Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 08.djvu/244

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ST. PAUL'S BAY 200 SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON shall rise again). The pavement of the interior is composed of slabs of black and white marble. The crypt under the nave contains the burying-places of many il- lustrious personages, and some interest- ing relics of old St. Paul's. Among the numerous monuments and statues to the illustrious dead may be noted those of John Howard and Dr. Johnson, by Bacon; statues of Nelson, Earl Howe, and Sir Joshua Reynolds, by Flaxman; Bishop Heber, by Chantrey; and monuments to Lord Rodney, Lord Heathfield, Admiral Collingwood, General Abercrombie, etc., by Rossi, Westmacott, and others. The monument to the Duke of Wellington, by Alfred Stevens, is accounted the finest work of its kind in England. It consists of a rich marble sarcophagus and canopy elaborately ornamented with bronze sculp- tures. It is 30 feet in height and cost upward of $150,000. ST. PAUL'S BAY, a bay on the N. coast of Malta, notable as being the tra- ditional scene of St. Paul's shipwreck. It is GV2 miles from Valetta and its environ- ments are prominent in Biblical litera- ture. ST. PAUL'S ROCKS, a group of small islands in the Atlantic Ocean, E. of South America. They are characterized by great bowlders scattered over their surface, and by the rocks at their bases in the sea, making an approach to them dangerous. ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL, an English school, in West Kensington, London; originally founded in 1509. Among its pupils have been Major Andre, Camden, Roger Cotes, Sir P. Francis, Halley, Le- land, the Duke of Marlborough, Milton, Robert Nelson, Pepys, Strype, and Judge Jeffreys. ST. PETER, LAKE, a sheet of water which is really an expansion of the St. Lawrence river, near Three Rivers. Many rivers flow into it, the largest being the St. Francis. There are many islands in its S. half, several of which are notable for beautiful scenery. The lake is 35 miles long and its greatest breadth is 10 miles. ST. PETER PORT, the capital of the island of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands; about 25 miles from St. Helier. It is a watering-place and has a beautiful Gothic church. Pop. about 20,000. ST. PETER'S, the Cathedral of Rome, the largest and one of the most magnifi- cent churches in Christendom. It is a cruciform building in the Italian style, surmounted by a lofty dome, built on the legendary site of St. Peter's martyrdom. In 306 Constantine the Great erected on this spot a basilica of great magnificence. In the time of Nicholas V. it threatened to fall into ruins, and he determined on its reconstruction, but the work of res- toration proceeded slowly, and Julius II. (1503-1513) decided on the erection of an entirely new building. He laid the foun- dation stone of the new cathedral on the 18th of April, 1506, and selected the fa- mous Bramante as his architect. After the latter's death various architects had charge of the work till Michelangelo was appointed in 1546. He nearly com- pleted the dome and a large portion of the building before his decease (1564). The nave was finished in 1612, the facade and portico in 1616, and the church was dedicated by Urban VIII. Nov. 18, 1626. The extensive colonnade which surrounds the piazza and forms a magnificent ap- proach to the church was begun by Ber- nini in 1667, and the sacristy erected by Carlo Marchionni in 1776. The interior diameter of the dome is 139 feet, the ex- terior diameter 195 V2 feet; its height from the pavement to the base of the lan- tern 405 feet, to the top of the cross out- side 435 feet. The length of the cathedral within the walls is 613 V2 feet; the height of the nave near the door 152 V2 feet; the width 87% feet. The width of the side aisles is 33 % feet ; the entire width of the nave and side aisles, including the piers that separate them, 197% feet. The cir- cumference of the piers which support the dome is 253 feet. The floor of the cathedral covers nearly 5 acres, and its cost is estimated to have exceeded $50,- 000,000. SAINT PETERSBURG, a city of Florida in Pinellas co. It is on the penin- sula separating Tampa Bay from the Gulf of Mexico, and is on the Atlantic Coast and the Tampa and Gulf Coast lines. It has an excellent harbor and in recent years has developed an important commerce. It is also a favorite winter resort. The population since 1910 has rapidly increased. Pop. (1910) 4,127; (1920) 14,237. ST. PETERSBURG. See PETROGRAD. ST. PIERRE, the largest town, though not the capital, of the island of Martin- ique (q. v.), W. I. It was founded in 1665, and at the time of its destruction by an eruption of Mont Pelee in 19t)2 it had a population of from 26,000 to 30,- 000, and was of considerable commercial importance. It was the birthplace of Josephine, consort of Napoleon I. SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON, a French colony, 10 miles S. of Newfound- land, consisting of the three islands of Saint Pierre, Ile-aux-Chiens, and Mique- lon, having in all an area of 93 square miles. They are only moderately fertile, but are of importance as the center of the