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furnish those elements of reasoning from which each one may work out his own conclusions; while we are told that the main object of their manifestations is to furnish actual demonstration of the immortality of the soul and of some of the conditions and laws of the post mortem existence.-Spiritualism has also made considerable progress in Europe, especially in England and France. In England, it is stated, many of the nobility as well as of the intelligent middle classes are believers in it, and hold communications with their departed friends through mediums in their own families. Several books and pamphlets have been published on the subject in that country, and a semi-monthly periodical is issued in London devoted to its facts and philosophy. In France its believers are still more numerous. Several able journals devoted to the subject are published in Paris, and read throughout France, Switzerland, and Belgium. Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia, and in short nearly every nation of Europe, appears to have its devotees of spiritualism, in greater or smaller numbers. Travellers in the north of Africa tell us that it has made considerable progress in the Barbary states; and reports from China represent it as having very distinctly appeared at several localities within that empire, and especially at the city of Shanghai, about the time of its first advent in America. For specimens of the better kind of spirit communications, considered as literary productions, see "Spiritualism," by the Hon. John W. Edmonds and G. T. Dexter, M.D. (2 vols. 8vo., New York, 1854-5); "The Healing of the Nations," by Charles Linton, with introduction and appendix by N. P. Tallmadge, late U. S. senator and governor of Wisconsin (8vo., New York, 1855); "Scenes in the Spirit World, or Life in the Spheres," by Hudson Tuttle, medium (12mo., New York, 1855). Among books produced in the ordinary manner, the following may be consulted: "Experimental Investigations of the Spirit Manifestations," by Prof. Robert Hare (8vo., New York, 1856); "A Discussion of the Facts and Philosophy of Ancient and Modern Spiritualism," by S. B. Brittan and B. W. Richmond, M.D.; "Modern Spiritualism, its Facts and Fanaticisms," &c., by E. W. Capron (8vo., Boston, 1855). With the exception of these and a few other books, the best portion of the literature of spiritualism is to be found in the various periodical publications devoted to that subject. SPITZBERGEN, a group of 4 principal and several smaller islands in the Arctic ocean, the northernmost land yet discovered, between lat. 76° 30′ and 80° 30′ N. and long. 9° and 22° E., and about midway between Greenland on the W. and Nova Zembla on the E.; area, about 22,000 sq. m. The large islands are Spitzbergen, North-East Land, South-East Land, and Charles. On the E. of Spitzbergen proper is a peninsula called New Friesland or East Spitzbergen. The island is very mountainous, some of the peaks rising to the height of 3,000 or 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. On

Charles island are 5 summits ranging from 4,000 to 4,500 feet high. The N. shores of Spitzbergen and North-East Land are more level, and here and on several of the smaller islands some soil is found, in which a few very diminutive plants spring up and mature in a month or 6 weeks of the short summer. Immense glaciers abound, and the islands are almost covered with perpetual snow. The mean temperature of the 3 warmest months is 34.5°. For 4 months of the year the sun does not rise, but the long night is relieved by a faint twilight, and the occasional brilliant light of the aurora borealis; the moon and stars also shine here with great brightness. The islands are frequented by great multitudes of sea fowl, as well as by polar bears, foxes, and reindeer. Marble and coal of a good quality are found. The neighboring seas abound with whales, seals, and walruses, which are taken in large numbers by the vessels that visit this inhospitable region; and Russian whalers have lived for years on the islands.-These islands are supposed to have been first discovered by Willoughby in 1553; but their discovery is generally dated from the visit of Barentz, the Dutch navigator, in 1596, in his search for a N. E. passage to the Pacific, who named the principal island Spitzbergen (pointed mountains) from its numerous sharp peaks. Their sovereignty is claimed by Russia. A Swedish scientific expedition under Prof. Torell explored Spitzbergen in the summer of 1861, whose report is expected to form an important addition to the previous knowledge of that region.

