. 



BATUBHAIJA, 



SAVINGS BANKS. 



2 92 



.it two-fifths of the interval between 



anet 



icovery of the faint ring by Bond and 

 bean aloo seen by Dr. Galle at the 



1888; but iu exact nature was not 

 ice did not receive any 

 lat Hadley observed the 



line which in 

 the ring across the 



rin. Its breadth is equal t 



: ' 



It turnol "lit, MMHI :u'tT the discovery o 

 Dawn, that the phenomenon had ben al 

 Berlin Observatory in the year 1 - 

 Bade out. and consequently, the 

 farther attuti..u. It would teem, inde.- 

 faint ring at early a* the year 1783. In t! 

 of the pl.met in that year, he remarked t 

 .. observed to aooompany the inner 



due, continued cloee to the aaine, though the breadw of the ellitoe 

 had considerably increased ainoe thnt time (' 1'liil. Trans.,' IrJ".. Xo. 

 378). He assert*, moreover, in reference to the hypothesis of the belt 

 being produced by the shadow of the ring upon the planet, that when 

 he considered the aituation of the KUII. with respect to the ring imd the 

 filaant. he found that the belt could not arise from such a cause. 



From an examination of the recorded measures of the rings of the 

 planet, extending from the time of Huyghens down to the present <lay, 

 si. Otto Strove wa> induoed to conclude that the rings are gradually 

 approaching the body of the planet. Mr. Main, however, who recently 

 subjected to a thorough discussion his own measures of the Saturnian 

 system, has discovered no trace of the existence of such a movement. 



The question with respect to the physical constitution of Saturn's 

 ring*, and the mechanical conditions which assure their stability, lias 

 naturally given riae to much speculation. Laplace, who investigated 

 the question of stability, concluded that in order to prevent the rings 

 from being precipitated on the body of the planet they must be 

 irregular in their contour. Several succeeding astronomers and mathe- 

 maticians have considered the same subject The most complete 

 investigation of it is due to Professor Clerk Maxwell : he concludes 

 that the only system of rings which can exist mechanically is one com- 

 posed of an indefinite number of unconnected particles, revolving round 

 the planet with different velocities according to their respective 

 distances. These particles may be arranged, in series of narrow rings, 

 or they may move through each other irregularly. In the first case 

 the destruction of the system will be very slow ; in the second case it 

 will be more rapid ; but there may be a tendency towards an arrange- 

 ment in narrow rings, which may retard the process. 



We shall conclude this article with referring to an admirable 

 delineation of Saturn and his rings by Mr. De la Rue, founded on his 

 own observations with his 13-inch reflector. Several valuable measures 

 of the Saturnian system by Mr. Main, Mr. De la Hue, Mr. Dawes, and 

 other observers, will be found in the recent volumes of the Memoirs 

 and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. _ In the 28th 

 volume of the Memoirs the reader will find an elaborate" investigation 

 of the orbits of the Satellites (except those of Mimas and Hyperion) by 

 Captain Jacob. 



SATURN A'LIA, a festival celebrated by the Romans in honour of 

 the god Saturnus. [Kuoxos.] According to some traditions, it had 

 been celebrated by the aborigines long before the building of the city, 

 and was instituted by the fabulous king Janus, after the disappearance 

 of Saturnua from the earth. Others said that it was instituted by the 

 I'vlasgians, or by the followers of Hercules, who had been left behind 

 in Italy. (Macrob., ' Sat.,' i. 7.) A second set of traditions referred 

 the institution of tin- Saturnalia to a much later period ; one of them 

 ascribed it to King Tullus Hostiliu*, who, after a successful war against 

 the Allans and Sabines, was said to haw founder! the t<-mple and 

 established the festival of Saturnus at It. .me. I Macrob., 'Sat.,'i. 8.] 

