Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/31

 SICYON SIDNEY an intrigue with his wife, and was tried for murder, but acquitted. On the outbreak of the civil war in 1861 he raised the Excelsior brigade in New York, and was commissioned colonel. In September his nomination as a brigadier general of volunteers was rejected by the senate, but on its renewal was confirmed ; and in the battles of the Chickahominy cam- paign he commanded a brigade of Hooker's di- vision of the 3d corps. He succeeded Hooker in the command of his division, which he led in the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. He was commissioned a major general of vol- unteers Nov. 29, 1862, and commanded the 3d corps at Chancellorsville, May 2-4, 1863, and at Gettysburg, July 2, where he lost a leg. He was appointed colonel of the 42d infantry regiment of the regular army, July 28, 1866, and was commander of the second military district (North and South Carolina) till Aug. 26, 1867. In 1869 he was appointed minister to Spain, which office he resigned in 1874. He married a Spanish lady as his second wife. SICYOff (now Vasilika), one of the most ancient cities of Greece, in the Peloponnesus, originally on a plain near the Corinthian gulf. Having been destroyed, it was rebuilt by De- metrius Poliorcetes on a hill between the Aso- pus and Helisson, about 10 m. N. W. of Cor- inth. The streets, laid out at right angles, are still traceable. Its territory was called Sicyo- nia. It was one of the Dorian states, and was ruled by tyrants for about a century after 676 B. C. It joined the Persians in their wars, was repeatedly assailed by the Athenians, and favored the Spartans in the Peloponnesian conflict. Aratus, its general, united it to the "Achasan league in 251. It was long a chief seat of Grecian art, and had an eminent school, founded by Eupompus and including Apelles and Pamphilus, and was the model of taste and fashion in dress for all Greece. SIDDONS, Sarah, an English actress, born in Brecknock, South Wales, July 5, 1755, died in London, June 8, 1831. The eldest of the chil- dren of Roger Kemble (see KEMBLE), at 13 years of age she took principal parts in Eng- lish operas. At 18 she married Mr. Siddons, a young actor in the Kemble company. She first appeared at Drury Lane theatre Dec. 29, 1775, as Portia in the "Merchant of Venice," but failed to produce a decided impression, apparently in great part from timidity, and at the close of the season was dismissed. She devoted herself anew to study, and, after great successes at various provincial theatres, was solicited to reappear at Drury Lane. On Oct. 10, 1782, she began this second engagement as Isabella in " The Fatal Marriage," producing a profound sensation. At once she stood at the head of the British stage, and so continued till her retirement from professional life, June 29, 1812. On this occasion she played Lady Mac- beth, and the moment the night scene was over the audience rose and demanded that the play should close. Mrs. Siddons was of medium height, symmetrical and majestic, with corre- sponding voice and expression. Her counte- nance was of extraordinary flexibility. Her genius at first inclined to pathetic characters, as Isabella, Ophelia, Jane Shore, Belvidera, or Euphrasia, but later to those of power and majesty. In some other r61es she was but moderately successful. Her private character was highly esteemed. SIDEREAL TIME. See DAY. S1DI MOHAMMED, emperor of Morocco, born in 1803, died Sept. 20, 1873. He succeeded to the throne in 1859, as the elder son of Abder- rahman, and soon afterward was engaged in difficulties with France and in a serious war with Spain, on account of the depredations of the Rif pirates. The Spanish forces under Prim and O'Donnell achieved signal victories, and the final treaty of April 27, 1860, bound the emperor to pay an indemnity to Spain of 20,000,000 piasters, and to cede her some ter- ritory, besides granting her other concessions. He afterward strove to secure the good will of Christian powers by introducing reforms and making concessions to foreigners, which pro- duced such discontent among his subjects that they nearly drove him from the throne in 1862. Yet in 1864 he granted liberty of commerce to all European traders in his dominions, and the result was repeated insurrections. That of 1867, the most formidable, he quelled by attacking the insurgents in person at the head of a powerful army. He was succeeded by his son Muley Hassan. SIDMOUTH, Lord. See ADDINGTON. SIDNEY, Algernon, an English statesman, born about 1622, executed on Tower hill, London, Dec. 7, 1683. He was the second surviving son of the second earl of Leicester of that creation, by the eldest daughter of the earl of Northumberland, and grandnephew of Sir Philip Sidney. In 1632 he accompanied his father to Denmark, where the latter was ac- credited as ambassador, and four years later to France. In 1641 he served in Ireland as captain of a troop of horse in a regiment com- manded by his father ; and at the outbreak of the civil war, while on his way with his broth- er to join the king's forces, he was detained at Liverpool by order of parliament. The king believed this had been done through the con- nivance of the young men, who, resenting his distrust, at once declared for the parliament. Algernon Sidney was commissioned a captain in May, 1644, and fought with gallantry at Marston Moor, where he was severely wounded. In 1646 he was appointed lieutenant general of horse in Ireland, and governor of Dublin. In the same year he entered parliament for Car- diff, and in May, 1647, received the thanks of parliament for his services in Ireland, and was made governor -of Dover castle. He acted as one of the judges of the king, but refrained from signing the warrant for his execution, although he subsequently characterized it as "the justest and bravest action that ever was