be advantageously introduced into the United States.

ELMINA, or LA MINA, or ODDENA, or ST. GEORGE DEL MINA; a town in Africa, on the Gold coast, situated in a low, flat peninsula, near the two forts St. George d'Elmina and Conradsburg; lon. 1° 50' W.; lat. 5° 10′ N.; population about 15,000. It is the capital of the Dutch settlements in Western Africa, and the most respectable fortress on the Gold coast. The town is large, and remarkably dirty; some of the houses are built of stone, but they are huddled together in a confused manner. The country around is for the most part open and flat, the soil generally light. The inhabitants of the town are traders, fishermen, and persons employed as servants to traders. The citadel of Elmina, standing in the centre of the Gold coast, is very commodiously situated for the purposes of trade, and the protection and security of the trader. Its situation is upon a rock, bounded on one side by the ocean, and also defended by strong bastions.

ELMO'S FIRE, ST.; an appearance caused by fiery meteors in the atmosphere. It is often seen playing about the masts and rigging of ships. If two flames are visible (Castor and Pollux), the sailors consider it a good omen; if only one, which they call Helene, they regard it as a bad one. ELMSLEY, Peter, D. D., an eminent scholar and philologist, was born in 1773, and educated at Oxford. Having inherited a fortune from his uncle, he devoted the remainder of his life to literature. In 1802, being then resident in Edinburgh, he became one of the original contributors to the Edinburgh Review, in which the articles on Heyne's Homer, Schweighauser's Athenæus, Bloomfield's Prometheus, and Porson's Hecuba, are from his pen. He also wrote occasionally, at a subsequent period, in the Quarterly Review. In the pursuit of his philological studies, Mr. Elmsley afterwards visited most of the principal libraries on the continent, and spent the whole of the winter of 1818 in the Laurentian Library at Florence. The year following, he accepted a commission from the government to superintend, in conjunction with sir Humphrey Davy, the unrolling of the Herculanean papyri; in which the selection of the manuscripts was left to his judgment. On his return to England, he settled at Oxford, and, having taken the degree of doctor of divinity, obtained soon after the headship of Alban hall, and the Camden professorship in 1823. He died

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in 1825. He published an edition of the following tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides: Acarnanes, in 1809; Edipus Tyrannus, 1811; Heraclidæ, 1815; Medea, 1818; Bacchæ, 1821; and Edipus Coloneus, 1823.

ELONGATION, in astronomy, the angle under which we see a planet from the sun, when reduced to the ecliptic; or it is the angle formed by two lines drawn from the earth to the sun and planet, when reduced as above.

ELOPEMENT is when a married woman, of her own accord, departs from her husband, and dwells with an adulterer; for which, without voluntary reconciliation to the husband, she shall lose her dower. By eloping and living apart from the husband, he is discharged of the future debts, and no longer liable to support her.

ELORA; a town in Hindostan, in the province of Dowlatabad; lon. 75° 23′ E.; lat. 19° 58′ N.; about 18 miles N. E. of Aurungabad, 260 miles from Bombay, 650 from Madras, and more than 1000 from Calcutta ; inhabited by Bramins only. About a mile west of the place is a chain of mountains, of reddish granite, out of which the famous temples of Elora are excavated. These temples must be counted among the most stupendous works ever executed by man. The circuit of the excavations is about two leagues. The temples are 100 feet high, 145 feet long, and 62 feet wide. They contain thousands of figures, appearing, from the style of their sculpture, to be of ancient Hindoo origin. Every thing about them, in fact, indicates the most persevering industry in executing one of the boldest plans. Their origin is prior to the period of history. A tradition says that Visvacarma was the architect of the chief temple, and that Vishnoo and the Santhones were his assistants. The chief temple still bears the name of Visvacarma. The vault is supported by several rows of columns, which form three galleries, one above the other. 24 colossal monolithes, representing Indian gods, are placed in separate divisions, the sculpture of which, though, on the whole, it may be called rude, shows, in some parts, an advanced period of art, and a certain developement of taste. On each side of the colonnades of the great temple are hewn out sphinxes, quite in the Egyptian style. These remarkable works, which will probably perish from exposure to air and moisture, if nothing is done for their preservation, were first described by the English captain T. B. Seely, in his Wonders of Elora

(London, 1824). Seely relates the following remarkable circumstance: that Indian soldiers, in the English army in Egypt, in 1799, exclaimed, while gazing at several of the Egyptian images with astonishment, that Hindoos must have inhabited Egypt! Future ages will perhaps trace the Egyptian civilization to India, as Champollion is at present tracing Grecian civilization to Egypt. (q. v.)

