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SIDON


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SIERRA LEONE

cup to him, saying: "Thy necessity is greater than mine." See Life by Symonds in the English Men of Letters Series.

Si'don, an ancient city of Phoenicia, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, about half-way between Tyre and Beirut. It held the first position among the cities of Phoenicia, so that it sometimes gave its name to the whole region. Its Colonies were found throughout the ancient world, and its commerce was very large. Its manufactures of linen, glass, purple dyes and perfumes were sources of great wealth. Even under Assyrian, Chaldean and Persian rule it retained its importance, reaching its highest prosperity under the Persians. An unsuccessful revolt in 351 B. C. involved it in temporary ruin, from which it recovered speedily. In 333 B. C. Alexander the Great conquered it, and it fell in succession into the hands of Syrians, Greeks and Romans, and in the middle ages was taken by crusaders. The present town, called Saida, has 10,500 inhabitants.

Siemens (se'menz), Ernst Werner von, a German electrician, was born at Hannover, Dec. 13, 1816. In 1831 he took out his first patent for galvanic silver and gold plating. His work in connection with the telegraphic system of Prussia resulted in the discovery of the powers of gutta-percha in insulating underground and marine cables. He is known as one of the discoverers of the self-acting dynamo. With his brothers he established large houses for the making of electrical apparatus in Berlin, St. Petersburg, London, Vienna, Tiflis and, in 1892, in Chicago. His scientific papers were collected and published in 1881. He was one of the foremost electricians of the day, sharing with his brothers in many inventions. He died at Berlin, Dec. 6, 1892.

Siemens, Sir William, the German scientist, was born near Hannover, April 4, 1823. He studied at Gsttingen, giving special attention to science. Aftei two visits to England in the interests of his brother's inventions, he made England his home in 1844 and became a British subject in 1859. As manager of the house of Siemens Brothers, he was engaged in constructing telegraph-tines, the steamship Faraday being designed by him for cable-laying. He also built electric railroads. The principle of his "regenerative" furnace has been applied in many ways, but especially by himself in the manufacture of steel. He invented a water-meter, a bathometer for measuring ocean-depths, an electrical thermcmeter and a process of hastening the growth of plants by electric light. In 1874 the royal Albert medal and in 1875 the Bessemer medal were given him in recognition of his inventions. He was president of the three principal telegraphic societies of Great Britain and of

the British Association, and in 1883 was knighted. He died at London, Nov. 191 1883. See Life by Pole,

Siena (se-d'na), a city of Italy in the center of Tuscany, about 60 miles south of Florence. It is a walled city, with narrow, winding streets. The cathedral, begun in the i3th century, is one of the finest Gothic churches in Italy, with a wonderful eight-sided pulpit, a fine mosaic-floor, a series of frescos of scenes in the life of Pope Pius II and a font with bas-reliefs by Donatello and other sculptors. The church of St. Catherine, the fountain of Fontebranda, celebrated by Dante, the

Ealace and its high tower, the university, )unded in 1300, and the Institute of Fine Arts are among the attractions. There are manufactures of silk, cloth and hats and a trade in wine and olive-oil Siena, a Roman colony, became a free republic at the breaking up of the empire, and was the head of the Ghibelline towns in central Italy, being a rival of Florence. In 1399, to protect themselves from Florence, the Sienese placed themselves under the duke of Milan, and in 1524, to escape the usurpations of the Petrucci family, they became tributary to Emperor Charles V, who afterwards gave Siena to Cosmo de Medici, and it became a part of Tuscany. It is the seat of a university with 31 professors and 231 students. Population 41*659.

Sienkiewicz £ shen-'kya'mc'h), Henryk, Polish novelist, was born at Wola Okrzejska, in Lithuania, in 1846, and was educated at the University of Warsaw. Early in his career, having espoused journalism, he devoted himself to literature, and soon won a high position as a novelist and short-story writer. In 1876 he came to the United States, and for a time, in company with Madame Modjeska, his countrywoman, he resided in California, where he designed to establish a Polish colony. In 1880 he wrote Tartar Slavery, following this, a few years later, by his masterly novel, With Fire and Sword. To this succeeded The Deluge, Pan Michael, Without Dogma, Children of the Soil, The Knights of the Cross and On the Field of Glory — all remarkable for vigor of characterization, historical truth and power of psychological analysis. In 1895 appeared his masterpiece, Quo Vadis? — a tale of the time of Nero (q. v.), written with remarkable vigor and powerful effect.

Sierra Leone (si-Wra le-ofne), a British colony on the western coast of Africa, founded in 1807 and southeast of French Guinea. It lies north of Liberia, with 180 miles of coast, and, stretching toward the interior, covers about 4,000 square miles. The name is sometimes confined to th*s peninsula south of Sierra Leone Inlet, which is 26 miles long, rising to 3,000 feet in Sugar-