S T A ( «• ) S T A

Standard -bearer y he who carries theptandard; a cornet, ensign, &c.

Standard- Bearer to the GentlemenPensioner's .—The gentlemen pensionershave, for almost three centuries, been thenearest guard of his Majesty’s person,and on all state occasions they take pre-cedence of all guards, being stationedclose to the person of the sovereignTheir services are never required exceptupon state occasions. The honourableband, as it is termed, consists of a cap-tain, (who must, in virtue of his office,be a peer of the realm,) three officers,and a paymaster. There are 25 gentle-men pensioners who, being esquires, arein point of rank equal to captains in thearmv. They are occasionally knighted,particularly at an installation ; and twornve always obtained that distinction ata coronation. The standard-bearer isthe next officer but one to the captain.'Hie band of gentlemen pensioners wasoriginally a corps of staff cavalry; eachpensioner being provided with a certainnumber of attendants in the field; whencethe appellation of standard-bearer takesits origin, as it is at a coronation onlythat tlie standard of royalty is borne.At other times the baton, or silver stickof office, similar to that of the field offi-cer in waiting, is the only badge lie wears.The salary is 310/. per annum, subject tothe land and other taxes, which are leviedon all places of the same description, andwhich reduce the salary to about 2-10/.The stipend has never been increasedsince the first institution of the band.The situation of standard-bearer is, likethe rest, to be purchased; three thousandguineas have been given.

Standard -Hill, a hill in England,near Battle, in Sussex, so called becauseWilliam the Conqueror set up his stan-dard on it, before he joined battle withHarold.

STANDING, settled, established, nottemporary.

Standing army, (armte sur pied, Fr.)an army which is quartered upon acountry, and is liable to every species ofduty, without any limitation being fixedto its service. The life and foot guardsform a part of the standing army ofGreat Britain . The militia, but not thevolunteers, may be partially consideredas such; the adjutant, non-commissionedofficers and drummers, being in constantpay, and a third of the quota of men,together with all the officers, being called

out once a year to be exercised for 28days.

Standing, rank, condition. It like-wise signifies length of time. As, suchan officer is of very old standing in thearmy.

STAPLES are loops of iron, or barspointed and bent so as to be driven in atboth ends.

STAR, (etoile , Fr.) a mark of distinc-tion which sometimes is conferred uponmerit, and is always attached to certainprivileged individaals; also a mark ofrank among field officers, which is at-tached to the strap of an epaulette-

Star Chamber , a chamber in West-minster Hall, so called because the ceil-ing of it was adorned with the figures ofstars, where the lord chancellor formerlykept a court in order to punish riots,forgeries, See. This chamber was ren-dered infamous by the oppressive mea-sures which were resorted to in the reignof Charles the First, and which endedin his execution.

Star fort , in fortification. See Fortand Fortification.

STAROSTIES , Fr. certain tenures orfiefs, which the kings of Poland formerlygranted to the nobility and gentry of thecountry, for the purpose of enabling themto support the expenses of military expe-ditions. The person who received, outof the royal domains, a fief of this sort,(for the public were not taxed on thataccount,) was called a Staroste . Staroste also signified a Polish nobleman, and Sta-rostise his wife.

STATARIUS, hence stationary, thatkeepeth in his standing, and doth notmove from one place to another.

STATARIUM prandium, that thesoldiers eat standing. This was fre-quently done among the ancient Ro-mans, not only to save time, but to enurethemselves to every species of militarydispatch.

STATARII excubitores, a standingwatch, or sentinels who were upon thealert, and did not sit or lie down, butstood steady at their posts.

STATE, condition of any thing; as aweekly state of a regiment, See.

State of a detachment. The differ-ence between the state of a corps ordetachment, and a mere return of thesame, consists in this, that the formercomprehends the specific casualties, &c.that have occurred; whereas the lattergives an abstract account -of the officers