A YEAR OF 365 DAYS, WITHOUT ANY INTERCALATION, IS CALLED AN ERRATIC YEAR; A LUNAR YEAR CONSISTS OF 354 DAYS. 250 Ero] EPSOM SALT IS SOLUBLE IN ITS OWN WEIGHT OF COLD WATER. The Scientific and Literary Treasury; prosperity. Among the Greeks and Romans, it was sung by young men and maids at the door of the bridal chamber. EPITHEM, in medicine, any external application used as a fomentation. EPITHET, an adjective expressing some real quality of the thing to which it is applied. We have frequent occasion for the use of the word epithet in this work, (in defining botanical and other scientific terms,) which those who consult our pages cannot fail to notice. EPITOME, a brief summary or compendium, containing the substance or principal matters of a book.To epitomize, therefore, is to shorten a literary production by judicious abridgment. EPIT ROPE, or EPÏTROPY, in rhetoric, a figure of speech, by which one thing is granted, with a view to obtain an advantage; as "I concede the fact, but this very concession overthrows your own argument." EPIZEUX'IS, in rhetoric, a figure which repeats the same word, without any other intervening: such is that of Virgil, "nune, nunc, insurgite remis." EPIZOOTIC, in geology, an epithet given to such mountains as contain petrifactions of animal remains, or the impressions of animal substances. [EQU of October, viz. from the 5th to the 14th; and, to prevent the occurrence of a like irregularity, it was also ordered, that, in three centuries out of four, the last year should be a common year instead of a leap year, as it would have been by the Julian calendar. The year 1600 remained a leap year, but 1700, 1800, and 1900, were to be common years. This amended mode of computing was called the new style, and was immediately adopted in all Roman Catholic countries, while the old style continued to be employed by Protestants. In 1700, however, the Protestants of Germany commenced with the new style; and in 1752 it was adopted in England, by omitting eleven days, to which the difference between the styles then amounted. The Russians continued to use the old style till the year 1830, when they followed the example of the other nations of Europe. EP'ODE, in lyric poetry, the third or last part of the ode, the ancient ode being divided into strophe, antistrophe, and epode. The word is now used for any little verse or verses, that follow one or more great ones. EPOPEE', or EPOPE'IA, in poetry, the fable, or subject of an epic poem. EPOTIDES, in the naval architecture of the ancients, two thick blocks of wood, one on each side the prow of a galley, for warding off the blows of the rostra of the enemy's vessels. EPOPTÆ, in antiquity, a name given to those who were admitted to view the secrets of the greater mysteries, or religious ceremonies of the Greeks. EPROUVETTE, the name of an instrument for ascertaining the strength of dried gunpowder, or of comparing the strength of different kinds of gunpowder. EPULO'NES, in Roman antiquity, public officers who assisted at the sacrifices, and had the care of the epulum, or sacred banquet, committed to them. EPIZOOTY, a pestilence among brutes. EPOCH, a certain fixed period, or point of time, made famous by some remarkable event, and serving as a standard in chronology and history. The principal of these are the Creation, 4004 B. c.; the Flood, 2348 B. C.; the birth of Abraham, 1996 B. C.; the conquest of Canaan, 1451 B. c.: the taking of Troy, 1184 B. C.; the finishing of Solomon's Temple, 1104 B. C.; the first Olympiad, 776 B. C.; the building of Rome, 753 B. C.; the era of Nabonassar, 747 B. c.; EPSOM SALTS, in chemistry, sulphate the founding of the Persian Empire, by of magnesia, which was formerly procured Cyrus, 559 B. c.; the death of Alexander, by boiling down the mineral water from the 323 B. c. the death of Cæsar, 44 B. c.: the spring at Epsom, but is now prepared from birth of Christ, 1, or the commencement sea water. Its component parts are water, of the Christian era; the Hegira of Maho-sulphuric acid and magnesia, and it is used met, 622 A. D.The Christian era used by as a cathartic. almost all Christian nations, dates from January 1st, the middle of the fourth year of the 194th Olympiad, in the 753d of the building of Rome, and 4714th of the Julian period. The