ELEMI, an oleo-resin (Manilla elemi) obtained in the Philippine Islands,

probably from _Canarium commune_ (nat. ord. Burseraceae), which when

fresh and of good quality is a pale yellow granular substance, of

honey-like consistency, but which gradually hardens with age. It is

soluble in alcohol and ether, and has a spicy taste with a smell like

fennel. In the 17th and 18th centuries the term elemi usually denoted an

oleo-resin (American or Brazilian elemi) obtained from trees of the

genus _Icica_ in Brazil, and still earlier it meant oriental or African

elemi, derived from _Boswellia Frereana_, which flourishes in the

neighbourhood of Cape Gardafui. The word, like the older term _animi_,

appears to have been derived from _enhaemon_ (Gr. [Greek: enaimon]), the

name of a styptic medicine said by Pliny to contain tears exuded by the

olive tree of Arabia.

ELEPHANT, the designation of the two existing representatives of the

_Proboscidea_, a sub-order of ungulate mammals, and also extended to

include their more immediate extinct relatives. As the distinctive

characteristics of the sub-order, and also of the single existing genus

_Elephas_, are given in the article PROBOSCIDEA, it will suffice to

point out how the two existing species are distinguished from one

another.

The more specialized of the two species is the Indian or Asiatic

elephant, _Elephas maximus_, specially characterized by the extreme

complexity of the structure of its molar teeth, which are composed of a

great number of tall and thin plates of enamel and dentine, with the

intervals filled by cement (see PROBOSCIDEA, fig. 1). The average number

of plates of the six successive molar teeth may be expressed by the

"ridge-formula" 4, 8, 12, 12, 16, 24. The plates are compressed from

before backwards, the anterior and posterior surfaces (as seen in the

worn grinding face of the tooth) being nearly parallel. Ears of

moderate size. Upper margin of the end of the proboscis developed into a

distinct finger-like process, much longer than the lower margins, and

the whole trunk uniformly tapering and smooth. Five nails on the

fore-feet, and four (occasionally five) on the hind-feet.

The Asiatic elephant inhabits the forest-lands of India, Burma, the

Malay Peninsula, Cochin China, Ceylon and Sumatra. Elephants from the

last-named islands present some variations from those of the mainland,

and have been separated under the names of _E. zeylonicus_ and _E.

sumatranus_, but they are not more than local races, and the Ceylon

animal, which is generally tuskless, may be the typical _E. maximus_, in

which case the Indian race will be _E. maximus indicus_. The appearance

of the Asiatic elephant is familiar to all. In the wild state it is

gregarious, associating in herds of ten, twenty or more individuals,

and, though it may under certain circumstances become dangerous, it is

generally inoffensive and even timid, fond of shade and solitude and the

neighbourhood of water. The height of the male at the shoulder when full

grown is usually from 8 to 10 ft., occasionally as much as 11, and

possibly even more. The female is somewhat smaller.

[Illustration: FIG. 1. Asiatic Elephant (_Elephas maximus_).]

The following epitome of the habits of the Asiatic elephants is

extracted from _Great and Small Game of India and Tibet_, by R.

Lydekker:--

"The structure of the teeth is sufficient to indicate that the food

consists chiefly of grass, leaves, succulent shoots and fruits; and this

has been found by observation to be actually the case. In this respect

the Asiatic species differs very widely from its African relative, whose

nutriment is largely composed of boughs and roots. Another difference

between the two animals is to be found in the great intolerance of the

direct rays of the sun displayed by the Asiatic species, which never

voluntarily exposes itself to their influence. Consequently, during the

hot season in Upper India, and at all times except during the rains in

the more southern districts, elephants keep much to the denser parts of

the forests. In Southern India they delight in hill-forest, where the

undergrowth is largely formed of bamboo, the tender shoots of which form

a favourite delicacy; but during the rains they venture out to feed on

the open grass tracts. Water is everywhere essential to their

well-being; and no animals delight more thoroughly in a bath. Nor are

they afraid to venture out of their depth, being excellent swimmers, and

able, by means of their trunks, to breathe without difficulty when the

entire body is submerged. The herds, which are led by females, appear in

general to be family parties; and although commonly restricted to from

thirty to fifty, may occasionally include as many as one hundred head.

The old bulls are very generally solitary for a considerable portion of

the year, but return to the herds during the pairing season. Some

'rogue' elephants--_gunda_ of the natives--remain, however, permanently

separated from the rest of their kind. All such solitary bulls, as their

colloquial name indicates, are of a spiteful disposition; and it appears

that with the majority the inducement to live apart is due to their

partiality for cultivated crops, into which the more timid females are

afraid to venture. 'Must' elephants are males in a condition

of--probably sexual--excitement, when an abundant discharge of dark oily

matter exudes from two pores in the forehead. In addition to various

sounds produced at other times, an elephant when about to charge gives

vent to a shrill loud 'trumpet'; and on such occasions rushes on its

adversary with its trunk safely rolled up out of danger, endeavouring

either to pin him to the ground with its tusks (if a male tusker) or to

trample him to death beneath its ponderous knees or feet."

Exact information in regard to the period of gestation of the female is

still lacking, the length of the period being given from eighteen to

twenty-two months by different authorities. The native idea, which may

be true, is that the shorter period occurs in the case of female and the

longer in that of male calves. In India elephants seldom breed in

captivity, though they do so more frequently in Burma and Siam; the

domesticated stock is therefore replenished by fresh captures.

Occasionally two calves are produced at a birth, although the normal

number is one. Calves suckle with their mouths and not with their

trunks. Unlike the African species, the Indian elephant charges with its

trunk curled up, and consequently in silence.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Immature African Elephant (_Elephas africanus_).]

As regards their present distribution in India, elephants are found

along the foot of the Himalaya as far west as the valley of Dehra-Dun,

where the winter temperature falls to a comparatively low point. A

favourite haunt used to be the swamp of Azufghur, lying among the

sal-forests to the northward of Meerut. In the great tract of forest

between the Ganges and Kistna rivers they occur locally as far west as

Bilaspur and Mandla; they are met with in the Western Ghats as far north

as between latitude 17 deg. and 18 deg., and are likewise found in the

hill-forests of Mysore, as well as still farther south. In this part of

the peninsula they ascend the hills to a considerable height, as they do

in the Newara Eliya district of Ceylon, where they have been encountered

at an elevation of over 7000 ft. There is evidence that about three

centuries ago elephants wandered in the forests of Malwa and Nimar,

while they survived to a later date in the Chanda district of the

Central Provinces. At the comparatively remote epoch when the Deccan was

a forest tract, they were probably also met with there, but the swamps

of the Bengal Sundarbans appear unsuited to their habits.

Of tusks, the three longest specimens on record respectively measure 8

ft. 9 in., 8 ft. 2 in. and 8 ft.; their respective weights being 81, 80

and 90 lb. These are, however, by no means the heaviest--one, whose

length is 7 ft. 3-3/8 in., weighing 102 lb.; while a second, of which

the length is 7 ft. 3-1/4 in., scaled 97-1/2 lb. Of the largest pair in

the possession of the British Museum, which belonged to an elephant

killed in 1866 by Colonel G.M. Payne in Madras, one tusk measures 6 ft.

8 in. in length, and weighs 77-3/4 lb., the other being somewhat

smaller. It should be added that some of these large tusks came from

Ceylon; such tuskers being believed to be descended from mainland

animals imported into the island. "White" elephants are partial or

complete albinos, and are far from uncommon in Burma and Siam. Young

Indian elephants are hairy, thus showing affinity with the mammoth.

The African elephant is a very different animal from its Asiatic cousin,

both as regards structure and habits; and were it not for the existence

of intermediate extinct species, might well be regarded as the

representative of a distinct genus. Among its characteristics the

following points are noticeable. The molar teeth are of coarse

construction, with fewer and larger plates and thicker enamel; the

ridge-formula being 3, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10; while the plates are not

flattened, but thicker in the middle than at the edges, so that their

worn grinding-surfaces are lozenge-shaped. Ears very large. The upper

and lower margins of the end of the trunk form two nearly equal

prehensile lips. Only three toes on the hind-foot. A very important

distinction is to be found in the conformation of the trunk, which, as

shown in fig. 2, looks as though composed of a number of segments,

gradually decreasing in size from base to tip like the joints of a

telescope, instead of tapering gradually and evenly from one extremity

to the other. The females have relatively large tusks, which are

essential in obtaining their food. Except where exterminated by human

agency (and this has been accomplished to a deplorable extent), the

African elephant is a native of the wooded districts of the whole of

Africa south of the Sahara. It is hunted chiefly for the sake of the

ivory of its immense tusks, of which it yields the principal source of

supply to the European market, and the desire to obtain which is rapidly

leading to the extermination of the species. In size the male African

elephant often surpasses the Asiatic species, reaching nearly 12 ft. in

some cases. The circumference of the fore-foot is half the height at the

shoulder, a circumstance which enables sportsmen to estimate

approximately the size of their quarry. A tusk in the British Museum

measures 10 ft. 2 in. in length, with a basal girth of 24 in. and a

weight of 226-1/2 lb.; but a still longer, although lighter, tusk was

brought to London in 1905.

Several local races of African elephant have been described, mainly

distinguished from one another by the form and size of the ears, shape

of the head, &c. The most interesting of these is the pigmy Congo race,

_E. africanus pumilio_, named on the evidence of an immature specimen in

the possession of C. Hagenbeck, the well-known animal-dealer of Hamburg,

in 1905. According to Hagenbeck's estimate, this elephant, which came

from the French Congo, was about six years old at the time it came under

scientific notice. Moreover, in the opinion of the same observer, it is

in no wise an abnormally dwarfed or ill-grown representative of the

normal type of African elephant, but a well-developed adolescent animal.

In height it stood about the same as a young individual of the ordinary

African elephant when about a year and a half old, the vertical

measurement at the shoulder being only 4 ft., or merely a foot higher

than a new-born Indian elephant. Hagenbeck's estimate of its age was

based on the presence of well-developed tusks, and the relative

proportion of the fore and hind limbs, which are stated to show

considerable differences in the case of the African elephant according

to age. Nothing was stated as to the probability of an increase in the

stature of the French Congo animal as it grows older; but even if we

allow another foot, its height would be considerably less than half that

of a large Central African bull of the ordinary elephant.

By Dr Paul Matschie several races of the African elephant have been

described, mainly, as already mentioned, on certain differences in the

shape of the ear. From the two West African races (_E. a. cyclotis_ and

_E. a. oxyotis_) the dwarf Congo elephant is stated to be distinguished

by the shape of its ear; comparison in at least one instance having been

made with an immature animal. The relatively small size of the ear is

one of the most distinctive characteristics of the dwarf race. Further,

the skin is stated to be much less rough, with fewer cracks, while a

more important difference occurs in the trunk, which lacks the

transverse ridges so distinctive of the ordinary African elephant, and

thereby approximates to the Asiatic species.

If the differences in stature and form are constant, there can be no

question as to the right of the dwarf Congo elephant to rank as a

well-marked local race; the only point for consideration being whether

it should not be called a species. The great interest in connexion with

a dwarf West African race of elephant is in relation to the fossil pigmy

elephants of the limestone fissures and caves of Malta and Cyprus.

Although some of these elephants are believed not to have been larger

than donkeys, the height of others may be estimated at from 4 to 5 ft.,

or practically the same as that of the dwarf Congo race. By their

describers, the dwarf European elephants were regarded as distinct

species, under the names of _Elephas melitensis_, _E. mnaidriensis_ and

_E. cypriotes_; but since their molar teeth are essentially miniatures

of those of the African elephant, it has been suggested by later

observers that these animals are nothing more than dwarf races of the

latter. This view may receive some support from the occurrence of a

dwarf form of the African elephant in the Congo; and if we regard the

latter as a subspecies of _Elephas africanus_, it seems highly probable

that a similar position will have to be assigned to the pigmy European

fossil elephants. If, on the other hand, the dwarf Congo elephant be

regarded as a species, then the Maltese and Cyprian elephants may have

to be classed as races of _Elephas pumilio_; or, rather, _E. pumilio_

will have to rank as a race of the Maltese species. In this connexion it

is of interest to note that, both in the Mediterranean islands and in

West Africa, dwarf elephants of the African type are accompanied by

pigmy species of hippopotamus, although we have not yet evidence to show

that in Africa the two animals occupy actually the same area. Still, the

close relationship of the existing Liberian pigmy hippopotamus to the

fossil Mediterranean species is significant, in relation to the

foregoing observations on the elephant.

It may be added that fossil remains of the African elephant have been

obtained from Spain, Sicily, Algeria and Egypt, in strata of the

Pleistocene age. Some of the main differences in the habits of the

African as distinct from those of the Asiatic elephant have been

mentioned under the heading of the latter species. The most important of

these are the greater tolerance by the African animal of sunlight, and

the hard nature of its food, which consists chiefly of boughs and roots.

The latter are dug up with the tusks; the left one being generally

employed in this service, and thus becoming much more worn than its

fellow. (R. L.*)

ELEPHANTA ISLE (called by the natives _Gharapuri_), a small island

between Bombay and the mainland of India, situated about 6 m. from

Bombay. It is nearly 5 m. in circumference, and the few inhabitants it

contains are employed in the cultivation of rice, and in rearing sheep

and poultry for the Bombay market. The island, till within recent times,

was almost entirely overgrown with wood; it contains several springs of

good water. There are also important quarries of building stone. But it

owes its chief celebrity to the mythological excavations and sculptures

of Hindu superstition which it contains. Opposite to the landing-place

was a colossal statue of an elephant, cracked and mutilated, from which

the island received from the Portuguese the name it still bears. The

statue was removed in 1864, and may now be seen in the Victoria Gardens,

Bombay. At a short distance from this spot is a cave, the entrance to

which is nearly 60 ft. wide and 18 high, supported by pillars cut out of

the rock; the sides are sculptured into numerous compartments,

containing representations of the Hindu deities, but many of the figures

have been defaced by the zeal of the Mahommedans and Portuguese. In the

centre of the excavations is a remarkable _Trimurti_ or bust, formerly

thought to represent the Hindu Triad, namely, Brahma the Creator, Vishnu

the Preserver, and Siva or Mahadeva the Destroyer, but now held to be a

triform representation of Siva alone. The heads are from 4 to 5 ft. in

length, and are well cut, and the faces, with the exception of the under

lip, are handsome. The head-dresses are curiously ornamented; and one of

the figures holds in it's hand a cobra, while on the cap are, amongst

other symbols, a human skull and an infant. On each side of the Trimurti

is a pilaster, the front of which is filled up by a human figure leaning

on a dwarf, both much defaced. There is a large compartment to the

right, hollowed a little, and covered with a great variety of figures,

the largest of which is 16 ft. high, representing the double figure of

Siva and Parvati, named Viraj, half male and half female. On the right

is Brahma, four-faced, on a lotus--one of the very few representations

of this god which now exist in India; and on the left is Vishnu. On the

other side of the Trimurti is another compartment with various figures

of Siva and Parvati, the most remarkable of which is Siva in his

vindictive character, eight-handed, with a collet of skulls round his

neck. On the right of the entrance to the cave is a square apartment,

supported by eight colossal figures, containing a gigantic symbol of

Mahadeva or Siva cut out of the rock. In a ravine connected with the

great cave are two other caves, also containing sculptures, which,

however, have been much defaced owing to the action of damp and the

falling of the rocks; and in another hill is a fourth cave. This

interesting retreat of Hindu religious art is said to have been

dedicated to Siva, but it contains numerous representations of other

Hindu deities. It has, however, for long been a place not so much of

worship as of archaeological and artistic interest alike to the European

and Hindu traveller. It forms a wonderful monument of antiquity, and

must have been a work of incredible labour. Archaeological authorities

are of opinion that the cave must have been excavated about the 10th

century of the Christian era, if not earlier. The island is much

frequented by the British residents of Bombay; and during his tour in

India in 1875 King Edward VII., then prince of Wales, was entertained

there at a banquet.

ELEPHANTIASIS (_Barbadoes leg_; _Boucnemia_), is a disease dependent on

chronic lymphatic obstruction, and characterized by hypertrophy of the

skin and subcutaneous tissue. Two distinct forms are known, (1)

elephantiasis arabum, due to the development of living parasites,

filaria sanguinis hominis (or filaria Bancrofti), and (2) the

non-filarial form due to lymphatic obstruction from any other cause

whatsoever, as erysipelas, the deposit of tuberculous or cancerous

material in the lymphatic glands, phlegmasia dolens (white leg),

long-continued eczema, &c. The enlargement is limited to a particular

part of the body, generally one, or in rare cases both of the lower

limbs, occasionally the scrotum, one of the labiae or the mammary gland;

far more rarely the face. An attack is usually ushered in by febrile

disturbance (elephantoid fever), the part attacked becoming rapidly

swollen, and the skin tense and red as in erysipelas. The subcutaneous

tissues become firm, infiltrated and hard, pitting only on considerable

pressure. The skin becomes roughened with a network of dilated

lymphatics, and vesicles and bullae may form, discharging a chyle-like

fluid when broken (lymphorrhoea). In a later stage still the skin may be

coarse and wart-like, and there is a great tendency for varicose ulcers

to form. At the end of a variable time enlargement ceases to take place,

and the disease enters a quiescent state: but recrudescences occur at

irregular intervals, always ushered in by elephantoid fever. At the end

of some years the attacks of fever cease, and the affected part remains

permanently swollen. The only difference in the history of the two forms

of the disease lies in the fact that the non-filarial form progresses

steadily, until either the underlying condition is cured, or in the case

of cancer, &c., brings about a fatal issue. The elephantiasis due to

filaria is spread by the agency of mosquitoes, in whose bodies the

intermediate stage is passed. The dead mosquito falls upon the water,

which thus becomes infected, and hence the ova reach the human stomach.

The young worm develops, bores through the gastric mucous membrane and

finally becomes lodged in the lymphatics, usually of one or other of the

extremities. A large number of embryonic filariae are produced. Some

remain in the lymphatic spaces and cause lymphatic obstruction, while

others enter the blood stream by night (filaria nocturna), or by day

(filaria diurna). It is supposed that a mosquito, biting an infected

person, itself becomes infected with the blood it abstracts, and that so

a new generation is developed.

Treatment for this condition is unsatisfactory. Occasionally the dilated

lymph trunks can be found, and an operation performed to implant them in

some vein (lymphangeioplasty). And in some few other cases artificial

lymphatics have been made by introducing sterilized silk thread in the

subcutaneous tissues of the affected part, and prolonging it into the

normal tissues. This operation has been most successful when performed

on elephantoid arms dependent on a late stage of cancerous breast.

Elevation of the limb and elastic pressure should always be tried, but

often amputation has to be resorted to in the end. The disease is

totally different from the so-called elephantiasis graecorum or true

leprosy, for which see LEPROSY.

ELEPHANT'S-FOOT, the popular name for the plant _Testudinaria

elephantipes_, a native of the Cape of Good Hope. It takes its name from

the large tuberous stem, which grows very slowly but often reaches a

considerable size, e.g. more than 3 yds. in circumference with a height

of nearly 3 ft. above ground. It is rich in starch, whence the name

Hottentot bread, and is covered on the outside with thick, hard, corky

plates. It develops slender, leafy, climbing shoots which die down each

season. It is a member of the monocotyledonous order Dioscoreaceae,

climbing plants with slender herbaceous or shrubby shoots, to which

belong the yam and the British black bryony, _Tamus communis_.

ELETS, a town of Russia, in the government of Orel, 122 m. by rail

E.S.E. of Orel, on the railway which connects Riga with Tsaritsyn on the

lower Volga. Pop. (1883) 36,680; (1900) 38,239. Owing to its

advantageous position Elets has grown rapidly. Its merchants buy large

quantities of grain, and numerous flour-mills, many of them driven by

steam, prepare flour, which is forwarded to Moscow and Riga. The trade

in cattle is very important. Elets has the first grain elevator erected

in Russia (1887), a railway school, and important tanneries, foundries

for cast iron and copper, tallow-melting works, limekilns and

brickworks. The cathedral and two monasteries contain venerated historic

relics.

Elets is first mentioned in 1147, when it was a fort of Ryazan. The

Turkish Polovtsi or Kumans attacked it in the 12th century, and the

Mongols destroyed it during their first invasion (1239) and again in

1305. The Tatars plundered it in 1415 and 1450; and it seems to have

been completely abandoned in the latter half of the 15th century. Its

development dates from the second half of the 17th century, when it

became a centre for the trade with south Russia.

