about fourteen miles; and from Ram-Head, the nearest point of land, twelve and a half. They are almost in the line which joins the Start and the Lizard Points; and, as they lie in the direction of vessels coasting up and down the Channel, they were very dangerous, and frequently ships were wrecked on them, before the lighthouse was established. They are so exposed to the swells of the ocean, from all the south and west points of the compass, that the heavy seas come uncontrolled, and break on them with the utmost fury. After a storm, when the sea in general is, to all appearance, quite smooth, and its surface unruffled by the slightest breeze, the growing swell or under current, meeting the slope of the rocks, the sea often rises above the lighthouse in a magnificent manner, overtopping it as with a canopy of froth. Notwithstanding this tremendous swell, Mr. Henry Winstanley, in 1696, undertook to build a lighthouse on the principal rock, for the rest are under water; and he completed it in 1700. This ingenious mechanic was so confident of the stability of his structure, that he declared his wish to be in it during the most tremendous storm that could blow. Unfortunately he obtained his wish, for he perished in it during the dreadful storm which destroyed it, on the 27th November, 1703. In 1709 another lighthouse was erected of wood on this rock, but on a different construction, by Mr. John Rudyard. It stood till 1755, when it was burnt. A third one, of stone, begun by the late celebrated Mr. John Smeaton, on the 2d of April, 1757, was finished 24th August, 1759; and has withstood the rage of all weathers ever since. The rock which slopes towards the south-west is cut into horizontal steps; into which are dove-tailed, and united by a strong cement, Portland stone and granite, for Mr. Smeaton discovered that it was impossible to make use of the former entirely, as there is a marine animal that can destroy it; and that he could not use the latter solely, as the labor of working it would have been too expensive. He therefore used the one for the interual, and the other for the external, part of the structure. Upon the principle of a broad base and accumulation of matter, the whole, to the height of thirty-five feet from the foundation, is a solid mass of stones engrafted into each other, and united by every kind of additional strength. The lighthouse has four rooms, one over another, and at the top a gallery and lantern. The stone floors are flat above, but concave below, and are kept from pressing against the sides of the building by a chain let into the walls. The lighthouse is nearly eighty feet high, and withstands the most violent storms, without sustaining the smallest injury. In all probability, as Mr. Smeaton said, nothing but an earthquake can destroy it. The wooden part of it, however, was burnt in 1770, but renewed in 1774. EDELINCK (Gerard), a famous engraver, born at Antwerp, where he was instructed in drawing and engraving. He settled at Paris in the reign of Louis XIV. who made him his engraver in ordinary. He was also counsellor in the Royal Academy of Painting. His works are particularly esteemed for the neatness of the engraving, their brilliant cast, and the ease apparent in the execution; and to this facility is owing the great number of plates we have of his, among which are excellent portraits of many illustrious men of his time. Among the most admired of his prints are the following: 1. A battle between four horsemen, with three figures lying slain upon the ground, from Leonardo da Vinci. 2. A holy family, with Elizabeth, Saint John, and two angels, from the famous picture of Raphael in the late king of France's collection. 3. Mary Magdalen, from Le Brun. ander entering into the tent of Darius, a large print, on two plates, from Le Brun. 5. Alexander entering into the tent of Darius, finished by P. Drevet, from Peter Mignard. Edelinck died in 1707, in an advanced age, at the Hotel Royal, in the Gobelins, where he had an apartment. His brother John was also a skilful engraver, but died young. 