The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 182

ELGIN (8), the county town of above, on the Lossie; created a royal burgh by David I.; has ruins of a fine Gothic cathedral and royal castle.

ELGIN (17), a city in Illinois, on the Fox, 35 m. NW. of Chicago; watchmaking the chief industry.

ELGIN, JAMES BRUCE, 8TH EARL OF, statesman and diplomatist, born in London; governor of Jamaica and Canada; negotiated important treaties with China and j.a.pan; rendered opportune a.s.sistance at the Indian Mutiny by diverting to the succour of Lord Canning an expedition that was proceeding to China under his command; after holding office as Postmaster-General he became Viceroy of India (1861), where he died; his Journal and Letters are published (1811-1863).

ELGIN MARBLES, a collection of ancient sculptured marbles brought from Athens by the Earl of Elgin in 1812, and now deposited in the British Museum, after purchase of them by the Government for 35,000; these sculptures adorned certain public buildings in the Acropolis, and consist of portions of statues, of which that of Theseus is the chief, of alto-reliefs representing the struggle of the Centaurs and Lapithae, and of a large section of a frieze.

ELIA, the _nom de plume_ adopted by Charles Lamb in connection with his Essays.

ELIAS, MOUNT, a mountain in NW. coast of N. America; conspicuous far off at sea, being about 18,000 ft. or 3 m. above it.

ELIJAH, a Jewish prophet, born at Tishbe, in Gilead, near the desert; prophesied in the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, in the 10th century B.C.; revealed himself as the deadly enemy of the wors.h.i.+p of Baal, 400 of whose priests he is said to have slain with his own hand; his zeal provoked persecution at the hands of the king and his consort Jezebel, but the Lord protected him, and he was translated from the earth in a chariot of fire, "went up by a whirlwind into heaven." See PROPHETS, THE.

ELIOT, GEORGE, the _nom de plume_ of Mary Ann Evans, distinguished English novelist, born at Arbury, in Warwicks.h.i.+re; was bred on evangelical lines, but by-and-by lost faith in supernatural Christianity; began her literary career by a translation of Strauss's "Life of Jesus"; became in 1851 a contributor to the _Westminster Review_, and formed acquaintance with George Henry Lewes, whom she ere long lived with as his wife, though unmarried, and who it would seem discovered to her her latent faculty for fictional work; her first work in that line was "Scenes from Clerical Life," contributed to _Blackwood_ in 1856; the stories proved a signal success, and they were followed by a series of seven novels, beginning in 1858 with "Adam Bede," "the finest thing since Shakespeare," Charles Reade in his enthusiasm said, the whole winding up with the "Impressions of Theophrastus Such" in 1879; these, with two volumes of poems, make up her works; Lewes died in 1878, and two years after she formally married an old friend, Mr. John Cross, and after a few months of wedded life died of inflammation of the heart; "she paints,"

says Edmond Scherer, "only ordinary life, but under these externals she makes us a.s.sist at the eternal tragedy of the human heart... with so much sympathy," he adds, "the smile on her face so near tears, that we cannot read her pages without feeling ourselves won to that lofty toleration of hers" (1819-1880).

ELIOT, JOHN, the apostle of the Indians, born in Hertfords.h.i.+re; entered the Church of England, but seceded and emigrated to New England; became celebrated for his successful evangelistic expeditions amongst the Indians during his lifelong occupancy of the pastorate at Roxbury (1604-1690).

ELIS, a district of Greece, on the W. coast of the Peloponnesus, sacred to all h.e.l.las as the seat of the greatest of the Greek festivals in connection with the Olympian Games, a circ.u.mstance which imparted a prestige to the inhabitants.

ELISA or ELISSA, Dido, queen of Carthage, in love with aeneas.

ELISHA, a Jewish prophet, the successor of Elijah, who found him at the plough, and consecrated him to his office by throwing his mantle over him, and which he again let fall on him as he ascended to heaven. He exercised his office for 55 years, but showed none of the zeal of his predecessor against the wors.h.i.+p of Baal; was, however, accredited as a prophet of the Lord by the miracles he wrought in the Lord's name.

ELIZABETH, sister of Louis XVI.; was guillotined (1764-1794).

ELIZABETH FARNESE, queen of Spain, a daughter of Odoardo II. of Parma; in 1714 she married Philip V. of Spain, when her bold and energetic nature soon made itself felt in the councils of Europe, where she carried on schemes for territorial and political aggrandis.e.m.e.nt; was an accomplished linguist; is called by Carlyle "the Termagant of Spain"; her Memoirs are published in four volumes (1692-1766).

ELIZABETH, EMPRESS OF RUSSIA, daughter of Peter the Great and Catharine I.; a.s.sisted Maria Theresa in the war of the Austrian Succession; opposed Frederick the Great in the Seven Years' War; indolent and licentious, she left the affairs of the State mainly in the hands of favourites (1709-1762).

ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF BOHEMIA, daughter of James VI. of Scotland and I. of England; married Frederick V., Elector Palatine, who for a brief time held the throne of Bohemia; her daughter Sophia, by marrying the Elector of Hanover, formed a tie which ultimately brought the crown of England to the House of Brunswick (1596-1662).

ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF ENGLAND (1658-1603), daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn, born in Greenwich Palace; was an indefatigable student in her youth; acquired Greek and Latin, and a conversational knowledge of German and French; the Pope's opposition to her succession on the ground of being judged illegitimate by the Church strengthened her attachment to the Protestant faith, which was her mother's, and contributed to its firm establishment during the reign; during it the power of Spain was crushed by the defeat of the Armada; maritime enterprise flourished under Drake, Raleigh, and Frobisher; commerce was extended, and literature carried to a pitch of perfection never before or since reached; masterful and adroit, Elizabeth yet displayed the weakness of vanity and vindictiveness; the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, is a blot upon her fame, and her intrigues with Seymour, Leicester, and Ess.e.x detract from her dignity; her wisdom was manifested in her wise choice of counsellors and leaders, and her patriotism won her a secure place in the hearts of her people (1533-1608).

ELIZABETH, ST., "a very pious, but also a very fanciful young woman; her husband, a Thuringian landgraf, going to the Crusade, where he died straightway," Carlyle guesses, "partly the fruit of the life she led him; lodging beggars, sometimes in her very bed; continually breaking his night's rest for prayer and devotional exercises of undue length, 'weeping one moment, then smiling in joy the next'; meandering about, capricious, melodious, weak, at the will of devout whim mainly; went to live at Marburg after her husband's death, and soon died there in a most melodiously pious sort" in 1231, aged 24.

ELIZABETHAN ARCHITECTURE, a term applied to the style of architecture which flourished in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I., and which was characterised by a revival of cla.s.sic designs wrought into the decadent Gothic style. Lord Salisbury's house at Hatfield is a good specimen of this mixed style.

ELIZABETHAN ERA, according to Carlyle, "the outcome and flowerage of all which had preceded it... in that old age lies the _only_ true _poetical_ literature of England. The poets of the last ago took to pedagogy (Pope and his school), and shrewd men they were; those of the present age to ground-and-lofty tumbling; and it will do your heart good," he adds, "to see how they vault."

ELKARGEH (4), a town in the great oasis in the Libyan Desert; has ancient remains, and is an important resting stage in crossing the desert.

ELLENBOROUGH, EDWARD LAW, EARL OF, an English Conservative statesman, son of Baron Ellenborough, Lord Chief-Justice of England; entered Parliament in 1813; held office under the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel; appointed Governor-General of India (1841); recalled in 1844; subsequently First Lord of the Admiralty and Indian Minister under Lord Derby (1790-1871).

ELLENRIEDER, MARIE, a painter of great excellence, born at Constance; studied in Rome; devoted herself to religious subjects, such as "Christ Blessing Little Children," "Mary and the Infant Jesus," &c.

(1771-1863).

ELLESMERE, FRANCIS EGERTON, EARL OF, statesman and author, born in London, second son of the Duke of Sutherland; was Secretary for Ireland and War Secretary; author of some books of travel, and a translation of "Faust" (1800-1857).

ELLIOT, GEORGE AUGUSTUS. See HEATHFIELD.

ELLIOTSON, JOHN, an English physician, born in London; lost his professors.h.i.+p in London University on account of employing mesmerism for medical purposes; promoted clinical instruction and the use of the stethoscope; founded the Phrenological Society (1791-1868).

ELLIOTT, EBENEZER, poet, known popularly as the "Corn-Law Rhymer,"

born in Rotherham parish, Yorks.h.i.+re; an active worker in iron; devoted his leisure to poetic composition; proved a man that could handle both pen and hammer like a man; wrote the "Corn-Law Rhymes" and other pieces; his works have been "likened to some little fraction of a rainbow, hues of joy and harmony, painted out of troublous tears; no full round bow shone on by the full sun, and yet, in very truth, a little prismatic blush, glowing genuine among the wet clouds, ... proceeds from a sun cloud-hidden, yet indicates that a sun does s.h.i.+ne...; a voice from the deep Cyclopean forges where Labour, in real soot and sweat, beats with his thousand hammers, doing personal battle with Necessity and her brute dark powers to make _them_ reasonable and serviceable" (1781-1849).

ELLIS, ALEXANDER J., an eminent English philologist, born at h.o.r.eton; published many papers on phonetics and early English p.r.o.nunciation; was President of the Philological Society; his name, originally Sharpe, changed by royal license (1814-1890).

ELLIS, GEORGE, literary critic, born in London; did much to promote the study of early English literature; contributed to the _Anti-Jacobin_, and was joint-author of the "Rolliad," a satire on Pitt, and of "Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances"; Scott declared him to be the best conversationalist he had ever met (1753-1815).

ELLIS, SIR HENRY, chief librarian of the British Museum from 1827 to 1856, born in London; edited various works on antiques; wrote an "Introduction to Domesday Book"; knighted in 1833 (1777-1869).

ELLIS, WILLIAM, a missionary and author, born in London; laboured in the South Sea Islands, and afterwards in Madagascar; wrote various works descriptive of these islands; he married Sarah Stickney, who is the auth.o.r.ess of a number of popular works, including "The Women of England,"

"The Daughters of England," &c. (1794-1872).

ELLISTON, ROBERT WILLIAM, a celebrated actor, born in London; ran away from home and joined the stage, rose to the front rank both as comedian and tragedian (1774-1831).