Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/538

 530 ELIXIR ELIZABETH sweet by casting salt into it ; cursed the chil- dren of Bethel, who mocked him, and were devoured by two bears ; predicted the victory of Jehoram and Jehoshaphat over the Moabites ; restored the fortune of a widow persecuted by her creditors ; raised to life the son of a woman of Shunam who had given him hospi- tality ; and cured the leprosy of Naaman. He defeated the projects of Benhadad, king of Syria, against Israel, and caused the host sent to capture himself to be struck with blindness. Samaria being reduced to extreme famine by siege, Elisha predicted incredible abundance, which was suddenly obtained by the panic and flight of the Syrian army, who left their tents filled with gold and provisions. He foretold the death of Benhadad, and the succession of Hazael, his murderer. Upon his deathbed he was visited by King Joash, to whom he prom- ised three victories over the Syrians. His death is commonly fixed about 840 B. 0. Elisha is canonized in the Greek church ; his day is June 14. Under that date the traditions concerning him are given in the Acta Sancto- rum. In the time of Jerome his mausoleum was shown at Samaria. Under Julian his re- puted bones were taken from their receptacle and burned. ELIXIR, a word probably of Arabic origin, applied in old pharmacy to certain extracts ob- tained by boiling ; as elixir of vitriol, a mixture of sulphuric acid with some aromatic tincture. In modern pharmacy the name is retained for various tinctures made up of several ingredi- ents. The alchemists applied it to a number of solutions which they employed in the trans- mutation of metals, and to the elixir mice, a preparation which when discovered was to endow the person taking it with immortality. ELIZABETH, a city and the capital of Union co., New Jersey, on Newark bay and Staten Island sound, 11 m. W. S. W. of New York ; pop. in 1850, 5,583 ; in 1860, 11,567 ; in 1870, 20,832, of whom 6,752 were foreigners. It is situated on elevated ground on both sides of the Elizabeth river, a small stream emptying into the sound. It is regularly laid out, with broad streets shaded with trees, and contains several small parks and numerous handsome residences. Many retired merchants and per- sons doing business in New York reside here, and it has long been noted for its wealth, its good schools, and its refined society. Eliza- bethport, the portion bordering on the bay and sound, can be reached by vessels of 300 tons. It is the seat of nearly all the manufac- tories, and annually ships large quantities of coal and iron, brought by rail from the Pennsyl- vania mines. The railroads passing through the city are the New Jersey, the Central of New Jersey, the Newark and Elizabeth, and the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport. It is nearly connected by horse car with Newark, 5 m. distant, and a line of steamboats plies between New York and Elizabethport. The principal manufactories are 2 of cordage, 1 of edge tools, 1 of gas machinery, 1 of carriages and spokes, 1 of boots and shoes, 2 of zinc, 1 of combs, 1 of lampblack, 1 of saws, 1 of stoves, 1 of straw hats, 1 of trunks, 2 potteries (vitrified stone drain pipe), 5 breweries, 3 planing and moulding mills, and several large iron founderies. The largest establishment is the factory of the Singer sewing machine com- pany, one of the most extensive in the world, recently erected in Elizabethport. There are 2 national banks, with an aggregate capital of $600,000, 3 saving banks, 1 life insurance and 3 tire insurance companies. The city is di- vided into eight wards, and is governed by a mayor and a common council, consisting of two members from each ward. The police force consists of a chief and 40 patrolmen. There is a volunteer fire department, and a fire alarm telegraph is in operation. The wa- ter works, owned by a private company, supply the greater portion of the city from the upper part of Elizabeth river. The city is lighted with gas, and has 24 m. of streets paved, in about equal proportions, with wooden and stone pavement, and about 27 m. of sewers. The assessed value of property (about one third of the true value) in 1873 was $15,563,- 625 ; total taxation, $408,994 32, of which $268,000 were for city purposes. The debt amounted to $600,000, besides which there were outstanding $3,000,000 improvement bonds, for which the treasury is to be reimbursed by assessments on the property improved. The principal public buildings and institutions are the court house and county jail, the city hall, 4 public school houses, 6 hotels, the city alms- house, the orphan asylum, and the old ladies' home. The public schools (2 high, 4 grammar, and 5 primary) are under the charge of a board of 16 commissioners, and have an average at- tendance of about 2,500 pupils. The amount appropriated for school purposes in 1873 was $32,000. There are a business college, a col- legiate school for young men, and five other private schools. The periodicals are three daily, one semi-weekly (German), three week- ly, and one monthly. There are 24 churches, viz. : 3 Baptist, 1 Congregational, 4 Episcopal, 1 German Lutheran, 1 German Moravian, 5 Methodist (1 German), 5 Presbyterian, and 4 Roman Catholic, besides a nunnery. Elizabeth, formerly called Elizabethtown, was settled in 1665, and was the colonial capital from Feb. 24, 1755, to Sept. 13, 1757. A city charter was granted in 1865. ELIZABETH, second queen regnant of Eng- land, and last sovereign of the Tudor line, daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn, born at the palace of Greenwich, Sept. 7, 1533, died March 24, 1603. She was virtually made heiress presumptive to the throne immediately after her birth, by act of parliament, to the exclusion of her sister Mary, daughter of Cath- arine of Aragon, who was more than 17 years her senior. The king, though bitterly disap- pointed in the sex of the child, showed attach-