from which we extract what follows: Many years ago,' says the author, having observed some seeds which had got accidentally amongst raisins, and that they were such as are generally attended with difficulty to raise in England after coming in the usual way from abroad, I sowed them in pots, within a framing; and, as all of them grew, I commissioned my sons, who were then abroad, to pack up all sorts of seeds they could procure in absorbent paper, and send some of them surrounded by raisins, and others by brown moist sugar; concluding that the former seeds had been preserved by a peculiarly favorable state of moisture thus afforded them. It occurred, likewise, that as many of our common seeds, such as clover, charlock, &c., would lie dormant for ages within the earth, well preserved for vegetation whenever they might happen to be thrown to the surface, and exposed to the atmosphere; so these foreign seeds might be equally preserved, for many months at least, by the kindly covering and genial moisture that either raisins or sugar afforded them: and this conjecture was really fulfilled, as not one in twenty of them failed to vegetate, when those of the same kinds, that I ordered to be sent lapped in common parcels, and forwarded with them, would not grow at all. I observed, upon examining them all before they were committed to the earth, that there was a prevailing dryness in the latter, and that the former looked fresh and healthy, and were not in the least infected by insects, as was the case with the others. It has been tried repeatedly to convey seeds (of many plants difficult to raise) closed up in bottles, but without success; some greater proportion of air, as well as a proper state of moisture, perhaps, being necessary. No difference was made in the package of the seeds, respecting their being kept in husks, pods, &c. so as give those in raisins or sugar any advantage over the others, all being sent equally guarded by their natural teguments." SEEDY, in the brandy trade, a term used by the dealers to denote a fault that is found in several parcels of French brandy, which renders them unsaleable. The French suppose that these brandies obtain the flavor which they express by this name, from weeds that grow among the vines whence the wine of which this brandy is pressed was made. SEEDY DOUDE, a sanctuary of Tunis, Africa, at the northern extremity of the peninsula of Dakkul, and surrounded with the ruins of the ancient Misua. It received its present name in honor of Doude, or David, a Moorish saint, and a cavity is shown, five yards long, which they pretend to be his sepulchre; but Dr. Shaw was convinced that it is nothing more than a fragment of some Roman prætorium. Three tesselated or Mosaic pavements bear marks of the workmanship of that people, being wrought with the greatest exactness, in a great variety of shapes and colors. 150 miles north-east of Tunis. SEEK', v. u. & v. n. Pret. I sought; part. SEEKER, n. s. pass., sought. Saxon SEEK-SORROW. recan; Dut. soecken. To look for; search for; often taking out; solicit: to make search, pursuit, endeavour or enquiry after the noun-substantive corresponding: a seek-sorrow is a moper, one who resigns himself to vexation. And in tho daies men schulen seke deeth, and thei schulen not fynde it, and thei schulen desire to die, and deeth schal fle from hem. Wiclif. Apoc. 9. Because of the money returned in our sacks are we brought in, that he may seek occasion against us, and take us for bondmen. Gen. xliii. 18. Unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come. Deut. xii. 5. David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life. 1 Sam. xxiii. All the earth sought to Solomon to hear his wisdom. 1 Kings. their meat from God. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek Psalm civ. 21. Violent men have sought after my soul. Id. lxxxvi. 14. He seeketh unto him a cunning workman, to prepare a graven image. Isaiah xi. 20. I am sought of them that asked not for me: I am found of them that sought me not. Id. lxv. 1. Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and yo shall find. Matt. vii. 7. Others, tempting him, sought of him a sign. Luke xi. 16. And thou seek-sorrow, Klaius, them among : Indeed thou saidst it was thy friend to see, Sidney. Being brought and transferred from other services abroad, though they be of good experience in those, yet in these they will be new to seek; and, before they have gathered experience, they shall buy it with great loss to his majesty. Spenser. Being a man of experience, he wished by wisdom to order that which the young prince sought for by Knolles. war. for the government of politicks than this of Adam, or else there will be none at all in the world. Locke. A language of a very witty volatile people, seekers after novelty, and abounding with variety of notions. Id. I have been forced to relinquish that opinion, and have endeavoured to seek after some better reason. Addison's Spectator. about 400 years ago; who left behind him a book, composed by himself in verse, containing the doctrines he had established: this book teaches that there is but one God, filling all will be