 Another tradition, adopted by Livy (ii. -1) and Dionysius (vi., alt 

 I'KI'M, which refers it to a still later time, ascribed the institution ol 

 the Saturnalia to the consuls A. Semprouius and M. ilinuciux ( l'.'7 D.I' i 

 The apparent incongruity of this and some other accounts may easily 

 be removed : those who trace the Saturnalia to a period antecedent to 

 the building of the city, can only mean that the worship of Saturnus 

 wan very ancient in Italy, while those who assign a later date to the 

 institution must be understood to refer to the introduction of the 

 . p into the city of Rome; and although festivals in honour 01 

 baturntu may have been celebrated at his altar in the I!. .man Korun 

 previous to W B.C., yet the regular and periodical celebration of the 

 Saturnalia may not have been established before this time, when .- 

 temple was dedicated to the god in the clivus leading from tl,, 

 to the Capitol. After this time the Saturnalia were celebrated regu 

 larly every year, on the I'.ltli of December, the wholi- . .f nhirli montl 

 was sacred to Saturnus ; but after J. Cffisar had added two days to this 

 month the celebration began on the 17th (Macrob., ' Sat.,' i. Ill), am 

 tha people, being fond of such merry-makingx, continued the festivitie 

 until the luth, and even longer. Augustus at last sanctioned tin 

 celebration of the Saturnalia during three days, and Caligula aw 

 Claudius increased the number to five days. (Macrob.. ' Sat.,' i. Jo 

 Hueton., ' Calig.,' 17 ; Dion fas.., lix., p. 739.) 



The Saturnalia was a harvest festival, and was held, as we have seen 

 at a time when all agricultural labours were over; and as . 

 season every husbandman would naturally give himself and his servants 

 a holiday, and oner his prayers to the god whose especial protection h 

 solicited, no the Saturnalia were national festivals instituted with th 

 name object. It-was generally 'believed that during the golden age o 

 the rdgn of Saturmm there were no slaves, and the Saturnalia wer 

 intended to restore that happy state of things for a short time, I. 



iving to servants and slaves a complete holiday. They were on this 

 ccasion allowed to appear in the dress of free citizens (Dion Cass., Ix., 

 . 779), were waited upon at their feasts by their masters, wen 

 rom every kind of service, and enjoyed the most perfect freedom of 

 [leech. Even criminals were sometimes restored to freedom, and then 

 edicated their chains to Saturnus. The whole season was one of 

 niversal rejoicing for all the people of Rome, and the city resouuded 

 with the shouts, " lo, Saturnalia ! lo. liona Saturnalia!" Everybody 

 te and drank plentifully, and invited or visited his friends and 

 . It was also customary for persons to make presents to ono 

 mother on this occasion (Senec., ' Epist.,' 18 ; Sueton., ' Aug.,' 75), ami 

 licnts presented their patrons with wax-candles. (Macrob., 'Sat.,' i. 

 ; Varro, ' De Ling. Lat.,' iv., p. 19, Bipont.) Children gen. 

 eceived little figures, which were called oscilla, or sigilla, from whieh 

 he last day of the Saturnalia derived the name " sigillaria." During 

 his festival all business, private as well as public, was suspended ; no 

 war was commenced, no battle was fought, and no punishment was 

 nflicted on offenders. (Macrob., ' Sat.,' i. 10.) The persons who ofl 

 sacrifices to Saturn had their heads uncovered. 



The Greek writers, when speaking of the Roman Saturnalia, 

 rally call the feast " Kronia," as they considered the two t'e.-th 

 well as the deities in whose honour they were held, Saturnus and 

 Cronos, as identical. (Comp. Buttmann, ' Mythologus,' ii., p. 52, &e. ; 

 iartung. 'Die Religion der R6mer,' ii., p. 124. &c.) 



SATURNUS. [CHRONOS.] 



