STEUBEN, Frederic William Augustus, baron von; a distinguished Prussian officer, who attached himself to the American cause in the revolution of 1776. He had been aid-de-camp to Frederic the Great, and had attained the rank of lieutenant-general in his army. Sacrificing his honors and emoluments in Europe, Steuben came to America in 1777, and tendered his services to congress, as a volunteer in their army, without claiming any rank or compensation. He received the thanks of that body, and joined the main army under the commander-inchief at Valley Forge. Baron Steuben soon rendered himself particularly useful to the Americans, by disciplining the forces. On the recommendation of general Washington, congress, in May, 1778, appointed the baron inspector-general of the army, with the rank of major-general. His efforts in this capacity were continued with remarkable diligence, until he had placed the troops in a situation to withstand the enemy. In the estimates of the war office, 5000 extra muskets were generally allowed for waste and destruction in the army; but such was the exact order under the superintendence of Steuben, that in his inspection return, but three muskets were deficient, and those accounted for. A complete scheme of exercise and discipline, which he composed, was adopted in the army by the direction of congress. He possessed the right of command in the line, and at one period was at the head of a separate detachment in Virginia. At the battle of Monmouth, he was engaged as a volun

teer.

When reviewing the troops, it was his constant custom to reward the disciplined soldier with praise, and to pass se

At

vere censure upon the negligent. Numerous anecdotes are related illustrative of the generosity, purity and kindness of his disposition. After the treacherous defection of Arnold, the baron held his name in the utmost abhorrence. One day, he was inspecting a regiment of light horse, when that name struck his ear. The man was ordered to the front, and presented an excellent appearance. Steuben told him that he was too respectable to bear the name of a traitor; and at his request the soldier adopted that of the baron, whose bounty he afterwards experienced, and brought up a son by the same name. the siege of Yorktown, baron Steuben was in the trenches at the head of a division, where he received the first offer of lord Cornwallis to capitulate. The marquis de la Fayette appeared to relieve him in the morning; but, adhering to the European etiquette, the baron would not quit his post until the surrender was completed or hostilities recommenced. The matter being referred to general Washington, the baron was suffered to remain in the trenches till the enemy's flag was struck. After the capture of Cornwallis, when the superior American officers were paying every attention to their captives, Steuben sold his favorite horse in order to raise money to give an entertainment to the British officers, as the other majorgenerals had previously done. His watch he had previously disposed of to relieve the wants of a sick friend. On another occasion, when he desired to reciprocate the invitations of the French officers, he ordered his people to sell his silver spoons and forks, saying it was anti-republican to make use of such things, and adding, that the gentlemen should have one good dinner if he ate

his meals with a wooden spoon for ever after. Steuben continued in the army till the close of the war, perfecting its discipline. The silence and dexterity of his movements surprised the French allies. He possessed the particular esteem of general Washington, who took every proper opportunity to recommend him to congress; from which body he received several sums of money, that were chiefly expended in acts of charity, or in rewarding the good conduct of the soldiers.

Upon the disbandment of the continental army at Newburgh, many affectionate bonds, formed amidst the danger and hardships of a long and arduous service, were to be broken asunder for ever. At this season of distress, the benevolent Steuben exerted himself to alleviate the forlorn condition of many. He gave his last dollar to a wounded black, to procure him a passage home. Peace being established, the baron retired to a farm in the vicinity of New York, where, in the society of his friends, and the amusements of books and chess, he passed his time as comfortably as his exhausted purse would allow. The state of New Jersey had given him a small farm, and that of New York 16,000 acres of land in the county of Oneida. The exertions of colonel Hamilton and general Washington subsequently procured him an annuity of $2500, from the general government. He built a log house, and cleared 60 acres of his tract of land, a portion of which he partitioned out, on easy terms, to twenty or thirty tenants, and distributed nearly a tenth among his aid-de-camps and servants. In this situation he lived contentedly, until the year 1795, when an apoplectic attack put an end to his life, in his sixty-fifth year. An abstract of his system of military manoeuvres was published in 1779. The year preceding his death, he published a letter on the established militia and military arrangements. (For further information concerning baron Steuben, see Johnson's Life of Greene, Thatcher's Journal, Garden's Anecdotes.)

STEUBENVILLE, a flourishing post-town of Ohio, on Ohio river, is the seat of justice for Jefferson county. It was laid out in 1798, with streets crossing each other at right angles. In 1810, it contained 800 inhabitants; in 1817, 2032; and in 1830, 2937. It is 147 miles east by north from Columbus, and thirty-eight west of Pittsburg; lat. 40° 25′ N.; lon. 80° 35' W. It contains three churches, a markethouse, a woollen factory,-the machinery of which is moved by steam,-a steam

paper-mill, and a flour and cotton factory, also moved by steam. There are two printing-offices, an academy, two banks, the county buildings, and many shops for mechanics and traders. The country around it, on the Virginia as well as the Ohio side of the river, is rich and populous.

