Egypt
Egypt, A Country In N.e. Africa, Extending From The Mediterranean To The First Cataract Of The Nile, That Of Syene, From Lat. 24° 6' To 31° 30' North. The Name Is Derived From The Greek Aigyptos, A Word Of Uncertain Derivation, And As Old As The Age Of Homer. In ...
Eiidocia
Eiido'cia, The Name Of Several Byzantine Princesses, Of Whom The Most Important Is The Wife Of The Emperor Theodosius Ii. She Was The Daughter Of The Sophist Leontius Or Leon, And Was Educated By Her Father, Who Instructed Her In The Literature Of Greece And Rome, In Rhetoric, Geometry, Arithmetic, ...
Eiiphoebia
Eiiphoebia, On Of, Or On Of Caper Srunoe, An Extremely Acrid Fixed Oil, Obtained By Expression, Or By The Aid Of Alcohol Or Ether, From The Seeds Of The Caper Spurge (euphorbia Lathyris), A Plant Common In Many Parts Of Europe, And Naturalized In Some Places In Britain. See Spurge. ...
Eiisebiiis
Eiise'biiis, Of Cfesarea, The Father Of Ecclesiastical History, Was B. In Palestine, About 2.64 A.d. He Took The Surname Of Pamphili From His Friend Pamphilus, Bishop Of Cmsarea, Whom He Faithfully Attended For The Two Years (307-309) In Which He Suffered Imprisonment During The Persecution Of Diocletian. He Then Went ...
Eird Houses Earth Houses
Earth-houses, Eird-houses, Or Yird-houses, The Name Which Seems To Have Been Generally Given Throughout Scotland To The Under-ground Buildings Which In Some Places Are Called Also " Picts' Houses" (q.v.), And In Others, It Would Appear " Weems," Or Caves. Martin, In His Description Of The Western Islands, Printed In ...
Eitikea
Eitike'a (ancient, Euboia; Turkish, Egripo; Ital. Negroponte), The Largest Island In The .±gean Sea, Forms A Portion Of The Present Kingdom Of Greece. Until Recently, It Was Called Negropont. It Is Bounded On The N. By The Trikeri Channel, And On The W. By Those Of Talanta And Egripo. It ...
Eitre
Eitre, A Department In The N.w. Of France, Immediately S. Of The Department Of Seine Inferieure, Contains An Area Of 2,290 Sq. Miles. Pop. In '76, 373,629. Its Surface Is Unusually Level, As The Highest Eminences In The Department Are Not More Than 300 Ft. In Height. The Principal River ...
El Arabaii
El-ara'baii Is The Name Of The Great Depression Of Country Which Extends From The Dead Sea To The Gulf Of Akahah. From The Foot Of Mt. Hermon To The Elanitic Gulf Of The Red Sea There Is A Deep Valley That Is Classed By Geographers Among The Most Remarkable Depressions ...
Eland
Eland, Anttilope Oreas, A Species Of Antelope, Abounding In S. Africa, Wherever There Are Fertile Plains And Low Hills, Except In The Longest Settled And Most Cultivated Parts Of Cape Colony, Where It Has Been Too Much Hunted To Be Any Longer Of Very Fre Quent Occurrence. It Is Described ...
Elaterium
Elate'rium, A Drug Obtained From The Fruit Of The Squirting Cucumber, Or Spirting (ecbaliam Agreste, Formerly Known As Momordica Elaterium), Also Called The Wild Cucumber, An Annual Plant Of The Natural Order Cucurbitacem, A Native Of The S. Of Europe, Common On Rubbish In The Villages Of Greece And The ...
Elatma
Elatma. See Jelatom. Elba (lat. Eva, Gr. .zethalia), An Island Belonging To The Kingdom Of Italy, In The Mediterranean Sea, Between Corsica And The Coast Of Tuscany, From The Latter Of Which It Is Separated By The Channel Of Piombino, A Strait 5 M. In Breadth. Its Greatest Length Is ...
