Saint-Germain figures prominently in the correspondence of Grimm and of Voltaire. See also Oettinger, Graf Saint-Germain, 1846 ; Biilau, Gcheime Geschichten und rathselhafte Afenschen, vol. i. cap. xiii.
ST GERMAIN-EN-LAYE, a town of France, in the department of Seine-et-Oise, 8 miles north of Versailles and 13 west of Paris by rail. Built on a hill on the left bank of the Seine, nearly 200 feet above the river, and on the edge of a forest 10,000 to 11,000 acres in extent, St Germain has a healthy and bracing air, which makes it a favourite place of summer residence with the Parisians. It had 15,545 inhabitants in 1881 (15,790 in the commune). The terrace of St Germain, constructed by Lenotre in 1672, is 7900 feet long and 100 feet wide, is planted with lime trees upwards of a hundred years old, and affords an extensive view over the valley of the Seine as far as Paris and the surrounding hills ; hence it ranks as one of the finest promenades in Europe. It was also after Lenotre's plans that the “parterre” promenade was laid out between the castle and the forest and the “English garden” (by which it is approached). The history of St Germain centres in the castle, now occupied by a museum of national antiquities.
A monastery in honour of St Germain, bishop of Paris, was built in the forest of Laye by King Robert. Louis VI. erected a castle close by. Burned by the English, rebuilt by Louis IX., and again by Charles V., this castle did not reach its full development till the time of Francis I., who may be almost regarded as the real founder of the building. A new castle was erected by Henry II. ; but it was demolished by the count of Artois, and there remains only the so-called Henry IV. pavilion, now used as an hotel, and known as the place where Thiera died, 3d September 1877. The old castle, on the contrary, is being completely restored to the state in which it was under Francis I. The chapel, dating from 1240, is older than the Sainte Chapelle at Paris, and is worthy of note for its rose and other windows. The museum, which will occupy forty rooms, contains a chronological series of artistic and industrial products from the earliest prehistoric times. In the church of St Germain is a mausoleum erected by Queen Victoria to the memory of James II. of England, who found in the old castle (now demolished) an asylum after the Revolution of 1688. In one of the public squares is a statue of Thiers. The town is the seat of one of the cavalry garrisons which surround Paris. At no great distance in the forest is the Couvent des Loges, a branch of the educational establishment of the Legion of Honour (St Denis). The fete des Loges is one of the most popular in the neighbourhood of Paris. Henry II., Charles IX., and Margaret of Navarre were born at St Germain, as well as Louis XIV., who is said to have removed from this place to Versailles to get away from the sight of the clock-tower of St Denis, the church where he was to be buried.
ST HELENA, an island in the Atlantic in 15° 55′ 26″ S. lat. and 5° 42′ 30″ W. long. (Ladder Hill Observatory), lies 1140 miles from Africa, 1800 from America, 700 south-east of the island of Ascension (the nearest land), and 4000 from Great Britain, of which it has been a dependency since 1651. The area is about 45 square miles, the extreme length from south-west to north-east being 10 miles and the extreme breadth 8. The island is a very ancient volcano, greatly changed by oceanic abrasion and atmospheric denudation. The northern rim of the great crater still forms the principal ridge, with the culminating summits of Diana’s Peak (2704 feet) and High Peak (2635); the southern rim has been altogether washed away, though its debris apparently keeps the sea shallow (from 20 to 50 fathoms) for some 2 miles south-east of Sandy Bay, which hypothetically forms the centre of the ring. From the crater wall outwards water-cut gorges stretch in all directions, widening as they approach the sea into valleys, some of which are 1000 feet deep, and measure one-eighth of a mile across at bottom and three-eighths across the top (Melliss). Along the enclosing hill-sides caves have been formed by the washing out of the softer rocks. High Hill (2823 feet) and High Knoll (1903) are lateral cones. Many dykes and masses of basaltic rock seem to have been injected “subsequently to the last volcanic eruptions from the central crater.” Among the more remarkable instances are the Ass′s Ears and Lot′s Wife, picturesque pinnacles standing out on the south-east part of the crater ridge, and the Chimney on the coast to the south of Sandy Bay. In the neighbourhood of Man and Horse (south-west corner of the island), throughout an area of about 40 acres, scarcely 50 square yards exist not crossed by a dyke. On the leeward side of St Helena the sea-face is generally formed by cliffs from 600 to 1000 feet high, and on the windward side these heights often increase to full 2000 feet, as at Holdfast Tom, Stone Top, and Old Joan Point. Limited deposits of calcareous sandstones and stalagmitic limestones occur at certain points, as on Sugar-Loaf Hill; they probably consist of particles of shells blown by the wind from some primeval beach, long since destroyed.
Map of St Helena.
