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medal, seal, or ring, or a figured copy of an inscription, or otherancient monument.

ECU, a French crown. See Coin .

E. DA, one of the Orkney islands.

F. DAM, a town of Batavia, or Holland , in the department ofAmstel, 12 miles N. of Amsterdam . Lon. 4. 58. E. Lat. 52.32. N.

F.DDA, the system of the ancient Icelandic or Runic mytholo-gy, containing many curious particulars of the theology, philoso-phy, and manners, of the northern nations of Europe ; or ot theScandinavians, who had migrated from A-ia, and from whom ourSaxon ancestors were descended. Mr. Mallet apprehends that itwas originally compiled, soon after the Pagan religion was abo-lished, as a course of poetical lectures, for the use ol such youngIcelanders as devoted themselves to the protesaion of a scald orpoet. It consists of two principal parts; the first containing a bnetsystem of mythology, properly called the Edda ; and the secondbeing a kind of art of poetry, and called Scalda or poetics. Themost ancient Edda was compiled by Soemund Sigfnsson, surnamedthe Learned, who was born in Iceland about A. D. 1057. Thiswas abridged, and rendered more easy' and intelligible about 120years afterwards, by Snorro Slurleson, who was supreme judge ofIceland in 1215 and 1222; and it was published in the form of adialogue. l ie added also the second part in the form of a dialogue,being a detail of different events transacted among the divinities.The only three "pieces that are know n to remain of the more an-cient Edda of Soemund are the Voluspa, the Havamaal, and theRunic chapter. The Voluspa or prophecy of Vola or Fola, ap-pears to be the text, on which the Edda is the comment. It con-tains in 200 or 300 lines the whole system of mythology, disclosed |in the Edda , and may be cofnpareif to the Sibylline verses, on ac- 1count of its laconic' yet bold style, and its imagery and ob- jscuritv.

KDD1STO, or PONPON, a large river of South Carolina .

EDDY WIND is that which returns or is beat back from asail, mountain, or any thing that may hinder its passage.

EDDYSTONE ROCKS , the name of some rocks in theEnglish Channel , so called from the great variety of contrary cur- !rents in their vicinity. They are situated nearly S. S. W. from Ithe middle of Plymouth Sound, their distance from the port about14 miles, and from Ram-Head, the nearest point of land, 12 and ahalf. They are almost in the line which joins the Start and theLizard Points ; and as they lie nearly in the direction of vesselscoasting up and down the Channel, they were very dangerous, andships were sometimes wrecked on them, before the light-housew'as established. They are so exposed to the sw-ells of the ocean,from all the S. and W. points of the compass, that the heavy seas jcome uncontroV.ed.ana break on them with the utmost fury. |Sometimes, after a storm, when the sea in general is, to all appear- Iance, quite smooth, and its surface unruffled by the slightest breeze, ithe growing swell or under current, meeting the slope of therocks, the sea beats dreadfully upon them, and even rises above |the light-hou e in a magnificent manner, overtopping it for the }moment, as with a canopy of frothy wave. Notwithstanding this ,tremendous swell, Mr. Henry Winstanley , in 1696, undertook tobuild a light-house on the principal rock, for the rest are underwater; and he completed it, in 1700. This ingenious mechanicwas so confident of the stability of his structure, that he declaredhis wish to be in it, during the most tremendous storm that could jblow. Unfortunately be obtained bis wish, for he perished in it,during the dreadfulslorm which destroyed it, on the 27th Nov.1703. In 1709, another light-house was erected of wood on thisrock, but on a different construction, by Mr. John Rudyard. Itstood till 1755, when it was burnt. A third one, of stone, wasbegun by the late celebrated Mr. John Smeaton , on the 2nd ofApril 1757, and finished 24th Aug. 1759: and has withstood the |rage of ail weathers ever since. The rock, which slopes towardsthe S. W. is cut into horizontal steps; into which are dove-tailedand united hy a strong cement Portland stone and granite: for |Mr. Smeaton discovered, that it was impossible to make use ofthe former entirely, as there is a marine animal that can destroy it: :and that he could not use the latter solely, as the labour of work-ing it would have been too expen-ive. ile therefore used the one jfor the internal and the other for the external part of the structure. !Upon the principle of a broad base and accumulation of matter, jthe w hole, to the height of 35 feet from the foundation, is a solid I