ELEUSIS, an ancient Greek city in Attica about 14 m. N.W. of Athens,

occupying the eastern part of a rocky ridge close to the shore opposite

the island of Salamis. Its fame is due chiefly to its Mysteries, for

which see MYSTERY. Tradition carries back the origin of Eleusis to the

highest antiquity. In the earlier period of its history it seems to have

been an independent rival of Athens, and it was afterwards reckoned one

of the twelve Old Attic cities. A considerable portion of its small

territory was occupied by the plains of Thria, noticeable for their

fertility, though the hopes of the husbandmen were not unfrequently

disappointed by the blight of the south wind. To the west was the

[Greek: Pedion Rharion] or Rharian Plain, where Demeter is said to have

sown the first seeds of corn; and on its confines was the field called

Orgas, planted with trees consecrated to Demeter and Persephone. The

sacred buildings were destroyed by Alaric in A.D. 396, and it is not

certain whether they were restored before the extinction of all pagan

rites by Theodosius. The present village on the site is of Albanian

origin; it is called Lefsina or Lepsina, officially [Greek: Elensis].

[Illustration: Map of Eleusis.]

_The Site._--Systematic excavations, begun in 1882 by D. Philios for the

Greek Archaeological Society, have laid bare the whole of the sacred

precinct. It is now possible to trace its boundaries as extended at

various periods, and also many successive stages in the history of the

Telesterion, or Hall of Initiation. These complete excavations have

shown the earlier and partial excavations to have been in some respects

deceptive.

In front of the main entrance of the precinct is a large paved area,

with the foundations of a temple in it, usually identified as that of

Artemis Propylaea; in their present form both area and temple date from

Roman times; and on each side of the Great Propylaea are the foundations

of a Roman triumphal arch. Just below the steps of the Propylaea, on the

left as one enters, there has been discovered, at a lower level than the

Roman pavement, the curb surrounding an early well. This is almost

certainly the [Greek: kallichoron phrear] mentioned by Pausanias. The

Great Propylaea is a structure of Roman imperial date, in close

imitation of the Propylaea on the Athenian Acropolis. It is, however,

set in a wall of 6th-century work, though repaired in later times. This

wall encloses a sort of outer court, of irregular triangular shape. The

Small Propylaea is not set exactly opposite to the Great Propylaea, but

at an angle to it; an inscription on the architrave records that it was

built by Appius Claudius Pulcher, the contemporary of Cicero. It is also

set in a later wall that occupies approximately the same position as two

earlier ones, which date from the 6th and 5th centuries respectively,

and must have indicated the boundary of the inner precinct. From the

Small Propylaea a paved road of Roman date leads to one of the doors of

the Telesterion. Above the Small Propylaea, partly set beneath the

overhanging rock, is the precinct of Pluto; it has a curious natural

cleft approached by rock-cut steps. Several inscriptions and other

antiquities were found here, including the famous head, now in Athens,

usually called Eubouleus, though the evidence for its identification is

far from satisfactory. A little farther on is a rock-cut platform, with

a well, approached by a broad flight of steps, which probably served for

spectators of the sacred procession. Beyond this, close to the side of

the Telesterion, are the foundations of a temple on higher ground; it

has been conjectured that this was the temple of Demeter, but there is

no evidence that such a building existed in historic times, apart from

the Telesterion.

The Telesterion, or Hall of Initiation, was a large covered building,

about 170 ft. square. It was surrounded on all sides by steps, which

must have served as seats for the mystae, while the sacred dramas and

processions took place on the floor of the hall: these seats were partly

built up, partly cut in the solid rock; in later times they appear to

have been cased with marble. There were two doors on each side of the

hall, except the north-west, where it is cut out of the solid rock, and

a rock terrace at a higher level adjoins it; this terrace may have been

the station of those who were not yet admitted to the full initiation.

The roof of the hall was carried by rows of columns, which were more

than once renewed.

The architectural history of the hall has been traced by Professor W.

Dorpfeld with the help of the various foundations that have been brought

to light. The earliest building on the site is a small rectangular

structure, with walls of polygonal masonry, built of the rock quarried

on the spot. This was succeeded by a square hall, almost of the same

plan as the later Telesterion, but about a quarter of the size; its

eastern corner coincides with that of the later building, and it appears

to have had a portico in front like that which, in the later hall, was a

later addition. Its roof was carried by columns, of which the bases can

still be seen. This building has with great probability been assigned to

the time of Peisistratus; it was destroyed by the Persians. Between this

event and the erection of the present hall, which must be substantially

the one designed by Ictinus in the time of Pericles, there must have

been a restoration, of which we may see the remains in a set of round

sinkings to carry columns, which occur only in the north-east part of

the hall; a set of bases arranged on a different system occur in the

south-west part, and it is difficult to see how these two systems could

be reconciled unless there were some sort of partition between the two

parts of the hall. Both sets were removed to make way for the later

columns, of which the bases and some of the drums still remain. These

later columns are shown, by inscriptions and other fragments built into

their bases, to belong to later Roman times. At the eastern and southern

corners of the hall of Ictinus are projecting masses of masonry, which

may be the foundation for a portico that was to be added; but perhaps

they were only buttresses, intended to resist the thrust of the roof of

this huge structure, which rested at its northern and western corners

against the solid rock of the hill. On the south-east side the hall is

faced with a portico, extending its whole width; the marble pavement of

this portico is a most conspicuous feature of Eleusis at the present

day. The portico was added to the hall by the architect Philo, under

Demetrius of Phalerum, about the end of the 4th century B.C. It was

never completed, for the fluting of its columns still remains

unfinished.

The Telesterion took up the greater part of the sacred precinct, which

seems merely to have served to keep the profane away from the temple.

The massive walls and towers of the time of Pericles, which resemble

those of a fortress, are quite close in on the south and east; later,

probably in the 4th century B.C., the precinct was extended farther to

the south, and at its end was erected a building of considerable extent,

including a curious apsidal chamber, for which a similar but larger

curved structure was substituted in Roman times. This was probably the

Bouleuterion. The precinct was full of altars, dedications and

inscriptions; and many fragments of sculptures, pottery and other

antiquities, from the earliest to the latest days of Greece, have been

discovered. It is to be noted that the subterranean passages which some

earlier explorers imagined to be connected with the celebration of the

mysteries, have proved to be nothing but cisterns or watercourses.

The excavations of Eleusis, and the antiquities found in them, have

been published from time to time in the [Greek: Ephemeris

Archaiologike] and in the [Greek: Praktika] of the Greek

Archaeological Society, especially for 1887 and 1895. See also D.

Philios, _Eleusis, ses mysteres, ses ruines, et son musee_.

Inscriptions have also been published in the _Bulletin de

correspondance hellenique_. (E. Gr.)

ELEUTHERIUS, pope from about 175 to 189. Allusions to him are found in

the letters of the martyrs of Lyons, cited by Eusebius, and in other

documents of the time. The _Liber Pontificalis_, at the beginning of the

6th century, says that he had relations with a British king, Lucius, who

was desirous of being converted to Christianity. This tradition--Roman,

not British--is an enigma to critics, and, apparently, has no historical

foundation. (L. D.*)

ELEUTHEROPOLIS (Gr. [Greek: Eleuthera polis], "free city"), an ancient

city of Palestine, 25 m. from Jerusalem on the road to Gaza, identified

by E. Robinson with the modern Beit Jibrin. This identification is

confirmed by Roman milestones in the neighbourhood. It represents the

Biblical Mareshah, the ruins of which exist at Tell Sandahannah close

by. As Betogabra it is mentioned by Ptolemy; the name Eleutheropolis

dates from the Syrian visit of Septimius Severus (A.D. 202). Eusebius in

his _Onomasticon_ uses it as a central point from which the distances of

other towns are measured. It was destroyed in 796, rebuilt by the

crusaders in 1134 (their fortress and chapel remain, much ruined). It

was finally captured by Bibars, 1244. Beit Jibrin is in the centre of a

district of great archaeological interest. Besides the crusader and

other remains in the village itself, the surrounding country possesses

many _tells_ (mounds) covering the sites of ancient cities. The famous

caves of Beit Jibrin honeycomb the hills all round. These are immense

artificial excavations of unknown date. Roman milestones and aqueducts

also are found, and close by the now famous tomb of Apollophanes, with

wall-paintings of animals and other ornamentation, was discovered in

1902; a description of it will be found in Thiersch and Peters, _The

Marissa Tombs_, published by the Palestine Exploration Fund.

(R. A. S. M.)

ELEVATORS, LIFTS or HOISTS, machines for raising or lowering loads,

whether of people or material, from one level to another. They are

operated by steam, hydraulic or electric power, or, when small and

light, by hand. Their construction varies with the magnitude of the work

to be performed and the character of the motive power. In private

houses, where only small weights, as coal, food, &c., have to be

transferred from one floor to another, they usually consist simply of a

small counter-balanced platform suspended from the roof or an upper

floor by a tackle, the running part of which hangs from top to bottom

and can be reached and operated at any level. In buildings where great

weights and numbers of people have to be lifted, or a high speed of

elevation is demanded, some form of motor is necessary. This is usually,

directly or indirectly, a steam-engine or occasionally a gas-engine;

sometimes a water-pressure engine is adopted, and it is becoming more

and more common to employ an electric motor deriving its energy from

the general distribution of the city. Large establishments, hotels or

business houses, commonly have their own source of energy, an electric

or other power "plant," on the premises.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--The Plunger, or Direct Lift Hydraulic Engine.]

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--The Otis Standard Hydraulic Passenger Lift, with

Pilot Valve and Lever-operating Device.]

Construction of elevators.

The hydraulic elevator is the simplest in construction of elevators

proper, sometimes consisting merely of a long pipe set deeply in the

ground under the cage and containing a correspondingly long plunger,

which rises and falls as required and carries the elevator-cage on its

upper end (fig. 1). The "stroke" is thus necessarily equal to the height

traversed by the cage, with some surplus to keep the plunger steady

within its guiding-pipe. The pipe or pump chamber has a length exceeding

the maximum rise and fall of the plunger, and must be strong enough to

sustain safely the heavy hydraulic pressures needed to raise plunger and

cage with load. The power is usually supplied by a steam pump

(occasionally by a hydraulic motor), which forces water into the chamber

of the great pipe as the elevator rises, a waste-cock drawing off the

liquid in the process of lowering the cage. A single handle within the

cage generally serves to apply the pressure when raising, and to reduce

it when lowering the load. The most common form of hydraulic elevator,

for important work and under usual conditions of operation, as in

cities, consists of a suspended cage, carried by a tackle, the running

part of which is connected with a set of pulleys at each end of a frame

(fig. 2). The rope is made fast at one end, and its intermediate part is

carried round first one pulley at the farther end of the frame and then

round another at the nearer end, and so on as often as is found

advisable in the particular case. The two pulley shafts carrying these

two sets of pulleys are made to traverse the frame in such a way as, by

their separation, to haul in on the running part, or, by their

approximation, to permit the weight of the cage to haul out the rope. By

this alternate hauling and "rendering" of the rope the cage is raised

and lowered. The use of a number of parallel and independent sets of

pulleys and tackles assures safety in case of the breakage of any one,

each being strong enough alone to hold the load. The movement of the

pair of pulley shafts is effected by a water-pressure engine, actuating

the plunger of a pump which is similar to that used in the preceding

apparatus, but being relatively of short stroke and large diameter, is

more satisfactory in design and construction as well as in operation.

