Edinburgh; became professor of chemistry at Philadelphia in 1769; sat in Congress, and signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); held important medical posts in the army; resigned, and assumed medical professorship in Philadelphia; won a European reputation as a lecturer, philanthropist, and medical investigator; published several treatises, and from 1799 acted as treasurer of the U.S. Mint (1745-1813).
Rushworth, John, historian and politician, born at Warkworth, Northumberland; although a barrister he never practised, but set himself to compile elaborate notes of proceedings at the Star Chamber and other courts, which grew into an invaluable work of 7 vols., entitled "Historical Collections"; acted as assistant-clerk to the Long Parliament; sat as a member in several Parliaments, and was for some years secretary to Fairfax and the Lord-Keeper; fell into disfavour after the Restoration, and in 1684 was arrested for debt and died in prison; is an authority whom Carlyle abuses as a Dry-as-dust (1607-1690).
Ruskin, John, art-critic and social reformer, born in London, son of an honourable and a successful wine-merchant; educated with some severity at home under the eye of his parents, and particularly his mother, who trained him well into familiarity with the Bible, and did not object to his study of "Robinson Crusoe" along with the "Pilgrim's Progress" on Sundays, while, left to his own choice he read Homer, Scott, and Byron on week days; entered Christ's Church, Oxford, as a gentleman Commoner in 1837, gained the Newdigate Prize in 1839, produced in 1843, under the name of "A Graduate of Oxford," the first volume of "Modern Painters," mainly in defence of the painter Turner and his art, which soon extended to five considerable volumes, and in 1849 "The Seven Lamps of Architecture," in definition of the qualities of good art in that line, under the heads of the Lamps of Sacrifice, of Truth, of Power, of Beauty, of Life, of Memory, and Obedience, pleading in particular for the Gothic style; these were followed in 1851 by "Pre-Raphaelitism" (q. v.), and 1851-53 by the "Stones of Venice," in further exposition of his views in the "Seven Lamps," and others on the same and kindred arts. Not till 1862 did he appear in the rôle of social reformer, and that was by the publication of "Unto this Last," in the Cornhill Magazine, on the first principles of political economy, the doctrines in which were further expounded in "Munera Pulveris," "Time and Tide," and "Fors Clavigera" (q. v.), the principles in which he endeavoured to give practical effect to by the Institution of St. George's Guild, with the view of commending "the rational organisation of country life independent of that of cities." His writings are numerous, several of them originally lectures, and nearly all on matters of vital account, besides many others on subjects equally so which he began, but has had, to the grief of his admirers, to leave unfinished from failing health, among these his "Præterita," or memories from his past life. The most popular of his recent writings is "Sesame and Lilies," with perhaps the "Crown of Wild Olive," and the most useful that of the series beginning with "Unto this Last," and culminating in "Time and Tide." He began his career as an admirer of Turner, and finished as a disciple of Thomas Carlyle, but neither slavishly nor with the surrender of his own sense of justice and truth; Justice is the goddess he worships, and except in her return to the earth as sovereign he bodes nothing but disaster to the fortunes of the race; his despair of seeing this seems to have unhinged him, and he is now in a state of fatal collapse; his contemporaries praised his style of writing, but to his disgust they did not believe a word he said; he sits sadly in these days at Brantwood, in utter apathy to everything of passing interest, and if he thinks or speaks at all it would seem his sense of the injustice in things, and the doom it is under, is not yet utterly dead—his sun has not even yet gone down upon his wrath; the keynote of his wrath was, Men do the work of this world and rogues take the pay, selling for money what God has given for nothing, or what others have purchased by their life's blood; b. 1819. He died 20th January 1900.
