ESC 
axils, or in spikes at the ends of the stem 
and branches, generally scarlet. 
. ERYTHRONIUM, in botany, dog-tooth 
violet , a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia 
class and order. Natural order of Sarmen- 
taceae. Lilia, Jussieu. Essential charac- 
ter : corolla six-petalled, bell-shaped ; nec- 
tary tubercles two, fastened to the base of 
the alternate petals. There is but one spe- 
cies with several varieties, viz. E. dens ca- 
nis, dog-tooth violet; the roots of this plant 
are white, oblong, and fleshy, shaped like a 
tooth, whence its name. 
ERYTHROXYLON, in botany, a ge- 
nus of the Decandria Trigynia class and or- 
der. Natural order of Malpighi®, Jussieu. 
Essential character : calyx turbinate ; co- 
rolla having a small emarginate nectareous 
scale at the base of the petals ; stamina con- 
nected at the base ; drupe one-celled. There 
are five species. 
ESCALLONIA, in botany, so named in 
honour of M. Eseallon, a genus of the Pen- 
tandria Monogynia class and order. Natu- 
ral order of Calycanthemse. Onagrae, Jus- 
sieu. Essential character : calyx surround- 
ing the fruit ; stigma capitate ; berry two- 
celled, containing many seeds. There are 
two species, viz. E. myrtilloides, and E. 
serrata. ; 
ESCAPE, in law, is where one who is ar- 
rested gains his liberty before he is deliver- 
ed by course of law. Escapes are either in 
civil or criminal cases ; and in both respects 
may be distinguished into voluntary and 
negligent; voluntary, where it is with the 
consent of the keeper ; negligent, where it 
is for want of due care in him. In civil 
cases, after the prisoner has been suffered 
voluntarily to escape, the sheriff can never 
retake him, but must answer for the debt ; 
but the plaintiff may retake him at any 
time. In the case of a negligent escape, 
the sheriff, upon fresh pursuit, may retake 
the prisoner ; and the sheriff shall be ex- 
cused, if he has him again before any action 
brought against himself for the escape. 
When a defendant is once in custody in ex- 
ecution, upon a capias ad satisfaciendum, he 
is to be kept in close and safe custody ; and 
if he be afterw'ards seen at large, it is an es- 
cape, and the plaintiff may have an action 
for his whole debt against the sheriff ; for, 
though upon arrests, and what is called 
mesne process, being such as intervenes 
between the commencement and end of 
a suit, the sheriff, till the statute 8 and 9 
Will. c. 27". might have indulged the defen- 
dant as he pleased, so as he produced him 
ESC 
in court to answer the plaintiff at the return 
of the writ ; yet, upon a taking in execu- 
tion, he could never give any indulgence ; 
for in that case, confinement is the whole of 
the debtor’s punishment, and of the satis- 
faction made to the creditor. A rescue of 
a prisoner in execution, either in going to 
gaol, or in gaol, or a breach of prison, will 
not excuse the sheriff from being guilty of, 
and answering for the escape ; for he ought 
to have sufficient force to keep him, seeing 
he may command the power of the county. 
In criminal cases, an escape of a person ar- 
rested, by eluding the vigilance of his keeper 
before he is put in hold, is an offence against 
public justice, and the party himself is pu- 
nishable by fine and imprisonment ; but vo- 
luntary escapes amount to the same kind of 
offence, and are punishable in the same de- 
gree as the offence of which the prisoner is 
guilty, and for which he is in custody, whe- 
ther treason, felony, or trespass, and this 
whether he was actually committed to gaol, 
or only under a bare arrest; but the officer 
cannot be thus punished, till the original de- 
linquent is actually found guilty or convict- 
ed by verdict, confession, or outlawry; 
otherwise it might, happen, that the officer 
should be punished for treason or felony, 
and the party escaping turn out to be an 
innocent man. But before the conviction 
of the principal party, the officer thus neg- 
lecting his duty, may be fined and impri- 
soned for a misdemeanor. 4 Black. 129. 
If any person shall convey, or cause to 
be conveyed into any gaol, any disguise, in- 
stillment, or arms, proper to facilitate the 
escape of prisoners, attainted or convicted 
of treason or felony, although no escape or 
attempt to escape be made, such person so 
offending, and convicted, shall be deemed 
guilty of felony, and be transported for se- 
ven years. 16 Geo. II. c. 31. 
ESCAPEMENT. See Scapement. 
ESCHALOT. See Allium. 
ESCHEAT, in our law, denotes an ob- 
struction of the course of descent, and a 
consequent determination of the tenure, by 
some unforeseen contingency; in which 
case, the land naturally results back, by a 
kind of reversion, to the original grantor or 
lord of the fee. This happens either for 
want of heirs of the person last seized, or 
by his attainder for a crime by him com- 
mitted ; in which latter case, the blood is 
tainted, stained, or corrupted, and the in- 
heritable quality of it is thereby extin- 
guished. 
Escheat, for want of heirs, is where the 
