Chapter XIV: Part 14

ESPAR'TO, or ALFA, a plant growing in Spain and North Africa, long applied to the manufacture of cordage and matting, and also extensively used for paper-making. This plant, called by botanists _Stipa_ or _Macrochl[=o]a tenacissima_, is a species of grass 2 to 4 feet high, covering large tracts in its native regions, and also cultivated, especially in Spain.

ESPERANTO, an artificial language for international use invented by Dr. Zamenhof of Warsaw, who first published an account of it in 1887. The language was afterwards taken up for practical purposes in many countries, its use being promoted by special societies and periodicals. Its structure is so simple that the whole grammar can be completely mastered in an hour. There are no exceptions to the rules, perfect regularity being a leading feature of the language. The essential roots number only some 900, including grammatical inflexions, prefixes, and suffixes, and these are chosen from the principal European languages in such a way as to make their mastery easy to any person of ordinary education. The alphabet consists of twenty-eight letters, each with an invariable sound. There are no silent letters. The accent is always on the penultimate syllable. All nouns end in _-o_ in the singular, and all adjectives in _-a_. The plural of these is formed by adding _-j_ (pronounced _y_). All derived adverbs end in _-e_. The only case inflexion is _-n_ for the objective. The verbal endings are: _-i_ for the infinitive; _-as_, _-is_, _-os_ for the present, past, and future tenses respectively; _-us_ for the conditional; _-u_ for the imperative; _-anta_, _-inta_, _-onta_ for the present, past, and future participles active respectively; _-ata_, _-ita_, _-ota_ for the present, past, and future participles passive respectively. The definite article is _la_ in all cases and numbers, and there is no indefinite article. An ingenious system of prefixes and suffixes enables all shades of meaning to be expressed. Thus: _bona_, good, _malbona_, evil; _patro_, father, _patrino_, mother; _gepatroj_, parents; _kudri_, to sew, _kudrilo_, needle; _arbo_, tree, _arbaro_, forest; _bela_, beautiful, _beleco_, beauty; _morti_, to die, _mortigi_, to kill. The following is the Lord's Prayer in Esperanto: Patro Nia, kiu estas en la cielo, sankta estu Via nomo. Venu regeco Via. Estu farata volo Via, kiel en la cielo, tiel anka[)u] sur la tero. Panon nian ciutagan donu al ni hodia[)u], kaj pardonu al ni [^s]uldojn niajn, kiel ni anka[)u] pardonas al niaj [^s]uldantoj. Ne konduku nin en tenton; sed liberigu nin de la malbono: car Via estas la regado, la forto, kaj la gloro eterne. Amen! The British Esperanto Association was founded in the autumn of 1904; its official organ is _The British Esperantist_. International Esperanto congresses have been held since 1905, the last in 1920 at the Hague.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. C. O'Connor, _Esperanto: the Student's Complete Text-Book_ (revised by Dr. Zamenhof); Underhill, _Esperanto and its Availability for Scientific Writings_.

ESPIONAGE (from the French word _espion_, a spy) is the acquirement of information by secret methods and by special agents, as opposed to its acquirement openly by combatants in the ordinary course of military operations. Espionage is recognized by international law under the Hague Convention, Article 24 of the Annexe to which reads as follows: "Ruses of war and the _employment of measures necessary for obtaining information_ about the enemy and the country are considered permissible". The right given by this rule does not, however, extend to the employment of force to extract information from enemy subjects as to their own armies, so that it follows that methods of espionage must be of a persuasive, and, so to speak, peaceful nature.

Espionage is carried on both in peace and war, but the conditions under which secret service agents work differ to a very marked extent according to the state of affairs between the two countries. In peace-time, though many countries maintain secret service agents in other states, yet these same agents can expect no assistance from their Governments in the event of their being detected. In this case it is a diplomatic fiction that nothing is known of them or of the reasons for their activities. The agent, therefore, in consideration of a sufficient allowance, takes the risk of a lengthy term of imprisonment if he is so unfortunate as to be found out.

