It has consequently been the recent tendency, and apparently most justly, to reduce all the signs to black and white, singly or in combination, trusting to shape for different signals.

There are, however, disadvantages attending flags. In a still day, they are difficult to read; or the wind may so blow that they are only seen end on. At sea, the motion of a ship will generally neutralise these drawbacks; but the case is otherwise on shore, and it may consequently occur that the ship can communicate to the land, but cannot get a reply. To obviate this, signals representing solid figures are sometimes employed. To fulfil their conditions, they must appear the same in whatever lateral direction seen. But this limits the shapes to cylinders, cones, and the sphere, or combinations of those figures; and as the total number of distin guishable signs is reduced, signalling becomes reduced from the word-signal to the telegraph. This distinction should be clearly understood, as much is involved in it. A word-signal, as in the present system, is where the whole word or message is sent up at once, and flies simultaneously; a telegraph signal is one in which the letters composing the word or numbers representing the signal are shewn separately, and each is removed before another is shewn. At sea, the word-system is best, for it involves no act of memory; and memory, even from signal to signal, is found difficult by signalmen in the turmoil of perhaps storm or fighting. On the other hand, the telegraph system involves far simpler apparatus, and the changes can be effected more rapidly. As regards the actual time required for a message, the word-system has the advantage in a message short enough for the whole to be shewn at one time; but otherwise the difference is not material. If all advantages be balanced, it is probable that the telegraph system will eventually supersede the other entirely. Whether the word or the telegraph system be practised, another question is, whether to spell each word, or to use numerals and a code. Under the latter principle, about 14,000 of the words and sentences most commonly sent are arranged for easy reference in the signal-book. With the addition of 1 or 2 repeating symbols, the 9 numerals and 0 give combinations 4 together to this number. A combination of figures is arbitrarily assigned to each expression; and the expression is communicated by representing those figures in their proper order. With the book of reference at hand, and intelligent signalmen, there can be no doubt of the superior rapidity of the 'code.' A code has also this further advantage, that the signals representing things and not words, it can be made international, the same symbols representing the same idea in every language. It is then only necessary for universal signalling that each nation should concur in the meaning to be attached to the several signs. Many gentlemen of ability have devoted their attention of late years to the simplification of signals; among whom conspicuous positions must be assigned

to Colonel Grant, Captain Bolton, Mr Redl, and Lieutenant Colomb, R.N. Their principal object has been so to simplify the telegraph system that signals may be made with any apparatus, or without apparatus at all. To accomplish this, they have, to a great extent, abjured colour, and resorted to form and motion. Among the form telegraphs there is the principle of the old Semaphore (q. v.), in which each letter or number is shewn by the position of two arms, as in fig. 2. The arms

are heavy, and involve Fig. 2.-Semaphore System. mechanism; besides

which they are not always clear on a ship in motion beyond a short distance. Very superior in visibility and simplicity is Redl's System of Cones. This consists of 4 cones fixed to a mast. The cones are collapsable, and are formed in similar manner to umbrellas. Their usual condition is shut, and they can only be held open while a rope attached to each is pulled. With cones of 3 feet base, signalling is rapid and clear up to 5 miles, and the mast can be inserted at any place. The system is very simple: each cone represents a number, 1, 2, 3, or 4; then I and 4 shewn represent 5; 2 and 4, 6; and so on, as in fig. 3. This very elegant system can be applied in military

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Fig. 3.-Cone System.

or naval operations. But its chief beauty is, that a person understanding it can make the same signals without the cones; for example: if a black flag represent an open cone, and a white flag a shut cone, a ship with 4 black and 3 white flags can make every signal. Again, the arm raised horizontally may represent the open cone; against the body, the shut cone; then two men standing on a cliff are as good as any signal-post, see fig 4. Or if one person

Fig. 4.

only be present, he may represent an open cone by raising his arm with a handkerchief extended, and a shut cone by his arm without the handkerchief. He has only then to raise his arm four times in quick succession, with or without the handkerchief, to make the required signal. We have thus arrived at a universal system of the utmost simplicity, which in war, and especially during invasion, might be of inestimable benefit to the nation. The code of signals cannot be too generally diffused by the govern ment, in order that every man among the public

pass the Privy Seal, required first to have the signet affixed, and passed from the Signet-office to the office of the Privy Seal in the form of signet bills, verified by the signet-seal and superscription and the signature of the Clerk of the Signet. By act 11 and 12 Vict. c. 82, however, warrants under the royal sign-manual, countersigned by one of the principal secretaries of state, have been made per se sufficient authority for the Privy Seal to be affixed, and the Signet-office has been abolished. The signet in Scotland is a seal which seems to have been originally intended to authenticate royal warrants connected with the administration of justice. The principal class of agents or attorneys in Scotland are called Writers to the Signet, it is said from their having been originally clerks in the office of the Secretary of State, by whom writs passing the signet were prepared. See WRITERS TO THE SIGNET.

