of performing the work by them, as is commonly supposed, but by no means proved. The sickle is by far the most frugal and economical tool for accomplishing the work with, as causing the least loss of grain.

SICLOS, a town of Hungary, with a castle on a mountain, in which the emperor Sigismund was imprisoned. In 1543 it was betrayed to the Turks by its commander; but in 1664 it was recovered by the Imperialists. It is sixty-four miles south-east of Canischa.

SICON, a town of Cuba, 125 miles west of Havanna.

SICORUS, in ancient geography, a river of Hispania Tarraconensis, rising in the Pyrenees. Near it Julius Cæsar conquered Afranius and Petreius. See ROME. Lucan iv. 14, 130. Plin. iii. 3. It is now called Segre.

SICULI, an ancient people of Ausonia, who invaded the Sicanians in Sicily, and gave their name to the island, about A. A. C. 1059.

SICULUM FRETUM, the ancient name of the Straits of Messina. See SICILY.

SICYON, an ancient town of Peloponnesus, the capital of Sicyonia. It was taken by Agamemnon, and afterwards by the Heraclidae. It became very powerful at the time of the Achæan League, which the citizens joined, at the persuasion of Aratus. The people are said to have been dissolute and luxurious. Sicyonian shoes were deemed marks of effeminacy. It is now called Basilico.

SICYONIA, a kingdom or province of Peloponnesus, on the bay of Corinth, one of the most ancient and eminent in Greece. Egialeus, the son of Phoroneus, was the first king, who began to reign about A. A. C. 2089, and reigned fiftytwo years. This country in its flourishing state gave name to all Peloponnesus. It is fertile, and abounds with corn, wine, olive oil, iron, &c.

SICYONIAN. Of or belonging to Sicyon. SICYOS, in botany, single-seeded cucumber; a genus of plants belonging to the class of monæcia, and to the order of syngenesia; and in the natural system ranged under the thirty fourth order, cucurbitacea. The male flowers have their calyx quinquedentated, their corolla quinquepartite, and there are three filaments. The female flowers have their calyx and corolla similar; but their style is trifid, and their drupa monospermous. There are three species: 1. S. angulata. 2. S. garcini, and 3. S. Laciniata, which are all foreign plants.

SID, a river of England, in Devonshire, which runs into the English channel at Sidmouth.

SIDA, or SIDE, in fabulous history, the wife of Orion.

SIDA, yellow, or Indian mallow, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the class of monadelphia, order polyandria; and in the natural system ranging under the thirty-seventh order, columniferæ. The calyx is simple and angulated; the style is divided into many parts; there are several capsules, each containing one seed. There are twenty-seven species;

1. S. Abutilon. The Chinese make cords of this plant. It delights in water, and may be advantageously planted in marshes and ditches, where nothing else will grow. From experiments

made by the abbé Cavanilles, a Spaniard, inserted in the Mem de l' Acad. Royale, it appears that the plants succeed best when sown in May, and they arrive at perfection in three months and a half. The maceration of the smaller stalks is finished in about fifteen days; of the larger in a month. The strength and goodness of the thread appeared to be in proportion to the perfection of the vegetation and to the distance the plant was kept at from other plants. The fibres lie in strata, of which there are sometimes six; they are not quite straight, but preserve an undulating direction, so as to form a network in their natural positions. Their smell resembles that of hemp ; the fibres are whiter, but more dry and harsh than those of hemp. The harshness is owing to a greenish gluten which connects the fibres; and the white color must be always obtained at the expense of having this kind of thread less supple; when of its natural hue, it is very soft and flexible. This description belongs chiefly to the sida :' but it will also apply to the malva crispa, Peruviana, and Mauritiana. See MALVA. The malva crispa gave, however, the greatest quantity of fibres, and its gluten was most copious. The fibres of the sida abutilon and the malva crispa are the longest and the strongest ; those of the Peruviana and Mauritiana are the shortest and the weakest. The fibres of those plants which had lost their leaves are less strong, though of equal length with those which had preserved them. 2. S. Alba; 3. Alnifolia; 4. Angustifolia; 5. Arborea; 6. Atrosanguinea; 7. Carpinifolia; 8. Ciliaris; 9. Cordifolia; 10. Jamaicensis; 11. Paniculata; 12. Periptocifolia ; 13. Retusa; 14. Rhombifolia; 15. Spinosa; 16. Triquetra; 17. Viscosa; 18. Umbellata; and 19. Urens. These eighteen species have fifteen capsules each. 20. S. Americana; 21. Asiatica; 22. Crispa; 23. Crustata; 24. Indica; 25. Mauritiana; 26. Occidentalis; and 27. Ternata. These eight species, with the Abutilon above described, are all multicapsular. They are all natives of warm climates; and most of them are found in the East or West Indies.

