EAR 
EAR 
nei-s of the sail is left open, in the shape of 
a ring. The two uppermost parts are put 
over the ends of the yai'd arms, and so the 
sail is made fast to the yard ; and into the 
lowermost earings, the sheets and tacks are 
seized or bent at ilie /;lew. 
Earl, a British title of nobility, next 
below a marquis, and above a viscount. 
Earls were anciently Galled comites, be- 
cause they were wont comituri regem, to 
wait upon the King for council and advice. 
The Germans call them graces, as land- 
grave, margrave, palsgrave, rheiugrave ; 
the Saxons ealdermen, unless that title 
might be more properly applied to our 
dukes; the Danes, eorins; and the Eng- 
lish, earls. The title, originally, died with 
the man. William the Conqueror first 
made it hereditary, giving it in fee to his 
nobles, and allotting them for the support 
of their state the third penny out of the she- 
riff’s court, issuing out of all pleas of the 
shire whence they had their title. But now 
the matter is quite otherwise; for whereas 
heretofore comes and comitatus were corre- 
latives, and there was no comes or earl, but 
had a county or shire for his earldom, of lat- 
ter years the number of earls increasing, 
and no more counties being left, divers 
have made choice of some eminent part of 
a county, as Lindsey, Holland, Cleveland, 
&c. ; some of a lesser part, as Strafford, 
&c. ; others have chosen for their title some 
eminent town, as Marlborough, Exeter, 
Bristol, &c. ; and some have taken for their 
title the name of a small village ; their own 
seat or park, as Godolphin, Clarendon, &c. 
An earl is created by cincture of sword, 
mantle of state put upon him by the King 
himself, a cap and a coronet put upon his 
head, and a charter in his hand. All the earls 
of England were formerly denominated from 
some shire, town, or place, except three ; 
two of whom, viz. Earl Kivers, and Earl 
Paulet, take their denomination from illus- 
trious families ; the third is not only hono- 
rary, as all the rest, but also officiary, as 
the Earl Marshal of England. 
Earl Marshal of England, is a great of- 
ficer who had anciently several courts un- 
der his jurisdiction, as the court of chivalry, 
and the court of honour. Under him is 
also the herald’s office or college of arms. 
He hath some pre-eminence in the court of 
Marshalsea, where he may sit in judgment 
against those who offend within the verge 
of the King’s court. This office is of great 
antiquity in England, and anciently of 
greater power than now ; and has been for 
several ages hereditary in the most noble 
family of Howard. 
EARNES’f, a part of the price paid in 
advance to bind parties to the performance 
of a verbal agreement. The party is then 
obliged to abide by his bargain, and is not 
discharged upon forfeiting his earnest, but 
may be sued for the whole money stipu- 
lated, and damages ; and by the statute of 
frauds 29, c. 2. c. 3, no contract for sale of 
goods not to be delivered immediately to 
the value of 10/. or more, is valid, unless 
contract is made by the parties, or those 
lawfully authorized by them, or earnest is 
given. 
EARTH, the vast mass or planet we in- 
habit. The scientific and theoretical at- 
tempts which have been made to ascertain 
the form and internal composition of the 
earth have produced less certain results 
than could be wished. With respect to 
the grand outline, w'e may conclude, with- 
out much danger of error, that it is spheri- 
cal ; which observation is supported by the 
appearance of the moon, the nearest body 
to the earth. We may illustrate this sup- 
position by drawing a true circle, and filling 
its circumference with a capricious outline, 
sometimes touching and at others receding 
from it. The cause of the inequalities, 
which we denominate mountains and val- 
lies seems to be the natural consequences 
of the composition of the earth, the action 
of the air and water ever changing the po- 
sition of the softer materials, and having 
but little effect on the hardest. Thus, on 
the borders of the sea large tracts of land 
are known to crumble into it, and that 
even mountains are undermined : Mont 
Blanc has recently afforded a most melan- 
choly proof. Besides the above causes, 
there are others volcanic, and arising from 
the earthquakes produced by them. Still 
greater changes in the surface of the eartli 
have taken place at periods beyond the re- 
cords of history, except in the single in- 
stance of the scriptures and the Deluge, 
which is demonstrated by the discovery of 
substances evidently peculiar to the sea 
only, in the highest mountains, where it is 
impossible to account for their arrival, but 
by supposing that the spots where they are 
found were raised by strong internal pres- 
sure from the centre under the bottom of 
the sea,which doubtlessly presents a surface 
very similar to the parts we inhabit. 
Before the invention of instruments cal- 
