| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII | HTML | PDF ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 - "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus"
Author: Various
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 - "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus"" ***
Transcriber's notes:
(1) Numbers following letters (without space) like C2 were originally
printed in subscript. Letter subscripts are preceded by an
underscore, like C_n.
(2) Characters following a carat (^) were printed in superscript.
(3) Side-notes were relocated to function as titles of their respective
paragraphs.
(4) Macrons and breves above letters and dots below letters were not
inserted.
(5) [root] stands for the root symbol; [alpha], [beta], etc. for greek
letters.
(6) The following typographical errors have been corrected:
ARTICLE HOMER: "... he cannot attribute to the original poet of the
lay (Betrachtungen, p. 15, ed. 1865)." 'cannot' amended from
'cannnot'.
ARTICLE HONDURAS: "This instrument gives the legislative power to a
congress of deputies elected for four years by popular vote, in the
ratio of one member for every 10,000 inhabitants." 'inhabitants'
amended from 'imhabitants'.
ARTICLE HORACE: "... and a practice originating in the wants and
convenience of friends temporarily separated from one another by
the public service was ultimately cultivated as a literary
accomplishment." 'convenience' amended from 'covenience'.
ARTICLE HORACE: "At that time he had outlived the coarser pleasures
and risen above the harassing cares of his earlier career ..."
'above' amended from 'bove'.
ARTICLE HORN: "Historisch-biographisches Lexicon der Tonkünstler
(Leipzig, 1790-1792 and 1812-1814)." 'Tonkünstler' amended from
'Tonkünslter'.
ARTICLE HORNBY, SIR GEOFFREY THOMAS PHIPPS: "It was early in 1877
that he went out as commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, where
his skill in man[oe]uvring the fleet ..." 'Mediterranean' amended
from 'Mediterraean'.
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE
AND GENERAL INFORMATION
ELEVENTH EDITION
VOLUME XIII, SLICE VI
Home, Daniel to Hortensius, Quintus
ARTICLES IN THIS SLICE:
HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS HOPKINS, ESEK
HOME, JOHN HOPKINS, MARK
HOMEL HOPKINS, SAMUEL
HOME OFFICE HOPKINS, WILLIAM
HOMER HOPKINSON, FRANCIS
HOMER, WINSLOW HOPKINSON, JOHN
HOMESTEAD HOPKINSVILLE
HOMESTEAD AND EXEMPTION LAWS HOPPNER, JOHN
HOMEYER, KARL GUSTAV HOP-SCOTCH
HOMICIDE HOPTON, RALPH HOPTON
HOMILETICS HOR, MOUNT
HOMILY HORACE
HOMOEOPATHY HORAE
HOMONYM HORAPOLLON
HOMS HORATII and CURIATII
HO-NAN HORATIUS COCLES
HONAVAR HORDE
HONDA HOREB
HONDECOETER, MELCHIOR D' HOREHOUND
HONDURAS HORGEN
HONE, NATHANIEL HORIZON
HONE, WILLIAM HORMAYR, JOSEPH
HONE HORMISDAS
HONEY HORMIZD
HONEYCOMB HORMUZ
HONEY-EATER HORN, ARVID BERNHARD
HONEY-GUIDE HORN, PHILIP DE MONTMORENCY
HONEY LOCUST HORN (English hero)
HONEYMOON HORN (of animals)
HONEYSUCKLE HORN (wind instrument)
HONFLEUR HORNBEAM
HONG-KONG HORNBILL
HONITON HORNBLENDE
HONNEF HORN-BOOK
HONOLULU HORNBY, SIR GEOFFREY THOMAS PHIPPS
HONORIUS HORNCASTLE
HONORIUS, FLAVIUS HORN DANCE
HONOUR HORNE, GEORGE
HONOURABLE HORNE, RICHARD HENRY, or HENGIST
HONTHEIM, JOHANN NIKOLAUS VON HORNE, THOMAS HARTWELL
HONTHORST, GERARD VAN HORNELL
HOOCH, PIETER DE HORNEMANN, FREDERICK
HOOD, JOHN BELL HORNER, FRANCIS
HOOD, SAMUEL HOOD HORNER, LEONARD
HOOD, SIR SAMUEL HÖRNES, MORITZ
HOOD, THOMAS HORNFELS
HOOD, TOM HORNING, LETTERS OF
HOOD OF AVALON, ARTHUR HOOD HORNPIPE
HOOD HORNSEY
HOOFT, PIETER CORNELISSEN HOROWITZ, ISAIAH
HOOGSTRATEN, SAMUEL DIRKSZ VAN HORREUM
HOOK, JAMES CLARKE HORROCKS, JEREMIAH
HOOK, THEODORE EDWARD HORROCKS, JOHN
HOOK, WALTER FARQUHAR HORSE
HOOKAH HORSE LATITUDES
HOOKE, ROBERT HORSE-MACKEREL
HOOKER, JOSEPH HORSEMANSHIP
HOOKER, SIR JOSEPH DALTON HORSENS
HOOKER, RICHARD HORSE-POWER
HOOKER, THOMAS HORSE-RACING
HOOKER, SIR WILLIAM JACKSON HORSERADISH
HOOLE, JOHN HORSE-SHOES
HOOLIGAN HORSETAIL
HOOPER, JOHN HORSHAM
HOOPOE HORSLEY, JOHN
HOORN HORSLEY, JOHN CALLCOTT
HOOSICK FALLS HORSLEY, SAMUEL
HOP HORSLEY, WILLIAM
HOPE, ANTHONY HORSMAN, EDWARD
HOPE, THOMAS HORST
HOPEDALE HORT, FENTON JOHN ANTHONY
HOPE-SCOTT, JAMES ROBERT HORTA
HOPFEN, HANS VON HORTEN
HOPI HORTENSIUS, QUINTUS (Roman orator)
HÖPKEN, ANDERS JOHAN HORTENSIUS, QUINTUS (dictator of Rome)
HOPKINS, EDWARD WASHBURN
HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886), Scottish spiritualist, was born near
Edinburgh on the 20th of March 1833, his father being said to be a
natural son of the 10th earl of Home, and his mother a member of a
family credited with second sight. He went with his mother to America,
and on her death was adopted by an aunt. In the United States he came
out as a spiritualistic medium, though, it should be noted, he never
sought to make money out of his exhibitions. In 1855 he came to England
and gave numerous séances, which were attended by many well-known
people. Robert Browning, the poet, went to one of these, but without
altering his contempt for spiritualism, and he subsequently gave his
impression of Home in the unflattering poem of "Sludge the Medium"
(1864); Home, nevertheless, had many disciples, and gave séances at
several European courts. He became a Roman Catholic, but was expelled
from Rome as a sorcerer. In 1866 Mrs Lyon, a wealthy widow, adopted him
as her son, and settled £60,000 upon him. Repenting, however, of her
action, she brought a suit for the return of her money, on the ground
that it had been obtained by "spiritual" influence. It was held that the
burden of establishing the validity of the gift lay on Home, and as he
failed to do so the case was decided against him. He continued, however,
to give séances, mostly on the Continent, and in 1871 appeared before
the tsar of Russia and two Russian scientists, who attested the
phenomena evoked. Returning to England he submitted to a series of
experiments designed to test his pretensions before Professor
(subsequently Sir William) Crookes, which the latter declared to be
thoroughly genuine; and Professor von Boutlerow, of the Russian Academy
of Science, after witnessing a similar series of experiments, expressed
the same opinion. Home published two volumes of _Incidents of my Life
and Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism_. He married successively two
well-connected Russian ladies. He died at Auteuil, France, on the 21st
of June 1886.
HOME, JOHN (1722-1808), Scottish dramatic poet, was born on the 22nd of
September 1722 at Leith, where his father, Alexander Home, who was
distantly related to the earls of Home, filled the office of town-clerk.
He was educated at the grammar school of his native town, and at the
university of Edinburgh, where he graduated M.A. in 1742. Though he
showed a fondness for the profession of arms, he studied divinity, and
was licensed by the presbytery of Edinburgh in 1745. In the same year he
joined as a volunteer against the Pretender, and was taken prisoner at
the battle of Falkirk (1746). With many others he was carried to the
castle of Doune in Perthshire, but soon effected his escape. In July
1746 Home was presented to the parish of Athelstaneford,
Haddingtonshire, vacant by the death of Robert Blair, the author of _The
Grave_. He had leisure to visit his friends and became especially
intimate with David Hume who belonged to the same family as himself. His
first play, _Agis: a tragedy_, founded on Plutarch's narrative, was
finished in 1747. He took it to London and submitted it to Garrick for
representation at Drury Lane, but it was rejected as unsuitable for the
stage. The tragedy of _Douglas_ was suggested to him by hearing a lady
sing the ballad of _Gil Morrice_ or _Child Maurice_ (F. J. Child,
_Popular Ballads_, ii. 263). The ballad supplied him with the outline of
a simple and striking plot. After five years' labour he completed his
play, which he took to London for Garrick's opinion. It also was
rejected, but on his return to Edinburgh his friends resolved that it
should be brought out in that city. It was produced on the 14th of
December 1756 with overwhelming success, in spite of the opposition of
the presbytery, who summoned Alexander Carlyle to answer for having
attended its representation. Home wisely resigned his charge in 1757,
after a visit to London, where _Douglas_ was brought out at Covent
Garden on the 14th of March. Peg Woffington played Lady Randolph, a part
which found a later exponent in Mrs Siddons. David Hume summed up his
admiration for _Douglas_ by saying that his friend possessed "the true
theatric genius of Shakespeare and Otway, refined from the unhappy
barbarism of the one and licentiousness of the other." Gray, writing to
Horace Walpole (August, 1757), said that the author "seemed to have
retrieved the true language of the stage, which has been lost for these
hundred years," but Samuel Johnson held aloof from the general
enthusiasm, and averred that there were not ten good lines in the whole
play (Boswell, _Life_, ed. Croker, 1848, p. 390). In 1758 Home became
private secretary to Lord Bute, then secretary of state, and was
appointed tutor to the prince of Wales; and in 1760 his patron's
influence procured him a pension of £300 per annum and in 1763 a
sinecure worth another £300. Garrick produced _Agis_ at Drury Lane on
the 21st of February 1758. By dint of good acting and powerful support,
according to Genest (_Short Account_ &c., iv. 513 seq.), the piece kept
the stage for eleven days, but it was lamentably inferior to _Douglas_.
In 1760 his tragedy, _The Siege of Aquileia_, was put on the stage,
Garrick taking the part of Aemilius. In 1769 his tragedy of _The Fatal
Discovery_ had a run of nine nights; _Alonzo_ also (1773) had fair
success in the representation; but his last tragedy, _Alfred_ (1778),
was so coolly received that he gave up writing for the stage. In 1778 he
joined a regiment formed by the duke of Buccleuch. He sustained severe
injuries in a fall from horseback which permanently affected his brain,
and was persuaded by his friends to retire. From 1767 he resided either
at Edinburgh or at a villa which he built at Kilduff near his former
parish. It was at this time that he wrote his _History of the Rebellion
of 1745_, which appeared in 1802. Home died at Merchiston Bank, near
Edinburgh, on the 5th of September 1808, in his eighty-sixth year.
_The Works of John Home_ were collected and published by Henry
Mackenzie in 1822 with "An Account of the Life and Writings of Mr John
Home," which also appeared separately in the same year, but several of
his smaller poems seem to have escaped the editor's observation. These
are--"The Fate of Caesar," "Verses upon Inveraray," "Epistle to the
Earl of Eglintoun," "Prologue on the Birthday of the Prince of Wales,
1759" and several "Epigrams," which are printed in vol. ii. of
_Original Poems by Scottish Gentlemen_ (1762). See also Sir W. Scott,
"The Life and Works of John Home" in the _Quarterly Review_ (June,
1827). _Douglas_ is included in numerous collections of British drama.
Voltaire published his _Le Caffé, ou l'Écossaise_ (1760), _Londres_
(really Geneva), as a translation from the work of Mr Hume, described
as _pasteur de l'église d'Édimbourg_, but Home seems to have taken no
notice of the mystification.
HOMEL, or GOMEL, a town of Russia, in the government of Mogilev, and 132
m. by rail S.S.E. of the town of Mogilev, on the Sozh, a tributary of
the Dnieper. Pop. (1900) 45,081, nearly half of whom are Jews. It is an
important junction of the railways from Vilna to Odessa and from Orel to
Poland, and is in steamer communication with Kiev and Mogilev. In front
of Prince Paskevich's castle stands an equestrian statue of the Polish
general Joseph Poniatowski, and in the cathedral is the tomb of the
chancellor Nikolai Petrovich Rumantsev, by Canova. The town carries on a
brisk trade in hops, corn and timber; there are also paper-pulp mills
and oil factories. Homel was founded in the 12th century, and after
changing hands several times between Poles and Russians was annexed to
Russia in 1772. In 1648 it suffered at the hands of the Cossack
chieftain Bogdan Chmielnicki.
HOME OFFICE, a principal government department in the United Kingdom,
the creation of which dates from 1782, when the conduct of foreign
affairs, which had previously been divided between the northern and
southern secretaries, was handed over to the northern department (see
FOREIGN OFFICE). The home department retained control of Irish and
colonial affairs, and of war business until 1794, when an additional
secretary of state was re-appointed. In 1801 the colonial business was
transferred from the home department, which now attends only to domestic
affairs. The head of the department, the principal secretary of state
for home affairs, or home secretary, is a member of the government for
the time being, and of the cabinet, receiving a salary of £5000 a year.
He is the proper medium of communication between the sovereign and the
subject, and receives petitions addressed to the crown. He is
responsible for the maintenance of the king's peace and attends to the
administration of criminal justice, police and prisons, and through him
the sovereign exercises his prerogative of mercy. Within his department
is the supervision of lunatic asylums, reformatories and industrial
schools, and it is his duty to see after the internal well-being of the
country, to enforce the rules made for the health or safety of the
community generally, and especially of those classes employed in special
trades or dangerous occupations. He is assisted by a permanent
under-secretary, a parliamentary secretary and several assistant
under-secretaries.
See Anson, _Law and Custom of the Constitution_. (1907).
HOMER[1] ([Greek: Homêros]), the great epic poet of Greece. Many of the
works once attributed to him are lost; those which remain are the two
great epics, the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_, thirty-three _Hymns_, a mock
epic (the _Battle of the Frogs and Mice_), and some pieces of a few
lines each (the so-called _Epigrams_).
_Ancient Accounts of Homer._--Of the date of Homer probably no record,
real or pretended, ever existed. Herodotus (ii. 53) maintains that
Hesiod and Homer lived not more than 400 years before his own time,
consequently not much before 850 B.C. From the controversial tone in
which he expresses himself it is evident that others had made Homer more
ancient; and accordingly the dates given by later authorities, though
very various, generally fall within the 10th and 11th centuries B.C. But
none of these statements has any claim to the character of external
evidence.
The extant lives of Homer (edited in Westermann's _Vitarum Scriptores
Graeci minores_) are eight in number, including the piece called the
_Contest of Hesiod and Homer_. The longest is written in the Ionic
dialect, and bears the name of Herodotus, but is certainly spurious. In
all probability it belongs to the time which was fruitful beyond all
others in literary forgeries, viz. the 2nd century of our era.[2] The
other lives are certainly not more ancient. Their chief value consists
in the curious short poems or fragments of verse which they have
preserved--the so-called _Epigrams_, which used to be printed at the end
of editions of Homer. These are easily recognized as "Popular Rhymes," a
form of folk-lore to be met with in most countries, treasured by the
people as a kind of proverbs.[3] In the Homeric _epigrams_ the interest
turns sometimes on the characteristics of particular localities--Smyrna
and Cyme (_Epigr._ iv.), Erythrae (_Epigr._ vi., vii.), Mt Ida (_Epigr._
x.). Neon Teichos (_Epigr._ i.); others relate to certain trades or
occupations--potters (Epigr. xiv.), sailors, fishermen, goat herds, &c.
Some may be fragments of longer poems, but evidently they are not the
work of any one poet. The fact that they were all ascribed to Homer
merely means that they belong to a period in the history of the Ionian
and Aeolian colonies when "Homer" was a name which drew to itself all
ancient and popular verse.
Again, comparing the "epigrams" with the legends and anecdotes told in
the Lives of Homer, we can hardly doubt that they were the chief source
from which these Lives were derived. Thus in Epigr. iv. we find a blind
poet, a native of Aeolian Smyrna, through which flows the water of the
sacred Meles. Here is doubtless the source of the chief incident of the
Herodotean Life--the birth of Homer "Son of the Meles." The epithet
Aeolian implies high antiquity, inasmuch as according to Herodotus
Smyrna became Ionian about 688 B.C. Naturally the Ionians had their own
version of the story--a version which made Homer come out with the first
Athenian colonists.
The same line of argument may be extended to the _Hymns_, and even to
some of the lost works of the post-Homeric or so-called "Cyclic" poets.
Thus:--
1. The hymn to the Delian Apollo ends with an address of the poet to his
audience. When any stranger comes and asks who is the sweetest singer,
they are to answer with one voice, the "blind man that dwells in rocky
Chios; his songs deserve the prize for all time to come." Thucydides,
who quotes this passage to show the ancient character of the Delian
festival, seems to have no doubt of the Homeric authorship of the hymn.
Hence we may most naturally account for the belief that Homer was a
Chian.
2. The _Margites_--a humorous poem which kept its ground as the reputed
work of Homer down to the time of Aristotle--began with the words,
"There came to Colophon an old man, a divine singer, servant of the
Muses and Apollo." Hence doubtless the claim of Colophon to be the
native city of Homer--a claim supported in the early times of Homeric
learning by the Colophonian poet and grammarian Antimachus.
3. The poem called the _Cypria_ was said to have been given by Homer to
Stasinus of Cyprus as a daughter's dowry. The connexion with Cyprus
appears further in the predominance given in the poem to Aphrodite.
4. The _Little Iliad_ and the _Phocaïs_, according to the Herodotean
life, were composed by Homer when he lived at Phocaea with a certain
Thestorides, who carried them off to Chios and there gained fame by
reciting them as his own. The name Thestorides occurs in _Epigr._ v.
5. A similar story was told about the poem called the _Taking of
Oechalia_ ([Greek: Oichalias Halôsis]), the subject of which was one of
the exploits of Heracles. It passed under the name of Creophylus, a
friend or (as some said) a son-in-law of Homer; but it was generally
believed to have been in fact the work of the poet himself.
6. Finally the _Thebaid_ always counted as the work of Homer. As to the
_Epigoni_, which carried on the Theban story, some doubt seems to have
been felt.
These indications render it probable that the stories connecting Homer
with different cities and islands grew up after his poems had become
known and famous, especially in the new and flourishing colonies of
Aeolis and Ionia. The contention for Homer, in short, began at a time
when his real history was lost, and he had become a sort of mythical
figure, an "eponymous hero," or personification of a great school of
poetry.
An interesting confirmation of this view from the negative side is
furnished by the city which ranked as chief among the Asiatic colonies
of Greece, viz. Miletus. No legend claims for Miletus even a visit from
Homer, or a share in the authorship of any Homeric poem. Yet Arctinus of
Miletus was said to have been a "disciple of Homer," and was certainly
one of the earliest and most considerable of the "Cyclic" poets. His
_Aethiopis_ was composed as a sequel to the _Iliad_; and the structure
and general character of his poems show that he took the _Iliad_ as his
model. Yet in his case we find no trace of the disputed authorship which
is so common with other "Cyclic" poems. How has this come about? Why
have the works of Arctinus escaped the attraction which drew to the name
of Homer such epics as the _Cypria_, the _Little Iliad_, the _Thebaid_,
the _Epigoni_, the _Taking of Oechalia_ and the _Phocais_. The most
obvious account of the matter is that Arctinus was never so far
forgotten that his poems became the subject of dispute. We seem through
him to obtain a glimpse of an early post-Homeric age in Ionia, when the
immediate disciples and successors of Homer were distinct figures in a
trustworthy tradition--when they had not yet merged their individuality
in the legendary "Homer" of the Epic Cycle.
_Recitation of the Poems._--The recitation of epic poetry was called in
historical times "rhapsody" ([Greek: rhapsôdia]). The word [Greek:
rhapsôdos] is post-Homeric, but was known to Pindar, who gives two
different explanations of it--"singer of stitched verse" ([Greek:
rhaptôn hepeôn aoidoi]), and "singer with the wand" ([Greek: rhabdos]).
Of these the first is etymologically correct (except that it should
rather be "stitcher of verse"); the second was suggested by the fact,
for which there is early evidence, that the reciter was accustomed to
hold a wand in his hand--perhaps, like the sceptre in the Homeric
assembly, as a symbol of the right to a hearing.[4]
The first notice of rhapsody meets us at Sicyon, in the reign of
Cleisthenes (600-560 B.C.), who "put down the rhapsodists on account of
the poems of Homer, because they are all about Argos and the Argives"
(Hdt. v. 67). This description applies very well to the _Iliad_, in
which Argos and Argives occur on almost every page. It may have suited
the _Thebaid_ still better, but there is no need to understand it only
of that poem, as Grote does. The incident shows that the poems of the
Ionic Homer had gained in the 6th century B.C., and in the Doric parts
of the Peloponnesus, the ascendancy, the national importance and the
almost canonical character which they ever afterwards retained.
At Athens there was a law that the Homeric poems should be recited
([Greek: rhapsôdeisthai]) on every occasion of the Panathenaea. This law
is appealed to as an especial glory of Athens by the orator Lycurgus
(_Leocr._ 102). Perhaps therefore the custom of public recitation was
exceptional,[5] and unfortunately we do not know when or by whom it was
introduced. The Platonic dialogue _Hipparchus_ attributes it to
Hipparchus, son of Peisistratus. This, however, is part of the
historical romance of which the dialogue mainly consists. The author
makes (perhaps wilfully) all the mistakes about the family of
Peisistratus which Thucydides notices in a well-known passage (vi.
54-59). In one point, however, the writer's testimony is valuable. He
tells us that the law required the rhapsodists to recite "taking each
other up in order ([Greek: ex hypolêpseôs ephexês]), as they still do."
This recurs in a different form in the statement of Diogenes Laertius
(i. 2. 57) that Solon made a law that the poems should be recited "with
prompting" ([Greek: ex hypobolês]). The question as between Solon and
Hipparchus cannot be settled; but it is at least clear that a due order
of recitation was secured by the presence of a person charged to give
the rhapsodists their cue ([Greek: hypoballein]). It was necessary, of
course, to divide the poem to be recited into parts, and to compel each
contending rhapsodist to take the part assigned to him. Otherwise they
would have chosen favourite or show passages.
The practice of poets or rhapsodists contending for the prize at the
great religious festivals is of considerable antiquity, though
apparently post-Homeric. It is brought vividly before us in the Hymn to
Apollo (see the passage mentioned above), and in two Hymns to Aphrodite
(v. and ix.). The latter of these may evidently be taken to belong to
Salamis in Cyprus and the festival of the Cyprian Aphrodite, in the same
way that the Hymn to Apollo belongs to Delos and the Delian gathering.
The earliest trace of such contests is to be found in the story of
Thamyris, the Thracian singer, who boasted that he could conquer even
the Muses in song (_Il._ ii. 594 ff.).
Much has been made in this part of the subject of a family or clan
([Greek: genos]) of Homeridae in the island of Chios. On the one hand,
it seemed to follow from the existence of such a family that Homer was a
mere "eponymus," or mythical ancestor; on the other hand, it became easy
to imagine the Homeric poems handed down orally in a family whose
hereditary occupation it was to recite them, possibly to add new
episodes from time to time, or to combine their materials in new ways,
as their poetical gifts permitted. But, although there is no reason to
doubt the existence of a family of "Homeridae," it is far from certain
that they had anything to do with Homeric poetry. The word occurs first
in Pindar (_Nem._ 2. 2), who applies it to the rhapsodists ([Greek:
Homêridai rhaptôn epeôn aoidoi]). On this a scholiast says that the name
"Homeridae" denoted originally descendants of Homer, who sang his poems
in succession, but afterwards was applied to rhapsodists who did not
claim descent from him. He adds that there was a famous rhapsodist,
Cynaethus of Chios, who was said to be the author of the Hymn to Apollo,
and to have first recited Homer at Syracuse about the 69th Olympiad.
Nothing here connects the Homeridae with Chios. The statement of the
scholiast is evidently a mere inference from the patronymic form of the
word. If it proves anything, it proves that Cynaethus, who was a Chian
and a rhapsodist, made no claim to Homeric descent. On the other hand
our knowledge of Chian Homeridae comes chiefly from the lexicon of
Harpocration, where we are told that Acusilaus and Hellanicus said that
they were so called from the poet; whereas Seleucus pronounced this to
be an error. Strabo also says that the Chians put forward the Homeridae
as an argument in support of their claim to Homer. These Homeridae,
then, belonged to Chios, but there is no indication of their being
rhapsodists. On the contrary, Plato and other Attic writers use the word
to include interpreters and admirers--in short, the whole "spiritual
kindred"--of Homer. And although we hear of "descendants of Creophylus"
as in possession of the Homeric poems, there is no similar story about
descendants of Homer himself. Such is the evidence on which so many
inferences are based.
The result of the notices now collected is to show that the early
history of epic recitation consists of (1) passages in the Homeric hymns
showing that poets contended for the prize at the great festivals, (2)
the passing mention in Herodotus of rhapsodists at Sicyon, and (3) a law
at Athens, of unknown date, regulating the recitation at the
Panathenaea. Let us now compare these data with the account given in the
Homeric poems. The word "rhapsode" does not yet exist; we hear only of
the "singer" ([Greek: aoidos]), who does not carry a wand or
laurel-branch, but the lyre ([Greek: phormigx]), with which he
accompanies his "song." In the _Iliad_ even the epic "singer" is not met
with. It is Achilles himself who sings the stories of heroes ([Greek:
klea andrôn]) in his tent, and Patroclus is waiting (_respondere
paratus_), to take up the song in his turn (_Il._ ix. 191). Again we do
not hear of poetical contests (except in the story of Thamyris already
mentioned) or of recitation of epic poetry at festivals. The _Odyssey_
gives us pictures of two great houses, and each has its singer. The song
is on a subject taken from the Trojan war, at some point chosen by the
singer himself, or by his hearers. Phemius pleases the suitors by
singing of the calamitous return of the Greeks; Demodocus sings of a
quarrel between Ulysses and Achilles, and afterwards of the wooden horse
and the capture of Troy.
It may be granted that the author of the _Odyssey_ can hardly have been
just such a singer as he himself describes. The songs of Phemius and
Demodocus are too short, and have too much the character of
improvisations. Nor is it necessary to suppose that epic poetry, at the
time to which the picture in the _Odyssey_ belongs, was confined to the
one type represented. Yet in several respects the conditions under which
the singer finds himself in the house of a chieftain like Odysseus or
Alcinous are more in harmony with the character of Homeric poetry than
those of the later rhapsodic contests. The subdivision of a poem like
the _Iliad_ or _Odyssey_ among different and necessarily unequal
performers must have been injurious to the effect. The highly theatrical
manner of recitation which was fostered by the spirit of competition,
and by the example of the stage, cannot have done justice to the even
movement of the epic style. It is not certain indeed that the practice
of reciting a long poem by the agency of several competitors was
ancient, or that it prevailed elsewhere than at Athens; but as
rhapsodists were numerous, and popular favour throughout Greece became
more and more confined to one or two great works, it must have become
almost a necessity. That it was the mode of recitation contemplated by
the author of the _Iliad_ or _Odyssey_ it is impossible to believe.
The difference made by substituting the wand or branch of laurel for the
lyre of the Homeric singer is a slighter one, though not without
significance. The recitation of the Hesiodic poems was from the first
unaccompanied by the lyre, i.e. they were confessedly _said_, not
_sung_; and it was natural that the example should be extended to Homer.
For it is difficult to believe that the Homeric poems were ever "sung"
in the strict sense of the word. We can only suppose that the lyre in
the hands of the epic poet or reciter was in reality a piece of
convention, a "survival" from the stage in which narrative poetry had a
lyrical character. Probably the poets of the Homeric school--that which
dealt with war and adventure--were the genuine descendants of minstrels
whose "lays" or "ballads" were the amusement of the feasts in an earlier
heroic age; whereas the Hesiodic compositions were non-lyrical from the
first, and were only in verse because that was the universal form of
literature.
It seems, then, that if we imagine Homer as a singer in a royal house of
the Homeric age, but with more freedom regarding the limits of his
subject, and a more tranquil audience than is allowed him in the rapid
movement of the _Odyssey_, we shall probably not be far from the truth.
_Time and Place of Homer._--The oldest direct references to the _Iliad_
and _Odyssey_ are in Herodotus, who quotes from both poems (ii. 53). The
quotation from the _Iliad_ is of interest because it is made in order to
show that Homer supported the story of the travels of Paris to Egypt and
Sidon (whereas the Cyclic poem called the _Cypria_ ignored them), and
also because the part of the _Iliad_ from which it comes is cited as the
"Aristeia of Diomede." This was therefore a recognized part of the poem.
The earliest mention of the name of Homer is found in a fragment of the
philosopher Xenophanes (of the 6th century B.C., or possibly earlier),
who complains of the false notions implanted through the teaching of
Homer. The passage shows, not merely that Homer was well known at
Colophon in the time of Xenophanes, but also that the great advance in
moral and religious ideas which forced Plato to banish Homer from his
republic had made itself felt in the days of the early Ionic
philosophers.
Failing external testimony, the time and place of the Homeric poems can
only be determined (if at all) by internal evidence. This is of two main
kinds: (a) evidence of history, consisting in a comparison of the
political and social condition, the geography, the institutions, the
manners, arts and ideas of Homer with those of other times; (b) evidence
of language, consisting in a comparison with later dialects, in respect
of grammar and vocabulary. To these may be added, as occasionally of
value, (c) much evidence of the direct influence of Homer upon the
subsequent course of literature and art.
(a) The political condition of Greece in the earliest times known to
history is separated from the Greece of Homer by an interval which can
hardly be overestimated. The great national names are different: instead
of Achaeans, Argives, Danai, we find Hellenes, subdivided into Dorians,
Ionians, Aeolians--names either unknown to Homer, or mentioned in terms
more significant than silence. At the dawn of Greek history Mycenae is
no longer the seat of empire; new empires, polities and civilizations
have grown up--Sparta with its military discipline, Delphi with its
religious supremacy, Miletus with its commerce and numberless colonies,
Aeolis and Ionia, Sicily and Magna Graecia.
While the political centre of Homeric Greece is at Mycenae, the real
centre is rather to be found In Boeotia. The Catalogue of the Ships
begins with Boeotia; the list of Boeotian towns is much the longest; and
they sail, not from the bay of Argos, but from the Boeotian harbour of
Aulis. This position is not due to its chiefs, who are all of inferior
rank. The importance of Boeotia for Greek civilization is further shown
by the ancient worship of the Muses on Mount Helicon, and the fact that
the oldest poet whose birthplace was known was the Boeotian Hesiod. Next
to Boeotia and the neighbouring countries, it appears that the
Peloponnesus, Crete and Thessaly were the most important seats of Greek
population.
In the Peloponnesus the face of things was completely altered by the
Dorian conquest, no trace of which is found in Homer. The only Dorians
known in Homer are those that the _Odyssey_ (xix. 177) places in Crete.
It is difficult to connect them with the Dorians of history.
The eastern shores of the Aegean, which the earliest historical records
represent to us as the seat of a brilliant civilization, giving way
before the advance of the great military empires (Lydia and afterwards
Persia), are almost a blank in Homer's map. The line of settlements can
be traced in the Catalogue from Crete to Rhodes, and embraces the
neighbouring islands of Cos and Calymnos. The colonization of Rhodes by
Tlepolemus is related (_Il._ ii. 661 ff.), and seems to mark the
farthest point reached in the Homeric age. Between Rhodes and the Troad
Homer knows of but one city, Miletus--which is a Carian ally of
Troy--and the mouth of one river, the Cayster. Even the Cyclades--Naxos,
Paros, Melos--are unknown to the Homeric world. The disposition of the
Greeks to look to the west for the centres of religious feeling appears
in the mention of Dodona and the Dodonaean Zeus, put in the mouth of the
Thessalian Achilles.
To the north we find the Thracians, known from the stories of Thamyris
the singer (_Il._ ii. 595), and Lycurgus, the enemy of the young god
Dionysus (_Il._ vi. 130). Here the Trojan empire begins. It does not
appear, however, that the Trojans are thought of as people of a
different language. As this is expressly said of the Carians, and of the
Trojan allies who were "summoned from afar," the contrary rather is
implied regarding Troy itself.
The mixed type of government described by Homer--consisting of a king
guided by a council of elders, and bringing all important resolutions
before the assembly of the fighting men--does not seem to have been
universal in Indo-European communities, but to have grown up in many
different parts of the world under the stress of similar conditions. The
king is the commander in war, and the office probably owed its existence
to military necessities. It is not surrounded with any special
sacredness. There were ruling families, laying claim to divine descent,
from whom the king was naturally chosen, but his own fitness is the
essence of his title. The aged Laertes is set aside; the young
Telemachus does not succeed as a matter of course. Nor are any very
definite rights attached to the office. Each tribe in the army before
Troy was commanded by its own king (or kings); but Agamemnon was
supreme, and was "more a king" ([Greek: basileiteros]) than any other.
The assembly is summoned on all critical occasions, and its approval is
the ultimate sanction. A king therefore stands in almost as much need of
oratory as of warlike skill and prowess. Even the division of the spoil
is not made in the _Iliad_ by Agamemnon, but by "the Achaeans" (_Il._ i.
162, 368). The taking of Briseïs from Achilles was an arbitrary act, and
against all rule and custom. The council is more difficult to
understand. The "elders" ([Greek: gerontes]) of the _Iliad_ are the same
as the subordinate "kings"; they are summoned by Agamemnon to his tent,
and form a small council of nine or ten persons. In Troy we hear of
elders of the people ([Greek: dêmogerontes]) who are with Priam, and are
men past the military age. So in Ithaca there are elders who have not
gone to Troy with the army. It would seem therefore that the meeting in
Agamemnon's tent was only a copy or adaptation of the true
constitutional "council of elders," which indeed was essentially
unfitted for the purposes of military service. The king's palace, if we
may judge from Tiryns and Mycenae, was usually in a strong situation on
an "acropolis." In the later times of democracy the acropolis was
reserved for the temples of the principal gods.
Priesthood in Homer is found in the case of particular temples, where an
officer is naturally wanted to take charge of the sacred inclosure and
the sacrifices offered within it. It is perhaps an accident that we do
not hear of priests in Ithaca. Agamemnon performs sacrifice himself, not
because a priestly character was attached to the kingly office, but
simply because he was "master in his own house."
The conception of "law" is foreign to Homer. The later words for it
([Greek: nomos], [Greek: rhêtra]) are unknown, and the terms which he
uses ([Greek: dikê] and [Greek: themis]) mean merely "custom." Judicial
functions are in the hands of the elders, who "have to do with suits"
([Greek: dikaspoloi]), and "uphold judgments" ([Greek: themistas
eiryatai]). On such matters as the compensation in cases of homicide, it
is evident that there were no rules, but merely a feeling, created by
use and wont, that the relatives of the slain man should be willing to
accept payment. The sense of anger which follows a violation of custom
has the name of "Nemesis"--righteous displeasure.
As there is no law in Homer, so there is no morality. That is to say,
there are no general principles of action, and no words which indicate
that acts have been classified as good or bad, right or wrong. Moral
_feeling_, indeed, existed and was denoted by "Aidos"; but the numerous
meanings of this word--shame, veneration, pity--show how rudimentary the
idea was. And when we look to practice we find that cruel and even
treacherous deeds are spoken of without the least sense that they
deserve censure. The heroes of Homer are hardly more moral agents than
the giants and enchanters of a fairy tale.
The religious ideas of Homer differ in some important points from those
of later Greece. The Apollo of the _Iliad_ has the character of a local
Asiatic deity--"ruler of Chryse and goodly Cilla and Tenedos." He may be
compared with the Clarian and the Lycian god, but he is unlike the
Apollo of Dorian times, the "deliverer" and giver of oracles. Again, the
worship of Dionysus, and of Demeter and Persephone, is mainly or wholly
post-Homeric. The greatest difference, however, lies in the absence of
hero-worship from the Homeric order of things. Castor and Polydeuces,
for instance, are simply brothers of Helen who died before the
expedition to Troy (_Il._ iii. 243.)
The military tactics of Homer belong to the age when the chariot was the
principal engine of warfare. Cavalry is unknown, and the battles are
mainly decided by the prowess of the chiefs. The use of the trumpet is
also later. It has been supposed indeed that the art of riding was known
in Homer's own time, because it occurs in comparisons. But the riding
which he describes (_Il._ xv. 679) is a mere exhibition of skill, such
as we may see in a modern circus. And though he mentions the trumpet
(_Il._ xviii. 219), there is nothing to show that it was used, as in
historical times, to give the signal for the charge.
The chief industries of Homeric times are those of the carpenter
([Greek: tektôn]), the worker in leather ([Greek: skutotomos]), the
smith or worker in metal ([Greek: chalkeus])--whose implements are the
hammer and pincers--and the potter ([Greek: kerameus]); also spinning
and weaving, which were carried on by the women. The fine arts are
represented by sculpture in relief, carving in wood and ivory,
embroidery. Statuary is later; it appears to have come into existence in
the 7th century, about the time when casting in metal was invented by
Rhoecus of Samos. In general, as was well shown by A. S. Murray,[6]
Homeric art does not rise above the stage of _decoration_, applied to
objects in common use; while in point of style it is characterized by a
richness and variety of ornament which is in the strongest contrast to
the simplicity of the best periods. It is the work, in short, not of
artists but of skilled workmen; the ideal artist is "Daedalus," a name
which implies mechanical skill and intricate workmanship, not beauty of
design.
One art of the highest importance remains. The question whether writing
was known in the time of Homer was raised in antiquity, and has been
debated with especial eagerness ever since the appearance of Wolf's
_Prolegomena_. In this case we have to consider not merely the
indications of the poems, but also the external evidence which we
possess regarding the use of writing in Greece. This latter kind of
evidence is much more considerable now than it was in Wolf's time. (See
WRITING elsewhere in these volumes.)
The oldest known stage of the Greek alphabet appears to be represented
by inscriptions of the islands of Thera, Melos and Crete, which are
referred to the 40th Olympiad (620 B.C.). The oldest specimen of a
distinctively Ionian alphabet is the famous inscription of the
mercenaries of Psammetichus, in Upper Egypt, as to which the only doubt
is whether the Psammetichus in question is the first or the second, and
consequently whether the inscription is to be dated Ol. 40 or Ol. 47.
Considering that the divergence of two alphabets (like the difference of
two dialects) requires both time and familiar use, we may gather from
these facts that writing was well known in Greece early in the 7th
century B.C.[7]
The rise of prose composition in the 6th century B.C. has been thought
to mark the time when memory was practically superseded by writing as a
means of preserving literature--the earlier use of letters being
confined to short documents, such as lists of names, treaties, laws, &c.
This conclusion, however, is by no means necessary. It may be that down
to comparatively late rimes poetry was not commonly read, but was
recited from memory. But the question is--From what time are we to
suppose that the preservation of long poems was generally secured by the
existence of written copies? Now, without counting the Homeric
poems--which doubtless had exceptional advantages in their fame and
popularity--we find a body of literature dating from the 8th century
B.C. to which the theory of oral transmission is surely inapplicable. In
the Trojan cycle alone we know of the two epics of Arctinus, the _Little
Iliad_ of Lesches, the _Cypria_, the _Nostoi_. The Theban cycle is
represented by the _Thebaid_ (which Callinus, who was of the 7th
century, ascribed to Homer) and the _Epigoni_. Other ancient
epics--ancient enough to have passed under the name of Homer--are the
_Taking of Oechalia_, and the _Phocaïs_. Again, there are the numerous
works attributed to Hesiod and other poets of the didactic,
mythological and quasi-historical schools--Eumelus of Corinth, Cinaethon
of Sparta, Agias of Troezen, and many more. The preservation of this
vast mass can only be attributed to writing, which must therefore have
been in use for two centuries or more before there was any considerable
prose literature. Nor is this in itself improbable.
The further question, whether the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ were originally
written, is much more difficult. External evidence does not reach back
so far, and the internal evidence is curiously indecisive. The only
passage which can be interpreted as a reference to writing occurs in the
story of Bellerophon, told by Glaucus in the sixth book of the _Iliad_.
Proetus, king of Corinth, sent Bellerophon to his father-in-law the king
of Lycia, and gave him "baneful tokens" ([Greek: sêmata lugra], i.e.
tokens which were messages of death), "scratching on a folded tablet
many spirit-destroying things, and bade him show this to his
father-in-law, that he might perish." The king of Lycia asked duly (on
the tenth day from the guest's coming) for a token ([Greek: hêtee sêma
idesthai]), and then knew what Proetus wished to be done. In this
account there is nothing to show exactly how the message of Proetus was
expressed. The use of writing for the purpose of the token between
"guest-friends" (_tessera hospitalis_) is certainly very ancient.
Mommsen (_Röm. Forsch_. i. 338 ff.) aptly compares the use in treaties,
which are the oldest species of public documents. But we may suppose
that tokens of some kind--like the marks which the Greek chiefs make on
the lots (_Il._ vii. 175 ff.)--were in use before writing was known. In
any system of signs there were doubtless means of recommending a friend,
or giving warning of the presence of an enemy. There is no difficulty,
therefore, in understanding the message of Proetus without alphabetical
writing. But, on the other hand, there is no reason for so understanding
it.
If the language of Homer is so ambiguous where the use of writing would
naturally be mentioned, we cannot expect to find more decisive
references elsewhere. Arguments have been founded upon the descriptions
of the blind singers in the _Odyssey_, with their songs inspired
directly by the Muse; upon the appeals of the poet to the Muses,
especially in such a place as the opening of the Catalogue; upon the
Catalogue itself, which is a kind of historical document put into verse
to help the memory; upon the shipowner in the _Odyssey_, who has "a good
memory for his cargo," &c. It may be answered, however, that much of
this is traditional, handed down from the time when all poetry was
unwritten. Moreover it is one thing to recognize that a literature is
essentially oral in its form, characteristic of an age which was one of
hearing rather than of reading, and quite another to hold that the same
literature was preserved entirely by oral transmission.
The result of these various considerations seems to be that the age
which we may call the Homeric--the age which is brought before us in
vivid outlines in the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_--lies beyond the earliest
point to which history enables us to penetrate. And so far as we can
draw any conclusion as to the author (or authors) of the two poems, it
is that the whole debate between the cities of Aeolis and Ionia was wide
of the mark. The author of the _Iliad_, at least, was evidently a
European Greek who lived before the colonization of Asia Minor; and the
claims of the Asiatic cities mean no more than that in the days of their
prosperity these were the chief seats of the fame of Homer.
This is perhaps the place to consider whether the poems are to be
regarded as possessing in any degree the character; of historical
record. The question is one which in the absence of satisfactory
criteria will generally be decided by taste and predilection. A few
suggestions, however, may be made.
1. The events of the _Iliad_ take place in a real locality, the
general features of which are kept steadily in view. There is no doubt
about Sigeum and Rhoeteum, or the river Scamander, or the islands
Imbros, Lemnos and Tenedos. It is at least remarkable that a legend of
the national interest of the "tale of Troy" should be so definitely
localized, and that in a district, which was never famous as a seat of
Greek population. It may be urged, too, that the story of the _Iliad_
is singularly free from the exaggerated and marvellous character which
belongs as a rule to the legends of primitive peoples. The apple of
discord, the arrows of Philoctetes, the invulnerability of Achilles,
and similar fancies, are the additions of later poets. This sobriety,
however, belongs not to the whole _Iliad_, but to the events and
characters of the war. Such figures as Bellerophon, Nïobe, the
Amazons, which are thought of as traditions from an earlier
generation, show the marvellous element at work.
2. Certain persons and events in the story have a distinctly mythical
stamp. Helen is a figure of this kind. There was another story
according to which she was carried off by Theseus, and recovered by
her brothers the Dioscuri. There are even traces of a third version,
in which the Messenian twins, Idas and Lynceus, appear.
3. The analogy of the French epic, the _Chanson de Roland_, favours
the belief that there was some nucleus of fact. The defeat of
Roncevaux was really suffered by a part of Charlemagne's army. But the
Saracen army is purely mythical, the true enemy having been the
Gascons. If similarly we leave, as historical, the plain of Troy, and
the name Agamemnon, we shall perhaps not be far wrong.
(b) The dialect of Homer is an early or "primitive" form of the language
which we know as that of Attica in the classical age of Greek
literature. The proof of this proposition is to be obtained chiefly by
comparing the grammatical formation and the syntax of Homer with those
of Attic. The comparison of the vocabulary is in the nature of things
less conclusive on the question of date. It would be impossible to give
the evidence in full without writing a Homeric grammar, but a few
specimens may be of interest.
1. The first aorist in Greek being a "weak" tense, i.e. formed by a
suffix ([Greek: -sa]), whereas the second aorist is a "strong" tense,
distinguished by the form of the root-syllable, we expect to find a
constant tendency to diminish the number of second aorists in use. No
new second aorists, we may be sure, were formed any more than new
"strong" tenses, such as _came_ or _sang_, can be formed in English.
Now in Homer there are upwards of 80 second aorists (not reckoning
aorists of "Verbs in [Greek: mi]," such as [Greek: hestên], [Greek:
ebên]), whereas in all Attic prose not more than 30 are found. In this
point therefore the Homeric language is manifestly older. In Attic
poets, it is true, the number of such aorists is much larger than in
prose. But here again we find that they bear witness to Homer. Of the
poetical aorists in Attic the larger part are also Homeric. Others are
not really Attic at all, but borrowed from earlier Aeolic and Doric
poetry. It is plain, in short, that the later poetical vocabulary was
separated from that of prose mainly by the forms which the influence
of Homer had saved from being forgotten.
2. While the whole class of "strong" aorists diminished, certain
smaller groups in the class disappeared altogether. Thus we find in
Homer, but not in the later language:--
(a) The second aorist middle without the "thematic" [epsilon] or
[omicron]: as [Greek: eblê-to], _was struck_; [Greek: ephi-to],
_perished_; [Greek: al-to], _leaped_.
(b) The aorist formed by reduplication: as [Greek: dedaev], _taught_;
[Greek: lelabesthai], _to seize_. These constitute a distinct
formation, generally with a "causative" meaning; the solitary Attic
specimen is [Greek: êgagon].
3. It had long been known that the subjunctive in Homer often takes a
short vowel (e.g. in the plural, [Greek: -omen], [Greek: -ete] instead
of [Greek: -ômen], [Greek: -ête], and in the Mid. [Greek: -omai], &c.
instead of [Greek: -ômai], &c.). This was generally said to be done by
"poetic licence," or _metri gratia_. In fact, however, the Homeric
subjunctive is almost quite "regular," though the rule which it obeys
is a different one from the Attic. It may be summed up by saying that
the subjunctive takes [omega] or [eta] when the indicative has
[omicron] or [epsilon], and not otherwise. Thus Homer has [Greek:
i-men], _we go_, [Greek: i-o-men], _let us go_. The later [Greek:
i-ô-men] was at first a solecism, an attempt to conjugate a "verb in
[Greek: mi]" like the "verbs in [omega]." It will be evident that
under this rule the perfect and first aorist subjunctive should always
take a short vowel; and this accordingly is the case, with very few
exceptions.
4. The article ([Greek: ho, hê, to]) in Homer is chiefly used as an
independent pronoun (_he, she, it_), a use which in Attic appears only
in a few combinations (such as [Greek: ho mèn ... ho de], _the one ...
the other_). This difference is parallel to the relation between the
Latin _ille_ and the article of the Romance languages.
5. The prepositions offer several points of comparison. What the
grammarians called "tmesis," the separation of the preposition from
the verb with which it is compounded, is peculiar to Homer. The true
account of the matter is that in Homer the place of the preposition is
not rigidly fixed, as it was afterwards. Again, "with" is in Homer
[Greek: syn] (with the dative), in Attic prose [Greek: meta] with the
genitive. Here Attic poetry is intermediate; the use of [Greek: syn]
is retained as a piece of poetical tradition.
6. In addition to the particle [Greek: an], Homer has another, [Greek:
ken], hardly distinguishable in meaning. The Homeric uses of [Greek:
an] and [Greek: ken] are different in several respects from the Attic,
the general result being that the Homeric syntax is more elastic. And
yet it is perfectly definite and precise. Homer uses no constructions
loosely or without corresponding differences of meaning. His rules are
equally strict with those of the later language, but they are not the
same rules. And they differ chiefly in this, that the less common
combinations of the earlier period were disused altogether in the
later.
7. In the vocabulary the most striking difference is that many words
appear from the metre to have contained a sound which they afterwards
lost, viz. that which is written in some Greek alphabets by the
"digamma" [digamma] Thus the words [Greek: anax, asty, ergon, epos],
and many others must have been written at one time [Greek: Fanax,
Fasty, Fergon, Fepos]. This letter, however, died out earlier in Ionic
than in most dialects, and there is no proof that the Homeric poems
were ever written with it.
These are not, speaking generally, the differences that are produced by
the gradual divergence of dialects in a language. They are rather to be
classed with those which we find between the earlier and the later
stages of every language which has had a long history. The Homeric
dialect has passed into New Ionic and Attic by gradual but ceaseless
development of the same kind as that which brought about the change from
Vedic to classical Sanskrit, or from old high German to the present
dialects of Germany.
The points that have been mentioned, to which many others might be
added, make it clear that the Homeric and Attic dialects are separated
by differences which affect the whole structure of the language, and
require a considerable time for their development. At the same time
there is hardly one of these differences which cannot be accounted for
by the natural growth of the language. It has been thought indeed that
the Homeric dialect was a mixed one, mainly Ionic, but containing Aeolic
and even Doric forms; this, however, is a mistaken view of the processes
of language. There are doubtless many Homeric forms which were unknown
to the later Ionic and Attic, and which are found in Aeolic or other
dialects. In general, however, these are _older_ forms, which must have
existed in Ionic at one time, and may very well have belonged to the
Ionic of Homer's time. So too the digamma is called "Aeolic" by
grammarians, and is found on Aeolic and Doric inscriptions. But the
letter was one of the original alphabet, and was retained universally as
a numeral. It can only have fallen into disuse by degrees, as the sound
which it denoted ceased to be pronounced. The fact that there are so
many traces of it in Homer is a strong proof of the antiquity of the
poems, but no proof of admixture with Aeolic.
There is one sense, however, in which an admixture of dialects may be
recognized. It is clear that the variety of forms in Homer is too great
for any actual spoken dialect. To take a single instance: it is
impossible that the genitives in [Greek: -oio] and in [Greek: -ou]
should both have been in everyday use together. The form in [Greek:
-oio] must have been poetical or literary, like the old English forms
that survive in the language of the Bible. The origin of such double
forms is not far to seek. The effect of dialect on style was always
recognized in Greece, and the dialect which had once been adopted by a
particular kind of poetry was ever afterwards adhered to. The Epic of
Homer was doubtless formed originally from a spoken variety of Greek,
but became literary and conventional with time. It is Homer himself who
tells us, in a striking passage (_Il._ iv. 437) that all the Greeks
spoke the same language--that is to say, that they understood one
another, in spite of the inevitable local differences. Experience shows
how some one dialect in a country gains a literary supremacy to which
the whole nation yields. So Tuscan became the type of Italian, and
Anglian of English. But as soon as the dialect is adopted, it begins to
diverge from the colloquial form. Just as modern poetical Italian uses
many older grammatical forms peculiar to itself, so the language of
poetry, even in Homeric times, had formed a deposit (so to speak) of
archaic grammar. There were doubtless poets before Homer, as well as
brave men before Agamemnon; and indeed the formation of a poetical
dialect such as the Homeric must have been the work of several
generations. The use of that dialect (instead of Aeolic) by the Boeotian
poet Hesiod, in a kind of poetry which was not of the Homeric type,
tends to the conclusion that the literary ascendancy of the epic dialect
was anterior to the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_, and independent of the
influence exercised by these poems.
What then was the original language of Homer? Where and when was it
spoken? [The answer given to this question by Aug. Fick (in 1883) and
still held, with modifications, by some European scholars can no longer
be maintained. Fick's original statement was that in or about the 6th
century B.C. the poems, which had originally worn an Aeolic dress, were
transposed into Ionic. To this it is easily answered that such an event
is not only unique in history, but contrary to all that we know of the
Greek genius. At the period in question an Aeolic literature, the lyrics
of Sappho and Alcaeus, were in existence. If it was found necessary to
transpose the Aeolic Homer, why did the Aeolic lyric verse escape? If,
however, as is the view of some of Fick's followers, the transposition
took place several centuries earlier, before species of literature had
appropriated particular dialects, then the linguistic facts upon which
Fick relied to distinguish the "Aeolic" and "Ionic" elements in Homer
disappear. We have no means of knowing what the Aeolic and Ionic of say
the 9th century were, or if there were such dialects at all. Certain
prominent historical differences between Aeolic and Ionic (the digamma
and alpha) are known to be unoriginal. The view that Homer underwent at
any time a passage from one dialect to another may be dismissed. The
tendency of modern dialectologists is to divide the Greek dialects into
Dorian and non-Dorian. The non-Dorian dialects, Ionic, Attic and the
various forms of Aeolic, are regarded as relatively closely akin, and go
by the common name "Achaean." They formed the common language of Greece
before the Doric invasion. As the scene which Homer depicts is
prae-Dorian Greece, it is reasonable to call his language Achaean. The
historical divergences of Achaean into Aeolian and Ionic were later than
the Migration, and were due to the well-known effects of change of soil
and air.
To what local variety of Achaean Homeric Greek belonged it is idle to
ask. Thessaly, Boeotia and Mycenae have equal claims. It seems clearer
that when once this local variety of Achaean had been used by poets of
eminence as their vehicle for national history, it established its right
to be considered the one poetical language of Hellas. As the dialect of
the Arno in Italy, of Castille in Spain, by the virtue of the genius of
the singers who used them, became literary "Italian" and "Spanish," so
this variety of Achaean elevated itself to the position of the _volgare
illustre_ of Greece.[8]] (T. W. A.)
(c) The influence of Homer upon the subsequent course of Greek
literature is a large subject, even if we restrict it to the centuries
which immediately followed the Homeric age. It will be enough to observe
that in the earliest elegiac poets, such as Archilochus, Tyrtaeus and
Theognis, reminiscences of Homeric language and thought meet us on every
page. If the same cannot be said of the ancient epic poems, that is
because of the extreme scantiness of the existing fragments. Much,
however, is to be gathered from the arguments of the Trojan part of the
Epic Cycle (preserved in the _Codex Venetus_ of the _Iliad_, a full
discussion of which will be found in the _Journal of Hellenic Studies_,
1884, pp. 1-40). An examination of these arguments throws light on two
chief aspects of the relation between Homer and his "cyclic" successors.
1. The later poets sought to complete the story of the Trojan war by
supplying the parts which did not fall within the _Iliad_ and
_Odyssey_--the so-called _ante-homerica_ and _post-homerica_. They did
so largely from hints and passing references in Homer. Thus the
successive episodes of the siege related at length in the _Little
Iliad_, and ending with the story of the Wooden Horse, are nearly all
taken from passages in the _Odyssey_. Much the same may be said of the
_Nosti_.
2. With this process of expansion and development (so to speak) of
Homeric themes is combined the addition of new characters. Such, in the
_Little Iliad_ (e.g.), are the story of the Palladium and of the
treachery of Sinon. Such, too, in the _Cypria_ are the new legendary
figures--Palamedes, Iphigenia, Telephus, Laocoon. These new elements in
the narrative are evidently due not only to the natural growth of legend
in a people highly endowed with imagination, but in a large proportion
also to the new races and countries with which the Greeks came into
contact, as well as to their own rapid advance in wealth and
civilization. It will be observed that the two poems of Arctinus are
remarkable for the proportion of new matter of the latter kind. The
_Aethiopis_ shows us the allies of Troy reinforced by two peoples that
are evidently creations of oriental fancy, the Amazons and Memnon with
his Aethiopians. The _Iliu Persis_, again, was the oldest authority for
the story of Laocoon and of the consequent escape of Aeneas--a story
which connected a surviving branch of the house of Priam with the later
inhabitants of the Troad. On the other hand the fate of Creusa (_sed me
magna deum genetrix his detinet oris_) is a link with the worship of
Cybele. The journey of Calchas to Colophon and his death there, as told
in the _Nosti_, is another instance of the kind. These facts point to a
familiarity with the Greek colonies in Asia which contrasts strongly
with the silence of the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_.
_Study of Homer._--_The Homeric Question._--The critical study of
Homer began in Greece almost with the beginning of prose writing. The
first name is that of Theagenes of Rhegium, contemporary of Cambyses
(525 B.C.), who is said to have founded the "new grammar" (the older
"grammar" being the art of reading and writing), and to have been the
inventor of the allegorical interpretations by which it was sought to
reconcile the Homeric mythology with the morality and speculative
ideas of the 6th century B.C. The same attitude in the "ancient
quarrel of poetry and philosophy" was soon afterwards taken by
Anaxagoras; and after him by his pupil Metrodorus of Lampsacus, who
explained away all the gods, and even the heroes, as elementary
substances and forces (Agamemnon as the upper air, &c.).
The next writers on Homer of the "grammatical" type were Stesimbrotus
of Thasos (contemporary with Cimon) and Antimachus of Colophon,
himself an epic poet of mark. The _Thebaid_ of Antimachus, however,
was not popular, and seems to have been a great storehouse of
mythological learning rather than a poem of the Homeric school.
Other names of the pre-Socratic and Socratic times are mentioned by
Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle. These were the "ancient Homerics"
([Greek: hoi archaioi Homêrikoi]), who busied themselves much with the
hidden meanings of Homer; of whom Aristotle says, with his profound
insight, that they see the small likenesses and overlook the great
ones (_Metaph._ xii.).
The text of Homer must have attracted some attention when Antimachus
came to be known as the "corrector" ([Greek: diorthôtês]) of a
distinct edition ([Greek: ekdosis]), Aristotle is said himself to have
made a recension for the use of Alexander the Great. This is unlikely.
His remarks on Homer (in the _Poetics_ and elsewhere) show that he had
made a careful study of the structure and leading ideas of the poems,
but do not throw much light on the text.
The real work of criticism became possible only when great collections
of manuscripts began to be made by the princes of the generation after
Alexander, and when men of learning were employed to sift and arrange
these treasures. In this way the great Alexandrian school of Homeric
criticism began with Zenodotus, the first chief of the museum, and was
continued by Aristophanes and Aristarchus. In Aristarchus ancient
philology culminated, as philosophy had done in Socrates. All earlier
learning either passed into his writings, or was lost; all subsequent
research turned upon his critical and grammatical work.
The means of forming a judgment of the Alexandrine criticism are
scanty. The literary form which preserved the works of the great
historians was unfortunately wanting, or was not sufficiently valued,
in the case of the grammarians. Abridgments and newer treatises soon
drove out the writings of Aristarchus and other founders of the
science. Moreover, a recension could not be reproduced without new
errors soon creeping in. Thus we find that Didymus, writing in the
time of Cicero, does not quote the readings of Aristarchus as we
should quote a _textus receptus_. Indeed, the object of his work seems
to have been to determine what those readings were. Enough, however,
remains to show that Aristarchus had a clear notion of the chief
problems of philology (except perhaps those concerning etymology). He
saw, for example, that it was not enough to find a meaning for the
archaic words (the [Greek: glôssai], as they were called), but that
common words (such as [Greek: ponos, phobos]) had their Homeric uses,
which were to be gathered by due induction. In the same spirit he
looked upon the ideas and beliefs of Homer as a consistent whole,
which might be determined from the evidence of the poems. He noticed
especially the difference between the stories known to Homer and those
given by later poets, and made many comparisons between Homeric and
later manners, arts and institutions. Again, he was sensible of the
paramount value of manuscript authority, and appears to have
introduced no readings from mere conjecture. The frequent mention in
the Scholia of "better" and "inferior" texts may indicate a
classification made by him or by the general opinion of critics. His
use of the "obelus" to distinguish spurious verses, which made so
large a part of his fame in antiquity, has rather told against him
with modern scholars.[9] It is chiefly interesting as a proof of the
confusion in which the text must have been before the Alexandrian
times; for it is impossible to understand the readiness of Aristarchus
to suspect the genuineness of verses unless the state of the copies
had pointed to the existence of numerous interpolations. On this
matter, however, we are left to conjecture.
Our knowledge of Alexandrian criticism is derived almost wholly from a
single document, the famous _Iliad_ of the library of St Mark in
Venice (_Codex Venetus_ 454, or _Ven. A_), first published by the
French scholar Villoison in 1788 (_Scholia antiquissima ad Homeri
Iliadem_). This manuscript, written in the 10th century, contains (1)
the best text of the _Iliad_, (2) the critical marks of Aristarchus
and (3) Scholia, consisting mainly of extracts from four grammatical
works, viz. Didymus (contemporary of Cicero) on the recension of
Aristarchus, Aristonicus (fl. 24 B.C.) on the critical marks of
Aristarchus, Herodian (fl. A.D. 160) on the accentuation, and Nicanor
(fl. A.D. 127) on the punctuation, of the _Iliad_.
These extracts present themselves in two distinct forms. One series of
scholia is written in the usual way, on a margin reserved for the
purpose. The other consists of brief scholia, written in very small
characters (but of the same period) on the narrow space left vacant
round the text. Occasionally a scholium of this kind gives the
substance of one of the longer extracts; but as a rule they are
distinct. It would seem, therefore, that after the manuscript was
finished the "marginal scholia" were discovered to be extremely
defective, and a new series of extracts was added in a form which
interfered as little as possible with the appearance of the book.[10]
The mention of the Venetian Scholia leads us at once to the Homeric
controversy; for the immortal _Prolegomena_ of F. A. Wolf[11] appeared
a few years after Villoison's publication, and was founded in great
measure upon the fresh and abundant materials which it furnished. Not
that the "Wolfian theory" of the Homeric poems is directly supported
by anything in the Scholia; the immediate object of the _Prolegomena_
was not to put forward that theory, but to elucidate the new and
remarkable conditions under which the text of Homer had to be settled,
viz. the discovery of an _apparatus criticus_ of the 2nd century B.C.
The questions regarding the original structure and early history of
the poems were raised (forced upon him, it may be said) by the
critical problem; but they were really originated by facts and ideas
of a wholly different order.
The 18th century, in which the spirit of classical correctness had the
most absolute dominion, did not come to an end before a powerful
reaction set in, which affected not only literature but also
speculation and politics. In this movement the leading ideas were
concentrated in the word Nature. The natural condition of society,
natural law, natural religion, the poetry of nature, gained a singular
hold, first on the English philosophers from Hume onwards, and then
(through Rousseau chiefly) on the general drift of thought and action
in Europe. In literature the effect of these ideas was to set up a
false opposition between nature and art. As political writers imagined
a patriarchal innocence prior to codes of law, so men of letters
sought in popular unwritten poetry the freshness and simplicity which
were wanting in the prevailing styles. The blind minstrel was the
counterpart of the noble savage. The supposed discovery of the poems
of Ossian fell in with this train of sentiment, and created an
enthusiasm for the study of early popular poetry. Homer was soon drawn
into the circle of inquiry. Blackwell (Professor of Greek at Aberdeen)
had insisted, in a book published in 1735, on the "naturalness" of
Homer; and Wood (_Essay on the Original Genius of Homer_, London,
1769) was the first who maintained that Homer composed without the
help of writing, and supported his thesis by ancient authority, and
also by the parallel of Ossian. Both these books were translated into
German, and their ideas passed into the popular philosophy of the day.
Everything in short was ripe for the reception of a book that brought
together, with masterly ease and vigour, the old and the new Homeric
learning, and drew from it the historical proof that Homer was no
single poet, writing according to art and rule, but a name which stood
for a golden age of the true spontaneous poetry of genius and nature.
The part of the _Prolegomena_ which deals with the original form of
the Homeric poems occupies pp. xl.-clx. (in the first edition). Wolf
shows how the question of the date of writing meets us on the
threshold of the textual criticism of Homer and accordingly enters
into a full discussion, first of the external evidence, then of the
indications furnished by the poems. Having satisfied himself that
writing was unknown to Homer, he is led to consider the real mode of
transmission, and finds this in the Rhapsodists, of whom the Homeridae
were an hereditary school. And then comes the conclusion to which all
this has been tending: "the die is cast"--the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_
cannot have been composed in the form in which we know them without
the aid of writing. They must therefore have been, as Bentley had
said, "a sequel of songs and rhapsodies," "loose songs not collected
together in the form of an epic poem till about 500 years after." This
conclusion he then supports by the character attributed to the
"Cyclic" poems (whose want of unity showed that the structure of the
_Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ must be the work of a later time), by one or two
indications of imperfect connexion, and by the doubts of ancient
critics as to the genuineness of certain parts. These, however, are
matters of conjecture. "Historia loquitur." The voice of antiquity is
unanimous in declaring that "Peisistratus first committed the poems of
Homer to writing, and reduced them to the order in which we now read
them."
The appeal of Wolf to the "voice of all antiquity" is by no means
borne out by the different statements on the subject. According to
Heraclides Ponticus (pupil of Plato), the poetry of Homer was first
brought to the Peloponnesus by Lycurgus, who obtained it from the
descendants of Creophylus (_Polit._ fr. 2). Plutarch in his _Life of
Lycurgus_ (c. 4) repeats this story, with the addition that there was
already a faint report of the poems in Greece, and that certain
detached fragments were in the possession of a few persons. Again, the
Platonic dialogue _Hipparchus_ (which though not genuine is probably
earlier than the Alexandrian times) asserts that Hipparchus, son of
Peisistratus, first brought the poems to Athens, and obliged the
rhapsodists at the Panathenaea to follow the order of the text, "as
they still do," instead of reciting portions chosen at will. The
earliest authority for attributing any work of the kind to
Peisistratus is the well-known passage of Cicero (_De Orat._ 3. 34:
"Quis doctior eisdem temporibus illis, aut cujus eloquentia litteris
instructior fuisse traditur quam Pisistrati? qui primus Homeri libros,
confusos antea, sic disposuisse dicitur ut nunc habemus"). To the same
effect Pausanias (vii. p. 594) says that the change of the name
Donoessa to Gonoessa (in _Il._ ii. 573) was thought to have been made
by "Peisistratus or one of his companions," when he collected the
poems, which were then in a fragmentary condition. Finally, Diogenes
Laertius (i. 57) says that Solon made a law that the poems should be
recited with the help of a prompter so that each rhapsodist should
begin where the last left off; and he argues from this that Solon did
more than Peisistratus to make Homer known. The argument is directed
against a certain Dieuchidas of Megara, who appears to have maintained
that the verses about Athens in the Catalogue (_Il._ ii. 546-556) were
interpolated by Peisistratus. The passage is unfortunately corrupt,
but it is at least clear that in the time of Solon, according to
Diogenes, there were complete copies of the poems, such as could be
used to control the recitations. Hence the account of Diogenes is
quite irreconcilable with the notices on which Wolf relied.
It is needless to examine the attempts which have been made to
harmonize these accounts. Such attempts usually start with the tacit
assumption that each of the persons concerned--Lycurgus, Solon,
Peisistratus, Hipparchus--must have done _something_ for the text of
Homer, or for the regulation of the rhapsodists. But we have first to
consider whether any of the accounts come to us on such evidence that
we are bound to consider them as containing a nucleus of truth.
In the first place, the statement that Lycurgus obtained the poems
from descendants of Creophylus must be admitted to be purely mythical.
But if we reject it, have we any better reason for believing the
parallel assertion in the Platonic _Hipparchus_? It is true that
Hipparchus is undoubtedly a real person. On the other hand it is
evident that the Peisistratidae soon became the subject of many
fables. Thucydides notices as a popular mistake the belief that
Hipparchus was the eldest son of Peisistratus, and that consequently
he was the reigning "tyrant" when he was killed by Aristogiton. The
Platonic _Hipparchus_ follows this erroneous version, and may
therefore be regarded as representing (at best) mere local tradition.
We may reasonably go further, and see in this part of the dialogue a
piece of historical romance, designed to put the "tyrant" family in a
favourable light, as patrons of literature and learning.
Again, the account of the _Hipparchus_ is contradicted by Diogenes
Laërtius, who says that Solon provided for the due recitation of the
Homeric poems. The only good authorities as to this point are the
orators Lycurgus and Isocrates, who mention the law prescribing the
recitation, but do not say when or by whom it was enacted. The
inference seems a fair one, that the author of the law was really
unknown.
With regard to the statements which attribute some work in connexion
with Homer to Peisistratus, it was noticed by Wolf that Cicero,
Pausanias and the others who mention the matter do so _nearly in the
same words_, and, therefore, appear to have drawn from a common
source. This source was in all probability an epigram quoted in two of
the short lives of Homer, and there said to have been inscribed on the
statue of Peisistratus at Athens. In it Peisistratus is made to say of
himself that he "collected Homer, who was formerly sung in fragments,
for the golden poet was a citizen of ours, since we Athenians founded
Smyrna." The other statements repeat these words with various minor
additions, chiefly intended to explain how the poems had been reduced
to this fragmentary condition, and how Peisistratus set to work to
restore them. Thus all the authority for the work of Peisistratus
"reduces itself to the testimony of a single anonymous inscription"
(Nutzhorn p. 40). Now, what is the value of that testimony? It is
impossible of course to believe that a statue of Peisistratus was set
up at Athens in the time of the free republic. The epigram is almost
certainly a mere literary exercise. And what exactly does it say? Only
that Homer was _recited in fragments_ by the rhapsodists, and that
these partial recitations were made into a continuous whole by
Peisistratus; which does not necessarily mean more than that
Peisistratus did what other authorities ascribe to Solon and
Hipparchus, viz. regulated the recitation.
Against the theory which sees in Peisistratus the author of the first
complete text of Homer we have to set the absolute silence of
Herodotus, Thucydides, the orators and the Alexandrian grammarians.
And it can hardly be thought that their silence is accidental.
Herodotus and Thucydides seem to tell us all that they know of
Peisistratus. The orators Lycurgus and Isocrates make a great deal of
the recitation of Homer at the Panathenaea, but know nothing of the
poems having been collected and arranged at Athens, a fact which would
have redounded still more to the honour of the city. Finally, the
Scholia of the _Ven. A_ contain no reference or allusion to the story
of Peisistratus. As these Scholia are derived in substance from the
writings of Aristarchus, it seems impossible to believe that the story
was known to him. The circumstance that it is referred to in the
_Scholia Townleiana_ and in Eustathius, gives additional weight to
this argument.
The result of these considerations seems to be that nothing rests on
good evidence beyond the fact that Homer was recited by law at the
Panathenaic festival. The rest of the story is probably the result of
gradual expansion and accretion. It was inevitable that later writers
should speculate about the authorship of such a law, and that it
should be attributed with more or less confidence to Solon or
Peisistratus or Hipparchus. The choice would be determined in great
measure by political feeling. It is probably not an accident that
Dieuchidas, who attributed so much to Peisistratus, was a Megarian.
The author of the _Hipparchus_ is evidently influenced by the
anti-democratical tendencies in which he only followed Plato. In the
times to which the story of Peisistratus can be traced, the 1st
century B.C., the substitution of the "tyrant" for the legislator was
extremely natural. It was equally natural that the importance of his
work as regards the text of Homer should be exaggerated. The splendid
patronage of letters by the successors of Alexander, and especially
the great institutions which had been founded at Alexandria and
Pergamum, had made an impression on the imagination of learned men
which was reflected in the current notions of the ancient despots. It
may even be suspected that anecdotes in praise of Peisistratus and
Hipparchus were a delicate form of flattery addressed to the reigning
Ptolemy. Under these influences the older stories of Lycurgus bringing
Homer to the Peloponnesus, and Solon providing for the recitation at
Athens, were thrown into the shade.
In the later Byzantine times it was believed that Peisistratus was
aided by seventy grammarians, of whom Zenedotus and Aristarchus were
the chief. The great Alexandrian grammarians had become figures in a
new mythology. It is true that Tzetzes, one of the writers from whom
we have this story, gives a better version, according to which
Peisistratus employed four men, viz. Onomacritus, Zopyrus of Heraclea,
Orpheus of Croton, and one whose name is corrupt (written [Greek:
epikogkylos]). Many scholars (among them Ritschl) accept this account
as probable. Yet it rests upon no better evidence than the other.
The effect of Wolf's _Prolegomena_ was so overwhelming that, although
a few protests were made at the time, the true Homeric controversy did
not begin till after Wolf's death (1824). His speculations were
thoroughly in harmony with the ideas and sentiment of the time, and
his historical arguments, especially his long array of testimonies to
the work of Peisistratus, were hardly challenged.
The first considerable antagonist of the Wolfian school was G. W.
Nitzsch, whose writings cover the years 1828-1862, and deal with every
side of the controversy. In the earlier part of his _Meletemata_
(1830) he took up the question of written or unwritten literature, on
which Wolf's whole argument turned, and showed that the art of writing
must be anterior to Peisistratus. In the later part of the same series
of discussions (1837), and in his chief work (_Die Sagenpoesie der
Griechen_, 1852), he investigated the structure of the Homeric poems,
and their relation to the other epics of the Trojan cycle. These epics
had meanwhile been made the subject of a work which for exhaustive
learning and delicacy of artistic perception has few rivals in the
history of philology, the _Epic Cycle_ of F. G. Welcker. The confusion
which previous scholars had made between the ancient post-Homeric
poets (Arctinus, Lesches, &c.) and the learned mythological writers
(such as the "scriptor cyclicus" of Horace) was first cleared up by
Welcker. Wolf had argued that if the cyclic writers had known the
_Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ which we possess, they would have imitated the
unity of structure which distinguishes these two poems. The result of
Welcker's labours was to show that the Homeric poems had influenced
both the form and the substance of epic poetry.
In this way there arose a conservative school who admitted more or
less freely the absorption of pre-existing lays in the formation of
the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_, and also the existence of considerable
interpolations, but assigned the main work of formation to prehistoric
times, and to the genius of a great poet. Whether the two epics were
by the same author remained an open question; the tendency of this
group of scholars was decidedly towards separation. Regarding the use
of writing, too, they were not unanimous. K. O. Müller, for instance,
maintained the view of Wolf on this point, while he strenuously
combated the inference which Wolf drew from it.
The _Prolegomena_ bore on the title-page the words "Volumen I."; but
no second volume ever appeared, nor was any attempt made by Wolf
himself to carry his theory further. The first important steps in that
direction were taken by Gottfried Hermann, chiefly in two
dissertations, _De interpolationibus Homeri_ (Leipzig, 1832), and _De
iteratis Homeri_ (Leipzig, 1840), called forth by the writings of
Nitzsch. As the word "interpolation" implies, Hermann did not maintain
the hypothesis of a congeries of independent "lays." Feeling the
difficulty of supposing that all the ancient minstrels sang of the
"wrath of Achilles" or the "return of Ulysses" (leaving out even the
capture of Troy itself), he was led to assume that two poems of no
great compass dealing with these two themes became so famous at an
early period as to throw other parts of the Trojan story into the
background, and were then enlarged by successive generations of
rhapsodists. Some parts of the _Iliad_, moreover, seemed to him to be
older than the poem on the wrath of Achilles; and thus in addition to
the "Homeric" and "post-Homeric" matter he distinguished a
"pre-Homeric" element.
The conjectures of Hermann, in which the Wolfian theory found a
modified and tentative application, were presently thrown into the
shade by the more trenchant method of Lachmann, who (in two papers
read to the Berlin Academy in 1837 and 1841) sought to show that the
_Iliad_ was made up of sixteen independent "lays," with various
enlargements and interpolations, all finally reduced to order by
Peisistratus. The first book, for instance, consists of a lay on the
anger of Achilles (1-347), and two continuations, the return of
Chryseis (430-492) and the scenes in Olympus (348-429, 493-611). The
second book forms a second lay, but several passages, among them the
speech of Ulysses (278-332), are interpolated. In the third book the
scenes in which Helen and Priam take part (including the making of the
truce) are pronounced to be interpolations; and so on. Regarding the
evidence on which these sweeping results are founded, opinions will
vary. The degree of smoothness or consistency which is to be expected
on the hypothesis of a single author will be determined by taste
rather than argument. The dissection of the first book, for instance,
turns partly on a chronological inaccuracy which might well escape the
poet as well as his hearers. In examining such points we are apt to
forget that the contradictions by which a story is shown to be untrue
are quite different from those by which a confessedly untrue story
would be shown to be the work of different authors.
_Structure of the Iliad._--The subject of the Iliad, as the first line
proclaims, is the "anger of Achilles." The manner in which this subject
is worked out will appear from the following summary in which we
distinguish (1) the plot, i.e. the story of the quarrel, (2) the main
course of the war, which forms a sort of underplot, and (3) subordinate
episodes.
I. Quarrel of Achilles with Agamemnon and the Greek army--Agamemnon,
having been compelled to give up his prize Chryseis, takes Briseïs
from Achilles--Thereupon Achilles appeals to his mother Thetis, who
obtains from Zeus a promise that he will give victory to the Trojans
until the Greeks pay due honour to her son--Meanwhile Achilles takes
no part in the war.
II. Agamemnon is persuaded by a dream sent from Zeus to take the
field with all his forces.
His attempt to test the temper of the army nearly leads to their
return.
Catalogue of the army (probably a later addition).
Trojan muster--Trojan catalogue.
III. Meeting of the Armies--Paris challenges Menelaus--Truce made.
"Teichoscopy," Helen pointing out to Priam the Greek leaders.
The duel--Paris is saved by Aphrodite.
IV. Truce broken by Pandarus.
Advance of the armies--Battle.
V. Aristeia of Diomede--his combat with Aphrodite.
VI.--Meeting with Glaucus--Visit of Hector to the (1-311) city, and
offering of a peplus to Athena.
(312-529) Visit of Hector to Paris--to Andromache.
VII. Return of Hector and Paris to the field.
Duel of Ajax and Hector.
Truce for burial of dead.
The Greeks build a wall round their camp.
VIII. Battle--The Trojans encamp on the field.
IX. Agamemnon sends an embassy by night, offering Achilles
restitution and full amends--Achilles refuses.
X. Doloneia--Night expedition of Odysseus and Diomede (in all
probability added later).
XI. Aristeia of Agamemnon--he is wounded--Wounding of Diomede and
Odysseus.
Achilles sends Antilochus to inquire about Machaon.
XII. Storming of the wall--the Trojans reach the ships.
XIII. Zeus ceases to watch the field--Poseidon secretly comes to the
aid of the Greeks.
XIV. Sleep of Zeus, by the contrivance of Hera.
XV. Zeus awakened--Restores the advantage to the Trojans--Ajax alone
defends the ships.
XVI. Achilles is persuaded to allow Patroclus to take the field.
Patroclus drives back the Trojans--kills Sarpedon--is himself killed
by Hector.
XVII. Battle for the body of Patroclus--Aristeia of Menelaus.
XVIII. News of the death of Patroclus is brought to Achilles--Thetis
comes with the Nereids--promises to obtain new armour for him from
Hephaestus.
The shield of Achilles described.
XIX. Reconciliation of Achilles--His grief and desire to avenge
Patroclus.
XX. The gods come down to the plain--Combat of Achilles with Aeneas
and Hector, who escape.
XXI. The Scamander is choked with slain--rises against Achilles, who
is saved by Hephaestus.
XXII. Hector alone stands against Achilles--his flight round the
walls--he is slain.
XXIII. Burial of Patroclus--Funeral games.
XXIV. Priam ransoms the body of Hector--his burial.
Such is the "action" ([Greek: praxis]) which in Aristotle's opinion
showed the superiority of Homer to all later epic poets. But the proof
that his scheme was the work of a great poet does not depend merely upon
the artistic unity which excited the wonder of Aristotle. A number of
separate "lays" might conceivably be arranged and connected by a man of
poetical taste in a manner that would satisfy all requirements. In such
a case, however, the connecting passages would be slight and weak. Now,
in the _Iliad_ these passages are the finest and most characteristic.
The element of connexion and unity is the story of the "wrath of
Achilles"; and we have only to look at the books which give the story of
the wrath to see how essential they are. Even if the ninth book is
rejected (as Grote proposed), there remain the speeches of the first,
sixteenth and nineteenth books. These speeches form the cardinal points
in the action of the _Iliad_--the framework into which everything else
is set; and they have also the best title to the name of Homer.
The further question, however, remains,--What shorter narrative piece
fulfilling the conditions of an independent poem has Lachmann succeeded
in disengaging from the existing _Iliad_? It must be admitted that when
tried by this test his "lays" generally fail. The "quarrel of the
chiefs," the "muster of the army," the "duel of Paris and Menelaus,"
&c., are excellent beginnings, but have no satisfying conclusion. And
the reason is not far to seek. The _Iliad_ is not a history, nor is it a
series of incidents in the history, of the siege. It turns entirely upon
a single incident, occupying a few days only. The several episodes of
the poem are not so many distinct stories, each with an interest of its
own. They are only parts of a single main event. Consequently the type
of epic poem which would be produced by an aggregation of shorter lays
is not the type which we have in the _Iliad_. Rather the _Iliad_ is
itself a single lay which has grown with the growth of poetical art to
the dimensions of an epic.
But the original nucleus and parts of the incidents may be the work of a
single great poet, and yet other episodes may be of different
authorship, wrought into the structure of the poem in later times.
Various theories have been based on this supposition. Grote in
particular held that the original poem, which he called the Achilleïs,
did not include books ii.-vii., ix., x., xxiii., xxiv. Such a view may
be defended somewhat as follows.
Of the books which relate the events during the absence of Achilles from
the Greek ranks (ii.-xv.), the last five are directly related to the
main action. They describe the successive steps by which the Greeks are
driven back, first from the plain to the rampart, then to their ships.
Moreover, three of the chief heroes, Agamemnon, Diomede and Ulysses, are
wounded, and this circumstance, as Lachmann himself admitted, is
steadily kept in mind throughout. It is otherwise with the earlier books
(especially ii.-vii.). The chief incidents in that part of the poem--the
panic rush to the ships, the duels of Paris and Menelaus, and of Hector
and Ajax, the Aristeia of Diomede--stand in no relation to the
mainspring of the poem, the promise made by Zeus to Thetis. It is true
that in the thirteenth and fourteenth books the purpose of Zeus is
thwarted for a time by other gods; but in books ii.-vii. it is not so
much thwarted as ignored. Further, the events follow without sufficient
connexion. The truce of the third book is broken by Pandarus, and
Agamemnon passes along the Greek ranks with words of encouragement, but
without a hint of the treachery just committed. The Aristeia of Diomede
ends in the middle of the sixth book; he is uppermost in all thoughts
down to ver. 311, but from this point, in the meetings of Hector with
Helen and Andromache, and again in the seventh book when Hector
challenges the Greek chiefs, his prowess is forgotten. Once more, some
of the incidents seem to belong properly to the beginning of the war.
The joy of Menelaus on seeing Paris, Priam's ignorance of the Greek
leaders, the speeches of Agamemnon in his review of the ranks (in book
iv.), the building of the wall--all these are in place after the Greek
landing, but hardly in the ninth year of the siege.
On the other hand, it may be said, the second book opens with a direct
reference to the events of the first, and the mention of Achilles in the
speech of Thersites (ii. 239 sqq.) is sufficient to keep the main course
of events in view. The Catalogue is connected with its place in the poem
by the lines about Achilles (686-694). When Diomede is at the height of
his Aristeia Helenus says (_Il._ vi. 99), "We did not so fear even
Achilles." And when in the third book Priam asks Helen about the Greek
captains, or when in the seventh book nine champions come forward to
contend with Hector, the want of the greatest hero of all is
sufficiently felt. If these passages do not belong to the period of the
wrath of Achilles, how are we to account for his conspicuous absence?
Further, the want of smoothness and unity which is visible in this part
of the _Iliad_ may be due to other causes than difference of date or
authorship. A national poet such as the author of the _Iliad_ cannot
always choose or arrange his matter at his own will. He is bound by the
traditions of his art, and by the feelings and expectations of his
hearers. The poet who brought the exploits of Diomede into the _Iliad_
doubtless had his reasons for doing so, which were equally strong
whether he was the poet of the Achilleïs or a later Homerid or
rhapsodist. And if some of the incidents (those of the third book in
particular) seem to belong to the beginning of the war, it must be
considered that poetically, and to the hearers of the _Iliad_, the war
opens in the third book, and the incidents are of the kind that is
required in such a place. The truce makes a pause which heightens the
interest of the impending battle; the duel and the scene on the walls
are effective in bringing some of the leading characters on the stage,
and in making us acquainted with the previous history. The story of
Paris and Helen especially, and the general position of affairs in Troy,
is put before us in a singularly vivid manner. The book in short forms
so good a _prologue_ to the action of the war that we can hardly be
wrong in attributing it to the genius which devised the rest of the
_Iliad_.
The case against the remaining books is of a different kind. The ninth
and tenth seem like two independent pictures of the night before the
great battle of xi.-xvii. Either is enough to fill the space in Homer's
canvas; and the suspicion arises (as when two Platonic dialogues bear
the same name) that if either had been genuine, the other would not have
come into existence. If one of the two is to be rejected it must be the
tenth, which is certainly the less Homeric. It relates a picturesque
adventure, conceived in a vein more approaching that of comedy than any
other part of the _Iliad_. Moreover, the language in several places
exhibits traces of post-Homeric date. The ninth book, on the other hand,
was rejected by Grote, chiefly on the grounds that the embassy to
Achilles ought to have put an end to the quarrel, and that it is ignored
in later passages, especially in the speeches of Achilles (xi. 609;
xvi. 72, 85). His argument, however, rests on an assumption which we are
apt to bring with us to the reading of the _Iliad_, but which is not
borne out by its language, viz. that there was some definite atonement
demanded by Achilles, or due to him according to the custom and
sentiment of the time. But in the _Iliad_ the whole stress is laid on
the anger of Achilles, which can only be satisfied by the defeat and
extreme peril of the Greeks.[12] He is influenced by his own feeling,
and by nothing else. Accordingly, in the ninth book, when they are still
protected by the rampart (see 348 sqq.), he rejects gifts and fair words
alike; in the sixteenth he is moved by the tears and entreaties of
Patroclus, and the sight of the Greek ships on fire; in the nineteenth
his anger is quenched in grief. But he makes no conditions, either in
rejecting the offers of the embassy or in returning to the Greek army.
And this conduct is the result, not only of his fierce and inexorable
character, but also (as the silence of Homer shows) of the want of any
general rules or principles, any code of morality or of honour, which
would have required him to act in a different way.
Finally, Grote objected to the two last books that they prolong the
action of the _Iliad_ beyond the exigencies of a coherent scheme. Of the
two, the twenty-third could more easily be spared. In language, and
perhaps in style and manner, it is akin to the tenth; while the
twenty-fourth is in the pathetic vein of the ninth, and like it serves
to bring out new aspects of the character of Achilles.
Dr E. Kammer has given some strong reasons for doubting the
genuineness of the passage in book xx. describing the duel between
Achilles and Aeneas (79-352). The incident is certainly very much out
of keeping with the vehement action of that part of the poem, and
especially with the moment when Achilles returns to the field, eager
to meet Hector and avenge the death of his friend. The interpolation
(if it is one) is probably due to local interests. It contains the
well-known prophecy that the descendants of Aeneas are to rule over
the Trojans,--pointing to the existence of an Aenead dynasty in the
Troad. So, too, the legend of Anchises in the Hymn to Aphrodite is
evidently local; and Aeneas becomes more prominent in the later epics,
especially the _Cypria_ and the [Greek: Iliou persis] of Arctinus.
_Structure of the Odyssey._--In the _Odyssey_, as in the _Iliad_, the
events related fall within a short space of time. The difficulty of
adapting the long wanderings of Ulysses to a plan of this type is got
over by the device--first met with in the _Odyssey_--of making the hero
tell the story of his own adventures. In this way the action is made to
begin almost immediately before the actual return of Ulysses. Up to the
time when he reaches Ithaca it moves on three distinct scenes: we follow
the fortunes of Ulysses, of Telemachus on his voyage in the
Peloponnesus, and of Penelope with the suitors. The art with which these
threads are woven together was recognized by Wolf himself, who admitted
the difficulty of applying his theory to the "admirabilis summa et
compages" of the poem. Of the comparatively few attempts which have been
made to dissect the _Odyssey_, the most moderate and attractive is that
of Professor A. Kirchhoff of Berlin.[13]
According to Kirchhoff, the _Odyssey_ as we have it is the result of
additions made to an original nucleus. There was first of all a
"Return of Odysseus," relating chiefly the adventures with the
Cyclops, Calypso and the Phaeacians; then a continuation, the scene of
which lay in Ithaca, embracing the bulk of books xiii.-xxiii. The poem
so formed was enlarged at some time between Ol. 30 and Ol. 50 by the
stories of books x.-xii. (Circe, the Sirens, Scylla, &c.), and the
adventures of Telemachus. Lastly, a few passages were interpolated in
the time of Peisistratus.
The proof that the scenes in Ithaca are by a later hand than the
ancient "Return" is found chiefly in a contradiction discussed by
Kirchhoff in his sixth dissertation (pp. 135 sqq., ed. 1869).
Sometimes Ulysses is represented as aged and worn by toil, so that
Penelope, for instance, cannot recognize him; sometimes he is really
in the prime of heroic vigour, and his appearing as a beggarly old man
is the work of Athena's wand. The first of these representations is
evidently natural, considering the twenty eventful years that have
passed; but the second, Kirchhoff holds, is the Ulysses of Calypso's
island and the Phaeacian court. He concludes that the aged Ulysses
belongs to the "continuation" (the change wrought by Athena's wand
being a device to reconcile the two views), and hence that the
continuation is the work of a different author.
Ingenious as this is, there is really very slender ground for
Kirchhoff's thesis. The passages in the second half of the _Odyssey_
which describe the appearance of Ulysses do not give _two_ well-marked
representations of him. Sometimes Athena disguises him as a decrepit
beggar, sometimes she bestows on him supernatural beauty and vigour.
It must be admitted that we are not told exactly how long in each case
the effect of these changes lasted. But neither answers to his natural
appearance, or to the appearance which he is imagined to present in
the earlier books. In the palace of Alcinous, for instance, it is
noticed that he is vigorous but "marred by many ills" (_Od._ viii.
137); and this agrees with the scenes of recognition in the latter
part of the poem.
The arguments by which Kirchhoff seeks to prove that the stories of
books x.-xii. are much later than those of book ix. are not more
convincing. He points out some resemblances between these three books
and the Argonautic fables, among them the circumstance that a fountain
Artacia occurs in both. In the Argonautic story this fountain is
placed in the neighbourhood of Cyzicus, and answers to an actual
fountain known in historical times. Kirchhoff argues that the Artacia
of the Argonautic story must have been taken from the real Artacia,
and the Artacia of the _Odyssey_ again from that of the Argonautic
story. And as Cyzicus was settled from Miletus, he infers that both
sets of stories must be comparatively late. It is more probable,
surely, that the name Artacia occurred independently (as most
geographical names are found to occur) in more than one place. Or it
may be that the Artacia of the _Odyssey_ suggested the name to the
colonists of Cyzicus, whence it was adopted into the later versions of
the Argonautic story. The further argument that the _Nostoi_
recognized a son of Calypso by Ulysses but no son of Circe,
consequently that Circe was unknown to the poet of the _Nostoi_, rests
(in the first place) upon a conjectural alteration of a passage in
Eustathius, and, moreover, has all the weakness of an argument from
silence, in addition to the uncertainty arising from our very slight
knowledge of the author whose silence is in question. Finally, when
Kirchhoff finds traces in books x.-xii. of their having been
originally told by the poet himself instead of being put in the mouth
of his hero, we feel that inaccuracies of this kind are apt to creep
in wherever a fictitious story is thrown into the form of an
autobiography.
Inquiries conducted with the refinement which characterizes those of
Kirchhoff are always instructive, and his book contains very many just
observations; but it is impossible to admit his main conclusions. And
perhaps we may infer that no similar attempt can be more successful.
It does not indeed follow that the _Odyssey_ is free from
interpolations. The [Greek: Nekuia] of book xi. may be later (as Lauer
maintained), or it may contain additions, which could easily be
inserted in a description of the kind. And the last book is probably
by a different hand, as the ancient critics believed. But the unity of
the _Odyssey_ as a whole is apparently beyond the reach of the
existing weapons of criticism.
_Chorizontes._--When we are satisfied that each of the great Homeric
poems is either wholly or mainly the work of a single poet, a question
remains which has been matter of controversy in ancient as well as
modern times--Are they the work of the same poet? Two ancient
grammarians, Xeno and Hellanicus, were known as the "separators"
([Greek: oi chôrizontes]); and Aristarchus appears to have written a
treatise against their heresy. In modern times some of the greatest
names have been on the side of the "Chorizontes."
If, as has been maintained in the preceding pages, the external evidence
regarding Homer is of no value, the problem now before us may be stated
in this form: Given two poems of which nothing is known except that they
are of the same school of poetry, what is the probability that they are
by the same author? We may find a fair parallel by imagining two plays
drawn at hazard from the works of the great tragic writers. It is
evident that the burden of proof would rest with those who held them to
be by the same hand.
The arguments used in this discussion have been of very various calibre.
The ancient Chorizontes observed that the messenger of Zeus is Iris in
the _Iliad_, but Hermes in the _Odyssey_; that the wife of Hephaestus is
one of the Charites in the _Iliad_, but Aphrodite in the _Odyssey_; that
the heroes in the _Iliad_ do not eat fish; that Crete has a hundred
cities according to the _Iliad_, and only ninety according to the
_Odyssey_; that [Greek: proparoithe] is used in the _Iliad_ of place, in
the _Odyssey_ of time, &c. Modern scholars have added to the list,
especially by making careful comparisons of the two poems in respect of
vocabulary and grammatical forms. Nothing is more difficult than to
assign the degree of weight to be given to such facts. The difference of
subject between the two poems is so great that it leads to the most
striking differences of detail, especially in the vocabulary. For
instance, the word [Greek: phobos], which in Homer means "flight in
battle" (not "fear"), occurs thirty-nine times in the _Iliad_, and only
once in the _Odyssey_; but then there are no battles in the _Odyssey_.
Again, the verb [Greek: rhêgnymi], "to break," occurs forty-eight times
in the _Iliad_, and once in the _Odyssey_,--the reason being that it is
constantly used of breaking the armour of an enemy, the gate of a city,
the hostile ranks, &c. Once more, the word [Greek: skotos], "darkness,"
occurs fourteen times in the _Iliad_, once in the _Odyssey_. But in
every one of the fourteen places it is used of "darkness" coming over
the sight of a fallen warrior. On the other side, if words such as
[Greek: asaminthos], "a bath," [Greek: chernips], "a basin for the
hands," [Greek: leschê], "a place to meet and talk," &c., are peculiar
to the _Odyssey_, we have only to remember that the scene in the _Iliad_
is hardly ever laid within any walls except those of a tent. These
examples will show that mere statistics of the occurrence of words prove
little, and that we must begin by looking to the subject and character
of each poem. When we do so, we at once find ourselves in the presence
of differences of the broadest kind. The _Iliad_ is much more historical
in tone and character. The scene of the poem is a real place, and the
poet sings (as Ulysses says of Demodocus) as though he had been present
himself, or had heard from one who had been. The supernatural element is
confined to an interference of the gods, which to the common eye hardly
disturbs the natural current of affairs. The _Odyssey_, on the contrary,
is full of the magical and romantic--"speciosa miracula," as Horace
called them. Moreover, these marvels--which in their original form are
doubtless as old as anything in the _Iliad_, since in fact they are part
of the vast stock of popular tales (_Märchen_) diffused all over the
world--are mixed up in the _Odyssey_ with the heroes of the Trojan war.