In time of war the condition of non-interference naturally exists as a matter of course, and the secret service agent or spy is liable to the death penalty if discovered, and the fact that he has or has not obtained and transmitted information does not affect the case. In time of peace every nation of any importance maintains representatives in other states. Among the recognized duties of these representatives is the obtaining and transmitting of information about naval and military matters which may be of interest to their Governments. This is not regarded as espionage provided the information is obtained by the representative in his official capacity; it becomes so when resort is had to disguise or dissimulation, and, in fact, dissimulation is the essence of the offence. It follows, therefore, that a spy--one who practises espionage--must act in a clandestine manner in order to bring himself within the technical definition of the offence (by international law).

The characteristics of the act of spying are laid down in Article 29 of the Hague Convention, and the definition there given is as follows: "A person can only be considered a spy when, acting clandestinely or on false pretences, he obtains or endeavours to obtain information in the zone of operations of a belligerent, with the intention of communicating it to the hostile party...".

From this definition it appears that action in the 'zone of operations' is a necessary concomitant of the offence, and that, therefore, persons operating outside that zone cannot technically be charged with espionage; and to a certain extent this is so. A person may be domiciled in a belligerent country, and may, while pursuing his ordinary vocation, collect and transmit openly information of value to his own country; in the absence of dissimulation, such a person could not be charged with espionage, though he could be with war-treason. As, by international law, war-treason is punishable by death, the result is the same as if all the characteristics of spying had been present.

Espionage has been brought to a fine art in many countries, and complex organizations for its practice exist. Information may conceivably be collected with comparative ease by trained agents, but it is when it comes to disposing of that information that the troubles of the secret service agent begin. A poison requires an antidote, and the system of counter-espionage to a great extent provides this antidote. In accordance with this system, steps are taken to mark down and know all secret-service agents engaged in espionage work in the country concerned; their operations are then followed and, to a certain extent, controlled till such time as the psychological moment arrives when all, including the master-brain, are drawn into the net and disposed of.

In a military sense a spy means a man, whether soldier or civilian, who penetrates in disguise behind the enemy lines and brings back information about his dispositions. By the customs of war the penalty inflicted on a spy caught in the act is death after trial; but should a man known to have acted as a spy on some former occasion be subsequently captured in the course of military operations, he cannot be punished for his former act, and must be treated as a prisoner of war.

The following examples may serve to show what can be considered spying and what cannot. 'A', a soldier, in presence of the enemy, volunteers to obtain exact information as to the strength of a certain hostile post. To this end he, wearing his uniform and carrying a weapon of some kind, approaches the post by stealth, and secretes himself in a convenient place for seeing and hearing. If he is discovered, and attempts to escape, he may be shot in the process; but if he is captured, he must be treated as a prisoner of war and not as a spy. 'B', another soldier, speaking the enemy language, disguises himself as an officer of the enemy forces, and in this disguise penetrates behind the lines and mixes with the enemy troops. On discovery and capture he may be tried as a spy and shot.

In the first case 'A' was acting as a combatant in the ordinary course of military operations, and no disguise was present; in the second case 'B' was acting clandestinely and under false pretences, i.e. was masquerading as an officer of the enemy forces, and the necessary dissimulation was present.

ESPIR'ITO-SANTO ('Holy Spirit'), one of the maritime states of Brazil, bounded north by Bahia, south by Rio-de-Janeiro; length, about 260 miles; breadth, about 120 miles; area, 17,310 sq. miles. Pop. 434,500.

ESPIR'ITU-SANTO, an island of the Pacific, the largest of the New Hebrides, with some 20,000 inhabitants.

ESPRITS FORTS (FR., bold spirits), a term applied to the French school of freethinkers, which included Voltaire, Diderot, Helvetius, D'Alembert, and others. The Esprits Forts, are, however, distinguished from the English free-thinkers. Whilst the latter were only aiming at freedom of religious thought, the Esprits Forts were more radical and revolutionary, seeking to bring about the abolition of the existing order and the substitution of a system based upon pure reason and the supremacy of intellect.