Russell, John, Earl, known best as Lord John Russell, statesman, youngest son of the Earl of Bedford; travelled in Spain, studied at Edinburgh, entered Parliament in 1813, took up vigorously the cause of parliamentary reform and Catholic Emancipation, joined Earl Grey's ministry in 1830 as Paymaster of the Forces, framed and zealously advocated the Reform Bill (1832), drove Peel from office in 1835, and became, under Lord Melbourne, Home Secretary and leader of the Commons; four years later he was appointed Colonial Secretary, warmly espoused the cause of repeal of the Corn Laws, formed a Ministry on the downfall of Peel in 1846, and dealt with Irish difficulties and Chartism; resigned in 1852, and in the same year became Foreign Secretary under Aberdeen, became unpopular on account of his management of the Crimean War (1855) and conduct at the Vienna Conference; again Foreign Secretary in Palmerston's ministry of 1859, an earl in 1861, and premier a second time in 1865-66; author of various pamphlets, biographies, memoirs, &c.; was twice married; was nicknamed "Finality John" from his regarding his Reform Bill of 1832 as a final measure (1792-1878).
Russell, William, Lord, prominent politician in Charles II.'s reign, younger son of the Earl of Bedford; entered the first Restoration Parliament, became a prominent leader in the Country Party in opposition to the Cabal (q. v.) and the Popish schemes of the king; vigorously supported the Exclusion Bill to keep James, Duke of York from the throne in 1683; was charged with complicity in the Rye-house Plot, was found guilty on trumped-up evidence, and beheaded (1639-1683).
Russell, William Clark, a popular writer of nautical novels, born in New York; gained his experience of sea life during eight years' service as a sailor; was a journalist on the staff of the Daily Chronicle before, in 1887, he took to writing novels, which include "John Holdsworth," "The Wreck of the 'Grosvenor,'" &c.; b. 1844.
Russell, Sir William Howard, a celebrated war correspondent, born near Dublin; was educated at Trinity College, called to the English bar in 1850, had already acted for some years as war correspondent for the Times before his famous letters descriptive of the Crimean War won him a wide celebrity; subsequently acted as correspondent during the Indian Mutiny, American Civil War, Franco-German War, &c.; accompanied the Prince of Wales to India in 1875; knighted in 1895; b. 1821.
Russell of Killowen, Charles Russell, Lord, a distinguished lawyer, born at Newry; educated at Trinity College, Dublin, called to the English bar in 1859, entered Parliament in 1880, became Attorney-General in 1886, receiving also a knighthood; in 1894 was elevated to the Lord Chief-Justiceship and created a life-peer; b. 1832.
Russia (117,562), next to the British empire the most extensive empire in the world, embracing one-sixth of the land-surface of the globe, including one-half of Europe, all Northern and a part of Central Asia; on the N. it fronts the Arctic Ocean from Sweden to the NE. extremity of Asia; its southern limit forms an irregular line from the NW. corner of the Black Sea to the Sea of Japan, skirting Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, East Turkestan, and the Chinese empire; Behring Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and the Sea of Japan wash its eastern shores; Sweden, the Baltic, Germany, and Austria lie contiguous to it in West Europe. This solid, compact mass is thinly peopled (13 to the sq. m. over all) by some 40 different-speaking races, including, besides the dominant Russians (themselves split into three branches), Poles, Finns, Esthonians, Servians, Bulgarians, Lithuanians, Kurds, Persians, Turco-Tartars, Mongols, &c. Three-fourths of the land-surface, with one-fourth of the population, lies in Asia, and is treated under Siberia, Turkestan, Caucasia, &c. Russia in Europe, embracing Finland and Poland (q. v.), is divided from Asia by the Ural Mountains and River and Caspian Sea; forms an irregular, somewhat elongated, square plain sloping down to the low and dreary coast-lands of the Baltic (W.), White Sea (N.), and Black Sea (S.); is seamed by river valleys and diversified by marshes, vast lakes (e. g. Ladoga, Onega, Peipus, and Ilmen), enormous forests, and in the N. and centre by tablelands, the highest of which being the Valdai Hills (1100 ft.); the SE. plain is called the Steppes (q. v.). The cold and warm winds which sweep uninterrupted from N. and S. produce extremes of temperature; the rainfall is small. Agriculture is the prevailing industry, engaging 90 per cent. of the people, although in all not more than 21 per cent. of the soil is cultivated; rye is the chief article of food for the peasantry, who comprise four-fifths of the population. The rich plains, known as the "black lands" from their deep, loamy