Severus Lucius Septimius
a Roman emperor; born near Leptis Magna, on the coast of Africa, April 4, 146. After holding the highest offices under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, he obtained command of the legions in Gaul, and when in 193 news came of the murder of Pertinax, he was proclaimed emperor and immediately marched on Rome. Julianus, to whom the prætorian guard had sold was deposed and exethe imperial purple, was cuted. Meanwhile the Roman legions in Asia had proclaimed their general, Pescennius Niger, emperor. Severus overthrew him at Íssus in 194. After a successful campaign against the Parthians, returned but he to Rome, was soon engaged in a struggle with another rival, Clodius Albinus, whom he conquered at Lugdunum in 197. New campaigns in the E. were ended by the capture of Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital. Severus then spent several years (202-208) at Rome, gratifying the people by his magnificence, and distributing large donations to the troops. In 208, he hastened to Britain to quell a rebellion there. He died in Eboracum (York), Feb. 4, 211.
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Sevier, John
John (1745-1815), a native of Virginia. He was a famous pioneer and Indian fighter. He carried a rifle at King's Mountain, was governor of the proposed state of Franklin, and later represented Tennessee in Congress. He negotiated with the Creeks in 1815, and died in the same year near Decatur, Georgia. Sevier belongs to the period that produced Daniel Boone and the Clark brothers. See Teennessee
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Sevres
sa'vr, a celebrated kind of French porcelain. Its manufacture was begun at Vincennes in 1745. In 1756 it was transferred to the village of Sevres, midway between Paris and Versailles. In 1760 the manufactory was purchased by Louis XIII . It has been in the hands of the French government ever since. The present factory employs about 200 persons. Sevres is made of kaolin. The richest pieces are decorated with small bubbles of colored enamel, imitating rubies, emeralds, etc. The ware has the faculty of absorbing decorative colors, giving them a peculiar richness and softness much admired. The finest collection of this ware is to be seen in the museum of Sevres itself. See Porcelain ; Meissen; China Clay ; Pottery
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Seward Peninsula
the most western part of Alaska. It has an area of about 22,700 square miles. The coast the interior is low, but there are hills in of spruce which are covered with forests . re- It includes an important gold mining Creek, and gion, including Nome, Anvil almost Ophir Creek. The gold is obtained entirely from placer mining and over $70,000,000 worth has been taken from 1919 was the district. The production in near $6,000,000. The peninsula is divided Council, into five mining districts, Nome, Kougarok, Fairhaven, and Port Clarence. gold lodes have been dis- In recent years covered, and placer mining is being super- Cape York ceded. Tin is found in the not yet cede region. Coal also exists but has settlement been mined. Nome is the chief . Others are Candle, Deering, Teller, Wales, and Sinuk.
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Sewellel
the Haplodon rufus, a Amersmall rodent from the W. coast of ica. It is about a foot long, with a tail of an inch or an inch and a half, brownish apabove, lighter below. Its habits are DOG proximately those of the PRAIRIE Anisonyx (q. v.). It constitutes the genus of Rannesque, Aplodontia of Richardson, later and Ha Haplodon or Haploödon of type of writers. Lilleborg makes it the i a family Haploödontidæ.
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Sexagesima Sunday
the second Sunday before Lent, the one immediately before Shrove Tuesday, so called because it falls about 60 days before Easter.
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Sextans
one of the 10 new constellations added to the 14 1 2 8 12 13 " e 10 6 8 SEXTANT 11. Reading Glass. 12. Vernier Shade. 13. Vernier. 14. Mirror Adjusting Screw. heavens by Hevelius in his "Prodromus Astronomia" (Forerunner of Astronomy), in 1690, of which eight_have survived to the present day. It is surrounded by Leo, Crater, and Hydra. Not having been known as a constellation in Bayer's time, it has gone without Greek letters attached to its stars till recently, when Gould assigned them to five of its brightest stars. It is a very inconspicuous constellation, the brightest star being only of the 4.9 magnitude.
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Sexton
an under officer of the church, whose duty is to take care of the sels, vestments, etc., belonging to the vessels, church, to attend on the officiating minister, and perform other duties pertaining to the church, to which is, in England, added the duty of digging and filling up graves in the churchyard.
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Sey
an American educator; born in Vernon, N. Y., Jan. 7, 1851; was graduated at Hamilton College in 1872 and at the Auburn Theological Seminary in 1876. Subsequently he held pastorates in Auburn, N. Y.; Ithaca, N. Y.; Holyoke, Mass.; and Chicago, III.; and in 1892 became president of Hamilton College, serving until 1917. He was the author of numerous hymns and poems ar, funnel-shaped, limb ems including, "Song of Miriam"; "Lattermath"; "Letter of James"; "English Bible Versions and Origins" (1915); "Three Addresses on Lincoln" (1917).
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Seychelles Cocoanut
the Lodoicea Sechellarum, a remarkable palm found only on two or three small rocky islands of the Seychelles group. The fruit takes several years to come to maturity, when it attains a gigantic size, weighing often 40 to 50 pounds, and consists of a thick fibrous rind inclosing one or more nuts divided half-way down into two lobes. The unripe fruit is eaten, and the hard black shell of the nut is carved into ornaments and fakirs' drinking cups. The leaves when young yield a beautiful material for basket and plaited work; hats, fans, etc., are made from them; when full grown they are used for partitions and roofs of houses. See PALM.
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Sfax
a town on the E. coast of Tunis, situated in the midst of fruit gardens. It is surrounded by walls and bastions, and has a strong citadel. It exports large quantities of fruit, wool, sponges, alfa, etc. Sfax was captured by the French after a two days' bombardment on July 16, 1881. Pop. about 45,000.
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