ER'GOT, the altered grain of rye and other grasses caused by the attack of
an ascomycetous fungus called _Claviceps purpurea_. The grain is replaced
by a dense fungoid tissue (sclerotium) largely charged with an oily fluid.
In its perfect state this germinates and produces the Claviceps
fructification. When diseased rye of this kind is eaten in food for some
time, it sometimes causes death by a kind of mortification called dry
gangrene. Ergot is used in obstetric practice to promote the contraction of
the uterus.
ERICA (e-r[=i]'ka), the heaths, a large genus of branched rigid shrubs,
type of the nat. ord. Ericaceae, most of which are natives of South Africa,
a few being found in Europe and Asia. The leaves are narrow and rigid; the
flowers are globose or tubular, and four-lobed. Five species are found in
Britain.
ERICACEAE, a nat. ord. of gamopetalous Dicotyledons. Representative genera:
Calluna, Erica, Rhododendron.
ERICHSEN (er'ik-sen), Sir John Eric, surgeon, born 1818, died in 1890. He
was the son of a Copenhagen merchant, but spent nearly all his life in
England. He studied at University College, London, became a member of the
Royal College of Surgeons in 1839, a fellow in 1845, and in 1850 professor
of surgery and hospital surgeon at University College. In 1865 he succeeded
Quain as professor of clinical surgery in the same college, but retired in
1875. Appointed president of University College in 1887, he also held that
post till his death. He was chief surgeon extraordinary to Queen Victoria,
and in 1895 was made a baronet. His most important work was his _Science
and Art of Surgery_ (1853), which has gone through many editions, and has
been translated into several languages. He also published a volume on
_Concussion of the Spine_ (1875).
ER'ICSSON, John, engineer, born in Sweden 1803, died in 1889. He served for
a time in the Swedish army; removed to London in 1826, and to New York in
1839. He is identified with numerous inventions and improvements in steam
machinery and its applications. His chief inventions are his caloric
engine, the screw propeller (1836), which has revolutionized navigation,
and his turret-ships, the first of which, the _Monitor_, distinguished
itself in the American Civil War, and inaugurated a new era in naval
warfare. He afterwards devoted himself to studies of the earth's motion and
the intensity of solar heat.
ERIDANUS, the River Eridanus (modern Po), one of the constellations of the
ancient astronomy, in which Ptolemy catalogued thirty-four stars.
Appropriately to its name, it covers a large expanse of the heavens, its
northern portion, just to south-west of Orion, reaching the celestial
equator. The part visible in our latitudes does not contain bright stars,
but at the southern extremity is the first-magnitude Achernar, a
conspicuous object to southern observers.
ERIE ([=e]'ri), one of the great chain of North American lakes, between
Lakes Huron and Ontario, about 265 miles long, 63-1/2 miles broad at its
centre, from 40 to 60 fathoms deep at the deepest part; area, 6900 sq.
miles. The whole of its southern shore is within the territory of the
United States, and its northern within that of Canada. It receives the
waters of the upper lakes by Detroit River at its south-western extremity,
and discharges its waters into Lake Ontario by the Niagara River at its
north-east end. The Welland Canal enables vessels to pass from it to Lake
Ontario. It is shallow compared with the other lakes of the series, and is
subject to violent storms. The principal harbours are those on the United
States side--Buffalo, Erie, and Cleveland.
ERIE, a city, Pennsylvania, United States, an important railway and
commercial centre on the southern shore of Lake Erie. There are numerous
ironworks (including foundries, rolling-mills, and blast-furnaces),
petroleum refineries, breweries, tanneries, and wood-working factories. The
harbour is one of the best on the lake. Pop. 76,600.
ERIE CANAL, the largest in the United States, serving to connect the great
lakes with the sea. It begins at Buffalo on Lake Erie, and extends to the
Hudson at Albany. It is 363 miles long; has in all 72 locks; a surface
width 70 feet, bottom width 42 feet, and depth 7 feet. It is carried over
several large streams on stone aqueducts; cost nearly L2,000,000, and was
opened in 1825. The navigation is free.
ERIGENA (e-rij'e-na), Joannes Scotus (_Scotus_, Scot, and _Erigena_,
Irish-born), an eminent mediaeval scholar and metaphysician, probably born
of Scotch parentage in Ireland about 800-810, died in France about 875. He
spent a great part of his life at the court of Charles the Bald of France,
and was placed at the head of the school of the palace. The king further
imposed upon him the double task of translating into Latin the Greek works
of the pseudo Dionysius the Areopagite, and of composing a treatise against
Godeschale on _Predestination and Free-will_. This treatise, and another,
_De Divisione Naturae_, contained many views in opposition to the teachings
of the Church. They were condemned by the Councils of Valencia in 855 and
of Langres in 859, and Pope Nicholas I demanded the immediate disgrace of
the culprit. His subsequent history is not known.--Cf. Gardner, _Studies in
John the Scot_.
ERIN'NA, a Greek poetess who lived about 600 B.C. She is said to have been
an intimate friend of Sappho, and died at the age of eighteen. She acquired
a high reputation for poetry, and her chief work was called _Elakat[=e]_
(The Distaff), of which nothing has come down to us. An epitaph or two
which are still extant, and believed by some to be hers, are by others
deemed spurious.
ERIODEN'DRON, the wool tree, a genus of plants, nat. ord. Malvaceae
(mallows). There are eight species natives of America, but one belongs to
Asia and Africa. The species are noble plants, growing from 50 to 100 feet
high, having palmate leaves, and red or white flowers. The woolly coat of
the seeds of some of the species is used in different countries for
stuffing cushions and similar purposes.
ERIS, in Greek mythology, the goddess of discord, the sister of Ares, and,
according to Hesiod, daughter of Nyx (night). Not being invited to the
marriage of Peleus, she revenged herself by means of the _apple of
discord_.
ER'ITH, a town of England, in Kent, on the Thames, about 14 miles east of
London, a pleasant summer resort. Pop. 27,755.
ERITRE'A, or ERYTHRAE'A (from Gr. _erythros_, red, referring to the Red
Sea), the official name of an Italian colonial possession stretching along
the African shore of the Red Sea, and between it and Abyssinia, from the
Egyptian coast territory to the French territory of Obok, at the Strait of
Bab-el-Mandeb. The coast-line is about 670 miles in length, the area of the
colony about 45,800 sq. miles. Pop., largely nomadic, about 450,000. The
chief town is Massowah.
ER'IVAN, a fortified city in Armenia, formerly the capital of a Russian
government of the same name in Transcaucasia, on the Sanga, north of Mount
Ararat. It has a citadel, barracks, a cannon foundry, and some
manufactures. The Armenian Republic of Erivan was constituted in May, 1918.
Pop. 34,000. The former Russian government of Erivan had an area of 10,725
sq. miles, and a pop. of 970,000.
ERLANG'EN, a town of Bavaria, 10 miles N.N.W. of N[:u]rnberg. The
Protestant university, founded in 1743, is the chief institution. The
industries include cotton spinning and weaving, mirrors, hosiery, gloves,
and combs. Pop. 24,874.
ERLAU, or EGER, a town, Hungary, on the Eger, 65 miles E.N.E. of Budapest.
It has sundry manufactures; and the red wines of the district, esteemed the
best in Hungary, are largely exported. Pop. 28,050.
ERL-KING, the English form of the name given in German and Scandinavian
poetical mythology to a personified natural power which devises and works
mischief, especially to children. Goethe's celebrated poem _Der
Erlk[:o]nig_ (literally 'elf-king') has rendered this malicious spirit
universally known.
