SOUTHCOTT, JOANNA, an English religious enthusiast, born at Gittisham, Devonshire, about 1750, died in London, Dec. 27, 1814. Until nearly 40 years of age she was a domestic servant, and was for some years a member of the established church, but shortly before promulgating her peculiar notions united with the Wesleyans. In 1792 she began to attract attention by claiming supernatural powers, narrating remarkable revelations made to her in dreams, and making prophecies. She found many followers, over whom her influence appears to have been almost supreme. In the ordinary course of events it was natural that a portion of the many predictions she made should be verified, and these instances were speedily noised abroad and magnified by herself and followers, and contributed to her notoriety and power over those who adhered to her ideas. She published a number of prophecies and warnings in extravagant prose and rude doggerel, challenged the clergy to investigation and discussion, and labored with so much energy and zeal that her sect at the time of her death was estimated at 100,000 persons; and in 1857 there were still a number of persons in England who professed to believe her. When upward of 60 years old she announced that she was pregnant and would give birth to a second Shiloh. Shortly before her death she expressed the conviction that "if she was deceived, she had at all events been misled by some spirit, good or evil." A post mortem examination disclosed the fact that dropsy was mistaken by her for pregnancy; and so singular was her condition that even her physician had been led to believe her pregnant, and afterward made the case the subject of a medical treatise.

SOUTHERN, THOMAS, a British dramatist, born in Oxmantown, Ireland, in 1660, died May 26, 1746. After spending two years at Trinity college, Dublin, he entered in 1678 the Middle Temple, London, but soon gave up the law for literature, and became a popular writer of dramas. During the rising under the duke of Monmouth he entered the royal army, in which he attained the rank of captain. After quitting the service he continued to devote himself to dramatic composition, and died the richest, with a few exceptions, of the literary men of the time. Of the 10 plays which he wrote, two, "Isabella, or the Fatal Marriage," in which Mrs. Siddons won her first laurels, and "Oronooko," long held possession of the stage, and are creditable specimens of English dramatic literature during the last century. "Oronooko" was the vehicle through which the author uttered his denunciations of slavery and the slave trade; and Hallam ascribes to Southern the credit of being the first Englishman who agitated that subject. A complete edition of his works appeared in 1774.

SOUTHEY, ROBERT, an English author, born in Bristol, Aug. 12, 1774, died at Greta hall, near Keswick, March 21, 1843. From his 2d

year he lived successively at Bath and Bristol with his aunt, Miss Tyler, an eccentric lady, with a passion for the theatre, to which he was constantly taken. He was conversant with Shakespeare as soon as he could read, and at an early age was familiar with Beaumont and Fletcher, Tasso, Spenser, and other poets. He had passed under the hands of 6 school teachers, all of whom he condemns in his autobiography, and had composed a quantity of verse, when in his 14th year he was placed at Westminster school, the expenses of his education being borne by a maternal uncle. He was expelled from the school in 1792, having started with some of his associates a periodical entitled "The Flagellant," in which he inserted a satirical article on corporal punishment. In the same year he was entered at Baliol college, Oxford; accepted with enthusiasm the liberal ideas in politics and religion to which the French revolution had given currency; formed projects enough "for many years or many lives;" and began his career of unparalleled industry as a man of letters. Before his 30th year he is said to have burned more verses than he published during his whole life. "Impatient of all the oppressions that are done under the sun," he wrote in 1793 the dramatic poem of "Wat Tyler," first published surreptitiously in 1817, with which his name was often reproachfully coupled, and which was assailed in the house of commons as seditious. A Unitarian and a democrat, he had no prospects either in church or state, but associated himself with Coleridge and Lovell in planning a pantisocracy, or perfect society, on the banks of the Susquehanna. Lack of money necessitated the abandonment of the scheme. He left the university in 1794, concluded that he would be compelled "perforce to enter the muster roll of authors," published in connection with Lovell a volume of "Poems" (1794), and received from Cottle 50 guineas for his "Joan of Arc" (1795), an epic poem, as he himself afterward described it, "crudely conceived, rapidly executed, rashly prefaced, and prematurely hurried to publication," but which was nevertheless favorably received. Invited by his uncle to accompany him to Lisbon, he set out in Nov. 1795, immediately after his marriage with Miss Edith Fricker, was absent 6 months, and collected the materials for his "Letters written during a short Residence in Spain and Portugal" (1797). He was busy upon epics, tragedies, and romances, when, a college friend having granted him an annuity of £160, he went to London to study law. Both the city and the profession were hateful to him, and he soon took lodgings for most of the time in the country, and continued his literary pursuits. He was the editor and principal writer of the "Annual Anthology" for 1799 and 1800. His health failing, he again visited Portugal in 1800, extended his knowledge of the Spanish and Portuguese literature, collected materials for a history of Portugal, and on his return visited Coleridge at Greta hall, Keswick, the house