soil, which stretch from the Carpathians to the Urals, are the most productive corn-lands in Europe, and rival in fertility the "yellow lands" of China, and like them need no manure. Timber is an important industry in the NW., and maize and the vine are cultivated in the extreme S.; minerals abound, and include gold, iron (widely distributed), copper (chiefly in middle Urals), and platinum; there are several large coal-fields and rich petroleum wells at Baku. The fisheries, particularly those of the Caspian, are the most productive in Europe. Immense numbers of horses and cattle are reared, e. g. on the Steppes. Wolves, bears, and valuable fur-bearing animals are plentiful in the N. and other parts; the reindeer is still found, also the elk. Want of ports on the Mediterranean and Atlantic hamper commerce, while the great ports in the Baltic are frozen up four or five months in the year; the southern ports are growing in importance, and wheat, timber, flax, and wool are largely exported. There is a vast inland trade, facilitated by the great rivers (Volga, Don, Dnieper, Dniester, Vistula, &c.) and by excellent railway and telegraphic communication. Among its varied races there exists a wide variety of religions—Christianity, Mohammedanism, Buddhism, Shamanism, &c.; but although some 130 sects exist, the bulk of the Russians proper belong to the Greek Church. Education is backward, more than 85 per cent. of the people being illiterate; there are eight universities. Conscription is enforced; the army is the largest in the world. Government is an absolute monarchy, save in Finland (q. v.); the ultimate legislative and executive power is in the hands of the czar, but there is a State Council of 60 members nominated by the czar. In the 50 departments a good deal of local self-government is enjoyed through the village communes and their public assemblies, but the imperial power as represented by the police and military is felt in all parts, while governors of departments have wide and ill-defined powers which admit of abuse. The great builders of the empire, the beginnings of which are to be sought in the 9th century, have been Ivan the Great, who in the 15th century drove out the Mongols and established his capital as Moscow; Ivan the Terrible, the first of the czars, who in the 16th century pushed into Asia and down to the Black Sea; and Peter the Great (q. v.). Its restless energies are still unabated, and inspire a persistently aggressive policy in the Far East. Within recent years its literature has become popular in Europe through the powerful writings of Pushkin, Turgenief, and Tolstoi.
Rustchuk (27), a town in Bulgaria, on the Danube, 40 m. S. by W. of Bucharest; manufactures gold and silver ware, shoes, cloth, &c.; has a number of interesting mosques; its once important fortifications were reduced in 1877.
Rutebeuf or Rustebeuf, a celebrated trouvère of the 13th century, of whom little is known save that he led a Bohemian life in Paris and was unfortunate in his marriage; his songs, satires, &c., are vigorous and full of colour, and touch a note of seriousness at times which one hardly anticipates.
Ruthenians, a hardy Slavonic people, a branch of the Little Russian stock, numbering close upon 3½ millions, dwelling in Galicia and Northern Hungary.
Rutherford, Samuel, a Scottish divine, born at Nisbet, near Jedburgh; studied at Edinburgh University, became professor of Humanity, but had to resign; studied divinity, and became minister of Anworth in 1627, and was a zealous pastor and a fervid preacher; corresponded far and wide with pious friends by letters afterwards published under his name, and much esteemed by pious people; became at length professor of Divinity at St. Andrews, and represented the Scottish Church in the Westminster Assembly in 1643; wrote several works, for one of which he was called to account, but had to answer a summons on his deathbed before a higher bar (1600-1661).
Rutherglen (13), a town of Lanarkshire, on the Clyde, 3 m. SE. of Glasgow, of which it is practically a suburb; a handsome bridge spans the river; has been a royal burgh since 1126, and has interesting historical associations.
Ruthin (3), an interesting old town of Denbighshire, on the Clwyd, 8 m. SE. of Denbigh.
Ruthven, Raid of, a conspiracy entered into by certain Scottish nobles, headed by William, first Earl of Gowrie, to seize the young king James VI., and break down the influence of his worthless favourites, Lennox and Arran; at Ruthven Castle, or Huntingtower, in Perthshire, on 23rd August 1582, the king was captured and held for 10 months; Arran was imprisoned, and Lennox fled, to die in France; the conduct of the conspirators was applauded by the country, but after the escape of the king from St. Andrews Castle the conspirators were proclaimed guilty of treason, and Gowrie was ultimately executed.
