SARGASSO SEA

SARSAPARILLA

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principally given to the study of oriental languages, mathematics, astronomy, and other branches of natural philosophy, including the medical and physiological sciences, in which he attained to great proficiency, being by some writers regarded (although without sufficient grounds) as entitled to at least a share in the discovery of the circulation of the blood. He kept up a correspondence

Sargon. See ASSYRIA, Vol. I. p. 516. Sari, capital of the province of Mazanderan, Persia, lies 18 miles S. of the Caspian Sea. It is a greatly decayed place of some 8000 inhabitants, the principal town in the province being the seaport Balfrush on the Caspian.

Sark (Fr. Gers), the smallest of the four Channel Islands (q.v.), 6 miles E. of Guernsey and 12 NNW. of Jersey. Only 2 sq. m. in area, it is almost entirely rockbound, and consists of two portions, Great and Little Sark, connected by an isthmus called the Coupée, 456 feet long, 5 to 8 broad, and 384 high. Lead was mined during 1835-45; fishing and agriculture are now almost the only occupations. Pop. (1841) 785; (1891) 571.

Sarmatians (anc. Sarmatæ, Sauromata), a race who spoke the same language as the Scythians (q.v.), and who are believed to have been of Median descent and so Iranian in stock, though some authorities think they belonged to the Ural-Altaic family. They were nomads, wild and savage in appearance, excellent horsemen and archers, and dressed in leather armour. Their young women went into battle on horseback; hence probably the Greek legends about the Amazons. Several tribes were embraced under the name; they roamed over the wide plains of eastern Europe, from the Vistula and the Danube to the Volga and the Caucasus. Their country was arbitrarily divided by the ancient writers into European and Asiatic Sarmatia, the river Don being made the dividing-line. In the second half of the 4th century B.C. they subjected the Scythians to their yoke. Their empire lasted until the 4th century A.D., when it was overthrown by the Goths. Shortly after that their name disappears from history. The Jazyges (q.v.) were a Sarmatian tribe who also disappeared amongst Goths and Huns. But the name of Sarmatia is sometimes applied to the vast region in which the Sarmatians roamed, and is sometimes rhetorically

used for Poland.

Sarnia, a town and port of Canada, just below the issue from Lake Huron of the St Clair River, 170 miles WSW. of Toronto by rail. A great tunnel beneath the St Clair (q.v.) connects it with Port Huron (q. v.) on the American side. Pop. 3847. Sarno, a city of Southern Italy, 30 miles by rail E. of Naples, on the farther side of Vesuvius, has an ancient castle, a cathedral (1625), a seminary, paper, cotton, linen, and ribbon manufactories, and produces fine silk. Pop. 14,464. Here Teia, king of the Goths, was vanquished and slain in a desperate battle with the Greeks, commanded by Narses, in 552.

Sarpi, PIETRO, better known by his monastic appellation, FRA PAOLO, was born at Venice on 14th August 1552, embraced the monastic life, and took the vows in the religious order of the Servites (q.v.) in 1565. Five years later the Duke of Mantua made him his court theologian; but he was soon after summoned to be professor of philosophy in the Servite monastery at Venice, and there he remained all the rest of his life. For nine years, however (1579-88), he was absent in Rome looking after affairs connected with the reform of the Servite order. In early life his thoughts were

the dispute between the republic of Venice and Paul V. (q.v.) on the subject of clerical immunities Sarpi stepped forward as the valiant champion of the republic and of freedom of thought. On the repeal (1607) of the edict of excommunication launched against Venice Sarpi was summoned to Rome to account for his conduct. He refused to obey, and was excommunicated as contumacious; and an attempt was made upon his life by a band of assassins, who professed to be actuated by zeal for the papal cause. Seriously wounded, he after his recovery confined himself within his monastery, and busied himself with writing his celebrated History of the Council of Trent, a History of the Interdict, and other works. The first named was published in London in 1619 by Antonio de Domínis (q.v.), the ex-bishop of Spalato, at first under the pseudonym of Pietro Soave Polano, an anagram of Paolo Sarpi Veneto; and it almost immediately rose into popularity with the adversaries of Rome as well in England as throughout history of the proceedings of the council, but the Continent. means It is by no a simple rather a controversial narrative of the discussions, in which the writer freely enters into the merits of the doctrines under discussion, and in many cases displays a strong anti-Catholic bias. His judgment of the motives and conduct of the members of the council, especially of the representatives of the pope and his partisans in the assembly, is uniformly hostile. Ranke, who criticises the work in an appendix to his History of the Popes, ranks Sarpi, in spite of the partisan spirit of his writing, as the second of Italian historians, next after Machiavelli. history of the Council of Trent from the papal standpoint was written by the Jesuit Pallavicino (q.v.). Sarpi died on 15th January 1623. His life as an ecclesiastic was above reproach; and his long-tried zeal in the cause of the republic had made him the idol of his fellow-citizens, who His History of the Council of Trent has been reaccordingly honoured him with a public funeral. printed in numberless editions; his collected works were published at Naples, in 24 vols., in 1789-90. (Zurich, 1836), and T. A. Trollope's Paul the Pope and See Lives by A. G. Campbell (1869), Bianchi-Giovini Paul the Friar (1861), largely based upon the Italian work of Bianchi-Giovini.

