Sir William Jones, so well known for his great acquisitions in oriental literature, was no less remarkable for his piety. A friend reciting sir Edward Coke's couplet of

"Six hours to sleep, in law's grave study six,

"Four spend in prayer, the rest on nature fix."

He subjoined, Rather say

"Seven hours to law, to soothing slumber seven,
"Ten to the world allot, and all to Heaven."

SLUYS, NAVAL BATTLE of. In this battle Edward III. gained a signal victory over the French. The English had the wind of the enemy, and the sun at their backs, and began the action, which was fierce and bloody, the English archers galling the French on their approach. Two hundred and thirty French ships were taken : thirty thousand Frenchmen were killed, with two of their admirals: the loss of the English was inconsiderable: June 24, 1340.-Naval Chron.; Hume.

SMALCALD, TREATY OF, in Franconia. The league entered into between the elector of Brandenburg and the other princes of Germany in favour of Protestantism, 1529-30. For the subscribing to this memorable treaty, see Protestants. SMALL-POX. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu introduced inoculation for the smallpox from Turkey, her own son having been inoculated with perfect success at Adrianople, A.D. 1718. She was allowed, by way of experiment, to inoculate seven capital convicts, who, on their recovery, were pardoned. Inoculation for the smallpox was encouraged under the auspices of Dr. Mead. A small-pox hospital was instituted in London 1746, but the present building was not opened till 1767. See Inoculation and Vaccination.*

SMOLENSKO, BATTLE OF. One of the most memorable of the celebrated Russian campaign of 1812, between the French and Russian armies. The French in this most sanguinary engagement were three times repulsed, but they ultimately succeeded, and, on entering Smolensko, found the city, which had been bombarded, burning and partly in ruins. Barclay de Tolli, the Russian commander-in-chief, incurred the displeasure of the emperor Alexander, because he retreated after the battle, and Kutusoff succeeded to the command, Aug. 17, 1812.

SMUGGLERS. The customs duties were instituted originally to enable the king to afford protection to trade against pirates; and they afterwards became a branch of public revenue. The act so well known as the Smugglers' Act was passed in 1736. The severity of this act was mitigated in 1781, and new provisions were made in 1784. A revision of these statutes took place, Jan. 5, 1826. SNEEZING. The custom of saying "God bless you" to the sneezer, originated, according to Strada, among the ancients, who, through an opinion of the danger attending it, after sneezing made a short prayer to the gods, as " Jupiter help me." Polydore Virgil says it took its rise at the time of the plague of A.D. 558, in which the infected fell down dead sneezing, though seemingly in good health. SNUFF-TAKING. This practice took its rise in England from the captures made of vast quantities of snuff by sir George Rooke's expedition to Vigo in 1702. The prize of the forces having been sent home and sold, the vice soon obtained from which the revenue now draws, with tobacco, considerably more than 3,000,000. per annum. In the year ending Jan. 5, 1840, there were imported 1,622,493 lbs. of snuff, of which 196,305 lbs. were entered for home consumption; the duty was 88,2631. See Tobacco.

SOAP. This article was imperfectly known to the ancients.

The first express mention of it occurs in Pliny and Galen; and the former declares it to be an invention of the Gauls, though he prefers the German to the Gallic soap. In remote periods clothes were cleaned by being rubbed or stamped upon in water. Nausicaa and her attendants, Homer tells us, washed theirs by treading upon them with their feet in pits of water.-Odyssey, book vi. The manufacture of soap began in London in 1524, before which time it was supplied by Bristol at one penny per pound. One hundred and fifty millions of pounds weight of soap are now annually made in England.

*Catherine II., empress of Russia, was inoculated for the small-pox, by Dr. Dimsdale, of London, whom she most liberally remunerated for his attendance at St. Petersburgh, by presenting him with 10,000l. sterling as a present, settling upon him an annual pension of 5007., to be paid in England, and creating him a baron of the Russian empire.-Butler.

SOCIALISTS. The doctrines of socialism were advocated in London, Jan. 24, 1834, by the celebrated Robert Owen, who is the founder of the sect, if it be entitled to the name. This individual has been labouring indefatigably since that time to propagate his doctrines, and swell the number of his followers: and the freedom of religious thought and latitude in morals ascribed to the socialists have served to increase their numbers with the weak, depraved, and ignorant among the multitude. SOCINIANS. So called from their founders, Faustus and Lælius Socinus. They taught that Jesus was a mere man, who had no existence before he was conceived by the Virgin; that the Holy Ghost was not a distinct person; and that the Father only is truly God. They maintained that Christ died only to give mankind a pattern of heroic virtue, and to seal his doctrine with his death. Original sin, grace, and predestination they treated as mere chimeras. Socinianism was propagated about A.D. 1560.-Pardon.