This has been especially noticed in the case of the story of Polyphemus,
one that is found in many countries, and in versions which cannot all be
derived from Homer. W. Grimm has pointed out that the behaviour of
Ulysses in that story is senseless and foolhardy, utterly beneath the
wise and much-enduring Ulysses of the Trojan war. The reason is simple;
he is not the Ulysses of the Trojan war, but a being of the same world
as Polyphemus himself--the world of giants and ogres. The question then
is--How long must the name of Ulysses have been familiar in the legend
(_Sage_) of Troy before it made its way into the tales of giants and
ogres (_Märchen_), where the poet of the _Odyssey_ found it?
Again, the Trojan legend has itself received some extension between the
time of the _Iliad_ and that of the _Odyssey_. The story of the Wooden
Horse is not only unknown to the _Iliad_, but is of a kind which we can
hardly imagine the poet of the _Iliad_ admitting. The part taken by
Neoptolemus seems also to be a later addition. The tendency to amplify
and complete the story shows itself still more in the Cyclic poets.
Between the _Iliad_ and these poets the _Odyssey_ often occupies an
intermediate position.
This great and significant change in the treatment of the heroic legends
is accompanied by numerous minor differences (such as the ancients
remarked) in belief, in manners and institutions, and in language. These
differences bear out the inference that the _Odyssey_ is of a later age.
The progress of reflection is especially shown in the higher ideas
entertained regarding the gods. The turbulent Olympian court has almost
disappeared. Zeus has acquired the character of a supreme moral ruler;
and although Athena and Poseidon are adverse influences in the poem, the
notion of a direct contest between them is scrupulously avoided. The
advance of morality is shown in the more frequent use of terms such as
"just" ([Greek: dikaios]), "piety" ([Greek: hoshiê]), "insolence"
([Greek: hubris]), "god-fearing" ([Greek: theoudês]), "pure" ([Greek:
hagnos]); and also in the plot of the story, which is distinctly a
contest between right and wrong. In matters bearing upon the arts of
life it is unsafe to press the silence of the _Iliad_. We may note,
however, the difference between the house of Priam, surrounded by
distinct dwellings for his many sons and daughters, and the houses of
Ulysses and Alcinous, with many chambers under a single roof. The
singer, too, who is so prominent a figure in the _Odyssey_ can hardly be
thought to be absent from the _Iliad_ merely because the scene is laid
in a camp.
_Style of Homer._--A few words remain to be said on the style and
general character of the Homeric poems, and on the comparisons which may
be made between Homer and analogous poetry in other countries.
The cardinal qualities of the style of Homer have been pointed out once
for all by Matthew Arnold. "The translator of Homer," he says, "should
above all be penetrated by a sense of four qualities of his author--that
he is eminently rapid; that he is eminently plain and direct, both in
the evolution of his thought and in the expression of it, that is, both
in his syntax and in his words; that he is eminently plain and direct in
the substance of his thought, that is, in his matter and ideas; and,
finally, that he is eminently noble" (_On Translating Homer_, p. 9).
The peculiar rapidity of Homer is due in great measure to his use of the
hexameter verse. It is characteristic of early literature that the
evolution of the thought--that is, the grammatical form of the
sentence--is guided by the structure of the verse; and the
correspondence which consequently obtains between the rhythm and the
grammar--the thought being given out in lengths, as it were, and these
again divided by tolerably uniform pauses--produces a swift flowing
movement, such as is rarely found when the periods have been constructed
without direct reference to the metre. That Homer possesses this
rapidity without falling into the corresponding faults--that is, without
becoming either "jerky" or monotonous--is perhaps the best proof of his
unequalled poetical skill. The plainness and directness, both of thought
and of expression, which characterize Homer were doubtless qualities of
his age; but the author of the _Iliad_ (like Voltaire, to whom Arnold
happily compares him) must have possessed the national gift in a
surpassing degree. The _Odyssey_ is in this respect perceptibly below
the level of the _Iliad_.
Rapidity or ease of movement, plainness of expression and plainness of
thought, these are not the distinguishing qualities of the great epic
poets--Virgil, Dante, Milton. On the contrary, they belong rather to the
humbler epico-lyrical school for which Homer has been so often claimed.
The proof that Homer does not belong to that school--that his poetry is
not in any true sense "ballad-poetry"--is furnished by the higher
artistic structure of his poems (already discussed), and as regards
style by the fourth of the qualities distinguished by Arnold--the
quality of _nobleness_. It is his noble and powerful style, sustained
through every change of idea and subject, that finally separates Homer
from all forms of "ballad-poetry" and "popular epic."[14]
But while we are on our guard against a once common error, we may
recognize the historical connexion between the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ and
the "ballad" literature which undoubtedly preceded them in Greece. It
may even be admitted that the swift-flowing movement, and the simplicity
of thought and style, which we admire in the _Iliad_ are an inheritance
from the earlier "lays"--the [Greek: klea andrôn] such as Achilles and
Patroclus sang to the lyre in their tent. Even the metre--the hexameter
verse--may be assigned to them. But between these lays and Homer we must
place the cultivation of epic poetry as an art.[15] The pre-Homeric lays
doubtless furnished the elements of such a poetry--the alphabet, so to
speak, of the art; but they must have been refined and transmuted before
they formed poems like the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_.
A single example will illustrate this. In the scene on the walls of
Troy, in the third book of the _Iliad_, after Helen has pointed out
Agamemnon, Ulysses and Ajax in answer to Priam's questions, she goes on
unasked to name Idomeneus. Lachmann, whose mind is full of the ballad
manner, fastens upon this as an irregularity. "The unskilful transition
from Ajax to Idomeneus, about whom no question had been asked," he
cannot attribute to the original poet of the lay (_Betrachtungen_, p.
15, ed. 1865). But, as was pointed out by A. Römer[16], this is exactly
the variation which a _poet_ would introduce to relieve the primitive
_ballad-like_ sameness of question and answer; and moreover it forms the
transition to the lines about the Dioscuri by which the scene is so
touchingly brought to a close.
_Analogies._--The development of epic poetry (properly so called) out of
the oral songs or ballads of a country is a process which in the nature
of things can seldom be observed. It seems clear, however, that the
hypothesis of epics such as the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ having been formed
by putting together or even by working up shorter poems finds no support
from analogy.
Narrative poetry of great interest is found in several countries (such
as Spain and Servia), in which it has never attained to the epic stage.
In Scandinavia, in Lithuania, in Russia, according to Gaston Paris
(_Histoire poétique de Charlemagne_, p. 9), the national songs have been
arrested in a form which may be called intermediate between contemporary
poetry and the epic. The true epics are those of India, Persia, Greece,
Germany, Britain and France. Most of these, however, fail to afford any
useful points of comparison, either from their utter unlikeness to
Homer, or because there is no evidence of the existence of anterior
popular songs. The most instructive, perhaps the only instructive,
parallel is to be found in the French "chansons de geste," of which the
_Chanson de Roland_ is the earliest and best example. These poems are
traced back with much probability to the 10th century. They are epic in
character, and were recited by professional _jongleurs_ (who may be
compared to the [Greek: aoidoi] of Homer). But as early as the 7th
century we come upon traces of short lays (the so-called cantilènes)
which were in the mouths of all and were sung in chorus. It has been
held that the chansons de geste were formed by joining together
"bunches" of these earlier cantilènes, and this was the view taken by
Léon Gautier in the first edition of _Les Épopées françaises_ (1865). In
the second edition, of which the first volume appeared in 1878, he
abandoned this theory. He believes that the epics were generally
composed under the influence of earlier songs. "Our first epic poets,"
he says, "did not actually and materially patch together pre-existent
cantilènes. They were only inspired by these popular songs; they only
borrowed from them the traditional and legendary elements. In short,
they took nothing from them but the ideas, the spirit, the life; they
'found' (ils ont trouvé) all the rest" (p. 80). But he admits that "some
of the old poems may have been borrowed from tradition, without any
intermediary" (ibid.); and when it is considered that the traces of the
"cantilènes" are slight, and that the degree in which they inspired the
later poetry must be a matter of impression rather than of proof, it
does not surprise us to find other scholars (notably Paul Meyer)
attaching less importance to them, or even doubting their existence.[17]
When Léon Gautier shows how history passes into legend, and legend again
into romance, we are reminded of the difference noticed above between
the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_, and between Homer and the early Cyclic
poems. And the peculiar degradation of Homeric characters which appears
in some poets (especially Euripides) finds a parallel in the later
chansons de geste.[18]
The comparison of Homer with the great literary epics calls for more
discursive treatment than would be in place here. Some external
differences have been already indicated. Like the French epics, Homeric
poetry is indigenous, and is distinguished by this fact, and by the ease
of movement and the simplicity which result from it, from poets such as
Virgil, Dante and Milton. It is also distinguished from them by the
comparative absence of underlying motives or sentiment. In Virgil's
poetry a sense of the greatness of Rome and Italy is the leading motive
of a passionate rhetoric, partly veiled by the "chosen delicacy" of his
language. Dante and Milton are still more faithful exponents of the
religion and politics of their time. Even the French epics are pervaded
by the sentiment of fear and hatred of the Saracens. But in Homer the
interest is purely dramatic. There is no strong antipathy of race or
religion; the war turns on no political event; the capture of Troy lies
outside the range of the _Iliad_. Even the heroes are not the chief
national heroes of Greece. The interest lies wholly (so far as we can
see) in the picture of human action and feeling.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--A complete bibliography of Homer would fill volumes.
The following list is intended to include those books only which are
of first-rate importance.
The _editio princeps_ of Homer, published at Florence in 1488, by
Demetrius Chalcondylas, and the Aldine editions of 1504 and 1517, have
still some value beyond that of curiosity. The chief modern critical
editions are those of Wolf (Halle, 1794-1795; Leipzig, 1804-1807),
Spitzner (Gotha, 1832-1836), Bekker (Berlin, 1843; Bonn, 1858), La
Roche (_Odyssey_, 1867-1868; _Iliad_, 1873-1876, both at Leipzig);
Ludwich (_Odyssey_, Leipzig, 1889-1891; _Iliad_, 2 vols., 1901 and
1907): W. Leaf (_Iliad_, London, 1886-1888; 2nd ed. 1900-1902); Merry
and Riddell (_Odyssey_ i.-xii., 2nd ed., Oxford, 1886); Monro
(_Odyssey_ xiii.-xxiv. with appendices, Oxford, 1901); Monro and Allen
(_Iliad_), and Allen (_Odyssey_, 1908, Oxford). The commentaries of
Barnes, Clarke and Ernesti are practically superseded; but Heyne's
_Iliad_ (Leipzig, 1802) and Nitzsch's commentary on the _Odyssey_
(books i.-xii., Hanover, 1826-1840) are still useful. Nägelbach's
_Anmerkungen zur Ilias_ (A, B 1-483, [Gamma]) is of great value,
especially the third edition (by Autenrieth, Nuremberg, 1864). The
unique _Scholia Veneta_ on the _Iliad_ were first made known by
Villoison (_Homeri Ilias ad veteris codicis Veneti fidem recensita,
Scholia in eam antiquissima ex eodem codice aliisque nunc primum
edidit, cum Asteriscis, Obeliscis, aliisque signis criticis, Joh.
Baptista Caspar d'Ansse de Villoison_, Venice, 1788); reprinted, with
many additions from other MSS., by Bekker (_Scholia in Homeri
Iliadem_, Berlin, 1825-1826). A new edition has been published by the
Oxford Press (_Scholia Graeca in Homeri Iliadem_, ed. Gul.
Dindorfius); six volumes have appeared (1875-1888), the last two
edited by Professor E. Maass. The vast commentary of Eustathius was
first printed at Rome in 1542; the last edition is that of Stallbaum
(Leipzig, 1827). The Scholia on the _Odyssey_ were published by
Buttmann (Berlin, 1821), and with greater approach to completeness by
W. Dindorf (Oxford, 1855). Although Wolf at once perceived the value
of the Venetian Scholia on the _Iliad_, the first scholar who
thoroughly explored them was C. Lehrs (_De Aristarchi studiis
Homericis_, Königsberg, 1833; 2nd ed., Leipzig, 1865). Of the studies
in the same field which have appeared since, the most important are:
Aug. Nauck, _Aristophanis Byzantii fragmenta_ (Halle, 1848); L.
Friedländer, _Aristonici_ [Greek: peri sêmeiôn 'Iliados] _reliquiae_
(Göttingen, 1853); M. Schmidt, _Didymi Chalcenteri fragmenta_
(Leipzig, 1854); L. Friedländer, _Nicanoris_ [Greek: peri Iliakês
stigmês] _reliquiae_ (Berlin, 1857); Aug. Lentz, _Herodiani Technici
reliquiae_ (Leipzig, 1867); J. La Roche, _Die homerische Textkritik im
Alterthum_ (Leipzig, 1866) and _Homerische Untersuchungen_ (Leipzig,
1869); Ad. Römer, _Die Werke der Aristarcheer im Cod. Venet. A._
(Munich, 1875); A. Ludwich, _Aristarch's Homerische Textkritik_ (2
vols. Leipzig, 1884-1885); and _Die Homervulgata als
vor-Alexandrinisch erwiesen_ (Leipzig, 1898).
The literature of the "Homeric Question" begins practically with
Wolf's _Prolegomena_ (Halle, 1795). Of the earlier books Wood's _Essay
on the Original Genius and Writings of Homer_ is the most interesting.
Wolf's views were skilfully popularized in W. Müller's _Homerische
Vorschule_ (2nd ed., Leipzig, 1836). G. Hermann's dissertations _De
interpolationibus Homeri_ (1832) and _De iteratis apuà Homerum_ (1840)
are reprinted in his _Opuscula_. Lachmann's two papers (_Betrachtungen
über Homer's Ilias_) were edited together by M. Haupt (2nd ed.,
Berlin, 1865). Besides the somewhat voluminous writings of Nitzsch,
and the discussions contained in the histories of Greek literature by
K. O. Müller, Bernhardy, Ulrici and Th. Bergk, and in Grote's _History
of Greece_, see Welcker, _Der epische Cyclus oder die homerischen
Dichter_ (Bonn, 1835-1849); on Proclus and the Cycle reference may
also be made to Wilamowitz-Möllendorf p. 328 seq.; E. Bethe, _Rhein.
Mus._ (1891), xxvi. p. 593 seq.; O. Immisch, _Festschrift Th. Gomperz
dargebracht_ (1902), p. 237 sq.; Lauer, _Geschichte der homerischen
Poesie_ (Berlin, 1851); Sengebusch, two dissertations prefixed to the
two volumes of W. Dindorf's _Homer_ in the Teubner series (1855-1856);
Friedländer, _Die homerische Kritik von Wolf bis Grote_ (Berlin,
1853); Nutzhorn, _Die Entstehungsweise der homerischen Gedichte, mit
Vorwort von J. N. Madvig_ (Leipzig, 1869); E. Kammer, _Zur homerischen
Frage_ (Königsberg, 1870); and _Die Einheit der Odyssee_ (Leipzig,
1873); Ä. Kirchhoff, _Die Composition der Odyssee_ (Berlin, 1869);
Volkmann, _Geschichte und Kritik der Wolf'schen Prolegomena_ (Leipzig,
1874); K. Sittl, _Die Wiederholungen in der Odyssee_ (München, 1882);
U. v. Wilamowitz-Möllendorf, _Homerische Untersuchungen_ (Berlin,
1884); O. Seeck, _Die Quellen der Odyssee_ (Berlin, 1887); F. Blass,
_Die Interpolationen in der Odyssee_ (Leipzig, 1905). The interest
taken in the question by English students is sufficiently shown in the
writings of W. E. Gladstone, F. A. Paley, Henry Hayman (in the
Introduction to his _Odyssey_), P. Geddes, R. C. Jebb and A. Lang (see
especially the latter's _Homer and his Age_, 1907).
The Homeric dialect must be studied in the books (such as those of G.
Curtius) that deal with Greek on the comparative method. The best
special work is the brief _Griechische Formenlehre_ of H. L. Ahrens
(Göttingen, 1852). Other important works are those of Aug. Fick: _Die
homerische Odyssee in der ursprünglichen Sprachform wiederhergestelt_
(Göttingen, 1883); _Die homerische Ilias_ (_ibid._, 1886); W. Schulze,
_Quaestiones epicae_ (Güterslohe, 1892). On Homeric syntax the chief
book is B. Delbrück's _Syntactische Forschungen_ (Halle, 1871-1879),
especially vols. i. and iv.; on metre, &c., Hartel's _Homerische
Studien_ (i.-iii., Vienna); Knös, _De digammo Homerico quaestiones_
(Upsala, 1872-1873-1878); Thumb, _Zur Geschichte des griech. Digamma,
Indogermanische Forschungen_ (1898), ix. 294 seq. The papers reprinted
in Bekker's _Homerische Blätter_ (Bonn, 1863-1872) and Cobet's
_Miscellanea Crilica_ (Leiden, 1876) are of the highest value.
Hoffmann's _Quaestiones Homericae_ (Clausthal, 1842) is a useful
collection of facts. Buttmann's _Lexilogus_, as an example of method,
is still worth study.
The antiquities of Homer--using the word in a wide sense--may be
studied in the following books: Völcker, _Über homerische Geographie
und Weltkunde_ (Hanover, 1830); Nägelsbach's _Homerische Theologie_
(2nd ed., Nuremberg, 1861); H. Brunn, _Die Kunst bei Homer_ (Munich,
1868); W. W. Lloyd, _On the Homeric Design of the Shield of Achilles_
(London, 1854); Buchholz, _Die homerischen Realien_ (Leipzig,
1871-1873); W. Helbig, _Das homerische Epos aus den Denkmälern
erläutert_ (Leipzig, 1884; 2nd ed., ibid., 1887); W. Reichel, _Über
homerische Waffen_ (Vienna, 1894); C. Robert, _Studien zur Ilias_
(Berlin, 1901); W. Ridgeway, _The Early Age of Greece_ (Cambridge,
1901); V. Bérard, _Les Phéniciens et l'Odyssée_ (Paris, 1902-1903); C.
Robert, "Topographische Probleme der Ilias," in _Hermes_, xlii., 1907,
pp. 78-112.
Among other aids should be mentioned the _Index Homericus_ of Seber
(Oxford, 1780); Prendergast's _Concordance to the Iliad_ (London,
1875); Dunbar's _id._ to the _Odyssey and Hymns_ (Oxford, 1880);
Frohwein, _Verbum Homericum_, (Leipzig, 1881); Gehring, _Index
Homericus_ (Leipzig, 1891); the _Lexicon Homericum_, edited by H.
Ebeling (Leipzig, 1880-1885) and the facsimile of the cod. Ven. A
(Sijthoff; Leiden, 1901), with an introduction by D. Comparetti.
(D. B. M.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This article was thoroughly revised by Dr D. B. Monro before his
death in 1905; a few points have since been added by Mr. T. W. Allen.
[2] See a paper in the _Diss. Philol. Halenses_, ii. 97-219.
[3] Compare the _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_, published by Robert
Chambers.
[4] Compare the branch of myrtle at an Athenian feast (Aristoph.,
_Nub._, 1364).
[5] The _Iliad_ was also recited at the festival of the Brauronia, at
Brauron in Attica (Hesych. _s.v._ [Greek: branrôniois]).
[6] _Contemporary Review_, vol. xxiii. p. 218 ff.
[7] The fact that the Phoenician Vau ([digamma]) was retained in the
Greek alphabets, and the vowel [upsilon] added, shows that when the
alphabet was introduced the sound denoted by [digamma] was still in
full vigour. Otherwise [digamma] would have been used for the vowel
[upsilon], just as the Phoenician consonant Yod became the vowel
[iota]. But in the Ionic dialect the sound of [digamma] died out soon
after Homer's time, if indeed it was still pronounced then. It seems
probable therefore that the introduction of the alphabet is not later
than the composition of the Homeric poems.
[8] See D. B. Monro's _Homer's Odyssey_, books xiii.-xxiv. (Oxford,
1901, p. 455 sqq.), and the abstract of his paper on the Homeric
Dialect read to the Congress of Historical Sciences at Rome, 1903:
_Atti del Congresso internazionale di scienze storiche_, ii. 152,
153, 1905, "Il Dialetto omerico."
[9] See the chapter in Cobet's _Miscellanea critica_, pp. 225-239.
[10] The existence of two groups of the Venetian Scholia was first
noticed by Jacob La Roche, and they were first distinguished in the
edition of W. Dindorf (Oxford, 1875). There is also a group of
Scholia, chiefly exegetical, a collection of which was published by
Villoison from a MS. Ven. 453 (s. xi.) in his edition of 1788, and
has been again edited by W. Dindorf (Oxford, 1877). The most
important collection of this group is contained in the _Codex
Townleianus_ (Burney 86 s. xi.) of the British Museum, edited by E.
Maass, (Oxford, 1887-1888). The vast commentary of Eustathius (of the
12th century) marks a third stage in the progress of ancient Homeric
learning.
[11] _Prolegomena ad Homerum, sive de operum Homericorum prisca et
genuina forma variisque mutationibus et probabili ratione emendandi._
scripsit Frid. Aug. Wolfius, volumen i. (1795).
[12] On this point see a paper by Professor Packard in the _Trans. of
the American Philological Association_ (1876).
[13] _Die Composition der Odyssee_ (Berlin, 1869). A full discussion
of this book is given by Dr E. Kammer, _Die Einheit der Odyssee_
(Leipzig, 1873).
[14] "As a poet Homer must be acknowledged to excel Shakespeare in
the truth, the harmony, the sustained grandeur, the satisfying
completeness of his images" (Shelley, _Essays_, &c., i. 51, ed.
1852).
[15] "The old English balladist may stir Sir Philip Sidney's heart
like a trumpet, and this is much; but Homer, but the few artists in
the grand style, can do more--they can refine the raw natural man,
they can transmute him" (_On Translating Homer_, p. 61).
[16] _Die exegetischen Scholien der Ilias_, p. vii.
[17] "On comprend que des chants populaires nés d'un événement
éclatant, victoire ou défaite, puissent contribuer à former la
tradition, à en arrêter les traits; ils peuvent aussi devenir le
centre de légendes qui se forment pour les expliquer; et de la sorte
leur substance au moins arrive au poëte épique qui l'introduit dans
sa composition. Voilà ce qui a pu se produire pour de chants
très-courts, dont il est d'ailleurs aussi difficile d'affirmer que de
nier l'existence. Mais on peut expliquer la formation des chansons de
geste par une autre hypothèse" (Meyer, _Recherches sur l'épopée
française_, p. 65). "Ce qui a fait naître la théorie des chants
'lyrico-épiques' ou des cantilènes, c'est le système de Wolf sur les
poëmes homériques, et de Lachmann sur les _Nibelungen_. Mais, au
moins en ce qui concerne ce dernier poëme, le système est détruit....
On tire encore argument des romances espagnoles, qui, dit-on, sont
des 'cantilènes' non encore arrivées à l'épopée.... Et c'est le
malheur de cette théorie: faute de preuves directes, elle cherche des
analogies au dehors: en Espagne, elle trouve des 'cantilènes,' mais
pas d'épopée; en Allemagne, une épopée, mais pas de cantilènes!"
(_Ibid._ p. 66).
[18] A. Lang, _Contemporary Review_, vol. xvii., N.S., p. 588.
HOMER, WINSLOW (1836-1910), American painter, was born in Boston,
U.S.A., on the 24th of February 1836. At the age of nineteen he was
apprenticed to a lithographer. Two years later he opened a studio in
Boston, and devoted much of his time to making drawings for
wood-engravers. In 1859 he removed to New York, where he studied in the
night-school of the National Academy of Design. During the American
Civil War he was with the troops at the front, and contributed sketches
to _Harper's Weekly_. The war also furnished him with the subjects for
the first two pictures which he exhibited (1863), one of which was
"Home, Sweet Home." His "Prisoners from the Front"--perhaps his most
generally popular picture--was exhibited in New York in 1865, and also
in Paris in 1867, where he was spending the year in study. Among his
other paintings in oil are "Snap the Whip" (which was exhibited at the
Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, and, in company with "The
Country Schoolroom," at the Paris Salon the following year), "Eating
Water-melon," "The Cotton Pickers," "Visit from the Old Mistress, Sunday
Morning," "The Life-Line" and "The Coming of the Gale." His genius,
however, has perhaps shown better in his works in water-colour, among
which are his marine studies painted at Gloucester, Mass., and his
"Inside the Bar," "The Voice from the Cliffs" (pictures of English
fisherwomen), "Tynemouth," "Wrecking of a Vessel" and "Lost on the
Grand Banks." His work, which principally consists of _genre_ pictures,
is characterized by strength, rugged directness and unmistakable
freshness and originality, rather than by technical excellence, grace of
line or beauty of colour. He was little affected by European influences.
His types and scenes, apart from his few English pictures, are
distinctly American--soldiers in blue, New England children, negroes in
the land of cotton, Gloucester fishermen and stormy Atlantic seas.
Besides being a member of the Society of Painters in Water-color, New
York, he was elected in 1864 an associate and the following year a
member of the National Academy of Design.
HOMESTEAD, a borough of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on the
Monongahela river, 8 m. S.E. of Pittsburg. Pop. (1890) 7911; (1900)
12,554, of whom 3604 were foreign-born and 640 were negroes; (U.S.
census, 1910) 18,713. It is served by the Pennsylvania and the Pittsburg
& Lake Erie railways, and by the short Union Railroad, which connects
with the Bessemer & Lake Erie and the Wabash railways. The borough has a
Carnegie library and the C.M. Schwab Manual Training School. Partly in
Homestead but chiefly in the adjoining borough of Munhall (and therefore
not reported as in Homestead by the U.S. Census) is one of the largest
plants in the United States for the manufacture of steel used in the
construction of bridges and steel-frame buildings and of steel
armour-plate, and this is its chief industry; among Homestead's other
manufactures are glass and fire-bricks. The water-works are owned and
operated by the municipality. Homestead was first settled in 1871, and
it was incorporated in 1880. In 1892 a labour strike lasting 143 days
and one of the most serious in the history of the United States was
carried on here by the National Amalgamated Association of Iron and
Steel Workers of the United States against the Carnegie Steel Company.
The arrival (on the 6th of July) of a force of about 200 Pinkerton
detectives from New York and Chicago resulted in a fight in which about
10 men were killed, and to restore order two brigades of the state
militia were called out. See STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS.
HOMESTEAD AND EXEMPTION LAWS, laws (principally in the United States)
designed primarily either to aid the head of a family to acquire title
to a place of residence or to protect the owner against loss of that
title through seizure for debt. These laws have all been enacted in
America since about the middle of the 19th century, and owe their origin
to the demand for a population of the right sort in a new country, to
the conviction that the freeholder rather than the tenant is the natural
supporter of popular government, to the effort to prevent insolvent
debtors from becoming useless members of society, and to the belief that
such laws encourage the stability of the family.
By the cessions of several of the older states, and by various treaties
with foreign countries, public lands have been acquired for the United
States in every state and territory of the Union except the original
thirteen, and Maine, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas. For a time
they were regarded chiefly as a source of revenue, but about 1820, as
the need of revenue for the payment of the national debt decreased and
the inhabitants of an increasing number of new states became eager to
have the vacant lands within their bounds occupied, the demand that the
public lands should be disposed of more in the interest of the settler
became increasingly strong, and the homestead idea originated. Until the
advent of railways, however, the older states of the North were opposed
to promoting the development of the West in this manner, and soon
afterwards the Southern representatives in Congress opposed the general
homestead bills in the interests of slavery, so that except in isolated
cases where settlers were desired to protect some frontier, as in
Florida and Oregon, and to a limited extent in the case of the
Pre-emption Act of 1841 (see below), the homestead principle was not
applied by the national government until the Civil War had begun. A
general homestead bill was passed by Congress in 1860, but this was
vetoed by President James Buchanan; two years later, however, a similar
bill became a law. The act of 1862 originally provided that any citizen
of the United States, or applicant for citizenship, who was the head of
a family, or twenty-one years of age, or, if younger, had served not
less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States during
an actual war, might apply for 160 acres or less of unappropriated
public lands, and might acquire title to this amount of land by residing
upon and cultivating it for five years immediately following, and paying
such fees as were necessary to cover the cost of administration; a
homestead acquired in this manner was exempted from seizure for any debt
contracted prior to the date of issuing the patent. A commutation clause
of this act permitted title to be acquired after only six months of
residence by paying $1.25 per acre, as provided in the Pre-emption Act
of 1841. Act of 1872, amended in 1901, allows any soldier or seaman, who
has served at least ninety days in the army or navy of the United States
during the Civil War, the Spanish-American War or in the suppression of
the insurrection in the Philippines, and was honourably discharged, to
apply for a homestead, and permits the deduction of the time of such
service, or, if discharged on account of wounds or other disability
incurred in the line of duty, the full term of his enlistment, from the
five years otherwise required for perfecting title, except that in any
case he shall have resided upon and cultivated the land at least one
year before the passing of title. Since 1866 mineral lands have been for
the most part excluded from entry as homesteads.
In accordance with the provisions of the homestead law, 718,930
homesteads, containing 96,495,414 acres, were established in forty-two
years, and besides this principal act, Congress has passed several minor
ones of a like nature, that is, acts designed to benefit the actual
settler who improves the land. Thus the Pre-emption Act of 1841 gave to
any head of a family or any single person over twenty-one years of age,
who was a citizen of the United States or had declared his intention to
become one, permission to purchase not to exceed 160 acres of public
lands after he had resided upon and improved the same for six months;
the Timber-Culture Act of 1873 allowed title to 160 acres of public
prairie-land to be given to any one who should plant upon it 40 acres of
timber, and keep the same in good growing condition for ten years; and
the Desert-Land Act of 1877 gave to any citizen of the United States, or
to any person who had declared his intention to become one, the
privilege of acquiring title to 640 acres of such public land as was not
included in mineral or timber lands, and would not without irrigation
produce an agricultural crop, by paying twenty-five cents an acre and
creating for the tract an artificial water-supply. These several land
acts, however, invited fraud to such an extent that in time they
promoted the establishment of large land holdings by ranchmen and others
quite as much as they encouraged settlement and cultivation, and so
great was this evil that in 1891 the Timber-Culture and Pre-emption Acts
were repealed, the total amount of land that could be acquired by any
one person under the several land laws was limited to 320 acres, the
Desert-Land Act was so amended as to require an expenditure of at least
three dollars an acre for irrigation, and the original Homestead Act was
so amended as to disqualify any person who was already proprietor of
more than 160 acres in any state or Territory of the Union for acquiring
any more land under its provisions; and in 1896 a residence of fourteen
months was required before permitting commutation or the purchase of
title. But even these measures were inadequate to prevent fraud. In 1894
Congress, in what is known as the Carey Act, donated to California,
Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New
Mexico and the Dakotas so much of 1,000,000 acres each of desert-lands
as each should cause to be irrigated, reclaimed and occupied within ten
years,[1] not less than 20 acres of each 160 acres to be cultivated by
actual settlers; and in several of these states and territories
irrigating companies have been formed and land offered to settlers in
amounts not exceeding 160 acres to each, on terms requiring the settler
to purchase ample and perpetual water-rights. In 1902, Congress
appropriated the proceeds of the sales of public lands in these states
and territories to form a reclamation fund to be used for the
construction and maintenance of irrigation works, and lands reclaimed by
this means are open to homestead entries, the entry-man being required
to pay for the cost of reclamation in ten equal annual instalments
without interest. When Texas was admitted to the Union the disposal of
its public lands was reserved to the state, and under its laws every
person who is the head of a family and without a homestead may acquire
title to 160 acres of land by residing upon and improving it for three
years; every unmarried man eighteen years of age or over may acquire
title to 80 acres in the same way.
A short time before the National Homestead Act for aiding citizens to
acquire homesteads went into operation, some of the state legislatures
had passed homestead and exemption laws designed to protect homesteads
or a certain amount of property against loss to the owners in case they
should become insolvent debtors, and by the close of the century the
legislature of nearly every state in the Union had passed a law of this
nature. These laws vary greatly. In most states the exemption of a
homestead or other property from liability for debts can be claimed only
by the head of a family, but in Georgia it may be claimed by any aged or
infirm person, by any trustee of a family of minor children, or by any
person on whom any woman or girls are dependent for support; and in
California, although the head of a family may claim exemption for a
homestead valued at $5000, any other person may claim exemption for a
homestead valued at $1000. In some states exemptions may be claimed
either for a farm limited to 40, 80, 160 or 200 acres, or for a house
and one or more lots, usually limited in size, in a town, village or
city; in other states the homestead for which exemption may be claimed
is limited in value, and this value varies from $500 to $5000. With the
homestead are usually included the appurtenances thereto, and the courts
invariably interpret the law liberally; but many states also exempt a
specified amount of personal property, including wearing apparel,
furniture, provisions, tools, libraries and in some cases domestic
animals and stock in trade. A few states exempt no homestead and only a
small amount of personal property; Maryland, for example, exempts only
$100 worth of property besides money payable in the nature of insurance,
or for relief, in the event of sickness, injury or death. To some debts
the exemption does not usually apply; the most common of these are
taxes, purchase money, a debt secured by mortgage on the homestead and
debts contracted in making improvements upon it; in Maryland the only
exception is a judgment for breach of promise to marry or in case of
seduction. If the homestead belongs to a married person, the consent of
both husband and wife is usually required to mortgage it. Finally, some
states require that the homestead for which exemption is to be claimed
shall be previously entered upon record, others require only occupancy,
and still others permit the homestead to be designated whenever a claim
is presented.
Following the example of either the United States Congress or the state
legislatures, the governments of several British colonial states and
provinces have passed homestead laws. In Quebec every settler on public
lands is allowed, after receiving a patent, an exemption of not to
exceed 200 acres from that of his widow, of his, her or their children
and descendants in the direct line. In Ontario an applicant for a
homestead may have not to exceed 200 acres of unappropriated public land
for farming purposes by building a house thereon, occupying it for five
years, and bringing at least fifteen acres under cultivation; the
exemption of such a homestead from liability to seizure for debts is,
however, limited to twenty years from the date of application for the
land, and does not extend even during that period to rates or taxes.
Manitoba, British Columbia, Queensland, New South Wales, South
Australia, West Australia and New Zealand also have liberal homestead
and exemption laws.
See J. B. Sanborn, "Some Political Aspects of Homestead Legislation,"
in _The American Historical Review_ (1900); Edward Manson, "The
Homestead Acts," in the _Journal of the Society of Comparative
Legislation_ (London, 1899); S. D. Thompson, _A Treatise on_
_Homesteads and Exemptions_ (San Francisco, 1886); P. Bureau, _Le
Homestead ou l'Insaisissabilité de la petite propriété foncière_
(Paris, 1894), and L. Vacher, _Le Homestead aux États-Unis_ (Paris,
1899). (N. D. M.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] In 1901 it was provided that the ten years should date from the
segregation of the lands from the public domain.
HOMEYER, KARL GUSTAV (1795-1874), German jurist, was born on the 13th of
August 1795 at Wolgast in Pomerania. After studying law at the
universities of Berlin, Göttingen and Heidelberg (1813-1817), he settled
as a _Privatdocent_, in 1821, at the university of Berlin, where he
became ordinary professor of law in 1827. His principal works are his
edition of the _Sachsenspiegel_ (in 3 vols., 1827, 3rd ed., 1861,
containing also some other important sources of Saxon or Low German
law), which is still unsurpassed in accuracy and sagacity of research,
and his book on _Die Haus- und Hofmarken_ (1870), in which he has given
a history of the use of trade-marks among all the Teutonic nations of
Europe, and which is full of important elucidations of the history of
law and also contains valuable contributions to the history of art and
civilization. In 1850 Homeyer was elected a member of the Berlin Academy
of Sciences, in the _Transactions_ of which he published various papers
exhibiting profound learning (_Über die Heimat_, 1852; _Genealogie der
Handschriften des Sachsenspiegels_, 1859; _Die Stadtbücher des
Mittelalters_, 1860; _Der Dreissigste_, 1864, &c.). He died on the 20th
of October 1874.
HOMICIDE (Lat. _homicidium_), the general and neutral term for the
killing of one human being by another. The nature of the responsibility
of the slayer to the state and to the relatives of the slain has been
one of the chief concerns of all systems of law from the earliest times,
and it has been variously considered from the points of view of the
sanctity of human life, the interests of the sovereign, the injury to
the family of the slain and the moral guilt, i.e. the motives and
intentions, of the slayer.
The earliest recorded laws (those of Khammurabi) do not contain any
sweeping general provision as to the punishment of homicide. The death
penalty is freely imposed but not for homicide. "If a man strike a
gentleman's daughter that she dies, his own daughter is to be put to
death, if a poor man's the slayer pays ½ mina." In the Mosaic law the
general command "Thou shalt not kill" of the Decalogue is in terms
absolute. In primitive law homicide, however innocent, subjected the
slayer to the lawful vengeance of the kindred of the slain, unless he
could make some composition with him. This _lex talionis_ (a life for a
life) resulted: (1) in a course of private justice which still survives
in the vendetta of Corsica and Albania, and the blood feuds arising out
of "difficulties" in the southern and western parts of the United
States; (2) in the recognition of sanctuaries and cities of refuge
within which the avenger of blood might not penetrate to kill an
innocent manslayer; and (3) in the system of wite, bote and wer, by
which the life of every man had its assessed price payable to his chief
and his next of kin.
It took long to induce the relatives of the slain to appreciate anything
beyond the fact of the death of their kinsman or to discriminate between
intentional and accidental homicide. By the laws of Khammurabi (206,
208) striking a man in a quarrel without deadly intent but with fatal
effect was treated as a matter for compensation according to the rank of
the slain. The Pentateuch discriminates between the man "who lieth in
wait for" or "cometh presumptuously" on "his neighbour to slay him with
guile" (Exodus xxi. 13, 14), and the man "who killeth his neighbour
ignorantly whom he hated not in time past" (Deut. xix. 4). But even
killing by misadventure exposed the slayer to the avenger of blood. "As
a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand
fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down a tree and the head slippeth
from the helve and lighteth upon his neighbour that he die: he shall
flee into one of these cities (of refuge) and live" (Deut. xix. 5).
Under the early laws of Teutonic and Celtic communities the
inconveniences of the blood feud were gradually mitigated (see CRIMINAL
LAW) by the system of wite and wer (or eric), but the blood feud
continued long in Friesland and Lower Saxony, and in parts of
Switzerland until the 16th century. In England under the Norman system
homicide became a plea of the crown, and the rights of the kindred to
private vengeance and to compensation were gradually superseded in
favour of the right of the king to forfeitures where the homicide
amounted to a crime (felony).
Though homicide was thus made a public offence and not a matter for
private vengeance, it took long to discriminate between those forms of
homicide which should and those which should not be punished.
The terms of act in English law used to describe _criminal_ homicide are
murder (_mord_, _meurtre_, _murdrum_), manslaughter and _felo de se_ (or
suicide by a person of sound mind).
The original meaning of the word "murder" seems to have been secret
homicide,--"_Murdrum proprie dicitur mors alicujus occulta cujus
interfector ignoratur_" (_Dialogus de Scaccario_ i, x.); and Glanville
says: _Duo sunt genera homicidii, unum est quod dicitur murdrum quod
nullo vidente nullo sciente clam perpetratur, ita quod non assignatur
clamor popularis_ (hue and cry), _est et aliud homicidium quod diciter
simplex homicidium_. After the Conquest, and for the protection of the
ruling race, a fine (also called _murdrum_) was levied for the king on
the hundred or other district in which a stranger was found dead, if the
slayer was not brought to justice and the blood kin of the slain did not
present Englishry, there being a presumption (in favour of the
Exchequer) that the deceased was a Frenchman. After the assize of
Clarendon (1166) the distinction between the killing of Normans and
Englishmen gradually evaporated and the term murder came to acquire its
present meaning of deliberate as distinct from secret homicide. In 1267
it was provided that the murder fine should not be levied in cases of
death by "misadventure" (_per infortunium_).[1] But at that date and for
long afterwards homicide in self-defence or by misadventure or even
while of unsound mind involved at the least a forfeiture of goods, and
required a pardon. These pardons, and restitution of the goods, became a
matter of course, and the judges appear at a later date to have been in
the habit of directing an acquittal in such cases. But it was not until
1828 that the innocence of excusable homicide was expressly declared.
The rule is now expressed in s. 7 of the Offences against the Person Act
1861: "No punishment or forfeiture shall be incurred by any person who
shall kill another by misfortune, or in his own defence, or in any other
manner without felony."
The further differentiation between different degrees of criminal
homicide was marked by legislation of Henry VIII. (1531) taking away
benefit of clergy in the case of "wilful murder with malice prepensed"
(aforethought), and that phrase is still the essential element in the
definition of "wilful murder," which is committed "when a person of
sound memory and discretion unlawfully killeth any reasonable creature
or being and under the king's peace with malice aforethought either
express or implied" (3 Co. Inst. 47). The whole development of the
substantive law as to murder rests on judicial rulings as to the meaning
of malice prepense coupled with the extrajudicial commentaries of Coke,
Hale and Foster; for parliament, though often tempted by bills and
codes, has never ventured on a legislative definition. Much discussion
has ranged round the phrase "malice aforethought," and it has
undoubtedly been expanded by judicial decision so as to create what is
described as "constructive" murder. According to the view of the
criminal code commissioners of 1879 (_Parl. Pap._, 1879, c. 23, 45, p.
23) the term "malice aforethought" is now a common name for all the
following states of mind:--
1. An intent, preceding the act, to kill or do grievous bodily harm to
the person or to any other person:
2. Knowledge that the act done is _likely_ to produce such
consequences, whether coupled with an intention to produce them or
not:
3. An intent to commit any felony: or
4. An intent to resist an officer of police in the execution of his
duty.
The third form of malice aforethought has been much controverted. When
it was first recognized as creating a liability for wilful murder almost
all felonies were capital offences: but even at the end of the 17th
century Lord Holt expressed a view that it should be limited to felonies
involving violence or danger to life, e.g. assault with intent to rob,
or setting fire to a dwelling-house. And Sir James Stephen's opinion is
that, to justify conviction of murder by an act done with intent to
commit a felony, the act done must be one dangerous to life or known to
be likely to cause death.
Starting with the definition above given, English law still retains so
much of its medieval character as to presume all homicide to be
"malicious, and therefore murder, unless it is either _justified_ by the
command or permission of the law, _excused_ on the ground of accident or
self-preservation, or _alleviated_ into manslaughter by being the
involuntary consequence of some act not strictly lawful or occasioned by
some sudden and sufficiently violent provocation." The truth of the
facts alleged in justification, excuse or alleviation, is for the jury
to determine: the question whether if true they support the plea for
which they are put forward is for the court.
In the administration of the English criminal law as to homicide the
consequences of too strict an adherence to the technical definitions of
the offences are avoided (a) by the exercise of the jury of their powers
to convict of manslaughter only even in cases where they are directed
that the offence is murder or nothing; (b) by the report of the judge as
to the particular circumstances of each case in which a conviction of
murder has been followed by the statutory sentence of death; (c) by the
examination of all the evidence in the case by the Home Office in order
to enable the secretary of state to determine whether the prerogative of
mercy should be exercised.
Homicide is justifiable and not criminal when the killing is done in the
execution of the law. The most important case of justifiable homicide is
the execution of a criminal in due course of public justice. This
condition is most stringently interpreted. "To kill the greatest of
malefactors deliberately, uncompelled, and extrajudicially is murder....
And further, if judgment of death be given by a judge not authorized by
lawful commission, and execution is done accordingly, the judge is
guilty of murder" (Stephen's _Commentaries_, book vi. c. iv.). The
execution must be carried out by the proper officer or his deputy: any
person executing the sentence without such authority, were it the judge
himself, would be guilty of murder. And the sentence must be strictly
pursued: to execute a criminal by a kind of death other than that to
which he has been judicially condemned is murder.
Homicide committed by an officer of justice in the course of carrying
out his duty, as such, is also justifiable; e.g. where a felon resists a
legal arrest and is killed in the effort to arrest him (see 2 Pollock
and Maitland, 476); where officers in dispersing a riotous assemblage
kill any of the mob, &c. (see RIOT). In these cases the homicide must be
shown to have been absolutely necessary. Again, homicide is justifiable
if committed in the defence of person or property against forcible and
heinous crime, such as murder, violent robbery, rape or burglary. In
this connexion there has been much discussion as to whether the person
attacked is under a duty to retreat: and in substance the justification
depends on the continuous necessity of attack or defence In order to
prevent the commission by the deceased of the crime threatened.
Homicide is excusable and not criminal at all when committed either by
misadventure or in self-defence. In the former case the homicide is
excused; where a man in the course of doing some lawful work,
accidentally and without intention kills another, e.g. shooting at a
mark and undesignedly hitting and killing a man. The act must be
strictly lawful, and death by misadventure in unlawful sports is not a
case of excusable homicide. Homicide in self-defence is excusable when
the slayer is himself in immediate danger of death, and has done all he
could to avoid the assault. Accordingly, if he strikes and kills his
assailant after the assault is over, this is not excusable homicide. But
if the assault has been premeditated, as in the ease of a duel, the
death of either antagonist has under English law always been held to be
murder and not excusable homicide. The excuse of self-defence covers the
case in which a person in defence of others whom it is his duty to
protect--children, wife, master, &c.--kills an assailant. It has been
considered doubtful whether the plea of self-defence is available to one
who has himself provoked a fray, in the course of which he is so pressed
by his antagonist that his only resource is to kill him.
In English law the term "manslaughter" is applied to those forms of
homicide which though neither justifiable nor excusable are attended by
alleviating circumstances which bring them short of wilful murder. The
offence is not defined by statute, but only by judicial rulings. Its
punishment is as a maximum penal servitude for life, and as a minimum a
fine or recognizances to be of good behaviour. The quantum of punishment
between the limits above stated is in the discretion of the court, and
not, as under continental codes, with fixed minima; and the offence
includes acts and omissions of very varying gravity, from acts which
only by the charitable appreciation of a jury fall short of wilful
murder, to acts or omissions which can only technically be described as
criminal, e.g. where one of two persons engaged in poaching, by pure
accident gets caught in a hedge so that his gun goes off and kills his
fellow-poacher. This may be described as an extreme instance of
"constructive crime."
There are two main forms of "manslaughter":--
1. "Voluntary" homicide under grave and sudden provocation or on a
sudden quarrel in the heat of passion, without the slayer taking undue
advantage or acting in an unusual manner. The substance of the
alleviation of guilt lies in the absence of time for cool reflection or
the formation of a premeditated design to kill. Under English law the
provocation must be by acts and not by words or gestures, and must be
serious and not trivial, and the killing must be immediately after
provocation and while the slayer has lost his self-control in
consequence of the provocation. The provocation need not be by assault
or violence, and perhaps the best-recognized example is the slaying by a
husband of a man found committing adultery with the slayer's wife. In
the case of a sudden quarrel it does not matter who began or provoked
the quarrel. This used to be called "chance medley."
2. "Involuntary" homicide as a result of great rashness or gross
negligence in respect of matters involving danger to human life, e.g. in
driving trains or vehicles, or in dealing with dangerous weapons, or in
performing surgical operations, or in taking care of the helpless.
The innumerable modes in which criminal liability for killing others has
been adjudged under the English definitions of murder and manslaughter
cannot be here stated, and can only be studied by reference to the
judicial decisions collected and discussed in _Russell on Crimes_ and
other English text-books, and in the valuable work by Mr J. D. Mayne on
the criminal law of India, in which the English common law rulings are
stated side by side with the terms and interpretations of the Indian
penal code. Much labour has been expended by many jurists in efforts to
create a scientific and acceptable classification of the various forms
of unlawful homicide which shall properly define the cases which should
be punishable by law and the appropriate punishment. Their efforts have
resulted in the establishment in almost every state except the United
Kingdom of statutory definitions of the crime, beginning with the French
penal code and going down to the criminal code of Japan. In the case of
England, as a result of the labours of Sir James Stephen, a code bill
was submitted to parliament in 1878. In 1879 a draft code was prepared
by Blackburn, Lush and Barry, and was presented to parliament. It was
founded on and prepared with Sir J. Stephen, and is a revision of his
digest of the criminal law.
After defining homicide and culpable homicide, the draft code (cl. 174)
declares culpable homicide to be murder in the following cases: (a) if
the offender means to cause the death of the person killed; (b) if the
offender means to cause to the person killed any bodily injury which is
known to the offender to be likely to cause death, and if the offender,
whether he does or does not mean to cause death, is reckless whether
death ensues or not; (c) if the offender means to cause death or such
bodily injury as aforesaid to one person, so that if that person be
killed the offender would be guilty of murder, and by accident or
mistake the offender kills another person though he does not mean to
hurt the person killed; (d) if the offender for any unlawful object does
an act which he knows or ought to have known to be likely to cause
death, and thereby kills any person, though he may have desired that his
object should be effected without hurting any one.
Further (cl. 175), it is murder (whether the offender means or not death
to ensue, or knows or not that death is likely to ensue) in the
following cases:--"(a) if he means to inflict grievous bodily injury for
the purpose of facilitating the commission of any of the offences
hereinafter mentioned, or the flight of the offender upon the commission
or attempted commission thereof, and death ensues from his violence; (b)
if he administers any stupefying thing for either of the purposes
aforesaid and death ensues from the effects thereof; (c) if he by any
means wilfully stops the breath of any person for either of the purposes
aforesaid and death ensues from such stopping of the breath." The
following are the offences referred to:--"high treason and other
offences against the king's authority, piracy and offences deemed to be
piracy, escape or rescue from prison or lawful custody, resisting lawful
apprehension, murder, rape, forcible abduction, robbery, burglary,
arson." Cl. 176 reduces culpable homicide to manslaughter if the person
who causes death does so "in the heat of passion caused by sudden
provocation"; and "any _wrongful act or insult_ of such a nature as to
be sufficient to deprive any ordinary person of the power of
self-control may be provocation if the offender acts upon it on the
sudden, and before there has been time for his passion to cool. Whether
any particular wrongful act or insult amounts to provocation and whether
the offender was deprived of self-control shall be questions of fact;
but no one shall be deemed to give provocation by doing that which he
had a legal right to do, or which the offender incited him to do in
order to provide an excuse for killing him or doing grievous bodily harm
to any person." Further, "an arrest shall not necessarily reduce the
offence from murder to manslaughter because an arrest was illegal, but
if the illegality was known to the offender it may be evidence of
provocation"; (cl. 177) "culpable homicide not amounting to murder is
manslaughter."
The definitions embodied in these clauses though not yet accepted by the
British legislature, have in substance been embodied in the criminal
codes of Canada (1892 ss. 227-230), New Zealand (1893, ss. 163-166),
Queensland (1899, ss. 300-305), and Western Australia (1901, ss.
275-280).
From the point of view of civil as distinct from criminal responsibility
homicide does not by the common law give any cause of action against the
person causing the death of another in favour of the wife or blood
relations of the deceased. In early law this was otherwise; and the wer
or eric of the deceased came historically before the right of chief or
state. But under English law the rights of relations, except by way of
appeal for felony,[2] were swept aside in favour of the crown, on the
principle that every homicide is presumed felonious (murder) unless the
contrary is proved, and that in all cases of homicide not justifiable by
law a forfeiture was incurred. The rights of the relatives were also
defeated by application of the maxim "_actio personalis moritur cum
personâ_" ("a personal action dies with the person") to all proceedings
for injury to the person or to reputation. In Scotland the old theory
was preserved in the law as to assythement.
In England the law was altered at the instance of Lord Campbell in 1846
(9 & 10 V. c. 93) so as to give a right of a claim by the husband, wife,
parent or child of a person killed by a wrongful (or even criminal) act,
neglect or default by another which would have given the deceased if he
had survived a cause of action against the wrongdoer. The compensation
payable is what the surviving relative has lost by the death, and under
the Workmen's Compensation Act 1906 (in all cases to which it applies)
the employer is liable even without negligence to compensate the
dependants of an employee killed by an accident arising out of and in
the course of the employment; and in such cases even if the death was
due to serious and wilful misconduct by the employee, compensation is
payable.
In the Indian penal code the definitions of murder are so drawn as to
limit the offences to cases where it was actually intended to cause
death or bodily injury by the acts or omissions of the slayer, and the
definition of culpable homicide short of murder is so drawn as to
exclude the forms of unintentional manslaughter due to neglect of duty,
e.g. in the conduct of trains or ships or vehicles. This last omission
was supplied in 1870. The Indian code does not treat as murder either
duelling or helping Hindu widows to commit _suttee_ (s. 301, exception
5). In most of the British possessions in Asia and in east Africa the
Indian definitions of homicide have been adopted. In the rest of the
colonies, except South Africa, the law of homicide depends on the
English common law as modified by colonial codes or statutes. In South
Africa it rests mainly on the Roman Dutch law.
_Europe._--In European codes distinctions corresponding to those of the
English law are drawn between premeditated and other forms of criminal
homicide; but more elaborate distinctions are drawn between the degrees
of deliberation or criminality manifested in the slaying, and the
minimum or maximum penalty is varied accordingly.
In the French penal code voluntary homicide is called murder (_meurtre_,
art. 295): but if committed with premeditation or lying in wait is
styled _assassinat_ (_guet-apens_) (296-298). Poisoning (even if the
poison is not fatal), is specially punished, as is parricide (on the
lines of the obsolete English offence of petty treason), and
infanticide, i.e. the killing of newly-born infants. Assassination,
poisoning and parricide are at present capital offences; but a bill to
abolish the death sentence has been laid before the French parliament.
The German code distinguishes between voluntary homicide which is done
with deliberation and such homicide committed without deliberation (ss.
211, 212), and provides for mitigation of punishment where the slaying
was provoked without fault in the slayer by any wrongful act or serious
insult upon the slayer or his relatives by the slain (213). Parricide
and infanticide are specially punished (214, 215), as is killing another
person at his express and earnest request (216)--an offence which would
in England be murder--and it is a separate offence to cause the death of
another, the penalty being increased if the offender was peculiarly
bound by office, calling or trade to use a care which he did not use
(222).
The Italian code punishes as homicide those who with intention to kill
cause the death of another (364). The death penalty is not imposed, but
scales of punishment are provided to deal with aggravated forms of the
offence. Thus _ergastolo_ (penal servitude for life) is the punishment
in the case of homicide of ascendants and descendants, or with
premeditation, or under the sole impulse of brutal ferocity or with
gross cruelty (_gravi sevizie_), or by means of arson, inundation,
drowning and certain other crimes, or to secure the gains or conceal the
commission, or to secure immunity from the consequences, of another
crime (366). Personal violence resulting in death inflicted without
intention to kill is punishable _minore poenâ_ (368), and it is criminal
to cause the death of another by imprudence, negligence or lack of skill
in an art or profession (_imperitia nella propria arte o professione_),
or by non-observance of regulations, orders or instructions.
The Spanish code has like those of Italy and France special punishments
for parricide (417) and for assassination, in which are included killing
for reward or promise of reward or by inundation (418), and for aiding
another to commit suicide (421). Both the Italian and the Spanish codes
afford a special mitigation to infanticide committed to avoid dishonour
to the mother of the infant or her family.
_America._--The most notable difference between England and the United
States in regard to the law on this subject is the recognition by state
legislation of degrees in murder. English law treats all unlawful
killing not reducible to manslaughter as of the same degree of guilt in
law. American statutes seek to discriminate for purposes of punishment
between the graver and the less culpable forms of murder. Thus an act of
the legislature of Pennsylvania (22nd of April 1794) declares "all
murder which shall be perpetrated by means of poison or by lying in wait
or by any other kind of wilful, deliberate and premeditated killing, or
which shall be committed in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate
any arson, rape, robbery or burglary shall be deemed murder of the first
degree; and all other kinds of murder shall be deemed murder of the
second degree." This legislation has been copied or adopted in many if
not most of the other states. There are also statutory degrees of
manslaughter in the legislation of some of the states. The differences
of legislation, coupled with the power of the jury in some states to
determine the sentence, and the limitations on the right of the judges
to comment on the testimony adduced, lead to very great differences
between the administration of the law as to homicide in the two
countries.
AUTHORITIES.--Stephen, _Hist. Cr. Law, Digest Criminal Law_; _Russell
on Crimes_ (7th ed., 1909); Archbold, _Criminal Pleading_ (23rd ed.,
1905); Bishop, _American Criminal Law_ (8th ed.); Pollock and
Maitland, _Hist. English Law_; Pike, _History of Crime_.
(W. F. C.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Select Pleas of Crown, 1 (Selden Society Publ.); Pollock and
Maitland, _Hist. Eng. Law_, ii. 458, 476, 478.
[2] Appeals remained in the law till 1819, but were long before this
disused. In the middle ages they were used as a means of getting
compensation.
HOMILETICS (Gr. [Greek: homilêtikos], from [Greek: homilein], to
assemble together), in theology the application of the general
principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching.
It may be further defined as the science that treats of the analysis,
classification, preparation, composition and delivery of sermons. The
formation during recent years of such lectureships as the "Lyman
Beecher" course at Yale University has resulted in increased attention
being given to homiletics, and the published volumes of this series are
the best contribution to the subject.
The older literature is cited exhaustively in W. G. Blaikie, _For the
Work of the Ministry_ (1873); and D. P. Kidder, _Treatise on
Homiletics_ (1864).
HOMILY, a simple religious address, less elaborate than a sermon, and
confining itself to the practical exposition of some ethical topic or
some passage of Scripture. The word [Greek: homilia] from [Greek:
homilein] ([Greek: homou, eilô]), meaning communion, intercourse, and
especially interchange of thought and feeling by means of words
(conversation), was early employed in classical Greek to denote the
instruction which a philosopher gave to his pupils in familiar talk
(Xenophon, _Memorabilia_, I. ii. 6. 15). This usage of the word was long
preserved (Aelian, _Varia Historia_, iii. 19); and the [Greek:
homilêsas] of Acts xx. 11 may safely be taken to assign not only a free
and informal but also a didactic character to the apostle Paul's
discourse in the upper chamber of Troas, when "he talked a long while,
even till break of day." That the "talk" on that occasion partook of the
nature of the "exposition" ([Hebrew: drasha]) of Scripture, which,
undertaken by a priest, elder or other competent person, had become a
regular part of the service of the Jewish synagogue,[1] may also with
much probability be assumed. The custom of delivering expositions or
comments more or less extemporaneous on the lessons of the day at all
events passed over soon and readily into the Christian Church, as may be
gathered from the first _Apology_ (c. 67) of Justin Martyr, where we
read that, in connexion with the practice of reading portions from the
collected writings of the prophets and from the memoirs of the apostles,
it had by that time become usual for the presiding minister to deliver a
discourse in which "he admonishes the people, stirring them up to an
imitation of the good works which have been brought before their
notice." This discourse, from its explanatory character, and from the
easy conversational manner of its delivery, was for a long time called
[Greek: homilia] rather than [Greek: logos]: it was regarded as part of
the regular duty of the bishop, but he could devolve it, if he thought
fit, on a presbyter or deacon, or even on a layman. An early and
well-known instance of such delegation is that mentioned by Eusebius
(_Hist. Eccl._ vi. 19) in the case of Origen (216 A.D.).[2] In course of
time the exposition of the lesson for the day came more frequently to
assume a more elaborate character, and to pass into the category of a
[Greek: logos] or even [Greek: philosophia] or [Greek: philosophêma];
but when it did so the fact was as far as possible denoted by a change
of name, the word [Greek: homilia] being reserved for the expository or
exegetical lecture as distinguished from the pulpit oration or
sermon.[3] While the church of the 3rd and 4th centuries could point to
a brilliant succession of great preachers, whose discourses were wont to
be taken down in shorthand and circulated among the Christian public as
edifying reading, it does not appear that the supply of ordinary
homiletical talent kept pace with the rapidity of church extension
throughout the Roman empire. In the smaller and remoter communities it
not uncommonly happened that the minister was totally unqualified to
undertake the work of preaching; and though, as is curiously shown by
the case of Rome (Sozomen, _Hist. Eccl._ vii. 19), the regular
exposition of the appointed lessons was by no means regarded as part of
the necessary business of a church, it was generally felt to be
advisable that some provision should be made for the public instruction
of congregations. Even in Jerome's time (_De Vir. Ill._ c. 115),
accordingly, it had become usual to read, in the regular meetings of the
churches which were not so fortunate as to possess a competent preacher,
the written discourses of celebrated fathers; and at a considerably
later period we have on record the canon of at least one provincial
council (that of Vaux, probably the third, held in 529 A.D.), positively
enjoining that if the presbyter through any infirmity is unable himself
to preach, "homilies of the holy fathers" (homiliae sanctorum patrum)
are to be read by the deacons. Thus the finally fixed meaning of the
word homily as an ecclesiastical term came to be a written discourse
(generally possessing the sanction of some great name) read in church by
or for the officiating clergyman when from any cause he was unable to
deliver a sermon of his own. As the standard of clerical education sank
during the dark ages, the habit of using the sermons of others became
almost universal. Among the authors whose works were found specially
serviceable in this way may be mentioned the Venerable Bede, who is
credited with no fewer than 140 homilies in the Basel and Cologne
editions of his works, and who certainly was the author of many
_Homiliae de Tempore_ which were much in vogue during the 8th and
following centuries. Prior to Charlemagne it is probable that several
other collections of homilies had obtained considerable popularity, but
in the time of that emperor these had suffered so many mutilations and
corruptions that an authoritative revision was felt to be imperatively
necessary. The result was the well-known _Homiliarium_, prepared by Paul
Warnefrid, otherwise known as Paulus Diaconus (q.v.).[4] It consists of
176 homilies arranged in order for all the Sundays and festivals of the
ecclesiastical year; and probably was completed before the year 780.
Though written in Latin, its discourses were doubtless intended to be
delivered in the vulgar tongue; the clergy, however, were often too
indolent or too ignorant for this, although by more than one provincial
council they were enjoined to exert themselves so that they might be
able to do so.[5] Hence an important form of literary activity came to
be the translation of the homilies approved by the church into the
vernacular. Thus we find Alfred the Great translating the homilies of
Bede; and in a similar manner arose Ælfric's Anglo-Saxon _Homilies_ and
the German _Homiliarium_ of Ottfried of Weissenburg. Such _Homiliaria_
as were in use in England down to the end of the 15th century were at
the time of the Reformation eagerly sought for and destroyed, so that
they are now extremely rare, and the few copies which have been
preserved are generally in a mutilated or imperfect form.[6]
The _Books of Homilies_ referred to in the 35th article of the Church of
England originated at a convocation in 1542, at which it was agreed "to
make certain homilies for stay of such errors as were then by ignorant
preachers sparkled among the people." Certain homilies, accordingly,
composed by dignitaries of the lower house, were in the following year
produced by the prolocutor; and after some delay a volume was published
in 1547 entitled _Certain sermons or homilies appointed by the King's
Majesty to be declared and read by all parsons, vicars, or curates every
Sunday in their churches where they have cure_. In 1563 a second _Book
of Homilies_ was submitted along with the 39 Articles to convocation; it
was issued the same year under the title _The second Tome of Homilies of
such matters as were promised and instituted in the former part of
Homilies, set out by the authority of the Queen's Majesty, and to be
read in every Parish Church agreeably_. Of the twelve homilies contained
in the first book, four (the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th) are probably to be
attributed to Cranmer, and one (the 12th) possibly to Latimer; one (the
6th) is by Bonner; another (the 5th) is by John Harpsfield, archdeacon
of London, and another (the 11th) by Thomas Becon, one of Cranmer's
chaplains. The authorship of the others is unknown. The second book
consists of twenty-one homilies, of which the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th,
9th, 16th and 17th have been assigned to Jewel, the 4th to Grindal, the
5th and 6th to Pilkington and the 18th to Parker. See the critical
edition by Griffiths, Oxford, 1869. The homilies are not now read
publicly, though they are sometimes appealed to in controversies
affecting the doctrines of the Anglican Church.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Philo, _Quod omnis probus liber_, sec. 12 (ed. Mangey ii.
458; cf. ii. 630).
[2] Sozomen (_Hist. Eccl._ vii. 19) mentions that in Alexandria in
his day the bishop alone was in the custom of preaching; but this, he
implies, was a very exceptional state of matters, dating only from
the time of Arius.
[3] To the more strictly exegetical lectures the names [Greek:
exêgêseis, exêgêmata, exêgêtika, ektheseis,] were sometimes applied.
But as no popular discourse delivered from the pulpit could ever be
exclusively expository and as on the other hand every sermon
professing to be based on Scripture required to be more or less
"exegetical" and "textual," it would obviously be sometimes very hard
to draw the line of distinction between [Greek: homilia] and [Greek:
logos]. It would be difficult to define very precisely the difference
in French between a "conférence" and a "sermon"; and the same
difficulty seems to have been experienced in Greek by Photius, who
says of the eloquent pulpit orations of Chrysostom, that they were
[Greek: homiliai] rather than [Greek: logoi].
[4] Manuscript copies are preserved at Heidelberg, Darmstadt,
Frankfort, Giessen, Cassel and other places. It was first printed at
Spires in 1482. In the Cologne edition of 1530 the title
runs--_Homiliae seu mavis sermones sive conciones ad populum,
praestantissimorum ecclesiae doctorum Hieronymi, Augustini, Ambrosii,
Gregorii, Origenis, Chrysostomi, Bedae, &c., in hunc ordinem digestae
per Alchuinum levitam, idque injungente ei Carolo M. Rom. Imp. cui a
secretis fuit_. Though thus attributed here to Alcuin, who is known
to have revised the Lectionary or _Comes Hieronymi_, the compilation
of the _Homiliarium_ is in the emperor's own commission entrusted to
Paul, to whom it is assigned in the earlier printed editions also. A
comparison of different editions shows that the contents increased
with the ever-growing number of saints' days and festivals, new
discourses by later preachers like Bernard being constantly added.
[5] Neander, _Church History_, v. 174 (Eng. trans. of 1851).
[6] An ancient English metrical homiliarium is preserved in the
library of the university of Cambridge. Earlier versions of it have
existed, and a portion of perhaps the earliest copy, dating from
about the middle of the 13th century, was published in 1862 by Mr J.
Small, librarian to the university of Edinburgh.
HOMOEOPATHY (from the Greek [Greek: homoios], like, and [Greek: pathos],
feeling). The distinctive system of therapeutics which bears the name of
homoeopathy is based upon the law _similia similibus curentur_,[1] the
originator of which was S. C. F. Hahnemann, a native of Meissen in
Germany, who discovered his new principle while he was experimenting
with cinchona bark in 1790, and announced it in 1796.[2] The essential
tenets of homoeopathy--with which is contrasted the "allopathy" ([Greek:
allos], other) of the "orthodox" therapeutics--are that the cure of
disease is effected by drugs that are capable of producing in a healthy
individual symptoms similar to those of the disease to be treated, and
that to ascertain the curative virtues of any drug it must be "proved"
upon healthy persons--that is, taken by individuals of both sexes in a
state of health in gradually increasing doses. The manifestations of
drug action thus produced are carefully recorded, and this record of
"drug-diseases," after being verified by repetition on many "provers,"
constitutes the distinguishing feature of the homoeopathic materia
medica, which, while it embraces the sources, preparation and uses of
drugs as known to the orthodox pharmacopoeia, contains, in addition, the
various "provings" obtained in the manner above described.
Besides the promulgation of the doctrine of similars, Hahnemann also
enunciated a theory to account for the origin of all chronic diseases,
which he asserted were derived either directly or remotely from psora
(the itch), syphilis (venereal disease) or sycosis (fig-wart disease).
This doctrine, although at first adopted by some of the enthusiastic
followers of Hahnemann, was almost immediately discarded by very many
who had a firm belief in his law of cure. In the light of advancing
science such theories are entirely untenable, and it was unfortunate for
the system of medicine which he founded that Hahnemann should have
promulgated such an hypothesis. It served as a target for the shafts of
ridicule showered upon the system by those who were its opponents, and
even at the present time there still exists in the minds of many
misinformed persons the conviction that homoeopathy is a system of
medicine that bases the origin of all chronic disease on the itch or on
syphilis or fig-warts.
Another peculiar feature of homoeopathy is its posology or theory of
dose. It may be asserted that homoeopathic posology has nothing more to
do with the original law of cure than the psora (itch) theory has, and
that it was one of the later creations of Hahnemann's mind. Most
homoeopathists believe more or less in the action of minute doses of
medicine, but it must not be considered as an integral part of the
system. The dose is the corollary, not the principle. Yet in the minds of
many, infinitesimal doses of medicine stand for homoeopathy itself, the
real law of cure being completely put into the background. The question
of dose has also divided the members of the homoeopathic school into
bitter factions, and is therefore a matter for careful consideration.
Many employ low potencies,[3] i.e. mother tinctures, first, second,
sixth dilutions, &c., while others use hundred-thousandths and
millionths.
Some homoeopathists of the present day still believe with Hahnemann
that, even after the material medicinal particles of a drug have been
subdivided to the fullest extent, the continuation of the dynamization
or trituration or succussion develops a spiritual acurative agency, and
that the higher the potency, the more subtle and more powerful is the
curative action. Hahnemann says (_Organon_, 3rd American edition, p.
101), "It is only by means of the spiritual influence of a morbific
agent that our spiritual vital power can be diseased, and in like manner
only by the spiritual operation of medicine can health be restored."
This is absolutely denied by others. Thus there exist two schools among
the adherents of homoeopathy. On the one hand there are the
Hahnemannians, the "Purists" or "High Potency" men, who still profess to
regard the _Organon_ as their Bible, who believe in all the teachings of
Hahnemann, who adhere in their prescriptions to the single dose, the
single medicine, and the highest possible potency, and regard the
doctrine of the spiritual dynamization acquired by trituration and
succussion as indubitable. On the other side there are the "Rational" or
"Low Potency" men, who believe in the universality of the law of cure,
but think that it cannot always be applied, on account of an imperfect
materia medica and a lack of knowledge on the part of the physician.
They believe that in many cases of severe and acute pain palliatives are
required, and that they are free to use all the adjuvants at present
known to science for the relief of suffering humanity--massage,
balneology, electricity, hygiene, &c. The American Institute of
Homoeopathy, the national body of the United States, has adopted the
following resolution and ordered it to be published conspicuously in
each number of the _Transactions_ of the society: "A homoeopathic
physician is one who adds to his knowledge of medicine a special
knowledge of homoeopathic therapeutics. All that pertains to the great
field of medical learning is his by tradition, by inheritance, by
right."
It is claimed that the effect produced upon both the laity and the
general profession of medicine by the introduction of homoeopathy was
salutary in many ways. It diminished the quantity of medicine that was
formerly considered necessary for the eradication of disease, and thus
revealed the fact that the _vis medicatrix naturae_ is often sufficient,
with occasional and gentle assistance, to cure many diseases, especially
those fevers that run a definite and regular course. Corroboration of
the law _similia similibus curentur_ is seen, according to
homoeopathists, in the adoption of the serum therapy, which consists in
the treatment of the most malignant diseases (diphtheria, lock-jaw,
typhoid fever, tuberculosis, bubonic plague) by introducing into the
system a modified form (similar) of those poisons that produce them in
the healthy individual. Hahnemann undoubtedly deserves the credit of
being the first to break decidedly with the old school of medical
practice, in which, forgetful of the teachings of Hippocrates, nature
was either overlooked or rudely opposed by wrong and ungentle methods.
We can scarcely now estimate the force of character and of courage which
was implied in his abandoning the common lines of medicine. More than
this, he and his followers showed results in the treatment of disease
which compared very favourably with the results of contemporary orthodox
practice.
Homoeopathy has given prominence to the therapeutical side of medicine,
and has done much to stimulate the study of the physiological action of
drugs. It has done service in directing more special attention to
various powerful drugs, such as aconite, nux vomica, belladonna, and to
the advantage of giving them in simpler forms than were common before
the days of Hahnemann. But in the medical profession homoeopathy
nevertheless remains under the stigma of being a dissenting sect. It has
been publicly announced that if the homoeopathists would abolish the
name "homoeopathy," and remove it from their periodicals, colleges,
hospitals, dispensaries and asylums, they would be received within the
fold of the regular profession. These conditions have been accepted by a
few homoeopathists who have become members of the most prominent medical
association in the United States.
Homoeopathy as it exists to-day can, in the opinion of its adherents,
stand by itself, and its progress for a century in face of prolonged and
determined opposition appears to its upholders to be evidence of its
truth. There are still, indeed, in both schools of medical thought, men
who stand fast by their old principles. There are homoeopathists who can
see nothing but evil in the practice of their brothers of the orthodox
school, as there are allopathists who still regard homoeopathy as a
humbug and a sham. There are, however, liberal-minded men in both
schools, who look upon the adoption of any safe and efficient method of
curing disease as the birthright of the true physician, and who allow
every man to prescribe for his patients as his conscience may dictate,
and, provided he be educated in all the collateral branches of medical
science, are ready to exchange views for the good of suffering humanity.
_Great Britain._--Homoeopathy is not rapidly extending in Great
Britain, and its recognition has been slow. The first notice taken of
the new system of therapeutics was by the Medical Society of London in
1826. In 1827 the physician of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, Dr F. H.
F. Quin (1799-1878), who had previously studied homoeopathy in Germany
and practised it in Italy, came to England, and it was through his
efforts that the system was introduced. Three other physicians, Dr
Belluomini, Dr Romani and Dr Tagliani, claimed priority, but careful
research established Dr Quin's title. Quin was a successful man
professionally and socially, and brought upon himself in a short time
the anathema of the Royal College of Physicians. In 1844 Dr William
Henderson, professor of pathology in the university of Edinburgh,
embraced the Hahnemannian system. A storm of opposition arose, and
Professor J. Y. Simpson (the discoverer of chloroform anaesthesia)
published a volume, with the alliterative title, _Homoeopathy, its
Tenets and Tendencies, Theoretical, Theological, and Therapeutical_.
This brochure was answered by Professor Henderson, the title of his
book being _Homoeopathy Fairly Represented_. From 1827 to 1837 there
were but a dozen practitioners of homoeopathy in London, but during
1837 to 1847 the number increased to between seventy and eighty. In
1857 there were upwards of two hundred practitioners in the kingdom,
with thirty-three institutions in which the law of similars was used
as a basis of practice. In 1867 the increase was not so rapid, the
number being 261. A society was formed about this period for "the
protection of homoeopathic practitioners and students," which proved
of great value in binding the sect together. In 1870 congresses were
established, and annual meetings held, which have continued to the
present time. In 1901 there were over three hundred homoeopathic
physicians in the British Isles, of whom between seventy and eighty
were in London alone. There were seventy-nine chemists, of whom
seventeen were located in London, and eighty-two towns and cities in
the country contained from one to ten homoeopathic practitioners each,
together with many established chemists for dispensing homoeopathic
medicines. The British Homoeopathic Society was founded by Quin in
1844, and has numerous members and fellows, besides corresponding
members in all portions of the world, including Australia, India and
Tasmania. The London Homoeopathic Hospital was founded in 1850, also
largely through the efforts of Quin, and a few years afterwards moved
to Great Ormond Street. During the cholera epidemic of 1854 the
statistics of this hospital showed a mortality of 16.4%, against 51.8%
of other metropolitan charities. The London Homoeopathic Hospital has
a convalescent home under its management at Eastbourne. There are also
dispensaries in Ealing and West Middlesex, Kensington, Notting Hill
and Bayswater. Similar institutions are located in Bath, Birkenhead,
Birmingham, Bootle, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Bromley,
Cheltenham, Cheshire, Croydon, Dublin, Eastbourne, Edinburgh,
Folkestone, Hastings and St Leonards, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester,
Liverpool, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Plymouth, Torquay,
Tunbridge Wells, Weston-super-Mare. The homoeopathic journals include
the _Homoeopathic World_, the _London Homoeopathic Hospital_
_Reports_, the _Journal of the British Homoeopathic Society_, and the
_British Homoeopathic Review_, the last being issued by the British
Homoeopathic Association, which was founded in 1902 for the purpose of
developing and extending homoeopathy in Great Britain. The _British
Journal of Homoeopathy_ was first published in 1843, and was edited by
Drs Drysdale, Russell and Black. For many years it was the foremost
homoeopathic journal in the world. Its motto was _In certis unitas, in
dubiis libertas, in omnibus charitas_. One reason why homoeopathy has
not advanced as rapidly in the British Isles as in America is said to
be the discrimination exercised against it by the General Medical
Council, and another is want of cohesion amongst the homoeopaths
themselves.
_United States._--Homoeopathy was introduced into the United States by
Dr Hans Birch Gram, who was born in Boston. His father being Danish,
Gram in his eighteenth year went to Copenhagen, where he graduated in
1814. In 1823 he became acquainted with homoeopathy, and brought a
knowledge of it to America in 1825 when he settled in New York. The
first homoeopathic association was formed in 1833 in Philadelphia, the
second in New York, 1834, and homoeopathy became known in the
different states somewhat in the following order: New York, 1825;
Pennsylvania, 1828; Louisiana, 1836; Connecticut, 1837; Massachusetts,
1837-1838; Maryland, 1837; Delaware, 1837; Kentucky, 1837; Vermont,
1838; Rhode Island, 1839; Ohio, 1839; New Jersey, 1840; Maine, 1840;
New Hampshire, 1840; Michigan, 1841; Georgia, 1842; Wisconsin, 1842;
Alabama, 1843; Illinois, 1843; Tennessee, 1844; Missouri, 1844; Texas,
1848; Minnesota, 1852; Nebraska, 1862; Colorado, 1863; Iowa, 1871.
After 1871 the spread of the system was rapid throughout every state
in the Union, and it is in the United States that homoeopathy
principally flourishes. There are thousands of homoeopathic
physicians, and their clients number several millions. It may be noted
that departments of homoeopathy are connected with the universities of
Boston, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota and Kansas City.
_Canada._--The early history of homoeopathy can be traced back nearly
to 1850 in the province of Quebec. In the Dominion of Canada the
various provinces control the licensing of physicians, excepting in
Quebec, which is the only province having a separate homoeopathic
board of examiners. This is under the control of the Montreal
homoeopathic Association, and is known as the College of Homoeopathic
Physicians and Surgeons of Montreal. Three examiners are annually
appointed by the association. Successful candidates receive the
diploma of the college, and are entitled to add to their degree the
letters M.C.H.P.S. A certificate of successful examination is
forwarded to the lieutenant-governor at Quebec, who, "if satisfied of
the loyalty, integrity and good morals of the applicant, may grant him
a license to practise surgery, physic and midwifery, or either of
them, in the province of Quebec." The word "loyalty" has been decided
by the provincial secretary to mean a British subject. This is the
only government medical license now issued in the British empire, the
others being by provincial boards or colleges of physicians and
surgeons. In 1894 there was no homoeopathic institution in the
province; at present the Montreal Homoeopathic Hospital is in active
operation. Two homoeopathic papers are published monthly--the
_Homoeopathic Record_ in Montreal, and the _Homoeopathic Messenger_ in
Toronto. In 1870, in the province of Ontario, the three schools,
allopathic, homoeopathic and eclectic, united for examining purposes
into one board called the medical council, seventeen members
representing the old school and five the other two systems. Finally
the eclectics were merged in the old school, the board appointing five
of Hahnemann's followers for examining purposes. Grace Hospital at
Toronto (erected 1892) was begun as a dispensary in 1887.
_Germany._--In 1810 Hahnemann published his _Organon_, which was the
starting-point of homoeopathy in Germany. In 1811 an endeavour was
made to found an institution in Leipzig in which practitioners might
learn the new method of treatment theoretically and practically, but
it was not a success, as the entire tide of professional opinion was
against the system. In 1829, at the celebration of the fiftieth
anniversary of Hahnemann's doctorate, the German Central Society was
organized, holding its first meeting in 1830. In the university
hospital of Munich some experiments were made to test the efficacy of
homoeopathic medicines, but these were not successful. In 1831 the
government prohibited homoeopathists from dispensing their own
medicines; this was a severe blow to the system. In 1834 there was a
division among the homoeopathists themselves, which much retarded the
progress of the school. A homoeopathic hospital was established about
this time (January 1833) in Leipzig, but there was such constant
wrangling among the physicians connected with it that its sphere of
usefulness was curtailed, and it was finally converted into a
dispensary. The Baden Homoeopathic Society was established in 1834.
The homoeopathic hospital in Munich was established in 1836, but
suffered a similar fate to that of Leipzig, and was converted into a
dispensary. The rather equivocal success of these hospitals in Saxony
and Bavaria was in direct contrast to the fate of two newly
established hospitals in Austria, one in Vienna and the other in Linz,
which were very successful, and aroused great interest both among
physicians and laymen. During the political confusion of 1846 and 1849
there was complete stagnation of everything medical in Germany. But
during all these years, though the public institutions were few, the
literature on homoeopathic subjects became very extensive, and
exercised a significant influence upon the system in all parts of the
world. Hahnemann died in 1843, and on the 10th of August 1851 a bronze
monument to him was unveiled at Leipzig. The Leipzig dispensary lived
thirty-three years. From 1842 to 1874 there were treated in this
institution 65,106 patients. In 1901 there were about 250 homoeopathic
physicians in Germany; they appeared to be strongest at Berlin, in the
province of Brandenburg, in Pomerania and Westphalia, Saxony, Hessen
and in Württemberg.
_Austria-Hungary._--Homoeopathy was introduced into Austria about
1817, and in 1819 its practice was forbidden by law. Shortly
afterwards the physician attending the archduke John became a
homoeopath. In 1825 the doctrine was introduced into Vienna. To test
the efficacy of the system Francis I. ordered that experiments be made
with homoeopathic medicines, and for this purpose a ward furnished
with twelve beds was allotted. The results were satisfactory to the
new system, and it made gigantic strides in Vienna. During the cholera
epidemic of 1836 an increased impetus was given to the new school by
the reported brilliant successes of the treatment. Societies were
founded and journals published. In 1846 a second hospital was founded.
In 1850 a third hospital was opened, and clinical lectures upon the
system were delivered. In 1873 the Society of Homoeopathic Physicians
was formed. Between the years 1873 and 1893 homoeopathy declined. In
1901, in thirty-seven cities and towns there were to be found about
fifty physicians and two hospitals, and it was estimated that about
seventy-five more were scattered in Moravia, Bohemia, Tirol, Salzburg
and the coast provinces. There is a professorship of homoeopathy at
the University of Budapest, and homoeopathic clinics are held at the
new Rochus Hospital in Üllöi Street, and also in the homoeopathic
department of the Hospital Bethesda of the Reformed Community. The
Elizabeth Hospital, exclusively homoeopathic, has existed for many
years.
_Russia._--The homoeopathic system was introduced into Russia in 1823.
In 1825 great impetus was given to the new doctrine by the conversion
of Dr Bigel, physician to the grand duke Constantine. In 1829 the
grand duke ordered a series of experiments to be conducted to prove
the truth or fallacy of homoeopathy, and they demonstrated the success
of the new school. In 1841 a hospital was established in Moscow, and
in 1849 similar institutions were founded in Nizhniy-Novgorod. Since
then homoeopathy has been steadily practised, and has penetrated to
the remotest parts of Russia. In 1881 the civil engineers proposed to
commemorate the virtues of the emperor Alexander II. by the erection
of a hospital; a committee for collecting funds was created, and
58,064 roubles were handed to the Charity Society of the followers of
homoeopathy at St Petersburg for the erection and founding of a
homoeopathic hospital. The foundation stone of the edifice was laid on
19th June 1893, the emperor Alexander III. giving 5000 roubles. The
inauguration of a new dispensary and a pharmacy took place on the 19th
of April 1898, and the hospital itself, intended originally for fifty
beds, was opened on the 1st of November 1898. There are sixteen free
beds, three of them being in the name of the emperor Nicholas, the
empress Maria Feodorovna, and the emperor Alexander III. On the 28th
of January 1899 an imperial edict was issued granting the rights of
public service to the doctors of the hospital and dispensaries of the
Charity Society, thus placing them on an equality with the doctors of
the prevailing medical school.
_France._--Homoeopathy was first introduced into France in 1830 by
Count de Guidi, doctor of medicine, doctor of science, and inspector
of the university, who practised in Lyons. About the same year Dr
Antoine Petroz, widely known by his _Grand dictionnaire des sciences
médicales_, began practising homoeopathy in Paris, and his
establishment became the headquarters of the new system there. In 1835
Hahnemann himself came to the capital. In 1832 the homoeopathic method
of treating disease was introduced into the Hospice de Choisy, and in
1842 into the hospital of Carentan. Tessier practised the new doctrine
in his wards in the Hospital St Marguérite, and in the Children's
Hospital up to the year 1862, when he retired. The first homoeopathic
society was established in 1832 (the Société Gallicain), Hahnemann
becoming president in 1835; in 1845 the Société de Médecine
Homéopathique was organized; and in 1860 the two were united for the
better interests of the school. In 1901 there were at Paris three
hospitals--the Hospital St Jacques with fifty-five beds, the Hahnemann
Hospital with thirty-five beds, and the new Protestant Hospital for
Children with twenty-five-beds. At Lyons there is the Hospital St Luc.
The medical journals include _L'Art médical, La Revue homéopathique
belge, Journal belge d'homéopathie, La Thérapeutique Intégrale, La
Revue homéopathique française_. In the year 1900 the medical officers
of the republic having supervision over the medical department of the
International Exhibition officially recognized the members of the
homoeopathic school, and arranged for the proper accommodation and
reception of the International Congress of Homoeopathic Physicians
held in June. On the 30th of that month, with appropriate ceremonies,
the remains of Hahnemann were removed from the cemetery of Montmartre
and deposited in Père-la-Chaise, and a monument bearing a suitable
inscription was erected to the memory of the founder of homoeopathy.
_Italy._--The Austrians when they entered Naples in 1821 brought
homoeopathy into Italy, the general in command of the army being a
devoted friend of Hahnemann. In 1828 Dr Count Sebastian de Guidi came
from Lyons and assisted in spreading the doctrine. During the period
from 1830 to 1860 many physicians practised homoeopathy, and the
literature on the subject became extensive. A homoeopathic clinic was
established and a ward opened in Trinity Hospital at Naples, and a
homoeopathic physician was appointed to the count of Syracuse. During
the severe cholera epidemics of 1854, 1855, 1865 the success of
homoeopathic treatment of that disease was so marked under the care of
Dr Rubini that the attention of the authorities was directed to the
system. In 1860 the homoeopathic practice was introduced into the
Spedale della Cesarea, and since that period homoeopathy has been
recognized with more or less favour in most of the cities. The Italian
Homoeopathic Institute is recognized by royal warrant as an
established institution, and its regulations are approved by the
government. In Turin the legal seat of the Homoeopathic Institute,
there is a hospital under the management of the State Association. The
homoeopathic medical press consists of the _Revista Omiopatica_,
established in 1855, and _L'Omiopatico in Italia_, the organ of the
Italian Homoeopathic Institute, which first appeared in 1884.
_Spain._--Homoeopathy was introduced into Spain in 1829 by a physician
to the Royal Commission sent by the king of Naples to attend the
marriage of Maria Christina with Don Ferdinand VII. Shortly after
this, a merchant of Cadiz visited Hahnemann in Coethen, and was cured
of a serious disorder; he returned to Spain with a supply of
homoeopathic literature, and immediately sent a medical student to
Leipzig to study the new system. In 1843 many cases of cholera were
treated homoeopathically in Madrid. The civil war, which did not
terminate until 1840, arrested all medical investigation in Spain, but
in 1843 there still existed in Madrid five pharmacies and a number of
homoeopathic physicians. About this time Dr Tosi Nuñez returned from
an investigation of the new system with Hahnemann, and owing to his
success in the treatment of disease was created one of the physicians
of the bedchamber to the queen, who soon afterwards conferred upon him
the title of marquis, with the grand crosses of the Charles III. and
of the Civil Order of Beneficiencia. This recognition by high
authority gave an impetus to homoeopathy which has continued ever
since.
_Denmark._--Homoeopathy was unknown in Denmark until the year 1821,
when Hans Christian Lund, a medical practitioner, adopted it.
Hahnemann, however, had been both before and after that time consulted
by Danes, and consequently homoeopathic therapeutics was recognized in
different parts of the country. Lund translated many of Hahnemann's
works into Danish, as well as those of other eminent members of the
new school. (W. T. H.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] An interesting controversy has been carried on between the
members of the homoeopathic school as to the proper construction of
the Latin motto which constitutes its acknowledged basis. For many
years the verb at the conclusion of the sentence was used in the
indicative mood, _curantur_, thus making the sentence a positive one.
After extended research it has been discovered that Hahnemann himself
never employed the word _curantur_ as descriptive of his law of cure,
but always wrote _curentur_, which greatly modifies the meaning of
the phrase. If the subjunctive mood be used, the motto reads, "Let
similars be treated by similars," or "similars should be treated by
similars." The reading _similia similibus curentur_ was officially
adopted as the correct reading of the sentence by the American
Institute of Homoeopathy at its session held in Atlantic City, N.J.,
on the 20th of June 1899; and the words are so inscribed on the
monument erected to the memory of Hahnemann and unveiled in
Washington, D.C., on the 23rd of June 1900, and also are those carved
upon the tomb of Hahnemann in Père-la-Chaise, Paris.
[2] Some points of Hahnemann's system were borrowed from previous
writers--as he himself, though imperfectly, admits. Not to mention
others, he was anticipated by Hippocrates, and especially by
Paracelsus (1495-1541). The identical words _similia similibus
curantur_ occur in the Geneva edition (1658) of the works of
Paracelsus, as a marginal heading of one of the paragraphs; and in
the "Fragmenta Medica," _Op. Omnia_, i. 168, 169, occurs the
following passage:
_Simile similis cura; non contrarium._
"Quisquis enim cum laude agere Medicum volet, is has nugas longe
valere jubeat. Nec enim ullus unquam morbus calidus per frigida
sanatus fuit, nec frigidus per calida. Simile autem suum simile
frequenter curavit, scilicet Mercurius sulphur, et sulphur Mercurium;
et sal ilia, velut et illa sal. Interdum quidem cum proprietate
junctum frigidum sanavit calidum; sed id non factum est ratione
frigidi, verum ratione naturae alterius, quam a primo illo omnino
diversam facimus."
It is very remarkable that in Hahnemann's enumeration of authors who
anticipated him in regard to the doctrine of _Similia_, he makes no
mention of the views of Paracelsus, though the very words seem to be
taken from the works of that physician. The other point in
Hahnemann's doctrine--that medicines should be tried first on healthy
persons--he admits to have been enunciated by Haller. Roughly it has
been acted on by physicians in all ages, but certainly more
systematically since Hahnemann's time. In the most characteristic
feature of Hahnemann's practice--"the potentizing," "dynamizing," of
medicinal substances--he appears to have been original.
[3] Two methods of preparing medicines are recognized, one on the
decimal, the other on the centesimal scale. The pure tinctures are
denominated "mother tinctures," and represented by the Greek [phi].
To make a first decimal dilution or first decimal trituration, 10
drops of the mother tincture, or 10 grains of a crude substance, are
mixed with 90 drops of alcohol, or 90 grains of _saccharum lactis_
(sugar of milk) respectively. The liquid is thoroughly shaken, or the
powder carefully triturated, and the bottles containing them marked 1
X, meaning first decimal dilution or trituration. To make the 2 X
potency, 10 drops or 10 grains of this first dilution or trituration
are mixed with 90 drops of pure alcohol, or 90 grains of milk sugar,
and are succussed or triturated as above described, and marked 2 X
dilution or trituration. This subdivision of particles may be
continued to an indefinite degree. On the Hahnemannian or centesimal
scale the medicines are prepared in the same manner, the difference
being that 1 drop or grain is mixed with 99 drops or grains, to make
the first centesimal, which is marked 1 c or 1 simply, and so on for
the second and higher dilutions.
HOMONYM (Gr. [Greek: homônomos], having the same name, from [Greek:
homos], same, alike, and [Greek: onoma], name), a term in philology for
those words which differ in sense but are alike either in sound or
spelling or both. Words alike only in spelling but not in sound, e.g.
"bow," are sometimes called _homographs_; and words alike only in sound
but not in spelling, e.g. "meat," "meet," _homophones_. Skeat (_Etymol.
Dict._) gives a list of English homonyms.
HOMS, or HUMS (anc. _Emesa_ or _Emessa_, near the Hittite _Kadesh_), a
town of Syria, on the right bank of the Orontes, and capital of a sanjak
in the vilayet of Syria (Damascus). Pop. 30,000 (20,000 Moslem, 10,000
Christian). The importance of the place arises from its command of the
great north road from Egypt, Palestine and Damascus by the Orontes
valley. Invading armies from the south have often been opposed near
Homs, from the time of Rameses II., who had to fight the battle of
Kadesh, to that of Ibrahim Pasha, who broke the first line of Ottoman
defence in 1831 by his victory there. Ancient Emesa, in the district of
Apamea, was a very old Syrian city, devoted to the worship of Baal, the
sun god, of whose great temple the emperor Heliogabalus was originally a
priest (A.D. 218). As a centre of native influences it was overawed by
the Seleucid foundation of Apamea; but it opposed the Roman advance.
There Aurelian crushed, in A.D. 272, the Syrian national movement led by
Zenobia. Caracalla made it a Roman colony, and later it became the
Capital of a small province, _Phoenicia Libanesia_ or _ad Libanum_.
About 630 it was captured by the Moslem leader, Khalid ibn Walid, who is
buried there. It now became the capital of a _jund_, or military
district, which under the Omayyad Caliphs extended from Palmyra to the
sea. Under the Arabs it was one of the largest cities in Syria, with
walls and a strong citadel, which stood on a hill, occupying perhaps the
site of the great sun temple. The ruins of this castle, blown up by
Ibrahim Pasha, are still the most conspicuous feature of Homs, and
contain many remains of ancient buildings. Its men were noted for their
courage in war, and its women for their beauty. The climate was
extolled for its excellence, and the land for its fertility. A
succession of gardens bordered the Orontes, and the vineyards were
remarkable for their abundant yield of grapes. When the place
capitulated the great church of St John was divided between the
Christians and Moslems, an arrangement which apparently lasted until the
arrival of the Turks. At the end of the 11th century it fell into
crusading hands, but was recovered by the Moslems under Saladin in 1187.
Its decay probably dates from the invasion of the Mongols (1260), who
fought two important battles with the Egyptians (1281 and 1299) in its
vicinity. The construction of a carriage road to Tripoli led to a
partial revival of prosperity and to an export of cereals and fruit, and
this growth has, in turn, been accentuated by the railway, which now
connects it with Aleppo and the Damascus-Beirut line. The district is
well planted with mulberries and produces much silk, most of which is
worked up on the spot. (D. G. H.)
