ESCHEAT (from old Fr. eschoir, to fall or happen), in English law, a casual descent, in the nature of forfeiture, of lands and tenements within his manor to a lord, on account of the felony of such tenant. Blackstone defines it 'an obstruction of the course of descent, and a consequent determination of the tenure, by some unforeseen contingency, in which case the land naturally results back, by a kind of reversion, to the original grantor, or lord of the fee.' Escheats are also divided into those propter defectum sanguinis, and those propter delictum tenentis; but both species may be included under the first denomination; since he that is attainted suffers an extinction of his blood, as well as he that dies without relations.

Inheritable blood is wanting, 1. When the tenant dies without any relations on the part of any of his ancestors. 2. When he dies without any relations on the part of those ancestors from whom his estate descended. 3. When he dies without any relations of the whole blood. 4. When he is attainted for treason or felony.-In all these cases the lands escheat to the lord.

Care must be taken to distinguish between forfeiture of lands to the king, and this species of escheat to the lord: a general rule is that such escheat operates in subordination to the more ancient and superior law of forfeiture or escheat to the crown.

The doctrine of escheat upon attainder, taken singly, is that the blood of the tenant, by the commission of any felony (under which denomination all treasons were formerly comprised), is corrupted and stained, and the original donation of the feud is thereby determined. Upon the thorough demonstration of which guilt, by legal attainder, the feudal covenant and mutual bond of fealty are held to be broken, the estate instantly falls back from the offender to the lord of the fee, and the inheritable quality of his blood is extinguished and blotted out for ever. consequence of which corruption and extinction of hereditary blood, the land of all felons would immediately revest in the lord, but that the superior law of forfeiture intervenes, and intercepts it in its passage: in case of treason, for ever; in case of other felony, for only a year and a day. 2 Inst. 36.

In

In cases of escheat, the blood of the tenant being utterly corrupted and extinguished, it fol-* lows, not only that all that he has at the time of his offence committed shall escheat from him, but also that he shall be incapable of inheriting any thing for the future. This farther illustrates the distinction between forfeiture and escheat. If therefore a father be seised in fee, and the son commits treason and is attainted, and then the father dies: the land shall escheat to the lord, because the son, by the corruption of his blood, is incapable to be heir, and there can be no other heir during his life, but nothing shall be forfeited to the king, for the son never had any interest in the lands to forfeit. Co. Lit. 13. In this case the escheat operates, and not the forfeiture; but in the following instance the forfeiture works, and not the escheat. As where a new felony is created by act of parliament, and it is provided (as is frequently the case) that it VOL. VIII.

shall not extend to corruption of blood; here the lands of the felon shall not escheat to the lord, but yet the profits of them shall be forfeited to the king for a year and a day, and so long after as the offender lives. 3 Inst. 47.

ESCHEAT, in Scots law, is that forfeiture which is incurred upon a person's being denounced a rebel.

ESCHEW', v. a Fr. esquiver; Span. and Port. esquivar; Belg. schouwen; Teut. scheuhen, probably from Teut. scheu, fear. To shrink from; avoid; shun.

Job was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil.

Eschew evil and do good.

Job i. 1. Heb. iii. 11. Correct a wise man that would eschew ill name, And fayne woulde learne, and his lewde life amende, And to thy wordes he gladly shall intende.

Barclay. 1550.

So let us, which this change of weather view, Change eke our minds, and former lives amend; The old year's sins forepast let us eschew, And fly the faults with which we did offend.

Spenser.

He who obeys, destruction shall eschew; A wise man knows both when and what to do. Sandys. She was like a young fawn, who, coming in the wind of the hunters, doth not know whether it be a thing or no to be eschewed. Sidney. Of virtue and vice, men are universally to practise the one, and eschew the other. Atterbury. ESCHRAKITES, or ESRAKITES, a sect of philosophers among the Mahommedans, who adhere to the doctrines of Plato. The word is derived from the Arabic p schraca, which in the fourth conjugation paschracha, signifies to shine, or glitter like the sun; so that eschrakite seems to import illumined. These Mahommedan Platonists place their highest good in the contemplation of the Divine Majesty; despising the gross descriptions in the Alcoran of Paradise. They carefully avoid vice, preserve an equal temper, love music, and divert themselves with composing poems or spiritual songs. The sheicks or priests, and the chief among the preachers of the imperial mosques, are eschrakites.

