852 SHEW BREAD March 4, 1869. In November, 1871, he ob- tained leave of absence for a year, during which he travelled in Europe and the East, and was everywhere received with great distinction. On his return he took up his residence in Wash- ington as commander-in-chief of the army, but in October, 1874, removed his headquar- ters to St. Louis. He has published " Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman, by Himself " (2 vols. 8vo, New York, 1875). II. John, an American statesman, brother of the preceding, born at Lancaster, Ohio, May 10, 1828. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1844, and in 1854 was elected a member of the 34th congress, and was reelected to the 35th and 36th congresses. He was the republican candidate for speaker in the 36th congress, and after a protracted contest failed of election by one or two votes, and was made chairman of the committee of ways and means. In 1860 he was again elect- ed to congress, but in 1861 was chosen a Uni- ted States senator from Ohio, to which office he was reelected in 1867 and in 1873. He has been from his first entry into the senate chair- man of the committee on finance. SHERRY. See SPAIN, WIXES OF. SHERWOOD, Mary Martha, an English author- ess, born at Stanford, Worcestershire, July 6, 1775, died at Twickenham, near London, Sept. 30, 1851. She was a daughter of the Rev. George Butt. Her earliest work, "The Tra- ditions," was published when she was 17 years old ; and in her 20th year she published " Margarita," a fiction. " Susan Grey," " The Beautiful Estelle," and some smaller works appeared prior to 1800. In 1803 she married her cousin Henry Sherwood, a captain in the army, and in 1804 accompanied him to India, where she instructed the orphan children of his regiment. In 1818 Capt. Sherwood returned to England with his family, and in 1821 re- tired on half pay, settling at Wickwar, Glou- cestershire, where they resided for the next 27 years. Mrs. Sherwood's works amount to 90 volumes, including " Chronology of Ancient History " and " Dictionary of Scripture Types." Her best known works are " Little Henry and his Bearer," " History of Henry Milner " (8 vols.), " Ermina " (3 vols.), " RoxobeL a Nov- el " (3 vols.), and " The Lady of the Manor " (7 vols.). Her memoir, mainly an autobiogra- phy, has been published by her daughter. SHETLAND ISLMDS, or Zetland, a group in the Atlantic ocean, forming the northernmost part of Great Britain, mainly extending from lat. 59 50' to 60 50' N., and from Ion. 45' to 1 45' W. ; area, about 450 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 81,608. There are about 100 islands, not more than one fourth of which are inhabited. The largest island is Mainland, which contains about three fifths of the total area and two thirds of the population ; and those next in importance are Foula or Foul (the western- most), Papa-Stour, Muckle Roe, Whalsey, Yell, Bressa, Fetlar, Unst, E. and W. Burra, Fair (the southernmost), and the three Skerries. Lerwick, on the E. coast of Mainland, is the capital. The coasts are generally bold and precipitous ; they vary in height from 500 to 1,200 ft. above the sea, and are indented with numerous deep landlocked bays and by long narrow arms of the sea called voes. The in- terior is not generally much elevated above the coasts, the highest summit in the group, in the N. part of Mainland, rising 1,476 ft. above the sea. The surface is mostly rugged, or covered with moss, and the only tolerably fertile soil is in a few of the valleys and in the neighborhood of some of the bays. The geological formation consists of sandstone, gneiss, blue limestone, clay and mica slate, and granite. Copper has been discovered on one of the islands, and chromate of iron is ex- ported from Unst. The climate is not remark- ably cold, but there is much wet and tempes- tuous weather, and fogs are frequent. In win- ter it is dark and dreary, but about midsummer the sun scarcely disappears below the horizon. Very little of the soil is arable. The principal crops are oats, barley, potatoes, and turnips. The live stock on the group are very diminu- tive; and small ponies, or shelties, are bred wild on the heaths and pastures and export- ed in great numbers. About 4,000 of the in- habitants are employed in fishing. Herring, cod, ling, and tusk are the principal kinds caught. The fishing season lasts about three months during summer. The only important manufactures are hosiery, straw plaiting, and the preparation of kelp; but the two latter have fallen off greatly of late years. The ex- ports are fish, oil, cattle, horses, eggs, and woollen articles knit by hand. The value of exports is 100,000 a year. Places of worship are numerous, and nearly all the inhabitants can read and write. The people are small, active, and hardy. Shetland is supposed to be the Thule of the ancients, and the first people known to have inhabited the islands were of Scandinavian origin. The present in- habitants are of their race. About 875 Harold Harfager reduced all the northern and western islands to his authority. Sigurd became earl of Orkney, Caithness, and Shetland; but the authority of the earls was little felt in the last, as they had no jurisdiction in civil affairs, and were merely military protectors or leaders. When James III. of Scotland married the prin- cess Margaret of Denmark in 1469, he received as a pledge for the payment of her dowry the Orkney and Shetland islands, and they were never redeemed. The Shetland islands with the Orkneys form a district which returns one member to parliament. SHEW BREAD (Heb. Uhem happanim), the name of 12 unleavened loaves placed upon a table in the outer compartment of the Jewish sanctuary. Though the number 12 represented the 12 tribes, it was not diminished after the secession of 10 of the tribes from the Mosaic worship, probably because the covenant with the whole people was regarded as eternally