HO-NAN, a central province of China, bounded N. partly by the Hwang-ho
(which it crosses to the west of Ho-nan Fu, forming an arm northwards
between the provinces of Shan-si and Chih-li), on the W. by Shen-si, on
the S. by Hu-peh, and on the E. by Ngan-hui. It occupies an area of
81,000 sq. m., with a population of about 22,100,000, and contains nine
prefectural cities. Its capital is K'ai-fêng Fu. The prefecture of
Hwai-k'ing, north of the Hwang-ho, consists of a fertile plain,
"rendered park-like by numerous plantations of trees and shrubs, among
which thick bosquets of bamboo contrast with the gloomy groves of
cypress." All kinds of cereals grow luxuriantly, and the general
productiveness of the district is indicated by the extreme denseness of
the population. The most noticeable feature in that portion of the
province which is properly called Ho-nan is the Fu-niu Shan range, which
runs east and west across this part of the province. Coal is found on
the south of the Hwang-ho in the districts of Ho-nan Fu, the ancient
capital, Lushan and Ju Chow. The chief products of the province are,
however, agricultural, especially in the valley of the Tang-ho and
Pai-ho, which is an extensive and densely populated plain running north
and south from the Fu-niu Shan. Cotton is also grown extensively and
forms the principal article of export, and a considerable quantity of
wild silk is produced from the Fu-niu Shan. Three roads from the east
and south unite at Ho-nan Fu, and one from the west. The southern road
leads to Ju Chow, where it forks, one branch going to Shi-ki-chên,
connecting the trade from Fan-cheng, Han-kow, and the Han river
generally, and the other to Chow-kia-k'ow near the city of Ch'ên-chow
Fu, at the confluence of the three rivers which unite to form the
Sha-ho; the second road runs parallel with the Hwang-ho to K'ai-fêng Fu;
the third crosses the Hwang-ho at Mêngching Hien, and passes thence in a
north-easterly direction to Hwai-k'ing Fu, Sew-wu Hien and Wei-hui Fu,
at which place it joins the high road from Peking to Fan-cheng; and the
western road follows the southern bank of the Hwang-ho for 250 m. to its
great bend at the fortified pass known as the Tung-kwan, where it joins
the great wagon road leading through Shan-si from Peking to Si-gan Fu.
Ho-nan is now traversed north to south by the Peking-Hankow railway
(completed 1905). The line crosses the Hwang-ho by Yung-tse and runs
east of the Fu-niu Shan. Branch lines serve Ho-nan Fu and K'ai-fêng Fu.
HONAVAR, or ONORE, a seaport of British India, in the North Kanara
district of Bombay. Pop. (1901) 6929. It is mentioned as a place of
trade as early as the 16th century, and is associated with two
interesting incidents in Anglo-Indian history. In 1670, the English
factors here had a bull-dog which unfortunately killed a sacred bull, in
revenge for which they were all murdered, to the number of eighteen
persons, by an enraged mob. In 1784 it was bravely defended for three
months by Captain Torriano and a detachment of sepoys against the army
of Tippoo Sultan.
HONDA, or SAN BARTOLOMEO DE HONDA, a town of the department of Tolima,
Colombia, on the W. bank of the Magdalena river, 580 m. above its mouth.
In 1906 Mr F. Loraine Petre estimated the population at 7000. It is
about 650 ft. above sea-level and stands at the entrance to a narrow
valley formed by spurs of the Central Cordillera, through which a
picturesque little stream, called the Guali, flows into the Magdalena.
The town overlooks the rapids of the Magdalena, and is shut in closely
by spurs of the Eastern and Central Cordilleras. The climate is hot and
damp and the temperature frequently rises to 102° F. in the shade. Honda
dates back to the beginning of the 17th century, and has been one of the
important centres of traffic in South America for three hundred years.
Within the city there is an iron bridge across the Guali, and there is a
suspension bridge across the Magdalena at the head of the rapids. A
railway 18 m. long connects with the landing place of La Dorada, or Las
Yeguas, where the steamers of the lower Magdalena discharge and receive
their cargoes (the old landing at Carocali nearer the rapids having been
abandoned), and with Arrancaplumas, 1½ m. above, where navigation of the
upper river begins. Up to 1908 the greater part of the traffic for
Bogotá crossed the river at this point, and was carried on mule-back
over the old _camino real_, which was at best only a rough bridlepath
over which transportation to Bogotá (67 m. distant) was laborious and
highly expensive; now the transshipment is made to smaller steamboats on
the upper river for carriage to Girardot, 93 m. distant, from which
place a railway runs to the Bogotá plateau. Honda was nearly destroyed
by an earthquake in 1808.
HONDECOETER, MELCHIOR D' (c. 1636-1695), Dutch painter, was born at
Utrecht, it is said, about 1636, and died at Amsterdam on the 3rd of
April 1695. Old historians say that, being the grandson of Gillis and
son of Gisbert d'Hondecoeter, as well as nephew of J. B. Weenix, he was
brought up by the last two to the profession of painting. Of Weenix we
know that he married one Josina d'Hondecoeter in 1638. Melchior was,
therefore, related to Weenix, who certainly influenced his style. As to
Gillis and Gisbert some points still remain obscure, and it is difficult
to accept the statement that they stood towards each other in the
relation of father and son, since both were registered as painters at
Utrecht in 1637. Both it appears had practised art before coming to
Utrecht, but where they resided or what they painted is uncertain.
Unhappily pictures scarcely help us to clear up the mystery. In the
Fürstenberg collection at Donaueschingen there is a "Concert of Birds"
dated 1620, and signed with the monogram G. D. H.; and we may presume
that G. D. H. is the man whose "Hen and Chickens in a Landscape" in the
gallery of Rotterdam is inscribed "G. D. Hondecoeter, 1652"; but is the
first letter of the monogram to stand for Gillis or Gisbert? In the
museums of Dresden and Cassel landscapes with sportsmen are catalogued
under the name of Gabriel de Heusch (?), one of them dated 1529, and
certified with the monogram G. D. H., challenging attention by
resemblance to a canvas of the same class inscribed G. D. Hond. in the
Berlin Museum. The question here is also whether G. means Gillis or
Gisbert. Obviously there are two artists to consider, one of whom paints
birds, the other landscapes and sportsmen. Perhaps the first is Gisbert,
whose son Melchior also chose birds as his peculiar subject. Weenix too
would naturally teach his nephew to study the feathered tribe. Melchior,
however, began his career with a different speciality from that by which
he is usually known. Mr de Stuers affirms that he produced sea-pieces.
One of his earliest works is a "Tub with Fish," dated 1655, in the
gallery of Brunswick. But Melchior soon abandoned fish or fowl. He
acquired celebrity as a painter of birds only, which he represented not
exclusively, like Fyt, as the gamekeeper's perquisite after a day's
shooting, or stock of a poulterer's shop, but as living beings with
passions, joys, fears and quarrels, to which naturalists will tell us
that birds are subject. Without the brilliant tone and high finish of
Fyt, his Dutch rival's birds are full of action; and, as Bürger truly
says, Hondecoeter displays the maternity of the hen with as much
tenderness and feeling as Raphael the maternity of Madonnas. But Fyt was
at home in depicting the coat of deer and dogs us well as plumage.
Hondecoeter cultivates a narrower field, and seldom goes beyond a
cock-fight or a display of mere bird life. Very few of his pictures are
dated, though more are signed. Amongst the former we should note the
"Jackdaw deprived of his Borrowed Plumes" (1671), at the Hague, of which
Earl Cadogan has a variety; or "Game and Poultry" and "A Spaniel hunting
a Partridge" (1672), in the gallery of Brussels; or "A Park with
Poultry" (1686) at the Hermitage of St Petersburg. Hondecoeter, in great
favour with the magnates of the Netherlands, became a member of the
painters' academy at the Hague in 1659. William III. employed him to
paint his menagerie at Loo, and the picture, now at the Hague museum,
shows that he could at a pinch overcome the difficulty of representing
India's cattle, elephants and gazelles. But he is better in homelier
works, with which he adorned the royal chateaux of Bensberg and
Oranienstein at different periods of his life (Hague and Amsterdam). In
1688 Hondecoeter took the freedom of the city of Amsterdam, where he
resided till his death. His earliest works are more conscientious,
lighter and more transparent than his later ones. At all times he is
bold Of touch and sure of eye, giving the motion of birds with great
spirit and accuracy. His masterpieces are at the Hague and at Amsterdam.
But there are fine examples in private collections in England, and in
the public galleries of Berlin, Caen, Carlsruhe, Cassel, Cologne,
Copenhagen, Dresden, Dublin, Florence, Glasgow, Hanover, London, Lyons,
Montpellier, Munich, Paris, Rotterdam, Rouen, St Petersburg, Stuttgart
and Vienna.
HONDURAS, a republic of Central America, bounded on the N. by the
Caribbean Sea, E. by Nicaragua, S. by Nicaragua, the Pacific Ocean and
Salvador, and W. by Guatemala. (For map see CENTRAL AMERICA.) Pop.
(1905) 500,136; area, about 46,500 sq. m. Honduras is said to owe its
name, meaning in Spanish "depths," to the difficulty experienced by its
original Spanish explorers in finding anchorage off its shores; Cape
Gracias à Dios (Cape "Thanks to God") is the name bestowed, for
analogous reasons, on its easternmost headland, which shelters a small
harbour, now included in Nicaragua. Modern navigators are not confronted
by the same difficulty; for, although the north coast is unbroken by any
remarkable inlet except the Carataska Lagoon, a land-locked lake on the
east, with a narrow entrance from the sea, there are many small bays and
estuaries, such as those of Puerto Cortes, Omoa, Ulua, La Ceiba and
Trujillo, which serve as harbours. The broad basin of the Caribbean Sea,
bounded by Honduras, Guatemala and British Honduras, is known as the bay
or gulf of Honduras. Several islets and the important group of the Bay
Islands (q.v.) belong to the republic. On the Pacific the Hondurian
littoral is short but of great commercial value; for it consists of a
frontage of some 60 m. on the Bay of Fonseca (q.v.), one of the finest
natural harbours in the world. The islands of Tigre, Sacate Grande and
Gueguensi, in the bay, belong to Honduras.
The frontier which separates the republic from Nicaragua extends across
the continent from E.N.E to W.S.W. It is defined by the river Segovia,
Wanks or Coco, for about one-third of the distance; it then deflects
across the watershed on the east and south of the river Choluteca,
crosses the main Nicaraguan Cordillera (mountain chain) and follows the
river Negro to the Bay of Fonseca. The line of separation from Salvador
is irregularly drawn, first in a northerly and then in a westerly
direction; beginning at the mouth of the river Goascoran, in the Bay of
Fonseca, it ends 12 m. W. of San Francisco city. At this point begins
the Guatemalan frontier, the largest section of which is delimited along
the crests of the Sierra de Merendon. On the Caribbean seaboard the
estuary of the Motagua forms the boundary between Honduras and
Guatemala.
_Physical Features._--The general aspect of the country is
mountainous; its southern half is traversed by a continuation of the
main Nicaraguan Cordillera. The chain does not, in this republic,
approach within 50 or 60 m. of the Pacific; nor does it throughout
maintain its general character of an unbroken range, but sometimes
turns back on itself, forming interior basins or valleys, within which
are collected the headwaters of the streams that traverse the country
in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, viewed from the
Pacific, it presents the appearance of a great natural wall, with
many volcanic peaks towering above it and with a lower range of
mountains intervening between it and the sea. It would almost seem
that at one time the Pacific broke at the foot of the great mountain
barrier, and that the subordinate coast range was subsequently thrust
up by volcanic forces. At one point the main range is interrupted by a
great transverse valley or plain known as the plain of Comayagua,
which has an extreme length of about 40 m., with a width of from 5 to
15 m. From this plain the valley of the river Humuya extends north to
the Atlantic, and the valley of the Goascoran extends south to the
Pacific. These three depressions collectively constitute a great
transverse valley reaching from sea to sea, which was pointed out soon
after the conquest as an appropriate course for inter-oceanic
communication. The mountains of the northern half of Honduras are not
volcanic in character and are inferior in altitude to those of the
south, which sometimes exceed 10,000 ft. The relief of all the
highlands of the Atlantic watershed is extremely varied; its
culminating points are probably in the mountain mass about the sources
of the Choluteca, Sulaco and Roman, and in the Sierra de Pija, near
the coast. Farther eastward the different ranges are less clearly
marked and the surface of the country resembles a plateau intersected
by numerous watercourses.
The rivers of the Atlantic slope of Honduras are numerous and some of
them of large size and navigable. The largest is the Ulua, with its
tributary the Humuya. It rises in the plain of Comayagua and flows
north to the Atlantic; it drains a wide expanse of territory,
comprehending nearly one-third of the entire state, and probably
discharges a greater amount of water into the sea than any other river
of Central America, the Segovia excepted. It may be navigated by
steamers of light draught for the greater part of its course. The Rio
Roman or Aguan is a large stream falling into the Atlantic near
Trujillo, with a total length of about 120 m. Its largest tributary is
the Rio Mangualil, celebrated for its gold washings, and it may be
ascended by boats of light draft for 80 m. Rio Tinto, Negro or Black
River, called also Poyer or Poyas, is a considerable stream, navigable
by small vessels for about 60 m. Some English settlements were made on
its banks during the 18th century. The Patuca rises near the frontier
of Nicaragua, and enters the Atlantic east of the Brus or Brewer
lagoon. The Segovia is the longest river in Central America, rising
within 50 m. of the Bay of Fonseca, and flowing into the Caribbean Sea
at Cape Gracias à Dios (see NICARAGUA). Three considerable rivers flow
into the Pacific--the Goascoran, Nacaome and Choluteca, the last named
having a length of about 150 m. The Goascoran, which almost interlocks
with the Humuya, in the plain of Comayagua, has a length of about 80
m. The lake of Yojoa or Taulébe is the only large inland lake in
Honduras, and is about 25 m. in length, by 6 to 8 in breadth. Its
surface is 2050 ft. above the sea. It has two outlets on the south,
the rivers Jaitique and Sacapa, which unite about 15 m. from the lake;
and it is drained on the north by the Rio Blanco, a narrow, deep
stream falling into the Ulua. It has also a feeder on the north, in
the form of a subterranean stream of beautiful clear water, which here
comes to the surface. The Carataska or Caratasca lagoon is a shallow
salt-water lake connected by a narrow channel with the Atlantic, and
near the mouth of the Segovia. It contains several large sandy
islands.
Honduras resembles the neighbouring countries in the general character
of its geological formations, fauna and flora. Here, as in other
Central American states, there are but two seasons, the wet, from May
to November, and the dry, from November to May. On the moist lowlands
of the Atlantic coast the climate is oppressive, but on the highlands
of the interior it is delightful. At Tegucigalpa, on the uplands, a
year's observations showed the maximum temperature to be 90° F. in
May, and the minimum to be 50° F. in December, the range of variation
during the whole year being within 40° F.
See also CENTRAL AMERICA: _Geology, Fauna, Flora, Climate_.
_Inhabitants._--The inhabitants of Honduras are in many cases of the
Indian or aboriginal type, and the European element is very small,
although it shares in the social, political and economic preponderance
of the Spanish-speaking half-castes (_Ladinos_ or _Mestizos_), who are
the most numerous section of the population. Throughout the country
there are many interesting relics of the native civilization which was
destroyed by the Spanish invaders in the 16th century. In the eastern
portion of the state, between the Rio Roman, Cape Gracias à Dios, and
the Segovia river, the country is almost exclusively occupied by native
Indian tribes, known under the general names of Xicaques and Poyas. In
many districts the Indians are known as Lencas, a generic name which
includes several tribes akin to the Mayans of Guatemala. Portions of all
of these tribes have accepted the Roman Catholic religion, and live in
peaceful neighbourhood and good understanding with the white
inhabitants. There are, however, considerable numbers, probably about
90,000 in all, who live among the mountains and still conform closely
to the aboriginal modes of life. They all cultivate the soil, and are
good and industrious labourers. A small portion of the coast, above Cape
Gracias, is occupied by the Sambos, a mixed race of Indians and negroes,
which, however, is fast disappearing. Spreading along the entire north
coast are the Caribs, a vigorous race, descendants of the Caribs of St
Vincent, one of the Windward Islands. These, to the number of 5000, were
deported in 1796 by the English and landed on the island of Roatan. They
still retain their native language, although it tends to disappear and
be replaced by Spanish and a bastard dialect of English; they are
active, industrious and provident, forming the chief reliance of the
mahogany cutters on the coast. A portion of them, who have a mixture of
negro blood, are called the Black Caribs. They profess the Roman
Catholic religion, but retain many of their native rites and
superstitions. In the departments of Gracias, Comayagua and Choluteca
are many purely Indian towns.
The aggregate population, according to an official estimate made in
1905, is 500,136, but a complete and satisfactory census cannot be taken
throughout the country, since the ignorant masses of the people, and
especially the Indians, avoid a census as in some way connected with
military conscription or taxation. The bulk of the Spanish population
exists on the Pacific slope of the continent, while on the Atlantic
declivity the country is uninhabited or but sparsely occupied by Indian
tribes, of which the number is wholly unknown. In 1905 there were fewer
than 11 inhabitants per sq. m., but all the available data tend to show
that the population increases rapidly, owing to the continuous excess of
births over deaths. The first census, taken in 1791, gave the total
population as only 95,500. There is little emigration or immigration.
_Chief Towns._--The capital is Tegucigalpa (pop. 1905, about 35,000);
other important towns are Jutigalpa (18,000), Comayagua (8000), and the
seaports of Amapala (4000), Trujillo (4000), and Puerto Cortes (2500).
These are described in separate articles. The towns of Nacaome, La
Esperanza, Choluteca and Santa Rosa have upwards of 10,000 inhabitants.
_Communications._--Means of communication are very defective. In 1905
the only railway in the country was that from Puerto Cortes to La
Pimienta, a distance of 57 m. This is a section of the proposed
inter-oceanic railway for which the external debt of the republic was
incurred. For the completion of the line concessions, one after
another, were granted, and expired or were revoked. Other railways are
projected, including one along the Atlantic coast, an extension from
La Pimienta to La Brea on the Pacific, and a line from Tegucigalpa to
the port of San Lorenzo. The capital is connected with other towns by
fairly well made roads, which, however, are not kept in good repair.
In the interior generally, all travelling and transport are by mules
and ox-carts over roads which defy description.
Honduras joined the Postal Union in 1879, The telegraph service is
conducted by the government and is inefficient. Telephones are in use
in Tegucigalpa and a few of the more important towns.
_Commerce and Industry._--Although grants of land for mining and
agricultural purposes are readily made by the state to companies and
individual capitalists, the economic development of Honduras has been
a very slow process, impeded as it has been by political disturbances
and in modern times by national bankruptcy, heavy import and export
duties, and the scarcity of both labour and capital. The natural
wealth of the country is great and consists especially in its
vegetable products. The mahogany and cedar of Honduras are
unsurpassed, but reckless destruction of these and of other valuable
cabinet-woods and dye-woods has much reduced the supply available for
export. Rubber-planting, a comparatively modern industry, has proved
successful, and tends to supplement the almost exhausted stock of wild
rubber. Of still greater importance are the plantations of bananas,
especially in the northern maritime province of Atlantida, where
coco-nuts are also grown. Coffee, tobacco, sugar, oranges, lemons,
maize and beans are produced in all parts, rice, cocoa, indigo and
wheat over more limited areas. Cattle and pigs are bred extensively;
cattle are exported to Cuba, and dairy-farming is carried on with
success. Sheep-farming is almost an unknown industry. Turtle and fish
are obtained in large quantities off the Atlantic seaboard. In its
mineral resources Honduras ranks first among the states of Central
America. Silver is worked by a British company, gold by an American
company. Gold-washing was practised in a primitive manner even before
the Spanish conquest, and in the 18th century immense quantities of
gold and silver were obtained by the Spaniards from mines near
Tegucigalpa. Opals, platinum, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, antimony,
iron, lignite and coal have been found but the causes already
enumerated have prevented the exploitation of any of these minerals
on a large scale, and the total value of the ores exported was only
£174,800 in 1904 and £239,426 in 1905. The total value of the exports
in a normal year ranges from about £500,000 to £600,000, and that of
the imports from £450,000 to £550,000. Apart from minerals the most
valuable commodity exported is bananas (£209,263 in 1905); coco-nuts,
timber, hides, deer-skins, feathers, coffee, sarsaparilla and rubber
are items of minor importance. Nearly 90% of the exports are shipped
to the United States, which also send to Honduras more than half of
its imports. These chiefly consist of cotton goods, hardware and
provisions. The manufacturing industries of Honduras include the
plaiting of straw hats, cigar-making, brick-making and the
distillation of spirits.
_Finance._--Owing to the greater variety of its products and the
possession of a metallic currency, Honduras is less affected by
fluctuations of exchange than the neighbouring republics, in which
little except paper money circulates. The monetary unit is the silver
_peso_ or dollar of 100 cents, which weighs 25 grammes, .900 fine, and
is worth about 1s. 8d.; the gold dollar is worth about 4s. The
principal coins in circulation arc the 1-cent copper piece, 5, 10, 20,
25 and 50 cents, and 1 peso silver pieces, and 1, 5, 10 and 20 dollar
gold pieces. The metric system of weights and measures, adopted
officially on the 1st of April 1897, has not supplanted the older
Spanish standards in general use. There is only one bank in the
republic, the _Banco de Honduras_, with its head office at
Tegucigalpa. Its bills are legal tender for all debts due to the
state.
In July 1909 the foreign debt of Honduras, with arrears of interest,
amounted to £22,470,510, of which more than £17,000,000 were for
arrears of interest. The principal was borrowed between 1867 and 1870,
chiefly for railway construction; but it was mainly devoted to other
purposes and no interest has been paid since 1872. The republic is
thus practically bankrupt. The revenue, derived chiefly from customs
and from the spirit, gunpowder and tobacco monopolies reached an
average of about £265,000 during the five years 1901-1905; the
expenditure in normal years is about £250,000. The principal spending
departments are those of war, finance, public works and education.
_Constitution and Government._--The constitution of Honduras,
promulgated in 1839 and frequently amended, was to a great extent recast
in 1880. It was again remodelled in 1894, when a new charter was
proclaimed. This instrument gives the legislative power to a congress of
deputies elected for four years by popular vote, in the ratio of one
member for every 10,000 inhabitants. Congress meets on the 1st of
January and sits for sixty consecutive days. The executive is entrusted
to the president, who is nominated and elected for four years by popular
vote, and is re-eligible for a second but not for a third consecutive
term. He is assisted by a council of ministers representing the
departments of the interior, war, finance, public works, education and
justice. For purposes of local administration the republic is divided
into sixteen departments. The highest judicial power is vested in the
Supreme Court, which consists of five popularly elected judges; there
are also four Courts of Appeal, besides subordinate departmental and
district tribunals. The active army consists of about 500 regular
soldiers and 20,000 militia, recruited by conscription from all
able-bodied males between the ages of twenty and thirty. Service in the
reserve is obligatory for a further period of ten years.
_Religion and Education._--Roman Catholicism is the creed of a very
large majority of the population; but the constitution grants complete
liberty to all religious communities, and no Church is supported by
public funds or receives any other special privilege. Education is
free, secular and compulsory for children between the ages of seven
and fifteen. There are primary schools in every convenient centre, but
the percentage of illiterates is high, especially among the Indians.
The state maintains a central institute and a university at
Tegucigalpa, a school of jurisprudence at Comayagua, and colleges for
secondary education, with special schools for teachers, in each
department. The annual cost of primary education is about £11,000.
_History._--It was at Cape Honduras that Columbus first landed on the
American continent in 1502, and took possession of the country on behalf
of Spain. The first settlement was made in 1524 by order of Hernando
Cortes, who had heard rumours of rich and populous empires in this
region, and sent his lieutenant Christobal de Olid to found a Spanish
colony. Olid endeavoured to establish an independent principality, and,
in order to resume control of the settlers, Cortes was compelled to
undertake the long and arduous march across the mountains of southern
Mexico and Guatemala. In the spring of 1525 he reached the colony and
founded the city which is now Puerto Cortes. He entrusted the
administration to a new governor, whose successors were to be nominated
by the king, and returned to Mexico in 1526. By 1539, when Honduras was
incorporated in the captaincy-general of Guatemala, the mines of the
province had proved to be the richest as yet discovered in the New World
and several large cities had come into existence. The system under which
Honduras was administered from 1539 to 1821, when it repudiated the
authority of the Spanish crown, the effects of that system, the part
subsequently played by Honduras in the protracted struggle for Central
American unity, and the invasion by William Walker and his
fellow-adventurers (1856-1860), are fully described under CENTRAL
AMERICA.
War and revolution had stunted the economic growth of the country and
retarded every attempt at social or political reform; its future was
mortgaged by the assumption of an enormous burden of debt in 1869 and
1870. A renewal of war with Guatemala in 1871, and a revolution three
years later in the interests of the ex-president Medina, brought about
the intervention of the neighbouring states and the provisional
appointment to the presidency of Marco Aurelio Soto, a nominee of
Guatemala. This appointment proved successful and was confirmed by
popular vote in 1877 and 1880, when a new constitution was issued and
the seat of government fixed at Tegucigalpa. Fresh outbreaks of civil
war occurred frequently between 1883 and 1903; the republic was bankrupt
and progress again at a standstill. In 1903 Manuel Bonilla, an able,
popular and experienced general, gained the presidency and seemed likely
to repeat the success of Soto in maintaining order. As his term of
office drew to a close, and his re-election appeared certain, the
supporters of rival candidates and some of his own dissatisfied
adherents intrigued to secure the co-operation of Nicaragua for his
overthrow. Bonilla welcomed the opportunity of consolidating his own
position which a successful war would offer; José Santos Zelaya, the
president of Nicaragua, was equally ambitious; and several alleged
violations of territory had embittered popular feeling on both sides.
The United States and Mexican governments endeavoured to secure a
peaceful settlement without intervention, but failed. At the outbreak of
hostilities in February 1907 the Hondurian forces were commanded by
Bonilla in person and by General Sotero Barahona his minister of war.
One of their chief subordinates was Lee Christmas, an adventurer from
Memphis, Tennessee, who had previously been a locomotive-driver.
Honduras received active support from his ally, Salvador, and was
favoured by public opinion throughout Central America. But from the
outset the Nicaraguans proved victorious, largely owing to their
remarkable mobility. Their superior naval force enabled them to capture
Puerto Cortes and La Ceiba, and to threaten other cities on the
Caribbean coast; on land they were aided by a body of Hondurian rebels,
who also established a provisional government. Zelaya captured
Tegucigalpa after severe fighting, and besieged Bonilla in Amapala. Lee
Christmas was killed. The surrender of Amapala on the 11th of April
practically ended the war. Bonilla took refuge on board the United
States cruiser "Chicago." A noteworthy feature of the war was the
attitude of the American naval officers, who landed marines, arranged
the surrender of Amapala, and prevented Nicaragua prolonging
hostilities. Honduras was now evacuated by the Nicaraguans and her
provisional government was recognized by Zelaya. Miguel R. Davila was
president in 1908 and 1909.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Official documents such as the annual presidential
message and the reports of the ministries are published in Spanish at
Tegucigalpa. Other periodical publications which throw much light on
the movement of trade and politics are the British Foreign Office
reports (London, annual), United States consular reports (Washington,
monthly), bulletins of the Bureau of American Republics (Washington),
and reports of the Council of the Corporation of Foreign Bondholders
(London, annual). For a more comprehensive account of the country and
its history, the works of K. Sapper, E. G. Squier, A. H. Keane and T.
Child, cited under CENTRAL AMERICA, are important. See also E.
Pelletier, _Honduras et ses ports: documents officiels sur le
chemin-de-fer interocéanique_ (Paris, 1869); E. G. Squier, _Honduras:
Descriptive, Historical and Statistical_ (London, 1870); C. Charles,
_Honduras_ (Chicago, 1890); _Handbook of Honduras_, published by the
Bureau of American Republics (1892); T. R. Lombard, _The New
Honduras_ (New York, 1887); H. Jalhay, _La République de Honduras_
(Antwerp, 1898); Perry, _Directorio nacional de Honduras_ (New York,
1899); H. G. Bourgeois, _Breve noticia sobre Honduras_ (Tegucigalpa,
1900).
HONE, NATHANIEL (1718-1784), British painter, was the son of a merchant
at Dublin, and without any regular training acquired in his youth much
skill as a portrait-painter. Early in his career he left Dublin for
England and worked first in various provincial towns, but ultimately
settled in London, where he soon made a considerable reputation. His
oil-paintings were decidedly popular, but he gained his chief success by
his miniatures and enamels, which he executed with masterly capacity. He
became a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists and afterwards a
foundation member of the Royal Academy; but he had several disagreements
with his fellow-members of that institution, and on one occasion they
rejected two of his pictures, one of which was regarded as a satire on
Reynolds and the other on Angelica Kauffman. Most of his contributions
to the Academy exhibitions were portraits. The quality of his work
varied greatly, but the merit of his miniatures and enamels entitles him
to a place among the ablest artists of the British school. He executed
also a few mezzotint plates of reasonable importance, and some etchings.
His portrait, painted by himself two years before his death, is in the
possession of the Royal Academy.
HONE, WILLIAM (1780-1842), English writer and bookseller, was born at
Bath on the 3rd of June 1780. His father brought up his children with
the sectarian narrowness that so frequently produces reaction. Hone
received no systematic education, and was taught to read from the Bible
only. His father having removed to London in 1783, he was in 1790 placed
in an attorney's office. After two and a half years spent in the office
of a solicitor at Chatham he returned to London to become clerk to a
solicitor in Gray's Inn. But he disliked the law, and had already
acquired a taste for free-thought and political agitation. Hone married
in 1800, and started a book and print shop with a circulating Library in
Lambeth Walk. He soon removed to St Martin's Churchyard, where he
brought out his first publication, Shaw's _Gardener_ (1806). It was at
this time that he and his friend, John Bone, tried to realize a plan for
the establishment of popular savings banks, and even had an interview on
the subject with the president of the Board of Trade. This scheme,
however, failed. Bone joined him next in a bookseller's business; but
Hone's habits were not those of a tradesman, and bankruptcy was the
result. He was in 1811 chosen by the booksellers as auctioneer to the
trade, and had an office in Ivy Lane. Independent investigations carried
on by him into the condition of lunatic asylums led again to business
difficulties and failure, but he took a small lodging in the Old Bailey,
keeping himself and his now large family by contributions to magazines
and reviews. He hired a small shop, or rather box, in Fleet Street but
this was on two separate nights broken into, and valuable books lent for
show were stolen. In 1815 he started the _Traveller_ newspaper, and
endeavoured vainly to exculpate Eliza Fenning, a poor girl, apparently
quite guiltless, who was executed on a charge of poisoning. From
February 1 to October 25, 1817, he published the _Reformer's Register_,
writing in it as the serious critic of the state abuses, which he soon
after attacked in the famous political squibs and parodies, illustrated
by George Cruikshank. In April 1817 three _ex-officio_ informations were
filed against him by the attorney-genera, Sir William Garrow. Three
separate trials took place in the Guildhall before special juries on the
18th, 19th and 20th of December 1817. The first, for publishing Wilkes's
_Catechism of a Ministerial Member_ (1817), was before Mr Justice Abbot
(afterwards Lord Tenterden); the second, for parodying the litany and
libelling the prince regent, and the third, for publishing the
_Sinecurist's Creed_ (1817), a parody on the Athanasian creed, were
before Lord Ellenborough (q.v.). The prosecution took the ground that
the prints were calculated to injure public morals, and to bring the
prayer-book and even religion itself into contempt. But there can be no
doubt that the real motives of the prosecution were political; Hone had
ridiculed the habits and exposed the corruption of the prince regent and
of other persons in power. He went to the root of the matter when he
wished the jury "to understand that, had he been a publisher of
ministerial parodies, he would not then have been defending himself on
the floor of that court." In spite of illness and exhaustion Hone
displayed great courage and ability, speaking on each of the three days
for about seven hours. Although his judges were biassed against him he
was acquitted on each count, and the result was received with
enthusiastic cheers by immense crowds within and without the court. Soon
after the trials a subscription was begun which enabled Hone to get over
the difficulties caused by his prosecution. Among Hone's most successful
political satires were _The Political House that Jack built_ (1819),
_The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder_ (1820), in favour of Queen Caroline,
_The Man in the Moon_ (1820), _The Political Showman_ (1821), all
illustrated by Cruikshank. Many of his squibs are directed against a
certain "Dr Slop," a nickname given by him to Dr (afterwards Sir John)
Stoddart, of _The Times_. In researches for his defence he had come upon
some curious and at that time little trodden literary ground, and the
results were shown by his publication in 1820 of his _Apocryphal New
Testament_, and in 1823 of his _Ancient Mysteries Explained_. In 1826 he
published the _Every-day Book_, in 1827-1828 the _Table-Book_, and in
1829 the _Year-Book_; all three were collections of curious information
on manners, antiquities and various other subjects. These are the works
by which Hone is best remembered. In preparing them he had the approval
of Southey and the assistance of Charles Lamb, but pecuniarily they were
not successful, and Hone was lodged in King's Bench prison for debt.
Friends, however, again came to his assistance, and he was established
in a coffee-house in Gracechurch Street; but this, like most of his
enterprises, ended in failure. Hone's attitude of mind had gradually
changed to that of extreme devoutness, and during the latter years of
his life he frequently preached in Weigh House Chapel, Eastcheap. In
1830 he edited Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_, and he contributed to the
first number of the _Penny Magazine_. He was also for some years
sub-editor of the _Patriot_. He died at Tottenham on the 6th of November
1842.
HONE (in O. Eng. _hán_, cognate with Swed. _hen_; the root appears in
Skt. _çána_, _ço_ to sharpen), a variety of finely siliceous stone
employed for whetting or sharpening edge tools, and for abrading steel
and other hard surfaces. Synonyms are honestone, whetstone, oilstone and
sharpening stone. Hones are generally prepared in the form of flat slabs
or small pencils or rods, but some are made with the outline of the
special instrument they are designed to sharpen. Their abrading action
is due to the quartz or silica which is always present in predominating
proportion, some kinds consisting of almost pure quartz, while in others
the siliceous element is very intimately mixed with aluminous or
calcareous matter, forming a uniform compact stone, the extremely fine
siliceous particles of which impart a remarkably keen edge to the
instruments for the sharpening of which they are applied. In some cases
the presence of minute garnets or magnetite assists in the cutting
action. Hones are used either dry, with water, or with oil, and
generally the object to be sharpened is drawn with hand pressure
backward and forward over the surface of the hone; but sometimes the
stone is moved over the cutting edge.
The coarsest type of stone which can be included among hones is the bat
or scythe stone, a porous fine-grained sandstone used for sharpening
scythes and cutters of mowing machines, and for other like purposes.
Next come the ragstones, which consist of quartzose mica-schist, and
give a finer edge than any sandstone. Under the head of oilstones or
hones proper the most famous and best-known qualities are the German
razor hone, the Turkey oilstone, and the Arkansas stone. The German
razor hone, used, as its name implies, chiefly for razors, is obtained
from the slate mountains near Ratisbon, where it forms a yellow vein of
from 1 to 18 in. in the blue slate. It is sawn into thin slabs, and
these are cemented to slabs of slate which serve as a support. Turkey
oilstone is a close-grained bluish stone containing from 70 to 75% of
silica in a state of very fine division, intimately blended with about
20 to 25% of calcite. It is obtained only in small pieces, frequently
flawed and not tough, so that the slabs must have a backing of slate or
wood. It is one of the most valuable of all whetstones, abrading the
hardest steel, and possessing sufficient compactness to resist the
pressure required for sharpening gravers. The stone comes from the
interior of Asia Minor, whence it is carried to Smyrna. Of Arkansas
stones there are two varieties, both found in the same district, Garland
and Saline counties, Arkansas, United States. The finer kind, known as
Arkansas hone, is obtained in small pieces at the Hot Springs, and the
second quality, distinguished as Washita stone, comes from Washita or
Ouachita river. The hones yield on analysis 98% of silica, with small
proportions of alumina, potash and soda, and mere traces of iron, lime,
magnesia and fluorine. They are white in colour, extremely hard and keen
in grit, and not easily worn down or broken. Geologically the materials
are called novaculites, and are supposed to be metamorphosed sandstone
silt, chert or limestone resulting from the permeation through the mass
of heated alkaline siliceous waters. The finer kind is employed for fine
cutting instruments, and also for polishing steel pivots of watch-wheels
and similar minute work, the second and coarser quality being used for
common tools. Both varieties are largely exported from the United States
in the form of blocks, slips, pencils, rods and wheels. Other honestones
are obtained in the United States from New York, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Ohio (Deerlick stone) and Indiana (Hindostan or Orange stone). Among
hones of less importance in general use may be noted the Charley Forest
stone--or Whittle Hill honestone--a good substitute for Turkey oilstone;
Water of Ayr stone, Scotch stone, or snake stone, a pale grey
carboniferous shale hardened by igneous action, used for tools and for
polishing marble and copper-plates; Idwal or Welsh oilstone, used for
small articles; and cutlers' greenstone from Snowdon, very hard and
close in texture, used for giving the last edge to lancets.
HONEY (Chin. _me_; Sansk. _madhu_, mead, honey; cf. A.S. _medo_, _medu_,
mead; Gr. [Greek: meli], in which [theta] or [delta] is changed into
[lambda]; Lat. _mel_; Fr. _miel_; A.S. _hunig_; Ger. _Honig_),[1] a
sweet viscid liquid, obtained by bees (see BEE, _Bee-keeping_) chiefly
from the nectaries of flowers, i.e. those parts of flowers specially
constructed for the elaboration of honey, and, after transportation to
the hive in the proventriculus or crop of the insects, discharged by
them into the cells prepared for its reception. Whether the nectar
undergoes any alteration within the crop of the bee is a point on which
authors have differed. Some wasps, e.g. _Myrapetra scutellaris_[2] and
the genus _Nectarina_, collect honey. A honey-like fluid, which consists
of a nearly pure solution of uncrystallizable sugar having the formula
C6H14O7 after drying in vacuo, and which is used by the Mexicans in the
preparation of a beverage, is yielded by certain inactive individuals of
_Myrmecocystus mexicanus_, Wesmael, the honey-ants or pouched ants
(_hormigas mieleras_ or _mochileras_) of Mexico.[3] The abdomen in these
insects, owing to the distensibility of the membrane connecting its
segments, becomes converted into a globular thin-walled sac by the
accumulation within it of the nectar supplied to them by their working
comrades (Wesmael, _Bull. de l'Acad. Roy. de Brux._ v. 766, 1838). By
the Rev. H. C. M'Cook, who discovered the insect in the Garden of the
Gods, Colorado, the honey-bearers were found hanging by their feet, in
groups of about thirty, to the roofs of special chambers in their
underground nests, their large globular abdomens causing them to
resemble "bunches of small Delaware grapes" (_Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philad._, 1879, p. 197). A bladder-like formation on the metathorax of
another ant, _Crematogaster inflatus_ (F. Smith, _Cat. of Hymenoptera_,
pt. vi. pp. 136 and 200, pl. ix. fig. 1), which has a small circular
orifice at each posterior lateral angle, appears to possess a function
similar to that of the abdomen in the honey-ant.
It is a popular saying that where is the best honey there also is the
best wool; and a pastoral district, since it affords a greater profusion
of flowers, is superior for the production of honey to one under
tillage.[4] Dry warm weather is that most favourable to the secretion of
nectar by flowers. This they protect from rain by various internal
structures, such as papillae, cushions of hairs and spurs, or by virtue
of their position (in the raspberry, drooping), or the arrangement of
their constituent parts. Dr A. W. Bennett (_How Flowers are Fertilized_,
p. 31, 1873) has remarked that the perfume of flowers is generally
derived from their nectar; the blossoms of some plants, however, as ivy
and holly, though almost scentless, are highly nectariferous. The
exudation of a honey-like or saccharine fluid, as has frequently been
attested, is not a function exclusively of the flowers in all plants. A
sweet material, the manna of pharmacy, e.g. is produced by the leaves
and stems of a species of ash, _Fraxinus Ornus_; and honey-secreting
glands are to be met with on the leaves, petioles, phyllodes, stipules
(as in _Vicia sativa_), or bracteae (as in the _Maregraviaceae_) of a
considerable number of different vegetable forms. The origin of the
honey-yielding properties manifested specially by flowers among the
several parts of plants has been carefully considered by Darwin, who
regards the saccharine matter in nectar as a waste product of chemical
changes in the sap, which, when it happened to be excreted within the
envelopes of flowers, was utilized for the important object of
cross-fertilization, and subsequently was much increased in quantity,
and stored in various ways (see _Cross and Self Fertilization of
Plants_, pp. 402 sq., 1876). It has been noted with respect to the
nectar of the fuchsia that it is most abundant when the anthers are
about to dehisce, and absent in the unexpanded flower.
Pettigrew is of opinion that few bees go more than 2 m. from home in
search of honey. The number of blossoms visited in order to meet the
requirements of a single hive of bees must be very great; for it has
been found by A. S. Wilson ("On the Nectar of Flowers," _Brit. Assoc.
Rep._, 1878, p. 567) that 125 heads of common red clover, which is a
plant comparatively abundant in nectar, yield but one gramme (15.432
grains) of sugar; and as each head contains about 60 florets,
7,500,000 distinct flower-tubes must on this estimate be exhausted for
each kilogramme (2.204 lb.) of sugar collected. Among the richer
sources of honey are reckoned the apple, asparagus, asters, barberry,
basswood (_Tilia americana_), and the European lime or linden (_T.
europaea_), beans, bonesets (_Eupatorium_), borage, broom, buckwheat,
catnip, or catmint (_Nepeta Cataria_), cherry, cleome, clover, cotton,
crocus, currant, dandelion, eucalyptus, figwort (_Scrophularia_),
furze, golden-rod (_Solidago_), gooseberry, hawthorn, heather,
hepatica, horehound, hyacinth, lucerne, maple, mignonette, mint,
motherwort (_Leonurus_), mustard, onion, peach, pear, poplar, quince,
rape, raspberry, sage, silver maple, snapdragon, sour-wood
(_Oxydendron arboreum_, D.C.), strawberry, sycamore, teasel, thyme,
tulip-tree (more especially rich in pollen), turnip, violet and
willows, and the "honey-dew" of the leaves of the whitethorn (Bonner),
oak, linden, beech and some other trees.
Honey contains dextroglucose and laevoglucose (the former practically
insoluble, the latter soluble in 1/8 pt. of cold strong alcohol),
cane-sugar (according to some), mucilage, water, wax, essential oil,
colouring bodies, a minute quantity of mineral matter and pollen. By a
species of fermentation, the cane-sugar is said to be gradually
transformed into inverted sugar (laevoglucose with dextroglucose). The
pollen, as a source of nitrogen, is of importance to the bees feeding on
the honey. It may be obtained for examination as a sediment from a
mixture of honey and water. Other substances which have been discovered
in honey are mannite (Guibourt), a free acid which precipitates the
salts of silver and of lead, and is soluble in water and alcohol
(Calloux), and an uncrystallizable sugar, nearly related to inverted
sugar (Soubeiran, _Compt. Rend._ xxviii. 774-775, 1849). Brittany honey
contains couvain, a ferment which determines its active decomposition
(Wurtz, _Dict. de Chem._ ii. 430). In the honey of _Polybia
apicipennis_, a wasp of tropical America, cane-sugar occurs in crystals
of large size (Karsten, _Pogg. Ann._, C. 550). Dr J. Campbell Brown ("On
the Composition of Honey," _Analyst_ iii. 267, 1878) is doubtful as to
the presence of cane-sugar in any one of nine samples, from various
sources, examined by him. The following average percentage numbers are
afforded by his analyses: laevulose, 36.45; dextrose, 36.57; mineral
matter, .15; water expelled at 100° C., 18.5, and at a much higher
temperature, with loss, 7.81: the wax, pollen and insoluble matter vary
from a trace to 2.1%. The specific gravity of honey is about 1.41. The
rotation of a polarized ray by a solution of 16.26 grammes of crude
honey in 100 c.c. of water is generally from -3.2° to -5° at 60° F.; in
the case of Greek honey it is nearly -5.5°. Almost all pure honey, when
exposed for some time to light and cold, becomes more or less granular
in consistency. Any liquid portion can be readily separated by straining
through linen. Honey sold out of the comb is commonly clarified by
heating and skimmimg; but according to Bonner it is always best in its
natural state. The _mel depuratum_ of British pharmacy is prepared by
heating honey in a water-bath, and straining through flannel previously
moistened with warm water.
The term "virgin-honey" (A.-S., _hunigtear_) is applied to the honey of
young bees which have never swarmed, or to that which flows
spontaneously from honeycomb with or without the application of heat.
The honey obtained from old hives, considered inferior to it in quality,
is ordinarily darker, thicker and less pleasant in taste and odour. The
yield of honey is less in proportion to weight in old than in young or
virgin combs. The far-famed honey of Narbonne is white, very granular
and highly aromatic; and still finer honey is that procured from the
Corbières Mountains, 6 to 9 m. to the south-west. The honey of Gâtinais
is usually white, and is less odorous and granulates less readily than
that of Narbonne. Honey from white clover has a greenish-white, and that
from heather a rich golden-yellow hue. What is made from honey-dew is
dark in colour, and disagreeable to the palate, and does not candy like
good honey. "We have seen aphide honey from sycamores," says F. Cheshire
(_Pract. Bee-keeping_, p. 74), "as deep in tone as walnut liquor, and
where much of it is stored the value of the whole crop is practically
nil." The honey of the stingless bees (_Meliponia_ and _Trigona_) of
Brazil varies greatly in quality according to the species of flowers
from which it is collected, some kinds being black and sour, and others
excellent (F. Smith, _Trans. Ent. Soc._, 3d ser., i. pt. vi., 1863).
That of _Apis Peronii_, of India and Timor, is yellow, and of very
agreeable flavour and is more liquid than the British sorts. _A.
unicolor_, a bee indigenous to Madagascar, and naturalized in Mauritius
and the island of Réunion, furnishes a thick and syrupy, peculiarly
scented green honey, highly esteemed in Western India. A rose-coloured
honey is stated (_Gard. Chron._, 1870, p. 1698) to have been procured by
artificial feeding. The fine aroma of Maltese honey is due to its
collection from orange blossoms. Narbonne honey being harvested chiefly
from Labiate plants, as rosemary, an imitation of it is sometimes
prepared by flavouring ordinary honey with infusion of rosemary flowers.
Adulterations of honey are starch, detectable by the microscope, and
by its blue reaction with iodine, also wheaten flour, gelatin, chalk,
gypsum, pipe-clay, added water, cane-sugar and common syrup, and the
different varieties of manufactured glucose. Honey sophisticated with
glucose containing copperas as an impurity is turned of an inky colour
by liquids containing tannin, as tea. Elm leaves have been used in
America for the flavouring of imitation honey. Stone jars should be
employed in preference to common earthenware for the storage of honey,
which acts upon the lead glaze of the latter.
Honey is mildly laxative in properties. Some few kinds are poisonous, as
frequently the reddish honey stored by the Brazilian wasp _Nectarina_
(_Polistes_, Latr.[5]) _Lecheguana_, Shuck., the effects of which have
been vividly described by Aug. de Saint-Hilaire,[6] the spring honey of
the wild bees of East Nepaul, said to be rendered noxious by collection
from rhododendron flowers (Hooker, _Himalayan Journals_, i. 190, ed.
1855), and the honey of Trebizond, which from its source, the blossoms,
it is stated, of _Azalea pontica_ and _Rhododendron ponticum_ (perhaps
to be identified with Pliny's _Aegolethron_), acquires the qualities of
an irritant and intoxicant narcotic, as described by Xenophon (_Anab._
iv. 8). Pliny (_Nat. Hist._ xxi. 45) describes as noxious a
livid-coloured honey found in Persia and Gaetulia. Honey obtained from
_Kalmia latifolia_, L., the calico bush, mountain laurel or spoon-wood
of the northern United States, and allied species, is reputed
deleterious; also that of the sour-wood is by some good authorities
considered to possess undeniable griping properties; and G. Bidie
(_Madras Quart. Journ. Med. Sci._, Oct, 1861, p. 399) mentions
urtication, headache, extreme prostration and nausea, and intense thirst
among the symptoms produced by a small quantity only of a honey from
Coorg jungle. A South African species of _Euphorbia_, as was experienced
by the missionary Moffat (_Miss. Lab._ p. 32, 1849), yields a poisonous
honey. The nectar of certain flowers is asserted to cause even in bees a
fatal kind of vertigo. As a demulcent and flavouring agent, honey is
employed in the _oxymel_, _oxymel scillae_, _mel boracis_, _confectio
piperis_, _conf. scammonii_ and _conf. terebinthinae_ of the _British
Pharmacopoeia_. To the ancients honey was of very great importance as an
article of diet, being almost their only available source of sugar. It
was valued by them also for its medicinal virtues; and in recipes of the
Saxon and later periods it is a common ingredient.[7] Of the eight kinds
of honey mentioned by the great Indian surgical writer Susruta, four are
not described by recent authors, viz. _argha_ or wild honey, collected
by a sort of yellow bee; _chhatra_, made by tawny or yellow wasps;
_audálaka_, a bitter and acrid honey-like substance found in the nest of
white ants; and _dála_ or unprepared honey occurring on flowers.
According to Hindu medical writers, honey when new is laxative, and when
more than a year old astringent (U. C. Dutt, _Mat. Med. of the Hindus_,
p. 277, 1877). Ceromel, formed by mixing at a gentle heat one part by
weight of yellow wax with four of clarified honey, and straining, is
used in India and other tropical countries as a mild stimulant for
ulcers in the place of animal fats, which there rapidly become rancid
and unfit for medicinal purposes. The _Koran_, in the chapter entitled
"The Bee," remarks with reference to bees and their honey: "There
proceedeth from their bellies a liquor of various colour, wherein is a
medicine for men" (Sale's _Koran_, chap. xvi.). Pills prepared with
honey as an excipient are said to remain unindurated, however long they
may be kept (_Med. Times_, 1857, i. 269). Mead, of yore a favourite
beverage in England (vol. iv. p. 264), is made by fermentation of the
liquor obtained by boiling in water combs from which the honey has been
drained. In the preparation of sack-mead, an ounce of hops is added to
each gallon of the liquor, and after the fermentation a small quantity
of brandy. Metheglin, or hydromel, is maufactured by fermenting with
yeast a solution of honey flavoured with boiled hops (see Cooley,
_Cyclop._). A kind of mead is largely consumed in Abyssinia (vol. i. p.
64), where it is carried on journeys in large horns (Stern,
_Wanderings_, p. 317, 1862). In Russia a drink termed _lipez_ is made
from the delicious honey of the linden. The _mulsum_ of the ancient
Romans consisted of honey, wine and water boiled together. The _clarre_,
or _piment_, of Chaucer's time was wine mixed with honey and spices, and
strained till clear; a similar drink was _bracket_, made with wort of
ale instead of wine. L. Maurial (_L'Insectologie Agricole_ for 1868, p.
206) reports unfavourably as to the use of honey for the production of
alcohol; he recommends it, however, as superior to sugar for the
thickening of liqueurs, and also as a means of sweetening imperfectly
ripened vintages. It is occasionally employed for giving strength and
flavour to ale. In ancient Egypt it was valued as an embalming material;
and in the East, for the preservation of fruit, and the making of cakes,
sweetmeats, and other articles of food, it is largely consumed. Grafts,
seeds and birds' eggs, for transmission to great distances, are
sometimes packed in honey. In India a mixture of honey and milk, or of
equal parts of curds, honey and clarified butter (Sansk.,
_madhu-parka_), is a respectful offering to a guest, or to a bridegroom
on his arrival at the door of the bride's father; and one of the
purificatory ceremonies of the Hindus (Sansk., _madhu-prasana_) is the
placing of a little honey in the mouth of a newborn male infant. Honey
is frequently alluded to by the writers of antiquity as food for
children; it is not to this, however, as already mentioned, that Isa.
vii. 15 refers. Cream or fresh butter together with honey, and with or
without bread, is a favourite dish with the Arabs.
Among the observances at the Fandròana or New Year's Festival, in
Madagascar, is the eating of mingled rice and honey by the queen and her
guests; in the same country honey is placed in the sacred water of
sprinkling used at the blessing of the children previous to circumcision
(Sibree, _The Great African Is._ pp. 219, 314, 1880). Honey was
frequently employed in the ancient religious ceremonies of the heathen,
but was forbidden as a sacrifice in the Jewish ritual (Lev. ii. 11).
With milk or water it was presented by the Greeks as a libation to the
dead (_Odyss._ xi. 27; Eurip. _Orest._ 115). A honey-cake was the
monthly food of the fabled serpent-guardian of the Acropolis (Herod,
viii. 41). By the aborigines of Peru honey was offered to the sun.
The Hebrew word translated "honey" in the authorized version of the
English Bible is _debash_, practically synonymous with which are
_ja'ar_ or _ja'arith had-debash_ (1 Sam. xix. 25-27; cf. Cant. v. 1)
and nopheth (Ps. xix. 10, &c.), rendered "honey-comb." _Debash_
denotes bee-honey (as in Deut. xxxii. 13 and Jud. xiv. 8); the manna
of trees, by some writers considered to have been the "wild honey"
eaten by John the Baptist (Matt. iii. 4); the syrup of dates or the
fruits themselves; and probably in some passages (as Gen. xliii. 11
and Ez. xxvii. 17) the syrupy boiled juice of the grape, resembling
thin molasses, in use in Palestine, especially at Hebron, under the
name of _dibs_ (see Kitto, _Cyclop._, and E. Robinson, _Bibl. Res._
ii. 81). Josephus (B.J., iv. 8, 3) speaks highly of a honey produced
at Jericho, consisting of the expressed juice of the fruit of palm
trees; and Herodotus (iv. 194) mentions a similar preparation made by
the Gyzantians in North Africa, where it is still in use. The honey
most esteemed by the ancients was that of Mount Hybla in Sicily, and
of Mount Hymettus in Attica (iii. 59). Mahaffy (_Rambles in Greece_,
p. 148, 2nd ed., 1878) describes the honey of Hymettus as by no means
so good as the produce of other parts of Greece--not to say of the
heather hills of Scotland and Ireland. That of Thebes, and more
especially that of Corinth, which is made in the thymy hills towards
Cleonae, he found much better (cf. xi. 88). Honey and wax, still
largely obtained in Corsica (vi. 440), were in olden times the chief
productions of the island. In England, in the 13th and 14th centuries,
honey sold at from about 7d. to 1s. 2d. a gallon, and occasionally was
disposed of by the swarm or hive, or _ruscha_ (Rogers, _Hist. of
Agric. and Prices in Eng._, 1. 418). At Wrexham, Denbigh, Wales, two
honey fairs are annually held, one on the Thursday next after the 1st
of September, and the other--the more recently instituted and by far
the larger--on the Thursday following the first Wednesday in October.
In Hungary the amounts of honey and of wax are in favourable years
respectively about 190,000 and 12,000 cwt., and in unfavourable years,
as, e.g. 1874, about 12,000 and 3000 cwt. The hives there in 1870
numbered 617,407 (or 40 per 1000 of the population, against 45 in
Austria). Of these 365,711 were in Hungary Proper, and 91,348 (87 per
1000 persons) in the Military Frontier (Keleti, _Übersicht der Bevölk.
Ungarns_, 1871; Schwicker, _Statistik d. K. Ungarn_, 1877). In Poland
the system of bee-keeping introduced by Dolinowski has been found to
afford an average of 40 lb. of honey and wax and two new swarms per
hive, the common peasant's hive yielding, with two swarms, only 3 lb.
of honey and wax. In forests and places remote from villages in
Podolia and parts of Volhynia, as many as 1000 hives may be seen in
one apiary. In the district of Ostrolenka, in the government of Plock,
and in the woody region of Polesia, in Lithuania, a method is
practised of rearing bees in excavated trunks of trees (Stanton, "On
the Treatment of Bees in Poland," _Technologist_, vi. 45, 1866). When,
in August, in the loftier valleys of Bormio, Italy, flowering ceases,
the bees in their wooden hives are by means of spring-carts
transported at night to lower regions, where they obtain from the
buckwheat crops the inferior honey which serves them for winter
consumption (Ib. p. 38).
In Palestine, "the land flowing with milk and honey"[8] (Ex. iii. 17;
Numb. xiii. 27), wild bees are very numerous, especially in the
wilderness of Judaea, and the selling of their produce, obtained from
crevices in rocks, hollows in trees and elsewhere, is with many of the
inhabitants a means of subsistence. Commenting on 1 Sam. xiv. 26, J.
Roberts (_Oriental Illust._) remarks that in the East "the forests
literally flow with honey; large combs may be seen hanging on the
trees, as you pass along, full of honey." In Galilee, and at Bethlehem
and other places in Palestine, bee-keeping is extensively carried on.
The hives are sun-burnt tubes of mud, about 4 ft. in length and 8 in.
in diameter, and, with the exception of a small central aperture for
the passage of the bees, closed at each end with mud. These are laid
together in long rows, or piled pyramidally, and are protected from
the sun by a covering of mud and of boughs. The honey is extracted,
when the ends have been removed, by means of an iron hook. (See
Tristram, _Nat. Hist. of the Bible_, pp. 322 sqq., 2nd ed., 1868).
Apiculture in Turkey is in a very rude condition. The Bali-dagh, or
"Honey Mount," in the plain of Troy, is so called on account of the
numerous wild bees tenanting the caves in its precipitous rocks to the
south. In various regions of Africa, as on the west, near the Gambia,
bees abound. Cameron was informed by his guides that the large
quantities of honey at the cliffs by the river Makanyazi were under
the protection of an evil spirit, and not one of his men could be
persuaded to gather any (_Across Africa_, i. 266). On the precipitous
slopes of the Teesta valley, in India, the procuring of honey from the
pendulous bees'-nests, which are sometimes large enough to be
conspicuous features at a mile's distance, is the only means by which
the idle poor raise their annual rent (Hooker, _Him. Journ._ ii. 41).
To reach the large combs of _Apis dorsata_ and _A. testacea_, the
natives of Timor, by whom both the honey and young bees are esteemed
delicacies, ascend the trunks of lofty forest trees by the use of a
loop of creeper. Protected from the myriads of angry insects by a
small torch only, they detach the combs from the under surface of the
branches, and lower them by slender cords to the ground (Wallace,
_Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool._, vol. xi.). (F. H. B.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The term honey in its various forms is peculiar to the Teutonic
group of languages, and in the Gothic New Testament is wanting, the
Greek word being there translated _melith_.
[2] See A. White, in _Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist._ vii. 315, pl. 4.
[3] Wetherill (_Chem. Gaz._ xi. 72, 1853) calculates that the average
weight of the honey is 8.2 times that of the body of the ant, or
0.3942 grammes.
[4] Compare Isa. vii. 15, 22, where curdled milk (A.V. "butter") and
honey as exclusive articles of diet are indicative of foreign
invasion, which turns rich agricultural districts into pasture lands
or uncultivated wastes.
[5] _Mémoires du Muséum_, xi. 313 (1824).
[6] _Ib._ xii. 293, pl. xii. fig. B (1825). The honey, according to
Lassaigne (_ib._ ix. 319), is almost entirely soluble in alcohol.
[7] For a list of fifteen treatises concerning honey, dating from
1625 to 1868, see Waring, _Bibl. Therap._ ii. 559, New Syd. Soc.
(1879). On sundry ancient uses for honey, see Beckmann, _Hist. of
Invent._ i. 287 (1846).
[8] In Sanskrit, _madhu-kulya_, a stream of honey, is sometimes used
to express an overflowing abundance of good things (Monier Williams,
_Sansk.-Eng. Dict._, p. 736, 1872).
HONEYCOMB, a cloth, so called because of the particular arrangement of
the crossing of the warp and weft threads which form cells somewhat
similar to those of the real honeycomb. They differ from the latter in
that they are rectangular instead of hexagonal. The bottom of the cell
is formed by those threads and picks which weave "plain," while the
ascending sides of the figure are formed by the gradually increasing
length of float of the warp and weft yarns.
[Illustration]
The figure shows two of the commonest designs which are used for these
cloths, design A being what is often termed the "perfect honeycomb";
in the figure it will be seen that the highest number of successive
white squares is seven, while the corresponding highest number of
successive black squares is five. Two of each of these maximum floats
form the top or highest edges of the cell, and the number of
successive like squares decreases as the bottom of the cell is reached
when the floats are one of black and one of white (see middle of
design, &c.). The weave produces a reversible cloth, and it is
extensively used for the embellishment of quilts and other fancy
goods. It is also largely used in the manufacture of cotton and linen
towels. B is, for certain purposes, a more suitable weave than A, but
both are very largely used for the latter class of goods.
HONEY-EATER, or HONEY-SUCKER, names applied by many writers in a very
loose way to a large number of birds, some of which, perhaps, have no
intimate affinity; here they are used in a more restricted sense for
what, in the opinion of a good many recent authorities,[1] should really
be deemed the family _Meliphagidae_--excluding therefrom the
_Nectariniidae_ or SUN-BIRDS (q.v.) as well as the genera _Promerops_
and _Zosterops_ with whatever allies they may possess. Even with this
restriction, the extent of the family must be regarded as very
indefinite, owing to the absence of materials sufficient for arriving at
a satisfactory conclusion, though the existence of such a family is
probably indisputable. Making allowance, then, for the imperfect light
in which they must at present be viewed, what are here called
_Meliphagidae_ include some of the most characteristic forms of the
ornithology of the great Australian region--members of the family
inhabiting almost every part of it, and a single species only, _Ptilotis
limbata_, being said to occur outside its limits. They all possess, or
are supposed to possess, a long protrusible tongue with a brush-like
tip, differing, it is believed, in structure from that found in any
other bird--_Promerops_ perhaps excepted--and capable of being formed
into a suctorial tube, by means of which honey is absorbed from the
nectary of flowers, though it would seem that insects attracted by the
honey furnish the chief nourishment of many species, while others
undoubtedly feed to a greater or less extent on fruits. The
_Meliphagidae_, as now considered, are for the most part small birds,
never exceeding the size of a missel thrush; and they have been divided
into more than 20 genera, containing above 200 species, of which only a
few can here be particularized. Most of these species have a very
confined range, being found perhaps only on a single island or group of
islands in the region, but there are a few which are more widely
distributed--such as _Glycyphila rufifrons_, the white-throated[2]
honey-eater, found over the greater part of Australia and Tasmania. In
plumage they vary much. Most of the species of _Ptilotis_ are
characterized by a tuft of white, or in others of yellow, feathers
springing from behind the ear. In the greater number of the genus
_Myzomela_[3] the males are recognizable by a gorgeous display of
crimson or scarlet, which has caused one species, _M. sanguinolenta_, to
be known as the soldier-bird to Australian colonists; but in others no
brilliant colour appears, and those of several genera have no special
ornamentation, while some have a particularly plain appearance. One of
the most curious forms is _Prosthemadera_--the tui or parson-bird of New
Zealand, so called from the two tufts of white feathers which hang
beneath its chin in great contrast to its dark silky plumage, and
suggest a likeness to the bands worn by ministers of several religious
denominations when officiating.[4] The bell-bird of the same island,
_Anthornis melanura_--whose melody excited the admiration of Cook the
morning after he had anchored in Queen Charlotte's Sound--is another
member of this family, and unfortunately seems to be fast becoming
extinct. But it would be impossible here to enter much further into
detail, though the wattle-birds, _Anthochaera_, of Australia have at
least to be named. Mention, however, must be made of the friar-birds,
_Tropidorhynchus_, of which nearly a score of species, five of them
belonging to Australia, have been described. With their stout bills,
mostly surmounted by an excrescence, they seem to be the most abnormal
forms of the family, and most of them are besides remarkable for the
baldness of some part at least of their head. They assemble in troops,
sitting on dead trees, with a loud call, and are very pugnacious,
frequently driving away hawks and crows. A. R. Wallace (_Malay
Archipelago_, ii. 150-153) discovered the curious fact that two species
of this genus--_T. bourensis_ and _T. subcornutus_--respectively
inhabiting the islands of Bouru and Ceram, were the object of natural
"mimicry" on the part of two species of oriole of the genus _Mimeta_,
_M. bourouensis_ and _M. forsteni_, inhabiting the same islands, so as
to be on a superficial examination identical in appearance--the
honey-eater and the oriole of each island presenting exactly the same
tints--the black patch of bare skin round the eyes of the former, for
instance, being copied in the latter by a patch of black feathers, and
even the protuberance on the beak of the _Tropidorhynchus_ being
imitated by a similar enlargement of the beak of the _Mimeta_. The very
reasonable explanation which Wallace offers is that the pugnacity of the
former has led the smaller birds of prey to respect it, and it is
therefore an advantage for the latter, being weaker and less courageous,
to be mistaken for it. (A. N.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Among them especially A. R. Wallace, _Geogr. Distr. Animals_, ii
275.
[2] The young of this species has the throat yellow.
[3] W. A. Forbes published a careful monograph of this genus in the
_Proceedings of the Zoological Society_ for 1879, pp. 256-279.
[4] This bird, according to Sir Walter Buller (_Birds of New
Zealand_, p. 88), while uttering its wild notes, indulges in much
gesticulation, which adds to the suggested resemblance. It has great
power of mimicry, and is a favourite cage-bird both with the natives
and colonists. On one occasion, says Buller, he had addressed a large
meeting of Maories on a matter of considerable political importance,
when "immediately on the conclusion of my speech, and before the old
chief to whom my arguments were chiefly addressed had time to reply,
a tui, whose netted cage hung to a rafter overhead, responded in a
clear, emphatic way, 'Tito!' (false). The circumstance naturally
caused much merriment among my audience, and quite upset the gravity
of the venerable old chief, Nepia Taratoa. 'Friend,' said he,
laughing, 'your arguments are very good; but my _mokai_ is a very
wise bird, and he is not yet convinced!'"
HONEY-GUIDE, a bird so called from its habit of pointing out to man and
to the ratel (_Mellivora capensis_) the nests of bees. Stories to this
effect have been often told, and may be found in the narratives of many
African travellers, from Bruce to Livingstone. But Layard says (_B.
South Africa_, p. 242) that the birds will not infrequently lead any one
to a leopard or a snake, and will follow a dog with vociferations,
though its noisy cry and antics unquestionably have in many cases the
effect signified by its English name. If not its first discoverer,
Sparrman, in 1777, was the first who described and figured this bird,
which he met with in the Cape Colony (_Phil. Trans._, lxvii. 42-47, pl.
i.), giving it the name of _Culculus indicator_, its zygodactylous feet
with the toes placed in pairs--two before and two behind--inducing the
belief that it must be referred to that genus. Vicillot in 1816 elevated
it to the rank of a genus, _Indicator_; but it was still considered to
belong to the family _Cuculidae_ (its asserted parasitical habits
lending force to that belief) by all systematists except Blyth and
Jerdon, until it was shown by Blanford (_Obs. Geol. and Zool.
Abyssinia_, pp. 308, 309) and Sclater (_Ibis_, 1870, pp. 176-180) that
it was more allied to the barbets, _Capitonidae_, and, in consequence,
was then made the type of a distinct family, _Indicatoridae_. In the
meanwhile other species had been discovered, some of them differing
sufficiently to warrant Sundevall's foundation of a second genus,
_Prodotiscus_, of the group. The honey-guides are small birds, the
largest hardly exceeding a lark in size, and of plain plumage, with what
appears to be a very sparrow-like bill. Bowdler Sharpe, in a revision of
the family published in 1876 (_Orn. Miscellany_, i. 192-209), recognizes
ten species of the genus _Indicator_, to which another was added by Dr
Reichenow (_Journ. für Ornithologie_, 1877, p. 110), and two of
_Prodotiscus_. Four species of the former, including _I. sparrmani_,
which was the first made known, are found in South Africa, and one of
the latter. The rest inhabit other parts of the same continent, except
_I. archipelagicus_, which seems to be peculiar to Borneo, and _I.
xanthonotus_, which occurs on the Himalayas from the borders of
Afghanistan to Bhutan. The interrupted geographical distribution of this
genus is a very curious fact, no species having been found in the Indian
or Malayan peninsula to connect the outlying forms with those of Africa,
which must be regarded as their metropolis. (A. N.)
HONEY LOCUST, the popular name of a tree, _Gleditsia triacanthos_, a
member of the natural order Leguminosae, and a native of the more
eastern United States of North America. It reaches from 75 to 140 ft. in
height with a trunk 2 or 3, or sometimes 5 or 6 ft. in diameter, and
slender spreading branches which form a broad, flattish crown. The
branchlets bear numerous simple or three-forked (whence the species-name
_triacanthos_) sharp stiff spines, 3 to 4 in. long, at first red in
colour, then chestnut brown; they are borne above the leaf-axils and
represent undeveloped branchlets; sometimes they are borne also on the
trunk and main branches. The long-stalked leaves are 7 to 8 in. long
with eight to fourteen pairs of narrowly oblong leaflets. The flowers,
which are of two kinds, are borne in racemes in the leaf-axils; the
staminate flowers in larger numbers. The brown pods are often 12 to 18
in. long, have thin, tough walls, and contain a quantity of pulp between
the seeds; they contract spirally when drying. The tree was first
cultivated in Europe towards the end of the 17th century by Bishop
Compton in his garden at Fulham, near London, and is now extensively
planted as an ornamental tree. The name of the genus commemorates Johann
Gottlieb Gleditsch (1714-1786), a friend of Linnaeus, and the author of
one of the earliest works on scientific forestry.
HONEYMOON, the first month after marriage. Lord Avebury in his _Origin
of Civilization_ suggests that the seclusion usually associated with
this period is a survival of marriage by capture, and answers to the
period during which the husband kept his wife in retirement, to prevent
her from appealing to her relatives for release. Others suggest that as
the moon commences to wane as soon as it is at its full, so does the
mutual affection of the wedded pair, the "honeymoon" (with this
derivation) not necessarily referring to any definite period of time.
HONEYSUCKLE (Mid. Eng., _honysocle_, i.e. any plant from which honey may
be sucked,--cf. A.-S. _huni-suge_, privet; Ger. _Geissblatt_; Fr.
_chèvrefeuille_), botanical name _Lonicera_, a genus of climbing, erect
or prostrate shrubs, of the natural order _Caprifoliaceae_, so named
after the 16th-century German botanist Adam Lonicer. The British species
is _L. Periclymenum_, the woodbine; _L. Caprifolium_ and _L. Xylosteum_
are naturalized in a few counties in the south and east of England. Some
of the garden varieties of the woodbine are very beautiful, and are held
in high esteem for their delicious fragrance, even the wild plant, with
its pale flowers, compensating for its sickly looks "with never-cloying
odours." The North American sub-evergreen _L. sempervirens_, with its
fine heads of blossoms, commonly called the trumpet honeysuckle, the
most handsome of all the cultivated honeysuckles, is a distinct and
beautiful species producing both scarlet and yellow flowered varieties,
and the Japanese _L. flexuosa_ var. _aureoreticulata_ is esteemed for
its charmingly variegated leaves netted with golden yellow. The fly
honeysuckle, _L. Xylosteum_, a hardy shrub of dwarfish, erect habit, and
_L. tatarica_, of similar habit, both European, are amongst the oldest
English garden shrubs, and bear axillary flowers of various colours,
occurring two on a peduncle. There are numerous other species, many of
them introduced to our gardens, and well worth cultivating in
shrubberies or as climbers on walls and bowers, either for their beauty
or the fragrance of their blossoms.
[Illustration: Honeysuckle.--(a) Flowering branch; (b) Flower, nat.
size; (c) fruit, slightly reduced.]
In the western counties of England, and generally by agriculturists, the
name honeysuckle is applied to the meadow clover, _Trifolium pratense_.
Another plant of the same family (Leguminosae) _Hedysarum coronarium_, a
very handsome hardy biennial often seen in old-fashioned collections of
garden plants, is commonly called the French honeysuckle. The name is
moreover applied with various affixes to several other totally different
plants. Thus white honeysuckle and false honeysuckle are names for the
North American _Azalea viscosa_; Australian or heath honeysuckle is the
Australian _Banksia serrata_, Jamaica honeysuckle, _Passiflora
laurifolia_, dwarf honeysuckle the widely spread _Cornus suecica_,
Virgin Mary's honeysuckle the European _Pulmonaria officinalis_, while
West Indian honeysuckle is _Tecoma capensis_, and is also a name applied
to _Desmodium_.
The wood of the fly honeysuckle is extremely hard, and the clear
portions between the joints of the stems, when their pith has been
removed, were stated by Linnaeus to be utilized in Sweden for making
tobacco-pipes. The wood is also employed to make teeth for rakes; and,
like that of _L. tatarica_, it is a favourite material for
walking-sticks.
Honeysuckles (_Lonicera_) flourish in any ordinary garden soil, but are
usually sadly neglected in regard to pruning. This should be done about
March, cutting out some of the old wood, and shortening back some of the
younger growths of the preceding year. (J. Ws.)
HONFLEUR, a seaport of north-western France, in the department of
Calvados, 57 m. N.E. of Caen by rail. Pop. (1906) 8735. The town is
situated at the foot of a semicircle of hills, on the south shore of the
Seine estuary, opposite Havre, with which it communicates by steamboat.
Honfleur, with its dark narrow lanes and old houses, has the typical
aspect of an old-fashioned seaport. The most noteworthy of its buildings
is the church of St Catherine, constructed entirely of timber work, with
the exception of the façade added in the 18th century, and consisting of
two parallel naves, of which the more ancient is supposed to date from
the end of the 15th century. Within the church are several antique
statues and a painting by J. Jordaens--"Jesus in the Garden of
Gethsemane." The church tower stands on the other side of a street. St
Leonard's dates from the 17th century, with the exception of its fine
ogival portal and rose-window belonging to the 16th, and its octagonal
tower erected in the 18th. The ruins of a 16th-century castle known as
the Lieutenance and several houses of the same period are also of
antiquarian interest. The hôtel de ville contains a library and a
museum. On the rising ground above the town is the chapel of
Nôtre-Dame-de-Grâce, a shrine much resorted to by pilgrim sailors, which
is said to have been founded in 1034 by Robert the Magnificent of
Normandy and rebuilt in 1606. The town has a tribunal and a chamber of
commerce and a communal college. The port, which is protected from the
west winds by the height known as the Côte de Grâce, consists of the
tidal harbour and four floating basins--The West basin, dating from the
17th century, and the Centre, East and Carnot basins. A reservoir
affords the means of sluicing the channel and supplying the basins. The
surface available for vessels is about 27 acres. Numerous fishing and
coasting vessels frequent the harbour. In 1907 there entered 375
vessels, of 133,872 tons, more than half this tonnage being British. The
exports go mainly to England and include poultry, butter, eggs, cheese,
chocolate, vegetables, fruit, seeds and purple ore. There is regular
communication by steamer with Southampton. Timber from Scandinavia,
English coal and artificial manures form the bulk of the imports. There
are important saw-mills, as well as shipbuilding yards, manufactories of
chemical manures and iron foundries.
Honfleur dates from the 11th century and is thus four or five hundred
years older than its rival Havre, by which it was supplanted during the
18th century. During the Hundred Years' War it was frequently taken and
re-taken, the last occupation by the English ending in 1440. In 1562 the
Protestant forces got possession of it only after a regular siege of the
suburb of St Leonard; and though Henry IV. effected its capture in 1590
he had again to invest it in 1594 after all the rest of Normandy had
submitted to his arms. In the earlier years of the 17th century Honfleur
colonists founded Quebec, and Honfleur traders established factories in
Java and Sumatra and a fishing establishment in Newfoundland.
HONG-KONG (properly HIANG-KIANG, the place of "sweet lagoons"), an
important British island-possession, situated off the south-east coast
of China, opposite the province of Kwang-tung, on the east side of the
estuary of the Si-kiang, 38 m. E. of Macao and 75 S.E. of Canton,
between 22° 9´ and 22° 1´ N., and 114° 5´ and 114° 18´ E. It is one of a
small cluster named by the Portuguese "Ladrones" or Thieves, on account
of the notorious habits of their old inhabitants. Extremely irregular in
outline, it has an area of 29 sq. m., measuring 10½ m. in extreme length
from N.E. to S.W., and varying in breadth from 2 to 5 m. A good military
road about 22 m. long encircles the island. From the mainland it is
separated by a narrow channel, which at Hong-Kong roads, between
Victoria, the island capital), and Kowloon Point, is about 1 m. broad,
and which narrows at Ly-ee-mun Pass to little over a ¼ m. The southern
coast in particular is deeply indented; and there two bold peninsulas,
extending for several miles into the sea, form two capacious natural
harbours, namely, Deep Water Bay, with the village of Stanley to the
east, and Tytam Bay, which has a safe, well-protected entrance showing a
depth of 10 to 16 fathoms. An in-shore island on the west coast, called
Aberdeen, or Taplishan, affords protection to the Shekpywan or Aberdeen
harbour, an inlet provided with a granite graving dock, the caisson gate
of which is 60 ft. wide, and the Hope dock, opened in 1867, with a
length of 425 ft. and a depth of 24 ft. Opposite the same part of the
coast, but nearly 2 m. distant, rises the largest of the surrounding
islands, Lamma, whose conspicuous peak, Mount Stenhouse, attains a
height of 1140 ft. and is a landmark for local navigation. On the
northern shore of Hong-Kong there is a patent slip at East or Matheson
Point, which is serviceable during the north-east monsoon, when sailing
vessels frequently approach Victoria through the Ly-ee-mun Pass. The
ordinary course for such vessels is from the westward, on which side
they are sheltered by Green Island and Kellett Bank. There is good
anchorage throughout the entire channel separating the island from the
mainland, except in the Ly-ee-mun Pass, where the water is deep; the
best anchorage is in Hong-Kong roads, in front of Victoria, where, over
good holding ground, the depth is 5 to 9 fathoms. The inner anchorage of
Victoria Bay, about ½ m. off shore and out of the strength of the tide,
is 6 to 7 fathoms. Victoria, the seat of government and of trade, is the
chief centre of population, but a tract on the mainland is covered with
public buildings and villa residences. Practically an outlying suburb of
Victoria, Kowloon or (Nine Dragons) is free from the extreme heat of the
capital, being exposed to the south-west monsoon. Numerous villas have
also been erected along the beautiful western coast of the island, while
Stanley, in the south, is favoured as a watering-place.
The island is mountainous throughout, the low granite ridges, parted by
bleak, tortuous valleys, leaving in some places a narrow strip of level
coast-land, and in others overhanging the sea in lofty precipices. From
the sea, and especially from the magnificent harbour which faces the
capital, the general aspect of Hong-Kong is one of singular beauty.
Inland the prospect is wild, dreary and monotonous. The hills have a
painfully bare appearance from the want of trees. The streams, which are
plentiful, are traced through the uplands and glens by a line of
straggling brushwood and rank herbage. Nowhere is the eye relieved by
the evidences of cultivation or fertility. The hills, which are mainly
composed of granite, serpentine and syenite, rise in irregular masses to
considerable heights, the loftiest point, Victoria Peak, reaching an
altitude of 1825 ft. The Peak lies immediately to the south-west of the
capital, in the extreme north-west corner of the island, and is used as
a station for signalling the approach of vessels. Patches of land,
chiefly around the coast, have been laid under rice, sweet potatoes and
yams, but the island is hardly able to raise a home-supply of
vegetables. The mango, lichen, pear and orange are indigenous, and
several fruits and esculents have been introduced. One of the chief
products is building-stone, which is quarried by the Chinese. The
animals are few, comprising a land tortoise, the armadillo, a species of
boa, several poisonous snakes and some woodcock. The public works suffer
from the ravages of white ants. Water everywhere abounds, and is
supplied to the shipping by means of tanks.
Mainland territory.
Under the Peking Treaty of 1860 the peninsula of Kowloon (about 5 m. in
area) was added to Hong-Kong. The population is about 27,000. There are
several docks and warehouses, and manufactures are being developed.
Granite is quarried in the peninsula. An agreement was entered into in
1898 whereby China leased to Great Britain for ninety-nine years the
territory behind Kowloon peninsula up to a line drawn from Mirs Bay to
Deep Bay and the adjoining islands, including Lantao. The new district,
which extends to 376 sq. m. in area, is mountainous, with extensive
cultivated valleys of great fertility, and the coastline is deeply
indented by bays. The alluvial soil of the valleys yields two crops of
rice in the year. Sugar-cane, indigo, hemp, peanuts, potatoes of
different varieties, yam, taro, beans, sesamum, pumpkins and vegetables
of all kinds are also grown. The mineral resources are as yet unknown.
The population is estimated at about 100,000. It consists of Puntis (or
Cantonese), Hakkas ("strangers") and Tankas. The Puntis are agricultural
and inhabit the valleys, and they make excellent traders. The Hakkas are
a hardy and frugal race, belonging mainly to the hill districts. The
Tankas are the boat people or floating population. In the government of
the new territory the existing organization is as far as possible
utilized.
Victoria.
Hong-Kong or Victoria harbour constantly presents an animated
appearance, as many as 240 guns having been fired as salutes in a single
day. Its approaches are strongly fortified. The steaming distance from
Singapore is 1520 m. Victoria, the capital, often spoken of as Hong-Kong
(population over 166,000, of whom about 6000 are European or American),
stretches for about 4 m. along the north coast. Its breadth varies from
½ m. in the central portions to 200 or 300 yds. in the eastern and
western portions. The town is built in three layers. The "Praya" or
esplanade, 50 ft. wide, is given up to shipping. The Praya reclamation
scheme provided for the extension of the land frontage of 250 ft. and a
depth of 20 ft. at all states of the tide. A further extension of the
naval dockyard was begun in 1902, and a new commercial pier was opened
in 1900. The main commercial street runs inland parallel with the Praya.
Beyond the commercial portion, on each side, lie the Chinese quarters,
wherein there is a closely packed population. In 1888, 1600 people were
living in the space of a single acre, and over 100,000 were believed to
be living within an area not exceeding ½ m.; and the overcrowding does
not tend to diminish, for in one district, in 1900, it was estimated
that there were at the rate of 640,000 persons on the sq. m. The
average, however, for the whole of the city is 126 per acre, or 80,640
per sq. m. The second stratum of the town lies ten minutes' climb up the
side of the island. Government house and other public buildings are in
this quarter. There abound "beautifully laid out gardens, public and
private, and solidly constructed roads, some of them bordered with
bamboos and other delicately-fronded trees, and fringed with the
luxuriant growth of semi-tropical vegetation." Finally, the third layer,
known as "the Peak," and reached by a cable tramway, is dotted over with
private houses and bungalows, the summer health resort of those who can
afford them; here a new residence for the governor was begun in 1900.
Excellent water is supplied to the town from the Pokfolum and Tytam
reservoirs, the former containing 68 million gallons, the latter 390
millions.
_Climate._--The temperature has a yearly range of from 45° to 99°, but
it occasionally falls below 40°, and ice occurs on the Peak. In
January 1893 ice was found at sea-level. The wet season begins in May,
after showers in March and April, and continues until the beginning of
August. During this period rain falls almost without intermission. The
rainfall varies greatly, but the mean is about 90 in. In 1898 only
57.025 in. fell, while in 1897 there were 100.03 in.; in 1899, 72.7
in. and in 1900, 73.7 in. The damp is extremely penetrating. During
the dry season the climate is healthy, but dysentery and intermittent
fever are not uncommon. Bilious remittent fever occurs in the summer
months, and smallpox prevails from November to March. The annual
death-rate per 1000 for the whole population in 1902 was 21.70.
_Population, &c._--The following table shows the increase of
population:--
+------+----------+--------------+------------------+
| | | | Total (including |
| |Europe and| |Military and Naval|
| Year.| American |Chinese Civil.|Establishments and|
| | Civil. | | Indians, &c.). |
+------+----------+--------------+------------------+
| 1881 | 3,040 | 148,850 | 160,402 |
| 1891 | 4,195 | 208,383 | 221,441 |
| 1901 | 3,860 | 274,543 | 283,978 |
| 1906 | 12,174 | 306,130 | 326,961 |
+------+----------+--------------+------------------+
Education is provided by a few government schools and by a large
number receiving grants-in-aid. The foundation-stone of Hong-Kong
University was laid in March 1910, the buildings being the gift of Sir
Hormusjee Mody, a colonial broker. The Queen's College provides
secondary education for boys. There are several hospitals, one of
which is a government institution. The Hong-Kong savings bank has
deposits amounting to about $1,100,000. There is a police force
composed of Europeans, Indian Sikhs and Chinese; and a strong military
garrison.
_Industries._--Beyond the cultivation of vegetable gardens there is
practically no agricultural industry in the colony. But although only
400 acres are cultivated on Hong-Kong island, and the same number of
acres in Kowloon, there are 90,000 acres under cultivation in the new
territory, of which over 7000 acres were in 1900 planted with
sugar-cane. Granite quarries are worked. The chief industries are
sugar-refining, the manufacture of cement, paper, bamboo and rattan
ware, carving in wood and ivory, working in copper and iron,
gold-beating and the production of gold, silver and sandal-wood ware,
furniture making, umbrella and jinricksha making, and industries
connected with kerosene oil and matches. The manufacture of cotton has
been introduced. Ship and boat building, together with subsidiary
industries, such as rope and sail making, appear less subject to
periods of depression than other industries.
_Trade._--Hong-Kong being a free port, there are no official figures
as to the amount of trade; but the value of the exports and imports is
estimated as about £50,000,000 in the year. Among the principal goods
dealt with are tea, silk, opium, sugar, flax, salt, earthenware, oil,
amber, cotton and cotton goods, sandal-wood, ivory, betel, vegetables,
live stock and granite. There is an extensive Chinese passenger trade.
The following are the figures of ships cleared and entered:--
+------+------------+------------+
| Year.| Tonnage. | British. |
+------+------------+------------+
| 1880 | 8,359,994 | 3,758,160 |
| 1890 | 13,676,293 | 6,994,919 |
| 1898 | 17,265,780 | 8,705,648 |
| 1902 | 19,709,451 | 8,945,976 |
+------+------------+------------+
The Chinese ships rank next to British ships in the amount of trade.
German and Japanese ships follow next.
_Finance._--The revenue and expenditure are given below:--
+------+-----------+------------+
| Year.| Revenue. |Expenditure.|
+------+-----------+------------+
| 1880 |$1,069,948 | $948,014 |
| 1890 | 1,995,220 | 1,915,350 |
| 1898 | 2,918,159 | 2,841,805 |
| 1902 | 4,901,073 | 4,752,444 |
+------+-----------+------------+
The main sources of revenue are licences, rent of government property,
the post-office and land sales. The light dues were reduced in 1898
from 2½ cents to 1 cent per ton. There is a public debt of about
£340,000, borrowed for public works, which is being paid off by a
sinking fund. The only legal tender is the Mexican dollar, and the
British and Hong-Kong dollar, or other silver dollars of equivalent
value duly authorized by the governor. There are small silver and
copper coins, which are legal tenders for amounts not exceeding two
dollars and one dollar respectively. There is also a large paper
currency in the form of notes issued by the Chartered Bank of India,
Australia and China, the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
and the National Bank of China, Limited. The foundation of new law
courts was laid in 1900.
_Administration._--Formerly an integral part of China, the island of
Hong-Kong was first ceded to Great Britain in 1841, and the cession
was confirmed by the treaty of Nanking in 1842, the charter bearing
the date 5th of April 1843. The colony is administered by a governor,
executive council and legislative council. The executive council
consists of the holders of certain offices and of such other members
as the crown may nominate. In 1890 there were nine members. The
legislative council consists of the same officials and of six
unofficial members. Of these, three are appointed by the governor (of
whom one must be, and two at present are, members of the Chinese
community); one is elected from the chamber of commerce, and one from
the justices of the peace.
AUTHORITIES.--Sir G. W. des Voeux, _Report on Blue-book of 1888_; _A
Handbook to Hong-Kong_ (Hong-Kong, 1893); _The China Sea Directory_
(vol. iii., 3rd ed., 1894); Henry Norman, _The Peoples and Politics of
the Far East_ (London, 1895); Sir E. Hertslet, _Treaties between Great
Britain and China and China and Foreign Powers_ (London, 1896); A. R.
Colquhoun, _China in Transformation_ (London, 1898); _Colonial
Possessions Report_, No. 84; and other _Colonial Annual Reports_.
HONITON, a market town and municipal borough in the Honiton
parliamentary division of Devonshire, England, pleasantly situated on
rising ground on the left bank of the Otter, 16½ m. E.N.E. of Exeter by
the London & South-Western railway. Pop. (1901) 3271. The town consists
of one wide street, down which a stream of water runs, extending for
about 1 m., and crossed at right angles by a lesser street. The restored
church of St Michael, formerly a parish church, but standing on a hill
about ½ m. from the town, was built by Courtenay, bishop of Exeter,
about 1482. It retains a curiously carved screen, and the black marble
tomb of Queen Elizabeth's physician, Marwood, who attained the age of
105. Allhallows Grammar School, founded in 1614, was enlarged in 1893;
St Margaret's hospital, founded as a lazar-house in the 14th century, is
converted into almshouses. Honiton is famous for its lace industry,
established by refugees from Flanders under Queen Elizabeth. The
delicate fabric made by hand on the pillow was long in demand; its sale
was, however, greatly diminished by the competition of cheaper
machine-made goods, and a school of lace-making was opened to promote
its recovery. The town possesses breweries, tanneries, malthouses,
flour-mills, saw-mills, brick and tile works, potteries and an iron
foundry; its trade in butter is considerable. It is governed by a mayor,
6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 3134 acres.
Honiton (_Honetona_, _Huneton_) is situated on the British Icknield
Street, and was probably the site of an early settlement, but it does
not appear in history before the Domesday Survey, when it was a
considerable manor, held by Drew (Drogo) under the count of Mortain, who
had succeeded Elmer the Saxon, with a subject population of 33, a flock
of 80 sheep, a mill and 2 salt-workers. The borough was founded before
1217 by William de Vernon, earl of Devon, whose ancestor Richard de
Redvers had received the manor from Henry I. In the 14th century it
passed to the Courtenays, and in 1698 Sir William Courtenay was
confirmed in the right of holding court leet, view of frank-pledge and
the nomination of a portreeve, these privileges having been surrendered
to James II. The borough was represented by two members in parliament in
1300 and 1311, and then not again till 1640, from which date it returned
two members until disfranchised by the act of 1868, the returning
officer being the portreeve, who was also the chief magistrate of the
borough until its incorporation by charter of 1846. In 1221 Falkes de
Breauté, then custodian of the borough, rendered a palfrey for holding a
three days' fair at the feast of All Saints, transferred in 1247 to the
feast of St Margaret, and still held under that grant. A great market
for corn and other produce is still held on Saturday by prescription.
The wool manufacture flourished at Honiton in the reign of Henry VII.,
and it is said to have been the first town at which serges were made,
but the industry entirely declined during the 19th century. The lace
manufacture was introduced by Flemish refugees, and was flourishing in
the reign of Charles I.
See _Victoria County History, Devonshire_; A. Farquharson, _History of
Honiton_ (Exeter, 1868).
HONNEF, a town and climatic health resort of Germany, beautifully situated
on the right bank of the Rhine, at the foot of the Siebengebirge, 8 m.
above Bonn by the railway Cologne-Königswinter-Horchheim. Pop. (1905)
6183. It has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, a sanatorium for
consumptives, and does a considerable trade in wine. The town is
surrounded by vineyards and orchards, and has annually a large number of
visitors. A mineral spring called the Drachenquelle is used both for
drinking and bathing.
HONOLULU, a city, port of entry, and the capital of Hawaii, situated in
the "city and county of Honolulu," on the S. coast of the island of
Oahu, at the mouth of Nuuanu Valley, 2100 m. S.W. of San Francisco. Pop.
(1890) 22,907; (1900) 39,306, of whom 24,746 were males, 14,560 were
females; about 10,000 were Hawaiians, 15,000 Asiatics, and 5000
Portuguese; (1910) 52,183. Honolulu is served by the Oahu railway, by
electric lines to the principal suburbs, and by steamship lines to San
Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Manila, Salina Cruz (Mexico), Victoria,
Sydney, and Chinese and Japanese ports. The business section and the
older residence quarters occupy low ground, but many of the newer
residences are built on the sides of neighbouring hills and mountains,
of which there are several from 500 to 2000 ft. in height. The Punch
Bowl (behind the city), a hill rising about 500 ft. above the sea,
Diamond Head, a crater about 760 ft. in height, 4 m. to the S.E., and
the Nuuanu Pali, a lofty and picturesque precipice 6 m. up the valley,
are especially known for their commanding views. In front of the city is
the small harbour, well protected from all winds except those from the
S.; in and after 1892 the Hawaiian government deepened its entrance
from 21 ft. to 30 ft. Six miles to the W. is the much more spacious
Pearl Harbor (a U.S. Naval Station), the bar at the entrance of which
was removed (1903) by the U.S. government. Pearl Harbor and the harbour
of Honolulu are the only safe ports in the archipelago. The streets of
Honolulu are wide, and are macadamized with crushed or broken lava. The
business houses are mostly of brick or stone, and range from two to six
storeys in height. About most of the residences there are many tropical
trees, flowering shrubs and plants. Wood is the most common material of
which the residences are built; a large portion of these residences are
one-storey cottages; broad verandahs are common; and of the more
pretentious residences the lanai, a semi-outdoor drawing-room with
conservatories adjoining, is a notable feature. Throughout the city
there is a marked absence of poverty and squalor. There are good hotels
in the city and its suburbs. The government buildings are extensive and
have a pleasing appearance; that of the executive, in a beautiful park,
was formerly the royal palace and still contains many relics of royalty.
Facing the judiciary building is an heroic statue in bronze of
Kamehameha the Great. About 2 m. W. of the business centre of the city
is the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, a fine stone building on a
commanding site, and containing a large collection of Hawaiian and
Polynesian relics and curios, especially Hawaiian feather-work, and
notable collections of fish and of Hawaiian land shells and birds. Four
miles S.E. of the business centre, at the foot of Diamond Head, is
Waikiki sea-beach, noted for its surf-riding, boating and bathing, and
Kapiolani Park, a pleasure resort, near which is a famous aquarium of
tropical fishes. Honolulu has other parks, a fine Botanical Garden,
created by the Bureau of Agriculture, several public squares, several
hospitals, a maternity home, the Lunalilo Home for aged Hawaiians, an
asylum for the insane, several schools of high rank both public and
private--notably Oahu College on the E. edge of the city, first founded
as a school for the children of missionaries in 1841; the Honolulu High
School, founded in 1833 as the Oahu Charity School, to teach English to
the half whites; the Royal School, which was founded in 1840 for the
sons of chiefs; and the Normal School, housed in what was in 1906 the
most expensive building on the island of Oahu--a library containing
about 14,000 volumes and the collections of the Hawaiian Historical
Society, a number of benevolent, literary, social and political
societies, and an art league, and is the see of both an Anglican and a
Roman Catholic bishop. In 1907 the Pacific Scientific Institution for
the advancement of scientific knowledge of the Pacific, its islands and
their people, was established here. Among the clubs of the city are the
Pacific Club, founded in 1853 as the British Club; the Scottish Thistle
Club (1891), of which Robert Louis Stevenson was a member; the Hawaii
Yacht Club, and the Polo, Country and University Clubs. There are
various journals and periodicals, five languages being represented. The
chief industries are the manufacture of machinery (especially machinery
for sugar-refineries) and carriages, rice-milling and ship-building.