ELSINORE, ELSINEUR, OF HELSINGOER; a seaport of Denmark, on the E. coast of the island of Zealand, 20 miles N. Copenhagen; lon. 12° 38′ E.; lat. 56° 2 N.; population, 7000. It is well built, and stands on the west side of the Sound, nearly opposite to Helsinberg, in Sweden, at the narrowest place of the Sound, which is here less than four miles wide. It has no harbor, but an excellent roadstead, generally crowded with vessels going up or down the Baltic, and anchoring here, either to pay toll or take in stores, the supply of which forms the chief business of the place. The aggregate number of vessels of all nations passing the Sound is nearly 10,000. The toll paid for English, French, Dutch and Swedish vessels is 1 per cent. on the value of their cargoes, and 13 per cent. for vessels of other nations. The annual amount of toll varies from £120,000 to £150,000 sterling. At Elsinore, the fortress of Cronberg, situated on the edge of a promontory, is provided with powerful batteries.

ELYSIUM, ELYSIAN FIELDS; 1. the name of certain regions, which the ancients supposed to be the residence of the blessed after death. They are described sometimes as delightful meadows, sometimes as islands situated on the western confines of the earth. But they gradually receded as this portion of the earth was explored. The happiness of the blessed consisted in a life of tranquil enjoyment. The images by which the happiness of a residence there is described, were taken partly from Olympus, and partly from descriptions of the golden age. The most beautiful meadows alternated with pleasant groves; a serene and cloudless sky was spread over them, and a soft, celestial light shed a magical brilliancy over every object; the heroes there renewed their favorite sports; they exercised themselves in wrestling and other contests, danced to the sound of the lyre, from which Orpheus drew the most enchanting tones, or wandered through odoriferous laurel-groves, on the smiling banks of the Eridanus, in delightful vales, or in meadows watered by limpid foun

tains, amid the warbling of birds, sometimes alone and sometimes in company; a perpetual spring_reigned there; the earth teemed three times a year; and all cares, pains and infirmities were banished from those happy seats. (For the origin of the fable, see Cemetery.) The voluptuous description of the gardens of Armida, in Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, is an imitation of the ancient ideas of the Elysian fields.-2. The Parisians have called one of their favorite gardens and principal places of amusement Champs-Elisées.

ELZEVIR, or ELZVIER. This family of printers, residing at Amsterdam and Leyden, is celebrated for beautiful editions, principally published from 1595 to 1680. The best known are Louis, Matthew, Isaac (associated with Buonaventura), John and Daniel, at Amsterdam and Leyden. Besides these was Peter Elzevir, at Utrecht, who has done less for the art. Louis was the first printer who made a distinction between the consonant v and the vowel u. Abraham and Buonaventura prepared the small editions of the classics, in 12mo. and 16mo., which are still valued for their beauty and correctness. Daniel was one of the most active of this family. Although the Elzevirs were surpassed in learning, and in Greek and Hebrew editions, by the Stephenses (Etiennes, printers and booksellers at Paris), they were unequalled in their choice of works and in the elegance of their typography. Their editions of Virgil, Terence, the New Testament, the Psalter, &c., executed with red letters, are masterpieces of typography, both for correctness and beauty. Several catalogues of their editions have been published: the last is by Daniel (1674,12mo.), in seven parts, much increased by the admission of foreign works. (See Brunet's Notice de la Collect. d'Auteurs, etc. p. les Elzev. in the 4th vol. of the Manuel du Libraire.)

EMANATION, EFFLUX (from the Latin emanare, to issue, to flow out, to emanate). Philosophical systems which, like most of the ancient, do not adopt a spontaneous creation of the universe by a Supreme Being, frequently explain the universe by an eternal emanation from the Supreme Being. This doctrine came from the East. Traces of it are found in the Indian mythology, and in the old Persian or Bactro-Median doctrine of Zoroaster. (q. v.) It had a powerful influence on the ancient Greek philosophy, as may be seen in Pythagoras.-In theology, the doctrine of emanation is the doctrine of the Trinity, which regards the Son and Holy

Ghost, &c., as effluxes from the Deity himself.