4. Alex EDEMATO'SE, adj. Oionpa. Swelling ; full of humors: commonly written oedematous. A serosity obstructing the glands may be watery, edematose, and schirrous, according to the viscosity of the humour. Arbuthnot. EDEN; from Heb. 1, i. e. pleasure; a country with a garden, in which the progenitors of mankind were settled by God himself. It would be endless to recount the various conjectures as to its situation, some of which are very wild and extravagant. Moses says that a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became into four heads.' This river is supposed to be the common channel of the Euphrates and Tigris, after their confluence; which parted again below the garden into two different channels, so that the two channels before, and the other two after their confluence, constitute the heads mentioned by Moses. This will determine the situation of the garden to have been in the south of Mesopotamia, or in Babylonia. The garden was also called Paradise; a term of Persic original, denoting a garden. EDEN, a river of England, which rises in Westmoreland, on the borders of Yorkshire, crosses the county of Cumberland, and runs into the Solway Frith, about seven miles below Carlisle. Salmon appear in the Eden in numbers, so early as December and January, and the London and Newcastle markets are supplied with early fish from this river; but it is remarkable that they do not visit the Esk in any quantity till April, notwithstanding the mouths of the two rivers are very near each other. EDEN, a river of Scotland, in Berwickshire, which rises in Lammermuir, joins the Tiviot at Kelso, runs along the south and south-east borders of the parish of Edenham, and falls into the Tweed near Coldstream. It produces trouts and some salmon. EDENTON, a district on the sea-coast of North Carolina, bounded on the north by the state of Virginia, on the east by the ocean, on the west by Halifax district, and on the south by Newbern. It is subdivided into nine counties, viz. Chowan, Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimins, Gates, Hertford, Bertie, and Tyrrel. Its chief town is Edenton. The wood is chiefly pine, oak, cypress, and juniper, all of which abound. EDENTON, the capital of the above district, is a post town and port of entry, at the head of a bay on the north side of Albemarle Sound, and at the north-east side of the opening of Chowan River. It is ninety-seven miles north of Newbern, 139 south-east of Petersburgh, and 440 S.S.W. of Philadelphia. EDER, a river of Germany, having its source on the borders of Nassau, and, after watering the county of Hesse, having its embouchure in the Fulda. EDESSA, or VODINA, a large town of European Turkey, in Romania, near the Vistricza, called by the Turks Moglena. In ancient times it was the residence of the Macedonian kings. It has about 12,000 inhabitants, part of whom are employed in woollen manufactures; and is forty-four miles W.N.W. of Saloniki, and 316 west of Constantinople. "Tis slander, Whose edge is sharper than the sword. Shakspeare. Cymbeline. To morrow in the battle .hink on me, Bacon. Proverb. EDFU, a village of Upper Egypt, celebrated He that will a good edge win, EDGAR, the son of Edmund I., one of the most fortunate of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs. He succeeded his brother Edwy, A. D. 959; and is said to have been rowed down the Dee, by eight kings, his vassals. He died in 975. See ENGLAND. EDGAR ATHELING, the son of prince Edward, by Agatha, daughter of the emperor Henry II. and grandson of Edmund II. king of England. Though he was the lawful heir of the crown, and was even declared king upon the death of Harold II. he submitted to William the Conqueror, after the battle of Hastings: but afterwards retired to Scotland with his two sisters, Margaret and Christina where they were kindly received by king Malcolm II. who married the princess Margaret. See ENGLAND. EDGAR, a sea-port town of Massachusetts, in the United States, situated on the east side of the island of Martha's Vineyard, and reckoned the best sea-port of the island. Long. 70° 25′ W., lat. 41° 22′ N. I must edge upon a point of wind, The garland which I wove for you to wear, Locke. Should the flat side be objected to the stream, it would be soon turned edgewise by the force of it. Ray. A woman branches out into a long dissertation Creech's Manil. We have, for many years, walked upon the edge of a precipice, while nothing but the slender thread of misery. human life has held us from sinking into endless I shall exercise upon steel, and its several sorts; and what sort is fittest for edgetools, which for springs. Moxon. have lost their edge. It is with wits as with razors, which are never so apt to cut those they are employed on, as when they Swift. However, if in general it be not easy to determine concerning the lawfulness of such devious proceedings, which must be ever on the edge of crimes, it is far from difficult to foresee the perilous consequences of the resuscitation of such a power in the people. LADY TEA. Nay, I allow even that's better than the pains Mrs. Prim takes to conceal her losses in front. She draws her mouth till it positively resembles the aperture of a poor's box, and all her words appear to slide out edgewise, as it were. Sheridan. And you, ye