540

SEA-SICKNESS-SÉBASTIANI.

or bread and vegetables soaked in vinegar, | It is the port whence Pampeluna, Vittoria, after the stomach has been cleansed by Logroño, &c., obtain most part of their vomiting, and not before. An old remedy, supplies of colonial and other foreign goods; also, for sea-sickness, and a very common and at which the greater part of the French one among sailors, is a draught or two of and English manufactures destined for sea-water, which, though disagreeable Madrid, and other towns in the interior, enough, generally produces the desired are imported. Its exports are chiefly iron effect. The most effective antidote or and wool. remedy, however, consists in lying in the horizontal position. In some persons its violence is prevented by small doses of opium, or by soda-water, or saline draughts in the act of effervescence. And liniments and plasters containing opium, applied to the pit of the stomach, are also recommended, as mitigating, or even preventing, this most annoying malady.

SEAL. The seal-fishing is chiefly prosecuted from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the United States; but whalers take out seal-clubs as part of their equipment, the animal being most readily despatched by a blow on the nose; and one ship has been known to obtain a cargo of from 4000 to 5000, yielding nearly 100 tuns of oil. When taken in the spring of the year, at which time they are fattest, a fullgrown seal will yield from 8 to 12 galIons of oil, and a small one from 4 to 5 gallons.

SEBASTIANI, while minister of Foreign Affairs during the administration of Casimir Périer, had the difficult task assigned to him of defending in the Chambers the foreign policy of the French government, which was vehemently attacked by the opposition; and on one occasion particularly, he rendered himself obnoxious to the severest animadversions on the part of his political adversaries, as well as became generally unpopular, by indiscreetly and coldly declaring that "order once more reigned in Warsaw," meaning that the Russians were again in the undisturbed occupation of that city, and that the insurrection of the Poles, for the re-establishment of their national independence, was suppressed. Partly, it is probable, on account of the disagreeable and embarrassing position in which he found himself placed, but also because of his impaired health, he resigned the department of Foreign Affairs, continuing, nevertheless, to be a member of the cabinet. In November 1832, however, he resumed the charge of that department, and retained it till the change of ministry, consequent on the death of Casimer Périer, in the following summer. But he was not, by this event, altogether deprived of the confidence of the king. He was permitted to retain the title of a minister of state, although obliged, by the condition of his health, to absent himself for a time from Paris, first at a wateringplace in France, and then in Italy. On his return, he resumed his seat in the cabinet council, which he resigned in the beginning of April 1834, when the Chamber of Deputies refused to sanction the treaty negotiated by him with the United States, by which France engaged to pay to the latter the sum of 25 millions of francs, as an indemnity for depredations committed on American commerce, during the period of her last war with England. As a compensation, in some degree, for the sacrifice SEBASTIAN* (San). This city has been which he had felt himself in honour bound almost entirely rebuilt since the year 1813; to make, M. Sébastiani was then appointed, and it is now one of the neatest and most by Louis Philippe, his ambassador to Naregularly constructed towns in the penin- ples. From Naples he was transferred to sula, presenting a favourable contrast to London, in January 1835; and remained most other Spanish cities. It has always there a little more than 5 years, constantly been a place of considerable trade, and occupied with important negotiations, rewas the seat of the Philippine Company. | lating to the settlement of the affairs o.

SEALING-W^x* was formerly made of bees-wax and resin, but since the introduction into use of shellac, the most adhesive of the gum resins, the finer kinds have been principally composed of that material, with some other substances added, to make it ignite freely, and to colour 1t.-The best red sealing-wax is made by melting in a very gentle heat 48 parts of shellac, with 19 of Venice turpentine and 1 of Peruvian balsam; 32 parts of the finest cinnabar, thoroughly levigated, are then stirred in, and the whole well mixed. When it has cooled down, it is either rolled into sticks, or shaped in brass moulds. The best black sealing-wax is a mixture of 60 parts of shellac and 30 of ivory-black; t may be perfumed with a little Peru balsam or styrax. The great seals applied, in tin boxes, to certain legal documents, are made of a mixture of 15 parts of Venice turpentine, 5 of olive oil, and 8 of wax melted together, and coloured with red lead.