EMANCIPATION. (See Catholic Emancipation.)

EMANUEL THE GREAT, king of Portugal, ascended the throne in 1495. During his reign were performed the voyages of discovery of Vasco da Gama (1497), of Cabral (1500), of Americus Vespucius (1501 and 1503), and the heroic exploits of Albuquerque, by whose exertions a passage was found to the East Indies (for which the way was prepared by the discovery of the cape of Good Hope, in 1486, by Bartholomew Diaz), the Portuguese dominion in Goa was established, the Brazils, the Moluccas, &c., were discovered. The commerce of Portugal, under Emanuel, was more prosperous than at any former period. The treasures of America flowed into Lisbon, and the reign of Emanuel was justly called "the golden age of Portugal." He died Dec. 13, 1521, aged 52, deeply lamented by his subjects, but hated by the Moors, whom he had expelled, and by the Jews, whom he had compelled to submit to baptism. As a monument of his discoveries, Emanuel built the monastery at Belem (q. v.), where he was buried. He was a friend to the sciences and to learned men. He left Memoirs on the Indies. EMBALMING; to embalm, to fill and surround with aromatic and desiccative substances any bodies, particularly corpses, in order to preserve them from corruption. The ancient Egyptians were the inventors of this art. Other people, for example, the Assyrians, Scythians and Persians, followed them, but by no means equalled them in it. The art has degenerated very much from the high degree of perfection at which it stood among the ancients; perhaps because the change in religious opinions and customs has made the embalming of the dead less frequent. In modern times, only distinguished individuals are occasionally embalmed; but this process does not prevent corruption. -The intestines are taken out of the body, and the brains out of the head, and the cavities filled up with a mixture of balsamic herbs, myrrh and others of the same kind; the large blood-vessels and other vessels are injected with balsams dissolved in spirits of wine; the body is rubbed hard with spirits of the same kind, &c. (See Mummies.) The ancient Egyptians removed the viscera from the large cavities, and replaced them with aromatic, saline and bituminous substances, and also enveloped the outside of the body in cloths impregnated with similar materials.

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These were useful in preventing decomposition and excluding insects, until perfect dryness took place. In later times, bodies have been preserved a long time by embalming, especially when they have remained at a low and uniform temperature, and have been protected from the air. The body of Edward I was buried in Westminster abbey, in 1307, and in 1770 was found entire. Canute died in 1036; his body was found very fresh in 1776, in Winchester cathedral. The bodies of William the Conqueror and of Matilda his wife were found entire at Caen, in the 16th century. Similar cases are not unfrequent. In many instances, bodies not embalmed have been preserved from decay merely by the exclusion of the air and the lowness of the temperature. Impregnation of the animal body with corrosive sublimate appears to be the most effectual means of preserving it, excepting immersion in spirits. The impregnation is performed by the injection of a strong solution, consisting of about four ounces of bichloride of mercury to a pint of alcohol, into the blood-vessels, and, after the viscera are removed, the body is immersed, for three months, in the same solution, after which it dries easily, and is almost imperishable. Wet preparations, or those immersed in alcohol or oil of turpentine, last for an indefinite time.

EMBARGO, in commerce; an arrest on ships or merchandise, by public authority; or a prohibition of state, commonly on foreign ships, in time of war, to prevent their going out of port; sometimes to prevent their coming in; and sometimes both for a limited time.

EMBASSADOR. (See Ambassador, and Ministers, Foreign.)

EMBAYED; the situation of a ship when she is enclosed between two capes or promontories. It is particularly applied when the wind, by blowing strong into any bay or gulf, makes it extremely difficult, and perhaps impracticable, for the vessel thus enclosed to draw off from the shore, so as to weather the capes and gain the offing.

EMBER WEEKS or DAYS, in the Christian church, are certain seasons of the year set apart for the imploring God's blessing, by prayer and fasting, upon the ordinations performed in the church at such times. The ember weeks were formerly observed in different churches with some variety, but were at last settled as they are now observed, by the council at Placentia, in 1095.

