SAM 
with supernatural prowess, which it seems was seated in one 
of the long feathers of his tail: deprived of this, he became 
like other birds. Ravana having treacherously gained this 
secret, gained also an easy victory after plucking the poten¬ 
tial feather. Another name of this bird is Jettahi-paksha, or 
Jatayu. One of his names signifies king of the vultures; 
but in pictures he is seen in gaudy plumage, more like a 
parrot or peacock. 
SAMPAT, a river on the south coast of the island of 
Borneo. Lat. 3. 18. S. long. 112. 27. E. 
SAMPFORD, Great and Little, two adjoining pa¬ 
rishes of England, in Essex; 4 miles north-east of Thaxted. 
Population of the former 603; of the latter 338. 
SAMPFORD ARUNDEL, a parish of England, in 
Somerset; 3 miles south-west of Wellington. 
SAMPFORD BRETT,, a parish of England, in Somerset; 
65 miles east-south-east of Dunster. 
SAMPFORD COURTENEY, a parish of England, in 
Devonshire; 5 miles north-east of Oakhampton, Popu¬ 
lation 971. 
SAMPFORD PEVERELL, a parish of England, in 
Devonshire, near the river Leman; 5 miles- east-by-north of 
Tiverton. Population 894. 
SAMPFORD SPINEY, a hamlet of England, in Devon¬ 
shire ; 4 miles east-by-south of Tavistock. 
SA'MPHIRE, [saint Pierre, Fr. q. d. herba sancti Petri. 
Minsheu. It is in our old books sampire or sampler, as in 
Barrett, Minsheu and Sherwood; the last of whom also terms 
it , herbe de S. Pierre .] A plant preserved in pickle.—This 
plant grows in great plenty upon the rocks near the sea-shore, 
where it is washed by salt-water. It is greatly esteemed for 
pickling, and is sometimes used in medicine. Miller. 
Half way down 
Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade ! 
Methinks he seems no bigger than his head. S/ia/cspeare. 
See Crithmum Maritimum, which is the best sort; and 
Salicornia, which is the commonest. 
SAMPHIRE, Golden, a species of the Inula; which 
see. 
SAMPHIRE, Prickly, a species of the Echinophora; 
which see. 
SAMPHORiE, among the Ancients, were horses marked 
with the letter 2 on their legs. 
SAM PIT, a town of the island of Borneo, situated on 
the south coast, near a river of the same name; 140 miles 
west of Banjar Massam. 
SA'MPLE, s. A specimen; a part of the whole shown, that 
judgment may be. made of the whole.—I have not engaged 
myself to any : lam not loaded with a full cargoe: ’tis suf¬ 
ficient if I bring a sample of some goods in this voyage. 
Dry den. —Example. 
T-hus he concludes: and every hardy knight 
His sample follow’d. Fairfax. 
To SA'MPLE, v. a. To show something similar; to ex¬ 
ample.—The degree of the empire’s downfall may be sampled 
by those of the Babylonish captivity. Mede. 
SA'MPLER, s. [exemplar, Lat. whence it is sometimes 
written samplarl\ A pattern of work ; a specimen. 
We created with our needles both one flower. 
Both on one sampler, on one cushion ; 
Both warbling of one song, both in one key, 
As if our hands, our sides, voices and minds 
Had been incorporate. SAakspearc. 
A piece worked by young girls for improvement.—I saw her 
sober over a sampler, or gay over a joined baby. Pope 
SAMPOO, a small island in the Eastern seas, near the 
south coast of Java. Lat. 8.23. 8 . long. 112. 26. E. 
SAMPSEANS, SampsjEI, ancient sectaries; the same, 
according to St. Epiphanius, with the Elcesaites. 
The Sampseans were not properly either Jews, Christians, 
or Gentiles; though they took their name from the Hebrew, 
semes, sun; as if they adored the sun. 
