850 



EMBARGO EMERALD. 



after death, are completely destroyed, and not only 

 the external body, but all the viscera, the lungs, the 

 heart, the liver, and even the brain, are perfectly pre- 

 served. The operation requires but a very few days, 

 after which the dead bodies may be kept in a room, 

 or a vault, or interred in the ordinary way, without 

 being accessible to worms. They may be exposed 

 to all the varieties of air, either in a standing or 

 sitting posture, without undergoing any alteration. At 

 a late meeting of the " Academic des Sciences," a 

 human body, and two hearts, preserved in this man- 

 ner, were exhibited, and the process appeared 

 perfect. 



EMBARGO, in commerce ; an arrest on ships or 

 merchandise, by public authority ; or a prohibition 

 of state, commonly on foreign ships, in time of war, 

 to prevent their going out of port ; sometimes to 

 prevent their coming in ; and sometimes both for a 

 limited time. 



EMBAYED ; the situation of a ship when she is 

 enclosed between two capes or promontories. It is 

 particularly applied when the. wind, by blowing strong 

 into any bay or gulf, makes it extremely difficult, and 

 perhaps impracticable, for the vessel thus enclosed to 

 draw off from the shore, so as to weather the capes 

 and gain the offing. 



EMBER WEEKS or DAYS, in the Catholic 

 church, are certain seasons of the year set apart for 

 the imploring God's blessing, by prayer and fasting, 

 upon the ordinations performed in the church at such 

 times. The ember weeks were formerly observed in 

 different churches with some variety, but were at last 

 settled as they are now observed, by the council at 

 Placentia, in 1095. 



EMBEZZLEMENT is the appropriation, by a 

 person, to himself, of money or property put into his 

 liands in trust. An embezzlement is both a theft and 

 breach of trust ; yet, by the general law, it is only a 

 ground for an action for the value of the property. 

 But there are many special provisions in relation to 

 particular embezzlements and breaches of trust. By 

 the law of England, a clerk guilty of embezzlement is 

 liable to transportation not exceeding fourteen years; 

 and a public servant or agent committing the like 

 offence is declared guilty of a misdemeanour, and 

 punishable at the discretion of the court. Still'more 

 severe provisions are made in the case of embezzle- 

 ment by the officers and clerks of banks. 



EMBLEM (Gr. ipl&iput, from e^/SaXXw, to cast in, 

 to insert) ; properly, inlay ; inlayed or mosaic work; 

 something inserted in the body of another ; that sort 

 of figure of thought by which we make corporeal 

 objects stand for moral properties ; a painted enigma, 

 or a figure representing some well-known historical 

 event, instructing us in some moral truth ; a typical 

 designation : thus a balance is an emblem of justice; 

 a crown, an emblem of royalty. 



EMBONPOINT ; a moderate and agreeable ful- 

 ness of figure. See Corpulency. 



EMBOSSING, or IMBOSSING, in architecture 

 and sculpture ; the forming or fashioning works in 

 relievo, whether cut with a chisel or otherwise. 



EMBRACERY ; an attempt to corrupt or influ- 

 ence a jury, or any way incline them to be more 

 tavourable to the one side tlian the other, by money, 

 promises, letters, threats, or persuasions, whether the 

 jury give a verdict or not, or whether the verdict 

 given be true or false ; which is punished by fine and 

 imprisonment. 



EMBROCATION ; a lotion, or combination of 

 medicinal liquids, with which any diseased part is 

 rubbed, or washed. 



EMBROIDERY ; figured work in gold, or silver, 

 or silk thread, wrought by the needle, upon cloths, 

 stuffs, or muslins. In embroidering stuffs, a kind of 



loom is used, because the more the piece is stretched, 

 the easier is it worked. Muslin is spread upon a 

 pattern, ready designed, and sometimes, before it is 

 stretched upon the pattern, it is starched to make it 

 more easy to handle. The art of embroidery was 

 invented in the East, probably by the Phrygians. In 

 Moses' tune, Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, was noted 

 for skill in embroidery, and the women of Sidon, 

 before the Trojan war, excelled in the same art. 

 Though the Greeks attributed the invention of the 

 art to Minerva, yet it is certain that it came through 

 the Persians to Greece. The king of Pergamus 

 (Attalus), in the year of Rome 621, invented the 

 mode of embroidering with gold tliread. In modern 

 times, the art has been much extended. In 1782, 

 three German ladies, in Hanover, named Wyllich, 

 invented a mode of embroidering with human hair. 

 Beads, c., also have been used. 



EMBRYO ; the first rudiments of the animal in 

 the womb, before the several members are distinctly 

 formed, after which it is called the/otfw*. The time 

 necessary to produce this is different in different 

 species. The human embryo is visible in three 

 weeks : at the end of four, a pulsation is perceptible, 

 which is known to be the beating of the heart. It is 

 now about the size of an ant or fly, and retains its 

 transparency, which, however, gradually diminishes, 

 and, at the end of two months, disappears : the eyes, 

 nose, mouth, ears, and all the members, are distin- 

 guishable : it is as large as a bee. In three months, 

 every thing becomes more distinct ; the sex becomes 

 evident, and the foetus grows until it is ushered into 

 the world as a child. 



EMDEN ; a city at the mouth of the river Ems, in 

 the principality of East Friesland, the first commer- 

 cial city of Hanover, with 11,000 inhabitants, a 

 Latin school, a learned society, &c. It is a free port. 

 It has much trade in herrings. It is expected that 

 its commerce will be much benefited by the junction 

 of the Ems and the Rhine 



EMERALD is a well-known gem of pure green 

 colour, somewhat harder than quartz. Its natural 

 form is either rounded or that of a short six-sided 

 prism. By the ancients the emerald was in great 

 request, particularly for engraving upon. They are 

 said to have procured it from Ethiopia and Egypt. 

 The most intensely coloured and valuable emeralds 

 that we are acquainted with are brought from Peru. 

 They are found in clefts and veins of granite, and 

 other primitive rocks, and oftentimes grouped with 

 the crystals of quartz, felspar, and mica. The emerald 

 is one of the softest of the precious stones, and is 

 almost exclusively indebted for its value to its charm- 

 ing colour. In value it is rated next to the ruby, 

 and, when of good colour, is set without foil, and 

 upon a black ground, like brilliant diamonds. Eme- 

 ralds of inferior lustre are generally set upon a green 

 gold foil. These gems are considered to appear to 

 greatest advantage when table-cut and surrounded 

 by brilliants, the lustre of which forms an agreeable 

 contrast with the quiet hue of the emerald. They are 

 sometimes formed into pearl-shaped ear-drops ; but 

 the most valuable stones are generally set in rings. 

 A favourite mode of setting emeralds, among the 

 opulent inhabitants of South America, is to make 

 them up into clusters of artificial flowers on gold 

 stems. The largest emerald that has been mentioned, 

 is one said to have been possessed by the inhabitants 

 of the Valley of Manta, in Peru, at the time when 

 the Spaniards first arrived there. It is recorded to 

 have been as big as an ostrich's egg, and to have 

 been worshipped by the Peruvians, under the name 

 of the goddess or mother of emeralds. They brought 

 smaller ones as offerings to it, which the priests dis- 

 tinguished by the appellation of daughters. Many 