Elder
Elder, Sambucus, A Genus Of Plants Of The Natural Order Caprifoliacece, Consisting Chiefly Of Shrubs And Trees, With Pinnate Leaves, Small Flowers Of Which The Corolla Is Wheel-shaped And 5-cleft, And 3-seeded Berries. The Wood Of The Young Shoots Contains A Very Large Pith. The Species Are Very Widely Distributed.—the ...
Elder_2
Elder, An Office-bearer In Presbyterian Churches. The Name Is An Exact Translation Of The Greek Presbyte,ros, Which Occurs Frequently In The New Testament, And From Which The English Word Priest Is Derived. That The Presbyteroi Of The Churches Of The Apostolic Age Were Not Priests In The Special Sense Of ...
Eleatic School
Eleatic School, A Sect Of Grecian Philosophers During The Century Preceding The Peloponnesian War, 530-430 B.c.:, Deriving Its Name From Elea (or Velea), A City On The Western Coast Of Southern Italy, Founded 540 B.c., By The Phocwans. The General Characteristic Of The School Was The Maintenance Of A Distinction ...
Election
Election Denotes, In Theological Language, The Divine Act By Which •certain Indi Viduals Are Chosen To Salvation In Christ, And The Doctrine Of Election Is The Doctrine Of " God's Everlasting Purpose, Whereby He Bath Constantly Decreed By His Secret Counsel To Deliver From Curse And Damnation Those Whom He ...
Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission, The Body Of Men Provided For By Act Of Congress,. Jan. 29, 1877, To Settle Certain Disputed Questions In Regard To The Electoral Votes Of Sev Eral States In The Presidential Election Of 1876. The Commission Was Composed Of 5. Senators, Chosen By The Senate; 5 Members Of ...
Electors
Electors, In The German Empire, Were Those Great Princes Who Had The Right Of Electing The Emperor Or King. In The Earliest Times Under The Carlovingians, The Crown Was Hereditary; Afterwards, Germany Became Formally An Elective Monarchy, But The Election Was Practically Almost Limited To The Reigning Family. Under The ...
Electric Clock
Electric Clock. The Regularity Of The Clock Depends, As Is Well Known, On The Action Of The Pendulum, Which Is Isochronous—that Is, Has The Property, Within Cer Tain Limits, Of Describing Long And Short Arcs In The Same Time. See Pendulum. The Pendulum, However, Left To Itself, Would, In Consequence ...
Electric Light
Electric Light (ante). The Machines Which Are Now Used For Generating The Light-producing Current Are Described In The Article Magneto-electric Machine. The More Recent Inventions Of Electrodes For Producing Light Are Those Of Jablochkoff, Lodyguine, Kohn, Sawyer, And Edison. The First Of These Produces The Light By The Electric Arc; ...
Electric Light
Electric Light. All Known Methods Of Generating Electricity Can Produce Light Of Greater Or Less Steadiness And Brilliancy. Cavallo, In His Treatise Published A Century Ago, Refers To A Light, Different From The Electric Spark, Produced By Frictional Electricity. A Needle Or Wire Presented To An Insulated Person, At The ...
Electricity
Electricity, The Name Used In Connection With An Extensive And Important Class Of Phenomena, And Usually Denoting Either The Unknown Cause Of The Phenomena Or The Science That Treats Of Them. Most Of The Phenomena In Question Fall Under The Three Chief Heads Of Frictional Electricity, Galvanism, And Magneto-electricity. The ...
Electro Metalliirgy
Electro-met'alliirgy. Within The Last Few Years Many Advances Have Been Made In The Art Of Electro-metallurgy. Usually In Electroplating, The Silver Presents A Dull Appearance When Drawn Out Of The Trough, Requiring To Be Polished By A Burnisher And A Scratch-brush. If, However, Bisulphide Of Carbon Be Added To The ...
Electrophone
Electrophone, An Instrument Devised By Dr. Strethill Wright For Producing Sound By Electric Currents Of High Tension. In Its Simplest Form, The Electroplione Consists Of Two Metallic Plates Separated By A Sheet Of Cartridge-paper, The Whole Being Closely Pressed Together By A Heavy Weight Or Screw. Such An Instrument, When ...