SPLEEN (Gr. σnλŋy), the largest of the vascular or ductless glands, whose probable functional office is subsidiary to the process of sanguification. It is situated in the left hypochondriac region, below the diaphragm, above the descending colon, between the cartilages of the false ribs and the cardiac extremity of the stomach, to which it is united by short vessels. It is in health from 3 to 4 inches long and 2 thick, of an elongated flattened form, and about 7 oz. in weight; on the inner surface is a longitudinal groove in which are situated the blood vessels, posteriorly resting on the vertebral column; below it is in relation with the left kidney and capsule, and with the pancreas behind. It is soft, spongy, and dusky red; the external surface is covered with the peritoneum; beneath this is a coat of white fibrous tissue with some elastic fibres, from the inner surface of which extends through the entire organ a network of fibrous bands and threads, the trabecular tissue. The splenic artery comes from the cœliac axis, the trunks not anastomosing, but subdividing like the branches of a tree, to which the Malpighian corpuscles are attached as fruits on short peduncles, ending generally in capillaries with very thin walls, passing in every direction through the organ and into the interior of the corpuscles; but in man, according to Mr. Gray, the capillaries frequently disappear, and the blood passes from

arteries to veins through lacuna or mere channels in the pulp tissue. The veins are branched like the arteries, have no valves, and the principal stem is one of the trunks of the vena porta; the nerves form the splenic plexus, and proceed from the solar plexus; the lymphatics are few and superficial. The parenchyma consists of a homogeneous mass of colorless nucleated corpuscles and cells imbedded in a granular plasma, in various stages of rapid development and change; this is in the greatest quantity toward the end of the digestive process, when a large amount of fresh alimentary material is introduced into the circulation. The splenic corpuscles, or Malpighian bodies of the spleen, are whitish spherical bodies, varying in diameter from } to } of a line, largest and most numerous in healthy and well fed individuals and animals. There are colored cells in the spleen pulp, chiefly red blood corpuscles in various stages of degeneration, and a few pigment cells. It is proportionately the largest and most active in early and vigorous manhood; it is found in all classes of vertebrates, and of various shapes and sizes. The great amount of blood sent to the spleen, its minute distribution, and the contents of the glandular vesicles, show that cell growth proeeeds rapidly in its substance; their products, however, are returned in an altered state to the blood, passing through the liver before entering the vena cava. It is probably a storehouse of albuminous nutritive material for the formative operations, which may be drawn upon as the system requires it, and with the absorbent glands probably assists in supplying the germs of the blood corpuscles. It is also generally believed to serve as an organ for the relief of the portal circulation, preventing undue accumulation of blood in the liver by the ease with which its vessels are distended. Obstruction of the circulation in the liver affects the spleen directly; when the alimentary canal is distended with food, were it not for the spleen the portal system would be gorged with blood; the general internal venous congestion which results from the cold stage of intermittent fever, it is well known, causes a permanent enlargement of the spleen. Its presence is not essential to life, at least in the adult; it has often been removed in animals, and in a few instances in man, without apparent ill consequences, its functions probably being performed by the other ductless or even the lymphatic glands. (See GLAND.) Almost every one has experienced a sharp pain or stitch under the ribs of the left side, after violent or long continued running and active exercise; this is caused by distention of the spleen by the blood obstructed in its passage through the liver; a similar pain is felt in the cold stage of fever and ague. It is sometimes greatly enlarged, as in the last mentioned disease and in typhoid fever, and it is engorged and softened in scurvy; in its chronic diseases, the face is apt to assume a dull ashy white color, seen also in

the eyes; it is subject to inflammation, generally from external injury, with pain, tenderness on pressure, and fever, requiring antiphlogistic treatment. The spleen was by the ancients supposed to be the source of black bile, which predisposed to and produced the melancholy temperament; and the terms "spleen" and "splenetic" are to this day employed to describe the ill-natured, fretful, and desponding state of mind commonly called "the blues;" it is hardly necessary to say that there is no connection between the spleen and the above temperament.