which soon became his own residence, and in which he spent the greater portion of his life. For his second epic poem, "Thalaba, the Destroyer," he received 100 guineas. The position of secretary to the chancellor of the exchequer for Ireland was offered to him, with a salary of £350, but he soon resigned what he termed "a foolish office and a good salary." Entering upon that course of professional authorship which was at once his business and his delight, he established himself in 1804 at Greta, about 14 miles from Wordsworth. From this time he appears in his writings as an uncompromising monarchist and churchman, and his life was marked by untiring, conscientious, and cheerful labor, by repeated acts of generosity, and by the tenderest domestic affection. "I have more in hand," he wrote, "than Bonaparte or Marquis Wellesley-digesting Gothic law, gleaning moral history from monkish legends, and conquering India, or rather Asia, with Albuquerque, filling up the chinks of the day by hunting in Jesuit chronicles, and compiling Collectanea Hispanica et Gothica." Thus severely occupied, he received under his roof his sisters-in-law, the wives of Lovell and Coleridge, assisted in editing the works of Chatterton for the benefit of the sister of that poet, and extended his kindness to several unfortunate poets, among whom was Henry Kirke White, whose "Remains" he edited with a biography. "My actions," he wrote, "are as regular as those of St. Dunstan's quarter boys. Three pages of history after breakfast (equivalent to 5 in small quarto printing); then to transcribe and copy for the press, or to make my selections and biographies, or what else suits my humor until after dinner time; from dinner till tea I read, write letters, see the newspaper, and very often indulge in a siesta; .... after tea, I go to poetry, and correct, and rewrite, and copy till I am tired, and then turn to any thing else till supper; and this is my life, which, if it be not a very merry one, is yet as happy as heart could wish." Coleridge said: "I can't think of Southey without seeing him mending or using a pen." He visited and formed a lifelong intimacy with Sir Walter Scott in 1805; became an occasional contributor to the "Quarterly Review;" received from the Grenville ministry in 1807 a pension of £200; undertook in 1809 the historical department of the "Annual Register," for £400 a year; was appointed poet laureate on the death of Mr. Pye in 1813; was honored with the degree of LL.D. from the university of Oxford in 1821; visited Holland in 1825, and remained 3 weeks at Leyden in the house of Bilderdijk; declined the offer of a baronetcy by the government of Sir Robert Peel in 1835, but accepted the addition of £300 to his pension; made a tour in Normandy and Brittany after the death of his wife in 1837; and married the poetess Miss Caroline Bowles in 1839. His intense and protracted mental activity had now resulted in mental prostration; his memory failed, and his recognition

