Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/416

 408 EDINBURGHSHIRE EDMUND II. sion of the city and castle. From 1 663 to 1 685 large numbers of Covenanters were executed here on account of their faith. In 1736 John Porteous, captain of the city guards, ordered his men to fire upon a mob, and G men were killed and 11 wounded; he was tried, convict- ed, and condemned to death. He was re- prieved by Queen Caroline, then regent, and so nuu-li indignation was aroused thereby that he was forcibly taken out of prison by another mob and hanged. This prison, the Old Tol- booth, also called the Heart of Mid-Lothian, was taken down in 1817. Sir Walter Scott introduced the breaking open of the jail by the Porteous mob into the novel which he named after it. ED1NBUKGHS1URE (formerly MID-LOTHIAN), a maritime county of Scotland, extending about 36 m. from E. to W., and 18 m. from N. to S. ; area, 367 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 328,335. Its N. boundary is formed by the frith of Forth, and is studded with important towns and havens. The S. outline is very irregular, being deeply indented by Peebles- shire, from which it is partly separated by a continuation of the Moorfoot range. These hills, the highest of which is nearly 1,900 ft. above the sea, occupy an area of nearly 50 sq. m. in the S. E. part of Edinburghshire ; but many fertile dales lie hidden among them, and a great part of their acclivities is under profit- able cultivation. The Pentland hills, which ex- tend from Peeblesshire N. E. through the centre of the county, are bleak and sterile, but afford some fine scenery. The soil, except in the valleys of the Forth and N. and S. Esk, is nat- urally inferior, and most of the land is used for pasturage, but the farms are skilfully worked. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips. Good breeds of sheep and cattle are reared. The minerals comprise coal, limestone, sandstone, and porphyry. The chief streams are the N. and the S. Esk, Gala Water, and Water of Leith. The county is not extensively engaged in manufactures, but whiskey and the famous Edinburgh ale are largely produced. The Union canal and several lines of railway ter- minate at the capital. The principal towns are Edinburgh, Leith, Dalkeith, Musselburgh, and Portobello. EDISTO, a river of South Carolina, formed by the union of the N. and the S. Edisto, the former rising in the W. part of Lexington county, and the latter in Edgefield. They unite a few miles W. of Branchville, whence the course of the main stream is S. E. and S. It enters the Atlantic by two channels, between which lies Edisto island, about 20 m. S. W. of Charleston. It is navigable 100 m. from the sea. EDMONDS, John Worth, an American lawyer, born in Hudson, X. Y., March 13, 1799. He graduated at Union college in 1816, was admit- ted to the bar in 1819, and in 1820 commenced the practice of his profession in his native city. Iii 1831 he was a member of the lower branch of the legislature of New York, and for the four years ensuing of the senate and the court of errors. Retiring from the legislature in 1836, he was sent on special missions by the federal government among the Indians. In 1837 he resumed practice in New York. In 1843 he became one of the inspectors of the state prisons, and with the sanction of the le- gislature substituted for corporal coercion the system of kindness. In 1845 he was appointed one of the circuit judges of the state of New York, in 1847 was elevated to the bench of the supreme court, and in 1852 became a member of the court of appeals. At the close of 1853 he retired from the bench, and has since been engaged in the practice of his profession in New York. Early in 1851 he began to investigate the subject of alleged intercourse with the spirits of the departed, and in the summer of 1853 made a public avowal of his belief in the same. In connection with George T. Dexter, M. D., he has published a work entitled " Spirit- ualism" (2vols. 8vo, New York, 1853-'o; new ed., 1865). He has also published "Reports of Select Law Cases" (1868). EDMONDSON, a central county of Kentucky, drained by Green river and Bear creek ; area, 225 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 4,459, of whom 226 were colored. The surface is hilly or moder- ately uneven ; the soil is fertile and suitable for grass and grain. Coal is abundant, and a considerable portion of the county is occupied by beds of cavernous limestone. The famous Mammoth cave is situated here. The Louis- ville and Nashville railroad passes through the S. E. part. The chief productions in 1870 were 11,098 bushels of wheat, 172,998 of Indian corn, 23,684 of oats, and 414,940 Ibs. of tobac- co. There were 1,602 horses, 1,246 milch cows, 2,246 other cattle, 6,852 sheep, and 11,892 swine. Capital, Brownsville. EDMUND I., a king of the Anglo-Saxons, son of Edward the Elder, and successor of Athel- stan, born about 922, ascended the throne Oct. 27, 941, and died May 26, 946. Immediately after his accession Aulaf, the Northumbrian prince, invaded Mercia, and was victorious at Tamworth and Leicester. Edmund concluded a peace with him, surrendering all England north of Watling street. Aulaf died the following year, and Edmund recovered Northumbria, and subsequently conquered Cumbria, and conferred it on Malcolm, king of Scotland, on condition that he should do homage for it, and protect the north from all future incursions of the Danes. As Edmund was celebrating a festival in Gloucestershire, he perceived Leolf, a noted outlaw whom he had sentenced to banishment, enter the hall and seat himself at the royal table. Edmund turned to seize the ruffian, who stabbed him fatally in the breast, lie was succeeded by his brother Edred. EDMUND II., surnamed Ironside, a king of the Anglo-Saxons, son and successor of Ethel- red II., born in 989, ascended the throne in 101 6, and died the same year. Even before his