Honolulu's total exports for the fiscal year 1908 were valued at
$42,238,455, and its imports at $19,985,724. There is a privately owned
electric street car service in the city. The water-works and
electric-lighting plant are owned and operated by the Territorial
government, and to the plentiful water-supply is partly due the
luxuriant vegetation of the city. Honolulu's safe harbour, discovered in
1794, made it a place of resort for vessels (especially whalers) and
traders from the beginning of the 19th century. Kamehameha I. (the
Great) lived here from 1803 until 1811. In 1816 was built a fort which
stood until 1857. In 1820 the city became the principal residence of the
sovereign and soon afterwards of foreign consuls, and thus practically
the seat of government. In 1907 an act was passed by which the former
county of Oahu, including the island of Oahu and the small islands
adjacent, was made a municipal corporation under the name of the "city
and county of Honolulu"; this act came into effect on the 1st of January
1909.
HONORIUS, the name of four popes and one antipope (Honorius II; i.e. 2
below).
1. HONORIUS I., pope from 625 to 638, was of a noble Roman family, his
father Petronius having been consul. He was very active in carrying on
the work of Gregory the Great, especially in England; Bede (_Hist.
Eccl._ ii. 17) gives a letter of his to King Edwin of Northumbria, in
which he admonishes him diligently to study Gregory's writings; and it
was at Edwin's request that Honorius conferred the pallium on the
bishops of Canterbury and York (ib. ii. 18). He also admonished the
Irish for not following the custom of the Catholic Church in the
celebration of Easter (ib. ii. 19), and commissioned Birinus to preach
Christianity in Wessex (ib. iii. 7). It is, however, in connexion with
the Monothelite heresy that Honorius is most remembered, his attitude in
this matter having acquired fresh importance during the controversy
raised by the promulgation of the dogma of papal infallibility in 1870.
In his efforts to consolidate the papal power in Italy, Honorius had
been hampered by the schism of "the three chapters" in Istria and
Venetia, a schism that was ended by the deposition in 628 of the
schismatic patriarch Fortunatus of Aquileia-Grado and the elevation of a
Roman sub-deacon to the patriarchate. It is suggested that help rendered
to him in this matter by the emperor Heraclius, or by the Greek exarch,
may have inclined the pope to take the emperor's side in the Monothelite
controversy, which broke out shortly afterwards in consequence of the
formula proposed by the emperor with a view to reconciling the
Monophysites and the Catholics. However that may be, he joined the
patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria in supporting the doctrine
of "one will" in Christ, and expounded this view forcibly, if somewhat
obscurely, in two letters to the patriarch Sergius (Epist. 4 and 5 in
Migne, _Patrologia. Ser. Lat._ lxxx. 470, 474). For this he was, more
than forty years after his death (October 638), anathematized by name
along with the Monothelite heretics by the council of Constantinople
(First Trullan) in 681; and this condemnation was subsequently confirmed
by more than one pope, particularly by Leo II. See Hefele, _Die Irrlehre
des Honorius u. die vaticanische Lehre der Unfehlbarkeit_ (1871), who,
however, modified his view in his _Conciliengeschichte_ (1877). Honorius
I. was succeeded by Severinus.
See the articles by R. Zöpffel and G. Krüger in Herzog-Hauck,
_Realencyklopädie_ (ed. 1900), and by T. Grisar in Wetzer and Welte's
_Kirchenlexikon_ (Freiburg, 1889). In addition to the bibliographies
there given see also U. Chevalier, _Répertoire des sources hist._,
&c., Bio-bibliographie, s. "Honorius I." (Paris, 1905). (W. A. P.)
2. HONORIUS II. (d. 1072), antipope, was the name taken by Peter
Cadalus, who was born at Verona and became bishop of Parma in 1046.
After the death of Pope Nicholas II. in July 1061 he was chosen pope by
some German and Lombard bishops at Basel in opposition to Alexander II.,
who had been elected by the party led by Hildebrand, afterwards Pope
Gregory VII. Taking the name of Honorius II., Cadalus was thus the
representative of those who were opposed to reforms in the Church. Early
in 1062 he advanced towards Rome, and though his supporters defeated the
forces of his rival outside the city, he soon returned to Parma to await
the decision of the advisers of the young German king, Henry IV., whose
mother Agnes had supported his election. About this time, however, Agnes
was deprived of her power, and the chief authority in Germany passed to
Anno, archbishop of Cologne, who was hostile to Cadalus. Under these
circumstances the antipope again marched towards Rome in 1063 and
entered the city, but was soon forced to take refuge in the castle of St
Angelo. The ensuing war between the rival popes lasted for about a year,
and then Cadalus left Rome as a fugitive. Refusing to attend a council
held at Mantua in May 1064, he was deposed, and he died in 1072, without
having abandoned his claim to the papal chair.
See the article on Honorius II. in Hauck's _Realencyklopädie_, Band
viii. (Leipzig, 1900). (A. W. H.*)
3. HONORIUS II. (Lamberto Scannabecchi), pope from the 15th of December
1124 to the 13th of February 1130, a native of Fagnano near Imola, of
considerable learning and great religious zeal, successively archdeacon
at Bologna, cardinal-priest of Sta Prassede under Urban II.,
cardinal-bishop of Ostia and Velletri under Paschal II., shared the
exile of Gelasius II. in France, and helped Calixtus II. to conclude
the Concordat of Worms (1122), which settled the investiture contest. He
owed his election in large measure to force employed by the Frangipani,
but was consecrated with general consent on the 21st of December 1124.
By means of a close alliance with that powerful family, he was enabled
to maintain peace at Rome, and the death of Emperor Henry V. (1125)
further strengthened the papal position. He recognized the Saxon Lothair
III. as king of the Romans and later as emperor, and excommunicated his
rival, Conrad of Hohenstaufen. He sanctioned the Praemonstratensian
order and that of the Knights Templars. He excommunicated Count William
of Normandy for marriage in prohibited degree; brought to an end,
through the influence of Bernard of Clairvaux, the struggle with Louis
VI. of France; and arranged with Henry I. for the reception of papal
legates in England. He laid claim as feudal overlord to the Norman
possessions in southern Italy (July 1127), and excommunicated the
claimant, Duke Roger of Sicily, but was unable to prevent the foundation
of the Neapolitan monarchy, for Duke Roger defeated the papal army and
forced recognition in August 1128. Honorius appealed to Lothair for
assistance, but died before it arrived. His successor was Innocent II.
The chief sources for the life of Honorius II. are his "Epistolae et
Privilegia," in J. P. Migne, _Patrol. Lat._ vol. 166, and the _Vitae_
of Cardinals Pandulf and Boso in J. M. Watterich, _Pontif. Roman.
vitae_, vol. 2 (Leipzig, 1862); also "Codice diplomatico e bollario di
Onorio II." in _Fr. Liverani opere_, vol. 4 (Macerata, 1859), and
Jaffé-Wattenbach, _Regesta pontif. Roman_. (1885-1888).
See J. Langen, _Geschichte der römischen Kirche von Gregor VII. bis
Innocenz III._ (Bonn, 1893); F. Gregorovius, _Rome in the Middle
Ages_, vol. 4, trans. by Mrs G. W. Hamilton (London, 1896); H. H.
Milman, _Latin Christianity_, vol. 4 (London, 1899); Fr. Liverani,
"Lamberto da Fiagnano" in _Opere_, vol. 3 (Macerata, 1859); A. Wagner,
_Die unteritalischen Normannen und das Papsttum 1086-1150_ (Breslau,
1885); E. Bernheim, _Zur Geschichte des Wormser Concordats_
(Göttingen, 1878); Volkmar, "Das Verhältnis Lothars III. zur
Investiturfrage," in _Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte_, vol. 26.
(C. H. Ha)
4. HONORIUS III. (Cencio Savelli), pope from the 18th of July 1216 to
the 18th of March 1227, a highly-educated and pious Roman, successively
canon of Sta Maria Maggiore, cardinal-deacon of Sta Lucia in Silice,
vice-chancellor, chamberlain and cardinal-priest of Sti Giovanni e
Paolo, was the successor of Innocent III. He made peace with Frederick
II., in accordance with which the emperor was crowned with his wife
Constance in St Peter's on the 22nd of November 1220, and swore to
accord full liberty to the church and to undertake a crusade. Honorius
was eager to carry out the decrees of the Lateran Council of 1215
against the Albigenses and to further the crusade proclaimed by his
predecessor. He crowned Peter of Courtenay emperor of Byzantium in April
1217; espoused the cause of the young Henry III. of England against the
barons; accepted the Isle of Man as a perpetual fief; arbitrated
differences between Philip II. of France and James of Aragon; and made
special ecclesiastical regulations for the Scandinavian countries. He
sanctioned the Dominican order (22nd of November 1216), making St
Dominic papal major-domo in 1218; approved the Franciscan order by bull
of the 29th of November 1223; and authorized many of the tertiary
orders. He maintained, on the whole, a tranquil rule at Rome; but
Frederick II.'s refusal to interrupt his reforms in Sicily in order to
go on the crusade gave the pope much trouble. Honorius died in 1227,
before the emperor had fulfilled his oath, and was succeeded by Gregory
IX.
Honorius III. left many writings which have been collected and
published by Abbé Horoy in the _Medii aevi bibliotheca patristica_,
vols. i.-ii. (Paris, 1879-1883). Among them are five books of
decretals, compiled about 1226; a continuation of the _Liber
Pontificalis_; a life of Gregory VII; a coronation form; and a large
number of sermons. His most important work is the _Liber censuum
Romanae ecclesiae_, written in 1192 and containing a record of the
income of the Roman Church and of its relations with secular
authorities. The last named is admirably edited by P. Fabre in
_Bibliothèque des écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome_ (Paris,
1892). The letters of Honorius are in F. Liverani, _Spicilegium
Liberianum_ (1863). There are good _Regesta_ in Latin and Italian,
edited by P. Pressutti (Rome, 1888, &c.).
See J. Clausen, _Papst Honorius III._ (1895); P. T. Masetti, _I
Pontefici Onorio III. ed Innocenzo IV. a fronte dell' Imperatore
Federico II. net secolo XIII._ (1884); F. Gregorovius, _Rome in the
Middle Ages_, vol. 5, trans. by Mrs G. W. Hamilton (London,
1900-1902); K. J. von Hefele, _Conciliengeschichte_, vol. 5, 2nd ed.;
H. H. Milman, _Latin Christianity_, vol. 5 (London, 1899); T. Frantz,
_Der grosse Kampf zwischen Kaisertum u. Papsttum zur Zeit des
Hohenstaufen Friedrich II._ (Berlin, 1903); W. Norden, _Das Papsttum
u. Byzanz_ (Berlin, 1903); M. Tangl, _Die päpstlichen Kanzleiordungen
von 1200-1500_ (Innsbruck, 1894); Caillemer, _Le Pape Honorius III. et
le droit civil_ (Lyons, 1881); F. Vernet, _Études sur les sermons
d'Honorius III._ (Lyons, 1888). There is an excellent article, with
exhaustive bibliography, by H. Schulz in Hauck's _Realencyklopädie_,
3rd edition. (C. H. Ha.)
5. HONORIUS IV. (Jacopo Savelli), pope from the 2nd of April 1285 to the
3rd of April 1287, a member of a prominent Roman family and grand-nephew
of Honorius III., had studied at the university of Paris, been made
cardinal-deacon of Sta Maria in Cosmedin, and succeeded Martin IV.
Though aged and so crippled that he could not stand alone he displayed
remarkable energy as pope. He maintained peace in the states of the
Church and friendly relations with Rudolph of Habsburg, and his policy
in the Sicilian question was more liberal than that of his predecessor.
He showed special favours to the mendicant orders and formally
sanctioned the Carmelites and Augustinian Eremites. He was the first
pope to employ the great banking houses in northern Italy for the
collection of papal dues. He died at Rome and was succeeded by Nicholas
IV.
See M. Bouquet, _Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France_,
new ed., vols. 20-22 (Paris, 1894), for the chief sources; A.
Potthast, _Regesta pontif. Roman_, vol. 2 (Berlin, 1875); M. Prou,
"Les registres d'Honorius IV." in _Bibliothèque des écoles françaises
d Athènes et de Rome_ (Paris, 1888); B. Pawlicki, _Papst Honorius IV._
(Münster, 1896); F. Gregorovius, _Rome in the Middle Ages_, vol. 5,
trans. by Mrs G. W. Hamilton (London, 1900-1902). (C. H. Ha.)
HONORIUS, FLAVIUS (384-423), son of Theodosius I., ascended the throne
as "emperor of the West" in 395. The history of the first thirteen years
of the reign of Honorius is inseparably connected with the name of
Stilicho (q.v.), his guardian and father-in-law. During this period the
revolt of the African prince Gildo was suppressed (398); Italy was
successfully defended against Alaric, who was defeated at Pollentia
(402) and Verona (403); and the barbarian hordes under the Goth
Radagaisus were destroyed (406). After the downfall and murder of
Stilicho (408), the result of palace intrigues, the emperor was under
the control of incompetent favourites. In the same year Rome was
besieged, and in 410, for the second time in its history, taken and
sacked by Alaric, who for a short time set up the city prefect Attalus
as a rival emperor, but soon deposed him as incapable. Alaric died in
the same year, and in 412 Honorius concluded peace with his
brother-in-law and successor, Ataulphus (Adolphus), who married the
emperor's sister Placidia and removed with his troops to southern Gaul.
A number of usurpers laid claim to the throne, the most important of
whom was Constantine. In 409 Britain and Armorica declared their
independence, which was confirmed by Honorius himself, and were thus
practically lost to the empire. Honorius was one of the feeblest
emperors who ever occupied the throne, and the dismemberment of the West
was only temporarily averted by the efforts of Stilicho, and, later, of
Constantius, a capable general who overthrew the usurpers and was
rewarded with a share in the government. It was only as a supporter of
the orthodox church and persecutor of the heathen that Honorius
displayed any energy. In 399 the exercise of the pagan cult was
prohibited, and the revenues of the temples, which were to be
appropriated for the use of the public or pulled down, were confiscated
to defray the expenses of the army. Honorius was equally severe on
heretics, such as the Donatists and Manichaeans. He is also to be
credited with the abolition of the gladiatorial shows in 404 (although
there is said to be evidence of their existence later), a reduction of
the taxes, improvements in criminal law, and the reorganization of the
_defensores civitatum_, municipal officers whose duty it was to defend
the rights of the people and set forth their grievances. Honorius at
first established his court at Milan, but, on the report of the
invasion of Italy, fled to Ravenna, where he resided till his death on
the 27th of August 423.
See Gibbon, _Decline and Fall_, chs. 28-33; J. B. Bury, _Later Roman
Empire_, i. chs. 1-5, ii. chs. 4, 6; E. A. Freeman, "Tyrants of
Britain, Gaul and Spain" in _Eng. Hist. Review_ (January 1886); T.
Hodgkin, _Italy and her Invaders_ (Oxford, 1892), i. chs. 13, 15-18.
HONOUR (Lat. _honos_ or _honor_, _honoris_; in English the word was
spelled with or without the _u_ indifferently until the 17th century,
but during the 18th century it became fashionable to spell the word
"honor"; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereotyped the English
and American spellings respectively), a term which may be defined as
respect, esteem or deference paid to, or received by, a person in
consideration of his character, worth or position; also the state or
condition of the person exciting the feeling or expression of such
esteem; particularly a high personal character coupled with conduct in
accordance with or controlled by a nice sense of what is right and true
and due to the position so held. Further, the word is commonly used of
the dignities, distinctions or titles, granted as a mark of such esteem
or as a reward for services or merit, and quite generally of the credit
or renown conferred by a person or thing on the country, town or
particular society to which he or it belongs. The standard of conduct
may be laid down not only by a scrupulous sense of what is due to lofty
personal character but also by the conventional usages of society, hence
it is that debts which cannot be legally enforced, such as gambling
debts, are called "debts of honour." Similarly in the middle ages and
later, courts, known as "courts of honour," sat to decide questions such
as precedence, disputes as to coat armour &c. (see CHIVALRY); such
courts, chiefly military, are found in countries where duelling has not
fallen into desuetude (see DUEL). In the British House of Lords, when
the peers sit to try another peer on a criminal charge or at an
impeachment, on the question being put whether the accused be guilty or
not, each peer, rising in his place in turn, lays his right hand on his
breast and returns his verdict "upon my honour." As a title of address,
"his honour" or "your honour" is applied in the United States of America
to all judges, in the United Kingdom only to county court judges; in
university or other examinations, those who have won particular
distinction, or have undergone with success an examination of a standard
higher than that required for a "pass" degree, are said to have passed
"with honours," or an "honours" examination or to have taken an "honours
degree." In many games of cards the ace, king, queen and knave of trumps
are the "honours."
Funeral or military honours are paid to a dead officer or soldier. The
usual features of such a burial are as follows: the coffin is carried on
a gun-carriage and attended by troops; it is covered by the national
flag, on which rests the soldier's head-dress, sword or bayonet; if the
deceased had been a mounted soldier, his charger follows with the boots
reversed in the stirrups; three volleys are fired over the grave after
committal, and "last post" or another call is sounded on the bugles or a
roll on the drums is given.
A military force is said to be accorded "the honours of war" when, after
a specially honourable defence, it has surrendered its post, and is
permitted, by the terms of capitulation to march out with colours
flying, bands playing, bayonets fixed, &c. and retaining possession of
the field artillery, horses, arms and baggage. The force remains free to
act as combatants for the remainder of the war, without waiting for
exchange or being considered as prisoners. Usually some point is named
to which the surrendering troops must be conveyed before recommencing
hostilities; thus, during the Peninsular War, at the Convention of
Cintra 1808, the French army under Junot was conveyed to France by
British transports before being free to rejoin the combatant troops in
the Peninsula. By far the most usual case of the granting of the
"honours of war" is in connexion with the surrender of a fortress. Of
historic examples may be mentioned the surrender of Lille by Marshal
Boufflers to Prince Eugene in 1708, that of Huningen by General Joseph
Barbanègre (1772-1830) to the Austrians in 1815, and that of Belfort by
Colonel P. Denfert Rochereau to the Germans in 1871.
In English law the term "honour" is used of a seigniory of several
manors held under one baron or lord paramount. The formation of such
lordships dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, when jurisdiction of sac
and soc was frequently given in the case of a group of estates lying
close together. The system was encouraged by the Norman lords, as
tending to strengthen the principles of feudal law, but the legislation
of Henry II., which increased the power of the central administration,
undoubtedly tended to discourage the creation of new honours.
Frequently, they escheated to the crown, retaining their corporate
existence and their jurisdictions; they then either remained in the
possession of the king or were regranted, diminished in extent. Although
an honour contained several manors, one court day was held for all, but
the various manors retained their separate organizations, having their
"quasi several and distinct courts."
HONOURABLE (Fr. _honorable_, from Lat. _honorabilis_, worthy of honour),
a style or title of honour common to the United Kingdom, the British
colonies and the United States of America. The terms _honorabilis_ and
_honorabilitas_ were in use in the middle ages rather as a form of
politeness than as a stereotyped style; and though Gibbon assimilates
the late Roman title of _clarissimus_ to "honourable," as applied to the
lowest of the three grades of rank in the imperial hierarchy, the
analogy was good even in his day only in so far as both styles were
applicable to those who belonged to the less exalted ranks of the titled
classes, for the title "honourable" was not definitely confined to
certain classes until later. As a formal address it is found frequently
in the _Paston Letters_ (15th century), but used loosely and
interchangeable with other styles; thus John, Viscount Beaumont, is
addressed alternately as "my worshipful and reverent Lord" (ii. 88, ed.
1904) and as "my right honorabull Lord" (ii. 118), while John Paston, a
plain esquire, is "my right honurabyll maister." More than two centuries
later Selden, in his _Titles of Honor_ (1672), does not include
"honourable" among the courtesy titles given to the children of peers.
The style was, in fact, used extremely loosely till well on into the
18th century. Thus we find in the registers of Westminster Abbey records
of the burial (in 1710) of "The Hon. George Churchill, Esq.," who was
only a son of Sir Winston Churchill, and of "The Hon. Sir William
Godolphin," who had only been created a baronet; in 1717 was buried "The
Hon. Colonel Henry Cornwall," who was only an esquire and the son of
one; in 1743 a rear-admiral was buried as "The Hon. Sir John Jennings,
Kt."; in 1746 "The Hon. Major-General Lowther," whose father was only a
Dublin merchant; and finally, in 1747, "The Hon. Lieutenant-General
Guest," who is said to have begun life as an hostler. From this time
onwards the style of "honourable" tended to become more narrowly
applied; but the whole matter is full of obscurity and contradictions.
The baronets, for instance, allege that they were usually styled "the
honourable" until the end of the 18th century, and in 1835 they
petitioned for the style as a prefix to their names. The Heralds'
College officially reported on the petition (31st of October 1835) that
the evidence did not prove the right of baronets to the style, and that
its use "has been no more warranted by authority than when the same
style has been applied to Field Officers in the Army and others." They
added that "the style of the Honourable is given to the _Judges_ and to
the _Barons of the Exchequer_ with others because by the Decree of 10
James I., for settling the place and precedence of the Baronets, the
Judges and Barons of the Exchequer were declared to have place and
precedence before the younger sons of Viscounts and Barons." This seems
to make the style a consequence of the precedence; yet from the examples
above given it is clear that it was applied, e.g. in the case of field
officers, where no question of precedence arose. It is not, indeed,
until 1874 that we have any evidence of an authoritative limitation of
the title. In this year the wives of lords of appeal, life peers, were
granted style and precedence as baronesses; but it was provided that
their children were not "to assume or use the prefix of Honourable, or
to be entitled to the style, rank or precedence of the children of a
Baron." In 1898, however, this was revoked, and it was ordained "that
such children shall have and enjoy on all occasions the style and title
enjoyed by the children of hereditary Barons together with the rank and
precedence, &c." By these acts of the Crown the prefix of "honourable"
would seem to have been restricted and stereotyped as a definite title
of honour; yet in legal documents the sons of peers are still styled
merely "esquire," with the addition of "commonly called, &c." This
latter fact points to the time when the prefix "honourable" was a mark
of deference paid by others rather than a style assumed by right, and
relics of this doubtless survive in the United Kingdom in the
conventions by which an "honourable" does not use the title on his
visiting card and is not announced as such.
As to the actual use and social significance of the style, the practice
in the United Kingdom differs considerably from that in the colonies or
in the United States. In the United Kingdom marquesses are "most
honourable"; earls, viscounts and barons "right honourable," a style
also borne by all privy councillors, including the lord mayor of London
and lord provost of Edinburgh during office. The title of "honourable"
is in the United Kingdom, except by special licence of the Crown (e.g.
in the case of retired colonial or Indian officials), mainly confined to
the sons and daughters of peers, and is the common style of the younger
sons of earls and of the children of viscounts, barons and legal life
peers. The eldest sons of dukes, marquesses and earls bear "by courtesy"
their father's second title, the younger sons of dukes and marquesses
having the courtesy title Lord prefixed to their Christian name; while
the daughters of dukes, marquesses and earls are styled Lady. The title
of "honourable" is also given to all present or past maids of honour,
and to the judges of the high court being lords justices or lords of
appeal (who are "right honourable"). A county court judge is, however,
"his honour." The epithet is also applied to the House of Commons as a
body and to individual members during debate ("the honourable member for
X."). Certain other corporate bodies have, by tradition or grant, the
right to bear the style; e.g. the Honourable Irish Society, the Inns of
Court (Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, &c.) and the Honourable
Artillery Company; the East India Company also had the prefix
"honourable." The style may not be assumed by corporate bodies at will,
as was proved, in the case of the Society of Baronets, whose original
style of "Honourable" Society was dropped by command.
In the British colonies the title "honourable" is given to members of
the executive and legislative bodies, to judges, &c., during their term
of service. It is sometimes retained by royal licence after a certain
number of years' service.
In the United States of America the title is very widespread, being
commonly given to any one who holds or has held any office of importance
in state or nation, more particularly to members of Congress or of the
state legislatures, judges, justices, and certain other judicial and
executive officials. Popular amenity even sometimes extends the title to
holders of quite humble government appointments, and consoles with it
the defeated candidates for a post. See also the article PRECEDENCE.
HONTHEIM, JOHANN NIKOLAUS VON (1701-1790), German historian and
theologian, was born on the 27th of January 1701 at Trier. He belonged
to a noble family which had been for many generations connected with the
court and diocese of the archbishop-electors, his father, Kaspar von
Hontheim, being receiver-general of the archdiocese. At the age of
twelve young Hontheim was given by his maternal uncle, Hugo Friedrich
von Anethan, canon of the collegiate church of St Simeon (which at that
time still occupied the Roman Porta Nigra at Trier), a prebend in his
church, and on the 13th of May 1713 he received the tonsure. He was
educated by the Jesuits at Trier and at the universities of Trier,
Louvain and Leiden, taking his degree of doctor of laws at Trier in
1724. During the following years he travelled in various European
countries, spending some time at the German College in Rome; in 1728 he
was ordained priest and, formally admitted to the chapter of St Simeon
in 1732, he became a professor at the university of Trier. In 1738 he
went to Coblenz as official to the archbishop-elector. In this capacity
he had plentiful opportunity of studying the effect of the interference
of the Roman Curia in the internal affairs of the Empire, notably in the
negotiations that preceded the elections of the emperors Charles VII.
and Francis I. in which Hontheim took part as assistant to the electoral
ambassador. It appears that it was the extreme claims of the papal
nuncio on these occasions and his interference in the affairs of the
electoral college that first suggested to Hontheim that critical
examination of the basis of the papal pretensions, the results of which
he afterwards published to the world under the pseudonym of "Febronius."
In 1747, broken down by overwork, he resigned his position as official
and retired to St Simeon's, of which he was elected dean in the
following year. In May 1748 he was appointed by the archbishop-elector
Francis George (von Schönborn) as his suffragan, being consecrated at
Mainz, in February 1749, under the title of bishop of Myriophiri _in
partibus_. The archbishop of Trier was practically a great secular
prince, and upon Hontheim as suffragan and vicar-general fell the whole
spiritual administration of the diocese; this work, in addition to that
of pro-chancellor of the university, he carried on single-handed until
1778, when Jean Marie Cuohot d'Herbain was appointed his coadjutor. On
the 21st of April 1779 he resigned the deanery of St Simeon's on the
ground of old age. He died on the 2nd of September 1790 at his chateau
at Montquentin near Orval, an estate which he had purchased. He was
buried at first in St Simeon's; but the church was ruined by the French
during the revolutionary wars and never restored, and in 1803 the body
of Hontheim was transferred to that of St Gervasius.
As a historian Hontheim's reputation rests on his contributions to the
history of Trier. He had, during the period of his activity as official
at Coblenz, found time to collect a vast mass of printed and MS.
material which he afterwards embodied in three works on the history of
Trier. Of these the _Historia Trevirensis diplomatica et pragmatica_ was
published in 3 vols. folio in 1750, the _Prodromus historiae
Trevirensis_ in 2 vols. in 1757. They give, besides a history of Trier
and its constitution, a large number of documents and references to
published authorities. A third work, the _Historiae scriptorum et
monumentarum Trevirensis amplissima collectio_, remains in MS. at the
city library of Trier. These books, the result of an enormous labour in
collation and selection in very unfavourable circumstances, entitle
Hontheim to the fame of a pioneer in modern historical methods. It is,
however, as "Febronius" that Hontheim is best remembered. The character
and effect of his book on "the state of the Church and the lawful power
of the Roman pontiff" is described elsewhere (see FEBRONIANISM). The
author of the book was known at Rome almost as soon as it was published;
but it was not till some years afterwards (1778) that he was called on
to retract. The terrors of the spiritual power were reinforced by a
threat of the archbishop-elector to deprive not only him but all his
relations of their offices, and Hontheim, after much wavering and
correspondence, signed a submission which was accepted at Rome as
satisfactory, though he still refused to admit, as demanded, _ut proinde
merito monarchicum ecclesiae regimen a catholicis doctoribus
appelletur_. The removal of the censure followed (1781) when Hontheim
published at Frankfort what purported to be a proof that his submission
had been made of his own free will (_Justini Febronii acti commentarius
in suam retractationem_, &c.). This book, however, which carefully
avoided all the most burning questions, rather tended to show--as indeed
his correspondence proves--that Hontheim had not essentially shifted his
standpoint. But Rome left him thenceforth in peace.
See Otto Mejer, _Febronius, Weihbischof Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim
und sein Widerruf_ (Tübingen, 1880), with many original letters. Of
later date is the biography by F. X. Kraus in the _Allgemeine deutsche
Biographie_ (1881), which gives numerous references.
HONTHORST, GERARD VAN (1590-1656), Dutch painter of Utrecht, was brought
up at the school of Bloemart, who exchanged the style of the Franckens
for that of the pseudo-Italians at the beginning of the 16th century.
Infected thus early with a mania which came to be very general in
Holland, Honthorst went to Italy, where he copied the naturalism and
eccentricities of Michelangelo da Caravaggio. Home again about 1614,
after acquiring a considerable practice in Rome, he set up a school at
Utrecht which flourished exceedingly; and he soon became so fashionable
that Sir Dudley Carleton, then English envoy at the Hague, recommended
his works to the earl of Arundel and Lord Dorchester. At the same time
the queen of Bohemia, sister of Charles I. and electress palatine, being
an exile in Holland, gave him her countenance and asked him to teach her
children drawing; and Honthorst, thus approved and courted, became known
to Charles I., who invited him to England. There he painted several
portraits, and a vast allegory, now at Hampton Court, of Charles and his
queen as Diana and Apollo in the clouds receiving the duke of Buckingham
as Mercury and guardian of the king of Bohemia's children. Charles I.,
whose taste was flattered alike by the energy of Rubens and the elegance
of Van Dyck, was thus first captivated by the fanciful mediocrity of
Honthorst, who though a poor executant had luckily for himself caught,
as Lord Arundel said, "much of the manner of Caravaggio's colouring,
then so much esteemed at Rome." It was his habit to transmute every
subject into a night scene, from the Nativity, for which there was
warrant in the example of Correggio, to the penitence of the Magdalen,
for which there was no warrant at all. But unhappily this caprice,
though "sublime in Allegri and Rembrandt," was but a phantasm in the
hands of Honthorst, whose prosaic pencil was not capable of more than
vulgar utterances, and art gained little from the repetition of these
quaint vagaries. Sandrart gave the measure of Honthorst's popularity at
this period when he says that he had as many as twenty apprentices at
one time, each of whom paid him a fee of 100 florins a year. In 1623 he
was president of his gild at Utrecht. After that he went to England,
returning to settle anew at Utrecht, where he married. His position
amongst artists was acknowledged to be important, and in 1626 he
received a visit from Rubens, whom he painted as the honest man sought
for and found by Diogenes Honthorst. In his home at Utrecht Honthorst
succeeded in preserving the support of the English monarch, for whom he
finished in 1631 a large picture of the king and queen of Bohemia "and
all their children." For Lord Dorchester about the same period he
completed some illustrations of the _Odyssey_; for the king of Denmark
he composed incidents of Danish history, of which one example remains in
the gallery of Copenhagen. In the course of a large practice he had
painted many likenesses--Charles I. and his queen, the duke of
Buckingham, and the king and queen of Bohemia. He now became court
painter to the princess of Orange, settled (1637) at the Hague, and
painted in succession at the Castle of Ryswick and the House in the
Wood. The time not consumed in producing pictures was devoted to
portraits. Even now his works are very numerous, and amply represented
in English and Continental galleries. His most attractive pieces are
those in which he cultivates the style of Caravaggio, those, namely,
which represent taverns, with players, singers and eaters. He shows
great skill in reproducing scenes illuminated by a single candle. But he
seems to have studied too much in dark rooms, where the subtleties of
flesh colour are lost in the dusky smoothness and uniform redness of
tints procurable from farthing dips. Of great interest still, though
rather sharp in outline and hard in modelling, are his portraits of the
Duke of Buckingham and Family (Hampton Court), the King and Queen of
Bohemia (Hanover and Combe Abbey), Mary de Medici (Amsterdam town-hall),
1628, the Stadtholders and their Wives (Amsterdam and Hague), Charles
Louis and Rupert, Charles I.'s nephews (Louvre, St Petersburg, Combe
Abbey and Willin), and Lord Craven (National Portrait Gallery). His
early form may be judged by a Lute-player (1614) at the Louvre, the
Martyrdom of St John in S. M. della Scala at Rome, or the Liberation of
Peter in the Berlin Museum; his latest style is that of the House in the
Wood (1648), where he appears to disadvantage by the side of Jordaens
and others.
Honthorst was succeeded by his brother William, born at Utrecht in 1604,
who died, it is said, in 1666. He lived chiefly in his native place,
temporarily at Berlin. But he has left little behind except a portrait
at Amsterdam, and likenesses in the Berlin Museum of William and Mary of
England.
HOOCH, PIETER DE (1629-?1678), Dutch painter, was born in 1629, and died
in Amsterdam probably shortly after 1677. He was a native of Rotterdam,
and wandered early to Haarlem and the Hague. In 1654 we find him again
at Rotterdam, where in that year he married a girl of Delft, Jannetje
van der Burch. From 1655 to 1657 he was a member of the painter's gild
of Delft, but after that date we have no traces of his doings until
about 1668, when his presence is recorded in Amsterdam. His dated
pictures prove that he was still alive in 1677, but his death followed
probably soon after this year. De Hooch is one of the kindliest and most
charming painters of homely subjects that Holland has produced. He seems
to have been born at the same time and taught in the same school as van
der Meer and Maes. All three are disciples of the school of Rembrandt.
Houbraken mentions Nicolas Berchem as De Hooch's teacher. De Hooch only
once painted a canvas of large size, and that unfortunately perished in
a fire at Rotterdam in 1864. But his small pieces display perfect finish
and dexterity of hand, combined with great power of discrimination.
Though he sometimes paints open-air scenes, these are not his favourite
subjects. He is most at home in interiors illuminated by different
lights, with the radiance of the day, in different intensities, seen
through doors and windows. He thus brings together the most delicate
varieties of tone, and produces chords that vibrate with harmony. The
themes which he illustrates are thoroughly suited to his purpose.
Sometimes he chooses the drawing-room where dames and cavaliers dance,
or dine, or sing; sometimes--mostly indeed--he prefers cottages or
courtyards, where the housewives tend their children or superintend the
labours of the cook. Satin and gold are as familiar to him as camlet and
fur; and there is no article of furniture in a Dutch house of the middle
class that he does not paint with pleasure. What distinguishes him most
besides subtle suggestiveness is the serenity of his pictures. One of
his most charming was the canvas formerly in the Ashburton collection,
now burnt, where an old lady with a dish of apples walks with a child
along a street bounded by a high wall, above which gables and a church
steeple are seen, while the sun radiates joyfully over the whole. Fine
in another way is the "Mug of Beer" in the Amsterdam Museum, an interior
with a woman coming out of a pantry and giving a measure of beer to a
little girl. The light flows in here from a small closed window; but
through the door to the right we look into a drawing-room, and through
the open sash of that room we see the open air. The three lights are
managed with supreme cunning. Beautiful for its illumination again is
the "Music Party," with its contending indoor and outdoor lights, a gem
in the late A. Thieme collection at Leipzig. More subtly suggestive, in
the museum of Berlin, is the "Mother seated near a Cradle." "A Card
Party," dated 1658, at Buckingham Palace, is a good example of De
Hooch's drawing-room scenes, counterpart as to date and value of a
"Woman and Child" in the National Gallery, and the "Smoking Party,"
formerly in Lord Enfield's collection. Another very fine example is the
"Interior" with two women, bought by Sir Julius Wernher. Other pictures
later in the master's career are--the "Lady and Child in a Courtyard,"
of 1665, in the National Gallery, and the "Lady receiving a Letter," of
1670, in the Amsterdam Museum (Van der Hoop collection).
It is possible to bring together over 250 examples of De Hooch. There
are three at St Petersburg, three in Buckingham Palace, three in the
National Gallery, two in the Wallace Collection, six in the Amsterdam
Museum, some in the Louvre and at Munich and Darmstadt; many others
are in private galleries in England. For England was the first country
to recognize the merit of De Hooch who only began to be valued in
Holland in the middle of the 18th century. A celebrated picture at
Amsterdam, sold for 450 florins in 1765, fetched 4000 in 1817, and in
1876 the Berlin Museum gave £5400 for a De Hooch at the Schneider
sale--"A Dutch Dwelling-room" (820 B).
See Hofstede de Groot's _Catalogue raisonné_, vol. i., London, 1907.
HOOD, JOHN BELL (1831-1879), American soldier, lieut.-general of the
Confederate army, was born at Owingsville, Kentucky, in 1831, and
graduated from West Point military academy in 1853. As an officer of the
2nd U.S. cavalry (Colonel Sidney Johnston) he saw service against
Indians, and later he was cavalry instructor at West Point. He resigned
from the U.S. service in 1861, and became a colonel in the Confederate
army. He was soon promoted brigadier-general, and at the battle of
Gaines's Mill, where he was wounded, won the brevet of major-general for
his gallant conduct. With the famous, "Texas brigade" of the Army of
Northern Virginia he served throughout the campaign of 1862. At
Gettysburg he commanded one of the divisions of Longstreet's corps,
receiving a wound which disabled his arm. With Longstreet he was
transferred in the autumn of 1863 to the Army of Tennessee. At the
battle of Chickamauga (September 19th, 20th) Hood was severely wounded
again and his leg was amputated, but after six months he returned to
duty undaunted. He remained with the Army of Tennessee as a corps
commander, and when the general dissatisfaction with the Fabian policy
of General J. E. Johnston brought about the removal of that officer,
Hood was put in his place with the temporary rank of general. He had won
a great reputation as a fighting general, and it was with the distinct
understanding that battles were to be fought that he was placed at the
head of the Army of Tennessee. But in spite of skill and courage he was
uniformly unsuccessful in the battles around Atlanta. In the end he had
to abandon the place, but he forthwith sought to attack Sherman in
another direction, and finally invaded Tennessee. His march was pushed
with the greatest energy, but he failed to draw the main body of the
enemy after him, and, while Sherman with a picked force made his "March
to the Sea," Thomas collected an army to oppose Hood. A severe battle
was fought at Franklin on the 30th of November, and finally Hood was
defeated and his army almost annihilated in the battle of Nashville. He
was then relieved at his own request (January 23rd, 1865). After the war
he was engaged in business in New Orleans, where he died of yellow fever
on the 30th of August 1879. His experiences in the Civil War are
narrated in his _Advance and Retreat_ (New Orleans, 1880). Hood's
reputation as a bold and energetic leader was well deserved, though his
reckless vigour proved but a poor substitute for Johnston's careful
husbanding of his strength at this declining stage of the Confederacy.
HOOD, SAMUEL HOOD, VISCOUNT (1724-1816), British admiral, was the son of
Samuel Hood, vicar of Butleigh in Somerset, and prebendary of Wells. He
was born on the 12th of December 1724, and entered the navy on the 6th of
May 1741. He served part of his time as midshipman with Rodney in the
"Ludlow," and became lieutenant in 1746. He was fortunate in serving
under active officers, and had opportunities of seeing service in the
North Sea. In 1753 he was made commander of the "Jamaica" sloop, and
served in her on the North American station. In 1756, while still on the
North American station, he attained to post rank. In 1757, while in
temporary command of the "Antelope" (50), he drove a French ship ashore
in Audierne Bay, and captured two privateers. His zeal attracted the
favourable notice of the Admiralty and he was appointed to a ship of his
own. In 1759, when captain of the "Vestal" (32), he captured the French
"Bellona" (32) after a sharp action. During the war his services were
wholly in the Channel, and he was engaged under Rodney in 1759 in
destroying the vessels collected by the French to serve as transports in
the proposed invasion of England. In 1778 he accepted a command which in
the ordinary course would have terminated his active career. He became
commissioner of the dockyard at Portsmouth and governor of the Naval
Academy. These posts were generally given to officers who were retiring
from the sea. In 1780, on the occasion of the king's visit to
Portsmouth, he was made a baronet. The circumstances of the time were
not ordinary. Many admirals declined to serve under Lord Sandwich, and
Rodney, who then commanded in the West Indies, had complained of want of
proper support from his subordinates, whom he accused of disaffection.
The Admiralty was naturally anxious to secure the services of trustworthy
flag officers, and having confidence in Hood promoted him rear-admiral
out of the usual course on the 26th of September 1780, and sent him to
the West Indies to act as second in command under Rodney, to whom he was
personally known. He joined Rodney in January 1781, and remained in the
West Indies or on the coast of North America till the close of the War of
American Independence. The calculation that he would work harmoniously
with Rodney was not altogether justified by the results. The
correspondence of the two shows that they were far from being on cordial
personal terms with one another, but Hood always discharged his duty
punctually, and his capacity was so great, and so signally proved, that
no question of removing him from the station ever arose. The unfortunate
turn taken by the campaign of 1781 was largely due to Rodney's neglect of
his advice. If he had been allowed to choose his own position there can
be no doubt that he could have prevented the comte de Grasse (1722-1788)
from reaching Fort Royal with the reinforcements from France in April
(see RODNEY, LORD). When the fleet went on to the coast of North America
during the hurricane months of 1781 he was sent to serve with Admiral
Graves (1725?-1802) in the unsuccessful effort to relieve the army at
Yorktown. But his subordinate rank gave him no chance to impart a greater
measure of energy to the naval operations. When, however, he returned to
the West Indies he was for a time in independent command owing to
Rodney's absence in England for the sake of his health. The French
admiral, the comte de Grasse, attacked the British islands of St Kitts
and Nevis with a much superior force to the squadron under Hood's
command. The attempt Hood made in January 1782 to save them from capture,
with 22 ships to 29, was not successful, but the series of bold movements
by which he first turned the French out of their anchorage at the Basse
Terre of St Kitts, and then beat off the attacks of the enemy, were the
most brilliant things done by any British admiral during the war. He was
made an Irish peer for his share in the defeat of the comte de Grasse on
the 9th and 12th of April near Dominica. During the peace he entered
parliament as member for Westminster in the fiercely contested election
of 1784, was promoted vice-admiral in 1787, and in July of 1788 was
appointed to the Board of Admiralty under the second earl of Chatham. On
the outbreak of the revolutionary war he was sent to the Mediterranean as
commander-in-chief. His period of command, which lasted from May 1793 to
October 1794, was very busy. In August he occupied Toulon on the
invitation of the French royalists, and in co-operation with the
Spaniards. In December of the same year the allies, who did not work
harmoniously together, were driven out, mainly by the generalship of
Napoleon. Hood now turned to the occupation of Corsica, which he had been
invited to take in the name of the king of England by Paoli. The island
was for a short time added to the dominions of George III., chiefly by
the exertions of the fleet and the co-operation of Paoli. While the
occupation of Corsica was being effected, the French at Toulon had so far
recovered that they were able to send a fleet to sea. In June Hood sailed
in the hope of bringing it to action. The plan which he laid to attack it
in the Golfe Jouan in June may possibly have served to some extent as an
inspiration, if not as a model, to Nelson for the battle of the Nile, but
the wind was unfavourable, and the attack could not be carried out. In
October he was recalled to England in consequence of some
misunderstanding with the admiralty, or the ministry, which has never
been explained. He had attained the rank of full admiral in April of
1794. He held no further command at sea, but in 1796 he was named
governor of Greenwich Hospital, a post which he held till his death on
the 27th of January 1816. A peerage of Great Britain was conferred on his
wife as Baroness Hood of Catherington in 1795, and he was himself
created Viscount Hood of Whitley in 1796. The titles descended to his
son, Henry (1753-1836), the ancestor of the present Viscount Hood. There
are several portraits of Lord Hood by Abbot in the Guildhall and in the
National Portrait Gallery. He was also painted by Reynolds and
Gainsborough.
There is no good life of Lord Hood, but a biographical notice of him
by M'Arthur, his secretary during the Mediterranean command, is in the
_Naval Chronicle_, vol. ii. Charnock's _Biogr. Nav._ vi., Ralfe, _Nav.
Biog._ i., may also be consulted. His correspondence during his
command in America has been published by the Navy Record Society. The
history of his campaigns will be found in the historians of the wars
in which he served: for the earlier years, Beatson's _Naval and
Military Memoirs_; for the later, James's _Naval History_, vol. i.,
for the English side, and for the French, Troudes, _Batailles navales
de la France_, ii. and iii., and Chevalier's _Histoire de la marine
française pendant la guerre de l'indépendance américaine and Pendant
la République_. (D. H.)
HOOD, SIR SAMUEL (1762-1814), British vice-admiral, cousin of Lord Hood
and of Lord Bridport, entered the Royal Navy in 1776. His first
engagement was the battle off Ushant in 1778, and, soon afterwards
transferred to the West Indies, he was present, under the command of his
cousin Sir Samuel Hood, at all the actions which culminated in Rodney's
victory of April 12th, 1782. After the peace, like many other British
naval officers, he spent some time in France, and on his return to
England was given the command of a sloop, from which he proceeded in
succession to various frigates. In the "Juno" his gallant rescue of some
shipwrecked seamen won him a vote of thanks and a sword of honour from
the Jamaica assembly. Early in 1793 the "Juno" went to the Mediterranean
under Lord Hood, and her captain distinguished himself by an audacious
feat of coolness and seamanship in extricating his vessel from the
harbour of Toulon, which he had entered in ignorance of Lord Hood's
withdrawal. Soon afterwards he was put in command of a frigate squadron
for the protection of Levantine commerce, and in 1797 he was given the
"Zealous" (74), in which he was present at Nelson's unsuccessful attack
on Santa Cruz. It was Captain Hood who conducted the negotiations which
relieved the squadron from the consequences of its failure. The part
played by the "Zealous" at the battle of the Nile was brilliant. Her
first opponent she put out of action in twelve minutes, and, passing on,
Hood immediately engaged other ships, the "Guerrier" being left
powerless to fire a shot. When Nelson left the coast of Egypt, Hood
commanded the blockading force off Alexandria and Rosetta. Later he
rejoined Nelson on the coast of the two Sicilies, receiving for his
services the order of St Ferdinand.
In the "Venerable" Hood was present at the action of Algesiras and the
battle in the Straits of Gibraltar (1801). In the Straits his ship
suffered heavily, losing 130 officers and men. A year later Captain Hood
was employed in Trinidad as a commissioner, and, upon the death of the
flag officer commanding the Leeward station, he succeeded him as
Commodore. Island after island fell to him, and soon, outside
Martinique, the French had scarcely a foothold in the West Indies.
Amongst other measures taken by Hood may be mentioned the garrisoning of
Diamond Rock, which he commissioned as a sloop-of-war to blockade the
approaches of Martinique (see James, _Naval History_, iii, 245). For
these successes he received, amongst other rewards, the K.B. In command
next of the squadron blockading Rochefort, Sir Samuel Hood had a sharp
fight, on 25th September 1805, with a small French squadron which was
trying to escape. Amongst the few casualties on this occasion was the
Commodore, who lost an arm. Promoted rear-admiral a few days after this
action, Hood was in 1807 entrusted with the operations against Madeira,
which he brought to a successful conclusion, and a year later went to
the Baltic, with his flag in the "Centaur," to take part in the war
between Russia and Sweden. In one of the actions of this war the
"Centaur" and "Implacable," unsupported by the Swedish ships (which lay
to leeward), cut out the Russian 80-gun ship "Sevolod" from the enemy's
line and, after a desperate fight, forced her to strike. The king of
Sweden rewarded the admiral with the Grand Cross of the Order of the
Sword. Present in the roads of Corunna at the re-embarkation of the army
of Sir John Moore, Hood thence returned to the Mediterranean, where for
two years he commanded a division of the British fleet. In 1811 he
became vice-admiral. In his last command, that of the East Indies
station, he carried out many salutary reforms, especially in matters of
discipline and victualling. He died at Madras, 24th December 1814. A
lofty column was raised to his memory on a hill near Butleigh,
Somersetshire, and in Butleigh Church is another memorial, with an
inscription written by Southey.
See _Naval Chronicle_, xvii. 1 (the material was furnished by Hood
himself; it does not go beyond 1806).
His elder brother, Captain ALEXANDER HOOD (1758-1798), entered the Royal
Navy in 1767, and accompanied Captain Cook in his second voyage round
the world. Under Howe and Rodney he distinguished himself in the West
Indies, and at the victory of April 12th, 1782, he was in command of one
of Rodney's frigates. Under Sir Samuel Hood he then proceeded to the
Mona passage, where he captured the French corvette "Cérès." With the
commander of his prize, the Baron de Peroy, Hood became very intimate,
and during the peace he paid a long visit to France as his late
prisoner's guest. In the early part of the Revolutionary war, ill health
kept him at home, and it was not until 1797 that he went afloat again.
His first experience was bitter; his ship, the "Mars," was unenviably
prominent in the mutiny at Spithead. On April 21st, 1798, occurred the
famous duel of the "Mars" with the "Hercule," fought in the dusk near
the Bec du Raz. The two ships were of equal force, but the "Hercule" was
newly commissioned, and after over an hour's fighting at close quarters
she struck her flag, having lost over three hundred men. The captain of
the "Mars" was mortally wounded early in the fight, and died as the
sword of the French captain was being put in his hand. The latter,
L'Heritier, also died of his wounds.
See _Naval Chronicle_, vi. 175; Ralfe, _Naval Biographies_, iv. 48;
James, _Naval History_, and Chevalier, _Hist. de la marine française
sous la première république_.
HOOD, THOMAS (1799-1845), British humorist and poet, the son of Thomas
Hood, bookseller, was born in London on the 23rd of May 1799. "Next to
being a citizen of the world," writes Thomas Hood in his _Literary
Reminiscences_, "it must be the best thing to be born a citizen of the
world's greatest city." On the death of her husband in 1811 Mrs Hood
removed to Islington, where Thomas Hood had a schoolmaster who
appreciated his talents, and, as he says, "made him feel it impossible
not to take an interest in learning while he seemed so interested in
teaching." Under the care of this "decayed dominie," whom he has so
affectionately recorded, he earned a few guineas--his first literary
fee--by revising for the press a new edition of _Paul and Virginia_.
Admitted soon after into the counting-house of a friend of his family,
he "turned his stool into a Pegasus on three legs, every foot, of
course, being a dactyl or a spondee"; but the uncongenial profession
affected his health, which was never strong, and he was transferred to
the care of his father's relations at Dundee. There he led a healthy
outdoor life, and also became a large and indiscriminate reader, and
before long contributed humorous and poetical articles to the provincial
newspapers and magazines. As a proof of the seriousness with which he
regarded the literary vocation, it may be mentioned that he used to
write out his poems in printed characters, believing that that process
best enabled him to understand his own peculiarities and faults, and
probably unconscious that Coleridge had recommended some such method of
criticism when he said he thought "print settles it." On his return to
London in 1818 he applied himself assiduously to the art of engraving,
in which he acquired a skill that in after years became a most valuable
assistant to his literary labours, and enabled him to illustrate his
various humours and fancies by a profusion of quaint devices, which not
only repeated to the eye the impressions of the text, but, by suggesting
amusing analogies and contrasts, added considerably to the sense and
effect of the work.
In 1821 Mr John Scott, the editor of the _London Magazine_, was killed
in a duel, and that periodical passed into the hands of some friends of
Hood, who proposed to make him sub-editor. His installation into this
congenial post at once introduced him to the best literary society of
the time; and in becoming the associate of Charles Lamb, Cary, de
Quincey, Allan Cunningham, Proctor, Talfourd, Hartley Coleridge, the
peasant-poet Clare and other contributors to the magazine, he gradually
developed his own intellectual powers, and enjoyed that happy
intercourse with superior minds for which his cordial and genial
character was so well adapted, and which he has described in his best
manner in several chapters of _Hood's Own_. He had married in 1825, and
_Odes and Addresses_--his first work--was written in conjunction with
his brother-in-law Mr J. H. Reynolds, the friend of Keats. S. T.
Coleridge wrote to Charles Lamb averring that the book must be his work.
_The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies_ (1827) and a dramatic romance,
Lamia, published later, belong to this time. _The Plea of the Midsummer
Fairies_ was a volume of serious verse, in which Hood showed himself a
by no means despicable follower of Keats. But he was known as a
humorist, and the public, which had learned to expect jokes from him,
rejected this little book almost entirely. There was much true poetry in
the verse, and much sound sense and keen observation in the prose of
these works; but the poetical feeling and lyrical facility of the one,
and the more solid qualities of the other, seemed best employed when
they were subservient to his rapid wit, and to the ingenious
coruscations of his fancy. This impression was confirmed by the series
of the _Comic Annual_, dating from 1830, a kind of publication at that
time popular, which Hood undertook and continued, almost unassisted, for
several years. Under that somewhat frivolous title he treated all the
leading events of the day in a fine spirit of caricature, entirely free
from grossness and vulgarity, without a trait of personal malice, and
with an under-current of true sympathy and honest purpose that will
preserve these papers, like the sketches of Hogarth, long after the
events and manners they illustrate have passed from the minds of men.
But just as the agreeable jester rose into the earnest satirist, one of
the most striking peculiarities of his style became a more manifest
defect. The attention of the reader was distracted, and his good taste
annoyed, by the incessant use of puns, of which Hood had written in his
own vindication:--
"However critics may take offence,
A double meaning has double sense."
Now it is true that the critic must be unconscious of some of the
subtlest charms and nicest delicacies of language who would exclude from
humorous writing all those impressions and surprises which depend on the
use of the diverse sense of words. The history, indeed, of many a word
lies hid in its equivocal uses; and it in no way derogates from the
dignity of the highest poetry to gain strength and variety from the
ingenious application of the same sounds to different senses, any more
than from the contrivances of rhythm or the accompaniment of imitative
sounds. But when this habit becomes the characteristic of any wit, it is
impossible to prevent it from degenerating into occasional buffoonery,
and from supplying a cheap and ready resource, whenever the true vein of
humour becomes thin or rare. Artists have been known to use the left
hand in the hope of checking the fatal facility which practice had
conferred on the right; and if Hood had been able to place under some
restraint the curious and complex machinery of words and syllables which
his fancy was incessantly producing, his style would have been a great
gainer, and much real earnestness of object, which now lies confused by
the brilliant kaleidoscope of language, would have remained definite and
clear. He was probably not unconscious of this danger; for, as he gained
experience as a writer, his diction became more simple, and his
ludicrous illustrations less frequent. In another annual called the
_Gem_ appeared the poem on the story of "Eugene Aram," which first
manifested the full extent of that poetical vigour which seemed to
advance just in proportion as his physical health declined. He started a
magazine in his own name, for which he secured the assistance of many
literary men of reputation and authority, but which was mainly sustained
by his own intellectual activity. From a sick-bed, from which he never
rose, he conducted this work with surprising energy, and there composed
those poems, too few in number, but immortal in the English language,
such as the "Song of the Shirt" (which appeared anonymously in the
Christmas number of _Punch_, 1843), the "Bridge of Sighs" and the "Song
of the Labourer," which seized the deep human interests of the time, and
transported them from the ground of social philosophy into the loftier
domain of the imagination. They are no clamorous expressions of anger at
the discrepancies and contrasts of humanity, but plain, solemn pictures
of conditions of life, which neither the politician nor the moralist can
deny to exist, and which they are imperatively called upon to remedy.
Woman, in her wasted life, in her hurried death, here stands appealing
to the society that degrades her, with a combination of eloquence and
poetry, of forms of art at once instantaneous and permanent, and with
great metrical energy and variety.
Hood was associated with the _Athenaeum_, started in 1828 by J. Silk
Buckingham, and he was a regular contributor for the rest of his life.
Prolonged illness brought on straitened circumstances; and application
was made to Sir Robert Peel to place Hood's name on the pension list
with which the British state so moderately rewards the national services
of literary men. This was done without delay, and the pension was
continued to his wife and family after his death, which occurred on the
3rd of May 1845. Nine years after a monument, raised by public
subscription, in the cemetery of Kensal Green, was inaugurated by
Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton) with a concourse of spectators that
showed how well the memory of the poet stood the test of time. Artisans
came from a great distance to view and honour the image of the popular
writer whose best efforts had been dedicated to the cause and the
sufferings of the workers of the world; and literary men of all opinions
gathered round the grave of one of their brethren whose writings were at
once the delight of every boy and the instruction of every man who read
them. Happy the humorist whose works and life are an illustration of the
great moral truth that the sense of humour is the just balance of all
the faculties of man, the best security against the pride of knowledge
and the conceits of the imagination, the strongest inducement to submit
with a wise and pious patience to the vicissitudes of human existence.
This was the lesson that Thomas Hood left behind him. (H.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The list of Hood's separately published works is as
follows: _Odes and Addresses to Great People_ (1825); _Whims and
Oddities_ (two series, 1826 and 1827); _The Plea of the Midsummer
Fairies, Hero and Leander, Lycus the Centaur and other Poems_ (1827),
his only collection of serious verse; _The Dream of Eugene Aram, the
Murderer_ (1831); _Tylney Hall_, a novel (3 vols., 1834); _The Comic
Annual_ (1830-1842); _Hood's Own; or, Laughter from Year to Year_
(1838, second series, 1861); _Up the Rhine_ (1840); _Hood's Magazine
and Comic Miscellany_ (1844-1848); _National Tales_ (2 vols., 1837), a
collection of short novelettes; _Whimsicalities_ (1844), with
illustrations from Leech's designs; and many contributions to
contemporary periodicals.
The chief sources of his biography are: _Memorials of Thomas Hood,
collected, arranged and edited by his daughter_ (1860); his "Literary
Reminiscences" in _Hood's Own_; Alexander Elliot, _Hood in Scotland_
(1885). See also the memoir of Hood's friend C. W. Dilke, by his
grandson Sir Charles Dilke, prefixed to _Papers of a Critic_; and M.
H. Spielmann's _History of Punch_. There is an excellent edition of
the _Poems of Thomas Hood_ (2 vols., 1897), with a biographical
introduction of great interest by Canon Alfred Ainger.
HOOD, TOM (1835-1874), English humorist, son of the poet Thomas Hood,
was born at Lake House, Wanstead, Essex, on the 19th of January 1835.
After attending University College School and Louth Grammar School he
entered Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1853, where he passed all the
examinations for the degree of B.A., but did not graduate. At Oxford he
wrote his _Farewell to the Swallows_ (1853) and _Pen and Pencil
Pictures_ (1857). He began to write for the _Liskeard Gazette_ in 1856,
and edited that paper in 1858-1859. He then obtained a position in the
War Office, which he filled for five years, leaving in 1865 to become
editor of _Fun_, the comic paper, which became very popular under his
direction. In 1867 he first issued _Tom Hood's Comic Annual_. In 1861
had appeared _The Daughters of King Daker, and other Poems_, after which
he published in conjunction with his sister, Frances Freeling Broderip,
a number of amusing books for children. His serious novels, of which
_Captain Masters's Children_ (1865) is the best, were not so successful.
Hood drew with considerable facility, among his illustrations being
those of several of his father's comic verses. In private life his
geniality and sincere friendliness secured him the affection and esteem
of a wide circle of acquaintance. He died on the 20th of November 1874.
A memoir by his sister, F. F. Broderip, is prefixed to the edition of
his poems published in 1877.
HOOD OF AVALON, ARTHUR WILLIAM ACLAND HOOD, BARON (1824-1901), English
admiral, born on the 14th of July 1824, was the younger son of Sir
Alexander Hood of St Andries, Somerset, 2nd baronet, and grandson of
Captain Alexander Hood, R.N., who, when in command of the "Mars," fell
in action with the French 74-gun ship "Hercule," 21st of April 1798. At
the age of twelve Hood entered the navy, and whilst still a boy saw
active service on the north coast of Spain, and afterwards on the coast
of Syria. After passing through the established course of gunnery on
board the "Excellent" in 1844-1845, he went out to the Cape of Good Hope
as gunnery mate of the "President," the flagship of Rear-Admiral Dacres,
by whom, on the 9th of January 1846, he was promoted to be lieutenant.
As gunnery lieutenant he continued in the "President" till 1849; and in
the following year he was appointed to the "Arethusa" frigate, then
commissioned for the Mediterranean by Captain Symonds, afterwards the
well-known admiral of the fleet. The outbreak of the Russian war made
the commission a very long one; and on the 27th of November 1854 Hood
was promoted to be commander in recognition of his service with the
naval brigade before Sebastopol. In 1855 he married Fanny Henrietta,
daughter of Sir C. F. Maclean. In 1856 he commissioned the "Acorn" brig
for the China station, and arrived in time to take part in the
destruction of the junks in Fatshan creek on the 1st of June 1857, and
in the capture of Canton in the following December, for which, in
February 1858, he received a post-captain's commission. From 1862 to
1866 he commanded, the "Pylades" on the North American station, and was
then appointed to the command of the "Excellent" and the government of
the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth. This was essentially a gunnery
appointment, and on the expiration of three years Hood was made Director
of Naval Ordnance. He was thoroughly acquainted with the routine work of
the office and the established armament of the navy, but he had not the
power of adapting himself to the changes which were being called for,
and still less of initiating them; so that during his period of office
the armament of the ships remained sadly behind the general advance. In
June 1874 he was appointed to the command of the "Monarch" in the
Channel Fleet, from which he was relieved in March 1876 by his promotion
to flag rank. From 1877 to 1879 he was a junior lord of the Admiralty,
and from 1880 to 1882 he commanded the Channel Fleet, becoming
vice-admiral on 23rd July 1880. In June 1885 he was appointed first sea
lord of the Admiralty. The intense conservatism of his character,
however, and his antagonistic attitude towards every change, regardless
of whether it was necessary or not, had much to do with the alarming
state of the navy towards 1889. In that year, on attaining the age of
sixty-five, he was placed on the retired list and resigned his post at
the Admiralty. After two years of continued ill-health, he died on the
15th of November 1901, and was buried at Butleigh on the 23rd. He had
been promoted to the rank of admiral on the 18th of January 1886; was
made K.C.B, in December 1885; G.C.B. in September 1889; and in February
1892 was raised to the peerage as Lord Hood of Avalon, but on his death
the title became extinct. (J. K. L.)
HOOD, a covering for the head. The word is in O. Eng. _hod_, cognate
with Dutch _hoed_ and Ger. _Hut_, hat, both masculine; "hood" and "hat"
are distantly related; they may be connected with the feminine _hoed_ or
_Hut_, meaning charge, care, Eng. "heed." Some form of hood as a loose
covering easily drawn on or off the head has formed a natural part of
outdoor costume both for men and women at all times and in all quarters
of the globe where climatic conditions called for it. In the middle ages
and later both men and women are found wearing it, but with men it
tended to be superseded by the hat before it became merely an occasional
and additional head-covering in time of bad weather or in particularly
rigorous climates. For illustrations and examples of the hood as worn by
men and women in medieval and later times see the article COSTUME; for
the hood or cowl as part of the dress of a religious see COWL, and as
forming a distinctive mark of degree in academic costume see Robes. The
word is applied to many objects resembling a hood in function or shape,
such as a folding cover for a carriage to protect the occupants from
rain or wind, the belled covering for the head of a hawk trained for
falconry, the endmost planks in a ship's bottom at bow or stern, and, in
botany and zoology, certain parts of a flower or of the neck of an
animal which in arrangement of structure or of colour recall this
article of dress.
In architecture a "hood-mould" is a projecting moulding carried outside
the arch of a door or window; it is weathered underneath, and when
continued horizontally is better known as a dripstone. The ends of the
hood-mould are generally stopped on a corbel, plain or carved with heads
in European churches, but in those of central Syria terminating in
scrolls. Although in its origin the object of the projecting and
weathered hood-mould was to protect the face of the wall below from
rain, it gives more importance to, and emphasizes, the arch-moulds, so
that it is often employed decoratively inside churches.
The suffix "-hood," like the cognate "-head," was originally a
substantive meaning rank, status or quality, and was constantly used
in combination with other substantives; cf. in O. Eng. _cild-hod_,
child-hood; later it ceased to be used separately and became a mere
suffix denoting condition added to adjectives; cf. "falsehood," as
well as to substantives.
HOOFT, PIETER CORNELISSEN (1581-1647), Dutch poet and historian, was
born at Amsterdam on the 16th of March 1581. His father was one of the
leading citizens of Holland, both in politics and in the patronage of
letters, and for some time burgomaster of Amsterdam. As early as 1598
the young man was made a member of the chamber of rhetoric _In Liefde
bloeiende_, and produced before that body his tragedy of _Achilles and
Polyxena_, not printed until 1614. In June 1598 he left Holland and
proceeded to Paris, where on the 10th of April 1599 he saw the body of
Gabrielle d'Estrées lying in state. He went a few months later to
Venice, Florence and Rome, and in 1600 to Naples. During his Italian
sojourn he made a deep and fruitful study of the best literature of
Italy. In July 1600 he sent home to the _In Liefde bloeiende_ a very
fine letter in verse, expressing his aspirations for the development of
Dutch poetry. He returned through Germany, and after an absence of three
years and a half found himself in Amsterdam again on the 8th of May
1601. In 1602 he brought out his second tragedy, _Theseus and Ariadne_,
printed at Amsterdam in 1614. In 1605 he completed his beautiful
pastoral drama _Granida_, not published until 1615. He studied law and
history at Leiden from 1606 to 1609, and in June of the latter year
received from Prince Maurice of Orange the appointment of steward of
Muiden, bailiff of Gooiland, and lord of Weesp, a joint office of great
emolument. He occupied himself with repairing and adorning the decayed
castle of Muiden, which was his residence during the remainder of his
life. There he entertained the poet Vondel, the scholar Barlaeus,[1]
Constantin Huygens, Vossius, Laurens Reael and others. Hooft had been a
suitor for the hand of Anna Roemer Visscher, and after the death of
Roemer Visscher both the sisters visited Muiden. Anna's sympathies were
in time diverted to the school of Jacob Cats, but Marie Tesselschade
maintained close ties with Hooft, who revised her translation of Tasso.
In August 1610 he married Christina van Erp, an accomplished lady who
died in 1623, and four years later he married Eleonora Hellemans. In
1612 Hooft produced his national tragedy of _Geeraerdt van Velzen_ (pr.
1613), a story of the reign of Count Floris V. In 1614 was performed at
Coster's academy Hooft's comedy of _Ware-nar_, an adaptation of the
_Aulularia_ of Plautus, first printed in 1617. In 1616 he wrote another
tragedy, _Baeto, or the Origin of the Dutch_, not printed until 1626. It
was in 1618 that he abandoned poetry for history, and in 1626 he
published the first of his great prose works, the _History of Henry the
Great_ (Henry IV. of France). His next production was his _Miseries of
the Princes of the House of Medici_ (Amsterdam, 1638). In 1642 he
published at Amsterdam a folio comprising the first twenty books of his
_Dutch History_, embracing the period from 1555 to 1585, a magnificent
performance, to the perfecting of which he had given fifteen years of
labour. The seven concluding books were published posthumously in 1654.
His idea of history was gained from Tacitus, whose works he translated.
Hooft died on a visit to the Hague, whither he had gone to attend the
funeral of Prince Frederick Henry, on the 21st of May 1647, and was
buried in the New Church at Amsterdam.
Hooft is one of the most brilliant figures that adorn Dutch literature
at its best period. He was the first writer to introduce a modern and
European tone into belles lettres, and the first to refresh the sources
of native thought from the springs of antique and Renaissance poetry.
His lyrics and his pastoral of _Granida_ are strongly marked by the
influence of Tasso and Sannazaro; his later tragedies belong more
exactly to the familiar tone of his native country. But high as Hooft
stands among the Dutch poets, he stands higher--he holds perhaps the
highest place--among writers of Dutch prose. His historical style has
won the warmest eulogy from so temperate a critic as Motley, and his
letters are the most charming ever published in the Dutch language.
After Vondel, he may on the whole be considered the most considerable
author that Holland has produced.
Hooft's poetical and dramatic works were collected in two volumes
(1871, 1875) by P. Leendertz. His letters were edited by B. Huydecoper
(Leiden, 1738) and by van Vloten (Leiden, 4 vols., 1855). The best
original account of Hooft is given by G. Bradt in his _Leven van P. C.
Hooft_ (1677), and his funeral address (1647), edited together by J.
C. Matthes (Groningen, 1874). There is an account of the Muiden circle
in Edmund Gosse's _Literatures of Northern Europe_. Many editions
exist of his prose works.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Kaspar van Baerle (1584-1648), professor of rhetoric at
Amsterdam, and famous as a Latin poet.
HOOGSTRATEN, SAMUEL DIRKSZ VAN, Dutch painter, was born, it is said, in
1627 at the Hague, and died at Dort on the 19th of October 1678. This
artist, who was first a pupil of his father, lived at the Hague and at
Dort till about 1640, when on the death of Dirk Hoogstraten he changed
his residence to Amsterdam and entered the school of Rembrandt. A short
time afterwards he started as a master and painter of portraits, set out
on a round of travels which took him (1651) to Vienna, Rome and London,
and finally retired to Dort, where he married in 1656, and held an
appointment as "provost of the mint." Hoogstraten's works are scarce;
but a sufficient number of them has been preserved to show that he
strove to imitate different styles at different times. In a portrait
dated 1645 in the Lichtenstein collection at Vienna he imitates
Rembrandt; and he continues in this vein as late as 1653, when he
produced that wonderful figure of a Jew looking out of a casement, which
is one of the most characteristic examples of his manner in the
Belvedere at Vienna. A view of the Vienna Hofburg, dated 1652, in the
same gallery displays his skill as a painter of architecture, whilst in
a piece at the Hague representing a Lady Reading a Letter as she crosses
a Courtyard, or a Lady Consulting a Doctor, in the Van der Hoop Museum
at Amsterdam, he imitates de Hooch. One of his latest works is a
portrait of Mathys van den Brouck, dated 1670, in the gallery of
Amsterdam. The scarcity of Hoogstraten's pictures is probably due to his
versatility. Besides directing a mint, he devoted some time to literary
labours, wrote a book on the theory of painting (1678) and composed
sonnets and a tragedy. We are indebted to him for some of the familiar
sayings of Rembrandt. He was an etcher too, and some of his plates are
still preserved. His portrait, engraved by himself at the age of fifty,
still exists.
HOOK, JAMES CLARKE (1819-1907), English painter, was born in London on
the 21st of November 1819. His father, James Hook, a Northumbrian by
descent, Judge Arbitrator of Sierra Leone, married the second daughter of
Dr Adam Clarke, the commentator on the Bible, who gave to the painter his
second name. Young Hook's first taste of the sea was on board the Berwick
smacks which took him on his way to Wooler. He drew with rare facility,
and determined to become an artist; and accordingly, without any
supervision, he set to work for more than a year in the sculpture
galleries of the British Museum. In 1836 he was admitted a student of the
Royal Academy, where he worked for three years, and elsewhere learned a
good deal of the scientific technique of painting from a nephew of Opie.
His first picture, called "The Hard Task," was exhibited in 1837, and
represented a girl helping her sister with a lesson. Unusual facility in
portraiture and a desire to earn his own living took the student into
Ireland to paint likenesses of the Waterford family and others; here he
produced landscapes of the Vale of Avoca, and much developed his taste
for pastoral art; later, he was similarly engaged in Kent and
Somersetshire. In 1842 his second exhibited work was a portrait of
"Master J. Finch Smith": in this year he gained silver medals at the
Royal Academy, and in 1843 he was one of the competitors in the
exhibition of cartoons in Westminster Hall, with a 10 by 7 ft. design of
"Satan in Paradise." In 1844 the Academy contained a picture of a kind
with which his name was long associated, an illustration of the
_Decameron_, called "Pamphilius relating his Story," a meadow scene in
bright light, with sumptuous ladies, richly clad, reclining on the grass.
The British Institution, 1844 and 1845, set forth two of Hook's idylls,
subjects taken from Shakespeare and Burns, which, with the above, showed
him to be cultivating those veins of romantic sentiment and the
picturesque which were then in vogue, but in a characteristically fresh
and vigorous manner. "The Song of Olden Times" (Royal Academy, 1845)
marked the artist's future path distinctly in most technical respects. It
was in this year Hook won the Academy gold medal for an oil picture of
"The Finding the Body of Harold." The travelling studentship in painting
was awarded to him for "Rizpah watching the Dead Sons of Saul" in 1846;
and he went for three years to Italy, having married Miss Rosalie Burton
before he left England. Hook passed through Paris, worked diligently for
some time in the Louvre, traversed Switzerland, and, though he stayed
only part of three years in Italy, gained much from studies of Titian,
Tintoret, Carpaccio, Mansueti and other Venetians. Their influence
thenceforth dominated the coloration of his pictures, and enabled him to
apply the principles to which they had attained to the representation (as
Bonington before him had done) of romantic subjects and to those English
themes of the land and sea with which the name of the artist is
inseparably associated. "A Dream of Ancient Venice" (R.A., 1848)--the
first fruit of these Italian studies--"Bayard of Brescia" (R.A., 1849),
"Venice" (B.I., 1849) and other works assured for Hook the Associateship
of the Royal Academy in 1851. Soon afterwards an incomparable series of
English subjects was begun, in many pastorals and fine brilliant idylls
of the sea and rocks. "A Rest by the Wayside" and "A Few Minutes to Wait
before Twelve o'clock" proved his title to appear, in 1854, as a new and
original painter. After these came "A Signal on the Horizon" (1857), "A
Widow's Son going to Sea," "The Ship-boy's Letter," "Children's Children
are the Crown of Old Men," "A Coast-boy gathering Eggs," a scene at
Lundy; the perfect "Luff, Boy!" (1859), about which Ruskin broke into a
dithyrambic chant, "The Brook," "Stand Clear!" "O Well for the
Fisherman's Boy!" (1860), "Leaving Cornwall for the Whitby Fishing," "Sea
Urchins," and a score more as fine as these. The artist was elected a
full Academician on the 6th of March 1860, in the place of James Ward. He
died on the 14th of April 1907.
See A. H. Palmer, "J. C. Hook, R.A.," _Portfolio_ (1888); F. G.
Stephens, "J. C. Hook, Royal Academician: His Life and Work," _Art
Annual_ (London, 1888); P. G. Hamerton, _Etching and Etchers_ (London,
1877).
HOOK, THEODORE EDWARD (1788-1841), English author, was born in London on
the 22nd of September 1788. He spent a year at Harrow, and subsequently
matriculated at Oxford, but he never actually resided at the university.
His father, James Hook (1746-1827), the composer of numerous popular
songs, took great delight in exhibiting the boy's extraordinary musical
and metrical gifts, and the precocious Theodore became "the little pet
lion of the green room." At the age of sixteen, in conjunction with his
father, he scored a dramatic success with _The Soldier's Return_, a
comic opera, and this he rapidly followed up with a series of over a
dozen sparkling ventures, the instant popularity of which was hardly
dependent on the inimitable acting of John Liston and Charles Mathews.
But Hook gave himself up for some ten of the best years of his life to
the pleasures of the town, winning a foremost place in the world of
fashion by his matchless powers of improvisation and mimicry, and
startling the public by the audacity of his practical jokes. His unique
gift of improvising the words and the music of songs eventually charmed
the prince Regent into a declaration that "something must be done for
Hook." The prince was as good as his word, and Hook, in spite of a total
ignorance of accounts, was appointed accountant-general and treasurer of
the Mauritius with a salary of £2000 a year. For five delightful years
he was the life and soul of the island, but in 1817, a serious
deficiency having been discovered in the treasury accounts, he was
arrested and brought to England on a criminal charge. A sum of about
£12,000 had been abstracted by a deputy official, and for this amount
Hook was held responsible.
During the tardy scrutiny of the audit board he lived obscurely and
maintained himself by writing for magazines and newspapers. In 1820 he
launched the newspaper _John Bull_, the champion of high Toryism and the
virulent detractor of Queen Caroline. Witty, incisive criticism and
pitiless invective secured it a large circulation, and from this source
alone Hook derived, for the first year at least, an income of £2000. He
was, however, arrested for the second time on account of his debt to the
state, which he made no effort to defray. In a sponging-house, where he
was confined for two years, he wrote the nine volumes of stories
afterwards collected under the title of _Sayings and Doings_
(1826-1829). In the remaining twenty-three years of his life he poured
forth no fewer than thirty-eight volumes, besides numberless articles,
squibs and sketches. His novels are not works of enduring interest, but
they are saved from mediocrity by frequent passages of racy narrative
and vivid portraiture. The best are _Maxwell_ (1830), _Love and Pride_
(1833), the autobiographic _Gilbert Gurney_ (1836), _Jack Brag_ (1837),
_Gurney Married_ (1838), and _Peregrine Bunce_ (1842). Incessant work
had already begun to tell on his health, when Hook returned to his old
social habits, and a prolonged attempt to combine industry and
dissipation resulted in the confession that he was "done up in purse, in
mind and in body too at last." He died on the 24th of August 1841. His
writings in great part are of a purely ephemeral character; and the
greatest triumphs of the improvisatore may be said to have been writ in
wine. Putting aside, however, his claim to literary greatness, Hook will
be remembered as one of the most brilliant, genial and original figures
of Georgian times.
See the Rev. R. H. D. Barham's _Life and Remains of Hook_ (3rd ed.,
1877); and an article by J. G. Lockhart in the _Quarterly Review_ (May
1843).
HOOK, WALTER FARQUHAR (1798-1875), English divine, nephew of the witty
Theodore, was born in London on the 13th of March 1798. Educated at
Tiverton and Winchester, he graduated at Oxford (Christ Church) in 1821,
and after holding an incumbency in Coventry, 1829-1837, and in Leeds,
1837-1859, was nominated dean of Chichester by Lord Derby. He received
the degree of D.D. in 1837. His friendship towards the Tractarians
exposed him to considerable persecution, but his simple manly character
and zealous devotion to parochial work gained him the support of widely
divergent classes. His stay in Leeds was marked by vigorous and
far-reaching church extension, and his views on education were far in
advance of his time. Among his many writings are _An Ecclesiastical
Biography, containing the Lives of Ancient Fathers and Modern Divines_
(8 vols., 1845-1852), _A Church Dictionary, The Means of Rendering more
Effectual the Education of the People, The Cross of Christ_ (1873), _The
Church and its Ordinances_ (sermons, 4 vols., 1876), and _Lives of the
Archbishops of Canterbury_ (12 vols., 1860-1876). He died on the 20th of
October 1875.
See _Life and Letters of Dean Hook_, by his son-in-law, W. R. W.
Stephens (2 vols., 1878).
HOOKAH (the English spelling of the Persian and Hindustani _huqqu_, an
adaptation of the Arabic _huqqah_, a vase or casket, and by transference
a pipe for smoking, probably derived from the Arabie _huqq_, a hollow
place), a pipe with a long flexible tube attached to a large bowl
containing water, often scented, and resting upon a tripod or stand. The
smoke of the tobacco is made to pass through the water in the bowl, and
is thus cooled before reaching the smoker. The _narghile_ of India is in
principle the same as that of the hookah; the word is derived from
_nargil_, an Indian name for the coco-nut tree, as when the _narghile_
was first made the water was placed in a coco-nut. This receptacle is
now often made of porcelain, glass or metal. In the _hubble-bubble_ the
pipe is so contrived that the water in the bowl makes a bubbling noise
while the pipe is being smoked. This pipe is common in India, Egypt and
the East generally.
HOOKE, ROBERT (1635-1703), English experimental philosopher, was born on
the 18th of July 1635 at Freshwater, in the Isle of Wight, where his
father, John Hooke, was minister of the parish. After working for a
short time with Sir Peter Lely, he went to Westminster school; and in
1653 he entered Christ Church, Oxford, as servitor. After 1655 he was
employed and patronized by the Hon. Robert Boyle, who turned his skill
to account in the construction of his air-pump. On the 12th of November
1662 he was appointed curator of experiments to the Royal Society, of
which he was elected a fellow in 1663, and filled the office during the
remainder of his life. In 1664 Sir John Cutler instituted for his
benefit a mechanical lectureship of £50 a year, and in the following
year he was nominated professor of geometry in Gresham College, where he
subsequently resided. After the Great Fire of 1666 he constructed a
model for the rebuilding of this city, which was highly approved,
although the design of Sir C. Wren was preferred. During the progress of
the works, however, he acted as surveyor, and accumulated in that
lucrative employment a sum of several thousand pounds, discovered after
his death in an old iron chest, which had evidently lain unopened for
above thirty years. He fulfilled the duties of secretary to the Royal
Society during five years after the death of Henry Oldenburg in 1677,
publishing in 1681-1682 the papers read before that body under the title
of _Philosophical Collections_. A protracted controversy with Johann
Hevelius, in which Hooke urged the advantages of telescopic over plain
sights, brought him little but discredit. His reasons were good; but his
offensive style of argument rendered them unpalatable and himself
unpopular. Many circumstances concurred to embitter the latter years of
his life. The death, in 1687, of his niece, Mrs Grace Hooke, who had
lived with him for many years, caused him deep affliction; a law-suit
with Sir John Cutler about his salary (decided, however, in his favour
in 1696) occasioned him prolonged anxiety; and the repeated anticipation
of his discoveries inspired him with a morbid jealousy. Marks of public
respect were not indeed wanting to him. A degree of M.D. was conferred
on him at Doctors' Commons in 1691, and the Royal Society made him, in
1696, a grant to enable him to complete his philosophical inventions.
While engaged on this task he died, worn out with disease, on the 3rd of
March 1703 in London, and was buried in St Helen's Church, Bishopsgate
Street.
In personal appearance Hooke made but a sorry show. His figure was
crooked, his limbs shrunken; his hair hung in dishevelled locks over his
haggard countenance. His temper was irritable, his habits penurious and
solitary. He was, however, blameless in morals and reverent in religion.
His scientific achievements would probably have been more striking if
they had been less varied. He originated much, but perfected little. His
optical investigations led him to adopt in an imperfect form the
undulatory theory of light, to anticipate the doctrine of interference,
and to observe, independently of though subsequently to F. M. Grimaldi
(1618-1663), the phenomenon of diffraction. He was the first to state
clearly that the motions of the heavenly bodies must be regarded as a
mechanical problem, and he approached in a remarkable manner the
discovery of universal gravitation. He invented the wheel barometer,
discussed the application of barometrical indications to meteorological
forecasting, suggested a system of optical telegraphy, anticipated E. F.
F. Chladni's experiment of strewing a vibrating bell with flour,
investigated the nature of sound and the function of the air in
respiration and combustion, and originated the idea of using the
pendulum as a measure of gravity. He is credited with the invention of
the anchor escapement for clocks, and also with the application of
spiral springs to the balances of watches, together with the explanation
of their action by the principle _Ut tensio sic vis_ (1676).
His principal writings are _Micrographia_ (1664); _Lectiones
Cutlerianae_ (1674-1679); and _Posthumous Works_, containing a sketch
of his "Philosophical Algebra," published by R. Waller in 1705.
HOOKER, JOSEPH (1814-1879), American general, was born in Hadley,
Massachusetts, on the 13th of November 1814. He was educated at the
military academy at West Point (1833-1837), and on graduating entered
the 1st U.S. Artillery. In the war with Mexico (1846-48) he served as a
staff officer, and rose by successive brevets for meritorious services
to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1853 he left the service and
bought a large farm near Sonoma, Cal., which he managed successfully
till 1858, when he was made superintendent of military roads in Oregon.
Upon the opening of hostilities in the Civil War of 1861-65, he
sacrificed his fine estate and offered his sword to the Federal
Government. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on the
17th of May 1861 and major-general on the 5th of May 1862. The
engagement of Williamsburg (May 5th) brought him and his subordinate
Hancock into prominence, and Hooker received the soubriquet of "Fighting
Joe." He was engaged at the battle of Fair Oaks, and did splendid
service to the Union army during the "Seven Days." In the campaign of
Northern Virginia, under General Pope (August 1862), he led his division
with fiery energy at Bristoe Station, Manassas and Chantilly. In the
Maryland campaign (September) he was at the head of the I. corps, Army
of the Potomac, forced the defile of South Mountain and opened the way
for the advance of the army. The I. corps opened the great battle of the
Antietam, and sustained a sanguinary fight with the Confederates under
Stonewall Jackson. Hooker himself was severely wounded. He was
commissioned brigadier-general in the United States army on the 20th of
September 1862, and in the battle of Fredericksburg (q.v.), under
Burnside, he commanded the centre grand division (III. and V. corps). He
had protested against the useless slaughter of his men on that
disastrous field, and when Burnside resigned the command Hooker
succeeded him. The new leader effected a much-needed re-organization in
the army, which had fought many battles without success. In this task,
as in subordinate commands in battle, Hooker was excelled by few. But
his grave defects as a commander-in-chief were soon to be obvious. By a
well-planned and well-executed flanking movement, he placed himself on
the enemy's flank, but at the decisive moment he checked the advance of
his troops. Lee turned upon him, Jackson surprised and destroyed a whole
army corps, and the battle of Chancellorsville (see WILDERNESS), in
which Hooker was himself disabled, ended in a retreat to the old
position. Yet Hooker had not entirely forfeited the confidence of his
men, to whom he was still "Fighting Joe." The second advance of Lee into
Union territory, which led to the battle of Gettysburg, was strenuously
resisted by Hooker, who would have inflicted a heavy blow on Lee's
scattered forces had he not been condemned to inaction by orders from
Washington. Even then Hooker followed the Confederates a day only behind
them, until, finding himself distrusted and forbidden to control the
movements of troops within the sphere of operations, he resigned the
command on the eve of the battle (June 28, 1863). Faults of temper and
an excessive sense of responsibility made his continued occupation of
the command impossible, but when after a signal defeat Rosecrans was
besieged in Chattanooga, and Grant with all the forces of the West was
hurried to the rescue, two corps of the Army of the Potomac were sent
over by rail, and Hooker, who was at least one of the finest fighting
generals of the service, went with them in command. He fought and won
the "Battle above the Clouds" on Lookout Mountain which cleared the way
for the crowning victory of the army of the Cumberland on Missionary
Ridge (see CHATTANOOGA). And in command of the same corps (consolidated
as the XX. corps) he took part in all the battles and combats of the
Atlanta campaign of 1864. When General McPherson was killed before
Atlanta, the command of Grant's old Army of the Tennessee fell vacant.
Hooker, who, though only a corps commander, was senior to the other army
commanders, Thomas and Schofield, was normally entitled to receive it,
but General Sherman feared to commit a whole army to the guidance of a
man of Hooker's peculiar temperament, and the place was given to Howard.
Hooker thereupon left the army. He was commissioned brevet-major-general
in the United States army on the 13th of March 1865, and retired from
active service with the full rank of major-general on the 15th of
October 1868, in consequence of a paralytic seizure. The last years of
his life were passed in the neighbourhood of New York. He died at Garden
City, Long Island, on the 31st of October 1879.
HOOKER, SIR JOSEPH DALTON (1817- ), English botanist and traveller,
second son of the famous botanist Sir W. J. Hooker, was born on the 30th
of June 1817, at Halesworth, Suffolk. He was educated at Glasgow
University, and almost immediately after taking his M.D. degree there in
1839 joined Sir James Ross's Antarctic expedition, receiving a
commission as assistant-surgeon on the "Erebus." The botanical fruits of
the three years he thus spent in the Southern Seas were the _Flora
Antarctica_, _Flora Novae Zelandiae_ and _Flora Tasmanica_, which he
published on his return. His next expedition was to the northern
frontiers of India (1847-1851), and the expenses in this case also were
partially defrayed by the government. The party had its full share of
adventure. Hooker and his friend Dr Campbell were detained in prison for
some time by the raja of Sikkim, but nevertheless they were able to
bring back important results, both geographical and botanical. Their
survey of hitherto unexplored regions was published by the Calcutta
Trigonometrical Survey Office, and their botanical observations formed
the basis of elaborate works on the rhododendrons of the Sikkim Himalaya
and on the flora of India. Among other journeys undertaken by Hooker may
be mentioned those to Palestine (1860), Morocco (1871), and the United
States (1877), all yielding valuable scientific information. In the
midst of all this travelling in foreign countries he quickly built up
for himself a high scientific reputation at home. In 1855 he was
appointed assistant-director of Kew Gardens, and in 1865 he succeeded
his father as full director, holding the post for twenty years. At the
early age of thirty he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and in
1873 he was chosen its president; he received three of its medals--a
Royal in 1854, the Copley in 1887 and the Darwin in 1892. He acted as
president of the British Association at its Norwich meeting of 1868,
when his address was remarkable for its championship of Darwinian
theories. Of Darwin, indeed, he was an early friend and supporter: it
was he who, with Lyell, first induced Darwin to make his views public,
and the author of _The Origin of Species_ has recorded his indebtedness
to Hooker's wide knowledge and balanced judgment. Sir Joseph Hooker is
the author of numerous scientific papers and monographs, and his larger
books include, in addition to those already mentioned, a standard
_Student's Flora of the British Isles_ and a monumental work, the
_Genera plantarum_, based on the collections at Kew, in which he had the
assistance of Bentham. On the publication of the last part of his _Flora
of British India_ in 1897 he was created G.C.S.I., of which order he had
been made a knight commander twenty years before; and twenty years
later, on attaining the age of ninety, he was awarded the Order of
Merit.
HOOKER, RICHARD (1553-1600), English writer, author of the _Laws of
Ecclesiastical Polity_, son of Richard Vowell or Hooker, was born at
Heavitree, near the city of Exeter, about the end of 1553 or beginning
of 1554. Vowell was the original name of the family, but was gradually
dropped, and in the 15th century its members were known as Vowell
_alias_ Hooker. At school, not only his facility in mastering his tasks,
but his intellectual inquisitiveness and his fine moral qualities,
attracted the special notice of his teacher, who strongly recommended
his parents to educate him for the church. Though well connected, they
were, however, somewhat straitened in their worldly circumstances, and
Hooker was indebted for admission to the university to his uncle, John
Hooker _alias_ Vowell, chamberlain of Exeter, and in his day a man of
some literary repute, who induced Bishop Jewel to become his patron and
to bestow on him a clerk's place in Corpus Christi College, Oxford. To
this Hooker was admitted in 1568. Bishop Jewel died in September 1571,
but Dr William Cole, president of the college, from the strong interest
he felt in the young man, on account at once of his character and his
abilities, spontaneously offered to take the bishop's place as his
patron; and shortly afterwards Hooker, by his own labours as a tutor,
became independent of gratuitous aid. Two of his pupils, and these his
favourite ones, were Edwin Sandys, afterwards author of _Europae
speculum_, and George Cranmer, grand-nephew of the archbishop. Hooker's
reputation as a tutor soon became very high, for he had employed his
five years at the university to such good purpose as not only to have
acquired great proficiency in the learned languages, but to have joined
to this a wide and varied culture which had delivered him from the
bondage of learned pedantry; in addition to which he is said to have
possessed a remarkable talent for communicating knowledge in a clear and
interesting manner, and to have exercised a special influence over his
pupils' intellectual and moral tendencies. In December 1573 he was
elected scholar of his college; in July 1577 he proceeded to M.A., and
in September of the same year he was admitted a fellow. In 1579 he was
appointed by the chancellor of the university to read the public Hebrew
lecture, a duty which he continued to discharge till he left Oxford. Not
long after his admission into holy orders, about 1581, he was appointed
to preach at St Paul's Cross; and, according to Walton, he was so kindly
entertained by Mrs Churchman, who kept the Shunamite's house where the
preachers were boarded, that he permitted her to choose him a wife,
"promising upon a fair summons to return to London and accept of her
choice." The lady selected by her was "her daughter Joan," who, says the
same authority, "found him neither beauty nor portion; and for her
conditions they were too like that wife's which is by Solomon compared
to a dripping house." It is probable that Walton has exaggerated the
simplicity and passiveness of Hooker in the matter, but though, as Keble
observes with justice, his writings betray uncommon shrewdness and
quickness of observation, as well as a vein of keenest humour, it would
appear that either gratitude or some other impulse had on this occasion
led his judgment astray. After his marriage he was, about the end of
1584, presented to the living of Drayton Beauchamp in Buckinghamshire.
In the following year he received a visit from his two pupils, Edwin
Sandys and George Cranmer, who found him with the _Odes_ of Horace in
his hand, tending the sheep while the servant was at dinner, after
which, when they on the return of the servant accompanied him to his
house, "Richard was called to rock the cradle." Finding him so engrossed
by worldly and domestic cares, "they stayed but till the next morning,"
and, greatly grieved at his narrow circumstances and unhappy domestic
condition, "left him to the company of his wife Joan."
The visit had, however, results of the highest moment, not only in
regard to the career of Hooker, but in regard to English literature and
English philosophical thought. Sandys prevailed on his father, the
archbishop of York, to recommend Hooker for presentation to the
mastership of the Temple, and Hooker, though his "wish was rather to
gain a better country living," having agreed after some hesitation to
become a candidate, the patent conferring upon him the mastership was
granted on the 17th of March 1584/5. The rival candidate was Walter
Travers, a Presbyterian and evening lecturer in the same church. Being
continued in the lectureship after the appointment of Hooker, Travers
was in the habit of attempting a refutation in the evening of what
Hooker had spoken in the morning, Hooker again replying on the following
Sunday; so it was said "the forenoon sermon spake Canterbury, the
afternoon Geneva." On account of the keen feeling displayed by the
partisans of both, Archbishop Whitgift deemed it prudent to prohibit the
preaching of Travers, whereupon he presented a petition to the council
to have the prohibition recalled. Hooker published an _Answer to the
Petition of Mr Travers_, and also printed several sermons bearing on
special points of the controversy; but, feeling strongly the
unsatisfactory nature of such an isolated and fragmentary discussion of
separate points, he resolved to compose an elaborate and exhaustive
treatise, exhibiting the fundamental principles by which the question in
dispute must be decided. It is probable that the work was begun in the
latter half of 1586, and he had made considerable progress with it
before, with a view to its completion, he petitioned Whitgift to be
removed to a country parsonage, in order that, as he said, "I may keep
myself in peace and privacy, and behold God's blessing spring out of my
mother earth, and eat my own bread without oppositions." His desire was
granted in 1591 by a presentation to the rectory of Boscombe near
Salisbury. There he completed the volume containing the first four of
the proposed _Eight Books of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_. It was
entered at Stationers' Hall on the 9th of March 1592, but was not
published till 1593 or 1594. In July 1595 he was promoted by the crown
to the rectory of Bishopsbourne near Canterbury, where he lived to see
the completion of the fifth book in 1597. In the passage from London to
Gravesend some time in 1600 he caught a severe cold from which he never
recovered; but, notwithstanding great weakness and constant suffering,
he "was solicitous in his study," his one desire being "to live to
finish the three remaining books of _Polity_." His death took place on
the 2nd of November of the same year. A volume professing to contain the
sixth and eighth books of the _Polity_ was published at London in 1648,
but the bulk of the sixth book, as has been shown by Keble, is an entire
deviation from the subject on which Hooker proposed to treat, and
doubtless the genuine copy, known to have been completed, has been lost.
The seventh book, which was published in a new edition of the work by
Gauden in 1662, and the eighth book, may be regarded as in substance the
composition of Hooker; but, as, in addition to wanting his final
revision, they have been very unskilfully edited, if they have not been
manipulated for theological purposes, their statements in regard to
doubtful matters must be received with due reserve, and no reliance can
be placed on their testimony where their meaning contradicts that of
other portions of the _Polity_.
