206 



SETTLEMENT SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 



abor.i the same time, obtained a pension from the 

 city, for writing an annual inauguration panegyric, 

 on lord mayor's day. Settle was, besides, an iinU 1 - 

 fatigable writer for the stage, and produced lifteen 

 dramatic pit-ci's, none of which are now known on 

 the boards. In the dcrline of life, he received a 

 salary from the proprietor of a booth at Bartholo- 

 mew fair, as a writer of "Drolls," which were 

 generally very successful, and is said to have been, 

 at that time, the best contriver of theatrical ma- 

 chinery in the kingdom. He died at the Charter- 

 house, in \7'24. 



SETTLEMENT, ACT OF; a name given to a 

 statute 12 and 13 William III., cap. 2, by which the 

 crown was limited to the present reigning house in 

 Britain, and by which some new provisions were 

 added in favour of the subject, securing his liberty 

 and the rights of conscience. 



SETUVAL, OR STUBES; atown of Portugal, 

 in Estremadura; fifteen miles south-east of Lisbon; 

 Ion. 8 54' W. ; lat. 38 29' N. ; population 14,876. 

 It is situated in a bay of the Atlantic, at the mouth 

 of the river Sandao, with a good harbour, capable 

 of receiving ships of any burden, and exports 

 lemons, olives, oil, wine, and, above all, bay salt, 

 of which no less than 200,000 tons are annually 

 made here. The streets are paved, and the town 

 is fortified with a mound, a citadel, and several 

 small forts. Setuval contains five churches, one 

 hospital, eleven convents, and an academia proble- 

 matica. 



SEUME, JOHN GOTTLIEB, known for his writ- 

 ings and his adventures, a man of a vigorous mind, 

 but eccentric disposition, was born at Poserne, in 

 1763. He was left an orphan, but was placed, by 

 a charitable person, at the Nicolai school in Leip- 

 sic. Here he began the study of theology; but, 

 becoming discontented, he set off secretly for 

 Paris. On his way, he was forced to join the Hes- 

 sian troops then raising to serve in America (1781). 

 After his return, he was obliged to enter the Prus- 

 sian service, but at length studied at the university 

 of Leipsic, and, in 1793, became secretary of the 

 Russian general at Warsaw. He soon after re- 

 turned to Leipsic, where he published several works, 

 and was employed as a corrector of the press. In 

 1801, he set out on a pedestrian excursion through 

 Austria, Italy and France, and, on his return, pub- 

 lished an account of his tour, under the title of 

 Walk to Syracuse (in German). In 1805, he un- 

 dertook a similar expedition into Russia, Sweden, 

 &c., which is described in My Summer of 1805 (2d 

 ed., 1815). He died at Teplitz, in 1810. His 

 autobiography, which he left unfinished, was com- 

 pleted by Clodius, and is contained in the edition 

 of his works in twelve volumes (Leipsic, 1826, 

 seq.). 



SEVEN ISLANDS. See Ionian Islands. 



SEVEN LIBERAL ARTS. See Arts. 



SEVENNES. See Cevennes. 



SEVEN SLEEPERS. There is an old story 

 that Epimenides of Crete reappeared in the world, 

 after sleeping forty years in a cave (see Epimenides} ; 

 and all our readers are acquainted with the vera- 

 cious legend of Rip Van Winkle, as related in the 

 Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon ; but the slumber 

 of the seven sleepers was of longer duration. In 

 the time of the ernperor Decius, when the Chris- 

 tians were persecuted, seven noble youths of Ephe- 

 BUS concealed themselves in a neighbouring cavern, 

 the entrance of which was closed by order of the 

 emperor. The persecuted youths immediately fell 



into a deep slumber, from which they were acci- 

 dentally awakened in the reign of Theodosius II., 

 after a period of 187 years. Pressed with hunger, 

 after their long fast, they sent one of their number 

 to the city to purchase bread. He was astonished 

 to see crosses erected all over the city ; and his own 

 antiquated dress and obsolete language confounded 

 the baker, to whom he offered an old medal in pay- 

 ment for bread. Suspected of having found a secret 

 treasure, he was carried before the judge, to whom 

 he related his miraculous story. The bishop of 

 Ephesus, the magistrates, and the emperor himself, 

 hastened to the cave, and found the sleepers still 

 bearing the bloom of youth. They related their 

 story to the multitude, gave them their benedic- 

 tion, and expired. The church has consecrated the 

 27th of June to their memory. (See thereto Sancto- 

 rum of the Bollandists, torn, vi, 375397.) This 

 legend has not been confined to the Christian world. 

 The Koran relates the tale of the seven sleepers, to 

 whom it assigns a dog (Al Rakim), and out of re- 

 spect for whom it declares that the sun altered his 

 course twice a day, that he might shine into the 

 cavern. The Mohammedan and Christian story are 

 probably both derived from the same source. 



SEVEN STARS. See Pleiades. 



SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS. See Baptists. 



SEVEN WISE MEN, OR SEVEN SAGES'OF 

 GREECE. This name is commonly applied to 

 seven philosophers, several of whom were legislators, 

 of an early period of Grecian history. They were 

 Periander of Corinth (in place of whom some give 

 Epimenides of Crete), Pittacus of Mitylene, Thales, 

 Solon, Bias, Chilo, and Cleobulus. See Greece, 

 division Greek Literature. 



SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD; seven 

 monuments, remarkable for their splendour or mag- 

 nitude. They are the pyramids of Egypt (instead 

 of which some name the Pharos of Alexandria), the 

 walls and hanging gardens of Babylon, the temple 

 of Diana at Ephesus, the statue of the Olympian 

 Jupiter (see Phidias), the Mausoleum (see Artem- 

 isia, and Mausoleum'), and the colossus of Rhodes 

 (see Colossus'). These are not, however, to be con- 

 sidered the greatest works of ancient art and taste. 

 This group of the seven wonders originated among 

 the Greeks in the time of Alexander. Philo the 

 Byzantine has described them in his work De septem 

 Orbis Spectaculis (late edition, Leipsic, 1816). 



SEVEN YEARS' WAR. By the treaties of 

 peace concluded at Breslau, July 28, 1742, and at 

 Dresden, December, 25, 1745, Maria Theresa of 

 Austria ceded to king Frederic II., six principalities 

 of Silesia and the county of Glatz. The loss of 

 these fine territories was too painful for her not to 

 think of recovering them. For this purpose, she 

 concluded an alliance with Elizabeth, the empress 

 of Russia, and personal enemy of Frederic, brought 

 over to her cause the king of Poland and the elector 

 of Saxony, Augustus III., and attempted to form a 

 closer union with France, notwithstanding the 

 enmity that had existed between that kingdom and 

 her own for centuries. While Maria Theresa was oc- 

 cupied in these projects, a dispute had arisen between 

 Britain and France, relating to the boundary be- 

 tween their possessions in America, which broke out, 

 in 1755, into open hostilities. To protect his Ger- 

 man states against an attack from France, the king 

 of England concluded an alliance with Prussia; and, 

 some months after, France made a league with the 

 court of Vienna, promising to furnish 24,000 aux- 

 iliary troops against Prussia. But these auxiliaries 