A voluminous

Sarracenia. See INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS.
Sarrakhs. See SARAKHS.

Sarreguemines. See SAARGEMÜND.

Sarsaparilla, or SARSA. This is the dried root of the Smilax officinalis, a plant belonging to the natural order Smilaceæ, and a native of Central America. In the British Pharmacopoeia it is known as Sarsa Radix, or Jamaica Sarsaparilla, being imported from that island, and having first been brought into Europe from the West Indies about 1530. There are, however, several other species of Smilax having the same properties, and growing in the warmer parts of America. They are twining shrubs, sometimes attaining a very considerable height, and growing only where there is abundance of water. The root is many feet long, about the thickness of a goose-quill, brownish in colour, with numerous rootlets. They are folded and packed into bundles about 18 inches

long and 4 inches in diameter, bound by a long root. The taste is mucilaginous, slightly bitter and acrid; it has no smell. The root contains a crystalline glucoside, smilacin, a volatile oil, resin, starch, &c. A decoction, a compound decoction, and a liquid extract made from the root are all officinal. These preparations act as diuretics and diaphoretics, and are used as alteratives in syphilis, rheumatism, and some skin diseases. Their value is much disputed, and they are not nearly so often prescribed as formerly. The root of Hemidesmus Indicus is also officinal, and is sometimes called Indian Sarsaparilla. The root of Smilax aspera is known as Italian Sarsaparilla, while those of various species of Carex are known as German Sarsaparilla. The form Zarsaparella occurs in Lyte's Dodoens (1578), the word being perhaps a compound of the Spanish çarça or zarza, bramble, and parilla, a little vine.'

Sarsden Stones, a name given to the Greywethers (q.v.) of Cornwall, and erroneously interpreted to mean Saracen stones, as the piles of old mining refuse are called attal-Sarsen and Jews'leavings on the theory that Saracens, Jews, Phonicians had wrought there; but really a corruption of a Celtic word.

Sarsfield, PATRICK, Irish Jacobite, had fought abroad under Monmouth, and in England at Sedgemoor against him, when in 1688 he was defeated in the skirmish of Wineanton, and crossed over to Ireland (he was member for Dublin county). Created Earl of Lucan by James II., he drove the English out of Sligo, was present at the battles of the Boyne and Aghrim, defended Limerick (q.v.), and on its final capitulation in 1691 entered the service of France. He fought at Steenkirk (1692), and was mortally wounded at Neerwinden, 29th July 1693.

Sarsnet, or SARCENET, a thin tissue of fine silk, plain or twilled, used for ladies' dresses and for linings. It is said to have been introduced from the Orient in the 13th century. See RIBBON.

Sarthe, a dept. of France, north of the Loire, formed out of the old provinces of Anjou and Maine. Area, 2396 sq. m.; pop. (1866) 465,615; (1891) 429,737. The Sarthe flows south through the department, and the Loir west along the southern border. The department is fairly level, and the soil fertile. Essentially an agricultural department, it produces wheat, oats, barley, and potatoes, sends its geese, chickens, eggs, cattle, and swine to Paris, is famous for its breed of horses, and makes every year nearly 4 million gallons of wine and 15 million gallons of cider. Coal is mined, and there are manufactures of hemp, linen, and cotton textiles, paper, glass, leather, machinery, &c. The departments are Le Mans, La Flèche, Mamers, and St Calais; capital, Le Mans.