crags, upon whose extreme edge, pause ? Byron. EDGEFIELD, a county of South Carolina, the southernmost in the district of Ninety-Six, bounded on the north by Saluda River, which divides it from Newbury county, on the southwest by Savannah River, which separates it from the state of Georgia, on the east by Orangeburg district, and on the west by Abbeville county. The ridge of elevated land, which divides the waters of Saluda from those of Savannah River, passes nearly through the middle of the county. Edgefield county is about thirtyfour miles long, and twenty-four broad. EDGEFIELD, a town in the above county, with a court house and post office: forty miles from Abbeville; twenty-five from Augusta, and sixty from Colombia. EDGEHILL, a village in Warwickshire, near Kenton; memorable for the first battle fought between the forces of king Charles I., and those of the parliament in 1642. It is fourteen miles south of Warwick. See ENGLAND, HISTORY. EDGEWARE, a town of England, in the county of Middlesex, on the borders of Hertfordshire. It is eight miles north-west of London. EDGEWORTH (Abbé), was born at Edgeworth's town in Ireland in 1745; but his father, who was a clergyman, having become a catholic, he settled with his family at Toulouse. After studying at Paris, the abbé Edgeworth entered the fraternity of Les Missions Etrangères. He was confessor to the princess Elizabeth, and thus becoming known to the unfortunate Louis XVI, he attended him to the scaffold. He made his escape in disguise afterwards, and came to England, whence he went to Mittau to attend upon Louis XVIII, and died there of an hospital fever After an education at Trinity College, Dublin, and Corpus Christi, Oxford, he entered the Temple, but, mechanics and general literature enwith Dr. Darwin, Mr. Day, and men of similar gaging his attention, he formed an acquaintance pursuits; in 1767 he is said to have contrived a telegraph, which however he did not bring into use. After residing some years in England he went to Lyons, where he was engaged in the direction of some works on the Rhone. In 1780 he became a fellow of the Royal Society. In the latter part of his life he resided chiefly on his own estate at Edgeworth's-town, in the south of Ireland, constructing rail-roads, draining bogs, &c. and in conjunction with his celebrated daughter, Miss Edgeworth, wrote a treatise on practical, and another on professional education, as well as some subsidiary works. He was also Roads and Carriages; A Letter to Lord Charlethe author of An Essay on the Construction of mont on the Telegraph; and various papers in the Transactions of the Royal Society and Irish Academy. He died at Edgeworth's-town, in June 1817. Mr. Edgeworth married four wives, of whom two were sisters. EDGINGS, in gardening, the series of small but durable plants, set round the edges or borders of flower-beds, &c. The best and most durable of all plants for this use, is box; which, if well planted and rightly managed, will continue in strength and beauty for many years. The seasons for planting this are, the autumn, and very early in the spring; and the best spe cies for this purpose is the dwarf Dutch box. Formerly, it was also a very common practice to plant borders, or edgings, of aromatic herbs; as thyme, savory, hyssop, lavender, and the like; but these are all apt to grow woody, and to be in part, or wholly destroyed in hard winters. Daisies, thrift, or sea july-flower, and camomile, are also used by some for this purpose: but they require yearly transplanting, and a great deal of trouble, otherwise they grow out of form; and they are also subject to perish in very hard seasons. EDHILING, EDHILINGUS, an ancient appellation of the nobility among the Anglo-Saxons. 'The Saxon nation,' says Nithard, Hist. lib. iv, ' is divided into three orders or classes of people; the edhilingi, the frilingi, and the lazzi; which signify the nobility, the freemen, and the vassals or slaves.' Instead of edhiling, we sometimes meet with atheling, or ætheling; which appellation was likewise given to the king's son, and the presumptive heir of the crown. See ATHELING. ED'DISH, n. s. grass; the aftermath: a ground on which a crop Sax. edirc, a second crop of has grown the preceding year. which comes after mowing or reaping; otherwise called Eddish, or eadish, is the latter pasture, or grass, ear-grass, earsh, and etch. E'DIBLE, adj. From Lat. edo. in 1807. His letters and life were published in eaten; fit for food. 1818. EDGEWORTH (Richard Lovell), a literary gentleman of considerable talents, was born in 1744 at Bath, and of the same family as the foregoing. Dr. A. Ree Some flesh is not edible, as horses and dogs. |