SIDDEE. or SEDEE, an Arabic title, by which the Abyssinians or Habashys are always distinguished in the court of Hindostan; where, being in great repute for firmness and fidelity, they are generally employed as commanders of forts or in posts of great trust.

naar.

SID EL COOм, the established legal regicide, or king-killer, in the barbarous kingdom of SenSee SENNAAR. SIDE, n. s., adj., & v. n. SIDE BOARD, n. s. SIDE BOX, SIDE FLY,

SIDE'LONG, adj. & adv.
SIDE'SADDLE, N. S.
SIDES MAN,
SIDE'WAYS, adv.
SIDE'WISE,
SIDLE, v. n.

Sax. ride; Goth. sijde. The rib part of an animal; edge; margin; verge; any part, person, or thing placed in opposition, local or metaphorical, to something else, or some other part or person; faction; party; interest: as an adjective, side means lateral, indirect, oblique; as a verb neuter, to lean on one side; to take or lean to a party: sidefly is an insect: sidelong, synonymous with side, as an adjective; in a lateral direction, which also sideways and sidewise

mean to sidle, to go sideways with another body or thing; also to be on the side: the other compounds seem to explain themselves.

Take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper door post, of the houses. Exodus xii. 7. The tables were written on both their sides, on the one side and on the other. Id. xxxii. 15. When two boars with rankling malice meet Their gory sides fresh bleeding fiercely fret.

Faerie Queen?. They presume that the law doth speak with all indifferency, that the law hath no side respect to their

persons.

Hooker.

There began a sharp and cruel fight, many being

slain and wounded on both sides.

Knolles's History of the Turks. Vexed are the nobles who have sided In his behalf.

Shakspeare. Coriolanus. Their weapons only Seemed on our side; but for their spirits and souls, This word rebellion, it had froze them up, As fish are in a pond.

Id. Henry IV. All rising to great place is by a winding stair; and, if there be factions, it is good to side a man's self whilst rising, and balance himself when placed.

Bacon.

Digby on Bodies.

The force of these outward streams might well enough serve for the turning of the screw, if it were so that both its sides would equiponderate. Wilkins. At a stately sideboard by the wine That fragrant smell diffused.

Milton's Paradise Regained.
As if on earth

Winds under ground, or waters, forcing way,
Sidelong had pushed a mountain from his seat,
Half sunk with all his pines. Id. Paradise Lost.
They, looking back, all the' eastern side beheld
Of Paradise.

If our substance be indeed divine,
And cannot cease to be, we are at worst

On this side nothing.

The fair blossom hangs the head

Sideways, as on a dying bed;

And those pearls of dew she wears
Prove to be presaging tears.

Not yet so dully desperate

To side against ourselves with fate;
As criminals, condemned to suffer,
Are blinded first, and then turned over.
Men he always took to be

His friends, and dogs his enemy;
Who never so much hurt had done him,
As his own side did falling on him.
Or where Hydalpes' wealthy side
Pays tribute to the Persian pride.

Milton.

Id.

Id.

Hudibras.

Id.

Roscommon.

One mighty squadron with a side wind sped. Id. No sideboards then with gilded plate were dressed, No sweating slaves with massive dishes pressed.

The lovely Thaïs by his side
Sat, like a blooming eastern bride,
In flower of youth, and beauty's pride.

Id.

Id.

Id.

The deadly wound is in thy soul: When thou a tempting harlot dost behold, And when she casts on thee a sidelong glance, Then try thy heart, and tell me if it dance. People are sooner reclaimed by the side wind of a surprize, than by downright admonition. L'Estrange.