The conception of Hooker in his later years, which we form from the
various accessible sources, is that of a person of low stature and not
immediately impressive appearance, much bent by the influence of
sedentary and meditative habits, of quiet and retiring manners, and
discoloured in complexion and worn and marked in feature from the hard
mental toil which he had expended on his great work. There seems,
however, exaggeration in Walton's statement as to the meanness of his
dress; and Walton certainly misreads his character when he portrays him
as a kind of ascetic mystic. Though he was unworldly and simple in his
desires, and engrossed in the purpose to which he had devoted his
life--the "completion of the _Polity_"--his writings indicate that he
possessed a cheerful and healthy disposition, and that he was capable of
discovering enjoyment in everyday pleasures, and of appreciating human
life and character in a wide variety of aspects. He seems to have had a
special delight in outward nature--as he expressed it, he loved "to see
God's blessing spring out of his mother earth"; and he spent much of his
spare time in visiting his parishioners, his deference towards them, if
excessive, being yet mingled with a grave dignity which rendered
unwarrantable liberties impossible. As a preacher, though singularly
devoid of the qualities which win the applause of the multitude, he
always excited the interest of the more intelligent, the breadth and
finely balanced wisdom of his thoughts and the fascination of his
composition greatly modifying the impression produced by his weak voice
and ineffective manner. Partly, doubtless, on account of his
dim-sightedness, he never removed his eye from his manuscript, and,
according to Fuller, "he may be said to have made good music with his
fiddle and stick alone, having neither pronunciation nor gesture to
grace his matter."
To accede without explanation to the claim put forth for the
_Ecclesiastical Polity_ of Hooker, that it marks an epoch in English
prose literature and English thought, would both be to do some
injustice to writers previous to him, and, if not to overestimate his
influence, to misinterpret its character. By no means can his
excursions in English prose be regarded as chiefly those of a pioneer;
and not only is his intellectual position inferior to that of
Shakespeare, Spenser and Bacon,[1] who alone can be properly reckoned
as the master spirits of the age, but in reality what effect he may
have had upon the thought of his contemporaries was soon disregarded
and swept out of sight in the hand-to-hand struggle with Puritanism,
and his influence, so far from being immediate and confined to one
particular era, has since the reaction against Puritanism been slowly
and imperceptibly permeating and colouring English thought. His work
is, however, the earliest in English prose with enough of the
preserving salt of excellence to adapt it to the mental palate of
modern readers. Attempts more elaborate than those of the old
chroniclers had been made two centuries previously to employ English
prose both for narrative and for discussion; and, a few years before
him, Roger Ascham, Sir Thomas More, Latimer, Sir Philip Sidney, the
compilers of the prayer book, and various translators of the Bible,
had in widely different departments of literature brought to light
many samples of the rich wealth of expression that was latent in the
language; but Hooker's is the first independent work in English prose
of notable power and genius, and the vigour and grasp of its thought
are not more remarkable than the felicity of its literary style. Its
more usual and obvious excellences are clearness of expression,
notwithstanding occasionally complicated methods; great aptness and
conciseness in the formation of individual clauses, and such a fine
sense of proportion and rhythm in their arrangement as almost conceals
the difficulties of syntax by which he was hampered; finished
simplicity, notwithstanding a stateliness too uniform and unbroken; a
nice discrimination in the choice of words and phrases, so as both to
portray the exact shade of his meaning, and to express each of his
thoughts with that degree of emphasis appropriate to its place in his
composition. In regard to qualities more relating to the matter than
the manner we may note the subtle and partly hidden humour; the strong
enthusiasm underlying that seemingly calm and passionless exposition
of principles which continually led him away from the minutiae of
temporary disputes, and has earned for him the somewhat misleading
epithet of "judicious;" the solidity of learning, not ostentatiously
displayed, but indicated in the character and variety of his
illustrations and his comprehensive mastery of all that relates to his
subject; the breadth of his conceptions, and the sweep and ease of his
movements in the highest regions of thought; the fine poetical
descriptions occasionally introduced, in which his eloquence attains a
grave, rich and massive harmony that compares not unfavourably with
the finest prose of Milton. His manner is, of course, defective in the
flexibility and variety characteristic of the best models of English
prose literature after the language had been enriched and perfected by
long use, and his sentences, constructed too much according to Latin
usages, are often tautological and too protracted into long
concatenations of clauses; but if, when regarded superficially, his
style presents in some respects a stiff and antiquated aspect, it yet
possesses an original and innate charm that has retained its freshness
after the lapse of nearly three centuries.
The direct interest in the _Ecclesiastical Polity_ is now
philosophical and political rather than theological, for what
theological importance it possessed was rather in regard to the spirit
and method in which theology should be discussed than in regard to the
decision of strictly theological points. Hooker bases his reasoning on
principles which he discovered in Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, but
the intellectual atmosphere of his age was different from that which
surrounded them; he was acted upon by new and more various impulses
enabling him to imbibe more thoroughly the spirit of Greek thought
which was the source of their inspiration, and thus to reach a higher
and freer region than scholasticism, and in a sense to inaugurate
modern philosophy in England. It may be admitted that his principles
are only partially and in some degree capriciously wrought out--that
if he is not under the dominion of intellectual tendencies leading to
opposite results there are occasional blanks and gaps in his argument
where he seems sometimes to be groping after a meaning which he cannot
fully grasp; but he is often charged with obscurity simply because
readers of various theological schools, beholding in his principles
what seem the outline and justification of their own ideas, are
disappointed when they find that these outlines instead of acquiring
as they narrowly examine them the full and definite form of their
anticipations, widen out into a region beyond their notions and
sympathies, and therefore from their point of view enveloped in mist
and shade. It is the exposition of philosophical principles in the
first and second books of the _Polity_, and not the application of
these principles in the remaining books that gives the work its
standard place in English literature. It was intended to be an answer
to the attacks of the Presbyterians on the Episcopalian polity and
customs, but no attempt is made directly to oust Presbyterianism from
the place it then held in the Church of England. The work must rather
be regarded as a remonstrance against the narrow ground chosen by the
Presbyterians for their basis of attack, Hooker's exact position being
that "a necessity of polity and regiment may be held in all churches
without holding any form to be necessary."
The general purpose of his reasoning is to vindicate Episcopacy from
objections that had been urged against it, but he attains a result
which has other and wider consequences than this. The fundamental
principle on which he bases his reasoning is the unity and
all-embracing character of law--law "whose seat," he beautifully says,
"is the bosom of God, whose voice the harmony of the world." Law--as
operative in nature, as regulating each man's individual character and
actions, as seen in the formations of societies and governments--is
equally a manifestation and development of the divine order according
to which God Himself acts, is the expression in various forms of the
divine reason. He makes a distinction between natural and positive
laws, the one being eternal and immutable, the other varying according
to external necessity and expediency; and he includes all the forms of
government under laws that are positive and therefore alterable
according to circumstances. Their application is to be determined by
reason, reason enlightened and strengthened by every variety of
knowledge, discipline and experience. The leading feature in his
system is the high place assigned to reason, for, though affirming
that certain truths necessary to salvation could be made known only by
special divine revelation, he yet elevates reason into the criterion
by which these truths are to be judged, and the standard to determine
what in revelation is temporal and what eternal. "It is not the word
of God itself," he says, "which doth or possibly can assure us that we
do well to think it His word." At the same time he saves himself from
the dangers of abstract and rash theorizing by a deep and absolute
regard for facts, the diligent and accurate study of which he makes of
the first importance to the proper use of reason. "The general and
perpetual voice of men is," he says, "as the sentence of God Himself.
For that which all men have at all times learned, nature herself must
needs have taught; and, God being the author of nature, her voice is
but His instrument." Applying his principles to man individually, the
foundation of morality is, according to Hooker, immutable, and rests
"on that law which God from the beginning hath set Himself to do all
things by"; this law is to be discovered by reason; and the perfection
which reason teaches us to strive after is stated, with characteristic
breadth of conception and regard to the facts of human nature, to be
"a triple perfection: first a sensual, consisting in those things
which very life itself requireth, either as necessary supplements, or
as beauties or ornaments thereof; then an intellectual, consisting in
those things which none underneath man is either capable of or
acquainted with; lastly, a spiritual or divine, consisting in those
things whereunto we tend by supernatural means here, but cannot here
attain unto them." Applying his principles to man as a member of a
community, he assigns practically the same origin and sanctions to
ecclesiastical as to civil government. His theory of government forms
the basis of the _Treatise on Civil Government_ by Locke, although
Locke developed the theory in a way that Hooker would not have
sanctioned. The force and justification of government Hooker derives
from public approbation, either given directly by the parties
immediately concerned, or indirectly through inheritance from their
ancestors. "Sith men," he says, "naturally have no full and perfect
power to command whole politic multitudes of men, therefore utterly
without our consent we could in such sort be at no man's commandment
living. And to be commanded we do consent, when that society whereof
we are part hath at any time before consented, without revoking the
same after, by the like universal agreement." His theory as he stated
it is in various of its aspects and applications liable to objection;
but taken as a whole it is the first philosophical statement of the
principles which, though disregarded in the succeeding age, have since
regulated political progress in England and gradually modified its
constitution. One of the corollaries of his principles is his theory
of the relation of church and state, according to which, with the
qualifications implied in his theory of government, he asserts the
royal supremacy in matters of religion, and identifies the church and
commonwealth as but different aspects of the same government.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--A life of Hooker by Dr Gauden was published in his
edition of Hooker's works (London, 1662). To correct the errors in
this life Walton wrote another, which was published in the 2nd edition
of Hooker's works in 1666. The standard modern edition of Hooker's
works is that by Keble, which first appeared in 1836, and has since
been several times reprinted (1888 edition, revised by Dean Church and
Bishop Paget). The first book of the _Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_
was edited for the Clarendon Press by Dean R. W. Church (1868-1876).
(T. F. H.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] If Bacon was the author of _The Christian Paradoxes_, his
philosophical standpoint in reference to religion was not only less
advanced than that of Hooker, but in a sense directly opposed to it.
HOOKER, THOMAS (1586-1647), New England theologian, was born, probably
on the 7th of July 1586, at Marfield, in the parish of Tilton, County of
Leicester, England. He graduated B.A. in 1608 and M.A. in 1611 at
Emmanuel College, Cambridge, the intellectual centre of Puritanism,
remained there as a fellow for a few years, and then preached in the
parish of Esher in Surrey. About 1626 he became lecturer to the church
of St Mary at Chelmsford, Essex, delivering on market days and Sunday
afternoons evangelical addresses which were notable for their moral
fervour. In 1629 Archbishop Laud took measures to suppress church
lectureships, which were an innovation of Puritanism. Hooker was placed
under bond and retired to Little Baddow, 4 m. from Chelmsford. In 1630
he was cited to appear before the Court of High Commission, but he
forfeited his bond and fled to Holland, whence in 1633 he emigrated to
the Colony of Massachusetts Bay in America, and became pastor at
Newtowne (now Cambridge), Mass., of a company of Puritans who had
arrived from England in the previous year and in expectation of his
joining them were called "Mr Hooker's Company." Hooker seems to have
been a leader in the formation of that sentiment of discontent with the
Massachusetts government which resulted in the founding of Connecticut.
He publicly criticized the limitation of suffrage to church members,
and, according to a contemporary historian, William Hubbard (_General
History of New England_), "after Mr Hooker's coming over it was observed
that many of the freemen grew to be very jealous of their liberties." He
was a leader of the emigrants who in 1636 founded Hartford, Connecticut.
In a sermon before the Connecticut General Court of 1638, he declared
that "the choice of public magistrates belongs unto the people by God's
own allowance" and that "they who have the power to appoint officers and
magistrates, it is in their power, also, to set the bounds and
limitations of the power and place unto which they call them." Though
this theory was in advance of the age, Hooker had no idea of the
separation of church and state--"the privilege of election, which
belongs to the people," he said, must be exercised "according to the
blessed will and law of God." He also defended the right of magistrates
to convene synods, and in the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639),
which he probably framed, the union of church and state is presupposed.
Hooker was pastor of the Hartford church until his death on the 7th of
July 1647. He was active in the negotiations which preceded the
formation of the New England Confederation in 1643. In the same year he
attended the meeting of Puritan ministers at Boston, whose object was to
defend Congregationalism, and he wrote a _Survey of the Summe of Church
Discipline_ (1648) in justification of the New England church system.
His other works deal chiefly with the experimental phases of religion,
especially the experience precedent to conversion. In _The Soule's
Humiliation_ (1637), he assigns as a test of conversion a willingness of
the convert to be damned if that be God's will, thus anticipating the
doctrine of Samuel Hopkins in the following century.
See George L. Walker's _Thomas Hooker_ (New York, 1891); the appendix
of which contains a bibliography of Hooker's published works.
HOOKER, SIR WILLIAM JACKSON (1785-1865), English botanist, was born at
Norwich on the 6th of July 1785. His father, Joseph Hooker of Exeter, a
member of the same family as the celebrated Richard Hooker, devoted much
of his time to the study of German literature and the cultivation of
curious plants. The son was educated at the high school of Norwich, on
leaving which his independent means enabled him to travel and to take up
as a recreation the study of natural history, especially ornithology and
entomology. He subsequently confined his attention to botany, on the
recommendation of Sir James E. Smith, whom he had consulted respecting a
rare moss. His first botanical expedition was made in Iceland, in the
summer of 1809, at the suggestion of Sir Joseph Banks; but the natural
history specimens which he collected, with his notes and drawings, were
lost on the homeward voyage through the burning of the ship, and the
young botanist himself had a narrow escape with his life. A good memory,
however, aided him to publish an account of the island, and of its
inhabitants and flora (_Tour in Iceland_, 1809), privately circulated in
1811, and reprinted in 1813. In 1810-1811 he made extensive
preparations, and sacrifices which proved financially serious, with a
view to accompany Sir R. Brownrigg to Ceylon, but the disturbed state of
the island led to the abandonment of the projected expedition. In 1814
he spent nine months in botanizing excursions in France, Switzerland and
northern Italy, and in the following year he married the eldest daughter
of Mr Dawson Turner, banker, of Yarmouth. Settling at Halesworth,
Suffolk, he devoted himself to the formation of his herbarium, which
became of world-wide renown among botanists. In 1816 appeared the
_British Jungermanniae_, his first scientific work, which was succeeded
by a new edition of William Curtis's _Flora Londinensis_, for which he
wrote the descriptions (1817-1828); by a description of the _Plantae
cryptogamicae_ of A. von Humboldt and A. Bonpland; by the _Muscologia
Britannica_, a very complete account of the mosses of Great Britain and
Ireland, prepared in conjunction with Dr T. Taylor (1818); and by his
_Musci exotici_ (2 vols., 1818-1820), devoted to new foreign mosses and
other cryptogamic plants. In 1820 he accepted the regius professorship
of botany in Glasgow University where he soon became popular as a
lecturer, his style being both clear and ready. The following year he
brought out the _Flora Scotica_, in which the natural method of
arrangement of British plants was given with the artificial.
Subsequently he prepared or edited many works, the more important being
the following:--
_Botanical Illustrations_ (1822); _Exotic Flora_, indicating such of
the specimens as are deserving cultivation (3 vols., 1822-1827);
_Account of Sabine's Arctic Plants_ (1824); _Catalogue of Plants in
the Glasgow Botanic Garden_ (1825); the _Botany of Parry's Third
Voyage_ (1826); _The Botanical Magazine_ (38 vols., 1827-1865);
_Icones Filicum_, in concert with Dr R. K. Greville (2 vols.,
1829-1831); _British Flora_, of which several editions appeared,
undertaken with Dr G. A. W. Arnott, &c. (1830); _British Flora
Cryptogamia_ (1833); _Characters of Genera from the British Flora_
(1830); _Flora Boreali-Americana_ (2 vols., 1840), being the botany of
British North America collected in Sir J. Franklin's voyage; _The
Journal of Botany_ (4 vols., 1830-1842); _Companion to the Botanical
Magazine_ (2 vols., 1835-1836); _Icones plantarum_ (10 vols.,
1837-1854); the _Botany of Beechey's Voyage to the Pacific and
Behring's Straits_ (with Dr Arnott, 1841); the _Genera Filicum_
(1842), from the original coloured drawings of F. Bauer, with
additions and descriptive letterpress; _The London Journal of Botany_
(7 vols., 1842-1848); _Notes on the Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of
the Erebus and Terror_ (1843); _Species filicum_ (5 vols., 1846-1864),
the standard work on this subject; _A Century of Orchideae_ (1846);
_Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany_ (9 vols., 1849-1857);
_Niger Flora_ (1849); _Victoria Regia_ (1851); _Museums of Economic
Botany at Kew_ (1855); _Filices exoticae_ (1857-1859); _The British
Ferns_ (1861-1862); _A Century of Ferns_ (1854); _A Second Century of
Ferns_ (1860-1861).
It was mainly by Hooker's exertions that botanists were appointed to the
government expeditions. While his works were in progress his herbarium
received large and valuable additions from all parts of the globe, and
his position as a botanist was thus vastly improved. He was made a
knight of Hanover in 1836 and in 1841 he was appointed director of the
Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, on the resignation of W. T. Aiton. Under
his direction the gardens expanded from 11 to 75 acres, with an
arboretum of 270 acres, many new glass-houses were erected, and a museum
of economic botany was established. He was engaged on the _Synopsis
filicum_ with J. G. Baker when he was attacked by a throat disease then
epidemic at Kew, where he died on the 12th of August 1865.
HOOLE, JOHN (1727-1803), English translator and dramatist, son of a
watchmaker and machinist, Samuel Hoole, was born at Moorfields, London,
in December 1727. He was educated at a private school at Hoddesdon,
Hertfordshire, kept by James Bennet, who edited Ascham's English works.
At the age of seventeen he became a clerk in the accountants' department
of the East India House, and before 1767 became one of the auditors of
Indian accounts. His leisure hours he devoted to the study of Latin and
especially Italian, and began writing translations of the chief works of
the Italian poets. He published translations of the _Jerusalem
Delivered_ of Tasso in 1763, the _Orlando Furioso_ of Ariosto in
1773-1783, the _Dramas_ of Metastasio in 1767, and _Rinaldo_, an early
work of Tasso, in 1792. Among his plays are: _Cyrus_ (1768), _Timanthes_
(1770) and _Cleonice, Princess of Bithynia_ (1775), none of which
achieved success. The verses of Hoole were praised by Johnson, with whom
he was on terms of intimacy, but, though correct, smooth and flowing,
they cannot be commended for any other merit. His translation of the
_Orlando Furioso_ was superseded by the version (1823-1831) of W. S.
Rose. Hoole was also the friend of the Quaker poet John Scott of Amwell
(1730-1783), whose life he wrote; it was prefixed to Scott's _Critical
Essays_ (1785). In 1773 he was promoted to be chief auditor of Indian
accounts, an office which he resigned in 1785. In 1786 he retired to the
parsonage of Abinger, Surrey; and afterwards lived at Tenterden, Kent,
dying at Dorking on the 2nd of April 1803.
See _Anecdotes of the Life of the late Mr John Hoole_, by his
surviving brother, Samuel Hoole (London, 1803). Some of his plays are
reprinted in J. Bell's _British Theatre_ (1797).
HOOLIGAN, the generally accepted modern term for a young street ruffian
or rowdy. It seems to have been first applied to the young street
ruffians of the South-East of London about 1890, but though popular in
the district, did not attract general attention till later, when
authentic information of its origin was lost, but it appears that the
most probable source was a comic song which was popular in the
lower-class music-hall in the late 'eighties or early 'nineties, which
described the doings of a rowdy family named Hooligan (i.e. Irish
Houlihan). A comic character with the same name also appears to have
been the central figure in a series of adventures running through an
obscure English comic paper of about the same date, and also in a
similar New York paper, where his confrère in the adventures is a German
named Schneider (see _Notes and Queries_, 9th series, vol. ii. pp. 227
and 316, 1898, and 10th series, vol. vii. p. 115, 1901). In other
countries the "hooligan" finds his counterpart. The Parisian _Apache_,
so self-styled after the North American Indian tribe, is a much more
dangerous character; mere rowdyism, the characteristic of the English
"hooligan," is replaced by murder, robbery and outrage. An equally
dangerous class of young street ruffian is the "hoodlum" of the United
States of America; this term arose in San Francisco in 1870, and thence
spread. Many fanciful origins of the name have been given, for some of
which see _Manchester (N.H.) Notes and Queries_, September 1883 (cited
in the _New English Dictionary_). The "plug-ugly" of Baltimore is
another name for the same class. More familiar is the Australian
"larrikin," which apparently came into use about 1870 in Melbourne. The
story that the word represents an Irish policeman's pronunciation of
"larking" is a mere invention. It is probably only an adaptation of the
Irish "Larry," short for Lawrence. Others suggest that it is a
corruption of the slang _Leary Kinchen_, i.e. knowing, wide-awake child.
HOOPER, JOHN (d. 1555), bishop of Gloucester and Worcester and martyr,
was born in Somerset about the end of the 15th century and graduated
B.A. at Oxford in 1519. He is said to have then entered the Cistercian
monastery at Gloucester; but in 1538 a John Hooper appears among the
names of the Black friars at Gloucester and also among the White friars
at Bristol who surrendered their houses to the king. A John Hooper was
likewise canon of Wormesley priory in Herefordshire; but identification
of any of these with the future bishop is doubtful. The _Greyfriars'
Chronicle_ says that Hooper was "sometime a white monk"; and in the
sentence pronounced against him by Gardiner he is described as "_olim
monachus de Cliva Ordinis Cisterciensis_," i.e. of the Cistercian house
at Cleeve in Somerset. On the other hand, at his deprivation he was not
accused, like the other married bishops who had been monks or friars, of
infidelity to the vow of chastity; and his own letters to Bullinger are
curiously reticent on this part of his history. He there speaks of
himself as being the only son and heir of his father and as fearing to
be deprived of his inheritance if he adopted the reformed religion.
Before 1546 he had secured employment in the household of Sir Thomas
Arundell, a man of influential connexions. Hooper speaks of himself at
this period as being "a courtier and living too much of a court life in
the palace of our king." But he chanced upon some of Zwingli's works and
Bullinger's commentaries on St Paul's epistles; and after some
molestation in England and some correspondence with Bullinger on the
lawfulness of complying against his conscience with the established
religion, he determined to secure what property he could and take refuge
on the continent. He had an adventurous journey, being twice imprisoned,
driven about for three months on the sea, and reaching Strassburg in the
midst of the Schmalkaldic war. There he married Anne de Tserclaes, and
later on he proceeded by way of Basle to Zürich, where his Zwinglian
convictions were confirmed by constant intercourse with Zwingli's
successor, Bullinger.
It was not until May 1549, after he had published various works at
Zürich, that Hooper again arrived in England. He at once became the
principal champion of Swiss Protestantism against the Lutherans as well
as the Catholics, and was appointed chaplain to Protector Somerset.
Somerset's fall in the following October endangered Hooper's position,
and for a time he was in hourly dread of imprisonment and martyrdom,
more especially as he had taken a prominent part against Gardiner and
Bonner, whose restoration to their sees was now anticipated. Warwick,
afterwards duke of Northumberland, however, overcame the reactionaries
in the Council, and early in 1550 the Reformation resumed its course.
Hooper became Warwick's chaplain, and after a course of Lent lectures
before the king he was offered the bishopric of Gloucester. This led to
a prolonged controversy; Hooper had already denounced the "Aaronic
vestments" and the oath by the saints prescribed in the new Ordinal; and
he refused to be consecrated according to its rites. Cranmer, Ridley,
Bucer and others urged him to submit in vain; confinement to his house
by order of the Council proved equally ineffectual; and it was not until
he had spent some weeks in the Fleet prison that the "father of
nonconformity" consented to conform, and Hooper submitted to
consecration with the legal ceremonies (March 8, 1551).
Once seated in his bishopric Hooper set about his episcopal duties with
exemplary vigour. His visitation of his diocese (printed in _English
Hist. Rev._ Jan. 1904, pp. 98-121) revealed a condition of almost
incredible ignorance among his clergy. Fewer than half could say the Ten
Commandments; some could not even repeat the Lord's Prayer in English.
Hooper did his best in the time at his disposal; but in less than a year
the bishopric of Gloucester was reduced to an archdeaconry and added to
Worcester, of which Hooper was made bishop in succession to Nicholas
Heath (q.v.). He was opposed to Northumberland's plot for the exclusion
of Mary from the throne; but this did not save him from speedy
imprisonment. He was sent to the Fleet on the 1st of September 1553 on a
doubtful charge of debt to the queen; but the real cause was his
stanchness to a religion which was still by law established. Edward
VI.'s legislation was, however, repealed in the following month, and in
March 1554 Hooper was deprived of his bishopric as a married man. There
was still no statute by which he could be condemned to the stake, but
Hooper was kept in prison; and the revival of the heresy acts in
December 1554 was swiftly followed by execution. On the 29th of January
1555, Hooper, Rogers, Rowland Taylor and others were condemned by
Gardiner and degraded by Bonner. Hooper was sent down to suffer at
Gloucester, where he was burnt on the 9th of February, meeting his fate
with steadfast courage and unshaken conviction.
Hooper was the first of the bishops to suffer because his Zwinglian
views placed him further beyond the pale than Cranmer, Ridley and
Latimer. He represented the extreme reforming party in England. While he
expressed dissatisfaction with some of Calvin's earlier writings, he
approved of the _Consensus Tigurinus_ negotiated in 1549 between the
Zwinglians and Calvinists of Switzerland; and it was this form of
religion that he laboured to spread in England against the wishes of
Cranmer, Ridley, Bucer, Peter Martyr and other more conservative
theologians. He would have reduced episcopacy to narrow limits; and his
views had considerable influence on the Puritans of Elizabeth's reign,
when many editions of Hooper's various works were published.
Two volumes of Hooper's writings are included in the Parker Society's
publications and another edition appeared at Oxford in 1855. See also
Gough's General Index to Parker Soc. Publ.; Strype's _Works_ (General
Index); Foxe's _Acts and Monuments_, ed. Townsend; _Acts of the Privy
Council; Cal. State Papers_, "Domestic" Series; Nichols's _Lit.
Remains of Edward VI._; Burner, Collier, Dixon, Froude and Gairdner's
histories; Pollard's _Cranmer; Dict. Nat. Biogr._ (A. F. P.)
HOOPOE (Fr. _Huppe_, Lat. _Upupa_, Gr. [Greek: epops]--all names
bestowed apparently from its cry), a bird long celebrated in literature,
and conspicuous by its variegated plumage and its large erectile
crest,[1] the _Upupa epops_ of naturalists, which is the type of the
very peculiar family _Upupidae_, placed by Huxley in his group
_Coccygomorphae_, but considered by Dr Murie (_Ibis_, 1873, p. 208) to
deserve separate rank as _Epopomorphae_. This species has an exceedingly
wide range in the Old World, being a regular summer-visitant to the
whole of Europe, in some parts of which it is abundant, as well as to
Siberia, mostly retiring southwards in autumn to winter in equatorial
Africa and India, though it would seem to be resident throughout the
year in north-eastern Africa and in China. Its power of wing ordinarily
seems to be feeble; but it is capable of very extended flight, as is
testified by its wandering habits (for it occasionally makes its
appearance in places very far removed from its usual haunts), and also
by the fact that when pursued by a falcon it will rapidly mount to an
extreme height and frequently effect its escape from the enemy. About
the size of a thrush, with a long, pointed and slightly arched bill, its
head and neck are of a golden-buff--the former adorned by the crest
already mentioned, which begins to rise from the forehead and consists
of broad feathers, gradually increasing in length, tipped with black and
having a subterminal bar of yellowish-white. The upper part of the back
is of a vinous-grey, and the scapulars and flight-feathers are black,
broadly barred with white tinged in the former with buff. The tail is
black with a white chevron, marking off about the distal third part of
its length. The legs and feet are as well adapted for running or walking
as for perching, and the scutellations are continued round the whole of
the tarsi. Chiefly on account of this character, which is also possessed
by the larks, Sundevall (_Tentamen_, pp. 53-55) united the _Upupidae_
and _Alaudidae_ in the same "cohors" _Holaspideae_. Comparative anatomy,
however, forbids its being taken to signify any real affinity between
these groups, and the resemblance on this point, which is by no means so
striking as that displayed by the form of the bill and the coloration in
certain larks (of the genus _Certhilauda_, for instance), must be
ascribed to analogy merely.
[Illustration: Hoopoe.]
Pleasing as is the appearance of the hoopoe as it fearlessly parades its
showy plumage, some of its habits are much the reverse. All observers
agree in stating that it delights to find its food among filth of the
most abominable description, and this especially in its winter-quarters.
But where it breeds, its nest, usually in the hole of a tree or of a
wall, is not only partly composed of the foulest material, but its
condition becomes worse as incubation proceeds, for the hen scarcely
ever leaves her eggs, being assiduously fed by the cock as she sits; and
when the young are hatched, their faeces are not removed by their
parents,[2] as is the case with most birds, but are discharged in the
immediate neighbourhood of the nest, the unsanitary condition of which
can readily be imagined. Worms, grubs, and insects generally form the
hoopoes' food, and upon it they get so fat in autumn that they are
esteemed a delicate morsel in some of the countries of southern Europe,
and especially by the Christian population of Constantinople.[3]
Not a year passes but the hoopoe makes its appearance in some part or
other of the British Islands, most often in spring, and if unmolested
would doubtless stop to breed in them, and a few instances are known in
which it has done so. But its remarkable plumage always attracts
attention, and it is generally shot down so soon as it is seen, and
before it has time to begin a nest. Eight or nine so-called species of
the genus have been described, but of them the existence of five only
has been recognized by Sharpe and Dresser (_Birds of Europe_, pt. vii.).
Besides the _Upupa epops_ above treated, these are _U. indica_, resident
in India and Ceylon; _U. longirostris_, which seems to be the form of
the Indo-Chinese countries; _U. marginata_, peculiar to Madagascar; and
_U. africana_ or _U. minor_ of some writers, which inhabits South Africa
to the Zambesi on the east and Benguela on the west coast. In habits and
appearance they all resemble the best-known and most widely-spread
species.[4] (A. N.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Hence the secondary meaning of the French word _huppe_--a crest
or tuft (cf. Littré, _Dict. français_, i. 2067).
[2] This indeed is denied by Naumann, but by him alone, and the
statement in the text is confirmed by many eye-witnesses.
[3] Under the name of _Dukipath_, in the authorized version of the
Bible translated "lapwing" (Lev. xi. 19, Deut. xiv. 18), the hoopoe
was accounted unclean by the Jewish law. Arabs have a great reverence
for the bird, imparting to it marvellous medicinal and other
qualities, and making use of its head in all their charms (cf.
Tristram, _Nat. Hist. of the Bible_, pp. 208, 209).
[4] The genera _Rhinopomastus_ and _Irrisor_ are generally placed in
the Family _Upupidae_, but Dr Murie, after an exhaustive examination
of their osteology, regards them as forming a group of equal value.
HOORN, a seaport in the province of North Holland, Holland, on a bay of
the Zuider Zee called the Hoornerhop, and a junction station 23½ m. by
rail N. by E. of Amsterdam, on the railway to Enkhuizen, with which it
is also connected by steam tramway. Pop. (1900) 10,647. Hoorn is
distinguished by its old-world air and the beauty and interest of its
numerous gabled houses of the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of these are
decorated with inscriptions and bas-reliefs, some of which commemorate
the battle on the Zuider Zee in 1573, in which the Beggars defeated the
Spaniards under Count Bossu. Walks and gardens now surround the town in
the place of the old city walls, but a few towers and gateways adorned
with various old coats of arms are still standing. The fine Gothic
bastion tower overlooking the harbour was built in 1532; the East gate
not later than 1578. Among the public buildings of special interest are
the picturesque St John's hospital (1563), now used for military
purposes; the old mint; the hospital for aged men and women (beginning
of 17th century); the weigh-house (1609); the town hall, in which the
states of West Friesland formerly met; and the old court-house, which
dates from the beginning of the 17th century, though parts of it are
older, containing a modern museum and some early portraits. There are
also various charitable and educational institutions, Protestant and
Roman Catholic churches and a synagogue. The extensive foreign commerce
which Hoorn carried on in the 16th and 17th centuries has almost
entirely vanished, but there is still a considerable trade with other
parts of the Netherlands, especially in cheese and cattle. The chief
industries include gold and silver work, and there are also tobacco
factories, saw-mills and some small boat-building yards, a considerable
number of vessels being engaged in the Zuider Zee fisheries.
Hoorn, latinized as _Horna_ or _Hornum_, has existed at least from the
first part of the 14th century, as it is mentioned in a document of the
year 1311, five years earlier than the date usually assigned for its
foundation. In 1356 it received municipal privileges from Count William
V. of Holland, and in 1426 it was surrounded with walls. It was at Hoorn
in 1416 that the first great net was made for the herring fishery, an
industry which long proved an abundant source of wealth to the town.
During the 15th century Hoorn shared in the troubles occasioned by the
different contending factions; in 1569 the Spanish forces entered the
town; but in 1572 it cast in its lot with the states of the Netherlands.
In the 16th century it was a commercial centre, important for its trade,
fisheries and breweries. A company of commerce and navigation was formed
at Hoorn in 1720, and the admiralty offices and storehouses remained
here until their removal to Medemblik in 1795. The English under Sir
Ralph Abercromby took possession of the town in 1799, and in 1811 it
suffered severely from the French. Among the celebrities of Hoorn are
William Schouten, who discovered in 1616 the passage round Cape Horn, or
Hoorn, as he named it in honour of his birthplace; Abel Janszoon Tasman,
whose fame is associated with Tasmania; and Jan Pietersz Coen,
governor-general of the Dutch East Indies.
HOOSICK FALLS, a village of Rensselaer county, New York, U.S.A., in the
township of Hoosick, 27 m. N.E. of Troy, on the Hoosick river. Pop. of
the village (1890) 7014; (1900) 5671, of whom 1092 were foreign-born;
(1905) 5251; (1910) 5532; of the township (1900) 8631; (1910) 8315.
Hoosick Falls is served by the Boston & Maine Railroad, and is connected
by electric railway with Bennington, Vermont, about 8 m. E. The falls of
the Hoosick river furnish water-power for the manufacture of
agricultural machinery by the Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Machine
Co., which dates from 1866, the business having been started in 1852 by
Walter Abbott Wood (1815-1892), who was a Republican representative in
Congress in 1879-1883. Other manufactures are knit goods, shirts and
collars and paper-making machinery. Hoosick Falls was settled about 1688
by Dutch settlers--settlers from Connecticut and Massachusetts came
after 1763--and it was first incorporated in 1827. Three miles N.E. of
the village, at Walloomsac, in the township of Hoosick, the battle of
Bennington was fought, on the 16th of August 1777.
HOP (Ger. _Hopfen_, Fr. _houblon_), _Humulus Lupulus_, L., an herbaceous
twining plant, belonging to the natural order Cannabinaceae, which is by
some botanists included in the larger group called Urticaceae by
Endlicher. It is of common occurrence in hedges and thickets in the
southern counties of England, but is believed not to be native in
Scotland. On the European continent it is distributed from Greece to
Scandinavia, and extends through the Caucasus and Central Asia to the
Altai Mountains. It is common, but doubtfully indigenous, in the
northern and western states of North America, and has been introduced
into Brazil, Australia and the Himalayas.
It is a perennial plant, producing annually several long twining
roughish striated stems, which twist from left to right, are often 15 to
20 ft. long and climb freely over hedges and bushes. The roughness of
stem and leaves is due to lines of strong hooked hairs, which help the
plant to cling to its support. The leaves are stalked, opposite, 3-5
lobed, and coarsely serrate, and bear a general resemblance to those of
the vine, but are, as well as the whole plant, rough to the touch; the
upper leaves are sometimes scarcely divided, or quite entire. The
stipules are between the leaf-stalks, each consisting of two lateral
ones united, or rarely with the tips free. The male and female flowers
are produced on distinct plants. The male inflorescence (fig. 1, A)
forms a panicle; the flowers consist of a small greenish five-parted
perianth (a) enclosing five stamens, whose anthers (b) open by terminal
slits. The female inflorescence (fig. 1, B) is less conspicuous in the
young state. The catkin or strobile consists of a number of small acute
bracts, with two sessile ovaries at their base, each subtended by a
rounded bractlet (c). Both the bracts and bractlets enlarge greatly
during the development of the ovary, and form, when fully grown, the
membranous scales of the strobile (fig. 2, _a_); they are known as
"petals" by hop-growers. The bracts can then only be distinguished from
the bractlets by being rather more acute and more strongly veined. The
perianth (fig. 1, _d_) is short, cup-shaped, undivided and closely
applied to the ovary, which it ultimately encloses. In the young
strobile the two purple hairy styles (e) of each ovary project beyond
the bracts. The ovary contains a single ovule (fig. 1. _f_) which
becomes in the fruit an exalbuminous seed, containing a spirally-coiled
embryo (fig. 2, _b_). The light dusty pollen is carried by the wind from
the male to the female flowers.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Male (A) and Female (B) Inflorescence of the
Hop.]
The ovary and the base of the bracts are covered with a yellowish
powder, consisting of minute sessile grains, called lupulin or lupulinic
glands. These glands (fig. 2, _c_) are from 1/260 to 1/140 in. in
diameter, like flattened subovate little saucers in shape, and attached
to a short pedicel. The upper or hemispherical portion bears a delicate
continuous membrane, the cuticle, which becomes raised by the secretion
beneath it of the yellowish lupulin. The stalk is not perceptible in the
gland as found in commerce. When fresh the gland is seen to be filled
with a yellowish or dark brown liquid; this on drying contracts in bulk
and forms a central mass. It is to these lupulinic glands that the
medicinal properties of the hop are chiefly due. By careful sifting
about 1 oz. may be obtained from 1 lb. of hops, but the East Kent
variety is said to yield more than the Sussex hops.
In hop gardens a few male plants, usually three or four to an acre, are
sometimes planted, that number being deemed sufficient to fertilize the
female flowers. The blossoms are produced in August, and the strobiles
are fit for gathering from the beginning of September to the middle of
October, according to the weather.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Fruit of Hop.]
The cultivation of hops for use in the manufacture of beer dates from an
early period. In the 8th and 9th centuries hop gardens, called
"humularia" or "humuleta," existed in France and Germany. Until the 16th
century, however, hops appear to have been grown in a very fitful
manner, and to a limited extent, generally only for private consumption;
but after the beginning of the 17th century the cultivation increased
rapidly. The plant was introduced into England from Flanders in 1525;
and in America its cultivation was encouraged by legislative enactments
in 1657. Formerly several plants were used as well as hops to season
ale, hence the name "alehoof" for _Nepeta Glechoma_, and "alecost" for
_Balsamita vulgaris_. The sweet gale, _Myrica Gale_, and the sage,
_Salvia officinalis_, were also similarly employed. Various hop
substitutes, in the form of powder, have been offered in commerce of
late years, most of which appear to have quassia as a chief ingredient.
The young tender tops of the hop are in Belgium cut off in spring and
eaten like asparagus, and are forced from December to February.
_Medical Use._--The principal constituents of the strobiles are
_lupulin_, one of the few liquid alkaloids; _lupulinic acid_, a bitter
crystalline body, soluble in ether, which is without any other
pharmacological action than that common to bitter substances;
_Valerol_, a volatile oil which in old hops undergoes a change to the
malodorous body valerianic acid; resin; trimethylamine; a peculiar
modification of tannin known as _humulotannic acid_; and a
sesqui-terpene. The British pharmacopoeia contains two preparations of
the strobiles,--an infusion (dose, 1-2 oz.) and a tincture (dose, ½-1
drachm). The glands obtained from the strobiles are known in pharmacy
as lupulin, a name which tends to confusion with that of the alkaloid.
They occur in commerce as a bright yellow-brown powder, seen under a
lens to consist of minute glandular particles. The dose of this
so-called lupulin is 2-5 grains. From it there is prepared the
Tinctura Lupulinae of the United States pharmacopoeia, which is given
in doses of 10-60 minims. Furthermore, there are prepared hop pillows,
designed to procure sleep; but these act, when at all, mainly by
suggestion. The pharmacological action of hops is determined first by
the volatile oil they contain, which has the actions of its class.
Similarly the lupulinic acid may act as a bitter tonic. The
preparations of hops, when taken internally, are frequently hypnotic,
though unfortunately different specimens vary considerably in
composition, none of the preparations being standardized. It is by no
means certain whether the hypnotic action of hops is due to the
alkaloid lupulin or possibly to the volatile oil which they contain.
Medical practice, however, is acquainted with many more trustworthy
and equally safe hypnotics. The bitter acid of hops may endow beer
containing it with a certain value in cases of impaired gastric
digestion, and to the hypnotic principle of hops may partly be
ascribed--as well as to the alcohol--the soporific action of beer in
the case of some individuals.
HOP PRODUCTION IN ENGLAND[1]
The cultivation of hops in the British Isles is restricted to England,
where it is practically confined to half-a-dozen counties--four in the
south-eastern and two in the west-midland districts. In 1901 the English
crop was reported by the Board of Agriculture to occupy 51,127 acres.
The official returns as to acreage do not extend back beyond 1868, in
which year the total area was reported to be 64,488 acres. The largest
area recorded since then was 71,789 acres in 1878; the smallest was
44,938 acres in 1907. The extent to which the areas of hops in the chief
hop-growing counties vary from year to year is sufficiently indicated in
Table I., which shows the annual acreages over a period of thirteen
years, 1895 to 1907. The proportions in which the acres of hops are
distributed amongst the counties concerned vary but little year by year,
and as a rule over 60% belongs to Kent.
TABLE I.--_Hop Areas of England 1895 to 1907. Acres._
+------+--------+---------+-------+----------+------+-------+
| | Kent. |Hereford.|Sussex.|Worcester.|Hants.|Surrey.|
+------+--------+---------+-------+----------+------+-------+
| 1895 | 35,018 | 7553 | 7489 | 4024 | 2875 | 1783 |
| 1896 | 33,300 | 6895 | 5908 | 3800 | 2494 | 1623 |
| 1897 | 31,661 | 6542 | 5174 | 3591 | 2306 | 1416 |
| 1898 | 30,941 | 6651 | 4829 | 3567 | 2263 | 1313 |
| 1899 | 31,988 | 7227 | 4949 | 3788 | 2319 | 1388 |
| 1900 | 31,514 | 7287 | 4823 | 3964 | 2231 | 1300 |
| 1901 | 31,242 | 7497 | 4800 | 4029 | 2133 | 1232 |
| 1902 | 29,649 | 6915 | 4541 | 3779 | 2003 | 969 |
| 1903 | 29,933 | 6851 | 4454 | 3697 | 1920 | 901 |
| 1904 | 29,841 | 6767 | 4474 | 3752 | 1900 | 877 |
| 1905 | 30,655 | 6851 | 4647 | 3807 | 1978 | 843 |
| 1906 | 29,296 | 6481 | 4379 | 3672 | 1939 | 777 |
| 1907 | 28,169 | 6143 | 4243 | 3622 | 1842 | 744 |
+------+--------+---------+-------+----------+------+-------+
Less than 200 acres in all are annually grown in the other hop-growing
counties of England, these being Shropshire, Gloucestershire and
Suffolk.
The average yield per acre in cwt. in the six counties during the decade
1897 to 1906 was as follows:--
TABLE II.
+------+---------+-------+----------+------+-------+
| Kent.|Hereford.|Sussex.|Worcester.|Hants.|Surrey.|
+------+---------+-------+----------+------+-------+
| 9.31 | 7.14 | 9.41 | 7.79 | 8.78 | 7.23 |
+------+---------+-------+----------+------+-------+
Table III. shows the average acreage, yield and total home produce of
England during the decades 1888-1897 and 1898-1907.
TABLE III.
+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| |Average Annual|Average Annual|Average Annual|
| Periods. | Acreage. |Yield per acre| Home Produce |
| | | (cwt.). | (cwt.). |
+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| 1888-1897 | 56,370 | 7.76 | 438,215 |
| 1898-1907 | 48,841 | 8.84 | 434,567 |
+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
The wide fluctuations in the home production of hops are worthy of note,
as they exercise a powerful influence upon market prices. The largest
crop between 1885, the first year in which figures relating to
production were collected, and 1907 was that of 776,144 cwt. in 1886,
and the smallest that of 281,291 cwt. in 1888, the former being more
than 2½ times the size of the latter. The crop of 1899, estimated at
661,373 cwt., was so large that prices receded to an extent such as to
leave no margin of profit to the great body of growers, whilst some
planters were able to market the crop only at a loss. The calculated
annual average yields per acre over the years 1885 to 1907 ranged
between 12.76 cwt. in 1899 and 4.81 cwt. in 1888. No other staple crop
of British agriculture undergoes such wide fluctuations in yield as are
here indicated, the size of the crop produced bearing no relation to the
acreage under cultivation. For example, the 71,327 acres in 1885
produced only 509,170 cwt., whereas the 51,843 acres in 1899 produced
661,373 cwt.--19,484 acres less under crop yielded 152,203 cwt. more
produce.
Comparing the quantities of home-grown hops with those of imported hops,
of the total available for consumption about 70% on the average is home
produce and about 30% is imported produce. The imports, however, do not
vary so much as the home produce. Table IV. shows the average quantity
of imports to and exports (home-grown) from Great Britain during the
decades 1877-1886, 1887-1896 and 1897-1906.
TABLE IV.
+-----------+---------------+---------------+
| Periods. |Annual Average |Annual Average |
| |Imports (cwt.).|Exports (cwt.).|
+-----------+---------------+---------------+
| 1877-1886 | 215,219 | 10,805 |
| 1887-1896 | 194,966 | 9,437 |
| 1897-1906 | 186,362 | 14,808 |
+-----------+---------------+---------------+
The highest and lowest imports were 266,952 cwt. in 1885 and 145,122
cwt. in 1887, the latter in the year following the biggest home-grown
crop on record. On a series of years the largest proportion of imports
is from the United States.
During the twenty-five years 1881-1905 the annual values of the hops
imported into England fluctuated between the wide limits of £2,962,631
in 1882 and £427,753 in 1887. In five other years besides 1882 the value
exceeded a million sterling. The annual average value over the whole
period was £921,000, whilst the annual average import was 194,000 cwt.,
consequently the average value per cwt. was nearly £4, 15s., which is
approximately the same as that of the exported product. The quantities
and values of the imported hops that are again exported are almost
insignificant.
HOP PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES
The distribution of the area of hop-cultivation in the United States
showed great changes during the last decades of the 19th and the first
decade of the 20th century. During the earlier portion of that period
New York was the chief hop-growing state of the Union, but toward the
end of it a great extension of hop-growing took place on the Pacific
coast (in the states of Oregon, California and Washington), where the
richness of the soil and mildness of the climate are favourable to the
bines.
The average annual produce of hops in the United States from 1900 to
1906 was 423,471 cwt.; of this quantity 80% was raised in the three
states of the Pacific coast, where the yield per acre is much larger
than in New York. In the latter state the yield does not appear to
exceed 5 or 6 cwt. per acre, whereas in Oregon it is 9 or 10 cwt., and
in Washington and California from 12 to 14 cwt. The average annual
export (chiefly to Great Britain) in the years from 1899 to 1905 was
108,400 cwt.; the average import (chiefly from Germany) is about 50,000
cwt.
HOP CULTIVATION
As the county of Kent has always taken the lead in hop-growing in
England, and as it includes about two-thirds of the hop acreage of the
British Isles, the recent developments in hop cultivation cannot be
better studied than in that county. They were well summarized by Mr
Charles Whitehead in his sketch of the agriculture of Kent,[2] wherein
he states that the hop grounds--or hop gardens, as they are called in
Kent--of poor character and least suitable for hop production have been
gradually grubbed since 1894, on account of large crops, the importation
of hops and low prices. At the beginning of the 19th century there were
290 parishes in Kent in which hops were cultivated. A century later, out
of the 413 parishes in the county, as many as 331 included hop
plantations. The hops grown in Kent are classified in the markets as
"East Kents," "Bastard East Kents," "Mid Kents" and "Wealds," according
to the district of the county in which they are produced. The relative
values of these four divisions follow in the same order, East Kents
making the highest and Wealds the lowest rates. These divisions agree in
the main with those defined by geological formations. Thus, "East Kents"
are grown upon the Chalk, and especially on the outcrop of the soils of
the London Tertiaries upon the Chalk. "Bastard East Kents" are produced
on alluvial soil and soils formed by admixtures of loam, clay-loams,
chalk, marl and clay from the Gault, Greensand and Chalk formations.
"Mid Kents" are derived principally from the Greensand soils and
outcrops of the London Tertiaries in the upper part of the district.
"Wealds" come from soils on the Weald Clay, Hastings Sand and Tunbridge
Wells Sand. As each "pocket" of hops must be marked with the owner's
name and the parish in which they were grown, buyers of hops can,
without much trouble, ascertain from which of the four divisions hops
come, especially if they have the map of the hop-growing parishes of
England, which gives the name of each parish. There has been a
considerable rearrangement of the hop plantations in Kent within recent
years. Common varieties as Colegate's, Jones's, Grapes and Prolifics
have been grubbed, and Goldings, Bramlings and other choice kinds
planted in their places. The variety known as Fuggle's, a heavy-cropping
though slightly coarse hop, has been much planted in the Weald of Kent,
and in parts of Mid Kent where the soil is suitable. In very old hop
gardens, where there has been no change of plant for fifty or even one
hundred years in some instances, except from the gradual process of
filling up the places of plants that have died, there has been
replanting with better varieties and varieties ripening in more
convenient succession; and, generally speaking, the plantations have
been levelled up in this respect to suit the demand for bright hops of
fine quality. A recent classification[3] of the varieties of English
hops arranges them in three groups: (1) early varieties (e.g. Prolific,
Bramling, Amos's Early Bird); (2) mid-season or main-crop varieties
(e.g. Farnham Whitebine, Fuggle's, Old Jones's, Golding); (3) late
varieties (e.g. Grapes, Colgate's).
The cost of cultivating and preparing the produce of an acre of hop land
tends to increase, on account of the advancing rates of wages, the
intense cultivation more and more essential, and the necessity of
freeing the plants from the persistent attacks of insects and fungi. In
1893 Mr Whitehead estimated the average annual cost of an acre of hop
land to be £35, 10s., the following being the items:--
Manure (winter and summer) £6 10 0
Digging 0 19 0
Dressing (or cutting) 0 6 0
Poling, tying, earthing, ladder-tying, stringing,
lewing 2 3 0
Shimming, nidgeting, digging round and hoeing
hills 3 0 0
Stacking, stripping, making; bines, &c. 0 17 0
Annual renewal of poles 2 10 0
Expense of picking, drying, packing, carriage,
sampling, selling, &c., on average crop of,
say, 7 cwt. per acre 10 5 0
Rent, rates, taxes, repairs of oast and tacks,
interest on capital 6 0 0
Sulphuring 1 0 0
Washing (often two, three or four times) 2 0 0
--------
Total £35 10 0
Seven years later the average cost per acre in Kent had risen to quite
£37.
The hops in Kent are usually planted in October or November, the plants
being 6 ft. apart each way, thus giving 1210 hills or plant-centres per
acre. Some planters still grow potatoes or mangels between the rows the
first year, as the plants do not bear much until the second year; but
this is considered to be a mistake, as it encourages wire-worm and
exhausts the ground. Many planters pole hop plants the first year with a
single short pole, and stretch coco-nut-fibre string from pole to pole,
and grow many hops in the first season. Much of the hop land is ploughed
between the rows, as labour is scarce, and the spaces between are dug
afterwards. It is far better to dig hop land if possible, the tool used
being the Kent spud. The cost of digging an acre ranges from 18s. to
21s. Hop land is ploughed or dug between November and March. After this
the plants are "dressed," which means that all the old bine ends are cut
off with a sharp curved hop-knife, and the plant centres kept level with
the ground.
_Manuring._--Manure is applied in the winter, and dug or ploughed in.
London manure from stables is used to an enormous extent. It comes by
barge or rail, and is brought from the wharves and stations by
traction engines; it costs from 7s. 6d. to 9s. per load. Rags, fur
waste, sprats, wool waste and shoddy are also put on in the winter. In
the summer, rape dust, guano, nitrate of soda and various patent hop
manures are chopped in with the Canterbury hoe. Fish guano or
desiccated fish is largely used; it is very stimulating and more
lasting than some of the other forcing manures.
The recent investigations into the subject of hop-manuring made by Dr
Bernard Dyer and Mr F. W. E. Shrivell, at Golden Green, near
Tonbridge, Kent, are of interest. In the 1901 report[4] it was stated
that the object in view was to ascertain how far nitrate of soda, in
the presence of an abundant supply of phosphates and potash, is
capable of being advantageously used as a source of nitrogenous food
for hops. An idea long persisted among hop-growers that nitrate of
soda was an unsafe manure for hops, being likely to produce rank
growth of bine at the expense of quality and even quantity of hops.
During recent years, however, owing very largely to the results of
these experiments, and of corresponding experiments based upon these,
which have been carried out abroad, hop farmers have much more freely
availed themselves of the aid of this useful manure; and there is
little doubt that the distrust of nitrate of soda as a hop manure
which has existed in the past has been largely due to the fact that
nitrate of soda, like many other nitrogenous manures, has often been
misused (1) by being applied without a sufficient quantity of
phosphates and potash, or (2) by being applied too abundantly, or (3)
by being applied too late in the season, with the result of unduly
delaying the ripening period. On most of the experimental plots
nitrate of soda (in conjunction with phosphates and potash) has been
used as the sole source of nitrogen; but it is, of course, not be to
supposed that any hop-grower would use year after year, as is the case
on some of the plots, nothing but phosphates, potash and nitrate of
soda. Miscellaneous feeding is probably good for plants as well as for
animals, and there is a large variety of nitrogenous manures at the
disposal of the hop-farmer, to say nothing of what, in its place, is
one of the most valuable of all manures, namely, home-made dung. These
experiments were begun in 1894 with a new garden of young Fuggle's
hops. A series of experimental plots was marked out, each plot being
one-sixth of an acre in area. The plots run parallel with one another,
there being four rows of hills in each. The climate of the district is
very dry.
_Weight of Kiln-dried Fuggle's Hops per Acre._
+-----+-------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+-------+
| | | | | | | |Average|
|Plot.|Annual Manuring per Acre.|1896|1897|1898|1899|1900| of 5 |
| | | | | | | | Years.|
+-----+-------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+-------+
| | |Cwt.|Cwt.|Cwt.|Cwt.|Cwt.| Cwt. |
| A |Phosphates and potash |13½ | 7½ | 8¼ |20¼ | 8 | 11½ |
| B |Phosphates, potash and | | | | | | |
| | 2 cwt. nitrate of soda |16½ | 9¼ |10¼ |22¼ | 9¾ | 13½ |
| C |Phosphates, potash and | | | | | | |
| | 4 cwt. nitrate of soda |16½ |12 |12½ |23 |11 | 15 |
| D |Phosphates, potash and | | | | | | |
| | 6 cwt. nitrate of soda |15¼ |13 |13 |22½ |10½ | 14¾ |
| E |Phosphates, potash and | | | | | | |
| | 8 cwt. nitrate of soda |15 |13½ |15¼ |23½ |11 | 15½ |
| F |Phosphates, potash and | | | | | | |
| | 10 cwt. nitrate of soda |15 |13 |15 |24½ |10½ | 15¾ |
| X |30 loads (about 15 tons) | | | | | | |
| | London dung |13 | 8 | 9¾ |24½ |10¾ | 13¾ |
+-----+-------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+-------+
The table given above shows the annual yield of hops per acre on each
plot, and also the average for each plot over the five years
1896-1900.
The general results seem to show that the purchase of town dung for
hops is not economical, unless under specially favourable terms as to
cost of conveyance, and that it should certainly not be relied upon as
a sufficient manure. Home-made dung is in quite a different position,
as not only is it richer, but it costs nothing for railway carriage.
As a source of nitrogenous manure, purchased dung is on the whole too
expensive. There is a large variety of other nitrogenous manures in
the market besides nitrate of soda, such, for instance as Peruvian and
Damaraland guano, sulphate of ammonia, fish guano, dried blood, rape
dust, furriers' refuse, horn shavings, hoof parings, wool dust,
shoddy, &c. All of these may in turn be used for helping to maintain a
stock of nitrogen in the soil; and the degree to which manures of this
kind have been recently applied in any hop garden will influence the
grower in deciding as to the quantity of nitrate of soda he should use
in conjunction with them, and also to some extent in fixing the date
of its application.
Dressings of 8 or 10 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre, such as are
applied annually to plots E and F, would be larger than would be put
on where the land has been already dressed with dung or with other
nitrogenous manures; and even, in the circumstances under notice,
although these plots have on the average beaten the others in weight,
the hops in some seasons have been distinctly coarser than those more
moderately manured--though in the dry season of 1899 the most heavily
dressed plot gave actually the best quality as well as the greatest
quantity of produce.
With regard to the application of nitrate of soda in case the season
should turn out to be wet, present experience indicates that, on a
soil otherwise liberally manured, 4 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre
applied not too late, would be a thoroughly safe dressing. In the
case of neither dung nor any other nitrogenous fertilizers having been
recently applied, there seems no reason for supposing that, even in a
wet season, 6 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre applied early would be
otherwise than a safe dressing, considering both quantity and quality
of produce. In conjunction with dung, or with the early use of other
nitrogenous manures, such as fish, guano, rape dust, &c. it would
probably be wise not to exceed 4 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre.
As to the date of application, April or May is the latest time at
which nitrate of soda should, in most circumstances, be applied, and
probably April is preferable to May. The quantity used should be
applied in separate dressings of not more than 2 cwt. per acre each,
put on at intervals of a month. Where the quantity of nitrate of soda
used is large, and constitutes the whole of the nitrogenous manure
employed, the first dressing may, on fairly deep and retentive soils,
be given as early as January; or, if the quantity used is smaller, say
in February; while February will, in most cases, probably be early
enough for the first dressing in the case of lighter soils. The
condition of the soil and the degree and distribution of rainfall
during both the previous autumn and the winter, as well as in the
spring itself, produce such varying conditions that it is almost
impossible to frame general rules.
The commonly accepted notion that nitrate of soda is a manure which
should be reserved for use during the later period of the growth of
the bine appears to be erroneous. The summer months, when the growth
of the bine is most active, are the months in which natural
nitrification is going on in the soil, converting soil nitrogen and
the nitrogen of dung, guano, fish, rape dust, shoddy or other
fertilizers into nitrates, and placing this nitrogen at the disposal
of the plants; and it appears reasonable, therefore, to suppose that
nitrate of soda will be most useful to the hops at the earlier stages
of their growth, before the products of that nitrification become
abundant. This would especially be so in a season immediately
following a wet autumn and winter, which have the effect of washing
away into the drains the residual nitrates not utilized by the
previous crop.
The necessity, whether dung is used or not, and whatever form of
nitrogenous manure is employed, of also supplying the hops with an
abundance of phosphates, cannot be too strongly urged. The use of
phosphates for hops was long neglected by hop-planters, and even now
there are many growers who do not realize the full importance of heavy
phosphatic manuring. On soils containing an abundance of lime no
better or cheaper phosphatic manure can be used than ordinary
superphosphate, of which as much as 10 cwt. per acre may be applied
without the slightest fear of harm. But if the soil is not decidedly
calcareous--that is to say, if it does not effervesce when it is
stirred up with some diluted hydrochloric (muriatic) acid--bone dust,
phosphatic guano or basic slag should be used as a source of
phosphates, at the rate of not less than 10 cwt. per acre. On medium
soils, which, without being distinctly calcareous, nevertheless
contain a just appreciable quantity of carbonate of lime, it is
probably a good plan to use the latter class of manures, alternately
with superphosphate, year and year about; but it is wise policy to use
phosphates _in some form or other_ every year in every hop garden.
They are inexpensive, and without them neither dung, nitrate of soda,
ammonia salts nor organic manures can be expected to produce both a
full vigorous growth of bine and at the same time a well-matured crop
of full-weighted, well-conditioned hops.
The use of potash salts, on most soils, is probably not needed when
good dung is freely used; but where this is not the case it is safer
in most seasons and on most soils to give a dressing of potash salts.
On some soils their aid should on no account be dispensed with.
Experiments in hop-manuring have also been conducted in connexion with
the South-Eastern Agricultural College, Wye, Kent. The main results
have been to demonstrate the necessity of a liberal supply of
phosphates, if the full benefit is to be reaped from applications of
nitrogenous manure.
_Tying, Poling and Picking._--Tying the bines to the poles or strings is
essentially women's work. It was formerly always piecework, each woman
taking so many acres to tie, but it is found better to pay the women 1s.
8d. to 2s. per day, that they may all work together, and tie the plants
in those grounds where they want tying at once. The new modes of poling
and training hop plants have also altered the conditions of tying.
Many improvements have been made in the methods of poling and training
hops. Formerly two or three poles were placed to each hop-hill or
plant-centre in the spring, and removed in the winter, and this was the
only mode of training. Recently systems of training on wires and strings
fastened to permanent upright poles have been introduced. One
arrangement of wires and strings much adopted consists of stout posts
set at the end of every row of hop-hills and fastened with stays to keep
them in place. At intervals in each row a thick pole is fixed. From post
to post in the rows a wire is stretched at a height of ½ ft. from the
ground, another about 6 ft. from the ground, and another along the tops
of the posts, so that there are three wires. Hooks are clipped on these
wires at regular intervals, and coco-nut-fibre strings are threaded on
them and fastened from wire to wire, and from post to post, to receive
the hop bines. The string is threaded on the hooks continuously, and is
put on those of the top wire with a machine called a stringer. There are
several methods of training hops with posts or stout poles, wire and
string, whose first cost varies from £20 to £40 per acre. The system is
cheaper in the long run than that of taking down the poles every year,
and the wind does not blow down the poles or injure the hops by banging
the poles together. In another method, extensively made use of in Kent
and Sussex, stout posts are placed at the ends of each row of plants,
and, at intervals where requisite, wires are fastened from top to top
only of these posts, whilst coco-nut-fibre strings are fixed by pegs to
the ground, close to each hop-stock, whence they radiate upwards for
attachment to the wires stretching between the tops of the posts. This
method is more simple and less expensive than the system first
described, its cost being from £24 to £28 per acre. In this case the
plants require to be well "lewed," or sheltered, as the strings being so
light are blown about by the wind. These methods are being largely
adopted, and, together with the practice of putting coco-nut-fibre
strings from pole to pole in grounds poled in the old-fashioned manner,
are important improvements in hop culture, which have tended to increase
the production of hops. Where the old system of poling with two or three
poles is still adhered to they are always creosoted, most growers having
tanks for the purpose; and, in the new methods of poling, the posts and
poles are creosoted, dipped or kyanized.
At Wye College, Kent, different systems of planting and training have
been tried, the alleys varying in width from 10 ft. down to 5 ft., and
the distance between the hills varying quite as widely, so that the
number of hills to the acre has ranged from 1210 down to 660. The
biggest crop was secured on the plot where hills were 8 ft. apart each
way. As a rule, indeed, a wide alley and abundant space between the
plants, thus allowing the hops plenty of air and light, produced the
best results, besides effecting some saving in the cost of cultivation,
as there were only 660 or 680 hills per acre. Of the various methods of
training, the umbrella system gave the biggest crop in each of the three
years, 1899, 1900, 1901; and it seemed to be the best method, except in
seasons when washing was required early, in which case the plants were
not so readily cleared of vermin.
Much attention is required to keep the bines in their places on the
poles, strings or wire, during the summer. This gives employment to many
women, for whose service in this and fruit-picking there is considerable
demand, and a woman has no trouble in earning from 1s. 6d. to 1s. 10d.
per day from April till September at pleasant and not very arduous
labour. The hop-picking follows, and at this women sometimes get 4s. and
even 5s. per day. This is the real Kent harvest, which formerly lasted a
month or five weeks. Now it rarely extends beyond eighteen days, as it
is important to secure the hops before the weather and the aphides,
which almost invariably swarm within the bracts of the cones, discolour
them and spoil their sale, as brewers insist upon having bright,
"coloury" hops. Picking is better done than was formerly the case. The
hops are picked more singly, and with comparatively few leaves, and the
pickers are of a somewhat better type than the rough hordes who formerly
went into Kent for "hopping." Kent planters engage their pickers
beforehand, and write to them, arranging the numbers required and the
date of picking. Many families go into Kent for pea- and fruit-picking
and remain for hop-picking. Without this great immigration of persons,
variously estimated at between 45,000 and 65,000, the crops of hops
could not be picked; and fruit-farmers also would be unable to get their
soft fruit gathered in time without the help of immigrant hands. The
fruit-growers and hop-planters of Kent have greatly improved the
accommodation for these immigrants.
Concerning the general question as to the advisability or otherwise of
cutting the hop bine at the time of picking, A.D. Hall has ascertained
experimentally that if the bine is cut close to the ground at a time
when the whole plant is unripe there are removed in the bine and leaves
considerable quantities of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid which
would have returned to the roots if the bine had not been cut until
ripe. The plant, therefore, would retain a substantial store of these
constituents for the following year's growth if the bine were left.
Chemical analyses have shown that about 30 lb. of nitrogen per acre may
be saved by allowing the bines to remain uncut, this representing
practically one-third of the total amount of nitrogen in the hops, leaf
and bine together. There are also from 25 lb. to 30 lb. of potash in the
growth, of which nine-tenths would return to the roots, with about half
the phosphoric acid and a very small proportion of the lime. It has been
demonstrated that by the practice of cutting the bines when the hops are
picked the succeeding crop is lessened to the extent of about one-tenth.
As to stripping off the leaves and lower branches of the plant, it was
found that this operation once reduced the crop 10% and once 20%, but
that in the year 1899 it did not affect the crop at all. The inference
appears to be that when there is a good crop it is not reduced by
stripping, but that when there is less vigour in the plant it suffers
the more. Hence, it would seem advisable to study the plant itself in
connexion with this matter, and to strip a little later, or somewhat
less, than usual when the bine is not healthy.
_Drying._--After being picked, the hops are taken in pokes--long sacks
holding ten bushels--to the oasts to be dried. The oasts are circular or
square kilns, or groups of kilns, wherein the green hops are laid upon
floors covered with horsehair, under which are enclosed or open stoves
or furnaces. The heat from these is evenly distributed among the hops
above by draughts below and round them. This is the usual simple
arrangement, but patent processes are adopted here and there, though
they are by no means general. The hops are from nine to ten hours
drying, after which they are taken off the kiln and allowed to cool
somewhat, and are then packed tightly into "pockets" 6 ft. long and 2
ft. wide, weighing 1½ cwt., by means of a hop-pressing machine, which
has cogs and wheels worked by hand. Of late years more care has been
bestowed by some of the leading growers upon the drying of hops, so as
to preserve their qualities and volatile essences, and to meet the
altered requirements of brewers, who must have bright, well-managed hops
for the production of light clear beers for quick draught. The use, for
example, of exhaust fans, recently introduced, greatly facilitates
drying by drawing a large volume of air through the hops; and as the
temperature may at the same time be kept low, the risk of getting
overfired samples is considerably reduced, though not entirely obviated.
The adoption of the roller floor is another great advance in the process
of hop-drying, for this, used in conjunction with a raised platform for
the men to stand on when turning, prevents any damage from the feet of
the workmen, and reduces the loss of resin to a minimum. The best
results are obtained when exhaust fans and the roller floor are
associated together. In such cases the roller floor, which empties its
load automatically, pours the hop cones into the receiving sheets in
usually as whole and unbroken a condition as that in which they went on
to the kiln.
_Pests of the Hop Crop._--In recent years the difficulties attendant
upon hop cultivation have been aggravated, and the expenses increased,
by regularly recurring attacks of aphis blight--due to the insect
_Aphis (Phorodon) humuli_--which render it necessary to spray or
syringe every hop plant, every branch and leaf, with insecticidal
solutions three or four times, and sometimes more often, in each
season. Quassia and soft-soap solutions are usually employed; they
contain from 4 lb. to 8 lb. of soft soap, and the extract of from 8
lb. to 10 lb. of quassia chips to 100 gallons of water. The soft soap
serves as a vehicle to retain the bitterness of the quassia upon the
bines and leaves, making them repulsive to the aphides, which are thus
starved out. Another pest, the red spider, _Tetranychus
telarius_--really one of the "spinning mites"--is most destructive in
very hot summers. Congregating on the under surfaces of the leaves,
the red spiders exhaust the sap and cause the leaves to fall,
producing the effect known in Germany as "fire-blast." The hop-wash of
soft soap and quassia, so effective against aphis attack, is of little
avail in the case of red spider. Some success, however, has attended
the use of a solution containing 8 lb. to 10 lb. of soft soap to 100
gallons of water, with three pints of paraffin added. It is necessary
to apply the washes with great force, in order to break through the
webs with which the spiders protect themselves. Hop-washing is done by
means of large garden engines worked by hand, but more frequently with
horse engines. Resort is sometimes had to steam engines, which force
the spraying solution along pipes laid between the rows of hops.
Mould or mildew is frequently the source of much loss to hop-planters.
It is due to the action of the fungus _Podosphaera castagnei_, and the
mischief is more especially that done to the cones. The only
trustworthy remedy is sulphur, employed usually in the form of flowers
of sulphur, from 40 lb. to 60 lb. per acre being applied at each
sulphuring. The powder is distributed by means of a machine drawn by a
horse between the rows. The sulphur is fed from a hopper into a
blast-pipe, whence it is driven by a fan actuated by the travelling
wheels, and falls as a dense, wide-spreading cloud upon the hop-bines.
The first sulphuring takes place when the plants are fairly up the
poles, and is repeated three or four weeks later; and even again if
indications of mildew are present. It may be added that sulphur is
also successfully employed in the form of an alkaline sulphide, such
as solution of "liver of sulphur," a variety of potassium sulphide.
(W. Fr.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See _Report from the Select Committee on the Hop Industry_
(London, 1908).
[2] _Jour. Roy. Agric. Soc_., 1899.
[3] J. Percival, "The Hop and its English Varieties," _Jour. Roy.
Agric. Soc._, 1901.
[4] _Six Years' Experiments on Hop Manuring_ (London, 1901).
HOPE, ANTHONY, the pen-name of ANTHONY HOPE HAWKINS (1863- ), British
novelist, who was born on the 9th of February 1863, the second son of
the Rev. E. C. Hawkins, Vicar of St Bride's, Fleet Street, London. He
was educated at Marlborough and Balliol College, Oxford, where he was
president of the Union Society, and graduated with first classes in
Moderations and Final Schools. He was called to the bar at the Middle
Temple in 1877. He soon began contributing stories and sketches to the
_St James's Gazette_, and in 1890 published his first novel, _A Man of
Mark_. This was followed by _Father Stafford_ (1891), _Mr Witt's Widow_
(1892), _Change of Air_ and _Sport Royal and Other Stories_ (1893). By
this time he had attracted by his vivacious talent the attention of
editors and readers; but it was not till the following year that he
attained a great popular success with the publication (May 1894) of _The
Prisoner of Zenda_. This was followed a few weeks later by _The Dolly
Dialogues_ (previously published in separate instalments in the
_Westminster Gazette_). Both books became parents of a numerous progeny.
_The Prisoner of Zenda_, owing something to the _Prince Otto_ of R. L.
Stevenson, established a fashion for what was christened, after its
fictitious locality, "Ruritanian romance"; while the _Dolly Dialogues_,
inspired possibly by "Gyp" and other French dialogue writers, was the
forerunner of a whole school of epigrammatic drawing-room comedy. _The
Prisoner of Zenda_, with Mr Alexander as "Rupert Rassendyll," enjoyed a
further success in a dramatized form at the St James's Theatre, which
did still more to popularize the author's fame. In 1894 also appeared
_The God in the Car_, a novel suggested by the ambiguous influence on
English society of Cecil Rhodes's career; and _Half a Hero_, a
complementary study of Australian politics. The same year saw further
the publication of _The Indiscretion of the Duchess_, in the style of
the _Dolly Dialogues_, and of another collection of stories named (after
the first) _The Secret of Wardale Court_. In 1895 Mr Hawkins published
_Count Antonio_, and contributed to _Dialogues of the Day_, edited by Mr
Oswald Crawfurd. _Comedies of Courtship_ and _The Heart of the Princess
Osra_ followed in 1896; _Phroso_ in 1897; _Simon Dale_ and _Rupert of
Hentzau_ (sequel of the _Prisoner of Zenda_) 1898; and _The King's
Mirror_, a Ruritanian romance with an infusion of serious psychological
interest, 1899. The author was advancing from his light comedy and
gallant romantic inventions to the graver kind of fiction of which _The
God in the Car_ had been an earlier essay. _Quisante_, published in
1900, was a study of English society face to face with a political
genius of an alien type. _Tristram of Blent_ (1901) embodied an ethical
study of family pride. _The Intrusions of Peggy_ reflected the effects
on society of recent financial fashions. In 1904 he published _Double
Harness_, and in 1905 _A Servant of the Public_, two novels of modern
society, containing somewhat cynical pictures of the condition of
marriage. With increasing gravity the novelist sacrificed some of the
charm of his earlier irresponsible gaiety and buoyancy; but his art
retained its wit and urbanity while it gained in grip of the social
conditions of contemporary life. He wrote two plays, _The Adventure of
Lady Ursula_ (1898) and _Pilkerton's Peerage_ (1902), and his later
novels include _The Great Miss Driver_ (1908) and _Second String_
(1909). Mr Hawkins's attractive and cultured style and command of plot
give him a high place among the modern writers of English fiction. In
1903 he married Miss Elizabeth Somerville Sheldon of New York.
HOPE, THOMAS (c. 1770-1831), English art-collector, and author of
_Anastasius_, born in London about 1770, was the eldest son of John Hope
of Amsterdam, and was descended from a branch of an old Scottish family
who for several generations were extensive merchants in London and
Amsterdam. About the age of eighteen he started on a tour through
various parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, where he interested himself
especially in architecture and sculpture, making a large collection of
the principal objects which attracted his attention. On his return to
London about 1796 he purchased a house in Duchess Street, Cavendish
Square, which he fitted up in a very elaborate style, from drawings made
by himself. In 1807 he published sketches of his furniture, accompanied
by letterpress, in a folio volume, entitled _Household Furniture and
Interior Decoration_, which had considerable influence in effecting a
change in the upholstery and interior decoration of houses,
notwithstanding that Byron had referred scornfully to him as
"House-furnisher withal, one Thomas hight." Hope's furniture designs
were in that pseudo-classical manner which is generally called "English
Empire." It was sometimes extravagant, and often heavy, but was much
more restrained than the wilder and later flights of Sheraton in this
style. At the best, however, it was a not very inspiring mixture of
Egyptian and Roman motives. In 1809 he published the _Costumes of the
Ancients_, and in 1812 _Designs of Modern Costumes_, works which display
a large amount of antiquarian research. He was also, as his father had
been--the elder Hope's country house near Haarlem was crowded with fine
pictures--a munificent patron of the highest forms of art, and both at
his London house and his country seat at Deepdene near Dorking he formed
large collections of paintings, sculpture and antiques. Deepdene in his
day became a famous resort of men of letters as well as of people of
fashion, and among the luxuries suggested by his fine taste was a
miniature library in several languages in each bedroom. Thorvaldsen, the
Danish sculptor, was indebted to him for the early recognition of his
talents, and he also gave frequent employment to Chantrey and
Flaxman--it was to his order that the latter illustrated Dante. In 1819
he published anonymously his novel _Anastasius, or Memoirs of a Modern
Greek, written at the close of the 18th century_, a work which, chiefly
on account of the novel character of its subject, caused a great
sensation. It was at first generally attributed to Lord Byron, who told
Lady Blessington that he wept bitterly on reading it because he had not
written it and Hope had. But, though remarkable for the acquaintance it
displays with Eastern life, and distinguished by considerable
imaginative vigour and much graphic and picturesque description, its
paradoxes are not so striking as those of Lord Byron; and,
notwithstanding some eloquent and forcible passages, the only reason
which warranted its ascription to him was the general type of character
to which its hero belonged. Hope died on the 3rd of February 1831. He
was the author of two works published posthumously--the _Origin and
Prospects of Man_ (1831), in which his speculations diverged widely from
the usual orthodox opinions, and an _Historical Essay on Architecture_
(1835), an elaborate description of the architecture of the middle ages,
illustrated by drawings made by himself in Italy and Germany. He is
commonly known in literature as "Anastasius" Hope. He married (1806)
Louisa de la Poer Beresford, daughter of Lord Decies, archbishop of
Tuam.
HOPEDALE, a township of Worcester county, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; pop.
(1905; state census) 2048; (1910) 2188. It is served by the Milford &
Uxbridge (electric) street railway, and (for freight) by the Grafton &
Upton railway. The town lies in the "dale" between Milford and Mendon,
and is cut from N.W. to S.E. by the Mill river, which furnishes good
water power at its falls. The principal manufactures are textiles,
boots and shoes, and, of most importance, cotton machinery. The great
cotton machinery factories here are owned by the Draper Company.
Hopedale has a public park on the site of the Ballou homestead, with a
bronze statue of Adin Ballou; a memorial church erected by George A. and
Eben S. Draper; the Bancroft Memorial Library, given by Joseph B.
Bancroft in memory of his wife; and a marble drinking fountain with
statuary by Waldo Story, the gift of Susan Preston Draper, General W. F.
Draper's wife. The village is remarkable for the comfortable cottages of
the workers.
The history of Hopedale centres round the Rev. Adin Ballou (1803-1890),
a distant relative of Hosea Ballou;[1] he left, in succession, the
ministry of the Christian Connexion (1823) and that of the Universalist
Church (1831), because of his restorationist views. In 1831 he became
pastor of an independent church in Mendon. An ardent exponent of
temperance, the anti-slavery movement, woman's rights, the peace cause
and Christian non-resistance (even through the Civil War), and of
"Practical Christian Socialism," it was in the interests of the last
cause that he founded Hopedale, or "Fraternal Community No. 1," in
Milford, in April 1842, the first compact of the community having been
drawn up in January 1841. Thirty persons joined with him, and lived in a
single house on a poor farm of 258 acres, purchased in June 1841. Ballou
was for several years the president of the community, which was run on
the plan that all should have an equal voice as to the use of property,
in spite of the fact that there was individual holding of property. The
community, however, owned the instruments of production, with the single
exception of the important patent rights held by Ebenezer D. Draper. The
result was bickerings between those who were joint stockholders and
those whose only profit came from their manual labour. In a short time
the control of the community came into the hands of its richest members,
E. D. Draper and his brother, George Draper (1817-1887), who owned
three-fourths of the joint stock. In 1856 there was a total deficit of
about $12,000. The Draper brothers bought up the joint stock of the
community at par and paid its debts, and the community soon ceased to
exist save as a religious society. After George Draper's death the
control of the mills passed to his sons. These included General William
Franklin Draper (1842-1910), a Republican representative in Congress in
1892-1897 and U.S. ambassador to Italy in 1897-1900, and Eben Sumner
Draper (b. 1858), lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts in 1906-1908 and
governor in 1909-1911. In 1867 the community was merged with Hopedale
parish, a Unitarian organization. Hopedale was separated from Milford
and incorporated as a township in 1886.
See Adin Ballou's _History of Milford_ (Boston, 1882), his _History of
the Hopedale Community_, edited by William S. Heywood (Lowell, 1897),
his _Biography_ by the same editor (Lowell, 1896) and his _Practical
and Christian Socialism_ (Hopedale, 1854); George L. Carey, "Adin
Ballou and the Hopedale Community" (in the _New World_, vol. vii.,
1898); Lewis G. Wilson, "Hopedale and Its Founder" (in _The New
England Magazine_, vol. x., 1891); and William F. Draper,
_Recollections of a Varied Career_ (Boston, 1908).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Adin Ballou wrote _An Elaborate History and Genealogy of the
Ballous in America_ (Providence, R.I., 1888).
HOPE-SCOTT, JAMES ROBERT (1812-1873), English barrister and Tractarian,
was born on the 15th of July 1812, at Great Marlow, Berkshire, the third
Son of Sir Alexander Hope, and grandson of the second earl of Hopetoun.
He was educated at Eton and Oxford, where he was a contemporary and
friend of Gladstone and J. H. Newman, and in 1838 was called to the bar.
Between 1840 and 1843 he helped to found Trinity College, Glenalmond. He
was one of the leaders of the Tractarian movement and entirely in
Newman's confidence. In 1851 he was received with Manning into the Roman
Catholic church. At this time he was making a very large income at the
Parliamentary bar. He only commenced serious practice in this branch of
his profession in 1843, but by the end of 1845 he stood at the head of
it and in 1849 was made a Queen's Counsel. In 1847 he married Miss
Lockhart, granddaughter of Sir Walter Scott, and on her coming into
possession of Abbotsford six years later, assumed the surname of
Hope-Scott. He retired from the bar in 1870 and died on the 29th of
April 1873.
HOPFEN, HANS VON (1835-1904), German poet and novelist, was born on the
3rd of January 1835, at Munich. He studied law, and in 1858, having
shown marked poetical promise, he was received into the circle of young
poets whom King Maximilian II. had gathered round him, and thereafter
devoted himself to literature. In 1862 he made his debut as an author,
with _Lieder und Balladen_, which were published in the _Münchener
Dichterbuch_, edited by E. Geibel. After travelling in Italy (1862),
France (1863) and Austria (1864), he was appointed, in 1865, general
secretary of the "Schillerstiftung," and in this capacity settled at
Vienna. The following year, however, he removed to Berlin, in a suburb
of which, Lichterfelde, he died on the 19th of November 1904. Of
Hopfen's lyric poems, _Gedichte_ (4th ed., Berlin, 1883), many are of
considerable talent and originality; but it is as a novelist that he is
best known. The novels _Peregretta_ (1864); _Verdorben zu Paris_ (1868,
new ed. 1892); _Arge Sitten_ (1869); _Der graue Freund_ (1874, 2nd ed.,
1876); and _Verfehlte Liebe_ (1876, 2nd ed., 1879) are attractive, while
of his shorter stories _Tiroler Geschichten_ (1884-1885) command most
favour.
An autobiographical sketch of Hopfen is contained in K. E. Franzos,
_Geschichte des Erstlingswerkes_ (1904).
HOPI, or MOKI (_Moquis_), a tribe of North American Indians of
Shoshonean stock. They are Pueblo or town-building Indians and occupy
seven villages on three lofty plateaus of northern Arizona. The first
accounts of them date from the expedition of Francisco Vasquez de
Coronado in 1540. With the town-building Indians of New Mexico they were
then subdued. They shared in the successful revolt of 1542, but again
suffered defeat in 1586. In 1680, however, they made a successful revolt
against the Spaniards. They weave very fine blankets, make baskets and
are expert potters and wood-carvers. Their houses are built of stone set
in mortar. Their ceremonies are of an elaborate nature, and in the
famous "snake-dance" the performers carry live rattlesnakes in their
mouths. They number some 1600. (See also PUEBLO INDIANS.)
For Hopi festivals, see _21st Ann. Report Bureau of Amer. Ethnology_
(1899-1900).
HÖPKEN, ANDERS JOHAN, COUNT VON (1712-1789), Swedish statesman, was the
son of Daniel Niklas Höpken, one of Arvid Horn's most determined
opponents and a founder of the Hat party. When in 1738 the Hats came
into power the younger Höpken obtained a seat in the secret committee of
the diet, and during the Finnish war of 1741-42 was one of the two
commissioners appointed to negotiate with Russia. During the diet of
1746-1747 Höpken's influence was of the greatest importance. It was
chiefly through his efforts that the estates issued a "national
declaration" protesting against the arrogant attitude of the Russian
ambassador, who attempted to dominate the crown prince Adolphus
Frederick and the government. This spirited policy restored the waning
prestige of the Hat party and firmly established their anti-Muscovite
system. In 1746 Höpken was created a senator. In 1751 he succeeded
Gustaf Tessin as prime minister, and controlled the foreign policy of
Sweden for the next nine years. On the outbreak of the Seven Years' War,
he contracted an armed neutrality treaty with Denmark (1756); but in the
following year acceded to the league against Frederick II. of Prussia.
During the crisis of 1760-1762, when the Hats were at last compelled to
give an account of their stewardship, Höpken was sacrificed to party
exigencies and retired from the senate as well as from the premiership.
On the 22nd of June 1762, however, he was created a count. After the
revolution of 1772 he re-entered the senate at the particular request of
Gustavus III., but no longer exercised any political influence. His
caustic criticism of many of the royal measures, moreover, gave great
offence, and in 1780 he retired into private life. Höpken was a
distinguished author. The noble style of his biographies and orations
has earned for him the title of the Swedish Tacitus. He helped to found
the _Vetenskaps Akademi_, and when Gustavus III. in 1786 established
the Swedish Academy, he gave Höpken the first place in it.
See L. G. de Geer, _Minne af Grefve A. J. von Höpken_ (Stockholm,
1882); Carl Silfverstolpe, _Grefve Höpkens Skrifter_ (Stockholm,
1890-1893). (R. N. B.)
HOPKINS, EDWARD WASHBURN (1857- ), American Sanskrit scholar, was born
in Northampton, Massachusetts, on the 8th of September 1857. He
graduated at Columbia University in 1878, studied at Leipzig, where he
received the degree of Ph.D. in 1881, was an instructor at Columbia in
1881-1885, and professor at Bryn Mawr in 1885-1895, and became professor
of Sanskrit and comparative philology in Yale University in 1895. He
became secretary of the American Oriental Society and editor of its
_Journal_, to which he contributed many valuable papers, especially on
numerical and temporal categories in early Sanskrit literature. He wrote
_Caste in Ancient India_ (1881); _Manu's Lawbook_ (1884); _Religions of
India_ (1895); _The Great Epic of India_ (1901); and _India Old and New_
(1901).
HOPKINS, ESEK (1718-1802), the first admiral of the United States navy,
was born at Scituate, Rhode Island, in 1718. He belonged to one of the
most prominent Puritan families of New England. At the age of twenty he
went to sea, and rapidly came to the front as a good sailor and skilful
trader. Marrying, three years later, into a prosperous family of
Newport, and thus increasing his influence in Rhode Island, he became
commodore of a fleet of seventeen merchantmen, the movements of which he
directed with skill and energy. In war as well as peace, Hopkins was
establishing his reputation as one of the leading colonial seamen, for
as captain of a privateer he made more than one brilliant and successful
venture during the Seven Years' War. In the interval between voyages,
moreover, he was engaged in Rhode Island politics, and rendered
efficient support to his brother Stephen against the Ward faction. At
the outbreak of the War of Independence, Hopkins was appointed
brigadier-general by Rhode Island, was commissioned, December 1775, by
the Continental Congress, commander-in-chief of the navy, and in January
1776 hoisted his flag as admiral of the eight converted merchantmen
which then constituted the navy of the United States. His first cruise
resulted in a great acquisition of material of war and an indecisive
fight with H.M.S. "Glasgow." At first this created great enthusiasm, but
criticism soon made itself heard. Hopkins and two of his captains were
tried for breach of orders, and, though ably defended by John Adams,
were censured by Congress. The commands, nevertheless, were not
interfered with, and a prize was soon afterwards named after the admiral
by their orders. But the difficulties and mutual distrust continually
increased, and in 1777 Congress summarily dismissed Hopkins from his
command, on the complaint of some of his officers. Before the order
arrived, the admiral had detected the conspiracy against him, and had
had the ringleaders tried and degraded by court-martial. But the
Congress followed up its order by dismissing him from the navy. For the
rest of his life he lived in Rhode Island, playing a prominent part in
state politics, and he died at Providence in 1802.
See Edward Field, _Life of Esek Hopkins_ (Providence, 1898); also an
article by R. Grieve in the _New England Magazine_ of November 1897.
HOPKINS, MARK (1802-1887), American educationist, great-nephew of the
theologian Samuel Hopkins, was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on
the 4th of February 1802. He graduated in 1824 at Williams College,
where he was a tutor in 1825-1827, and where in 1830, after having
graduated in the previous year at the Berkshire Medical College at
Pittsfield, he became professor of Moral Philosophy and Rhetoric. In
1833 he was licensed to preach in Congregational churches. He was
president of Williams College from 1836 until 1872. He was one of the
ablest and most successful of the old type of college president. His
volume of lectures on _Evidences of Christianity_ (1846) was long a
favourite text-book. Of his other writings, the chief were _Lectures on
Moral Science_ (1862), _The Law of Love and Love as a Law_ (1869), _An
Outline Study of Man_ (1873), _The Scriptural Idea of Man_ (1883), and
_Teachings and Counsels_ (1884). Dr Hopkins took a lifelong interest in
Christian missions, and from 1857 until his death was president of the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (the American
Congregational Mission Board). He died at Williamstown, on the 17th of
June 1887. His son, HENRY HOPKINS (1837-1908), was also from 1903 till
his death president of Williams College.
See Franklin Carter's _Mark Hopkins_ (Boston, 1892), in the "American
Religious Leaders" series, and Leverett W. Spring's _Mark Hopkins,
Teacher_ (New York, 1888), being No. 4, vol. i., of the "Monographs of
the Industrial Educational Association."
Mark Hopkins's brother, ALBERT HOPKINS (1807-1872), was long associated
with him at Williams College, where he graduated in 1826 and was
successively a tutor (1827-1829), professor of mathematics and natural
philosophy (1829-1838), professor of natural philosophy and astronomy
(1838-1868) and professor of astronomy (1868-1872). In 1835 he organized
and conducted a Natural History Expedition to Nova Scotia, said to have
been the first expedition of the kind sent out from any American
college, and in 1837, at his suggestion and under his direction, was
built at Williams College an astronomical observatory, said to have been
the first in the United States built at a college exclusively for
purposes of instruction. He died at Williamstown on the 24th of May
1872.
See Albert C. Sewall's _Life of Professor Albert Hopkins_ (1879).
HOPKINS, SAMUEL (1721-1803), American theologian, from whom the
Hopkinsian theology takes its name, was born at Waterbury, Connecticut,
on the 17th of September 1721. He graduated at Yale College in 1741;
studied divinity at Northampton, Massachusetts, with Jonathan Edwards;
was licensed to preach in 1742, and in December 1743 was ordained pastor
of the church in the North Parish of Sheffield, or Housatonick (now
Great Barrington), Massachusetts, at that time a small settlement of
only thirty families. There he laboured--preaching, studying and
writing--until 1769, for part of the time (1751-1758) in intimate
association with his old teacher, Edwards, whose call to Stockbridge he
had been instrumental in procuring. His theological views having met
with much opposition, however, he was finally dismissed from the
pastorate on the pretext of want of funds for his support. From April
1770 until his death on the 20th of December 1803, he was the pastor of
the First Church in Newport, Rhode Island, though during 1776-1780,
while Newport was occupied by the British, he preached at Newburyport,
Mass., and at Canterbury and Stamford, Conn. In 1799 he had an attack of
paralysis, from which he never wholly recovered. Hopkins's theological
views have had a powerful influence in America. Personally he was
remarkable for force and energy of character, and for the utter
fearlessness with which he followed premises to their conclusions. In
vigour of intellect and in strength and purity of moral tone he was
hardly inferior to Edwards himself. Though he was originally a
slave-holder, to him belongs the honour of having been the first among
the Congregational ministers of New England to denounce slavery both by
voice and pen; and to his persistent though bitterly opposed efforts are
probably chiefly to be attributed the law of 1774, which forbade the
importation of negro slaves into Rhode Island, as also that of 1784,
which declared that all children of slaves born in Rhode Island after
the following March should be free. His training school for negro
missionaries to Africa was broken up by the confusion of the American
War of Independence. Among his publications are a valuable _Life and
Character of Jonathan Edwards_ (1799), and numerous pamphlets, addresses
and sermons, including _A Dialogue concerning the Slavery of the
Africans, showing it to be the Duty and Interest of the American States
to emancipate all their African Slaves_ (1776), and _A Discourse upon
the Slave Trade and the History of the Africans_ (1793). His distinctive
theological tenets are to be found in his important work, _A System of
Doctrines Contained in Divine Revelation, Explained and Defended_
(1793), which has had an influence hardly inferior to that exercised by
the writings of Edwards himself. They may be summed up as follows: God
so rules the universe as to produce its highest happiness, considered as
a whole. Since God's sovereignty is absolute, sin must be, by divine
permission, a means by which this happiness of the whole is secured,
though that this is its consequence, renders it no less heinous in the
sinner. Virtue consists in preference for the good of the whole to any
private advantage; hence the really virtuous man must willingly accept
any disposition of himself that God may deem wise--a doctrine often
called "willingness to be damned." All have natural power to choose the
right, and are therefore responsible for their acts; but all men lack
inclination to choose the right unless the existing "bias" of their
wills is transformed by the power of God from self-seeking into an
effective inclination towards virtue. Hence preaching should demand
instant submission to God and disinterested goodwill, and should teach
the worthlessness of all religious acts or dispositions which are less
than these, while recognizing that God can grant or withhold the
regenerative change at his pleasure.
The best edition of Hopkins's _Works_ is that published in three
volumes at Boston in 1852, containing an excellent biographical sketch
by Professor Edwards A. Park. In 1854 was published separately
Hopkins's _Treatise on the Millennium_, which originally appeared in
his _System of Doctrines_ and in which he deduced from prophecies in
_Daniel_ and _Revelation_ that the millennium would come "not far from
the end of the twentieth century." See also Stephen West's _Sketches
of the Life of the Late Reverend Samuel Hopkins_ (Hartford, Conn.,
1805), Franklin B. Dexter's _Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of
Yale College_ and Williston Walker's _Ten New England Leaders_ (New
York, 1901). (W. Wr.)
HOPKINS, WILLIAM (1793-1866), English mathematician and geologist, was
born at Kingston-on-Soar, in Nottinghamshire, on the 2nd of February
1793. In his youth he learned practical agriculture in Norfolk and
afterwards took an extensive farm in Suffolk. In this he was
unsuccessful. At the age of thirty he entered St Peter's College,
Cambridge, taking his degree of B.A. in 1827 as seventh wrangler and
M.A. in 1830. In 1833 he published _Elements of Trigonometry_. He was
distinguished for his mathematical knowledge, and became eminently
successful as a private tutor, many of his pupils attaining high
distinction. About 1833, through meeting Sedgwick at Barmouth and
joining him in several excursions, he became intensely interested in
geology. Thereafter, in papers published by the Cambridge Philosophical
Society and the Geological Society of London, he entered largely into
mathematical inquiries connected with geology, dealing with the effects
which an elevatory force acting from below would produce on a portion of
the earth's crust, in fissures, faults, &c. In this way he discussed the
elevation and denudation of the Lake district, the Wealden area, and the
Bas Boulonnais. He wrote also on the motion of glaciers and the
transport of erratic blocks. So ably had he grappled with many difficult
problems that in 1850 the Wollaston medal was awarded to him by the
Geological Society of London; and in the following year he was elected
president. In his second address (1853) he criticized Élie de Beaumont's
theory of the elevation of mountain-chains and showed the imperfect
evidence on which it rested. He brought before the Geological Society in
1851 an important paper _On the Causes which may have produced changes
in the Earth's superficial Temperature_. He was president of the British
Association for 1853. His later researches included observations on the
conductivity of various substances for heat, and on the effect of
pressure on the temperature of fusion of different bodies. He died at
Cambridge on the 13th of October 1866.
Obituary by W. W. Smyth, in _Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc._ (1867), p.
xxix.
HOPKINSON, FRANCIS (1737-1791), American author and statesman, one of
the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 2nd of October 1737. He was a son of
Thomas Hopkinson (1709-1751), a prominent lawyer of Philadelphia, one of
the first trustees of the College of Philadelphia, now the University of
Pennsylvania, and first president of the American Philosophical Society.
