Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/560

* SRINAGAR. 480 STABLE FLY. formerly a favorite resort of the Mogul rulers. Srinagar is surrounded by a rich agricultural section, and niaiuifacturos shawls, papier maclu'-, and leather. The city was founded in the sixth century, and came under British protection in 18411 ■ Population, in 1001, 122,618. SRIRANGAM. sre-rung'am, or SERING- HAM, se-ring'hiini. A town in the Province of iladras, India, two miles north of Trichinopoli, on an island of the same name in the Kaveri Eiver (Map; India, C 6). It is connected with the mainland by a bridge of 32 arches and is noted for its great temple to Vishnu. (See Indian Art.) The temple of Jambukeshwar, about a mile distant, and the neighboring anikuts or dams of the Kaveri River are also noteworthy. Population, in 1891, 21,632; in 1901, 23,039. SRIRANGAPATAM, sre-riing'a-pa-tam'. A town of Mysore. India. See Sekikgapat.^m. SRTJTI, shroo'te (Skt.. hearing, revelation). In Sanskrit literature, the technical term for those works which are regarded as divine revela- tion. It originally applied only to the texts of the Vedas (q.v. ) "and to the Brahamanas (see Brahmana), but at a later period it included also the Upanishads (q.v.). The term siuti is therefore contrasted with smrti, or tradition. See Smriti. SS, Collar of. A collar composed of a series of the letter S, either linked together or set in close order, on a blue and w-hite ribbon, with the ends connected b>- two buckles and a trefoil- shaped link, from which hangs a jewel. Such collars have been nuich worn in England by per- sons holding great offices in the State, as well as by gentlemen of various ranks, from esquires upward. The origin of the device has not been satisfactorily explained. Among the numerous conjectures regarding its meaning, one is, that the letter S stands for ''Souveraigne," the favor- ite motto of Henry IV. ; others have suggested "seneschal"; and it may, with equal probability, owe its origin to the swan of the De Bohuns. that badge being found in one of the earlier ex- amples of this collar (1402), pendent around the neck of the poet Gower, in St. Saviour's Church, Southwark. The collar had, without doubt, originally a Lancastrian character. Col- lars of SS are still worn, with certain recog- nized distinctions, by the Lords Chief .Justices, the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, the Lord Mayor of London, the heralds, and the sergeant- at-arms. STAAL, stal, ;Maroi'ERIte Jeaxxe [Cordier] Delauxay, Baronne de (1084-1750). A French writer of memoirs and letters of much historic value. She was born in Paris. Her father was an artist. Having studied in a convent at Rouen, she became maid to the Duchess of Maine ( 1711 ), took part in Cellaniare's plot to deprive the Duke of Orleans of the Regency, and was im- prisoned (1718-20) in the Bastile. Through her verses and dramatic ]>lots she attained prom- inence in court circles and finally a leading role in Paris society. She afterwards married (173.")) Baron de Staal, captain in the guard of the Duke of Maine. She spent the rest of her life at the ducal Court at Sceaux and died in Paris. Her Mcmoirps (Paris, 1755, best edited by Loscure, 2 vols., 1878) are remarkable for keen observation, sincerity, and irony, as well as for their style. Her letters and two comedies are in her CEuvres (Paris, 1821). Consult: Sainte- Beuve, Portraits littiraires, vol. iii. (2nd ed., Paris, 1864), and a monograph by Frary (ib., 1803). STA'BAT MA'TER. One of the most famous of the great media'val hymns, describing the suf- ferings of tlie Virgin Mary as she stood by the cross of Jesus. It is generally spoken of by the above name, from the words with which it begins: Stabat mater doloroea Juxta crueem laorymosa, Dum pendebat Filius. It was formerly attributed to various authors, including Pope Innocent III., Saint Bonaventura, and Saint Bernard; but it is now generally as- cribed to Jacopone da Todi (q.v.). It was adopted as the sequence for the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary in many places, and came into the Roman missal, as one of the few se- quences retained in it, in 1727, when the feast was extended to the entire Church. It is a mag- nificent example of the rhyming Latin poetry of the iliddle Ages, deservedly famous for the beauty both of its language and of its thought. Well-known nuisical compositions on this text are those of Palestrina, Astorga. and Pergolese. Ros- sini's version, although popular, is of too secular a character to rank with those of his predecessors. Monographs on the hymn have been written by Lisso (Berlin. 1843) and Ritter (Leipzig, 1883), the latter covering the music also. STABILITY (Fr. stabilite, from Lat. stahHi- tas, steadfastness, from stare, to stand). The property of a body by virtue of which it tends to return to a position of equilibrium if it receives an impulse acting to displace it from this position, or, in other words, where work must be done to alter the position of its centre of gravity. Thus a pendulum would be said to be in stable equilibrium, as also would be a well-ballasted ship. To satisfy this condition the centre of gravity must occupy such a position that when it is displaced it is raised with respect to its original position. If under the action of a force the centre of gravity is moved to a lower position the bod.y is said to be in unstable equili- brium. Stability of floating bodies is an im- portant consideration in shipbuilding (q.v,). See Buoyancy: Equilibrium; Hydrostatics; Mechanics; Metacentre. STABLE FLY. A biting fly {Stomoxys calci- trans) of the family MuscidiE, probably intro- duced into the United States from Europe long ago. It closely resembles the conunon house fly, so closely, in fact, as to deceive most untrained observers. It does not fre- quent dwellings except late in the autumn and on the ap- proach of a rainstorm, a cir- cumstance which gives rise to the common expression that flies begin to bite before a rain. The larvce feed in fresh horse man- ure, and the flies live chiefly on the blood of vertebrate animals, frequently causing much an- BTABLB PLY.