768 
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diately upon entering on his office, he set about rescuing 
from oblivion the useful works of his predecessors, Leibnitz, 
Eccard, and Gruber. In 1749, he published Leibnitz’s 
Dissertation on the primitive State of the Earth; and in the 
following year that of Eccard, on the oldest History of the 
Germans. To these, and to the “ Origines Guelphicse,” 
which he published about the same time, he prefixed long 
and learned prefaces, and he also took the opportunity of 
bringing forwards many original documents never before 
printed. Besides his occupations in the royal library, he 
carried on an extensive correspondence, and was consulted 
by almost all the German literati who were employed on 
historical works. In 1755, Scheidt removed to Gottingen, 
where he was involved in much trouble, owing to the infi¬ 
delity of his wife. He died in 1701. His works were nu¬ 
merous, among which the following, as the most interest¬ 
ing, may be mentioned: “ Schediasma, ex jure publico 
Danico, dc regii Vandalorum tituli Origine et Causa ;” “ Ju¬ 
ris publici et privati Convenientise et Differentia: Principes;” 
“ Tractatio Generalis de ratione Belli, seu, ut a Gallis dici 
solet. Raison de Guerre.” Gen. Biog. 
SCHEIFLING, a large village of the Austrian states, in 
Styria, on the Muhr; 10 miles west of Judenburg. 
SCHEIK, a name given by the Turks to the prelates of 
the Mahometan religion, who pretend to be the legitimate 
successors of Mahomet. Their chief resides at Mecca. 
SCIIE1NER (Christopher), a German mathematician and 
astronomer, was born at Wald, near Mindelheim, in Swa¬ 
bia. He entered, when he was twenty years old, into the 
order of the Jesuits, and became teacher of the mathematics 
and the Hebrew language at Irigoldstadt, Friburg, Brisac, 
and Rome. He afterwards was appointed rector of the Je¬ 
suits’ college at Neiss, in Silesia, and confessor to the 
Archduke Charles. He died at Neiss, in the year 1650. He 
is thought to have been the first who observed the spots in 
the sun, but this fact has been disputed by Galileo, Harriot, 
and some other persons. Harriot claims for himself the pre¬ 
cedence by a year: Galileo maintains that he had seen them 
before Scheiner. There is, however, apparently, no doubt 
that Scheiner first made them known to the public, and he 
contributed, in no small degree, by his assiduity, to establish 
the theory of their motion, from which he inferred that the 
sun turned about its axis once in a certain number of days. 
Scheiner afterwards continued his observations on the solar 
phenomena at Rome with the utmost diligence, making 
drawings of them, descriptive of their places, figures, mag¬ 
nitudes, revolutions, and periods, so that Riccioli declared 
there was little reason to hope for any better observations on 
these spots. The result of these observations was published 
in a work dedicated to one of the Orsini family, and thence 
entitled “ Rosa Ursina, sive Sol, ex admirando Facularuin 
et Macularum suarum Phaenomeno varius,” &e. Almost 
every page of this curious work is ornamented with an image 
of the sun, on which the different positions of the spots 
are represented. Scheiner likewise wrote works on optics, 
and other mathematical and philosophical subjects, among 
which are, 1. “ Oculus, sive Fundamentum Opticum;” 2. 
“ Pantographice, sive ars nova delineandi res quaslibet per 
Parallelogrammum linearethis last is a treatise on the 
pantograph, an instsument employed for reducing or enlarg¬ 
ing figures. 
SCHEINFELD, or Market-Scheinfei.d, a small town 
of Bavarian Franconia. Population 1100; 25 miles north- 
by-west of Anspach, and 26 east-south-east of Wurzburg. 
SCHEKSNA, a navigable river of Russia, which flows 
from the lake Bielo, and runs into the Wolga, opposite 
Ribnoi, in the government of Jaroslav. 
SCHELDAR, the name of a silver coin, current in Den¬ 
mark, and some parts of Germany. 