SÉBASTIANI-SENEGAL.

541

Belgium, the mutual right of visiting ves- | agricultural pursuits, down to the period of his death. He was twice a member of the Legislature of Massachusetts, and one of the first advocates and most earnest promoters of the rail-road from Boston to Albany.-Mr. Sedgwick was twice the candidate of the Democratic party for the Berkshire District to Congress, and once the candidate of the same party for the office of Lieutenant-Governor.-During his

sels suspected of carrying on the African slave-trade, and the pacification of the East. Even while absent from France on this mission, he was several times reelected to the Chamber of Deputies, and he has since continued to be a member of that body; in which, too, he has always exercised a certain degree of influence, although of late years it is seldom, only, that he has taken a share in the discus-residence at Stockbridge, he published two sions. In October 1840, he was promoted to the rank of a marshal of France; in 1841, he took a decided stand in favour of the plan for fortifying the city of Paris; and in 1842, he was the president, or chairinan, of the committee appointed to report to the Chambers on the "projet de loi" respecting the regency, in the very probable event of the death of Louis Philippe before the majority of his grandson, the heir apparent to his throne.

SEDAN; a fortified town of France, on the river Meuse, in the department of the Ardennes, in 49° 42′ N. lat., and 4° 58′ E. long. Population in 1841, 12,235. It has long been noted for its woollen manufactures, consisting principally of fine black cloths, and kerseymeres. In 1836-37, the work-people employed in them amounted to from 11,000 to 12,000; of whom from 3000 to 4000 belonged to the town. A favorable report has been made of the condition of these work-people, as compared with that of the same class of persons in other manufacturing towns of the kingdom. Instruction is more extensively diffused among them, and they have generally the signs of good health; circumstances said to be chiefly consequent on the non-introduction of children into the factories at too early an age.

SEDGWICK (Theodore), the eldest son of Theodore Sedgwick, one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts (noticed in a previous volume of the present work), was born at Sheffield, Massachusetts, in December 1780. He was educated at Yale College, and then studied law under the eye of his father. On being admitted to the bar, he removed to Albany. Here he practised his profession, from about the year 1801 until 1822, in partnership with Mr. Harmanus Bleecker, who was afterwards Chargé d'Affaires of the United States in Holland. In the lastmentioned year, he was compelled by the impaired state of his health to withdraw from business. He retired to Stockbridge, in his native state, which had been formerly the place of residence of his family, and continued there, occupied in literary and

works, entitled "Hints to my Countrymen,' and "Public and Private Economy;" in which, exploring regions of thought, far beyond the limits of mere party considerations, he sought to promote the greatest good of the whole number of the people.--He died at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in November 1839, aged 59, of an attack of apoplexy, which he experienced just after he had addressed a political meeting.

SEDITION, in law, is a general and not strictly technical word, comprising, in common language, offences against the state which do not amount to treason. It is of the like tendency with treason, but without the overt acts which are essential to the latter.

SÉGUR* (Paul Philippe de) published, in 1829, a "History of Russia and of Peter the Great." In March 1830, he was chosen a member of the French Academy, while his father was still living and a member of the same learned body, a circumstance which had never before occurred. He was promoted after the revolution of July 1830, to the rank of a lieutenant-general, and, towards the close of the same year, was called to the Chamber of Peers. In the course of the year 1835 appeared his "History of Charles VIII. (3 vols.), being a continuation of a history of France, written by his father, and prepared by the aid of his father's papers.

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SEIDELMANN died at Dresden, in 1829.

SENEGAL.* This name is given to some small French colonial establishments on the W. coast of Africa, comprising several islands, and small portions of the African continent, between the Senegal and Gainbia rivers. It is divided into two arrondissements; the N. consisting of the isles of St. Louis, Bavaghé, Safal, and Gheber, near the mouth of the Senegal, with some few establishments on the banks of that river, and trading stations along the coast between Capes de Verd and Blanco; and the S. arrondissement, comprising the islands of Goree, Albreda, on the bank of the Gambia, and the other stations S. of Cape de Verd. The total population of these dependencies amounted, in 1841, to 17,960,

of whom 10,269 were slaves. They are exceedingly unhealthful; but a considerable trade is carried on in gum senegal, raw hides, gold, wax, elephants' teeth, &c., which are exchanged for linen and cotton fabrics, brandy, wines, liqueurs, and other provisions. The total value of the exports, in 1836, was 4,051,263 francs, and of the imports 6,961,894 francs.-Senegal is governed by a superior naval officer, who resides at St. Louis: Goree is the seat of a lieutenant-governor. There appears to be neither a representative assembly, nor a colonial council.