SPOHR, LUDWIG, a German composer, born in Brunswick, April 5, 1784, died there, Oct. 22, 1859. In early youth he devoted much attention to the study of the violin, his skill in performing on which, when practically tested at the congress of Vienna in 1814, was declared superior to that of any of his rivals. Subsequently he gave concerts for several years in various parts of Europe, and in 1822 established himself in Cassel as chapelmaster of the elector, in whose service he remained until near the close of his life. He produced a great number of orchestral symphonies, concertos, quartets, and other instrumental works, and cantatas, songs, ballads, and other vocal pieces, which are popular throughout Germany; but his reputation rests chiefly on his operas, "The Mountain Spirit,' "The Alchemist," "The Crusaders," "Jessonda," "Faust," "Zemira and Azor," and "Pietro of Abano;" and on his oratorios, "The Last Judgment," "The Crucifixion," and "The Fall of Babylon," which are among the finest works of their class produced since the time of Handel. His symphony entitled "The Consecration of Tones" is also a great favorite in the concert room. Forty years before his death he discontinued performing on the violin, but left to violin players an admirable treatise on the subject, entitled "The Violin School." During the latter years of his life he composed little.

SPOLETO, formerly a delegation of the Papal States, now belonging to the kingdom of Italy, bordering on the Neapolitan territory; area, 1,130 sq. m.; pop. in 1853, 134,939. It is drained by the rivers Tronto, Tiber, Nera, Corno, and Velino. The valley of Spoleto is very fertile, and produces large quantities of maize, wine, olives, melons, and silk. Under the new organization Spoleto is a district of reduced size in the province of Umbria; pop. 70,011.-SPOLETO (anc. Spoletium or Spoletum), the capital, is situated on the side of a mountain overlooking the Tessino, about 75 m. N. from Rome; pop. about 7,000. It is defended by a strong castle, which is separated from the city by a very deep and narrow ravine crossed by a single bridge of great height. The city has a fine cathedral of marble, in the style of the early renaissance. Among its numerous ruins are those of an ancient theatre, of a temple of Concord, and a palace of Theodoric. There is also an old aqueduct attributed to the

Romans, and a triumphal arch called the "gate of Hannibal." The town has considerable trade in grain, wine, raisins, leather, and horses. Under the Romans Spoletium was a flourishing town of the province of Umbria. Hannibal was repulsed under its walls. After the fall of the western empire it fell into the power of the Goths, was taken from them by Narses, subsequently became the capital of a Lombard duchy, and in the 13th century was annexed to the Papal dominions. It was sacked by Frederic Barbarossa, and again destroyed by the Perugians in 1324. Napoleon I. made it the capital of the department of Trasimène. It has suffered much from earthquakes.

SPONDEE (Gr. σnovồn, a libation), a poetical foot of 2 long syllables. Verses exclusively spondaic have a slow movement, and consequent solemnity; such were sung by the Greeks on sacrificial occasions, and when a libation was offered, and hence the name. The spondee is used in any part of the English heroic line, but with the best effect in the first and last places. SPONGE, the familiar name of the family of spongiada or porifera, a division of animals of the so called class protozoa. It has long been a disputed point whether sponges are animals or vegetables; in the "Principles of Zoology," by Agassiz and Gould (1848), they are said to belong to the vegetable kingdom; the most recent authorities, as Johnston and Bowerbank, decide in favor of their animal nature. Whatever may be the decision of this question, the common sponge (spongia, Linn.) may be taken as the type. These consist of a soft gelatinous mass, porous and elastic, supported on a fibro-corneous skeleton which anastomoses in all directions, and without silicious or calcareous spicula; they have no organs nor vessels, are capable of absorbing great quantities of fluid which is given out again on pressure, insensible to all kinds of irritation, and incapable of contraction or locomotion. The apparently homogeneous jelly which fills the pores of the living sponge and covers its surface, is seen under the microscope to be filled with numerous transparent spherical granules. There is a gradual passage from the soft sponges of commerce to those of stiff and compact texture, with the fibres loaded with silicious spicula, crumbling easily when dry, and useless in the arts; others are rather of a felted character, usually grayish white, and loaded with variously shaped spicula of carbonate of lime. Sponges vary much in form, and are fixed by a kind of root at the base, or incrust other bodies, growing mostly in groups; most are marine, but spongilla (Lam.) grows in fresh water; they often possess brilliant colors. Rounded orifices of large size, or oscula, are scattered over the surface of most sponges, which lead into sinuous canals permeating the substance in every direction; water is continually absorbed by the pores of the sponge, penetrating and filling every part, and, having supplied air and food, is driven out through the oscula; the currents

