the willow-herb, in botany: A genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the octandra class of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 17th order, Calycanthemæ. The calyx is quadrifid; the petals four; the capsule oblong inferior; the seeds pappous or downy. There are seven species, all of them natives of Britain. They grow in marshes, or under hedges in moist and shady places; having blossoms generally of a red colour, and sometimes of considerable beauty. The most remarkable is the hirtum, commonly called collins and cream. The top-shoots of this plant have a very delicate fragrance; but so transitory, that before they have been gathered five minutes, it is no longer perceptible. Horses, sheep, and goats eat this plant; cows are not fond of it; swine refuse it. An infusion of the leaves of another species, the angustifolium, or rosebay willow-herb, has an intoxicating quality, as the inhabitants of Kamtschatka have learned. These people also eat the white young shoots which creep under the ground, and have a sort of ale brewed from the dried pith of it. The down of the seeds has been lately manufactured by mixing it with cotton or beaver's hair.

EPilogue, in oratory, the end or conclusion of a discourse, ordinarily containing a recapitulation of the principal matters delivered.

EPilogue, in dramatic poetry, a speech addressed to the audience, after the play is over, by one of the principal actors therein; usually containing some reflections on certain incidents in the play, especially those in the part of the person that speaks it; and having somewhat of pleasantry, intended to compose the passions raised in the course of the representation: A practice which is ridiculed by the Spectator; and compared to a merry jig upon the organ after a good sermon, to wipe away any impressions that might have been made thereby, and send the people away just as they came.