The parts of water being easily separable from each other, will, by a side motion, be easily removed, and give way to the approach of two pieces of marble. Locke.

the attraction of the sun, and an oblique or sidelong The reason of the planets' motions in curve lines is impulse.

Id.

shade those which blow from the afternoon sun. If it prove too wet, lay your pot sidelong; but Evelyn's Kalendar.

The snow-white damask ensigns are displayed, And glittering salvers on the sideboard laid. King. Favour, custom, and at last number, will be on the side of grace. Sprat.

Yet here and there we grant a gentle bride, Whose temper betters by the father's side; Unlike the rest that double human care,

Parnel.

Fond to relieve, or resolute to share. A gift of such goods, made by them with the consent of the sidesmen or vestry, is void.

The shining sideboard, and the burnished piate, Let other ministers, great Anne, require. Prior.

If the image of the sun should be drawn out into an oblong form, either by a dilatation of every ray, or by any other casual inequality of the refractions, the same oblong image would, by a second refraction made sideways, be drawn out as much in breadth by the like dilatation of the rays, or other casual inequality of the refraction sideways. Newton's Opticks.

Africanus brought from Carthage to Rome, in silver vessels, to the value of 11,966l. 15s. 9d.; a quantity exceeded afterwards by the sideboards of many private tables. Arbuthnot From a rough whitish maggot, in the intestinum rectum of horses, the sidefly proceeds. Derham's Physico-Theology. The princes differ and divide; Some follow law, and some with beauty side. Granville.

Let not our James, though foiled in arms, despair, Whilst on his side he reckons half the fair. Tickel.

What natural agent could turn them aside, could impel them so strongly with a transverse side blow

against that tremendous weight and rapidity, when whole worlds are a-falling? Bentley's Sermons. He not only gives us the full prospects, but several unexpected peculiarities, and side views, unobserved by any painter but Homer. Pope's Preface to the Iliad. All side in parties, and begin the' attack. Pope. He from the taste obscene reclaims our youth, And sets the passions on the side of truth; Forms the soft bosom with the gentlest art, And pours each human virtue in the heart. Why round our coaches crowd the white-gloved

beaux?

Id.

Like change on sea and land: sideral blast, Vapour and mist, and exhalation hot, Corrupt and pestilent! Milton's Paradise Lost. Parts cauterized, gangrenated, siderated, and mortified, become black; the radical moisture, or vital sulphur, suffering an extinction.

Browne's Vulgar Errours. The contagious vapor of the very eggs produces a mortification or sideration in the parts of plants on which they are laid. Ray on the Creation.

The musk gives Sure hopes of racy wine, and in its youth, Its tender nonage, loads the spreading boughs With large and juicy offspring, that defies The vernal nippings and cold sideral blasts. Philips. SIDERATIO. See NECROSIS.

SIDEREAL, or SIDEREAN, from Latin sidereus, starry. Of or belonging to the stars; like a star; starry; the same with sideral, but more used, as well as siderial.

SIDERIA, in the old system of mineralogy, a genus of crystals, used to express those altered in their figure by particles of iron. These are of a rhomboidal figure, and composed only of six planes. Of this genus three species were enumerated: 1. A colorless, pellucid, and thin one; found in considerable quantities among the iron ores of the forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, and in several other places. 2. A dull, thick, and brown one; not uncommon in the same places with the former. And, 3. A black and very glossy kind, a fossil of great beauty; found in the same places, also in Leicestershire and Sussex. SIDERIAL, or SIDEREAL. See SIDEREAL.

