Empire since the 17th century.
Their estates include upwards of 4000 villages, 60 market-towns, many
castles and lordships, but they are heavily mortgaged.

ESTHER, THE BOOK OF, a book of the Old Testament, which takes its
name from the chief figure in the story related, an orphan Jewess and
ward of her cousin Mordecai, who, from her beauty, was chosen into the
royal harem and raised to be consort to the king. It is read through in
the Jewish synagogues at the feast of PURIM (q. v.). It is
observed that the name of God does not occur once in the book, but the
story implies the presence of an overruling Providence, responding to the
cry of His oppressed ones for help.

ESTHONIA (393), one of the Russian Baltic provinces, has a northern
foreshore on the Gulf of Finland, and on the W. abuts on the Baltic; what
of the country that is free from forest and marsh is chiefly
agricultural, but fishing is also an important industry; the people are a
composite of Finns and immigrant Germans, with latterly Russians
superimposed.

ESTIENNE, the name of a family of French painters. See
STEPHENS.

EST-IL-POSSIBLE? the name given by James II. to Prince George of
Denmark, the husband of Princess Anne, from his invariable exclamation on
hearing how one after another had deserted the Stuart cause; he ended
with deserting it himself.

ESTRADES, COUNT D', a French diplomatist (1579-1680).

ESTREMADURA (1,111), a coast province of Portugal, between Beira and
Alemtejo, watered by the Tagus; richly fertile in many parts, but sparely
cultivated; silk is an important industry, and an increasing; Lisbon is
the chief city, and with Setubal monopolises the trade; salt, fruits,
wine, and oil are exported; also name of a district in Spain between
Portugal and New Castile, now divided into the provinces of Badajoz and
Caceres.

ETEOCLES, a son of Oedipus, king of Thebes, agreed on the banishment
of his father to govern the state alternately with his brother Polynices,
but failing to keep his engagement, the latter appealed to his guardian,
out of which there arose the War of the Seven against Thebes, which ended
in the slaughter of the whole seven, upon which the brothers thought to
end the strife in single combat, when each fell by the sword of the
other.

ETERNAL CITY, ancient Rome in the esteem of its inhabitants, in
accordance with the promise, as Virgil feigns, of Jupiter to Venus, the
goddess-mother of the race.

E