Christian year, in its division, follows exactly the Roman year, consisting of 365 days for three successive years, and of 366 in the fourth year, which is termed leap year. The simplicity of this form has brought it into very general use, and it is customary for astronomers and chronologists, in treating of ancient time, to date back in the same order from its commencement. The Christian year (or Julian year), arranged as we have shewn, was 11' 11" too long, amounting to a day in nearly 129 years; and, towards the end of the 16th century, the time of celebrating the church festivals had advanced ten days beyond the periods fixed by the Council of Nice, in 325. It was in consequence ordered, by a bull of Gregory XIII, that the year 1582 shou.d consist of 355 days only, which was effected by omitting ten days in the month EPULOTIC, in medicine, an application for cicatrizing and healing wounds or ulcers, or to dispose the parts to recover soundE'QUABLE, an epithet for uniform motion, &c.; or that which is neither accelerated nor retarded. ness. EQUALITY, a term of relation between things the same in magnitude, quantity, or quality. Also, the same degree of dignity or claims; as, the equality of men, in the scale of being: an equality of rights, &c. EQUANIMITY, that even and calm frame of mind and temper, under good or bad fortune, which is not easily elated or depressed. A truly great man bears misfortunes with equanimity, and carries himself in prosperity without vain exultation or excessive joy. EQUATION, in algebra, that disposi THE MINERAL SPRING AT KгSOM WAS FIRST DISCOVERED IN 1620. ALL NATIONS AT PRESENT, USING EITHER THE OLD OR NEW STYLE, COMMENCE THE YEAR WITH THE 1ST OF JANUARY. THE RAINY SEASON WITHIN THE TROPICS IS WHEN THE SUN 18 IN VERTICAL SIGNS; AT OTHER TIMES THERE IS NOT CLOUD FOR MONTHS. HUMBOLDT ASSIGNS 96 INCHES OF ANNUAL RAIN TO THE EQUATORIAL ZONE. EQU] A New Dictionary of the Belles Lettres. tion of quantities, by which one set is made equal to another; or in which two quantities, equal in value, but differently represented, are put equal to each other by means of the sign of equality; as, 3s.-36d., or x= b+m-r-Equation of payments, in arithmetic, a rule for finding a time when if a sum be paid which is equal to the sum of several others due at different times, no loss will be sustained by either party. —Equation, in astronomy, a term used to express the quantity added to, or subtracted from, the mean position of a heavenly body to obtain the true position.-Equation of time, denotes the reduction of the apparent time or motion of the sun, to equable, mean, or true time. The difference between true and apparent time arises from two causes, the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, and the obliquity of the ecliptic. EQUATOR, in astronomy and geogra phy, a great circle of the terrestrial globe, equidistant from its poles, and dividing it into two equal hemispheres; one north and the other south. It is called equator, because when the sun is in it, the days and nights are of equal length; hence it is called also the equinoctial, and when drawn on maps and globes, it is called the equinoctial line, or by mariners simply the line. All places which are on it have invariably equal days and nights. It crosses the centre of Africa, the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, &c., in Asia, then traverses the Pacific Ocean, and crosses South America, in Columbia, thence proceeds through the Atlantic back to Africa.To cross the line, in navigation, is to pass over the equator. E'QUERRY, an officer of state under the master of the horse. There are five equerries, who ride out with her majesty; for which purpose they give their attendance monthly, one at a time, and have a table provided for them. EQUES AURA'TUS, a Roman knight, so called because none but knights were allowed to gild their armour. EQUESTRIA, a place in the Roman theatres where the knights or equites sat. EQUESTRIAN GAMES, in Roman antiquity, (ludi equestres), horse-races, of which there were five kinds; the prodromus or plain horse-race, the chariot race, the decursory race about funeral piles, the ludi sevirales, and the ludi neptunales.Equestrian order, the second rank in Rome, next to the senators.