SIDERIAL DAYS. See ASTRONOMY, Index. SIDERIAL YEAR. See ASTRONOMY, Index. SIDERITIS, iron-wort, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the class of didynamia, and to the order of gymnospermia; and in the natural system ranging under the forty-second order, verticillatæ. The stamina are within the tube of the corolla. There are two stigmas, one of which is cylindrical and concave; the other, which is lower, is membranous, shorter, and sheathing the other. The species are fifteen. 1. S. Canariensis, the Canary iron-wort, is a native of Madeira and the Canary Islands; 2. S. candicans, the whitish iron-wort, is also a native of Madeira; 3. S. ciliata, the ciliated, or hairy iron-wort; 4. S. elegans,the elegant iron-wort; 5. S. hirsuta, parts of Europe; 6. S. hyssopifolia, the hyssopthe rough iron-wort, is indigenous in the south leaved iron-wort, is a native of Italy and the Pyrennees; 7. S. incana, the hoary iron-wort, is a native of Spain; 8. S. lanata, the woolly ironwort; 9, S. montana, the mountain iron-wort, is a native of Italy and Austria; 10. S. perfoliata, the full-leaved iron-wort, is a native of the Levant; 11. S. Romana, the Roman iron-wort, is a native of Italy; 12. S. scordioides, the Germander iron-wort, a native of the south of France; 13. S. Syriaca, Syrian iron-wort, a native of the Levant.

SIDEROXYLON, iron-wood, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the class of pentandria, and to the order of monogynia; and in the natural system ranging under the forty-third order, dumosæ. The corolla is cut into ten parts, the lacinia or segments being incurvated alternately; the stigma is simple; the berry contains five seeds. There are ten species: 1. S. cymosum, the sproutful iron-wood, a native of the Cape of Good Hope, 2. S. decandrum, the ten-chived iron-wood, has ten stamina; 3. S. foetidissimum, the stinking iron-wood, is a native of the Cape of Good Hope; 4. S. inerme, smooth iron-wood, in this country requires a warm stove; 5. S. lycioides, the willow-leaved iron-wood, is a native of North America; 6. S. melanophelum, laurel-leaved iron-wood; 7. S. mite, the mild iron-wood, requires a warm stove in this country; 8. S. siriceum, silky iron-wood, is a native of New South Wales; 9. S. spinosum, thorr.y iron-wood, or argan, is a native of Morocco; 10. S. tenax, silvery-leaved iron-wood, is a native of Carolina. The wood of these trees, being very close and solid, has given occasion for this name to be applied to them, it being so heavy as to sink in water. As they are natives of warm countries, they cannot be preserved in this country unless they are placed in a greenhouse. They are propagated by seeds procured from abroad.

SIDERUM, the name first given by Sir T. Bergman to the phosphuret of iron, which he took to be a new metal. See PHOSPHURET.

SIDLA, SIDLAW, or SIDLEY HILL, the principal and the highest of the Sidlaw Hills, which gives name to the whole ridge, is 1406 feet above the level of the sea.

SIDLA, SIDLAW, SIDLEY, or SUDLAW HILLS, a ridge of hills of Scotland, extending from west to east, through the counties of Perth and For

far, commencing at Kinnoul and terminating near Brechin. This ridge stands on the south side of the valley of Strathmore, and is so named from its situation; sud-laws, in the Gaelic language, signifying south hills. The mountains are of various heights. Next to Sidlaw, the highest, are King's Seat, Kinpurnie, and Dun

sinnan.

SIDMOUTH, a market-town in the hundred of East-Budleigh, Devonshire, situate at the mouth of the small river Sid, near the sea, twelve miles south-east of Exeter, and 158 west by south from London. It was anciently a considerable sea-port, but its harbour has long since been choked with sand. Of late years it has been much frequented as a watering-place, and is much improved. It has an elegant ball-room, and on the beach a commodious tea-room and shade. The town stands between two hills, and although open to the ocean, is entirely free from fogs, so that it is esteemed a very healthy as well as pleasant situation. Market on Saturday. Fairs Easter-Tuesday, and the Wednesday after September 1st. It is a vicarage, value £18 15s.

5d.

