Shaft

(shaft.) [A.S. sceaft.] (Arch.) The body of a columu or pillar; the part between the capital and base. In Gothic architecture the term is particularly applied to the small columns (Fig. 589) which are clustered round pillars, or used in the jambs of doors and windows, in arcades and various other situations. (Mach.) A strong cylindrical bar, used in communicating motion by means of torsion, as in the paddle-shaft of a steam-ve el. -(Mining.) A sinking or pit. Mines are generally provided with two shafts for ventilation, under one of which (the upcast shaft) a fire is maintained to produce the upward current, which carries off the foul air, whilst the fresh air descends by the other (downcast shaft). The current of air is forced by wooden Fig.589.-SHAFT, (A.D. 1200.) partitions to divide itself, and pa through every portion of the workings. Shaftesbury, (shafts'bur-re,) ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, first EARL OF, an English statesman, B. in Dorset,1621, became in 1660 Chancellor of the Exchequer, and in 1670 a member of the celebrated Cabal ministry which was so injurious to the best interests of the nation. He afterwards became Lord Chancellor, and was author of the famous Habeas Corpus Act, the most creditable feature of his political career. D. 1683.- His grandson,ANTHONY, 3dEARL OF S., B. in London, 1671, was author of one of the most remarkable works in English ethics-Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and Times. D. 1713. (shag.) (Com.) A var. of manufactured tobacco. See NICOTIΑΝΑ. (sha-grēn'.) [From Turk. sag ri.] (Manuf.) Akind of grained leather, supposed formerly to be prepared from the skin of a species of shark. It is, however, now known that the material is the strong skin, cut along the chine, from the neck to the tail of the a or horse. A str a can is the seat of this manufacture. or SCHAH. (Pers., a prince.] A name given by Europe ans to the monarch ofPersia, whose real title is Padishah, q. v. [s. 818] IMG:p0863_0.jpg:Gravür IMG:p0863_1.jpg:Gravür