[Staubbach] (dust stream), a famous waterfall in Bern, near Lauterbrunnen, 8 m. S. of Interlaken, with a sheer descent of 980 ft.; in the sunlight it has the appearance of a rainbow-hued transparent veil, and before it reaches the ground it is dissipated in silvery spray.
[Staunton, Howard], a famous chess-player; was an Oxford man, and led a busy life as a journalist and miscellaneous writer in London; won the chess championship in 1843, and did much to extend the scientific study of the game by various publications, "The Chess-Player's Handbook," &c.; was also held in high repute as a Shakespearian scholar; published well-annotated editions of Shakespeare's works and a facsimile of the first folio (1810-1874).
[Stavanger] (24), a flourishing port of Norway, on a fiord on the SW. coast, 100 m. S. of Bergen; is of modern aspect, having been largely rebuilt; has two excellent harbours, a fine 11th-century Gothic cathedral, and is the centre of important coast fisheries.
[Stavropol] (657), a Russian government on the Caspian Sea, the inhabitants of which are chiefly nomads and breed horses, with a capital of the same name (36) on a hill, a modern town and a prosperous, both in manufacture and trade.
[Steel, Sir John], sculptor, born at Aberdeen; studied at Edinburgh and Rome; made his mark in 1832 by a model of a statue, "Alexander and Bucephalus," and soon took rank with the foremost and busiest sculptors of his day; his works are mostly to be found in Edinburgh, and include the equestrian statue of Wellington, statues of Sir Walter Scott (in the Scott Monument), Professor Wilson, Dr. Chalmers, Allan Ramsay, etc.; the splendid figure of Queen Victoria over the Royal Institution gained him the appointment (1844) of sculptor to Her Majesty in Scotland, and on the unveiling of his fine equestrian statue of Prince Albert in 1876 he was created a knight (1804-1891).
[Steele, Sir Richard], a famous English essayist, born, the son of an attorney, in Dublin; educated as a foundationer at the Charterhouse and at Oxford; enamoured of a soldier's life, enlisted (1694) as a cadet in the Life Guards; in the following year received an ensigncy in the Coldstream Guards, and continued in the army till 1706, by which time he had attained the rank of a captain; a good deal of literary work was done during his soldiering, notably "The Christian Hero" and several comedies; appointed Gazetteer (1707), and for some two years was in the private service of the Prince Consort, George of Denmark; began in 1709 to issue the famous tri-weekly paper the Tatler, in which, with little assistance, he played the part of social and literary censor about town, couching his remarks in light and graceful essays, which constituted a fresh departure in literature; largely aided by Addison, his old school companion, he developed this new form of essay in the Spectator and Guardian; sat in Parliament as a zealous Whig, and in George I.'s reign was knighted and received various minor court appointments; continued a busy writer of pamphlets, &c., but withal mismanaged his affairs, and died in Wales, secured from actual penury by the property of his second wife; as a writer shares with Addison the glory of the Queen Anne Essay, which in their hands did much to purify, elevate, and refine the mind and manners of the time (1671-1729).
[Steen, Jan], Dutch painter, born in Leyden; was a genre painter of the style of Rembrandt, and his paintings display severity with sympathy and a playful humour; he is said to have led a dissipated life, and to have left his wife and a large family in extreme destitution (1626-1679).
[Steevens, George], commentator on Shakespeare, born at Stepney; in 1736 edited 20 of Shakespeare's plays carefully reprinted from the original quartos, and in 1731 his notes with those of Johnson in another edition; a further edition, with a number of gratuitous alterations of the text, was issued by him in 1793, and that was the accepted one till the publication of Knight's in 1838 (1736-1800).
[Stein, Baron von], Prussian statesman, born at Nassau; rose rapidly in the service of the State, and became Prussian Prime Minister under William III. in 1807, in which capacity he effected important changes in the constitution of the country to its lasting benefit, till Napoleon procured his dismissal, and he withdrew to Austria, and at length to St. Petersburg, where he was instrumental in turning the general tide against Napoleon (1757-1831).
[Stein, Charlotte von], a lady friend of Goethe's, born at Weimar; Goethe's affection for her cooled on his return from Italy to see her so changed; she never forgave him for marrying a woman beneath him; letters by Goethe to her were published in successive editions, but hers to him were destroyed by her (1742-1827).