12 
ESC 
the death of the king’s tenants, who held by knight-fer- 
vice, or otherwife of the king ; ant] certified their inqui- 
fitions into the Exchequer ; and Fitzherbert called them 
officers of record. No efcheator could continue in his 
office above one year : and whereas before the ftatute of 
Wejhn. i. c. 24, efcheators, fheriffs, &c. would feize into 
the king’s hands the freehold of the fubjefts, and thereby 
diffeife'them ; by this aft it is provided that no feizure 
can be made of lands or tenements into the king’s hands, 
before office found. 2 Inf. 206. And no lands can be 
granted before the king’s title is found by inquifition. 
Stat. 18. H. VI. c. 6. The office of efcheator was for¬ 
merly of great nfe to the crown ; but having its chief 
dependance on the court of wards, which is taken away 
by aft of parliament, it is now in a manner out of date. 
4 Injl. 225. 
ES'CHENAU, a town of Germany, in the archduchy 
of Auftria: eight miles fouth of St. Polten. 
ES'CHENBACH, a town of Germany, in the circle 
of Bavaria, and Upper Palatinate: thirty-four miles 
eaft-north-eaft of Nuremberg. 
ES'CI-IERSHF.IM, a town of Germany,' in the circle 
of the U pper Rhine, and county of Hanau Munzenburg: 
ten miles weft of Hanau, and three north-north-weft of 
Frankfort on the Main. 
ES'CHEVIN. See Echevin. 
To ESCHEW', v. a. [efchcri , old French.] To fly; 
to avoid ; to ftiun ; to decline. A word almoft obfolete. 
.—Of virtue and vice, men are univerfally to praftife the 
one, and efchew the other. Atterbury. 
So let us, with this change of weather view, 
Change eke our minds, and former lives amend; 
The old year’s fins forepart let us efchew , 
And fly the faults with which we did offend. Spenfer. 
ESCH'LBERG, a town of Germany, in the arch¬ 
duchy of Auftria: fourteen miles fouth-weft of Freu- 
ftadt. 
ESCH'LKAMP, a town of Germany, in Lower Bava¬ 
ria : three miles eaft of Furth. 
ES'CHRAKITES, or Esrakites, a feft of philofo- 
phers, among the Mahometans, who adhere to the doc¬ 
trines and opinions of Plato. The word is derived from 
the Arabic pyi< fchraca, which in the fourth conjugation 
trpTN afchraca, lignifies “to fliine, glitter like the fun;” 
fo that Efchrakite feems to import “ illumined.” 
ESCHUT'CHEON, f. The fhield or bearings of a 
family; the pifture of the enjigns armorial.— E/chutcheon 
is a French word, from the Latin J'cutum, leather ; and 
hence corneth our Englifh word buckler, lepe in the old 
Saxon fignifying leather, and buck or bock, a buck or 
flag ; of whofe fkins, quilted dole together with horn 
or hard wood, the ancient Britons made their fhields. 
Peachum. —There be now, for martial encouragement, 
fome degrees and orders of chivalry, and fome remem¬ 
brance perhaps on the e/chutcheon. Bacon .—We will pafs 
over the e/ckutcheons of the tribes of Ifrael, as they are 
ufually delcribed in the maps of Canaan. Brown. 
ESCHWE'GEN, a town of Germany, in the circle of 
the Upper Rhine, and principality of Helfe Rheinfels, on 
the Werra, with about 600 houfes: twenty-feven miles 
eaft-fouth-eaft of Cartel. 
ESCHWEI'LER, a town of Germany, in the circle of 
Weftphalia, and duchy of Juliers : fix miles fouth of Ju- 
-Jiers. 
ESCHY'NOMENE, f. in botany. See Mimosa. 
ESCHYNOM'KNOUS, adj. Senfitive, belonging to 
plants that drop their leaves at the touch. 
ES'CLE, a town of France, in the department of the 
Vofges, and chief place of a canton, in the diftrift of 
Darney : three leagues and a half weft of Epinal. 
