SCAPEGOAT 



5231 



SCHAEFFER 



vian people, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and 

 Sweden. The word Scandia originated with the 

 Romans, who used it to describe a large island, 

 believed to be north of the Baltic Sea. The 

 southernmost portion of Sweden is still known 

 as Scandia; it was not known in Roman days 

 to be connected with the mainland at the north. 

 Related Subject*. The reader Is referred to 



1 lowing articles in these volumes: 

 Denmark Norway 



Iceland Sweden 



SCAPEGOAT, skayp'goht, one of two goats 

 received by the Jewish hifh priest on the Day 

 of Atonement, upon which he cast lots, one for 

 Jehovah and one for Azazel (Leviticus XVI, 

 10). The first was killed as a sin offering, and 

 upon the second, or scapegoat, the priest laid 

 his hands, confessing over him the people's sins 

 and then sending him into the wilderness as a 

 token that the sins had been put away. The 

 original significance of "Azazel" has been lost, 

 but it doubtless refers to the spirit of evil. 



In modern usage, a person made to bear the 

 blame of others is called a scapecoat. 



SCARAB, skair'ab, a croup of beetles having 

 the peculiar habit cf rolling up bits of refuse 

 into pellets and usins them as food for them- 

 selves and young. The sacred scarab of the 

 ancient Egyptians is the best known of the 

 group. The Egyptians regarded the pellets as 

 symbols of the world, and projections on the 

 heads of the beetles were considered emblems 

 of the rays of the sun. The scarab was also a 

 symbol of the resurrection and of immortality, 

 and figures of the insects were carved out of 

 stone or metal and used as charms. Such de- 

 vices were called scarabs. Usually the heart 

 of a deceased person was removed, and in its 

 place was put a larce scarab. These insects be- 

 long to the same family as the tumblcbugs, 

 June burs and cockchafers. 



SCARLET FEVER, skahr'lct fc'vcr, an 

 acute infectious disease to which children are 

 especially susceptible. Its most striking symp- 

 toms are sore throat and a rash that breaks out 

 all over the body. Scarlatina is another name 

 for this disease. An attack of scarlet fever be- 

 gins usually with vomiting, headache, sh 

 ing and sore throat. From three to fourteen 

 hours after the epcll cf rash may 



be noticed on the chest, and a 1 de- 



velops. The eruption, which is followed by 

 peeling, fades in about a week, and the tem- 

 perature drops to normal in about the same 

 period. The throat is the orran which must 

 be watched and treated with the greatest care. 



A victim of this disease should be isolated 

 immediately after the attack begins, be placed 

 in a quiet, well-ventilated room and be put on 

 a liquid diet. The physician in charge will pre- 

 scribe measures to control the fever and give 

 directions as to bathing and the use of anti- 

 septic sprays for the throat. 



Among the dangers connected with scarlet 

 fever are ear and eye complications, resulting 

 in impaired hearing and sight. In some cases 

 the poison of the disease affects the brain and 

 causes nervous prostration. The heart and kid- 

 neys are other organs frequently affected. As 

 discharges from the nose, throat and ears are 

 carriers of scarlet fever, the strictest precau- 

 tions must be taken to prevent its spreading. 

 All secretions must be destroyed and bedding 

 and wearing apparel be thoroughly disinfected. 

 There are several forms of the disease, varying 

 in intensity and degree of fatality. The organ- 

 ism which causes scarlet fever has not been 

 identified. 



SCARLET LETTER, a famous novel by 

 Nathaniel Hawthorne, considered by critics to 

 be one of the finest and loftiest examples of 

 fiction in American literature. It was published 

 in ISoO, and was the first of the author's long 

 novels possibly his masterpiece. The scene is 

 laid in a colonial village of Massachusetts, and 

 the story has a background of Puritan intoler- 

 ance in the colonial period. Written in that 

 clear and flowing style which was one of Haw- 

 thorne's best literary traits, it reveals the spir- 

 itual effect on two characters of sin concealed 

 and sin revealed. These characters, the 1 

 ercnd Arthur Dimmcsdale and Host or Prynne, 

 are the hero and the heroine. A bright clement 

 in this somewhat austere book is the occasional 

 appearance in the narrative of little Pearl, the 

 child of Arthur and Hester. The novel is uni- 

 versally admired for its fine descriptions and 

 faithful and sympathetic delineation of char- 

 acter, and for the masterly way in which it 

 points a great moral. At the same time it is 

 absolutely free from any trace of "preaching." 

 The title refers to a scarlet letter A worn by 

 Hester on her dress as a bad^c of her sin. 



SCHAEFFE3, slw C. (1849- 



1010), an American educator and author, bora 

 in Maxatawny Towns! lie was gradu- 



ated at Franklin tl 1S07 



and then pursued advanced counrcs in the uni- 

 versities of I :lin and Tiibinpcn. Re- 

 turning to his native country and state, he 

 ht for two years in Franklin and Marshall 

 College and in 1877 was appointed principal of 



