These 12 listings are so strange that each appears in only one of the 7 encyclopedias we compared. They include such classics as Sequin, Sequoia National Park, Seraglio.
a gold coin of Venice. It was first issued about 1280 and was minted by successive doges during the continuance of the republic. The intrinsic value was about $2.18. The reverse side bore a figure of Christ; the obverse represented St. Mark blessing the banner of Venice held by a kneeling doge. During the great days of Venice the sequin was the world coin of commerce.
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
a region made public property in 1890 in order to safeguard the splendid groves of sequoia trees which are there found. The number of groves in this park are twelve, and the number of large trees exceed 12,000, having a minimum diameter of 10 feet. The park was established by the acts of Sept. 25 and Oct. 1, 1890. The area includes 161,597 acres. The valleys, rivers, and forested slopes in this park combine to make up a picture of great beauty. Tourists in great number visit it each year, coming by way of Visalia, on the Southern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé railroads, and then to Lemon Cove, going 40 miles by stage coach to the park. The trees belong to the Sequoia genus that showed themselves first in the cretaceous beds of Greenland and in the American Potomac group, as well as later in the Tertiary of Europe and America, resembling those still extant in California. They are collaterally related to the Swedenborgia of the Jurassic, which grew to great heights in earlier ages.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
se-ral'yo, the official palace of the sultan at Constantinople. The word is Italian, meaning inclosure. The sultan's seraglio incloses a number of government buildings and a mosque, as well as his private home or harem in which his many wives live. Entrance to the seraglio is gained by means of a lofty gate known as the Sublime Porte, a name applied often to the sultan himself. See Constantinople ; Turkey
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
a city in Jugo - Slavia, formerly the capital of the Austrian ; pop. about province of Bosnia, situated on both ; pop. (1919) banks of the Miljaka, 122 miles S. W. of Belgrade. The principal industries of ramifications the town consist of textile mills and metal ware factories. Iron mines and mineral springs are found in the vicinity. The name of the city, however, is generally associated with the assassination of the heir apparent to the throne of Austria-Hungary, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, which took place there on June 28, 1914. Pop. (1919) 50,000.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
. See Memphis
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
music performed in the open air at night; often, an entertainment of music given in the night by a lover to his mistress under her window; or music performed as a mark of esteem and good-will toward distinguished persons. The name is also given to a piece of music characterized by the soft repose which is supposed to be in harmony with the stillness of night. The Italian name Serenata is now applied to a cantata having a pastoral subject, and to a work of large proportions, in the form to some extent of a symphony.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
a town of Greece, in the former vilayet of Saloniki; on a tributary of the Struma or Karassu; 45 miles N. E of Saloniki; lies in a wide and fertile plain containing upward of 300 villages; is the seat of a Greek archbishop; and is the most important trading town in the interior of Macedonia. It has a castle, numerous mosques, Greek churches, baths, benevolent institutions, manufactures woolen and cotton goods, gourd-shaped water flasks, and exports cotton, rice, tobacco, and grain.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
an important affluent of the Danube. It rises in the Carpathians in Bukowina, flows through Rumania, and joins the Danube 5 miles above Galatz after a course of 300 miles. Parts of the regions through which it flows saw much fighting between the Russian and Austro- German armies during the World War.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
. See Slaves; Feudalism ; Russia
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
a term applied to a class of laborers existing under the feudal system, and whose condition, though not exactly that of slaves, was little removed from it. Under this system, from the vassals of the king downward, the whole community was subject to certain degrees of servitude, and it was only on condition of specific services to be rendered to his superior that any individual held his fief. In the case of the lower classes this servitude amounted to an almost complete surrender of their personal liberty. There were two classes of laborers, the villeins and the serfs proper. The former occupied a middle position between the serfs and the freemen. A serf could not be sold, but could be transferred along with the property to which he was attached. The revival of the custom of manumission counteracted the rapid increase of serfs. A serf could also obtain his freedom by purchase, or by residing for a year and a day in a borough, or by military service . By these various means the serf population gradually decreased. In most parts of the Continent they had disappeared by the 15th century. The extinction of serfdom in England and Scotland gradual. Serfdom in Russia was abolished by a manifesto of Alexander II. on March 17, 1861. was very
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
a worsted fabric of twill weave made in a variety of weights and degrees of fineness. Serge is used for both men's and women's suits. It is light, durable, sheds dust, and is cleansed readily. It is usually wiry, but certain fine varieties are soft and pliable. Serge has been in use since the twelfth century and is still one of the most popular of standard fabrics.
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
or SERJEANT, a sheriff's officer, a bailiff; a title given to certain officers of the British sove sovereign's household, serjeant; a police officer of superior rank to a private . Sergeant-at- -atarms, an officer appointed by a legislative body , whose duties are to enforce the orders given by such bodies, generally under the warrant of its presiding officer. In military language, the second permanent grade in the noncommissioned ranks of the army. In the United States service there are regimental as well as company sergeants. Their duties are mainly indicated by the title , which is a compound of sergeant with the superior officer or the department they are intended to serve; as, sergeant-major, quartermaster-sergeant, color-sergeant , commissary-sergeant, ordnance-sergeant.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia