s h o rm shr
SHORT., James, At M. and F. R. S. an eminent optician,born m Edinburgh on the 10th of June, O. S. 1710. At ten yearsof age, having lost his father and mother, and being in a state of in-digence, he was received into Ileriot’s Hospital, where he soondisplayed his mechanical genius in constructing, for himself, littlechests, book-cases, and other conveniences, with such tools as fellin his way. At the age of twelve he was removed from the hos-pital to the high school, where he shewed a considerable taste forclassical literature, anil generally kept at the head of his class. In1726 he was entered into the university, where he passed throughthe usual course of education, and took his master’s degree withgreat applause. By his friends he was intended for the chinch;but after attending a course of theological lectures, he thought thatprofession little suited to his talents ; and devoted his whole timeto mathematical and mechanical pursuits. Having the celebratedM’Laurin for his preceptor, he soon discovered the bent of his ge-nius, made a proper estimate of the extent of his capacity, and en-couraged him to prosecute those studies in which nature had quali-fied him to make the greatest figure. Under the eye of that eminentmaster, he began, in 1732, to construct Gregorian telescopes; and,as the professor observed in a letter to Dr. Jurin, “ by taking careof the figure of his specula, he was enabled to give them larger aper-tures, and to carry them to greater perfection, than had ever beendone before him.” In 1736, Air. Short was called to London , at thedesire of queen Caroline, to give instructions in mathematics toWilliam duke of Cumberland; and immediately on his appoint-ment to that very honourable office, he was elected F. R. S. andpatronized by the earls of Morton and Macclesfield . In 1739 heaccompanied the former to the Orkney Isles , where he was em-ployed in adjusting the geography of that part of Scotland . Mr.Short having returned to London , and established himself there,was in 1743 employed by lord Thomas Spencer to make for hima reflector of twelve feet focus, for which he received 600 guineas.He made several other telescopes of the same focal distance withgreater improvements and higher magnifiers; and in 1752 finishedone for the king of Spain , for which, with its whole apparatus, hereceived 1200/. This was the noblest instrument of the kind thathad then been constructed, and perhaps it has never yet beensurpassed except by the astonishing reflectors of Herschel. Mr.Short was wont to visit the place of his nativity once every twoor three years during his residence in London , and in 1766 he vi-sited it for the last time. On the 15th of June, 1768, he died,after a short illness, at Newington Butts, near London , of a morti-fication in his bowels, having nearly completed his 58th year,lie left a fortune of about 20,000/. of which 15,000/. was bequeath-ed to two nephews, and the rest in legacies to his friends. In gra-titude for the steady patronage of the earl of Morton, be left to hisdaughter, the lady Mary Douglas, afterwards countess of Aboyne ,1000/. and the reversion of his fortune, should,his nephews diew ithout issue ; but this reversionary legacy the lady, at the desireof her father, generously relinquished by a deed in favour of Mr.Short's brother, Mr. Thomas Short, and his children.
SHORT-HAND-WRITING. See Stenography .
Short-Jointed, in the manege. A horse is said to be short-jointed that has a short pastern; when this joint, or the pastern, istoo short, the horse is subject to have his fore-legs from the kneeto the cornet all in a straight line.
SHOT, a denomination given to all sorts of balls for fire-arms ;those for cannon being of iron, and those for guns, pistols, &c. oflead.
Shot, case, formerly consisted of all kinds of old iron ; nails,musket-balls, stones, &c. used as above.
Shot of a Cable, on ship-board, is the splicing of two cablestogether, that a ship may ride safe in deep waters and in greatToads; for a ship will ride easier by one shot of a cable, than bythree short cables out a-head.
SHOT-FLAGGON, a sort of flaggon somewhat bigger thanordinaiy, which, in some counties, particularly Derbyshire , it isthe custom for the host to serve his guests in, after they have drankabove a shilling.
