totle, entitled 'Summulæ,' Salamanca, 1525, 4to. So high was his reputation for ecclesiastical learning, that in 1545 the emperor Charles V. sent him as his first theologian to the council of Trent, where he became one of the most active and esteemed members of that assembly. As he spoke frequently, and was consulted on difficult points of canonic law, he was one of the members charged with recording the decisions of the assembly and drawing up its decrees. This peculiar distinction was the more remarkable, as there were above fifty bishops and several eminent theologians of the same order as his in the assembly. Finding that a brother of his own order, named Catharin, dissented from him on several material points, he composed his 'Apologia contra R. Patrem Ambrosium Catharinum, qua ipse de certitudine gratiæ respondet,' which was afterwards published at Antwerp, 1556. fol., and Salam., 1574, fol. On his return from the council Charles V. appointed him his confessor, and offered him the bishopric of Segovia, which he declined. He was soon after chosen by that monarch to arbitrate in a dispute pending between Las Casas and Sepulveda respecting the Indians, which he decided in favour of the former. [SEPULVEDA.] In 1550 Soto left the court and retired to Salamanca, where he died on the 17th of December, 1560, at the age of sixty-six. Besides the above-mentioned works, Soto wrote the follow serve the antient institution by an oath would be almost a ] matter of course. Again, Diodorus Siculus (i. 50) says, that the Egyptians add five days and a quarter to the 360 days of their 12 months, which statement is generally supposed to refer to a more correct year which had been introduced among the people, while their religious festivals continued to be regulated by the old year. The propriety of this mode of reconciling the two authorities is made probable by the known existence of the Sothiac period (also called the Canicular year, Annus Magnus, &c., derived from Sothis, a name for the star Sirius) mentioned by Geminus, and also by Censorinus and Clement of Alexandria, from older writers. It is obvious that 1461 years of 365 days each, make 1460 years of 365 days. This period of 1460 Julian years was the Sothiac period. It is impossible to fix any time at which this period was introduced, or to say whether, during its existence as a recognised cycle, it had time to run its whole career. Had it been a real cycle of experiment, it must be imagined that it would have been found to be wrong, to the extent of requiring an addition to the oath; for 1508 real years is nearer to the time in which a year of 365 days would have its beginning in all the seasons successively, and recommence the same process. It is obvious that such a cycle of recurrence was the intention of the Egyptians in constructing the period: their vague year (an nus vagus) of 365 days, combined with their nearly fixed fes-ing:-' In Dialecticam Aristotelis Conimentarii,' Salmantivals, depending upon the heliacal rising of SIRIUS, made ticæ, 1580, fol.; In Categorias Aristotelis Commentarii,' the latter take all consecutive positions among the months Venetiis, 1583, 4to.; De Natura et Gratia Libri iii.,' Antof the former, gradually falling later and later. Again, if werp, 1550; De Justitia et Jure,' Antw., 1568. In this last the Egyptians had really gone through a whole recorded treatise Soto defends the proposition which he had mainperiod, it is difficult to see how they would avoid discovering tained at the council, that the residence of bishops is of that another cycle would be necessary. In the time of their divine right.' De Cavendo Juramentorum Abusu,' Salantient kings the heliacal rising of Sirius would have ad-manticæ, 1552, and several more, a list of which may be vanced, by the precession of the equinoxes, about 12 days seen in Nicolas. Ant., Bib. Hisp Nova, vol. i., p. 332. in one Sothiac period. The beginning of the vague year SOUBISE, BENJAMIN DE ROHAN, baron of Fron(365 days) was continually falling back; so that if at the tenai, and brother to the famous Duc de Rohan. [ROHAN.] beginning of a period they had noted the day of their vague He was born in 1589. Under Maurice of Nassau, in Holland, year on which the equinox fell, and also the day on which he learnt the art of war. Soubise was through life a zealous Sirius rose heliacally, they would have found that the latter reformer, and figures in all the assemblies of the Huguenots came again to the same day of the vague year fifty years, for putting in force the Edict of Nantes. In 1615 he joined or thereabouts, before the equinox was similarly restored. the party of the Prince de Condé, but the civil war termiThis, so far as the star was concerned, would fit their erro- nating shortly after, he has little opportunity for exhibitneous period very well (1460 instead of 1508); but it is diffi- ing that audacity and those talents for intrigue which he subcult to suppose that astronomers who had discovered the sequently displayed in the religious wars which commenced odd quarter of a day which the year requires, should not in 1621. His reputation for courage and his talents as a know within 12 days the time of the equinox. But, on the leader induced the assembly of Rochelle to give him the other hand, those who incline to believe in a very long general command in Bretagne, Anjou, and Poitou. Unperiod of star-gazing, too rude to be called observation, dazzled by the brilliant offers which had seduced so many may assert the possibility of a period of 1460 years, or there- of the corrupt chiefs to submit to the court, Soubise, with his abouts, being discovered by noting the period elapsed