STEVENS, George Alexander, a whimsical and eccentric character, was born in London, and brought up to a mechanical business, which he quitted to become a strolling player. In 1751, he published a poem entitled Religion, or the Libertine Repentant, which was succeeded, in 1754, by the Birthday of Folly. These were followed by a novel called Tom Fool, and the Dramatic History of Master Edward and Miss Ann. He subsequently invented his entertainment, called a Lecture on Heads, which possessed no small portion of drollery, and became very popular. Several of his songs have also been much admired.

STEVENS, Edward, an officer in the American revolution, was a native of Virginia. At the battle of the great bridge, near Norfolk, he commanded a battalion of riflemen. Soon afterwards, he was made a colonel. At the battle of Brandywine, he was greatly instrumental in saving the American forces, and received the public thanks of the commander-in-chief. He was honored in the same way for his behavior at the battle of Germantown. He was soon afterwards intrusted with the command of a brigade, and despatched to the southern army. He evinced his wonted gallantry in the battle of Camden. In that of Guilford court-house, he received a severe wound in his thigh; but, before quitting the field, he brought off his troops in good order. He closed his military career at the siege of Yorktown. From the foundation of the state constitution until the year 1790, he was a prominent member of the senate of Virginia. He died in August, 1820.

STEWARD. The lord high steward of England was formerly an officer who had the supervision and regulation, next under the king, of all affairs of the realm, both civil and military. The office was hereditary, belonging to the earls of Leicester until forfeited to Henry III. (See Montfort.) The power of this officer was so great, that the office has for a long time only been granted for some particular act, as the trial of a peer on indictment for a capital offence, the solemnization of a coronation, &c. The lord high steward is the first of the nine great officers

of the crown. The lord steward of the household is the chief officer of the king's household: his authority extends over all officers and servants of the royal household except those of the chamber, chapel and stable. Under the lord steward, in the counting-house, are the treasurer of the household, cofferer, controller, clerks of the green cloth, &c. It is called the counting-house because the household accounts are kept in it. (See Courts.)

STEWARD, in naval affairs, is an officer in a ship of war, appointed by the purser to distribute the different species of provisions to the officers and crew.

STEWART, Sir James Denham, an ennent political writer, was born at Edinburgh, Oct. 10, 1713. His father was solicitor-general of Scotland. After having been admitted to the bar, he travelled on the continent five years, and formed an intimacy with the Pretender, whom he aided in his attempt in 1745. On the failure of that attempt, Stewart retired to France, and, in 1755, to Flanders. Here he published a Vindication of Newton's Chronology, a Treatise on German Coins, and a Dissertation on the Doctrine and Principles of Money. He returned to Scotland in 1763, where he was allowed to remain unmolested, and concluded his Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy-a work of much research and acuteness, though the style and method are imperfect. He obtained a full pardon in 1771, and afterwards published various works of a philosophical and politico-economical character. His complete works were published in 1805 (in 6 vols., 8vo.). He died in 1780.

STEWART, Dugald, was born in 1753, and was the son of doctor Matthew Stewart, professor of mathematics in the university of Edinburgh. He was educated at the high school, and admitted, at the age of thirteen, as a student in the college, under the tuition of doctor Blair and doctor Ferguson. Such was the progress he made, that, at the age of eighteen, he was appointed to read lectures for his father, which he continued to do till the death of the latter. In 1780, he received a number of pupils into his house, and, in 1783, visited the continent in company with the marquis of Lothian. When doctor Ferguson was sent to North America on a mission, Mr. Stewart taught his class in moral philosophy during his absence; and, in 1785, when the professor resigned, Mr. Stewart was chosen to fill his chair,in which he continued many years with great reputation. His Elements of the Philosophy

of the Human Mind (1792) was succeeded by Outlines of Moral Philosophy, for the Use of Sudents (1793); Doctor Adam Smith's Essays on Philosophical Subjects, with an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author (1801); An Account of the Life and Writings of Doctor Robertson (1803); An Account of the Life and Writings of Doctor Thomas Reid. The memoirs of Smith, Reid and Robertson were afterwards collected into one volume, with additional notes. In the election of a mathematical professor of the university of Edinburgh, Mr. Stewart was reflected on for his conduct to the successful candidate, and he therefore thought proper to publish a statement of facts relative to that election (1805). In 1796, he again took a number of pupils under his care; and, besides adding a course of lectures on political economy to the usual courses of his chair, he repeatedly supplied the place of his colleagues in case of illness or absence. In 1806, he accompanied his friend, the earl of Lauderdale, on his mission to Paris, and, in 1810, relinquished his professorship, and retired to Kinneil house, about twenty miles from Edinburgh, where he continued to reside till his death, June 11, 1828. His publications subsequently to his removal were Philosophical Essays (1810); Dissertation on the Progress of Metaphysical and Ethical Philosophy, prefixed to the Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica (unfortunately rendered imperfect by the author's ignorance of German philosophy, and left incomplete in regard to ethical philosophy-a deficiency partly supplied by Mackintosh's Essay on the Progress of Ethical Philosophy); a second volume of the Philosophy of the Human Mind (1813), with a continuation (1827); and the Philosophy of the Active and Moral Powers (1828). Stewart was a man of extensive and various acquisition, but not of a profound or original mind. As a writer, he is too often heavy and prolix, though his style is clear, pure and elaborate. In philosophy, he was a disciple of Reid, whose method and principles he followed with little deviation. (See Philosophy.)

