1805. He began the study of law at New Haven, taught for two years in Bermuda, at the same time continuing his legal studies, and was admitted to the bar at New Haven in 1808. The next year he entered Andover Theological Seminary to study for the ministry. In 1810 he was ordained, and settled as pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City, where he remained for over fifty years. He was one of the founders of the American Bible Society in 1816, the American Tract Society in 1825, and the American Home Missionary Society in 1826. He published man.v books of a religious character besides his Personal Reminscences of the Life and Times of Gardiner Spring (1866.)
SPRING, Samuel (1746-1819). An American Congregational clergyman. He was born at Northbridge, Mass., graduated at the College of New Jersey in 1771, and later studied theology. In 1775 he joined the Continental Army, and accompanied Benedict Arnold as chaplain of the invading army into Canada. In 1776 he left the army, and the next year was installed pastor of the church at Newburyport, Mass., where he continued until his death. He was one of the founders of Andover Theological Seminary, and also of the Massachusetts Missionary Society, and to him is attributed the idea of forming the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Many of his occasional sermons have been printed, the most notable of them being A Sermon on the Death of Washington (1799), and A Discourse in Consequence of the Late Duel (1804)—that between Burr and Hamilton. Consult the Life and Times of Gardiner Spring, vol. i. (New York, 1866).
SPRING BALANCE. An instrument used to determine the weight of a body by the extension or compression of a spring. In the usual form of spring balance a spring of coiled wire is contained in a metal case and incloses a central rod to which is attached at one end a hook, and at the other a projection which extends through a slit in the case and moves over a graduated scale. The central rod can also be connected by means of a rack and toothed wheel with an axle on which is fastened a pointer moving over a circular scale or dial. The spring balance measures the amount of attraction of the earth at any particular place; consequently, readings at the equator would be different from those at the poles or other places on the earth's surface. The ordinary balance, on the other hand, would give the weight for a body irrespective of its position. The force of the spring varies with temperature, which alters the length and elasticity of the wire and renders impossible precise measurements.
SPRINGBOK (Dutch, springing goat). A South African gazelle (Gazella euchore). It is larger than the common deer, and its neck and limbs much longer and more delicate. The general color is fulvous brown on the upper parts, pure white beneath, the colors separated on the flanks by a broad band of deep vinous red. The whole head is white, except a broad brown band on each side from the eye to the mouth, and a brown spot in the centre of the face. The springbok derives its name from the prodigious leaps which it takes either when alarmed or in play, often to the height of seven feet, and sometimes of twelve or thirteen feet. It is one of the most sought-after game animals of South Africa, yet remains numerous. Consult authorities cited under Antelope; and see Plate of Gazelles.
SPRING EEL. A fish of the small order Opisthomi and family Mastacembelidæ, several species of which occur in the fresh waters of the East Indies; they are eel-like in form, with the dorsal fin very long, and the fore part of it composed of low free spines. Allied to this is a small, curious eel (Derichthys serpentinus) dredged from the depths of the North Pacific. See Plate of Eels.
SPRING′ER, Alfred (1854—). An American
chemist, born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He studied
chemistry at the University of Heidelberg, and
then settled in the practice of his profession in
Cincinnati. He published studies on Glycocholic
Ether (1879), Pentachloramyl Formate (1881),
and Reduction of Nitrates by Ferments (1883),
in which he announced his discovery of denitrifying
ferments among the microörganisms of the
soil, and forming a sort of link between the plants
and their nitrogenous constituents; also, A
Latent Characteristic of Aluminum (1891) and
Increase of Segmental Vibrations (1897).
SPRINGER, Anton (1825-91). A German art critic and historian. He was born at Prague, and studied at the university of his native city and at Tübingen. He taught successively at Prague, Bonn, Strassburg, and Leipzig. His historical works include: Geschichte des Revolutionszeitalters (1849); Oesterreich, Preussen und Deutschland (1851); and Geschichte Oesterreichs seit dem Wiener Frieden (1863-65). His principal works on art are: Die Baukunst des christlichen Mittelalters (1854); Geschichte der bildenden Künste im 19. Jahrhundert (1858); Bilder aus der neueren Kunstgeschichte (1867); Raffael und Michelangelo (1877); Grundzüge der Kunst geschichte (1888; 4th ed., as Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte, 1895); and Albrecht Dürer (1892). Consult the posthumous Aus meinem Leben (Berlin, 1892).
SPRINGER, William McKendree (1836—). An American jurist and political leader, born at New Lebanon, Ind. He graduated at the Indiana State University in 1858, and for the next four years was a newspaper correspondent and editor. He was admitted to the bar in 1859, and in 1872 became a member of the Illinois Legislature. From 1875 to 1895 he was a member of Congress, where he introduced a resolution which was carried by a large majority, declaring that it would be “unwise, unpatriotic, and fraught with peril to our free institutions” for one man to serve more than two terms in the Presidency. From 1895 to 1899 he was United States Judge of the Northern District of Indian Territory and Chief Justice of the United States Court of Appeals there.
SPRING′FIELD. The capital of Illinois, and the county-seat of Sangamon County, 185 miles southwest of Chicago; on the Illinois Central, the Chicago and Alton, the Chicago, Peoria and Saint Louis, the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern, the Saint Louis, Chicago and Saint Paul, the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton, and the Wabash railroads (Map: Illinois, C 4). It is regularly laid out with wide streets. The most prominent edifice is the State Capitol, a handsome building begun in