—Equestrian statue, the representation of a person on horseback. EQUIAN'GULAR, in geometry, an epithet given to figures, whose angles are all equal: as a square, an equilateral triangle, a parallelogram, &c. EQUICRU'RAL, in geometry, having equal legs, but longer than the base; as, an equicrural triangle. EQUIDIFFERENT, in mathematics, an epithet for such things as have equal differences, or are arithmetically proportional. In crystalography, having a different number of faces presented by the prism and by each summit; and these three num EQUILIBRISTS ARE IN GENERAL [EQU bers form a series in arithmetical progression, as 6, 4, 2. EQUILATERAL, in geometry, having all the sides equal; as an equilateral triangle. EQUILIBRIST, one who keeps his balance in unnatural positions and hazardous movements; entertaining the spectator by his skilful motions and varying attitudes. In the East they are very common, and their feats are truly surprising. EQUILIBRIUM, in mechanics, equipoise, or equality of weight: the state of the two ends of a lever or balance when they are charged with an equal weight, and hang exactly even and level, in a position parallel to the horizon. EQUIMULTIPLE, in arithmetic and geometry, a number multiplied by the same number or quantity. Hence equimultiples are always in the same ratio to each other, as the simple numbers or quantities before multiplication. Thus if 2 and 3 are multiplied by 4, the multiples, 8 and 12, will be to each other as 2 and 3. EQUINOC'TIAL, in astronomy, a great circle of the sphere, under which the equator moves in its diurnal course. It is so called, because whenever the sun comes to this circle, the days and nights are equal all over the globe; being the same with that which the sun seems to describe, at the time of the two equinoxes of spring and autumn. Equinoctial Points, the two points, Aries and Libra, where the equinoctial and ecliptic cross each other.-Equinoctial Colure, the great circle passing through the poles of the sphere, and the equinoctial points.. EQUINOX, in astronomy, the time when the sun enters either of the equinoctial points, where the ecliptic intersects the equinoctial. When the sun is in this situation, the horizon of every place is divided into two equal parts by the circle bounding light and darkness; hence the sun is visible everywhere twelve hours, and invisible for the same time in each 24 hours. As the sun is in one of them, in the spring, viz. March 21st, it is called the vernal equinox; and in the other, in autumn, viz. September 23d, it is called the autumnal equinox. At all other times the lengths of the day and night are unequal, and their difference is the greater the more we approach either pole, and in the same latitude it is every where the same. Under the line this inequality entirely vanishes: there, during the day, which is equal to the night, the sun always ascends six hours, and descends six hours. In the opposite hemisphere of our earth, the inequality of the days increases in proportion to the latitude: the days increase there, while the nights diminish with us, and vice versa. EQUIPAGE, the furniture of an army or body of troops, infantry or cavalry, including whatever is necessary for a military expedition.-Camp equipage includes tents, and everything necessary for accommodation in camp. Field equipage consists of arms, artillery, waggons, tumbrils, ALSO JUGGLERS, CONJURORS, &c. THOSE STORMS WHICH TAKE PLACE ABOUT THE TIME THE SUN CROSSES THE EQUATOR, ARE CALLED EQUINOCTIAL GALES. 251 IT IS THE PROVINCE OF A JUDGE TO LOOK TO THE OBJECTS OF THE LEGISLATURE; HE IS NOT TO SET ASIDE THE LAW, BUT TO EXPOUND IT. 252 EQU] RIGHTS SECURED BY THE COMMON LAW, ARE CALLED LEGAL RIGHTS. The Scientific and Literary Treasury; &c. When we speak of a body of troops being furnished with arms and warlike apparatus, we say they are equipped for service. EQUIPOLLENCE, in logic, an equivalence, or agreement, either as to the nature of the thing, or as to the grammatical sense of any two or more propositions; that is, when two propositions signify one and the same thing, though they express it differently. EQUIRIA, in antiquity, games instituted by Romulus in honour of Mars, and which consisted in horse-racing. They were celebrated on the third of the calends of March. EQUISETUM, in