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a ici e jl e ? rnice > an d the large cross was on the top of theI n the chapel of the blessed Virgin are the' ai '°Us Matthew and St. John ; two sepulchral urns ;

' n Scr;'T a ,^ ass o-relievos ; part of a bull of Gregory III .

to t J 1 ‘ ed °n marble;.

In ?. art ' cu larized.

besides other curiosities, too numerous

Jt| cie nt . r ° nt St. Peter’s church, towards the east, in theVatj^ , Cam P> or valley, where the gentiles performed the'he p| ’’ an( l prepared for the triumphal processions, isthe a . Zza of the Vatican basilica, in the form of an amphi-

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°f hp * es the beholder, and appears to be the ne plus ultraAl e)ta atl art and genius. This was the work of Popet| le VII. from designs by Bernini , about the middle

c %j s ,. century. The colonnades are of the Doric order,

three hundred and twenty large stone columns,p r U e( \ into tetrads, and forming a street in the centreCov C ^i°ns, with walks at the sides for spectators. They? r «ate r ere< ^’ !ln< l surrounded with cornices, on which, for1Ut idred 0rnament > are erected a stone balustrade, and oneJulies a ari< ^ thirty statues of saints of both sexes, whose0| tiK| er re Preserved in the church, with those of the variousla t j S the religious orders.

%kV«> tr e of this piazza is the celebrated Egyptian*he only one of its kind that has wholly escaped thePhiip barbarous hands, and the injuries of time. It is. re d granite, 113J palms in height, all of a single^0 p’ a | 0r ’ from the base, including the pedestal and cross,''t ^cienf 8 ’ *^ le cross alone being 10 palms. This monument,w ' s ks a ^ uncer tain date, is said to have been one of twoW ’ hy -vj^' catec l to the sun in Heliopolis, the On of holy/^S}’Pt UnCOr ' us ’ ca ^ e ^ a * so Bheron, son of Sesostris, king0 p ’ on occasion of his recovering his sight, after a blind-j^Peror )’ ear s; where it remained till the reign of they llorp e . ’e u la, who, according to Pliny , had it removedu aii(; ap ’ - n tlle year of his reign, and set up in the

c ‘ r cu a Clr ? U3 ' When Constantine the Great destroyedt le obelisk was left standing, and it remainedj* 4t 8, (j|| Upwards of one thousand two hundred and fifty•tt b P ont '® cate °f Sixtus V. , who was made popejj* tli e ’ y which time it whs hnrifld tn tlifi tnn nf tiiA hncA

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"h'ch, for extent, magnificence, the distribution and°f the porticos, columns, statues, and fountains,

upwards of one thousand two hundred and fiftythe pontificate of Sixtus V. , who was made popeace ^ w h>ch time it was buried to the top of the baseupg^utated ruins and rubbish. Sixtus ordered it toi Co t° its foundation, and employed the architect•e the p v ontana > who, on the 10th of September, 1586,l)|'° v ed j t 0ur °f eight hundred men and one hundred horses,. ad- to its present situation, and set it up on two largegranite, brought from Egypt at the same time with"ich serve for the pedestal, supported by a base

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li^ritio ar ble. On the angles are four lions of metal,hn^O'aiio “sustain the obelisk, cast from a model ofo f j a . G 0( j" ^ le same pope dedicated it in honour of the

t^'Paliy’ o atl( l, instead of the large metal ball, that wasH? 6 U'ount ^' e to P’ he placed his own arms, consisting oflast b S • an< ^ a star > an( f “hove them a metal cross ;tl 1( , taken* j ein S injured by lapse of time and the weather,Nhf 00( l 0 f°r * n and, being repaired, a particle of

V, 1 , :,| ee s j e hol >’ cross was inserted into it, and various8al' aVe 8 ’ nce been granted to those who, in passingSOval^l,,!! with a Paternoster or an Ave Maria.Vv^PUted u l ''' S obelisk to its present situation, was first,, a fcfl “ by Popr■^ath ap ° n fou

>e Nicholas V. , who intended to have itir colossal statues of the evangelists ; butNlv • t *‘ e prevented the execution of his design,

v (yU th e g 4 °* t he obelisk is a fountain, made by Paul V.Vti, e ht vi Venteen th century ; and on the left, is another,P- n •> about the year 1671. They are both admi-5 i

rable works, as well for the copious supplies of water theythrow up, as for their basins of the finest Egyptian granite,each cut out of one solid block.

Though St. Peter’s is generally considered the most magni-ficent building in the world, a recent traveller, Mr. Laing, con-sidersit“an architectural failure;” andgreatly prefers St. Paul’s.

SALIENT, (from the French , saillant, of sailler, to pro-ject or advance outwards ; derived from the Latin, satire , toleap) in fortification, a projecting part.

There are two kinds of angles ; the one saliant, or such aspresent their points outwards ; the other re-entering, whichhave their points inwards. Instances of both kinds occur intenailles and star-works ; and in redans,

SALLY, (from the French , saillie, a jutting out) morecommonly termed projecture, an expression used respectingthe end of a piece of timber, when cut with an interiorangle, formed by two planes, across the fibres ; in which casethe interior angle is called a sally, or bird’s mouth. In thismanner the feet of common rafters, and the inclined pieceswhich support the flying steps of a wooden stair, are fre-quently cut ; as are likewise the lower ends of all inclinedtimbers, which rest upon plates or beams.

Sally-Ports, or Postern Gates, in fortification, under-ground passages, leading from the inner to the outer works ;such as from the higher flank to the lower, or to the tenailles,or the communication from the middle of the curtain to theravelin. In every place of arms, there are two sally-ports,each ten or twelve feet wide, for the troops to sally out. Intime of a siege, they are shut up with barriers, or gates.

SALOON, (from the French , salon, a hall) a grand, lofty,spacious apartment, vaulted at top, and usually comprehend-ing two stories, with two ranges of windows.

The saloon is a grand room in the middle of a building, orat the head of a gallery, &c. Its faces, or sides, are all tohave a symmetry with each other; and as it usually takesup the height of two stories, its ceiling, Daviler observes,should be made with a moderate sweep.

The saloon is a state-room, much used in the palaces ofItaly , and from thence the mode came to us. Ambassadorsand other great visitors are usually received in the saloon.It is sometimes built square, sometimes round, or oval,sometimes octagonal, as at Marly, and sometimes in otherforms.

To ascertain the superficies of a saloon, find its breadth,by applying a string close to it across the surface ; find alsoits length by measuring along the middle of it, quite roundthe room ; and multiply these results together for the surface.To find its solid contents, multiply the area of a transversesection by the compass taken round the middle part; subtractthis product from the whole vacuity of the room, supposingthe walls to go upright all the height to the flat ceiling.

SANCTUARY, the presbytery, or eastern extremity ofthe chancel eastward of the choir, which was set apart forthe officiating priests, and in which the altar was situated.See Chancel.

SAND (Dutch ), in mineralogy, a name given to all mine-ral matter that exists in minute, detached grains, and moreparticularly denominated from the prevailing substance, assilicious sand, iron sand, &c. '

Sand is generally formed from the disintegration of hardstones, or rocks, by the agency of water, and the particles ofsilicious stones, possessing a greater degree of hardness thanmost other kinds. The use of sand in building is an ingre-dient in mortar. For this purpose, pit-sand is, of all others,the best ; and of pit-sand, the whitest is always the worst.Of river-sand, that found in the falls of water is best, becausemost purged ; and sear-sand is worst of all.

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