brother, the Duc de Rohan, remained true to their party. But between successive heliacal risings of Sirius on the same seeing themselves deserted by their friends and reduced to day of the vague year, and the theory of the discovery of despair, they resolved on a decisive blow, and proclaimed the additional quarter of a day must be looked upon as a open war against the king. Louis XIII. marched against subsequent (and of course mistaken) mode of explaining them in person, and commenced the siege of Saint Jean the period. d'Angeli. Soubise undertook its defence, and with his usua! audacity, when summoned to surrender, he wrote the following reply:-I am his majesty's very humble servant, but the execution of his commands is not in my power. Benjamin de Rohan.' The siege was vigorously pressed, but it was not till after a month's hard fighting that the place surrendered. On the entrance of the royal army, Soubise, throwing himself on his knees before Louis, vowed inviolable fidelity. Serve me better than thou hast done hitherto, replied the king, and pardoned him. The epoch of commencement of a Sothiac period is not well determined, and only from comparatively modern writers. Censorinus asserts that the consulship of Ulpius and Pontianus (usually placed in A.D. 238) was in the hundredth year of such a period: accordingly B.C. 1322 was the beginning of the preceding period. Clement of Alexandria says that the period began 345 years after the migration of the Israelites from Egypt, a date which differs considerably from that of Censorinus, according to modern chronologers. The point is however of no importance, as no dates were ever recorded in written history by means of Sothiac periods. SOTIES. [ENGLISH DRAMA, p. 416.] ་ The inviolable fidelity' of Soubise disappeared with the absence of danger, and accordingly we find him very soon after flying to Rochelle, there to form new intrigues. He was not so warmly seconded however as he had anticipated. He soon after collected a few troops and seized Royan; and in the winter of 1622 made himself master of BasPoitou, together with the isle of Ré, Perier, and Mons. This success drew 8000 men to his standard, with whom he seized Olonne, and threatened Nantes. Louis again marched to meet him, and routed his army after a short conflict. Soubise escaped to Rochelle, whence he passed over to England to ask for succour, but failing, he went to Germany, and with no better success. The king declared him a rebel, but by the edict of pacification published at Montpellier, October 19, 1622, he was restored to his honours and estates. SOTO, DOMINGO, a learned Spanish ecclesiastic, was born at Segovia, in 1494. His father, who was a gardener, destined him for the same occupation, but seeing him make rapid progress in his studies, he gave him as good an education as his means could afford, and placed him as sacristan to the church of a neighbouring village. Having, whilst there, rendered himself qualified for the study of philosophy, Soto repaired to the university of Alcalá, where he made the acquaintance of a young nobleman named Saavedra, who took him to Paris as one of his suite. Soto pursued his studies there, and received the degree of master of arts. On his return to Spain, in 1519. he taught philosophy, first at Alcalá, and then at Salamanca; and in 1524, entered into Peace tired him, inactivity was abhorrent to him; and the Dominican order. It was about this time that he pub-restless unless plotting, Soubise soon recommenced inlished his treatise on the Dialectics and Physics of Aris-triguing with Spain and England, and, in the beginning of 1625, he again appeared as a traitor; and publishing a manifesto, seized the isle of Ré, with three hundred soldiers and one hundred sailors. Encouraged by this success, he descended on Blavet in Bretagne, where the royal fleet was at that moment; and suddenly attacking one of the largest ships, boarded it, sword in hand. He took the other ships in succession, and then attacked the fort. He was repulsed in his attack on the fort; and after a fruitless siege of three weeks, he set sail for the isle of Ré with fifteen ships. He seized the isle of Oleron, and was thus master of the sea from Nantes to Bordeaux. His daring had surprised every one; and the Huguenots, who had hitherto regarded these exploits as those of a brigand, now acknowledged him chief of the reform. The king, occupied with the Spanish war, offered him the command of a squadron of ten ships in an expedition against Genoa, as an honourable way of returning to his allegiance. Soubise refused the offer; and naming himself admiral of the Protestant church, persisted in the war. Attacked by the Royalists near Castillon, he regained his ships with a precipitation very unfavourable to his reputation for courage. We may observe that his life exhibited a contrast of audacity and cowardice. He was more reckless than bold, more vehement than courageous. On his return to the isle of Ré, he was met by the royal fleet, augmented by twenty Dutch vessels. As he was still in negociation with the court, he obtained a suspension of arms, and the two admirals exchanged hostages. Without awaiting the result of the negociation, Soubise redemanded his hostages, which were returned by the Dutch admiral, on the condition that the suspension of arms should not terminate till news was received from the court; but Soubise suddenly attacked the fleet, and fired the admiral' ship. The result of this perfidy was the confirmation of Louis in his pacific intentions with regard to the Protestants; but the people of Rochelle, blinded by prosperity, were more exacting in proportion to the concession