a day of retribution, when virtue will be space, and pervading all matter; and that there rewarded, and vice punished. It forbids murder, theft, and other crimes, and inculcates the practice of all the virtues; but particularly a universal philanthropy and hospitality to strangers toleration, but forbids disputes with those of and travellers. It not only commands universal inclination to be admitted among them, any five another persuasion. If any one show a sincere or more Seeks being assembled in any place, even on the highway, they send to the first shop small quantity of a particular kind called batāsā, where sweetmeats are sold, and procure a very which having diluted, in pure water, they sprinkle whilst one of the best instructed repeats to him some of it on the body and eyes of the proselyte, the chief canons of their faith, and exacts from of his life. They offered to admit Mr. Wilkins him a solemn promise to abide by them the rest into their society; but he declined the honor, contenting himself with their alphabet, which they told him to guard as the apple of his eye, as it was a sacred character. The language is a mixture of Persian, Arabic, and Shanscrit, grafted upon the provincial dialect of Punjah, which is a kind of Hindowee, or, as we commonly call it, Moors. Since great Ulysses sought the Phrygian plains, Within these walls inglorious silence reigns. Pope. SEEKS, a religious sect of Patna, so called from a word contained in one of the commandments of their founder, which signifies 'learn thou.' In books giving an account of oriental sects and oriental customs, we find mention made both of Seeks and Seiks; and some think that the same tribe is meant by both names. If so, different authors write very differently of their principles and manners. See SEIKS. In the Asiatic Researches, Mr. Wilkins gives a much more amiable account of the Seeks. The Seeks, he says, are a sect distinguished both from the Mussulmans and the worshippers of Brahma. Our author asked leave to enter into their chapel. They said it was a place of worship, open to all men, but intimated that he must take off his shoes. He was then politely conducted into the hall, and seated upon a carpet in the midst of the assembly. The whole building forms a square of about forty feet. The hall is in the centre, divided from four other apartments by wooden arches upon wooden pillars. The walls above the arches were hung with European looking glasses in gilt frames, and with pictures; on SEEL, v. a. Fr. sceller, to seal. To close the left hand is the chancel, which is furnished wild or haggard hawk being for a time seeled or eyes. A term of falconry, the eyes of a with an altar covered with cloth of gold. About it were several flower-pots and rose-water bottles, and three urns to receive charity. On a low desk, near the altar, stood a great book, of folio size, from which some portions are daily read in the divine service. At noon, the congregation arranged themselves upon the carpet. The great book and desk were brought from the altar, and placed at the opposite extremity. An old silverhaired man kneeled down before the desk, with his face towards the altar, and by him sat a man with a drum, and two or three with cymbals. The book was now opened, and the old man began to chant to the time of the instruments, and at the conclusion of every verse most of the congregation joined chorus in a response, with countenances exhibiting joy. Their tones were not harsh; the time was quick; and Mr. Wilkins learned that the subject was a hymn in praise of the unity, omnipresence, and omnipotence of the deity. The hymn concluded, the whole company got up and presented their faces, with joined hands, towards the altar in the attitude of prayer. The prayer was a sort of litany pronounced by a young man in a loud and distinct voice; the people joining, at certain periods, in a general response. This prayer was followed by a short blessing from the old man, and an invitation to the assembly to partake of a friendly feast. A share was offered to Mr. Wilkins. It was a kind of sweetmeat composed of sugar and flower mixed up with clarified butter. They were next served with a few sugar-plums; thus ended the feast and ceremony. The founder of this sect was Naneek Sah, who lived the closed. SEEL, v. n. Sax. ryllan. To lean on one side. When a ship seels or rowls in foul weather, the breaking loose of ordnance is a thing very dangerous. Raleigh. SEELY, adj. Sax. reel, lucky time. Lucky; happy. Spenser. Peacock and turkie, that nibbles off top, Fr. sembler, unless it has a Teutonic original, as seemly certainly has. To appear; make a show, or a becoming appearance; have semblance: it seems, means Shakspeare, All good seeming, By thy revolt, oh husband, shall be thought Put on for villainy. Id. Cymbeline. For you there's rosemary and rue; these keep Seeming and savour all the winter long. Shakspeare. I am a woman lacking wit To make a seemly answer to such persons. Id. Henry VII. When substantialness combineth with delightfulness, seemliness with portliness, and currentness with stayedness, how can the language sound other than full of