complied with, on occasion of the formal constitution of Prince Milosch as the delegated sovereign over his countrymen. It was then settled that the Servians should, in future, pay to the Porte an annual tribute of 2,300,000 Turkish piastres. They were to be independent in all other respects; and nowhere else but in Belgrade were the Turks to enjoy equal privileges with them. After organizing the different departments of the public administration, Prince Milosch founded, in 1835, a gymnasium at Kragujewacz, and employed properly qualified persons to explore the SENNAAR.* The negro kingdom of country, with a view to ascertain its miSennaar has been subjected by the vice- neral resources. A constitution was adopted roy of Egypt, and is ruled by a governor by a popular assembly, convened for the of his appointment residing at Kartoum, a purpose, on the 10th of February of the town containing about 15,000 inhabitants. same year, which proved to be of so liberal Sennaar, the former capital, has very much a character as to meet with the disapprodeclined from its former importance. bation of the Russian and Austrian goSENNA; a well-known medicine, com-vernments, as well as of the sultan. posed of the leaflets, and occasionally of other and more aristocratical one was, in the leaf-stalks and pods, of several species consequence, substituted for it in 1838. of cassia. It is cultivated chiefly in Ara- The popular representative bodies, which bia, Upper Egypt, and Syria; and is often had been originally proposed, were relargely mixed with the leaves of the Cy-placed by a senate, on which was conferred nanchum oleafolium, or Argel, which are the right of voting the taxes, of fixing the thick, and not ribbed like the genuine pay of the troops and the salaries of all senna leaves. They have a nauseous, persons in the employment of the governmucilaginous, bitter taste, and yield a palement, of discussing and giving or refusing brownish-green infusion. The true senna leaves are distinctly ribbed, thin, generally pointed, and when chewed have a peculiar nauseous flavour, and yield a dark-brown infusion.

SENNEFELDER* died at Munich, in February 1834.

SERF, derived from the Latin servus, is the French name for the lowest class of slaves in the dark ages; those who were incapable of holding property were attached to the land, and liable to feudal services of the lowest description. They were, in short, the same class of persons who, in England, were styled villains.

SERVIA. In the war between Russia and Turkey, in the years 1828 and 1829, both of the belligerents summoned the Servians to arm in their cause. Prince Milosch, however, observed a strict neutrality between them, during the whole of the contest; and in the treaty of Adrianople, it was stipulated in favour of the Servians, that certain districts which had been separated from the province in 1813, should be reannexed to it, and the various privileges bestowed upon them by the treaties of Bucharest and Ackerman were confirmed to them. The Porte hesitated for some ime to fulfil these conditions. It was, ineed, only in 1834 that they were fully

An

their sanction to the measures brought forward by the executive branch of the government, and of preferring articles of accusation against the ministers. It was easy to foresee that, in the event of any collision between the prince and a body invested with all these powers, the latter, though appointed (for life) by the former, would almost of necessity triumph. This was what accordingly happened in 1839. Prince Milosch was forced to abdicate. The senate permitted him to retire into Wallachia, and proclaimed, in his stead, his son Milan Obrenowitsch. But this prince dying a few weeks afterwards, a younger son, Michael Obrenowich, who had accompanied his father in his exile, was appointed to succeed him. Milosch, who had protested against the force that had been practised against him by the senate, at first refused to allow his son to depart from Bucharest, where he was residing, but was at length obliged to yield to the positive commands of the Porte. Michael proceeded first to Constantinople, and thence to Belgrade, where he arrived in March 1840. In the mean time, the leaders of the party who had deposed Prince Milosch, and who had hoped to govern in the name of his son, had found their mistake, and set about plotting an

SESTINI.* In 1828-30, this learned numismatist published a description of the museum at Herderwar, in 7 volumes, and in 1831, that of the Greek medals in the Chaudoir collection. He died in June 1832, after having been the author of about 50 volumes on the subject of numismatics.

