E 3, e, the fifth letter and the second vowel in the English language. It has three principal sounds, the first long, and corresponding to the sound of i in French and Italian, as in me; the second short, as in men, set; the third like a or the French e, as in there. There is also the modification caused by the short or long being followed by r, as in her and here, and the u or dropped sound of it, as in camel. E occurs in words more frequently than any other letter of the English alphabet, this being in a great measure due to the fact that it repre- sents in many instances the Anglo- Saxon a, e, 0, and u. It is pronounced with a medium opening of the mouth, the tongue being expanded to touch the apper molars, and the voice gently ex- pirated. E is largely used as a final vowel to lengthen the preceding syllable, being itself silent; as man, mane; can, cane. Sometimes, however, it exercises no influence on the preceding vowel, as in gone, give. It is also used after c and g to denote the softened sound of those letters; c followed by e being pro- nounced as s, and g followed by e as j. Up to the end of the 14th century the final e was in most cases pronounced, except before a vowel, or letter h; thus the first line of Chaucer's "Canter- bury's Tales" was pronounced as fol- lows: "Whan that Aprille with his shoures swote." When the letter e is doubled the sound is the same as that of the long single e; as in deem, seem, etc. The digraph ea is, in most cases, sounded as long e, but occasionally as short e; as in lead (the metal), tread, etc. The combination ei has two sounds: the first the same as long e, as in receive, deceive, etc.; the second that of long a, or French e, as in reign, feign, etc. The digraph ie has the sound of long e, as in siege, believe, etc. E as an initial is used for East, as in charts: E. by S. = East by South. E as a symbol is used: 1. In numerals, for 250. 2. In chemistry, for the element erbium. 3. In music. (1) For the note hypate in Greek music. (2) The key-note of the Church mode, called Phrygian. (3) The note elami in the system of hexachords. (4) The third note of the diatonic scale, corresponding to ini of the Italians. EADS, JAMES BUCHANAN, an American engineer; born in Lawrence- burg, Ind., May 23, 1820. He early designed some useful boats for raising sunken steamers, and in 1861, when called to advise the National Govern- ment, constructed within 100 days eight ironclad steamers for use on the Missis- sippi and its tributaries. He afterward built a number of other ironclads and mortar-boats. His steel arch bridge (1867-1874) across the Mississippi at St. Louis, with its central arch embrac- ing a clear span of 520 feet, ranks de- servedly among the notable bridges of the world; his works for improving the South Pass of the Mississippi delta were successfully completed in 1875-1879; and his great plan for deepening the river as far as the mouth of the Ohio by means of jetties, has been demon- strated to be entirely practicable. In 1884 he received the Albert Medal of the Society of Arts, being the first American citizen so honored. He died in Nassau, New Providence, March 8, 1887. EAGLE, a name given to many birds of prey in the family Falconidx and the order Accipitres. The golden eagle, the white-headed eagle and the sea eagles are characteristic examples. The falcon family includes over 300 preda- ceous birds, feeding for the most part- on living animals, huating by day, and living usually on exposed rocky places. 450