sweetness? Camden. The seemingness of those reasons persuades us on the other side. Digby. So spake the Omnipotent; and with his words All seemed well pleased; all seemed, but were not all. His persuasive words impregned With reason to her seeming. They to their viands fell, not seemingly The angels nor in mist. Milton. Id. Id. The wife safest and seemliest by her husband stays. The earth by these, 'tis said, This single crop of men and women bred; Blackmore's Creation. He had been a chief magistrate; and had, it seems, executed that high office justly and honorably. Atterbury. It seems that when first I was discovered sleeping on the ground, the emperor had early notice. Gulliver. There, seemly ranged in peaceful order, stood Ulysses' arms, now long disused to blood. Pope. SEE-MA-KOANG, a learned Chinese writer, highly celebrated for his humanity, charity, and other virtues, as well as for his literary and political abilities. He was born A. D. 1018, in the reign of the emperor Jentsoung, who promoted him to the highest offices in the empire. He wrote a General History of the Chinese Empire, in 294 volumes. Upon the death of the emperor he retired from court, but was recalled to act as tutor to the young emperor, and as prime minister during his minority. But ten years afterwards his ungrateful imperial pupil, listening to calumniators, put this great man to death on suspicion of treason. His successor, however, did justice to the memory of See-makoang; and the Chinese historians still celebrate him as one of the best men that ever lived.' SEE-MA-TSIEN, another Chinese writer of the same family with the preceding, who flourished in the third century, and is famed for having been the Restorer of the Chinese history after the destruction of their ancient records, by the tyrant Shi-whang-ti. See CHINA. This author rendered the family or tribe of See-ma famous. SEER, a principality of the province of Ommon, Arabia, extending from Cape Mussendoon, along the coast of the Persian gulf. It is called by the Persians Dsjulfar; and Europeans frequenting these seas have given this name to the Arabs who inhabit it. The Arabs, however, call it Seer, from the town of the same name, which has a good harbour, and is the seat of the sheik. The country not long since acknowledged the authority of the Imam; but the sheik has shaken off this dependence, and makes some figure among the maritime powers in those parts. His subjects are much employed in navigation and commerce. province of Delhi, and district of Merat. This SEERDHUNA, a town of Hindostan, in the town was assigned as a jagier to Somroo, a German, who, by command of the nabob Cossim Aly Khan, massacred the English. prisoners at Patna, in the year 1763. This territory, which is twenty miles long by twelve in breadth, is very fertile in grain, sugar, cotton, &c. After the death of Somroo, his wife succeeded him in his possessions, and in the command of his army, at the head of which she distinguished herself on various occasions. SEE'RWOOD, n. s. See SEARWOOD. Dry wood. Caught, like dry stubble fired, or like searwood; Yet from the wound ensued no purple flood, But looked a bubbling mass of frying blood. Dryden. SEE'SAW, n. s. motion. From saw. A reciprocating Sometimes they were like to pull John over, then it went all of a sudden again on John's side; so they went seesawing up and down from one end of the room to the other. Arbuthnot. His wit all seesaw, between that and this; Now high, now low, now master up, now miss, And he himself one vile antithesis. Pope. SEETACOOND, a town of Bengal, in Chittagong, having a warm spring, from which there frequently issues a flame, which the Hindoos consider as an emanation of the deity, and make offerings to it. The water is fine, and will keep for any length of time. Long. 91° 36′ E., lat. 22° 37' N. There is another place of this kind in the vicinity of Monghir, province of Bahar, and indeed several others in different parts of Hindostan, all dedicated to Seeta, the wife of Ram. SEETH, v. a. Pret. I sod or seethed; part. pass. sodden. Sax. reodan; Belg. soiden." To boil; decoct in hot liquor. Set on the great pot, and seeth pottage for the sons of the prophets. 2 Kings iv. The priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a flesh-hook, and stuck it into the pan. 1 Sam. ii. 13. The Scythians used to seeth the flesh in the hide, Shakspeare. Troilus and Cressida. Shakspeare. Dryden. SEETZEN (Ulric Jasper), a German traveler, a native of East Friseland, was educated at Gottingen, under professor Blumenbach. He was early in life appointed aulic counsellor to the czar for Jever: but, being desirous of visiting Africa and the east, and being encouraged by the dukes Ernest and Augustus of SaxeGotha, he set off in August 1802 for Constantinople. He proceeded to Syria, and remained a considerable time at Aleppo. In 1806 he explored the course of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, travelled through Palestine, and went to Hebron and Mount Sinai. His enthusiastic desire of knowledge prompted him to profess Mahometanism, that he might undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina in 1809 and 1810. In the month of November of the last year he was at Mocha, whence he wrote the last letters which arrived from him. Having had his property seized by the Arabs, he proceeded towards Saana, in December 1811, to complain to the imam; and a few days after died suddenly at Taes, as it has been thought from the effects of poison given him by order of that barbarian. No account of the researches of this traveller ever appeared; but his letters, addressed to baron von Zach, were inserted in his Geographical and Astronomical Correspondence, a periodical work published at Gotha; and a translation was printed in the French Annales des Voyages, 1809-14. Extracts from his letters to Blumenbach and others were also published in the Magasin Encyclopédique. SEEZ, an old town of France, in Normandy, situated on the Orne, in the middle of a fertile plain. It is the see of a bishop, and has a good cathedral, having manufactures of woollens, cottons, fustians, and stockings. Inhabitants 5500. SEGALIEN, a large island separated by a narrow channel from the coast of Chinese Tartary, and called by the natives Tchoko, and by the Chinese Oku-Jesso. It lies between lat. 46° and 54° N., but its breadth from east to west is not known. Indeed hardly any thing about it was known till 1787, that La Perouse penetrated almost to the bottom of the channel which separates it from the continent, and which grew so very shallow as he advanced northward that the island may soon become a peninsula. The French frigates came to anchor in different bays on the coast of Segalien; and the finest of these bays, to which the commodore gave the name of Baie d' Estaing, is situated in 48° 59′ N. lat., and 140° 32′ long. E. of Paris. La Perouse and M. Rollin, the surgeon of his ship, both describe the natives of this island as a worthy and intelligent people. Of the presents which were made to them, they seemed to set a value only on such as were useful. Iron and stuffs prevailed over every thing; they understood metals as well as their guests, and for ornament preferred silver to copper, and copper to iron. They use looms, which, though small, are very complete; and by means of spindles they prepare thread of the hair of animals, of the bark of the willow, and the great nettle, from which they make their stuffs. They are of a moderate size, squat, and strong built, with the muscles of their bodies very exactly defined: their common height is five feet, and the greatest does not exceed five feet four inches; but men of this size are uncommon. They have all a large head, and a broader and more rounded face than Europeans; their countenance is animated and agreeable, though destitute of that grace which we esteem essential to beauty: they have large cheeks, a short nose rounded at its extremity, with very broad nostrils; their eyes are lively, of a moderate size, for the most part black, though some are blue; their eyebrows are bushy, voice strong, lips rather thick, and of a dull red : in several the upper lip was tattoed, and tinged blue; these, as well as their eyes, are capable of every variety of expression; their teeth are white and even; their chin is rounded and a little advancing; their ears are small; they bore and wear in them glass ornaments or silver rings. The women are not so large as the men, and are of a more rounded and delicate figure, though there is little difference between their features. Their upper lip is tattoed all over of a blue color, and they wear their hair long and flowing; their dress hardly differs from that of the men; the skin in both sexes is tawny, and their nails, which they suffer to grow to a great length, are a shade darker than that of Europeans. These islanders are very hairy, and have long beards, which gives to the old men a venerable air: these last appear to be held in much respect. The hair of their head is black, smooth, and moderately strong; in some it is of a chestnut color: they all wear it round, about six inches long behind, and cut into a brush on the top of their head, and over the temples. Their clothing consists of a kind of surtout which wraps over before, where it is fastened by little buttons, strings, and a girdle placed above the haunches. This surtout is made of skin or quilted nankeen, a kind of stuff that they make of willow bark: it generally reaches to the calf of the leg, sometimes lower. Some of them wear seal-skin boots, the feet of which, in form and workmanship, resemble the Chinese shoe; but the greater number go bare-footed and bare-headed a few wear a bandage of bearskin round the head, as an ornament. Like the Chinese, they all wear a girdle, to which they hang their knife as a defence against the bears, and several little pockets, into which they put their flint and steel, their pipe, and their box of tobacco; for they make a general practice of smoking. Their huts are sufficient to defend them against the rain, but are very small in proportion to the inhabitants. The roof is formed of two inclined planes, which are from ten to twelve feet high at their junction, and three or four on the sides; the breadth of the roof is about fifteen