S E R 



refufed the king of France any other title than that of 

 ferenc. Bilhops alfo were anciently addreli'ed under the title 



of fercne. 



The kings of France, of the firft and fecond race, fpeak- 

 mg of themfelves, ufe no other quality but notre feremti. 



The emperor gives no other title to the king of England, 

 nor even to any other king, excepting the king of France. 



The king of Poland, and other kings, give it to the eleftors. 

 The emperor, writing to the eleftors, or other princes of the 

 empire, only ufes the term dileUion ; but in treating with 

 them he ufes eledoi-al ferenity to the eledlors, and ducal ferenify 

 to the other princes. 



Serene, in Geography, a fmall ifland in the Red fea. 

 N. lat. 19° 30'. E. long. 39° 50'. 



SERENT, a town of France, in the department of the 

 Morbihan ; 13 miles N.E. of Vannes. 



SERENUS, Sammonicus, Quintus, in Biography, a 

 Roman phyfician in the reigns of Severus and Caracalla, 

 who was aflaflinated at a banquet by the order of the lall 

 mentioned emperor. He left an immenfe library, faid to 

 contain twenty thoufand volumes, to his fon, who was pre- 

 ceptor to the younger Gordian, to whom he prefented this 

 valuable bequeil. Serenus was the author of feveral works 

 on hiltory and the produfts of nature ; and alfo of a medical 

 work in verfe, which has palled through a multitude of 

 editions, under the title of " Carmen de Medicina." He 

 was fuperftitious in the choice of his remedies, and efpecially 

 in that which he propofed for the Semitsriian fiver, which 

 confided in wearing about the neck, fufpended by a linen 

 thread, a piece of paper, on which was written the viord 

 Abracadabra in the form of a triangle. Eloy Dift. Hitt. 

 de la Med. 



SERENZ, in Geography, a town of Hungary; 9 miles 

 W. of Tokay. 



SERERES, a people of Africa, in the vicinity of Cape 

 Verd, difperfed into feveral fmall republics, which unite 

 into one body againft a common enemy. Their laws are 

 merely thofe of nature. They wear no clothing, and they 

 have little or no idea of a Supreme Being or future life : 

 neverthelefs they feem to be inoffenfive, unacquainted with 

 ftrong liquors, induftrious, and hofpitable to (Irangers. 



SERES, in Ancient Geography, a name given to thofe 

 people who were fituated to the eatl of India, and who, 

 by the inveftigations and difcoveries of the moderns, are fup- 

 pofed to have inhabited Serica. They were renowned for 

 their juftice, according to Mela, and for their longevity of 

 200 years, according to Strabo. They had an infedl which 

 produced filk, fays Paufanias. (See Serica.) People of 

 the fame name were alfo eftablifhed in the northern part of 

 Taprobana. 



SERET, in Geography. See Siret. 



SERETIUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of Dalma- 

 tia. Dion CafTius reports, that Tiberius was obliged to raife 

 the fiege of this town, but that it was afterwards taken by 

 the Romans. 



SERETKINA, in Geography, a town of Ruffia, in the 

 government of [rkutfli, on the Angara ; 24 miles E.S.E. 

 of Balaganfl<oi. 



SERGA, a town of Ruffia, on the Volga ; 40 miles S. of 

 Aftracan. 



SERGAG, a town of Ruffia, in the government of 

 Niznei Novgorod ; 48 miles S. of Niznei Novgorod. N. 

 lat. ,-6° 51'. E. long. 45= 20'. 



SERGE, in Comm^ra-, a woollen quilted (luff, manufac- 

 tured on a loom with four treddles, after the manner of ra- 

 teens, and other fluffs that have the whale. 



The goodnefs of fergcs is known by the quilting, as that 

 of cloths by the fpinning. 



S E R 



Of ferges there are yarious kinds, denominated cither from 

 the different qualities of them, or from the places where they 

 are wrought. The molt confiderablc is the London ferge, 

 now highly valued abroad, particularly in France, where a 

 manufafture has been carried on with good fuccefs, under 

 the title oi J'erge fagon de Londres. 



Serge, ManufaSure of London. For wool, the longeft 

 is chofen for the warp, and the (horteft for the woof. Be- 

 fore either kind is ufed, it is firft fcoured, by putting it in 

 a copper of liquor, fomewhat more than lukewarm, com- 

 pofed of three parts of fair water and one of unne. After 

 havin"- flaid long enough therein for the liquor to diflolve, 

 and take off the greafe, &c. it is (lirred brilkly about with 

 a wooden peel ; taken out of the liquor, drained, and wafhed 

 in a running water, dried in the (hade, beaten with fticks on 

 a wooden rack, to drive out the coarfer dirt and filth, and 

 then picked clean with the hands. Thus far prepared, it is 

 grcafed with oil of olives, and the longeft part, dcftinedfor 

 the warp, is combed with large combs, heated in a little 

 furnace for the purpofe. To clear off the oil again, the 

 wool is put in ?. liquor compofcd of hot water, with foap 

 melted in it : whence being taken out, wrung, and dried, 

 it is fpun on the wheel. 



As to the (hortcr wool, intended for the woof, it is only 

 carded on the knee with fmall cards, and then fpun on the 

 wheel, without being fcoured of its oil. Note, the thread 

 for the warp is always to be fpun much finer, and better 

 twiiled than that of the woof. 



The wool both for the warp and the woof being fpun, and 

 the thread divided into fkains, that of the woof is put 

 on fpools (unlefs it have been fpun upon them) fit for the 

 cavity or eye of the fhuttle ; and that for the warp is wound 

 on a kind of wooden bobbins to fit it for warping. When 

 warped it is ftiffened with a kind of fize, of which that made 

 of the fhreds of parchment is held the belt ; juid when dry 

 is put on the loom. 



AVhen mounted on the loom, the workman raifmg and 

 falling the threads (which are pafied through a reed), by 

 means of four treddles placed underneath the loom, which 

 he makes to aft tranfverfely, equally and alternately, one 

 after another, with his feet, in proportion as the threads are 

 raifed and lowered, throws the fhuttle acrofs from one fide 

 to the other ; and each time that the fhuttle is thrown, and 

 the thread of the woof is crofled between thofe of the warp, 

 ftrikes it with the frame to which the reed is faftened, 

 through whofe teeth the threads of the warp pafs ; and this 

 ftroke he repeats twice or thrice, or even more, till he 

 judges the croffing of the ferge fufBciently clofe : thus he 

 proceeds till the warp is all filled with woof. 



The ferge now taken off the loom is carried to the fuller, 

 who fulls, or fcours it in the trough of his mill, with a kind 

 of fat earth, called fullers-earth, firft purged of all ftones 

 and filth. After three or four hours fcouring, the fullers- 

 earth is wafhed out in fair water, brought by little and little 

 into the trough, out of which it is taken when all the earth 

 is cleared ; then, with a kind of iron pincers, or plyers, they 

 pull off all the knots, ends, ftraws, &c. ftickingout oh the 

 furface on either fide ; and then returning it to the fulling 

 trough, where it is worked with water fomewhat more 

 than lukewarm, with foap diffolved therein for near two 

 hours : it is then wafhed out till fuch time as the water be- 

 comes quite clear, and there be no figns of foap left ; then 

 it is taken out of the trough, the knots, &c. again pulled 

 off, and then put on the tenter to dry, taking care as faft as 

 it dries to ftretch it out both in length and breadth till it be 

 brought to its juft dimenfions. When well dried, it is taken 

 off the tenter, and dyed, fhorn, and preffed. 



SERGEANT. See Serjeant. 



10 SERGEN- 



