Esprits Forts (Fr., bold spirits), a term applied to the French school of freethinkers, which included Voltaire, Diderot, Helvetius, D'Alembert, and others. The Esprits Forts, are, however, distinguished from the English free-thinkers. Whilst the latter were only aiming at freedom of religious thought, the Esprits Forts were more radical and revolutionary, seeking to bring about the abolition of the existing order and the substitution of a system based upon pure reason and the supremacy of intellect.
Esquimault (es-kwī´ma˙lt), a harbour and naval station on the south-east coast of Vancouver Island, about 3 miles from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. The harbour is almost landlocked, and, with the 'Royal Roads' outside, is capable of giving safe anchorage to a fleet of vessels of the largest size. It is the station of H.M. ships on the Pacific coast, is a fortified naval arsenal, and since 1906 has been garrisoned by Canadian troops.
Esquimaux (es´ki-mōz), or Eskimos, a race inhabiting the Arctic coasts of North America, from Greenland to Behring's Strait, and extending into Asia. They call themselves Innuit, 'the people', 'men'; their other name is from an Algonquin word signifying eaters of raw flesh, and seems to have been given them first by the Jesuit Father Biard in 1611. They consist of three principal stocks—the Greenlanders; the Esquimaux proper, in Labrador; and the Western Esquimaux, found along Hudson's Bay, the west side of Baffin's Bay, the polar shores as far as the mouths of the Coppermine and Mackenzie Rivers, and both on the American and Asiatic sides of Behring's Strait. The entire Eskimo population is estimated at 27,000, of which 15,600 live in North America and 11,000 in Greenland. Their leading physical peculiarities are a stunted stature, flattened nose, projecting cheek-bones, eyes often oblique, and yellow and brownish skin. Seal-skins, reindeer and other furs are used as materials for dress, according to the season, as well as skins of otters, foxes, and martens. In summer they live in tents, covered with skins; in winter they may be said to burrow beneath the snow. In Greenland houses built of stone and cemented with turf are used as permanent habitations. Vegetation being extremely stunted within the limits of their territories, their food consists of the flesh of whales, seals, and walruses, often eaten raw; and they show remarkable skill in fishing and hunting. Their weapons are bows and arrows, spears or lances, generally pointed with bone, but sometimes with metal. Their only domestic animal is the Esquimaux dog. In intellect they are by no means deficient; in manners they are kind and hospitable. Their religious ideas appear scanty, but success has attended the labours of the Danish missionaries in teaching them the Christian religion.—Bibliography: H. Rink, Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo; V. Stefansson, My Life with the Eskimo.
Esquimaux Dog, or Eskimo Dog, a breed of dogs extensively spread over the northern regions of America and of Eastern Asia. It is rather larger than the English pointer, but appears smaller on account of the shortness of its legs. It has oblique eyes, an elongated muzzle, and a bushy tail, which give it a wolfish appearance. The colour is generally a deep dun, obscurely barred and patched with darker colour. It is the only beast of burden in these latitudes, and with a team of such dogs attached to his sledge the Eskimo will cover 60 miles a day for several successive days.
Es´quire (O.Fr. escuyer, from Lat. scutum, a shield); originally, a shield-bearer or armour-bearer; an attendant on a knight; hence in modern times a title of dignity next in degree below a knight. In England this title is properly given to the younger sons of noblemen, to officers of the king's courts and of the household, to counsellors at law, justices of the peace while in commission, sheriffs, gentlemen who have held commissions in the army and navy, &c. It is usually given to all professional and literary men, and nowadays, in the addresses of letters, esquire may be put as a complimentary adjunct to almost any person's name. In heraldry the helmet of an esquire is represented sideways, with the vizor closed.
Esquiros (es-kē-ros), Henri Alphonse, French poet, romancist, and miscellaneous writer, born at Paris 1812, died at Versailles 1876. His first work, a volume of poetry, Les Hirondelles, appeared in 1834. This was followed by numerous romances, and a commentary on the life of Christ (L'Évangile du Peuple), for which he was prosecuted and imprisoned. He then published Les Chants d'un Prisonnier, poems written in prison; Les Vierges Folles; Les Vierges Sages; L'Histoire des Montagnards. Having to leave France in 1851, he resided for years in England, and wrote a series of essays for the Revue des Deux Mondes on English life and character, which were translated under the title of The English at Home, and were very popular. He also wrote a similar work on the Dutch. Other works are: Religious Life in England, and Charlotte Corday.
Essad Toptani, Pasha, Albanian soldier and national leader, born at Tirana in 1856. He was a descendant of the Toptani family who had ruled in Albania in the fifteenth century. Trained for the army, he served in Macedonia and Anatolia, and in 1897 was rewarded with the title of Pasha for his services in the war against Greece. Abdul Hamid, however, who feared the power of the Toptani family, had the brother of Essad Pasha murdered, and the latter became the mortal enemy of the Sultan. He nevertheless accepted the rank of brigadier-general, and commanded the local troops at Janina. In 1908 he joined the Young Turks, and was one of the deputation which brought the news of his deposition to the Sultan. He was in command of the troops at Scutari, when the powers declared in favour of the autonomy of Albania in 1912. Essad Pasha had hoped to be chosen ruler of the new state of Albania created by the Treaty of London, but as the Prince of Wied had been appointed mbret, he accepted the office of Minister of War and of the Interior. Suspected by the mbret, he was compelled to flee from Durazzo. After the departure of the Prince of Wied, at the outbreak of the European War, he returned to Durazzo, and was appointed by the Senate (on 5th Oct., 1914) President of the Provisional Government. In spite of Austrian
advances he declared war on the Central Powers, and escaped when the Austrians entered Albania. He rendered valuable services to the Allies at Salonica, but the Italians, who saw in the Pasha an enemy to their own views upon Albania, refused to grant him permission to return to his country. Essad Pasha, therefore, remained in Paris, where he was assassinated by an Albanian student named Averic Rustem on 13th June, 1920. The assassin was acquitted by a French jury in December of the same year, prominent Albanians having pleaded in favour of the murderer, and maintained that the Pasha was an ambitious adventurer and a traitor to his country.
Es´say, a composition in which something is attempted to be proved or illustrated, usually shorter and less methodical and finished than a systematic or formal treatise; so that it may be a short disquisition on a subject of taste, philosophy, or common life. The essay was the invention of Montaigne in the sixteenth century, and Francis Bacon was another illustrious author who employed the literary form of the essay. Caution or modesty has induced many writers of note to give the title of essay to their most elaborate productions: thus we have Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding. There is a class of English writers to whom the descriptive term essayist is applied, the most illustrious being Addison, Steele, Charles Lamb, Hazlitt, De Quincey, Macaulay, Carlyle, Froude, Matthew Arnold, R. L. Stevenson, and Austin Dobson.