S E Y 



fureft fiipport of monarchical authority," the intereft which 

 he had formed with them was in no degree anfwerablc to his 

 expeftations. The Catholic party, who retained influence 

 with the lower ranks, as might be expefted, were his de- 

 clared enemies, and took advantage of ever)' opportunity to 

 decry his conduft. The attainder and execution of his bro- 

 ther bore an odious afpeft : the introduftion of foreign 

 troops into the kingdom was reprefented in invidious co- 

 lours : the great eltate which he had fuddenly acquired at 

 the expenceof the church, and of the crown, rendered him 

 obnoxious ; and the palace which he was building in the 

 Strand ferved, by it: magnificence, and ftill more by other 

 circumftanccs attending it, to expofe him to the cenfure of 

 the public. The parifh church of St. Mary, with three 

 bilhops' houfes, were pulled down, in order to furniih ground 

 and materials for this ftrufture. Not content even with this, 

 which, at that period, was regarded as great facrilege, an 

 attempt was made to demolifh St. Margaret's church, Weft- 

 minfler, and to employ the ftones for the fame purpofe, but 

 the parifhioners rofe in a tumult, and chafed away the pro- 

 tedtor's tratjefmen. He then laid his hands on a chapel in 

 St. Paul's church-yard, with a cloiiler and charnel-houfe 

 belonging to it, and thefe edifices, together with the church 

 called the St. John of Jerufalem, were made ufc of to raife 

 his palace. All thefe imprudences were remarked by Somer- 

 fet's enemies, who refolved, when an opportunity offered, to 

 take advantage of them to his ruin. A confpiracy was foon 

 formed againlt him, and he refigned his office, hoping that 

 with this conceflion his foes might be fatisfied, but he was 

 midaken, they determined to purfue him even to the fcaf- 

 fold. He was committed to the Tower, with fome of his 

 adi>erents, and articles of indiftment were exhibited agaiiift 

 him, of which the chief was his ufurpation of the govern- 

 ment, and his taking into his own hands the whole adminillra- 

 tion of affairs. The claufe of his patent, which invefted him 

 with abfolute power, unlimited by any law, was never ob- 

 jefted to him, becaiife, fays Mr. Hume, " according to the 

 fentiments of thofe times, that power was, in fome degree, 

 involved in the very idea of regal authority." Somerfet was 

 prevailed upon to confefs on his knees, before the council, 

 all the articles laid to his charge, and he imputed thefe mif- 

 demeanors to his own rafhnefs and indifcretion, not to any 

 malignity of intention. He even fubfcribed a paper which 

 contained a full confeffion of his guilt ; he was accordingly 

 fined two thoufand pounds a-year in land, and deprived of 

 all his offices, and here the matter for the prefent ended ; the 

 fine was remitted, and he recovered his liberty. After this, 

 he was re-admitted into the council, and foon obtained a 

 confiderable portion of popularity, which rendered him an 

 objedl of jealoufy to the duke of Northumberland, who 

 planned his deftruftion. Under pretence of an intended 

 infurreftion, he had him feized, with his friends, and com- 

 mitted to the Tower. He was now brought to trial before 

 a jury of twenty-feven peers, fome of whom were his avowed 

 enemies, and was of courfe found guilty, and condemned to 

 death. Care was taken to prepoflefs the young king againll 

 his uncle, and left he fhould relent, no accefs was allowed to 

 the duke of Somerfet's friends, and the prince was, by a 

 continued fcries of occupations and amufements, kept from 

 refleftion. The prifoner was executed on Tower-hill, much 

 to the regret of the great body of people, who entertained 

 the hopes of pardon to the laft. A vail multitude of thofe 

 friendly to him were the witnelles of his death. Many of 

 them dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood, which they 

 preferved as a precious relic ; and fome of them, when Nor- 

 thumberland, his great enemy and one of his jurors, met with 

 a like doom, upbraided him with this aft of his cruelty, and 



S E Y 



difphyed to him thefe fymbols of his crime. " Somerfet, 

 indeed," fays Hume, " though many aftions of his life were 

 exceptionable, feems in general to have merited a better fate, 

 and the faults which he committed were owing to weaknefs, 

 not to any bad intention. His virtues were better calculated 

 for private than for public life ; and by his want of penetra- 

 tion and firmnefs, he was ill-fitted to extricate himfclf from 

 thofe cabals and violences to which that age was fo much 

 addiaed." 



Somerfet left three daughters, Anne, Margaret, and 

 .Tane, who were dirtinguiftied for their poetical talents. 

 They compofed Latin diltichs on the death of Margaret de 

 Valois, queen of France, which were tranflated into the 

 French, Greek, and Itahan languages, and printed in Paris 

 in 1 55 1. Anne, the eldeft of thefe ladies, married firft the 

 earl of Warwick, the fon of the duke of Northumberland, 

 already mentioned, and afterwards fir Edward Hunton. The 

 other two died fingle. Jane was maid of honour to queen 

 Elizabeth. 



SEYMOaR, Arabella, better known in hiftory by the 

 name of the lady Arabella, was daughter of Charles Stuart, 

 earl of Lennox, youngell brotherof Henry Dariiley, hufband 

 to Mary queen of Scots. Her mother was daughter of fir 

 William Cavendilh of Chatfworth, in Derbyfhire. Her 

 affinity to the crown was the caufe of her misfortunes. Se- 

 veral projefts were formed for placing her on the Englifh 

 throne, fo that (he was kept under confinement in the reign 

 of queen Elizabeth. At the beginning of that of James, a 

 confpiracv, or rather a projeft of a conlpricacy, was formed 

 to raife her to the crown. She was firit coufin to the king, 

 being the daughter of a younger brother, which fhews how 

 rafh the projett was, fuppofing it to have been real ; becaufe 

 James did not afcend the throne of England by the right of 

 his father but that of his mother, confequently Arabella, 

 though of the Stuart family, ftood in a very remote degree of 

 relation to the late queen Mary, had no claim to the crown 

 of England, and the more fo, as James had three children. 

 The authors of this confpiracy were lords Grey, Cobham, fir 

 Walter Raleigh, and others, who were tried, convifted, and 

 condemned, but none were executed at the time, except a 

 brother of lord Cobham, and two priefts. The others 

 were remanded to the Tower. (See Raleigh). Ara- 

 bella died in the year 1615, in prifon, to which place (he 

 had been committed fome time before, for having contrafted 

 marriage, without the knowledge of the crown, with William 

 Seymour, grandfon to the earl of Hertford. Hume. Acta 

 Regia. 



Seymour's Canal, in Geography, an inlet on the S.E. 

 coaft of Admiralty Ifiand, extending from Point Hugh, 

 about 28 miles N.N.W. of the entrance between Point 

 Hugh and Point Gambier. 



SEYMS, among Farriers. See Seams. 



SEYNE, in Geography, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the Lower Alps, and chief place of a canton, 

 in the diilrift of Digne ; 15 miles N. of Digne. The 

 place contains 2557, and the canton 5227 inhabitants, on 

 a territory of 307^ kiliometres, in 8 communes. 



SEYNEY, a to'wn of Lithuania ; 38 miles N.N.W. of 

 Grodno. 



SEYPOUR, a town of Hindooftan, in Oude ; 40 miles 

 N.E. of Fyzabad. 



SEYSSEL, Claude de, in Biography, an hiflorical and 

 political writer, who fiourifhcd in the beginning of the 

 lixteenth century, was brought up to the law, which he 

 praftifed with great applaufe at Turin. He obtained the 

 places of mailer of requefls and counfcUor under Lewis XH. 

 of France. He attended in the name of that prince at the 

 7 council 