ES'CORT, n. s. & v. a. French escorte; Ital. scorta or cohorta, from Lat. colors, a cohort or division of soldiers. Convoy, military guard : to guard or convoy: and hence to protect in any way from place to place.

Escort of deserters consists in general of a corporal and three rank and file, unless the number exceed

four or five.

James.

ESCOT, n. s. & v.a. Fr. A tax paid in boroughs and corporations towards the support of the community, which is called scot and lot. See Scor. To pay a man's reckoning; to support. What, are they children? Who maintains them? How are they escoted? Shakspeare. Hamlet.

ESCOUADE, or SQUAD, is usually the third or fourth part of a company of foot; so divided for mounting guards, and for the more convenient relieving of one another. It is equivalent to a brigade of a troop of horse. See BRIGADE. ESCO'UT, n. s. Fr. escouter. spies; persons sent for intelligence. which see.

Listeners or Now Scout,

2 P

Escuage, that is, service of the shield, is either uncertain or certain. Escuage uncertain is likewise twofold: first, where the tenant by his tenure is bound

to follow his lord, going in person to the king's wars so many days. The days of such service seem to have been rated by the quantity of the land so holden as, if it extend to a whole knight's fee, then the tenant was bound thus to follow his lord forty days. A knight's fee was so much land as, in those days, was accounted sufficient living for a knight; and that was six hundred and eighty acres as some think, or eight hundred as others, or £15 per annum. Sir Thomas Smith saith, that census equestris is £40 revenue in free lands. If the land extend but to half a knight's fee, then the tenant is bound to follow his lord but twenty days. The other kind of this escuage uncertain is called Castleward, where the tenant is bound to defend a castle. Escuage certain is where the tenant is set at a certain sum of money to be paid in lieu of such uncertain services.

Cowel.

ESCUAGE, or SCUTAGE, an ancient knight's service, called also service of the shield; the tenant holding by which was obliged to follow his lord at his own expense to the Scottish or Welsh wars. Tenants sometimes compounded for it by a pecuniary satisfaction, which was levied by assessments at a certain rate; and thus it became a pecuniary in lieu of a military service. The first instance of this occurs in 5 Hen. II. on account of his expedition to Toulouse; it afterwards became more general and oppressive; so that king John was obliged to consent, by his magna charta, that no scutage should be imposed without consent of parliament; but the clause was omitted in the charter of Hen, III. which directs, that it should be taken as it used to be in the time of Henry II. or in a reasonable and moderate manner. However, it was afterwards enacted by stat. 25 Edw. I. cap. 5 and 6, and many subsequent statutes, that the king should take no aids or tasks but by the common assent of the realm; and it appears that scutages were the ground-work of all succeeding subsidies, and of the land-tax of later times. Blackst. Com. vol. ii. p. 74. Escuage was also a reasonable aid, demanded by the lord of his tenants, who held of him by knight's service. See AID. 'Concesserunt domino regi ad maritandum filiam suam de omnibus qui tenent de domino rege in capite de singulis scutis 20 solidos solvendos.' Matt. Paris,

which at present produce no esculent vegetables; and might thence become an article of useful cultivation. Darwin.

