and was now allowed to marry, though he could only obtain stolen interviews with his bride, since he was still obliged to live with his companions. At thirty he became a full citizen. Discipline, however, was not relaxed. He must still eat regularly at his Phiditia, or mess, and contribute regularly to its support from the produce of his farm, which was cultivated by Helots. The government was a development from the old Homeric form of the king and council of elders. In Sparta there was a double kingship. The two lines claimed descent from the twin sons of Aristodemus, Eurysthenes and Procles, but were named from the second generation, Agis and Eurypon, Agidæ and Eurypontida. These two kings were the religious representatives of the State, on whose behalf they offered stated sacrifices, and also exercised limited legal functions. Their chief duty was, however, the command of the army, over which in early times they exercised unlimited power, though in the fifth century B.C. they were subject to the ephors and the Assembly. In the field their power was absolute. Associated with the kings was a council (the Gerousia) of 28 elders, men over 60 years of age, chosen for life from certain noble families by acclamation in the popular assembly. They discussed and prepared the orders to be submitted to the assembly, and also sat as a court of criminal jurisdiction in crimes against the State, especially where the kings were involved. Once a month the assembly of the citizens (Apella) met at the call of the kings, though in the fifth century B.C. the ephors presided. The body seems ordinarily to have simply voted on the business presented to it. Speeches were in general delivered only by the officials, and there was certainly no general discussion. Into this government were introduced, at an early date, the ephors, who, during the period of Spartan greatness, were the real rulers. (See EPHORI.) They exercised a general oversight over the community and maintained the authority of the established order. Elected for one year, they had the power to call any magistrate to account and even to suspend him from office. They presided over the Gerousia, and could impeach any citizen before that court. Their short term of office and accountability to their successors were really almost the sole limits to their power. Under the iron discipline of this constitution, which was attributed to the mythical Lycurgus (q.v.), the Spartan State gradually extended its power until it had gained complete control over Laconia and Messenia, and the recognized leadership of a somewhat loosely joined confederacy, which included most of the Peloponnesus outside of Argos. At the time of the Persian wars Sparta was the leading State in Greece, but the constitution was not adapted for military operations requiring prolonged absence from home, and with the transfer of the war to Asia the Spartans soon withdrew from the scene. (The leading events other than domestic in the history of Sparta have been given under GREECE.) The creation of the fleet which decided the Peloponnesian War put a severe strain upon the ancient customs, and long absences in foreign lands, often with free opportunity for luxury, rendered men unwilling to submit to stern discipline on their return. The hegemony of Greece, which had fallen to Sparta on the overthrow of Athens, was used solely as a means of aggrandizement and profit, and in a short time

led to renewed wars. In B.C. 371 the defeat at Leuctra at the hands of the Thebans broke forever the power of Sparta, and the disintegration, which had begun with naval empire and the accumulation of the gold and silver, forbidden by the ancient laws, went rapidly forward. The attempt of Agis IV. (c.244-240 B.C.) to reform the State was defeated and Agis put to death, but Cleomenes III. (c.235-219 B.C.) carried through a serious of sweeping changes, which increased largely the number of citizens, and reëstablished the Lycurgean order. After his death Sparta was ruled by the tyrants Machanidas and Nabis, was then forced into the Achæan League, and finally with the rest of Greece passed under the rule of Rome. Treated with favor by the Romans, the city prospered; the old laws of Lycurgus were once more placed in force, and the old training practiced at least nominally, though the forms of government seem to have been much altered. In the thirteenth century the Acropolis was fortified by a wall, which may still be traced. The Frankish lords of the Peloponnesus built a strong fortress at Mistra (1248-49) on a spur of Taygetus, west of Sparta, and its superior security led to the abandonment of the ancient city. After the Greek Revolution a new town of Sparta was laid out as the capital of the Nomarchy of Laconia.

Consult, on the topography: Curtius, Peloponnesus II. (Gotha, 1852); Leake, Travels in the Morea (London, 1830); N. E. Crosby, "Topography of Sparta," in American Journal of Archæology, vol. viii. (Princeton, 1893); Frazer, Pausanias, vol. iii. (London, 1898). On the ancient constitution, consult: Hermann, Lehrbuch der griechischen Antiquitäten, vol. i., 6th ed., by V. Thumser (Freiburg, 1889); Busolt, "Griech ische Staats- und Rechtsaltertümer," in Müller's Handbuch der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft (Munich, 1892), both of which contain full bibliographies.