[Illustration: Ermines (_Putorius ermineus_)]
ER'MINE, the stoat (_Putorius ermineus_), a mammal of the weasel family
widely distributed through the northern parts of both hemispheres, with a
considerable range to the south. It is not generally known that the ermine
and stoat are the same. In winter, in cold countries or severe seasons, the
fur changes from a reddish-brown to a yellowish-white, or almost pure
white, under which shade the animal is recognised as the ermine. In both
states the tip of the tail is black. Its fur is short, soft, and silky, the
best skins being brought from Russia, Sweden, and Norway. It is in great
request, and was formerly one of the insignia of royalty, and is still used
by judges. When used as linings of cloaks the black tuft from the tail is
sewed to the skin at irregular distances. Stoats are among the enemies of
the poultry-keeper, but by keeping down small rodents they benefit
agriculture to a considerable extent.--In heraldry, ermine is one of the
furs, represented with its peculiar spots black on a white ground.
[Illustration: Ermine]
ERNE ([.e]rn), the name often given to all the eagles of the genus
Haliaetus, but more specifically to the white-tailed sea-eagle.
ERNE, LOUGH, a lake, Ireland, County Fermanagh, consisting of a north or
lower, and a south or upper lake (with the town of Enniskillen between),
connected by a narrow winding channel, and properly forming only expansions
of the River Erne. Its entire length is about 40 miles; average breadth, 6
miles. It contains numerous small islands, and is well stocked with
fish.--The River Erne rises in Lough Gowna, in the county of Longford,
flows through Loughs Oughter and Erne, and falls into Donegal Bay below
Ballyshannon. Length, 72 miles.
ERNEST AUGUSTUS, King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland, the fifth son of
George III, born 1771, died 1851. In 1799 he was created Duke of
Cumberland, in England, and became a field-marshal in the British army. On
the death of William IV in 1837 he ascended the throne of Hanover, in
consequence of the succession to the sovereignty of that country being
limited to heirs male. He was succeeded by his son, George V, the last of
the Hanoverian kings.
EROS, an asteroid discovered in Aug., 1898. It completes its orbit in 642
days, and has a mean distance from the sun of 135-1/2 million miles, or 6
million less than that of Mars, and was the first to be discovered of the
class of minor planets which come within the orbit of Mars. It can approach
at times to 13-1/2 million miles from the earth. It is supposed to have a
diameter of 20 miles or less.
EROSION THEORY, in geology, the theory, now held by all geologists, that
valleys are, in the great majority of cases, due to the wearing influences
of subaerial agents, such as rivers and glaciers, as opposed to the theory
which regards them as the result of fissures in the earth's crusts produced
by strains during its upheaval.
EROT'IC (from the Gr. _er[=o]s_, love), relating to love.--_Erotic poetry_,
amatory poetry.--The name of _erotic_ writers has been applied, in Greek
literature, particularly to a class of romance writers, and to the writers
of the _Milesian Tales_.
ERRAT'ICS, OR ERRATIC BLOCKS, in geology, boulders or large masses of
angular rock which have been transported to a distance from their original
positions by the action of ice during a glacial period. Thus on the slopes
of the Jura Mountains immense blocks of granite are found which have
travelled 60 miles from their original situation. Similarly, masses of
Scottish and Lake-district granites and of Welsh rocks (some of which weigh
several tons) occur not uncommonly in the surface soil of the Midland
counties of England.
ERROMAN'GO, OR ERROMAN'GA, one of the more important of the New Hebrides
Islands, with an area of about 400 sq. miles, hilly and not very fertile,
but with spots well cultivated. Several missionaries have been murdered by
the natives--including the missionary John Williams--but perhaps half of
the 2500 natives are now Christians.
ERRORS OF OBSERVATION. In scientific measurements, objects and instruments
alike are so constituted that numerical results can only be approximate. We
have to find the value of some quantity, not exactly, but to so many
significant figures. Even so, when a number of measurements are made of the
same quantity, it regularly happens that different values are obtained, the
difference between a value as obtained and the true value being called an
_error of observation_. It remains to combine the various measurements in
such a way as to obtain the best result which they are capable of yielding.
The usual method is to take the arithmetic mean of the values obtained as
the correct value. It is also customary in careful work to state the
average deviation of the observed values from the mean. For example,
various experimenters found the following numbers for the charge on an
electron: 4.67, 4.77, 4.65, 4.79, 4.69. Here the _mean_ is 4.71, and the
average _deviation_ from the mean, taken without regard to algebraic sign,
is .05. The final result is stated as 4.71 +/- .05. The ambiguous term +/-
.05 is sometimes called the probable error. The smaller the probable error,
the more reliable is the mean result.
A case of much practical importance occurs when the results obtained by two
distinct methods differ by greater amounts than can be accounted for by the
uncertainty of either result. In this case there must be a _constant error_
present in at least one of the sets of measurements. Recognition of a
constant error has occasionally led to an important discovery; for
instance, the hint which led to the detection of argon in the atmosphere
came from the observed discrepancy in the densities of atmospheric nitrogen
and nitrogen from ammonia.
In many measurements what is sought is not the value of a single quantity,
but the relation between the values of two variable quantities. In such
cases graphical methods are of great service. Corresponding values of the
two variables are found and plotted; and a smooth curve, or it may be a
straight line, is drawn to lie as evenly as possible among the plotted
points. Where great accuracy is wanted, analytical methods are also
available. See _Squares, Method of Least; Probability_.
ERSCH (ersh), John Samuel, German bibliographer, born 1766, died 1828. He
was principal librarian and professor of geography and statistics at Halle.
Among his publications are: a _Dictionary of French Writers_; a _Manual of
German Literature_; and, in connection with Gruber, the _Universal
Encyclopaedia of Arts and Sciences_.
ERS'KINE, Ebenezer, the founder of the Secession Church in Scotland, born
1680, died 1754. He studied at Edinburgh, and was ordained minister of
Portmoak, in Fife, in 1703, in which situation he continued for
twenty-eight years, when he removed to Stirling. His attitude towards
patronage and other abuses in the Church led to his being deposed, when, in
conjunction with his brother and others, he founded the Secession Church.
Erskine was the leader of the Burghers (q.v.). He is the author of several
volumes of sermons.
ERSKINE, The Hon. Henry, Scottish barrister, was the third son of Henry
David, tenth Earl of Buchan: born at Edinburgh 1746, died 1817. After
studying at the Universities of St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, he
adopted the legal profession, and in 1768 was called to the Bar. He twice
held the office of Lord-Advocate, was for long the leader of the Scottish
Bar, and held a high reputation as a wit.
ERSKINE, John, of Carnock, afterwards of Cardross, Scottish jurist, born
1695, died 1768. He was called to the Scottish Bar in 1719, and was author
of _Principles of the Law of Scotland_, and the _Institutes of the Law of
Scotland_, both works of authority.
ERSKINE, Ralph, brother of Ebenezer Erskine, born 1685, died 1752. He was
ordained to the parish of Dunfermline in 1711, and in 1737 joined his
brother, who had seceded from the Established Church. His _Gospel Sonnets_
and other religious works were once very popular.
ERSKINE, Thomas, Lord Erskine, Scottish lawyer, the youngest son of the
tenth Earl of Buchan, was born in 1750, and died in 1823. He was educated
partly at the High School of Edinburgh, and partly at the University of St.
Andrews. After serving four years in the navy and seven in the army, he
commenced the study of law, and in 1778 both took his degree at Cambridge
and was called to the Bar. His success was immediate. In May, 1783, he took
silk, and the same year was elected member of Parliament for Portsmouth, a
seat he held (except from 1784-90, when he had no seat) till 1806, when he
was raised to the peerage. The rights of juries he firmly maintained on all
occasions, but particularly in the celebrated trial of the Dean of St.
Asaph for libel. In 1789 he defended Stockdale, a bookseller, for
publishing what was charged as a libellous pamphlet in favour of Warren
Hastings. In 1792, being employed to defend Thomas Paine, when prosecuted
for the second part of his work _The Rights of Man_, he declared that,
waiving all personal convictions, he deemed it right, as an English
advocate, to obey the call: by the maintenance of which principle he lost
his office of Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales. In the trials of
Hardy, Tooke, and others for high treason in 1794, which lasted for several
weeks, the ability displayed by Erskine was acknowledged by all parties. He
was a warm partisan of Fox, and a strenuous opposer of the war with France.