SIDNEY (Sit Philip), was born at Penshurst, in Kent, in 1554; his father was Sir Henry Sidney, an Irish gentleman, and his mother Mary, the eldest daughter of John Dudley, duke of Northumberland. He was sent when very young to Christ-church College at Oxford, but left the university at seventeen to set out on his travels. After visiting France, Germany, Hungary, and Italy, he returned to England in 1575, and was next year sent by queen Elizabeth as her ambassador to Rodolph II. emperor of Germany. On his return he visited Don John of Austria, governor of the Netherlands, and was received with great respect. In 1579, when queen Elizabeth seemed on the point of concluding her long-projected marriage with the duke of Anjou, Sir Philip wrote her a letter, in which he dissuaded her from the match with unusual elegance of expression, as well as force of reasoning. About this time a quarrel with the earl of Oxford occasioned his withdrawing from court; during which retirement he is supposed to have written his celebrated romance, called Arcadia, which is so often quoted by Dr. Johnson in his dictionary. In 1585, after the queen's treaty with the United States, he was made governor of Flushing and master of the horse. Here he distinguished himself so much that his reputation rose to the highest pitch. He was named, it is said, by the republic of Poland, as one of the competitors for that crown, and might even have been elected, had it not been for the interference of the queen. But his illustrious career was soon terminated; for in 1586 he was wounded at the battle of Zutphen, and carried to Arnheim, where he soon after died. His body was brought to London, and buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. He is described by the writers of that age as the most perfect model of an accomplished gentleman that could be formed, even by the wanton imagination of poetry or fiction. Virtuons conduct, polite conversation, heroic valor, and elegant erudition, all concurred to render him the ornament and -delight of the English court; and, as the credit

which he enjoyed with the queen and the earl of Leicester was wholly employed in the encouragement of genius and literature, his praises have been transmitted with advantage to posterity. No person was so low as not to become an object of his humanity. After the battle of Zutphen, when he was lying on the field, mangled with wounds, a bottle of water was brought him to relieve his thirst; but, observing a soldier near him in a like miserable condition, he said, 'This man's necessity is still greater than mine,' and resigned to him the bottle of water. Besides his Arcadia, he wrote several smaller pieces both in prose and verse, which have been published.

SIDNEY (Algernon), the celebrated English patriot, was the second son of Robert earl of Leicester, and Dorothy, eldest daughter of the earl of Northumberland. He was born about 1617. During the civil wars he took part against the king, and distinguished himself as a colonel in the army of the parliament. He was afterwards appointed one of king Charles's judges, but declined appearing in that court. During the usurpation of Cromwell, Sidney, who was a violent republican, retired to the country, and spent his time in writing those discourses on government which have been so deservedly celebrated. After the death of the protector, he again took part in the public transactions of his country, and was abroad on an embassy to Denmark, when king Charles was restored. Upon this he returned to Hamburgh, and afterwards to Frankfort, where he resided till 1677, when he returned to England, and obtained from the king a pardon. After his return he made repeated attempts to procure a seat in parliament, but all of them proved unsuccessful. After the intention of the commons to seclude the duke of York from the throne had been defeated by the sudden dissolution of parliament, Sidney joined with eagerness the councils of Russel, Essex, and Monmouth, who had resolved to oppose the duke's succession by force of arms. Frequent meetings were held at London; while, at the same time, a set of subordinate conspirators, who were not, however, admitted into their confidence, met and embraced the most desperate resolutions. Keiling, one of these men, discovered the whole conspiracy; and Algernon Sidney, together with his noble associates, was immediately thrown into prison, and no art was left unattempted to involve them in the guilt of the meaner conspirators. Howard, an abandoned nobleman, without a single spark of virtue or honor, was the only witness against Sidney; but, as the law required two, his Discourses on Government, found unpublished in his closet, were construed into treason, and declared equivalent to another witness. It was in vain for Sidney to plead that papers were no legal evidence; that it could not be proved they were written by him; and that, if they were, they contained nothing treasonable. The defence was over-ruled; he was declared guilty, condemned, and executed on the 7th December, 1683. His attainder was re. versed in the first year of king William. He was a man of extraordinary courage, steady even to obstinacy; of a sincere but rough and boisterous temper. Though he professed his belief in

the Christian religion, he was an enemy to an established church, and even, according to Burnet, to every kind of public worship. In his principles he was a zealous republican; government was always his favorite study, and his essays on that subject are a proof of the progress which he made.