Electricity may be applied to elevators of this type by attaching the

travelling sheaves to a nut in which works a screwed shaft driven by an

electric motor. In other electric lifts the cables which support the

cage are wound on a drum which is turned by a motor, the drum being

connected to the motor-shaft either by a series of pinions or by a

worm-gear. The drum may also be worked by a steam or gas engine. Where

the traffic is not very heavy, a form of elevator that requires no

attendant is convenient. In this any one wishing to use the lift has

merely to press a button placed by the side of the lift-gate on the

floor on which he happens to be standing, when the car will come to him;

and having entered it he can cause it to travel to any floor he desires

by pressing another button inside the car. The motive power in such

cases may be either electric or hydraulic, but the control of the

switches or valves that govern the action of the apparatus is electric.

Essentials of design, &c.

The history of the elevator is chronologically extensive, but only since

1850 has rapid or important progress been effected. In that year George

H. Fox & Co. built an elevator operated by the motion of a vertical

screw, the nut on which carried the cage. This device was used in a

number of instances, especially in hotels in the large cities, during

the succeeding twenty years, and was then generally supplanted by the

hydraulic lift of the kind already described as the plunger-lift. With

the increased demand for power, speed, safety, convenience of

manipulation, and comfort in operation, the inventive ability of the

engineer developed the various systems more and more perfectly, and

experience gradually showed to what service each type was best adapted

and the best construction of each for its peculiar work. Whatever the

class, the following are the essentials of design, construction and

operation: the elevator must be safe, comfortable, speedy and

convenient, must not be too expensive in either first cost or

maintenance, and must be absolutely trustworthy. It must not be liable

to fracture of any element of the hoisting gear that will permit either

the fall of the cage or its projection by an overweighted balance

upwards against the top of its shaft. It must be possible to stop it,

whether in regular working or in emergency, or when accident occurs,

with sufficient promptness, yet without endangering life or property, or

even very seriously inconveniencing the passengers. Acceleration and

retardation in starting and stopping must be smooth and easy, the stop

must be capable of being made precisely where and when intended, and no

danger must be incurred by the passengers from contact with running

parts of the mechanism or with the walls and doors of the elevator

shaft.

These requirements have been fully met in the later forms of elevator

commonly employed for passenger service. Usual sizes range from loads of

1000 to 5000 lb. with speeds of from 80 to 250 ft. a minute unloaded,

and 75 to 200 ft. loaded, and a height of travel of from 50 to 200 ft.

In some very tall buildings, as the Singer and Metropolitan buildings in

New York, elevators have been installed having a maximum speed of 600

ft. a minute, with a rise of over 500 ft. Where electric motors are

employed, their speed ranges from 600 and 700 revolutions per minute in

the larger to 1000 and 1200 in the smaller sizes, corresponding to from

20 down to 4 or 5 h.p. Two or more counter-weights are employed, and

from four to six suspension cables ensure as nearly as possible absolute

safety. The electric elevators of the Central London railway are

guaranteed to raise 17,000 lb. 65 ft. in some of its shafts, in 30 secs.

from start to stop. Over 100,000 ft. of 7/8 in. and 17,000 ft. of 3/4 in.

steel rope are required for its 24 shafts, and each rope can carry from

16 to 22 tons without breaking. The steel used in the cables, of which

there are four to six for each car and counter-weight, has a tenacity of

85 to 90 tons per sq. in. of section of wire. The maximum pull on each

set of rope is assumed to be not over 9500 lb., the remainder of the

load being taken by the counterbalance. Oil "dash-pots" or buffers, into

which enter plungers attached to the bottom of the cage, prevent too

sudden a stop in case of accident, and safety-clutches with friction

adjustments of ample power and fully tested before use give ample

insurance against a fall even if all the cables should yield at once--an

almost inconceivable contingency. The efficiency, i.e. the ratio of work

performed to power expended in the same time, was in these elevators

found by test to be between 70 and 75%.

[Illustration: FIG. 3. Safety Air-Cushion.]

Safety devices.

Safety devices constitute perhaps the most important of the later

improvements in elevator construction where passengers are carried. The

simplest and, where practicable, most certain of them is the

"air-cushion", a chamber into which the cage drops if detached or from

any cause allowed to fall too rapidly to the bottom, compression of the

air bringing it to rest without shock (fig. 3). This chamber must be

perfectly air-tight, except in so far as a purposely arranged clearance

around the sides, diminishing downwards and in well-established

proportion, is adjusted to permit a "dash-pot" action and to prevent

rebound. The air-cushion should be about one-tenth the depth of the

elevator shaft; in high buildings it may be a well 20 or 30 ft. deep.

The Empire building, in New York, is twenty storeys in height, the total

travel of the cage is 287 ft., and the air-cushion is 50 ft. deep,

extending from the floor of the third storey to the bottom of the shaft.

Sliding doors of great strength, and automatic in action, at the first

and second floors, are the only openings. The shaft is tapered for some

distance below the third floor, and then carried straight to the bottom.

An inlet valve admits air freely as the cage rises, and an adjusted

safety-valve provides against excess pressure. A "car," falling freely

from the twentieth storey, was checked by this arrangement without

injury to a basket of eggs placed on its floor. Other safety devices

consist of catches under the floor of the cage, so arranged that they

are held out of engagement by the pull on the cables. But if the strain

is suddenly relieved, as by breakage of a cable or accident to the

engine or motor, they instantly fly into place and, engaging strong

side-struts in the shaft, hold the car until it can be once more lifted

by its cables. These operate well when the cables part at or near the

car, but they are apt to fail if the break occurs on the opposite side

of the carrying sheaves at the top of the shaft, since the friction and

inertia of the mass of the cables may in that case be sufficient to hold

the pawls out of gear either entirely or until the headway is so great

as to cause the smashing of all resistances when they do engage.

Another principle employed in safety arrangements is the action of

inertia of parts properly formed and attached. Any dangerous

acceleration of the cage causes the inertia of these parts to produce a

retardation relative to the car which throws into action a brake or a

catch, and thus controls the motion within safe limits or breaks the

fall. The hydraulic brake has been used in this apparatus, as have

mechanical and pneumatic apparatus. This control of the speed of fall is

most commonly secured by the employment of a centrifugal or other

governor or regulator. The governor may be on the top of the cage and

driven by a stationary rope fixed between the top and bottom of the

shafts, or it may be placed at the top of the shaft and driven by a rope

travelling with the car. Its action is usually to trip into service a

set of spring grips or friction clutches, which, as a rule, grasp the

guides of the cage and by their immense pressure and great resultant

friction bring the cage to rest within a safe limit of speed, time and

distance. A coefficient of friction of about 15% is assumed in their

design, and this estimate is confirmed by their operation. Pressures of

10 tons or more are sometimes provided in these grips to ensure the

friction required. There are many different forms of safety device of

these various classes, each maker having his own. The importance of

absolute safety against a fall is so great that the best builders are

not satisfied with any one form or principle, but combine provisions

against every known danger, and often duplicate such precautions against

the most common accidents.

The "travelling staircase," which may be classed among the passenger

elevators, usually consists of a staircase so constructed that while the

passenger is ascending it the whole structure is also ascending at a

predetermined rate, so that the progress made is the sum of the two

rates of motion. The system of "treads and risers" is carried on a long

endless band of chain sustained by guides holding it in its desired

line, and rendering at either end over cylinders or sprockets. The

junctions between the stairway and the upper or lower floors are

ingeniously arranged so as to avoid danger of injury to the passengers.

Freight elevators have the same general forms as the passenger

elevators, but are often vastly larger and more powerful, and are not as

a rule fitted up for such heights of lift, or constructed with such

elaborate provision for safety or with any special finish. Elevators

raising grain, coal, earth and similar materials, such as can be taken

up by scooping into a bucket, or can be run into and out of the bucket

by gravity, constitute a class by themselves, and are described in the

article CONVEYORS.

The term "grain elevator" is often used to include buildings as well as

machinery, and it is not unusual in Europe to hear a flour-mill, with

its system of motor machinery, mills, elevator and storage departments,

spoken of as an "American elevator" (see GRANARIES).

ELF (O. Eng. _aelf_; cf. Ger. _Alp_, nightmare), a diminutive

supernatural being of Teutonic mythology, usually of a more or less

mischievous and malignant character, causing diseases and evil dreams,

stealing children and substituting changelings, and thus somewhat

different from the Romanic fairy, which usually has less sinister

associations. The prehistoric arrow-heads and other flint implements

were in England early known as "elf-bolts" or "elf-arrows," and were

looked on as the weapons of the elves, with which they injured cattle.

So too a tangle in the hair was called an "elf-lock," as being caused by

the mischief of the elves.

ELGAR, SIR EDWARD (1857- ), English musical composer, son of W.H.

