502 



SEINE-ET-.MARNE 



called the Joliba), 400 miles SW <>f Timhuctoo. It 

 was fnrinerlv the capital of a large native state, 

 which has lost power under the miccessive con- 

 quests of the Toncoulenrs, the Bambarra, and the 

 French (1890). The traders are chiefly Arabs. 

 Pop. 38,000. See Gravier, Voyage St.gu (1887). 



S^KIir. the name of a French family, oiigin.illy 

 <if Guienne, distinguished tioth in arms and letters, 

 as well as for its sufferings in the Huguenot cause. 

 It most famous members were the following: 

 HKXIII FKANOOIS, Corote de S.-gur (1(589-1751), an 

 able French general in the war f the Austrian 

 succession. His son, PHILIPPK HKNKI, Marquis 

 de Segur Ponchat ( 1724-1801 ). fought in the Seven 

 Years' War, became marshal in 1783, and nut lived 

 in his retirement the stormy scencH of the Revolu- 

 tion. The eldest son of this. Philip|>e Henri was 

 LOUIS PHILIPPE, Comte de Segur d'Aguesseau 

 ( 17.~>3-1830), for live yenrs ambassador at the court 

 of St Petersburg, and a great favourite with 

 Catharine II. He served in the American war of 

 independence, hailed the great Revolution with 

 delight, and, stranger still, retained in extreme 

 old age that love of liberty that marked his early 

 years the last act of his life was a eulogiuin 

 on the revolution nf July. As a writer Segnr 

 exhibits in tine perfection the national graces of 

 style and spirit. Among his numerous writings 

 are : La Pulitiqiie de tout let Cabinets de l'Eiim/ie 

 (1793); Hiitoirede Frtdfrir -Ciiillnume II. (1800); 

 Hittoire Unirertelle ( 1817 ) ; G<i/>,;>- Mnrale et Pali- 

 tiaue ( 1817-23), a delightful work ; Mtmoire* (1825- 

 26). His chief works till :tt v.,ls. (1K24-30). He 

 left two sons, OCTAVE and PHILIPPE PAUL, the 

 latter of whom (1780-1873) was a general of the 

 first empire, took part in the fatal expedition to 

 Russia in 1812, and wrote the story of the cam- 

 paign, Hittoire de AVi/W/mj rt de la Grande Armfe 

 pendant I'onnfe 18Jg (2 vols. 1824). The work 

 lias had an immense success, and has been trans- 

 lated into almost all the languages of Europe, 

 i 1 her works were: Letlre tur la Campagne du 

 General Macdonald dan* let Gritont (1802); 7//.v- 

 toire de Riixrie et de Pierre le Grand (1829) ; //.. 

 toire de C/uirlet VIII. (1835); Hittoire et Memoirei, 

 17S9-1848 (\yj3). 



There u a Life by Tillndicr (Puit, 1875) ; see also 

 Sftinte-Benve's Portrait* LilUraim, vol. ii. 



KridlitZ Powders (so named from the village 

 of Seidlitz or Scdlit/. in northern Bohemia, where 

 there U a spring of natural aperient mineral-water 

 with sin* ilitrrniiHtitiientA) are composed nf 120 grains 

 of tartrate of soda and potash and 40 grains of 

 hicjirlxinato of soda reduced to powder, mixed and 

 enclosed in a blue |>aper, and 38 grains of powdered 

 tartarie acid in a white paper. The contents of 

 the blue paper are dissolved in from half a tumliler 

 to a tumbler of water, and those of the while paper 

 are then stirred in. The mixture should IK? taken 

 while the effervescence from the lil>eration of the, 

 carbonic arid is still going on. These powders act 

 a* an agreeable and mi id cooling aperient. If a 

 igcr dose is required, either an increased quan- 

 tity of the |H>wder may !>e used, or a little sulphate 

 of magnesia (about a drachm ) may be added. 