ESQUIMAULT (es-kw[=i]'m[.a]lt), a harbour and naval station on the south-east coast of Vancouver Island, about 3 miles from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. The harbour is almost landlocked, and, with the 'Royal Roads' outside, is capable of giving safe anchorage to a fleet of vessels of the largest size. It is the station of H.M. ships on the Pacific coast, is a fortified naval arsenal, and since 1906 has been garrisoned by Canadian troops.

ESQUIMAUX (es'ki-m[=o]z), or ESKIMOS, a race inhabiting the Arctic coasts of North America, from Greenland to Behring's Strait, and extending into Asia. They call themselves _Innuit_, 'the people', 'men'; their other name is from an Algonquin word signifying eaters of raw flesh, and seems to have been given them first by the Jesuit Father Biard in 1611. They consist of three principal stocks--the Greenlanders; the Esquimaux proper, in Labrador; and the Western Esquimaux, found along Hudson's Bay, the west side of Baffin's Bay, the polar shores as far as the mouths of the Coppermine and Mackenzie Rivers, and both on the American and Asiatic sides of Behring's Strait. The entire Eskimo population is estimated at 27,000, of which 15,600 live in North America and 11,000 in Greenland. Their leading physical peculiarities are a stunted stature, flattened nose, projecting cheek-bones, eyes often oblique, and yellow and brownish skin. Seal-skins, reindeer and other furs are used as materials for dress, according to the season, as well as skins of otters, foxes, and martens. In summer they live in tents, covered with skins; in winter they may be said to burrow beneath the snow. In Greenland houses built of stone and cemented with turf are used as permanent habitations. Vegetation being extremely stunted within the limits of their territories, their food consists of the flesh of whales, seals, and walruses, often eaten raw; and they show remarkable skill in fishing and hunting. Their weapons are bows and arrows, spears or lances, generally pointed with bone, but sometimes with metal. Their only domestic animal is the Esquimaux dog. In intellect they are by no means deficient; in manners they are kind and hospitable. Their religious ideas appear scanty, but success has attended the labours of the Danish missionaries in teaching them the Christian religion.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: H. Rink, _Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo_; V. Stefansson, _My Life with the Eskimo_.

ESQUIMAUX DOG, or ESKIMO DOG, a breed of dogs extensively spread over the northern regions of America and of Eastern Asia. It is rather larger than the English pointer, but appears smaller on account of the shortness of its legs. It has oblique eyes, an elongated muzzle, and a bushy tail, which give it a wolfish appearance. The colour is generally a deep dun, obscurely barred and patched with darker colour. It is the only beast of burden in these latitudes, and with a team of such dogs attached to his sledge the Eskimo will cover 60 miles a day for several successive days.

ES'QUIRE (O.Fr. _escuyer_, from Lat. _scutum_, a shield); originally, a shield-bearer or armour-bearer; an attendant on a knight; hence in modern times a title of dignity next in degree below a knight. In England this title is properly given to the younger sons of noblemen, to officers of the king's courts and of the household, to counsellors at law, justices of the peace while in commission, sheriffs, gentlemen who have held commissions in the army and navy, &c. It is usually given to all professional and literary men, and nowadays, in the addresses of letters, _esquire_ may be put as a complimentary adjunct to almost any person's name. In heraldry the helmet of an esquire is represented sideways, with the vizor closed.

ESQUIROS (es-k[=e]-ros), Henri Alphonse, French poet, romancist, and miscellaneous writer, born at Paris 1812, died at Versailles 1876. His first work, a volume of poetry, _Les Hirondelles_, appeared in 1834. This was followed by numerous romances, and a commentary on the life of Christ (_L'['E]vangile du Peuple_), for which he was prosecuted and imprisoned. He then published _Les Chants d'un Prisonnier_, poems written in prison; _Les Vierges Folles_; _Les Vierges Sages_; _L'Histoire des Montagnards_. Having to leave France in 1851, he resided for years in England, and wrote a series of essays for the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ on English life and character, which were translated under the title of _The English at Home_, and were very popular. He also wrote a similar work on the Dutch. Other works are: _Religious Life in England_, and _Charlotte Corday_.