SAM 627 
They acknowledged one only God, washed themselves 
often, and were attached, in almost every thing, to the reli¬ 
gion of the Jews. Many among them abstained wholly 
from eating of flesh. 
Scaliger, after Epiphanius, will have the Sampseans to be 
the same with the Esseni. In reality, the Elcesaites, 
Sampseans, Massalians, and Esseni, appear to be no more 
than so many different names for the same sect; unless, per¬ 
haps, the first added something to the opinions of the last. 
SAMPSON’S POST, in Ship Building, a large pillar or 
stantion placed up diagonally on each side against the quarter¬ 
deck beam, and next afore the cabin bulkhead, with its 
lower end tenoned into a chase on the upper deck. It is 
used to bring the fish-tackle to, when fishing the anchor, &c. 
This name is also given to the pillar immediately under the 
hatchways, having scores on each side, as steps, to go up 
and down by. This pillar is of so much larger scantling 
than the other pillars, as not to be too much weakened by 
the scores. 
SAMPSON’S, St., a parish of England, in Cornwall; 
3| miles south-south-east of Lestwithiel. 
SAMPSUCUS, in Botany, an old name for the Marjo¬ 
ram, or Origanum ; see that article. 
SAMPTOWN, a village of the United States in Mid¬ 
dlesex county. New Jersey. 
SAMPUNIA, a pneumatic instrument of music among 
the ancient Hebrews, like our common bag-pipe. 
SAMRONGUR, a town of Hindostan, district of Nepaul, 
in the Terriany, or low country. In its vicinity there is a 
very large artificial reservoir, which demonstrates that the 
country was formerly better cultivated and more prosperous 
than at present, being now nearly covered with wood. Lat. 
26. 45. N. long. 85. 30. E. 
SAMSBURY, a village of England, in Lancashire, on 
the banks of the Ribble, north-east of Preston. 
SAMSO, a town on the west coast of the island of 
Celebes. Lat. 0. 11. N. long. 119. 38. E. 
SAMSOE, or Sams, a small but fruitful island of Denmark, 
lying between Zealand and the coast of Jutland. It is about 
12 miles long and three broad, contains about 4800 in¬ 
habitants, and is situated in Lat. 55. 49. N. long. 10. 
23. E. 
SAMSON, a county of the United States, in the south 
part of North Carolina. Population 6620, including 2049 
slaves. 
SAMSON, St., a small town in the north-west of France, 
department of the Maine and Loire; 4 miles north-east of 
Angers. Population 1200. 
SAMSOON, a city of Asia Minor, on the coast of the 
Black sea. It lies on the site of the ancient Amisus, which, 
after Sinope, was the most opulent city in Pontus, and de¬ 
corated by Mithridates with many stately edifices. He par¬ 
ticularly erected, at a short distance, a magnificent palace, 
which he named Eupatoria. It was afterwards included in 
the dominion of the emperors of Trebisond, and finally 
annexed to the Turkish empire, by Mahomet II. It is si¬ 
tuated near the west end of a bay, about four miles in length, 
and surrounded by extensive groves of olive trees. The 
houses, which are made of wood, plastered with mud, and 
finally white-washed, produce a good effect. The modern 
town is small, not containing more than 2000 inhabitants. 
It is surrounded by a decayed wall, which, from the form of 
the arches of the gates, and some ancient pieces of sculpture, 
intermixed with the other stones, appears to have been built 
by the Turks. The town can boast of five mosques, with 
minarets, and a large khan for the use of merchants, who 
carry on a brisk trade with Constantinople and the other 
ports on the Black Sea. The ships belonging to the port are 
navigated by Greeks; for though the population of the town 
consists almost entirely of Turks, the adjoining villages are 
inhabited chiefly by Christians. 
SAMTER, a small town of Prussian Poland; 20 miles 
north-west of Posen. Population 1300. 
SAMUDRA, in Hindoo Mythology, a personification of 
the sea, who is called the lord of rivers. Hindoo writers sup¬ 
pose 
