Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/94

 78 S I M S I main chain to the general level of the Punjab plain, form- ing a transverse south-westerly spur between the great basins of the Ganges and the Indus. A few miles north- east of Simla the spur divides into two main ridges, one following the line of the Sutlej in a north-westerly direc- tion, and the other, crowned by the sanatorium of Simla, trending south-eastwards, till it meets at right angles the mountains of the outer Himalayan system. South and east of Simla the hills between the Sutlej and the Tons centre in the great peak of Chor, 11,982 feet above the sea. Throughout all the hills forests of deodar abound, while rhododendrons clothe the slopes up to the limit of perpetual snow. The principal rivers here are the Sutlej, Pabar, Giri Ganga, Chambar, and Sarsa. The scenery of the immediate neighbourhood of Simla is very grand and picturesque, presenting a series of magnificent views. The climate is considered highly salubrious and admirably adapted to European constitutions ; the district has there- fore been selected as the site of numerous sanatoria and cantonments. The average annual rainfall amounts to about 72 inches. The population of the district in 1881 was 42,945 (males 27,593, females 15,352) ; Hindus numbered 32,428, Mohammedans 6935, and Christians 3353. Cultivation is widely carried on in all the lower valleys of the hills, and the fields are sown with maize, pulses, or millet for the autumn and with wheat for the spring harvest. Poppy, hemp, turmeric, ginger, and potatoes form the principal staples raised for exportation to the plains. The trade of the district centres mainly in the bazaars of Simla, which forms a considerable entrep6t for the produce of the hills. Another important trade- centre is the town of Rampur on the Sutlej, from which the great part of the shawl-wool (pashm) finds its way for exportation to British India. The acquisition of the patches of territory forming the district dates from various times subsequent to the close of the Gurkha War in 1815-16, which left the British in possession of the whole tract of hill-country from the Gogra to the Sutlej. Kumaun and Dehra Dun were annexed to the British dominions, but the rest, with the exception of a few localities retained as military posts and a portion sold to the raja of Patiala, Avas restored to the hill rajas, from whom it had been wrested by the Gurkhas. Garhwal state became attached to the North-Western Provinces, but the remaining principalities rank among the dependencies of the Punjab, and are known collectively as the Simla Hill States, under the superintendence of the deputy- commissioner of Simla, subordinate to the commissioner at Ambala. SIMLA, the administrative headquarters of the above district, and the summer capital of India, stands at an elevation of 7084 feet above sea level. Since the ad- ministration of Sir John Lawrence (1864) it has been the resort, during the hot weather, of the successive governors- general of India, with their secretaries and headquarters establishments. In 1881 it had a population of 13,258. SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE (1806-1870), an American poet, novelist, and historian, was born at Charleston, S.C., April 17, 1806, of Scoto-Irish descent. His mother died during his infancy, and his father having failed in business, and joined Coffee's brigade of mounted Indian fighters, which kept him in the Seminole country, young Simms was brought up by his grandmother, who gave him as good an education as her limited means would allow. He was clerk in a drug store for some years, and afterwards studied law, the bar of Charleston admitting him to practice in 1827, but he soon abandoned his profession for literature. At the age of eight he wrote verses, and in his 19th year he produced a Monody on Gen. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Two years later, in 1827, Lyrical and Other Poems and Early Lays appeared; and in 1828 he began journalism, editing with conspicuous ability and partly owning the City Gazette a paper opposed to the doctrine of nullification. The enterprise failed, and the editor devoted his attention entirely to letters, and in rapid succession published The Vision of Cortes, Cain, and other Poems (1829), The Tricolor, or Three Days of Blood in Paris (1830), and his strongest poem, Atalanti*, a story of the sea (1832). Atalantis established his fame as an author, and Martin Faher, the story of a criminal, his first tale, written in the following year, was warmly