ESSAD TOPTANI, PASHA, Albanian soldier and national leader, born at Tirana in 1856. He was a descendant of the Toptani family who had ruled in Albania in the fifteenth century. Trained for the army, he served in Macedonia and Anatolia, and in 1897 was rewarded with the title of Pasha for his services in the war against Greece. Abdul Hamid, however, who feared the power of the Toptani family, had the brother of Essad Pasha murdered, and the latter became the mortal enemy of the Sultan. He nevertheless accepted the rank of brigadier-general, and commanded the local troops at Janina. In 1908 he joined the Young Turks, and was one of the deputation which brought the news of his deposition to the Sultan. He was in command of the troops at Scutari, when the powers declared in favour of the autonomy of Albania in 1912. Essad Pasha had hoped to be chosen ruler of the new state of Albania created by the Treaty of London, but as the Prince of Wied had been appointed _mbret_, he accepted the office of Minister of War and of the Interior. Suspected by the _mbret_, he was compelled to flee from Durazzo. After the departure of the Prince of Wied, at the outbreak of the European War, he returned to Durazzo, and was appointed by the Senate (on 5th Oct., 1914) President of the Provisional Government. In spite of Austrian advances he declared war on the Central Powers, and escaped when the Austrians entered Albania. He rendered valuable services to the Allies at Salonica, but the Italians, who saw in the Pasha an enemy to their own views upon Albania, refused to grant him permission to return to his country. Essad Pasha, therefore, remained in Paris, where he was assassinated by an Albanian student named Averic Rustem on 13th June, 1920. The assassin was acquitted by a French jury in December of the same year, prominent Albanians having pleaded in favour of the murderer, and maintained that the Pasha was an ambitious adventurer and a traitor to his country.

ES'SAY, a composition in which something is attempted to be proved or illustrated, usually shorter and less methodical and finished than a systematic or formal treatise; so that it may be a short disquisition on a subject of taste, philosophy, or common life. The essay was the invention of Montaigne in the sixteenth century, and Francis Bacon was another illustrious author who employed the literary form of the essay. Caution or modesty has induced many writers of note to give the title of essay to their most elaborate productions: thus we have Locke's _Essay on the Human Understanding_. There is a class of English writers to whom the descriptive term _essayist_ is applied, the most illustrious being Addison, Steele, Charles Lamb, Hazlitt, De Quincey, Macaulay, Carlyle, Froude, Matthew Arnold, R. L. Stevenson, and Austin Dobson.

ESSEN, a town of Rhenish Prussia, situated between the Ruhr and the Emscher, 18 miles north-east of D[:u]sseldorf, founded in the ninth century, and adorned with a fine church dating from 873. It increased with great rapidity, and became celebrated for the steel and ironworks of Krupp, the most extensive in Europe, employing till the end of the European War over 27,000 workmen. This great establishment was started in 1827 with only two workmen. In March and April, 1920, heavy fighting took place at Essen between the Government and the Communist troops. Pop. (1910), 294,629.

ESSENES (es-s[=e]nz'), or ESSAEANS, a sect among the Jews, the origin of which is unknown, as well as the etymology of their name. The word may be a derivation from the Syr. _hasya_, the pious ones, or _[=a]sy[=a]_, physician. The Essenes appear to have sprung up in the course of the century preceding the Christian era, and disappeared on the dispersion of the Jews after the siege of Jerusalem. The sect appears to have been an outcome of Jewish mysticism and asceticism, which gradually assumed the form of a distinct organization. They were remarkable for their strictness and abstinence, and had a rule of life analogous to that of a monastic order. Property was owned in common.