Elgar, who was for many years organist in the Roman Catholic church of

St George at Worcester, was born there on the 2nd of June 1857. His

father's connexion with music at Worcester, with the Glee Club and with

the Three Choirs Festivals, supplied him with varied opportunities for a

musical education, and he learnt to play several instruments. In 1879 he

became bandmaster at the county lunatic asylum, and held that post till

1884. He was also a member of an orchestra at Birmingham, and in 1883 an

intermezzo by him was played there at a concert. In 1882 he became

conductor of the Worcester Amateur Instrumental Society; and in 1885 he

succeeded his father as organist at St George's, Worcester. There he

wrote a certain amount of church music. In 1889 he moved to London, but

finding no encouragement retired to Malvern in 1891; in 1904 he went to

live at Hereford, and in 1905 was made professor of music at Birmingham

University. To the public generally he was hardly known till his

oratorio _The Dream of Gerontius_ was performed at Birmingham in 1900,

but this was at once received as a new revelation in English music, both

at home and by Richard Strauss in Germany, and the composer was made a

Mus. Doc. at Cambridge. His experience in writing church music for a

Roman Catholic service cannot be overlooked in regard to this and other

works by Elgar, who came to be regarded as the representative of a

Catholic or neo-Catholic style of religious music, for which an

appreciative public was ready in England at the moment, owing to the

recent developments in the more artistic and sensuous side of the

religious movement. And the same interest attached to his later

oratorios, _The Apostles_ (1903) and _The Kingdom_ (1906). But Elgar's

sudden rise into popularity, confirmed by his being knighted in 1904,

drew attention to his other productions. In 1896 his _Scenes from the

Saga of King Olaf_ was recognized by musicians as a fine work, and in

the same year his _Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands_ and _Lux Christi_

were performed; and apart from other important compositions, his

song-cycle _Sea-Pictures_ was sung at Norwich in 1899 by Clara Butt, and

his orchestral _Variations on an original theme_ were given at a Richter

concert in the same year. In 1901 his popular march "Pomp and

Circumstance" was played at a promenade concert, the stirring melody of

his song "Land of Hope and Glory" being effectually utilized. It is

impossible here to enumerate all Sir Edward Elgar's works, which have

excited a good deal of criticism in musical circles without impairing

his general recognition as one of the few front-rank English composers

of his day; but his most important later production, his first

orchestral symphony, produced in 1908 with immediate success, raised his

reputation as a composer to an even higher place, as a work of marked

power and beauty, developing the symphonic form with the originality of

a real master of his art. In 1908 he resigned his professorship at

Birmingham University.

ELGIN, a city of Kane county, Illinois, U.S.A., in the N. part of the

state, 36 m. N.W. of Chicago. Pop. (1880) 8787; (1890) 17,823; (1900)

22,433, of whom 5419 were foreign-born; (1910 census) 25,976. Elgin is

served by the Chicago & North-Western and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St

Paul railways, and by interurban electric railways to Chicago, Aurora

and Belvidere. The city is the seat of the Northern Illinois hospital

for the insane, of the Elgin Academy (chartered 1839; opened 1856), and

of St Mary's Academy (Roman Catholic); and has the Gail Borden public

library, with 35,000 volumes in 1908. The city has six public parks,

Lord's Park containing 112, and Wing Park 121 acres. The city is in a

fine dairying region and is an important market for butter. Among

Elgin's manufactures are watches and watch-cases, butter and other dairy

products, cooperage (especially butter tubs), canned corn, shirts,

foundry and machine-shop products, pipe-organs, and caskets and casket

trimmings; in 1905 Elgin's total factory product was valued at

$9,349,274. The Elgin National Watch factory, and the Borden

milk-condensing works, are famous throughout the United States and

beyond. The publishing office of the Dunkers, or German Brethren, is at

Elgin; and several popular weeklies with large circulations are

published here. A permanent settlement was made as early as 1835, and

Elgin was chartered as a city in 1854 and was rechartered in 1880.

ELGIN, a royal, municipal and police burgh, and county town of

Elginshire, Scotland, situated on the Lossie, 5 m. S. of Lossiemouth its

port, on the Moray Firth, and 71-1/4 m. N.W. of Aberdeen, with stations

on the Great North of Scotland and Highland railways. Pop. (1901) 8460.

It is a place of very considerable antiquity, was created a royal burgh

by Alexander I., and received its charter from Alexander II. in 1234.

Edward I. stayed at the castle in 1296 and 1303, and it was to blot out

the memory of his visit that the building was destroyed immediately

after national independence had been reasserted. The hill on which it

stood was renamed the Ladyhill, and on the scanty ruins of the castle

now stands a monument to the 5th duke of Gordon, consisting of a column

surmounted by a statue.

The burgh has suffered periodically from fire, notably in 1452, when

half of it was burnt by the earl of Huntly. Montrose plundered it twice

in 1645. In 1746 Prince Charles Edward spent a few days in Thunderton

House. His hostess, Mrs Anderson, an ardent Jacobite, kept the sheets in

which he slept, and was buried in them on her death, twenty-five years

afterwards. For fifty years after this date the place retained the

character and traditions of a sleepy cathedral city, but with the

approach of the 19th century it was touched by a more modern spirit. As

the result much that was picturesque disappeared, but the prosperity of

Elgin was increased, so that now, owing to its pleasant situation in

"the Garden of Scotland," its healthy climate, cheap living, and

excellent educational facilities, it has become a flourishing community.

The centre of interest is the cathedral of Moray, which was founded in

1224, when the church of the Holy Trinity was converted to this use. It

was partially burned in 1270 and almost destroyed in 1390 by Alexander

Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch, natural son of Robert II., who had

incurred the censure of the Church. In 1402 Alexander, lord of the

Isles, set fire to the town, but spared the cathedral for a

consideration, in memory of which mercy the Little Cross (so named to

distinguish it from the Muckle or Market Cross, restored in 1888) was

erected. After these outrages it was practically rebuilt on a scale of

grandeur that made it the most magnificent example of church

architecture in the north. Its design was that of a Jerusalem cross,

with two flanking towers at the east end, two at the west end, and one

in the centre, at the intersection of the roofs of the nave and

transepts. It measured 282 ft. long from east to west by 120 ft. across

the transepts, and consisted of the choir, the gable of which was

pierced by two tiers of five lancet windows and the Omega rose window;

the north transept, in which the Dunbars were buried, and the south

transept, the doorway of which is interesting for its dog's-tooth

ornamentation; and the nave of five aisles. The grand entrance was by

the richly carved west door, above which was the Alpha window. The

central steeple fell in 1506, but was rebuilt, the new tower with its

spire reaching a height of 198 ft. By 1538 the edifice was complete in

every part. Though the Reformation left it unscathed, it suffered wanton

violence from time to time. By order of the privy council the lead was

stripped off the roofs in 1567 and sold to Holland to pay the troops;

but the ship conveying the spoils foundered in the North Sea. In 1637

the roof-tree of the choir perished during a gale, and three years later

the rich timber screen was demolished. The central tower again collapsed

in 1711, after which the edifice was allowed to go to ruin. Its stones

were carted away, and the churchyard, overgrown with weeds, became the

dumping-ground for rubbish. It lay thus scandalously neglected until

1824, when John Shanks, a "drouthy" cobbler, was appointed keeper. By a

species of inspiration this man, hitherto a ne'er-do-well, conceived the

notion of restoring the place to order. Undismayed, he attacked the mass

of litter and with his own hands removed 3000 barrow-loads. When he died

in 1841 he had cleared away all the rubbish, disclosed the original

plan, and collected a quantity of fragments. A tablet, let into the

wall, contains an epitaph by Lord Cockburn, recording Shanks's services

to the venerable pile, which has since been entrusted to the custody of

the commissioners of woods and forests. The chapter-house, to the

north-east of the main structure, suffered least of all the buildings,

and contains a 'Prentice pillar, of which a similar story is told to

that of the ornate column in Roslin chapel. In the lavatory, or

vestibule connecting the chapter-house with the choir, Marjory Anderson,

a poor half-crazy creature, a soldier's widow, took up her quarters in

1748. She cradled her son in the piscina and lived on charity. In the

course of time the lad joined the army and went to India, where he rose

to the rank of major-general and amassed a fortune of L70,000 with which

he endowed the Elgin Institution (commonly known as the Anderson

Institution) at the east end of High Street, for the education of youth

and the support of old age. Within the precincts of the cathedral

grounds stood the bishop's palace (now in ruins), the houses of the dean

and archdeacon (now North and South Colleges), and the manses of the

canons. Other ecclesiastical buildings were the monasteries of

Blackfriars (1230) and Greyfriars (1410) and the preceptory of

Maisondieu (1240). They also were permitted to fall into decay, but the

3rd marquess of Bute undertook the restoration of the Greyfriars'

chapel. The parish church, in the Greek style, was built in 1828. Gray's

hospital, at the west end of High Street, was endowed by Dr Alexander

Gray (1751-1808), and at the east end stands the Institution, already

mentioned, founded by General Andrew Anderson (1746-1822). Other public

buildings include the assembly rooms, the town-hall, the museum (in

which the antiquities and natural history of the shire are abundantly

illustrated), the district asylum, the academy, the county buildings and

the court house, the market buildings, the Victoria school of science

and art, and Lady Gordon-Cumming's children's home. In 1903 Mr G.A.

Cooper presented his native town with a public park of 42 acres,

containing lakes representing on a miniature scale the British Isles.

Grant Lodge, an old mansion of the Grant family, occupying the

south-west corner of the park, was converted into the public library.

From the top of Ladyhill the view commands the links of the Lossie and

the surrounding country, and a recreation ground is laid out on Lossie

Green.

The industries include distilling and brewing, nursery gardening,

tanning, saw and flour mills, iron-foundries and manufactures of

woollens, tweeds and plaiding, and the quarrying of sandstone. Elgin

combines with Banff, Cullen, Inverurie, Kintore and Peterhead to return

one member to parliament, and the town is controlled by a council with

provost and bailies.

Two miles and a half S. by W. of Elgin stands the church of Birnie, with

the exception of the church at Mortlach in Banffshire probably the

oldest place of public worship in Scotland still in use. It is not later

than 1150 and, with its predecessor, was the cathedral of Moray during

the rule of the first four bishops; the fourth bishop, Simon de Toeny,

an Englishman, was buried in its precincts in 1184. In the church is

preserved an old Celtic altar-bell of hammered iron, known as the

"Ronnell bell." Such is the odour of sanctity of this venerable church

that there is an old local saying that "to be thrice prayed for in the

kirk of Birnie will either mend or end ye." Six miles to the S.W. of

Elgin, charmingly situated in a secluded valley encircled by fir-clad

heights, lie the picturesque remains of Pluscarden Priory, a Cistercian

house founded by Alexander II. in 1230. The ruins, consisting of tower,

choir, chapter-house, refectory and other apartments, are nearly hidden

from view by their dense coating of ivy and the fine old trees,

including many beautiful examples of copper beech, by which they are

surrounded. Its last prior, Alexander Dunbar, died in 1560. The _Liber

Pluscardensis_, a valuable authority on early Scots history, was

compiled in the priory by Maurice Buchanan in 1461. The chronicle comes

down to the death of James I. The 3rd marquess of Bute acquired the

ruins in 1897.

ELGIN AND KINCARDINE, EARLS OF. THOMAS BRUCE, 7th earl of Elgin

(1766-1841), British diplomatist and art collector, was born on the 20th

of July 1766, and in 1771 succeeded his brother in the Scottish peerage

as the 7th earl of Elgin (cr. 1633), and 11th of Kincardine (cr. 1647).