botany, Horsetail, a genus of plants in the Linuæan system, class 24 Cryptogamia, order 1 Filices. Na tural order of ferns. EQUITANT, in botany, a term used in the foliation of plants, for leaves that ride as it were, over one another. EQUITES, amongst the Romans, were persons of the second degree of nobility, immediately succeeding the senators in point of rank. Every eques or knight had a horse kept at the public charge; he received also the stipend of a horseman, to serve in the wars, and wore a ring, which was given him by the state. The equites composed a large body of men, and constituted the Roman cavalry; for there was always a sufficient number of them in the city, and nothing but a review was requisite to fit them for service. EQUITY, in a moral sense, is the impar. tial distribution of justice. So, in an enlarged view, Blackstone observes, "equity, in its true and general meaning, is the soul and spirit of all law; positive law is construed, and rational law is made by it. In this, equity is synonymous with justice." In English jurisprudence, a court of equity or chancery, is a court which corrects the operation of the literal text of the law, and supplies its defects, by reasonable construction, and by rules of proceeding and deciding, which are not admissible in a court of law. Equity then, is the law of reason, exercised by the chancellor or judge, giving remedy in cases to which the courts of law are not competent. It will remove legal impediments to the fair decision of a question depending at law. It will prevent a party from improperly setting up, at a trial, some title or claim which would be inequitable. It will compel him to discover, on his own oath, facts which he knows are material to the right of the other party, but which a court of law cannot compel the party to discover. It will provide for the safety of property in dispute pending litigation. It will counteract, or control, or set aside, fraudulent judgments. It will also exercise, in many cases, exclusive jurisdiction; particularly in granting special relief beyond the reach of the common law. It will grant injunctions to prevent waste or irreparable injury, or to secure a settled right, or to prevent vexatious litigations, or to compel the restitution of title deeds; it [ERA will appoint receivers of property, where it is in danger of misapplication; it will prohibit a party from leaving the country in order to avoid a suit; it will decree a specific performance of contracts respecting real estates; it will, in many cases, supply the imperfect execution of instruments, and reform and alter them according to the real intention of the parties; it will grant relief in cases of lost deeds and securities; and, in all cases in which its interference is asked, its general rule is, that he who asks equity must do equity. In short, its jurisdiction is almost undefined, where the positive law is silent, but substantial justice entitles the party to relief. It is, however, deeply to be regretted, that the intricacy of our laws renders it so often necessary to seek redress in a court of equity. Equitas sequitur legem is an old maxim in law, but from the great increase of suits in chancery, some think it ought to be thus translated: "after a man has been at law, it is necessary that he should go to equity." EQUITY OF REDEMPTION, in law, is the advantage allowed to one who mortgages his property, to have a reasonable time allowed him to redeem it; for although the estate, upon non-payment of the money, becomes vested in the mortgagee, yet equity considers it only a pledge for the money, and gives the party a right to redeem, which is called his equity of redemption. EQUUS, in zoology, a genus of animals comprehending those useful domestic animals, the horse, the ass, and the mule. EQUIVALENTS, a term employed in chemical philosophy, to express the particular weight or quantity of any substance which is necessary to saturate any other with which it can combine. Tables of the combining quantities of all chemical agents have been drawn up and arranged to guide the chemist in experimental researches. The utility of these tables is very extensive; and they are rendered still more useful when accompanied by a logometric sliding scale, the application of which to