SEYFFARTH.* To his works already mentioned are to be added his "Observations on the Egyptian Papyrus in the Royal Library at Berlin" (1826), and his " tema astronomiæ Ægyptiacæ quadripartiSystum" (4 parts, 1833). He was lately residing at Dresden.

SHARK.* Sharks' fins are imported in large quantities from India into China, where they are esteemed a very strengthening food. They are chiefly collected in the Arabian and Persian Gulphs; but they are likewise prepared on the coast of India. The largest are considered the best; those under nine inches long are estimated at half the value of the others.

other change in the government. Having obtained information of a conspiracy which had been formed against him, Michael put himself promptly at the head of a body of troops in order to suppress it; but it was already too late. The conspirators had taken their measures in anticipation of this step, and, encountering him successfully, obliged him to seek a refuge in the Aus- SEVASTOPOL; a fortified town and seatrian town of Semlin, accompanied by his port of European Russia, on the W. coast mother and uncle. On the 16th of Sep- of the Crimea, in 44° 36′ N. lat., and 33° tember 1842, a representative assembly 30′ E. long. It is situated on one of the elected in his place the grandson of the finest bays in the world. The bottom is celebrated Czerny George, Alexander Pe- clay and mud, and is quite free from rocks trowich, a young man who had received and shoals. The bay, too, is defended by an excellent education, and who assumed strong forts, on both sides of the entrance. the direction of affairs under the name of Merchantmen are excluded from SevastoAlexander Georgewich. Although, how- pol; and it Although, how- pol; and it is the principal station of the ever, his election had been made with the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. assent and in the presence of the Turkish commissioner and the pacha of Belgrade, the emperor of Russia required that it should be annulled. The Porte at first refused to comply with this demand, and sent the "herat" of investiture to the new prince of Servia; but Austria not deeming it expedient to oppose the pretensions of Russia to dictate in the case, the other great European powers likewise did not interfere; and a new assembly was, at length, convoked, to proceed to another election. Having thus far carried its point, the Russian government now insisted farther on the exclusion of the leaders in the late insurrection from the assembly. This was refused; and Alexander Georgewich was again chosen. His authority has since been universally acknowledged. This prince has an accredited agent residing in Constantinople, through whom alone his communications with the Porte are maintained. He is under an obligation to furnish to the latter, when required, a contingent force of 12,000 men, and to pay an annual tribute of 2,300,000 Turkish piastres. The pacha of Belgrade occupies that city with a garrison of 5,000 men, but exercises no influence whatever on the administration of public affairs in Servia. There are 4 ministers, who compose the prince's council, to wit, the ministers of the Interior, of Foreign Affairs, of the Finances, and of Justice. The senate consists of a president and 16 senators; and there is a national representative assembly. The Servians enjoy an unlimited religious freedom. The standing army is very inconsiderable, not exceeding 1750 men; but all males capable of bearing arms are enrolled in the militia, and a force of 40,000 men may be collected on an emergency. Kragujewacz is the seat of government.

SHEATHING; the covering laid on a ship's bottom to defend it from the worms. Thin sheets of copper nailed on with copper nails constitute, at present, the sheathing of all the better kinds of vessels. Sir Humphrey Davy suggested the application of pieces of zinc or iron upon different parts of the copper surface, which, by the action of the sea-water, render the latter metal electro-negative, and capable, therefore, of resisting the oxidizing and corrosive agencies of the substances held in solution. The pieces of iron or of zinc so applied have been properly called protectors; but by occasioning the precipitation of earthy matters upon the copper, while they effectually protect it, they render its surface favourable to the adhesion of weeds, barnacles, &c., and sometimes to such an extent as to interfere with the passage of the ship through the water. It is upon such grounds that Sir Humphrey Davy's suggestion has been neglected.