ESCURIAL, a village and royal residence, fifteen miles north-west of Madrid, Spain. It is the largest and most superb structure in the kingdom, and one of the finest in Europe. The word is Arabic, meaning 'a place of rocks,' and the site is sufficiently dry and barren, surrounded with rugged mountains; so that every thing which grows has been the offspring of art and culture. The place was chosen, it is said, for the sake of the stone so readily yielded here, and which is an excellent pale granite; and the design of erecting the palace was to commemorate a victory which Philip II. obtained over the French, by the assistance of the English forces, at St. Quintin, on St. Laurence's day, in the year 1557. The Spanish description of the structure forms a considerable 4to. volume. Its founder expended upon it six millions of ducats. The apartments are decorated with an astonishing variety of paintings, sculpture, tapestry, ornaments of gold and silver, marble, jasper, and other curious stones. Here is also a noble and richly ornamented church; a mausoleum; cloisters; convent; a college, and a library, containing about 30,000 volumes; besides large apartments for all kinds of artists and mechanics; and noble walks, with extensive parks, gardens, and fountains. The fathers that live in the convent are 200, and they have an annual revenue of £12,000. The whole, begun by Philip in 1562, completed in twenty-two years. The total expense was estimated at nearly £3,000,000 sterling. The place is a monument of Spanish magnificence and superstition united. Its seve ral courts and quadrangles are disposed in the shape of a gridiron, the instrument of the martyrdom of St. Laurence; the apartment where the king resides forming the handle. The principal building is a long square of 640 by 580, and the height to the roof sixty feet. At each angle is a square tower of 200 feet high. The number of windows in the west front is 200; in the east front 366. The orders are Doric and Ionic. In the principal front are three doors. Over the grand entrance are the arms of Spain, carved in stone; and a little higher, in a niche, a statue of St. Laurence, in a deacon's habit, with a gilt gridiron in his right hand, and a book in his left. Directly over the door is a basso relievo of two enormous gridirons. This vast structure, however, with its narrow high towers, small windows, and steep sloping roof, exhibits altogether a very uncouth appearance; at the same time that the domes, and the immense extent of its fronts, give it, on The church is in the centre; the cupola is bold and the whole, considerable pretensions to grandeur. light. The high altar is composed of rich marbles, agates, and jaspers of great rarity, the produce of Spain. Two magnificent catafalquas fill up the side arcades of this sanctuary: on one the emperor Charles V., his wife, daughter, and two sisters, are represented in bronze, larger than life, kneeling; opposite are the effigies of Philip II. and of his three wives, of the same materials, and in the same devout attitude. Underneath is the burial-place of the royal family, called the

pantheon: twenty-five steps lead down to this vault, over the door of which is a Latin inscription, denoting, that this place, sacred to the remains of the Catholic kings,' was intended by Charles the emperor, resolved upon by Philip II., begun by Philip III., and completed by Philip IV. The mausoleum is circular, thirtysix feet diameter, incrusted with fine marble in an elegant taste. The bodies of the kings and queens lie in tombs of marble, in niches, one above the other. The collection of pictures dispersed about various parts of the church, sacristy, and convent, was thought at one time to equal that of any gallery in Europe. Some of them were carried off by the French during the late war, but they have been subsequently restored. The library of the monastery contains a valuable collection of manuscripts and old books, although part of the latter were destroyea by a fire

in 1671.

A beautiful road, about a quarter of a league in length, and planted on both sides with lofty elms and linden trees, leads to the village, as also does a subterraneous corridor, arched with free-stone, and called the Mina. Another road leads to Fresneria, a country-house situated a quarter of a league to the east of the palace, and in the centre of it is a piazza, supported by Doric columns. The road to Madrid is excellent, but through a naked country. In going from Madrid it first winds along the Manzanarez, and, leaving the Casa del Campo, it passes Pardo, and then three houses in succession, where relays of horses are provided. It then conducts to Valde Morillo, from whence the Escurial is first

seen.

Spacious reservoirs have been constructed in the neighbouring mountains for collecting the water, which is conveyed by an aqueduct to supply ninety-two fountains. The royal family, before the Spanish revolution, inhabited the Escurial from September to December, a season almost wholly employed in devotion. The position of the Escurial, according to trigonometrical observations, is W. long. 4° 7′ 50′′, and N. lat. 40° 35′ 50". ESCUTCHEON. Fr. ecusson, from Latin scutum, a leather shield. The shield of a family, on which originally the family arms were depicted hence any emblazonment of arms.

There be now, for martial encouragement, some degrees and orders of chivalry, and some remembrance perhaps upon the escutcheon. Bacon.