ESCOBA'R (Anthony, furnamed de Mendoza ), a Spa- 
nifti Jefuit, and famous cafuift, died in 1669, when eighty 
years of age. His opinions have been juftly cenfured by 
numerous writers, and the principles of his morality have 
E S D 
been ably expofed in the ingenious Mr. PafchaPs Pro¬ 
vincial Letters. He was the author of numerous works, ' 
of which the mod known are, Theologia Moralis , 7 vols. 
folio; and Gommcntaria in Veins & Novum Tef amentum, 
in 9 vols. folio. 
ESCO'RT, f \_efcortc , Fr.] Convoy; guard front 
place to place. 
lo ESCO'RT, v. a. [ efcorter , Fr.] To convoy ; to 
guard from place to place. 
ESCO'I,/ [Fr.] A tax formerly paid in boroughs 
and corporations towards the fupport of the community, 
which is called foot and lot. 
To ESCO'T, v. a. [from the noun.] To pay a man’s 
reckoning; to fupport.—What, are they children ? who 
maintains them ? how are they e/coted? Skake/peare. 
ESCOU'T, f. [efcouter, Fr.] Lifteners or fpies ; per- 
fons fent for intelligence. Now Scout. —They were well 
entrenched, having good efcout abroad, and fure watch 
within. Hayward. 
ESCOYEU'X, a town of France, in the department' 
of the Lower Charente, and chief place of a canton, in 
the diftrift of Saintes : two leagues and a half north-eaft 
of Saintes. 
ESCRITOIR', f. [Fr.] A box with all the imple¬ 
ments neceftary for writing. Pronounced fcritore. 
ESCROW', f. in law, a deed delivered to a third per- 
fon, to be the deed of the party making it, upon a future 
condition, When a certain thing is performed ; and then 
it is to be delivered to the party to whom made. A de¬ 
livery as an efcrow figtiifies, in faft, as a fcrowl or writing, 
which is not to take efteft as a deed, till the condition be 
performed. Co. Lit. 36. 
ES'CUAGE, f ■ [from efcu, Fr. a ftiield.] In the feo- 
dal fyftem, a tenure by knight fervice. See the article 
Tenure. 
ES'CULENT, adj. [ efculentus , Lat.] Good for food ; 
nourifhing; eatable.—1 knew a man that would faft five 
days; but the fame man ufed to have continually a great 
wifp of herbs that he fmelled on, and fome efculent herbs 
of ftrong fcent, as garlick. 
ES'CULENT, f. Something fit for food.—This cut¬ 
ting off the leaves in plants, where the root is the efculent , 
as radilh and parfnips, it will make the root the greater, 
and fo it will do to the heads of onions ; and where the 
fruit is the efculent, by (Lengthening the root, it will 
make the fruit alfo the greater. Bacon. 
ES'CULUS, f. See Quercus. 
ESCUR'E (L’), a town of France, in the department 
of the Tarn : half a league north-eaft of Alby. 
ESCU'RIAL, a village of Spain, in New Caftile, fi- 
tuated on the Guadara, which takes its name from a ce¬ 
lebrated palace, or convent, founded by Philip V. in con- 
fequence of a vow made the day on which a battle was 
fought at St. Quintin, in the year 1557. It is faid to 
contain 1140 windows; it is furnilhed with fome capital 
paintings by the beft mafters, and a library, which con¬ 
tains upwards of 20,600 volumes. It was taken by the 
allies, in the year 1706 : twelve miles north-weft of Ma¬ 
drid. 
ESCUROL'LES, a town of France, in the department 
of the Allier, and chief place of a canton, in the diftrift 
of Gannat : four miles north-eaft of Gannat. 
ES'DEN, a town of Germany, in the circle of Weft¬ 
phalia, and bilhopric of Liege : three miles fouth-fouth- 
weft of Stocklim. 
ESDRAE'LON, Esdrelom, or Esdrelon, plain of; 
an extenlive valley or plain in Paleftine. Judith i. 8. and 
iii. 9. 
ES'DRAS, a Jewifh prieft, and doftor of the law. 
Artaxerxes Longimanus lent him with rich prefents for 
the ufe and ornament of the temple at Jerufalem, rebuilt 
under Zerubbabel ; the king alfo ordered the neighbour¬ 
ing governors to provide him with what conduced to the 
pomp of the Jewifh religion, and to exempt the priefts 
from paying taxes. He is fuppofed to have been the col¬ 
lector 
