castle of Wartburg, the
hiding-place for 10 months of Luther after the Diet of Worms.

EISLEBEN (23), a mining town in Prussian Saxony, 24 m. NW. of Halle;
the birthplace and burial-place of Luther.

EISTEDDFOD, a gathering of Welsh bards and others, now annual, at
which, out of a patriotic motive, prizes are awarded for the
encouragement of Welsh literature and music and the preservation of the
Welsh language and ancient national customs.

EKATERINBURG (37), a Russian town on the Isset, on the E. side of
the Ural Mountains, of the mining industry in which it is the chief
centre; has various manufactures, and a trade in the cutting and sorting
of precious stones.

EKRON, a town in N. Palestine, 30 m. N. from Gaza and 9 m. from the
sea.

ELAINE, a lady of the court of King Arthur in love with Lancelot,
and whose story is related by Malory in his "History" and by Tennyson in
his "Idylls of the King."

ELATERIUM, a drug obtained from the mucus of the fruit of the
squirting cucumber; is a most powerful purgative, and was known to the
ancients.

ELBA, a small and rocky island in the Mediterranean between Corsica
and Tuscany, with a bold precipitous coast; belongs to Italy; has trade
in fish, fruits, and iron ore; famous as Napoleon's place of exile from
May 1814 to February 1815.

ELBE, the most important river in N. Germany; rises in the
Riesengebirge, in Austria, flows NW. through Germany, and enters the
North Sea at Cuxhaven, 725 m. long, navigable 520 m.; abounds in fish.

ELBERFELD (126), an important manufacturing commercial centre, 16 m.
NE. of Duesseldorf; noted for its textiles and dye-works.

ELBOEUF (21), a town on the Seine, 75 m. NW. of Paris; has
flourishing manufactures in cloths, woollens, &c.

ELBURZ, a lofty mountain range in N. Persia, S. of the Caspian; also
the name of the highest peak in the Caucasus (18,571 ft.).

ELDER, a name given to certain office-bearers in the Presbyterian
Church, associated with the minister in certain spiritual functions short
of teaching and administering sacraments; their duties embrace the
general oversight of the congregation, and are of a wider nature than
those of the deacons, whose functions are confined strictly to the
secular interests of the church; they are generally elected by the church
members, and ordained in the presence of the congregation; their term of
office is in some cases for a stated number of years, but more gener