SCHELDT, or Schelde (in French Escaut), a large 
river of the Netherlands, which rises in the French depart¬ 
ment of the Aisne, and flows in a northerly direction past 
Cambray, Bouchain, and Denain, to Valenciennes, where 
it becomes navigable. From Valenciennes it directs its 
S C H 
course to Conde and Tournay, inclining to the north-east, 
after which it flows nearly north, passes Oudenarde, and 
reaches Ghent, where it is joined by the Lys. From Ghent 
it winds its course to Antwerp; and being now swelled into 
a wide river by the tide, becomes divided into the two 
branches of East and West Scheldt, both of which discharge 
themselves into the German ocean. The Scheldt, like the 
Thames, is of a slow current, and of a small body of fresh 
water, but in the lower part of its course, of great import¬ 
ance to navigation, from the influx of the tide. The Dutch, 
to increase the commerce of Amsterdam, kept it long blocked 
by two forts c£i opposite sides of the river. It has been 
free only since 1795. The number of merchant vessels that 
entered it in 1815, was 1000, of which 500 were British. 
The whole length of its course is about 200 miles. 
SCHELEBY, or Zeleby, a village on the Euphrates, on 
the borders of the Syrian desert. 
SCHELEISENKE, a small town of Austrian Illyria, in 
Upper Carniola, with a large manufacture of nails. 
SCHELESTADT, or Schlkttstadt, a town in the 
east of France, department of the Lower Rhine, situated on 
a canal that communicates with the Ille. It is covered on 
one side by marshes, which prevent all access; and on the 
other it is strongly fortified. It has manufactures of tobacco, 
caps, stockings, saltpetre, potash, soap, and earthen-ware, 
each on a small scale. The art of glazing earthen-ware is 
said to have been invented here; forthis place formed a town 
so early as the time of Charlemagne. It was confirmed to 
France at the peace of Westphalia, in 1648. Population 
7500; 25 miles south-west of Strasburg. 
SCHELESTON, a. village of Farsistan, in Persia; 66 
miles west-north-west of Shiras. 
SCHELETAU, or Zeletawa, a small town of the 
Austrian states, in Moravia; 15 miles south-south-east of 
Iglau, and 39 west of Brunn. Population 900. 
SCHELKEN, or Selyk, Great and Little, two small 
towns of Transylvania, in the district of Mediasch. The 
latter is 8 miles north-north-west of Hermannstadt. 
SCHELKLIGEN, a small town in the west of Germany, 
in Wirtemberg ; 3 miles south-south-west of Blaubeuren, 
and 37 south-east of Stutgard. Population 800. 
SCHELLENBERG, a military position in Bavaria, near 
Donawert, consisting of a fortified hill to the right of the 
great road leading to Donawert. It is famous for the defeat 
of a corps of Bavarians and French strongly intrenched on 
it, by the British and imperialists, under the duke of Marl¬ 
borough, after a sanguinary conflict on 2d July, 1704. The 
loss of the victors w-as 5000 ; that of the vanquished, in¬ 
cluding deserters, about 7000. 
SCHELLENBERG, a small town of the south of Bava¬ 
ria; 2 miles north of Berchtolsgaden. Population 1800. 
SCHELLENBERG, sometimes called Augustenberg, a 
small town of Saxony; 6 miles east of Chemnitz, with 800 
inhabitants. Near it is the old palace of Auguslusburg, now 
the residence of a provincial magistrate. 
SCHELLEY, a village of England, in Sussex; 3| miles 
north-east of Horsham. 
SCHELLGADEN, a small town of the Austrian states, 
province of Salzburg, in the district called the Lungau. It 
has a mine of gold, and another of arsenic, each on a small 
scale; 52 miles south-by-east of Salzburg. 
SCHELLIN, a petty town in the west of Hungary, on the 
Waag, taken by the insurgents in 1703, but retaken by the 
Austrian troops the following year; 22 miles north of 
Comorn. 
SCHELLING, or Terschf.lling, a small island in the 
north of the Netherlands, situated between the islands of 
Ameland and Vlieland; about 9 miles from the coast of 
Friesland. It is about 15 miles long and 3 broad; and con¬ 
tains nearly 2300 inhabitants. In 1799 it was taken by 
the British. 
SCHELLSBURG, a post township of the United States, 
in Bedford county, Pennsylvania. 
SCHELSTRAATE (Emanuel), a zealous advocate for the 
authority 
