EBRO ECCLESIASTICAL EST A BLISHMENTS. 



783 



when this is dry, applying ink with a stiff brush; a 

 little warm wax is then used to give it a polish ; 

 another method is by heating and bnrning the wood. 

 The ebony tree (diospyios ebenum) grows wild in 

 the East Indies, and has been cultivated for many 

 years in the Isle of France, which supplies a great 

 part of that consumed in Europe. The central part, 

 or heart-wood, only is black ; the sap-wood does not 

 differ in colour from that of other trees. Several 

 other species of the genus afford ebony, among them 

 D. decandra and docecandra of Cochin China, which 

 are used in that country for cabinetwork, &c. The 

 species of diospyros are trees or shrubs, with alter- 

 nate petiolate and coriaceous leaves ; the flowers 

 monopetalous, dtoecious, axillary, and sessile or sub- 

 sessile. About thirty species are known, one of 

 which, the persimmon, is found in the United States. 

 That which the Greeks used in the most ancient 

 limes was procured from India ; but it was unknown 

 in Home till after the victories obtained by Pompey 

 over Mithridates. The ancient inhabitants of India, 

 the Greeks, and finally the Romans, made frequent 

 use of this fine wood, inlaying it with ivory on 

 account of the contrast of colours. According to 

 Pliny, the statue of Diana at Ephesus was of ebony, 

 but according to Vitruvius, it was of cedar. Artists 

 and poets used ebony allegorically for the attributes 

 of the infernals, giving a throne formed of it to Pluto 

 and Proserpine, and making the gates of hell of the 

 same dark and durable material. It is also used at 

 the present day for sculptural decorations, embel- 

 lished and inlaid with ivory, mother of pearl, silver, 

 and gold. 



EBRO (Latin, Iberus), a river in Spain, once the 

 boundary between the territory of Rome and Car- 

 thage, has its source in a little valley east of Reyno- 

 sa; it proceeds from a copious spring' at the foot of 

 an ancient tower, called k'ontibre, and, after travers- 

 ing many open and fertile districts, passes by the 

 city of Tortosa, where there is a bridge of boats over 

 it, and then falls into the Mediterranean, at the island 

 of Altachs ; but, on account of its current and many 

 rocks and shoals, it is navigable no higher than 

 Tortosa, and even to that place only for small craft. 

 Length about 350 miles. 



ECBATANA ; the chief city or ancient metropo- 

 lis of Media, built, according to Pliny, by Seleucus. 

 It was the summer residence of the Persian and Me- 

 dian kings, and existed in great splendour at a very 

 early period in the history of the world. It was 

 situated on a rising, ground, about twelve stadia from 

 Mount Orontes, and 1200 stadia south of Palus 

 Spauta. Its walls are described by ancient writers 

 in a style of romantic exaggeration, and particularly 

 by Herodotus and the author of the book of Judith. 

 Daniel is said by Josephus to have built one of its 

 most magnificent palaces, some of the beams of 

 which were of silver, and the rest of cedar plated 

 with gold. This splendid edifice afterwards served 

 as a mausoleum to the kings of Media, and is 

 affirmed, by the last mentioned author, to have been 

 entire in his time. There are no traces now remain- 

 ing of these lofty buildings ; and even the site of 

 this celebrated city has become a subject of dispute 

 among modern travellers. It was pillaged by the 

 army of Alexander. 



ECCE HOMO (Latin ; Behold the man !) This 

 name is often given to crucifixes and pictures which 

 represent the suffering Saviour, because, according 

 to John, xix. 5, Pilate broke out in these words, 

 when he saw with what patience Jesus suffered 

 scourging. 



ECCLEFECHAN, a thriving village in Dumfries- 

 shire, near the foot of Annandale, distant sixteen 

 miles north-east of Dumfries. 



ECCLES, a parish of Berwickshire, bordering on 

 the river Tweed, eight miles in length, and six iii 

 breadth. Population in 1831, 1885. 



ECCLES, an extensive parish in Lancaster, the 

 population of which in 1831 amounted to 28,083. It 

 comprehends the extensive morass called Chat Moss, 

 which formerly contained a surface of 7000 acres, 

 much of which, however, is now cultivated. 



ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. See Courts. 



ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS. Iii 

 the following article, an account is given of the 

 number of the clergy, and the expense of supporting 

 the ecclesiastical establishments in some of the prin- 

 cipal countries of Europe. In the Tableau de la Con- 

 stitution Politigue de la Monarchic Franqaise selon la 

 Charte. &c.,par A. Mahwll, is the following account 

 of the French clergy : " The Catholic clergy, before 

 the revolution, were composed of 136 archbishops 

 and bishops, 6800 canons and priests of the las 

 choeurs, attached to the cathedral and collegia! 

 churches, 44,000 curates, 6400 succursalistes (a sort 

 of curates, removable by the bishops), 18,000 vicars, 

 16,000 ecclesiastics, with or without benefices, 600 

 canonesses, 31,000 monks, 27,000 nuns, 10,000 

 servants of the church ; total, 159,936. The Catholic 

 population of France then comprised 25,000,000 

 souls. The clergy thus formed the hundred and 

 sixty-eighth part of it. The possessions of the clergy 

 then afforded, according to the statistical tables 

 of M. Ce'sar Moreau, 121,000,000 of the revenue. 

 The French clergy ^ at the commencement of 1828, 

 according to the documents collected by the editor 

 of the Almanack du Clerge, comprised 5 cardinals, 

 14 archbishops, 66 bishops, 5 cordons blevs, of 

 the order of the Holy Ghost, 468 vicars-general, 

 684 titular canons, 1788 honorary canons, 3083 

 curates, 22,475 desservans (who perform the duties 

 of the titular clergy), 5705 vicars, 439 chap- 

 lains, 839 almoners, 1076 priests resident in the 

 parishes, or authorized to preach or hear confession, 

 1044 priests, directors, and professors of seminaries. 

 The number of priests deemed necessary by the 

 bishops amounts to 52,457, which would give for 

 the present population of France, excluding the 

 Protestant sects, one for each 550 souls. The 

 total number of officiating priests is 36,649. In 

 1824, the number was estimated at only 30,443. 

 Consequently, 15,808 are required to complete the 

 number desired by the heads of the church. It is 

 estimated, that 13,493 of the priests employed are 

 over sixty years of age, and that there are 2328 

 whom age and infirmity render incapable of act- 

 ing. The number of ecclesiastical eleves is 44,244, 

 of whom 9285 are theologiens, 3725 philosophes, 

 21,118 are in the seminaries, 7761 in the col- 

 leges, 2355 with the curates. The whole ex- 

 pense of supporting the Catholic worship, according 

 to the calculation presented by M. Charles Dupin, 

 June 21, 1828, to the chamber of deputies, is 

 62,845,000 francs. Before the revolution, the pos- 

 sessions of the clergy afforded, as we have said, 121 

 millions, leaving a Difference of expense in favour of 

 the present system, of 58,155,000 francs, although 

 the lower orders of the clergy receive much ampler 

 compensation than before, and the clergy are much 

 more equally distributed among those whom they 

 are to serve. In 1828, according to the Almanack 

 du Clergi, the whole number of nuns in France was 

 19,340. De jure or de facto, there exist 3024 esta- 

 blishments of nuns, to wit, 1983 definitely author- 

 ized, and 1041 en expectative. There are but a 

 small number of religious houses for males in France. 

 The state of the clergy of Spain before the revolu- 

 tion is thus given in the Diario de la Coruna for July 

 1, 1821 : 



