37. Sariou?; Good, Sisfeis of the, were founded at Caen, Normandy, in 1720 by two poor girls, who in 1730 opened asylums for homeless children and others. They were suppressed in 1789, but persevered in tlieir labor until May 22, 1805, when 15 sisters met in com- munity. They were charged with the care of insane women in 1817, and soon after with that of insane men. In 1874 the mother-house numbered 300 sisters, and up- wards of 1000 insane patients. They have 3 establish- ments— Albi, Pont I'Abbe, and Brucourt, In Canada, the care of the insane at (Juebec devolved on the Sisters of the general hospital till 1844.
38. ^Solitaires, nuns of the Order of St. Peter of Al- cantara, instituted by cardinal Harberini in 1670. They imitate the austere practices of their patron saint, ob- serve perpetual silence, and employ their time wholly in spiritual exercises ; they go barefoot, giril themselves with a cord round the waist, and wear no linen.
39. Trinity, Holy, Sisters of the, founded at Valence, France, by mother Andrean de Sainte-Esprit in 1685. The congregation suffered much during the Revolution, but was not expelled from its home. In 1837 it received the royal approval, since which time it has largely in- creased in establishments and numbers.
40. Union, Christian, Sisters of, founded at Fontenay- le-Comte, France, by Madame Polaillon in 1652, and conlirraed by the archbishop of Paris in the same year. This order is under the protection of the Holy Family — .lesus, Mary, and .Joseph. Dispersed by the Revolution, the Sisters were authorized to reunite themselves into a community. The order is very flourishing, having houses in many of the provinces of France.
41. Virc/in, Holy, Sisters of the, or Ladies of Budes, an order founded at Rennes, France, in 1676, and au- thorized by Louis XIV in 1678. It was foimded for the reception of girls who had been converted from Calvin- ism to the Church of Rome, but has not grown much since the general decline of the Reformation in France.
See Appleto/is' American Cyclop, s. v.; Barnum, Ro- manism as If Is; Migne, Dicf.des Ordres Relirjieux, voL i-iv; Sadlier, Catholic Directory, 1879.
SISTERHOODS, Photestant. In the Church of England, several communities of women devoted to works of charity have been organized in the present century.
1 . Sisters of Afn-cy were founded at Devonport, about 1845, by Miss Lydia Sellon, and were at first under the visitorial control of the bishop of Exeter. The society is com|)osed of three orders, viz. those living in the com- munity and leading an active life; those unable to take work, i)iit who wish to lead a ([uiet, contemplative life; and married and single women who live in the world, but are coiniected with and assist the community. The Sisters are bound only by the vow of obedience to the superior, and are free to abandon their vocation at will.
2. A sisterhood for nursing the sick at their homes, or in hospitals, etc., was founded at Ivast (irinstead by Dr. .Joini Mason Neale in 1K55. In 1874 it had houses in l^oudou, Aberdeen, Wigan, and Frome-Sel- wood.
3. Sisterhood of SI. John the Baptist was founded at (Viewer in 18)9, and embraces (1) choir and lay sisters living in community; (2) a second order (formed in 1860) of those who enter for periods of three years, to be renewed at their own desire and with the consent of the Sisters; (3) associates, who live in their own home au<l render such assistance as they may.
4. Sisterhood if St. M<iry, Wangate, was established in 18.50, and has branch houses at Bedminster, Pl^-m- outli, and other places.
5. Sisterhood of St. Mary the Virgin was established at Wymering in 1859, and consists of sisterhood (resi- dents) and ladies of charity (associates). It has branch- es at Manchester and Aldersholt,
6. Sisterhood of St. Thomas the Martyr has its parent house at Oxford, and branches at Liverpool and Plym- outh.
7. Sisters of the Poor were founded in 1851, and have their parent house in London, with branches at Edin- burgh, Clifton, Eastbourne, and West Chester.
In the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Sisters of the Holy Communion were founded by the exertions of the Rev. W. A. Muhlenburg, in connection with the Church of the Holy Communion in New York. They are un- der no vows, and leave whenever they please. They are usuall}' received between the ages of twenty-five and forty years ; if under twenty -five, they must secure the consent of their parents or guardians. Since 18.58 they have had charge of St. Luke's Hospital, New York.
There is also a community of four or five sisters asso- ciated with the " House of Prayer," Newark, N. J.
Sistrum (Gr. aEiaTpoi)), a mystical instrument of music used by the ancient Egyptians in the worship of Isis. Its most common form is seen in the annexed wood-cut, which represents an ancient sistrum formerly belonging to the library of St. Genevieve, at Paris. Apu- leius {Met. xi, 119, 121, ed. Aid.) describes the sistrum as a bronze rattle, consisting of a narrow plate curved like a sword-belt, through which passed a few rods that rendered a loud, shrill sound. He says that these in- struments were sometimes made of silver, or even of gt)kl. Plutarch says that the shaking of the four bars within the circular apsis represented the agitation of the four elements within the compass of the world, by which all things are continually destroyed and repro- duced, and that the cat sculptured upon the apsis was an emblem of the moon.