are kept up principally by the action of minute vibratile cilia, assisted, according to Dutrochet, by the act of endosmosis. Sponges are propagated sometimes by ciliated gemmules, yellowish and oval, arising from the organic mucus, and carried out of the substance by the currents; they are mostly formed in the spring, and, after swimming freely about for some time, become fixed and grow. They also produce internal, unciliated, oviform bodies, resembling winter ova, which, when thrown out, swell, burst, and give issue to the locomotive germs within; they are said also to grow by division, or growth of detached portions of the parent body; they are believed to be nourished by minute algae drawn within their pores. Some live in shallow, others in very deep water; scarce and small in cold latitudes, they increase in size and number toward the tropics, being most abundant in the Australian seas. The sponges of commerce are procured chiefly in the Mediterranean and the Bahama islands; they are obtained mostly by diving, to which persons are trained from childhood in the Greek islands; the adhesion is generally firm to the bottom, and the growth slow; the lime is removed by soaking in dilute muriatic acid, and they are then bleached and beaten for market. To bleach sponges, the finest and softest are selected, washed several times in water, and immersed in very dilute hydrochloric acid to dissolve out the calcareous matters; having been again washed, they are placed in another bath of dilute hydrochloric acid to which 6 per cent. of hyposulphite of soda dissolved in a little warm water has been added; the sponge is left in this bath 24 hours, or until it is bleached as white as snow. Smyrna is the chief place for the export of fine sponges. The coarse sponges used for horses and carriages, &c., are obtained chiefly from the Bahamas; when taken from the water they have a sickish, disagreeable odor, which soon becomes putrefactive and disgusting, like decomposing animal rather than vegetable matter; they are first buried in dry sand, and when decomposition has ceased are exposed in wire cages to the action of the tide for purification. According to Dr. Bowerbank, there are 24 genera of sponges on the shores of Great Britain. While spongia is the type of the corneous sponges, thethys (Cuv.) and Grantia (Flem.) are types of the silicious and calcareous sponges respectively. (See PROTOZOA.) SPONSOR. See GODFATHERS AND GODMOTHERS.

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION. COMBUSTION, SPONTANEOUS.

See

SPONTINI, GASPARO, an Italian composer, born in Jesi, in the Papal States, Nov. 17, 1778, died in Majolati, near Jesi, Jan. 14, 1851. He studied under Padre Martini at Bologna, and at 13 became a pupil of the conservatory La Pieta at Naples. At 17 he composed his first opera, I puntigli delle donne, which met with a decided success; and 9 years later he

repaired to Paris, where were produced at the French opera his 3 most celebrated works, La Vestale (1807), Fernand Cortès (1809), and Olympie (1819). The first of these enjoyed the greatest reputation, and among the French Spontini was in his prime ranked as the equal of Rossini. Subsequently he was for a long time director of the opera at Berlin; but in the latter part of his life, passed partly in Italy and partly in Paris, he composed little.

gated, 2 by 14 inches, white, sprinkled all over with bright rufous spots, forming a ring near the large end; they breed and are commonly seen in flocks. The flesh is oily and poor eating; the beautiful feathers of the wing are made into fans in Florida, those from a single bird being worth at St. Augustine from $1 to $1.50. The European spoonbill (P. leucorodia, Linn.) is about the same size, of a white color, with reddish yellow patch on breast, pale yellow naked space around eyes and throat, and a yellowish white, long occipital crest; it is rare in England, but common in Holland and the southern portions of the continent and all over Africa. This curious genus has affinities with the cormorants and pelicans in the dilatable and bare gular membrane, with the curlews and herons in the alimentary canal, and with the sandpipers in the shape of the sternum; the trachea divides before entering the chest.-The shoveller duck (spatula elypeata, Boie) is also called spoonbill.

