Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/780

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

754 SEIDLITZ POWDEKS SEINE INFERIEURE a peer, but he rejoined the emperor during the hundred days, and in vain sought to share his exile. His complete works (33 vols., 1824-'30) are chiefly historical, but include plays which he wrote for the Russian empress, under the title Thedtre de V Hermitage (2 vols., 1798), and his Hemoires, ou souvenirs et anecdotes (3 vols., 1824; English translation, Boston, 1825). III. Philippe Paul de, count, a French historian, son of the preceding, born in Paris, Nov. 4, 1780, died there, Feb. 25, 1873. He entered the army in 1800, became a favorite of Napoleon, who employed him on confidential missions, and for some time was a prisoner of war in Russia. In 1812 he accompanied the emperor in the Russian campaign as his aide- de-camp ; and in 1813 he was instrumental in saving the French army at Hanau. Under the first restoration he accepted a commission from Louis XVIII., but joined Napoleon du- ring the hundred days, and was only nominally restored to his rank in 1818. In 1831 Louis Philippe appointed him lieutenant general and peer. His works include HUtoire de Napoleon et de la grande armee pendant Vannee 1812 (2 vols., 1824), which involved him in many controversies and in a duel with Gen. Gour- gaud ; Hiitoire de Hussie et de Pierre le Grand (1829) ; and ffistoire de Charles VIII. (2 vols., 1834; 2d ed., 1842; English translation, 2 vols., Philadelphia, 1842), a continuation of his father's Histoire de France. SEIDLITZ POWDERS. See ROCIIELLE SALT. SEIDLITZ WATER, the product of certain saline springs in Seidlitz or Sedlitz, a village of Bohemia near Bilin, used as an agreeable and effective aperient. The solid contents in a wine pint, according to Bergman, are 192*8 grains, consisting of sulphate of magnesia, 180 grains ; sulphate of lime, 5 ; chloride of mag- nesium, 4'5 ; carbonate of magnesia, 2'5 ; car- bonate of lime, 0*8. To prepare an artificial Seidlitz water, dissolve from -J to 1J oz. of sulphate of magnesia in three times its weight of water, and, after filtering, introduce it into a bottle, to be filled with water charged with carbonic acid gas. SEINE (anc. Sequana}, a river of France, rising in the department of C6te-d'Or, on the slope of Mt. Tasselot, flowing first N. W., then W. 8. W., and again N. W., through the depart- ments of Aube, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-et-Oise, Seine, Eure, and Seine-Infdrieure, and falling into the English channel between Havre and Honfleur. The direct distance from its source to its mouth is 250 m., but its windings make it nearly 500 m. long. It is navigable for large vessels to Rouen, and for small vessels 350 m. to Mery-sur-Seine. It is connected by canals with the Loire, the Saone and Rh6ne, the Somme and Scheldt, and the Ourcq. Its ele- vation at its source is about 1,500 ft. above the sea. At Paris its width is from 300 to 500 ft., and at its embouchure about 7 m. Its chief tributaries on the right are the Aube, Marne, and Oise, and on the left the Yonne, Loing, Essonne, Eure, and Rille. The princi- pal towns on its banks are Chatillon, Bar-sur- Seine, Troyes, Nogent, Melun, Paris, Poissy, Mantes, Rouen, and Havre. SEINE, the metropolitan department of France, in the old province of tie-de-France, entirely enclosed by the department of Seine- et-Oise; area, 183 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 2,220,- 060. It is divided into the arrondissements of Paris, St. Denis, and Sceaux, the first of which is coterminous with the city of Paris. The surface is generally level. The Seine flows through the department very circuitously from S. E. to N. W., and the Marne joins it from the eastward. The most valuable mineral pro- ductions are excellent building stone and gyp- sum, producing plaster of Paris. The soil is fertile, and cultivated with great care. Capi- tal, Paris. SEINE-ET-MARNE, a N. department of France, in the old province of lle-de-France, border- ing on the departments of Oise, Aisne, Marne, Aube, Yonne, Loiret, and Seine-et-Oise ; area, 2,215 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 341,490. The sur- face is undulating, and has many extensive plains. The Seine and the Marne flow through it. It contains sandstone, fine millstones, and potter's clay. The soil is rich and well culti- vated. It is divided into the arrondissements of Melun, Meaux, Fontainebleau, Coulommiers, and Provins. Capital, Melun. SEINE-ET-OISE, a N. department of France, in the old province of tie-de-France, bordering on the departments of Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Loiret, Eure-et-Loir, and Euro, and enclosing the department of Seine; area, 2,164 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 580,180. The surface is diver- sified, but there are no high hills. The Seine flows through it, and is here joined by the Oise from the northeast. Millstones, sand- stone, paving stone, gypsum, chalk, and pot- ters' clay are found; and there are sulphur springs. The soil is not naturally very fer- tile, but it is carefully cultivated. The manu- factures include cloth, hosiery, paper, fire- arms, and Sevres porcelain, the last, which is conducted by the government, being the most important. It is divided into the arron- dissements of Versailles, Rambouillet, Cor- beil, Mantes, Etampes, and Pontoise. Capi- tal, Versailles. SEINE-INFERIETRE, a N. "W. department of France, in Normandy, bounded N. W. by the English channel, E. by the departments of Somme and Oise, and S. by Eure and the em- bouchure of the Seine ; area, 2,330 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 790,022. It has a generally low surface, the coast being skirted by chalk cliffs of no considerable elevation except near Fe- camp, where they are about 700 ft. high, and it is traversed from E. to W. by a low offshoot of the Ardennes. It is watered by the Seine in the southern districts, and by the Bresle, Yeres, and Arques in the northeastern. Cot- ton, linen, cloth, lace, silks, and watch and clock movements are manufactured, and there