S T A 



Polifh nobleman named Pulafki, who engaged three other 

 chiefs by a folemn oath, either to place the liing alive in his 

 hands, or to kill him in cafe of refiftance. Thefe perfons, at 

 the head of forty dragoons, entered Warfaw in difguife, 

 attacked and feized the king, and after having wounded him 

 in the head with a fabre, dragged him through the Itreets, 

 and carried hira out of the city. After a while the confpi- 

 rators were alarmed at what they had done, and they all, 

 except one, took advantage of the darknefs of night to make 

 their efcape, and at day-break the king found himfelf alone 

 with a perfon named Koriufl<i, and both of them on foot. 

 Taking advantage of the perplexity in which he faw this man 

 was involved, the king reprefented to him in fuch colours 

 the atrocity of the attempt, to which he added the promifes 

 of pardon and even reward, that he entirely gained him over, 

 and they proceeded together to a mill. From thence the 

 king wrote the following letter. " Par une efpece de mi- 

 racle je fuis fauv6 des mains des afTaffin?. Je fuis ici au petit 

 moulin de Mariemont. Venez au plutot me tirer d'ici. Je 

 fuis bleflis, mais pas fort." He was accordingly conduced 

 back to Warfaw, and received amidft the joyful acclamations 

 of the people. 



Staniflaus, though retaining his crown, was unable to 

 quiet or direcl the diilraftions of the country : nor could 

 he make any effeftual oppofition to that truly infamous par- 

 tition of a lar-^e portion of Poland between the plunderers of 

 Rullia, Pruffia, and Auftria, which took place in 1773, and 

 which may be regarded as the firll aft of thofe open viola- 

 tions of every principle of national juftice, which have fo pe- 

 culiarly Itigmatized the times in which we live. The fame 

 powers enforced alterations in the Polifh conftitution, cal- 

 culated to perpetuate its weaknefs, and which were in vain 

 oppofcd by Stanidaus and the belt patriots of the country. 

 In 1789 he had an interview with Catharine, who deluded 

 him with hopes of advantae;es for the Poles, which, of courfe, 

 were never realized : and in 1792, the armies of RufTia and 

 Pruffia entered Poland, deltroyed the conftitution which had 

 been formed by the people, and completed that divifion of 

 its territories which expunged its name from the map of 

 Europe. In 1795 Staniflaus was obliged, by order of the 

 emprefs Catharine, to refign, and abdicate the crown which 

 fhe had hitherto allowed him to wear, and he retired to 

 Grodno, contented to live a penfioner on her bounty. On 

 the acceffion of Paul, Staniflaus was treated with great re- 

 fpeft. He died at Peterft)urg in 1 798, beloved and efteemed 

 for his qualities in private fociety. 



Stanislaus, Order of St., was inftituted by Staniflaus, 

 king of Poland, in the year 1765. The badge of the 

 order is a gold crofs, enamelled red ; on the centre a medal- 

 lion ; on this the image of St. Staniflaus, enamelled in pro- 

 per colours ; on the reverfe, the letters SS in a cypher. It 

 is worn fcarfwife, pendent to a broad watered ribband, 

 edged with white. The ftar of the order is filver, in the 

 centre of which is a cypher of three letters, viz. S.A.R. 

 Cgnifying Staniflaus Auguftus Rex ; within, the following 

 motto, Pr^miando incitat. 



STANISLOW, in Geography, a town of Auflrian Po- 

 land, in Galicia ; 66 miles S.S.E. of Lemberg. 



STANITZ, a town of Bohemia, in the circle of Cbru- 

 dim ; 13 miles N. of Chrudim. — Alfo, a town of Mo- 

 ravia, in the circle of Brunn ; 18 miles S.E. of Brunn. 



STANK, is a dam made with pile-planks, or otherwife, 

 to pen water. 



STANKAU, in Geography, a town of Bohemia, in the 

 circle of Pilfen ; 9 miles N.N. E. of Pilfen. 



