EXAMINATION. 339 EXCELSIOR. tion is justice, and that whenever the physical examination of a partj litigant is necessary lo the ascertainment of the truth and the award of justice, such examination may be ordered. The latter view has received statutory sanction in some of our States. (See eh. 7-1, X. V. Laws, 1893.) Even where this view prevails, the exer- cise of tilt! power is a matter of judicial discre- tion. A party lias not the absolute right to com- pel his opponent to submit to a physical ex- amination: and a court will order such exami- nation only when the necessities of the case require it. and when it can be made without danger to the party's life or health, and without the infliction of serious pain. Watson, On Duiiuiqrx for Personal Injuries (Charlottes- ville, 1901). EX'ANTHE'MA (Lat., from Gk. i&ve-qua, erupt inn, from i^avdeiv, exanthein, to blossom out, from Ik, ek, out + 8.v6os, anthos, flower) . A name applied to a class of febrile diseases (exanthe- positinn. In the definition bj the Vatican Coun- cil of Papa] infallibility the expression i- usi I one of the limitations of the doctrine. The Pope is only held to be infallible when, among other things, "he speaks . . cathedra, i.e. when in the discharge of in, office of pastor and teacher oi :■!! Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith <<r morals to be held l>y the whole Church." EXCAVATING MACHINERY (from Lat, <""'»". i" hollow, from < .r, out + cavare, to hollow, from cavua, hollow). This term embraces mechanical devices tor excavating ami loading earth used in the construction of railways, canals, reservoirs, etc. The two most important classes of excavating machines are dredges and steam shovels, which are described under those titles. The ordinary drag scraper i, one ,,i the simplest forms of excavating machine; wheel-scrapers are roughly speaking drag-scraper bodies mounted on two wheels to facilitate their movement. Dragand Hiatal, attended by distinctive eruptions on the wheel scrapers are hauled by horses and require skin, appearing at a definite period, and running a recognizable course. To this class belong small- pox, chicken-pox, measles, scarlet fever, and, ac- cording to some authorities, plague, typhus, ery- sipelas, etc. See Fever. EX'ARCH (l.at. exarchus, from Gk. tfapx *, exarclws, lender, from i^dpxetv, exarcheim, to lead out. from ^|, ex, out + 4/>x f '", archein, to lead). A title applied early in the sixth century to any officer in the Byzantine army, but restricted in the last decade of the century to the military gover- nors in Italy and Africa. Because of the troubled conditions in these two countries the exarch had to be given absolute civil as well as military power. The Exarch of Italy, who resided at Ra- venna (q.v.) . ratified the election of the Bishop of Rome, controlled the finances, judged all appeals, and made all official appointments. For the end of the exarchate in Italy, see Aistclf. In the Christian Church exarch was originally a title of the bishops, afterwards of a bishop who pre- sided over several others — a primate. After the Council of Chalcedon it was used as a title higher than metropolitan, but lower than patriarch. The exarch of monasteries was an official charged with the maintenance of dis- cipline. The same title is also borne, in the mod- ern Greek Church, by the person who 'visits' officially, as a legate of the patriarch, the pro- vincial clergy and churches. Consult: Diehl, Etudes Bur V administration byzantine dans I'ex- archai de Ravenne (Paris, 1888) ; and Ducange, Slossarium ad Scriptores Media; et Infimce Qra>citatis (Paris, 1688). EXCAI/IBTJR. The famous sword of King Arthur (q.v.). It was bestowed upon him in accordance with the promise of Merlin, by the Lady of the Lake, and at his death thrown by one of his faithful knights back into the waters of the lake, where it was grasped and borne beneath the surface by a mystic hand. Consult Tenny- son's Idylls of the Kino. EX CATH'EDRA (Lat.. from the chair) . A phrase originally used with reference to the de- cisions n f the Pope or others high in authority, who. literally speaking, pronounced their judg- ments <r cathedra. The expression is now applied to authoritative assertion in general: to speak ex cathedra is to speak as if vested with full authority, without fear of contradiction or op- man to load and dump them. Scrapers of large size are sometimes arranged to be operated by cables, the cables being so arranged and so manoeuvred by a steam-engine that they auto matieally fill. haul, dump, reverse, and return the scraper just as these operations are performed by hand and horse-power. A form of excavating machine called a grader, which is much used, consists of a four-wheeled vehicle with a strong frame from which a peculiar form of plow is rigidly suspended. This plow turns the earth onto a traveling belt, which extends diagonally upward at one side of the vehicle so that a wagon may be driven under its upper end to receive the discharge. Grapple-bucket excavators and continuous chain-bucket excavators have been made first from dredges of this type and quite extensively used, particularly in England, where the steam shovel has been less highly developed than in America. See Road and Street Machinery. EXCEL'SIOR ( Lat,, higher ) . ( 1 ) The motto of the State of New York. (2) A widely known poem of Longfellow (1841), suggested by the motto of New York, and beginning "The shades of night were falling fast," It tells of a youth bearing a banner with the motto Excelsior, who pressed on through the darkness to the summit of an Alpine mountain, and was found dead, still clasping the banner. The poem has been set to music and is a popular American college song. EXCELSIOR. A material of American inven- tion, much used for packing purposes and as stuff- ing for mattresses and upholstery. Excelsior is not. us is often supposed, made from shavings, but directly from logs of wood. Poplar and basswood furnish the best material. The logs are first sawed into blocks 18 inches long, the usual length of a strip of excelsior. These blocks are split into two portions and thoroughly seasoned. The seasoned blocks are divided up lengthwise into parallel sections, spaced according to the desired fineness of the excelsior. This division is effected by knife-points which do not penetrate far enough to cause the block to fall apart. A following knife completes the procc- of separa- tion, and the tiny fibres curl and commingle as they full from the knife. An excelsior machine will make from 200 to 300 strokes a minute, each stroke cutting off a tier of fibres from the face