SODOM AND GOMORRAH. These cities, with all their inhabitants, destroyed by fire from heaven, 1897 B. C.-Bible, Blair, Usher. The offence of sodomy was first sown in England by the Lombards. By our ancient law, the criminal was burnt to death, though Fleta says he should be buried alive. The crime was subject to ecclesiastical censure only at the time of Henry VIII., who made it felony without benefit of clergy, 1533. Confirmed by statute 5 Elizabeth, 1562. SODOR AND MAN, BISHOPric of. See Man, Bishopric of. Sodor is a village of Icolmkill. Dr. Johnson calls it "the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence," he adds, " savage clans and roving barbarians derived the benefits of knowledge, and the blessings of religion." The bishop's seat was at Rushin, or Castletown, in the isle of Man, and in Latin is entitled Sodorensis. But, when that island became dependent upon the kingdom of England, the western islands withdrew themselves from the obedience of their bishop, and had a bishop of their own, whom they entitled also Sodorensis, but commonly bishop of the isles. See Isles. Germanus was settled here by St. Patrick in 447. The bishop of Sodor and Man is not a lord of parliament.

SOLAR SYSTEM. The system nearly as now accepted, after the investigations and discoveries of many enlightened centuries and ages, was taught by Pythagoras of Samos, about 529 B.c. In his system of the universe he placed the sun in the centre, and all the planets moving in elliptical orbits round it-a doctrine deemed chimerical and improbable, till the deep inquiries and the philosophy of the sixteenth century proved it, by the most accurate calculations, to be true and incontestable. The system of Pythagoras was revived by Copernicus, and it is hence called the Copernican system. Its truth was fully demonstrated by sir Isaac Newton, in 1695. How truly the poet says

"He who through vast immensity can pierce,
"See worlds on worlds compose one universe,
"Observe how system into system runs,
"What other planets circle other suns,

"What varied beings people every star,

"May tell why Heaven has made us as we are."-Pope.

SOLEBAY, NAVAL BATTLE OF, between the English and Dutch, the former commanded by the duke of York, afterwards James II. The enemy fled, and were pursued by the British to their own coasts. In this most obstinate and bloody engagement, the earl of Sandwich was blown up, and several ships and some thousand men were destroyed, May 28, 1672.

SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. The foundation laid, 480 years after the deliverance from Egypt, 1012 B.C. The temple solemnly dedicated, Friday, Oct. 30, 1004 B.C., being 1000 years before the birth of the Redeemer.-Usher, Lenglet.

SOLWAY MOSS, Bordering on Scotland. It swelled owing to heavy rains; and upwards of 400 acres of it rose to such a height above the level of the ground, that at last it rolled forward like a torrent, and continued its course above a mile, sweeping along with it houses, trees, and all in its way. It covered 600 acres at Netherby, and destroyed about 30 small villages, Nov. 13, 1771.

SOMBRERO, ISLAND OF. On this desert isle, Robert Jeffery, a British man-of-war's man, was put ashore by his commander, the hon. captain W. Lake, for the offence of having tapped a barrel of beer, when the ship was on short allowance. He was

miraculously saved, after sustaining life for eight days on a few limpets and rainwater, by an American vessel touching at the rock, Dec. 13, 1807. Jeffery returned to England; but sir Francis Burdett advocated his cause in parliament, and the sufferer received as a compensation from captain Lake 6007.; but this officer was tried by a court-martial, and dismissed the service, Feb. 10, 1810. SOMERSET THE BLACK. The memorable case of this slave determined by the judgment of the court of King's Bench, at the instance of Mr. Granville Sharpe. A poor slave named Somerset, brought to England, was, because of his ill state, turned adrift by his master. By the charity of Mr. Sharpe, he was restored to health, when bis unfeeling and avaricious master again claimed him. This was resisted, and a suit was the consequence, which established, by its result in favour of the black, the great point, that slavery could not exist in Great Britain, June 22, 1772. SOMERSET-HOUSE. Formerly a palace founded on the site of several churches and other buildings levelled for the purpose in 1549, by the protector Somerset, whose residence fell to the crown after his execution. In this palace queen Elizabeth resided at certain times; Anne of Denmark kept her court; and Catherine, queen of Charles II., dwelt, during a portion of the life of her volatile spouse, and continued after his death, until she retired to her native country. Old Somersethouse, which was a mixture of Grecian and Gothic, was demolished in 1775, and the present magnificent edifice, from a design by sir William Chambers, erected for the accommodation of the public offices. The Royal Academy of Arts first assembled in the apartments given the members by the king, Jan. 17, 1771. Large suites of government buildings were erected in 1774. The Navy-office, Pipe-office, Victualling and other offices, were removed here in 1788. The east wing, forming the King's College (see King's College) was completed in 1833.