Seine, one of the four chief rivers of France, 

 rises on the i slope of the plateau of I.angres, north- 

 west of Dijon, and Hows north west aril, with 

 many windings, past Troyes, Fontainebleau, 

 M'-lun, Paris, St I>eni, St" Cermain, Mantes, 

 Elbenf, and Konen, through a total course of 482 

 miles, and |n>urs its waters into a wide estuary of 

 the KiiL-li-li Channel, on which stand the porte of 

 Harflenr, Havre, and Honfleur. It is navigable 

 for boats from Marcilly, 350 miles from its niontli, 

 and since 1890 the canalisation of the Seine has 

 one of two project* ( the other a ship-canal ) 



for connecting Paris with the Atlantic (see PARIS, 

 p. 767). The Seine drains an area of 30,000 sq. in. ; 

 receives the Aube, Maroe, and Oise from the right. 

 and the Yonne, Loing, Essonne, and Eure from tin- 

 left; and is connected by canals with the Sonime, 

 Scheldt, Meuse, Rhine, S&one, and Loire. Works 

 for keeping open a navigable channel through the 

 estuary, which is liable to silt up, were commenced 

 as far back as 1848, and were continued for more 

 than twenty years. In consequence of these 

 engineering works 28,000 acres of land have l>een 

 reclaimed, and vessels of 2000 tons, drawing 20 feet 

 of water, can get up to Rouen. Moreover a canal 

 has been constructed to give Havre connection 

 with the Seine at Tancarville, so that ve~.cU using 

 this channel can avoid the uncertainties of the 

 deeper estuary. See L. F. Vernon-Harcourt, 'The 

 liiver Seine," in Proe. Intt. Civil Engineers ( 1886), 

 and the beautiful engravings in The Seine and Loire 

 (Turner's Rivera of France) published in 1886. 



Seine, the metropolitan dept. of France, com- 

 pletely enclosed by the dept. of Seine-et-Oise, is & 

 portio'n of the former province of lle-de-France, 

 and derives its name from its principal river, the 

 Seine. One-sixth of its area is covered by the city 

 of Paris (q.v.), and the rest is thickly studded with 

 the suburban villages of the capital Boulogne, 

 Puteanx, Clichy, Montrenil, &c. It is at once 

 the smallest and the most populous dept. in the 

 republic : its area is 185 sq. m. : its pop. in 1 876 was 

 2,410,849, and in 1891, 3,141,595. From south- 

 east to north-west it is traversed for .'i7 miles by 

 the windings of the Seine, which receives the 

 navigable Marne at Charenton and the Bievre at 

 Paris. The surface is marked by undulations and 

 low hills, the highest, Mont Valerien and Mont 

 Bicetre, reaching 650 feet. The scenery of which 

 the woods of Verrieres, Meudon, and Saint-Cloud, 

 together with those of Vincennes and Boulogne, 

 transformed into parks, and watered l>y artificial 

 rivers and lakes, are perhaps the most striking 

 features is wonderfully charming. A network of 

 canals and railways, the latter converging in the 

 capital, afford easy means of transit in any direc- 

 tion. The soil is not naturally fertile, but, owing 

 to the skill of the fanners and gardeners, who 

 obtain abundant supplies of manures from the 

 metropolis, the country around Paris and ito 

 suburlw has been rendered remarkably productive. 

 The culture of vegetables and fruits for BM market* 

 of Paris is one of the most important branches of 

 husbandry. Enormous quantities of mushrooms- 

 are cultivated in the ancient quarries of Paris near 

 Montrouge, and in the catacombs beneath the 

 city. Quarries of gypsum and freestone abound, 

 and are productive. Manufacturing industry is 

 very active and extensive, but is principally con. 

 cen i rated in Paris and its suburbs. The arrondisse- 

 ments are Paris, St Denis, and Sceaux. 



Selne-H-Marne, a dept. in the north of 

 France, is hounded on the W. by the dept. of 

 Seined <>i-e. and forms a jHHtion of that wide 

 basin in the middle of which stands Paris. Area, 

 2214 BO. m.; pop. (1891) 356,709. The dent. i 

 drained by the Seine and its tributaries (Yonne 

 and Lolng) and the Marne and its tributaries 

 (Oureq, Petit Morin, and (imnd Morin). The 

 surface is broken into a series of plateaus separated 

 by valleys. Timber is grown in every part; and 

 among the forests is that of Fontainebleau. The 

 soil is generally fertile. Wheat, oats, potatoes, 

 beet-root, and fodder crops are the chief produc- 

 tions. Building-stone, gypsum, clay, sand, and 

 peat are extracted in large onantities. The manu- 

 factures are very varied, and embrace paper, sugar, 

 porcelain and glass, spirits, flour, books, gloves, 

 and other branches. The cheeses of Brie are weU 



