Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/149

Rh taxes without consent of Parliament, and against the king’s encouragement of Armiuians and Papists (for it is charac- teristic both of himself and of his epoch that, though no Puritan, he spoke as strongly against the king’s illegal toleration of l’apists as against any other of his illegal acts) ; and also a declaration that whatever minister should “ bring in innovation in religion, or seek to extend, or in- troduce Popery and Arminianism,” or should advise illegal methods of raising money, should be considered “ a capital enemy to the commonwealth,” nay, that whoever even yielded compliance to such illegal demands, should be held accessory to the crime. This was the last speech of that session, and Eliot’s last speech of all. A few days after, parliament having been dissolved, he was summoned, with Selden, Holles, Valentine, and three other members, before the council. When examined he refused to answer for his conduct in parliament anywhere except before parliament; and he was then, with his com- panions, committed to “ close conﬁnement ” in the Tower, books and the use of Writing materials being strictly denied. This rigorous treatment was maintained for nearly three months, till Charles found it necessary to give way somewhat to the popular feeling which was expressed by libels against the bishops and the lord-treasurer, and by stern warnings addressed to himself. In May the prisoners were taken before the Court of King’s ch-h, when Eliot simply repeated the protest he had made before the council. The case was put off time after time till the long vacation came without its having been heard. Eliot was now, however, allowed to communicate with his friends, among whom his most constant and valued correspondent was Hampden, to borrow books from Sir Robert Cottou’s library, and to employ the tedious hours in writing. He drew up a defence of his conduct, under the title of An Apology for Socrates—— “ A n recte fecerit Socrates quad accusatus non responderit,” and wrote a little book of philosophical meditations, which he called The Jinn/(relay of .lfmz, and an account of the ﬁrst parliament of ("harles I., which he describes on the title- page as “ a thing that concerns posterity ”——i 'cgotium Pos- terorum, and which is of no slight historical value. In February 1623 the sentence was at last pronounced, the prisoners being all condemned to a ﬁne; to be imprisoned during the king’s pleasure; and not to be released till they had given security for their good behaviour, had sub- mitted to the king, and had acknowledged their offences. The largest ﬁne was imposed upon Eliot—a ﬁne of £2000, which, however, he never paid, as he had taken the pre- caution of securing his property against such an event. Twenty-seven years later this sentence was reversed by par- liament, aml Eliot’s brave assertion of the independence of parliament was Conﬁrmed, never to be again questioned. The conﬁnement of the other prisoners was gradually made less and less strict, till they were at length allowed full liberty 3 but Eliot's spirit, Which no weariness or suffer— ing could conquer, disdained to submit where he held no submission to be due, and for him there was no mercy. After more than a year had passed since he ﬁrst entered the Tower, and the king’s hate had only increased in malignity, on December 21, 1631, the council met to devise new means to subdue his constancy and force him to submission. All admittance to him was now denied except to his sons. Moved into a room which his letters describe as dark, cold, and wretchedly uncomfortable, at length his health gave way, and the doctors prescribed fresh air and exercise. He now addressed the king, having been referred to him by the Court of King’s Bench, to which he had first applied, in a petition, written in simple, manly language, request- ing that, for his health’s sake, he might be allowed a temporary release. The answer being that the petition was not sufﬁciently humble, he expressed himself “heartily sorry that he had displeased I [is Majesty,” but merely repeated his request with no word of submission. To this no reply was given ; and ﬁfteen days after Sir John Eliot had died in the Tower (27th November 1632). His sons humbly begged leave to carry his body to Port Eliot, that he might rest with his fathers, but even this poor request Charles had not magnanimity enough to grant; and, by his express command, Sir John Eliot was “ buried in the church of the parish where he died.” 1em  ELIS, or, a country of the Peloponnesus, bounded on the N. by Achaia, E. by Arcadia, S. by Messenia, and \V. by the Ionian Sea. The local form of the name was Valis, or Valeia, and its meaning, in all probability, the lowland. In its physical constitution Elis is practically one with Achaia and Arcadia,- its mountains are mere offshoots of the Arcadian highlands, and its principal rivers are fed by Arcadian springs. From Erymanthus in the north, Skollis (now known as Mavri and Santameri in different parts of its length) stretches toward the west, and Pholoe along the eastern frontier, in the south 8. prolonga- tion of Mount Lyewon bore in ancient times the names of Minthe and Lapithus, which have given place respectively to Alvena and to Kaiapha and Smerna. These mountains are well clothed with vegetation, and present a soft and pleasing appearance in contrast to the picturesque wildness of the parent ranges. They gradually sink towards the east and die off into what was one of the richest alluvial tracts in the I’eloponnesus. Except where it is broken by the rocky promontories of Chleonatas (now Chlemutzi) and Ichthys (now Katakolo), the coast lies low, with stretches of sand in the north and lagoons and marshes towards the south. During the summer months communication with the sea being established by means of canals, these lagoons yield a rich harvest of ﬁsh to the inhabitants, who at the same time, however, are almost driven from the coast by the swarms of gnats. Elis was divided into three districts—Hollow or Lowland Elis xor’Ar; ’Hkte), Pisatis, or the territory of Pisa, and Triphylia, or the country of the three tribes. Hollow Elis, the largest and most northern of the three, was watered by the I’eneus and its tributary the Ladon, whose united stream forms the modern Gastuni. It included not only the ehampaign country originally designated by its name, but also the mountainous region of Acrorea, occupied by the offshoots of Erymanthus. lesides the capital city of Elis, it contained Cyllene, an Arcadian settlement on the sea coast, whose inhabitants worshipped Hermes under the phallic symbol, l’ylus at the junction of the I’eneus and the Laden, which, like so many other places of the same name, claimed to be the city of Nestor, and the fortiﬁed frontier town of Lasion, the ruins of which are still visible at Kuti, near the village of Kumani. The district was famous in antiquity for its cattle and horses ; and its byssus, supposed to have been introduced by the l'hoenicians, was inferior only to that of Palestine. l’isatis extended south from llollow Elis to the right bank of the Alpheus, and was divided into eight departments called after as many towns. Of these Salmone, lleraclea, Cicysion, Dyspontium, and Ifarpina are known,—_the last being the reputed burial—place of Marmax, the dehverer of Jlippodamia. From the time of the early investigators It has been disputed whether Pisa, which gave its name to the district, has ever been a city, or was only a fountain or a hill. By far the most important spot in Pisatis was the scene of the great Olympic games, on the northern bank of the Alpheus: but for details in regard to the locality, and the results of the explorations commenced