of time and place gave way; he wandered among his books as a stranger, taking them from the shelves, patting them, and replacing them with a faint consciousness of the change which time had wrought; and during the last year there was an utter extinction of his faculties. He left at his death a sum of about £12,000 to be divided among his 4 children, and one of the most remarkable private libraries in England, which was sold by auction in London.There is scarcely a department of literature in which Southey did not engage. The most indefatigable of writers, never, whether at home or abroad, allowing a possibly suggestive thought or incident to escape him without being noted down, he often produced several elaborate works within a year. He published nothing that does not display his literary skill, generally pure taste, extensive knowledge of books, and conscientious devotion to letters as an art. Every volume, it has been said, reveals the man that feared God, honored the king, loved his country, and despised all political tinkers, whether in matters ecclesiastical or civil. His three best poems are "Thalaba, the Destroyer" (1801), an Arabian tale, arrayed in Mohammedan superstitions; "The Curse of Kehama" (1810), founded upon fables of the Hindoo mythology; and "Roderick, the Last of the Goths" (1814), the subject of which is the fall of the Gothic dominion in Spain. They are marked by rhetorical splendor, a wonderful power of invention and description, and a peculiar rhythmical harmony, and can scarcely fail to command the reader's admiration; but there is something artificial and mechanical in their tone which prevents them from being as interesting as they are beautiful. They are less read now than formerly, and even in 1813 Byron said that Southey had a party but no public. 'Madoc," one of his longer poems, is founded on traditions of Welsh voyages to America; and his finest ballads and minor pieces are Lord William," " Mary the Maid of the Inn," "Queen Orica," "The Victory," "Youth and Age," Elegy on a Favorite Dog," and "The Holly Tree." The most striking merit of his prose writings is their flowing, sprightly, and perspicuous style. His taste for quaint expressions, curious learning, natural history, church lore, and historic incidents, appears in the best of them. Macaulay esteems his "Life of Nelson" (1813) the most perfect and delightful of all his works. Beside his translations of "Amadis de Gaul" and the "Chronicle of the Cid" from the Spanish, and of "Palmerin of England" from the Portuguese, there may be mentioned his "History of Brazil " (1810-19), "Life of John Wesley" (1820), "History of the Peninsular War" (1822-'32), "Book of the Church" (1824), "Sir Thomas More, or Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society" (1829), "Life of John Bunyan" (1830), "Essays, Moral and Political" (1832), and "The Doctor" (1834-7; best edition, London, 1856). His curious erudition is happily shown in the

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last, and also in his "Commonplace Book," made up from his annotations and selections, of which 4 volumes were edited after his death by his son-in-law, the Rev. J. W. Warter. He edited his poetical works (10 vols., 1837), and Mr. Warter has published 4 volumes of his "Letters." His life was written by his son, the Rev. C. C. Southey, in which is interwoven his correspondence with many distinguished men of his time (6 vols., 1849-'50).

SOUTHWORTH, EMMA D. E. (NEVITT), an American authoress, born in Washington, D. C., Dec. 26, 1818. She was married in 1841, and 2 years later, being thrown upon her own resources, she resorted to her pen for a support, and made her first appearance as an authoress in the columns of the "National Era," a newspaper published in Washington by Dr. Bailey, and to which she became a regular contributor of tales and sketches. In 1849 appeared her first novel, "Retribution," previously published by instalments in the "National Era," and which had been written while she was engaged in teaching a public school in Washington. Her novels have since been produced with great rapidity, and include "The Deserted • Wife," "Shannondale,"."The Curse of Clifton," "The Lost Heiress," "The Discarded Daughter," and many others, which have enjoyed considerable popularity.

SOUVESTRE, EMILE, a French novelist, born at Morlaix, Finistère, in 1806, died in Paris in 1854. He commenced his literary career as editor of an opposition newspaper at Brest. Among his novels, which are distinguished by pure morality and genial sentiment, are La confession d'un ouvrier (1852), Un philosophe sous les toits (to which a prize was awarded by the French academy), Le mémorial de famille, and La dernière étape, ou souvenirs d'un vieillard, his last production. His Scènes de la Chouannerie, Le foyer Breton, and above all Les derniers Bretons, are graphic pictures of the manners of modern and old Brittany. He also wrote four 5-act dramas, and a number of lighter comedies. In 1853 he delivered in the chief cities of Switzerland a series of lectures which he afterward published under the title of Causeries historiques et littéraires. His complete works embrace about 20 vols. 12mo.