SPARTA.

A city and the county-seat of Monroe County, Wis., 26 miles east by north of La Crosse; on the La Crosse River, and on the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul and the Chicago and Northwestern railroads (Map: Wisconsin, C 5). It has an attractive situation and artesian mineral wells, and is a much frequented summer resort. There are in Sparta a public library, the State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children, and Saint Mary's Convent. The city is the shipping centre for a rich farming and stock-raising section, and manufactures flour, paper, and iron products. The water-works are owned by the municipality. Population, in 1890, 2795; in 1900, 3555.

SPARTACUS. The leader in the great insurrection of Roman. slaves in Southern Italy which took place B.C. 73. He was a native of Thrace, originally a shepherd, but afterwards a robber chief. He was taken prisoner and placed in a gladiatorial school at Capua. Seventy gladiators, including Spartacus, escaped and forced their way through the streets of Capua, defeated a detachment of Roman soldiers sent to bring them back, and established themselves on Mount Vesuvius, where they received considerable accessions, chiefly runaway slaves. Spartacus was chosen leader, and proclaimed freedom to all slaves. Thousands rushed to his standard.

After defeating Claudius Pulcher, Spartacus routed and slew Cossinius, legate of P. Varinius Glaber, the prætor; then he worsted Varinius himself in several engagements, capturing his lictors and the very horse on which he rode. All the southern part of the peninsula now fell into his hands; the country was devastated, the cities either pillaged or garrisoned. After the defeat and death of his lieutenants, who had separated from him, B.C. 72, he marched northward through Picenum toward the Po, overthrew first one consular army under Cn. Cornelius Lentulus and then another under Gellius Poplicola, and at the head of a large force meditated a march upon Rome. Servile indecision saved the city. Spar tacus was forced by his followers to retreat south, and took up his winter headquarters at Thurii. In B.C. 71 the proconsul, C. Cassius Longinus, and the proprætor, Cn. Manlius, were defeated; in Picenum, Mummius, a legate of Crassus, was utterly routed; at last, however, Crassus succeeded in forcing Spartacus into the narrow peninsula of Rhegium. Crassus now built lines of circumvallation to hem him in and force him to surrender; but one stormy winter night Spartacus broke out of the toils prepared for him, and resumed the offensive. Near Petelia, Spartacus once more defeated his adversaries; but seeing clearly that with such wretched materials as he had he could not hold out much longer, he made a dash for Brundusium, hoping to seize the shipping in the harbors, and get safely across the Adriatic to his native shore, but was baffled by the presence of Lucullus (q.v.). There was nothing left for Spartacus but to die gallantly as he had lived. Drawing up his army in battle array, and solemnly slaying his war-horse, he began his last fight in a spirit of heroic desperation, and after performing prodigies of valor he fell unrecognized among the heaps of his slain foes. After his death the

slave insurrection was at an end.

SPARTANBURG. A city and the countyseat of Spartanburg County, S. C., 93 miles northwest of Columbia; on several branches of the Southern and the Atlantic Coast Line railroads (Map: South Carolina, C 2). It has the Kennedy Public Library, and is the seat of Converse College, a non-sectarian institution for women, opened in 1890, Wofford College (Methodist Episcopal, South), opened in 1854, and the State Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute. Spartanburg is situated in a rich cotton-growing and farming section, which also has deposits of gold, limestone, and granite, and other mineral wealth. It is the centre of a large cotton-manufacturing district, containing some 30 mills with more than 400,000 spindles. There are several large cotton mills in the city and suburbs; also iron works, lumber mills, and manufactories of brooms and soap. The government, under the charter of 1901, is vested in a mayor, chosen every two years, and a unicameral council. Population, in 1890, 5544; in 1900, 11,395.

SPARTEINE (from Neo-Lat. Spartium, from Lat. spartum, sparton, from Gk. σTáртov, Spanish broom, cable). A volatile, oily liquid alkaloid obtained from the tops of the broom-plant (Cytisus Scoparius), a European shrub of the order Leguminosa. Sparteine is odorless, very bitter, soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform,

SPEAKER.

but insoluble in water. Its sulphate, which is used in medicine, is a colorless, crystalline powder, soluble in water and in alcohol. It is a cardiac stimulant, acting at times when others fail, and used under these circumstances or when it is necessary to obtain a substitute for other drugs of its class. It increases the amount of urine excreted.