Ruthwell Cross, a remarkable sandstone cross, 17¾ ft. high, found in Ruthwell parish, 9 m. SE. of Dumfries; dates back to the 7th century; bears runic and Latin inscriptions, notably some verses of the Saxon poem, "The Dream of the Holy Rood"; was broken down in 1642 by the Covenanters as savouring of idolatry; found and re-erected in 1802.
Rutland (21), the smallest county of England, bounded by Lincoln, Northampton, and Leicester; has a pleasant undulating surface, with valleys in the E., and extensive woods; is watered by the Welland; is largely pastoral, and raises fine sheep; dairy produce (especially cheese) and wheat are noted; Oakham is the capital.
Ruysdael, Jacob, a famous Dutch landscape-painter, born and died at Haarlem; few particulars of his life are known; his best pictures, to be seen in the galleries of Dresden, Berlin, Paris, &c., display a fine poetic spirit (1628-1682).
Ruyter, Michael de, a famous Dutch admiral, born of poor parents at Flushing; from a boy of 11 served in the merchant and naval service; commanded a ship under Van Tromp in the war with England 1652-1654; was ennobled in 1660 by the king of Denmark for services rendered in the Dano-Swedish war; for two years fought against Turkish pirates in the Mediterranean; commanded the Dutch fleet in the second war against England, and in 1667 struck terror into London by appearing and burning the shipping in the Thames; held his own against England and France in the war of 1672; co-operated with Spain against France; was routed and mortally wounded off the coast of Sicily; a man of sterling worth (1607-1675).
Ryan, Loch, an arm of the sea penetrating Wigtownshire in a south-easterly direction, 8 m. long and from 1½ to 3 broad; at its landward end is Stranraer (q. v.); forms an excellent anchorage.
Rybinsk (20, 100 in the summer), a busy commercial town in Russia, on the Volga, 48 m. NW. of Yaroslav; connected by canal with St. Petersburg; industries embrace boat-building, brewing, distilling, &c.
Ryde (11), a popular old watering-place on the NE. coast of the Isle of Wight, 4½ m. SW. of Portsmouth; rises in pretty wooded terraces from the sea; has a fine promenade, park, pier, &c.
Rye (4), an interesting old port in the SE. corner of Sussex, situated on rising ground flanked by two streams, 63 m. SE. from London, one of the Cinque Ports (q. v.); the retiral of the sea has left it now 2 m. inland; has a fine Norman and Early English church.
Rye House Plot, an abortive conspiracy in 1683 to assassinate Charles II. of England and his brother James, Duke of York, planned by Colonel Rumsey, Lieutenant-Colonel Walcot, the "plotter" Ferguson, and other reckless adherents of the Whig party. The conspirators were to conceal themselves at a farmhouse called Rye House, near Hertford, and to waylay the royal party returning from Newmarket; the plot miscarried owing to the king leaving Newmarket sooner than was expected; the chief conspirators were executed.
Rymer, Thomas, the learned editor of the "Foedera," an invaluable collection of historical documents dealing with England's relations with foreign powers, born at Northallerton; was a Cambridge man and a barrister; turned to literature and wrote much both in prose and poetry, but to no great purpose; was Historiographer-royal; Macaulay in characteristic fashion calls him "the worst critic that ever lived"; but his "Foedera" is an enduring monument to his unwearied industry (1639-1714).
Rysbrach, Michael, a well-known sculptor in the 18th century, born at Antwerp; established himself in London and executed busts and statues of the most prominent men of his day, including the monument to Sir Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey, statue of Marlborough, busts of Walpole, Bolingbroke, Pope, &c. (1694-1770).
Ryswick, Peace of, signed on October 30, 1697, at the village of Ryswick, 2 m. S. of The Hague, by England, Holland, Germany, and Spain on the one hand and France on the other, terminating the sanguinary struggle which had begun In 1688; it lasted till 1702.