SIGNING, SEALING, and DELIVERY of a deed, in English Law, is the mode of executing a deed. The main acts are, however, the sealing and delivery, for signature is not absolutely essentialat least in some kinds of deeds known to English law. The use of the seal is an ancient form of authenticating deeds, still kept up in England, though long superseded in Scotland by simple subscription. In practice, a wafer or seal is attached to the end of the English deed, and the party who executes it must, after signature, put his finger on the seal, and say: 'I deliver this as my act and deed,' at the same time handing the deed to the person who is to have the custody thereof.

SIGN-MANUAL, ROYAL, the subscription of the sovereign, which must be adhibited to all writs which have to pass the Privy Seal or Great Seal. When attached to a grant or warrant, it must be countersigned by one of the principal secretaries of state, or by the Lords of the Treasury. The signmanual, in practice, consists but of the initial of the sovereign's name, with the letter R added, for Rex or Regina.

SIGOURNEY, MRS LYDIA HUNTLEY (Huntley being her maiden name), American authoress and poet, was born at Norwich, Connecticut, in 1791. She was, like most young ladies of ability in New England at that period, early engaged in teaching, and much of her early writings consist of tales, essays, instructive letters, and poems, for her pupils and the young. Her first published work was a volume of poems in 1815. In 1819, she was married to Mr Charles Sigourney, a merchant of Hartford. In 1822, she published a descriptive poem on the Traits of the Aborigines of America; and in 1824, a Sketch of Connecticut Forty Years Since. These were followed by Pocahontas and other Poems, Lays of the Heart, Tales in Prose and Verse, &c. In 1840, Mrs S. visited Europe, and on her return, with a freedom common to American authors, wrote her Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands. She compiled amusing and instructive books for the young, and was a constant contributor to magazines and other periodicals of poems, whose subjects, style, and sentiment gave her the designation of the American Hemans.' She died at Hartford, June

1865.

SIHU'N. See JAXARTES.

SIKHS. The term Sikh, a corruption of the Sanscrit s'ishya, signifying disciple,' is applied to a community of which the Punjab, in Northern India, constitutes, substantially, the confines. Less commonly, even among themselves, the members of this community are also known as Sinhs (vulgarly Singhs), that is, lions,' a title given them by Govind, the last and most influential of their hierarchs. Every

name of a Sikh male now terminates with the word Sinh.

Originally a body of mere religionists, the Sikhs, what from the energy which they developed under repression, and the inducements to join them which they offered as proselytisers, grew, by degrees, in strength and numbers, and ended in a formidable nationality. Their originator, Nânak, was born in 1469, in the vicinity of Lahore, and died in 1539, not far from the place of his nativity. To him succeeded, in turn, nine pontiffs, each of whom, like himself, is popularly denominated guru, or 'teacher.' These were Angad, Amardâs, Râmdâs, Arjunmall, Hargovind, Harrây, Harkrishna, Teghbahâdar, and, finally, Govind.

The aim of Nanak was pointedly humanitarian, and designed to combine Hindus and Mohammedans, at the cost of what he held to be only brotherhood. Sufficient proof of the comprehensive unimportant compromise, into one harmonious character of his scheme is afforded by the circumstance that he accepted concurrently the incarnations of Neo-Brahmanism and the mission of the Arabian prophet. His three immediate successors, while avoided secular pursuits, and held themselves aloof zealously protecting the interests of the infant sect, from political complications. Arjunmall, however, not content with signalising himself as compiler of the Adigranth, and as founder of Amritsar, the holy city of the S., engaged with ardour in trade, and rendered himself conspicuous as a partisan of the rebellious Prince Khusrû, son of Jahangir. Hargovind, who came after Arjunmall, called the S. to arms, led them in person to battle, and, though he remitted nothing of his assiduity as a guru, became an active and useful, though sometimes refractory, adherent of the Great Moghul, against whom his predecessor had plotted. Harray subsequently espoused the part of Dârâ Shukoh, when contending with his brothers for the throne of India. Har krishna, son of Harrây, died a child, and was only nominally a guru. Teghbahâdar, after a career of turbulence, was executed as a rebel, by command of Aurangzeb, at Delhi. However deficient in the qualifications demanded for spiritual leadership, it can scarcely be doubted that he contributed, to an important degree, in preparing for the complete change of Sikhism which was effected by his son, Govind. The chief motive that instigated Govind, the tenth of the teachers, to bring about this change was, with some probability, a desire to avenge the ignominious death of his father. He resolved to combat the Mohammedan power and, in deviation from the principles enunciated by Nanak, the Mohammedan religion as well. But Hinduism, with its social restrictions of caste, its fantastic fictions, and its irrational idolatry, likewise fell under his ban. God, he inculcated, is not to be found save in humility and sincerity. In what measure he was a man of thought is evinced by his legacy to his co-religionists, the second volume of the Sikh scriptures. A Sikh, it is therein taught, is to worship one God, to eschew superstition, and to practise strict morality, but equally is to live by the sword The purport of this last injunction is unmistakable. Govind was assassinated, while in the imperial service, in 1708, on the banks of the Godavari. He died, it is true, without beholding the fulfilment of the purpose for which he had striven; but he had, nevertheless, succeeded in stirring his followers to an ambition for political independence-an idea which was ultimately transformed into a reality. His successor, but only as a temporal leader, Banda, suffered a cruel death. He did but little to advan tage his sect; and his memory is not held in reverence.

