struck ornaments in sheet metal, used especially in connexion with the brass and Britannia-metal trades, are obtained by a process of embossing--hard steel dies with forces or counterparts of soft metal being used in their production. A kind of embossed ornament is formed on the surface of soft wood by first compressing and consequently sinking the parts intended to be embossed, then planing the whole surface level, after which, when the wood is placed in water, the previously depressed portion swells up and rises to its original level. Thus an embossed pattern is produced which may be subsequently sharpened and finished by the ordinary process of carving (see CHASING and REPOUSSÉ). EMBRACERY (from the O. Fr. _embraseour_, an embracer, i.e. one who excites or instigates, literally one who sets on fire, from _embraser_, to kindle a fire; "embrace," i.e. to hold or clasp in the arms, is from O. Fr. _embracer_, Lat. _in_ and _bracchia_, arms), in law, the attempting to influence a juryman corruptly to give his verdict in favour of one side or the other in a trial, by promise, persuasions, entreaties, money, entertainments and the like. It is an offence both at common law and by statute, and punishable by fine and imprisonment. As a statutory offence it dates back to 1360. The offence is complete, whether any verdict has been given or not, and whether the verdict is in accordance with the weight of evidence or otherwise. The person making the attempt, and any juryman who consents, are equally punishable. The false verdict of a jury, whether occasioned by embracery or otherwise, was formerly considered criminal, and jurors were severely punished, being proceeded against by writ of attaint (q.v.). The Juries Act of 1825, in abolishing writs of attaint, made a special exemption as regards jurors guilty of embracery (§ 61). Prosecution for the offence has been so extremely rare that when a case occurred in 1891 (_R. v. Baker_, 113, Cent. Crim. Ct. Sess. Pap. 374) it was stated that no precedent could be found for the indictment. The defendant was fined £200, afterwards reduced to £100. EMBRASURE, in architecture, the opening in a battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenelle (see BATTLEMENT, CRENELLE); also the splay of a window. EMBROIDERY (M.E. _embrouderie_, from O. Fr. _embroder_, Mod. Fr. _broder_), the ornamentation of textile fabrics and other materials with needlework. The beginnings of the art of embroidery probably date back to a very primitive stage in the history of all peoples, since plain stitching must have been one of the earliest attainments of mankind, and from that it is but a short step to decorative needlework of some kind. The discovery of needles among the relics of Swiss lake-dwellings shows that their primitive inhabitants were at least acquainted with the art of stitching. [Illustration: PLATE I.