received. From this time forward his writings became very abundant ; a classified list is given below. Though sensational and full of excessive colouring, they are held in good repute in the Southern States. During the American Civil War Simms espoused the side of the Secessionists in a weekly newspaper, and suffered damage at the hands of the Federal troops when they entered Charleston. He held a seat in the State legislature for some years, and the university of Alabama conferred on him the degree of LL.D. He died at Charleston on llth June 1870. In addition to the works mentioned above, Simms published the following poetry : Southern Passages and Pictures, lyrical, senti- mental, and descriptive poems, 1839; Donna Florida, 1843; Grouped Thoughts and Scattered Fancies, sonnets, 1845 ; Arcytos, or Songs of the South, 1846 ; Lays of the Palmetto, 1848 ; The Eye and the Wing, 1848 ; The Cassique of Accabee, a Tale of Ashley River, with other pieces, 1849 ; The City of the Silent, 1850. To dramatic literature he contributed Norman Maurice, or the Man of the People ; Michael Bonham, or the Fall of the Alamo ; and a stage adaptation of Timon of Athens, all of which have been acted with success. His revolutionary romances are The Partisan, 1835 ; MMichampe, 1836 ; Kathcrine Walton, or the Rebel of Dorchester, 1851 ; The Scout (originally The Kinsman), or the Slack Eiders of the Congaree, 1841 ; Woodcraft (originally named The Sivordand the Distaff), and Eutaiv, 1856. These tales describe social life at Charleston, and the action covers the whole revolu- tionary period, with faithful portraits of the political and military leaders of the time. Of border tales the list includes Guy Rivers, a Tale of Georgia, 1834 ; Pdchard Hurdis, 1838 ; Border Beagles, 1840 ; Bcauchampe, 1842 ; Helen Halsey, 1845 ; The Golden Christmas, 1852 ; and Charlcmont, 1856. The historical romances are The Ycmassee, 1835, by far the greatest of his works, and dealing largely with Indian character and nature ; Pelayo, 1838 ; Count Julien, 1845 ; The Damsel of Darien, 1845 ; The Lily and the Totem ; Vasconselos, 1857, which he wrote under the assumed name of "Frank Cooper"; and The Cassique of Kiawah, 1860. Other novels, belonging to the series of which Martin Faber was the first, and treating principally of domestic life and motive, are Carl Werner, 1838 ; Confession of the Blind Heart, 1842 ; The Wigwam and the Cabin, a collection of short tales, 1845-46 ; Castle Dismal, 1845 ; and Marie de Berniere, 1853. Simms's other writings comprise a History of South Carolina ; South Carolina in the Revolution, 1854 ; A Geography of South Carolina ; lives of Francis Marion, Capt. John Smith, The Chevalier Bayard, and General Greene ; The Ghost of my Husband, 1866 ; and War Poetry of the South, an edited volume, 1867. Simms was also a frequent contributor to the magazines and literary papers, six of which he founded and conducted. He wrote on a great variety of subjects, and discussed with spirit and boldness the leading political, social, and literary topics of the day. In the discussion on slavery he xipheld the views of the pro-slavery party. He edited the seven dramas ascribed to Shakespeare, with notes and an introduction to each play. In the capacity of lecturer and orator, he was in frequent request on public occasions. His principal orations are The Social Principle the True Secret of National Permanence, 1842 ; The True Sources of American Inde- pendence, 1844 ; Self-Development, 1847 ; Poetry of the Practical ; The Battle of Fort Moultrie ; and The Moral Character of HamUt. SIMON MAGUS. In the extant documents of the first three centuries we meet with Simon Magus in a threefold aspect : (1) as Samaritan Messiah attempting by the aid of Christianity to establish a new religion; (2) as founder of a school of Gnostics and as father of heresy ; (3) as a caricature of the apostle Paul. The Tiibingen critics (Baur, Volkmar, Zeller, Lipsius, and until the year 1878 Hilgenfeld also) have tried to show that the oldest accounts are those in which Simon is represented in the last-named aspect ; they have accordingly denied his existence, maintaining that all the features attributed to him in the oldest sources are accounted for by the life and personality of Paul. In particular they would explain Simon's visit to Rome by the apostle's journey thither, and further would have it that the church tradition of Peter's having gone to Rome arose solely out of the supposition that the great apostle who had withstood the Paul-Simon everywhere else must have followed up his