He was educated at Harrow and Westminster, and, after studying for some

time at the university of St Andrews, proceeded to the continent, where

he studied international law at Paris, and military science in Germany.

When his education was completed he entered the army, in which he rose

to the rank of general. His chief attention was, however, devoted to

diplomacy. In 1792 he was appointed envoy at Brussels, and in 1795 envoy

extraordinary at Berlin; and from 1799 to 1802 he was envoy

extraordinary at the Porte. It was during his stay at Constantinople

that he formed the purpose of removing from Athens the celebrated

sculptures now known as the Elgin Marbles. His doing so was censured by

some as vandalism, and doubts were also expressed as to the artistic

value of many of the marbles; but he vindicated himself in a pamphlet

published in 1810, and entitled _Memorandum on the Subject of the Earl

of Elgin's Pursuits in Greece_. In 1816 the collection was purchased by

the nation for L36,000, and placed in the British Museum, the outlay

incurred by Lord Elgin having been more than L50,000. Lord Elgin was a

Scottish representative peer for fifty years. He died at Paris on the

14th of November 1841.

JAMES BRUCE, 8th earl of Elgin (1811-1863), British statesman, eldest

son of the 7th earl by his second marriage, was born in 1811, and

succeeded to the peerage as 8th earl of Elgin and 12th of Kincardine in

1841. He was educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he had

as companions and rivals his younger predecessors in the office of

governor-general of India, Dalhousie and Canning. He began his official

career in 1842 at the age of thirty, as governor of Jamaica. During an

administration of four years he succeeded in winning the respect of all

classes. He improved the condition of the negroes and conciliated the

planters by working through them. In 1846 Lord Grey appointed him

governor-general of Canada. Son-in-law of the popular earl of Durham, he

was well received by the colonists, and he set himself deliberately to

carry out the Durham policy. In this his frank and genial manners aided

him powerfully. His assent to the local measure for indemnifying those

who had suffered in the troubles of 1837 led the mob of Montreal to pelt

his carriage for the rewarding of rebels for rebellion, as Mr Gladstone

described it. But long before his eight years' term of service expired

he was the most popular man in Canada. His relations with the United

States, his hearty support of the self-government and defence of the

colony, and his settlement of the free-trade and fishery questions, led

to his being raised in 1849 to the British peerage as Baron Elgin.

Soon after his return to England in 1854, Lord Palmerston offered him a

seat in the cabinet as chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, which he

declined. But when, in 1856 the seizure of the "Arrow" by Commissioner

Yeh plunged England into war with China, he at once accepted the

appointment of special envoy with the expedition. On reaching Point de

Galle he was met by a force summoned from Bombay to Calcutta by the news

of the sepoy mutiny at Meerut on the 11th of May. His first idea, that

the somewhat meagre intelligence would justify most energetic action in

China, was at once changed when urgent letters from Lord Canning reached

him at Singapore, the next port, on the 3rd of June. H.M.S. "Shannon"

was at once sent on to Calcutta with the troops destined for China, and

Lord Elgin himself followed it, when gloomier letters from India reached

him. The arrival of the "Shannon" gave new life to the handful of white

men fighting for civilization against fearful odds, and before the

reinforcements from England arrived the back of the mutiny had been

broken. Nor was the position in China seriously affected by the want of

the troops. Lord Elgin sent in his ultimatum to Commissioner Yeh at

Canton on the same day, the 12th of December, that he learned the relief

of Lucknow, and he soon after sent Yeh a prisoner to Calcutta. By July

1858, after months of Chinese deception, he was able to leave the Gulf

of Pechili with the emperor's assent to the Treaty of Tientsin.

Subsequently he visited Japan, and obtained less considerable

concessions from its government in the Treaty of Yeddo. It is true that

the negotiations were confined to the really subordinate Tycoon or

Shogun, but that visit proved the beginning of British influence in the

most progressive country of Asia. Unfortunately, the Chinese difficulty

was not yet at an end. After tedious disputes with the tariff

commissioners as to the opium duty, and a visit to the upper waters of

the Yang-tzse, Lord Elgin had reached England in May 1859. But when his

brother and the allied forces attempted to proceed to Peking with the

ratified treaty, they were fired on from the Taku forts at the mouth of

the Peiho. The Chinese had resolved to try the fortune of war once more,

and Lord Russell again sent out Lord Elgin as ambassador extraordinary

to demand an apology for the attack, the execution of the treaty, and an

indemnity for the military and naval expenditure. Sir Robert Napier

(afterwards Lord Napier of Magdala) and Sir Hope Grant, with the French,

so effectually routed the Tatar troops and sacked the Summer Palace

that by the 24th of October 1860 a convention was concluded which was

"entirely satisfactory to Her Majesty's government." Lord Elgin had not

been a month at home when Lord Palmerston selected him to be viceroy and

governor-general of India. He had now attained the object of his

honourable ambition, after the office had been filled in most critical

times by his juniors and old college companions, the marquis of

Dalhousie and Earl Canning. He succeeded a statesman who had done much

to reorganize the whole administration of India, shattered as it had

been by the mutiny. But, as the first viceroy directly appointed by the

Crown, and as subject to the secretary of state for India, Lord Elgin at

once gave up all Lord Canning had fought for, in the co-ordinate

independence, or rather the stimulating responsibility, of the

governor-general, which had prevailed from the days of Clive and Warren

Hastings. On the other hand, he loyally carried out the wise and

equitable policy of his predecessor towards our feudatories with a

firmness and a dignity that in the case of Holkar and Udaipur had a good

effect. He did his best to check the aggression of the Dutch in Sumatra,

which was contrary to treaty, and he supported Dost Mahommed in Kabul

until that aged warrior entered the then neutral and disputed territory

of Herat. Determined to maintain inviolate the integrity of our own

north-west frontier, Lord Elgin assembled a camp of exercise at Lahore,

and marched a force to the Peshawar border to punish those branches of

the Yusufzai tribe who had violated the engagements of 1858.

It was in the midst of this "little war" that he died. Soon after his

arrival at Calcutta, he had projected the usual tour to Simla, to be

followed by an inspection of the Punjab and its warlike ring-fence of

Pathans. He even contemplated the summoning of the central legislative

council at Lahore. After passing the summer of 1863 in the cool retreat

of Peterhoff, Simla, Lord Elgin began a march across the hills from

Simla to Sialkot by the upper valleys of the Beas, the Ravi and the

Chenab, chiefly to decide the two allied questions of tea cultivation

and trade routes to Kashgar and Tibet. The climbing up to the Rotung

Pass (13,000 ft.) which separates the Beas valley from that of the

Chenab, and the crossing of the frail twig bridge across the Chundra

torrent, prostrated him by the time he had descended into the smiling

English-like Kangra valley. Thence he wrote his last letter to Sir

Charles Wood, still full of hope and not free from anxiety as to the

Sittana expedition. At the lovely hill station of Dharmsala, "the place

of piety," he died of fatty degeneration of heart on the 20th of

November 1863.

For his whole career see _Letters and Journals of James, Eighth Earl of

Elgin_, edited by Walrond, but corrected by his brother-in-law, Dean

Stanley; for the China missions see _Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's

Mission to China and Japan_, by Laurence Oliphant, his private

secretary; for the brief Indian administration see the _Friend of India_

for 1862-1863.

VICTOR ALEXANDER BRUCE, 9th earl of Elgin (1849- ), British statesman,

was born on the 16th of May 1849, the son of the 8th earl, and was

educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford. In 1863 he succeeded as

9th earl of Elgin and 13th of Kincardine. A Liberal in politics, he

became first commissioner of works (1886), and subsequently viceroy of

India (1894-1899). His administration in India was chiefly notable for

the frontier risings of 1897-1898. The Afridis broke out into a

fanatical revolt and through hesitation on the part of the government

were allowed to seize the Khyber Pass, necessitating the Tirah

Expedition. After his return to England he was nominated chairman of the

royal commission to investigate the conduct of the South African War;

and on the formation of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's ministry in

December 1905, he became a member of the cabinet as secretary of state

for the colonies. In this capacity, though he showed many statesmanlike

qualities, he was somewhat overshadowed by his brilliant under-secretary

in the Commons, Mr Winston Churchill, whose speeches on colonial affairs

were as aggressive as Lord Elgin's were cautious; and when in April

1908, Mr Asquith became prime minister, Lord Elgin retired from the

cabinet.

ELGINSHIRE, or MORAY (Gaelic "among the seaboard men"), a northern

county of Scotland, bounded N. by the Moray Firth, E. and S.E. by

Banffshire, S. and S.W. by Inverness and W. by Nairnshire. It comprises

only the eastern portion of the ancient province of Moray, which

extended from the Spey to the Beauly and from the Grampians to the sea,

embracing an area of about 3900 sq. m. The area of the county is 305,119

acres, or 477 sq. m.

Elginshire is naturally divided into two sections, the level and fertile

coast and its hinterland--"the Laigh o' Moray," a tract 30 m. long by

from 5 to 12 m. broad--and the hilly country in the south. There are,

however, no high mountains. Carn Ruigh (1784 ft.), Larig Hill (1783) and

Carn Kitty (1711) are the chief eminences in the south-central district

until the ridge of the Cromdale Hills is reached on the Banffshire

border, where the highest point is 2329 ft. above the sea. The two most

important rivers, the Spey (q.v.) and the Findhorn, both have their

sources in Inverness-shire. About 50 m. of the course of the Spey are in

Elginshire, to which it may be roughly said to serve as the boundary

line on the south-east and east. The Findhorn rises in the Monadliadh

Mountains which form the watershed for several miles between it and the

Spey. Of its total course of nearly 70 m. only the last 12 are in the

county, where it separates the woods of Altyre from the Forest of

Darnaway, before entering the Moray Firth in a bay on the north-eastern

shore to which it has given its name. During the first 7 m. of its flow

in Elginshire the stream passes through some of the finest scenery in

Scotland. It is liable to sudden risings, and in the memorable Moray

floods of August 1829 wrought the greatest havoc. Of other rivers the

Lossie rises in the small lakes on the flanks of Carn Kitty and pursues

a very winding course of 34 m. till it reaches the Moray Firth;

Ballintomb Burn, Rothes Burn and Tulchan Burn are left-hand affluents of

the Spey; the Dorbock and Divie, uniting their forces near Dunphail

House, join the Findhorn at Relugas; and Muckle Water, a left-hand

tributary of the Findhorn, comes from Nairnshire. The Spey and Findhorn

are famous for salmon, but some of the smaller streams, too, afford good

sport. The lochs are few and unimportant, among them being Loch Spynie,

2-1/2 m. N., and Loch-na-Bo, 4 m. S.E. of Elgin; Loch of Blairs, 2-1/2

m. S. of Forres; Loch Romach, 3 m. S. of Rafford; Loch Dallas, about 4

m. S.W. of Dallas, and Lochindorb in the S.W., 6 m. N.N.W. of Grantown.