SIDON, in ancient geography, a city of Phonicia, in Asia, famous in Scripture for its riches, arising from the extensive commerce carried on by its inhabitants. Heavy judgments were denounced against the Sidonians on account of their wickedness, which were accomplished in the time of Artaxerxes Ochus, king of Persia; for that monarch having come against them with an army, on account of their rebellion, the city was betrayed by its king; upon which the wretched inhabitants were seized with despair; they set fire to their houses, and 40,000, with their wives and children, perished in the flames. This city is now called Saide; and, according to Bruce's account, not only its harbour is filled up with sand, but the pavement of the ancient city stood seven feet and a half lower than the ground on which the present city stands. Volney describes it as an ill-built dirty city. See SAIDE. SIDONIA, an epithet of Dido (Ovid. Met. xiv. 80); also of Carthage, because built by Sidonians.-Virg. Æn. 1, v. 682.

SIDONIAN, of or belonging to Sidon. SIDONIANS, the people of Sidon. They were extremely ingenious in arts and manufactures, and were particularly famous for embroidery and dyeing.

SIDONIORUM INSULA, in ancient geography, islands in the Gulf of Persia.-Strabo, xvi. SIDONIS, an ancient country of Asia, in the west of Syria, or Phoenicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean. Sidon was the capital.

SIDONIUS, APOLLINARIS. See APOLLINARIS. SIDRA, an extensive gulf in the eastern part of the territory of Tripoli, in the interior of which are extensive quicksands, celebrated in antiquity under the appellation of Syrtis, from a corruption of which the modern name is derived. It extends from long. 15° 30′ to 19° 30′ E., and from lat. 30° 30′ to 32° 30′ N.

SIDUS GEORGIUM, in astronomy, a name sometimes given to the primary planet, discovered by Dr. Herschell in 1781. By most foreign, and some British philosophers, it is named Herschell. See ASTRONOMY, Index.

SIEGE, n. s. & v. a. Fr. siege; qu. Lat. sedis? The act of besetting a fortified place; a leaguer; a seat; throne; stool; place: to besiege (obsolete).

Drawing to him the eyes of all around, From lofty siege began these words aloud to sound. Faerie Queene.

Id.

Him he had long opprest with tort, And fast imprisoned in sieged fort. It seemed, by the manner of their proceeding, that the Turks purposed rather by long siege than by

assault to take the town.

Knolles's History of the Turks. Our castle's strength Will laugh a siege to scorn: here let them lie, Till famine eat them up. Shakspeare. Macbeth. Beat away the busy meddling fiend, That lays strong siege unto this wretch's soul, VOL. XX.

SIEGE. The first operation of a siege, says colonel James, is investing. The body of troops investing a town should at least be as strong again as the garrison; so as to be able to divide itself into several parties, in order to take possession of all the avenues leading to the place. By day they should keep themselves out of cannon-shot; but, as soon as it is dusk, they must approach much nearer, the better to be able to support each other, and to straiten the town.

To undertake the siege of a town (entreprendre le siège d'une ville Fr.), to invest it, to form lines of circumvallation, to open trenches, &c.

To lay siege to a town (faire le siège d'une ville, Fr.), to draw your forces round a town for the purpose of attacking it.

To carry on a siege (continuer un siège, Fr.), to persevere by regular approaches, &c., in gaining ground upon the garrison.

To lay close siege (presser le siège, Fr.), to approach close to the walls for the purpose of making a breach and storming, or of starving For a full and scientific exout the garrison. planation of the different methods which are adopted in modern times, for the attack and defence of places, particularly of sieges, see Essai Général de Fortification et d'attaque et défense des places, tom. i. page 61, &c. &c.

General phrases and terms used at a siege are, viz:-To besiege a place. See SIEGE.

To accelerate the siege (accélérer siège, Fr.) is when an army can approach so near the place as the covert-way, without breaking ground, under favor of some hollow roads, rising grounds, or cavities, and there begin their work.

An attack is when the besieging army can approach the town so near as to take it, without making any considerable works.

To form the siege, or lay siege to a place (mettre le siège à une place, Fr.), there must be an army sufficient to furnish five or six reliefs for the

trenches, pioneers, guards, convoys, escorts, &c., and artillery, with all the apparatus thereto belonging; magazines furnished with a sufficient quantity of all kinds of warlike stores; and a general hospital, with physicians, surgeons, medicines, &c.

To raise the siege (lever le siège, Fr.) is to give over the attack of a place, quit the works X