of the court, and the war continued. On the 15th September, after a sharp conflict, Soubise was beaten by the royal fleet; and quitting his ship, he regained the isle, where the victorious royalists had landed, and attacked them with 3000 men. Here too his army was vanquished, and he saved himself by ignominious flight. He again came to England. Charles I., interposing on behalf of the French Protestants, obtained for them a new edict of pacification, April 6, 1626. Soubise was created a duke; but he still remained in England, endeavouring to win over the Duke of Buckingham to support the Huguenots, and he succeeded. Louis seriously determining to besiege Rochelle, Soubise prevailed on Buckingham to put himself at the head of a fleet, which Soubise conducted to Rochelle; but the Rochellois refused to admit the English ships into their port, or Soubise within their walls. Soubise returned to England and solicited a second fleet, which, commanded by Denbigh, Buckingham's brother-in-law, was equally unsuccessful. Nothing daunted, he again returned to England; and after pressing Charles for some time, had a third fleet granted, under the command of Buckingham. This fleet was at Plymouth, ready to start; but Buckingham, baving quarrelled with Soubise, annoyed him by all sorts of delays. On the 2nd September, 1628, the two had an animated discussion in French on the point, which the officers who were present, not understanding the language, viewed as a quarrel. A few hours after this Buckingham was stabbed by Felton. In the first moment of horror at the murder, the officers accused Soubise and the deputies of the deed, and the infuriated people were about to sacrifice them, when Felton declared himself. The command of the fleet was then bestowed on the Earl of Lindsey. When they arrived before Rochelle, Lindsey repulsed all Soubise's proposals, and it was found impossible for them to act in concert. Meanwhile Rochelle capitulated; but Soubise, refusing the conditions proposed by Louis, returned to England, where he ceased not to intrigue against nis country His restless career was terminated in 1641, when he died, regretted by few and less respected. (Biog. Univ.; Voltaire, Siècle de Louis XIV.) SOUBISE, CHARLES DE ROHAN, born July 16, 1715. He was an inefficient general, but a fortunate courtier; for, befriended by Louis XV., he became maréchal of France, minister of state, and allied to royalty itself. His life was tinged with many licentious and foolish acts, but his bravery and generosity gilded over his faults and vices. He married Mdlle. de Bouillon, daughter of the chamberlain of France. She died soon after the birth of her first child, a daughter, whom he subsequently (1753) married to the Prince de Condé. In 1745 Soubise married the Princess Christina of Hesse-Rheinfels. He served Louis as aide-de-camp in all the campaigns of 1744 to 1748, and is thus alluded to by Voltaire: ⚫ Maison du roi, marchez, assurez la victoire ; Soubise et Pecquigny vous menent à la gloire.' His services were rewarded by the appointment of fieldmarshal in 1748, and in 1751 with the government of Flanders and Hainault. Being defeated by the Prussians at Rosbach, he returned to court, the object of a thousand malicious epigrams. The favourite of Madame Pompadour, he was hated as a favourite by all the other courtiers; but Louis remained firm in his attachment to him, and made him minister of state, with a pension of 50,000 livres. In 1758 he commanded a new army, burning to efface the disgrace of Rosbach, and defeated the Hessians, Hanoverians, and English, first at Sondershausen, July 13, and next at Sutzelberg, Oct. 10, by which he completed the conquest of the landgraviat of Hesse. When Louis XV. had taken Madame Dubarry as his mistress, and presented her at court, the ladies refused to receive her, or acknowledge her presence, except in the most distant manner Soubise induced the Countess de l'Hôpital, his mistress, to rece e her at her house. This delighted Louis, and made Madame Dubarry his friend. Soubise indeed carried his venality so far as to consent to the marriage of his cousin Mdlle. de Toromon with the Vicomte Dubarry, the favourite's nephew; but we must add however, as a set-off to this baseness, that on the death of Louis, Soubise aloue of all the courtiers followed the funeral procession, which consisted only of a few valets and pages, and never left the remains of his kind master till he saw them fairly deposited in the tomb. He had resolved to retire from the court, but Louis XVI. touched with his fidelity, requested him to retain his place as minister, which he did. He died on the 4th July, 1787. (Biographie Universelle; Voltaire, Siècle de Louis XIV.) SOUFFLOT, JACQUES GERMAIN, was born at Irancy, near Auxerre, in 1713. His parents gave him a good education, but without any intention of bringing nim up to the profession to which his own inclination strongly prompted him. Fortunately, instead of attempting to thwart this bias, his father assisted him in pursuing the requisite preparatory studies. At what time he went to Rome, where, through the influence of M. de Saint-Aignant, the ambassador, he was admitted as a pensionary at the French academy, is not precisely known, but he remained there three years, after which he spent several more at Lyon where he commenced the practice of his profession; and besides the Exchange (now converted into the Protestant church), and some other works of less importance, he executed one of the largest public edifices in that city, the Great Hospital, the façade of which is somewhat more than 1000 feet in extent. The distinction he thus acquired caused him to be