Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/178

Rh 160 S A I S A I and the public debt was 2500. The tonnage entering and clearing was 307,000, and the imports and exports were valued at 190,000 and 240,000 respectively per annum. The sugar exports amounted to 10,000 tons. The population of the island was about 30,000. ST CLAIR, a borough of the United States, in Schuyl- kill county, Pennsylvania, 3 miles east of Pottsville on the Reading and Philadelphia Railroad. It mainly depends on its coal-mines. The population was 5726 in 1870 and 4149 in 1880. ST CLOUD, a village of France, on the left bank of the Seine, 7 miles west from the centre of Paris and 9J by the railroad from Paris to Versailles, forming part of the canton of Sevres and of the arrondissement of Ver- sailles (Seine-et-Oise). . Picturesquely built on a hill-slope, it overlooks the river, the Bois de Boulogne, and Paris; and, lying amid the foliage of its magnificent park and numerous villa gardens, it is one of the favourite resorts of the Parisians. The palace of St Cloud, which had been a summer residence for Napoleon I., Louis XVIII., Charles X., Louis Philippe, and Napoleon III., was burned by the Prussians in 1870 along with part of the village. In spite of the damage inflicted on the park at the same period, magnificent avenues still make it one of the finest rural haunts in the neighbourhood of Paris. It occupies a varied tract of 960 acres, and abounds in picturesque views. Every year in September a great fair, lasting three weeks, is held in the park ; and within its precincts are situated the new national Sevres porcelain manufac- ture and the Breteuil pavilion, the seat of the interna- tional metre commission. St Cloud possesses a church, erected about 1865, in the style of the 12th century, with an elegant stone spire ; and here too has been established the upper normal school (science and letters) for the training of teachers (male) for the provincial normal schools of primary instruction. The population in 1881 was 4081, and 4126 in the commune. Clodoald or Cloud, grandson of Clovis, adopted the monastic life and left his name to the spot where his tomb was discovered after the lapse of 1200 years, in a crypt near the present church. He had granted the domain to the church of Paris, which possessed it as a fief till the 18th century. At St Cloud Henry III. and the king of Navarre (Henry IV.) established their camp during the League for the siege of Paris ; and there the former was assassinated by Jacques Clement. The castle was at that time only a plain country house belonging to Pierre de Gondi, archbishop of Paris. Louis XIV. bought it for his brother, the duke of Orleans, who was the originator of the palace which perished in 1870. Peter the Great of Russia was received there in 1717 by the regent, whose grandson sold the palace to Marie Antoinette. It was in the orangery at St Cloud that Bonaparte executed the coup d'ttalt of 18th Brnmaire ; and after he became emperor the palace was his favourite residence, and there he celebrated his marriage with Marie Louise. In 1815 it was the scene of the signing of the capitulation of Paris ; and in 1830 from St Cloud Charles X. issued the orders which brought about his fall. Napoleon III. was there when he received the senatusconsult which restored the empire in his favour (1st December 1852). Seized by the Prussians at the commence- ment of the investment of Paris in 1870, St Cloud was sacked during the siege. ST CROIX, or SAINTE CROIX, one of the Danish West India Islands, is situated between 17 and 18 N. lat., about 40 miles south-south-east of St Thomas. Twenty- three miles long, and with a maximum width of 6 miles, it has an area estimated at 51,168 acres. Blue Mountain, the highest peak (1100 feet), lies in the range of hills running parallel with the coast in the western half of the island. The narrower eastern end is also hilly. In the centre and towards the west the surface is undulating, and towards the south flat with brackish lagoons. With the exception of about 4000 acres, the soil is everywhere productive ; but only about one-third of the area is de- voted to sugar-growing and one-sixth to pasture-land, the greater part of the remainder being either worthless brush- wood (the haunt of small deer) or scanty timber. Besides little Negro hamlets there are two garrison towns Chris- tiansted (or popularly Bassin) on the north coast, with a small harbour 15 to 16 feet deep at the entrance, and Frederiksted (popularly West End) on the west coast, with an open roadstead. The population of the island was 23,194 in 1860, 22,760 in 1870, and 18,430 in 1880. This decrease is due to the comparative failure of the sugar-crops. Destruction of the forests (or some unsus- pected cause) has brought diminished rainfall (from 20 to 34 inches per annum) ; and the belt of abandoned cane- ground has been steadily increasing. To help in checking this decay the Government constructed (1876) a great central factory, to which the juice is conveyed from the plantations by a syslem of pipes. Apart from the official element (mostly Danish), the white inhabitants of St Croix are almost wholly British either by birth or descent. St Croix was discovered by Columbus on his second voyage. In 1651 France entrusted' it to the Knights of Malta, and in 1733 it was purchased by Denmark for 750,000 livres (167,000 rixdollars). Slavery was abolished in 1848, and coolies began to be employed in 1863. ST CYR, MARSHAL (1764-1830). See GOUVION ST CYR. ST CYR-L'ECOLE, a village of France (Seine-et-Oise), 2J miles west of Versailles at the end of the old park of Louis XIV. It had only 2712 inhabitants in 1881, and its importance is solely due to the famous military school now established in the convent which Madame de Maintenon founded for the education of noble young ladies in indigent circumstances. It was here that Racine's Esther and Athalie were first acted, having been written expressly for the pupils. Madame de Maintenon's tomb is still preserved in the chapel. The convent was suppressed at the Revolution, and the gardens are now partly trans- formed into parade-grounds. Two advanced forts of the new enceinte round Paris are situated at St Cyr. ST DAVID'S, a village of Pembrokeshire, South Wales, and the seat of a bishopric, is situated in the valley of the Alan, 16 miles north-west of Haverfordwest, the nearest railway station, and 1 miles east from the most westerly point of Wales. By some it is supposed to be the Roman Menapia. It consists of straggling and somewhat mean houses, occupying the crest of the hill above the cathedral. It was the birthplace of St David, the patron saint of Wales. The see, which includes nearly the whole of South Wales, was founded at least not later than the 7th century. Till the middle of the 12th century the bishops had archiepiscopal powers. The existing cathedral was begun in 1180. Its tower fell in 1220, crashing through the choir and transepts ; when it was rebuilt the old western arch was retained. About the time the choir and tran- septs were repaired St Thomas's chapel was added. In 1248 an earthquake caused the walls of the nave to bulge. The chapels east of the presbytery were begun about this period, and the lady chapel between 1296 and 1328. The aisles of the nave and of the presbytery were raised by Bishop Gower (1328-1347), who set up the beautiful stone rood screen. The great window in the south tran- sept in the Perpendicular style was erected in 1384, and the roofs renewed in the Late Perpendicular between 1461 and 1522. The west front was rebuilt by Nash about the end of the 18th century, and in 1862 extensive restorations, including the rebuilding of the two western piers of the tower and of the west front, were begun under the direction of Sir G. G. Scott. The cathedral contains the tomb of Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII., and the shrine of St David. The total internal length of the building is 298 feet, the breadth of the nave (with aisles) 70 feet, and the breadth of the transepts 27 feet 3 inches. Parts of the rich interior decoration of the