In 1802 the Prince of Wales not only restored him to his office of
Attorney-General, but made him Keeper of Seals for the Duchy of Cornwall.
On the death of Pitt, in 1806, Erskine was created a peer, and raised to
the dignity of Lord Chancellor. During his short tenure of office the Bill
for the abolition of slavery was passed. After he retired with the usual
pension, he took little part in politics.
ERUPTIVE ROCKS, in geology, those which, as lavas, have broken through
other rocks while in a molten state, and become eruptive at the surface.
ERVUM. See _Lentil_.
ERYNGIUM, a genus of plants belonging to the nat. ord. Umbelliferae. There
are upwards of 100 species found in temperate and sub-tropical climates,
but chiefly in South America. _E. marit[)i]mum_, also called sea-holly, is
the only truly native British species. It frequents sandy shores, and is
distinguished by its rigid, spiny, glaucous, veined leaves, and its dense
heads of blue flowers. The roots are sometimes candied, and are reputed to
be stimulating and restorative, as well as to have aphrodisiac properties.
It is mentioned by Shakespeare, _Merry Wives_, v. 5, 23, as an aphrodisiac.
ERYSIP'ELAS, ROSE, or ST. ANTHONY'S FIRE, is a contagious disease of the
skin due to infection by a germ, the Streptococcus, and accompanied by
severe general disturbance. Cold, damp weather favours its appearance. It
rarely affects those under fifteen years, and is commoner in women than
men. The disease is characterized by sudden onset, with shivering,
headache, vomiting, and occasionally sore throat, followed by the
appearance of the typical erysipelatous flush on the skin of the affected
part, most usually the face. This part becomes deep red, and is much
swollen, with a glossy, tender surface. It is definitely raised, and has a
spreading edge merging into the normal parts around. In extreme cases there
is marked disfigurement. Local treatment to allay pain and prevent
spreading is by the application of lotions and ointments, and general
treatment in the form of stimulating foods is given to maintain strength.
Serum treatment has been used, but so far there have been very conflicting
results. The disease is not so common nor so fatal as previously.
ERYSIPHA'LES, an important family of ascomycetous Fungi, distinguished by
the presence of typical sexual organs and closed ascus-fruits
(_cleistocarps_) which bear characteristic appendages concerned with
dispersal; also by the fact that each segment of the septate mycelium
contains a single nucleus. They are all parasites, appearing on leaves,
stems, or fruits as white patches of mycelium ('mildew'). During summer
innumerable conidia are produced, which spread the disease rapidly; in
autumn the black ascus-fruits develop and carry the fungus through the
winter. Erysiphales are responsible for many important plant-diseases, e.g.
the mildew of hops (_Sphaerotheca Castagnei_), vine (_Uncinula spiralis_),
wheat (_Erysiphe communis_), and the American gooseberry mildew
(_Sphaerotheca Mors-uvae_), a 'notifiable' disease in Britain.
ERYTHE'MA is redness of the skin, and in this sense is applied to a number
of general conditions which bring about redness of the skin, e.g. abscess,
oedema, scarlet fever, &c. Of late, in medicine, its use has been more
restricted, and refers only to an inflammation of part of the skin. This
disease is characterized by redness and tenderness, and may become
sufficiently severe to lead to the production of bullae in the centre of
the affected part. Dermatologists recognize various types of erythema.
ERYTHRAE'AN SEA, in ancient geography, a name given to what is now called
the Indian Ocean, but including the Persian and Arabian Gulfs. The name was
eventually restricted to the Arabian Gulf.
ERYTHRI'NA. See _Coral Tree_.
ERYTHRO'NIUM. See _Dog's Tooth Violet_.
ERYTHROPHLOE'UM, a genus of tropical trees, nat. ord. Leguminosae,
containing three species, two found in Africa and the third in Australia.
The _E. guineense_ of Guinea has a poisonous juice, which is used by the
natives as a test of innocence and guilt, hence the name 'ordeal tree'.
ERYX, an ancient city and a mountain in the west of Sicily, about 2 miles
from the sea-coast. The mountain, now Monte San Giuliano, rises direct from
the plain to a height of 2184 feet. On the summit anciently stood a
celebrated temple of Venus. All traces of the ancient town of Eryx have now
disappeared, and its site is occupied by the modern town of San Giuliano.
ERZBERGER, Matthias, German politician, born at Buttenhausen in 1875.
Educated at Freiburg, where he studied political economy, he took an
interest in 1897 in the Christian Socialist movement, and entered the
Reichstag as a member of the Centre or Catholic party. He became prominent
in 1917, when he accused the German Government of misrepresenting the
military situation, and urged for a statement of Germany's peace aims.
Secretary of State in 1918, he became Minister of Finance in 1919 in
Bauer's Cabinet, but was compelled to resign in 1920. He was murdered on
26th Aug., 1921, by two young men of the militarist party.
ERZERUM, ERZEROUM, or ERZEROOM (er'ze-r[:o]m), a city of Armenia, formerly
the capital of a Turkish vilayet with an area of 27,000 sq. miles, and a
pop. of 582,745. The town is about 6000 feet above sea-level, and forms an
important strategical centre. It is irregularly built, its narrow dirty
streets, flanked by mean houses, being crowded together in the small space
enclosed by its lofty walls. The Moslem element prevails largely over the
Christian, although it is the metropolis of the Armenian Church in union
with Rome. In addition to important manufactures, especially in copper and
iron, it carries on an extensive trade, and is a chief halting-place for
Persian pilgrims on their way to Mecca. The town was captured by the
Russians in Feb., 1916, and recaptured by the Turks in March, 1918. Pop.
(before the European War), about 80,000.
ERZGEBIRGE (erts'ge-bir-ge; 'Ore Mountains'), a chain of European mountains
forming a natural boundary between Saxony and Bohemia, nearly 120 miles in
length and 25 miles broad. The highest summits, which are on the side of
Saxony, rise to 3800 or 3900 feet. The mountains are rich in silver, iron,
copper, lead, cobalt, and arsenic.
ESARHAD'DON (Assyr. _Asur-akhi-iddina_, Asur has given a brother), the son
of Sennacherib, and one of the most powerful of all the Assyrian monarchs.
He extended the empire on all sides, and is the only Assyrian monarch who
actually reigned at Babylon. He died about 667 B.C.
E'SAU, the eldest son of Isaac, and twin-brother of Jacob. His name (which
signifies rough, hairy) was due to his singular appearance at birth, being
"red, and all over like an hairy garment". The story of his losing the
paternal blessing through the craft of Rebekah and Jacob, with other facts,
is told in _Genesis_, xxvii. He was the progenitor of the Edomites.
ESBJERG, a Danish seaport in South-West Jutland, opposite the Island of
Fan[:o]. Pop. 18,000.
ESCALLONIA, a genus of saxifragaceous shrubs and trees, natives chiefly of
the Andes. _E. rubra_ is a handsome evergreen shrub, with shiny, resinous,
aromatic leaves, and fine pink flowers; it is hardy in many parts of
Britain, and makes an excellent hedge, especially near the sea, where it
bears the salt-laden winds without damage.
[Illustration: 1, Dead-beat or repose escapement. The pallets are
concentric with the axis _a_, and thus while a tooth is against the pallet
the wheel is stationary.
2, Recoil escapement. The pallets are not concentric to the axis _a_, and
therefore a slight recoil of the wheel takes place after the escape of a
tooth (whence the name escapement). When the pallets leave a tooth, the
teeth slide along their surfaces, giving an impulse to the pendulum.
Lettering for 1 and 2: The anchor H L K is made to oscillate on the axis
_a_ by the pendulum. The teeth of the escapement-wheel A come alternately
against the outer surface of the pallet K and the inner surface of the
pallet H.