invited to Paris, where he was admitted into the Royal Academy of Architecture. Within a short time an opportunity presenting itself of revisiting Italy, in company with M. de Marigny (Madame Pompadour's brother) the superintendent of the crown buildings, he availed him self of it, and examined the antiquities of Pæstum in 1750. [PASTUM, ARCHITECTURE OF.] In 1754 he was again em ployed at Lyon to erect the Grand Theatre, which was capable of containing 2000 spectators, and was considered to be excellently contrived in every respect, but has since been replaced by another structure. It having been determined to rebuild the antient and greatly decayed church of St. Généviève, several architects presented designs for the new edifice, among which those by Soufflot obtained the preference; and in 1757 the works commenced, but they proceeded so slowly, that the ceremony of laying the first stone by Louis XV. did not take place till the 6th of September, 1764. [PARIS, page 257.] In this work Soufflot entirely changed the system which had till then prevailed in all the modern churches of Paris; and although he could not attempt to rival the magnitude of St. Peter's at Rome, or St. Paul's, London, his aim seems to have been to produce greatness of effect of a different kind, together with decided difference of character. Avoiding two orders, as in the latter building, and the attached columns and heavy attic of the former, he has employed a single order of insulated columns 60 feet high as a prostyle, occupying the entire width of the façade at that extremity of the cross; and has moreover confined the order to that feature of the building, the entablature alone being continued along the other elevations, which else present little more than unbroken surface of solid wall, a circumstance that gives the whole a degree of severity, not to call it nakedness, that contrasts most strongly with the breaks and multiplicity of parts in the two other buildings. The portico itself is therefore a feature which strikingly distinguishes this from both the Italian and the English church. Like St. Paul's, Soufflot's edifice has a Corinthian peristyle of thirty columns, encircling the tambour of the dome, with the difference that all the columns are insulated, whereas in the other instance eight of them are attached to four massifs, or piers. Another marked distinction in regard to the effect of the dome in the exterior composition generally is, that the plan of the building being a Greek cross, it comes in the centre, consequently is not thrown so far back from the front as in the other two instances. In the interior, again, Soufflot's design differs from them still more: it has colonnades, comparatively shallow as to depth, instead of aisles separated from the naves by massive piers and arches; neither has it any windows, except in the tambour of the dome and the arches in the vaultings of the roof, so that the light is admitted entirely from above. In consequence however of settlements and fractures taking place, it was afterwards found necessary to deviate from the original plau, filling up the spaces between the columns at the four angles beneath the dome, so as to convert them into solid piers. These remarks might be greatly extended, but the only one we will add is, that a detailed parallel between this edifice, St. Peter's, and St. Paul's, might be rendered a highly interesting architectural disquisition, especially if illustrated with drawings made to the same scale. Soufflot did not live to see his great work completed, for he died on the 29th of August, 1781, after which period many repairs in the construction took place, an account of which, and criticisms npon the building, may be found in Wood's Letters of an Architect,' vol. i. At the time of the Revolution, the destination of the building was changed, and it was then called the Pantheon, by which name it is still generally spoken of, although now restored to its original purpose, and the dome, &c. decorated with paintings by Gros and others. Among other buildings by Soufflot may be mentioned the Ecole de Droit (1775) in the Place du Panthéon (which last formed part of his plan for a uniform architectural area round the church), the Orangery at the Château de Menars, the sacristry of Notre Dame, and several private hotels. SOUI-MANGA. [SUN-BIRDS.] the mouth of the speaker should be a little behind the focus of the reflector. Mr. Blackburn's reflector, or soundingboard, was made of pine-wood, and so ornamented as to have a handsome appearance. The surface,' he states, 'is concave, and is generated by half a revolution of one branch of a parabola on its axis.' The axis is inclined forward at an angle of about 10° or 15° to the plane of the floor, so that the sounding-board comes partly over, but chiefly behind the speaker. Models of the pulpit and soundingboard were exhibited to the Royal Society in 1828, and subsequently deposited in the museum of the Society of Arts; and full descriptions have appeared in the 'Philosophical Transactions, vol. cxviii., p. 361; the 'Transactions' of the Society of Arts, vol. xlviii., p. 192; and in an octavo pamphlet, published in 1829, entitled 'Description of a Parabolic Sounding-Board erected in Attercliffe Church,' Mr. Blackburn concludes his pamphlet by suggesting whether, in erecting a new church, it might not be advisable to give to the east end of the building itself the form of a paraboloidal concave, and to place the pulpit in its focus. SOUNDINGS, in hydrography, are properly the depths of water in rivers, harbours, along shores, and even in the open seas; but the term is also applied to the nature of the ground at