Electrophorus
Electrophorus. This Generally Consists Of A Tin Mold Filled With Shell-lac, And A Movable Metal Cover, With A Glass Handle. The Shell-lac Is Poured In When Melted, And It Is Mixed With Some Other Substance, To Make It Less Brittle. Five Parts Of Shel Lac, One Of Wax, And One ...
Elegy
Elegy (gr. Elegeia), According To Its Derivation, Signifies, Exclusively, A Song Of Lamentation, But The Term Was Employed At An Early Period By The Greeks To Designate Any Poem Written In Distiehes. The Alternation, Peculiar To This Measure, Of The Hex Ameter, Or Strictly Narrative Verse, With The More Fiery ...
Elephant
Elephant (gr. Elephas), A Genus Of Quadrupeds, Of The Order Pachydermata (q.v.), And Of The Section Proboscidea. Elephants Are The Largest Existing Land.animals. The Ordinary Height At The Shoulder Is About 8 Ft., But Sometimes Exceeds 10 Feet. The Weight Of A Large E. Is About Five Tons, The Body ...
Elephantine
Elephantine, A Small Island Of The Nile, Lying Opposite To Assouan (q.v.), The Ancient Syene, On The Confines Of Egypt And Nubia, In 24° 5' N. 32° 34' E. Long. From This Island, The Greek Mercenaries Were Sent By Psannhitichus I. To Recall The Egyptian Deserters, And It Was Garrisoned ...
Eleusinian Mysteries
Eleusin'ian Mysteries, The Sacred Rites With Which The Annual Festival Of Ceres Was Celebrated At Eleusis. Many Traditions Were Afloat In Ancient Times As To The Origin Of This Festival. Of These, The Most Generally Accepted Was To The Effect That Ceres, Wandering Over The Earth In Quest Of Her ...
Elevation Of The Host
Elevation Of The Host (host, Ante). Members Of The Church Of Rome Wor Ship The Host Under The Assumption That The Bread And Wine In The Lord's Supper Are Transubstantiated Into The Real Body, Blood, And Divinity Of Christ, Who Is, On Each Cele Bration Of The Sacrament, Offered Up ...
Elgin
Elgin, A Royal Burgh, The Co. T. Of Elgin Or Morayshire, And A Station On The Inver Ness And Aberdeen Junction Railway, Situated On The Right Bank Of The River Lossie, About 5 M. From The Sea. Pop. '71, 7,339. E. Joins With Banff, Peterhead, Inverury, Cullen, And Kiutore, In ...
Elgin Marbles
Elgin Marbles, A Celebrated Collection Of Ancient Sculptures, Brought From Greece By Thomas, Seventh Earl Of Elgin, And Acquired From Him By The Nation For The British Museum In 1816, At The Sum Of £35,000. These Sculptures Adorned Certain Buildings On The Acropolis Of Athens; The Chief Portions, Which Are ...
Elgin And Kincardine
Elgin And Kincardine, Earl Of, Governor-general Of India. James Bruce, Eighth Earl Of E., Was B. In Park Lane, London, In 1811. He Was Educated At His Father's Seat, In Fifeshire, And Afterwards Went To Christ Church, Oxford, Where He Was First-class In Classics, 1832; Became Fellow Of Merton, And ...
Eliot
Eliot, Sir John, 1592-1632; An English Statesman, B. At His Father's Seat On The River Tamar. He Graduated At Oxford, Studied Law, And Traveled On The Continent, For Part Of The Time With George Villiers, Afterwards Duke Of Buckingham. At The Age Of 22, He Entered Parliament, And At 27, ...
Eliot_2
Eliot, Jonx, 1604-90; " The Apostle Of The Indians;" B. At Nasing, Essex, Eng. He Graduated At Cambridge In 1623, And Entering The Non-conformist Ministry, Emigrated Iu 1631 To Boston, Mass., Where He Officiated For A Year In The Church Of Mr. Wilson, Who Was Then Iu England, And, In ...