Francis was the first student to enter the College of Philadelphia.
from which he received his bachelor's degree in 1757 and his master's
degree in 1760. He then studied law in the office in Philadelphia of
Benjamin Chew, and was admitted to the bar in 1761. Removing after 1768
to Bordentown, New Jersey, he became a member of the council of that
colony in 1774. On the approach of the War of Independence he identified
himself with the patriot or whig element in the colony, and in 1776 and
1777 he was a delegate to the Continental Congress. He served on the
committee appointed to frame the Articles of Confederation, executed,
with John Nixon (1733-1808) and John Wharton, the "business of the navy"
under the direction of the marine committee, and acted for a time as
treasurer of the Continental loan office. From 1779 to 1789 he was judge
of the court of admiralty in Pennsylvania, and from 1790 until his death
was United States district judge for that state. He was famous for his
versatility, and besides being a distinguished lawyer, jurist and
political leader, was "a mathematician, a chemist, a physicist, a
mechanician, an inventor, a musician and a composer of music, a man of
literary knowledge and practice, a writer of airy and dainty songs, a
clever artist with pencil and brush and a humorist of unmistakeable
power" (Tyler, _Literary History of the American Revolution_). It is as
a writer, however, that he will be remembered. He ranks as one of the
three leading satirists on the patriot side during the War of
Independence. His ballad, _The Battle of the Kegs_ (1778), was long
exceedingly popular. To alarm the British force at Philadelphia the
Americans floated kegs charged with gunpowder down the Delaware river
towards that city, and the British, alarmed for the safety of their
shipping, fired with cannon and small arms at everything they saw
floating in the river. Hopkinson's ballad is an imaginative expansion of
the actual facts. To the cause of the revolution this ballad, says
Professor Tyler, "was perhaps worth as much just then as the winning of
a considerable battle." Hopkinson's principal writings are _The Pretty
Story_ (1774), _A Prophecy_ (1776) and _The Political Catechism_ (1777).
Among his songs may be mentioned _The Treaty_ and _The New Roof, a Song
for Federal Mechanics_; and the best known of his satirical pieces are
_Typographical Method of conducting a Quarrel_, _Essay on White Washing_
and _Modern Learning_. His _Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional
Writings_ were published at Philadelphia in 3 vols., 1792.
His son, JOSEPH HOPKINSON (1770-1842), graduated at the University of
Pennsylvania in 1786, studied law, and was a Federalist member of the
national House of Representatives in 1815-1819, Federal judge of the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1828 until his death, and a member
of the state constitutional convention of 1837. He is better known,
however, as the author of the patriotic anthem "Hail Columbia" (1798).
HOPKINSON, JOHN (1849-1898), English engineer and physicist, was born in
Manchester on the 27th of July 1849. Before he was sixteen he attended
lectures at Owens College, and at eighteen he gained a mathematical
scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1871 as
senior wrangler and first Smith's prizeman, having previously taken the
degree of D.Sc. at London University and won a Whitworth scholarship.
Although elected a fellow and tutor of his college, he stayed up at
Cambridge only for a very short time, preferring to learn practical
engineering as a pupil in the works in which his father was a partner.
But there his stay was equally short, for in 1872 he undertook the
duties of engineering manager in the glass manufactories of Messrs
Chance Brothers and Company at Birmingham. Six years later he removed to
London, and while continuing to act as scientific adviser to Messrs
Chance, established a most successful practice as a consulting engineer.
His work was mainly, though not exclusively, electrical, and his
services were in great demand as an expert witness in patent cases. In
1890 he was appointed director of the Siemens laboratory at King's
College, London, with the title of professor of electrical engineering.
His death occurred prematurely on the 27th of August 1898, when he was
killed, together with one son and two daughters, by an accident the
nature of which was never precisely ascertained, while climbing the
Petite Dent de Veisivi, above Evolena. Dr Hopkinson presented a rare
combination of practical with theoretical ability, and his achievements
in pure scientific research are not less intrinsically notable than the
skill with which he applied their results to the solution of concrete
engineering problems. His original work is contained in more than sixty
papers, all written with a complete mastery both of style and of
subject-matter. His name is best known in connexion with electricity and
magnetism. On the one hand he worked out the general theory of the
magnetic circuit in the dynamo (in conjunction with his brother Edward),
and the theory of alternating currents, and conducted a long series of
observations on the phenomena attending magnetization in iron, nickel
and the curious alloys of the two which can exist both in a magnetic and
non-magnetic state at the same temperature. On the other hand, by the
application of the principles he thus elucidated he furthered to an
immense extent the employment of electricity for the purposes of daily
life. As regards the generation of electric energy, by pointing out
defects of design in the dynamo as it existed about 1878, and showing
how important improvements were to be effected in its construction, he
was largely instrumental in converting it from a clumsy and wasteful
appliance into one of the most efficient known to the engineer. Again,
as regards the distribution of the current, he took a leading part in
the development of the three-wire system and the closed-circuit
transformer, while electric traction had to thank him for the
series-parallel method of working motors. During his residence in
Birmingham, Messrs Chance being makers of glass for use in lighthouse
lamps, his attention was naturally turned to problems of lighthouse
illumination, and he was able to devise improvements in both the
catoptric and dioptric methods for concentrating and directing the beam.
He was a strong advocate of the group-flashing system as a means of
differentiating lights, and invented an arrangement for carrying it into
effect optically, his plan being first adopted for the catoptric light
of the _Royal Sovereign_ lightship, in the English Channel off Beachy
Head. Moreover, his association with glass manufacture led him to study
the refractive indices of different kinds of glass; he further undertook
abstruse researches on electrostatic capacity, the phenomena of the
residual charge, and other problems arising out of Clerk Maxwell's
electro-magnetic theory.
His original papers were collected and published, with a memoir by his
son, in 1901.
HOPKINSVILLE, a city and the county-seat of Christian county, Kentucky,
U.S.A., about 150 m. S.W. of Louisville. Pop. (1890) 5833; (1900) 7280
(3243 negroes); (1910) 9419. The city is served by the Illinois Central
and the Louisville & Nashville railways. It is the seat of Bethel Female
College (Baptist, founded 1854), of South Kentucky College (Christian;
co-educational; chartered 1849) and of the Western Kentucky Asylum for
the Insane. The city's chief interest is in the tobacco industry; it has
also considerable trade in other agricultural products and in coal; and
its manufactures include carriages and wagons, bricks, lime, flour and
dressed lumber. When Christian county was formed from Logan county in
1797, Hopkinsville, formerly called Elizabethtown, became the
county-seat, and was renamed in honour of Samuel Hopkins (c. 1750-1819),
an officer of the Continental Army in the War of Independence, a pioneer
settler in Kentucky, and a representative in Congress from Kentucky in
1813-1815. In 1798 Hopkinsville was incorporated.
HOPPNER, JOHN (1758-1810), English portrait-painter, was born, it is
said, on the 4th of April 1758 at Whitechapel. His father was of German
extraction, and his mother was one of the German attendants at the royal
palace. Hoppner was consequently brought early under the notice and
received the patronage of George III., whose regard for him gave rise to
unfounded scandal. As a boy he was a chorister at the royal chapel, but
showing strong inclination for art, he in 1775 entered as a student at
the Royal Academy. In 1778 he took a silver medal for drawing from the
life, and in 1782 the Academy's highest award, the gold medal for
historical painting, his subject being King Lear. He first exhibited at
the Royal Academy in 1780. His earliest love was for landscape, but
necessity obliged him to turn to the more lucrative business of
portrait-painting. At once successful, he had, throughout life, the most
fashionable and wealthy sitters, and was the greatest rival of the
growing attraction of Lawrence. Ideal subjects were very rarely
attempted by Hoppner, though a "Sleeping Venus," "Belisarius," "Jupiter
and Io," a "Bacchante" and "Cupid and Psyche" are mentioned among his
works. The prince of Wales especially patronized him, and many of his
finest portraits are in the state apartments at St James's Palace, the
best perhaps being those of the prince, the duke and duchess of York, of
Lord Rodney and of Lord Nelson. Among his other sitters were Sir Walter
Scott, Wellington, Frere and Sir George Beaumont. Competent judges have
deemed his most successful works to be his portraits of women and
children. A _Series of Portraits of Ladies_ was published by him in
1803, and a volume of translations of Eastern tales into English verse
in 1805. The verse is of but mediocre quality. In his later years
Hoppner suffered from a chronic disease of the liver; he died on the
23rd of January 1810. He was confessedly an imitator of Reynolds. When
first painted, his works were much admired for the brilliancy and
harmony of their colouring, but the injury due to destructive mediums
and lapse of time which many of them suffered caused a great
depreciation in his reputation. The appearance, however, of some of his
pictures in good condition has shown that his fame as a brilliant
colourist was well founded. His drawing is faulty, but his touch has
qualities of breadth and freedom that give to his paintings a faint
reflection of the charm of Reynolds. Hoppner was a man of great social
power, and had the knowledge and accomplishments of a man of the world.
The best account of Hoppner's life and paintings is the exhaustive
work by William McKay and W. Roberts (1909).
HOP-SCOTCH ("scotch," to score), an old English children's game in which
a small object, like a flat stone, is kicked by the player, while
hopping, from one division to another of an oblong space marked upon the
ground and divided into a number of divisions, usually 10 or 12. These
divisions are numbered, and the stone must rest successively in each.
Should it rest upon a line or go out of the division aimed for, the
player loses. In order to win a player must drive the stone into each
division and back to the starting-point.
HOPTON, RALPH HOPTON, BARON (1598-1652), Royalist commander in the
English Civil War, was the son of Robert Hopton of Witham, Somerset. He
appears to have been educated at Lincoln College, Oxford, and to have
served in the army of the Elector Palatine in the early campaigns of the
Thirty Years' War, and in 1624 he was lieutenant-colonel of a regiment
raised in England to serve in Mansfeld's army. Charles I., at his
coronation, made Hopton a Knight of the Bath. In the political troubles
which preceded the outbreak of the Civil War, Hopton, as member of
parliament successively for Bath, Somerset and Wells, at first opposed
the royal policy, but after Stratford's attainder (for which he voted)
he gradually became an ardent supporter of Charles, and at the beginning
of the Great Rebellion (q.v.) he was made lieutenant-general under the
marquess of Hertford in the west. His first achievement was the rallying
of Cornwall to the royal cause, his next to carry the war from that
county into Devonshire. In May 1643 he won the brilliant victory of
Stratton, in June he overran Devonshire, and on the 5th of July he
inflicted a severe defeat on Sir William Waller at Lansdown. In the last
action he was severely wounded by the explosion of a powder-wagon and he
was soon after shut up in Devizes by Waller, where he defended himself
until relieved by the victory of Roundway Down on the 13th of July. He
was soon afterwards created Baron Hopton of Stratton. But his successes
in the west were cut short by the defeat of Cheriton or Alresford in
March 1644. After this he served in the western campaign under Charles's
own command, and towards the end of the war, after Lord Goring had left
England, he succeeded to the command of the royal army, which his
predecessor had allowed to waste away in indiscipline. It was no longer
possible to stem the tide of the parliament's victory, and Hopton,
defeated in his last stand at Torrington on the 16th of February 1646,
surrendered to Fairfax. Subsequently he accompanied the prince of Wales
in his attempts to prolong the war in the Scilly and Channel Islands.
But his downright loyalty was incompatible with the spirit of concession
and compromise which prevailed in the prince's council in 1640-1650, and
he withdrew from active participation in the cause of royalism. He died,
still in exile, at Bruges in September 1652. The peerage became extinct
at his death. The king, Prince Charles and the governing circle
appreciated the merits of their faithful lieutenant less than did his
enemies Waller and Fairfax, the former of whom wrote, "hostility itself
cannot violate my friendship to your person," while the latter spoke of
him as "one whom we honour and esteem above any other of your party."
HOR, MOUNT ([Hebrew: hor]), the scene in the Bible of Aaron's death,
situated "in the edge of the land of Edom" (Num. xxxiii. 37). Since the
time of Josephus it has been identified with the _Jebel Nebi Harun_
("Mountain of the Prophet Aaron"), a twin-peaked mountain 4780 ft. above
the sea-level (6072 ft. above the Dead Sea) in the Edomite Mountains on
the east side of the Jordan-Arabah valley. On the summit is a shrine
said to cover the grave of Aaron. Some modern investigators dissent from
this identification: H. Clay Trumbull prefers the Jebel Madara, a peak
north-west of 'Ain Kadis. Another Mount Hor is mentioned in Num. xxxiv.
7, 8, as on the northern boundary of the prospective conquests of the
Israelites. It is perhaps to be identified with Hermon. It has been
doubtfully suggested that for _Hor_ we should here read _Hadrach_, the
name of a northern country near Damascus, mentioned only once in the
Bible (Zech. ix. 1). (R. A. S. M.)
HORACE [QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS] (65-8 B.C.), the famous Roman poet,
was born on the 8th of December 65 B.C. at Venusia, on the borders of
Lucania and Apulia (_Sat._ ii. 1. 34). The town, originally a colony of
veterans, appears to have long maintained its military traditions, and
Horace was early imbued with a profound respect for the indomitable
valour and industry of the Italian soldier. It would seem, however, that
the poet was not brought up in the town itself, at least he did not
attend the town school (_Sat._ i. 6. 72) and was much in the
neighbouring country, of which, though he was but a child when he left
it, he retained always a vivid and affectionate memory. The mountains
near and far, the little villages on the hillsides, the woods, the
roaring Aufidus, the mossy spring of Bandusia, after which he named
another spring on his Sabine farm--these scenes were always dear to him
and are frequently mentioned in his poetry (e.g. _Carm._ iii. 4 and 30,
iv. 9). We may thus trace some of the germs of his poetical inspiration,
as well as of his moral sympathies, to the early years which he spent
near Venusia. But the most important moral influence of his youth was
the training and example of his father, of whose worth, affectionate
solicitude and homely wisdom Horace has given a most pleasing and
life-like picture (_Sat._ i. 6. 70, &c.). He was a freedman by position;
and it is supposed that he had been originally a slave of the town of
Venusia, and on his emancipation had received the gentile name of
Horatius from the Horatian tribe in which the inhabitants of Venusia
were enrolled. After his emancipation he acquired by the occupation of
"coactor" (a collector of the payments made at public auctions, or,
according to another interpretation, a collector of taxes) sufficient
means to enable him to buy a small farm, to make sufficient provision
for the future of his son (_Sat._ i. 4. 108), and to take him to Rome to
give him the advantage of the best education there. To his care Horace
attributes, not only the intellectual training which enabled him in
later life to take his place among the best men of Rome, but also his
immunity from the baser forms of moral evil (_Sat._ i. 6. 68. &c.). To
his practical teaching he attributes also his tendency to moralize and
to observe character (_Sat._ i. 4. 105, &c.)--the tendency which enabled
him to become the most truthful painter of social life and manners which
the ancient world produced.
In one of his latest writings (_Epist._ ii. 2. 42, &c.) Horace gives a
further account of his education; but we hear no more of his father, nor
is there any allusion in his writings to the existence of any other
member of his family or any other relative. After the ordinary
grammatical and literary training at Rome, he went (45 B.C.) to Athens,
the most famous school of philosophy, as Rhodes was of oratory; and he
describes himself while there as "searching after truth among the groves
of Academus" as well as advancing in literary accomplishment. His
pleasant residence there was interrupted by the breaking out of the
civil war. Following the example of his young associates, he attached
himself to the cause of Brutus, whom he seems to have accompanied to
Asia, probably as a member of his staff; and he served at the battle of
Philippi in the post of military tribune. He shared in the rout which
followed the battle, and henceforth, though he was not less firm in his
conviction that some causes were worth fighting for and dying for, he
had but a poor opinion of his own soldierly qualities.
He returned to Rome shortly after the battle, stripped of his property,
which formed part of the land confiscated for the benefit of the
soldiers of Octavianus and Antony. It may have been at this time that he
encountered the danger of shipwreck, which he mentions among the perils
from which his life had been protected by supernatural aid (_Carm._ iii.
4. 28). He procured in some way the post of a clerkship in the
quaestor's office, and about three years after the battle of Philippi,
he was introduced by Virgil and Varius to Maecenas. This was the
turning-point of his fortunes. He owed his friendship with the greatest
of literary patrons to his personal merits rather than to his poetic
fame; for he was on intimate terms with Maecenas before the first book
of the _Satires_ (his first published work) appeared. He tells us in one
of his _Satires_ (i. 10. 31) that his earliest ambition was to write
Greek verses. In giving this direction to his ambition, he was probably
influenced by his admiration of the old iambic and lyrical poets whom he
has made the models of his own _Epodes_ and _Odes_. His common sense as
well as his national feeling fortunately saved him from becoming a
second-rate Greek versifier in an age when poetic inspiration had passed
from Greece to Italy, and the living language of Rome was a more fitting
vehicle for the new feelings and interests of men than the echoes of the
old Ionian or Aeolian melodies. His earliest Latin compositions were, as
he tells us, written under the instigation of poverty; and they alone
betray any trace of the bitterness of spirit which the defeat of his
hopes and the hardships which he had to encounter on his first return to
Rome may have temporarily produced on him. Some of the _Epodes_, of the
nature of personal and licentious lampoons, and the second _Satire_ of
book i., in which there is some trace of an angry republican feeling,
belong to these early compositions. But by the time the first book of
_Satires_ was completed and published (35 B.C.) his temper had recovered
its natural serenity, and, though he had not yet attained to the height
of his fortunes, his personal position was one of comfort and security,
and his intimate relation with the leading men in literature and social
rank was firmly established.
About a year after the publication of this first book of _Satires_
Maecenas presented him with a farm among the Sabine hills, near the
modern Tivoli. This secured him pecuniary independence; it satisfied the
love of nature which had been implanted in him during the early years
spent on the Venusian farm; and it afforded him a welcome escape from
the distractions of city life and the dangers of a Roman autumn. Many
passages in the _Satires_, _Odes_ and _Epistles_ express the happiness
and pride with which the thought of his own valley filled him, and the
interest which he took in the simple and homely ways of his country
neighbours. The inspiration of the _Satires_ came from the heart of
Rome; the feeling of many of the _Odes_ comes direct from the Sabine
hills; and even the meditative spirit of the later _Epistles_ tells of
the leisure and peace of quiet days spent among books, or in the open
air, at a distance from "the smoke, wealth and tumult" of the great
metropolis.
The second book of _Satires_ was published in 29 B.C.; the _Epodes_
(spoken of by himself as _iambi_) apparently about a year earlier,
though many of them are, as regards the date of their composition, to be
ranked among the earliest extant writings of Horace. In one of his
_Epistles_ (i. 19. 25) he rests his first claim to originality on his
having introduced into Latium the metres and spirit of Archilochus of
Paros. He may have naturalized some special form of metre employed by
that poet, and it may be (as Th. Plüsz has suggested) that we should see
in the _Epodes_ a tone of mockery and parody. But his personal lampoons
are the least successful of his works; while those _Epodes_ which treat
of other subjects in a poetical spirit are inferior in metrical effect,
and in truth and freshness of feeling, both to the lighter lyrics of
Catullus and to his own later and more carefully meditated _Odes_. The
_Epodes_, if they are serious at all, are chiefly interesting as a
record of the personal feelings of Horace during the years which
immediately followed his return to Rome, and as a prelude to the higher
art and inspiration of the first three books of the _Odes_, which were
published together about the end of 24 or the beginning of 23 B.C.[1]
The composition of these _Odes_ extended over several years, but all the
most important among them belong to the years between the battle of
Actium and 24 B.C. His lyrical poetry is thus, not, like that of
Catullus, the ardent utterance of his youth, but the mature and finished
workmanship of his manhood. The state of public affairs was more
favourable than it had been since the outbreak of the civil war between
Caesar and Pompey for the appearance of lyrical poetry. Peace, order and
national unity had been secured by the triumph of Augustus, and the
enthusiasm in favour of the new government had not yet been chilled by
experience of its repressing influence. The poet's circumstances were,
at the same time, most favourable for the exercise of his lyrical gift
during these years. He lived partly at Rome, partly at his Sabine farm,
varying his residence occasionally by visits to Tibur, Praeneste or
Baiae. His intimacy with Maecenas was strengthened and he had become the
familiar friend of the great minister. He was treated with distinction
by Augustus, and by the foremost men in Roman society. He complains
occasionally that the pleasures of his youth are passing from him, but
he does so in the spirit of a temperate Epicurean, who found new
enjoyments in life as the zest for the old enjoyments decayed, and who
considered the wisdom and meditative spirit--"the philosophic mind that
years had brought"--an ample compensation for the extinct fires of his
youth.
About four years after the publication of the three books of _Odes_, the
first book of the _Epistles_ appeared, introduced, as his _Epodes_,
_Satires_ and _Odes_ had been, by a special address to Maecenas. From
these _Epistles_, as compared with the _Satires_, we gather that he had
gradually adopted a more retired and meditative life, and had become
fonder of the country and of study, and that, while owing allegiance to
no school or sect of philosophy, he was framing for himself a scheme of
life, was endeavouring to conform to it, and was bent on inculcating it
on others. He maintained his old friendships, and continued to form new
intimacies, especially with younger men engaged in public affairs or
animated by literary ambition. After the death of Virgil he was
recognized as pre-eminently the greatest living poet, and was
accordingly called upon by Augustus to compose the sacred hymn for the
celebration of the secular games in 17 B.C. About four years later he
published the fourth book of _Odes_ (about 13 B.C.) having been called
upon to do so by the emperor, in order that the victories of his
stepsons Drusus and Tiberius over the Rhaeti and Vindelici might be
worthily celebrated. He lived about five years longer, and during these
years published the second book of _Epistles_, and the _Epistle to the
Pisos_, more generally known as the "_Ars poetica_." These later
_Epistles_ are mainly devoted to literary criticism, with the especial
object of vindicating the poetic claims of his own age over those of the
age of Ennius and the other early poets of Rome. He might have been
expected, as a great critic and lawgiver on literature, to have
exercised a beneficial influence on the future poetry of his country,
and to have applied as much wisdom to the theory of his own art as to
that of a right life. But his critical _Epistles_ are chiefly devoted to
a controversial attack on the older writers and to the exposition of the
laws of dramatic poetry, on which his own powers had never been
exercised, and for which either the genius or circumstances of the
Romans were unsuited. The same subordination of imagination and
enthusiasm to good sense and sober judgment characterizes his opinions
on poetry as on morals.
He died somewhat suddenly on the 17th of November of the year 8 B.C. He
left Augustus to see after his affairs, and was buried on the Esquiline
Hill, near Maecenas.
Horace is one of the few writers, ancient or modern, who have written a
great deal about themselves without laying themselves open to the charge
of weakness or egotism. His chief claim to literary originality is not
that on which he himself rested his hopes of immortality--that of being
the first to adapt certain lyrical metres to the Latin tongue--but
rather that of being the first of those whose works have reached us who
establishes a personal relation with his reader, speaks to him as a
familiar friend, gives him good advice, tells him the story of his life,
and shares with him his private tastes and pleasures--and all this
without any loss of self-respect, any want of modesty or breach of good
manners, and in a style so lively and natural that each new generation
of readers might fancy that he was addressing them personally and
speaking to them on subjects of every day modern interest. In his
self-portraiture, far from wishing to make himself out better or greater
than he was, he seems to write under the influence of an ironical
restraint which checks him in the utterance of his highest moral
teaching and of his poetical enthusiasm. He affords us some indications
of his personal appearance, as where he speaks of the "nigros angusta
fronte capillos" of his youth, and describes himself after he had
completed his forty-fourth December as of small stature, prematurely
grey and fond of basking in the sun (_Epist._ i. 20. 24).
In his later years his health became weaker or more uncertain, and this
caused a considerable change in his habits, tastes and places of
residence. It inclined him more to a life of retirement and simplicity,
and also it stimulated his tendency to self-introspection and
self-culture. In his more vigorous years, when he lived much in Roman
society, he claims to have acted in all his relations to others in
accordance with the standard recognized among men of honour in every
age, to have been charitably indulgent to the weakness of his friends,
and to have been exempt from petty jealousies and the spirit of
detraction. If ever he deviates from his ordinary vein of irony and
quiet sense into earnest indignation, it is in denouncing conduct
involving treachery or malice in the relations of friends (_Sat._ i. 4.
81, &c.).
He claims to be and evidently aims at being independent of fortune,
superior to luxury, exempt both from the sordid cares of avarice and the
coarser forms of profligacy. At the same time he makes a frank
confession of indolence and of occasional failure in the pursuit of his
ideal self-mastery. He admits his irascibility, his love of pleasure,
his sensitiveness to opinion, and some touch of vanity or at least of
gratified ambition arising out of the favour which through all his life
he had enjoyed from those much above him in social station (_Epist._ i.
20. 23). Yet there appears no trace of any unworthy deference in
Horace's feelings towards the great. Even towards Augustus he maintained
his attitude of independence, by declining the office of private
secretary which the emperor wished to force upon him; and he did so with
such tact as neither to give offence nor to forfeit the regard of his
superior. His feeling towards Maecenas is more like that of Pope towards
Bolingbroke than that which a client in ancient or modern times
entertains towards his patron. He felt pride in his protection and in
the intellectual sympathy which united him with one whose personal
qualities had enabled him to play so prominent and beneficent a part in
public affairs. Their friendship was slowly formed, but when once
established continued unshaken through their lives.
There is indeed nothing more remarkable in Horace than the independence,
or rather the self-dependence, of his character. The enjoyment which he
drew from his Sabine farm consisted partly in the refreshment to his
spirit from the familiar beauty of the place, partly in the "otia
liberrima" from the claims of business and society which it afforded
him. His love poems, when compared with those of Catullus, Tibullus and
Propertius, show that he never, in his mature years at least, allowed
his peace of mind to be at the mercy of any one. They are the
expressions of a fine and subtle and often a humorous observation rather
than of ardent feeling. There is perhaps a touch of pathos in his
reference in the _Odes_ to the early death of Cinara, but the epithet he
applies to her in the _Epistles_,
"Quem scis immunem Cinarae placuisse rapaci,"
shows that the pain of thinking of her could not have been very
heartfelt. Even when the _Odes_ addressed to real or imaginary beauties
are most genuine in feeling, they are more the artistic rekindling of
extinct fires than the utterance of recent passion. In his friendships
he had not the self-forgetful devotion which is the most attractive side
of the character of Catullus; but he studied how to gain and keep the
regard of those whose society he valued, and he repaid this regard by a
fine courtesy and by a delicate appreciation of their higher gifts and
qualities, whether proved in literature, or war, or affairs of state or
the ordinary dealings of men. He enjoyed the great world, and it treated
him well; but he resolutely maintained his personal independence and the
equipoise of his feelings and judgment. If it is thought that in
attributing a divine function to Augustus he has gone beyond the bounds
of a sincere and temperate admiration, a comparison of the _Odes_ in
which this occurs with the first _Epistle_ of the second book shows that
he certainly recognized in the emperor a great and successful
administrator and that his language is to be regarded rather as the
artistic expression of the prevailing national sentiment than as the
tribute of an insincere adulation.
The aim of Horace's philosophy was to "be master of oneself," to retain
the "mens aequa" in all circumstances, to use the gifts of fortune while
they remained, and to be prepared to part with them with equanimity; to
make the most of life, and to contemplate its inevitable end without
anxiety. Self-reliance and resignation are the lessons which he
constantly inculcates. His philosophy is thus a mode of practical
Epicureanism combined with other elements which have more affinity with
Stoicism. In his early life he professed his adherence to the former
system, and several expressions in his first published work show the
influences of the study of Lucretius. At the time when the first book of
the _Epistles_ was published he professes to assume the position of an
eclectic rather than that of an adherent of either school (_Epist._ i.
1. 13-19). We note in the passage here referred to, as in other
passages, that he mentions Aristippus of Cyrene, rather than Epicurus
himself, as the master under whose influence he from time to time
insensibly lapsed. Yet the dominant tone of his teaching is that of a
refined Epicureanism, not so elevated or purely contemplative as that
preached by Lucretius, but yet more within the reach of a society which,
though luxurious and pleasure-loving, had not yet become thoroughly
frivolous and enervated. His advice is to subdue all violent emotion of
fear or desire; to estimate all things calmly--"nil admirari"; to choose
the mean between a high and low estate; and to find one's happiness in
plain living rather than in luxurious indulgence. Still there was in
Horace a robuster fibre, inherited from the old Italian race, which
moved him to value the dignity and nobleness of life more highly than
its ease and enjoyment. In some of the stronger utterances of his
_Odes_, where he expresses sympathy with the manlier qualities of
character, we recognize the resistent attitude of Stoicism rather than
the passive acquiescence of Epicureanism. The concluding stanzas of the
address to Lollius (_Ode_ iv. 9) exhibit the Epicurean and Stoical view
of life so combined as to be more worthy of human dignity than the
genial worldly wisdom of the former school, more in harmony with human
experience than the formal precepts of the latter.
It is interesting to trace the growth of Horace in elevation of
sentiment and serious conviction from his first ridicule of the
paradoxes of Stoicism in the two books of the _Satires_ to the appeal
which he makes in some of the _Odes_ of the third book to the strongest
Roman instincts of fortitude and self-sacrifice. A similar modification
of his religious and political attitude may be noticed between his early
declaration of Epicurean unbelief and the sympathy which he shows with
the religious reaction fostered by Augustus; and again between the
Epicurean indifference to national affairs and the strong support which
he gives to the national policy of the emperor in the first six _Odes_
of the third book, and in the fifth and fifteenth of the fourth book. In
his whole religious attitude he seems to stand midway between the
consistent denial of Lucretius and Virgil's pious endeavour to reconcile
ancient faith with the conclusions of philosophy. His introduction into
some of his _Odes_ of the gods of mythology must be regarded as merely
artistic or symbolical. Yet in some cases we recognize the expression of
a natural piety, thankful for the blessing bestowed on purity and
simplicity of life, and acknowledging a higher and more majestic law
governing nations through their voluntary obedience. On the other hand,
his allusions to a future life, as in the "domus exilis Plutonia," and
the "furvae regna Proserpinae," are shadowy and artificial. The image of
death is constantly obtruded in his poems to enhance the sense of
present enjoyment. In the true spirit of paganism he associates all
thoughts of love and wine, of the meeting of friends, or of the changes
of the seasons with the recollection of the transitoriness of our
pleasures--
"Nos, ubi decidimus
Quo pius Aeneas, quo dives Tullus et Ancus,
Pulvis et umbra sumus."
Horace is so much of a moralist in all his writings that, in order to
enter into the spirit both of his familiar and of his lyrical poetry,
it is essential to realize what were his views of life and the
influences under which they were formed. He is, though in a different
sense from Lucretius, eminently a philosophical and reflective poet.
He is also, like all the other poets of the Augustan age, a poet in
whose composition culture and criticism were as conspicuous elements
as spontaneous inspiration. In the judgment he passes on the older
poetry of Rome and on that of his contemporaries, he seems to attach
more importance to the critical and artistic than to the creative and
inventive functions of genius. It is on the labour and judgment with
which he has cultivated his gift that he rests his hopes of fame. The
whole poetry of the Augustan age was based on the works of older
poets, Roman as well as Greek. Its aim was to perfect the more
immature workmanship of the former, and to adapt the forms, manners
and metres of the latter to subjects of immediate and national
interest. As Virgil performed for his generation the same kind of
office which Ennius performed for an older generation, so Horace in
his _Satires_, and to a more limited extent in his _Epistles_, brought
to perfection for the amusement and instruction of his contemporaries
the rude but vigorous designs of Lucilius.
It was the example of Lucilius which induced Horace to commit all his
private thoughts, feelings and experience "to his books as to trusty
companions," and also to comment freely on the characters and lives of
other men. Many of the subjects of particular satires of Horace were
immediately suggested by those treated by Lucilius. Thus the "Journey
to Brundusium" (_Sat._ i. 5) reproduced the outlines of Lucilius's
"Journey to the Sicilian Straits." The discourse of Ofella on luxury
(_Sat._ ii. 2) was founded on a similar discourse of Laelius on
gluttony, and the "Banquet of Nasidienus" (_Sat._ ii. 8) may have been
suggested by the description by the older poet of a rustic
entertainment. There was more of moral censure and personal
aggressiveness in the satire of the older poet. The ironical temper of
Horace induced him to treat the follies of society in the spirit of a
humorist and man of the world, rather than to assail vice with the
severity of a censor; and the greater urbanity of his age or of his
disposition restrained in him the direct personality of satire. The
names introduced by him to mark types of character such as Nomentanus,
Maenius, Pantolabus, &c., are reproduced from the writings of the
older poet. Horace also followed Lucilius in the variety of forms
which his satire assumes, and especially in the frequent adoption of
the form of dialogue, derived from the "dramatic medley" which was the
original character of the Roman _Satura_. This form suited the spirit
in which Horace regarded the world, and also the dramatic quality of
his genius, just as the direct denunciation and elaborate painting of
character suited the "saeva indignatio" and the oratorical genius of
Juvenal.
Horace's satire is accordingly to a great extent a reproduction in
form, manner, substance and tone of the satire of Lucilius; or rather
it is a casting in the mould of Lucilius of his own observation and
experience. But a comparison of the fragments of Lucilius with the
finished compositions of Horace brings out in the strongest light the
artistic originality and skill of the latter poet in his management of
metre and style. Nothing can be rougher and harsher than the
hexameters of Lucilius, or cruder than his expression. In his
management of the more natural trochaic metre, he has shown much
greater ease and simplicity. It is one great triumph of Horace's
genius that he was the first and indeed the only Latin writer who
could bend the stately hexameter to the uses of natural and easy, and
at the same time terse and happy, conversational style. Catullus, in
his hendecasyllabics, had shown the vivacity with which that light and
graceful metre could be employed in telling some short story or
describing some trivial situation dramatically. But no one before
Horace had succeeded in applying the metre of heroic verse to the uses
of common life. But he had one great native model in the mastery of a
terse, refined, ironical and natural conversational style, Terence;
and the _Satires_ show, not only in allusions to incidents and
personages, but in many happy turns of expression very frequent traces
of Horace's familiarity with the works of the Roman Menander.
The _Epistles_ are more original in form, more philosophic in spirit,
more finished and charming in style than the _Satires_. The form of
composition may have been suggested by that of some of the satires of
Lucilius, which were composed as letters to his personal friends. But
letter-writing in prose, and occasionally also in verse, had been
common among the Romans from the time of the siege of Corinth; and a
practice originating in the wants and convenience of friends
temporarily separated from one another by the public service was
ultimately cultivated as a literary accomplishment. It was a happy
idea of Horace to adopt this form for his didactic writings on life
and literature. It suited him as an eclectic and not a systematic
thinker, and as a friendly counsellor rather than a formal teacher of
his age. It suited his circumstances in the latter years of his life,
when his tastes inclined him more to retirement and study, while he
yet wished to retain his hold on society and to extend his relations
with younger men who were rising into eminence. It suited the class
who cared for literature--a limited circle of educated men, intimate
with one another, and sharing the same tastes and pursuits. While
giving expression to lessons applicable to all men, he in this way
seems to address each reader individually, with the urbanity of a
friend rather than the solemnity of a preacher. In spirit the
_Epistles_ are more ethical and meditative than the _Satires_. Like
the _Odes_ they exhibit the twofold aspects of his philosophy, that of
temperate Epicureanism and that of more serious and elevated
conviction. In the actual maxims which he lays down, in his apparent
belief in the efficacy of addressing philosophical texts to the mind,
he exemplifies the triteness and limitation of all Roman thought. But
the spirit and sentiment of his practical philosophy is quite genuine
and original. The individuality of the great Roman moralists, such as
Lucretius and Horace, appears not in any difference in the results at
which they have arrived, but in the difference of spirit with which
they regard the spectacle of human life. In reading Lucretius we are
impressed by his earnestness, his pathos, his elevation of feeling; in
Horace we are charmed by the serenity of his temper and the flavour of
a delicate and subtle wisdom. We note also in the _Epistles_ the
presence of a more philosophic spirit, not only in the expression of
his personal convictions and aims, but also in his comments on
society. In the _Satires_ he paints the outward effects of the
passions of the age. He shows us prominent types of character--the
miser, the parasite, the legacy-hunter, the parvenu, &c., but he does
not try to trace these different manifestations of life to their
source. In the _Epistles_ he finds the secret spring of the social
vices of the age in the desire, as marked in other times as in those
of Horace, to become rich too fast, and in the tendency to value men
according to their wealth, and to sacrifice the ends of life to a
superfluous care for the means of living. The cause of all this
aimless restlessness and unreasonable desire is summed up in the words
"Strenua nos exercet inertia."
In his _Satires_ and _Epistles_ Horace shows himself a genuine
moralist, a subtle observer and true painter of life, and an admirable
writer. But for both of these works he himself disclaims the title of
poetry. He rests his claims as a poet on his _Odes_. They reveal an
entirely different aspect of his genius, his spirit and his culture.
He is one among the few great writers of the world who have attained
high excellence in two widely separated provinces of literature.
Through all his life he was probably conscious of the "ingeni benigna
vena," which in his youth made him the sympathetic student and
imitator of the older lyrical poetry of Greece, and directed his
latest efforts to poetic criticism. But it was in the years that
intervened between the publication of his _Satires_ and _Epistles_
that his lyrical genius asserted itself as his predominant faculty. At
that time he had outlived the coarser pleasures and risen above the
harassing cares of his earlier career; a fresh source of happiness and
inspiration had been opened up to him in his beautiful Sabine retreat;
he had become not only reconciled to the rule of Augustus, but a
thoroughly convinced and, so far as his temperament admitted to
enthusiasm, an enthusiastic believer in its beneficence. But it was
only after much labour that his original vein of genius obtained a
free and abundant outlet. He lays no claim to the "profuse strains of
unpremeditated art," with which other great lyrical poets of ancient
and modern times have charmed the world. His first efforts were
apparently imitative, and were directed to the attainment of perfect
mastery over form, metre and rhythm. The first nine _Odes_ of the
first book are experiments in different kinds of metre. They and all
the other metres employed by him are based on those employed by the
older poets of Greece--Alcaeus, Sappho, Archilochus, Alcman, &c. He
has built the structure of his lighter _Odes_ also on their model,
while in some of those in which the matter is more weighty, as in that
in which he calls on Calliope "to dictate a long continuous strain,"
he has endeavoured to reproduce something of the intricate movement,
the abrupt transitions, the interpenetration of narrative and
reflection, which characterize the art of Pindar. He frequently
reproduces the language and some of the thoughts of his masters, but
he gives them new application, or stamps them with the impress of his
own experience. He brought the metres which he has employed to such
perfection that the art perished with him. A great proof of his
mastery over rhythm is the skill with which he has varied his metres
according to the sentiment which he wishes to express. Thus his great
metre, the Alcaic, has a character of stateliness and majesty in
addition to the energy and impetus originally imparted to it by
Alcaeus. The Sapphic metre he employs with a peculiar lightness and
vivacity which harmonize admirably with his gayer moods.
Again in regard to his diction, if Horace has learned his subtlety and
moderation from his Greek masters, he has tempered those qualities
with the masculine characteristics of his race. No writer is more
Roman in the stateliness and dignity, the terseness, occasionally even
in the sobriety and bare literalness, of his diction.
While it is mainly owing to the extreme care which Horace gave to
form, rhythm and diction that his own prophecy
"Usque ego postera
Crescam laude recens"
has been so amply fulfilled, yet no greater injustice could be done to
him than to rank him either as poet or critic with those who consider
form everything in literature. With Horace the mastery over the
vehicle of expression was merely an essential preliminary to making a
worthy and serious use of that vehicle. The poet, from Horace's point
of view, was intended not merely to give refined pleasure to a few,
but above all things, to be "utilis urbi." Yet he is saved, in his
practice, from the abuse of this theory by his admirable sense, his
ironical humour, his intolerance of pretension and pedantry. Opinions
will differ as to whether he or Catullus is to be regarded as the
greater lyrical poet. Those who assign the palm to Horace will do so,
certainly not because they recognize in him richer or equally rich
gifts of feeling, conception and expression, but because the subjects
to which his art has been devoted have a fuller, more varied, more
mature and permanent interest for the world.
AUTHORITIES.--For the life of Horace the chief authorities are his own
works and a short ancient biography which is attributed to Suetonius.
The _apparatus criticus_ is most fully described in O. Keller's
preface to vol. i. of the 2nd ed. (1899) of Keller and Holder's
recension of Horace's works. This edition also gives by far the
largest collection of variants and emendations to the text and of the
_testimonia_ of ancient writers.
What might have proved the most important manuscript of Horace, the
so-called _vetustissimus Blandinius_, is now lost, and we know it only
from the account of J. Cruquius who saw it in 1565. The relations of
the extant MSS. to each other and the presumed archetype present an
intricate problem; and Keller's solution has not proved generally
acceptable. See a _résumé_ of the controversy _Horazkritik seit 1880_
by J. Bick (Leipzig, 1906) and F. Vollmer in _Philologus_. Supp. x. 2,
pp. 261-322. Many MSS. of Horace contain ancient scholia which are
copied or taken with abridgment from the commentaries of Porphyrio,
who lived about A.D. 200, and Helenius Aero, a still earlier
grammarian. These scholia also have been collected and edited--the
Porphyrio scholia by A. Holder (1902) and the "Acronian" (or
pseudo-Acronian) by O. Keller (1902-1904). R. Bentley's epoch-making
edition (1711) has been reprinted with an index by Zangemeister
(1869). Of the modern commentaries the most useful are those of J. C.
Orelli (4th ed., revised by O. Hirschfelder and J. Mewes, 1886-1890,
with _index verborum_), and of A. Kiessling (revised by R. Heinze,
_Odes_, 1901, 1908, _Satires_, 1906, _Epistles_, 1898). The best
complete English commentary is that of E. C. Wickham (2 vols.,
1874-1896). Other editions with English notes are those of T. E. Page
(_Odes_, 1883), A. Palmer (_Satires_, 1883), A. S. Wilkins
(_Epistles_, 1885), J. Gow (_Odes_ and _Epodes_, 1896, _Satires_, i.,
1901), P. Shorey (_Odes_ and _Epodes_, 1898, Boston, U.S.A.). L.
Müller's elaborate edition of the _Odes_ and _Epodes_ was published
posthumously (1900). Of the critical editions Keller and Holder's
still holds the field: to this Keller's _Epilegomena zu Horaz_ (1879)
is a necessary adjunct. F. Vollmer's text (1907) uses Keller's
materials on a new principle. Of illustrated editions H. H. Milman's
(1867) and C. W. King's (1869, with text revised by H. A. J. Munro)
deserve mention. The best verse translation is that of J. Conington
lately reprinted with the Latin text from the recension in Postgate's
new _Corpus poetarum_. For further information see Teuffel's
_Geschichte der römischen Litteratur_ (Eng. trans. by G. C. Warr), §§
234-240, and M. Schanz's excellent account in his _Geschichte der
römischen Litteratur_, vol. ii. §§ 251-266. (W. Y. S.; J. G*.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The date is determined by the poem on the death of Quintilius
Varus (who died 24 B.C.), and by the reference in _Ode_ i. 12 to the
young Marcellus (died in autumn 23 B.C.) as still alive. Cf.
Wickham's Introduction to the _Odes_.
HORAE (Lat. _hora_, hour), the Hours, in Greek mythology [Greek: Hôrai],
originally the personification of a series of natural phenomena. In the
_Iliad_ (v. 749) they are the custodians of the gates of Olympus, which
they open or shut by scattering or condensing the clouds; that is, they
are weather goddesses, who send down or withhold the fertilizing dews
and rain. In the _Odyssey_, where they are represented as bringing round
the seasons in regular order, they are an abstraction rather than a
concrete personification. The brief notice in Hesiod (_Theog._ 901),
where they are called the children of Zeus and Themis, who superintend
the operations of agriculture, indicates by the names assigned to them
(Eunomia, Dike, Eirene, i.e. Good Order, Justice, Peace) the extension
of their functions as goddesses of order from nature to the events of
human life, and at the same time invests them with moral attributes.
Like the Moerae (Fates), they regulate the destinies of man, watch over
the newly born, secure good laws and the administration of justice. The
selection of three as their number has been supposed to refer to the
most ancient division of the year into spring, summer and winter, but it
is probably only another instance of the Greek liking for that
particular number or its multiples in such connexions (three Moerae,
Charites, Gorgons, nine Muses). Order and regularity being indispensable
conditions of beauty, it was easy to conceive of the Horae as the
goddesses of youthful bloom and grace, inseparably associated with the
idea of springtime. As such they are companions of the Nymphs and
Graces, with whom they are often confounded, and of other superior
deities connected with the spring growth of vegetation (Demeter,
Dionysus). At Athens they were two (or three) in number: Thallo and
Carpo, the goddesses of the flowers of spring and of the fruits of
summer, to whom Auxo, the goddess of the growth of plants, may be added,
although some authorities make her only one of the Graces. In honour of
the Horae a yearly festival (Horaea) was celebrated, at which protection
was sought against the scorching heat and drought, and offerings were
made of boiled meat as less insipid and more nutritious than roast. In
later mythology, under Alexandrian influence, the Horae become the four
seasons, daughters of Helios and Selene, each represented with the
conventional attributes. Subsequently, when the day was divided into
twelve equal parts, each of them took the name of Hora. Ovid (_Metam._
ii. 26) describes them as placed at equal intervals on the throne of
Phoebus, with whom are also associated the four seasons. Nonnus (5th
century A.D.) in the _Dionysiaca_ also unites the twelve Horae as
representing the day and the four Horae as the seasons in the palace of
Helios.
See C. Lehrs, _Populäre Aufsätze_ (1856); J. H. Krause, _Die Musen,
Grazien, Horen, und Nymphen_ (1871); and the articles in Daremberg and
Saglio's _Dictionnaire des antiquités_, J. A. Hild; and in Roscher's
_Lexikon der Mythologie_, W. Rapp.
HORAPOLLON, of Phaenebythis in the nome of Panopolis in Egypt, Greek
grammarian, flourished in the 4th century A.D. during the reign of
Theodosius I. According to Suidas, he wrote commentaries on Sophocles,
Alcaeus and Homer, and a work ([Greek: Temenika]) on places consecrated
to the gods. Photius (cod. 279), who calls him a dramatist as well as a
grammarian, ascribes to him a history of the foundation and antiquities
of Alexandria (unless this is by an Egyptian of the same name, who lived
In the reign of Zeno, 474-491). Under the name of Horapollon two books
on _Hieroglyphics_ are extant, which profess to be a translation from an
Egyptian original into Greek by a certain Philippus, of whom nothing is
known. The inferior Greek of the translation, and the character of the
additions in the second book point to its being of late date; some have
even assigned it to the 15th century. Though a very large proportion of
the statements seem absurd and cannot be accounted for by anything known
in the latest and most fanciful usage, yet there is ample evidence in
both the books, in individual cases, that the tradition of the values of
the hieroglyphic signs was not yet extinct in the days of their author.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Editions by C. Leemans (1835) and A. T. Cory (1840)
with English translation and notes; see also G. Rathgeber in Ersch and
Gruber's _Allgemeine Encyclopädie_; H. Schäfer, _Zeitschrift für
ägyptische Sprache_ (1905), p. 72.
HORATII and CURIATII, in Roman legend, two sets of three brothers born
at one birth on the same day--the former Roman, the latter Alban--the
mothers being twin sisters. During the war between Rome and Alba Longa
it was agreed that the issue should depend on a combat between the two
families. Two of the Horatii were soon slain; the third brother feigned
flight, and when the Curiatii, who were all wounded, pursued him without
concert he slew them one by one. When he entered Rome in triumph, his
sister recognized a cloak which he was wearing as a trophy as one she
had herself made for her lover, one of the Curiatii. She thereupon
invoked a curse upon her brother, who slew her on the spot. Horatius was
condemned to be scourged to death, but on his appealing to the people
his life was spared (Livy i. 25, 26; Dion. Halic. iii. 13-22). Monuments
of the tragic story were shown by the Romans in the time of Livy (the
altar of Janus Curiatius near the _sororium tigillum_, the "sister's
beam," or yoke under which Horatius had to pass; and the altar of Juno
Sororia). The legend was probably invented to account for the origin of
the _provocatio_ (right of appeal to the people), while at the same time
it points to the close connexion and final struggle for supremacy
between the older city on the mountain and the younger city on the
plain. Their relationship and origin from three tribes are symbolically
represented by the twin sisters and the two sets of three brothers.
For a critical examination of the story, see Schwegler, _Römische
Geschichte_, bk. xii. 11. 14; Sir G. Cornewall Lewis, _Credibility of
Early Roman History_, ch. xi. 15; W. Ihne, _Hist. of Rome_, i.; E.
Pais, _Storia di Roma_, i. ch. 3 (1898), and _Ancient Legends of Roman
History_ (Eng. trans., 1906), where the story is connected with the
ceremonies performed in honour of Jupiter Tigillus and Juno Sororia;
C. Pascal, _Fatti e legende di Roma antica_ (Florence, 1903); O.
Gilbert, _Geschichte und Topographie der Stadt Rom im Altertum_
(1883-1885).
HORATIUS COCLES, a legendary hero of ancient Rome. With two companions
he defended the Sublician bridge against Lars Porsena and the whole army
of the Etruscans, while the Romans cut down the bridge behind. Then
Horatius threw himself into the Tiber and swam in safety to the shore. A
statue was erected in his honour in the temple of Vulcan, and he
received as much land as he could plough round in a single day.
According to another version, Horatius alone defended the bridge, and
was drowned in the Tiber.
There is an obvious resemblance between the legend of Horatius Codes and
that of the Horatii and Curiatii. In both cases three Romans come
forward as the champions of Rome at a critical moment of her fortunes,
and only one successfully holds his ground. In the one case, the
locality is the land frontier, in the other, the boundary stream of
Roman territory. E. Pais finds the origin of the story in the worship of
Vulcan, and identifies Cocles (the "one-eyed") with one of the Cyclopes,
who in mythology were connected with Hephaestus, and later with Vulcan.
He concludes that the supposed statue of Cocles was really that of
Vulcan, who, as one of the most ancient Roman divinities and, in fact,
the protecting deity of the state, would naturally be confounded with
the hero who saved it by holding the bridge against the invaders. He
suggests that the legend arose from some religious ceremony, possibly
the practice of throwing the stuffed figures called Argei into the Tiber
from the Pons Sublicius on the ides of May. The conspicuous part played
in Roman history by members of the Horatian family, who were connected
with the worship of Jupiter Vulcanus, will explain the attribution of
the name Horatius to Vulcan-Cocles.
See Livy ii. 10; Dion. Halic. v. 23-25; Polybius vi. 55; Plutarch,
_Poplicola_, 16. For a critical examination of the legend, see
Schwegler, _Römische Geschichte_, bk. xxi. 18; W. Ihne, _History of
Rome_, i.; E. Pais, _Storia di Roma_, i. ch. 4 (1898), and _Ancient
Legends of Roman History_ (Eng. trans., 1906).
HORDE, a manufacturing town of Germany, in the Prussian province of
Westphalia, is 2 m. S.E. from Dortmund on the railway to Soest. Pop.
(1905) 28,461. It has a Roman Catholic and an Evangelical church, a
synagogue and an old castle dating from about 1300. There are large
smelting-works, foundries, puddling-works, rolling-mills and
manufactures of iron and plated wares. In the neighbourhood there are
large iron and coal mines. A tramway connects the town with Dortmund.
HOREB, the ancient seat of Yahweh, the tribal god of the Kenites,
adopted by His covenant by Israel. This is the name preferred by the
Elohistic writer (E) whose work is interwoven into the Old Testament
narrative, and he is followed by the Deuteronomist school (D). The
Yahwistic writer (J), on the other hand, prefers to call the mountain
Sinai (q.v.), and so do the priestly writers (P). This latter form
became the more usual. There is no ground for distinguishing between
Horeb as the range and Sinai as the single mountain, or between Horeb
and Sinai as respectively the N. and S. parts of the range.
HOREHOUND (O. Eng. _harhune_, Ger. _Andorn_, Fr. _marrube_). Common or
white horehound, _Marrubium vulgare_, of the natural order _Labiatae_,
is a perennial herb with a short stout rootstock, and thick stems, about
1 ft. in height, which, as well as their numerous branches, are coated
with a white or hoary felt--whence the popular name of the plant. The
leaves have long petioles, and are roundish or rhombic-ovate, with a
bluntly toothed margin, much wrinkled, white and woolly below and pale
green and downy above; the flowers are sessile, in dense whorls or
clusters, small and dull-white, with a 10-toothed calyx and the upper
lobe of the corolla long and bifid. The plant occurs in Europe, North
Africa and West Asia to North-West India, and has been naturalized in
parts of America. In Britain, where it is found generally on sandy or
dry chalky ground, it is far from common. White horehound contains a
volatile oil, resin, a crystallizable bitter principle termed
_marrubiin_ and other substances, and has a not unpleasant aromatic
odour, and a persistent bitter taste. Formerly it was official in
British pharmacopoeias; and the infusion, syrup or confection of
horehound has long been in popular repute for the treatment of a host of
dissimilar affections. Black horehound, _Ballota nigra_, is a hairy
perennial herb, belonging to the same order, of foetid odour, is 2 to 3
ft. in height, and has stalked, roundish-ovate, toothed leaves and
numerous flowers, in dense axillary clusters, with a green or purplish
calyx, and a pale red-purple corolla. It occurs in Europe, North Africa
and West Asia, and in Britain south of the Forth and Clyde, and has been
introduced into North America.
[Illustration: Horehound.]
HORGEN, a small town in the Swiss canton of Zürich, situated on the left
or west shore of the Lake of Zürich, and by rail 10½ m. S.E. of the town
of Zürich. Pop. (1900) 6883, mostly German-speaking and Protestants. It
possesses many industrial establishments of various kinds, and is a
centre of the Zürich silk manufacture. It came in 1406 into the
possession of Zürich, with which it communicates by means of steamers on
the lake, as well as by rail.
HORIZON (Gr. [Greek: horizôn], dividing), the apparent circle around
which the sky and earth seem to meet. At sea this circle is well
defined, the line being called the sea horizon, which divides the
visible surface of the ocean from the sky. In astronomy the horizon is
that great circle of the sphere the plane of which is at right angles to
the direction of the plumb line. Sometimes a distinction is made between
the rational and the apparent horizon, the former being the horizon as
determined by a plane through the centre of the earth, parallel to that
through the station of an observer. But on the celestial sphere the
great circles of these two planes are coincident, so that this
distinction is not necessary (see ASTRONOMY: _Spherical_). The _Dip_ of
the horizon at sea is the angular depression of the apparent sea
horizon, or circle bounding the visible ocean, below the apparent
celestial horizon as above defined. It is due to the rotundity of the
earth, and the height of the observer's eye above the water. The dip of
the horizon and its distance in sea-miles when the height of the
observer's eye above the sea-level is h feet, are approximately given by
the formulae: Dip = 0´.97 [root]h; Distance = 1^m·17 [root]h. The
difference between the coefficients 0.97 and 1.17 arises from the
refraction of the ray, but for which they would be equal.
HORMAYR, JOSEPH, BARON VON (1782-1848), German statesman and historian,
was born at Innsbruck on the 20th of January 1782. After studying law in
his native town, and attaining the rank of captain in the Tirolese
Landwehr, the young man, who had the advantage of being the grandson of
Joseph von Hormayr (1705-1778), chancellor of Tirol, obtained a post in
the foreign office at Vienna (1801), from which he rose in 1803 to be
court secretary and, being a near friend of the Archduke John, director
of the secret archives of the state and court for thirteen months. In
1803 he married Therese Anderler von Hohenwald. During the insurrection
of 1809, by which the Tirolese sought to throw off the Bavarian
supremacy confirmed by the treaty of Pressburg, Hormayr was the mainstay
of the Austrian party, and assumed the administration of everything
(especially the composition of proclamations and pamphlets); but,
returning home without the prestige of success, he fell, in spite of the
help of the Archduke John, into disfavour both with the emperor Francis
I. and with Prince Metternich, and at length, when in 1813 he tried to
stir up a new insurrection in Tirol, he was arrested and imprisoned at
Munkatt. In 1816 some amends were made to him by his appointment as
imperial historiographer; but so little was he satisfied with the
general policy and conduct of the Austrian court that in 1828 he
accepted an invitation of King Louis I. to the Bavarian capital, where
he became ministerial councillor in the department of foreign affairs.
In 1832 he was appointed Bavarian minister-resident at Hanover, and from
1837 to 1846 he held the same position at Bremen. Together with Count
Johann Friedrich von der Decken (1769-1840) he founded the Historical
Society of Lower Saxony (Historischer Verein für Niedersachsen). The
last two years of his life were spent at Munich as superintendent of the
national archives. He died on the 5th of October 1848.
Hormayr's literary activity was closely conditioned by the circumstances
of his political career and by the fact that Johannes von Müller (d.
1611) was his teacher: while his access to original documents gave value
to his treatment of the past, his record or criticism of contemporary
events received authority and interest from his personal experience. But
his history of the Tirolese rebellion is far from being impartial; for
he always liked to put himself into the first place, and the merits of
Andreas Hofer and of other leaders are not sufficiently acknowledged. In
his later writings he appears as a keen opponent of the policy of the
court of Vienna.
The following are among Hormayr's more important works: _Geschichte
des Grafen von Andechs_ (1796); _Lexikon für Reisenden in Tirol_
(1796); _Kritisch-diplomatische Beiträge zur Geschichte Tirols im
Mittelalter_ (2 vols., Innsbruck, 1802-1803, new ed., 1805); _Gesch.
der gefürst. Grafschaft Tirol_ (2 vols., Tübingen, 1806-1808);
_Österreichischer Plutarch_, 20 vols., collection of portraits and
biographies of the most celebrated administrators, commanders and
statesmen of Austria (Vienna, 1807); an edition of Beauchamp's
_Histoire de la guerre en Vendée_ (1809); _Geschichte Hofers_ (1817,
2nd ed., 2 vols., 1845) and other pamphlets; _Archiv für Gesch.,
Stat., Lit. und Kunst_ (20 vols., 1809-1828); _Allgemeine Geschichte
der neuesten Zeit vom Tod Friedricks des Grossen bis zum zweiten
Pariser Frieden_ (3 vols., Vienna, 1814-1819, 2nd ed., 1891); _Wien,
seine Gesch. und Denkwürdigkeiten_ (5 vols., Vienna, 1823-1824);
together with _Fragmente über Deutschland, in Sonderheit Bayerns
Welthandel; Lebensbilder aus dem Befreiungskriege_ (3 vols., Jena,
1841-1844, 2nd ed., 1845); _Die goldene Chronik von Hohenschwangau_
(Munich, 1842); _Anemonen aus dem Tagebuch eines alten Pilgersmanns_
(4 vols., Jena, 1845-1847). Together with Mednyanski (1784-1844) he
founded the _Taschenbuch für die Vaterland. Gesch._ (Vienna,
1811-1848).
See T. H. Merdau, _Biographische Züge aus dem Leben deutscher Männer_
(Leipzig, 1815); Gräffer, _Österreichische National-Encyclopädie_, ii.
(1835); _Taschenbuch für vaterländische Geschichte_ (1836 and 1847);
_Neuer Nekrolog der Deutschen_ (1848); _Blätter für literarische
Unterhaltung_ (1849); Wurzbach, _Österreichisches biographisches
Lexikon_, ix. (1863); K. Th. von Heigel in the _Allgemeine deutsche
Biographie_ (1881) and F. X. Wegele, _Geschichte der deutschen
Historiographie_ (Munich and Leipzig, 1885); F. v. Krones, _Aus
Österreichs stillen und bewegten Jahren 1810-1815_; _Biographie und
Briefe an Erzhz. Johann_ (Innsbruck, 1892); Hirn, _Tiroler Aufstand_
(1909). (J. Hn.)
HORMISDAS, pope from 514 to 523 in succession to Symmachus, was a native
of Campania. He is known as having succeeded in obtaining the reunion of
the Eastern and Western Churches, which had been separated since the
excommunication of Acacius in 484. After two unsuccessful attempts under
the emperor Anastasius I., Hormisdas had no difficulty in coming to an
understanding in 518 with his successor Justin. Legates were despatched
to Constantinople; the memorial of the schismatic patriarchs was
condemned; and union was resumed with the Holy See.
Details of this transaction have come down to us in the _Collectio
Avellana_ (_Corpus script. eccl. Vindobon._, vol. xxv., Nos. 105-203;
cf. Andreas Thiel, _Epp. Rom. Pont._ i. 741 seq.).
HORMIZD, or HORMIZDAS, the name of five kings of the Sassanid dynasty
(see PERSIA: _Ancient History_). The name is another form of Ahuramazda
or Ormuzd (Ormazd), which under the Sassanids became a common personal
name and was borne not only by many generals and officials of their time
(it therefore occurs very often on Persian seals), but even by the pope
of Rome noticed above. It is strictly an abbreviation of Hormuzd-dad,
"given by Ormuzd," which form is preserved by Agathias iv. 24-25 as name
of King Hormizd I. and II. ([Greek: Hormisdatês]).
1. HORMIZD I. (272-273) was the son of Shapur I., under whom he was
governor of Khorasan, and appears in his wars against Rome (Trebellius
Pollio, _Trig. Tyr._ 2, where Nöldeke has corrected the name Odomastes
into Oromastes, i.e. Hormizd). In the Persian tradition of the history
of Ardashir I., preserved in a Pahlavi text (Nöldeke, _Geschichte des
Artachsir I. Papakan_), he is made the son of a daughter of Mithrak, a
Persian dynast, whose family Ardashir had extirpated because the magians
had predicted that from his blood would come the restorer of the empire
of Iran. Only this daughter is preserved by a peasant; Shapur sees her
and makes her his wife, and her son Hormizd is afterwards recognized and
acknowledged by Ardashir. In this legend, which has been partially
preserved also in Tabari, the great conquests of Shapur are transferred
to Hormizd. In reality he reigned only one year and ten days.
2. HORMIZD II., son of Narseh, reigned for seven years five months,
302-309. Of his reign nothing is known. After his death his son
Adarnases was killed by the grandees after a very short reign, as he
showed a cruel disposition; another son, Hormizd, was kept a prisoner,
and the throne reserved for the child with which a concubine of Hormizd
II. was pregnant and which received the name Shapur II. Hormizd escaped
from prison by the help of his wife in 323, and found refuge at the
court of Constantine the Great (Zosim. ii. 27; John of Antioch, fr. 178;
Zonar. 13.5), In 363 Hormizd served in the army of Julian against
Persia; his son, with the same name, became consul in 366 (Ammian. Marc.
26. 8. 12).
3. HORMIZD III., son of Yazdegerd I., succeeded his father in 457. He
had continually to fight with his brothers and with the Ephthalites in
Bactria, and was killed by Peroz in 459.
4. HORMIZD IV., son of Chosroes I., reigned 578-590. He seems to have
been imperious and violent, but not without some kindness of heart. Some
very characteristic stories are told of him by Tabari (Nöldeke,
_Geschichte d. Perser und Araber unter den Sasaniden_, 264 ff.). His
father's sympathies had been with the nobles and the priests. Hormizd
protected the common people and introduced a severe discipline in his
army and court. When the priests demanded a persecution of the
Christians, he declined on the ground that the throne and the government
could only be safe if it gained the goodwill of both concurring
religions. The consequence was that he raised a strong opposition in the
ruling classes, which led to many executions and confiscations. When he
came to the throne he killed his brothers, according to the oriental
fashion. From his father he had inherited a war against the Byzantine
empire and against the Turks in the east, and negotiations of peace had
just begun with the emperor Tiberius, but Hormizd haughtily declined to
cede anything of the conquests of his father. Therefore the accounts
given of him by the Byzantine authors, Theophylact, Simocatta (iii. 16
ff.), Menander Protector and John of Ephesus (vi. 22), who give a full
account of these negotiations, are far from favourable. In 588 his
general, Bahram Chobin, defeated the Turks, but in the next year was
beaten by the Romans; and when the king superseded him he rebelled with
his army. This was the signal for a general insurrection. The magnates
deposed and blinded Hormizd and proclaimed his son Chosroes II. king. In
the war which now followed between Bahram Chobin and Chosroes II.
Hormizd was killed by some partisans of his son (590).
5. HORMIZD V. was one of the many pretenders who rose after the murder
of Chosroes II. (628). He maintained himself about two years (631, 632)
in the district of Nisibis. (Ed. M.)
HORMUZ (_Hurmuz_, _Ormuz_, _Ormus_), a famous city on the shores of the
Persian Gulf, which occupied more than one position in the course of
history, and has now long practically ceased to exist. The earliest
mention of the name occurs in the voyage of Nearchus (325 B.C.). When
that admiral beached his fleet at the mouth of the river Anamis on the
shore of Harmozia, a coast district of Carmania, he found the country to
be kindly, rich in every product except the olive. The Anamis appears to
be the river now known as the Minab, discharging into the Persian Gulf
near the entrance of the latter. The name Hormuz is derived by some from
that of the Persian god Hormuzd (Ormazd), but it is more likely that the
original etymology was connected with _khurma_, "a date"; for the
meaning of Moghistan the modern name of the territory Harmozia is "the
region of date-palms." The foundation of the city of Hormuz in this
territory is ascribed by one Persian writer to the Sassanian Ardashir
Babegan (c. 230 A.D.). But it must have existed at an earlier date, for
Ptolemy takes note of [Greek: Harmonza polis] (vi. 8).
Hormuz is mentioned by Idrisi, who wrote c. 1150, under the title of
Hormuz-al-sahiliah, "Hormuz of the shore" (to distinguish it from inland
cities of the same name then existing), as a large and well-built city,
the chief mart of Kirman. Siraf and Kish (Kais), farther up the gulf,
had preceded it as ports of trade with India, but in the 13th century
Hormuz had become the chief seat of this traffic. It was at this time
the seat also of a petty dynasty of kings, of which there is a history
by one of their number (Turan Shah); an abstract of it is given by the
Jesuit Teixeira. According to this history the founder of the dynasty
was Shah Mohammed Dirhem-Kub ("the Drachma-coiner"), an Arab chief who
crossed the gulf and established himself here. The date is not given,
but it must have been before 1100 A.D., as Ruknuddin Mahmud, who
succeeded in 1246, was the twelfth of the line. These princes appear to
have been at times in dependence necessarily on the atabegs of Fars and
on the princes of Kirman. About the year 1300 Hormuz was so severely and
repeatedly harassed by raids of Tatar horsemen that the king and his
people abandoned their city on the mainland and transferred themselves
to the island of Jerun (Organa of Nearchus), about 12 m. westward and 4
m. from the nearest shore.
The site of the continental or ancient Hormuz was first traced in modern
times by Colonel (Sir Lewis) Pelly when resident at Bushire. It stands
in the present district of Minab, several miles from the sea, and on a
creek which communicates with the Minab river, but is partially silted
up and not now accessible for vessels. There remain traces of a long
wharf and extensive ruins. The new city occupied a triangular plain
forming the northern part of the island, the southern wall, as its
remains still show, being about 2 m. in extent from east to west. A
suburb with a wharf or pier, called Turan Bagh (garden of Turan) after
one of the kings, a name now corrupted to Trumpak, stood about 3 m. from
the town to the south-east.
Odoric gives the earliest notice we have of the new city (c. 1320). He
calls it Ormes, a city strongly fortified and abounding in costly wares,
situated on an island 5 m. distant from the main, having no trees and no
fresh water, unhealthy and (as all evidence confirms) incredibly hot.
Some years later it was visited more than once by Ibn Batuta, who seems
to speak of the old city as likewise still standing. The new Hormuz,
called also Jerun (i.e. still retaining the original name of the
island), was a great and fine city rising out of the sea, and serving as
a mart for all the products of India, which were distributed hence over
all Persia. The hills on the island were of rock-salt, from which vases
and pedestals for lamps were carved. Near the gate of the chief mosque
stood an enormous skull, apparently that of a sperm-whale. The king at
this time was Kutbuddin Tahamtan, and the traveller gives a curious
description of him, seated on the throne, in patched and dirty raiment,
holding a rosary of enormous pearls, procured from the Bahrein
fisheries, which at one time or another belonged, with other islands in
the gulf and on the Oman shores from Ras-el-had (C. Rosalgat of the
Portuguese) on the ocean round to Julfar on the gulf, to the princes of
Hormuz. Abdurazzak, the envoy of Shah Rukh on his way to the Hindu court
of Vijayanagar, was in Hormuz in 1442, and speaks of it as a mart which
had no equal, frequented by the merchants of all the countries of Asia,
among which he enumerates China, Java, Bengal, Tenasserim, Shahr-i-nao
(i.e. Siam) and the Maldives. Nikitin, the Russian (c. 1470), gives a
similar account; he calls it "a vast emporium of all the world."
In September 1507 the king of Hormuz, after for some time hearing of the
terrible foe who was carrying fire and sword along the shores of Arabia,
saw the squadron of Alphonso d'Albuquerque appear before his city, an
appearance speedily followed by extravagant demands, by refusal of these
from the ministers of the young king, and by deeds of matchless daring
and cruelty on the part of the Portuguese, which speedily broke down
resistance. The king acknowledged himself tributary to Portugal, and
gave leave to the Portuguese to build a castle, which was at once
commenced on the northern part of the island, commanding the city and
the anchorage on both sides. But the mutinous conduct and desertion of
several of Albuquerque's captains compelled him suddenly to abandon the
enterprise; and it was not till 1514, after the great leader had
captured Goa and Malacca, and had for five years been viceroy, that he
returned to Hormuz (or Ormuz, as the Portuguese called it), and without
encountering resistance to a name now so terrible, laid his grasp again
on the island and completed his castle. For more than a century Hormuz
remained practically in the dominions of Portugal, though the hereditary
prince, paying from his revenues a tribute to Portugal (in lieu of which
eventually the latter took the whole of the customs collections),
continued to be the instrument of government. The position of things
during the Portuguese rule may be understood from the description of
Cesare de' Federici, a Venetian merchant who was at Hormuz about 1565.
After speaking of the great trade in spices, drugs, silk and silk
stuffs, and pearls of Bahrein, and in horses for export to India, he
says the king was a Moor (i.e. Mahommedan), chosen by and subordinate to
the Portuguese. "At the election of the king I was there and saw the
ceremonies that they use.... The old king being dead, the captain of the
Portugals chooseth another of the blood-royal, and makes this election
in the castle with great ceremony. And when he is elected the captain
sweareth him to be true ... to the K. of Portugal as his lord and
governor, and then he giveth him the sceptre regal. After this ... with
great pomp ... he is brought into the royal palace in the city. The king
keeps a good train and hath sufficient revenues, ... because the captain
of the castle doth maintain and defend his right ... he is honoured as a
king, yet he cannot ride abroad with his train, without the consent of
the captain first had" (in Hakluyt).[1]
The rise of the English trade and factories in the Indian seas in the
beginning of the 17th century led to constant jealousies and broils with
the Portuguese, and the successful efforts of the English company to
open traffic with Persia especially embittered their rivals, to whom the
possession of Hormuz had long given a monopoly of that trade. The
officers of Shah Abbas, who looked with a covetous and resentful eye on
the Portuguese occupation of such a position, were strongly desirous of
the aid of English ships in attacking Hormuz. During 1620 and 1621 the
ships of Portugal and of the English company had more than once come to
action in the Indian seas, and in November of the latter year the
council at Surat had resolved on what was practically maritime war with
the Portuguese flag. There was hardly a step between this and the
decision come to in the following month to join with "the duke of
Shiraz" (Imam Kuli Khan, the governor of Fars) in the desired expedition
against Hormuz. There was some pretext of being forced into the alliance
by a Persian threat to lay embargo on the English goods at Jashk; but
this seems to have been only brought forward by the English agents when,
at a later date, their proceedings were called in question. The English
crews were at first unwilling to take part in what they justly said was
"no merchandizing business, nor were they engaged for the like," but
they were persuaded, and five English vessels aided, first, in the
attack of Kishm, where (at the east end of the large island so called)
the Portuguese had lately built a fort,[2] and afterwards in that of
Hormuz itself. The latter siege was opened on the 18th of February 1622,
and continued to the 1st of May, when the Portuguese, after a gallant
defence of ten weeks, surrendered. It is to be recollected that Portugal
was at this time subject to the crown of Spain, with which England was
at peace; indeed, it was but a year later that the prince of Wales went
on his wooing adventure to the Spanish court. The irritation there was
naturally great, though it is surprising how little came of it. The
company were supposed (apparently without foundation) to have profited
largely by the Hormuz booty; and both the duke of Buckingham and the
king claimed to be "sweetened," as the record phrases it, from this
supposed treasure. The former certainly received a large bribe
(£10,000). The conclusion of the transaction with the king was formerly
considered doubtful; but entries in the calendar of East India papers
seem to show that James received an equal sum.[3]
Hormuz never recovered from this blow. The Persians transferred their
establishments to Gombroon on the mainland, about 12 m. to the
north-west, which the king had lately set up as a royal port under the
name of Bander Abbasi. The English stipulations for aid had embraced an
equal division of the customs duties. This division was apparently
recognized by the Persians as applying to the new Bander, and, though
the trade with Persia was constantly decaying and precarious, the
company held to their factory at Gombroon for the sake of this claim to
revenue, which of course was most irregularly paid. In 1683-1684 the
amount of debt due to the company in Persia, including their proportion
of customs duties, was reckoned at a million sterling. As late as
1690-1691 their right seems to have been admitted, and a payment of 3495
sequins was received by them on this account. The factory at Gombroon
lingered on till 1759, when it was seized by two French ships of war
under Comte d'Estaing. It was re-established, but at the time of
Niebuhr's visit to the gulf a few years later no European remained.
Niebuhr mentions that in his time (c. 1765) Mulla 'Ali Shah, formerly
admiral of Nadir Shah, was established on the island of Hormuz and part
of Kishm as an independent chief.
See also Barros, _Asia_; _Commentaries of Albuquerque_, trans. by
Birch (Hak. Society); _Relaciones de Pedro Teixeira_ (Antwerp, 1610);
Narratives in Hakluyt's _Collection_ (reprint in 1809, vol. ii.) and
in Purchas's _Pilgrims_, vol. ii.; Pietro della Valle, _Persia_, lett.
xii.-xvii.; _Calendar of E. I. Papers_, by Sainsbury, vol. iii.;
Ritter, _Erdkunde_, xii.; _Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc._, Kempthorne in vol.
v., White-locke in vol. viii., Pelly in vol. xxxiv.; Fraser,
_Narrative of a Journey into Khorasan_ (1825); Constable and Stifle,
_Persian Gulf Pilot_ (1864); Bruce, _Annals of the E. I. Company_, &c.
(1810). (H. Y.)
The island has a circumference of 16 m. and its longest axis measures 4½
m. The village is in 27° 6´ N., 56° 29´ E. The Portuguese fort still
stands, but is sadly out of repair and much of its western wall has been
undermined and washed away by the action of the sea. It is a bastioned
fort with orillons and loopholed casemates under the ramparts and was
separated from the town by a deep moat, now silted up, cut E.-W. across
the isthmus and crossed by a bridge. It has three cisterns for
collecting rainwater; two are 17-18 ft. deep, have a capacity of about
60,000 gallons and are covered by arched roofs supported on six stone
pillars. The third cistern is smaller and has no roof. Five rusty old
iron guns are lying prone on the roof; six others on the strand before
the village are used for fastening boats, another serves as a socket for
a flagstaff before the representative of the government. The island is
under the jurisdiction of the governor of the Persian Gulf ports who
resides at Bushire. Of the old city hardly anything stands except a
minaret, 70 ft. high, with a winding staircase inside and much worn away
at the base, part of a former mosque used by the Portuguese as a
lighthouse, but the traces of buildings, massive foundations constructed
of stone quarried in the hills on the island, of many cisterns (some say
300), &c., are numerous and extensive. The modern settlement, situated
south of the fort on the eastern shore, has a population of about 1000
during the cool season, but less in the hot season, when many people go
over to Minab on the mainland to the east. Most of the people live in
huts constructed of the branches and leaves of the date palm. They own
about sixty small sailing vessels trading to Muscat and other ports and
also do some pearl-fishing. At Turan Bagh on the east coast 4½ m. S.E.
of the fort are some considerable ruins, irrigation canals, an extensive
burial ground and some huts occupied by a few families who cultivate a
small garden on a terrace supported by old retaining walls. On a hill
near the shore 1½ m. S.E. of the fort is the ruin of a small chapel
called "Santa Lucia" on an old map in Astley's _Collection of Voyages_,
and on the summit of a salt hill 1½ m. south of the fort are the remains
of another chapel called "N.S. de la Pena" on the same map, and a
"Monastery" in a sketch of Hormuz made by David Davies, a mate on board
the East India Company's ship "Discovery" in 1627. With the exception of
the northern part, where the old city stood, and the little patch at
Turan Bagh, the island is covered with reddish brown hills with sharp
serrated ridges composed of gypsum, rock-salt and clay. These hills,
which do not exceed 300 ft. in height, are broken through in four places
by conical, whitish peaks of volcanic rocks (greenstone, trachyte); the
highest of these peaks with an altitude of 690 ft. is situated almost in
the centre of the island.
The island has extensive beds of red ochre in which nodules of very pure
hematite are often found. The ochre, here called _gilek_, has been an
important article of export for centuries[4] and great quantities of it
are exported at the present time to England (in 1906-1907, 10,000 tons;
local price 27s. the ton). The climate of Hormuz, although hot, is,
according to medical experts, the best in the Persian Gulf. Rain falls
in January, February and March, and the annual rainfall is said to be
about the same as that of Bushire, 12 to 13 in.
Capt. A. W. Stiffe in _Geogr. Mag._ (April 1874); William Foster in
_Geogr. Journal_ (Aug. 1894); writer's notes taken on island.
(A. H.-S.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In Barros, _Dec. II._ book x. c. 7, there is a curious detail of
the revenue and expenditure of the kingdom of Ormuz, which would seem
to exhibit the former as not more than £100,000.
[2] The attack on Kishm was notable in that one of the two Englishmen
killed there was the great navigator Baffin.
[3] _Colonial Series, E. Indies_, by Sainsbury, vol. iii. _passim_,
especially see pp. 296 and 329.
[4] "Reddle or Red Ochre from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire
is very little inferior to the Sort brought from the Island of Ormuz
in the Persian Gulph and so much valued and used by our Painters
under the name of Indian Red" (Sir John Hill, _Theophrastus's History
of Stones_, London, 1774).
HORN, ARVID BERNHARD, COUNT (1664-1742), Swedish statesman, was born at
Vuorentaka in Finland on the 6th of April 1664, of a noble but indigent
family. After completing his studies at Åbo, he entered the army and
served for several years in the Netherlands, in Hungary under Prince
Eugene, and in Flanders under Waldeck (1690-1695). He stood high in the
favour of the young Charles XII. and was one of his foremost generals in
the earlier part of the great Northern War. In 1704 he was entrusted
with his first diplomatic mission, the deposition of Augustus II. of
Poland and the election of Stanislaus I., a mission which he
accomplished with distinguished ability but absolute unscrupulousness.
Shortly afterwards he was besieged by Augustus in Warsaw and compelled
to surrender. In 1705 he was made a senator, in 1706 a count and in 1707
governor of Charles XII.'s nephew, the young duke Charles Frederick of
Holstein-Gottorp. In 1710 he succeeded Nils Gyldenstolpe as prime
minister. Transferred to the central point of the administration, he had
ample opportunity of regarding with other eyes the situation of the
kingdom, and in consequence of his remonstrances he fell rapidly in the
favour of Charles XII. Both in 1710 and 1713 Horn was in favour of
summoning the estates, but when in 1714 the diet adopted an
anti-monarchical attitude, he gravely warned and ultimately dissolved
it. In Charles XII.'s later years Horn had little to do with the
administration. After the death of Charles XII. (1718) it was Horn who
persuaded the princess Ulrica Leonora to relinquish her hereditary
claims and submit to be _elected_ queen of Sweden. He protested against
the queen's autocratic behaviour, and resigned both the premiership and
his senatorship. He was elected _landtmarskalk_ at the diet of 1720, and
contributed, on the resignation of Ulrica Leonora, to the election of
Frederick of Hesse as king of Sweden, whose first act was to restore to
him the office of prime minister. For the next eighteen years he so
absolutely controlled both the foreign and the domestic affairs of
Sweden that the period between 1720 and 1738 has well been called the
Horn period. His services to his country were indeed inestimable. His
strong hand kept the inevitable strife of the parliamentary factions
within due limits, and it was entirely owing to his provident care that
Sweden so rapidly recovered from the wretched condition in which the
wars of Charles XII. had plunged her. In his foreign policy Horn was
extremely wary and cautious, yet without compromising either the
independence or the self-respect of his country. He was, however, the
promoter of a new principle of administration which in later days proved
very dangerous to Sweden under ministers less capable than he was. This
was to increase the influence of the diet and its secret committees in
the solution of purely diplomatic questions, which should have been left
entirely to the executive, thus weakening the central government and at
the same time facilitating the interference of foreign Powers in
Sweden's domestic affairs. Not till 1731 was there any appearance of
opposition in the diet to Horn's "system"; but Horn, piqued by the
growing coolness of the king, the same year offered his resignation,
which was not accepted. In 1734, however, the opposition was bold enough
to denounce his neutrality on the occasion of the war of the Polish
Succession, when Stanislaus I. again appeared upon the scene as a
candidate for the Polish throne; but Horn was still strong enough to
prevent a rupture with Russia. Henceforth he was bitterly but unjustly
accused of want of patriotism, and in 1738 was compelled at last to
retire before the impetuous onslaught of the triumphant young Hat party.
For the rest of his life he lived in retirement at his estate at
Ekebyholm, where he died on the 17th of April 1742. Horn in many
respects greatly resembled his contemporary Walpole. The peculiar
situation of Sweden, and the circumstances of his time, made his policy
necessarily opportunist, but it was an opportunism based on excellent
common sense.
See V. E. Svedelius, _Arvid Bernard Horn_ (Stockholm, 1879); R. N.
Bain, _Gustavus III._, vol. i. (London, 1894), and _Charles XII._
(1895); C. F. Horn, _A. B. Horn: hans lefnad_ (Stockholm, 1852).
(R. N. B.)
HORN, PHILIP DE MONTMORENCY, COUNT OF (1518-1568), a man of illustrious
descent and great possessions in the Netherlands, became in succession
under Charles V. and Philip II. stadtholder of Gelderland, admiral of
Flanders and knight of the Golden Fleece. In 1559 he commanded the
stately fleet which conveyed Philip II. from the Netherlands to Spain,
and he remained at the Spanish court till 1563. On his return he placed
himself with the prince of Orange and Count Egmont at the head of the
party which opposed the policy of Cardinal Granvella. When Granvella
retired the three great nobles continued to resist the introduction of
the Spanish Inquisition and of Spanish despotic rule into the
Netherlands. But though Philip appeared for a time to give way, he had
made up his mind to visit the opponents of his policy with ruthless
punishment. The regent, Margaret, duchess of Parma, was replaced by the
duke of Alva, who entered the Netherlands at the head of a veteran army
and at once began to crush all opposition with a merciless hand. Orange
fled from the country, but Egmont and Horn, despite his warning, decided
to remain and face the storm. They were both seized, tried and condemned
as traitors, and were executed on the 5th of June 1568 in the great
square before the town hall at Brussels.
See biographical notices in A. J. van der Aa, _Biographisch
Woordenboek der Nederlanden_ (Haarlem, 1851-1879); J. Kok,
_Vaderlandsch Woordenboek_ (Amsterdam, 1785-1799); also bibliography
to chaps. vi. vii. and xix. in _Cambridge Modern History_, vol. iii.
pp. 798-809 (1904).
HORN, English hero of romance. _King Horn_ is a heroic poem or gest of
1546 lines dating from the 13th century. Murry (or Allof), king of
Sudenne[1] (Surrey and Sussex?) is slain by Saracen pirates who turn his
son Horn adrift with twelve other children. The boat drifts to
Westernesse[2] (Cornwall?), where the children are received by King
Aylmer (Aethelmaer). Presently Horn is denounced by one of his
companions as the lover of the king's daughter Rymenhild (Rimel) and is
banished, taking with him a ring, the gift of his bride and a talisman
against danger. In Ireland, under the name of Godmod, he serves for
seven years, and slays in battle the Saracens who had killed his father.
Learning that Rymenhild is to be married against her will to King Mody,
he returns to Westernesse disguised as a palmer, and makes himself known
to the bride by dropping the ring into the cup she offers him, with the
words "Drink to Horn of Horn." He then reconquers his father's kingdom
and marries Rymenhild.
The other versions of the story, which are founded on a common
tradition, but are not immediately dependent on one another, are: (1)
the longer French romance of _Horn et Rimenhild_ by "mestre Thomas,"
describing more complex social conditions than those of the English
poem; (2) a slightly shorter Middle English poem, _Horn Childe and
Maiden Rimnild_; (3) the Scottish ballad of "Hind Horn;" (4) a prose
romance founded on the French _Horn_, entitled _Pontus et Sidoine_
(Lyons, 1480, Eng. trans. pr. by Wynkyn de Worde, 1511; German trans.
Augsburg, 1483).
There is a marked resemblance between the story of Horn and the legend
of Havelok the Dane, and it is interesting to note how closely Richard
of Ely followed the Horn tradition in the 12th century _De gestis
Herewardi Saxonis_. Hereward also loves an Irish princess, flees to
Ireland, and returns in time for the bridal feast, where he is presented
with a cup by the princess. The orphaned prince who recovers his
father's kingdom and avenges his murder, and the maid or wife who waits
years for an absent lover or husband, and is rescued on the eve of a
forced marriage, are common characters in romance. The second of these
motives, with almost identical incidents, occurs in the legend of Henry
the Lion, duke of Brunswick; it is the subject of ballads in Swedish,
Danish, German, Bohemian, &c., and of a _Historia_ by Hans Sachs, though
some magic elements are added; it also occurs in the ballad of _Der edle
Moringer_ (14th century), well known in Sir Walter Scott's translation;
in the story of Torello in the _Decameron_ of Boccaccio (10th day, 9th
tale); and with some variation in the Russian tale of Dobrynya and
Nastasya.
_King Horn_ was re-edited for the Early English Text Soc. by G. H.
McKnight in 1901; _Horn et Rimenhild_ was edited with the English
versions for the Bannatyne Club by F. Michel (Paris, 1845); _Horn
Childe and Maiden Rimnild_ in J. Ritson's _Metrical Romances_, vol.
iii.; and "Hind Horn" in F. J. Child's _English and Scottish_
_Popular Ballads_ (vol. i., 1882), with an introductory note on
similar legends. See also H. L. Ward, _Catalogue of Romances_, vol.
i., where the relation between Havelok and Horn is discussed; _Hist.
litt. de la France_ (vol. xxii., 1852); W. Söderhjelm, _Sur l'identité
du Thomas auteur de Tristan et du Thomas auteur de Horn_ (_Romania_,
xv., 1886); T. Wissmann, "King Horn" (1876) and "Das Lied von King
Horn" (1881) in Nos. 16 and 45 of _Quellen und Forschungen zur Spr.
und Culturgesch. d. german. Völker_ (Strassburg and London); _Reinfrid
von Braunschweig_, a version of the legend of Henry the Lion, edited
by K. Bartsch (Stuttgart, 1871); and a further bibliography in O.
Hartenstein, _Studien zur Hornsage_ (Heidelberg, 1902).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] There was a barrow in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorsetshire, called
Hornesbeorh; and there are other indications which point to a
possible connexion between _Horn_ and Dorset (see H. L. Ward, _Cat.
of Romances_, i. 451).
[2] Sudenne and Westernesse are tentatively identified also with Isle
of Man and Wirral (_Cambridge Hist. of Eng Lit._, i. 304).
HORN (a common Teutonic word, cognate with Lat. _cornu_; cf. Gr. [Greek:
keras]). The weapons which project from the heads of various species of
animals, constituting what are known as horns, embrace substances which
are, in their anatomical structure and chemical composition, quite
distinct from each other; and although in commerce also they are known
indiscriminately as horn, their uses are altogether dissimilar. These
differences in structure and properties were thus indicated by Sir R.
Owen:--"The weapons to which the term horn is properly or technically
applied consist of very different substances, and belong to two organic
systems, as distinct from each other as both are from the teeth. Thus
the horns of deer consist of bone, and are processes of the frontal
bone; those of the giraffe are independent bones or 'epiphyses' covered
by hairy skin; those of oxen, sheep and antelopes are 'apophyses' of the
frontal bone, covered by the corium and by a sheath of true horny
material; those of the prong-horned antelope consist at their basis of
bony processes covered by hairy skin, and are covered by horny sheaths
in the rest of their extent. They thus combine the character of those of
the giraffe and ordinary antelope, together with the expanded and
branched form of the antlers of deer. Only the horns of the rhinoceros
are composed wholly of horny matter, and this is disposed in
longitudinal fibres, so that the horns seem rather to consist of coarse
bristles compactly matted together in the form of a more or less
elongated sub-compressed cone." True horny matter is really a modified
form of epidermic tissue, and consists of the albuminoid "keratin." It
forms, not only the horns of the ox tribe, but also the hoofs, claws or
nails of animals generally, the carapace of the tortoises and the
armadilloes, the scales of the pangolin, porcupine quills, and birds'
feathers, &c.
Horn is employed in the manufacture of combs, buttons, the handles of
walking-sticks, umbrellas, and knives, drinking-cups, spoons of various
kinds, snuff-boxes, &c. In former times it was applied to several uses
for which it is no longer required, although such applications have left
their traces in the language. Thus the musical instruments and fog
signals known as horns indicate their descent from earlier and simpler
forms of apparatus made from horn. In the same way powder-horns were
spoken of long after they ceased to be made of that substance; to a
small extent lanterns still continue to be "glazed" with thin
transparent plates of horn.
HORN (Lat. _cornu_; corresponding terms being Fr. _cor_, _trompe_; Ger.
_Horn_; Ital. _corno_), a class of wind instruments primarily derived
from natural animal horns (see above), and having the common
characteristics of a conical bore and the absence of lateral holes. The
word "horn" when used by modern English musicians always refers to the
French horn.
Modern horns may be divided into three classes: (1) the short horns with
wide bore, such as the bugles (q.v.) and the post-horn. (2) The saxhorns
(q.v.), a family of hybrid instruments designed by Adolphe Sax, and
resulting from the adaptation of valves and of a cup-shaped mouthpiece
to instruments of the calibre of the bugle. The Flügelhorn family is the
German equivalent of the saxhorns. The natural scale of instruments of
this class comprises the harmonics from the second to the eighth only.
(3) The French horn (Fr. _cor de chasse_ or _trompe de chasse_, _cor à
pistons_; Ger. _Waldhorn_, _Ventilhorn_; Ital. _corno_ or _corno di
caccia_), one of the most valuable and difficult wind instruments of the
orchestra, having a very slender conical tube wound round in coils upon
itself. It consists of four principal parts--the body, the crooks, the
slide and the mouthpiece.
(a) The _body_ is the main tube, having a bore of the form known as
trunco-conical, measuring approximately 7 ft. 4 in. in length, in
which the increase in the diameter of the bore is very gradual in
proportion to the length, the cone becoming accentuated only near the
bell. In the valve horn the bore is only theoretically conical, the
extra lengths of tubing attached to the valves being practically
cylindrical. The body is coiled spirally, and has at one end a
wide-mouthed bell from 11 to 12 in. in diameter having a parabolic
curve, and at the other a conical ferrule into which fit the crooks.
(b) The _crooks_ (Fr. _corps_ or _tons de rechange_; Ger.
_Krummbogen_, _Stimmbogen_, _Einsetzbogen_) are interchangeable,
spiral tubes, tapering to a diameter of a quarter of an inch at the
mouthpiece end and varying in length from 16 in. for the B[flat] alto
crook to 125 in. for the B[flat] basso. Each crook is named according
to the fundamental tone which it produces on being added to the body.
By lengthening the tube at will the crook lowers the pitch of the
instrument, and consequently changes the key in which it stands.
Although the harmonic series remains the same for all the crooks, the
actual sounds produced by overblowing are lower, the tube being
longer, and they now belong to the key of the crook. The principle of
the crook was known early in the 17th century; it had been applied to
the trumpet, trombone and Jägertrummet[1] before being adapted to the
horn. Crooks are merely transposing agents; they are powerless to fill
up the gaps in the scale of the horn in order to make it a chromatic
or even a diatonic instrument, for they require time for adjustment.
The principle of the crook doubtless suggested to Stölzel the system
of valves, which is but an instantaneous application of the general
principle to the individual notes of the harmonic series, each of
which is thereby lowered a semitone, a tone or a tone and a half, as
long as the valve remains in operation. The body of the horn without
crooks is of the length to produce 8 ft. C., and forms the standard,
being known as the alto horn in C, which is the highest key in which
the horn is pitched. The notes are sounded as written.
(c) The _mouthpiece_ of the horn differs substantially from that of
the trumpet.[2] There is, strictly speaking, no cup, the inside of the
mouthpiece being, like the bore of the instrument itself, in the form
of a truncated cone or funnel. Like the other parts of this difficult
and complex instrument, the proportions of the mouthpiece must bear a
certain undefined relation to the length and diameter of the column of
air. The choice of a suitable mouthpiece is in fact a test of skill;
the shape of the lip of the performer and the more special use he may
wish to make of either the higher or the lower harmonics have to be
taken into consideration. In orchestral music the part for first horns
naturally calls for the use of the higher harmonics, which are more
easily obtained by means of a somewhat smaller and shallower
mouthpiece[3] than that used upon the second horn, which is called
upon to dwell more on the lower harmonics.
(d) The _tuning slides_ (Fr. _coulisses_; Ger. _Stimmbogen_) consist
of a pair of sliding U-shaped tubes fitting tightly into each other,
by means of which the instrument can be brought strictly into tune,
and which also act as compensators with the crooks. On these tuning
slides, placed across the ring formed by the coils of the valve-horn,
are fixed the pistons with their extra lengths of tubing; as the
connexion of the pistons with the body of the horn is made through the
slides, the value of the latter as compensators will be readily
understood. Those accustomed to deal with instruments having fixed
notes, such as the piano and harp, hardly realize the extreme
difficulties which confront both maker and performer in intricate wind
instruments such as the horn, on which no sounds can be produced
without conscious adjustment of lips and breath, and but few without
the additional use of some such contrivance as slide, crook, piston of
of the hand in the bell, in the case of the natural or hand horn.
Acoustics.
The production of sound in wind instruments has a fourfold object: (1)
pitch; (2) range or scale of available notes; (3) quality of tone or
_timbre_; (4) dynamic variation, or crescendo and diminuendo. The pitch
of the horn, as of other wind instruments, depends almost exclusively on
the length of the air-column set in vibration, and remains practically
uninfluenced by the diameter of the bore. In the case of conical tubes
in which the difference in diameter at the two extremities, mouthpiece
and bell, is very great, as in the horn, the pitch of the tube will be
slightly higher than its theoretical length would warrant.[4] When, for
instance, three tubes of the same length are sounded--No. 1, conical
diverging; No. 2, conical converging in the direction from mouthpiece
to bell; No. 3, cylindrical--No. 1 gives a fundamental tone somewhat
higher, No. 2 somewhat lower, than No. 3. Victor Mahillon[5] adds that
the rate of vibration in such conical tubes as the horn is slightly less
than the rate of vibration in ambient air; therefore, as the rate of
vibration (i.e. the number of vibrations per second) varies in the
inverse ratio with the length of the tube, it follows that the practical
length of the horn is slightly less than the theoretical, the difference
for the horn in B[flat] normal pitch amounting to 13.9 cm.
(approximately 5½ in.).