this purpose was a happy invention of Dr. Wollastor.. -In a general sense, the word equivalent signifies that which is equal in value, weight, worth, &c., with something else. Thus, a debtor who is not able to pay his creditor in money, may pay him an equi valent. EQUIVOCAL, an epithet for whatever is ambiguous or susceptible of different constructions; as, that man's character is very equivocal. EQUIVOCATION, the use of equivocal terms, which may be understood by the hearer in a different sense from that in which they are taken by the speaker. He who is guilty of equivocation, may be fairly suspected of hypocrisy. EQUÍVOQUE, a word or phrase susceptible of different significations. E'RA. [See ERA, EPOCH, &c.] ERA'DIATION, emission of rays of light. ERAD'ICATED, in heraldry, an epithet for a tree or plant torn up by the root. ERA'SED, in heraldry, an epithet for the RIGHTS SECURED BY CHANCERY, ARE CALLED REMEDIES IN EQUITY. THE SCALE OF CHEMICAL EQUIVALENTS HAS GREATLY CONTRIBUTED TO FACILITATE THE STUDY AND PRACTICE OF CHEMISTRY. WHEN BREAD CONTAINING " ERGOT" HAS BEEN EATEN, IT HAS SOMETIMES PRODUCED GANGRENE OF THE EXTREMITIES, AND DEATH. ERO] NEAR HUDSON'S BAY, ERMINES ARE EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANT. A New Dictionary of the Belles Lettres. head or limb of any creature violently torn from the body so as to give it a jagged ap pearance. ERECT, in botany, an epithet for a stem, leaf, or flower, &c.; as erectus caulis, a stem standing perpendicularly from the ground; flos erectus, an erect flower, or one which has its aperture directed upwards, &c. In heraldry, an epithet for any thing upright, or perpendicularly elevated, as wings erect, &c. EREMITICAL, (from eremite, a hermit) living in solitude, or in seclusion from the world. ER'GOT, in farriery, a stub, like a piece of soft horn, situated behind and below the pastern joint. Also, a dark-coloured shoot, sometimes an inch long, from the ears of grain, particularly of rye. ERICA, in botany, a genus of plants, class 8 Octandria, order 1 Monogynia. The species consist of different kinds of heaths. ERIOCEPHALUS, in botany, a genus of plants, class 19 Syngenesia, order 4 Polygamia accessaria. The species are shrubs. ERIOMETER, an instrument for measuring the fibres of wool, silk, &c. ERIOPH'ORUM, in botany, a genus of plants, class 3 Triandria, order 1 Monogynia. The species are perennials. ERMINE, in zoology, a species of Mustela, with narrow ears, and of the size of the weasel. In winter, the whole body of the ermine is of a pure snow white, except the tip of the tail, which is of a deep black, and some spots of a greyish yellow about the head and shoulders; in summer, the upper part of the body is of a pale tawny brown colour, but the tail is tipped with black. The fur of the ermine is in great request; it was formerly one of the insignia of royalty, and is still used by judges. This animal inhabits the northern climates of Europe, Asia, and America; and in its habits it is very similar to those of the weasel, frequenting barns and outhouses, and feeding not only on mice and rats, but destroying poultry, birds, eggs, &c.-Ermine, in heraldry, a fur used in coat armour, and supposed to represent the linings and doublings of man. tles and robes. EROTIC POETRY, a term for amatory poetry. The name of erotic writers has been applied particularly to a class of romance writers who belong to the later periods of Greek literature, and whose works abound in sophistical subtilties and ornaments. EROTOMANY, a term employed by some writers to denote that modification of insanity, of which the passion of love is the ori gin, and in which the love of a particular individual constitutes the predominant idea, occupying the whole attention of the patient. It sometimes passes into perfect delirium, leads to suicide, hysterics, &c. Young people are peculiarly subject to it, who have an excitable nervous system and lively imagination, who give themselves up to an excess in pleasure, or are spoiled by reading romances, and rendered effeminate by an injudicious education and indolence. [ERY ERPETOLOGY, that part of natural history which treats of reptiles. ERRATIC, wandering, or having no certain course; also, not fixed or stationary; hence the planets are called erratic