mass of stones eegratted into each other, and united by every kindof additional strength. The light-house has four rooms, one overanother, and at the top a gallery and lantern. The stone lloors areHat above, but concave below, and are kept from pressing againstthe sides of the building by a chain let into the walls. The light-I house is nearly 80 feet high, and withstands the most violent storms,without sustaining the smallest injury. Il has now stood above 39years, during which time il has been often assaulted by all thefury of tiie elements: And, in all probability, as Mr. Smeaton said, nothing but an earthquake ean destroy it. The woodenpart of it, however, was burnt in 1770, but renew ed in 1774. Lon.4. 21. \V. Lat. 50. 3. N.

EDEN, D"ijr, (lei), i. e. •pleasure,'] a country, with a garden,in which the progenitors of mankind were settled by God himself.It would he endless to recount the various conjectures as to itssituation, some of which are very wild and extravagant. Mosessays, that “ a river w enl out of Eden to water tiie garden, and fromthence it was parted and became into four heads.” 'Phis river issupposed to he the common channel of the Euphrates and Tigris,alter their continence; which parted again, below the garden, in-to two different channels: so that the two channels before, and theother two after their confluence, constitute the heads mentionedby Moses. 'I’his will determine the situation of the garden tohave been in the S. ot Mesopotamia, or in Babylonia . The gar-den was also called Paradise; a term of Persic original, denoting agarden.

Eden, a river of England, in Westmoreland.

Eden, a river of Scotland , in Berwickshire, and another inFifeshire .

Edf.n, a town of Germany, in Westphalia .

F.DENTON, a district on the sea-coast of North Carolina .

Edenton, the capital of the above districl, 97 miles N. of New-bern. Lon. 77. 11. W. Lat. 36. 6. N.

EDESSA, a town of European Turkey, in Macedonia , 44 milesW. N. W. of Salonichi.

EDGAIl, the son of Edmund I , one of the Host fortunate of theAnglo-Saxon monarchs. lie succeeded his brother Edwy , A. D.959; and is said to have been rowed down the Dee by eight kingshis vassals. He died in 975.

EDGARTON, a town of Massachusetts , capital of Duke’scounty, situated on the east side of the island ol Martha’s Vine-yard.

EDGCOMB, a county of Halifax district, N. Carolina .

EDGEFI ELD, a town and county of South Carolina , the south-ernmost in the district of Ninety-Six.

EDGEWAKE, a town in Middlesex, 8 miles N. W. ofLondon .

EDGI1IR, a town of Ilindostan, in Golconda, 75 miles S.W. ofIlvdrabad.

EDGINGS, in gardening, the series of small but durable plants,set round the edges or borders of flower-beds, &c. The best andmost durable of all plants for this use, is box; which, if well plant-ed, and rightly managed, will continue in strength and beauty formany years. The seasons for planting this, are the autumn, andvery early in the spring: and the best species for this purpose is thedwarf Dutch box.

EDICT , [ edictum , Lat.] a proclamation of command or pro-hibition ; a law promulgated. An edict is an order or instrument,signed and sealed by a prince, to serve as a law to his subjects.We find frequent mention of the edicts of the praitor, in the Romanlaw. In the late French law, the edicts were of several kinds;some importing new' laws or regulations; others, tl;e erection ofnew offices; establishments of duties, rents, Ac. and sometimesarticles ofpacilication. In despotic governments, an edict is muchthe same as a proclamation is with us: hut with this difference, thatthe former has the authority of a law from the power w hich issuesit; whereas the latter is only a declaration of a law, to which il re-fers, and has no power in itself.

ED1LE. See d'.mi.E. This ancient title was resumed in thelate constitution of the Roman republic.

EDINBURGH, the metropolis of Scotland , is situated in thecounty of M id-Lothian, about a mile S. from the Frith of Forth.Lon. 3. 0. W. Lat. 56.0. N. The old town is built upon a steephill, rising from E. to W. and terminating in a high and inaccessi-ble rock, upon which the castle Hands. At the E. end or lowerextremity of this hill stands the abbey of Holyrood house, the an-cient