London; had been trained under Gilbert Scott
(1824-1881).

STRELITZES, the name given to the life-guards of the czar, which at
one time numbered 40,000; became so unruly and dangerous to the State
that they were dissolved by Peter the Great, and dispersed in 1705.

STRETTON, HESBA, the _nom de plume_ of Sarah Smith, daughter of a
Shropshire bookseller, whose semi-religious stories, chiefly for the
young, have won wide acceptance in English homes since the publication of
"Jessica's First Prayer" in 1867; was a regular contributor to _Household
Words_ and _All the Year Round_ during Dickens's editorship; has written
upwards of 40 volumes.

STRICKLAND, AGNES, biographer of the queens of England, born at
Roydon Hall, near Southwold, Suffolk; had already published poems and
some minor works before she conceived the plan of writing a series of
biographies of the queens of England; these appeared in 12 vols. during
1840-1848, and such was their popularity that a similar work dealing with
the queens of Scotland was immediately undertaken; was aided in these by
her sister Elizabeth (1794-1875); was the author of various other works,
"Lives of the Seven Bishops," "Bachelor Kings of England," &c.; her
writings are of no value as history, but are full of entertaining details
(1806-1874).

STRINDBERG, AUGUST, the most noted of modern Swedish writers, born
at Stockholm; accumulated stores of valuable experience during various
early employments, which he utilised in his first successful work, "The
Red Room" (1879), a satire on social life in Sweden, "The New Kingdom"
(1882), equally bitter in its attack on social conventions, got him into
trouble, and since then his life has been spent abroad; "Married Life," a
collection of short stories, brought upon him a charge of "outraging
Christianity," but after trial at Stockholm, in which he eloquently
defended himself, he was acquitted; a prolific writer in all kinds of
literature, and imbued with modern scientific and socialistic ideas, his
writings lack the repose necessary to the highest literary achievement;
_b_. 1849.

STROMBOLI, one of the Lipari Islands; has an active volcano, the
cone 3022 ft., which erupts every five minutes what happens to be little
else than steam; it is 12 m. in circuit, and contains about 1000
inhabitants.

STROMKARL, a Norwegian spirit who has 11 different music strains, to
10 of which people may dance, the 11th being his night strain, to t