stars; and fevers which observe no regular periods, are denominated erratic fevers. ERRATUM, an error of the press; in the plural, Errata, a list of which is usually printed at the beginning or end of a book. ER'ROR, a wandering or deviation from the truth. An Error may be either voluntary or involuntary; when committed through carelessness or haste it is a blunder.Error, in law, is a mistake committed in pleading, or in a process; whereupon a writ of error is brought to remedy it, which carries the suit to another tribunal for redress. ERUBES CENCE, a blushing; redness of the skin or surface of any thing. ERU'CA, the White-rocket, in botany, a species of brassica, with lyrate leaves, hairy stalks, and smooth pods. ERUCTATION, the act of belching wind from the stomach; also a violent bursting forth or ejection of wind, &c. from the earth. ERUDITION, the attainment of profound learning and extensive knowledge, obtained by study and instruction; particularly learning in history, antiquity, and languages, as distinct from the useful arts and sciences. ERUGINOUS, partaking of the substance or nature of copper or the rust of copper. ERUPTION, a violent breaking or bursting forth of anything, particularly of flames and lava from a volcano. Also, a sudden or violent rushing forth of men or troops for invasion. In medicine, a sudden and copious excretion of humours on the skin in pustules. ERYNGIUM, in botany, a genus of plants, class 5 Pentandria, order 2 Digynia. The flowers are collected in a round head, similar to a thistle; the receptacle is paleaceous or chaffy; and the young shoots are esculent. One of the species of eryngo was formerly much employed as a tonic, but it has now gone out of use. ERYSIP'ELAS, in medicine, an inflammatory affection, particularly of the skin, attended with fever. This disease is often called St. Anthony's fire: it is brought on by all the causes that are apt to excite inflammation, such as injuries of all kinds, the external application of stimulants, exposure to cold, and obstructed perspirations. ERYTHRI'NA, in botany, the Coral-tree, a genus of plants, class 17 Diadelphia, order 4 Decandria; the corolla of which is papilionaceous, and consists of four petals, the fruit is a very long pod, and the seeds kidney-shaped. ERYTHROCYA'NEUS, in ornithology, the red and blue macaw. This bird is the finest of the parrot kind; being a full yard long, from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, and its plumage adorned with the most beautiful variety of colours. THE DISEASE VULGARLY KNOWN BY THE NAME OF SHINGLES (FROM THE FRENCH "CEINGLE," A BELT), IS A SPECIES OF ERYSIPELAS. A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE IS AN ESQUIRE NO LONGER THAN HE HOLDS HIS COMMISSION, UNLESS HE IS OTHERWISE ENTITLED TO IT. 254 ESC] THE SHERIFF OF A COUNTY IS, BY RIGHT, AN ESQUIRE FOR LIFE. The Scientific and Literary Treasury ; ESCALA'DE, in the military art, a furious attack made upon a rampart, or scaling the walls of a fortification, by filling up the ditches with bundles of faggots, called fascines, and entering by ladders; without proceeding in form, breaking ground, or carrying on regular works to secure the men -a mode of attack much adopted in the late wars, but generally accompanied with great slaughter. ESCAL OP, in ichthyology, a class of bivalvular shell-fish, whose shell is regularly indented. In the centre of the top of the shell is a trigonal sinus with an elastic car tilage for its hinge. ESCAPE, in law, is where a person ar rested gains his liberty before he is delivered by law. In civil cases, after the prisoner has been suffered voluntarily to escape, the sheriff can never after retake him, and must answer for the debt; but the plaintiff may retake him at any time. In the case of a negligent escape, the sheriff, upon fresh pursuit, may retake the prisoner, and the sheriff shall be excused if he have him again before any action is brought against himself for the escape. In criminal cases, an escape of a person arrested is an offence against public justice, and the party is punishable by fine and imprisonment ESCA PEMENT, a contrivance for transmitting the power of a timepiece to the balance or pendulum, to regulate its move ments. ESCARGATOIRE, a nursery of snails. ESCARPMENT, or