the bottom of the water. If the operation of taking soundings is to be performed while the vessel is in motion, and the depth of the water is comparatively small, a man who is stationed for the purpose in the main or mizen chains, on the windward side, throws out a mass of lead, which is attached to one end of a line between 20 and 30 fathoms in length. On this line are fixed, at intervals of two or three fathoms, pieces of leather or cloth of different colours; and the mark which is next above the surface of the water when the lead strikes the bottom affords an indication of the depth. The sounding-lead is usually in the form of a frustum of a cone, and weighs eight or nine pounds. The man takes care to throw it towards the head of the vessel, so that as the latter advances the line may be nearly in a vertical position when he observes the mark. That which is called the deep-sea lead is a mass of metal, weighing from 25 to 30 lbs., and attached to a line of great length, on which at the distance of every ten fathoms are knots expressing the number of times ten fathoms in the depth (thus five knots denote 50 fathoms, &c.): it is used nearly in the same manner as the hand-lead, but generally the motion of the ship is stopped before it is thrown, in order that the line may be as nearly as possible in a vertical position when the depth is observed. The bottom of the lead is covered with a coating of tallow for the purpose of ascertaining, by the sand, shells, or other matter which may adhere to it, the nature of the ground. When soundings are to be taken in the survey of a coast, a harbour, or the mouth of a river, the surveying ship and its boats are disposed at convenient distances from each other (suppose from two to five miles), so that the lines imagined to join them and any remarkable objects, should there be such, on the shore, may form triangles as nearly as possible equilateral. If the number of boats are not sufficient, the deficiency may be supplied by beacons formed of water-casks. The distances of the boats or beacons from one another and from the ship, when all have been moored, may be ascertained by the velocity of sound, guns being fired for this purpose, or by observing the angle subtended by the known distance from the surface of the water to the top of a mast; but the officers in the ship and boats observe also the angles which lines supposed to join their several stations make with one another, and thus the positions which they occupy may be determined. The boats then row or sail along the directions of the lines joining each other, sounding as they proceed at equal intervals, suppose ten minutes, of time. If it be necessary to sound close to a reef or shore, or within the mouth of a river, the boats move from one remarkable point to another, taking such angles as may be necessary to determine the positions of those points, and sounding as before: thus the outline of the shoal, reef, coast, or river will be determined, as well as the depth of the water. All the soundings must be afterwards reduced to the depths below the surface of the sea at the SOUND-BOARD, or SOUNDING-BOARD, a board placed over a pulpit or other place occupied by a public speaker, to reflect the sound of his voice, and thereby render it more audible. Sounding-boards are usually flat, and placed horizontally over the head of the speaker; but a different form and position, contrived by the Rev. J. Blackburn, of Attercliffe-cum-Darnell, near Sheffield, has been adopted in some cases with great advantage. In the new church erected at that place in 1826, it was found that the speaker's voice was rendered so indistinct and confused as to be scarcely audible, and the common sounding-board was tried, but with very imperfect success. The body of the church is 95 feet long, and 72 feet wide; but the extreme length is increased to 105 feet by an elliptical recess at the east end, 32 feet wide, and 10 feet deep. The extreme height from the floor to the roof is 56 feet, and the roof is groined and vaulted. In the hope of overcoming the difficulty, the pulpit was tried in several different situations; but that finally chosen was in the centre of the church, 15 feet in advance of the altar rails; the floor of the pulpit was about 9 feet above that of the church. All other means having failed, Mr. Blackburn conceived that the object might be attained by the use of a concave parabolic sounding-board, so placed as to intercept and reflect to a distance the sound that would otherwise escape behind the speaker, and echo in the vaulted roof. The experiment succeeded perfectly, and similar sounding-boards have been erected in other places with great advantage. The Rev. W. Farish, Jacksonian professor in the university of Cam-level of low-water. bridge, had one put up in his church, and states that he could, by its assistance, converse in a low whisper with a person in any part of the building He recommends that In order that the rise and fall of the tide may be ascer tained, the ship should remain in its position during twentyfour hours, and at certain intervals of time the depth of the water should be observed. For this purpose the ship is usually provided with a graduated pole about fifty feet long, and having at its lower extremity a heavy mass of lead; this pole, being let fall into the sea, retains a vertical position in consequence of the ballast attached to it, and the graduation at the surface of the water expresses the depth. When this depth exceeds the length of the pole, the sounding-lead must of course be used. orbits, as in the A. Richardsonii. It resembles the A. Purryi very closely in the colours and markings of its