Loch Spynie was once a lake extending from the Firth to within 2-1/2 m.

of Elgin and covering an area of over 2000 acres. Its shores were the

haunt of a great variety of birds, and its waters were full of salmon,

sea-trout and pike. But early in the 19th century it was resolved to

reclaim the land, and the drainage works then undertaken reduced the

beautiful loch to a swamp of some 120 acres.

Lochindorb is now the largest lake, being 2 m. in length and fully 1/2 m.

wide. In the upper end, on an island believed to be artificial, stand

the ruins of Lochindorb Castle, in the 14th century the stronghold of

the Wolf of Badenoch, and afterwards successively the property of the

earl of Moray, the Campbells of Cawdor and the earl of Seafield. Sir

Thomas Dick Lauder saw at Cawdor Castle a massive iron gate which,

according to tradition, Sir Donald Campbell of Cawdor carried on his

back from Lochindorb to Cawdor, a distance of 13 m. In the southern half

of the county, amongst the hills, are several glens, among them the Glen

of Rothes, Glen Lossie, Glen Gheallaidh, Glen Tulchan and Glen Beag.

Strathspey, though more of a valley than a glen, is remarkable for its

extent and beauty.

_Geology._--This county may be divided geologically into two areas,

the hilly region to the south being composed of the crystalline

schists of the Central Highlands and the fertile plain of Moray being

made up of Old Red Sandstone and Triassic strata. In the Cromdale

Hills in the south-east of the county the metamorphic series comprises

schistose quartzite, quartz-schists, micaceous flagstones and

mica-schists, which are granulitic and holocrystalline, the dark

laminae in some cases containing heavy residues such as ilmenite and

zircon. The greater portion of the metamorphic area west of the Spey

consists of granulitic quartz-biotite-granulites and bands of

muscovite-biotite-schist belonging to the Moine series of the

Geological Survey (see SCOTLAND: _Geology_). In certain areas these

are permeated by granitic material in the form of thin strings, knots

and veins. Excellent sections of these rocks are exposed in the

Findhorn, the Divie and the tributaries of the Spey. Near Grantown

there is a group locally developed, comprising crystalline limestone

with tremolite, kyanite gneiss, muscovite-biotite-schist and

quartzite, the age and relations of which are still uncertain. The

general strike of the crystalline schists, save where there are local

deflections, is north-east and south-west, and the general dip is to

the south-east. Between Lochindorb and Grantown there is a mass of

granite belonging to the later intrusions of the Highlands represented

by the Cairngorm granite. Within the county there are representatives

of the middle and upper divisions of the Old Red Sandstone resting

unconformably on the crystalline schists. The strata of the middle or

Orcadian series consist of conglomerates, sandstones, shales and

clays, with limestone nodules containing fish remains. This sequence

is well displayed in the banks of the Spey north of Boat of Bridge and

in the Tynet Burn east of Fochabers, the latter being one of the

well-known localities for ichthyolites in the middle or Orcadian

division. In the Tynet and Gollachie Burn sections, the fish bed is

overlaid by conglomerates and red pebbly sandstones, passing upwards

into a thin zone of andesite lavas, indicating contemporaneous

volcanic action. West of the Tynet Burn and Spey sections there is no

trace of the members of the Orcadian division till we reach the Muckle

Burn and Lethen Bar in Nairnshire, save the coarse conglomerate

filling the ancient hollow of the valley of Rothes which may belong to

the middle series. In that direction they are overlapped by the Upper

Old Red Sandstone, which in the river Lossie, in the Lochty Burn and

the Findhorn rest directly on the metamorphic rocks. Even to the south

of the main boundary of the upper division there are small outliers of

that series resting on the crystalline schists. Hence there must be a

discordance between the Middle and Upper Old Red Sandstone in this

county. The strata of the upper division consist of red, grey and

yellow false-bedded sandstones with conglomeratic bands, which are

well seen in the Findhorn between Sluie and Cothall, where they are

associated with a bed of cornstone, all dipping to the N.N.W. at

gentle angles. South of Elgin they are exposed in the Lossie and at

Scaat Craig, while to the north of that town they extend along the

ridge from Bishopmill to Alves. By means of the fish remains, which

occur at Scaat Craig, in the Bishopmill quarries, at Alves, in the

Findhorn cliffs and in the Whitemyre quarry on the Muckle Burn, the

Upper Old Red Sandstone in this county is arranged in two groups, the

Alves and Rosebrae. In the area lying to the north of the Upper Old

Red Sandstone ridge at Bishopmill and Quarrywood, the strata of

Triassic age occur, where they consist of pale grey and yellow

sandstones and a peculiar cherty and calcareous band, known as the

cherty rock of Stotfield. The sandstones are visible in quarries on

the north slope of Quarry Wood, at Findrassie, at Spynie and along the

ridge and sea-shore between Burghead and Lossiemouth. They are

invested with special interest on account of the remarkable series of

reptilian remains obtained from them, comprising _Stagonolepis_, a

crocodile allied to the modern caiman in form; _Telerpeton_ and

_Hyperodapedon_, species of lizards; _Dicynodonts_ (_Gordonia_ and

_Geikia_) and a horned reptile, _Elginia mirabilis_ (see SCOTLAND:

_Geology_). The palaeontological evidence points to the conclusion

that these reptiliferous sandstones must belong in part to the Trias,

indeed it is possible that the lower portion may be of Permian age. In

the Cutties Hillock quarry west of Elgin these reptiliferous beds rest

directly on the sandstones containing _Holoptychius_ of Upper Old Red

Sandstone age, so that the apparent conformability must be entirely

deceptive. Within the area occupied by the Trias west of Stotfield,

flagstones appear, charged with fish scales of Upper Old Red age,

where they form a low ridge protruding through the younger strata.

Both the Upper Old Red and Triassic sandstones have been largely

quarried for building purposes. On the shore at Lossiemouth there is a

patch of greenish white sandstones yielding fossils characteristic of

the Lower Oolite.

The glacial deposits distributed over the fertile plain of Moray and

in the upland valleys are of interest. The low grounds were crossed by

the ice descending the Moray Firth in an easterly and south-easterly

direction, which carried boulders of granite from Strath Nairn and

augen gneiss from Easter Ross. In the Elgin district, boulders

belonging to the horizons of the Lower and Middle Lias, the Oxford

Clay and the Upper Chalk are found both in the glacial deposits and on

the surface of the ground. The largest transported mass occurs at

Linksfield, where a succession of limestones and shales rests on

boulder clay and is covered by it, which from the fossils may be of

Rhaetic or Lower Lias age.

_Climate and Agriculture._--The climate of the coast is equable and

mild, even exotic fruits ripening readily in the open. The uplands are

colder and damp. The average temperature in January is 38 deg. F. and in

July 58.5 deg., while for the year the mean is 47 deg. F. The rainfall

for the year averages 26 in. Considering its latitude and the extent of

its arable land the standard of farming in Elginshire is high. The rich

soil of the lowlands is well adapted for wheat, barley and oats. The

acreage confined to the glens and straths under barley approximates

that under oats. In the uplands, oats is the principal cereal. The

breeding of live-stock is profitable, and some of the finest specimens

of shorthorned and polled cattle and of crosses between the two are

bred. On the larger farms in the Laigh Leicester sheep are kept all the

year round, but in the uplands the Blackfaced take their place. Large

numbers of horses and pigs are also raised.

_Other Industries._--Whisky is the chief product, and the numerous

distilleries are usually busy. There are woollen mills at Elgin and

elsewhere and chemical works at Forres and Burghead. Owing to the

absence of coal what little mineral wealth there is (iron and lead)

cannot be remuneratively worked. The sandstone quarries, yielding a

building-stone of superior quality, are practically inexhaustible. The

plantations mainly consist of larch and fir and, to a smaller extent, of

oak. Much timber was once floated down the Spey and other rivers, but,

since the increased facilities of carriage afforded by the railways,

trees have been felled on a wider scale. Boat-building is carried on at

Burghead, Lossiemouth and Kingston--so-called from the fact that a firm

from Kingston-on-Hull laid down a yard there in 1784--while at Garmouth

the fishing fleet lies up during the winter and is also repaired there.

The Firth fisheries are of considerable value. The boats go out from

Findhorn, Burghead, Hopeman and Lossiemouth, which are all furnished

with safe harbours. Findhorn has been twice visited by calamities. The

first village was overwhelmed by the drifting sands of Culbin, and the

second was buried beneath the waves in 1701. Kingston harbour is tidal,

exposed, and liable to interruption from a shifting bar. The deep sea

fisheries comprise haddock, cod, ling and herring, and the Spey,

Findhorn and Lossie yield large quantities of salmon.

The Great North of Scotland railway enters the shire in the S.E. from

Craigellachie, whence a branch runs up the Spey to Boat of Garten in

Inverness-shire, and in the N.E. from Port Gordon, running in both cases

to Elgin, from which a branch line extends to Lossiemouth. The Highland

railway traverses the western limits of the shire running almost due

north to Forres, whence it turns westward to Nairn and eastward to

Elgin. From the county town it runs to Aberdeen via Orbliston and Keith,

with a branch to Fochabers from Orbliston.

_Population and Government._--The population was 43,471 in 1891 and

44,800 in 1901, when 1865 persons spoke both Gaelic and English, and 2

spoke Gaelic only. The chief towns are Elgin (pop. in 1901, 8460),

Forres (4313) and Lossiemouth (3904), to which may be added Rothes

(1621), Grantown (1568) and Burghead (1531). In conjunction with

Nairnshire the county returns one member to parliament. Elgin and Forres

are royal burghs; the municipal and police burghs include Burghead,

Elgin, Forres, Grantown, Lossiemouth, and Rothes. Elginshire is included

in one sheriffdom with Inverness and Nairn, and there is a resident

sheriff-substitute at Elgin. The county is under school-board

jurisdiction, several of the schools earning grants for higher

education. There are academies at Elgin and Fochabers and science and

art and technical schools at Elgin and Grantown. The bulk of the

"residue" grant is spent in subsidizing the agricultural department of

Aberdeen University and the science schools and art and technical

classes in the county.