We will pass over the escutcheons of the tribes of Israel, as they are usually described in the maps of

Canaan.

Browne.

the German Ocean, two miles north-east of Montrose. It has three remarkable bridges over it: the first consisting of one arch, called the Gannachie Bridge, about ten miles north-west of Montrose; the second of three arches, about four miles north of Montrose, called the Old North Water Bridge, built above 200 years ago; and the third of seven arches, near the mouth of the river, called the New North Water Bridge. Vast quantities of salmon are taken in this river and sent to London.

ESK, SOUTH, a considerable river of Angusshire, which, after traversing the whole breadth of the county in many beautiful meanders, passes by Brechin, glides through the capacious basin and harbour of Montrose, and falls into the German Ocean, a mile west of that town. An elegant new bridge, or rather two bridges, were erected over the mouth of this river in 1792-3, from Forthill to the isle of Inch-Broyock, and from that to Craig. See MONTROSE.

ESKDALE, the most eastern division of Dumfriesshire, so named from the river Esk running through it. It was formerly a lordship or barony in the family of Maxwell; but attainted on account of the attachment of that family to the house of Stuart.

ESKI-SAGRA, a large town of European Turkey, in Romania, seldom visited by Europeans. The population, said to amount to 20,000, are employed in hardware, carpet, and leather manufactures.

ESMERALDAS, a province of Quito, South America, situated between the jurisdictions of Guayaquil and Barbacoas, on the coast of the South Sea. It is estimated at fifty-six leagues in length, and abounds in wax, copal, balsams, manilla, indigo, tobacco, and excellent cocoa. Its mountains are clothed with rare and valuable woods.

ESMERALDAS, a port of the foregoing province, situate on the coast of the South Sea, on a strip of land which forms the mouth of the river Esmeraldas.

ESMERALDAS, a considerable river of the same province, which has its rise in the mountains of Pasto, and falls into the Pacific Ocean in lat. 0° 53′ N. 2. A river of Brasil, in the province of Porto Seguro, which enters the Rio Dolce.

ESNE, or ASNA, a considerable sea-port town of Upper Egypt. To the description of this place, which will be found under ASNA, we may add the following, from the Travels of Denon. 'Esne is the ancient Latopolis. Some remains are still visible of its port or quay on the bank of the Nile, which has been often repaired; but, notwithstanding all that has been done for it, still remains in a very miserable situation. This town also contains the portico of a temple, which appears to me to be the most perfect monument of ancient architecture. It is situated near the bazaar in the great square, and would make an incomparable ornament to this spot, if the inhahabitants had any idea of its merit; but instead of this they have deformed it by the most miserable ruined hovels, and have devoted it to the vilest purposes. The portico is very well preserved, and possesses a great richness of sculpture it is composed of eighteen columns with

:

broad capitals; these columns are noble and elegant, though they now appear in the most disadvantageous light; the rubbish should be cleared to find if any part of the cellar remains. The hieroglyphics with which it is covered,within and without, are executed with great care; they contain, among other subjects, a Zodiac, and large figures of men with crocodiles' heads: the capitals, though all different, have a very fine effect; and, as an additional proof that the Egyptians borrowed nothing from other people, we may remark, that they have taken all the ornaments, of which these capitals are composed, from the productions of their own country, such as the lotus, the palm-tree, the vine, the rush, &c.' The inhabitants of Esne having revolted against the persecution of Dioclesian, that emperor destroyed this town and put them to the sword. Thus consecrated by religion, it has long been a celebrated place of pilgrimage among the Copts, who repair to it from the most distant provinces. Mr. Hamilton says, that there is a great variety in the sculptures upon the above-mentioned portico, and he was inclined, from the rude manner in which they are executed, to ascribe to them a very remote antiquity. Although equally mysterious and unintelligible with those on similar buildings throughout Egypt, they are so numerous as to afford the amplest field for studying the whole range of the learning, mythology, and superstitions of the ancient inhabitants of this country. The ceiling is replete with mysterious representations; among which are figures surrounded with stars, and boats conveying the most mystical of their sacred animals.