3, Chronometer escapement. As the balance rotates in the direction of the
arrow, the tooth V presses the spring against the lever, thus pressing
aside the lever and removing the detent from the tooth of the wheel. As the
balance returns, V presses aside and passes the spring without moving the
lever, which then rests against the stop E.]
ESCAPE'MENT, the general contrivance in a timepiece by which the pressure
of the wheels (which move always in one direction) and the vibratory motion
of the pendulum or balance-wheel are accommodated the one to the other. By
this contrivance the wheelwork is made to communicate an impulse to the
regulating power (which in a clock is the pendulum and in a watch the
balance-wheel), so as to restore to it the small portion of force which it
loses in every vibration, in consequence of friction and the resistance of
the air. The leading requisite of a good escapement is that the impulse
communicated to the pendulum or balance-wheel shall be invariable,
notwithstanding any irregularity or foulness in the train of wheels.
Various kinds of escapements have been contrived, some of which are shown
in the accompanying figure. See _Clock_; _Watch_.
ES'CAR, or ESKER, a geological formation in the superficial drift,
generally consisting of a long linear ridge of sand and gravel, sometimes
including blocks of considerable size. The materials are derived from the
waste of till or boulder-clay, and their arrangement took place probably in
water flowing in channels beneath ice-sheets, the escar becoming exposed as
the ice finally melted away. In Sweden escars have been formed, season by
season, at the mouths of glacier-tunnels as the ice shrank back, the
ice-front opening on a lake. See _Kames_.
ESCHAR (es'k[.a]r), a slough or portion of dead or disorganized tissue. The
name is commonly applied to the crust or scab occasioned on the skin by
burns or caustic applications.
ESCHATOL'OGY (es-ka-; Gr. _eschatos_, last, and _logia_, account), in
theology, the 'doctrine respecting the last things', which treats of the
millennium, the second advent of Christ, the resurrection, judgment,
conflagration of the world, and the final state of the dead.
ESCHEAT (es-ch[=e]t'), in law, a species of reversion arising from default
of heirs. Lands, if freehold, escheat to the king or other lord of the
manor; if copyhold, to the lord of the manor. By modern legislation there
can be no escheat on failure of the whole blood wherever there are persons
of the half-blood capable of inheriting.
ESCHENBACH (esh'en-b[.a]_h_), Wolfram von, German mediaeval poet or
minnesinger, flourished in the first half of the thirteenth century. The
most esteemed of his numerous works are: _The Parzival_ (printed 1477);
_The Titurel_, or _The Guardian of the Graal_ (printed 1477); and _The
Willehalm_, a poem on the deeds of William of Orange, a contemporary of
Charlemagne.
ESCHSCHOLTZIA (esh-sholt'si-a), a small genus of glabrous whitish plants,
of the poppy order, natives of California and the neighbouring regions.
They have divided leaves, and yellow peduncled flowers. The sepals cohere
and fall off as the flower opens in the form of a cap. They are now common
in the gardens of Great Britain.
ESCHWEGE (esh'v[=a]-ge), a town of Prussia, province of Hesse-Nassau, on
the Werra, 26 miles E.S.E. of Cassel. Pop. 12,540.
ESCHWEILER (esh'v[=i]-l[.e]r), a town of Prussia, in the province of
Rheinland, 9 miles E.N.E. of Aix-la-Chapelle, on the Inde. It is the seat
of large and varied manufacturing industries, especially in iron, copper,
and zinc, and has coal-mines. Pop. 24,718.
ESCOBAR Y MENDOZA (es-ko-b[:a]r' [=e] men-_d_o'-th[.a]), Antonio, a Spanish
casuist and Jesuit, born 1589, died 1669. His principal works are: _Summula
Casuum Conscientiae_, and several scriptural commentaries. His casuistry
was severely criticized by Pascal in his _Lettres Provinciales_, and the
extreme laxity of his moral principles was ridiculed by Boileau,
Moli[`e]re, and La Fontaine.
ESCROW', a legal writing delivered to a third person to be delivered by him
to the person whom it purports to benefit, when some condition is
performed. Upon the performance of this condition it becomes an absolute
deed, but if the condition be not performed, it remains an _escrow_ or
scroll.
ESCU'RIAL (Sp. _el Escorial_), a remarkable building in Spain, comprising
at once a palace, a convent, a church, and a mausoleum. It is distant from
Madrid about 24 miles in a north-westerly direction, and situated on the
acclivity of the Sierra Guadarrama, the range of mountains which divides
New from Old Castile. It was built by Philip II, and dedicated to St.
Lawrence, in commemoration of the victory of St. Quentin, fought on the
festival of the saint in 1557. It is popularly considered to be built on
the plan of a gridiron, from the fact that St. Lawrence is said to have
been broiled alive on a sort of large gridiron. The building is a
rectangular parallelogram measuring 744 feet in length by 580 feet in
breadth. The interior is divided into courts, formerly inhabited by monks
and ecclesiastics, while a projection 460 feet in length (the handle of the
gridiron) contains the royal palace. It was begun in 1563 and finished in
1584. It is of moderate height, and its innumerable windows (said to be
11,000) give it (apart from the church) somewhat the aspect of a large mill
or barracks. The church is the finest portion of the whole building. The
dome is 60 feet in diameter, and its height at the centre is about 320
feet. Under it is the Pantheon or family vault of the Spanish sovereigns.
The library contains a valuable collection, including a rich store of
Arabic MSS. The Escurial was partly burned in 1671, when many MSS. were
destroyed, and was pillaged by the French in 1808 and 1813. It was restored
by Ferdinand VII, but the monks, with their revenues which supported it,
have long since disappeared. In 1872 it was fired by lightning, and
suffered serious damage.--Cf. A. F. Calvert, _The Escorial_.
ESDRAE'LON, PLAIN OF, a fertile plain in Northern Palestine, between the
Mediterranean and the Jordan, drained by the River Kishon, and now
traversed by the railway from Haifa to Damascus. This plain is celebrated
for four battles having been fought there. Sisera was defeated there;
Gideon and his three hundred won a battle there; Saul and Jonathan fought
there; and it was there that Josiah was killed, In the centre of the plain
is Megiddo (q.v.), identified with Armageddon (_Rev._ XVI, 16). Allenby won
a great victory here in Sept., 1918.
ESDRAS, BOOKS OF, two apocryphal books, which, in the _Vulgate_ and other
editions, are incorporated with the canonical books of Scripture. In the
_Vulgate_ the canonical books of _Ezra_ and _Nehemiah_ are called the first
and second, and the apocryphal books the third and fourth books of
_Esdras_. The _Geneva Bible_ (1560) first adopted the present nomenclature,
calling the two apocryphal books first and second _Esdras_. The subject of
the first book of Esdras is the same as that of _Ezra_ and _Nehemiah_, and
in general it appears to be copied from the canonical Scriptures. The
second book of _Esdras_ is supposed to have been either of much later date
or to have been interpolated by Christian writers.
E'SERIN, or PHYSOSTIGMIN, a drug obtained from Calabar-bean, the active
principle of this plant, used as a remedy in cases of tetanus (lockjaw). A
solution of eserin dropped in the eye causes contraction of the pupil, and
hence its use in some eye ailments, as, for instance, glaucoma.
ESHER, a village and parish of England, north-west Surrey. Here is
Claremont, built by Sir John Vanbrugh, in 1816 settled upon Princess
Charlotte and her husband, afterwards the residence of the Orleans family
when expelled from France. The so-called 'Wolsey's Tower' is the gatehouse
of a palace built by William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester. Pop. 2609.
ESK (Celtic for water), the name of two small rivers in England--one in
Cumberland and the other in Yorkshire; and of several in Scotland, the
chief being the Esk in Dumfriesshire, the North Esk and South Esk in
Forfarshire, and the North Esk and South Esk in Edinburghshire.
ESKI-JUMNA, a town of Bulgaria, on the northern slope of the Binar-Dagh.
Pop. 10,000.