S
Saale, the name of several German rivers, the most important of which rises in the Fichtelgebirge, near Zell, in Upper Bavaria; flows northward, a course of 226 m., till it joins the Elbe at Barby; has numerous towns on its banks, including Jena, Halle, and Naumburg, to which last it is navigable.
Saarbrück (10), a manufacturing town in Rhenish Prussia, on the French frontier, where the French under Napoleon III. repulsed the Germans, August 2, 1870.
Sabadell (18), a prosperous Spanish town, 14 m. NW. of Barcelona; manufactures cotton and woollen textiles.
Sabæans, a trading people who before the days of Solomon and for long after inhabited South Arabia, on the shores of the Bed Sea, and who worshipped the sun and moon with other kindred deities; also a religious sect on the Lower Euphrates, with Jewish, Moslem, and Christian rites as well as pagan, called Christians of St. John; the term Sabæanism designates the worship of the former.
Sabaoth, name given in the Bible, and particularly in the Epistle of James, to the Divine Being as the Lord of all hosts or kinds of creatures.
Sabathai, Levi, a Jewish impostor, who gave himself out to be the Messiah and persuaded a number of Jews to forsake all and follow him; the sultan of Turkey forced him to confess the imposture, and he turned Mussulman to save his life (1625-1676).
Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, observed by the Jews as a day of "rest" from all work and "holy to the Lord," as His day, specially in commemoration of His rest from the work of creation, the observance of which by the Christian Church has been transferred to the first of the week in commemoration of Christ's resurrection.
Sabellianism, the doctrine of one Sabellius, who, in the third century, denied that there were three persons in the Godhead, and maintained that there was only one person in three functions, aspects, or manifestations, at least this was the form his doctrine assumed in course of time, which is now called by his name, and is accepted by many in the present day.
Sabine, a river of Texas which, rising in the extreme N. of the State, flows SE. and S., forming for 250 m. the boundary between Louisiana and Texas, passes through Sabine Lake into the Gulf of Mexico after a navigable course of 500 in.
Sabine, Sir Edward, a noted physicist, born in Dublin; served in artillery in 1803, maintained his connection with it till his retirement in 1874 as general, but owes his celebrity to his important investigations into the nature of terrestrial magnetism; accompanied as a scientist Boss and Parry in their search for the North-West Passage (1819-20); was President both of the Royal Society from 1861 to 1879 and of the British Association in 1853 (1788-1883).
Sabines, an ancient Italian people of the Aryan stock, near neighbours of ancient Borne, a colony of whom is said to have settled on the Quirinal, and contributed to form the moral part of the Roman people. Numa, the second king of the city, was a Sabine. See Romulus.
Sable Island, a low, sandy, barren island in the Atlantic, 110 m. off the E. coast of Nova Scotia; is extremely dangerous to navigation, and is marked by three lighthouses; is gradually being washed away.
Sabots, a species of wooden shoes extensively worn by the peasants of France, Belgium, &c.; each shoe is hollowed out of a single block of wood (fir, willow, beech, and ash); well adapted for marshy districts.
Sacerdotalism, a tendency to attach undue importance to the order and the ministry of priests, to the limitation of the operation of Divine grace.
Sacheverel, Henry, an English Church clergyman, born at Maryborough, who became notorious in the reign of Queen Anne for his embittered attack (contained in two sermons in 1700) on the Revolution Settlement and the Act of Toleration; public feeling was turning in favour of the Tories, and the impolitic impeachment of Sacheverel by the Whig Government fanned popular feeling to a great height in his favour; was suspended from preaching for three years, at the expiry of which time the Tories, then in power, received him with ostentatious marks of favour; was soon forgotten; was an Oxford graduate, and a friend of Addison; a man of no real ability (1672-1724).