Elis
Elis, One Of The Ancient Divisions Of The Peloponnesus, Bounded N. And N.e. By Achaia, E. And S. By Arcadia, And W. By The Ionian Sea. It Was Originally Divided Into Three Districts—ccele Or Hollow Elis, Pisatis, And Triphylia. Of These, The First-named Was By Far The Largest And Most ...
Elisha
Eli'sha, A Prophet Of Israel, The Successor Of Elijah, Who Found Him At The Plow, And Consecrated Him To The Sacred Office By Throwing His Mantle Over His Shoulders. He Exercised His Functions For A Period Of 55 Years. When Elijah Was Carried Up Into Heaven, E. Returned To Jericho, ...
Elizabeth
Elizabeth, A City And Seat Of Justice In Union Co., N. J., On Newark Bay And Staten Island Sound, 12 M. S.w. Of New York; On Slightly Elevated Ground On Both Sides Of The Elizabeth River; Reached By The New Jersey Central And The Pennsylvania Railroads. It Was Settled Under ...
Elizabeth
Elizabeth, Queen Of England, Was The Daughter Of Henry Viii. And The Unfortu Nate Anne Boleyn, And Was B. 7th Sept., 1533. While She Was Yet In Her Third Year, Her Mother Was Beheaded. After Her Mother's Execution, She Was Sent To The Country, Where, In Comparative Poverty And Seclusion, ...
Elizabeth Petrovna
Elizabeth Petrov'na, Empress Of Russia, (laughter Of Peter The Great And Cath Arine I., Was B. In The Year 1709. On The Death Of Peter Ii., In 1730, She Allowed Anna, Duchess Of Courland, To Ascend The Throne, She Herself Being Apparently Indifferent To Anything But The Indulgence Of Her ...
Elizabeth Stuart
Elizabeth Stuart, Queen Of Bohemia, Remarkable Not Only As A Heroine. But As Forming The Connecting Link Between The Ancient Royal Families Of England And Scot Land And The Present Reigning Dynasty, Was H. In The Palace Of Falkland (q V.) On The 19th Of Aug., 1596. On The Accession ...
Elliah
Elliah (in The Greek Form, Occurring In The New Testament, Elias), The Greatest Of The Prophets Of Israel, Was Born At Tishbe, In Gilead, On The Borders Of The Desert. He Comes Upon The Scene In The Time Of Ahab, About 920 B.c. When That Monarch, To Please His Phoenician ...
Ellipse
Ellipse' Is The Name Of A Figure In Geometry, Important From Its Being The Approxi Mate Shape Of The Planetary Orbits. It Is A Curve Of The Second Order, And Is A Conic Section, Formed By Cutting A Right Cone By A Plane Passing Obliquely Through Its Oppo Site Sides. ...
Ellora
Ello'ra, A Decayed T. In The Dominions Of The Nizam, Not Far From The City Of Dow Latabad, In Lat. 20° 2' N., And Long. 75° 13' East. It Is Celebrated For Its Wonderful Rock Cut Temples. Their Number Has Not Been Precisely Ascertained, But Erskine Reckoned 19 Large Ones, ...
Ellwangen
Ell'wangen, A T. In Wurtemberg, 55 M. N.e. Of Stuttgart; A Place Of Considera Ble Importance In Manufacturing; Pop. '70, 4,155. It Is The Seat Of Government Of The Circle Of Jaxt. Trromas, 1639-1713; An English Author Noted For His Intimacy With Milton, Whom He Met Through An Introduction By ...
Eloquence
Eloquence Is The Oral Or Written Expression Of Thoughts And Truths In A Manner Adapted To Convince Or Persuade Hearers Or Readers, And Excite Them To Corresponding Action. In Its Highest Form It Is Inspired By An Earnest Love Of Truth And Right, And A Hearty Scorn For Whatever Is ...
Elsinore
Elsinore' (dan. Helsingor), A T. And Seaport Of Denmark, On The Island Of Seeland, Is Situated On The Western Shore Of The Sound, And At Its Narrowest Part, 3f M. W.s.w. Of The Town Of Helsingborg In Sweden, And 24 M. N. Of Copenhagen. Lat. 56° 2' N., Long. 12° ...
