SCHILLER-SPAR SCHIRAS. 



119 



torical character, though the Gods of Greece was 

 composed at this time ; and he also then formed the 

 idea of an epic poem, the hero of which was to he 

 Frederic the Great. He paid much attention to 

 philosophy, particularly Kant's; and many of his 

 philosophical and aesthetical treatises date from this 

 period. He lectured on history, and began to pub- 

 lish Historical Memoirs from the twelfth Century 

 to the most recent Times (1790); and his History 

 of the Thirty Years' War, which appeared first in 

 the Pocket Almanac for Ladies, from 1790 to 1793. 

 In 1790. he married. The French republic, at the 

 beginning of the revolution, conferred on him the 

 rights of citizenship, and the emperor of Germany 

 ennobled him in 1802. Incessant study, protracted 

 far into the night, and the use of stimulants, under- 

 mined his health. In 1793, he visited his parents; 

 on which occasion the duke took no notice of him. 

 The periodical Thalia having ceased in 1793, he 

 formed the plan of publishing, with the co-operation 

 of the first writers of Germany, the Horce. He 

 became more intimately acquainted with Gothe, re- 

 turned with renewed ardour to poetry, and pro- 

 duced, particularly after 1795, the finest lyrical 

 poems which appeared in the Horce, and in his 

 Almanac of the Muses (first number in 1796). In 

 1797, he produced his first ballads. In 1795, he 

 conceived the plan of a play, to be called the 

 Knights of Malta; but all his other projects gave 

 way to Wallenstein (completed in 1799). Wal- 

 lenstein's camp is a striking introduction to the 

 parts which constitute the proper tragedy. From 

 1799, he lived in Weimar, where, in 1800 and 1801, 

 Maria Stuart and the Maid of Orleans were pro- 

 duced. In 1803, appeared the Bride of Messina, 

 and his last dramatic work, William Tell, in our 

 opinion, much the best of his tragedies. Death 

 prevented the completion of his Pseudo-Demetrius. 

 He also adapted Shakspeare's Macbeth, Gozzi's 

 Turandot, Racine's Phaedra, &c., for the stage, with 

 which his dramatic works close. Among the 

 numerous criticisms on his merits as a dramatist, 

 we would refer the reader to Frederic Schlegel's 

 Lectures on the' History of ancient and modern 

 Literature (2d vol.). After attending a represen- 

 tation of his own Tell at Berlin, where he was re- 

 ceived with much honour, he died at Weimar, May 

 9, 1805, only forty-six years old, mourned by all 

 Germany. Schiller hated nothing so much as the 

 vulgar or mean. He strove perpetually for the 

 noble and the beautiful; hence that melancholy 

 hue which is sometimes spread over his productions. 

 There exist several editions of his works : a very 

 cheap one was published, in 1822, by Cotta, in 

 eighteen small volumes. He left a widow and 

 several children, in narrow circumstances. His 

 correspondence with Gothe is interesting. The cor- 

 respondence between Schiller and Will, von Hum- 

 boldt (Stuttg., 1830) is, perhaps, more so; because 

 it gives us more insight into the growth of his mind. 

 The best account of his life is that by madame von 

 Wolzogen, his sister-in-law (Stuttgard, 1830, 2 

 vols.). The second and third parts of his Wallen- 

 stein have been translated into English by Coler- 

 idge. His Don Carlos, and his Thirty Years' War, 

 have also been translated. 



SCHILLER-SPAR (from the German verb 

 schillern, to exhibit a play of colours) ; a foliatef 

 mineral, whose primitive form is unknown. Be- 

 sides the principal cleavage, there is a second one 

 less distinct : the inclination of the one to the other 

 is between 135 and 140: fracture uneven, splin- 



;ery; lustre metallic, pearly, and eminent upon the 

 >erfect faces of cleavage, indistinctly vitreous upon 

 :he other faces; colour olive-green and blackish- 

 jfreen, inclining to pinchbeck-brown upon the per- 

 7 ect faces of cleavage ; streak grayish-white ; hard- 

 ness about that of fluor; specific gravity 2-69. It 

 "requently occurs intermingled with serpentine, 

 [t consists of 



Silica 



Magnesia . 

 Alumine 

 Oxide of iron 



62-00 

 10-00 

 13-00 

 13-00 



98-00 



When exposed to a high degree of heat, it becomes 

 hard, and forms a porcelain-like mass. It occurs <tt 

 Basta, in the Hartz. 



SCHIMMELPENNINK, RUTGER JAN, the last 

 chief magistrate of the republic of the United Neth- 

 erlands, or grand pensionary of the Batavian repub- 

 lic, was born at Deventer, in Holland, in 1761, and 

 educated at Leyden, where he took his degree ; on 

 which occasion he published Dissertatio de Imperio 

 populari rite temperato. He afterwards practised 

 at the bar with much credit. In 1798, he was ap- 

 pointed ambassador to France, by the Batavian re- 

 public, in which post he acquitted himself with 

 satisfaction to his country, and honour to himself. 

 In 1801, he was accredited in the same character, 

 first to the congress assembled at Amiens, and af- 

 terwards to England. The war having again broke 

 out, Schimmelpennink resumed his embassy to 

 France. In 1805, he was created grand-pensionary 

 of Holland, but with different powers from those 

 anciently attached to that character. This power, 

 however, ceased in consequence of the elevation of 

 Louis Bonaparte to the throne of Holland, and 

 Schimmelpennink received, in lieu of his office, the 

 grand-cordon of the order of Holland, about that 

 time instituted, and became, by the change in the 

 government, a senator of France, as well as of Hol- 

 land, the two countries being united. He received 

 also the title of count, with the appointment of 

 grand-treasurer of the Three Fleeces. He filled 

 these offices down to the exclusion of Napoleon 

 from the throne of France, and voted for the crea- 

 tion of a provisionary government in the latter in- 

 stance. April 14, 1814, he sent in his resignation, 

 and retired into private life. He died at Amster- 

 dam, in 1825. 



SCHIRAS ; a city of Persia, capital of Farsistan ; 

 160 miles south-east of Ispahan; Ion. 52 44' E., 

 lat. 29 37' N. ; population before the earthquake ot 

 1824, 52,000. It is situated between two moun- 

 tains, on a plain of unrivalled beauty and fertility, 

 the boast of Persia, upwards of twenty miles long, 

 and twelve broad. The environs are laid out in 

 magnificent gardens, the flowers and fruits of which 

 form a favourite theme of Eastern poetry. Hafiz 

 was a native of Schiras. His tomb, and that of 

 Sadi, are in the neighbourhood of the city. The 

 city is about six miles in circuit, but the walls have 

 been suffered to fall to ruin. The streets are nar- 

 row, winding, and dirty, and the houses mean. The 

 most remarkable public building is the great bazar, 

 about a quarter of a mile long, built of yellow burnt 

 brick, allotted to the different traders in the city. 

 The citadel, the residence of the governor, is & 

 fortified square of eighty yards. The royal palace 

 within is far from being an elegant structure. 

 Schiras carries on an extensive commerce, whicl> 

 consists chiefly in receiving fiomBushire the spices 

 and cotton goods of India, and transmitting them 