SATYR (Satyrus, lArv/tos) is the name by which the ancients desig- 

 nated a class of rustic deities, or Dionysii. Like the Panes and Fauni, 

 hey were a kind of intermediate beings between men and animals, and 

 he features which they had in common with the Utter were chiefly 

 lerived from goats. They were by some said to be the soil 

 iermes and Ipthima. They seem originally to have been a sort o! 

 rustic or sylvan gods, who were worshipped in some parts of Pelopon- 

 nesus. In the earlier works of ancient art they are represented with 

 rather long and pointed ears, bald-headed, and with little protubei 

 ike horns behind their ears. Sometimes their figure approached still 

 nearer to the animal form, as they were represented with goats' feet 

 and horns. During the best period of Grecian art the human form is 

 entire, and the animal character is expressed by a little tail at the 

 ower part of the back, and by a considerable degree of sensuality in 

 the features and attitudes. They carry the thyrsus, shepherd's 

 jr syrinx, wine-cups, &c., aiid are clad in the skins of animals, with 

 wreaths of ivy, &c. Satyrs of a more graceful form are seen playing 

 Jie flute, or, like Ampulus, as cup-bearers to Dionysos. Often . 

 ever, especially in later Greek and Grseeo- Roman art, they an 

 ascivious character. Satyrs were the constant companions of Diony- 

 sos, and in the Dionysiac processions they always appear dancing, with 

 cymbals or flutes in their hands. In the Greek drama the chorus at 

 the Dionysia originally assumed the character of satellites of Dionysos, 

 that is, of satyrs, and it is expressly stated that Arion not only 

 .nvented the tragic dithyramb, but introduced satyrs, whence, accord- 

 ing to some accounts, the name tragedy, or goats' song, arose. But the 

 chorus of the Attic tragedy, in the course of time, gradually 1 

 satyric character, and a distinct satyrie drama was developed, whieh 



ihed by the ancients as a playful tragedy. The complete 

 ration of this satyric drama from tragedy is ascribed to Pratinas of 

 Phlius. 



(Miillcr, .1 rcltiiuliKj. ila- Kuml, 385 ; H. C. A. Eichstadt, De Dr. 

 (rramrum C'oi/-N<f//iv'<, Lips., 1793; and, above all, Casaubou. /'. 

 l<ali/rira Qrierorum I'oeni et Rommorum Sat'tra.) 



SAVANNA. fl'i.Aixs.l 



SAVINGS BAN KS are institutions of modern invention . 

 in this country to encourage habits of prudence on the part of the. 

 poorer classes, who were previously without any places where they 

 could safely and profitably deposit the small sums which they might 

 be able to set aside from their earnings. 



The origin of savings banks has been attributed to the Kr\. J. 

 Smith of Wendover, who, in the \. . ireulated projios.ils. in 



conjunction with two of his parishioners, in which they offered to 

 receive from any inhabitant of the parish any sum from twopenre 

 upwards every Sunday evening during the summer mom 

 an exact account of the money deposited, and to repay at Chn 

 to each individual the amount of his deposit, with the addition o 

 third to the sum as a bounty upon his or her economy. The d. 

 tors were at liberty to demand and receive back the amount of their 

 savings, without this bounty, at any time before Christmas that they 

 might stand in need of their money 



The next institution of this kind that was established, of which w . 

 any account, was founded at Tottenham in Middlesex. l>y Mi . i 

 Wakefield. This, which was called the Charitable Hank, Ijore a nearer 

 resemblance to the savings banks of the present day than the 

 Wendover plan. The Tottenham bank was opened in ISul. At first 

 the accounts were kept by Mrs. Wakefield, who was a-sist, d in other 

 respects by six gentlemen acting as trustees, who uiidn-took e.-i.-h to 

 receive an equal part of the sums deposited, anil to allow I 

 interest on the same to such depositors of 20 shillings and upwards as 

 should leave their money for at least a year iu their hands. In 

 proportion as the amount of the deposits increased, addition ,il trustees 

 were chosen, so as to diminish the loss, which might other wise have 