Elves
Elves, See Fairies. E'ly, So Called From A Saxon Word, Elig, An Eel, Or Helig, A Willow, May Be Called A Cathedral Town Rather Than A City, And Is Situated On An Eminence In Thatpart Of The Fen-country Of Cambridgeshire Called The Isle Of Ely. Pop. '71, 8,166. The Eastern ...
Embalming
Embalming, The Art Of Preserving The Body After Death, Invented By The Egyptians, Whose Prepared Bodies Are Known By The Name Of Mummies, And Are Called In The Hieroglyphs Sahu, And By St. Augustine Gabbaroe. This Art Seems To Have Derived Its Origin From The Idea That The Preservation Of ...
Emberiza
Emberiza And Emberield/e, See Bunting. Embez'ziement, The Felonious Appropriation By Clerks, Servants, Or Others In A Position Of Trust. Of Goods, Money, Or Other Chattels Intrusted To Their Care, Or Received In The Course Of Their Duty, On Account Of Their Employers. It Is Essential To The Crime Of E. ...
Emblemata
Emblem'ata (gr.), The Works Of Art With Which Gold And Silver Vessels Were Decorated By The Ancients. These Sculptured Figures Were Generally Executed Either In The Precious Metals Or In Amber. They Were Called Crustal By The Romans, Though The Greek Word Was Also Used. Erblements (fr. Emblaver, To Sow ...
Embolism
Embolism (derived From The Greek Word Embolon, -± Plug) Is The Term Employed By Recent Pathologists To Designate The Plugging-up Of A Vessel By A Clot Of Coagulated Blood Fibrin, By A Detached Shred Of A Morbid Growth From A Diseased Cardiac Valve, Etc. It Is In Cases Of Ill-nourished, ...
Embossing
Embossing, The Art Of Producing Raised Figures Upon Various Substances, Such As Paper, Leather, Wood, Metals, Etc. This Is Usually Effected By Pressing The Substance Into A Die, The Kind Of Die And Mode Of Applying The Pressure Being Modified Accord Ing To The Nature Of The Design And The ...
Embroidery
Embroidery, The Art Of Producing Ornamental Needlework-patterns Upon Fabrics Of Any Kind. This Art Is Coeval With The Earliest And Rudest Manufacture Of Hair And Woolen Fabrics. It Was One Of The Most Important Of The Early Arts In Oriental Countries, Where It Is Still Practiced With Great Skill And ...
Emerald
Emerald (sp. Esmeralda, Fr. Emeraude, Ger. Maraud, Gr. Smaragdos; The Name Is Originally Semitic, Or At Least Eastern, But The Signification Unknown), A Mineral Generally Regarded By Mineralogists As Merely Another Variety Of The Same Species With The Beryl (q.v.), With Which It Essentially Agrees In Composition, Crystallization, Etc., Differing ...
Emery
Emery (fr. Emeril, Ger. Schmergel, Gr. Smiris; Allied To Smear), A Variety Of Corundum (q.v.), Or Of The Same Mineral Species Of Which Corundum And Sapphire (with Oriental Ruby, Etc.) Are Also Varieties. It Agrees With Them Very Perfectly In Composition, Hardness, And Specific Gravity; But Is Dull, Opaque, And ...
Emetics
Emetics, Medicines Given For The Purpose Of Producing Vomiting (q.v.). They Are Given When It Is Desirable To Relieve The Stomach Of Some Noxious Or Indigestible Sub Stance, As A Narcotic Poison, Or Excess Of Food, Or Some Special Article Of Diet Which Has Disagreed. E. Are Also Administered In ...
Emigration
Emigration Of' Paupers. The Manifest Advantages Derivable Both To Themselves And The Community Which Supports Them From The Emigration Of Paupers, And More Particularly Of Pauper Children, To The Colonies, Have Led To Several Legislative Provisions On The Subject. The Object Of These Enactments Is, On The One Hand, To ...