The tube of the horn behaves as an open pipe. E. F. F. Chladni[6] states
that the mouthpiece end is to be considered as open in all wind
instruments (excepting reed instruments), even when, as in horns and
trumpets, it would seem to be closed by the lips. Victor Mahillon,
although apparently holding the opposite view, and considering as closed
the tubes of all wind instruments played by means of reeds, whether
single or double, or by the lips acting as reeds, gives a new and
practical explanation of the phenomenon.[7] The result is the same in
both cases, for the closed pipe of trunco-conical bore, whose diameter
at the bell is at least four times greater than the diameter at the
mouthpiece, behaves in the same manner, when set in vibration by a reed,
as an open pipe, and gives the consecutive scale of harmonics.[8]
In order to produce sound from the horn, the performer, stretching his
lips across the funnel-shaped mouthpiece from rim to rim, blows into
the cavity. The lips, vibrating as the breath passes through the
aperture between them, communicate pulsations or series of
intermittent shocks to the thin stream of air, known as the exciting
current, which, issuing from them, strikes the column of air in the
tube, already in a state of stationary vibration.[9] The effect of
this series of shocks, without which there can be no sound, upon the
column of air confined within the walls of the tube is to produce
sound-waves, travelling longitudinally through the tube. Each
sound-wave consists of two half-lengths, one in which the air has been
compressed or condensed by the impulse or push, the second in which,
the push being spent, the air again dilates or becomes rarefied. In an
open pipe, the wave-length is theoretically equal to the length of the
tube. The pitch of the note depends on the frequency per second with
which each vibration or complete sound-wave reaches the drum of the
ear. The longer the wave the lower the frequency. The velocity of the
wave is independent of its length, being solely conditioned by the
rate of vibration of the particles composing the conveying medium:
while one individual particle performs one complete vibration, the
wave advances one wave-length.[10] The rate of particle vibration or
frequency is therefore inversely proportional to the corresponding
wave-length.[11] Sound-waves generated by the same exciting current
travel with the same velocity whatever their length, the difference
being the frequency number and therefore the pitch of the note. As
long as the performer blows with normal force, the same length of tube
produces the same wave-length and therefore the same frequency and
pitch. By "blowing with normal force" is understood the proper
relative proportions to be maintained between the wind-pressure and
the lip-tension--a ratio which is found instinctively by the performer
but was only suspected by the older writers.[12] If the shocks or
vibrations initiated by the lips through the medium of the exciting
current be sharper owing to the increased tension of the lips, and at
the same time succeed each other with greater velocity, the
wave-length breaks up, and two, three or more proportionally shorter
complete waves form instead of one, and traverse the pipe within the
same space of time, producing sounds proportionally higher by an
octave, a twelfth, &c., according to the character of the initiatory
disturbance. We may therefore add this proposition: the rate of
vibration of a tube varies as the number of segments into which the
vibrating column of air within it is divided. In order to obtain the
fundamental, the performer's lips must be loose and the wind-pressure
gentle but steady, so that the exciting current may issue forth in a
broad, slow stream. To set in vibration a column of air some 16 or 17
ft. long is a feat of extreme difficulty; that is why it is quite
exceptional to find a horn-player who can sound the fundamental on the
low C or B[flat] _basso_ horns. In the organ, where even a 32 ft. tone
is obtained, the wind-pressure and the lip-opening controlling the
exciting current are mechanically regulated for each length of
pipe--only one note being required from each. In order, therefore, to
induce the column of air within the tube to break up and vibrate in
aliquot parts, the exciting current must be compressed into an ever
finer, tenser and more incisive stream. There is in fact a certain
minimum pressure for each degree of tension of the lips below which no
harmonic can be produced.
It is often stated that the harmonics are obtained by increasing the
tension of the lips and a crescendo by increasing the pressure of the
breath.[13] Victor Mahillon[14] accounts for the harmonics by
increased wind-pressure only. It is evident that the greater the
tension of the lips, the greater the force of wind required to set
them vibrating; therefore the force and velocity of the air must vary
with the tension of the lips in order to produce a steady or musical
sound. D. J. Blaikley considers that the ratio of increase in lips and
breath follows that of the harmonic series. The tension of the lips
has the effect of reducing the width of the slit or aperture between
them and the width of the exciting current. While increasing its
density the energy of the wind must, therefore, either expend itself
in increasing the rate of vibration, or frequency of the pulses, which
influences the pitch of the note; or else in increasing the extent of
excursion or amplitude of the vibrations, which influences the dynamic
force of the sound or loudness.[15] If the aperture be narrowed
without providing a proportional increase of wind-pressure, the
harmonic overtone may be heard, but either the intonation will suffer
or the intensity of the tone will be reduced, because the force
required, to set the tenser membrane in vibration is insufficient to
give the vibrations the requisite amplitude as well as the frequency.
If the force expended be excessive, i.e. more than the maximum
required to ensure the increased frequency proportional to the
increased tension, the superfluous energy must expend itself in
increasing the amplitude of the vibrations so that a note of a greater
degree of loudness as well as of higher pitch will be produced. The
converse is equally true; the lower the pitch of the note the slower
the pulses or vibrations and therefore the looser the lip and the
gentler the force of current required to set them vibrating. To draw a
parallel from organ-pipes: as long as even wind-pressure is
maintained, the mouthpiece being fixed proportional to the length of
tube, the pipe gives out one note of unvarying dynamic intensity;
increase the pressure of the wind and harmonics are heard, but it is
impossible to obtain a crescendo unless the mouthpiece be dispensed
with and a free reed (q.v.) adapted.
Reference has already been made above to the difficulty of obtaining
the fundamental on tubes of great length and narrow bore like the
horn. The useful compass of the horn, therefore, begins with the note
that an open pipe half its length would give; the Germans term
instruments of such small calibre _half instruments_, and those of
wide calibre, such as bugles and tubas, _whole instruments_,[16] since
in them the whole of the length of the tube is available in practice.
The harmonic series of the horn, or the open notes obtainable without
using valves or crooks, is written as for the alto horn in C of 8 ft.
tone, which forms the standard of notation. Notes written in the bass
clef are generally, for some unexplained reason, placed an octave
lower than the real sounds.
[Illustration]
All the crooks, a list of the principal of which is appended,
therefore necessarily give real sounds _lower_ than the above series
according to their individual length.
_Table of Principal Crooks now in Use._[17]
+---------------+------------------+-------------+----------+-----------------+
| Key of | Actual Sounds of | | Length of| |
| Crook. | Range of Useful | | Crook in | Transposes to |
| | Harmonics. | | Inches. | |
+---------------+------------------+-------------+----------+-----------------+
| B[flat] alto | [music notes] | 2nd to 10th | 16 | major 2nd lower |
| A[natural] | [music notes] | 2nd to 10th | 22½ | minor 3rd " |
| A[flat] | [music notes] | 2nd to 10th | 29½ | major 3rd " |
| G | [music notes] | 2nd to 12th | 36¾ | perfect 4th " |
| F | [music notes] | 2nd to 16th | 52½ | perfect 5th " |
| E | [music notes] | 2nd to 16th | 61 | minor 6th " |
| E[flat] | [music notes] | 2nd to 16th | 70¼ | major 6th " |
| D | [music notes] | 2nd to 16th | 80 | minor 7th " |
| C basso | [music notes] | 3rd to 16th | 101 | 8^ve " |
| B[flat] basso | [music notes] | 3rd to 16th | 125 | major 9th " |
+---------------+------------------+-------------+----------+-----------------+
The practical aggregate compass of the natural horns from B[flat]
basso at the service of composers therefore ranges (actual sounds)
from [music notes] or with 3 valves from [music notes] By means of
hand-stopping, i.e. the practice of thrusting the hand into the bell
in order to lower the sound by a tone or a semitone, or by the
adaptation of valves to the horn, this compass may be rendered
chromatic almost throughout the range.
The principle of the valve as applied to wind instruments differs
entirely from that of keys. The latter necessitate lateral holes bored
through the tube, and when the keys are raised the vibrating column of
air within the tube and the ambient air without are set in
communication, with the result that the vibrating column is shortened
and the pitch of the note raised. The valve system consists of valves
or pistons attached to additional lengths of tubing, the effect of
which is invariably to lower the pitch, except in the case of valve
systems specified as "ascending" tried by John Shaw and Adolphe Sax.
Insuperable practical difficulties led to the abandonment of these
systems, which in any case were the exception and not the rule. The
valves, placed upon the U-shaped slides in the centre of the horn, are
worked by means of pistons or levers, opening or closing the wind-ways
at will, so that when they are in operation the vibrating column of
air no longer takes its normal course along the main tube and directly
through the slides, but makes a détour through the extra length of
tubing before completing its course. Thus the valves, unlike the keys,
do not open any communication with the ambient air. Even authoritative
writers[18] have confused the two principles, believing them to be one
and the same.
French horns are made with either two or three valves. To the first
valve is attached sufficient length of tubing to lower the pitch of
the instrument a tone, so that any note played upon the horn in F
while the first valve is depressed takes effect a tone lower, or as
though the horn were in E[flat]. The second valve opens a passage into
a shorter length of tubing sufficient to lower the pitch of the
instrument a semitone, as though the instrument were for the time
being in E. The third valve similarly lowers the pitch a tone and a
half. It will thus be seen that the principle applied in the crook and
the valve is in the main the same, but the practical value of the
valve is immeasurably superior. Thanks to the valve system the
performer is able to have the extra lengths of tubing necessary to
give the horn a chromatic compass permanently incorporated with the
instrument, and at will to connect one or a combination of these
lengths with the main tube of the instrument during any interval of
time, however short. The three devices, crooks, valves and slides, are
in fact all based upon the same principle, that of providing
additional length of tubing in order to deepen the pitch of the whole
instrument at will and to transpose it into a different key. Valves
and slides, being instantaneous in operation, give to the instrument a
chromatic compass, whereas crooks merely enable the performer to play
in many keys upon one instrument instead of requiring a different
instrument for each key. The slide is the oldest of these devices, and
probably suggested the crook as a substitute on instruments of conical
bore such as the horn.
The invention of the valve, although a substantial improvement, was
found to fall short of perfection in its operation on the tubes of
wind instruments so soon as the possibility of using the three valves
in combination to produce six different positions or series of
harmonics was realized, and for the following reason. In order to
deepen the pitch one tone by means of valve 1, a length of tubing
exactly proportional to the length of the main tube must be thrown
into communication with the latter. If, in addition to valve 1, valve
3 be depressed, a further drop in pitch of 1½ tone should be effected;
but as the length of tubing added by depressing valve 3 is calculated
in proportion to the main tube, and the latter has already been
lengthened by depressing valve 1, therefore the additional length
supplied by opening valve 3 is now too short to produce a drop of a
minor third strictly in tune, and all notes played while valves 1 and
3 are depressed will be too sharp. Means of compensating slight errors
in intonation are provided in the U-shaped slides mentioned above.
The _timbre_ of the natural horn is mellow, sonorous and rich in
harmonics; it is quite distinctive and bears but little resemblance to
that of the other members of the brass wind. In listening to its
sustained notes one receives the impression of the tone being breathed
out as by a voice, whereas the trumpet and trombone produce the effect
of a rapid series of concussions, and in the tuba and cornet the
concussions, although still striking, are softened as by padding. The
timbre of the hand-stopped notes is veiled and suggestive of mystery;
so characteristic is the timbre that passages in the _Rheingold_ heard
when the magic power of the Tarnhelm reveals itself sound meaningless
if the weird chords are played by means of the valves instead of by
hand-stopping. The timbre of the piston notes is more resonant than
that of the open notes, partaking a little of the character of the
trombone, which is probably due to the fact that the strictly conical
bore of the natural horn has been replaced by a mixed cylindrical and
conical as in trumpet and trombone.
The form of the mouthpiece (q.v.) at the point where it joins the main
bore of the tube must also exercise a certain influence on the form of
vibration, which it helps to modify in conjunction with the
conformation of each individual horn-player's lip. In the horn the cup
of the mouthpiece is shaped like a funnel, the bore converging
insensibly into the narrow end of the main conical bore without break
or sharp edges as in the mouthpieces, more properly known as
cup-shaped, of trumpet and bombardon.
The brilliant sonorousness and roundness of the timbre of the horn are
due to the strength and predominance of the partial tones up to the
7th or 8th. The prevalence of the higher harmonics from the 10th to
the 16th, in which the partial tones lie very close together,
determines the harsh quality of the trumpet timbre, which may be
easily imitated on the horn by forcing the sound production and using
a trumpet mouthpiece, and by raising the bell, an effect which is
indicated by composers by the words "Raise the Bells."[19]
History.
The origin of the horn must be sought in remote prehistoric times, when,
by breaking off the tip of a short animal horn, one or at best two
notes, powerful, rough, unsteady, only barely approximating to definite
musical sounds, were obtained. This was undoubtedly the archetype of the
modern families of brass wind instruments, and from it evolved the
trumpet, the bugle and the tuba no less than the horn. The common
characteristics which link together these widely different modern
families of instruments are: (1) the more or less pronounced conical
bore, and (2) the property possessed in a greater or lesser degree of
producing the natural sounds by what has been termed overblowing the
harmonic overtones. If we follow the evolution of the animal horn
throughout the centuries, the ultimate development leads us not to the
French horn but to the bugle and tuba.
Before civilization had dawned in classic Greece, Egypt, Assyria and
the Semitic races were using wind instruments of wood and metal which
had left the primitive ram or bugle horn far behind. Even in northern
Europe, during the Bronze age (c. 1000 B.C.), prehistoric man had
evolved for himself the prototype of the Roman _cornu_, a bronze horn
of wide conical bore, bent in the shape of a G. One of these
instruments, known among the modern Scandinavian races as _luurs_ or
_lurs_, found in the peat beds of Denmark and now preserved in the
Museum of Northern Antiquities in Copenhagen, has a length of 1.91 m.
(about 6 ft. 4 in.). The U-shaped mouthpiece joint is neatly joined to
the remainder of the crescent-tube by means of a bronze ring; the
bell, which must have rested on the shoulder, consists merely of a
flat rim set round the end of the tube. There is therefore no graceful
curve in the bell as in the French horn. An exact facsimile of this
prehistoric horn has been made by Victor Mahillon of Brussels, who
finds that it was in the key of E[flat] and easily produces the first
eight harmonics of that key. It stands, therefore, an octave higher
than the modern horn in E[flat] (which measures some 13 ft.), but on
the _lur_ the fundamental E[flat] can be reached owing to the wider
calibre of the bore.[20]
Among the Romans the wind instruments derived from the horn were well
represented, and included well-developed types which do not differ
materially from the natural instruments of modern times. The buccina
developed directly into the trumpet and trombone during the middle
ages, losing no characteristic of importance but the bent form, which
was perforce abandoned when the art of bending hollow tubes was lost
after the fall of the Roman Empire. The name clung through all the
changes in form and locality to the one type, and still remains at the
present day in the German _Posaune_ (trombone). There were four
instruments known by the name of _cornu_ among the Romans: (1) the
short animal horn used by shepherds; (2) the longer, semicircular
horn, used for signals; and (3) the still longer _cornu_, bent and
carried like the buccina, which had the wide bore of the modern tuba.
But whereas on the buccina the higher harmonics were easily obtained,
on the cornu the natural scale consisted of the first eight harmonics
only. The cornu, although shorter than the buccina, had a deeper pitch
and more sonorous tone, for, owing to the wider calibre of the bore,
the fundamental was easily reached. In the reliefs on Trajan's Column,
where the two instruments may be compared, the wider curve of the
buccina forms a ready means of identification. In addition to these
was (4) the small instrument like the medieval hunting-horn or
post-horn, with the single spiral turn similar to one which figures as
service badge in many British infantry regiments,[21] such as the
first battalion of the King's Own Light Infantry. A terra-cotta model,
slightly broken, but with the spiral intact, was excavated at Ventoux
in France and is at present preserved in the department of Greek and
Roman antiquities at the British Museum, having been acquired from the
collection of M. Morel.
The _lituus_, or cavalry trumpet of the Romans, consisted of a
cylindrical tube, to which was attached a bent horn or conical bell,
the whole in the shape of a J. The long, straight Roman tuba was
similar to the large, bent cornu so far as bore and capabilities were
concerned, but more unwieldy. All these wind instruments seem to have
been used during the classic Greek and Roman periods merely to sound
fanfares, and therefore, in spite of the high degree of perfection to
which they attained as instruments, they scarcely possess any claim to
be considered within the domain of music. They were signalling
instruments, mainly used in war, in hunting and in state or civic
ceremonial. Vegetius (A.D. 386) describes these instruments, and gives
detailed instructions for the special traditional uses of tuba,
buccina and cornu in the military camp: "Semivocalia sunt, quae per
tubam, aut cornua, aut buccinam dantur. Tuba quae directa est
appellatur buccina, quae in semet ipsam aereo circulo flectitur. Cornu
quod ex uris agrestibus, argento nexum, temperatum arte, et spiritu,
quem canentis flatus emittit auditur."[22] It will be seen that
Vegetius demands a skilled horn-player. These service instruments may
all be identified in the celebrated bas-reliefs of Trajan's Column[23]
(fig. 1) and of the Triumphal arch of Augustus at Susa.[24]
Interesting evidence of a collegium cornicinum (gild of horn-players)
is furnished by an altar stone in the Roman catacombs, erected to the
memory of one "M. Julius victor ex Collegio Liticinum Cornicinum," on
which are carved a lituus, a cornu and a pan's pipe, the cornu being
similar to those on Trajan's Column.
All three Roman instruments, the tuba, the buccina and the cornu, had
well-formed mouthpieces, differing but little from the modern
cup-shaped form in use on the trumpet, the trombone, the tubas,
&c.[25] It would seem that even the short horn in the 4th century was
provided with a mouthpiece,[26] judging from a carved specimen on an
ivory _capsa_ or _pyxis_ dating from the period immediately preceding
the fall of the Roman Empire, preserved among the precious relics at
Xanten.
[Illustration: From Conrad Cichorius, _Die Reliefs der Traiansäule_,
by permission of Georg Reimer.
FIG. 1.--Roman Cornu and Buccina.]
After the fall of the Roman Empire, when instrumental music had fallen
into disrepute and had been placed under a ban by the church, the art
of playing upon such highly-developed instruments gradually died out
in western Europe. With the disappearance of the civilization and
culture of the Romans, the skilled crafts also gradually vanished, and
the art of making metal pipes of delicate calibre and of bending them
was completely forgotten, and had to be reacquired step by step during
the middle ages from the more enlightened East. The names of the
instruments and representations of them survived in MSS. and monuments
of art, and as long as the West was content to turn to late Roman and
Romano-Christian art for its models, no difficulties were created for
the future archaeologist. By the time the Western races had begun to
express themselves and to develop their own characteristics, in the
11th century, the arts of Persia, Arabia and the Byzantine Empire had
laid their mark upon the West, and confusion of models, and more
especially of names, ensued. The greatest confusion of all was created
by the numerous translations and glosses of the Bible and by the
attempts of miniaturists to illustrate the principal scenes. In
Revelation, for instance (ch. viii.), the seven angels with their
trumpets are diversely represented with long tubas, with curved horns
of various lengths, and with the buisine, busaun or posaune, the
descendant of the buccina.
We know from the colouring used in illuminated MSS., gold and pale
blue, that horns were made of metal early in the middle ages. The
metal was not cast in moulds but hammered into shape.
Viollet-le-Duc[27] reproduces a miniature from a MS. of the end of the
13th century (Paris, Bibliothèque du corps législatif), in which two
metal-workers are shown hammering two large horns.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Medieval Hunting Horn with the
Tablature in use in the 14th Century.]
The early medieval horns had no mouthpieces, the narrow end being
merely finished with a rim on which the lips rested. The tone suffered
in consequence, being uncertain, rough and tremulous, wherefore it was
indicated by the neume known as _quilisma_: "Est vox tremula; sicut
est sonus flatus tubae vel cornu et designatur per neumam, quae
vocatur _quilisma_."[28]
During the middle ages the bugle-horn or bull's horn was extensively
used as a signal instrument on land and sea (see BUGLE), by the
night-watchmen in cities, in the watch tower of the feudal castle and
by foresters and huntsmen. The hunting-horn was generally represented
as small in the hunting scenes which abound in illuminated MSS. and
early printed books; it was crescent-shaped and was worn slung by a
leather strap over one shoulder and resting on the opposite hip. When
played it was held with the wide end curving upwards in front of the
huntsman's head. A kind of tablature for the horn was in use in France
in the 14th century; an example of it is here reproduced (fig. 2) from
a 14th-century French MS. treatise on venery.[29] Only one note is
indicated, the various calls and signals being based chiefly on
rhythm, and the notes being left to the taste and skill of the
huntsman. The interpretation[30] of the _Cornure de chasse de veue_
seen in the figure is as follows:
First line = [music notes]
Second line = [music notes]
Third line = [music notes]
In the first poem is given a list of these signs with the names by
which they were known in venery.
In the 16th century in England the hunting-horn sometimes had a spiral
turn in the centre, half-way between mouthpiece and bell end; the
extra length was apparently added solely in order to lower the pitch,
the higher harmonics not being used for the hunting calls. In George
Turbevile's _Noble Arte of Venerie_ (1576, facsimile reprint, Oxford,
1908) the "measures of blowing according to the order which is
observed at these dayes in this Realme of Englande" are given for the
horn in D. One of these, given in fig. 3, is the English 16th-century
hunting call, corresponding to the 14th-century French _Cornure de
chasse de veue_ given above.
[Illustration: From Turbevile's _Noble Art of Venerie_ (1576), by
permission of the Clarendon Press.
FIG. 3.--Hunting Call.]
The hunting-horn, whether in its simplest form or with the one spiral,
was held with the bell upwards on a level with the huntsman's head or
just above it.[31]
A horn of the same fine calibre as the French horn, 3 or 4 ft. in
length, slightly bent to take the curve of the body, was in use in
Italy, it would seem, in the 15th century.[32] It was held slanting
across the body with the bell already slightly parabolic, at arm's
length to the left side.
The hunting- and post-horns were favourite emblems on medieval coats
of arms, more especially in Germany[33] and Bohemia.
It is necessary at this point to draw attention to the fact that the
French horn is a hybrid having affinities with both trumpet and
primitive animal horn, or with _buccina_ and _cornu_, and that both
types, although frequently misnamed and confused by medieval writers
and miniaturists, subsisted side by side, evolving independently until
they merged in the so-called French horn. Both buccina and cornu after
the fall of the Roman Empire, while Western arts and crafts were in
their infancy, were made straight, being then known as the busine or
straight trumpet (busaun or posaun in Germany), and the long horn,
_Herhorn_, slightly curved.[34]
[Illusration: FIG. 4.--Medieval Circular Horn.]
[Illusration: FIG. 5.--Medieval Circular Horn, 1589.]
From two medieval representations of instruments like the Roman cornu
one might be led to conclude that the instrument had been revived and
was in use from the 14th century. A wooden bas-relief on the under
part of the seats of the choir of Worcester cathedral,[35] said to
date from the 14th century, shows a musician in a robe with long
sleeves of fur playing the horn (fig. 4). The tube winds from the
mouth in a circle reaching to his waist, passes under the right arm
across the shoulders with the bell stretching out horizontally over
his left shoulder. The tube, of strictly conical bore, is made in
three pieces, the joints being strengthened by means of two rings. The
other example is German, and figures in the arms of the city of
Frankfort-on-Main.[36] Here in the two opposite corners are two
cherubs playing immense cornua. The bore of the instruments (fig. 5)
is of a calibre suggestive of the contrabass tuba; the circle formed
is of a diameter sufficiently large to accommodate the youthful
performer in a sitting posture; the bell is the forerunner of that of
the modern saxophone, shaped like a gloxinea; the mouthpiece is
cup-shaped. It is possible, of course, that these two examples are
attempts to reproduce the classic instrument, but the figures of the
musicians and the feeling of the whole scheme of ornamentation seem to
render such an explanation improbable. Moreover, Sebastian
Virdung,[37] writing on musical instruments at the beginning of the
16th century, gives a drawing of a cornu coiled round tightly, the
tubing being probably soldered together at certain points. Virdung
calls this instrument a _Jegerhorn_, and the short hunting-horn
_Acherhorn_ (Ackerhorn--the synonym of the modern Waldhorn). The scale
of the former could have consisted only of the first eight harmonics,
including the fundamental, which would be easily obtained on an
instrument of such a large calibre. Mersenne,[38] a century and a
quarter later, gives a drawing of the same kind of horn among his
_cors de chasse_, but does not in his description display his
customary intimate knowledge of his subject; it may be that he was
dealing at second-hand with an instrument of which he had had little
practical experience. Praetorius[39] gives as Jägerhorn only the
simple forms of crescent-shaped horns with a single spiral; the
spirally-wound horn of Virdung is replaced by a new instrument--the
_Jägertrummet_ (huntsman's trumpet)--of the same form, but less
cumbersome, of cylindrical bore excepting at the bell end and having a
crook inserted between the mouthpiece and the main coils. The tube,
which could not have been less than 8 ft. long, produced the harmonic
series of the cavalry trumpet from the 3rd to the 12th. The
restrictions placed upon the use of the cavalry trumpet would have
rendered it unavailable for use in the hunting-field, but the
snake-shaped model, as Praetorius describes it, was a decided
improvement on the horn, although inferior in resonance to the cavalry
model. Here then are the materials for the fusion of the trumpet and
hunting-horn into the natural or hand-horn of the 17th and 18th
centuries. There is evidence, however, that a century earlier, i.e. at
the end of the 15th century, the art of bending a brass tube of the
delicate proportions of the French horn, which is still a test of fine
workmanship, had been successfully practised. In an illustrated
edition of Virgil's works published in Strassburg in 1502 and
emanating from Grüninger's office, Brant being responsible for the
illustrations, the lines (_Aen._ viii. 1-2) "Ut belli signum Laurenti
Turnus ab arce Extulit: et rauco strepuerunt cornua cantu" are
illustrated by two soldiers, one with the sackbut (posaune, the
descendant of the buccina), the other with a horn wound spirally round
his body in three coils, which appear to have a conical bore from the
funnel-shaped mouthpiece to the bell which extends at the back of the
head horizontally over the left shoulder (fig. 6). There is ample
room for the performer's head and shoulders to pass through the
circle: the length of the tube could not therefore have been much less
than 16 ft. long, equivalent to the horn in C or B[flat] basso. In the
same book (pl. ccci.) is another horn, smaller, differing slightly in
the disposition of the coils and held like the modern horn in front.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Spirally Coiled Horn from Virgil's Works
(1502), folio cccviii. versa.]
These horns were not used for hunting but for war in conjunction with
the draw-trumpet. Brant could not have imagined these instruments, and
must have seen the originals or at least drawings of them; the
instruments probably emanated from the famed workshops of Nuremberg,
being intended mainly for use in Italy, and had not been generally
adopted in Germany. The significance of these drawings of natural
horns in a German work of the dawn of the 16th century will not be
lost. It disposes once and for all of the oft-repeated fable that the
hunting-horn first assumed its present form in France about 1680, a
statement accepted without question by authorities of all countries,
but without reference to any _pièce justificative_ other than the
story of the Bohemian Count Spörken first quoted by Gerber,[40] and
repeated in most musical works without the context. The account which
gave rise to this statement had been published in 1782 in a book by
Faustinus Prochaska:[41] "Vix Parisiis inflandi cornua venatoria
inventa ars quum delectatus suavitate cantus duos ex hominibus sibi
obnoxiis ea instituendos curavit. Id principium apud nos artis, qua
hodie Bohemi excellere putantur." In a preceding passage after the
count's name, Franz Anton, Graf von Spörken, are the words "anno
saeculi superioris octogesimo quum iter in externas provincias
suscepisset," &c. There is no reference here to the invention of the
horn in Paris or to the folding of the tube spirally, but only to the
manner of eliciting sound from the instrument. Count Spörken,
accustomed to the medieval hunting fanfares in which the tone of the
horn approximated to the blare of the trumpet, was merely struck by
the musical quality of the true horn tone elicited in Paris, and gave
France the credit of the so-called invention, which probably more
properly belonged to Italy. The account published by Prochaska a
hundred years after, without reference to the source from which it was
obtained, finds no corroboration from French sources. Had the French
really made any substantial improvement in the hunting-horn at the end
of the 17th century, transforming it from the primitive instrument
into an orchestral instrument, it would only be reasonable to expect
to find some evidence of this, considering the importance attached to
the art of music at the court of Louis XIV., whose musical
establishments, la Chapelle Musique,[42] la Musique de la Chambre du
Roi and la Musique de la Grande Écurie, included the most brilliant
French artists. One would expect to find horns of that period by
French makers among the relics of musical instruments in the museums
of Europe. This does not seem to be the case. Moreover, in Diderot and
d'Alembert's _Encyclopédie_ (1767) the information given under the
heading _trompe ou cor de chasse grand et petit_ is very vague, and
contains no hint of any special merit due to France for any
improvement in construction. Among the plates (vol. v., pl. vii.) is
given an illustration of a horn very similar to the instruments made
in England and Germany nearly a century earlier, but with a
funnel-shaped mouthpiece. Dr Julius Rühlmann states that there are two
horns by Raoux, bearing the date 1703,[43] in the Bavarian National
Museum in Munich,[44] but although fine examples, one in silver, the
other in brass (fig. 6) by Raoux, they turn out on inquiry[45] to bear
no date whatever. Rühlmann's statement in the same article, that in
the arms of the family of Wartenberg-Kolb (now extinct), which goes
back to 1169, there is a hunting-horn coiled round in a complete
circle is also misleading. The horn (a post-horn) did not appear in
the arms of the family in question until 1699, when the first peer
Casimir Johann Friedrich was created hereditary Post-Master. The
influence of such erroneous statements in the work of noted writers is
far-reaching. Inquiries at the department of National Archives in
Paris concerning Raoux, the founder of the afterwards famous firm of
horn-makers whose model with pistons is used in the British military
bands and at Kneller Hall, proved fruitless. Fétis states that he
worked during the second half of the 18th century. Albert Chouquet[46]
states that he has seen a trumpet by Raoux, "seul ordinaire du Roy,
Place du Louvre" dated 1695. The inscriptions on the horns in question
are: For No. 105, a silver horn of the simplest form of construction
in D, "Fait à Paris par Raoux"; for No. 106, a brass horn engraved
with a crown on an ermine mantle with the initials C. A. (Carl
Albert), "Fait à Paris par Raoux, seul ordinaire du Roy, Place du
Louvre." Both horns measure across the coils 56 cm. and across the
bell 27½. They are practically the same as the _cors de chasse_ now in
use in French and Belgian military bands, the large diameter of the
coil enabling the performer to carry it over his shoulder. The
orchestral horn was given a narrower diameter in order to facilitate
its being held in front of the performer in a convenient position for
stopping the bell with the right hand. No. 107 in the same collection,
a horn of German construction, bears the inscription "Macht Jacob
Schmid in Nürnberg" and the trademark "J. S." with a bird. A horn in
E[flat]] of French make, having fleur-de-lys stamped on the rim of the
bell, and measuring only 15 in. across the coils to the exterior edge
of the bell--therefore a very small horn--is preserved in the Grand
Ducal Museum at Darmstadt.[47] A horn in F[sharp] (probably F in
modern high pitch), having the rim ornamented as above and the
inscription "Fait à Paris, Carlin, ordinaire du Roy," readily gives
the harmonics from the 3rd to the 12th.[48] The extreme width is 20
in.[49] Carlin, who lived at rue Croix des Petits Champs, died about
1780. The earliest dated horn extant is believed to be the one
preserved in the Hohenzollern Museum in Sigmaringen, "Machts Wilhelm
Haas, Nürnberg, 1688."[50] Another early German horn engraved "Machts
Heinr. Rich. Pfeiffer in Leipzig, 1697,"[51] formerly in Paul de Wit's
museum in Leipzig and now transferred with the rest of the collection
to Cologne, is of similar construction.
[Illustration: From a Photo by K. Teufel.
FIG. 7.--Early Raoux Horn (Munich).]
The horn must have been well known at this time in England, for there
are 17th-century horns of English manufacture still extant, one, for
instance, in the collection of the Rev. F. W. Galpin by William Bull,
dated 1699.[52] In 1701 Clagget[53] invented a contrivance by means of
which two horns in different keys could be coupled and played by means
of one mouthpiece, a valve or key opening the passage into the airways
of one or the other of these horns at the will of the performer.
Another horn of English manufacture about 1700 was exhibited at the
South Kensington Museum in 1872, bearing No. 337 in the catalogue, in
which unfortunately no details are given. Enough examples have been
quoted to show that, judging from the specimens extant, Germany was
not behind France, if not actually ahead, in the manufacture of early
natural horns. Data are wanting concerning the instruments of Italy;
they would probably prove to be the earliest of all, and as brass
wind instruments are perishable are perhaps for that very reason
unrepresented at the present day.
The horn at the present stage in its evolution was also well
represented among the illustrations of the musical literature in
Germany[54] during the first half of the 18th century, and references
to it are frequent.
Music.
The earliest orchestral music for the horn occurs in the operas of
Cavalli and Cesti, leaders of the Venetian Opera in the 17th century.
Already in 1639 Cavalli in his opera _Le Nozze de Tito e Pelei_ (act
i. sc. 1) introduced a short scena, "Chiamata alla Caccia"[55] in C
major for four horns on a basso continuo. An examination of the
scoring in C clefs on the first, second, third and fourth lines shows,
by the use of the note [music notes] in the bass part and in the
second tenor of [music notes] the 5th harmonic of the series, that the
fundamental could have been no other than the 16-ft. C; the highest
note in the treble part is [music notes], the 12th harmonic of the
8-ft. alto horn in C, now obsolete. It is clear therefore that horns
with tubing respectively 8 ft. and 16 ft. long, which must have been
disposed in coils as in the present day, were in use in Italy before
the middle of the 17th century, fifty years before the date of their
reputed invention in Paris.
In the same opera, act i. sc. 4, "Coro di Cavalieri" is a stirring
call to arms of elemental grandeur, in which occur the words: "all'
armi, ò la guerrieri corni e tamburi e trombe, ogni campo ogni canto,
armi rimbombe." There are above the voice parts four staves with
treble and C clef signatures above the bass, and, although no
instruments are indicated, the music written thereon, which alternates
with the voices but does not accompany them, can have been intended
for no instruments but trumpets and horns, thus carrying out the
indications in the text. The horn is here once again put to the same
use as the Roman cornu, and associated in like manner with the
descendant of the buccina in a call to arms. It may be purely a
coincidence that the early illustration of a horn with the tubing
wound in coils round the body in the Strassburg Virgil mentioned above
was put to the same use and associated with the same instrument.
Cesti's operas likewise contain many passages evidently intended for
the horn, although the instruments are not specified in the score,
which was nothing unusual at the time. Lulli composed the incidental
music for a ballet, _La Princesse d'Elide_, which formed part of
Molière's divertissement, "Les plaisirs de l'île enchantée," written
for a great festival at Versailles on the 7th of May 1664. A copy of
the music for this ballet, made about 1680, is preserved in the
library of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The music contains a
piece entitled "Les violons et les cors de chasse," written in the
same style as Cavalli's scena; there are but two staves, and on both
the music is characteristic of the horn, with which the violins would
play in unison. The piece finishes on B[flat][music notes] and to play
this note as the second of the harmonic series, the fundamental not
being obtainable, the tube of the horn must have been over 17 ft.
long. Among Philidor's copies of Lulli's ballets preserved in the
library of the Paris Conservatoire of Music (vol. xlvii., p. 61) is a
more complete copy of the above. The second number is an "Air des
valets de chiens et des chasseurs avec les cors de chasse," which is
substantially the same as the one in the Fitzwilliam Museum, but set
for five horns in B[flat]. Here again the use of D, the fifth note of
the harmonic series, indicates that the fundamental was [music notes]
a tone lower than the C horn scored for by Cavalli, and known as
B[flat] basso. Victor Mahillon[56] considers that the music reveals
the fact that it was written for horns in B[flat], 35 degrees
(chromatic semitones) above 32-ft. C, or [music notes] having a
wave-length of 1.475 m. To this statement it is not possible to
subscribe. The quintette required four horns in B[flat] over 8 ft.
long and one B[flat] basso about 17 ft. long. It is obvious that the
present custom of placing the bass notes of the horn on the F clef an
octave too low, as is now customary, had not yet been adopted, for in
that case the bass horn would in several bars be playing above the
tenor.
In 1647 Cardinal Mazarin, wishing to create in France a taste for
Italian opera, had procured from Italy an orchestra, singers and
mise-en-scène. That he was not entirely successful in making Paris
appreciate Italian music is beside the mark; he developed instead a
demand for French opera, to which Lulli proved equal. The great
similarity in the style of the horn _scène_ by Cavalli and Lulli may
perhaps provide a clue to the mysterious and sudden apparition of the
natural horn in France, where nothing was known of the hybrid
instrument thirty years before, when Mersenne[57] wrote his careful
treatise on musical instruments.
The orchestral horn had been introduced from Italy. It is not
difficult to understand how the horn came to be called the _French_
horn in England; the term only appears after Gerber and other writers
had repeated the story of Count Spörken introducing the musical horn
into Bohemia.[58] By this time the firm of Raoux, established in Paris
a hundred years, had won for itself full recognition of its high
standard of workmanship in the making of horns.
This use of the horn by Lulli in the one ballet seems to be an
isolated instance; no other has yet been quoted. The introduction of
the natural horn into the orchestra of the French opera did not occur
until much later in 1735 in André Campra's _Achille et Deidamie_, and
then only in a fanfare. In the meantime the horn had already won a
place in most of the rising opera houses and ducal orchestras[59] of
Germany, and had been introduced by Handel into the orchestra in
London in his _Water-music_ composed in honour of George I.
Although the Italians were undoubtedly the first to introduce the horn
into the orchestra, it figured at first only as the characteristic
instrument of the chase, suggesting and accompanying hunting scenes or
calls to arms. For a more independent use of the horn in the orchestra
we must turn to Germany. Reinhard Keiser, the founder of German opera,
at the end of the 17th century in Hamburg, introduced two horns in C
into the opening chorus of his opera _Octavia_ in 1705, where the
horns are added to the string quartette and the oboes; they play again
in act i. sc. 3, and in act ii. sc. 6 and 9. The compass used by the
composer for the horns in C alto is the following:--
[Illustration: Music notes.]
Wilhelm Kleefeld draws attention to the characterization, which
differed in the three acts. In _Henrico_ (1711), in _Diana_ (1712) and
in _L'Inganno Fedele_ (1714) F horns were used. This called forth from
Mattheson[60] his much-quoted eulogium, the earliest description of
the orchestral horn: "Die lieblich pompeusen Waldhörner sind bei
itziger Zeit sehr _en vogue_ kommen, weil sie theils nicht so rude von
Natur sind als die Trompeten, teils auch weil sie mit mehr _Facilité_
können tractiret werden. Die brauchbarsten haben F und mit den
Trompeten aus dem C gleichen _Ambitum_. Sie klingen auch dicker und
füllen besser aus als die übertäubende und schreyende Clarinen, weil
sie um eine ganze quinte tiefer stehen."
Lotti in his _Giove in Argo_, given in Dresden, 1717, scored for two
horns in C, writing for them soli in the aria for tenor[61] (act iii.
sc. 1). Examples of C. H. Graun's[62] scoring for horns in F and G
respectively in _Polydorus_ (1708-1729) and in _Iphigenia_ (1731) show
the complete emancipation of the instrument from its original
limitations; it serves not only as melody instrument but also to
enrich the harmony and emphasize the rhythm. A comparison of the early
scores of Cavalli and Lulli with those of Handel's
_Wasserfahrtmusik_[63] (1717) and of _Radamisto_, performed in London
in 1720, shows the rapid progress made by the horn, even at a time
when its technique was still necessarily imperfect.
While Bach was conductor of the prince of Anhalt-Cöthen's orchestra
(1717-1723), it is probable that horns in several keys were used. In
Dresden two Bohemian horn-players, Johann Adalbert Fischer and Franz
Adam Samm, were added to the court orchestra in 1711.[64] In Vienna
the addition is stated to have taken place in 1712 at the opera.[65]
It is probable that as in Paris so in Vienna there were solitary
instances in which the horn was heard in opera without attracting the
attention of musicians long before 1712, for instance in Cesti's _Il
Pomo d'Oro_, printed in Vienna in 1667 and 1668 and performed for the
wedding ceremonies of Kaiser Leopold and Margareta, infanta of Spain.
A horn in E (former F pitch) in the museum of the Brussels
conservatoire bears the inscription "Machts Michael Leicham Schneider
in Wien, 1713."[66] Fürstenau[67] gives a further list of operas in
Vienna during the first two decades of the 18th century.
It will be well before the next stage in the evolution is approached
to consider the compass of the natural horn. The pedal octave from the
fundamental to the 2nd harmonic was altogether wanting; the next
octave contained only the 2nd and 3rd harmonics or the octave and its
fifth; in the third octave, the 8ve, its major 3rd, 5th and minor 7th;
in the fourth octave, a diatonic scale with a few accidentals was
possible. It will be seen that the compass was very limited on any
individual horn, but by grouping horns in different keys, or by
changing the crooks, command was gained by the composer over a larger
number of open notes.
An important period in the development of the horn has now been
reached. Anton Joseph Hampel is generally credited[68] with the
innovation of adapting the crooks to the middle of the body of the
horn instead of near the mouthpiece, which greatly improved the
quality of the notes obtained by means of the crooks. The crooks
fitted into the two branches of U-shaped tubes, thus forming slides
which acted as compensators. Hampel's _Inventionshorn_, as it is
called in Germany (Fr. _cor harmonique_), is said to date from
1753,[69] the first instrument having been made for him by Johann
Werner, a brass instrument-maker of Dresden. The same invention is
also attributed to Haltenhof of Hanau.[70] Others again mention
Michael Wögel[71] of Carlsruhe and Rastadt, probably confusing his
adaptation of the _Invention_ or _Maschine_, as the slide contrivance
was called in Germany, to the trumpet in 1780. The Inventionshorn,
although embodying an important principle which has also found its
application in all brass wind instruments with valves as a means of
correcting defective intonation, did not add to the compass of the
horn. At some date before 1762 it would seem that Hampel[72] also
discovered the principle on which hand-stopping is founded.
By hand-stopping (Fr. _sons bouchés_, Ger. _gestöpfte Töne_) is
understood the practice of inserting the hand with palm outstretched
and fingers drawn together, forming a long, shallow cup, into the
bell of the horn; the effect is similar to that produced in wood wind
instruments, termed _d'amore_, by the pear-shaped bell with a narrow
opening, i.e. a veiled mysterious quality, and, according to the
arrangement of the hand and fingers (which cannot be taught
theoretically, being inter-dependent on other acoustic conditions), a
drop in pitch which enables the performer merely to correct the faulty
intonation of difficult harmonics or to lower the pitch exactly a
semitone or even a full tone by inserting the hand well up the bore of
the bell. J. Fröhlich[73] gives drawings of the two principal
positions of the hand in the horn. The same phenomenon may be observed
in the flute by closing all the holes, so that the fundamental note of
the pipe speaks, and then gradually bringing the palm of the hand
nearer the open end of the flute. As a probable explanation may be
offered the following suggestion. The partial closing of the opening
of the bell removes the boundary of ambient air, which determines the
ventral segment of the half wave-length some distance beyond the
normal length; this boundary always lies _beyond_ the end of the tube,
thus accounting for the discrepancy between the theoretical length of
the air-column and the practical length actually given to the
tube.[74] Hampel is also said to have been the first to apply the
_sordini_[75] (Fr. _sourdine_) or mute, already in use in the 17th
century for the trumpet,[76] to the horn. The original mute did not
affect the pitch of the instrument, but only the tone, and when
properly constructed may be used with the valve horn to produce the
mysterious veiled quality of the hand-stopped notes. No satisfactory
scientific explanation of the modifications in the pitch effected by
the partial obstruction of the bell, whether by the hand or by means
of certain mechanical devices, has as yet been offered. D. J. Blaikley
suggests that in cases when the effect of hand-stopping appears to be
to raise the pitch of the notes of the harmonic series, the real
result of any contraction of the bell mouth (as by the insertion of
the hand) is always a flattening of pitch accompanied by the
introduction of a distorted or inharmonic scale, of such a character
that for instance, the _c_, _d_, _e_, or 8th, 9th and 10th notes of
the original harmonic scale become not the c[sharp] d[sharp] e[sharp]
of a fundamental raised a semitone, but D[flat], E[flat], and f due to
the 9th, 10th and 11th notes of a disturbed or distorted scale having
a fundamental lower than that of the normal horn.
[Illustration: Music notes.]
With regard to the discovery of this method of obtaining a chromatic
compass for the horn, which rendered the instrument very popular with
composers, instrumentalists and the public, and procured for it a
generally accredited position in the orchestra, the following is the
sum of evidence at present available. In the Kgl. öffentliche
Bibliothek, Dresden, is preserved, amongst the musical MSS., an
autograph volume of 152 pages, entitled _Lection pro Cornui_, bearing
the signature A. J. H[ampel], the name being filled in in pencil by a
different hand. There is no introduction, no letterpress of any
description belonging to the MS. method for the horn, nor is any book
or pamphlet explaining the Inventionshorn or the method of
hand-stopping by Hampel extant or known to have existed. He has
apparently left no record of his accomplishment. A few typical
extracts copied and selected from the original MS., courteously
communicated by the director of the Royal Library, Hofrath, P. E.
Richter (a practical musician and performer on horn and trumpet), do
not prove conclusively that they were intended to be played on
hand-stopped horns, with the exception, perhaps, of the A, 13th
harmonic from C, which could not easily be obtained except by
hand-stopping on the hand-horn. On the blank sheet preceding the
exercises is an inscription in the hand of Moritz Fürstenau, former
custodian of the Royal Private Musical Collection (incorporated with
the public library in 1896): "Anton Joseph Hampel, by whom these
exercises for the horn were written, was a celebrated horn-player, a
member of the Orchestra of the Electoral Prince of Saxony. He invented
the so-called Inventionshorn. Cf. _Neues biog.-hist. Lexicon der
Tonkünstler_ by Gerber, pt. i. col. 493; also _Zur Gesch. der Musik u.
des Theaters am Hofe zu Dresden_, by M. Fürstenau, Bd. ii." It will be
seen that Fürstenau gives Gerber as his authority for the attribution
of the invention to Hampel, although he searched the archives, to
which he had free access, for material for his book.
The first possessor of the MS., Franz Schubert (1768-1824), musical
director of the Italian opera in Dresden, wrote the following note in
pencil on the last page of the cover: "Franz Schubert. The complete
school of horn-playing by the Kgl. Polnischen u. Kursächs.
Cammermusicus Anton Joseph Hampel, a celebrated virtuoso, invented by
himself in 1762." Judging from the standard of modern technique, there
are many passages in the "Lection" which could not be played without
artificially humouring the production of harmonics with the lips, and
it is an open question to what extent this method of correcting
intonation and of altering the pitch was practised in the 18th
century. When, therefore, Franz Schubert states that the method was
_invented_ by Hampel, we may take this as indirectly confirming
Gerber's statements. Further confirmation is obtained from the text of
a work on the horn written by Heinrich Domnich[77] (b. 1760), the son
of a celebrated horn-player of Würtzburg contemporary with Hampel.
Domnich junior settled eventually in Paris, where he was appointed
first professor of the horn at the Conservatoire. According to him the
mute (sourdine) of metal, wood or cardboard in the form of a hollow
cone, having a hole in the base, was used to soften the tone of the
horn without altering the pitch. But Hampel, substituting for this the
pad of cotton wool used for a similar purpose with the oboe, found
with surprise that its effect in the bell of the horn was to _raise_
the pitch a semitone (see D. J. Blaikley's explanation above). By this
means, says Domnich, a diatonic and chromatic scale was obtained.
Later Hampel substituted the hand for the pad. Domnich duly ascribes
to Hampel the credit of the Inventionshorn, but erroneously states
that it was Haltenhoff of Hanau who made the first instrument. Domnich
further explains that Hampel, who had not practised the _bouché_ notes
in his youth, only made use of them in slow music, and that the credit
of making practical use of the discovery was due to his pupil Giovanni
Punto (Joh. Stich) the celebrated horn virtuoso, who was a friend of
Domnich's.
It may be well to draw attention to the fact that hand-stopping was
not possible so long as the tube of horn was folded in a circle wide
enough to be worn round the body. The reduction of the diameter of the
orchestral horn in order to allow the performer to hold the instrument
in front of him, thus bringing the bell in front of the right arm in a
convenient position for hand-stopping, must have preceded the
discovery of hand-stopping. In the absence of contrary evidence we may
suppose that the change was effected for the more convenient
arrangement and manipulation of the slides or _Inventions_. So radical
a change in the compass of the horn could not occur and be adopted
generally without leaving its mark on the horn music of the period;
this change does not occur, as far as we know, before the last decades
of the 18th century. The rapid acceptance in other countries of
Hampel's discovery of hand-stopping is evidenced by a passage from a
little English work on music, published in London in 1772 but bearing
at the end of the preface the date June 1766:[78] "Some eminent
Proficients have been so dexterous as very nearly to perform all the
defective notes of the scale on the Horn by management of Breath and
by a little stopping the bell with their hands."
Hampel's success gave a general impetus to the inventive faculty of
musical instrument makers in Europe. At first the result was negative.
Kölbel's attempt must, however, be mentioned, if only to correct a
misconception. Kölbel, a Bohemian horn virtuoso at the imperial
Russian court from 1754, spent many years in vain endeavours to
improve his instrument. At last, in 1760, he applied keys to the horn
or the bugle, calling it Klappenhorn (the bugle is known in Germany as
_Signal_ or _Buglehorn_). Kölbel's experiment did not become widely
known or adopted during his lifetime, but Anton Weidinger, court
trumpeter at Vienna, made a keyed trumpet[79] in 1801, which attracted
attention in musical circles and gave a fresh impetus in experimenting
with keys upon brass instruments. In 1813 Joseph Weidinger, the
twelve-year-old son of the above, gave a concert in Vienna on the
_Klappenwaldhorn_[80] (or keyed French horn), about which little seems
to be known. Victor Mahillon[81] describes such an instrument, but
ascribes the invention to Kölbel; there was but one key placed on the
bell, which on being opened had the effect of raising the pitch of the
instrument a whole tone. By alternately using the harmonic open notes
on the normal length of the tube, and then by the action of the key
shortening the air column, the following diatonic scale was obtained
in the third octave:
[Illustration: Music notes.]
In 1812 Dikhuth,[82] horn-player in the orchestra of the grand-duke of
Baden at Mannheim, constructed a horn in which a slide on the
principle of that of the trombone was intended to replace
hand-stopping and to lower the pitch at will a semitone.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Modern Horn (Boosey & Co.)]
The most felicitous, far-reaching and important of all improvements
was the invention of valves (q.v.), pistons or cylinders (the
principle of which has already been explained), by Heinrich
Stölzel,[83] who applied them first of all to the horn, the trumpet
and the trombone,[84] thus endowing the brass wind with a chromatic
compass obtained with perfect ease throughout the compass. The
inherent defect of valve instruments already explained, which causes
faulty intonation needing correction when the pistons are used in
combination, has now been practically overcome. The numerous attempts
to solve the difficulty, made with varying success by makers of brass
instruments, are described under VALVE, BOMBARDEN and CORNET.[85]
(K. S.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Michael Praetorius, _De organographia_ (Wolfenbüttel, 1618),
tab. viii., where crooks for lowering the key by one tone on trumpet
and trombone are pictured.
[2] See Victor Mahillon, _Les Éléments d'acoustique musicale et
instrumentale_ (Brussels, 1874), pp. 96, 97, &c.; Friedrich Zamminer,
_Die Musik und die musikalischen Instrumente_ (Giessen, 1855), p.
310, where diagrams of the mouthpieces are given.
[3] See Joseph Fröhlich, _Vollständige theoretisch-praktische
Musikschule_ (Bonn, 1811), iii. 7, where diagrams of the two
mouthpieces for first and second horn are given.
[4] See Gottfried Weber, "Zur Akustik der Blasinstrumente," in
_Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung_ (Leipzig, 1816), p. 38.
[5] _Les Instruments de musique au musée du Conservatoire royal de
musique de Bruxelles_, "Instruments à vent," ii., "Le Cor, son
histoire, sa théorie, sa construction" (Brussels and London, 1907),
p. 28.
[6] _Die Akustik_ (Leipzig, 1802), p. 86, § 72.
[7] _Op. cit._ p. 13, § 20, and p. 15, §§ 24 and 25. This apparent
discrepancy between an early and a modern authority on the acoustics
of wind instruments is easily explained. Chladni, when speaking of
open and closed pipes, refers to the standard cylindrical and
rectangular organ-pipes. Mahillon, on the other hand, draws a
distinction in favour of the conical pipe, demonstrating in a
practical manner how, given a certain calibre, the conical pipe must
overblow the harmonics of the open pipe, whatever the method of
producing the sound.
[8] See Gottfried Weber, _loc. cit._
[9] See Ernst Heinrich and Wilhelm Weber, _Wellenlehre_ (Leipzig,
1825), p. 519, § 281, and _A Text-Book of Physics_, part. ii.,
"Sound," by J. H. Poynting and J. J. Thomson (London, 1906), pp. 104
and 105.
[10] See Sedley Taylor, _Sound and Music_ (1896), p. 21.
[11] _Id._ pp. 23-25.
[12] See Gottfried Weber, _op. cit._, pp. 39-41, and Ernst H. and
Wilhelm Weber, _op. cit._ p. 522, end of § 285.
[13] See A. Ganot, _Elementary Treatise on Physics_, translated by E.
Atkinson (16th ed., London, 1902), p. 266, § 282, "In the horn
different notes are produced by altering the distance of the lips."
Such a vague and misleading statement is worse than useless. See also
Poynting and Thomson, _op. cit._ p. 113.
[14] "Le Cor," p. 22; p. 11, § 18; pp. 6 and 7, § 8.
[15] The phraseology alone is here borrowed from Sedley Taylor, (_op.
cit._ p. 55), who does not enter into the practical application of
the theory he expounds so clearly.
[16] See Dr Emil Schafhäutl's article on musical instruments, § iv.
of _Bericht der Beurtheilungs Commission bei der Allg. Deutschen
Industrie Ausstellung, 1854_ (Munich, 1855), pp. 169-170; also F.
Zamminer, _op. cit._
[17] The measurements are for the high philharmonic pitch a'=452.4.
V. Mahillon, "Le cor" (p. 32), gives a table of the lengths of crooks
in metres.
[18] Robert Eitner, editor of the Monatshefte für Musikwissenschaft,
published therein an article in 1881, p. 41 seq., "Wer hat die
Ventiltrompete erfunden," in which, after referring to the
_Klappenwaldhorn_ and _Trompete_ (keyed horn and trumpet) made by
Weidinger and played in public in 1802 and 1813 respectively, he goes
on to state that Schilling in his Lexicon makes the comical mistake
of looking upon the Klappentrompete (keyed trumpet) and
_Ventiltrompete_ (valve trumpet) as different instruments. He
accordingly sets matters right, as he thinks, by according to
Weidinger the honour of the invention of valves, hitherto wrongfully
attributed to Stölzel; and in the _Quellenlexikon_ (1904) he leaves
out Stölzel's name, and names Weidinger as the inventor of the
_Klappen_ or _Ventil_, referring readers for further particulars to
his article, just quoted, in the _Monatshefte_.
[19] See Hector Berlioz, _A Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and
Orchestration_, translated by Mary Cowden Clarke, new edition revised
by Joseph Bennett (1882), p. 141.
[20] See Victor Mahillon, _Catal. descriptif des instruments de
musique_, &c., vol. ii. p. 388, No. 1156, where an illustration is
given. See also Dr August Hammerich (French translation by E.
Beauvais), "Über altnordische Luren" in _Vierteljährschrift für
Musik-Wissenschaft_ x. (1894).
[21] See Major J. H. L. Archer, _The British Army Records_ (London,
1888), pp. 402, &c.
[22] _De re militari_, iii. 5 (Basel, 1532). The successive editions
and translations of this classic, both manuscript and printed,
throughout the middle ages afford useful evidence of the evolution of
these three wind instruments.
[23] See Wilhelm Froehner, _La Colonne Trajane d'après le surmoulage
exécuté à Rome en 1861-1862_ (Paris, 1872-1874). On pl. 51 is a cornu
framing the head of a cornicen or horn-player. See also the fine
plates in Conrad Cichorius, _Die Reliefs der Traiansäule_ (Berlin,
1896, &c.).
[24] Ermanno Ferrero, _L'Arc d'Auguste à Suse_ (Segusio, 9-8 B.C.)
(Turin, 1901).
[25] See the mouthpiece on the Pompeian buccinas preserved in the
museum at Naples, reproduced in the article Buccina. The museums of
the conservatoires of Paris and Brussels and the Collection Kraus in
Florence possess facsimiles of these instruments; see Victor
Mahillon, _Catalogue_, vol. ii. p. 30. Cf. also the pair of bronze
Etruscan cornua, No. 2734 in the department of Creek and Roman
antiquities at the British Museum, which possess well-preserved
cup-shaped mouthpieces.
[26] See Bock, "Gebrauch der Hörner im Mittelalter," in Gustav
Heider's _Mittelalterliche Kunstdenkmäler Österreichs_ (Stuttgart,
1858-1860).
[27] _Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français_ (Paris, 1889), ii.
p. 246.
[28] Engelbertus Admontensis in _De Musica Scriptores_, by Martin
Gerbert, Bd. ii. lib. ii. cap. 29; and Edward Buhle, _Die
Musikalischen Instrumente in den Miniaturen des frühen Mittelalters_,
pt. i., "Die Blasinstrumente" (Leipzig, 1903), p. 16.
[29] _Le Trésor de vénerie par Hardouin, seigneur de
Fontaines-Guérin_ (edited by H. Michelant, Metz, 1856); the first
part was edited by Jérome Pichon (Paris, 1855), with an historical
introduction by Bottée de Toulmon.
[30] As worked out by Edward Buhle, _op. cit._, p. 23.
[31] See Turbevile, _op. cit._, also J. du Fouilloux, _La Vénerie_
(Paris, 1628), p. 70; cf. also editions of 1650 and of 1562, where
the horn is called _trompe_, used with the verb _corner_; Juliana
Bernes, _Boke of St Albans_ (1496), the frontispiece of which is a
hunting scene showing a horn of very wide bore, without bell. Only
half the instrument is visible.
[32] See "Reliure italienne du xv^e siècle en argent niellé.
Collection du Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, Vienne," in _Gazette
archéologique_ (Paris, 1880), xiii. p. 295, pl. 38, where other
instruments are also represented.
[33] See Jost Amman, _Wappen und Stammbuch_ (1589). A reprint in
facsimile has been published by Georg Hirth as vol. iii. of
_Liebhaber Bibliothek_ (Munich, 1881). See arms of Sultzberger aus
Tirol (p. 52), "Ein Jägerhörnlin," and of the Herzog von Wirtenberg;
cf. the latter with the arms of Wurthemberch in pl. xxii. vol. ii. of
Gelre's _Wappenboek ou armorial de 1334 à 1372_ (miniatures of coats
of arms in facsimile), edited by Victor Bouton (Paris, 1883).
[34] For illustrations see autotype facsimile of Utrecht Psalter, 9th
century; British Museum, Add. MS. 10,546, Ps. 150, 9th century; Add.
MS. 24,199, 10th century; Eadwine Psalter, Trin. Coll. Camb., 11th
century, and Cotton MS., Nero, D. IV., 8th century; also Edward
Buhle, _op. cit._, pl. ii. and pp. 12-24.
[35] See John Carter, _Specimens of Ancient Sculpture and Paintings_
(London, 1780-1794), i. p. 53 (plates unnumbered); also reproduced in
H. Lavoix, _Histoire de la musique_ (Paris, 1884).
[36] See Jost Amman, _op. cit._
[37] _Musica getutscht und ausgezogen_ (Basel, 1511), p. 30. The
names are not given under the drawings, but the above is the order in
which they occur, which is probably reversed.
[38] _Harmonie universelle_ (Paris, 1636), p. 245.
[39] _Syntagma Musicum_ (Wolfenbüttel, 1618), pl. vii. No. 11, p. 39.
[40] _Historisch-biographisches Lexicon der Tonkünstler_ (Leipzig,
1790-1792 and 1812-1814).
[41] _De saecularibus Liberalium Artium in Bohemia et Moravia fatis
commentarius_ (Prague, 1784), p. 401.
[42] See Ernest Thoinan, _Les Origines de la chapelle musique des
souverains de France_ (Paris, 1864); F. J. Fétis, "Recherches sur la
musique des rois de France, et de quelques princes depuis Philippe le
Bel jusqu'à la fin du règne de Louis XIV.," _Revue musicale_ (Paris,
1832), xii. pp. 193, 217, 233, 241, 257; Castil-Blaze, _La Chapelle
musique des rois de France_ (Paris, 1882); Michel Brenet, "Deux
comptes de la chapelle musique des rois de France," _Intern. Mus.
Ges._, Smbd. vi., i. pp. 1-32; J. Ecorcheville, "Quelques documents
sur la musique de la grande écurie du roi," _Intern. Mus. Ges._,
Smbd. ii. 4 (Leipzig, 1901), pp. 608-642.
[43] _Neue Zeitschrift f. Musik_ (Leipzig, 1870), p. 309.
[44] See _Die Sammlung der Musikinstrumente des baierischen Nat.
Museum_ by K. A. Bierdimpfl (Munich, 1883), Nos. 105 and 106.
[45] Communication from Dr Georg Hagen, assistant director.
[46] See Musée du Conservatoire National de Musique. _Catalogue des
instruments de musique_ (Paris, 1884), p. 147.
[47] See Captain C. R. Day, _Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical
Instruments exhibited at the Military Exhibition_ (London, 1890), p.
147, No. 307.
[48] See V. Mahillon, _Catal._ vol. i. No. 468.
[49] See Captain C. R. Day, _Catal._ No. 309, p. 148.
[50] For an illustration see _Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of
Ancient Musical Instruments at South Kensington Museum 1872_ (London,
1873), p. 25, No. 332.
[51] See _Katalog des musikhistorischen Museums von Paul de Wit_
(Leipzig, 1904), p. 142, No. 564, where it is classified as a
Jägertrompete after Praetorius; it has a trumpet mouthpiece.
[52] For an illustration see F. J. Crowest, _English Music_, p. 449,
No. 12.
[53] See Ignatz and Anton Böck in _Baierisches Musik-Lexikon_ by
Felix J. Lipowski (Munich, 1811), p. 26, note.
[54] See, for instance, frontispiece of Walther's _Musikalisches
Lexikon_ (Leipzig, 1732); J. F. B. C. Majer's _Musik-Saal_
(Nuremberg, 1741, 2nd ed.), p. 54; Joh. Christ. Kolb, _Pinacotheca
Davidica_ (Augsburg, 1711); Ps. xci.; "Componimenti Musicali per il
cembalo Dr Theofilo Muffat, organista di sua Sacra Maesta Carlo VI.
Imp." (1690), title-page in _Denkmäler d. Tonkunst in Oesterreich_,
Bd. iii.
[55] See Hugo Goldschmidt, "Das Orchester der italienischen Oper im
17 Jahrhundert," _Intern. Mus. Ges._, Smbd. ii. 1, p. 73.
[56] See "Le Cor," pp. 23 and 24, and _Dictionnaire de l'acad. des
beaux arts_, vol. iv., art. "Cor."
[57] Mersenne's drawings of _cors de chasse_ are very crude; they
have no bell and are all of the large calibre suggestive of the
primitive animal horn. He mentions nevertheless that they were not
only used for signals and fanfares but also for little concerted
pieces in four parts for horns alone, or with oboes, at the
conclusion of the hunt.
[58] See William Tans'ur Senior, _The Elements of Musick_ (London,
1772); Br. V. Dictionary under "Horn." Also Scale of Horn in the hand
of Samuel Wesley; in Add. MS. 35011, fol. 166, Brit. Mus.
[59] A horn-player, Johann Theodor Zeddelmayer, was engaged in 1706
at the Saxon court at Weissenfels; see _Neue-Mitteilungen aus dem
Gebiete histor. antiqu. Forschungen_, Bd. xv. (2) (Halle, 1882), p.
503; also Wilhelm Kleefeld, "Das Orchester der Hamburger Oper,
1678-1738," _Intern. Mus. Ges._, Smbd. i. 2, p. 280, where the
appearance of the horn in the orchestras of Germany is traced.
[60] _Das neu-eröffnete Orchester_, i. 267.
[61] See Moritz Fürstenau, _Zur Geschichte der Musik und des Theaters
zu Dresden_ (Dresden, 1861-1862), vol. ii. p. 60.
[62] See "Carl Heinrich Graun als Opernkomponist," by Albert
Mayer-Reinach, _Intern. Mus. Ges._, Smbd. i. 3 (Leipzig, 1900), pp.
516-517 and 523-524, where musical examples are given.
[63] Cf. Chrysander, _Haendel_, ii. 146.
[64] See Moritz Fürstenau, _op. cit._ ii. 58.
[65] See Ludwig von Köchel, _Die kaiserliche Hofkappelle in Wien_
(Vienna, 1869), p. 80.
[66] See Victor Mahillon, _Catalogue descriptif_, vol. ii. No. 1160,
p. 389.
[67] _Op. cit._ ii. 60.
[68] The Department of State Archives for Saxony in Dresden possesses
no documents which can throw any light upon this point, but, through
the courtesy of the director, the following facts have been
communicated. Two documents concerning Anton Joseph Hampel are
extant: (1) An application by his son, Johann Michael Hampel, to the
elector Friedrich August III. of Saxony, dated Dresden, April 3,
1771, in which he prays that the post of his father as horn-player in
the court orchestra--in which he had already served as deputy for his
invalid father--may be awarded to him. (2) A petition from the widow,
Aloisia Ludevica Hampelin, to the elector, bearing the same date
(April 3, 1771), wherein she announces the death of her husband on
the 30th of March 1771, who had been in the service of the house of
Saxony thirty-four years as horn-player, and prays for the grant of a
monthly pension for herself and her three delicate daughters, as she
finds herself in the most unfortunate circumstances. There is no
allusion in either letter to any musical merit of the deceased.
[69] There is an instrument of this early type, supposed to date from
the middle of the 18th century, in Paul de Wit's fine collection of
musical instruments formerly in Leipzig and now transferred to
Cologne; see _Katalog_, No. 645, p. 148.
[70] See _Dictionnaire de l'acad. des beaux arts_, vol. iv. (Paris),
article "Cor."
[71] See Dr Gustav Schilling, _Universal Lexikon der Tonkunst_
(Stuttgart, 1840), Bd. vi., "Trompete"; also Capt. C. R. Day, pp. 139
and 151, where the term _Invention_ is quite misunderstood and
misapplied. See Gottfried Weber in _Caecilia_ (Mainz, 1835), Bd.
xvii.
[72] Gerber in the first edition of his _Lexikon_ does not mention
Hampel or award him a separate biographical article; we may therefore
conclude that he was not personally acquainted with him, although
Hampel was still a member of the electoral orchestra in Dresden
during Gerber's short career in Leipzig. In the edition of 1812
Gerber renders him full justice.
[73] _Vollständige theoretisch-praktische Musikschule_ (Bonn, 1811),
pt. iii. p. 7.
[74] See Victor Mahillon, "Le Cor," p. 28; Chladni, _op. cit._ p. 87.
[75] See Fröhlich, _op. cit._ 7; and Gerber, _Lexikon_ (ed. 1812), p.
493; "Le Cor," pp. 34 and 53.
[76] See Praetorius and Mersenne, _op. cit._; the latter gives an
illustration of the trumpet mute.
[77] _Methode de premier et de second cor_ (Paris, c. 1807). The
passage in question was discovered and courteously communicated by
Hofrat P. E. Richter of the Royal Library, Dresden. There is no copy
of Domnich's work in the British Museum.
[78] See William Tans'ur Senior, _op. et loc. cit._
[79] See _Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung_ (Leipzig), Nov. 1802, p.
158, and Jan. 1803, p. 245; and E. Hanslick, _Geschichte des
Concertwesens in Wien_ (Vienna, 1869), p. 119.
[80] See _Allgem. mus. Ztg._, 1815, p. 844.
[81] "Le Cor," pp. 34-35.
[82] See the description of the instrument and of other attempts to
obtain the same result by Gottfried Weber, "Wichtige Verbesserung des
Horns" in _Allg. musik. Ztg._ (Leipzig, 1812), pp. 758, &c.; also
1815, pp. 637 and 638 (the regent or keyed bugle).
[83] See _Allg. musik. Ztg._, 1815, May, p. 309, the first
announcement of the invention in a paragraph by Captain G. B. Bierey.
[84] _Ibid._, 1817, p. 814, by F. Schneider, and Dec. p. 558; 1818,
p. 531. An announcement of the invention and of a patent granted for
the same for ten years, in which Blümel is for the first time
associated with Stölzel as co-inventor. See also _Caecilia_ (Mainz,
1835), Bd. xvii. pp. 73 seq., with illustrations, an excellent
article by Gottfried Weber on the valve horn and valve trumpet.
[85] For a very complete exposition of the operation of valves in the
horn, and of the mathematical proportions to be observed in
construction, see Victor Mahillon's "Le Cor," also the article by
Gottfried Weber in _Caecilia_ (1835), to which reference was made
above. A list of horn-players of note during the 18th century is
given by C. Gottlieb Murr in _Journal f. Kunstgeschichte_ (Nuremberg,
1776), vol. ii. p. 27. See also a good description of the style of
playing of the virtuoso J. Nisle in 1767 in Schubart, _Aesthetik d.
Tonkunst_, p. 161, and _Leben u. Gesinnungen_ (1791), Bd. ii. p. 92;
or in L. Schiedermair, "Die Blütezeit d. Ottingen-Wallensteinschen
Hofkapelle," _Intern. Mus. Ges._ Smbd. ix. (1), 1907, pp. 83-130.
HORNBEAM (_Carpinus betulus_), a member of a small genus of trees of the
natural order Corylaceae. The Latin name _Carpinus_ has been thought to
be derived from the Celtic _car_, wood, and _pin_ or _pen_, head, the
wood of hornbeams having been used for yokes of cattle (see Loudon,
_Ency. of Pl._ p. 792, new ed. 1855, and Littré, Dict. ii. 556). The
common hornbeam, or yoke-elm, _Carpinus betulus_ (Ger. _Hornbaum_ and
_Hornbuche_, Fr. _charme_), is indigenous in the temperate parts of
western Asia and of Asia Minor, and in Europe, where it ranges as high
as 55° and 56° N. lat. It is common in woods and hedges in parts of
Wales and of the south of England. The trunk is usually flattened, and
twisted as though composed of several stems united; the bark is smooth
and light grey; and the leaves are in two rows, 2 to 3 in. long,
elliptic-ovate, doubly toothed, pointed, numerously ribbed, hairy below
and opaque, and not glossy as in the beech, have short stalks and when
young are plaited. The stipules of the leaves act as protecting
scale-leaves in the winter-bud and fall when the bud opens in spring.
The flowers appear with the leaves in April and May. The male catkins
are about 1½ in. long, and have pale-yellow anthers, bearing tufts of
hairs at the apex; the female attain a length in the fruiting stage of 2
to 4 in., with bracts 1 to 1½ in. long. The green and angular fruit or
"nut" ripens in October; it is about ¼ in. in length, is in shape like a
small chestnut, and is enclosed in leafy, 3-lobed bracts. The hornbeam
thrives well on stiff, clayey, moist soils, into which its roots
penetrate deeply; on chalk or gravel it does not flourish. Raised from
seed it may become a tree 40 to as much as 70 ft. in height, greatly
resembling the beech, except in its rounder and closer head. It is,
however, rarely grown as a timber-tree, its chief employment being for
hedges. "In the single row," says Evelyn (_Sylva_, p. 29, 1664), "it
makes the noblest and the stateliest _hedges_ for long Walks in Gardens
or _Parks_, of any Tree whatsoever whose leaves are _deciduous_." As it
bears clipping well, it was formerly much used in geometric gardening.
The branches should not be lopped in spring, on account of their
tendency to bleed at that season. The wood of the hornbeam is white and
close-grained, and polishes ill, is of considerable tenacity and little
flexibility, and is extremely tough and hard to work--whence, according
to Gerard, the name of the tree. It has been found to lose about 8% of
its weight by drying. As a fuel it is excellent; and its charcoal is
much esteemed for making gunpowder. The inner part of the bark of the
hornbeam is stated by Linnaeus to afford a yellow dye. In France the
leaves serve as fodder. The tree is a favourite with hares and rabbits,
and the seedlings are apt to be destroyed by mice. Pliny (_Nat. Hist._
xxvi. 26), who describes its wood as red and easily split, classes the
hornbeam with maples.
The American hornbeam, blue or water beech, is _Carpinus americana_
(also known as _C. caroliniana_); the common hop-hornbeam, a native of
the south of Europe, is a member of a closely allied genus, _Ostrya
vulgaris_, the allied American species, _O. virginiana_, is also known
as ironwood from its very hard, tight, close-grained wood.
HORNBILL, the English name long generally given to all the birds of the
family _Bucerotidae_ of modern ornithologists, from the extraordinary
horn-like excrescence (_epithema_) developed on the bill of most of the
species, though to which of them it was first applied seems doubtful.
Among classical authors Pliny had heard of such animals, and mentions
them (_Hist. Nat._ lib. x. cap. lxx.) under the name of _Tragopan_; but
he deemed their existence fabulous, comparing them with _Pegasi_ and
_Gryphones_--in the words of Holland, his translator (vol. i. p.
296)--"I thinke the same of the Tragopanades, which many men affirme to
bee greater than the Ægle; having crooked hornes like a Ram on either
side of the head, of the colour of yron, and the head onely red." Yet
this is but an exaggerated description of some of the species with which
doubtless his informants had an imperfect acquaintance. Medieval writers
found Pliny's bird to be no fable, for specimens of the beak of one
species or another seem occasionally to have been brought to Europe,
where they were preserved in the cabinets of the curious, and thus
Aldrovandus was able to describe pretty fairly and to figure
(_Ornithologia_, lib. xii. cap. xx. tab. x. fig. 7) one of them under
the name of "_Rhinoceros Avis_," though the rest of the bird was wholly
unknown to him. When the exploration of the East Indies had extended
farther, more examples reached Europe, and the "_Corvus Indicus
cornutus_" of Bontius became fully recognized by Willughby and Ray,
under the title of the "Horned Indian Raven or _Topau_ called the
Rhinocerot Bird." Since the time of those excellent ornithologists our
knowledge of the hornbills has been steadily increasing, but up to the
third quarter of the 19th century there was a great lack of precise
information, and the publication of D. G. Elliot's "_Monograph of the
Bucerotidae_," then supplied a great want. He divides the family into
two sections, the _Bucerotinae_ and the _Bucorvinae_. The former group
contains most of the species, which are divided into many genera. Of
these, the most remarkable is _Rhinoplax_, which seems properly to
contain but one species, the _Buceros vigil_, _B. scutatus_ or _B.
geleatus_ of authors, commonly known as the helmet-hornbill, a native of
Sumatra and Borneo. This is easily distinguished by having the front of
its nearly vertical and slightly convex _epithema_ composed of a solid
mass of horn[1] instead of a thin coating of the light and cellular
structure found in the others. So dense and hard is this portion of the
"helmet" that Chinese and Malay artists carve figures on its surface, or
cut it transversely into plates, which from their agreeable colouring,
bright yellow with a scarlet rim, are worn as brooches or other
ornaments. This bird, which is larger than a raven, is also remarkable
for its long graduated tail, having the middle two feathers nearly twice
the length of the rest. Nothing is known of its habits. Its head was
figured by George Edwards in the 18th century, but little else had been
seen of it until 1801, when John Latham described the plumage from a
specimen in the British Museum, and the first figure of the whole bird,
from an example in the Museum at Calcutta, was published by General
Hardwicke in 1823 (_Trans. Linn. Society_, xiv. pl. 23). Yet more than
twenty years elapsed before French naturalists became acquainted with
it.
[Illustration: Great Indian Hornbill (_B. bicornis_). (After Tickell's
drawing in the Zoological Society's Library.)]
In the _Bucorvinae_ we have only the genus _Bucorvus_, or _Bucorax_ as
some call it, confined to Africa, and containing at least two and
perhaps more species, distinguishable by their longer legs and shorter
toes, the ground-hornbills of English writers, in contrast to the
_Bucerotinae_ which are chiefly arboreal in their habits, and when not
flying move by short leaps or hops, while the members of this group walk
and run with facility. From the days of James Bruce at least there are
few African travellers who have not met with and in their narratives
more or less fully described one or other of these birds, whose large
size and fearless habits render them conspicuous objects.
As a whole the hornbills, of which more than 50 species have been
described, form a very natural and in some respects an isolated group,
placed by Huxley among his _Coccygomorphae_. It has been suggested that
they have some affinity with the hoopoes (_Upupidae_), and this view is
now generally accepted. Their supposed alliance to the toucans
(_Rhamphastidae_) rests only on the apparent similarity presented by the
enormous beak, and is contradicted by important structural characters.
In many of their habits, so far as these are known, all hornbills seem
to be much alike, and though the modification in the form of the beak,
and the presence or absence of the extraordinary excrescence,[2] whence
their name is derived, causes great diversity of aspect among them, the
possession of prominent eyelashes (not a common feature in birds)
produces a uniformity of expression which makes it impossible to mistake
any member of the family. Hornbills are social birds, keeping in
companies, not to say flocks, and living chiefly on fruits and seeds;
but the bigger species also capture and devour a large number of snakes,
while the smaller are great destroyers of insects. The older writers say
that they eat carrion, but further evidence to that effect is required
before the statement can be believed. Almost every morsel of food that
is picked up is tossed into the air, and then caught in the bill before
it is swallowed. They breed in holes of trees, laying large white eggs,
and when the hen begins to sit the cock plasters up the entrance with
mud or clay, leaving only a small window through which she receives the
food he brings her during her incarceration.
This remarkable habit, almost simultaneously noticed by Dr Mason in
Burma, S. R. Tickell in India, and Livingstone in Africa, and since
confirmed by other observers, especially A. R. Wallace[3] in the Malay
Archipelago, has been connected by A. D. Bartlett (_Proc. Zool.
Society_, 1869, p. 142) with a peculiarity as remarkable, which he was
the first to notice. This is the fact that hornbills at intervals of
time, whether periodical or irregular is not yet known, cast the
epithelial layer of their gizzard, that layer being formed by a
secretion derived from the glands of the proventriculus or some other
upper part of the alimentary canal. The epithelium is ejected in the
form of a sack or bag, the mouth of which is closely folded, and is
filled with the fruit that the bird has been eating. The announcement of
a circumstance so extraordinary naturally caused some hesitation in its
acceptance, but the essential truth of Bartlett's observations was
abundantly confirmed by Sir W. H. Flower and especially by Dr J. Murie.
These castings form the hen bird's food during her confinement.
(A. N.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Apparently correlated with this structure is the curious
thickening of the "prosencephalic median septum" of the cranium as
also of that which divides the "prosencephalic" from the
"mesencephalic chamber," noticed by Sir R. Owen (_Cat. Osteol. Ser.
Mus. Roy. Coll. Surg. England_, i. 287); while the solid horny mass
is further strengthened by a backing of bony props, directed forwards
and meeting its base at right angles. This last singular arrangement
is not perceptible in the skull of any other species examined by the
present writer.
[2] Buffon, as was his manner, enlarges on the cruel injustice done
to these birds by Nature in encumbering them with this deformity,
which he declares must hinder them from getting their food with ease.
The only corroboration his perverted view receives is afforded by the
observed fact that hornbills, in captivity at any rate, never have
any fat about them.
[3] In _The Malay Archipelago_ (i. 213), Wallace describes a nestling
hornbill (_B. bicornis_) which he obtained as "a most curious object,
as large as a pigeon, but without a particle of plumage on any part
of it. It was exceedingly plump and soft, and with a semi-transparent
skin, so that it looked more like a bag of jelly, with head and feet
stuck on, than like a real bird."
HORNBLENDE, an important member of the amphibole group of rock-forming
minerals. The name is an old one of German origin, and was used for any
dark-coloured prismatic crystals from which metals could not be
extracted. It is now applied to the dark-coloured aluminous members of
the monoclinic amphiboles, occupying in this group the same position
that augite occupies in the pyroxene group. The monoclinic crystals are
prismatic in habit with a six-sided cross-section; the angle between the
prism-faces (M), parallel to which there are perfect cleavages, is 55°
49´. The colour (green, brown or black) and the specific gravity
(3.0-3.3) vary with the amount of iron present. The pleochroism is
always strong, and the angle of optical extinction on the plane of
symmetry (x in the figure) varies from 0° to 37°. The chemical
composition is expressed by mixtures in varying proportions of the
molecules Ca(Mg, Fe)3(SiO3)4, (Mg, Fe)(Al, Fe)2SiO6 and NaAl(SiO3)2.
Numerous varieties have been distinguished by special names: edenite,
from Edenville in New York, is a pale-coloured aluminous amphibole
containing little iron; pargasite, from Pargas near Abo in Finland, a
green or bluish-green variety; common hornblende includes the
greenish-black and black kinds containing more iron. The dark-coloured
porphyritic crystals of basalts are known as basaltic hornblende.
[Illustration.]
Hornblende occurs as an essential constituent of many kinds of igneous
rocks, such as hornblende-granite, syenite, diorite, hornblende-andesite,
basalt, &c.; and in many crystalline schists, for example, amphibolite
and hornblende-schist which are composed almost entirely of this mineral.
Well-crystallized specimens are met with at many localities, for example:
brilliant black crystals (syntagmatite) with augite and mica in the
sanidine bombs of Monte Somma, Vesuvius; large crystals at Arendal in
Norway, and at several places in the state of New York; isolated crystals
from the basalts of Bohemia. (L. J. S.)
HORN-BOOK, a name originally applied to a sheet containing the letters
of the alphabet, which formed a primer for the use of children. It was
mounted on wood and protected with transparent horn. Sometimes the leaf
was simply pasted against the slice of horn. The wooden frame had a
handle, and it was usually hung at the child's girdle. The sheet, which
in ancient times was of vellum and latterly of paper, contained first a
large cross--the criss-crosse--from which the horn-book was called the
Christ Cross Row, or criss-cross-row. The alphabet in large and small
letters followed. The vowels then formed a line, and their combinations
with the consonants were given in a tabular form. The usual
exorcism--"in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the Holy
Ghost, Amen"--followed, then the Lord's Prayer, the whole concluding
with the Roman numerals. The horn-book is mentioned in Shakespeare's
_Love's Labour's Lost_, v. i, where the _ba_, the _a_, _e_, _i_, _o_,
_u_, and the horn, are alluded to by Moth. It is also described by Ben
Jonson--
"The letters may be read, through the horn,
That make the story perfect."
HORNBY, SIR GEOFFREY THOMAS PHIPPS (1825-1895), British admiral of the
fleet, son of Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby, the first cousin and
brother-in-law of the 13th earl of Derby, by a daughter of
Lieut.-General Burgoyne, commonly distinguished as "Saratoga" Burgoyne,
was born on the 20th of February 1825. At the age of twelve he was sent
to sea in the flagship of Sir Robert Stopford, with whom he saw the
capture of Acre in November 1840. He afterwards served in the flagship
of Rear-Admiral Josceline Percy at the Cape of Good Hope, was
flag-lieutenant to his father in the Pacific, and came home as a
commander. When the Derby ministry fell in December 1852 young Hornby
was promoted to be captain. Early in 1853 he married, and as the Derby
connexion put him out of favour with the Aberdeen ministry, and
especially with Sir James Graham, the first lord of the Admiralty, he
settled down in Sussex as manager of his father's property. He had no
appointment in the navy till 1858, when he was sent out to China to take
command of the "Tribune" frigate and convey a body of marines to
Vancouver Island, where the dispute with the United States about the
island of San Juan was threatening to become very bitter. As senior
naval officer there Hornby's moderation, temper and tact did much to
smooth over matters, and a temporary arrangement for joint occupation of
the island was concluded. He afterwards commanded the "Neptune" in the
Mediterranean under Sir William Fanshawe Martin, was flag-captain to
Rear-Admiral Dacres in the Channel, was commodore of the squadron on the
west coast of Africa, and, being promoted to rear-admiral in January
1869, commanded the training squadron for a couple of years. He then
commanded the Channel Fleet, and was for two years a junior lord of the
Admiralty. It was early in 1877 that he went out as commander-in-chief
in the Mediterranean, where his skill in manoeuvring the fleet, his
power as a disciplinarian, and the tact and determination with which he
conducted the foreign relations at the time of the Russian advance on
Constantinople, won for him the K. C. B. He returned home in 1880 with
the character of being perhaps the most able commander on the active
list of the navy. His later appointments were to the Royal Naval College
as president, and afterwards to Portsmouth as commander-in-chief. On
hauling down his flag he was appointed G. C. B., and in May 1888 was
promoted to be admiral of the fleet. From 1886 he was principal naval
aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria, and in that capacity, and as an admiral
of the fleet, was appointed on the staff of the German emperor during
his visits to England in 1889 and 1890. He died, after a short illness,
on the 3rd of March 1895. By his wife, who predeceased him, he left
several children, daughters and sons, one of whom, a major in the
artillery, won the Victoria Cross in South Africa in 1900.
His life was written by his daughter, Mrs Fred. Egerton, (1896).
HORNCASTLE, a market-town in the S. Lindsey or Horncastle parliamentary
division of Lincolnshire, England, at the foot of a line of low hills
called the Wolds, at the confluence of the Bain and Waring streams; the
terminus of a branch line of the Great Northern railway, 130 m. N. from
London. Pop. of urban district (1901) 4038. The church of St Mary is
principally Decorated and Perpendicular, with some Early English remains
and an embattled western tower. Queen Elizabeth's grammar school was
founded in 1562. Other buildings are an exchange, a court-house and a
dispensary founded in 1789. The prosperity of the town is chiefly
dependent on agriculture and its well-known horse fairs. Brewing and
malting are carried on, and there is some trade in coal and iron.
Remains have been found here which may indicate the existence of a Roman
village. The manor of Horncastle (Hornecastre) belonged to Queen Edith
in Saxon times and was royal demesne in 1086 and the head of a large
soke. In the reign of Stephen it apparently belonged to Alice de Cundi,
a partisan of the empress Maud, and passing to the crown on her death it
was granted by Henry III. to Gerbald de Escald, from whom it descended
to Ralph de Rhodes, who sold it to Walter Mauclerc, bishop of Carlisle
in 1230. The see of Carlisle retained it till the reign of Edward VI.
when it was granted to Edward, Lord Clinton, but was recovered in the
following reign. In 1230 Henry III. directed the men of Horncastle to
render a reasonable aid to the bishop, who obtained the right to try
felons, hold a court leet and have free warren. An inquisition of 1275
shows that the bishop had then, besides the return of writs, the assize
of bread and ale and waifs and strays in the soke. Horncastle was a
centre of the Lincolnshire rebellion of 1536. Royalist troops occupied
the town in 1643, and were pursued through its streets after the battle
fought at Winceby. It was never a municipal or parliamentary borough,
but during the middle ages it was frequently the residence of the
bishops of Carlisle. Its prosperity has always depended largely on its
fairs, the great horse fair described by George Borrow in _Romany Rye_
being granted to the bishop in 1230 for the octave of St Lawrence,
together with the fair on the feast of St Barnabas. The three other
fairs are apparently of later date.
See George Weir, _Historical and Descriptive Sketches of the Town and
Soke of Horncastle in the County of Lincoln and of Several Places
adjacent_ (London, 1820).
HORN DANCE, a medieval dance, still celebrated during the September
"wakes" at Abbots Bromley, a village on the borders of Needwood Forest,
Staffordshire. Six or seven men, each wearing a deer's skull with
antlers, dance through the streets, pursued by a comrade who bestrides a
mimic horse, and whips the dancers to keep them on the move. The
horn-dance usually takes place on the Monday after Wakes Sunday, which
is the Sunday next after the 4th of September. Originally the dance took
place on a Sunday.
See _Strand Magazine_ for November 1896; also _Folk-lore_, vol. vii.
(1896), p. 381.
HORNE, GEORGE (1730-1792), English divine, was born on the 1st of
November 1730, at Otham near Maidstone, and received his education at
Maidstone school and University College, Oxford. In 1749 he became a
fellow of Magdalen, of which college he was elected president in 1768.
As a preacher he early attained great popularity, and was, albeit
unjustly, accused of Methodism. His reputation was helped by several
clever if somewhat wrong-headed publications, including a satirical
pamphlet entitled _The Theology and Philosophy of Cicero's Somnium
Scipionis_ (1751), a defence of the Hutchinsonians in _A Fair, Candid
and Impartial State of the Case between Sir Isaac Newton and Mr
Hutchinson_ (1753), and critiques upon William Law (1758) and Benjamin
Kennicott (1760). In 1771 he published his well-known _Commentary on the
Psalms_. a series of expositions based on the Messianic idea. In 1776
he was chosen vice-chancellor of his university; in 1781 he was made
dean of Canterbury, and in 1790 was raised to the see of Norwich. He
died at Bath on the 17th of January 1792.
His collected _Works_ were published with a Memoir by William Jones in
1799.
HORNE, RICHARD HENRY, or HENGIST (1803-1884), English poet and critic,
was born in London on New Year's Day 1803. He was intended for the army,
and entered at Sandhurst, but receiving no commission, he left his
country and joined the Mexican navy. He served in the war against Spain,
and underwent many adventures. Returning to England, he became a
journalist, and in 1836-1837 edited _The Monthly Repository_. In 1837 he
published two tragedies, _Cosmo de Medici_ and _The Death of Marlowe_,
and in 1841 a _History of Napoleon_. The book, however, by which he
lives is his epic of _Orion_, which appeared in 1843. It was published
originally at a farthing, was widely read, and passed through many
editions. In the next year he set forth a volume of critical essays
called _A New Spirit of the Age_, in which he was assisted by Elizabeth
Barrett (Mrs Browning), with whom, from 1839 to her marriage in 1846, he
conducted a voluminous correspondence. In 1852 he went to Australia in
company with William Howitt, and did not return to England until 1869.
He received a Civil List pension in 1874, and died at Margate on the
13th of March 1884. Horne possessed extraordinary versatility, but,
except in the case of _Orion_, he never attained to a very high degree
of distinction. That poem, indeed, has much of the quality of fine
poetry; it is earnest, vivid and alive with spirit. But Horne early
drove his talent too hard, and continued to write when he had little
left to say. In criticism he had insight and quickness. He was one of
the first to appreciate Keats and Tennyson, and he gave valuable
encouragement to Mrs Browning when she was still Miss Elizabeth Barrett.
HORNE, THOMAS HARTWELL (1780-1862), English theologian and
bibliographer, was born in London on the 20th of October 1780, and was
educated at Christ's Hospital, with S. T. Coleridge as an elder
contemporary. On leaving school he became clerk to a barrister, but
showed a keen taste for authorship. As early as 1800 he published _A
Brief View of the Necessity and Truth of the Christian Revelation_,
which was followed by several minor works on very varied subjects. In
1814, having been appointed librarian of the Surrey Institution, he
issued his _Introduction to the Study of Bibliography_. This was
followed in 1818 by his long matured work, the _Introduction to the
Critical Study of the Holy Scriptures_, which rapidly attained
popularity, and secured for its author widespread fame and an honorary
M.A. degree from Aberdeen. In 1819 he received ordination from William
Howley, bishop of London, and after holding two smaller livings was
appointed rector of the united parishes of St Edmund the King and
Martyr, and St Nicolas Acons in London. On the breaking up of the Surrey
Institution in 1823, he was appointed (1824) senior assistant librarian
in the department of printed books in the British Museum. After the
project of making a classified catalogue had been abandoned, he took
part in the preparation of the alphabetical one, and his connexion with
the museum continued until within a few months of his death on the 27th
of January 1862.
Horne's works exceed forty in number. The _Introduction_, edited by
John Ayre and S. P. Tregelles, reached a 12th edition in 1869; but,
owing to subsequent advances in biblical scholarship, it fell into
disuse.
HORNELL, a city of Steuben county, New York, U.S.A., on the Canisteo
river, 90 m. S.E. of Buffalo. Pop. (1890) 10,996; (1900) 11,918, of whom
1230 were foreign-born; (1910 census) 13,617. Hornell is served by the
Erie and the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern railways; the latter connects
at Wayland (20 m. distant by rail) with the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western railroad. In the city are St Ann's Academy, the St James Mercy
Hospital, the Steuben Sanitarium, a public library, and a county
court-house--terms of the county court being held here as well as in
Bath (pop. in 1905, 3695), the county-seat, and in Corning. Hornell has
extensive car shops of the Erie railroad, and among its manufactures
are silk goods (silk gloves being a specially important product), sash,
doors and blinds, leather, furniture, shoes, white-goods, wire-fences,
foundry and machine shop products, electric motors, and brick and tile.
The value of the factory product in 1905 was $3,162,677, an increase of
30.1% since 1900. The first settlement here was made in 1790, within the
district of Erwin (then in Ontario county); after 1796 it was a part of
Canisteo township, and the settlement itself was known as Upper Canisteo
until 1820, when a new township was formed and named Hornellsville in
honour of Judge George Hornell (d. 1813). The village of Hornellsville
was incorporated in 1852, and in 1888 was chartered as a city; and by
act of the state legislature the name was changed to Hornell in 1906.
See G. H. McMaster, _History of the Settlement of Steuben County_
(Bath, New York, 1849).
HORNEMANN, FREDERICK (fl. 1796-1800), German traveller in Africa, was
born at Hildesheim. He was a young man when, early in 1796, he offered
his services to the African Association of London as an explorer in
Africa. By the association he was sent to Göttingen University to study
Arabic and otherwise prepare for an expedition into the unknown regions
of North Africa from the east. In September 1797 he arrived in Egypt,
where he continued his studies. On the invasion of the country by the
French he was confined in the citadel of Cairo, to preserve him from the
fanaticism of the populace. Liberated by the French, he received the
patronage of Bonaparte. On the 5th of September 1798 he joined a caravan
returning to the Maghrib from Mecca, attaching himself to a party of
Fezzan merchants who accompanied the pilgrims. As an avowed Christian
would not have been permitted to join the caravan Hornemann assumed the
character of a young mameluke trading to Fezzan. He then spoke, but
indifferently, both Arabic and Turkish, and he was accompanied as
servant and interpreter by Joseph Freudenburg, a German convert to
Islam, who had thrice made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Travelling by way of
the oases of Siwa and Aujila, a "black rocky desert" was traversed to
Temissa in Fezzan. Murzuk was reached on the 17th of November 1798. Here
Hornemann lived till June 1799, going thence to the city of Tripoli,
whence in August of the same year he despatched his journals to London.
He then returned to Murzuk. Nothing further is known with certainty
concerning him or his companion. In Murzuk Hornemann had collected a
great deal of trustworthy information concerning the peoples and
countries of the western Sahara and central Sudan, and when he left
Tripoli it was his intention to go direct to the Hausa country, which
region he was the first European definitely to locate. "If I do not
perish in my undertaking," he wrote in his journal, "I hope in five
years I shall be able to make the Society better acquainted with the
people of whom I have given this short description." The British consul
at Tripoli heard from a source believed to be trustworthy that about
June 1803 Jusef (Hornemann's Mahommedan name) was at Casna, i.e.