ESKILSTU'NA, a town of Sweden, on a river of the same name connecting Lake
Maelar with Lake Hjelmar, with ironworks and manufactures of steel goods
and weapons. It is named after St. Eskil, the English apostle of
Christianity in S[:o]dermanland. Pop. 28,500.
ES'KIMOS. See _Esquimaux_.
ESKI-SAGRA, or STARA-ZAGORA, a town of Bulgaria, on the south slope of the
Balkans, 50 miles N.E. of Philippopolis. In its vicinity are extensive
rose-gardens, orchards, and mineral springs. Pop. 28,480.
ESKI-SHEHR, a town of Asia Minor, 90 miles S.E. of the Sea of Marmora, with
warm baths and manufactures of meerschaum pipes. Fighting took place near
the town in 1921, between the Greeks and Turks. Pop. 20,000.
ESMARCH (es'm[:a]r_h_), Johannes Friedrich August von, German surgeon, born
in 1823, died in 1908. He held high official positions during the
Schleswig-Holstein and Franco-German Wars, and was a great authority on
gunshot wounds. He also originated valuable improvements in
barrack-hospitals and ambulances, introduced the antiseptic treatment into
Germany, and was the author of several surgical works.
ES'NEH, a town of Upper Egypt, on the left bank of the Nile, 28 miles
S.S.W. of Thebes, on the site of the ancient Latopolis, now easily reached
by railway and river. Among the ruins there is a beautiful portico of
twenty-four lofty and massive columns, belonging to a temple of Kneph (the
only portion of the temple cleared out), and erected in the Ptolemaic and
Roman period, with a zodiac on the ceiling. Esneh has a caravan trade,
manufactures cottons and pottery, and is very healthy. There is an
irrigation barrage here. Pop. 15,800.
ESOC'IDAE, the family of fishes to which the true pike (_Esox lucius_)
belongs, as also the much larger maskinongy (_E. nobilior_) of America.
ESPAL'IER, in gardening, a sort of trelliswork on which the branches of
fruit trees or bushes are extended horizontally, with the object of
securing for the plant a freer circulation of air as well as a full
exposure to the sun. Trees thus trained are not subjected to such marked
nor so rapid variations of temperature as wall trees.
ESPARTERO (es-p[.a]r-t[=a]'r[=o]), Baldomero, Duke of Vittoria, a Spanish
statesman, born 1792, died 1879. The son of a wheelwright, he was educated
for the priesthood, but joined the army as a volunteer in 1808. He took a
leading part in the conflict with the Carlists, and was one of the most
prominent men in Spain during several decades of the nineteenth century. He
was regent of the kingdom from 1841 to 1843, and again head of the
Government from 1854 to 1856. He was exiled to England for several years
(1843-7). In 1870 his name was vaguely put forward in the Cortes as a
candidate for the throne, but the proposal was not supported with any
enthusiasm, and the closing years of his life were spent in retirement.
[Illustration: Esparto or Alfa.]
ESPAR'TO, or ALFA, a plant growing in Spain and North Africa, long applied
to the manufacture of cordage and matting, and also extensively used for
paper-making. This plant, called by botanists _Stipa_ or _Macrochl[=o]a
tenacissima_, is a species of grass 2 to 4 feet high, covering large tracts
in its native regions, and also cultivated, especially in Spain.
ESPERANTO, an artificial language for international use invented by Dr.
Zamenhof of Warsaw, who first published an account of it in 1887. The
language was afterwards taken up for practical purposes in many countries,
its use being promoted by special societies and periodicals. Its structure
is so simple that the whole grammar can be completely mastered in an hour.
There are no exceptions to the rules, perfect regularity being a leading
feature of the language. The essential roots number only some 900,
including grammatical inflexions, prefixes, and suffixes, and these are
chosen from the principal European languages in such a way as to make their
mastery easy to any person of ordinary education. The alphabet consists of
twenty-eight letters, each with an invariable sound. There are no silent
letters. The accent is always on the penultimate syllable. All nouns end in
_-o_ in the singular, and all adjectives in _-a_. The plural of these is
formed by adding _-j_ (pronounced _y_). All derived adverbs end in _-e_.
The only case inflexion is _-n_ for the objective. The verbal endings are:
_-i_ for the infinitive; _-as_, _-is_, _-os_ for the present, past, and
future tenses respectively; _-us_ for the conditional; _-u_ for the
imperative; _-anta_, _-inta_, _-onta_ for the present, past, and future
participles active respectively; _-ata_, _-ita_, _-ota_ for the present,
past, and future participles passive respectively. The definite article is
_la_ in all cases and numbers, and there is no indefinite article. An
ingenious system of prefixes and suffixes enables all shades of meaning to
be expressed. Thus: _bona_, good, _malbona_, evil; _patro_, father,
_patrino_, mother; _gepatroj_, parents; _kudri_, to sew, _kudrilo_, needle;
_arbo_, tree, _arbaro_, forest; _bela_, beautiful, _beleco_, beauty;
_morti_, to die, _mortigi_, to kill. The following is the Lord's Prayer in
Esperanto: Patro Nia, kiu estas en la cielo, sankta estu Via nomo. Venu
regeco Via. Estu farata volo Via, kiel en la cielo, tiel anka[)u] sur la
tero. Panon nian ciutagan donu al ni hodia[)u], kaj pardonu al ni
[^s]uldojn niajn, kiel ni anka[)u] pardonas al niaj [^s]uldantoj. Ne
konduku nin en tenton; sed liberigu nin de la malbono: car Via estas la
regado, la forto, kaj la gloro eterne. Amen! The British Esperanto
Association was founded in the autumn of 1904; its official organ is _The
British Esperantist_. International Esperanto congresses have been held
since 1905, the last in 1920 at the Hague.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. C. O'Connor,
_Esperanto: the Student's Complete Text-Book_ (revised by Dr. Zamenhof);
Underhill, _Esperanto and its Availability for Scientific Writings_.
ESPIONAGE (from the French word _espion_, a spy) is the acquirement of
information by secret methods and by special agents, as opposed to its
acquirement openly by combatants in the ordinary course of military
operations. Espionage is recognized by international law under the Hague
Convention, Article 24 of the Annexe to which reads as follows: "Ruses of
war and the _employment of measures necessary for obtaining information_
about the enemy and the country are considered permissible". The right
given by this rule does not, however, extend to the employment of force to
extract information from enemy subjects as to their own armies, so that it
follows that methods of espionage must be of a persuasive, and, so to
speak, peaceful nature.
Espionage is carried on both in peace and war, but the conditions under
which secret service agents work differ to a very marked extent according
to the state of affairs between the two countries. In peace-time, though
many countries maintain secret service agents in other states, yet these
same agents can expect no assistance from their Governments in the event of
their being detected. In this case it is a diplomatic fiction that nothing
is known of them or of the reasons for their activities. The agent,
therefore, in consideration of a sufficient allowance, takes the risk of a
lengthy term of imprisonment if he is so unfortunate as to be found out.
In time of war the condition of non-interference naturally exists as a
matter of course, and the secret service agent or spy is liable to the
death penalty if discovered, and the fact that he has or has not obtained
and transmitted information does not affect the case. In time of peace
every nation of any importance maintains representatives in other states.
Among the recognized duties of these representatives is the obtaining and
transmitting of information about naval and military matters which may be
of interest to their Governments. This is not regarded as espionage
provided the information is obtained by the representative in his official
capacity; it becomes so when resort is had to disguise or dissimulation,
and, in fact, dissimulation is the essence of the offence. It follows,
therefore, that a spy--one who practises espionage--must act in a
clandestine manner in order to bring himself within the technical
definition of the offence (by international law).
The characteristics of the act of spying are laid down in Article 29 of the
Hague Convention, and the definition there given is as follows: "A person
can only be considered a spy when, acting clandestinely or on false
pretences, he obtains or endeavours to obtain information in the zone of
operations of a belligerent, with the intention of communicating it to the
hostile party...".