ESOX, in ichthyology, a genus of fishes besonging to the order of abdominales. The body is elongated; the head is plainish above; the upper jaw is plain, and shorter than the under one, which is dotted; and the branchiostege membrane has from seven to twelve rays. Species fifteen in number. 1. E. barracuda of Catesby is found in great numbers about the seas of the Bahamas and as far as Jamaica. Its body and head very much resemble the European pikes: the eyes are large; the mouth is very wide; the under jaw longer than the upper: there are four very large and sharp teeth in the front of the upper jaw; in that of the lower, a single great and sharp tooth: there are two dorsal fins: the tail is large and forked: color a deep brown, whitish on the belly. It grows to the length of ten feet. It swims exceeding swiftly; is of dreadful voracity; and will attack men when they are bathing. The flesh has a disagreeable smell and taste, and is even poisonous; causing great sickness, vomiting, intolerable pains in the head, and loss of hair and nails; yet the hungry Bahamans formerly were under the necessity, at times, of feeding on it. 2. E. belone, the gar, or sea needle, sometimes grows to three feet or more. The jaws are very long, slender, and sharp-pointed; the under jaw extends much farther than the upper; and the edges of both are armed with numbers of short and slender teeth; the tongue is small: the eyes are large; the irides silvery; and the nostrils wide and round. The body is slender, the belly quite flat, bounded on both sides by a rough

line. The tail is much forked. The colors are extremely beautiful when the fish is in the water: the back is a fine green, beneath which appears a rich changeable blue and purple: the sides and belly are of a fine silvery hue. This fish is found in many places, and comes in shoals on our coasts in the beginning of summer. It precedes the mackerel, and resembles it in taste; but the light green which stains the back-bone gives many people a disgust to it. 3. E. lucius, the pike, has a flat head: the upper jaw is broad, and shorter than the lower: the under jaw turns up a little at the end, and is marked with minute punctures. The teeth are very sharp, disposed not only in the front of the upper jaw, but in both sides of the lower; in the roof of the mouth, and often in the tongue. The slit of the mouth is very wide; the eyes small. The pike is common in most lakes of Europe; but the largest are those taken in Lapland, which, according to Scheffer, are sometimes eight feet long. They are taken there in great abundance, dried, and exported for sale. The largest fish of this kind caught in England, weighed thirty-five pounds. All writers who treat of this species bring instances of its voraciousness. It has been known to choke itself by attempting to swallow one of its own species which proved too large a morsel. Yet its jaws are very loosely connected, and have on each side an additional bone like the jaw of a viper, which renders them capable of greater distension when it swallows its prey. It will devour the water rat, and draw down the young ducks as they are swimming about. Gesner relates, that a famished pike in the Rhone, seized on the lips of a mule that was brought to water, and that the beast drew the fish out before it could disengage itself; that people have been bit by these voracious creatures while they were washing their legs; and that the pike will even contend with the otter for its prey, and endeavour to force it out of its mouth. Small fishes show the same uneasiness at the presence of this tyrant, that little birds do at the sight of the hawk or owl. When the pike lies dormant near the surface, as is often the case, the smaller fishes are observed to swim round it in vast numbers and in great anxiety. Pikes are often haltered in a noose, and taken while they thus lie asleep, as they are often found in May, in the ditches near the Thames. In the shallow water of the Lincolnshire fens they are often taken in a manner, we believe, peculiar to that county and to the island of Ceylon. The fisherman uses a hemispherical basket, open at top and bottom, called a crown net. He stands at the end of one of the little feu boats, and frequently puts his basket down to the bottom of the water; then poking a stick into it, discovers whether he has any booty by the striking of the fish; and vast numbers of pike are taken in this manner. The longevity of this fish is very remarkable, if we may credit the accounts given of it. Rzaczynski tells us of one that was ninety years old; but Gesner relates, that, in 1497, a pike was taken near Halbrun in Suabia, with a brazen ring affixed to it, on which were these words in Greek characters: 'I am the fish which was first put into this lake by the governor of the universe, Frederick II. the 5th of