STEWART, John; commonly called Walking Stewart, from his pedestrian feats; an eccentric individual, who wandered, on foot, over a great part of the habitable globe. He was born in London, and, having received the rudiments of education at the Charter-house, was sent out, in 1763, as a writer to Madras. Before he had been in that situation quite two years, he wrote a letter to the directors,

telling them that he "was born for nobler pursuits than to be a copier of invoices and bills of lading to a company of grocers, haberdashers, and cheese-mongers;" and a few weeks after, he took his leave of the presidency. Prosecuting his route over Hindoostan, he walked to Delhi, to Persepolis, and other parts of Persia, traversing the greater part of the Indian peninsula, and visiting Abyssinia and Nubia. Entering the Carnatic, he obtained the favor of the nabob, who made him his private secretary; and to this circumstance he, in his latter days, owed his support, the British house of commons voting him £15,000 in liquidation of his demands upon the nabob. Quitting the service of this prince, he set out to walk to Seringapatam, where Tippoo Saib compelled him to enter his army, with a commission as captain of sepoys. After serving some time in this capacity, sir James Sibbald, the commissioner for settling the terms of peace between the presidency and the sultan, procured his liberation. Stewart then started to walk to Europe, crossing the desert of Arabia, and arriving at length safely at Marseilles. Thence he proceeded, in the same manner, through France and Spain, to his native country; and, having walked through England, Scotland and Ireland, he crossed the Atlantic, and perambulated the U. States of America. The last ten years of his life were passed in London, where he died in 1822.

STEWART, Robert, marquis of Londonderry. (See Londonderry.)

STEWART, Gilbert, an eminent portrait painter, was born at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1757, gave early manifestations of his fondness for the pencil, and was sent to London, where he was placed under the care of Benjamin West. In the execution of portraits, the pupil soon surpassed the master. In 1784, he was established as one of the first portrait painters of London, and had, in the exhibition of that year, several full lengths of distinguished individuals. He lived elegantly and gayly; but it is believed that, notwithstanding his great success, he was obliged, by pecuniary distresses, to remove to Dublin. In 1790, he returned to his native country, from which he never again departed. He resided successively in New York, Philadelphia and its neighborhood, Washington, and last in Boston, continuing to paint with unabated power, although for years racked by the gout. Soon after his return to America, he painted the best portrait of Washington. The head he

carefully finished, but never completed the remainder. He made several copies, all varying from the original. His death occurred at Boston, in July, 1828; and such of his works as could be collected were exhibited for the benefit of his family. Mr. Stewart was gifted with uncommon colloquial powers, and his genius for portrait painting was of the highest order. STHENIC DISEASES. (See Brown, John.) STHENO; one of the Gorgons. (q. v.) STICHOMANCY (from orixos, a line, verse, and pavrsía, prophecy); a kind of divination, in use even among the Romans. Verses from the Sibylline Books (q. v.) were written on small slips of paper, which were shaken in a vessel, and one of them was drawn out, in order to discover some intimation of future events. Something similar has often been practised by Christians, putting a pin at hazard between the leaves of a closed Bible. The verse which was pointed out served as an oracle. Even at the present time, this is not unfrequently done by the superstitious; and some sects even resort to it for guidance on important occasions. (See Bibliomancy.)

The

STICK, GOLD; an officer of superior rank in the English life-guards, so called, who is in immediate attendance upon the king's person. When his majesty gives either of his regiments of life-guards to an officer, he presents him with a gold stick. The colonels of the two regiments wait alternately month and month. one on duty is then called gold stick in waiting; and all orders relating to the lifeguards are transmitted through him. During that month he commands the brigade, receives all reports, and communicates them to the king.-Silver stick: the field officer of the life-guards when on duty is so called.

STIGMA (Greek); with the Greeks and Romans, a mark impressed with a hot iron on the foreheads of slaves who had run away or committed theft. The Greeks used a 4, signifying UKTOS (fugiendus) or EUKTIKOS (runaway), and the Romans an F, signifying fur or fugitivus. A black coloring substance was put in the wound. Such slaves were called stigmatici, inscripti, literati, ariyparial, oriywVES. The Samians, who freed many slaves, and admitted them to office, were called, in derision, oλvypapparoi, literati. This name, however, may have had another origin, as many believe. Prisoners of war were also branded, as the slave-traders now brand the negroes with the marks of their several owners. (See Slavery.) Recruits also were burned in the hand, generally with the name of the general. This was