fur, though it has not, when recent, one-third of the weight of that animal, and its feet and claws are much smaller, being less than those even of the A. lateralis. I have been able to collect no particular information respecting its habits. It seems to be confined to the western declivity of the Rocky Mountains. Buffon mentions that the name of Souslik, given to the A. guttatus on the Wolga, is intended to express the great avidity that animal has for salt, which induces it to go on board vessels laden with that commodity, where it is often taken.' The description of the Prairie Marmot, or, as it is often called, the Prairie Dog (Arctomys (Spermophilus P) Ludovicianus) will be found under WISTONWISH. It is sometimes difficult to ascertain the precise moment when the lead strikes the bottom; and to meet this inconvenience an electro-magnetic sounding apparatus has been invented by Mr. Bain, who has contrived also some other recently ingenious machines for rendering available the power of electricity. The line itself is formed of wires, protected from the action of the water; and it is so arranged that the electrical current shall be uninterrupted so long as the ring attached to the weight remains in contact with the ring or hook at the lower end of the line, but shall be broken when, owing to the lead touching the bottom, the contact of the rings is interrupted. The effect thus produced is instantaneously communicated through the wires to an apparatus on deck, where it causes a bell to ring. This invention is exhibited at the Polytechnic Institution, in Regent Street, London. SOUSLIK, the name of certain marmots with cheek-able weather previous to putting out to sea. A passage-boat pouches (Spermophilus, F. Cuv.). The European and Asiatic Souslik, or Zizel (Mus Citellus, Linn.), has the face cinereous and a white line over each eye. The teeth are yellow and the whiskers black and long. It is grey-brown above, undulated or spotted with white below. There appear to be several varieties. One spotted (guttatus); one undulated (the Zizel); and a third of a yellowish uniform brown (Yevrashka or Jevraschka, the Siberian Marmot). Length a foot: that of the tail to the end of the hairs four inches and a half. Geographical Distribution.— Bohemia, Austria, Hungary; from the banks of the Wolga to India and Persia, through Siberia and Great Tartary to Kamtchatka; some of the intervening isles, such as Kadjak; and even the continent of America itself. (Pennant.) Habits, &c.-This marmot or ground-squirrel (as these Spermophili have been termed from their more slender forms) burrows and provides for its winter food by laying up a magazine of corn and nuts. Some inhabit the fields, and their holes have a double entrance: others inhabit granaries, and these are said not to sleep in winter like the field sousliks, but to remain in motion during the cold season. They sit in multitudes near their holes, and only one inhabits each burrow. The females remain separate from the males except during the breeding season, which is in May, and produce from five to eight young ones: these they bring up in their burrows and cover with hay. The sousliks are very quarrelsome among themselves, and bite very hard. They whistle like the common marmot. They are supposed to be very fond of salt, and have been taken in numbers on board the barges laden with that commodity at Solikamsky, which drop down into the Wolga below Casan The sousliks are said to have an appetite for flesh, and to feed on the young of little birds and the lesser mice, as well as on corn, nuts, &c. Utility to Man.-Pennant says that the Bohemian ladies were wont to make cloaks of the skins of these animals; and adds, we see them at this time made use of for linings, and appear very beautiful for that purpose, especially the spotted kind,' Dr. Richardson, in his Fauna Boreali Americana, notices the American Souslik (Arctomys (Spermophilus) guttatus Mus Citillus var. guttata, Pallas?. Spermophilus guttatus, Temm. P') Dr. Richardson says, Mr. Douglas brought a small marmot from the western side of the Rocky Mountains, and several injured specimens of the same species exist in the museum of the Hudson's Bay Company. I can detect no external characters (except that the spots on its fur are more crowded and indistinct) to distinguish it from the Mus Noricus of Agricola, or Hungarian Souslik, which I know only from the descriptions and figures given by authors; but a skull of the latter preserved in the College of Surgeons, although of the same size with the American animal, differs from it in having a more arched facial line, and in possessing an uniform degree of curvature from the occiput to the end of the nose. The American Souslik has a convex nose, with the frontal bone depressed between the SOUTH FERRY, properly and generally called Ferryport-on-Craig, a small seaport village in the county of Fife situated about 12 miles north-east from Cupar, the county town, and 10 north from St. Andrews. It lies on the margin of the left banks of the Tay, sloping towards the river, and near to its mouth. There is a good and convenient stone pier, where vessels of considerable burthen can discharge at high water, and great numbers not unfrequently come to anchor in the roads, to wait for favour crosses at every alternate hour to Broughty Ferry, which SOUTH POLAR COUNTRIES. The southern hemisphere, as is now well known, contains a much less proportion of land to sea than the northern. But it was formerly supposed that the remote and then unknown parts of the southern hemisphere were occupied by an extensive continent, which surrounded the antarctic pole, and extended to a great