EXECUTOR EXETER execution against the person of the defendant, and since the abolition of imprisonment for debt can be issued in a few cases only. (See BANKRUPT, and DEBTOR AND CREDITOR.) EXECUTOR, the person appointed to carry into effect the directions contained in a last will and testament. By the common law of England, or rather by the law as administered in the ecclesiastical courts, an infant of the age of 17 was qualified to act as executor. Prior to that age, letters of administration, were granted to some other person durante minore cBtate; but by statute 38 George III., c. 87, such administration must now continue until the person named as executor has reached the age of 21. A married woman cannot act as an executrix without the assent of her hus- band, inasmuch as he is responsible for her acts. When executors are not named in a will, or are incompetent, or refuse to act, letters of administration with the will annexed may be issued, under which the same powers may be exercised that could have been by competent executors duly appointed. An executor de son tort, as he was formerly called, i. e., one who intermeddled with the estate without having lawful authority, was liable to the extent of any assets which he might have appropriated to be sued as an executor of his own wrong, but was not entitled to institute a suit as exe- cutor. The doctrine of executor de son tort can scarcely be said to be recognized in Amer- ica, but summary remedies are given against intermeddlers. (See WILL.) EXELMANS, or Excelmans, Remy Joseph Isidore, count, a French general, born in Bar-le-Duc, Nov. 13, 1775, killed by a fall from his horse in July, 1852. He served first in Italy, became an aide-de-camp of Murat, went with him to Ger- many, and was made colonel after the battle of Austerlitz, and brigadier general in 1807, after that of Eylau. He accompanied Murat in 1808 to Spain, where he was made prisoner and carried to England. He made his escape in 1811 and rejoined Murat, then king of Naples. When disagreement arose between Murat and Napoleon, Exelmans returned to France, and served in the Russian campaign with the rank of general of division. He re- tained his position in the military service after the first restoration, but resumed his duties in the army of Napoleon upon his return from Elba, and was raised to the peerage. He did not take part in the battle of Waterloo, being under the command of Grouchy. Under the second restoration he was in exile till 1819. He was restored by Louis Philippe to the chamber of peers, and denounced in that body the execution of Ney as an " abominable assas- sination." Under the presidency of Louis Na- poleon he was made grand chancellor of the legion of honor, marshal of France, and senator. EXETER, a town and one of the county seats of Rockingham co., New Hampshire, situated on Exeter river, a branch of the Piscataqua, and on the Boston and Maine railroad, 12 m. S. W. of Portsmouth; pop. in 1870, 3,437. The falls at this point, which furnish good wa- ter power, are the head of tide water and the limit of navigation for small vessels. The prin- cipal village, built around the falls on both banks of the river, occupies a plain, and is laid out with wide streets shaded with elms. Be- sides the state courts for the county, sessions of the United States circuit and district courts are held here. The Exeter manufacturing com- pany, incorporated in 1829, has more than 10, 000 spindles in operation, and produces about 2,000, - 000 yards of sheetings annually. It has just erected another mill of equal capacity. The wool business is one of the principal branches of industry and trade in the place, being carried on by several large establishments. There are also several manufactories of carriages, 1 of drain pipe, 3 of harnesses, 3 grist mills, 1 iron foundery, 1 planing mill, 1 saw mill, 1 machine shop, a national bank, and 2 saving institutions. The town is chiefly noted as the seat of Phil- lips academy, founded in 1781 by John Phillips, LL. D., who bequeathed to it a large portion of his estate. It is one of the most celebrated schools for preparing boys for college in the country, and in 1872 had 4 instructors and 102 students. The original building, in which some of the most famous men of the country were educated, was burned in 1870 ; a new one was completed in 1872. The Robinson female sem- inary, organized in 1869 with an endowment of $300,000, has a collegiate department, and in 1872 had 9 instructors and 252 students. Exeter contains several public schools, a town library of 3,428 volumes, a weekly newspaper, and 7 churches. It was settled in 1638, and suffered severely during the Indian wars from 1690 to about 1710. During the revolutionary period it was the capital of the state and the headquarters of its military operations. EXETER, a city, port, and parliamentary borough of England, capital of Devonshire, and a county in itself, on the Exe, 10 m. from its mouth in the English channel, and 159 m. W. S. W. of London; pop. in 1871, 34,646. It is 194 m: from London by the Great Western railway, and is the point at which railways centre from South Devon, North Devon, Salis- bury, and Exmouth. The Exe is here crossed by a handsome stone bridge leading to the sub- urb of St. Thomas. The city, standing on a steep acclivity, has two wide principal streets, which cross each other at right angles near its centre. It is generally well built, has many fine squares and terraces and ancient houses, and in its sub- urbs and environs are numerous elegant villas. It was formerly strongly fortified, but its exte- rior wall is now in a ruinous state, and a part of the rampart has been converted into a prom- enade. On an eminence N. E. of the town is Rougemont castle, anciently the residence of the West Saxon kings, repaired by William the Conqueror. Exeter is the seat of a bishopric founded about 1050. Its cathedral, a magnifi- cent building of cruciform shape, was begun