feet, and its length eighteen. These cabins are constructed of frame work, strongly put together, the sides being filled up with the bark of trees, and the top thatched with dry grass in the same manner as our cottages are. On the inside of these houses is a square of earth raised about six inches above the ground, and supported on the sides by strong planking; on this they make the fire: along the sides of the apartment are benches, twelve or fifteen inches high, which they cover with mats, on which they sleep. The utensils that they employ in cooking their food consist of an iron pot, shells, vessels made of wood and birch bark, of various shapes and workmanship; and, like the Chinese, they take up their food with little sticks; they have generally two meals in the day, one at noon, and the other in the evening. The habitations in the south part of the island are much better built and furnished, having for the most part planked floors: our author saw in them some vessels of Japan porcelain. They cultivate no kind of vegetable, living chiefly on dried and smoked fish, and what little game they take by hunting. Each family has its own canoe, and implements for fishing and hunting. Their arms are bows, javelins, and a kind of spontoon, which they use principally in bear hunting. By the side of their houses are the magazines, in which they lay up provisions for winter. These consist of dried fish, garlic, wild celery, angelica, a bulbous root called apè, or the yellow lily of Kamschatka, and fish oil, which they preserve in the stomachs of bears. These magazínes are made of planks, strongly put together, on stakes about four feet high. Dogs are the only domestic animals; they are of a middling size, with shaggy hair, pricked ears, and a sharp long muzzle; their cry is loud and not savage. These people, who are of a very mild and unsuspecting disposition, appear to have commercial intercourse with the Chinese by means of the Mantchou Tartars, with the Russians to the north of their island, and the Japanese to the south: but the articles of trade are of no great consequence, consisting only of a few furs and whale oil. This fish is caught only on the southern coast of the island. Their mode of extracting the oil is by no means economical; they drag the whale on shore on a sloping ground, and, suffering it to putrify, receive in a trench, at the foot of the slope, the oil, which separates spontaneously. The island is well wooded, and mountainous towards the centre, but is flat and level along the coast, the soil of which appears admirably adapted to agriculture: vegetation is extremely vigorous; forests of pine, willow, oak, and birch, cover nearly the whole surface. The sea abounds with fish, as well as the rivers and brooks, which swarm with salmon and trout of an excellent quality. The weather is, in general, foggy and mild. All the inhabitants have an air of health and strength, which they retain even to extreme old age; nor did our author observe among them any instance of defective organisation, or the least trace of contagious or eruptive disorders. SEGERS (Gerard), an eminent historical and portrait painter, born at Antwerp, in 1589. He studied under Abraham Janssens, and improved himself in Italy, with such success, that he acquired a fortune by his art. He died in 1651. SEGERS (Daniel), brother of Gerard, was born in 1590, studied under Velvet Breughel, and acquired great reputation in painting flowers, fruits, and insects to the life. He joined the society of Jesuits; and died in 1651. SEGMENT, n. s. Fr. segment; Lat. segmentum. A figure contained between a chord and an arch of the circle, or so much of the circle as is cut off by that chord. Unto a parallel sphere, and such as live under the poles, for half a year, some segments may appear at any time, and under any quarter, the sun not setting, but walking round. Browne. Their segments or arcs, which appeared so numerous, for the most part exceeded not the third part of a circle. Newton. SEGMENTS, LINE OF, are two particular lines so called, on Gunter's sector. They lie between the lines of sines and superficies, and are numbered with 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. They represent the diameter of a circle, so divided into 100 parts as that a right line drawn through those parts, and perpendicular to the diameter, shall cut the circle into two segments, the greater of which shall have the same proportion to the whole circle as the parts cut off have to 100. SEGO, a large city of Central Africa, the capital of the kingdom of Bambarra. We are almost entirely indebted for our knowledge of it to Park, the celebrated traveller. It was here that he first came in view of what he calls the Niger, which flows through the middle of it, dividing the city into two parts. He found it flowing majestically to the eastward, as broad as the Thames at Westminster.' This city is divided into four distinct towns, two of which are on the northern, and two on the southern bank. The former are called Sego Korro and Sego Boo, the latter Sego Soo Korro and Sego. See Korro. 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