The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 414

STATIONERS' HALL, the hall of the old Company of London Stationers, incorporated in 1557, who enjoyed till the Copyright Act of 1842 the sole right of having registered at their offices every pamphlet, book, and ballad published in the kingdom. Although no longer compulsory, the practice of entering books at Stationers' Hall is still found useful for copyright purposes. The register-rolls of books entered at Stationers'

Hall have been carefully preserved, and are of the highest value to the literary historian.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS, steps in the pa.s.sage of Jesus from the judgment-hall to Calvary, or representations of these, before each one of which the faithful are required to kneel and offer up a prayer.

STATIUS, PUBLIUS PAPINIUS, a Latin poet, born in Naples; lived at Rome, flourished at court, particularly that of Domitian, whom he flattered, but retired to his native place after defeat in a compet.i.tion; his chief work is the "Thebas," an epic in 12 books, embodying the legends connected with the war against Thebes; he ranks first among the poets of the silver age; a collection of short pieces of his named "Silvae" have been often reprinted (61-96).

STAUBBACH (dust stream), a famous waterfall in Bern, near Lauterbrunnen, 8 m. S. of Interlaken, with a sheer descent of 980 ft.; in the sunlight it has the appearance of a rainbow-hued transparent veil, and before it reaches the ground it is dissipated in silvery spray.

STAUNTON, HOWARD, a famous chess-player; was an Oxford man, and led a busy life as a journalist and miscellaneous writer in London; won the chess champions.h.i.+p in 1843, and did much to extend the scientific study of the game by various publications, "The Chess-Player's Handbook," &c.; was also held in high repute as a Shakespearian scholar; published well-annotated editions of Shakespeare's works and a facsimile of the first folio (1810-1874).

STAVANGER (24), a flouris.h.i.+ng port of Norway, on a fiord on the SW.

coast, 100 m. S. of Bergen; is of modern aspect, having been largely rebuilt; has two excellent harbours, a fine 11th-century Gothic cathedral, and is the centre of important coast fisheries.

STAVROPOL (657), a Russian government on the Caspian Sea, the inhabitants of which are chiefly nomads and breed horses, with a capital of the same name (36) on a hill, a modern town and a prosperous, both in manufacture and trade.

STEEL, SIR JOHN, sculptor, born at Aberdeen; studied at Edinburgh and Rome; made his mark in 1832 by a model of a statue, "Alexander and Bucephalus," and soon took rank with the foremost and busiest sculptors of his day; his works are mostly to be found in Edinburgh, and include the equestrian statue of Wellington, statues of Sir Walter Scott (in the Scott Monument), Professor Wilson, Dr. Chalmers, Allan Ramsay, etc.; the splendid figure of Queen Victoria over the Royal Inst.i.tution gained him the appointment (1844) of sculptor to Her Majesty in Scotland, and on the unveiling of his fine equestrian statue of Prince Albert in 1876 he was created a knight (1804-1891).

STEELE, SIR RICHARD, a famous English essayist, born, the son of an attorney, in Dublin; educated as a foundationer at the Charterhouse and at Oxford; enamoured of a soldier's life, enlisted (1694) as a cadet in the Life Guards; in the following year received an ensigncy in the Coldstream Guards, and continued in the army till 1706, by which time he had attained the rank of a captain; a good deal of literary work was done during his soldiering, notably "The Christian Hero" and several comedies; appointed Gazetteer (1707), and for some two years was in the private service of the Prince Consort, George of Denmark; began in 1709 to issue the famous tri-weekly paper the _Tatler_, in which, with little a.s.sistance, he played the part of social and literary censor about town, couching his remarks in light and graceful essays, which const.i.tuted a fresh departure in literature; largely aided by Addison, his old school companion, he developed this new form of essay in the _Spectator_ and _Guardian_; sat in Parliament as a zealous Whig, and in George I.'s reign was knighted and received various minor court appointments; continued a busy writer of pamphlets, &c., but withal mismanaged his affairs, and died in Wales, secured from actual penury by the property of his second wife; as a writer shares with Addison the glory of the Queen Anne Essay, which in their hands did much to purify, elevate, and refine the mind and manners of the time (1671-1729).

STEEN, JAN, Dutch painter, born in Leyden; was a _genre_ painter of the style of Rembrandt, and his paintings display severity with sympathy and a playful humour; he is said to have led a dissipated life, and to have left his wife and a large family in extreme dest.i.tution (1626-1679).

STEEVENS, GEORGE, commentator on Shakespeare, born at Stepney; in 1736 edited 20 of Shakespeare's plays carefully reprinted from the original quartos, and in 1731 his notes with those of Johnson in another edition; a further edition, with a number of gratuitous alterations of the text, was issued by him in 1793, and that was the accepted one till the publication of Knight's in 1838 (1736-1800).