EMBEZZLEMENT is the appropriation, by a person, to himself, of money or prop

however, gradually diminishes, and, at the end of two months, disappears: the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and all the members, are distinguishable: it is as large as a bee. In three months, every thing becomes more distinct; the sex becomes evident, and the foetus grows until it is ushered into the world as a child.

EMDEN; a city at the mouth of the river Ems, in the principality of East Friesland, the first commercial city of Hanover, with 11,000 inhabitants, a Latin school, a learned society, &c. It is a free port. It has much trade in herrings. It is expected that its commerce will be much benefited by the junction of the Ems and the Rhine.

EMERALD is a well-known gem of pure green color, somewhat harder than quartz. Its natural form is either rounded or that of a short six-sided prism. By the ancients the emerald was in great request, particularly for engraving upon. They are said to have procured it from Ethiopia and Egypt. The most intensely colored and valuable emeralds that we are acquainted with are brought from Peru. They are found in clefts and veins of granite, and other primitive rocks, and oftentimes grouped with the crystals of quartz, felspar and mica. The emerald is one of the softest of the precious stones, and is almost exclusively indebted for its value to its charming color. In value it is rated next to the ruby, and, when of good color, is set without foil, and upon a black ground, like brilliant diamonds. Emeralds of inferior lustre are generally set upon a green gold foil. These gems are considered to appear to greatest advantage when table-cut and surrounded by brilliants, the lustre of which forms an agreeable contrast with the quiet hue of the emerald. They are sometimes formed into pear-shaped ear-drops; but the most valuable stones are generally set in rings. A favorite mode of setting emeralds, among the opulent inhabitants of South America, is to make them up into clusters of artificial flowers on gold stems. The largest emerald that has been mentioned, is one said to have been possessed by the inhabitants of the Valley of Manta, in Peru, at the time when the Spaniards first arrived there. It is recorded to have been as big as an ostrich's egg, and to have been worshipped by the Peruvians, under the name of the goddess or mother of emeralds. They brought smaller ones as offerings to it, which the priests distinguished by the appellation of daughters. Many fine emeralds are stated to have

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formerly been bequeathed to different monasteries on the continent; but the greatest part of them are said to have been sold by the monks, and to have had their place supplied with colored glass imitations. These stones are seldom seen of large size, and at the same time entirely free from flaws. The emerald, if heated to a certain degree, assumes a blue color, but it recovers its own proper tint when cold. When the heat is carried much beyond this, it melts into an opaque, colored mass. The Oriental emerald is a variety of the ruby, of a green color, and is an extremely rare gem. (See Beryl.)

EMERSON, William, an eminent English mathematician, was born at Hurworth, near Darlington, in the year 1701. Having derived from his parents a moderate competence, he devoted himself to a life of studious retirement. From the strength of his mind and the closeness of his application, he acquired a deep knowledge of mathematics and physics, upon all parts of which he wrote sound treatises, although with few pretensions to originality of invention, and in a rough and unpolished style. He died in 1782, in his 81st year.

EMERY, John, an actor of eminence, was born at Sunderland, in the palatinate of Durham, December 22, 1777, and educated at Ecclesfield in Yorkshire, where he acquired that knowledge of the provincial dialect which afterwards contributed so much to his celebrity. In the unsophisticated rustic or the stupid dolt, he was excellent; while in some parts, written purposely for him, such as Tyke in the School of Reform, and Giles in the Miller's Maid, his acting was truly terrific and appalling. The portraying of rough nature, fine simplicity, and strong passion, was his forte; and in the latter, especially, he ever excited the approbation of the best critics. In private life, he was much esteemed; he died in January, 1822.

EMERY, a very hard mineral, of blackish or bluish-gray color, is chiefly found in shapeless masses, and mixed with other minerals. It contains about 80 parts in 100 of alumine, and a small portion of iron, is usually opaque, and about four times as heavy as water. The best emery is brought from the Levant, and chiefly from Naxos, and other islands of the Grecian archipelago. It is also found in some parts of Spain, and is obtained from a few of the iron mines in Great Britain. In hardness, it is nearly equal to adamantine spar, and this property has rendered it an object of great request in various arts.