With the decline of the Moghul Empire, the might of the S., in spite of their intermittent reverses, steadily increased, until, in 1764, they convened a general assembly, formally assumed the character of a substantive nation, and issued coin from which the name of the emperor was omitted. Their commonwealth was still denominated, as it had been by Govind, Khâlsa; and the component states of the federation, ordinarily said to have been twelve in number, were thenceforward distinguished as Misls. Foremost in influence among these states was that of Sukarchakiya, the chieftain of which was Maha Sinh, for whose son, the famous Ranjit Sinh (Runjeet-Singh, q. v.), it was reserved to consolidate the Misls into a unity subject to his own undivided control. The virtual headship of Ranjit Sinh dates from the year 1805, though it was not until 1838 that he attained the zenith of his ascendency. He died in the year following, at the age of 59. During 1845 and 1846, the S. ceased to exist as a nation; and their country has since been ruled by the English. Yet every loyal Sikh is still confident that his people is suffering but a transitory depression, and that it is destined to retrieve, and even to surpass, its bygone glory. In the meantime, the reputed son of a wife or concubine of Ranjit Sinh, Dilip Sinh, is a pensioner of the British government, has professed Christianity, and has taken up his abode in England.

Ethnologically considered, the S. are, in large proportion, of Jat origin; the Jâts, whom some take to be one with the classical Getæ, being a tribe extensively diffused over the north of India. But other Hindus have helped to swell their ranks, and also not a few Mohammedans. The ten gurus are accounted Kshatriyas, or of the second Brahmanical caste, the martial. The descendants of these several races, from intermarriage and other causes, cannot, however, now be discriminated; and there is no division of the multiform population of India that strikes more than the S., as respects physical uniformity. For symmetry and comeliness, and, it may be added, for courage and powers of endurance, the Lions of the Punjab are altogether remarkable. Nânak's was, undoubtedly, by far the most successful of the repeated attempts which have been made to fuse together the incompatible dogmas of Hinduism and Islamism. None of the authors of these attempts seem, indeed, to have been acquainted with other than the mere surface of the two religions which they would have blended into one. With the Mohammedan, the existence of the Deity as a pure spirit, and his creatorship of the world, are fundamental postulates. On the other hand, the radical doctrine of the Hindu is pantheism, agreeably to which the universe, alternatively God, is a single eternal substance, under the twofold aspect of spirit and matter. These sets of first principles, which Nanak and his fellow-reformers could never have clearly apprehended, are palpably impossible of reconciliation. Without rejecting all that is distinctive of his creed, no Hindu can assent to the theology of Islam; and, conversely, every intelligent follower of the Arabian prophet must be aware that the monism and the metempsychosis of Brahmanism are utterly antagonistic to the leading positions of his own faith. Govind, as we have seen, openly repudiated the notion of amalgamating Hinduism and Mohammedanism. But a critical acquaintance with his real views, in their fulness, and of those of Nanak, must remain a matter of conjecture until we possess a detailed translation, executed by some scholar competently versed in Hindu philosophy, of the Adigranth (The Original Record) and the Daswin Pâtsúhî dû Granth (The Record of the Tenth King). These voluminous

compositions are metrical throughout, and are chiefly in Hindi and Panjâbî; the former containing, additionally, a little Sanscrit, and the latter, a long chapter in Persian. They are written in the same character as the Sanscrit, the values of the letters being altered, though their forms are retained. Among the numerous divisions into which Sikhism, as a system of belief and practice, has ramified, two, at least, apart from the great central sect, deserve specification. First are the Udâsis, professors of indifference to mundane concerns; a sect whose origin is attributed to S'richand, a son of Nânak. These recluses, whom Amardâs refused to recognise as genuine S., have, to this day, numerous disciples. The Akâlis sprang up just after the time of Govind. For extravagance of fanaticism, these Ishmaelites have, it is hoped, no rivals; and the style of their piety is comparable with that of a Thug.