ESSENTIAL OILS. An essential oil is distinguished from a fatty oil by its characteristic odour, and by being slightly soluble in water and more volatile. Most of the essential oils are decomposed by alkali, but they do not yield soaps as do the fatty oils. An essential oil usually contains one chief ingredient, which may be a compound of carbon and hydrogen, e.g. _turpentine_, in which the characteristic odour is due to _pinene_ (C_{10}H_{16}); or a compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, e.g. bitter almond oil where the chief ingredient is _benzaldehyde_ (C_6H_5CHO); or _cinnamon bark_, containing _cinnamic aldehyde_ (C_6H_5CH:CH.CHO). The extraction of these oils from plants containing them is usually accomplished by a process of distillation with water. In some cases this is not practicable, as the oil may be decomposed by water, e.g. to obtain the essential oil from violets the flowers are macerated with hot lard; the fat absorbs the essential oil, which is then extracted from the lard by means of alcohol. In other cases the oil is extracted by means of a solvent such as petroleum spirit. Large quantities of essential oils are extracted yearly for the preparation of perfumes, the preparation of various flavourings (essences), and for use in the soap industry. Many essential oils are now manufactured synthetically, e.g. oil of wintergreen owes its fragrance to methyl salicylate, pineapple oil to ethylbutyrate, pear oil to amylacetate.

ESSEQUIBO (es-se-k[=e]'b[=o]), a river of British Guiana, which flows into the Atlantic by an estuary 20 miles in width after a course of about 450 miles. The district or division of Essequibo is well cultivated and extremely fertile, producing coffee, cotton, cocoa, and sugar. It was the subject of a discussion between the British and Venezuelan Governments, settled by the Arbitration Treaty of 2nd Feb., 1897.

ESSEX, EARL OF. See _Cromwell, Thomas_.

ESSEX, ROBERT DEVEREUX, second Earl of, in the Devereux line, was born at Netherwood, Herefordshire, in 1567. Having appeared at court, he soon became a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, by whom he was kept in attendance against his will during the defeat of the Armada. He served with more or less distinction in expeditions to Portugal and France, the latter on behalf of Henry of Navarre. In 1596 he was commander of the troops in an expedition against Spain, and distinguished himself by the capture of Cadiz. In an expedition next year he was less fortunate, and the queen, with whom he was always quarrelling, received him coldly. Presuming on the favour of Elizabeth, he behaved with rudeness to her at a Privy Council, received a box on the ear, and was told to "go and be hanged". After some months a reconciliation took place, and he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (1599), which was then in a state of rebellion. He returned to England in September, having been entirely unsuccessful in his government, was made a prisoner in his own house, and foolishly tried to excite an insurrection in London. After a skirmish with a party of soldiers he was compelled to surrender, and sent to the Tower. Tried for treason on 19th Feb., he was executed on 26th Feb., 1601.

ESSEX, a maritime county in the south-east of England, bounded by Suffolk, the Thames, Hertford, and Middlesex; area, 979,532 acres. The surface is generally level, except in the north-west, where it is undulating and sometimes hilly. The soil is in general extremely fertile, and particularly well adapted for the growth of wheat. Beans and pease also thrive uncommonly well. The other principal productions are potatoes, barley, oats, mangolds, turnips, tares, rape, mustard, and trefoil. The raising of caraway, coriander, and teazel is almost peculiar to this county. It had formerly a great extent of forest, the only survival of which is Epping Forest. The principal rivers in the county are the Roding, Crouch, Chelmer, Blackwater, and Colne. It has also the Thames, Lea, and Stour as boundary rivers. On the coast are some valuable oyster-beds, the oysters from which are exported in considerable quantities. The manufactures of the county are not very extensive, the chief being crape, silks, and straw-plait. The chief towns are: Chelmsford, the county town; West Ham, Colchester, Southend, and Harwich. The county has eight parliamentary divisions, each returning one member. Pop. 1,468,341 (1921).--Cf. _Victoria History of the Counties of England_.

ESSLINGEN (es'ling-[.e]n), a town of Germany, in W[:u]rtemberg, on the Neckar, 7 miles E.S.E. of Stuttgart. It is of Roman origin, was long an imperial free town, has walls flanked with towers, a castle, and an ancient Gothic church, dating from the thirteenth century, with a tower 230 feet high. In 1488 the Swabian League was formed at Esslingen. It has manufactures of machinery, articles of wood, cutlery, philosophical instruments, and spinning and other mills. Pop. 32,364.