SPOONBILL, the common name of the wading birds of the family plataleida, characterized by a much depressed bill, very broad, and dilated at the end in the shape of a rounded spoon. In the genus platalea (Linn.) the bill is long, straight, thin, slightly bent downward at the tip, the mandibles in close opposition and the edges not lamellar; nostrils basal and in the lateral groove; wings long, 2d quill the longest; tail short; legs longer than in the typical waders, tibia bare for nearly one half; tarsi not much longer than middle toe, covered with small hexagonal scales; toes SPORADES (Gr., the scattered), the lesser webbed at the base, the outer longer than the islands of the Grecian archipelago surrounding inner, the middle not pectinated, and the hind the group of the Cyclades, divided into the one only partly resting on the ground; claws northern, western, and eastern Sporades. The short and obtuse. There are about a half northern group includes the islands of Skidozen species, found in all quarters of the atho (anc. Sciathus), Skopelo (Scopelos), Skyro globe, migrating to warm climates at the ap- (Scyros), and Kilidromi (Halonesus); these lie proach of winter; they frequent marshy inlets off the N. E. coast of Negropont or Euboea, of the sea, and the borders of lakes and rivers, and belong to the kingdom of Greece. The wading about in search of fish fry, worms, western group, which also belongs to Greece, frogs, and aquatic insects; they can swim, lies off the E. coast of Argolis, and includes and even dive, if necessary for escape; the Hydra (Hydrea), Spezzia (Tiparenus), Poros nest is made either on trees or among rushes (Sphæria), Ægina, and Koluri (Salamis). The in swampy places, and composed of coarse eastern group belongs to Turkey, and lies off sticks; the eggs are 2 to 4, whitish. The the S. W. coast of Anatolia; it includes Psara roseate spoonbill (P. ajaja, Linn.) is about 30 or Ipsara (Psyra), Scio (Chios), Samos, Nicaria inches long, and 4 feet in alar extent; the (Icarus or Icaria), Patmos, Lero (Leros), Kabill is 7 inches, and covered with a soft skin; lymna (Calymna), Stanko (Cos), Stampalia the head is of moderate size, bare, the skin (Astypalea), Anaphe, Skarpanto (Carpathus), yellowish green; the neck long and slender, and Kaso (Casus). The Sporades of the anand the body compact and muscular. The cients included only the eastern group, and this prevailing color is rosy red, paler in front, and with the exception of the northernmost islands. nearly white on the neck; lesser wing coverts, upper and lower tail coverts, and lower part of throat, bright carmine; tail feathers ochrey yellow; the young have the head feathered, the carmine tint wanting, and the tail rosy. It is found in the southern Atlantic and gulf states, and is so abundant in the breeding season at Indian river, Florida, that one person has been known to kill 60 in a day; it does not go above North Carolina, nor far from the sea; being very sensitive to cold, it is most abundant in the gulf states. They are essentially nocturnal, though they often feed by day when the tide suits; they are fond of the company of herons; they fly with the neck and legs extended, and rise rapidly to a great height; they alight easily on trees, and can walk on the large branches. The breeding time in the Florida keys begins in February, the young being out of the nest by April 1; the nest is usually in the top of a mangrove, coarsely made; the eggs are commonly 3, elon

SPOTSWOOD, JOHN, a Scottish prelate, born in Edinburghshire in 1565, died in London, Nov. 26, 1639. He was graduated at the university of Glasgow at the age of 16, and at 20 was appointed to succeed his father in Calder kirk. At first strenuous in his opposition to episcopacy, even drawing up, or at least revising, according to Calderwood, in 1597, the defence for refusing to subscribe the bond demanded of the clergy by the king, it was not long before he began to side with the court party, and to favor a moderate episcopacy. In 1603 he was one of 5 clergymen selected by James I. to accompany him to London for his coronation, and while there was appointed to succeed Beatoun as archbishop of Glasgow. He used henceforward his best exertions for the establishment of episcopacy in Scotland, and, though not given to violent measures, incurred much odium among the great body of the Scottish people. In 1609 he was appointed an extraordinary lord of session, but until 1610

was obliged to remain subject to the ordinary church courts. In 1610 he and two other Scottish bishops received episcopal ordination at the hands of English bishops, and soon after he was appointed head of one of the courts of high commission for trying offences against the church. He became primate of all Scotland in 1615, and the two courts of high commission were consolidated under his presidency. Under instructions from James I., though it is alleged contrary to his own wishes, he introduced the forms, services, appurtenances, and substantially the liturgy of the English church. In 1633 he placed the crown on the head of Charles I. as king of Scotland. He was appointed in 1635 lord high chancellor of Scotland. In consequence of the indignation aroused by the imposition of a book of canons and a new liturgy on the people, by order of the king, Spotswood in 1637 retired to Newcastle, and finally to London. He wrote a "History of the Church of Scotland, from the Year 203 to the Close of the Reign of James VI." (fol., London, 1655), and one or two smaller works.

