K A S 
E A S 
3S4 
of their peace; and continue .to trade within 
the said limits, with a joint stock, for ever, al- 
though their exclusive right of trading shall 
be determined by. parliament, 
The only privileges they can be constitu- 
tionally deprived of, are those of trading to 
the exclusion of others, and of governing the 
countries, and of collecting and appropriating 
the revenues of India. For further particu- 
lars concerning the East India company, see 
star. 0 and 10 \V. c. 44. s. 69, ; 6 Anne", c. 3. 
7 Geo, I. e. 3.; 23 Geo, II. c, 2b. ; 7 Geo. 
ill. c. 47, ; 12 Geo. Ill, c. 34 . ; 13 Geo, III, 
c, 63,; 17 Geo. HI. e. a. ; 21 Geo, III. c. 
70.; 24 Geo. Hi. c. 23.; and 33 Geo, HI. 
c. 52. 
For the history and commercial concerns 
of this establishment, see Company, 
RASTER, a festival of the Christian 
church, observed in memory cf our Saviour’s 
resurrection. 
The Asiatic churches kept their Easter 
upon the same day the Jews observed their 
passover; and others on the first Sunday 
after the first full moon in the new year. 
This controversy was determined in" the 
council of Nice, 'when it was ordaihed that 
Easter should be kept upon one and the same 
day, which should always be a Sunday in 
all Christian churches throughout the world. 
But though the Christian churches differed 
as to the time of celebrating Easter, yet they 
all agreed in shewing particular respect and 
honour to this festival. On this day, prison- 
ers and slaves were set free, and 'the poor 
liberally provided for. The eve or vigil of 
this festival was celebrated with more than 
ordinary pomp, which continued till mid- 
night, it being a tradition of the church that 
our Saviour rose a little after midnight; but 
in the East, the vigil lasted till cock-crowing. 
it was in conformity to the custom of the 
Jews, in celebrating their passover on the 
1 4th day of the first month, that the primitive 
fathers ordered that the 1 4t h day of the moon, 
from the calendar new moon which imme- 
diately follows the 21st of March, at which 
time the vernal equinox happened upon that 
day, should be deemed urn paschal full 
moon, and that the Sunday after should be 
Easter-day; and it is upon this account that 
our rubric has appointed it upon the first 
Sunday after the first full moon immediately 
following the 2 Gt day of March. Whence 
it appears, that the true time for celebrating 
Easter, according to the intention of the 
council of Nice, was to be the first Sunday 
after the first full moon following the vernal 
equinox, or when the sun entered into the 
first point of Aries ; and this was pope Gre- 
gorys principal view in reforming the calen- 
dar", to have Easter celebrated according to 
the intent of tire council of Nice. 
Having first found die epaet and dominical 
lottftr, according to the method delivered 
under these articles, Raster-day may be 
found by the two following rules ; 
1 . To find Easter-limiv.,ortli# day of the pas- 
chal full moon, counting from March 1 inclu- 
sive, the rule is this : add 6 to the epaet, and 
if this sum exceeds 30, take 30 from it ; then 
from 50 subtract this remainder, and what is 
left will be the limit ; if the sum of the epaet, 
added to 6, does not amount to 30, it must 
be subtracted from 50, and the remainder is 
the limit required; which is never to exceed 
49, nor fall snort of 21. 
2. From the limit and dominical letter, to 
find Easter-day : add 4 to the dominical let- 
ter- subtract this sum from the limit, and 
the remainder from the next higher number 
which contains 7 without any remainder; 
lastly, add this remainder to the limit, and 
their sum will give l he number of days from 
the first of March to Easter-d ;y,boJ;h inclusive. 
Huts, to find Easter-day for the year 1 806, 
for instance. First find the epuciV:, which 
added' to 6 gives 17; and as this sum does 
not amount to 30, it must be subtracted 
from 50, and the remainder 33 is the limit. 
Then adding 4 to 5, the number of the do- 
minical letter E, subtract this sum, viz. Q, 
from the limit 33, am! the remainder 24 from 
28, the next superior number that contains 7 
a certain number of times without any re- 
mainder, and there remains 4 ; which being 
added to the limit. 33, gives 37 for the num- 
ber of days from the 1st* of March to Eusfrr- 
day, both inclusive; hence, allowing 31 for 
March, there remains the 6th April for East er- 
day. I iere follows the operation at length, 
n + 0 =5 17 
50 — 17 — 33 paschal limit 
Dominical letter E ~ 5 
4 -j- 5 — 9, and 33 — 9 — 24; and 
28 — 24 — 4, Again, 
33 -ft 4 37 : from this subtract 31 for the 
number of days in March,. and it is evident 
that Easter-day must fall on the 6th of April. 
