Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/791

* EGMONT. 687 EGYPT. the presence of the Kiiiporor at Spoyer. In 1554 Kginont was sent to England to negotiate the mar- riage between Mary and I'hilip. After the acces- >ion of Philip 11. he eoninianded the eavalry in the battles of Saint Quentin and Gravelines (qq.v.) ; and when Philip finally returned to Spain he left Kginont as Stadlholder of Flanders and Artois. Wlien JIaigaret of Parma, against the will of the Protestant jjarty. was made Ke- gcnt-tJeneral of the Xetherlands. Kgmont and the Prince of Orange entereil the Cinincil of State, and opposed the tiltra-t'atluilie ])oliiy of Cardinal Granvella and the Regent. On Kgniont's tlueaten- ing to resign. Granvelhi was withdrawn from the Low Countries, and in 1565 the Count visited Philip at Madrid and departed heiueward full of confidente in the King. But the re-aetionary edicts of Granvella were ordered to be enforced with more severity than ever, and the jieople were roused to rebel. When the insurrection broke out Egmont opposed the Prince of Orange and the 'Beggars' League.' as it was called. He seems to have remained neiitral even when, in Ajiril. 1567, his bitter enemy and rival, the Duke of Alva, was sent as lieutenant-general to the Neth- erlands. (See Alva.) The Prince of Orange and other chiefs of the insurrection left the country, while Egmont. wishing to save his private prop- erty, remained, thinking his loyalty and services had secured his safety. He apjieared to have gained Alva's confidence, when suddenly, after a sitting of the council, he and Count Horn were seized and carried to the citadel of Ghent. The Estates of Brabant sought to withdraw them from the Bloody Tribunal, as it was called, instituted by Alva, and Egmont, as a knight of the Golden Fleece, denied its competency. His coimtess pleaded earnestly in his behalf, and in- tercession from the highest quarters was made to Philip. At his trial lie was accused of having favored the enemies of the Catholic religion and of plotting the overthrow of the King. Xinety charges were brought against liim, which he did not trouble himself to answer in detail, but pro- tested his innocence, and showed clearly that he had been a loyal subject and faitliful counselor of the King. Nevertheless, he was condemned to death by Alva and his tools, and on June 5, 156.'*, was executed in the great square of Brussels at the same time as Count Horn. Their death made them martyrs to the cause of liberty in the Netli- erlands. and in 1865 a monument by Fraikin was erected to their memory at Brussels. Goethe has made Egmont the hero of one of liis finest trage- dies. One of the best brief accounts of Egmont is given by Schiller in his AhfnU <ler Xietlerlande. Consult: "ilotley. Rise of the Dutch Republw (London, 1861) ; .Juste. Le comte d'Kpmont et le comie de Homes (Brussels. 1862): De B.ivay, Proccg du comte d'Efimout et piices justifiratires (Brussels, 185.3) ; also the published correspond- ence of Philip n. and of Margaret of Parma. E'GO fLat.. I) . A term much used by philoso- phers to denote the conscious self or person, espe- cially when conceived as the metaphysical subject whose activity is supposed to give rise to the ■world of experience. E'GOISlff. A term formerly .sometimes ap- plied in philosophy to any view that was sup- posed to make the individual self the only realitv knowable. It is now used almost entirely in an ethical sense as an antonym tn altrui^ni (q.v.). It denotes either the set purpo.se to make one's own private welfare the sole end of one's en- deavor, or the theory of morals which asserts that such an end is the only one reasonable or possible. E'GRET (Fr. aigrette, diminutive of dia- lectic cyron, OF. hiron, Fr. hi ion, heron). A name often given to varioits species of heron (q.v.), ])articularly those of white plumage which, at least during the breeding season, liave the feathers on the lower part of the back lengthened and their barbs loose, so that this part of the plumage is very soft and llowing. These plumes are used for ornamental purposes. (See AiuRET. ) In old English bills of fare egrets are mentioned as if they were abundant; and not fewer than 1000 'egrittes' are included in the bill of fare of a single great feast, given at the enthronization of George Neville, .rch- bishop of York, in the reign of Edward IV. ; but these were really, no doubt, lapwings. Two species of egret are known in Europe — a large one (Arden alha) and a small one {Ardea gar- zetta). In the southern United States three species of heron are known as egrets, the Ameri- can egi"et (Ardea egretta), the snowv- egret (Ardea candidissima), and the reddish egret (Ardea riifescens) . All three were formerly abundant to a remarkable degree in Florida, but are now rare, owing to persistent destruction of them in the breeding season, for the sake of their plumes. Few chapters in Anierioan orni- thologv- are so sad as the .story of the slaughter of Florida's herons to supply the demamls of an inexcusalile and barbarous fashion. The reddish egret is of special interest because it illustrates the curious phenomenon known as dichroiiiatism, some of the birds being pure white, while others are dark bluish slate color, and this difference does not seem to be connected with age, sex. or season. See DlCHKOMATlSil ; Heeox, and Plate of adixg Bibds. EGtriSHEIM, a'gls-him. An archseological station mar Colmar, Alsace. In digging a beer- cave, fragments of a human skull comprising a frontal and parietal bone were unearthed at a depth of about eight feet. The skull resembles the Neanderthal type, but the forehead is larger and the orbital arches less prominent. Consult Jlortill.-t. I.r prthistorique (Paris. 1000). EGUSQUIZA, a'gi5os-ke'.sa, .Juan Bautista (1845 — ). A Sotith American politician, and a President of Paraguay, born in Asuncion. In the war against Brazil. Argentina, and Uruguay, he rose to be a lieutenant-colonel. Stibsequently he became Secretary of War and general. In 1S!I4, following upon the summary deportation to Buenos Ayres of President Gonzalez, he was elected President of the Republic for the term ending in 1808. His administration was in the main jieaccful and progressive. EGYPT. A country occupying the northeast corner of Africa. Egyjit proper extends from tho Mediterranean south to the latitude of 22° N. (For an account of the agreement between the British and Egvqitian governments, January 10, 1809, see Egti'TIax SfnAN.) The boundary on the east is the Red Sea. and on the extreme northeast Syria. The western boundar.v, fixed liy the firman of 1841, starting from the Mediterra- nean at about the 25th meridian of east longi- tude, runs southwest to the southeast corner of Tripoli, and thence southeast to a point about 200