SOLOMON 488 SOLON may also be played with ordinary play- ing cards, the object being to so combine the cards that similar denominations may be grouped. There are many variations, some of them extremely intricate. SOLOMON (Hebrew, Shelomoh, the Prince of Peace), son of David, King of Israel, by Bathsheba, formerly the wife of Uriah, was appointed by David to be his successor in preference to his elder brothers. By his remarkable judicial de- cisions and his completion of the political institutions of David Solomon gained the respect and admiration of his people; while by the building of the temple, which gave to the Hebrew worship a magnifi- cence it had not hitherto possessed, he bound the nation more strongly to his throne. The wealth of Solomon, accumu- lated by a prudent use of the treasures inherited from his father; by successful commerce; by a careful administration of the royal revenues ; and by an increase of taxes, enabled him to meet the ex- penses of erecting the temple, building palaces, cities, and fortifications, and of supporting the extravagance of a luxuri- ous court. Fortune long seemed to favor this great king; and Israel, in the fulness of its prosperity, scarcely perceived that he was continually becoming more des- potic. Contrary to the laws of Moses, he admitted foreign women to his harem ; and from love of them he was weak enough in his old age to permit the free practice of their idolatrous worship and even to take part in it himself. Toward the close of his reign troubles arose in consequence of these delinquencies, and the growing discontent, coming to a head after his death, resulted in the division of the kingdom, which his feeble son Rehoboam could not prevent. The 40 years' reign of Solomon is still celebrated among the Jews, for its splendor and its happy tranquillity, as one of the brightest periods of their history. The writings attributed to Solomon are "The Book of Proverbs," "Ecclesiastes," and the "Song of Solomon," with the apocryphal book the "Wisdom of Solomon"; but modern criticism has decided that only a portion of the "Book of Proverbs" can be referred to Solomon. SOLOMON ISLANDS, a group in the South Pacific; lying S. E. of New Britain and E. of New Guinea; extending in a S. E. direction between lat. 5° and 11° S., and long. 154° to 162° E. These islands were first discovered and explored by the Spanish navigator Mendana in 1568. He named them Solomon Islands on the imagined idea that the riches of Solomon's temple had been brought from them. While on his way to colonize them in 1595, he died, and the islands were not again visited till they were rediscov- ered by Carteret in 1767. They were visited several times during the latter part of the 18th century, and parts of the coast line of the larger islands were surveyed, but between 1794 and 1838, they became almost forgotten. After the latter date the survey of the coast was renewed, and both traders and mission- aries endeavored to settle on the islands. Neither met with much success, however, and little was heard of the islanders save accounts of the murders and plunders per- petrated by them. In 1845 some French missionaries went thither in charge of Mgr. Epaulle, a notable dignitary of the Church, but their leader was killed by the natives soon after landing. There is no doubt, from the accounts given, that the natives practiced cannibalism. In 1848 the French mission was abandoned. Some 12 or 14 years later, the English Church established a mission on the islands, in charge of native teachers from other islands that had been Chris- tianized. In 1881 the French Catholic mission was again resumed. The British protectorate was extended in 1887-1898. In accordance with the Anglo-German agreement of 1899 the islands of Choiseul and Isabel, with their surrounding islets, were transferred to Great Britain, Germany retaining the islands of Bougainville and Buka until the World War, when they were captured by an Australian force in 1914. The population of the entire group of islands is about 600 whites and 150,000 natives. SOLOMON'S SONG, called also the Song of Songs, or Canticles, one of the canonical books of the Old Testament. SOLON, one of the seven sages of Greece, and the celebrated legislator of Athens; born in Salamis, in the 7th cen- tury B. c. After having enhanced the glory of his country by recovering Sala- mis, he was chosen archon 594 B. c., and having received full power to do whatever he judged needful, he set himself to the task of improving the condition of his countrymen. He abolished most of the cruel laws of Draco, and formed a new constitution founded on the principle of making property, not birth, the title to the honors and offices of the State. He made many special laws also relating to trade and commerce, marriage, disposi- tion of property by will, etc., caused them to be engraved on wooden cylinders, and is said to have bound the Athenians by an oath not to make any changes in his code for 10 years. He then left the coun- try, to avoid being obliged to make any alteration in them, and visited Egypt,