SOPHI. The title of the sovereign of Persia, importing wise. It is said by some to have taken its rise from a young shepherd named Sophi, who attained the crown A.D. 1370; but others maintain an earlier origin, affirming that it is not a superadded name, as Pharaoh to the kings of Egypt, or Cæsar to the Roman emperors, but the name of the family, or rather the religion of Ali, for the descendants of Ali and Fatima, the daughter of Mahomet, took the name of Sophi, A.D. 632, and founded a sect called the Imenie, to explain the Alcoran, which is followed by the Persians. SORCERERS AND MAGICIANS. A law was enacted against their seductions, 33 Henry VIII. 1541; and another statute equally severe was passed 5 Elizabeth, 1563. The pretension to sorcery and witchcraft and the conversing with evil spirits was made capital, 1 James I., 1603. For shocking instances of the punishment of sorcerers, see Witchcraft.

SOUDAN OR SOUJAH. The title of the lieutenant-generals of the caliphs, which they went by in their provinces and armies. These officers afterwards made themselves sovereigns. Saladin, general of the forces of Noradine, king of Damascus, was the first that took upon him this title in Egypt, A.D. 1165, after having killed the caliph Caym.

SOUND. Fewer than thirty vibrations in a second give no sound; and when the vibrations exceed 7520 in a second, the tones cease to be discriminated. Robesval states the velocity of sound at the rate of 560 feet in a second; Gassendus, at 1473; Derham, at 1142 feet. At Paris, where cannon were fired under many varieties of weather in 1738, it was found to be 1107 feet. The fire of the British on landing in Egypt was distinctly heard 130 miles on the sea. See Acoustics.

SOUND. The famous strait between the Baltic and German seas.

The toll was established by Denmark on all ships passing into the Baltic, A.D. 1348. The passage was effected, in defiance of fortresses hitherto deemed impregnable, by sir Hyde Parker and lord Nelson, April 2, 1801. See Baltic Expedition. SOUNDINGS AT SEA. Captain Ross, of H.M.S. Edipus, took extraordinary soundings at sea. One of them was taken 900 miles west of St. Helena, where it extended to the depth of 5000 fathoms. Another sounding was made in the latitude of 33 degrees S. and longitude 9 degrees W., about 300 miles from the Cape of Good Hope, when 2266 fathoms were sounded; the weight employed amounted to

450 lbs. 1840.

SOUTH SEA BUBBLE. This destructive speculation was commenced in 1710; and the company incorporated by statute, 1716. The bubble, which ruined thousands

of families, exploded in 1720, and the directors' estates, to the value of 2,014,0007. were seized in 1721. Mr. Knight, the cashier, absconded with 100,0007.; but he compounded the fraud for 10,000l., and returned to England in 1743. Almost all the wealthy persons in the kingdom had become stock-jobbers and speculators in this fatal scheme. The artifices of the directors had raised the shares, originally of 100%., to the enormous price of 10001. See Law's Bubble. SOUTHCOTT, JOANNA. A fanatic of this name, formerly of Exeter, came to London, where her followers at one period amounted to many thousands, and among whom were colonels and generals in the army, although the low and ignorant principally were her dupes. She announced herself as the woman spoken of in the book of Revelation; and a disorder of rather rare occurrence gave her the outward appearance of pregnancy after she had passed her grand climacteric, favouring the delusion that she would be the mother of a promised Shiloh. She died Dec. 27, 1814. SOUTHWARK. This part of London was governed by its own bailiffs till 1327. The city, however, found great inconvenience from the number of malefactors who escaped thither, in order to be out of the reach and cognizance of the city magistrates; and a grant was made of Southwark to the city of London by the crown, for a small annuity. In Edward VI.'s reign it was formed into a city ward, and was named Bridge Ward Without, 1550. Southwark bridge was begun September 23, 1814; and was completed March 26, 1819, at an expense of 800,000l. It consists of three great cast-iron arches, resting on massive stone piers and abutments; the distance between the abutments is 708 feet; the centre arch is 240 feet span, the two others 210 feet each; and the total weight of iron 5308 tons. SOVEREIGN. The name of an ancient as well as a modern gold coin of these realms. In Henry I.'s reign, a coin of this denomination was issued, of the value of 22s., and one twenty-fourth part of the weight of a pound of gold. In 34 Henry VIII. sovereigns were coined of the value of 20s., which afterwards (4 and 6 Edward VI.) passed for 24s. and 30s. By 56 George III. sovereigns of the new coinage were directed to pass for 20s., and they were issued from the Mint same year, 1816. SPA-FIELDS RIOTS. Here upwards of 30,000 persons assembled to vote an address to the Prince Regent, from the distressed manufacturers, November 15, 1816. A second meeting, Dec. 2, following, terminated in an alarming riot; the shops of several gun-smiths were attacked for arms by the rioters; and in the shop of Mr. Beck with, on Snow-hill, Mr. Platt was wounded, and much injury was done before the tumult was suppressed.

SPAIN. The first settlers are supposed to have been the progeny of Tubal, fifth son of Japheth. The Phoenicians and Carthaginians successively planted colonies on the coasts; and the Romans possessed the whole country. In the decline of the Roman empire, Spain was seized by the Vandals, Alans, and Suevi; afterwards subdued by the Visigoths, who laid the foundation of the present monarchy.