SPOTTED FEVER (typhus petechialis, typhus syncopalis, or typhus gravior), an epidemic fever which prevailed in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania from 1807 to 1815. Medical writers now generally consider it as a form of malignant typhus, taking on, as epidemics of typhus are apt to do, certain peculiar characteristics, and possibly modified somewhat by the treatment adopted by some of the leading physicians. It is said to have appeared first in Medfield, Mass., in March, 1806, and a year later in the Connecticut valley and along the Hoosic and Green mountain ranges; it disappeared usually during the summer, but recurred for several years, with annually increasing violence, from January to April. It was most prevalent and fatal in 1812 and 1813. Its last appearance was at Berwick, Me., in 1815. The name spotted fever is inappropriate, if intended to indicate a fever distinct from the severe or malignant typhus, for the presence of both a red rash and of purple spots in that disease is one of its most marked symptoms; but the specific differences between this epidemic and ordinary typhus were said to be the time of year when it was most prevalent, spring instead of autumn; its avoidance of large towns, prevailing rather in thinly settled districts; its attacking more generally healthy and robust adults, rather than the weak, the young, or aged, and those of broken constitutions; and its stubborn resistance to the ordinary modes of treatment. It was very fatal, especially in the scattered population of villages, in which many heads of families were taken. In the latter part of its course it was very generally combined with local inflammations, particularly of the lungs or throat, but the symptoms of prostration which led to the name "sinking typhus," often applied to it, were even more strongly marked than in its earlier history. The treatment of this epi

demic led to a radical and bitter division in the medical profession. One party used stimulants very freely, avoiding bloodletting, and using from the commencement cinchona, brandy, opium, the tinctures of cinnamon, peppermint, lavender, &c., and these not so much with reference to the quantities given as the effects produced. Cathartics and emetics were used by this class of practitioners sparingly if at all, and cold water and other diluents sternly prohibited. In the use of this treatment they asserted that they were more successful than their opponents, and though the recoveries which took place were slow, they deemed them sure. The physicians who discarded this mode of treatment argued that the disease was at first a congestion, and that bleeding, either general or local, was necessary to relieve this, and if practised would be followed by less prostration and a more speedy recovery. This view gained prevalence after the appearance of the local inflammations in connection with the fever. The antiphlogistic physicians, as they were called, generally preferred local bleeding by leeches or cups to general; they administered calomel and mild cathartics and emetics, and after a time sustained the strength by the use of vegetable and mineral tonics. The mortality under either mode of treatment was very great, and neither had much cause to boast over the other. For many years subsequently the community as well as the physicians, especially in New England, were divided into two hostile parties, the stimulants and the antiphlogistics; and the controversy has hardly yet completely ceased.-The most noteworthy works on the epidemic were Miner and Tully's "Essays on Fevers and other Subjects" (1823); Miner, "Typhus Syncopalis" (1825); North and Strong on "Spotted Fever;" report of a committee of the Massachusetts medical society in its "Transactions," vol. ii.; Gallup on the "Epidemics of Vermont;" and Hale on the "Spotted Fever in Gardiner."

SPOTTSYLVANIA, an E. co. of Va., bounded N. E. by the Rappahannock and S. E. by the North Anna river, and drained by the Mattapony; area, 400 sq. m.; pop. in 1860, 16,076, of whom 7,786 were slaves. The surface is hilly and the soil fertile. Granite and freestone are abundant. The productions in 1850 were 102,953 bushels of wheat, 265,753 of Indian corn, 47,437 of oats, 1,279 tons of hay, and 52,056 lbs. of butter. There were 3 newspaper offices, 20 churches, and 761 pupils attending schools. The Richmond and Fredericsburg railroad and the Rappahannock canal intersect the county. The value of real estate in 1856 was $3,661,265, showing an increase of 23 per cent. since 1850. Capital, Spottsylvania Court House.

SPRAGUE, CHARLES, an American poet, born in Boston, Oct. 25, 1791. At the age of 13 he entered a mercantile house as clerk, and subsequently was taken into partnership by his

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