distance from it. This imaginary continent, called Terra Australis Incognita, makes a conspicuous figure on all maps which are more than a century old. Nothing could be adduced in support of the supposed existence of this continent, except the fact that a coast had been seen in 1599 by Dirk Gerritz, a Dutchman, west of Cape Horn, but in a much higher latitude. His vessel, which belonged to a Dutch fleet commanded by James Mahu, on leaving the straits of Magalhaens for the Pacific, had been separated from the other vessels, and carried by winds and currents as far south as 64°, where he found a lofty coast, which Gerritz compared with that of Norway. He was unable however to determine the position of this newly discovered coast. It is probable that the coast which he saw was that which Biscoe discovered in 1832, and called Graham's Land. In the middle of the last century, when the spirit of maritime enterprise was active in Great Britain, and the Pacific particularly attracted attention, it was determined to solve the problem of the existence of this Terra Australis, and Cook undertook his second voyage (1772-1775) for the purpose. He found large masses of floating ice, and only in three places succeeded in penetrating beyond the antarctic polar circle. In one place he attained 71° 10' S. lat., but he was generally unable to go much farther south than 60° S. lat. This was the case between 90° and 150° E. long., within which limits the most extensive and continuous line of coast was discovered two years ago. This line of coast however lies between 4 and 5 degrees south of Cook's track. As Cook had found no land south of 60°, the Terra Australis disappeared from our maps, though he him. self thought that there must be land in the vicinity of the pole, being convinced that ice can only be formed in the neighbourhood of land. Thus the matter rested up to 1819, when the South Shetland Islands were seen by William Smith, on a voyago from Monte Video to Valparaiso. This discovery rekindled than 1800 miles of the coast of the Antarctic Continent have been discovered south of New Zealand and Australia, between 170° and 97° E. long. the spirit of enterprise in Great Britain and other countries. | In 1821 Powell discovered Trinity Land, south of the South Shetlands and the South Orkneys, between 60° 30' and 61° S. lat., and 44° 30′ and 46° 30' W. long. Palmer, an The discoverers of these new countries have only in a American, discovered a coast-line west of Trinity Land, very few cases been able to effect a landing, the coasts being which is called Palmer's Land; and the Russian navigator skirted with a bank of either solid or broken ice, which Bellingshausen discovered Alexander's Land, south-west of generally extends from five to ten, and, in some places, Palmers Land. All these lands are south and west of the even to twenty miles from the shore. The land is elevated, South Shetland Islands. In 1823, Weddell tried to find and even mountainous, at no great distance from the shores. land east of the meridian of these islands. He did not find Dumont d'Urville estimates the average elevation of the land, but he succeeded in advancing as far as 74° 15' S. lat., mountains in Adélie Land at about 1500 feet. They are where he found a sea clear of ice. In 1831 and 1832 Biscoe covered with snow, even in February, and might easily be sailed round the icy masses which enclose the south pole, mistaken for ice-bergs, if some rocks did not rise from them, and added to former discoveries Enderby's Land and to the perpendicular sides of which the snow cannot adhere. Graham's Land. The first lies at a great distance from the Between the mountain-ridges valleys are observed, but they countries south of the Shetland Islands, between 49° and are filled with snow and ice nearly to the summits of the 51° E. long.; but Graham's Land is between Alexander's mountains, and these icy masses, being converted into Land and Palmer's Land. Thus a nearly continuous coast- glaciers, protrude into the sea. In summer enormous pieces line has been discovered south and west of the South are broken off from them, and to this cause are owing the Shetland Islands, extending from 36° to 70° W. long., and numerous icebergs which render the navigation along these comprehending from east to west Trinity Land, Palmer's coasts more difficult and dangerous than in the most northLand, Graham's Land, and Alexander's Land. In 1833 ern latitudes which have been visited by our whalers. Kemp sailed towards Enderby's Land, and found certain Some portions of the coasts are of volcanic origin, espeindications of land to the east of it, though he was pre- cially those which lie south of the South Shetland Islands. vented by ice from approaching near enough to see it. In Bellingshausen found an active volcano near 69° S. lat., 1837 the French government sent some vessels to these and there is another on Palmer's Land. These volcanoes parts, under the command of Dumont d'Urville, who ex- séem to be connected with those in the South Shetland plored the coast which Powell named Trinity Land, and Islands. [NEW South ShetlanD ISLANDS] A volcano changed its name to that of Louis-Philippe's Land. In occurs also on Balleny's Islands, which continually emits the following year Balleny directed his course to those parts smoke, and Mount Erebus and Mount Terror have been of the ocean which are south of New Zealand and Austra- noticed above. lia, and discovered some islands near 165° E. long., which he called Balleny Islands. He also discovered a projecting coast-line near 116° E. long., which was called Sabrina Land. But the largest tract of sea-coast was discovered in 1840. In 