STEIN, BARON VON, Prussian statesman, born at Na.s.sau; rose rapidly in the service of the State, and became Prussian Prime Minister under William III. in 1807, in which capacity he effected important changes in the const.i.tution of the country to its lasting benefit, till Napoleon procured his dismissal, and he withdrew to Austria, and at length to St.

Petersburg, where he was instrumental in turning the general tide against Napoleon (1757-1831).

STEIN, CHARLOTTE VON, a lady friend of Goethe's, born at Weimar; Goethe's affection for her cooled on his return from Italy to see her so changed; she never forgave him for marrying a woman beneath him; letters by Goethe to her were published in successive editions, but hers to him were destroyed by her (1742-1827).

STEINMETZ, CARL FRIEDRICH VON, Prussian general, born at Eisenach; distinguished himself in the war of 1813-1814, and inflicted crus.h.i.+ng defeats on the Austrians in 1866; fell below his reputation in the Franco-German War, and was deprived of his command after the battle of Gravelotte, but was elected Governor-General of Posen and Silesia (1796-1877).

STEINTHAL, HEYMANN, German philologist, born at Grobzig, in Anhalt; studied at Berlin, where in 1863 he became professor of Comparative Philology, and in 1872 lecturer at the Jewish High School on Old Testament Criticism and Theology; author of various learned and acute works on the science of language; _b_. 1823.

STELLA, the name under which Swift has immortalised Hester Johnson, the story of whose life is inseparably entwined with that of the great Dean; was the daughter of a lady-companion of Lady Gifford, the sister of Sir William Temple, who, it is conjectured, was her father. Swift first met her, a child of seven, when he a.s.sumed the duties of amanuensis to Sir William Temple in 1688, and during his subsequent residence with Sir William (1696-1699) stood to her in the progressive relations.h.i.+p of tutor, friend, and lover; but for some unaccountable reason it would seem they never married, although their mutual affection and intimacy endured till her death; to her was addressed, without thought of publication, the immortal "Journal to Stella," "the most faithful and fascinating diary the world has ever seen," which throws an invaluable flood of light on the character of Swift, revealing unsuspected tendernesses and affections in the great satirist (1681-1728).

STENCILLING, a cheap and simple process of printing on various surfaces letters or designs; the characters are cut out in thin plates of metal or card-board, which are then laid on the surface to be imprinted, and the colour, by means of a brush, rubbed through the cut s.p.a.ces.

STENO, NICHOLAS, a noted anatomist, born at Copenhagen, where he studied medicine and kindred sciences with great enthusiasm; became widely known in European medical circles by his important investigations into the natural functions of glands (salivary and parotid), the heart, brain, &c.; in 1667 became physician to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, residing at Florence, where he renounced Lutheranism for Catholicism; made valuable geological investigations, but finally gave himself up to a religious life; was created a bishop, and in 1677 Vicar-Apostolic of North Germany; chiefly remembered for his contributions to anatomical science (1638-1687).

STENTOR, a Grecian herald who accompanied the Greeks in the Trojan War, and whom Homer describes as "the great-hearted, brazen-voiced Stentor, whose shout was as loud as that of fifty other men," hence the epithet stentorian.

STEPHEN, king of England from 1135 to 1154, nephew of Henry I., his mother being Adela, daughter of William I.; acquired French possessions through the favour of his uncle and by his marriage; in 1127 swore fealty to his cousin Matilda, daughter of Henry I., as his future sovereign, but on the death of his uncle usurped the throne, an action leading to a violent civil war, which brought the country into a state of anarchy; the Scots invaded on behalf of Matilda, but were beaten back at Northallerton (the Battle of the Standard, 1138); foreign mercenaries introduced by the king only served to embitter the struggle; the clergy, despoiled by the king, turned against him, and in the absence of a strong central authority the barons oppressed the people and fought with one another; "Adulterine Castles" sprang up over the country, and "men said openly that Christ and His saints were asleep"; in 1141 Matilda won the battle of Lincoln and for a few months ruled the country, but "as much too harsh as Stephen was too lenient," she rapidly became unpopular, and Stephen was soon again in the ascendant; the successes of Henry, son of Matilda, led in 1153 to the treaty of Wallingford, by which it was arranged that Stephen should retain the crown for life, while Henry should be his heir; both joined in suppressing the turbulent barons and the "Adulterine Castles"; more fortunately circ.u.mstanced, Stephen had many qualities which might have made him a popular and successful king (1105-1154).