From this definition it appears that action in the 'zone of operations' is
a necessary concomitant of the offence, and that, therefore, persons
operating outside that zone cannot technically be charged with espionage;
and to a certain extent this is so. A person may be domiciled in a
belligerent country, and may, while pursuing his ordinary vocation, collect
and transmit openly information of value to his own country; in the absence
of dissimulation, such a person could not be charged with espionage, though
he could be with war-treason. As, by international law, war-treason is
punishable by death, the result is the same as if all the characteristics
of spying had been present.
Espionage has been brought to a fine art in many countries, and complex
organizations for its practice exist. Information may conceivably be
collected with comparative ease by trained agents, but it is when it comes
to disposing of that information that the troubles of the secret service
agent begin. A poison requires an antidote, and the system of
counter-espionage to a great extent provides this antidote. In accordance
with this system, steps are taken to mark down and know all secret-service
agents engaged in espionage work in the country concerned; their operations
are then followed and, to a certain extent, controlled till such time as
the psychological moment arrives when all, including the master-brain, are
drawn into the net and disposed of.
In a military sense a spy means a man, whether soldier or civilian, who
penetrates in disguise behind the enemy lines and brings back information
about his dispositions. By the customs of war the penalty inflicted on a
spy caught in the act is death after trial; but should a man known to have
acted as a spy on some former occasion be subsequently captured in the
course of military operations, he cannot be punished for his former act,
and must be treated as a prisoner of war.
The following examples may serve to show what can be considered spying and
what cannot. 'A', a soldier, in presence of the enemy, volunteers to obtain
exact information as to the strength of a certain hostile post. To this end
he, wearing his uniform and carrying a weapon of some kind, approaches the
post by stealth, and secretes himself in a convenient place for seeing and
hearing. If he is discovered, and attempts to escape, he may be shot in the
process; but if he is captured, he must be treated as a prisoner of war and
not as a spy. 'B', another soldier, speaking the enemy language, disguises
himself as an officer of the enemy forces, and in this disguise penetrates
behind the lines and mixes with the enemy troops. On discovery and capture
he may be tried as a spy and shot.
In the first case 'A' was acting as a combatant in the ordinary course of
military operations, and no disguise was present; in the second case 'B'
was acting clandestinely and under false pretences, i.e. was masquerading
as an officer of the enemy forces, and the necessary dissimulation was
present.
ESPIR'ITO-SANTO ('Holy Spirit'), one of the maritime states of Brazil,
bounded north by Bahia, south by Rio-de-Janeiro; length, about 260 miles;
breadth, about 120 miles; area, 17,310 sq. miles. Pop. 434,500.
ESPIR'ITU-SANTO, an island of the Pacific, the largest of the New Hebrides,
with some 20,000 inhabitants.
ESPRITS FORTS (FR., bold spirits), a term applied to the French school of
freethinkers, which included Voltaire, Diderot, Helvetius, D'Alembert, and
others. The Esprits Forts, are, however, distinguished from the English
free-thinkers. Whilst the latter were only aiming at freedom of religious
thought, the Esprits Forts were more radical and revolutionary, seeking to
bring about the abolition of the existing order and the substitution of a
system based upon pure reason and the supremacy of intellect.
ESQUIMAULT (es-kw[=i]'m[.a]lt), a harbour and naval station on the
south-east coast of Vancouver Island, about 3 miles from Victoria, the
capital of British Columbia. The harbour is almost landlocked, and, with
the 'Royal Roads' outside, is capable of giving safe anchorage to a fleet
of vessels of the largest size. It is the station of H.M. ships on the
Pacific coast, is a fortified naval arsenal, and since 1906 has been
garrisoned by Canadian troops.
ESQUIMAUX (es'ki-m[=o]z), or ESKIMOS, a race inhabiting the Arctic coasts
of North America, from Greenland to Behring's Strait, and extending into
Asia. They call themselves _Innuit_, 'the people', 'men'; their other name
is from an Algonquin word signifying eaters of raw flesh, and seems to have
been given them first by the Jesuit Father Biard in 1611. They consist of
three principal stocks--the Greenlanders; the Esquimaux proper, in
Labrador; and the Western Esquimaux, found along Hudson's Bay, the west
side of Baffin's Bay, the polar shores as far as the mouths of the
Coppermine and Mackenzie Rivers, and both on the American and Asiatic sides
of Behring's Strait. The entire Eskimo population is estimated at 27,000,
of which 15,600 live in North America and 11,000 in Greenland. Their
leading physical peculiarities are a stunted stature, flattened nose,
projecting cheek-bones, eyes often oblique, and yellow and brownish skin.
Seal-skins, reindeer and other furs are used as materials for dress,
according to the season, as well as skins of otters, foxes, and martens. In
summer they live in tents, covered with skins; in winter they may be said
to burrow beneath the snow. In Greenland houses built of stone and cemented
with turf are used as permanent habitations. Vegetation being extremely
stunted within the limits of their territories, their food consists of the
flesh of whales, seals, and walruses, often eaten raw; and they show
remarkable skill in fishing and hunting. Their weapons are bows and arrows,
spears or lances, generally pointed with bone, but sometimes with metal.
Their only domestic animal is the Esquimaux dog. In intellect they are by
no means deficient; in manners they are kind and hospitable. Their
religious ideas appear scanty, but success has attended the labours of the
Danish missionaries in teaching them the Christian religion.--BIBLIOGRAPHY:
H. Rink, _Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo_; V. Stefansson, _My Life with
the Eskimo_.
ESQUIMAUX DOG, or ESKIMO DOG, a breed of dogs extensively spread over the
northern regions of America and of Eastern Asia. It is rather larger than
the English pointer, but appears smaller on account of the shortness of its
legs. It has oblique eyes, an elongated muzzle, and a bushy tail, which
give it a wolfish appearance. The colour is generally a deep dun, obscurely
barred and patched with darker colour. It is the only beast of burden in
these latitudes, and with a team of such dogs attached to his sledge the
Eskimo will cover 60 miles a day for several successive days.
ES'QUIRE (O.Fr. _escuyer_, from Lat. _scutum_, a shield); originally, a
shield-bearer or armour-bearer; an attendant on a knight; hence in modern
times a title of dignity next in degree below a knight. In England this
title is properly given to the younger sons of noblemen, to officers of the
king's courts and of the household, to counsellors at law, justices of the
peace while in commission, sheriffs, gentlemen who have held commissions in
the army and navy, &c. It is usually given to all professional and literary
men, and nowadays, in the addresses of letters, _esquire_ may be put as a
complimentary adjunct to almost any person's name. In heraldry the helmet
of an esquire is represented sideways, with the vizor closed.
ESQUIROS (es-k[=e]-ros), Henri Alphonse, French poet, romancist, and
miscellaneous writer, born at Paris 1812, died at Versailles 1876. His
first work, a volume of poetry, _Les Hirondelles_, appeared in 1834. This
was followed by numerous romances, and a commentary on the life of Christ
(_L'['E]vangile du Peuple_), for which he was prosecuted and imprisoned. He
then published _Les Chants d'un Prisonnier_, poems written in prison; _Les
Vierges Folles_; _Les Vierges Sages_; _L'Histoire des Montagnards_. Having
to leave France in 1851, he resided for years in England, and wrote a
series of essays for the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ on English life and
character, which were translated under the title of _The English at Home_,
and were very popular. He also wrote a similar work on the Dutch. Other
works are: _Religious Life in England_, and _Charlotte Corday_.