Sachs, Hans, a noted early German poet, born at Nürnberg; the son of a tailor, by trade a shoemaker; learned "the mystery of song" from a weaver; was a contemporary of Luther, who acknowledged his services in the cause of the Reformation; in his seventy-fourth year (1568), on examining his stock for publication, found that he had written 6048 poetical pieces, among them 208 tragedies and comedies, and this besides having all along kept house, like an honest Nürnberg burgher, by assiduous and sufficient shoemaking; a man standing on his own basis; wrote "Narrenschneiden," a piece in which the doctor cures a bloated and lethargic patient by "cutting out half-a-dozen fools from his interior"; he sunk into oblivion during the 17th century, but his memory was revived by Goethe in the 18th (1494-1576).
Sachs, Julius, a German botanist and professor, born at Breslau; has written several works on botany, and experimented on the physiology of plants; b. 1832.
Sackville, Thomas, Earl of Dorset, poet and statesman, born at Buckhurst; bred for the bar; entered Parliament in 1558; wrote with Thomas Norton a tragedy called "Gorboduc," contributed to a collection of British legends called the "Mirror of Magistrates" two pieces in noble verse (1536-1608).
Sacrament, a ceremonial observance in the Christian Church divinely instituted as either really or symbolically a means, and in any case a pledge, of grace.
Sacramentarian, a High Churchman who attaches a special sacred virtue to the sacraments of the Church.
Sacramento, largest river of California, rises in the NE. in the Sierra Nevada; follows a south-westerly course, draining the central valley of California; falls into Suisund Bay, on the Pacific coast, after a course of 500 miles, of which 250 are navigable.
Sacramento (29), capital of California, situated at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, 90 m. NE. of San Francisco; industries embrace flour and planing mills, foundries, potteries, &c.; has an art gallery, court-house, &c.; the tropical climate is tempered at night by cool sea breezes.
Sacred Wars. See Amphictyonic Council.
Sacrifice, anything of value given away to secure the possession of something of still higher value, and which is the greater and more meritorious the costlier the gift.
Sacring-bell, or Sanctus-bell, the bell which rings when the Host is elevated at the celebration of High Mass.
Sacy, Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de, the greatest of modern Orientalists, born at Paris; by twenty-three was a master of classic, Oriental, and modern European languages; was appointed in 1795 professor of Arabic in the School of Oriental Languages, and in 1806 of Persian in the College de France, besides which he held various other appointments; founded the Asiatic Society in 1822; was created a baron by Napoleon Bonaparte, and entered the Chamber of Peers in 1832; published "Biographies of Persian Poets," a standard Arabic grammar, &c.; his writings gave a stimulus to Oriental research throughout Europe (1758-1838).
Sadda, the name given to a Persian epitome of the Zend-Avesta.
Sadducees, a sect of the Jews of high priestly origin that first came into prominence by their opposition to the Pharisees, being the party in power when Pharisaism arose in protestation against their policy as tending to the secularisation of the Jewish faith, or the prostitution of it to mere secular ends. They represented the Tory or Conservative party among the Jews, as the Pharisees did the High Church party among us. The antagonism which thus arose on political grounds gradually extended to religious matters. In regard to religion they were the old orthodox party, and acknowledged the obligation of only the written law, and refused to accept tradition at the hands of the Scribes. They denied the immortality of the soul, the separate existence of spirits, and this they did on strictly Old Testament grounds, but this not from any real respect for the authority of Scripture, only as in accord with the main article of their creed, which attached importance only to what bears upon this present life, and which in modern times goes under the name of secularism. They were at bottom a purely political party, and they went out of sight and disappeared from Jewish history with the fall of the Jewish State, only the Pharisaic party surviving in witness of what Judaism is.
Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de, French novelist, who, after fighting in the Seven Years' War, was sentenced to death for odious crimes, effected his escape, but was caught and imprisoned in the Bastille, where he wrote a number of licentious romances; died a lunatic (1740-1814).
Sádi, a celebrated Persian poet, born at Shiraz, of noble lineage, but born poor; bred up in the Moslem faith; made pilgrimages to Mecca no fewer than 15 times; spent years in travel; fell into the hands of the Crusaders; was ransomed by a merchant of Aleppo, who thought him worth ransoming at a cost; retired to a hermitage near Shiraz, where he died and was buried; his works, both in prose and verse, are numerous, but the most celebrated is the "Gulistan" (the rose-gardens), a collection of moral tales interlarded with philosophical reflections and maxims of wisdom, which have made his name famous all over both the East and the West (1184-1291).