STEPHEN, the name of nine popes; S. I., Pope from 253 to 257, signalised by his zeal against the heresies of his time; S. II., Pope from 752 to 757, in whose reign, under favour of Pepin le Bref, began the temporal power of the Popes; S. III., Pope from 768 to 772, sanctioned the wors.h.i.+p of saints and images; S. IV., Pope from 816 to 817; S. V., Pope from 885 to 891, distinguished for his charity; S. VI., Pope from 896 to 897, strangled after a reign of 18 months; S. VII., Pope from 829 to 831, entirely under the control of his mistresses; S. VIII., pope from 939 to 942; S. IX., Pope from 1057 to 1058, vigorously opposed the sale of benefices and the immorality of the clergy.

STEPHEN, GEORGE, archaeologist, born in Liverpool; settled in Sweden, and became professor of English in Copenhagen; his great work ent.i.tled "Old Northern Runic Monuments of Scandinavia and England"; _b_. 1813.

STEPHEN, JAMES, slavery abolitionist, born in Dorsets.h.i.+re; held a post in the West Indies; wrote "Slavery in the British West Indies," an able book; had sons more or less distinguished in law and law practice (1759-1832).

STEPHEN, LESLIE, man of letters, born at Kensington, educated at Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow; became editor of the _Cornhill_ and of the first 26 volumes of the "Dictionary of National Biography"; is the author of "Hours in a Library" and "History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century," books that have produced a deep impression; has also produced several biographies, distinguished at once by accuracy, elegance, and critical ac.u.men; _b_.

1832.

STEPHEN, ST., protomartyr of the Christian Church, who was (Acts vii.) stoned to death in A.D. 33; his death is a frequent subject of the old painters, the saint himself being less frequently depicted, but when so he is represented usually in a deacon's dress, bearing a stone in one hand and a palm-branch in the other, or both hands full of stones.

STEPHENS, JAMES, Fenian conspirator, born in Kilkenny; became "Head Centre," and zealous in the Fenian cause both in Ireland and America; was arrested in Dublin, but escaped; found his way to New York, but was deposed, and has sunk out of sight; _b_. 1824.

STEPHEN'S, ST., the Parliament House of Westminister, distinguished from St. James's, which denotes the Court, as Downing Street does the Government.

STEPHENSON, GEORGE, inventor of the locomotive, born, the son of a poor colliery engineman, at Wylam, near Newcastle; was early set to work, first as a cowherd and then as a turnip-h.o.e.r, and by 15 was earning 12s.

a week as fireman at Throckley Bridge Colliery, diligently the while acquiring the elements of education; married at 21, and supplemented his wage as brakesman at Killingworth Colliery by mending watches and shoes; in 1815 invented a safety-lamp for miners, which brought him a public testimonial of 1000; while at Killingworth turned his attention to the application of steam to machinery, and thus constructed his first locomotive in 1814 for the colliery tram-road; railway and locomotive construction now became the business of his life; superintended the construction of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (1821-25), the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1826-29), over which he ran his locomotive the "Rocket" at a maximum rate of 35 m. an hour; in the outburst of railway enterprise which now ensued Stephenson's services were in requisition all over the country; became princ.i.p.al engineer on many of the new railways; bought the country-seat of Tapton, near Chesterfield, to which he retired for much-needed rest; a man of character, gentle and simple in his affections, strong and purposeful in his labours, who, as he himself says, "fought for the locomotive single-handed for nearly 20 years," and "put up with every rebuff, determined not to be put down" (1781-1848).

STEPHENSON, ROBERT, son of preceding, born at Willington Quay, was well educated at Newcastle, and for a session at Edinburgh University; began in 1823 to a.s.sist his father, and from 1824 to 1827 fulfilled an engineering engagement in Colombia, South America; rendered valuable service in the construction of the "Rocket," and as joint-engineer with his father of the London and Birmingham line, was mainly responsible for its construction; turning his attention specially to bridge-building he constructed the Britannia and Conway Tubular bridges, besides many others, including those over the Nile, St. Lawrence, &c.; was returned to the House of Commons in 1847; received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour from the French emperor, and many other distinctions at home and abroad; was buried in Westminster Abbey (1803-1859).

STEPNIAK, Russian Nihilist and apostle of freedom; exiled himself to England; author of "Underground Russia" (1852-1895).

STEPPES, the name given to wide, treeless plains, barren except in spring, of the SE. of Russia and SW. of Siberia.

STEREOSCOPE, a simple optical apparatus which, when two photographs of an object taken from slightly different standpoints (so as to secure the appearance it presents to either eye singly) are placed under its twin magnifying lenses, presents to the eyes of the looker a single picture of the object standing out in natural relief.