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* SKELETON. 213 SKENE. Reynolds, The Vertehrate Skehlon (Cambridge, 1897) ; Flower, Osteologi/ of the Mammalia (Lon- don, 1885) ; Parker and Bettany, Morphology of the fikull (ib., 1877); Parker,".! Monograph of the Shoulder Oirdle and Sternum (Ray Society, ib., 18U8) ; Durst, Entwickelungsgeschiehte des Kopfes des Menschcn mid der hfihern Wirbel- thiere (Tubingen, ISliO) ; (Jegcnbaur, Verglei- chen-de Anatomic der ^yirlJelthiere (Leipzig, 1898). See Anatomy; ISo.xe; C.RTILAge. SKELLIGS, The. A group of rocky islets oli tlie suulliwestern eoast of Ireland. They be- long to the c-ounty of Kerry. (Jreat Skellig. in latitude 51- 40' X., rises 714 feet, and has two liylitliuuses and the ruins of a monastery. SKELLY. A fish, the common British chub. See e i]Ui!; and Plate of Carps a.M) Allies. SKEL'TON, John (1460?-1529). An English satirical poet, born probably in Norfolk. He claimed to have studied at both Cambridge and Oxford, from each of which he received the aca- demical horfor of laureate. Some time before 1500, Henry VII. appointed him tutor to Prince Henry, afterwards King Henry VIII.; and Erasmus, in allusion to his learning, styled him "a light and honour of British literature." At this time Skel- tun had produced some translations, and had written elegies on Edward IV. (1483) and the Duke of Xorthumberland (1489). He entered the Church in 1498. and became rector of Diss in Norfolk. Shortly after this he seems to have struck into that vein of original vernacular poetry for which he stands by himself among our elder poets. It consists in a flow of voluble verse, unrestrained satire and jocularity, and a profusion of grotesque imagery mi.xed with Latin and colloquial (East-Anglian) phrases. For a jingling and ludicrous effect, he employed short lines, varying from four to six syllables and running on rhvmies sometimes repeated seven times over. Caxton said that Skelton improved the English tongue. At times he has gleams of bright fancy and snatches of pleasant description. Of this higher class is his Phi/li/p Sparoive, a nun's lament for the death of a pet sparrow killed by a cat. Very graceful are many passages in a long allegorical poem entitled The flarlande of Laurell, such, for example, as the ballad on Margaret Hussey. Noteworthy, too. is The Boirge of Court, an early allegory on the riglit to rations at the King's table. The most humorous of his pictures of low life are contained in The Tun- ■niinge [or brewing] of Ehjnour liummyng, an ale-wife at Leatherhead, in Surrey. This poem was highly popular and was often reprinted in black-letter, garnished with a rude wood-cut of the fat hostess. His best satires are Cohin Cloiife. and IT/ii/ Come Ye not to Courte? The former is a general satire on the clei'g^', and the latter a furious attack on Cardinal Wolsey. from whom the poet had not received ex])ected preferment. The angry Cardinal ordered his libeler to be ar- rested, but Skelton took sanctuary at West- minster, under the protection of Abbot John Islip. In this retreat Skelton remained till his death. Skelton wrote three morality plays, of which only Magniifxjeenee has survived. In the development of the English drama it occupies an important place. Of Skelton's many other lost pieces A Balade of the Scotyshe Kynge was discovered in 1878. It was reprinted by .1. Ash- ton in l.S.S-J. Skelton was not the author of the jests and merry tales which have circulated under his name. His free verse and allegory had marked influence on Sackville. Spenser, and other Kli/aliethans. His works were collecled in loliS. and reprinted in 17.'il). The standard edi- tion is l)v Alexander Dvce (2 vols., London, 1843 1. SKELTON AND BROT'TON. A manufac- turing town in the Nurth Kiding of Yorkshire, England, 10 miles southeast of iliddlesbrougli. It contains an ancient and interesting church of Early English architecture, and Skelton Castle, the family seat of the Barons de Brus (Bruce), the ancestors of the famous line of Scotch Kings Bruce. Pojuilation. in 1901, 13,200. SKENE, sken, Philip (1725-1810). An Eng- lish soldier, born in London of a prominent Scotch family. He entered the English army in 1730, and participated in campaigns on the Con- tinent, and in the battle of Culloden, In 1756 he came to America, and served under Howe and Amherst in their expeditions against Ticonderoga and Crown Point in the French and Indian War. Subsequently he took part in the Havana expedi- tion. In 1759, through grant and purchase, he acquired a piece of land more than 60.000 acres in area along Lake Champlain, where he founded the town of Skenesborough ( now Whitehall, N, Y. ). During the Revolutionary War he was a Loyalist, and served with Howe at New York and later with Burgoyne. during the course of whose invasion Skenesborough was burned by the British before Skene's eyes, by order of Gen- eral Haldim, to prevent its being used as a base for the Americans. After the war Skene went to New Y'ork with the intention of becom- ing an American citizen, but his estates were confiscated, and he was compelled to return to England, where he became a pensioner of the Crown. SKENE, William Forbes (1809-92). A Scottish historian, .son of .James Skene (1775- 1804) of Rubislaw, near .berdeen. He was edu- cated at the Edinburgh High School, and studied in Germany and at Saint Andrews. Apprenticed to an uncle, he Ijecame a writer to the signet (1832), and followed his pi'ofession in Edinburgh for forty years. He was also for a long period clerk of the bills of the Court of Session. He was admitted to many learned societies, and in 1881 he became historiographer royal for Scot- land. Skene was one of the most thoroughly equipped Celtic scholars of the time, and as an historian he ranks among tlie first that Scotland has produced. His principal works are: The Eighlandera of Seotland, Their Origin, History, and Antiquities (1837) : The Four Ancient Bools of Wales (1868) ; and Celtie Scotland (1870-80), in three volumes, treating respectively of "Ilis- tory and Ethnology," '"Church and Culture," and "Land and People," Besides these works and numerous papers for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Skene al.so edited The Chronicles of the Piets and Scots (1867); The Chronicles of John Fordnn (1871); and Adamnan's Life of Saint Coliimha (1874). Consult his Memorials of the Family of Skene (New Spalding Club of Aberdeen. 1887) ; and Proceedings of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries (Edinburgh, 1892).