Sadler, Sir Ralph, a politician and diplomatist; was employed by Henry VIII. in carrying out the dissolution of the monasteries, and conducted diplomatic negotiations with Scotland; distinguished himself at the battle of Pinkie; enjoyed the favour of Elizabeth; was Queen Mary's keeper in the Castle of Tutbury; was the bearer of the news of Queen Mary's execution to King James (1507-1587).
Sadoleto, Jacopo, cardinal, born in Modena; acted as secretary under Leo X., Clement VII., and Paul III., the latter of whom created him a cardinal in 1536; was a faithful Churchman and an accomplished scholar, and eminent in both capacities (1477-1547).
Sadowa. See Königgrätz.
Safed (17), a town of Palestine, 12 m. N. of Tiberias, occupied principally by Jews attracted thither in part by the expectation that the Messiah, when He appears, will establish His kingdom there; it spreads in horse-shoe fashion round the foot of a hill 2700 ft. high; is a seat of Hebrew learning.
Safety Lamp, name of a variety of lamps for safety in coal-mines against "fire-damp," a highly explosive mixture of natural gas apt to accumulate in them; the best known being the "Davey Lamp," invented by Sir Humphrey Davy; the "Geordie," invented by George Stephenson, both of which, however, have been superseded by the Gray, Muesler, Marsant, and other lamps; all are constructed on the principle discovered by Davy and Stephenson, that a flame enveloped in wire gauze of a certain fineness does not ignite "fire-damp."
Saffi, or Asfi (9), a decayed seaport of Morocco, on the Mediterranean coast, 120 m. NW. of the city of Morocco; has ruins of a castle of the Sultans and of the old Portuguese fortifications; has still a fair export trade in beans, wool, olive-oil, &c.
Sagar, a low island at the mouth of the Hûgli, a sacred spot and a place of pilgrimage to the Hindus; mostly jungle; sparsely peopled.
Sagas, a collection of epics in prose embodying the myths and legends of the ancient Scandinavians, originally transmitted from mouth to mouth, and that began to assume a literary form about the 12th century.
Sagasta, Praxedes Mateo, Spanish statesmen of liberal sympathies; took part in the insurrections of 1856 and 1866, and was for some time a fugitive in France; entered Prim's Cabinet, supported the elected King Amadeus, and since his abdication has led the Liberal party; has twice been Prime Minister; b. 1827.
Saghalien (12), a long narrow island belonging to Russia, situated close to the E. coast of Siberia, from which it is separated by the so-called Gulf of Tartary; stretches N. from the island of Yezo, a distance of 670 m.; is mountainous and forest-clad in the interior; has excellent coast fisheries, but a cold, damp climate prevents successful agriculture; rich coal-mines exist, and are wrought by 4000 or 5000 convicts. Ceded by Japan to Russia in 1875.
Saguenay, a large and picturesque river of Canada; carries off the surplus waters of Lake St. John, replenished by a number of large streams, and issuing a full-bodied stream, flows SE. through magnificent forest and mountain scenery till it falls into the St. Lawrence, 115 m. below Quebec, after a course of 100 m.; is remarkable for its depth, and is navigable by the largest ships.
Saguntum, a town of ancient Spain, was situated where now stands the town of Murviedro, 18 m. NE. of Valencia; famous in history for its memorable siege by Hannibal in 219 B.C., which led to the Second Punic War.