SOVEREIGN, a gold coin of Great Britain, the standard of value, equal to about $4.86, first coined in 1817, from which time it began to supersede the guinea. The weight of the sovereign is determined by the law requiring that 20 lb. troy weight of standard gold shall be coined into 934 sovereigns. The weight of each one should then be 123.2744783306518059 grains.

SOWERBY. I. JAMES, the first of a family of English naturalists and natural history artists, born in Lambeth, March 21, 1757, died Oct. 25, 1822. In early life he was a painter of portraits and miniatures; and having commenced the study of botany for the purpose of acquiring greater accuracy in executing foliage

and plants in his pictures, he was led to cultivate natural history and to practise his art principally in connection therewith. He published "English Botany," containing colored illustrations of every species of British plant, and of which the descriptive portions were written by Sir James Edward Smith; a folio volume "On the English Fungi or Mushrooms," containing colored illustrations; "British Mineralogy;" ;""British Miscellany," devoted to animal subjects; "Exotic Mineralogy," and the "Mineral Conchology of Great Britain," all splendidly illustrated with colored prints, and ranking among the most important works of their class produced during the period in which they appeared. He also published works on drawing and the science of color. His contributions to the "Transactions" of the Linnæan and geological societies, of both of which he was a fellow, were numerous. II. JAMES DE CARLE, son of the preceding, born in StokeNewington, June 5, 1787. He assisted his father in the preparation of the chief works published by the latter, and is the author of a number of papers, chiefly descriptive of fossil specimens, in the "Transactions" of the geological society. He aided in the establishment of the royal botanic society, of which he is the secretary. II GEORGE BRETTINGHAM, brother of the preceding, born in Lambeth, Aug. 12, 1788, died July 26, 1854. He early devoted much attention to entomology, and assisted his father in the entomological department of his works. Subsequently he became a dealer in natural curiosities and an authority in conchology, on which subject he published an elaborate work, "The Genera of Recent and Fossil Shells" (1820-24), the drawings and engravings for which were executed by his father and brother. He was the author of a number of contributions to the scientific periodicals; of a description of the Tankerville collection of shells, of which he became the purchaser; and of several independent treatises on conchology. IV. CHARLES EDWARD, brother of the preceding, born Feb. 1, 1795, died in June, 1842. He devoted himself to the study of natural history, and published an edition of his father's "English Botany" with numerous additions. V. GEORGE BRETTINGHAM, son of the above mentioned George Brettingham, born March 25, 1812. He is a well known writer on natural history and engraver, and has published a "Conchological Manual" (1839; 4th edition, 1852); "Conchological Illustrations" (1830-'42), in continuation of a work by his father; "Popular British Conchology" (1854); and a "Popular Guide to the Aquarium" (1857).

SOWING MACHINE, or SEED SOWER, a machine for uniformly distributing seeds over the surface of fields and immediately covering them with soil. The invention has been attributed to Joseph Locatelli, a nobleman of Carinthia, and was probably made about the year 1663; but it is claimed by the Italians for one of their countrymen as having been made