ESTABLISHED CHURCH, a Church having a form of doctrine and government established by law in any country for the teaching of Christianity within its boundaries, and usually endowed by the State. The upholders of the establishment theory maintain that it is the duty of a State to provide for the religious instruction of the people. On the other hand, it is argued that the State has no right to endow or support any particular sect or denomination, unless they assume that that denomination alone is possessed of religious truth and worth. Regarding the established _Church of England_, see _England_; for _Church of Scotland_, see _Scotland_.

ESTATE, the interest or quantity of interest a man has in lands, tenements, or other effects. Estates are _real_ or _personal_. _Real estate_ comprises lands, tenements, and hereditaments, held in freehold. _Personal estate_ comprises interests for terms of years in lands, tenements, and hereditaments, and property of every other description. _Real_ estate descends to heirs; _personal_ to executors or administrators. In ordinary language, an estate is a piece of landed property, especially one of some size. _Estate duty_, see _Death Duties_. In political history the term estate is applied to a distinct order or class in society. The term 'fourth-estate' is often used to designate the Press.

ESTATES OF SCOTLAND, the name given to a body of similar constitution to the English Parliament, but with important differences, the king himself, as well as his officers, being responsible to the Estates for wrongs done. They held the power of declaring war, or entering on a peace or treaty, and with them rested the right of declaring, with or without the consent of the king, resolutions of the assembly to be law. To prevent a Bill being hurried through Parliament, it was submitted to and discussed by a committee called the _Lords of the Articles_. If sanctioned by this committee, the Bill was passed on to the whole House for approval. Another committee appointed by the Estates was called the _Auditors of Complaints_, whose duty was to hear appeals against the decisions of the king's judges, and, if necessary, to reverse their sentences.

ESTATES OF THE REALM, in Britain, are the Lords Spiritual, the Lords Temporal, and the Commons. From the circumstance that the Lords Spiritual and Temporal meet in one House, and practically form one branch of the legislature, the popular error has arisen that the sovereign forms one of the three Estates of the Realm.

ESTE (es't[=a]), a town of North Italy, 16 miles S.W. of Padua. It has a castle, the cradle of the Este family. It has also manufactures of silk goods, earthenware, and majolica; and numerous silk-mills and whetstone quarries. Pop. 11,704.

ESTE (es't[=a]), one of the most ancient and illustrious families of Italy. In the eleventh century the House of Este became connected by marriage with the German Welfs or Guelphs, and founded the German branch of the House of Este, the Dukes of Brunswick and Hanover. The sovereigns of Ferrara and Modena were of this family, several of them being famous as patrons of letters. The lives of Boiardo, Ariosto, and Tasso were closely connected with members of this House. The last male representative of the Estes died in 1798. His daughter married a son of the German emperor Francis I, and her grandson disappeared from the land of his fore-fathers at the consummation of Italian unity in 1860.

ESTELLA (es-tel'y[.a]), a town of N.E. Spain, in Navarre, on the Ega, 24 miles south-west of Pampeluna. Pop. 5658.

ESTE'PA, a town of Southern Spain, province of Seville, 50 miles east by south of Seville. It has a handsome Gothic church. Pop. 8234.

ESTEPO'NA, a seaport of Southern Spain, province of Malaga, 23 miles north-east of Gibraltar. Pop. 9600.

ESTERHA'ZY, a family of Hungarian magnates whose authentic genealogy goes back to the first half of the thirteenth century. They were zealous partisans of the House of Habsburg, to whom, during the reigns of Frederick II and Leopold I, they lent a powerful support. Among the more prominent members of the family are: Paul IV, Prince Esterhazy, a general and literary savant, 1635-1713. His grandson, Nicholas Joseph, a great patron of arts and music, founder of the school in which Haydn and Pleyel, among others, were formed, 1714-90. Nicholas, Prince Esterhazy, distinguished as a field-marshal and foreign Ambassador, 1765-1833. Prince Paul Anthony, a distinguished and able diplomatist, born 1786, died 1866; was successively Austrian Ambassador at Dresden, Rome, and Britain. He was a supporter of the national Hungarian movement.