Sahara, the largest desert region in the world, stretches E. and W. across Northern Africa, from the Atlantic to the valley of the Nile, a distance of 3000 m., and on the N. is limited by the slopes of the Atlas Mountains, and on the S. by the valleys of the Senegal and Niger Rivers. The surface is diversified by long sweeps of undulating sand-dunes, elevated plateaux, hill and mountain ranges (8000 ft. highest) furrowed by dried-up water-courses, and dotted with fertile oases which yield date-palms, oranges, lemons, figs, &c. The most sterile tract is in the W., stretching in a semicircle between Cape Blanco and Fezzan. Rain falls over the greater part at intervals of from two to five years. Temperature will vary from over 100°F. to below freezing-point in 24 hours. There are a number of definite caravan routes connecting Timbuctoo and the Central Soudan with the Niger and coast-lands. Dates and salt are the chief products; the giraffe, wild ass, lion, ostrich, python, &c., are found; it is chiefly inhabited by nomadic and often warlike Moors, Arabs, Berbers, and various negro races. The greater part is within the sphere of French influence. "When the winds waken, and lift and winnow the immensity of sand, the air itself is a dim sand-air, and dim looming through it, the wonderfullest uncertain colonnades of sand-pillars whirl from this side and from that, like so many spinning dervishes, of a hundred feet of stature, and dance their huge Desert waltz there."
Saharanpur (59), a town in the North-West Provinces of India, 125 m. N. of Delhi, in a district formerly malarious, but now drained and healthy; the population principally Mohammedans, who have recently built in it a handsome mosque.
Sahib (i. e. master), used in India when addressing a European gentleman; Mem Sahib to a lady.
Saigon (16), capital of French Cochin-China, on the river Saigon, one of the delta streams of the Mekhong, 60 m. from the China Sea; is handsomely laid out with boulevards, &c.; has a fine palace, arsenal, botanical and zoological gardens, &c.; Cholon (40), 4 m. SW., forms a busy trading suburb, exporting rice, cotton, salt, hides, &c.
Saint, a name applied to a holy or sacred person, especially one canonised; in the plural it is the name assumed by the Mormons.
St. Albans (13), an old historic city of Hertfordshire, on an eminence by the Ver, a small stream, which separates it from the site of the ancient Verulamium; has a splendid ancient abbey church, rebuilt in 1077; industries include brewing, straw-plaiting, silk-throwing, &c.; scene of two famous battles (1455 and 1461) during the Wars of the Roses.
St. Aloysius, Italian marquis, who renounced his title, became a Jesuit, devoted himself to the care of the plague-stricken in Rome; died of it, and was canonised (1568-1591).
St. Andrews (7), a famous city of Fife, occupies a bold site on St. Andrews Bay, 42 m. NE. of Edinburgh; for long the ecclesiastical metropolis of Scotland, and associated with many stirring events in Scottish history; its many interesting ruins include a 12th-century priory, a cathedral, "robbed" in 1559, a castle or bishop's palace built in the 13th century; has a university (St. Salvator's 1521 and St. Leonard's 1537) the first founded in Scotland, and is still an important educational centre, having several excellent schools (Madras College the chief); since the Reformation its trade has gradually dwindled away; fishing is carried on, but it depends a good deal on its large influx of summer visitors, attracted by the splendid golf links and excellent sea-bathing.
Saint Arnaud, Jacques Leroy de, a noted French marshal, born at Bordeaux; was already a distinguished soldier when he entered actively into the plans of Louis Napoleon to overthrow the Republic; assisted at the coup d'état, and was created a marshal in reward; commanded the French forces at the outbreak of the Crimean War, and took part in the battle of the Alma, but died a few days later (1796-1854).
St. Asaph (2), a pretty little city in Flintshire, 6 m. SE. of Rhyl; its cathedral, the smallest in the kingdom, was rebuilt after 1284, mainly in the Decorated style.
St. Bees (1), a village on the Cumberland coast, 4 m. S. of Whitehaven; has a Church of England Theological College, founded in 1816 by Dr. Law, bishop of Chester; designed for students of limited means; a ruined priory church of Henry I.'s time was renovated for the accommodation of the college.
St. Bernard, the name of two mountain passes in the Alps: 1, Great St. Bernard, in the Pennine Alps, leading from Martigny to Aosta, is 8120 ft. high, near the top of which stands a famous hospice, founded in 962, and kept by Augustinian monks, who, with the aid of dogs called of St. Bernard, do noble service in rescuing perishing travellers from the snow; 2, Little St. Bernard, in the Graian Alps, crosses the mountains which separate the valleys of Aosta and Tarantaise in Savoy. Hannibal is supposed to have crossed the Alps by this pass.