Sarti, GIUSEPPE, musical composer, was born at Faenza on 1st December 1729, and held the office of organist to the cathedral of Faenza from 1748 to 1750. The success of two operas-Pompeo in Armenia (1751) and Il Re Pastore (1753) brought him a royal invitation to Copenhagen in 1753; and there he remained until 1775. After his return to Italy he was successively director of the conservatory at Venice (till 1779) and maestro di capella of Milan cathedral; in this last post Cherubini was his pupil and assistant. During this period he composed some of his most successful operas, Le Gelosie Villane (1775), Giulio Sabino (1781), Le Nozze di Dorina (1782), and others. In 1784 Catharine II. invited him to St Petersburg. On his way he made the acquaintance of Mozart at Vienna. His most notable productions whilst in Russia were the opera Armida (1786) and a Te Deum in celebration of the taking of Otchakoff,

SASKATCHEWAN

in which real fireworks and cannon were discharged to heighten the realism. Sarti died at Berlin, on his way home to Italy, on 28th July 1802. He composed, in addition to operatic music, several masses, sonatas, and other pieces.

Sarto, ANDREA DEL, a painter of Florence, where he was born in 1487 or 1486. The family name was Vannucchi; and Andrea was nicknamed Del Sarto ('the tailor's son') from his father's occupation. He studied under one or two FlorenLeonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. In 1509-14 tine painters, and gained greatly by copying from he was engaged by the Servites in Florence to paint for their church of the Annunciation a series of seven frescoes, of which the first four illustrated the life of St Philip Benizzi, the founder of the order; the two last, depicting the Nativity of the Virgin' and Journey of the Three Kings,' are esteemed the best in the series. During the next eleven years he painted a second series of frescoes, those illustrating the Life of John the Baptist and intended for the cloisters of the Recollets or Barefooted Friars. But in 1518 he accepted the invitation of Francis I. of France and went to Paris, and was warmly received. In the following year he returned to Italy with a commission from the king to purchase works of art; but Andrea squandered the money entrusted to him, and so dared not return to France. The rest of his life was spent at Florence, where he died of the plague on 22d January 1531. The most celebrated of the single pictures painted by Andrea are the Madonna del Sacco,' for the Servites; the 'Last Supper,' for S. Salvi near Florence; the 'Madonna with the Harpies,' now in the Uffizi; the Fathers of the Church Disputing,' an altar-piece, likewise in the Uffizi; a Pietà, now at Vienna; a copy of Raphael's portrait of Leo X., which deceived even Giulio Romano into believing it was the original, although he himself had had a hand in that original; and two fine Annunciations, in the Pitti Palace at Florence. Andrea was a rapid worker, had a quick, sure brush, excelled in accurate drawing, and displayed a refined feeling for harmonies of colour, but, though called the Faultless,' lacks the elevation and spiritual imagination of the greatest masters.

See Crowe and Cavalcaselle, Painting in Italy; and Life by Von Reumont (Leip. 1835), and by Janitschek, in Dohme's Kunst und Kunstler, part iii.

Sartoris, ADELAIDE. See KEMBLE.

Sarts, a name given to the settled inhabitants, whether agriculturists or traders, as distinguished from the nomad inhabitants of Turkestan, Afghanistan, Persia, and the adjacent regions of Asia. Strictly speaking, the name has no ethnological significance, though it is often used, but incorrectly, to designate the Aryan aborigines of those same regions, properly called Tajiks.

Sarum. See SALISBURY, LITURGY.

rail E. of Spezia. It has a cathedral (1355–1470), Sarzana, a city of Northern Italy, 8 miles by and an ancient fortress (now a prison), and is the birthplace of Pope Nicholas V. Pop. 4016. Sasin. See ANTELOPES. Sasine. See INFEFTMENT.

Saskatch'ewan, a large river of British North America, draws its waters from the Rocky Mountains, and is formed by two head-waters called the South and North Branches. The North Branch rises among the glaciers near Mount Hooker, the South Branch in the very north of Montana. The former has a course of 770, the latter of 810 miles, before they meet at about 105° W. long, and 53° 15' N. lat. The river then flows east 282 miles to Lake Winnipeg, from which its waters are carried

SASSAFRAS

to Hudson Bay by the Nelson River (q.v.). Including the Nelson, its total length is 1514 miles; catchment basin, 450,000 sq. m. It is now navigated by steamers from Lake Winnipeg to Edmonton (700 miles); the Nelson is rendered unnavigable by rapids. The upper Saskatchewan drains a rich prairie country; near Medicine Hat it is sunk almost 300 feet below the general surface. The river gives name to one of the Western Territories, lying between Manitoba and Keewatin, Assiniboia, Alberta, and the parallel 55° N. lat. Both branches of the river traverse the territory, and on their banks are the settlements of Prince Albert, Battleford, &c. Area, 114,000 sq. m.; pop. (1891)

11,146.