ESTERS, or ETHEREAL SALTS, in chemistry, a general term for substances formed by the union of an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water. Thus ethyl acetate is formed from ethyl alcohol and acetic acid. Many of them are volatile, pleasant-smelling substances.

ESTHER, a Jewess, who became the queen of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, and whose story is told in the book of the Old Testament called by her name. This book is supposed by some to be the composition of Mordecai himself, the uncle of the heroine. Various opinions are held regarding the time and truth of the story; but the feast of Purim, which commemorates the events narrated, is still observed by the Jews during the month of Adar.

ESTHONIA, a new republic of North-Western Europe, formerly a dependency of Imperial Russia, and one of the Baltic Provinces. It is situated south of the Gulf of Finland, and is bounded by Russia, the Republic of Latvia, the Gulf of Riga, and the Baltic. The Republic of Esthonia comprises the former Russian government of Esthonia, the northern part of Livonia, and the north-western portion of Pskov. The country is divided into nine districts. It has an area of about 23,160 sq. miles, and a pop. of 1,750,000. It has for the most part a flat or undulating surface. The whole of the north side, however, rises considerably above the sea, and presents to it ranges of cliffs. The Narva is the only river of any importance; but minor streams, as well as small lakes, are very numerous. About a fourth of the surface is covered with forests of pine, birch, and alder. The crops include a little wheat, much barley and oats, and some flax, hops, and tobacco. Cattle are reared, and active fisheries are carried on. The peasantry are almost all of Finnish origin, and speak a Finnish dialect. Five-sixths of the population are Lutherans. Elementary education is compulsory, illiterates numbering about 3 per cent. There is a university at Dorpat, now called Tartu, founded in 1632, and reopened as an Esthonian university on 1st Dec., 1919. In the tenth and twelfth centuries Esthonia belonged to Denmark; it was afterwards annexed by Sweden, and in 1710 was seized by Russia. Esthonia is one of the new states formed in consequence and as a result of the European War. On 24th Feb., 1918, Esthonia declared her independence, and was recognized by Great Britain (3rd May, 1918), France, Italy, Japan, Poland, and Sweden. On 31st Dec., 1919, Esthonia concluded an armistice with the Bolshevik Government of Moscow, which recognized the republic _de jure_. In 1921 the supreme power was vested in a Constituent Assembly (elected 23rd April, 1919). Esthonia was admitted a member of the League of Nations on 22nd Sept., 1921. Reval is the capital.--Cf. M. Martna, _L'Esthonie_.

ESTON, a town of England, North Riding of Yorkshire, 4 miles S.E. of Middlesbrough, with important steelworks and iron-mines. Pop. 30,634.

ESTOP'PEL (Fr. _['e]touper_; Lat. _stuppare_, to stuff with tow, to cram), in law, anything done by a party himself, which puts a period to an action by closing the ground of controversy. Estoppels are divided into three classes: by Record; by Deed; and in Pais, or by Conduct.

ESTO'VERS (O.Fr. _estover_, need, necessity), in law, necessaries or supplies. _Common of estovers_ is the liberty of taking the necessary wood for a house or farm from another's estate.

ESTRAD'IOT, an Albanian dragoon or light-horseman, employed in the French army in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They sometimes fought on foot as well as on horseback.

ESTREMADU'RA, a western division of Spain, consisting of the provinces of Badajoz and Caceres. It is fertile, but not cultivated to its full extent. The Tagus and Guadiana intersect it east to west. Immense flocks of sheep graze on the rich plains. The area is about 16,000 sq. miles, and the pop. 990,990.

ESTREMADURA, a maritime province of Portugal, divided by the Tagus into two nearly equal parts, of which the northern is the more mountainous. Wines and olives are the principal produce. The principal city is Lisbon. Area, 6937 sq. miles. Pop. 1,438,726.

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CHANGES MADE AGAINST PRINTED ORIGINAL

Page 187. "It is important to note that": 'note than' in original.

Page 200. "Electric Power Transmission and Distribution": 'Distritribution' in original.

Page 268. "This may consist of ditches": 'consists' in original.

Page 284. "In heraldry, ermine is one of the furs": 'heraldy' in original.

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