ELS 



fi\ between the idolatrous nations of Egypt, India, 

 .in 1 It.i'y, Ion;.' In-fore they emigrated to their 

 everal .--ttleinents, and coiiscqiientlv before the birth 

 >ily suppose them to have Inn-row- 

 ed their synilmN of worship reciprocally from 



Thus the re:n;ir' f ires of resemblance 



so inn- ! l>y Sir William between the dei- 



ties of Cin-ece nml India will IK' accounted for. 



In c-xceutin-j these works, the chissel appears to have 

 been the only instniment used, atftracenof it are visible 

 all over the granite. 



They nrc dedicated chiefly to Mahdewas, the presi- 

 ding deity, who appears under a two-fold attribute in 

 nplcs of India. He is designated the god of de- 

 struction, and is conspicuous as the deity who presides 

 over generation, represente<l riding on a white bull. 

 His celestial seat is Mount Cailasu, every splinter of 

 whose rock is an inestimable gem. On earth, he haunts 

 the snowy mountains of Himalaya, to the east of the 

 Brahmaputra rivcr,called Chandrasicliaru, or the Moun- 

 tain of the Moon. 



Whoever visits the caves of Ellora, while he admires 

 such amazing efforts of industry, must deplore its 

 abuse, in executing works superior in point of labour 

 and skill to the pyramids, and which, like them, can on- 

 ly serve to be perpetual monuments of human weak- 

 ness and folly. See Asiatic Researches, vol. vi. (w. T.) 



ELOQUENCE. See ORATORY. 



ELONGATION. See ASTRONOMY. 



ELORA. See ELLORA. 



ELSHOLTZIA, a genus of plants of the class Didy- 

 nnmia, and order Gymnospermia. See BOTANY, p. 242. 



ELSINEUR, ELSINOER, or, in Danish, HELSIN- 

 flOER, is a town of Denmark, in the island of Zealand; 

 and is situated cm the west side of the Sound, almost 

 opposite to Helsingburg on the Swedish side of the 

 Sound, from which it is distant about 3 or 4 English 

 miles. The town of Elsineur is well built, the houses 

 being chiefly of brick, and is regarded as the second 

 town in the Danish islands. It contains two churches ; 

 a grammar school; a custom-house, which is a fine build- 

 ing ; several handsome private buildings, and a sugar 

 house. In the year 1753 an attempt was made to form 

 a harbour, but it was found to be impracticable. The 

 road-stead, however, is admirable, and generally con- 

 tains great numbers of vessels lying at anchor. Those 

 ships, which draw only 8 feet of water, can come up 

 to the quays. 



The most interesting object at Elsineur is the fortress 

 ofCronberg, which is situated on the edge of a peninsu- 

 lar promontory. The royal palace, within the fortifica- 

 tions, is a magnificent Gothic building of freestone, 

 and of a square form. From an inscription over the 

 gate, it appears to have been begun by Frederic II. 

 and repaired and augmented by succeeding sovereigns. 

 Besides the royal apartments, which arc insignificant, it 

 contains the residence of the commandant, a church, a 

 corn magazine, c. In one part of the castle is a plat- 

 form, from which the view is magnificent. The Swe- 

 dish coast, towards the north, is seen for M) or 50 miles, 

 while the steeples of Copenhagen may be discerned to- 

 wards the south. 



The Castle of Cronberg is strongly fortified towards 

 the shore by bastions and regular entrenchments ; and 

 towards the sea by several batteries mounted with (iO 

 annon, the largest of which are 48 pounders. 



Every vessel that passes the port, lowers the topsail 

 and pays a toll, amounting, exclusive of a small duty 

 fr the lighthouses, to 1 J per cent, on their cargoes, ex- 

 J 



ELY 



ceptinj; the I'n-lMi, French, Dutch, and Swedish, 

 from whom only 1 per cenl is levied. These tolls ..tip- 

 ply an annual revenue of L. 100, (XX) according to Mr 



Kutlner. It was in 



-tie that the late unfurl.:. .! <>: in Matilda was 

 imprisoned. The only other object of interest at El- 

 sineur, i, ihe P.. , ire.ilu*t, a new but not cx- 

 tensivi l.uilding. belonging to the Crown Prince. It 

 stands on a small steep hill. The j.-irden is c.illed Hum- 

 let's garden, which, according to tradition, is the place 

 w here the murder of his father was perpetrated. An 

 account of the shipping of all nations, which p.iid toll 

 at l.lsineur between the years ITStii and 1804, will be 

 found under our article BALTIC. Population 5000. 

 According to trigonometrical observations, Flsincur 

 is situated in Fast Long. 1'^ 38' 2", ami North Lnt. 

 1 ; . See Coxes Travels in Poland, Russia, 

 '. AC. MI!, v. p. 85; Kuttner's Travels through 

 Denmark, Siueiicn, <!yc. letter iv. ; Catteau Calleville'* 

 Tableau de la Mir linltiijin; Paris, 18 li!, torn. ii. p. 

 324 ; and Carr's Northern Summer, (j) 



ELVAS, formerly JELVES, is a city and frontier town 

 of Portugal, in die province of Alentejo, situated on a hill 

 covered with olive trees. The streets are irregular and 

 narrow, and so full of dirt, that it is difficult to wade 

 through them, even in dry weather. The town contains 

 four parish churches, and six religious houses, besides 

 a monastery of capuchins without the gate. Elvas is 

 the first and most important fortress in Portugal. The 

 town is strongly fortified, and is defended by two cita- 

 dels situated on the adjacent hills. One of these is 

 called Fort St Luzia. The other was erected by the 

 Count of Lippe Buckeburgh, and has, therefore, recei- 

 ved the name of o forte de Nossa Senhora de gra$a de 

 Lippe. The prince of Waldeck considered it as a mas- 

 ter-piece of fortification, and as superior to any tiling 

 that he had seen. The great aqueduct of Elvas, called 

 o* areas de Amoreira, from its commencing near a mul- 

 berry tree, is a very splendid work. It is a Portuguese 

 league in length ; and in the neighbourhood of the town, 

 where it passes across a valley, it consists of four rows 

 of arches, one upon another, of a considerable height. 

 Elvas, being the chief town of a corregiKjento, is go- 

 verned by a corregidor, a provcdor, and a Jifi; de J\.,TU, 

 The hill on which Elvas stands is formed of granite, con- 

 sisting of white quartz, felspar, and mica, and in some 

 parts containing steatite. On the declivity of the hill, 

 the granite is covered with a whitish grey foliated lime- 

 stone, with sulphurous pyrites mAJ'ahlerz inters])ere<'. 

 Elvas first acquired the name of a city in the reign of 

 Don Manuel, although it is said to have been rebuilt 

 by Don Sancho II. who granted the conditions under 

 which the settlers accepted the lands. The population 

 of the town and district was 12,000. \Vest Long. 7, 

 North Lat. :i8 3 44.'. (j) 



ELY, the name of a tow r n of England, in the coun- 

 ty of Cambridge. It is situated on a rising ground on 

 the river Ou^e, in the marshy district called the Isle of 

 Ely. The town is of great antiquity, and is supposed 

 to have derived its name either from Elig, from the great 

 number of eels with which the river abounded, or 

 from the Saxon word helig, which signifies a willow, in 

 consequence of the great number of willows which 

 grew in the neighbourhood. The streets are irregular, 

 and excepting the principal one, which contains sonic 

 good houses, they are neither lighted nor paved. The 

 principal public building in Ely is the cathedral, which 

 was begun in 1093, and finished in 1 HXJ. It appears to 

 to be a work of different periods, and is a mixture of 