As specimens of the superstitions of the S., it may be noted that, like the Hindus, they look upon the eating of beef as a deadly offence, and that, like the modern followers of Zoroaster, they attach sinfulness to the act of extinguishing a light with the breath. Some illustrations of practical Sikhism may also be gathered even from the few remarks that have been made touching the gurus. It is not irrelevant to add, that Amardâs humanely discountenanced the cremation of widows, and that Arjunmall committed suicide. The morality of ordinary S. is as positively maintained by one class of writers as it is denied by another. Evidence should seem to shew that the agriculturists among them are much on a par, as to correctness of life, with other Indian cultivators of the soil. As to their soldiers, however, it has been observed that they are deeply tainted with those repulsive impurities for which the Persians are so infamous. Though forbidden the use of tobacco, they are under no restriction as concerns indulgence in bhang, opium, and intoxicating drinks; and it would be gross flattery to commend them on the score of sobriety. As regards morality, there is reason to believe that they have greatly degenerated since the days of Govind.

The gross Sikh population has been most variously estimated by different statisticians, some of whom compute it at considerably less than half a million of persons, while others deem a million and a quarter, or even a million and a half, to be not excessive.

For the most satisfactory extant treatment of the subject of this article, the reader is referred to Captain J. D. Cunningham's History of the Sikhs. Sir J. Malcolm's Sketch of the Sikhs; The Asiatic Researches, vols. i. and xi.; the collective works of Professor H. H. Wilson, vols. i. and ii.; and The Calcutta Review, vols. xxxi. and xxxiii., may like wise be consulted with advantage.

SIKH WARS, two brief but desperate contests Waged between the British power in India and the the destruction of the latter as an independent nation. Sikhs in 1845-1846, 1848-1849, which resulted in The first had its origin in the dissensions which convulsed the Sikh country after the death of Runjeet Singh (q. v.), and which necessitated the exercise of a wary regard on the part of the flushed with their triumph over all lawful authority Calcutta authorities. At length an army of Sikhs, in their own country, crossed the Sutlej, and but their advanced guard was met by Sir Henry extended their ravages over British territory; Hardinge, the governor-general, at the head of four regiments of infantry and one of dragoons, and routed at Mudki (q.v.) with heavy loss. Three days after, their main body, which had meantime crossed the river, and intrenched itself at Feroze.

Shah (q. v.), was attacked by a larger force of British under Gough and Hardinge, and after a bloody conflict, which lasted two days, also routed. Still undismayed by these reverses, they again intrenched themselves at Sobraon ; but a fresh body which had just crossed the Sutlej at Aliwal (q. v.), 19,000 strong, with 68 pieces of cannon, was wholly routed and driven across the river by Sir Harry Smith, at the head of 7000 men, with 32 guns; and their main body was soon after similarly dispersed at Sobraon (q. v.). The British then crossed the river, took Lahore, and restored the authority of the young Maharajah, from whom they took the territory between the Beas and the Sutlej, the treaty confirming this settlement being made at Lahore, 9th March 1846. But the internal disturbances in the kingdom of Lahore soon became as active as before, and induced the Maharajah's prime-minister to put the country under the Company's protection; and a residency with a guard of regular troops was then established in the capital. On April 20, 1848, two British officers were murdered by a Sikh chief, the dewan Moolraj of Multan; and as this was found to be but a premonitory symptom of a general outbreak, a small force of British under Lieutenant Edwardes, aided by a body of Sikhs, under the Rajah of Bhawalpur, gallantly attacked the army of Moolraj, which, after a desperate conflict of nine hours, they defeated on June 18, and, both sides in the meantime having received reinforcements, again on July 1. Multan was then laid siege to, but the defection of 5000 auxiliary Sikhs under Shere Singh (the son of the Sirdar Chuttur Singh, the governor of Hazara, who had been for some time in revolt, and had driven the British from his district) compelled the British to retreat. For some time, the British authorities in the Punjab were hampered by a want of military force, and though the Maharajah and much of his army still opposed the Sikh rebels, little reliance could be placed upon most of it. Shere Singh now succeeded in raising his army to 40,000, but was defeated by Lord Gough at Ramnugger (November 22). The inconsiderate haste of Gough at Chillianwalla (January 13) nearly lost him that great battle, which was saved only by the extreme valour of his soldiers; but amends for this fault was made at Gujerat (q. v.), where the power of Shere Singh and his allies was completely broken. Meanwhile, the fortress of Multan had, after a protracted bombardment, been captured; and the Company, seeing no other mode of protecting their territories from annoyance by these warlike fanatics, annexed the Punjab, March 29, 1849, thus terminating the existence of the Sikhs as an independent nation.

