SOMERVILLE 491 SONNINO theater. Pop. (1910) 6,704; (1920) 6,688. SOMERVILLE, a borough of New- Jersey, the county-seat of Somerset co. It is on the Raritan river and on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It is chiefly a residential place but has manu- factures of woolen cloth, clothing, stoves, iron pipe, etc. Pop. (1910) 5,060; (1920) 6,718. SOMERVILLE, a city in Middlesex co., Mass.; on the Mystic river, and on the Boston and Maine railroad. It com- prises nearly a dozen villages, and con- tains a public library, high schools, Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, a hospi- tal, street railroads, electric lights, Na- tional, savings, and co-operative banks, and several weekly newspapers. It has desk factories, iron foundries, flour mills, tube works, and large slaughtering and meat-packing plants. The city is built on seven hills, some of which were forti- fied during the Revolutionary War, and the remains of some of the structures are still preserved, including the "old powder house" on Quarry Hill. The city is a favorite residential suburb of Boston business men. Pop. (1910) 77,236; (1920) 93,091. SOMME, a river of northern France, rising near Fonsomme, about 6 miles N. E. of St. Quentin, in the Department of Aisne. After flowing in a southwesterly direction, it turns N. W., enters the De- partment of Somme, and after receiving on the left the Avre and Celle, it enters the English Channel below St. Valery. Its total course is about 152 miles long. The Somme Canal follows the course of the river from St. Simon to St. Valery, a distance of about 97 miles. The river is also connected with the Scheldt by the St. Quentin Canal, and with the Oise by the Crozat Canal. The river became widely known during the World War as a result of the highly important fighting which at various times occurred along its upper reaches, some of the most impor- tant battles of the World War being known as the Battles of the Somme. SOMME BATTLES. See PlCARDY, Battles of. SOMNAMBULISM, literally, the act or practice of walking in sleep; but, in a wider and more usual sense, that state of sleep or unconsciousness in which the mind retains its power over the limbs, but has no influence over its own thoughts. SONATA, a term originally applied to any kind of musical composition for in- struments, as distinguished from vocal compositions, which were called cantatas. It is now, however, confined to composi- tions for solo instruments, generally the pianoforte. The term sonata or suonata, as applied to a musical composition, was first used about the beginning of the 17th century. Those of that time so called had but one movement; they were in fact simply airs arranged in parts for an instrument or instruments. A modern sonata is generally^constructed upon the following plan : The first movement is an allegro, sometimes with an introduction, but more frequently without one ; the sec- ond, "the slow movement," is set in any time, between adagio and andante; and the final movement is an allegro. See Concerto. SONNET, a species of poetic composi- tion first brought into notice by Petrarch, and consisting properly of 14 iambic verses of 11 syllables. It is divided into two chief parts, each consisting of two divisions — in the former, each comprising four lines (quatrain) ; in the latter, three (terzina). The quatrains have two rhymes, each of which is repeated four times; and in the common Italian form the rhymes are the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth verses, and the second, third, sixth, and seventh; but several other forms are also adopted. In the two terzine, there are either three rhymes each twice re- peated, or two rhymes thrice repeated in all positions. The sonnet generally con- tains one principal idea pursued through the various antitheses of the different strophes, and adorned with the charm of rhyme. Italy and Spain are the countries in which the sonnet is most cultivated, the lightness and flexibility of their lan- guages being eminently suited for such compositions. SONNINO, SIDNEY, BARON, an Italian statesman, who, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, represented Italy at the Paris Peace Conference. He was born in 1847, and while still a young man served in diplomatic posts in Spain, France, and Austria. He was elected to Parliament at the age of 30, and attained prominence at once through his knowl- edge of economic and financial methods. He favored reforms in the land policy by which large estates should be broken up. From 1887 to 1890 he was Under- secretary for Finance, and again from 1893 to 1896. He was later Minister of the Treasury, and, while he held this of- fice, put in effect many reform measures. Following the defeat of Crispi, he led the opposition in Parliament for about 10 years. During this period he was Prime Minister in 1906 and in 1910. He be- came Foreign Minister in November, 1914, and carried on the negotiations with Austria and Germany for the recognition of Italy's claims. He also negotiated the