SPARTIUM, spär'shi-um. A genus of plants. See BROOM.

SPASM (Lat. spasmus, from Gk. oraoμós, spasmos, ordoua, spasma, spasm, from σâv, span, lar contraction, due to central nerve disturbance, to draw, rend). Involuntary and sudden muscuto peripheral irritation, or to reflex conditions from irritation of other parts. There are two kinds of spasm: tonic and clonic. Tonic spasm is a prolonged involuntary rigidity of a muscle or a group of muscles. Such spasm occurs at the beginning of an epileptic attack, during hysteria major, tetanus, angina pectoris, and meningitis. legs in swimmers, attended with pain, when it is called cramp (q.v.). Clonic spasm is an involuntary contracting and relaxing of groups of muscles, causing twitching, jerking, and rolling It is the common movements and contortions. Such a spasm occurs in convulsion, or fit. epilepsy, hysteria major, uræmia, chorea, hydrophobia, and in some cases of indigestion and In asthma (q.v.) there is spasm of the muscles controlling the bronchial tubes, as also in whooping cough (q.v.), together with hyperæsthesia. Spasm occurs also in colic.

It also occurs in the muscles of the calves of the

worms.

The treatment of spasm consists of the use of antispasmodics such as asafoetida, galbanum, musk, sumbul, valerian, belladonna, cannabis indica, opium, the bromides, and stramonium, and the administration by inhalation of choloroform or amyl nitrite, or by outward application of heat in a prolonged hot bath.

SPAVIN, BOG (OF. esparvain, esparvent, Fr. éparvin, spavin; possibly from Goth. sparwa, OHG. sparo, sparwe, AS. spearwa, spearewa, Eng. sparrow; in allusion to the hopping gait of a spavined animal). A lesion of the true hockjoint of the horse, consisting in distention of the capsule inclosing the joint. It usually arises suddenly from a sprain in action, from overwork, or wounds.

SPAVIN, BONE. An inflammation of and bony deposit on the flat bones of the lower and inner part of the hock-joint of the horse. At first there is tenderness, local heat, swelling, and lameness, but as the inflammatory stage passes the lameness is less perceptible, although the horse still continues to go stiffly. If the lameness is only slight it usually disappears after a little exercise. The animal should be given rest.

SPAWN-EATER. The spotted-tailed minnow (Notropis Hudsonius). See MINNOW.

SPEAKER. The name given to the presiding officer in various legislative bodies. In the English House of Commons the office of Speaker seems to have existed as early as the reign of Henry III., but the title Speaker was first given to Sir T. Hungerford in the reign of Edward III. (1377). The Speaker of the House of Commons presides over the deliberations of the House, and enforces the rules for preserving order. He puts

the question and declares the determination of the House. As the representative of the House, he communicates its resolutions to others, and conveys its thanks or its censures. He issues warrants in execution of the orders of the House for the commitment of offenders, for the issue of writs, the attendance of witnesses, the bringing up prisoners in custody, etc. He cannot speak or vote on any question, but on an equality of voices he has a casting vote. The office is nonpolitical; and hence a Speaker may hold during several successive and opposing administrations. A retiring Speaker is usually rewarded with a peerage. See PARLIAMENT.

Unlike the English prototype, the Speakership

of the United States House of Representatives is a political office of the highest importance. The first Speaker, chosen in 1789, was a moderator on the British pattern. But beginning with the right to appoint the standing committees in 1790, the powers of the office have gradually expanded until the Speaker has become the acknowledged leader of the House and the chief of his party. Henry Clay (1811-25) developed the political resources of the office, especially through the constitution of committees. The modern Speaker has been well called the American Premier. So far has the office departed from its original character that the Speaker now has the right to dispense the privileges of the floor in the interest of his party. He may even refuse to 'recognize' on the ground of personal dislike. Moreover, since 1860, as chairman of the Committee on Rules, he may in effect control the whole course of legislation. He "practically decides what shall be considered, how long debates shall last, and when the votes shall be taken." Through this function a kind of substitute for the right of the English Ministry to introduce and promote so-called 'Government bills' has been found, The Speaker is a member of the House chosen by the members; and he freely exercises his privilege of voting on any measure. Since 1874 his salary has been $8000 a year. He signs all bills, resolutions, and acts of authority; certifies to the mileage, etc., of members; and appoints three of the regents of the Smithsonian Institution. He may be removed from his office by an act of the House.

