erroneously called by the English St Elbas, a town of Portugal, in the province of Estremadura, on the north shore of a bay of the same name, 20 miles S.E. of Lisbon. It is encircled by old ruinous walls, and the whole valley in which it stands is commanded by several heights, which are crowned with forts. The town extends along the shore for about three-quarters of a mile, and consists for the most part of narrow crooked streets, extending parallel to the shore, or at right angles to it. There are several squares adorned with fountains. The houses are in general substantially built; and the most conspicuous edifices are four churches, some of which contain good paintings. There are two upper schools, and two hospitals, one of which occupies a handsome building. The harbour is large, deep, and furnished with commodious quays; but its entrance is obstructed by sand-banks. Large quantities of salt are made in the vicinity of Setubal, and exported to England, Sweden, and other countries. Corn, wine, and fruits are the chief other articles of trade. Setubal is an ancient town; and indeed, if we believe the Portuguese sagas, was founded by Tubal, the grandson of Noah. There are many ancient remains in the vicinity, belonging probably to the ancient Cetobriga. After the expulsion of the Moors, Setubal was deserted for a long time; and it was only in the seventeenth century that it was fortified. The town suffered severely, along with Lisbon, from the earthquake of 1755. The people are extensively engaged in fishing. Pop. 15,201.

**SEVAJEE.** See HINDUSTAN.

**SEVASTOPOL.** See SEBASTOPOL.

**SEVENOAKS,** a market-town of England, in the county of Kent, on a hill 17 miles W. of Maidstone, and 23 S.S.E. of London. It is well built, and has two principal streets, which are wide, and contain many large houses. The parish church is a large edifice, chiefly in the perpendicular style, with a lofty tower. The other places of worship belong to Wesleyans and Baptists. There is a free grammar school, founded in 1418 by Sir William Senmocke, with two exhibitions to Cambridge, an endowed school, a range of almshouses, and a market-house. Near the town is Knole Park, a fine old mansion, in the midst of a magnificent park. Markets are held weekly at Sevenoaks, chiefly for corn. Pop. 1850.

**SEVERN,** St, a town of France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Landes, in a fertile tract on the left bank of the Adour, 49 miles E.N.E. of Bayonne. This well-built place contains several fine edifices, among which are a magnificent church, a court-house, hospital, and barracks. It has a college, a court of law, tanneries, potteries, and oil mills. The chief articles of trade are corn, wine, brandy, and lithographic stones. Pop. (1856) 4679.

**SEVERN,** in point of length and importance, second to the Thames among British rivers; in the beauty and majesty of its aspect, surpassed by none. It rises at a place called Maes Hafren, in the moors, high up the eastern side of Plinlimmon, on the south-western border of Montgomeryshire. From that point its course is nearly semicircular to the sea, first towards the north-east, then southwards, and finally in a south-westerly direction to the Bristol Channel, which it enters at a point only 80 miles in a straight line S.E. of its source, though its length is about 200 miles. The counties it traverses are, in their order, Montgomeryshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire. For the first 15 miles of its course the Severn flows over a rough precipitous bed, through a narrow valley, and is interrupted by many falls, some of which are of considerable size. At Llaniloes, the valley expands to the width of 1 or 2 miles, and assumes a more fertile and beautiful appearance. It is bounded on the S.E. by the range of the Plinlimmon Hills, and on the N.W. by the Berwyn Mountains. Its chief affluents here are the Clywedog and the Vyrnwy. From this gradually widening vale it emerges on the borders of Shropshire, and, turning to the S.E., enters the broad rich plain of Shrewsbury. With enlarged but gentle stream it flows beneath the dark castle and more modern towers of Shrewsbury; and skirted now by woods, now by meadows, it passes the western base of the Wrekin, and pursues its course through the county, receiving from the right the Meole, Count, Mar Brook, and Bore Brook; and from the left the Perry Tern, Bell Brook, and Worl. Before leaving Shropshire, the river acquires a southerly direction, in which it continues to flow through Worcestershire. In this county it passes the towns of Stourport and Worcester, and, after entering Gloucestershire, those of Tewkesbury and Gloucester. From Buildwas under the Wrekin, to Gloucester, a distance of 72 miles, the fall of the river is only 104 feet; and from Stourport to Gloucester the breadth is very nearly the same, about 150 feet. Below the latter town, the breadth of the Severn, and the bold picturesque character of its banks, continually increase. Its course for some distance below Gloucester is very tortuous; but at Sharpness Point it expands very much, and, after a further course of 18 miles, the estuary of the Severn widens out into the Bristol Channel, just at the point where it receives from the left the Lower Avon or Bristol River; and from the right the Wye, which rises in Plinlimmon, close to its own source. From Gloucester downwards, the general course of the river is S.W. Besides the rivers already mentioned, the most important affluents of the Severn are the Teme from the right, the Upper Avon and the Frome from the left. In the lower part of its course, the Severn flows through a valley about 12 miles broad, bounded on the east by the Cotswold, and on the west by the Malvern Hills, neither of which rise to any great height. The whole extent of land drained by the Severn is 4500 square miles; and to this must be added 1400 drained by the Wye, making a total of 5900 square miles. Owing to the extent of this area, and the marly character of the greater part of it, the quantity of mud deposited in the estuary is greater than in that of any other river in Europe. The tide enters the estuary with great force; and the tidal wave or bore is here about 9 feet high. Inundations have frequently been caused by the sudden rise of the tide. At the mouth of the Severn it rises 48 feet, and at Chepstow, on the Wye, as high as 60 feet. The navigation of the Severn is of very great importance. It extends to 160 miles above its mouth, and affords to North Wales and the adjacent country the means of conveying their produce to the sea. Several canals connect it with the more important places in the adjacent parts of England. The Stroudwater Canal, and the Severn and Thames Canal, connect the waters of these two rivers; the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal avoids the tedious windings of the Severn below the former town; and various other canals connect different parts of the river with Birmingham, Liverpool, and other towns. The Severn abounds in fish of many different kinds. The ancient name of the river was Hafren, by which it is still known above Llanidloes. It was called by the Romans Sabrina, a name it is said to have derived from a British princess who was drowned in it; and Milton has employed this name in his Comus to designate the goddess of the river.