STANLEY, Thomas, in Biography, born at Cumber- 

 low-Green, in Hertfordftiire, was the fon of fir Thomas 



S T A 



Stanley, knight. He received his early education at home, 

 under Edward Fairfax, the tranflator of Taflb's .Terufalem, 

 and was admitted a gentleman-commoner of Pembroke-hall, 

 Cambridge, in 1639. Having taken his degree of M. A. at 

 that univerfity, he went abroad, but returning durmg the 

 civil war, he took up his refidence in the Middle Temple. 

 He there purfued his ftudies with much eagernefs, and in 

 1651 pubhflied a volume of original poems, and a number 

 of tranflations in verfc from the ancient and modern lan- 

 guages. Turning his attention to graver topics, in 1655 

 he publifhedthefirlt volume of the work by which he is cniefly 

 known, " The Hiftory of Philofophy ; containing the Lives, 

 Opinions, Aftions, and Difcourfes of the Philofophers of every 

 Seft." This was followed by three other volumes ; they were 

 afterwards republifhed in one volume folio ; and in 174^, a 

 quarto edition was given to the public. After the favour- 

 able reception which this work met with, the author pub- 

 lilhed an edition of iEfchylus, which was pubhflied in Lon- 

 don in 1663, the text of which was copied into De Pauw's 

 edition of 1745. ^^ ^^^^ '" London, April 12, 1678, 

 leaving behind him farther monuments of his indullry and 

 erudition, in manufcript, confifting of " Commentaries on 

 .ffifchylus," in 8 vols, foi.: " Adverfaria ; or Remarks on 

 Paflages in various ancient Authors :" " Preleftions on the 

 Charafters of Theophraftus :" and a Latin treatile on the 

 firit-fruits and tenths of the fpoils mentioned in the Epiftle 

 to the Hebrews. He had been married to a Northampton, 

 fliire lady, co-heirefs to a good eltate, and he Ich a fon, who 

 pnbliflied, at an early age, a tranflation of .^Elian's " Various 

 Hiilories." 



Stanley, John, bachelor in mufic, was bom in 1713. 

 At two years old he totally lolt his fight, by falling on a 

 marble hearth with a china bafon in his hand. At the age 

 of leven he firll began to learn mufic, as an art that was 

 likely to amufe him, but without his friei;ds fiippofing it 

 poflible for him, circumltanced as he was, to make it his 

 profeflion. His firlt mafler was Reading, a fcholar of Dr. 

 Blow, and organift of Hackney. But his father finding 

 that he not only received great pleafure from mufic, but had 

 made a rapid progrefs, placed him with Dr. Greene, under 

 whom he ftudied with great diligence, and a fiiccefs that 

 was aftonifliing. At eleven years of age he obtained the 

 place of organill of All-hallows, Bread-ftreet, and in 1726, 

 at the age of thirteen, waselefted organift of St. Andrew's, 

 Holborn, in preference to a great number of candidates. 

 In 1734, the benchers of the honourable fociety of the 

 Inner Temple elcfted him one of their orgamfts. Thefe 

 two places he retained till the time of his death. Few pro- 

 felfors have fpent a more aftive life in every branch of his 

 art than this extraordinary mufician ; having been not only a 

 mo!t neat, pleafing, and accurate performer, but a natural 

 and agreeable compofer, and an intelligent inftruftor. He 

 was the conduftor and foul of the Swan and Ca'Ue concerts 

 in the city, as long as they fubfiiled. Upon the death of 

 Handel, he and Mr. Smith undertook to fuperintend the per- 

 formance of oratorios during Lent ; and after Mr. Smith re- 

 tired, he carried them on, in conjunftion with Mr. Linley, 

 till within two years of his death, in 1786. This ingenious 

 and worthy profeflbr, whofe blindnefs excited the pity, and 

 performance the admiration, of the public for fo many years, 

 will be long lamented by his furvivmg friends ; for they have 

 loll in him, exclufive of his mufical talents, a molt intelli- 

 gent and agreeable companion, who contributed to the 

 pleafures of fociety as much by his converfation in private, 

 as by his profefiional merit in pubhc. He was fucceeded in 

 his office as mailer of the king's band, by Mr., afterwards 

 fir William Parfons. See Paradis, Mademoi/elh. 



Stanley, 