SHEERNESS; a sea-port town of England, in the county of Kent, in a low tongue of land at the N.W. extremity of the Isle of Sheppy, at the confluence of the Thames and Medway, 36 miles E. by

S. of London. Its population, in 1831, including the parish, was 7983. It is noted for its dockyard, which covers an area of about 50 acres. It comprises a wet dock or basin of about 34 acres, capable of accommodating 10 sail-of-the-line, and in which they may take on board their stores, ammunition, and provisions, and be, in all respects, equipped ready for sea. There are also three dry docks, each suitable for the accommodation of a line-ofbattle-ship. Numerous convicts are employed in the dockyard and on the hulks, chiefly in the improvement and repairs of the former. Sheerness has also become, to a certain extent, a resort for sea-bathing.

*

SHEFFIELD contained in 1841, including the parish, 110,891 inhabitants. — In addition to its manufactures of cutlery and plated goods, this city is celebrated for the great extent to which the conversion of iron into steel is carried on; most of the steel used at Birmingham, and elsewhere in Great Britain, being prepared here. The manufacture of files is also one of the staple trades of Sheffield. In later years, an augmented attention has been bestowed on the education of all classes of the community. There is a Mechanics' Institute, furnished with a library of 3000 volumes. The Literary and Philosophical Society, established in 1822, has a good collection of minerals, fossils, plants, &c., with apparatus for experiments; and the botanical society has a garden comprising 18 acres, tastefully laid out, and a glass conservatory, 300 feet in length, filled with rare exotic plants.

SHERIFF-DEPUTE, in Scotland, is the principal sheriff of a county. He is named by the crown, and must be an advocate of three years' standing. He is entitled to name sheriff substitutes; executes writs, returns juries, &c.; decides on claims for enrolment in the county lists for parliamentary voters; and exercises a certain criminal jurisdiction. He holds also civil courts for the recovery of small debts, and a court of record, the jurisdiction of which extends to all personal actions, and possessory actions for the recovery of real property.

SHIP'S PAPERS are certain papers or documents descriptive of a ship, its owners, the nature of the cargo, &c. They consist of the certificate of registry, license, charterparty, bills of lading, bill of health, &c.; and also of those documents required by the law of nations to be on board neutral ships, to vindicate their title to this character.

SIAM.* Rice is the chief vegetable product of Siam. Its price is lower there than, perhaps, in any other country, owing, in part, to the natural richness of the soil, and the fact of its being annually overflowed by the Menam, or Nile of Siam, but, in part also, to the lowness of the land-tax, when compared with the amount of this tax in British India and other Asiatic countries. Besides rice, Siam yields nearly all the most valuable vegetable products of the East. Sugar, pepper, tobacco, and the finest fruits, are the principal ar ticles of culture; and the forests, which cover a large proportion of the surface of the country, produce teak, sandal, sa pan, rose, and other variegated and perfumed woods, with numerous gums, &c. The teak is floated down 300 miles from the interior to the capital, and is there almost wholly employed in the construction of native junks, very little being exported. Mines exist in different places, but they are yet almost wholly unexplored. Tin, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, with small quantities of gold, are found; but the metal which occurs in the greatest relative abundance is iron.-The animals are similar to those of Hindostan and the adjacent countries. The elephant is most abundant; and a very rare, or white variety of the elephant, is sometimes found here, and is held in the highest estimation. Indeed, one of the titles of the Siamese monarch is "lord of white elephants," several of which are maintained as state appendages at the royal court.—The inland and coasting trades are considerable. The former is principally conducted on the Menam and its branches, in flat-boats and bamboo rafts; but a large portion is likewise carried on by means of elephants, which are generally used for land-carriage. The latter embraces a considerable traffic with the countries on the shores of the Straits of Malacca and Bay of Bengal, whence opium, cotton goods, and other commodities, are imported. The maritime commerce with foreign countries is almost wholly concentrated at Bangkok, which, after Canton, is the greatest shipping port in Asia not settled by Europeans. The most important branch is that with China; the staple exports consisting of black pepper, sugar, stick lac, sapan wood, cotton-wool, rice, hides, gamboge, and wood for furniture; and the imports of coarse china-ware, teas, and raw and wrought silks, with a quantity of Chinese silver in ingots: in this trade there are employed about 35,000 tons of junks, which arrive in January or February, and leave in June