ESSAD TOPTANI, PASHA, Albanian soldier and national leader, born at Tirana
in 1856. He was a descendant of the Toptani family who had ruled in Albania
in the fifteenth century. Trained for the army, he served in Macedonia and
Anatolia, and in 1897 was rewarded with the title of Pasha for his services
in the war against Greece. Abdul Hamid, however, who feared the power of
the Toptani family, had the brother of Essad Pasha murdered, and the latter
became the mortal enemy of the Sultan. He nevertheless accepted the rank of
brigadier-general, and commanded the local troops at Janina. In 1908 he
joined the Young Turks, and was one of the deputation which brought the
news of his deposition to the Sultan. He was in command of the troops at
Scutari, when the powers declared in favour of the autonomy of Albania in
1912. Essad Pasha had hoped to be chosen ruler of the new state of Albania
created by the Treaty of London, but as the Prince of Wied had been
appointed _mbret_, he accepted the office of Minister of War and of the
Interior. Suspected by the _mbret_, he was compelled to flee from Durazzo.
After the departure of the Prince of Wied, at the outbreak of the European
War, he returned to Durazzo, and was appointed by the Senate (on 5th Oct.,
1914) President of the Provisional Government. In spite of Austrian
advances he declared war on the Central Powers, and escaped when the
Austrians entered Albania. He rendered valuable services to the Allies at
Salonica, but the Italians, who saw in the Pasha an enemy to their own
views upon Albania, refused to grant him permission to return to his
country. Essad Pasha, therefore, remained in Paris, where he was
assassinated by an Albanian student named Averic Rustem on 13th June, 1920.
The assassin was acquitted by a French jury in December of the same year,
prominent Albanians having pleaded in favour of the murderer, and
maintained that the Pasha was an ambitious adventurer and a traitor to his
country.
ES'SAY, a composition in which something is attempted to be proved or
illustrated, usually shorter and less methodical and finished than a
systematic or formal treatise; so that it may be a short disquisition on a
subject of taste, philosophy, or common life. The essay was the invention
of Montaigne in the sixteenth century, and Francis Bacon was another
illustrious author who employed the literary form of the essay. Caution or
modesty has induced many writers of note to give the title of essay to
their most elaborate productions: thus we have Locke's _Essay on the Human
Understanding_. There is a class of English writers to whom the descriptive
term _essayist_ is applied, the most illustrious being Addison, Steele,
Charles Lamb, Hazlitt, De Quincey, Macaulay, Carlyle, Froude, Matthew
Arnold, R. L. Stevenson, and Austin Dobson.
ESSEN, a town of Rhenish Prussia, situated between the Ruhr and the
Emscher, 18 miles north-east of D[:u]sseldorf, founded in the ninth
century, and adorned with a fine church dating from 873. It increased with
great rapidity, and became celebrated for the steel and ironworks of Krupp,
the most extensive in Europe, employing till the end of the European War
over 27,000 workmen. This great establishment was started in 1827 with only
two workmen. In March and April, 1920, heavy fighting took place at Essen
between the Government and the Communist troops. Pop. (1910), 294,629.
ESSENES (es-s[=e]nz'), or ESSAEANS, a sect among the Jews, the origin of
which is unknown, as well as the etymology of their name. The word may be a
derivation from the Syr. _hasya_, the pious ones, or _[=a]sy[=a]_,
physician. The Essenes appear to have sprung up in the course of the
century preceding the Christian era, and disappeared on the dispersion of
the Jews after the siege of Jerusalem. The sect appears to have been an
outcome of Jewish mysticism and asceticism, which gradually assumed the
form of a distinct organization. They were remarkable for their strictness
and abstinence, and had a rule of life analogous to that of a monastic
order. Property was owned in common.
ESSENTIAL OILS. An essential oil is distinguished from a fatty oil by its
characteristic odour, and by being slightly soluble in water and more
volatile. Most of the essential oils are decomposed by alkali, but they do
not yield soaps as do the fatty oils. An essential oil usually contains one
chief ingredient, which may be a compound of carbon and hydrogen, e.g.
_turpentine_, in which the characteristic odour is due to _pinene_
(C_{10}H_{16}); or a compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, e.g. bitter
almond oil where the chief ingredient is _benzaldehyde_ (C_6H_5CHO); or
_cinnamon bark_, containing _cinnamic aldehyde_ (C_6H_5CH:CH.CHO). The
extraction of these oils from plants containing them is usually
accomplished by a process of distillation with water. In some cases this is
not practicable, as the oil may be decomposed by water, e.g. to obtain the
essential oil from violets the flowers are macerated with hot lard; the fat
absorbs the essential oil, which is then extracted from the lard by means
of alcohol. In other cases the oil is extracted by means of a solvent such
as petroleum spirit. Large quantities of essential oils are extracted
yearly for the preparation of perfumes, the preparation of various
flavourings (essences), and for use in the soap industry. Many essential
oils are now manufactured synthetically, e.g. oil of wintergreen owes its
fragrance to methyl salicylate, pineapple oil to ethylbutyrate, pear oil to
amylacetate.
ESSEQUIBO (es-se-k[=e]'b[=o]), a river of British Guiana, which flows into
the Atlantic by an estuary 20 miles in width after a course of about 450
miles. The district or division of Essequibo is well cultivated and
extremely fertile, producing coffee, cotton, cocoa, and sugar. It was the
subject of a discussion between the British and Venezuelan Governments,
settled by the Arbitration Treaty of 2nd Feb., 1897.
ESSEX, EARL OF. See _Cromwell, Thomas_.
ESSEX, ROBERT DEVEREUX, second Earl of, in the Devereux line, was born at
Netherwood, Herefordshire, in 1567. Having appeared at court, he soon
became a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, by whom he was kept in attendance
against his will during the defeat of the Armada. He served with more or
less distinction in expeditions to Portugal and France, the latter on
behalf of Henry of Navarre. In 1596 he was commander of the troops in an
expedition against Spain, and distinguished himself by the capture of
Cadiz. In an expedition next year he was less fortunate, and the queen,
with whom he was always quarrelling, received him coldly. Presuming on the
favour of Elizabeth, he behaved with rudeness to her at a Privy Council,
received a box on the ear, and was told to "go and be hanged". After some
months a reconciliation took place, and he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland (1599), which was then in a state of rebellion. He returned to
England in September, having been entirely unsuccessful in his government,
was made a prisoner in his own house, and foolishly tried to excite an
insurrection in London. After a skirmish with a party of soldiers he was
compelled to surrender, and sent to the Tower. Tried for treason on 19th
Feb., he was executed on 26th Feb., 1601.
ESSEX, a maritime county in the south-east of England, bounded by Suffolk,
the Thames, Hertford, and Middlesex; area, 979,532 acres. The surface is
generally level, except in the north-west, where it is undulating and
sometimes hilly. The soil is in general extremely fertile, and particularly
well adapted for the growth of wheat. Beans and pease also thrive
uncommonly well. The other principal productions are potatoes, barley,
oats, mangolds, turnips, tares, rape, mustard, and trefoil. The raising of
caraway, coriander, and teazel is almost peculiar to this county. It had
formerly a great extent of forest, the only survival of which is Epping
Forest. The principal rivers in the county are the Roding, Crouch, Chelmer,
Blackwater, and Colne. It has also the Thames, Lea, and Stour as boundary
rivers. On the coast are some valuable oyster-beds, the oysters from which
are exported in considerable quantities. The manufactures of the county are
not very extensive, the chief being crape, silks, and straw-plait. The
chief towns are: Chelmsford, the county town; West Ham, Colchester,
Southend, and Harwich. The county has eight parliamentary divisions, each
returning one member. Pop. 1,468,341 (1921).--Cf. _Victoria History of the
Counties of England_.
ESSLINGEN (es'ling-[.e]n), a town of Germany, in W[:u]rtemberg, on the
Neckar, 7 miles E.S.E. of Stuttgart. It is of Roman origin, was long an
imperial free town, has walls flanked with towers, a castle, and an ancient
Gothic church, dating from the thirteenth century, with a tower 230 feet
high. In 1488 the Swabian League was formed at Esslingen. It has
manufactures of machinery, articles of wood, cutlery, philosophical
instruments, and spinning and other mills. Pop. 32,364.