ESCARP', in the military art, the exterior slope facing fortified works; the interior slope being the counterscarp. ES CHAR, in surgery, the crust or scab occasioned by burns or caustic applications. ESCHAROTIC, in medicine, a caustic application, or one which has the power of searing or destroying the flesh. ESCHEAT, in law, lands or profits that fall to a lord within his manor, either by forfeiture, the death of the tenant, or through failure of heirs. ESCORT, a guard or company of armed men attending an officer, or baggage, provisions, or munitions conveyed by land, to protect them from an enemy, &c. ESCRO'LL, in heraldry, one of the exterior ornaments of the escutcheon, representing a slip of parchment or paper, on which the motto is generally put, ES CUAGE, in feudal customs, a kind of knight-service, called service of the shield, by which the tenant was bound to follow his lord to the wars at his own charge. ESCULAPIAN (from Esculapius the physician), pertaining to the healing art. ESCULENT, an epithet for such plants or roots as may be eaten. ESCURIAL, a celebrated palace and monastery in Spain, about twenty miles from Madrid, built by Philip II. It is in the shape of a gridiron, and contains the king's palace, St. Lawrence's church, the monastery of Jerenomites, and the free schools. It was erected in consequence of a vow made by Philip, on the day of the [ESS battle of St. Quentin, and dedicated to St. Lawrence, whose festival was on that day. Though the building is immensely large and the most superb in the kingdom, its exterior has rather the austere simplicity of a convent than the elegance of a palace. It is a quadrangle, 740 feet in length by 580 in breadth; and is said to have cost 50 millions of dollars. ESCUTCHEON, in heraldry, the shield on which a coat of arms is represented. It is an imitation of the ancient shields used in war. ES'DRAS, the name of two apocryphal books, usually bound up with the Scriptures. They were always excluded the Jewish canon. ESPOU'SALS, in law, a contract or mutual promise of marriage between a man and woman. ESPRIT DE CORPS, a French phrase, signifying that species of attachment with which persons, more especially military men, are animated to the corps or service to which they belong. ESOTERIC, an epithet applied to the private instructions and doctrines of Pythagoras; opposed to exoteric, or public. ESPALIER, a fruit tree, having the branches trained to a frame, or fastened to stakes, and spread laterally. Espaliers are usually planted in rows about a garden, so as to enclose quarters or separate parts. ESPIONAGE, a system of employing spies, or secret emissaries, either in military or political affairs. ESPLANA'DE, in fortification, the glacis of the counterscarp, or sloping of the parapet of the covered way towards the country. The word is now also used for a sloping walk or promenade. ESQUIRE, anciently a shield or armourbearer: the person that attended a knight in time of war, and carried his shield. It is now a title given to the sons of knights, or those who serve the king in any worshipful calling, as officers of the king's courts, counsellors at law, &c. It has, however, become a sort of vague and undefined compliment, placed at the end of a man's name, and may be regarded more as an expression of respect than anything else. ES'SAY, in literature, a composition intended to prove or illustrate a particular subject, usually shorter and less methodical than a treatise. ES'SENCE, in chemistry, denotes the purest, most subtile, and balsamic part of a body; extracted either by simple expres. sion, or by means of fire, from fruit, flowers, &c. Of these there are a great variety, used on account of their agreeable smell taste, by apothecaries, perfumers, and others. In philosophy, that which constitutes the particular nature of a being or substance, and which distinguishes it from all others. and ESSE'NES, or ESSE'NIANS, in Jewish antiquity, one of the three ancient sects among that people, who outdid the Pharisees in their most rigorous observances. They allowed a future state, but denied a THE HEADS OF SOME ANCIENT FAMILIES ARE ESQUIRES BY PRESCRIPTION. THE TITLE OF ESQUIRE WAS FIRST USED TO PERSONS OF FORTUNE, WHO WERE NOT ATTENDANTS ON KNIGHTS, ABOUT THE YEAR 1345. |