150 years before. The earlier machines consisted of a box placed across a plough and furnished with an inner cylinder armed with cogs. The ends of the cylinder projecting through the ends of the box were attached to wheels running or the ground; and as these turned they carried round the cylinder, and caused the seed in the box to drop through the holes in the bottom. The Italian machine, as appears from the description published in 1764, had below each hole a sort of ron funnel, the front part of which, shaped like a ploughshare, made, as the machine was carried forward, a furrow into which the seed dropped through the funnel, and was immediately covered over. This is the principle of the machines now in use, sometimes called drilling machines. They are constructed of various forms and sizes, some like a wheelbarrow with a single funnel or drill so light as to be easily pushed forward by hand; others require the labor of a horse, and others still are drawn by two horses. Both in England and the United States they have for some time past been made with circular brushes arranged at intervals upon a horizontal spindle that passed through the box or trough; and opposite each brush is a brass plate perforated with holes of different sizes, any of which may be closed or opened at pleasure, according to the size of the seed. In others the hopper and dropping fixtures are changed for peas, beans, corn, &c. These by the hand sower and single drill may be planted in drills or in hills, and if in rows 2 feet apart, an acre may be completed with one in 3 hours, the machine covering the seed as well and immediately compressing the surface over it. Batchelder's corn planter is drawn and guided like a plough. The planter itself is in the hollow share under the beam, upon which is the hopper. Under the tail is the roller for compressing the soil, and the revolution of this may be made to regulate the dropping of the seed at any desired spaces. Eight to ten acres may be planted in a day with one of these machines. The large machine called the grain drill and broadcast sower is the most efficient of these contrivances, and adapted for the greatest variety of seeds, to be sown either broadcast or in drills, and alone or mixed with dry pulverized fertilizers, as bone dust, guano, or plaster. It is furnished with a considerable number of hollow drills arranged on the line of the axle of the carriage. The trough forms the seat for the driver, and the machine is drawn by one or two horses. A man with two horses can put in from 10 to 12 acres of wheat, or with one horse from 15 to 20 acres of Indian corn per day. It is necessary in using machines of this character that the surface should be smoothly harrowed; and even then there is sometimes an uncertainty of depositing the seed at a uniform depth. A "broadcast sower" is also in use, which a man carries before him, and by turning a winch in the lower part causes the seed to be dispersed from the vessel above, and thrown out in every

direction through holes in a hollow cylinder with considerable regularity, far better than by hand scattering, and with great economy of seed.

SOY (Japanese, sooja), a sauce prepared in Japan and China from the small beans of the plant called by McCulloch dolichos soja, and by others soja hispida or soja Japonica. The beans are boiled nearly to dryness, then put in wide-mouthed jars with water and molasses or brown sugar, and exposed to the sun and air. Every day they are well stirred; and when the fermentation is completed the mixture is strained, salted, and boiled, and skimmed until clarified. Japanese soy is considered the best; but there are many deceptions in the article. It is recognized by a peculiar flavor, neither too salt nor sweet; a thick consistence and clear brown color; and particularly by its leaving, when shaken in a glass, a coat of bright yellowish brown upon the sides. It is imported into Europe and the United States to be used with fish.

SOYER, ALEXIS, a French cook, born about 1800, died in England, Aug. 5, 1858. For several years anterior to 1850 he presided with great success over the cuisine of the Reform club, London; and during the great exhibition of 1851 he established a restaurant in Gore house, Kensington, formerly the residence of Lady Blessington. During the war with Russia he repaired to Constantinople, and by introducing among the troops an intelligent and economical system of cooking, added greatly to the comfort and health of those in the hospitals and in actual service. He published “Cookery for the People," Délassements culinaires, "Gastronomic Regenerator," ""Modern Domes tic Cookery," "The Modern Housewife," &c.

SPA, a town and watering place of Belgium, in the province and 17 m. S. E. from the city of Liége; pop. 3,817. It is situated in a delightful valley in the Ardennes mountains, is handsomely built, and has several public squares, a large church, two chapels, a theatre, hippodrome, &c. There are several manufactories of fancy wooden articles, snuff boxes, linen and cotton, soap, and leather. The Pou hon or principal spring is in the town, and a number of others are in the vicinity. These springs are annually resorted to by many persons in pursuit of health or pleasure, but the visitors are less numerous than formerly. The waters are chalybeate, and believed to possess great curative properties. It is estimated that 150,000 bottles are exported annually.

SPADA, LIONELLO, an Italian painter, born in Bologna in 1576, died in Parma in 1622. He received his earliest education in the school of the Carracci, where he was employed while a boy as a color grinder; but subsequently he became a pupil of Caravaggio. He rose to the foremost rank in his profession, and after executing important works in Reggio, Modena, and Parma, entered the service of Ranuccio, duke of Parma, whose death he did not long survive. His "San Domenico burning the pro