ESTABLISHED CHURCH, a Church having a form of doctrine and government
established by law in any country for the teaching of Christianity within
its boundaries, and usually endowed by the State. The upholders of the
establishment theory maintain that it is the duty of a State to provide for
the religious instruction of the people. On the other hand, it is argued
that the State has no right to endow or support any particular sect or
denomination, unless they assume that that denomination alone is possessed
of religious truth and worth. Regarding the established _Church of
England_, see _England_; for _Church of Scotland_, see _Scotland_.
ESTATE, the interest or quantity of interest a man has in lands, tenements,
or other effects. Estates are _real_ or _personal_. _Real estate_ comprises
lands, tenements, and hereditaments, held in freehold. _Personal estate_
comprises interests for terms of years in lands, tenements, and
hereditaments, and property of every other description. _Real_ estate
descends to heirs; _personal_ to executors or administrators. In ordinary
language, an estate is a piece of landed property, especially one of some
size. _Estate duty_, see _Death Duties_. In political history the term
estate is applied to a distinct order or class in society. The term
'fourth-estate' is often used to designate the Press.
ESTATES OF SCOTLAND, the name given to a body of similar constitution to
the English Parliament, but with important differences, the king himself,
as well as his officers, being responsible to the Estates for wrongs done.
They held the power of declaring war, or entering on a peace or treaty, and
with them rested the right of declaring, with or without the consent of the
king, resolutions of the assembly to be law. To prevent a Bill being
hurried through Parliament, it was submitted to and discussed by a
committee called the _Lords of the Articles_. If sanctioned by this
committee, the Bill was passed on to the whole House for approval. Another
committee appointed by the Estates was called the _Auditors of Complaints_,
whose duty was to hear appeals against the decisions of the king's judges,
and, if necessary, to reverse their sentences.
ESTATES OF THE REALM, in Britain, are the Lords Spiritual, the Lords
Temporal, and the Commons. From the circumstance that the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal meet in one House, and practically form one branch of the
legislature, the popular error has arisen that the sovereign forms one of
the three Estates of the Realm.
ESTE (es't[=a]), a town of North Italy, 16 miles S.W. of Padua. It has a
castle, the cradle of the Este family. It has also manufactures of silk
goods, earthenware, and majolica; and numerous silk-mills and whetstone
quarries. Pop. 11,704.
ESTE (es't[=a]), one of the most ancient and illustrious families of Italy.
In the eleventh century the House of Este became connected by marriage with
the German Welfs or Guelphs, and founded the German branch of the House of
Este, the Dukes of Brunswick and Hanover. The sovereigns of Ferrara and
Modena were of this family, several of them being famous as patrons of
letters. The lives of Boiardo, Ariosto, and Tasso were closely connected
with members of this House. The last male representative of the Estes died
in 1798. His daughter married a son of the German emperor Francis I, and
her grandson disappeared from the land of his fore-fathers at the
consummation of Italian unity in 1860.
ESTELLA (es-tel'y[.a]), a town of N.E. Spain, in Navarre, on the Ega, 24
miles south-west of Pampeluna. Pop. 5658.
ESTE'PA, a town of Southern Spain, province of Seville, 50 miles east by
south of Seville. It has a handsome Gothic church. Pop. 8234.
ESTEPO'NA, a seaport of Southern Spain, province of Malaga, 23 miles
north-east of Gibraltar. Pop. 9600.
ESTERHA'ZY, a family of Hungarian magnates whose authentic genealogy goes
back to the first half of the thirteenth century. They were zealous
partisans of the House of Habsburg, to whom, during the reigns of Frederick
II and Leopold I, they lent a powerful support. Among the more prominent
members of the family are: Paul IV, Prince Esterhazy, a general and
literary savant, 1635-1713. His grandson, Nicholas Joseph, a great patron
of arts and music, founder of the school in which Haydn and Pleyel, among
others, were formed, 1714-90. Nicholas, Prince Esterhazy, distinguished as
a field-marshal and foreign Ambassador, 1765-1833. Prince Paul Anthony, a
distinguished and able diplomatist, born 1786, died 1866; was successively
Austrian Ambassador at Dresden, Rome, and Britain. He was a supporter of
the national Hungarian movement.
ESTERS, or ETHEREAL SALTS, in chemistry, a general term for substances
formed by the union of an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water.
Thus ethyl acetate is formed from ethyl alcohol and acetic acid. Many of
them are volatile, pleasant-smelling substances.
ESTHER, a Jewess, who became the queen of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, and
whose story is told in the book of the Old Testament called by her name.
This book is supposed by some to be the composition of Mordecai himself,
the uncle of the heroine. Various opinions are held regarding the time and
truth of the story; but the feast of Purim, which commemorates the events
narrated, is still observed by the Jews during the month of Adar.
ESTHONIA, a new republic of North-Western Europe, formerly a dependency of
Imperial Russia, and one of the Baltic Provinces. It is situated south of
the Gulf of Finland, and is bounded by Russia, the Republic of Latvia, the
Gulf of Riga, and the Baltic. The Republic of Esthonia comprises the former
Russian government of Esthonia, the northern part of Livonia, and the
north-western portion of Pskov. The country is divided into nine districts.
It has an area of about 23,160 sq. miles, and a pop. of 1,750,000. It has
for the most part a flat or undulating surface. The whole of the north
side, however, rises considerably above the sea, and presents to it ranges
of cliffs. The Narva is the only river of any importance; but minor
streams, as well as small lakes, are very numerous. About a fourth of the
surface is covered with forests of pine, birch, and alder. The crops
include a little wheat, much barley and oats, and some flax, hops, and
tobacco. Cattle are reared, and active fisheries are carried on. The
peasantry are almost all of Finnish origin, and speak a Finnish dialect.
Five-sixths of the population are Lutherans. Elementary education is
compulsory, illiterates numbering about 3 per cent. There is a university
at Dorpat, now called Tartu, founded in 1632, and reopened as an Esthonian
university on 1st Dec., 1919. In the tenth and twelfth centuries Esthonia
belonged to Denmark; it was afterwards annexed by Sweden, and in 1710 was
seized by Russia. Esthonia is one of the new states formed in consequence
and as a result of the European War. On 24th Feb., 1918, Esthonia declared
her independence, and was recognized by Great Britain (3rd May, 1918),
France, Italy, Japan, Poland, and Sweden. On 31st Dec., 1919, Esthonia
concluded an armistice with the Bolshevik Government of Moscow, which
recognized the republic _de jure_. In 1921 the supreme power was vested in
a Constituent Assembly (elected 23rd April, 1919). Esthonia was admitted a
member of the League of Nations on 22nd Sept., 1921. Reval is the
capital.--Cf. M. Martna, _L'Esthonie_.
ESTON, a town of England, North Riding of Yorkshire, 4 miles S.E. of
Middlesbrough, with important steelworks and iron-mines. Pop. 30,634.
ESTOP'PEL (Fr. _['e]touper_; Lat. _stuppare_, to stuff with tow, to cram),
in law, anything done by a party himself, which puts a period to an action
by closing the ground of controversy. Estoppels are divided into three
classes: by Record; by Deed; and in Pais, or by Conduct.
ESTO'VERS (O.Fr. _estover_, need, necessity), in law, necessaries or
supplies. _Common of estovers_ is the liberty of taking the necessary wood
for a house or farm from another's estate.
ESTRAD'IOT, an Albanian dragoon or light-horseman, employed in the French
army in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They sometimes fought on
foot as well as on horseback.
ESTREMADU'RA, a western division of Spain, consisting of the provinces of
Badajoz and Caceres. It is fertile, but not cultivated to its full extent.
The Tagus and Guadiana intersect it east to west. Immense flocks of sheep
graze on the rich plains. The area is about 16,000 sq. miles, and the pop.
990,990.
ESTREMADURA, a maritime province of Portugal, divided by the Tagus into two
nearly equal parts, of which the northern is the more mountainous. Wines
and olives are the principal produce. The principal city is Lisbon. Area,
6937 sq. miles. Pop. 1,438,726.
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