1839 the French government and that of the United States of North America sent out expeditions for the purpose of making discoveries in the antarctic seas. The French expedition "onsisted of two vessels, under the command of Dumont d'Urville, and the American of four vessels commanded by Charles Wilkes. Both directed their course to the seas which the year before had been visited by Balleny. Wilkes found a coast-line in 154° 27′ E. long.; and in continuing his course westward for four weeks, he had either always a coast in sight or unequivocal indications of land being at no great distance. He advanced as far as 97° 30' E. long, so that, including Sabrina Land, he discovered a coast-line extending over near fifty degrees of longitude. Dumont d'Urville reached the same coast in 140° 41′ E. long, and pursued his course westward to 130° E. long. He called it Adélie Land. It is remarkable that the coast of this Antarctic Continent, for this appellation cannot be denied to it, lies near the polar circle, either to the south or to the north of it, and this is also the case with Enderby's Land and Graham's Land, both of which are traversed by that line. Only the tract of coast south of the South Shetland Islands extends farther north, and approaches to 63° S. lat. An expedition was fitted out in England for the purpose of making an attempt to reach the south magnetic pole, and placed under the command of Captain James Clarke Ross. He directed his course several degrees cast of Balleny Island, and on the first day of this year (1841) passed the antarctic polar circle, near 178° E. long. On the 11th of January he discovered land near 70° 41'S. lat. and 172° 36′ E. long., and soon found that it was a continuous coast trending southward, and rising in mountain peaks to the height of 9000 to 12,000 feet, and covered with snow. On the 12th of January he effected a landing, and took possession of it in the name of the queen. He continued his course along the shores to 78° 4' S. lat. In 77° 32' S. lat. and 167° E. long. he saw a mountain about 12,400 feet above the sea-level, which sent forth abundance of fire and smoke, to which he gave the name of Mount Erebus. East of this volcano he observed an extinct crater of somewhat less elevation, which he called Mount Terror. At 78° 4' S. lat. his progress to the south was prevented by a barrier which presented a perpendicular face of at least 150 feet, along which he sailed eastward until he attained 191° 23' in 78° S. lat. The coast-line discovered by Ross is above 600 miles. Adding to these the discoveries of Balleny, Wilkes, and Dumont d'Urville, which comprehend a coast exceed ing 1200 miles, we find that within the last two years more No traces of vegetation have been discovered on any part of this coast, nor any terrestrial quadrupeds. The birds were albatrosses, penguins, eaglets, Cape pigeons, kingbirds, and nellies. Whales have been observed in several places, especially hump-backed and fin-backed whales; as also several kinds of seals. (Weddell's Voyage towards the South Pole; Biscoe's Discoveries in the Atlantic Ocean, in London Geogr. Journal, vol. ii.; Wilkes's Voyage, in the Globe newspaper. 14th Aug., 1840; Dumont d'Urville, Expédition au Pole Ant arctique; and Nautical Magarine for Sept., 1841.) SOUTH, ROBERT, was the son of Mr. South, an emi nent London merchant. He was born at Hackney in Middlesex, in 1633. In 1648 he was a king's scholar in the college of Westminster, at which time Dr. Busby was master of the school. He read the Latin prayers in the school on the day of the execution of Charles I., and prayed for his majesty by name; apparently an indication that even then he had embraced those principles of attachment to the established form of government in church and state, of which he was all through his long life a most strenuous and able champion. In 1651 he was admitted a student of Christ Church, Oxford, having been elected at the same time with John Locke. In 1655, in which year he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts, he wrote a copy of Latin verses for the purpose of congratulating Oliver Cromwell on the peace which he had made with the Dutch Those who have reflected upon South for this compliment to the Protector, need to be informed that the copy of Latin verses was a University exercise of the kind which was then usually imposed on bachelors of arts and undergraduates. He met with some opposition to taking his degree of Master of Arts, in 1657, from Dr. John Owen, who then filled the place of dean of Christ Church, and was, or pretended to be, favourable to the principles of those who were then in power. In 1658 South was ordained by a deprived bishop, and in 1660 he was made University orator, for which he was perhaps partly indebted to his excellent sermon preached before the king's commissioners, entitled the Scribe Instructed' (Matth., xiii. 52). After describing the qualifications of a scribe as the result of habitual preparation, by study and exercise, he takes the opportunity of observing on the qualifications of the sectarists then lately in power, and this passage is a good sample of the kind of warfare which he carried on to the end of his life against those who dissented from the ecclesiastical constitution as established by law, and also of his style. The teachers of those days, he says, 'first of all seize upon some text, from whence they draw something (which they cal doctrine), and well may it be said to be drawn from the words, forasmuch as it seldom naturally flows or results from them. In the next place, being thus provided, they branch it into several heads, perhaps twenty or thirty or upwards. |