For the early history of the Speakership, consult Stubbs, Constitutional History, and in general, Todd, Parliamentary Government (London, 1869). The most important work on the American office is Follett, The Speaker of the House of Representatives (New York, 1896). This was preceded by Hart, "The Speaker as Premier," in Atlantic Monthly, March, 1891; reprinted in his Practical Essays (New York, 1893).

SPEAKING TRUMPET.

An instrument

for concentrating the waves of sound originated by the articulation of the human voice, and thereby enabling the sound to be conveyed to a greater distance. It was used on shipboard in enabling the officers to convey orders during windy weather from one part of the deck to another, or to the rigging, and in its more modern form, the megaphone (q.v.) is extensively employed. The invention is ascribed to Sir Samuel Morland (1625-1695) in 1670, though Athanasius Kircher laid claim to it. Morland's trumpet was shaped like a truncated cone, with an outward curve or lip at the opening.

SPEARFISH, or SPIKEFISH. The great billfish' or 'aguja blanca' (Tetrapturus albidus) of West Indian waters, which is dark blue above, whitish beneath, and may be seven feet long, including the spear-like jaws, and weigh 100 pounds. It is probably identical with the Mediterranean species, and others occur in the Eastern tropics. Their habits are similar to those of their relatives the sailfishes and swordfishes. See Plate of SPEARFISH AND SWORDFISH.

SPEARMINT. See MINT.

SPEARS, JOHN RANDOLPH (1850-). An American author and journalist, born at Van Wirt, Ohio. In 1875 he became editor of the East Aurora Advertiser, and the next year he founded the Silver Creek Local. He was a reporter on the Buffalo Express from 1880 until 1882, when he joined the staff of the New York Sun. His publications include: The Gold Diggings of Cape Horn (1895); The Port of Missing Ships and Other Stories of the Sea (1896); The War with Spain (1898); The Fugitive (1899); History of Our Navy (1897); Our Navy in the and History of the American Slave Trade (1900).

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT. A compulsory contribution levied in proportion to the special benefits derived from a public improvement, and designed to cover, entirely or in part, the cost of that improvement. A special assessment is levied most frequently in connection with the opening or improvement of streets or highways. It differs from a tax in that it is levied in proportion to the benefit directly derived from the uses to which the contribution is put. (See TAX.) Charges of the nature of special assessments were imposed in France as early as 1672. In 1807 a general law was passed authorizing such levies, but it has rarely been invoked. In Prussia, since 1875, the expenses of certain street improvements have been partially defrayed in this manner. In England contributions of the nature of special assessments were imposed in 1427 and in 1667. The Public Health Act of 1875 permits urban authorities, under certain contingencies, to recover the cost of improvements from property-owners, in proportion to the frontage of their premises. In England, however, no general policy of covering the costs of improvements by special as

sessments exists.

The principle of special assessments first appeared in America in a law of the Province of New York of 1691. By that law, however, all houses in the city of New York might be assessed in proportion to benefits derived from public improvements. By a law of 1787, assessments were limited to the owners of property which was intended to be benefited. In other States

this form of revenue appeared about 1830. After the Civil War the principle became far more extended, and is now throughout the United States a recognized principle of local finance. In a typical case, when a street is graded or paved, after the improvement has been made a board of assessors is appointed, who apportion the cost in proportion to benefits received. Such assessments are usually subject to legal limitation as to amount. Consult Rosewater, Special Assessments (New York, 1893).

SPECIAL JURY. In the English law, a jury consisting of men who are entitled to be

2

3

5

1. SPEARFISH (Tetrapturus albidus).

2. WEST INDIAN SAILFISH (Histiophorus nigricans). 4. SAILFISH (Histiophorus gladius). 5. SWORDFISH (Xiphias gladius).

3. YOUNG OF SWORDFISH (No. 5).

4