SI-KIA'NG, or WESTERN RIVER, a river at the southern extremity of China Proper. It has lately been ascertained by our surveyors to be navigable for vessels not drawing more than 16 feet of water for about 100 miles from its mouth. The S. is remarkable for the purity and clearness of its waters. It is at present chiefly useful in conveying the sugar-cane that grows in its vicinity, as well as rafts of timber from the forests of Kwangse,

to the markets of Canton.

SILE'NÉ, a genus of plants of the natural order Caryophyllacea; with a tubular 5-toothed calyx; five notched or bifid petals, which terminate in a narrow claw at the base, spring from the stalk of the germen, and have each an appendage forming a Corona (q. v.) in the mouth of the corolla; ten

stamens; three styles; the capsule 3-celled, 6-toothed, many-seeded. The species are numerous, mostly natives of the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere, annual and perennial plants; nine or ten of them natives of Britain, and others frequent in flower-gardens. One of the most common British species is the BLADDER CAMPION (S. inflata), a perennial, which grows in cornfields and dry pastures, and near the sea-shore, has a branched stem fully a foot high, ovate-lanceolate bluish-green leaves, panicles of white flowers, and an inflated calyx, with a beautiful network of veins. The young shoots are sometimes used like asparagus, and have a peculiar but agreeable flavour, somewhat resembling that of peas. They are best when most blanched. The cultivation of this plant was long ago strongly recommended, but it has not obtained a place among garden plants.-The Moss CAMPION (S. acaulis) is a pretty little plant, with beautiful purple flowers growing in patches so as to form a kind of turf, one of the finest ornaments of the higher mountains of Scotland, and found also in Cumberland and Wales.- Many species, some of them British, are popularly called CATCHFLY, from their viscidity, as S. Anglica, a species found in sandy and gravelly fields in many parts of Britain.

SILE'NUS, son of Pan and Gæa (the Earth), is generally represented as the chief of the Sileni or older Satyrs (q. v.), and the inseparable companion of Bacchus, with whom he took part in the contest against the Gigantes, slaying Enceladus. In most respects, he seems to have resembled the other satyrs, and to have borne a strong likeness to Sir J. Falstaff, being in addition noted for his wisdom and his power of prophecy. S. had a temple at Elis.

SILE'SIA, a province of the kingdom of Prussia, included in the limits of the Germanic Confedera tion, lies south of the provinces of Brandenburg and Posen, and is bounded on the E. by the Polish provinces of Russia and Austria, and on the S. and W. by the Austro-Germanic provinces, and the kingdom of Saxony. It is divided into three governments: Liegnitz, in the west; Breslau, in the east, and Oppeln, in the south; and these, again, are subdivided into circles. Total area, 15,547 English sq. m., with a pop. (1861) of 3,390,695, of whom 1,674,724 are Catholics, 1,670,317 Protestants, and 41,100 Jews. Of the population, 4th speak Polish, more than 90,000 employ other Slavic dialects, and the rest use the German language. This province, by far the largest and most populous of the Prussian provinces, is crossed from north-east to south-west by a broad strip of mountainous country, which widens out at each extremity; and along the whole eastern boundary, and in the south, are ranges of low hills; in the north-west and centre, the surface is flat and heathy, or sandy, with numerous stagnant pools. S. is almost wholly included in the basin of the Oder (navigable as far south as Ratibor), which flows through it from south-east to northwest, and receives from each side numerous tributaries; but a small portion in the extreme south is drained into the Vistula, which here takes its rise. The soil is altogether fertile and well cultivated, cereals of all kinds, oil-plants, beet, hops, occamore so, however, in Lower than in Upper S.; and sionally vines, and above all, flax and hemp, are the crops of the province; but of late years the cultivation of tobacco, and of plants yielding dyestuffs, has been receiving increased attention. Cattle and sheep, the latter excellent in quality, and partly of pure or mixed merino blood, are reared in the high-lands, the annual produce of wool averaging fully 140,000 cwt. The mines of S. are of great importance; iron, copper, and lead are the chief