SHOVEL, "Sir Cloudesly, a brave English admiral, bornabout 1650, of parents rather in the lower rank of life. He wasput apprentice to a shoe-maker; but disliking this profession, heabandoned it and went to -sea. He was at first a cabin-boy withS.r Christopher Mynns, but applying to the study of navigation
with indefatigable industry, bis skill as a seaman soon raised him.The corsairs of Tripoli having committed great outrages on theEnglish in the Mediterranean, Sir John Nat borough was sent in1674 to reduce them to reason. As he had received orders to trythe effects of negociation before be proceeded to hostilities, hesent Mr. Shovel, then a lieutenant in his fleet, to demand satisfac-tion. The Dey treated him with a great deal of disrespect, andsent him back without an answer. Sir John dispatched him a se-cond time, with orders to remark particularly the situation ofthings on shore. The behaviour of the Dey was worse than ever.Upon Mr. Shovel’s return, lie informed Sir John that it would bepossible, notwithstanding their fortifications, to burn all the shipsin the harbour. The boats were accordingly manned, and thecommand of them given to lieutenant Shovel, who seized theguardship, and burnt four others, without losing a man. This ac-tion so terrified the Tripolins, that they sued for peace. Sir JohnNarborough gave so favourable an account of this exploit, that Mr.Shovel was soon after made captain of the Sapphire, a fifth-rateship. In the battle of Bantry Bay after the revolution, he com-manded the Edgar, and, for his gallant behaviour in that action,was knighted by king William. Next year he was employed intransporting an army into Ireland ; a service which he performed,with so much diligence and dexterity, that the king raised him tothe rank of rear admiral of the blue, and delivered his commissionwith his own hands. Soon after he was made rear-admiral of thered, and shared the glory of the victory at La Ilogue. In 1694he bombarded Dunkirk. In 1703 he commanded the grand fleetin the Mediterranean, and did every thing in his power to assistthe Protestants who were in arms in the Cevennes. Soon afterthe battle of Malaga , he was presented by prince George to queenAnne, who received him graciously, and next year employed himas commander-in-chief. In 1705, he commanded the fleet, toge-ther with the earls of Peterborough and Monmouth, which wassent into the Mediterranean ; and it was owing to him chiefly thatBarcelona was taken. Alter an unsuccessful attempt upon Toulon ,he sailed for Gibraltar , and from thence homeward with a part ofthe fleet. On the 22d of October, at night, his ship, with threeothers, was cast away on the rocks of Scilly. All on board pe-rished. His body was found by some fishermen on the island ofScilly, who stripped it of a valuable ring, and afterwards buried*it. Mr. Paxton, the purser of the Arundel, hearing of this, foundout the fellows, and obliged them to discover where they had bu-ried the body. He carried it on board his own ship to Ports-mouth, frdm whence it was conveyed to London , and interredwith great solemnity in Westminster Abbey . A monument wasafterwards erected to bis memory by the direction of the queen.He had married the widow of his patron, Sir John Narborough ,by whom he left two daughters, co-heiresses.
SHOULDER-BLADE, a bone of the shoulder, of a triangu-lar figure, covering the hind-part of the ribs, called by anatomiststhe scapula and omoplata. See Anatomy.
SHOUT, CLAMOUR, in antiquity was frequently used onecclesiastical, civil, and military, occasions, as a sign of approba-tion, and sometimes of indignation. Thus, as Cicero, in an assem-bly of the people, was exposing the arrogance of L. Antony, who,had the impudence to cause himself to be inscribed the patron ofthe Romans, the people on hearing this raised a shout to shewtheir indignation.
SHOWER, in meteorology, a cloud condensed to rain. SeeClouds, Metf.orology, and Rain .
Showers of Stones. See Aeroliths.
S H11FAV MOUSE- See Sorex.
SHREWSBURY, acity of England, the capital of Shropshire 20 miles N. W. of Bridgenorth , 4l S. of Chester, and 160 N. W»of London '. Lon. 2. 41. W. Lat. 52. 43. N.
Shrewsbury, a town of New Jersey, in Monmouth county *10 miles E. of Freehold, and 35 S. W. by S. of New York.
SHRIMP, in ichthyology, the English name of two differentspecies of thesquilla, viz. the common shrimp, and the smooth*nosed shritnp.
SHRINE, in ecclesiastical history, is a case or box to hold't‘ ierelies of some saint. ,
SHROPSHIRE, or SALOP , a county of England, bound*on the S. by Worcestershire, Herefordshire , and Radnorshire; o®the N. by Cheshire; on the E. by Staffordshire ; on the W.
Montgomerys® 11 *