Sas'safras (Sassafras), a genus of trees or shrubs of the natural order Lauracea. The Sassafras-tree (S. officinale) of North America, found from Canada to Florida, a mere bush in the north,

Sassafras (Sassafras officinale):

a, branch of male tree in flower; b, branch with ripe fruit and developed foliage. (Bentley and Trimen.)

but a tree of 50 feet in the south, has deciduous leaves, yellow flowers, which appear before the leaves, and small dark-blue fruit. The wood is soft, light, coarse in fibre, dirty-white and reddish brown, with a strong but agreeable smell, resembling that of fennel, and an aromatic, rather pungent and sweetish taste. The wood of the root possesses these properties in a higher degree than that of the stem, and the thick spongy bark of the root most of all. The wood is brought to market in the form of chips, but the bark of the root is preferred for medicinal use, is a powerful stimulant, sudorific, and diuretic, and is employed in cutaneous diseases, gout, rheumatism, and syphilis, generally in combination with other medicines. It contains a volatile oil, Oil of Sassafras, which is often used instead. An agreeable beverage is made in North America by infusion of sassafras bark or sassafras wood; and a similar drink was once commonly sold in the streets of London under the name of Saloop. The leaves of sassafras contain so much mucilage that they are used for thickening soup.-Another species of Sassafras (S. parthenoxylon), possessing similar properties, is found in Sumatra; and the name, with or without explanatory prefixes, is given to trees of various orders found in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, Brazil, and Chili.

SASSAFRAS NUTS, a name given to the cotyle

dons of the seed of the South American tree Nectandra puchury, used as medicinal aromatics. They are also called Pichurim Beans and Brazilian Beans.

Sassanidæ. See PERSIA, Vol. VIII. p. 67.

Sas'sari, a city in the north-west of Sardinia, ranking next after the capital Cagliari, which it has indeed attempted to supplant as the capital; it stands 12 miles by rail from the Gulf of Asinara, where its port, Porto Torres (pop. 2034), is situated, and 162 miles N. by W. of Cagliari. A prosperouslooking town, with both old and new houses, embosomed in orange and olive groves, it has a cathedral (1531), an old castle (1327-31), a university (1677, reopened in 1766) with about 120 students, a museum of Roman antiquities, a natural history collection, and a library (1556) of 25,000 vols., and is the seat of an archbishop and of several of the old Sardinian nobles. There is a busy trade in grain, olive-oil, cheese, and hides. Pop. (1881) 31,596; (1885) 38,000.-The province has an area of 3922 sq. m. and a pop. (1889) of 286,174.

Sassoferrato, an Italian painter, whose real name was GIAMBATTISTA SALVI, was born at Sassoferrato in the March of Ancona on 11th July 1605, studied at Rome and Naples, worked most of his life at the former city, and died there on 8th April 1685. He painted innumerable Madonnas, conceived in a devout spirit and with a humble yet noble expression. The most notable of his other compositions, which were few in number, are a couple of Holy Families, an Annunciation, and an Assumption.

Satan. See the articles DEVIL, HELL.

Sátárá, a town of Bombay presidency, India, occupies a high, healthy site on the Deccan plateau, near the Kistna, 56 miles S. of Poona. It is commanded by a hill-fort, which came into the hands of the British in 1848. Pop. 29,028.-The district has an area of 4988 sq. m. and a pop. of 1,062,350.

Satellites are small members of the solar system, taking the place of attendants of the larger planets, by which their motions are controlled. In relation to them, the controlling planet is called their Primary.' For a discussion of the satellite of the earth the reader is referred to the article MOON. The satellites of Mars are interesting as by far the smallest known. One of them, Phobos, revolves round its primary so quickly that its rising and setting are determined chiefly by its own motion. To an observer on Mars it will rise in the west, and cross the sky in a few hours. Both were discovered in 1877. The first three of Jupiter's satellites are eclipsed at every revolution, the fourth less frequently. Their frequent passages before and behind their primary form one of the most attractive spectacles for small telescopes. Their orbits differ but little from circles, and between the first three a curious relation exists-viz. the mean sidereal motion of the 1st added to twice that of the 3d is equal to three times that of the 2d; so that, except at a vast interval, the three cannot all be eclipsed at once, although each is eclipsed once in every period. Long observation and careful calculation have enabled the places of these satellites to be so accurately predicted that their eclipses have been used to determine the velocity of light. Jupiter, owing to the earth's orbital movement, is at one time 183,000,000 miles nearer us than at another. The eclipses of his satellites are therefore delayed or hastened, according to the velocity of light, as the strokes of a hammer at a distance are delayed in reaching us by the finite velocity of sound (see LIGHT, SUN). From this difference