However, to save the trouble of calcula- 
tion, we shall here give a table, by which 
Easter-day may be found by inspection till 
the year 1900," according to the Gregorian 
or new style. 
Golden 
Number. 
A. 
B. 
D01 
C. 
ninical Le 
D, 
:ters, 
E. 
F. 
G. 
T. 
April 16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
14 
8.1 
II. 
April 9 
3 
4 
K 
6 
7 
8 
Ill, 
march 26 
27 
28 
29 
23 
24 
25 
IV. 
April U: 
17 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
V. 
April 2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
March 31 
April 
1 
VI. 
April 23 
24 
25 
19 
20 
21 
22 
VII. 
April 9 
10 
1 1 
12 
13 
14 
8 
VIII. 
April 2 
3 
March 28 
29 
30 
31 
April 
1 
IX. 
April 16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
X. 
April 9 
10 
1 1 
5 
6 
7 
8 
XI. 
March 26 
27 
28 
29 
3o 
31 
25 
X!I. 
April 16 
17 
18 
19 
13 
J4 
15 
XIII. 
April 2 
3 
4 
5 
-6 
7 
8 
XIV. 
March 26 
27 
28 
*22 
23 
24 
25 
XV. 
April 16 
10 
1 1 
12 
13 
14 
15 
XVI. 
April 2 
3 
4 
5 
March 30 
31 
April 
1 
XV i I, 
April 23 
24 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
xvm. 
April 9 
10 
1 1 
12 
13 
7 
8 
XIX. 
April 2 
March 27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
April 
1 
E B O 
Tn this table Easter-day will be found in 
tho common angle of meeting of the given 
dominical letter and the golden number ; U15 
name of the month lying in a direct line with 
it, towards the left hand. Thus for the year 
1806, the golden number is 11, and the do- 
minical letter is E, and in the line opposite 
to II and E will be found April 6th for Easter- 
day. 
EBDOMABIUS, in ecclesiastical writers, 
an officer formerly appointed weekly to su- 
perintend the performance of divine service 
m cathedrals, and prescribe the duties of 
each person attending in the choir, us to 
reading, singing, praying, &c.’ 
EBENFS, the ebony-tree, a genus of the 
decantina order, in the diadelphia class of 
plants, and in the natural method ranking 
under the 32d order, papilionacese. The 
segments of the calyx are die length of the 
corolla, and the latter has scarcely any alu\ 
There is one rough seed. There are two spe- 
cies. 
The cretica is a native of the island of 
Crete, and some others in the Archipelago. 
It rises with a shrubby stalk, three or four 
feet high, which puts out several side-bran- 
ches with hoary leaves at each joint, com- 
posed of live narrow spear-shaped lobes, j 
which join at their tails to the footstalk, and 
spread out like the lingers of a hand. The j 
branches are terminated by thick spikes of 
large purple flowers. The plants may be 
propagated from seeds sown in the autumn..] 
in this country the plants must be protected f 
during the winter, as they are unable to bear j 
the cold. 
The pinnata is a biennial, a native of the 
Levant. These plants constitute the genus . 
ebenus of botani ts ; but there is reason to ; 
think that the wood ot this name is produced-, 
from several different trees. See the next 
article. 
EBONY-WOOD is brought from the In- i 
dies, exceedingly hard and heavy, susceptible i 
of a very fine "polish, and on 'that account 
used in mosaic and inlaid works, toys, &c.l 
There are many kinds of ebony : the most 1 
usual among us are black, red,' and green, 
ail of them the product of the island of 
Madagascar, where the natives call them in- j 
differently baton mainthi, black wood. The 
island of St. Maurice, belonging to the Dutch, 
likewise furnishes part of the ebonies used in 
Europe. 
Authors and travellers give very different f 
accounts of the tree that yields the black j 
ebony. By some of their descriptions, it 
should be a sort of palm-tree ; by others, a. 
cytisns, &c. The most authentic of them is j 
that of M. Fiacbm t, who resided many years 
in Madagascar as governor. He assures us. 
that it grows very high and large, its bark j 
being black, and its leaves resembling those 
of our myrtle, of a deep dusky-green colour. 
Tavernier assures 11s, that the islanders al-j 
ways take care to bury their trees, when cut | 
down, t > make them the blacker, and to 1 
prevent their splitting when wrought. F. I 
Plunder mentions another black ebony-tree, ,j 
discovered by him at St. Domingo, which he j 
cals span turn portulacae Jbtiis - aculeafurni 
dr iii mat- rid. Candia also bears a little f 
shrub, known to the botanists under the j 
name of ebenus cretica, above described. 
Pliny and Dioscorides say, the best ebony 