_History._--Moray, in the wider sense, was first peopled by Picts of the

Gaelic branch of Celts, of whom relics are found in the stone circle at

Viewfield and at many places in Nairnshire. Christianity, introduced

under the auspices of Columba (from whose time the site of Burghead

church has probably been so occupied), flourished for a period until the

Columban church was expelled in 717 by King Nectan. Thereafter the

district was given over to internecine strife between the northern and

southern Picts, which was ended by the crushing victory of Kenneth

MacAlpine in 831, as one result of which the kingdom of Pictavia was

superseded by the principality of Moravia. Still, settled order had not

yet been secured, for the Norsemen raided the country first under

Thorstein and then under two Sigurds. It was in the time of the second

Sigurd that the Firth was fixed as the northern boundary of Moray. In

spite of such interruptions as the battle of Torfness (Burghead) on the

14th of August 1040, in which Thorfinn, earl of Orkney and Shetland,

overthrew a strong force of Scots under King Duncan, the consolidation

of the kingdom was being gradually accomplished. After Macbeth ascended

the throne the Scandinavians held their hands. Though Macbeth and his

_faineant_ successor, "daft" Lulach, were the only kings whom Moray gave

to Scotland, the province never lacked for able, if headstrong, men, and

it continued to enjoy home rule under its own marmaer, or great steward

(the equivalent of _earl_, the title that replaced it), until the dawn

of the 12th century, when as an entity it ceased to exist. With a view

to breaking up the power of the marmaers David I. and his successors

colonized the seaboard with settlers from other parts of the kingdom.

Nevertheless, from time to time the clansmen and their chiefs descended

from their fastnesses and plundered the Laigh, keeping the people for

generations in a state of panic. Meanwhile, the Church had become a

civilizing force. In 1107 Alexander had founded the see of Moray and the

churches of Birnie, Kinneddar and Spynie were in turn the cathedral of

the early bishops, until in 1224 under the episcopate of Andrew of Moray

(de Moravia), the church of the Holy Trinity in Elgin was chosen for the

cathedral. Another factor that drew men together was the struggle for

independence. In his effort to stamp out Scottish nationality Edward I.

came as far north as Elgin, where he stayed for four days in July 1296,

and whence he issued his writ for the parliament at Berwick. Wallace,

however, had no doughtier supporter than Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell,

and Bruce recognized the assistance he had received from the men of the

north by erecting Moray into an earldom on the morrow of Bannockburn and

bestowing it upon Thomas Randolph (see MORAY, THOMAS RANDOLPH, EARL OF).

Henceforward the history of the county resolved itself in the main into

matters affecting the power of the Church and the ambitions of the Moray

dynasties. The Church accepted the Reformation peacefully if not with

gratitude. But there was strife between Covenanters and the adherents of

Episcopacy until, prelacy itself being abolished in 1689, the bishopric

of Moray came to an end after an existence of 581 years. (For the

subsequent history of the earldom, which was successively held by the

Randolphs, the Dunbars, the Douglases, the royal Stewarts and an

illegitimate branch of the Stewarts, see MURRAY or MORAY, EARLS OF.)

Other celebrated Moray families who played a more or less strenuous part

in local politics were the Gordons, the Grants and the Duffs. Still,

national affairs occasionally evoked interest in Moray. In the civil war

Montrose ravaged the villages which stood for the Covenanters, but most

of the great lairds shifted in their allegiance, and the mass of the

people were quite indifferent to the declining fortunes of the Stewarts.

Charles II. landed at Garmouth on the 3rd of July 1650 on his return

from his first exile in Holland, but hurried southwards to try the yoke

of Presbytery. The fight at Cromdale (May day, 1690) shattered the

Jacobite cause, for the efforts in 1715 and 1745 were too spasmodic and

half-hearted to affect the loyalty of the district to Hanoverian rule. A

few weeks before Culloden Prince Charles Edward stayed in Elgin for some

days, and a month afterwards the duke of Cumberland passed through the

town at the top of his speed and administered the _coup de grace_ to the

Young Pretender on Drummossie Moor.

Twice Elginshire has been the scene of catastrophes without parallel in

Scotland. In 1694 the barony of Culbin--a fine estate, with a rent roll

in money and kind of L6000 a year, belonging to the Kinnairds,

comprising 3600 acres of land, so fertile that it was called the Granary

of Moray, a handsome mansion, a church and several houses--was buried

under a mass of sand in a storm of extraordinary severity. The sandy

waste measures 3 m. in length and 2 in breadth, and the sand,

exceedingly fine and light, is constantly shifting and, at rare

intervals, exposing traces of the vanished demesne. This wilderness of

dome-shaped dunes divided by a loftier ridge lies to the north-west of

Forres. The other calamity was the Moray floods of the 2nd and 3rd of

August 1829. The Findhorn rose 50 ft. above the ordinary level,

inundating an area of 20 sq. m.; the Divie rose 40 ft., and the Lossie

flooded all the low ground around Elgin. The floods tore down bridges

and buildings, and obliterated farms and homesteads.

AUTHORITIES.--Lachlan Shaw, _History of the Province of Moray_

(Gordon's edition, Glasgow, 1882); _A Survey of the Province of Moray_

(Elgin, 1798); W. Rhind, _Sketches of the Past and Present State of

Moray_ (Edinburgh, 1839); E. Dunbar Dunbar, _Documents relating to the

Province of Moray_ (Edinburgh, 1895); C.A. Gordon, _History of the

House of Gordon_ (Aberdeen, 1890); C. Rampini, _History of Moray and

Nairn_ (Edinburgh, 1897); C. Innes, _Elgin, Past and Present_ (Elgin,

1860); J. Macdonald, "Burghead" (_Proceedings of Glasgow

Archaeological Soc._), (1891); Sir T. Dick Lauder, _The Wolf of

Badenoch_ (Glasgow, 1886); _An Account of the Great Floods of August

1829 in the Province of Moray and Adjoining Districts_ (Elgin, 1873).

ELGON, also known as MASAWA, an extinct volcano in British East Africa,

cut by 1 deg. N. and 34-1/2 deg. E., forming a vast isolated mass over

40 m. in diameter. The outer slopes are in great measure precipitous on

the north, west and south, but fall more gradually to the east. The

southern cliffs are remarkable for extensive caves, which have the

appearance of water-worn caves on a coast line and have for ages served

as habitations for the natives. The higher parts slope gradually upwards

to the rim of an old crater, lying somewhat north of the centre of the

mass, and measuring some 8 m. in diameter. The highest point of the rim

is about 14,100 ft. above the sea. Steep spurs separated by narrow

ravines run out from the mountain, affording the most picturesque

scenery. The ravines are traversed by a great number of streams, which

flow north-west and west to the Nile (through Lake Choga), south and

south-east to Victoria Nyanza, and north-east to Lake Rudolf by the

Turkwell, the head-stream of which rises within the crater, breaking

through a deep cleft in its rim. To the north-west of the mountain a

grassy plain, swampy in the rains, falls towards the chain of lakes

ending in Choga; towards the north-east the country becomes more arid,

while towards the south it is well wooded. The outer slopes are clothed

in their upper regions with dense forest formed in part of bamboos,

especially towards the south and west, in which directions the rainfall

is greater than elsewhere. The lower slopes are exceptionally fertile on

the west, and produce bananas in abundance. On the north-west and north

the region between 6000 and 7000 ft. possesses a delightful climate, and

is well watered by streams of ice-cold water. The district of Save on

the north is a halting-place for Arab and Swahili caravans going north.

On the west the slopes are densely inhabited by small Bantu-Negro

tribes, who style their country Masawa (whence the alternative name for

the mountain); but on the south and north there are tribes which seem

akin to the Gallas. Of these, the best known are the El-gonyi, from whom

the name Elgon has been derived. They formerly lived almost entirely in

the caves, but many of them have descended to villages at the foot of

the mountain. Elgon was first visited in 1883 by Joseph Thomson, who

brought to light the cave-dwellings on the southern face. It was crossed

from north to south, and its crater reached, in 1890 by F.J. Jackson and

Ernest Gedge, while the first journey round it was made by C.W. Hobley

in 1896. (E. He.)

ELI (Hebrew for "high"? 1 Sam. chaps, i.-iv.), a member of the ancient

priesthood founded in Egypt (1 Sam. ii. 27), priest of the temple of

Shiloh, the sanctuary of the ark, and also "judge" over Israel. This was

an unusual combination of offices, when it is considered that in the

history preserved to us he appears in the weakness of extreme old age,

unable to control the petulance and rapacity of his sons, Hophni and

Phinehas, who disgraced the sanctuary and disgusted the people. While

the central authority was thus weakened, the Philistines advanced

against Israel, and gained a complete victory in the great battle of

Ebenezer, where the ark was taken, and Hophni and Phinehas slain. On

hearing the news Eli fell from his seat and died. In a passage not

unlike the account of the birth of Benjamin (Gen. xxxv. 16 sqq.), it is

added that the wife of Phinehas, overwhelmed at the loss of the ark and

of her husband, died in child-birth, naming the babe Ichabod (1 Sam.

iv. 19 sqq.). This name, which popular etymology explained by the words

"the glory is removed (or, stronger, 'banished') from Israel" (cf. Hos.

x. 5), should perhaps be altered from _I-kabod_ (as though "not glory")

to Jochebed (_Yokebed_, a slight change in the original), the name which

tradition also gave to the mother of Moses (q.v.). After these events

the sanctuary of Shiloh appears to have been destroyed (cf. Jer. vii.

12, xxvi. 6, 9), and the descendants of Eli with the whole of their clan

or "father's house" subsequently appear as settled at Nob (1 Sam. xxi.

1, xxii. 11 sqq., cp. xiv. 3), perhaps in the immediate neighbourhood of

Jerusalem (Is. x. 32). In the massacre of the clan by Saul, and the

subsequent substitution of the survivor Abiathar by Zadok (1 Kings ii.

27, 35), later writers saw the fulfilment of the prophecies of judgment

which was said to have been uttered in the days of Eli against his

corrupt house (1 Sam. ii. 27 sqq., iii. 11 sqq.).[1]

See further, SAMUEL, BOOKS OF; and on Eli as a descendant of a Levite

clan (1 Sam. ii 27 sq.), see LEVITES (S 3). (W. R. S.; S. A. C.)