[Erskine, Thomas, of Linlathen], member of the Scottish bar, but devoted in an intensely human spirit to theological interests, "one of the gentlest, kindliest, best bred of men," says Carlyle, who was greatly attached to him; "I like him," he says, "as one would do a draught of sweet rustic mead served in cut glasses and a silver tray ... talks greatly of symbols, seems not disinclined to let the Christian religion pass for a kind of mythus, provided one can retain the spirit of it"; he wrote a book, much prized at one time, on the "Internal Evidences of Revealed Religion," also on Faith; besides being the constant friend of Carlyle, he corresponded on intimate terms with such men as Maurice and Dean Stanley (1788-1870).
[Erwin], a German architect, born at Steinbach, Baden; the builder of the western façade of the cathedral of Strasburg (1240-1318).
[Erymanthus], a mountain in Arcadia that was the haunt of the boar killed by Hercules.
[Erysipelas], known popularly as St. Anthony's Fire and Rose, a febrile disease, manifesting itself in acute inflammation of the skin, which becomes vividly scarlet and ultimately peels; confined chiefly to the head; is contagious, and recurrent.
[Erythema], a medical term used loosely to designate a diseased condition of the skin; characterised by a scarlet or dark-red rash or eruption, distinct from erysipelas.
[Erythrea] (220), a colony belonging to Italy, extending from Cape Kasar 670 m. along the western shore of the Red Sea to a point in the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb; Massowah the capital.
[Erythrean Sea], a name of the Red Sea.
[Erzerum] (60), a city in Turkish Armenia, capital of the province of the same name, 125 m. SE. of Trebizond; situated on a fertile plain 6300 ft. above sea-level; is an important entrepôt for commerce between Europe and Asia; is irregularly built, but contains imposing ruins; has a fortress, and in the suburbs a number of mosques and bazaars; is famed for its iron and copper ware; fell into the hands of the Turks in 1517; figured as a military centre in many Turkish wars; was reduced by the Russians in 1878; was a scene of Armenian massacres by the Turks in 1895.
[Erzgebirge], a range of mountains lying between Saxony and Bohemia; the highest peak is the Keilberg, 4052 ft.; is rich in various metallic ores, especially silver and lead.
[Eryx], an ancient town in the NW. of Sicily, at the foot of a mountain of the same name, with a temple to Venus, who was hence called Erycina.