Emigration
Emigra'tion Is The Passing From One Part Of The World To Another For The Purpose Of Permanently Settling In It. People Going Thus From One District Of The Same State To Another—especially If It Be A Distant Part, With Different Habits And Physical Peculiari Ties—are Sometimes Said To Emigrate, And ...
Emigres
Emigres, The Name Given More Especially To Those Persons Who Quitted France During The Revolution. After The Insurrection At Paris, And The Taking Of The Bastile, 14th July, 1789, The Princes Of The Royal Family Departed From Franco. They.were Followed, After The Adoption Of The Constitution Of 1791, By All ...
Emii
E'mii Hollandice), A Very Large Bird, One Of The Struth Ionidce Or Brevipennes, A Native Of Australia, And Widely Diffused Over The Southern Parts Of That Continent And The Adjacent Islands. It Is By Some Ornithologists Referred To The Same Genus With The Cassowary, But The Differences Are Very Considerable; ...
Emile Erckmann
(emile Erckmann And Alexandre Chatrian), Two French Men Of Letters, The First Of Whom Was Born 20th May, 1822, At Phalsbourg; The Second, 2d Dec. 1826, In The Village Of Soldatenthal, Commune Of Abreschwiller, Both In What Was Then The French Dep. Of Meurthe, But Is Now Reunited To Germany ...
Emir
Emir, An Arabic Word, Equivalent To "ruler," Is A Title Given In The East, And In The N. Of Africa, To All Independent Chieftains, And Also To All The Actual Or Supposed Descendants Of Mohammed Through His Daughter Fatima. The Latter Are Very Numer Ous Throughout The Turkish Dominions, But ...
Emotion
Emotion. This Is The Name For One Of The Comprehensive Departments Of The Human Mind. It Is Now Usual To Make A Threefold Division Of The Mind—e., Or Feeling; Volition, Or Action Prompted By Feeling's; And Intellect, Or Thought. It Is Not Meant That These Can Be Manifested In Absolute ...
Emperor
Emperor (lat. Imperator). The Original Signification Of This, Which In The Modern World Has Become The Highest Title Of Sovereignty, Can Be Understood Only When It Is Taken In Conjunction With Imperium, Which In The Roman Political System Had A Peculiar And Somewhat Technical Meaning. The Imperium Of A Magistrate, ...
Emperor Empire
Empire, Emperor (ante), Denotes The Territory And People Whose Sovereign Bears The Title Of Emperor Or Empress; A Title Which, Since The Time Of Julius Cuesar, Implies The Possession Of Monarchial Power In Its Highest Form. During The Middle Ages And Until A Comparatively Recent Period The " Empire" In ...
Empevocles
Empevocles, A Greek Philosopher Of Agrigentum, In Sicily, Lived About 450 B.c. So Great Was The Estimation In Which He Was Held By His Fellow-citizens As A Physician, A Friend Of The Gods, A Predicter Of Futurity, And A Sorcerer, Or Conjuror Of Nature, That They Are Said To Have ...
Empicema
Empicema (gr.), An Internal Suppuration, A Word Now Applied Exclusively To A Col Lection Of Pus In The Pleura, Causing Pressure Of The Lung, And Often Attended By Hectic Fever. See.pleurisy. Empyretma(gr. Empyreuo, I Kindle), The Burned Smell And Acrid Taste Which Result When Vegetable Or Animal Substances Are Decomposed ...
En Gedi
En-gedi (meaning In Hebrew " The Fountain Of The Kid," And Corresponding To The Arabic " Ain-jidy") Is The Name Of A Wilderness, A Mountain Pass, A Ruined Village, And A Perennial Fountain On The W. Side Of The Dead Sea, Half Way Between Its Northern And Southern Ends. In ...
Enamel
Enamel (fr. Email, Originally Email, From The Same Root As Smelt), The Name Given To Vitrified Substances Of Various Composition Applied To The Surface Of Metals. Enam Eling Is Practiced (1) For Purposes Of Utility, As In Making The Dial-plates Of Watches And Clocks, Coating The Insides Of Culinary Vessels, ...