S I Z ( ssi

ijsed by the Egyptians in their armies.It also signifies, generally, an instrumentused in battle instead of a trumpet.Likewise a brazen or iron timbrel muchlike to the kettle-drum.

To SIT, (asseoir, Fr.) in a militarysense, to take a stationary position ; as,to sit before a fortified place ; to lie en-camped for the purpose of besieging it.Ti e French use the word asseoir, as anactive verb, viz. asseoir un camp, to pitcha camp. II assit son camp hors de laportee da canon de la ville ; he pitchedbis camp out of the range of the town’scannon.

SIT;/«sf, ) a hard knob, that grows

STICIT/asf, S under a horse’s skin,beneath the saddle, fast to his flesh,which is occasioned by a saddle-gall, orbruise.

SITUE, Fr. situated ; placed ; pitched.The French say, un camp bien situc, acamp well situated, or pitched.

SIXAIN. Sixth, Sexagena, in war,an ancient order of battle, wherein sixbattalions being ranged in one line, thesecond and fifth were made to advance,fo form the ran guard; the first andsixth to retire to form the rear guard;the third and fourth remaining to formthe main corps. The word is derivedfrom the French , which signifies thesame thing. The sixain order of battlemay be formed with all the battalionswhose number is produced by the num-ber six. Twelve battalions, fur instance,may be ranged in order of battle, byforming two sixains; and eighteen bat-talions, by forming three sixains; and soon progressively.

To SIZE, in a military sense, to takethe height of men for the purpose ofplacing them in military array, and ofrendering their relative statures moreeffective. In all regiments, the sizingbegins from flanks to center, the tallestmen being placed upon the right andleft of the several companies in the frontrank, and the shortest in the center andrear ranks. The flank troops of asrpiadron must be sized in the followingmanner:—That of the right flank, fromright to left; that of the left flank, fromleft to right; the center one from centerto flanks : the tallest man must, ofcourse, be always in the part where thesizing begins, excepting the corporals,one of whom must be on each flank ofthe front rank of the troop, or company,covered by a clever soldier in the rear

i ) SKA

runic. If there be only two troops In a-squadron, or companies in a battalion,they size the right from the left, the leftfrom the right flank. A question hasarisen among military men, especiallyamong those who have seen service, re-specting the propriety of placing theshortest infantry men in the center andrear ranks.

To Size, among artificers, to db ordaub over with size.

SKAIT, Skate, or Scale ; Skidor ,Swedish ; Skid, Islandic; Sceabba„Saxon; Skier, Norwegian; Vatin, Fr.a sort of shoe or sandal made of wood,and armed with iron for sliding on ice.

Skates are used by the inhabitants ofall Northern nations, either for expedi-tion in travelling, or for amusement.They are made of wood and iron, fas-tened to the feet by straps of leather,or by screws. The Dutch were pro-bably the original inventors ; but theEnglish have greatly improved uponthem, for by comparing them together,the preference must be given to the lat-ter. Skates are so well known, that itis needless to describe them. It will benecessary, however, to remark that theDutch skates are very long in the iron,of a flat broad surface, to enable them torun over rough ice with ease and expe-dition, while those that are used by theEnglish are short and circular, so thatnot above two inches of it touch the ice,and all that is required, is for the skaterto keep his body in a proper equilibrium.It has another advantage over the Dutch ,the friction on the ice is considerablydiminished. In Holland, it is not somuch a diversion as an employment.Women, as well as men, practise it forthe purpose of going from one place toanother, and carrying provisions to mar-ket. But it is in England that skatinghas been brought to the highest perfec-tion. An artillery oflicer, about 30 or 40years ago, published a very ingenioustreatise on it, which work is now seldomto be met with. In it he lays downrules for the art, which is still capable ofgreat improvement.

In Norway , a kind of skate is used fortravelling upon land. These are formedof planks of wood as broad as the hand,and nearly of the thickness of the littleAnger , the middle underneath being hol-lowed to prevent vacillation, and to fa-cilitate the advancing in a direct line.The plank fastened under the left foot;