Katsena, in Northern Nigeria, "in good health and highly respected as a
marabout." A report reached Murzuk in 1819 that the traveller had gone
to "Noofy" (Nupe), and had died there. Hornemann was the first European
in modern times to traverse the north-eastern Sahara, and up to 1910 no
other explorer had followed his route across the Jebel-es-Suda from
Aujila to Temissa.
The original text of Hornemann's journal, which was written in German,
was printed at Weimar in 1801; an English translation, _Travels from
Cairo to Mourzouk_, &c., with maps and dissertations by Major James
Rennell, appeared in London in 1802. A French translation of the
English work, made by order of the First Consul, and augmented with
notes and a memoir on the Egyptian oases by L. Langlès, was published
in Paris in the following year. The French version is the most
valuable of the three. Consult also the _Proceedings of the African
Association_ (1810), and the Geog. Jnl. Nov. 1906.
HORNER, FRANCIS (1778-1817), British economist, was born at Edinburgh on
the 12th of August 1778. After passing through the usual courses at the
high school and university of his native city, he devoted five years,
the first two in England, to comprehensive but desultory study, and in
1800 was called to the Scottish bar. Desirous, however, of a wider
sphere, Horner removed to London in 1802, and occupied the interval
that elapsed before his admission to the English bar in 1807 with
researches in law, philosophy and political economy. In February 1806 he
became one of the commissioners for adjusting the claims against the
nawab of Arcot, and in November entered parliament as member for St
Ives. Next year he sat. for Wendover, and in 1812 for St Mawes, in the
patronage of the marquis of Buckingham. In 1811, when Lord Grenville was
organizing a prospective ministry, Horner had the offer, which he
refused, of a treasury secretaryship. He had resolved not to accept
office till he could afford to live out of office; and his professional
income, on which he depended, was at no time proportionate to his
abilities. His labours at last began to tell upon a constitution never
robust, and in October 1816 his physicians ordered him to Italy, where,
however, he sank under his malady. He died at Pisa, on the 8th of
February 1817. He was buried at Leghorn, and a marble statue by Chantrey
was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey.
Without the advantages of rank, or wealth, or even of genius, Francis
Horner rose to a high position of public influence and private esteem.
His special field was political economy. Master of that subject, and
exercising a sort of moral as well as intellectual influence over the
House of Commons he, by his nervous and earnest rather than eloquent
style of speaking, could fix its attention for hours on such dry topics
as finance, and coinage, and currency. As chairman of the parliamentary
committee for investigating the depreciation of bank-notes, for which he
moved in 1810, he extended and confirmed his fame as a political
economist by his share in the famous _Bullion Report_. It was chiefly
through his efforts that the paper-issue of the English banks was
checked, and gold and silver reinstated in their true position as
circulating media; and his views on free trade and commerce have been
generally accepted at their really high value. Horner was one of the
promoters of the _Edinburgh Review_ in 1802. His articles in the early
numbers of that publication, chiefly on political economy, form his only
literary legacy.
See _Memoirs and Correspondence of Francis Horner, M.P._, published by
his brother (see below) in 1843. Also the _Edinburgh_ and _Quarterly
Reviews_ for the same year; and _Blackwood's Magazine_, vol. i.
HORNER, LEONARD (1785-1864), Scottish geologist, brother of Francis
Horner (above), was born in Edinburgh on the 17th of January 1785. His
father, John Horner, was a linen merchant in Edinburgh, and Leonard, the
third and youngest son, entered the university of Edinburgh in 1799.
There in the course of the next four years he studied chemistry and
mineralogy, and gained a love of geology from Playfair's _Illustrations
of the Huttonian Theory_. At the age of nineteen he became a partner in
a branch of his father's business, and went to London. In 1808 he joined
the newly formed Geological Society and two years later was elected one
of the secretaries. Throughout his long life he was ardently devoted to
the welfare of the society; he was elected president in 1846 and again
in 1860. In 1811 he read his first paper "On the Mineralogy of the
Malvern Hills" (_Trans. Geol. Soc._ vol. i.) and subsequently
communicated other papers on the "Brine-springs at Droitwich," and the
"Geology of the S.W. part of Somersetshire." He was elected F.R.S. in
1813. In 1815 he returned to Edinburgh to take personal superintendence
of his business, and while there (1821) he was instrumental in founding
the Edinburgh School of Arts for the instruction of mechanics, and he
was one of the founders of the Edinburgh Academy. In 1827 he was invited
to London to become warden of the London University, an office which he
held for four years; he then resided at Bonn for two years and pursued
the study of minerals and rocks, communicating to the Geological Society
on his return a paper on the "Geology of the Environs of Bonn," and
another "On the Quantity of Solid Matter suspended in the Water of the
Rhine." In 1833 he was appointed one of the commissioners to inquire
into the employment of children in the factories of Great Britain, and
he was subsequently selected as one of the inspectors. In later years he
devoted much attention to the geological history of the alluvial lands
of Egypt; and in 1843 he published his _Life_ of his brother Francis. He
died in London on the 5th of March 1864.
See _Memoir of Leonard Horner_, by Katherine M. Lyell (1890)
(privately printed).
HÖRNES, MORITZ (1815-1868), Austrian palaeontologist, was born in Vienna
on the 14th of July 1815. He was educated in the university and
graduated Ph.D. He then became assistant in the Vienna mineralogical
museum. He was distinguished for his researches on the Tertiary mollusca
of the Vienna Basin, and on the Triassic mollusca of Alpine regions.
Most of his memoirs were published in the _Jahrbuch der K. K. geol.
Reichsanstalt_. In 1864 he introduced the term Neogene to include
Miocene and Pliocene, as these formations are not always to be clearly
separated: the fauna of the lower division being subtropical and
gradually giving place in the upper division to Mediterranean forms. He
died in Vienna on the 4th of November 1868. His son Dr Rudolf Hörnes (b.
1850), professor of geology and palaeontology in the university of Graz,
has also carried on researches among the Tertiary mollusca, and is
author of _Elemente der Palaeontologie_ (1884).
HORNFELS (a German word meaning hornstone), the group designation for a
series of rocks which have been baked and indurated by the heat of
intrusive granitic masses and have been rendered massive, hard,
splintery, and in some cases exceedingly tough and durable. Most
hornfelses are fine-grained, and while the original rocks (such as
sandstone, shale and slate, limestone and diabase) may have been more or
less fissile owing to the presence of bedding or cleavage planes, this
structure is effaced or rendered inoperative in the hornfels. Though
they may show banding, due to bedding, &c., they break across this as
readily as along it; in fact they tend to separate into cubical
fragments rather than into thin plates. The commonest hornfelses (the
"biotite hornfelses") are dark-brown to black with a somewhat velvety
lustre owing to the abundance of small crystals of shining black mica.
The "lime hornfelses" are often white, yellow, pale-green, brown and
other colours. Green and dark-green are the prevalent tints of the
hornfelses produced by the alteration of igneous rocks. Although for the
most part the constituent grains are too small to be determined by the
unaided eye, there are often larger crystals of garnet or andalusite
scattered through the fine matrix, and these may become very prominent
on the weathered faces of the rock.
The structure of the hornfelses is very characteristic. Very rarely do
any of the minerals show crystalline form, but the small grains fit
closely together like the fragments of a mosaic; they are usually of
nearly equal dimensions and from the resemblance to rough pavement work
this has been called _pflaster_ structure or pavement structure. Each
mineral may also enclose particles of the others; in the quartz, for
example, small crystals of graphite, biotite, iron oxides, sillimanite
or felspar may appear in great numbers. Often the whole of the grains
are rendered semi-opaque in this way. The minutest crystals may show
traces of crystalline outlines; undoubtedly they are of new formation
and have originated _in situ_. This leads us to believe that the whole
rock has been recrystallized at a high temperature and in the solid
state, so that there was little freedom for the mineral molecules to
build up well-individualized crystals. The regeneration of the rock has
been sufficient to efface most of the original structures and to replace
the former minerals more or less completely by new ones. But
crystallization has been hampered by the solid condition of the mass and
the new minerals are formless and have been unable to reject impurities,
but have grown around them.
Slates, shales and clays yield biotite hornfelses in which the most
conspicuous mineral is black mica, in small scales which under the
microscope are transparent and have a dark reddish-brown colour and
strong dichroism. There is also quartz, and often a considerable amount
of felspar, while graphite, tourmaline and iron oxides frequently occur
in lesser quantity. In these biotite hornfelses the minerals, which
consist of aluminium silicates, are commonly found; they are usually
andalusite and sillimanite, but kyanite appears also in hornfelses,
especially in those which have a schistose character. The andalusite may
be pink and is then often pleochroic in thin sections, or it may be
white with the cross-shaped dark enclosures of the matrix which are
characteristic of chiastolite. Sillimanite usually forms exceedingly
minute needles embedded in quartz. In the rocks of this group cordierite
also occurs, not rarely, and may have the outlines of imperfect
hexagonal prisms which are divided up into six sectors when seen in
polarized light. In biotite hornfelses a faint striping may indicate the
original bedding of the unaltered rock and corresponds to small changes
in the nature of the sediment deposited. More commonly there is a
distinct spotting, visible on the surfaces of the hand specimens. The
spots are round or elliptical, and may be paler or darker than the rest
of the rock. In some cases they are rich in graphite or carbonaceous
matters; in others they are full of brown mica; some spots consist of
rather coarser grains of quartz than occur in the matrix. The frequency
with which this feature reappears in the less altered slates and
hornfelses is rather remarkable, especially as it seems certain that the
spots are not always of the same nature or origin. "Tourmaline
hornfelses" are found sometimes near the margins of tourmaline granites;
they are black with small needles of schorl which under the microscope
are dark brown and richly pleochroic. As the tourmaline contains boron
there must have been some permeation of vapours from the granite into
the sediments. Rocks of this group are often seen in the Cornish
tin-mining districts, especially near the lodes.
A second great group of hornfelses are the calc-silicate-hornfelses
which arise from the thermal alteration of impure limestones. The purer
beds recrystallize as marbles, but where there has been originally an
admixture of sand or clay lime-bearing silicates are formed, such as
diopside, epidote, garnet, sphene, vesuvianite, scapolite; with these
phlogopite, various felspars, pyrites, quartz and actinolite often
occur. These rocks are fine-grained, and though often banded are tough
and much harder than the original limestones. They are excessively
variable in their mineralogical composition, and very often alternate in
thin seams with biotite hornfels and indurated quartzites. When perfused
with boric and fluoric vapours from the granite they may contain much
axinite, fluorite and datolite, but the aluminous silicates (andalusite,
&c.) are absent from these rocks.
From diabases, basalts, andesites and other igneous rocks a third type
of hornfels is produced. They consist essentially of felspar with
hornblende (generally of brown colour) and pale pyroxene. Sphene,
biotite and iron oxides are the other common constituents, but these
rocks show much variety of composition and structure. Where the original
mass was decomposed and contained calcite, zeolites, chlorite and other
secondary minerals either in veins or in cavities, there are usually
rounded areas or irregular streaks containing a suite of new minerals,
which may resemble those of the calc silicate hornfelses above
described. The original porphyritic, fluidal, vesicular or fragmental
structures of the igneous rock are clearly visible in the less advanced
stages of hornfelsing, but become less evident as the alteration
progresses.
In some districts hornfelsed rocks occur which have acquired a schistose
structure through shearing, and these form transitions to schists and
gneisses which contain the same minerals as the hornfelses, but have a
schistose instead of a hornfels structure. Among these may be mentioned
cordierite and sillimanite gneisses, andalusite and kyanite mica
schists, and those schistose calc silicate rocks which are known as
cipolins. That these are sediments which have undergone thermal
alteration is generally admitted, but the exact conditions under which
they were formed is not always clear. The essential features of
hornfelsing are ascribed to the action of heat, pressure and permeating
vapours, regenerating a rock mass without the production of fusion (at
least on a large scale). It has been argued, however, that often there
is extensive chemical change owing to the introduction of matter from
the granite into the rocks surrounding it. The formation of new felspar
in the hornfelses is pointed out as evidence of this. While this
"felspathization" may have occurred in a few localities, it seems
conspicuously absent from others. Most authorities at the present time
regard the changes as being purely of a physical and not of a chemical
nature. (J. S. F.)
HORNING, LETTERS OF, a term in Scots law. Originally in Scotland
imprisonment for debt was enforceable only in certain cases, but a
custom gradually grew up of taking the debtor's oath to pay. If the
debtor broke his oath, he became liable to the discipline of the Church.
The civil power, further, stepped in to aid the ecclesiastical, and
denounced him as a rebel, imprisoning his person and confiscating his
goods. The method declaring a person a rebel was by giving three blasts
on a horn and publicly proclaiming the fact; hence the expression, "put
to the horn." The subsequent process, the warrant directing a
messenger-at-arms to charge the debtor to pay or perform in terms of the
letters, was called "letters of horning." This system of execution was
simplified by an act of 1837 (Personal Diligence Act), and execution is
now usually by diligence (see EXECUTION).
HORNPIPE, originally the name of an instrument no longer in existence,
and now the name of an English national dance. The sailors' hornpipe,
although the most common, is by no means the only form of the dance, for
there is a pretty tune known as the "College Hornpipe," and other
specimens of a similar kind might be cited. The composition of hornpipes
flourished chiefly in the 18th century, and even Handel did not disdain
to use the characteristic rhythm. The hornpipe may be written in 3/2 or
in common time, and is always of a lively nature.
HORNSEY, a municipal borough in the Hornsey parliamentary division of
Middlesex, England, suburban to London, 6 m. N. of St Paul's Cathedral,
on the Great Northern railway. Pop. (1891) 44,523; (1901) 72,056. It is
chiefly occupied by small residences of the working classes. The manor,
called in the 13th century _Haringee_ (a name which survives as
Harringay), belonged from an early date to the see of London, the
bishops having a seat here. In 1387 the duke of Gloucester, uncle of
Richard II., assembled in Hornsey Park the forces by the display of
which he compelled the king to dismiss his minister de la Pole, earl of
Suffolk; and in 1483 the park was the scene of the ceremonious reception
of Edward V., under the charge of Richard, duke of Gloucester, by Edmund
Shaw, lord mayor of London. The parish church of St Mary, Hornsey,
retains its Perpendicular tower (c. 1500) and a number of interesting
monuments. Finsbury Park, of 120 acres, and other smaller public
grounds, are within the borough. Hornsey was incorporated in 1903 under
a mayor, 10 aldermen and 30 councillors. Area, 2875 acres.
HOROWITZ, ISAIAH (c. 1555-c. 1630), Jewish rabbi and mystic, was born at
Prague, and died at Safed, then the home of Jewish Kabbala. His largest
work is called _Shelah_ (abbreviated from the initials of the full title
_Shene luhoth ha-berit_, "Two Tables of the Covenant"). This is a
compilation of ritual, ethics and mysticism, and had a profound
influence on Jewish life. It has been often reprinted, especially in an
abbreviated form.
For an account of the Jewish mystics at Safed see S. Schecter,
_Studies in Judaism_, series ii. (1908).
HORREUM, the Latin word for a magazine or storehouse for the storage of
grain and other produce of the earth, and occasionally for that of
agricultural implements. The storehouses of Rome were of the most
extensive character, there being no fewer than 290 public horrea at the
time of Constantine. They were used for the storage of food and
merchandize of all kinds, being part of the great Roman system of
providing food for the population, and they were supplied constantly
with corn and other provisions from Africa, Spain and elsewhere.
HORROCKS, JEREMIAH (1619-1641), English astronomer, was born in 1619 at
Toxteth Park, near Liverpool. His family was poor, and the register of
Emmanuel College, Cambridge, testifies to his entry as sizar on the 18th
of May 1632. Isolated in his scientific tastes, and painfully straitened
in means, he pursued amid innumerable difficulties his purpose of
self-education. His university career lasted three years, and on its
termination he became a tutor at Toxteth, devoting to astronomical
observations his brief intervals of leisure. In 1636 he met with a
congenial spirit in William Crabtree, a draper of Broughton, near
Manchester; and encouraged by his advice he exchanged the guidance of
Philipp von Lansberg, a pretentious but inaccurate Belgian astronomer,
for that of Kepler. He now set himself to the revision of the Rudolphine
Tables (published by Kepler in 1627), and in the progress of his task
became convinced that a transit of Venus overlooked by Kepler would
nevertheless occur on the 24th of November (O.S.) 1639. He was at this
time curate of Hoole, near Preston, having recently taken orders in the
Church of England, although, according to the received accounts, he had
not attained the canonical age. The 24th of November falling on a
Sunday, his clerical duties threatened fatally to clash with his
astronomical observations; he was, however, released just in time to
witness the punctual verification of his forecast, and carefully noted
the progress of the phenomenon during half an hour before sunset (3.15
to 3.45). This transit of Venus is remarkable as the first ever
observed, that of 1631 predicted by Kepler having been invisible in
western Europe. Notwithstanding the rude character of the apparatus at
his disposal, Horrocks was enabled by his observation of it to introduce
some important corrections into the elements of the planet's orbit, and
to reduce to its exact value the received estimate of its apparent
diameter.
After a year spent at Hoole, he returned to Toxteth, and there, on the
eve of a long-promised visit to his friend Crabtree, he died, on the 3rd
of January 1641, when only in his twenty-second year. To the inventive
activity of the discoverer he had already united the patient skill of
the observer and the practical sagacity of the experimentalist. Before
he was twenty he had afforded a specimen of his powers by an important
contribution to the lunar theory. He first brought the revolutions of
our satellite within the domain of Kepler's laws, pointing out that her
apparent irregularities could be completely accounted for by supposing
her to move in an ellipse with a variable eccentricity and directly
rotatory major axis, of which the earth occupied one focus. These
precise conditions were afterwards demonstrated by Newton to follow
necessarily from the law of gravitation.
In his speculations as to the physical cause of the celestial motions,
his mind, though not wholly emancipated from the tyranny of gratuitous
assumptions, was working steadily towards the light. He clearly
perceived the significant analogy between terrestrial gravity and the
force exerted in the solar system, and by the ingenious device of a
circular pendulum illustrated the composite character of the planetary
movements. He also reduced the solar parallax to 14´´ (less than a
quarter of Kepler's estimate), corrected the sun's semi-diameter to 15´
45´´, recommended decimal notation, and was the first to make tidal
observations.
Only a remnant of the papers left by Horrocks was preserved by the
care of William Crabtree. After his death (which occurred soon after
that of his friend) these were purchased by Dr Worthington, of
Cambridge; and from his hands the treatise _Venus in sole visa_ passed
into those of Hevelius, and was published by him in 1662 with his own
observations on a transit of Mercury. The remaining fragments were,
under the directions of the Royal Society, reduced by Dr Wallis to a
compact form, with the heading _Astronomia Kepleriana defensa et
promota_, and published with numerous extracts from the letters of
Horrocks to Crabtree, and a sketch of the author's life, in a volume
entitled _Jeremiae Horroccii opera posthuma_ (London, 1672). A memoir
of his life by the Rev. Arundell Blount Whatton, prefixed to a
translation of the _Venus in sole visa_, appeared at London in 1859.
For additional particulars, see J. E. Bailey's _Palatine Note-Book_,
ii. 253, iii. 17; Bailey's "Writings of Horrocks and Crabtree" (from
_Notes and Queries_, Dec. 2, 1882); _Notes and Queries_, 3rd series,
vol. v., 5th series, vols. ii., iv.; Martin's _Biographia
philosophica_, p. 271 (1764); R. Brickel, _Transits of Venus,
1639-1874_ (Preston, 1874); _Astronomical Register_, xii. 293;
Hevelii, _Mercurius in sole visus_, pp. 116-140; S. Rigaud's
_Correspondence of Scientific Men_; Th. Birch, _History of the Royal
Society_, i. 386, 395, 470; Sir E. Sherburne's _Sphere of M.
Manilius_, p. 92 (1675); Sir J. A. Picton's _Memorials of Liverpool_,
ii. 561; M. Gregson's _Fragments relative to the Duchy of Lancaster_,
p. 166 (1817); _Liverpool Repository_, i. 570 (1826); _Phil. Trans.
Abridged_, ii. 12 (1809); C. Hutton's _Phil. and Math. Dictionary_
(1815); _Penny Cyclopaedia_ (De Morgan); _Nature_, viii. 117, 137; J.
B. J. Delambre, _Hist. de l'astronomie moderne_, ii. 495; _Hist. de
l'astronomie au XVIII^e siècle_, pp. 28, 61, 74; W. Whewell, _Hist. of
the Inductive Sciences_, i. 331; R. Grant, _Hist. of Physical
Astronomy_, pp. 420, 545; J. Mädler, _Geschichte der Himmelskunde_, i.
275; M. Marie, _Hist. des Sciences_, iv. 168, vi. 90; J. C. Houzeau,
_Bibl. Astr._ ii. 167. (A. M. C.)
HORROCKS, JOHN (1768-1804), British cotton manufacturer, was born at
Edgeworth, near Bolton, in 1768. His father was the owner of a small
quarry, and John Horrocks spent his early days in dressing and polishing
millstones. The Lancashire cotton industry was then in its infancy, but
Horrocks was greatly impressed with its future possibilities, and he
managed to obtain a few spinning-frames which he erected in a corner of
his father's offices. For a time he combined cotton-spinning on a very
small scale with stone-working, but finally devoted himself entirely to
cotton-spinning, working the frames with his own hands, and travelling
through the Lancashire manufacturing districts to sell the yarn. His
goods obtained a reputation for quality, and his customers increased so
rapidly that in 1791 he removed to Preston, where he began to
manufacture cotton shirtings and long-cloths in addition to spinning the
cotton yarn. By taking full advantage of the machinery invented for
manufacturing textiles, and by rigidly maintaining the quality of his
goods, Horrocks rapidly developed his business, and with the aid of the
capital of a local banker, whom he took into partnership, erected within
a year of his arrival in Preston his first large mill, securing shortly
afterwards from the East India Company a monopoly of the manufacture of
cottons and muslins for the Indian market. The demand for Horrocks's
goods continued to increase, and to cope with the additional work he
took first an elder brother and in 1801 a Mr Whitehead and a Mr Miller
into partnership, the title of the firm being altered to Horrockses,
Miller & Co. In 1802 he entered parliament as tory member for Preston.
He died in London in 1804 of brain-fever resulting from over-work.
HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as _hors_,
_hros_, _ros_; cf. the Ger. _ross_), a name properly restricted to the
domesticated horse (_Equus caballus_) and its wild or half-wild
representatives, but in a zoological sense used as a general term for
all the members of the family Equidae.
SPECIES
The distinctive characteristics of the family, and its position in the
zoological system, are given in the articles EQUIDAE and PERISSODACTYLA.
Here attention is concentrated on the leading features of the horse as
contrasted with the other members of the same family, and subsequently
on the anatomical structure of the former animal. The evolution of the
existing representatives of the family from primitive extinct animals is
summarized in the article EQUIDAE.
_Horse_, _Wild Horse_, _Pony_.--The horse (_Equus caballus_) is
distinguished from the others by the long hairs of the tail being more
abundant and growing quite or nearly from the base as well as the end
and sides, and also by possessing a small bare callosity on the inner
side of the hind leg, just below the "hock" or heel joint, in addition
to the one on the inner side of the fore-arm above the carpus or "knee,"
common to all the genus. The mane is also longer and more flowing, and
the ears are shorter, the limbs longer, and the head smaller.
Though existing horses are usually not marked in any definite manner, or
only irregularly dappled, or spotted with light surrounded by a darker
ring, many examples are met with showing a dark median dorsal streak
like that found in all the other members of the genus, and even with
dark stripes on the shoulders and legs.
Two distinct types of horse, in many instances largely modified by
interbreeding, appear to exist. (1) The northern, or dun type,
represented by the dun ponies of Norway (_Equus caballus typicus_), the
closely allied Celtic pony (_E. c. celticus_) of Iceland, the Hebrides,
&c., and the wild pony of Mongolia (_E. c. przewalskii_), with which the
now extinct tarpan of the Russian steppes appears to have been
identical. The prevalent colour is yellow-dun, with dark brown or black
mane, tail and legs; in the wild forms the muzzle is often white and the
root of the tail short-haired; while the head is relatively large and
heavy. No depression exists in the skull in front of the eye. Most of
the ordinary horses of N.W. Europe are descended from the dun type, with
more or less admixture of Barb blood. (2) The southern, or Barb type,
represented by Barbs, Arabs, thoroughbreds, &c. (_E. c. asiaticus_ or
_libycus_), in which the typical colour is bay with black "points" and
often a white star on the forehead, and the mane and tail are long and
full. The skull generally shows a slight depression in front of the
socket of the eye, which, although now serving as the attachment for the
muscle running to the nostril, may represent the face-gland of the
extinct _Hipparion_. Many of the dark-coloured horses of Europe have
Barb or Arab blood in their veins, this being markedly the case with the
Old English black or Shire horse, the skull of which shows a distinct
depression in front of the eye-socket. This depression is still more
marked in the extinct Indian _E. sivalensis_, which may have been the
ancestral form.
In Europe wild horses were abundant in the prehistoric Neolithic or
polished-stone period. Judging from the quantity of their remains found
associated with those of the men of that time, the chase of these
animals must have been among man's chief occupations, and horses must
have furnished him with one of his most important food-supplies. The
characters of the bones preserved, and certain rude but graphic
representations carved on bones or reindeers' antlers, enable us to know
that they were rather small in size and heavy in build, with large heads
and rough shaggy manes and tails, much like, in fact, the recently
extinct tarpans or wild horses of the steppes of the south of Russia,
and the still-surviving Mongolian wild pony or "Przewalski's horse."
These horses were domesticated by the inhabitants of Europe before the
dawn of history. Horses are now diffused by the agency of man throughout
almost the whole of the inhabited parts of the globe, and the great
modifications they have undergone in consequence of domestication,
crossing, and selective breeding are well exemplified by comparing such
extreme forms as the Shetland pony, dwarfed by uncongenial climate, the
thoroughbred racer, and the London dray-horse. In Australia, as in
America, horses imported by European settlers have escaped into
unreclaimed lands and multiplied to a prodigious extent, roaming in vast
herds over the wide and uncultivated plains.
_Ass_, _Zebra_, _Quagga_.--The next group is formed by the Asiatic wild
asses, or kiangs and onagers, as they might well be called, in order to
distinguish them from the wild asses of Africa. These asses have
moderate ears, the tail rather long, and the back-stripe dark brown and
running from head to tail. On the neck and withers this stripe is formed
by the mane. There are two species of Asiatic wild ass, with several
varieties. The first and largest has two races, the chigetai (_Equus
hemionus_) of Mongolia, and the kiang (_E. h. kiang_) of Tibet, which is
a redder animal. The onager (_E. onager_), of which there are several
races, is smaller, with a broader dorsal stripe, bordered with white;
the colour varying from sandy to greyish. This species ranges from
Baluchistan and N.W. India to Persia, Syria and Arabia. These asses
inhabit desert plains or open table-land; the kiang dwelling at
elevations of about 14,000 ft. They are generally found in herds of from
twenty to forty, although occasionally in larger numbers. All are fleet,
and traverse rough ground with speed. On the lowlands they feed on dry
grasses, and in Tibet on small woody plants. In India and Persia they
are difficult to approach, although this is not the case in Tibet. Their
sandy or chestnut colouring assimilates them to the horse, and separates
them widely from the African wild asses, which are grey. The kiang has
also larger and more horse-like hoofs, and the tail is haired higher up,
thus approximating to _Equus caballus przewalskii_.
Among the striped species, or zebras and quaggas of Africa, the large
Grévy's zebra (_Equus grevyi_) of Somaliland and Abyssinia stands apart
from the rest by the number and narrowness of its stripes, which have an
altogether peculiar arrangement on the hind-quarters, the small size of
the callosities on the fore-legs, the mane extending on to the withers
and enormous rounded ears, thickly haired internally. The large size of
the ears and the narrow stripes are in some degree at any rate
adaptations to a life on scrub-clad plains.
Next comes the closely allied species with small pointed ears, of which
the true quagga (_E. quagga_) of South Africa is now extinct. This
animal has the dark stripes limited to the head, neck and shoulders,
upon a brown ground. In the typical form, now also extinct, of the
bonte-quagga, dauw, or Burchell's zebra (_E. burchelli_), the
ground-colour is white, and the stripes cover the body and upper part of
the limbs. This was the commonest species in the great plains of South
Africa, where it roamed in large herds, often in company with the quagga
and numerous antelopes. The species ranges from the Orange river to the
confines of Abyssinia, but its more northern representatives show a
gradual increase in the striping of the legs, culminating in the
north-east African _E. burchelli granti_, in which the stripes extend to
the hoofs. The markings, too, are alternately black and white, in place
of brown and creamy, with intermediate "shadow stripes," as in the
southern races.
Lastly, there is the true or mountain zebra (_E. zebra_), typically from
the mountain ranges of Cape Colony, where it is now specially protected,
but represented by _E. zebra penricei_ in south-west Africa. In its
relatively long ears and general build it approaches the African wild
asses, from which it chiefly differs by the striping (which is markedly
different from that of the quagga-group) and the reversal of the
direction of the hairs along the spine.
The African wild ass (_E. asinus_) is the parent of the domesticated
breed, and is a long-eared grey animal, with no forelock, and either a
shoulder-stripe or dark barrings on the legs. There are two races, of
which the Nubian _E. a. africanus_ is the smaller, and has a continuous
dorsal stripe and a shoulder-stripe but no bars on the legs. The Somali
race (_E. a somaliensis_), on the other hand, is a larger and greyer
animal, with an interrupted dorsal and no shoulder-stripe, but distinct
leg-barrings.
_Hybrids._--There are thus eight modifications of the horse-type at
present existing, sufficiently distinct to be reckoned as species by
most zoologists, and easily recognizable by their external characters.
They are, however, all so closely allied that each will, at least in a
state of domestication or captivity, breed with any of the others. Cases
of fertile union are recorded between the horse and the quagga, the
horse and the bonte-quagga or Burchell's zebra, the horse and the onager
and kiang or Asiatic wild asses, the common ass and the zebra, the ass
and bonte-quagga, the ass and the onager, the onager and the zebra, and
the onager and the bonte-quagga. The two species which are farthest
removed in structure, the horse and the ass, produce, as is well known,
hybrids or mules, which in certain qualities useful to man excel both
their progenitors, and in some countries and for certain kinds of work
are in greater requisition than either. Although occasional more or less
doubtful instances have been recorded of female mules breeding with the
males of one or other of the pure species, it is more than doubtful if
any case has occurred of their breeding _inter se_, although the
opportunities of doing so must have been great, as mules have been
reared in immense numbers for at least several thousands of years. We
may therefore consider it settled that the different species of the
group are now in that degree of physiological differentiation which
enables them to produce offspring with each other, but does not permit
of the progeny continuing the race, at all events unless reinforced by
the aid of one of the pure forms.
The several members of the group show mental differences quite as
striking as those exhibited by their external form, and more than
perhaps might be expected from the similarity of their brains. The
patience of the ass, the high spirit of the horse, the obstinacy of the
mule, have long been proverbial. It is very remarkable that, out of so
many species, two only should have shown any aptitude for
domestication, and that these should have been from time immemorial the
universal and most useful companions and servants of man, while all the
others remain in their native freedom to this day. It is, however, still
a question whether this really arises from a different mental
constitution causing a natural capacity for entering into relations with
man, or whether it may not be owing to their having been brought
gradually into this condition by long-continued and persevering efforts
when the need of their services was felt. It is possible that one reason
why most of the attempts to add new species to the list of our domestic
animals in modern times have ended in failure is that it does not answer
to do so in cases in which existing species supply all the principal
purposes to which the new ones might be put. It can hardly be expected
that zebras and bonte-quaggas fresh from their native mountains and
plains can be brought into competition as beasts of burden and draught
with horses and asses, whose useful qualities have been augmented by the
training of thousands of generations of progenitors.
Not infrequently instances occur of domestic horses being produced with
a small additional toe with complete hoof, usually on the inside of the
principal toe, and, though far more rarely, three or more toes may be
present. These malformations are often cited as instances of reversion
to the condition of some of the earlier forms of equine animals
previously mentioned. In some instances, however, the feet of such
polydactyle horses bear little resemblance to those of the extinct
_Hipparion_ or _Anchitherium_, but look rather as if due to that
tendency to reduplication of parts which occurs so frequently as a
monstrous condition, especially among domesticated animals, and which,
whatever its origin, certainly cannot in many instances, as the cases of
entire limbs superadded, or of six digits in man, be attributed to
reversion.
ANATOMY
The anatomical structure of the horse has been described in detail in
several works mentioned in the bibliography at the end of this section,
though these have generally been written from the point of view of the
veterinarian rather than of the comparative anatomist. The limits of the
present article will only admit of the most salient points being
indicated, particularly those in which the horse differs from other
Ungulata. Unless otherwise specified, it must be understood that all
that is stated here, although mostly derived from observation upon the
horse, applies equally well to the other existing members of the group.
_Skeleton._--The skull as a whole is greatly elongated, chiefly in
consequence of the immense size of the face as compared with the
hinder or true cranial portion. The basal line of the cranium from the
lower border of the foramen magnum to the incisor border of the palate
is nearly straight. The orbit, of nearly circular form, though small
in proportion to the size of the whole skull, is distinctly marked,
being completely surrounded by a strong ring of bone with prominent
edges. Behind it, and freely communicating with it beneath the osseous
bridge (the post-orbital process of the frontal) forming the boundary
between them, is the small temporal fossa occupying the whole of the
side of the cranium proper, and in front is the great flattened
expanse of the "cheek," formed chiefly by the maxilla, giving support
to the long row of cheek-teeth, and having a prominent ridge running
forward from below the orbit for the attachment of the masseter
muscle. The lachrymal occupies a considerable space on the flat
surface of the cheek in front of the orbit, and below it the jugal
does the same. The latter sends a horizontal or slightly ascending
process backwards below the orbit to join the under surface of the
zygomatic process of the squamosal, which is remarkably large, and
instead of ending as usual behind the orbit, runs forwards to join the
greatly developed post-orbital process of the frontal, and even forms
part of the posterior and inferior boundary of the orbit, an
arrangement not met with in other mammals. The closure of the orbit
behind distinguishes the skull of the horse from that of its allies
the rhinoceros and tapir, and also from all of the perissodactyles of
the Eocene period. In front of the brain cavity, the great tubular
nasal cavities are provided with well-developed turbinal bones, and
are roofed over by large nasals, broad behind, and ending in front in
a narrow decurved point. The opening of the anterior nostrils is
prolonged backwards on each side of the face between the nasals and
the elongated slender premaxillae. The latter expand in front, and are
curved downwards to form the semicircular alveolar border which
supports the large incisor teeth. The palate is narrow in the interval
between the incisor and molar teeth, in which are situated the large
anterior palatine foramina. Between the molar teeth it is broader, and
it ends posteriorly in a rounded excavated border opposite the hinder
border of the penultimate molar tooth. It is mainly formed by the
maxillae, as the palatines are very narrow. The pterygoids are
delicate slender slips of bone attached to the hinder border of the
palatines, and supported externally by, and generally welded with, the
rough pterygoid plates of the alisphenoid, with no pterygoid fossa
between. They slope obliquely forwards, and end in curved, compressed,
hamular processes. There is a distinct alisphenoid canal for the
passage of the internal maxillary artery. The base of the cranium is
long and narrow; the alisphenoid is very obliquely perforated by the
foramen rotundum, but the foramen ovale is confluent with the large
foramen lacerum medium behind. The glenoid surface for the
articulation of the mandible is greatly extended transversely, concave
from side to side, convex from before backwards in front, and hollow
behind, and is bounded posteriorly at its inner part by a prominent
post-glenoid process. The squamosal enters considerably into the
formation of the temporal fossa, and, besides sending the zygomatic
process forwards, it sends down behind the meatus auditorius a
post-tympanic process which aids to hold in place the otherwise loose
tympano-periotic bone. Behind this the exoccipital gives off a long
paroccipital process. The periotic and tympanic are welded together,
but not with the squamosal. The former has a wide but shallow
floccular fossa on its inner side, and sends backwards a considerable
"pars mastoidea," which appears on the outer surface of the skull
between the post-tympanic process of the squamosal and the
exoccipital. The tympanic forms a tubular meatus auditorius externus
directed outwards and slightly backwards. It is not dilated into a
distinct bulla, but ends in front in a pointed rod-like process. It
completely embraces the truncated cylindrical tympanohyal, which is of
great size, corresponding with the large development of the whole
anterior arch of the hyoid. This consists mainly of a long and
compressed stylohyal, expanded at the upper end, where it sends off a
triangular posterior process. The basi-hyal is remarkable for the
long, median, pointed, compressed "glossohyal" process, which it sends
forward from its anterior border into the base of the tongue. A
similar but less developed process is found in the rhinoceros and
tapir. The lower jaw is large, especially the region of the angle,
which is expanded and flattened, giving great surface for the
attachment of the masseter muscle. The condyle is greatly elevated
above the alveolar border; its articular surface is very wide
transversely, and narrow and convex from before backwards. The
coronoid process is slender, straight, and inclined backwards. The
horizontal ramus, long, straight, and compressed, gradually narrows
towards the symphysis, where it expands laterally to form with the
ankylosed opposite ramus the wide, semicircular, shallow alveolar
border for the incisor teeth.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Side view of Skull of Horse, with the bone
removed so as to expose the whole of the teeth.
PMx, Premaxilla.
Mx, Maxilla.
Na, Nasal bone.
Ma, Jugal or malar bone.
L, Lacrymal bone.
Fr, Frontal bone.
Sq, Squamosal bone.
Pa, Parietal bone.
oc, Occipital condyle.
pp, Paroccipital process.
i¹, i², and i³, The three incisor teeth.
c, The canine tooth.
pm¹, The situation of the rudimentary first premolar, which has been
lost in the lower, but is present in the upper jaw.
pm², pm³, and pm^4, The three fully developed premolar teeth.
m¹, m², and m³, The three true molar teeth.]
The vertebral column consists of seven cervical, eighteen dorsal, six
lumbar, five sacral, and fifteen to eighteen caudal vertebrae There
may be nineteen rib-bearing vertebrae, in which case five only will be
reckoned as belonging to the lumbar series. The odontoid process of
the axis is wide, flat, and hollowed above, as in the ruminants. The
bodies of the cervical vertebrae are elongated, strongly keeled, and
markedly opisthocoelous, or concave behind and convex in front. The
neural laminae are broad, the spines almost obsolete, except in the
seventh, and the transverse processes not largely developed. In the
trunk vertebrae the opisthocoelous character of the centrum gradually
diminishes. The spinous processes of the anterior thoracic region are
high and compressed. To these is attached the powerful elastic
ligament (_ligamentum nuchae_, or "paxwax") which, passing forwards in
the middle line of the neck above the neural arches of the cervical
vertebrae--to which it is also connected--is attached to the occiput
and supports the weight of the head. The transverse processes of the
lumbar vertebrae are long, flattened, and project horizontally
outwards or slightly forward from the arch. The metapophyses are
moderately developed, and there are no anapophyses. The caudal
vertebrae, except those quite at the base, are slender and
cylindrical, without processes and without chevron bones beneath. The
ribs are eighteen or nineteen in number on each side, flattened, and
united to the sternum by short, stout, tolerably well ossified sternal
ribs. The sternum consists of six pieces; the anterior or presternum
is compressed and projects forwards like the prow of a boat. The
segments which follow gradually widen, and the hinder part of the
sternum is broad and flat.
As in all other ungulates, there are no clavicles. The scapula is long
and slender, the supra-scapular border being rounded, and slowly and
imperfectly ossified. The spine is very slightly developed; rather
above the middle its edge is thickened and somewhat turned backwards,
but it gradually subsides at the lower extremity without forming any
acromial process. The coracoid is a prominent rounded nodule. The
humerus is stout and rather short. The ulna is rudimentary, being
represented by little more than the olecranon. The shaft gradually
tapers below and is firmly welded to the radius. The latter bone is of
nearly equal width throughout. The three bones of the first row of the
carpus (scaphoid, lunar and cuneiform) are subequal in size. The
second row consists of a broad and flat magnum, supporting the great
third metacarpal, having to its radial side the trapezoid, and to its
ulnar side the unciform, which are both small, and articulate
inferiorally with the rudimentary second and fourth metacarpals. The
pisiform is large and prominent, flattened and curved; it articulates
partly with the cuneiform and partly with the lower end of the radius.
The large metacarpal is called in veterinary anatomy "cannon bone";
the small lateral metacarpals, which gradually taper towards their
lower extremities, and lie in close contact with the large one, are
called "splint bones." The single digit consists of a moderate-sized
proximal (_os suffraginis_, or large pastern), a short middle (_os
coronae_, or small pastern), and a wide, semi-lunar, ungual phalanx
(_os pedis_, or coffin bone). There is a pair of large nodular
sesamoids behind the metacarpo-phalangeal articulation, and a single
large transversely-extended sesamoid behind the joint between the
second and third phalanx, called the "navicular bone."
The carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist of man, is commonly
called the "knee" of the horse, the joint between the metacarpal and
the first phalanx the "fetlock," that between the first and second
phalanges the "pastern," and that between the second and third
phalanges the "coffin joint."
In the hinder limb the femur is marked, as in other perissodactyles,
by the presence of a "third trochanter," a flattened process, curving
forwards and arising from the outer side of the bone, about one-third
of the distance from the upper end. The fibula is reduced to a mere
rod-like rudiment of the upper end. The lower part is absent or
completely fused with the tibia. The calcaneum has a long and
compressed calcaneal process. The astragalus has a large flat
articular surface in front for the navicular, and a small one for the
cuboid. The navicular and the external cuneiform bones are broad and
flat. The cuboid is small, and the internal and middle cuneiform bones
are small and united together. The metapodals and phalanges resemble
very closely those of the fore limb, but the principal metatarsal is
more laterally compressed at its upper end than is the corresponding
metacarpal. The joint between the femur and tibia, corresponding to
the knee of man, is called the "stifle-joint"; that between the tibia
and tarsus, corresponding to the ankle of man, the "hock." The bones
and joints of the foot have the same names as in the fore limb. The
horse is eminently "digitigrade," standing on the extremity of the
single digit of each foot, which is kept habitually in a position
approaching to vertical.
The muscles of the limbs are modified from those of the ordinary
mammalian type in accordance with the reduced condition of the bones
and the simple requirements of flexion and extension of the joints, no
such actions as pronation and supination, or opposition of digits,
being possible or needed. The muscles therefore which perform these
functions in other quadrupeds are absent or rudimentary.
Below the carpal and tarsal joints, the fore and hind limbs correspond
almost exactly in structure as well as function. On the anterior or
extensor surface of the limb a powerful tendon (7 in fig. 2), that of
the anterior extensor of the phalanges (corresponding to the _extensor
communis digitorum_ of the arm and _extensor longus digitorum_ of the
foot of man) passes down over the metacarpal bone and phalanges, to be
inserted mainly into the upper edge of the anterior surface of the
last phalanx or pedal bone. There is also a much smaller second
extensor on the outer side of this in each limb, the lateral extensor
of the phalanges. In the fore-leg the tendon of this muscle (which
corresponds with the _extensor minimi digiti_ of man) receives a slip
from that of the principal extensor, and is inserted into the first
phalanx. In the hind-leg (where it is the homologue apparently of the
_peroneus brevis_ of man) the tendon becomes blended with that of the
large extensor.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Section of Foot of Horse.
1, Metacarpal bone.
2, First phalanx (_os suffraginis_).
3, Second phalanx (_os coronae_).
4, Third or ungual phalanx (_os pedis_, or coffin bone).
5, One of the upper sesamoid bones.
6, Lower sesamoid or navicular bone.
7, Tendon of anterior extensor of the phalanges.
8, Tendon of superficial flexor (_fl. perforatus_).
9, Tendon of deep flexor (_fl. perforans_).
10, Suspensory ligament of fetlock.
11, Inferior or short sesamoid ligament.
12, Derma or skin of the foot, covered with hair, and continued into
13, The coronary cushion,
14, The podophyllous or laminar membrane, and
15, The keratogenous membrane of the sole.
16, Plantar cushion.
17, Hoof.
18, Fatty cushion of fetlock.]
A strong ligamentous band behind the metapodium, arising from near the
upper extremity of its posterior surface, divides into two at its
lower end, and each division, being first connected with one of the
paired upper sesamoid bones, passes by the side of the first phalanx
to join the extensor tendon of the phalanges. This is called in
veterinary anatomy the "suspensory ligament of the sesamoids," or of
the "fetlock" (10 in fig. 2); but its attachments and relations, as
well as the occasional presence of muscular fibres in its substance,
show that it is the homologue of the interosseous muscles of other
mammals, modified in structure and function, to suit the requirements
of the horse's foot. Behind or superficial to this are placed the two
strong tendons of the flexor muscles, the most superficial, or _flexor
perforatus_ (8) dividing to allow the other to pass through, and then
inserted into the middle phalanx. The _flexor perforans_ (9) is as
usual inserted into the terminal phalange. In the fore-leg these
muscles correspond with those similarly named in man. In the hind-leg,
the perforated tendon is a continuation of that of the plantaris,
passing pulley-wise over the tuberosity of the calcaneum. The
perforating tendon is derived from the muscle corresponding with the
long flexor of man, and the smaller tendon of the oblique flexor
(_tibialis porticus_ of man) is united with it.
The hoof of the horse corresponds to the nail or claw of other
mammals, but is so constructed as to form a complete and solid case to
the expanded termination of the toe, giving a firm basis of support
formed of a non-sensitive substance, which is continually renewed by
the addition of material from within, as its surface wears away by
friction. The terminal phalange of the toe is greatly enlarged and
modified in form to support this hoof, and the size of the internal
framework of the foot is increased by a pair of lateral
fibro-cartilaginous masses attached on each side to the hinder edges
of the bone, and by a fibro-cellular and fatty plantar cushion in the
median part. These structures are all enclosed in the middle
subcorneous integument, a continuation of the ordinary skin of the
limb, but extremely vascular, and having its superficial extent
greatly increased by being developed into papillae or laminae. From
this the horny material which constitutes the hoof is exuded. A
thickened ring encircling the upper part, called coronary cushion (13)
and the sole (15), are covered with numerous thickly-set papillae or
villi, and take the greatest share in the formation of the hoof; the
intermediate part constituting the front and side of the foot (14),
corresponding with the wall of the hoof, is covered with parallel,
fine longitudinal laminae, which fit into corresponding depressions in
the inner side of the horny hoof.
The horny hoof is divided into a wall or crust consisting of the front
and sides, the flattened or concave sole, and the frog, a triangular
median prominence, notched posteriorly, with the apex turned forwards,
situated in the hinder part of the sole. It is formed of pavement
epithelial cells, mainly grouped in a concentric manner around the
vascular papillae of the subcorneous integument, so that a section
near the base of the hoof, cut transversely to the long axis of these
papillae, shows a number of small circular or oval orifices, with
cells arranged concentrically round them. The nearer the surface of
the hoof, or farther removed from the seat of growth, the more
indistinct the structure becomes.
Small round or oval plates of horny epithelium called "chestnuts,"
callosities growing like the hoof from enlarged papillae of the skin,
are found on the inner face of the fore-arm, above the carpal joint in
all species of Equidae, and in the horse (_E. caballus_) similar
structures occur near the upper extremity of the inner face of the
metatarsus. They are evidently rudimentary structures which it is
suggested may represent glands (Lydekker, _Proc. Zool. Soc. London_,
1903, vol. i.).
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Longitudinal and Transverse Section of Upper
Incisor of Horse.
p, Pulp cavity.
d, Dentine or ivory.
e, Enamel.
c, Outer layer of cementum or crusta petrosa.
c´, Inner layer of cementum, lining a, the pit
or cavity of the crown of the tooth.]
_Dentition._--The dentition of the horse, when all the teeth are in
place, is expressed by the formula _i._ 3/3, _c._ 1/1, _p._ 4/4 _m._
3/3 = 44. The incisors of each jaw are placed in close contact,
forming a semicircle. The crowns are broad, somewhat awl-shaped, and
of nearly equal size. They have all the great peculiarity, not found
in the teeth of any other mammal, and only in the Equidae of
comparatively recent geological periods (see also PALAEONTOLOGY), of
an involution of the external surface of the tooth (see fig. 3), by
which what should properly be the apex is carried deeply into the
interior of the crown, forming a pit, the bottom of which becomes
partially filled with cement. As the tooth wears, the surface, besides
the external enamel layer as in an ordinary simple tooth, shows in
addition a second inner ring of the same hard substance surrounding
the pit, which adds greatly to the efficiency of the tooth as an organ
for biting tough, fibrous substances. This pit, generally filled in
the living animal with particles of food, is conspicuous from its dark
colour, and constitutes the "mark" by which the age of the horse is
judged, as in consequence of its only extending to a certain depth in
the crown it becomes obliterated as the latter wears away, and then
the tooth assumes the character of that of an ordinary incisor,
consisting only of a core of dentine, surrounded by the external
enamel layer. It is not quite so deep in the lower as in the upper
teeth. The canines are either rudimentary or absent in the female. In
the male they are compressed, pointed, and smaller than the incisors,
from which they are separated by a slight interval. The teeth of the
cheek series are all in contact with each other, but separated from
the canines by a considerable toothless space. The anterior premolars
are quite rudimentary, sometimes not developed at all, and generally
fall by the time the animal attains maturity, so that there are but
six functional cheek teeth,--three that have predecessors in the
milk-dentition, and hence are considered as premolars, and three
molars, but otherwise, except the first and last of the series, not
distinguishable in form or structure. These teeth in both upper and
lower jaws are extremely long-crowned or hypsodont, successive
portions being pushed out as the surface wears away, a process which
continues until the animal becomes advanced in age. The enamelled
surface is infolded in a complex manner (a modification of that found
in other perissodactyles), the folds extending quite to the base of
the crown, and the interstices being filled and the surface covered
with a considerable mass of cement, which binds together and
strengthens the whole tooth. As the teeth wear, the folded enamel,
being harder than the other constituents, the dentine and cement,
forms projecting ridges on the surface arranged in a definite
pattern, which give it great efficiency as a grinding instrument (see
fig. 2, in article EQUIDAE). The free surfaces of the upper teeth are
quadrate, except the first and last, which are nearly triangular. The
lower teeth are much narrower than the upper.
The milk-dentition consists of i. 3/3, c. 0/0, m. 3/3 = 24,--the
canines and first or rudimentary premolars having apparently no
predecessors. In form and structure the milk-teeth much resemble the
permanent ones, having the same characteristic enamel-foldings. Their
eruption commences a few days after birth, and is complete before the
end of the first year, the upper teeth usually appearing somewhat
earlier than the lower. The first teeth which appear are the first and
second milk-molars (about five days), then the central incisor (from
seven to ten days); this is followed by the second incisor (at one
month), then the third molar, and finally the third incisor. Of the
permanent teeth the first molar appears a little after the end of the
first year, followed by the second molar before the end of the second
year. At about two and a half years the first premolar replaces its
predecessor. Between two and a half and three years the first incisor
appears. At three years the second and third premolars, and the third
molar have appeared, at from three and a half to four years the second
incisor, at four to four and a half years the canine, and, finally, at
five years, the third incisor, completing the permanent dentition. Up
to this period the age of the horse is clearly shown by the condition
of dentition, and for some time longer indications can be obtained
from the wear of the incisors, though this depends to a certain extent
upon the hardness of the food or other circumstances. As a general
rule, the depression caused by the infolding of the surface of the
incisor (the "mark") is obliterated in the first or central incisor at
six years, in the second at seven years, and in the third at eight
years. In the upper teeth, as the depressions are deeper, this
obliteration does not take place until about two years later. After
this period no certain indications can be obtained of the age of the
horse from the teeth.
_Digestive Organs._--The lips are flexible and prehensile; and the
membrane that lines them and the cheeks smooth. The palate is long and
narrow; its mucous surface has seventeen pairs of not very sharply
defined oblique ridges, extending as far back as the last molar tooth,
beyond which the _velum palati_ extends for about 3 in., having a soft
corrugated surface, and ending posteriorly in an arched border without
a uvula. This embraces the base of the epiglottis, and, except while
swallowing food, shuts off all communication between the cavity of the
mouth and the pharynx, respiration being, under ordinary
circumstances, exclusively through the nostrils. Between the mucous
membrane and the bone of the hard palate is a dense vascular and
nervous plexus. The membrane lining the jaws is soft and corrugated.
An elongated raised glandular mass, 3 in. long and 1 in. from above
downwards, extending backwards from the root of the tongue along the
side of the jaws, with openings on the surface leading into crypts
with glandular walls, represents the tonsil. The tongue, corresponding
to the form of the mouth, is long and narrow. It consists of a
compressed intermolar portion with a flat upper surface, broad behind
and becoming narrower in front, and of a depressed anterior part
rather shorter than the former, which is narrow behind and widens
towards the evenly rounded apex. The dorsal surface generally is soft
and smooth. There are two large circumvallate papillae near the base,
rather irregular in form, about a quarter of an inch in diameter and
half an inch apart. The conical papillae are small and close set,
though longer and more filamentous on the intermolar portion. There
are no fungiform papillae on the dorsum, but a few inconspicuous ones
scattered along the sides of the organ.
Of the salivary glands the parotid is by far the largest, elongated in
the vertical direction, and narrower in the middle than at either end.
Its upper extremity embraces the lower surface of the cartilaginous
ear-conch; its lower end reaches the level of the inferior margin of
the mandible, along the posterior margin of which it is placed. Its
duct leaves the inferior anterior angle, at first descends a little,
and runs forward under cover of the rounded inferior border of the
lower jaw, then curves up along the anterior margin of the masseter
muscle, becoming superficial, pierces the buccinator, and enters the
mouth by a simple aperture opposite the middle of the crown of the
third premolar tooth. It is not quite so thick as a goose-quill when
distended, and nearly a foot in length.
The submaxillary gland is of very similar texture to the last, but
much smaller; it is placed deeper, and lies with its main axis
horizontal. It is elongated and slender, and flattened from within
outwards. Its posterior end rests against the anterior surface of the
transverse process of the atlas, from which it extends forwards and
downwards, slightly curved, to beneath the ramus of the jaw. The duct
which runs along its upper and internal border passes forwards in the
usual course, lying in the inner side of the sublingual gland, to open
on the outer surface of a distinct papilla, situated on the floor of
the mouth, half an inch from the middle line, and midway between the
lower incisor teeth and the attachment of the fraenum linguae. The
sublingual is represented by a mass of glands lying just beneath the
mucous membrane of the floor of the mouth on the side of the tongue,
causing a distinct ridge, extending from the fraenum backwards, the
numerous ducts opening separately along the summit of the ridge. The
buccal glands are arranged in two rows parallel with the molar teeth.
The upper ones are the largest, and are continuous anteriorly with the
labial glands, the ducts of which open on the mucous membrane of the
upper lip.
The stomach of the horse is simple in its external form, with a
largely developed right _cul de sac_, and is a good deal curved on
itself, so that the cardiac and pyloric orifices are brought near
together. The _antrum pyloricum_ is small and not very distinctly
marked. The interior is divided by the character of the lining
membrane into two distinct portions, right and left. Over the latter
the dense white smooth epithelial lining of the oesophagus is
continued, terminating abruptly by a raised crenulated border. Over
the right part the mucous membrane has a greyish-red colour and a
velvety appearance, and contains numerous peptic glands, which are
wanting in the cardiac portion. The oesophageal orifice is small, and
guarded by a strong crescentic or horseshoe-like band of muscular
fibres, supposed to be the cause of the difficulty of vomiting in the
horse. The small intestine is of great length (80 to 90 ft.), its
mucous membrane being covered with numerous fine villi. The caecum is
of conical form, about 2 ft. long and nearly a foot in diameter; its
walls are sacculated, especially near the base, having four
longitudinal muscular bands; and its capacity is about twice that of
the stomach. It lies with its base near the lower part of the abdomen,
and its apex directed towards the thorax. The colon is about one-third
the length of the small intestine, and very capacious in the greater
part of its course. As usual it may be divided into an ascending,
transverse, and descending portion; but the middle or transverse
portion is folded into a great loop, which descends as low as the
pubis; so that the colon forms altogether four folds, generally
parallel to the long axis of the body. The descending colon is much
narrower than the rest, and not sacculated, and, being considerably
longer than the distance it has to traverse, is thrown into numerous
folds.
The liver is tolerably symmetrical in general arrangement, being
divided nearly equally into segments by a well-marked umbilical
fissure. Each segment is again divided by lateral fissures, which do
not extend quite to the posterior border of the organ; of the central
lobes thus cut off, the right is rather the larger, and has two
fissures in its free border dividing it into lobules. The extent of
these varies, however, in different individuals. The two lateral lobes
are subtriangular in form. The Spigelian lobe is represented by a flat
surface between the postal fissure and the posterior border, not
distinctly marked off from the left lateral by a fissure of the ductus
venosus, as this vessel is buried deep in the hepatic substance, but
the caudate lobe is distinct and tongue-shaped, its free apex reaching
nearly to the border of the right lateral lobe. There is no
gall-bladder, and the biliary duct enters the duodenum about 6 in.
from the pylorus. The pancreas has two lobes or branches, a long one
passing to the left and reaching the spleen, and a shorter right lobe.
The principal duct enters the duedenum with the bile-duct, and there
is often a second small duct opening separately.
_Circulatory and Respiratory Organs._--The heart has the form of a
rather elongated and pointed cone. There is one anterior vena cava,
formed by the union of the two jugular and two axillary veins. The
aorta gives off a large branch (the anterior aorta) very near its
origin, from which arise--first, the left axillary, and afterwards the
right axillary and the two carotid arteries.
Under ordinary circumstances the horse breathes entirely by the nasal
passages, the communication between the larynx and the mouth being
closed by the velum palati. The nostrils are placed laterally, near
the termination of the muzzle, and are large and dilatable, being
bordered by cartilages upon which several muscles act. Immediately
within the opening of the nostril, the respiratory canal sends off on
its upper and outer side a blind pouch ("false nostril") of conical
form, and curved, 2 to 3 in. in depth, lying in the notch formed
between the nasal and premaxillary bones. It is lined by mucous
membrane continuous with that of the nasal passage; its use is not
apparent. It is longer in the ass than in the horse. Here may be
mentioned the guttural pouches, large air-sacs from the Eustachian
tubes, and lying behind the upper part of the pharynx, the function of
which is also not understood. The larynx has the lateral sacculi well
developed, though entirely concealed within the alae of the thyroid
cartilage. The trachea divides into two bronchi.
_Nervous System._--The brain differs little, except in details of
arrangement of convolutions, from that of other ungulates. The
hemispheres are rather elongated and subcylindrical, the olfactory
lobes are large and project freely in front of the hemispheres, and
the greater part of the cerebellum is uncovered. The eye is provided
with a nictitating membrane or third eyelid, at the base of which open
the ducts of the Harderian gland.
_Reproductive System._--The testes are situated in a distinct sessile
or slightly pedunculated scrotum, into which they descend from the
sixth to the tenth month after birth. The accessory generative glands
are the two vesiculae seminales, with the median third vesicle, or
_uterus masculinus_, lying between them, the single bilobed prostate,
and a pair of globular Cowper's glands. The penis is very large,
cylindrical, with a truncated, expanded, flattened termination. When
in a state of repose it is retracted, by a muscle arising from the
sacrum, within the prepuce, a cutaneous fold attached below the
symphysis pubis.
The uterus is bicornuate. The vagina is often partially divided by a
membraneous septum or hymen. The teats are two, inguinally placed. The
surface of the chorion is covered evenly with minute villi,
constituting a diffuse non-deciduate placenta. The period of gestation
is eleven months.
AUTHORITIES.--R. I. Pocock, "The Species and Subspecies of Zebras,"
_Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist._ ser. 6, vol. xx., 1897, and "A New Arrangement
of the Existing Species of Equidae," Op. cit. ser. 7, vol. x., 1902;
R. Lydekker, "Notes on the specimens of Wild Asses in English
Collections," _Novitates Zoologicae_, vol. xi., 1904; B. Salensky, "On
Equus przewalskii," _Mém. Acad. St Pétersburg_, 1902; M. S. Arloing,
"Organisation du pied chez le cheval," _Ann. Sci. Nat._, 1867, viii.
55-81; H. Burmeister, _Los caballos fosiles de la Pampa Argentina_
(Buenos Aires, 1875); Chauveau and Arloing, _Traité d'anatomie
comparée des animaux domestiques_ (Paris, 1871), and English edition
by G. Fleming (1873); A. Ecker, "Das Europäische Wildpferd und dessen
Beziehungen zum domesticirten Pferd," _Globus_, Bd. xxxiv. (Brunswick,
1878); Major Forsyth, "Beiträge zur Geschichte der fossilen Pferde
besonders Italiens," _Abh. Schw. Pal. Ges._ iv. 1-16, pt. iv.; George,
"Études zool. sur les Hémiones et quelques autres espèces chevalines,"
_Ann. Sci. Nat._, 1869, xii. 5; E. F. Gurlt, _Anatomische Abbildungen
der Haussäugethiere_ (1824), and _Hand. der vergleich. Anat. der
Haussäugethiere_ (2 vols., 1822); Huet, "Croisement des diverses
espèces du genre cheval," _Nouv. Archives du Muséum_, 2nd ser., tom.
ii. p. 46, 1879; Leisering, _Atlas der Anatomie des Pferdes_ (Leipzig,
1861); O. C. Marsh, "Notice of New Equine Mammals from the Tertiary
Formation," _Am. Journ. of Science and Arts_, vol. vii., March 1874;
_Id._, "Fossil Horses in America," _Amer. Naturalist_, vol. viii., May
1874; _Id._, "Polydactyle Horses," _Am. Journ. Sci. and Arts_, vol.
xvii., June 1879; Franz Müller, _Lehrbuch der Anatomie des Pferdes_
(Vienna, 1853); R. Owen, "Equine Remains in Cavern of Bruniquel,"
_Phil. Trans._ vol. clix., 1870, p. 535; W. Percivall, _The Anatomy of
the Horse_ (1832); G. Stubbs, _Anatomy of the Horse_ (1766); W. H.
Flower, _The Horse_ (London, 1891); Ridgeway, _Origin of the
Thoroughbred Horse_ (1905). (W. H. F; R. L.*)
HISTORY
From the evidence of philology it appears that the horse was already
known to the Aryans before the period of their dispersion.[1]
The first mention of the British horse occurs in the well-known passages
in Caesar (_B.G._ iv. 24. 33, v. 15. 16; cf. Pomp. Mela iii. 6), in
which he mentions the native "essedarii" and the skill with which they
handled their war chariots. We are left quite in the dark as to the
character of the animal thus employed; but there would appear to be much
probability in the surmise of W. Youatt, who conjectures the horse to
have been, "then as ever, the creature of the country in which he lived.
With short fare, and exposed to the rigour of the seasons, he was
probably the little hardy thing we yet see him; but in the marshes of
the Nen and the Witham, and on the borders of the Tees and the Clyde,
there would be as much proportionate development of frame and strength
as we find at the present day." After the occupation of the country by
the Romans, it appears that the horses of their cavalry were crossed
with the native mares, and thus there was infused into the breed new
blood, consisting probably of strains from every quarter from which
Roman remounts were procured. As to the effect of this cross we are not,
however, in a position to judge. We are also quite uncertain as to the
extent to which the Jutes and Saxons may in their turn have again
introduced a new breed of horses into England; and even to the close of
the Anglo-Saxon period of English history allusions to the horse are
still very infrequent. The _horsthegn_ we know, however, was from an
early period a high court official; and from such a law as that of
Athelstan prohibiting the exportation of horses except as presents, it
may be inferred that the English breed was not only much valued at home
but also in great request abroad.[2]
The period of the Norman Conquest marks an important stage in the
history of the British horse. William the Conqueror's own horse was of
the Spanish breed, and others of the same kind were introduced by the
barons on their estates. But the Norman horses included many varieties,
and there is no doubt that to the Conquest the inhabitants of Britain
were indebted for a decided improvement in the native horse, as well as
for the introduction of several varieties previously unknown. According
to Giraldus Cambrensis, Roger de Bellesme, a follower of William I.,
afterwards created earl of Shrewsbury, imported some stallions from
Spain into England; their produce was celebrated by Drayton the poet. It
is curious to notice that agriculture seems to be the last use to which
the horse has been put. The earliest suggestion that horses were used in
agriculture is derived from a piece of the Bayeux tapestry, where a
horse is represented as drawing a harrow. This, however, must have been
an exceptional case, for we know that oxen were used until a
comparatively late time, and that in Wales a law existed forbidding
horses to be used for ploughing.
In 1121 two Eastern horses are said to have been imported,--one of them
remaining in England, and the other being sent as a present by King
Alexander I. to the church of St Andrews, in Scotland. It has been
alleged that these horses were Barbs from Morocco, but a still more
likely theory is that they existed only in name, and never reached
either England or Scotland. The crusades were probably the means of
introducing fresh strains of blood into England, and of giving
opportunity for fresh crossings. The Spanish jennet was brought over
about 1182. King John gave great encouragement to horse-breeding: one of
his earliest efforts was to import a hundred Flemish stallions, and,
having thus paved the way for improving the breed of agricultural
horses, he set about acquiring a valuable stud for his own use.
Edward III. was likewise an admirer of the horse; he procured fifty
Spanish horses, probably jennets. At this time there was evidently a
tendency to breed a somewhat lighter and speedier horse; but, while the
introduction of a more active animal would soon have led to the
displacement of the ponderous but powerful cavalry horse then in use,
the substituted variety would have been unable to carry the weight of
armour with which horse and rider were alike protected; and so in the
end the old breed was kept up for a time. With the object of preserving
to England whatever advantages might accrue from her care and skill in
breeding an improved stamp of horses, Edward III. forbade their
exportation; they consequently improved so rapidly in value that Richard
II. compelled dealers to limit their prices to a fixed maximum. In the
ninth year of his reign, Edward received from the king of Navarre a
present of two running horses, supposed to have been valuable. The wars
of 1346 checked the improvement of horses, and undid much of what had
been previously accomplished, for we read that the cavalry taken into
France by Edward III. were but indifferently mounted, and that in
consequence he had to purchase large numbers of foreign horses from
Hainault and elsewhere for remounts. The reign of Richard III. does not
seem to have been remarkable for the furtherance of horse-breeding; but
it was then that post-horses and stages were introduced.
Our information on the whole subject is but scanty down to the reign of
Henry VII., who continued the enactment against the exportation of
stallions, but relaxed it in the case of mares above two years old. His
object was to retain the best horses in the country, and to keep the
price of them down by limiting the demand and encouraging the supply. In
his reign gelding is believed to have had its origin, on account of
numerous herds of horses belonging to different proprietors grazing
together, especially in time of harvest. Henry VIII. was particularly
careful that horse-breeding should be conducted on right principles, and
his enactments, if somewhat arbitrary, were singularly to the point. In
the thirty-second year of this reign, the "bill for the breed of horses"
was passed, the preamble of which runs thus:--"Forasmuch as the
generation and breed of good and strong horses within this realm
extendeth not only to a great help and defence of the same, but also is
a great commodity and profit to the inhabitants thereof, which is now
much decayed and diminished, by reason that, in forests, chases, moors
and waste grounds within this realm, little stoned horses and nags of
small stature and of little value be not only suffered to pasture
thereupon, but also to cover mares feeding there, whereof cometh in
manner no profit or commodity." Section 2 of the act provides that no
entire horse being above the age of two years, and not being of the
height of 15 "handfulls," shall be put to graze on any common or waste
land in certain counties; any one was to be at liberty to seize a horse
of unlawful height, and those whose duty it was to measure horses, but
who refused to do so, were to be fined 40s. By section 6 all forests,
chases, commons, &c., were to be "driven" within fifteen days of
Michaelmas day, and all horses, mares and colts not giving promise of
growing into serviceable animals, or of producing them, were to be
killed. The aim of the act was to prevent breeding from animals not
calculated to produce the class of horse suited to the needs of the
country. By another act (27 Henry VIII. chapter 6), after stating that
the "breed of good strong horses" was likely to diminish, it was ordered
that the owners of all parks and enclosed grounds of the extent of one
mile should keep two mares 13 hands high for breeding purposes, or, if
the extent of the ground was 4 m., four mares. The statute was not to
extend to the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland, Northumberland or the
bishopric of Durham. Henry took great pains to improve the royal stud:
according to Sir Thomas Chaloner--a writer in the reign of Elizabeth--he
imported horses from Turkey, Naples and Spain.
Queen Elizabeth is reputed to have been an accomplished horsewoman, and
to have indulged in riding late in life. In the first year of her reign
she revived an act passed by Henry VIII. making it felony "to sell,
exchange or deliver within Scotland, or to the use of any Scottishman,
any horse"; this, however, was very naturally repealed by James I.
Carriages were soon after introduced, and the use of them speedily
became so fashionable that a bill was brought in "to restrain the
excessive and superfluous use of coaches." Prior to the introduction of
carriages horseback was the means of locomotion, and Queen Elizabeth
rode in state to St Paul's on a pillion; but even after carriages were
used, horseback was held to be more dignified, for James I. and his
judges rode on horseback to Westminster Hall. One advantage of the
introduction of carriages was that it created a demand for a lighter and
quicker sort of horse, instead of the ponderous animal which, despite
all attempts to banish him, was still the horse of England--the age of
chivalry having been the first epoch of the British horse.
Gunpowder, too, was invented; and now that the weight of the cavalry
soldier was diminished by the substitution of lighter armour, a quicker
and better bred horse was thought desirable for military service. The
introduction of carriages and the invention of gunpowder thus opened out
a new industry in breeding; and a decided change was gradually creeping
on by the time that James I. came to the throne (1603), which commences
the second epoch. James was a thorough sportsman, and his taste for
racing, in which he freely indulged, caused him to think but little of
the speed of even the best English horses. With the laudable motive,
therefore, of effecting improvement in horses, he gave the then large
sum of 500 guineas for an Arab stallion which had been procured from
Constantinople by a Mr Markham, since known as the "Markham Arabian."
This is the first authentic account we have of the importation of Arab
blood, and the _Stud-Book_ says he was the first of that breed ever seen
in England. The people having to do with horses at that time were as
conservative in their notions as most of the grooms are now, and the
"Markham Arabian" was not at all approved of. The duke of Newcastle, in
his treatise on horsemanship, said that he had seen the above Arabian,
and described him as a small bay horse and not of very excellent shape.
In this instance, however, prejudice (and it is difficult to believe
that it was anything else) was right, for King James's first venture
does not appear to have been a success either as a race-horse or as a
sire, and thus Arabian blood was brought into disrepute. The king,
however, resolved to give Eastern blood another trial, and bought a
horse known as Place's White Turk from a Mr Place, who subsequently held
some office in connexion with the stable under Cromwell. Charles I.
followed in the footsteps of James, and lent such patronage to the
breeding of a better kind of horse that a memorial was presented to him,
asking that some measures might be taken to prevent the old stamp of
horse "fit for the defence of the country" from dying out.
We now come to a very important period in the history of the British
horse, for Charles II. warmly espoused the introduction of Eastern blood
into England. He sent his master of the horse abroad to purchase a
number of foreign horses and mares for breeding, and the mares brought
over by him (as also many of their produce) were called "royal mares";
they form a conspicuous feature in the annals of breeding. The
_Stud-Book_ shows of what breed the royal mares really were: one of
them, the dam of Dodsworth (who, though foaled in England, was a natural
Barb), was a Barb mare; she was sold by the stud-master, after Charles
II.'s death, for forty guineas, at twenty years old, when in foal by the
Helmsley Turk.
James II. was a good horseman, and had circumstances been more
propitious he might have left his mark in the sporting annals of the
country. In his reign, according to the _Stud-Book_, the Stradling or
Lister Turk was brought into England by the duke of Berwick from the
siege of Buda.
The reign of William III. is noteworthy as the era in which, among other
importations, there appeared the first of three Eastern horses to which
the modern thoroughbred race-horse traces back as the founders of his
lineage. This was the Byerly Turk, of whom nothing more is known than
that--to use the words of the first volume of the _Stud-Book_--he was
Captain Byerly's charger in Ireland in King William's wars. The second
of the three horses above alluded to was the Darley Arabian, who was a
genuine Arab, and was imported from Aleppo by a brother of Mr Darley of
Aldby Park, Yorkshire, about the end of the reign of William III. or the
beginning of that of Anne. The third horse of the famous trio, the
Godolphin Arabian or Barb, brought to England about five-and-twenty
years after the Darley Arabian, will be more particularly referred to
further on. All the horses now on the turf or at the stud trace their
ancestry in the direct male line to one or other of these three--the
Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arabian or Barb. In
the female line their pedigrees can be traced to other sources, but for
all practical purposes it suffices to regard one or other of these three
animals as the _ultima Thule_ of racing pedigree. Of course there is a
large interfusion of the blood of each of the trio through the dams of
horses of the present day; indeed, it is impossible to find an English
race-horse which does not combine the blood of all three.
_The Race-horse._--The third and last epoch of the British horse, viz.
that of the thoroughbred racer, may be taken to date from the beginning
of the 18th century. By thoroughbred is meant a horse or mare whose
pedigree is registered in the _Stud-Book_ kept by Messrs Weatherby, the
official agents of the Jockey Club--originally termed the keepers of the
match-book--as well as publishers of the _Racing Calendar_. The first
attempt to evolve order out of the chaos which had long reigned supreme
was made in 1791, for we find in the preface of the first volume of the
Stud-Book, published in 1808, that "with a view to correct the then
increasing evil of false and inaccurate pedigrees, the author was in the
year 1791 prevailed upon to publish an _Introduction to a General
Stud-Book_, consisting of a small collection of pedigrees which he had
extracted from racing calendars and sale papers and arranged on a new
plan." It will be seen that the compiler of the volume on which so much
depends had to go back fully a century, with little else to guide him
but odds and ends in the way of publications and tradition. Mistakes
under such circumstances are pardonable. The _Stud-Book_ then (vol. i.),
which is the oldest authority we have, contains the names and in most
cases the pedigrees, obscure though they may be, of a very large number
of horses and mares of note from the earliest accounts, but with two
exceptions no dates prior to the 18th century are specified in it. These
exceptions are the Byerly Turk, who was "Captain Byerly's charger in
Ireland in King William's wars (1689, &c.)," and a horse called
Counsellor, bred by Mr Egerton in 1694, by Lord D'Arcy's Counsellor by
Lord Lonsdale's Counsellor by the Shaftesbury Turk out of sister to
Spanker--all the dams in Counsellor's pedigree tracing back to Eastern
mares. There is not the least doubt that many of the animals named in
the _Stud-Book_ were foaled much earlier than the above dates, but we
have no particulars as to time; and after all it is not of much
consequence.
The _Stud-Book_ goes on to say of the Byerly Turk that he did not cover
many bred mares, but was the sire of the duke of Devonshire's Basto,
Halloway's Jigg, and others. Jigg, or Jig, is a very important factor,
as will be seen hereafter. The _Stud-Book_, although silent as to the
date of his birth, says he was a common country stallion in Lincolnshire
until Partner was six years old--and we know from the same authority
that Partner was foaled in 1718; we may therefore conclude that Jigg was
a later foal than Basto, who, according to Whyte's _History of the
Turf_, was a brown horse foaled in 1703.
The reign of Queen Anne, however (1702-1714), is that which will ever be
inseparably connected with the thoroughbred race-horse on account of the
fame during that period of the Darley Arabian, a bay stallion, from whom
our very best horses are descended. According to the _Stud-Book_,
"Darley's Arabian was brought over by a brother of Mr Darley of
Yorkshire, who, being an agent in merchandise abroad, became member of a
hunting club, by which means he acquired interest to procure this
horse." The _Stud-Book_ is silent, and other authorities differ, as to
the date of the importation of this celebrated Arab, some saying he came
over in the year 1700, others that he arrived somewhat later; but we
know from the _Stud-Book_ that Manica (foaled in 1707), Aleppo (1711),
Almanzor (1713), and Flying Childers (1715) were got by him, as also was
Bartlett's Childers, a younger brother of Flying Childers. It is
generally believed that he was imported in Anne's reign, but the exact
date is immaterial, for, assuming that he was brought over as early as
1700 from Aleppo, he could scarcely have had a foal living before 1701,
the first year of the 18th century. The Darley Arabian did much to
remove the prejudice against Eastern blood which had been instilled into
the public mind by the duke of Newcastle's denunciation of the Markham
Arabian. Prince George of Denmark, consort of Queen Anne, was himself a
large horse-owner; and it was in a great measure owing to his
intervention that so many valuable stallions were imported during her
reign.
At this period we find, among a mass of horses and mares in the
_Stud-Book_ without any dates against their names, many animals of note
with the earliest chronology extant, from Grey Ramsden (1704) and Bay
Bolton (1705) down to a mare who exercised a most important influence on
the English blood-horse. This was Roxana (1718) by the Bald Galloway,
her dam sister to Chanter by the Akaster Turk, from a daughter of
Leedes's Arabian and a mare by Spanker. Roxana threw in 1732 the bay
colt Lath by the Godolphin Arabian, the sorrel colt Roundhead by
Childers in 1733, and the bay colt Cade by the Godolphin Arabian in
1734, in which year she died within a fortnight after foaling, the
produce--Cade--being reared on cow's milk. The Godolphin Barb or
Arabian, as he was commonly called, was a brown bay about 15 hands in
stature, with an unnaturally high crest, and with some white on his off
hind heel. He is said to have been imported into England from France by
Mr Coke, where, as the editor of the _Stud-Book_ was informed by a
French gentlemen, he was so little thought of that he had actually drawn
a cart in the streets of Paris. Mr Coke gave him to a Mr. Williams, who
in his turn presented him to the earl of Godolphin. Although called an
Arabian, there is little doubt he was a Barb pure and simple. In 1731,
being then the property of Mr. Coke, he was teazer to Hobgoblin, and on
the latter refusing his services to Roxana, the mare was put to the
Godolphin, and the produce was Lath (1732), the first of his get, and
the most celebrated race-horse of his day after Flying Childers. He was
also the sire of Cade, own brother to Lath, and of Regulus the maternal
grandsire of Eclipse. He died at Gogmagog in Cambridgeshire, in the
possession of Lord Godolphin, in 1753, being then, as is supposed, in
his twenty-ninth year. He is believed to have been foaled in Barbary
about 1724, and to have been imported during the reign of George II.
In regard to the mares generally, we have a record of the royal mares
already alluded to, and likewise of three Turk mares brought over from
the siege of Vienna in 1684, as well as of other importations; but it is
unquestionable that there was a very large number of native mares in
England, improved probably from time to time by racing, however much
they may have been crossed at various periods with foreign horses, and
that from this original stock were to some extent derived the size and
stride which characterized the English race-horse, while his powers of
endurance and elegant shape were no doubt inherited from the Eastern
horses, most of which were of a low stature, 14 hands or thereabouts. It
is only necessary to trace carefully back the pedigree of most of the
famous horses of early times to discover faults on the side of the
dam--that is to say, the expression "dam's pedigree unknown," which
evidently means of original or native blood. Whatever therefore may be
owing to Eastern blood, of which from the middle of the 17th to the
beginning of the 18th century a complete wave swept over the British
Isles, some credit is unquestionably due to the native mares (which
Blaine says were mostly Cleveland bays) upon which the Arabian, Barb, or
Turk blood was grafted, and which laid the foundation of the modern
thoroughbred. Other nations may have furnished the blood, but England
has made the race-horse.
Without prosecuting this subject further, it may be enough here to
follow out the lines of the Darley Arabian, the Byerly Turk, and the
Godolphin Arabian or Barb, the main ancestors of the British
thoroughbred of the 18th and 19th centuries, through several famous
race-horses, each and all brilliant winners,--Flying Childers, Eclipse,
Herod and Matchem,--to whom it is considered sufficient to look as the
great progenitors of the race-horse of to-day.
1. The Darley Arabian's line is represented in a twofold
degree--first, through his son Flying Childers, his grandsons Blaze
and Snip, and his great-grandson Snap, and, secondly, through his
other son Bartlett's Childers and his great-great-grandson Eclipse.
Flying or Devonshire Childers, so called to distinguish him from other
horses of the same name, was a bay horse of entirely Eastern blood,
with a blaze in his face and four white feet, foaled in 1715. He was
bred by Mr Leonard Childers of Carr House near Doncaster, and was
purchased when young by the duke of Devonshire. He was got by the
Darley Arabian from Betty Leedes, by Careless from sister to Leedes,
by Leedes's Arabian from a mare by Spanker out of a Barb mare, who was
Spanker's own mother. Spanker himself was by D'Arcy's Yellow Turk from
a daughter of the Morocco Barb and Old Bald Peg, by an Arab horse from
a Barb mare. Careless was by Spanker from a Barb mare, so that
Childers's dam was closely in-bred to Spanker. Flying Childers--the
wonder of his time--was never beaten, and died in the duke of
Devonshire's stud in 1741, aged twenty-six years. He was the sire of,
among other horses, Blaze (1733) and Snip (1736). Snip too had a
celebrated son called Snap (1750), and it is chiefly in the female
line through the mares by these horses, of which there are fully
thirty in the _Stud-Book_, that the blood of Flying Childers is handed
down to us.
The other representative line of the Darley Arabian is through
Bartlett's Childers, also bred by Mr Leonard Childers, and sold to Mr
Bartlett of Masham, in Yorkshire. He was for several years called
Young Childers,--it being generally supposed that he was a younger
brother of his Flying namesake, but his date of birth is not on
record,--and subsequently Bartlett's Childers. This horse, who was
never trained, was the sire of Squirt (1732), whose son Marske (1750)
begat Eclipse and Young Marske (1762), sire of Shuttle (1793). This at
least is the generally accepted theory, although Eclipse's dam is said
to have been covered by Shakespeare as well as by Marske. Shakespeare
was the son of Hobgoblin by Aleppo, and consequently the male line of
the Darley Arabian would come through these horses instead of through
Bartlett's Childers, Squirt, and Marske; the _Stud-Book_, however,
says that Marske was the sire of Eclipse. This last-named celebrated
horse--perhaps the most celebrated in the annals of the turf--was
foaled on the 1st of April 1764, the day on which a remarkable eclipse
of the sun occurred, and he was named after it. He was bred by the
duke of Cumberland, after whose decease he was purchased by a Mr
Wildman, and subsequently sold to Mr D. O'Kelly, with whom he will
ever be identified. His dam Spiletta was by Regulus, son of the
Godolphin Barb, from Mother Western, by a son of Snake from a mare by
Old Montague out of a mare by Hautboy, from a daughter of Brimmer and
a mare whose pedigree was unknown. In Eclipse's pedigree there are
upwards of a dozen mares whose pedigrees are not known, but who are
supposed to be of native blood. Eclipse was a chestnut horse with a
white blaze down his face; his off hind leg was white from the hock
downwards, and he had black spots upon his rump--this peculiarity
coming down to the present day in direct male descent. His racing
career commenced at five years of age, viz. on the 3rd May 1769, at
Epsom, and terminated on the 4th October 1770, at Newmarket. He ran or
walked over for eighteen races, and was never beaten. It was in his
first race that Mr O'Kelly took the odds to a large amount before the
start for the second heat, that he would place the horses. When called
upon to declare, he uttered the exclamation, which the event
justified, "Eclipse first, and the rest nowhere."
Eclipse commenced his stud career in 1771, and had an enormous number
of foals, of which four only in the direct male line have come down to
us, viz. Potoooooooo, or, as he is commonly called, Pot-8-os (1773),
his most celebrated son, King Fergus (1775), Joe Andrews (1778), and
Mercury (1778), though several others are represented in the female
line. Pot-8-os was the sire of Waxy (1790) out of Maria (1777) by
Herod out of Lisette (1772) by Snap. Waxy, who has been not inaptly
termed the ace of trumps in the _Stud-Book_, begat Whalebone (1807),
Web (1808), Woful (1809), Wire (1811), Whisker (1812), and Waxy Pope
(1806), all but the last being out of Penelope (1798) by Trumpator
(1782) from Prunella (1788) by Highflyer out of Promise by Snap, while
Waxy Pope was out of Prunella, dam of Parasol (1800) by Pot-8-os.
Trumpator was a son of Conductor, who was by Matchem out of a mare by
Snap.
Whalebone's best sons were Camel (1822) and Sir Hercules (1826). Camel
was the sire of Defence (1824) and Touchstone (1831), while Sir
Hercules was the sire of Birdcatcher (1833) and Faugh-a-Ballagh
(1841), own brothers, and of Gemma di Vergy (1854). Touchstone was the
sire of Newminster (1848), who begat Lord Clifden, Adventurer, and the
Hermit, as well as of Orlando (1841), sire of Teddington (1848).
Whalebone's blood also descends through Waverley (1817) and his son
the Saddler (1828), while Whisker is represented by the Colonel (1825)
and by Economist (1825) and his son Harkaway (1834), sire of King Tom
(1851). Birdcatcher begat, besides Saunterer (1854), the Baron (1842),
sire of Stockwell (1849) and of Rataplan (1850). Stockwell, who was a
chestnut with black spots, was the sire of Blair Athol (1861), a
chestnut, and also of Doncaster (1870), another chestnut, but with the
characteristic black spots of his grandsire; and Doncaster was the
sire of the chestnut Bend Or (1877).
To turn to Eclipse's other sons. King Fergus (1775) was the sire of
Beningbrough (1791), whose son was Orville (1799), whence comes some
of the stoutest blood on the turf, including Emilius (1820) and his
son Priam (1827), Plenipotentiary (1831), Muley (1810), Chesterfield
(1834), and the Hero (1843). Joe Andrews (1778) was the sire of Dick
Andrews (1797), and from him descend Tramp (1810), Lottery (1820),
Liverpool (1828), Sheet Anchor (1832), Lanercost (1835), Weatherbit
(1842), Beadsman (1855), and Blue Gown (1865). Mercury was sire of
Gohanna (1790), who was foaled in the same year as Waxy, and the two,
who were both grandsons of Eclipse and both out of Herod mares, had
several contests, Waxy generally getting the better of his cousin.
Gohanna's descendants come down through Golumpus (1802), Catton
(1809), Mulatto (1823), Royal Oak (1823), and Slane (1833).
2. The Byerly Turk's line is represented by Herod, the Turk being the
sire of Jigg, who was the sire of Partner (1718), whose son Tartar
(1743) begat King Herod, or Herod as he was commonly called, foaled in
1758. Herod's dam was Cypron (1750) by Blaze (1733), son of Flying
Childers. Cypron's dam was Selima by Bethel's Arabian from a mare by
Graham's Champion from a daughter of the Darley Arabian and a mare who
claims Merlin for her sire, but whose mother's pedigree is unknown. In
Herod's pedigree there are fully a dozen dams whose pedigree is
unknown. Herod was a bay horse about 15 hands 3 inches high, possessed
both of substance and length,--those grand requisites in a
race-horse,--combined with uncommon power and stamina or lasting
qualities. He was bred by William, duke of Cumberland, uncle of King
George III. He commenced his racing career in October 1763, when he
was five years old, and ended it on the 16th of May 1767. He ran ten
times, winning six and losing four races. He died in 1780, and among
other progeny left two famous sons, Woodpecker (1773), whose dam was
Miss Ramsden (1760) by Cade, son of the Godolphin Barb, but descended
also on the dam's side from the Darley Arabian and the Byerly Turk,
and Highflyer (1774), whose dam was Rachel (1763) by Blank, son of the
Godolphin Barb from a daughter of Regulus, also son of the Godolphin.
These two horses have transmitted Herod's qualities down to the
present day in the direct male line, although in the female line he is
represented through some of his other sons and his daughters as well.
Woodpecker was the sire of Buzzard (1787), who in his turn became the
father of three celebrated sons, Castrel (1801), Selim (1802), and
Rubens (1803), all three chestnuts, and all out of an Alexander mare
(1790), who thereby became famous. This mare was by Eclipse's son
Alexander (1782) out of a mare by Highflyer (son of Herod) out of a
daughter of Alfred, by Matchem out of a daughter of Snap. Bustard
(1813), whose dam was a daughter of Shuttle, and his son Heron (1833),
Sultan (1816) and his sons Glencoe (1831) and Bay Middleton (1833) and
Middleton's sons Cowl (1842) and the Flying Dutchman (1846), Pantaloon
(1824) and his son Windhound (1847), Langar (1817) and his son Epirus
(1834) and grandson Pyrrhus the First (1843), are representatives of
Castrel and Selim.
Highflyer is represented through his greatly esteemed son Sir Peter
Teazle, commonly called Sir Peter (1784), whose dam was Papillon by
Snap. Sir Peter had five sons at the stud, Walton (1790), Stamford
(1794), and Sir Paul (1802) being the chief. Paulowitz (1813), Cain
(1822), Ion (1835), Wild Dayrell (1852), and his son Buccaneer (1857)
bring down Sir Paul's blood; whilst Walton is represented through
Phantom (1806), Partisan (1811) and his sons Glaucus (1829) and
Venison (1833) and Gladiator (1833), Venison's sons Alarm (1842) and
Kingston (1849), Gladiator's son Sweetmeat (1842), Sweetmeat's sons
Macaroni (1860) and Parmesan (1857), and Parmesan's sons Favonius
(1868) and Cremorne (1869). It may be added that in the first volume
of the _Stud-Book_ there are nearly a hundred Herod and Highflyer
mares registered.
3. The Godolphin Barb is represented by Matchem, as the former was the
sire of Cade (1734), and Cade begat Matchem, who was foaled in 1748.
He was thus ten years the senior of Herod, representing the Byerly
Turk, and sixteen years before Eclipse, though long subsequent to
Flying Childers, who represent the Darley Arabian. Matchem was a brown
bay horse with some white on his off hind heel, about 15 hands high,
bred by Sir John Holme of Carlisle, and sold to Mr W. Fenwick of
Bywell, Northumberland. His dam was sister to Miss Partner (1735) by
Partner out of Brown Farewell by Makeless (son of the Oglethorpe
Arabian) from a daughter of Brimmer out of Trumpet's dam, by Place's
White Turk from a daughter of the Barb Dodsworth and a Layton Barb
mare; while Brimmer was by D'Arcy's Yellow Turk from a royal mare.
Matchem commenced his racing career on the 2nd of August 1753, and
terminated it on 1st September 1758. Out of thirteen engagements he
won eleven and lost two. He died in 1781, aged thirty-three years. His
best son was Conductor (1767) out of a mare by Snap; Conductor was the
sire of Trumpator (1782), whose two sons, Sorcerer (1790) and Paynator
(1791), transmit the blood of the Godolphin down to modern times.
Sorcerer was the sire of Soothsayer (1808), Comus (1809), and
Smolensko (1810). Comus was the sire of Humphrey Clinker (1822), whose
son was Melbourne (1834), sire of West Australian (1850) and of many
valuable mares, including Canezou (1845) and Blink Bonny (1854), dam
of Blair Athol. Paynator was the sire of Dr Syntax (1811), who had a
celebrated daughter called Beeswing (1833), dam of Newminster by
Touchstone.
The gems of the three lines may be briefly enumerated thus: (1) of the
Darley Arab's line--Snap, Shuttle, Waxy, and Orville--the stoutest
blood on the turf; (2) of the Byerly Turk's line--Buzzard and Sir
Peter--speedy blood, the latter the stouter of the two; (3) of the
Godolphin Barb's line--Sorcerer--often producing large-sized animals,
but showing a tendency to die out, and becoming rare.
On the principle that as a rule like begets like, it has been the
practice to select as sires the best public performers on the turf, and
of two horses of like blood it is sound sense to choose the better as
against the inferior public performer. But there can be little doubt
that the mating of mares with horses has been often pursued on a
haphazard plan, or on no system at all; to this the _Stud-Book_
testifies too plainly. In the article HORSE-RACING mention is made of
some of the great horses of recent years; but the following list of the
principal sires of earlier days indicates also how their progeny found a
place among the winners of the three great races, the Derby (D), Oaks
(O), and St Leger (L):--
_Eclipse_: Young Eclipse (D), Saltram (D), Sergeant (D), Annette (O).
_Herod_: Bridget (O), Faith (O), Maid of the Oaks (O), Phenomenon (L).
_Matchem_: Teetotum (O), Hollandaise (L).
_Florizel_ (son of Herod): Diomed (D), Eager (D), Tartar (L),
Ninety-three (L).
_Highflyer_: Noble (D), Sir Peter Teazle (D), Skyscraper (D), Violante
(O), Omphale (L), Cowslip (L), Spadille (L), Young Flora (L).
_Pot-8-os_: Waxy (D), Champion (D, L), Tyrant (D), Nightshade (O).
_Sir Peter_ (D): Sir Harry (D), Archduke (D), Ditto (D), Paris (D),
Hermione (O), Parasite (O), Ambrosio (L), Fyldener (L), Paulina (L),
Petronius (L).
_Waxy_ (D): Pope (D), Whalebone (D), Blucher (D), Whisker (D), Music
(O), Minuet (O), Corinne (O).
_Whalebone_ (D): Moses (D), Lapdog (D), Spaniel (D), Caroline (O).
_Woful_: Augusta (O), Zinc (O), Theodore (L).
_Whisker_ (D): Memnon (L), The Colonel (L).
_Phantom_: Cedric (D), Middleton (D), Cobweb (O).
_Orville_ (L): Octavius (D), Emilius (D), Ebor (L).
_Tramp_: St Giles (D), Dangerous (D), Barefoot (L).
_Emilius_ (D): Priam (D), Plenipotentiary (D), Oxygen (O), Mango (L).
_Priam_ (D): Miss Seltz (O), Industry (O), Crucifix (O).
_Sir Hercules_: Coronation (D), Faugh-a-Ballagh (L), Birdcatcher (L).
_Touchstone_ (L): Cotherstone (D), Orlando (D), Surplice (D, L),
Mendicant (O), Blue Bonnet (L), Newminster (L).
_Birdcatcher_ (L): Daniel O'Rourke (D), Songstress (O), Knight of St
George (L), Warlock (L), The Baron (L).
_The Baron_ (L): Stockwell (L).
_Melbourne_: West Australian (D, L), Blink Bonny (D, O), Sir Tatton
Sykes (L).
_Newminster_ (L): Musjid (D), Hermit (D), Lord Clifden (L).
_Sweetmeat_: Macaroni (D), Mincemeat (O), Mincepie (O).
_Stockwell_ (L): Blair Athol (D, L), Lord Lyon (D, L), Doncaster (D),
Regalia (O), St Albans (L), Caller Ou (L), The Marquis (L),
Achievement (L).
_King Tom_: Kingcraft (D), Tormentor (O), Hippia (O), Hannah (O, L).
_Rataplan_ (son of the Baron): Kettledrum (D).
_Monarque_: Gladiateur (D, L).
_Parmesan_ (son of Sweetmeat): Favonius (D), Cremorne (D).
_Buccaneer_: Kisber (D), Formosa (O, L), Brigantine (O).
_Lord Clifden_ (L): Jannette (O, L), Hawthornden (L), Wenlock (L),
Petrarch (L).
_Adventurer_: Pretender (D), Apology (O, L), Wheel of Fortune (O).
_Blair Athol_ (D, L): Silvio (D, L), Craig Millar (L).
In regard to mares it has very frequently turned out that animals which
were brilliant public performers have been far less successful as dams
than others which were comparatively valueless as runners. Beeswing, a
brilliant public performer, gave birth to a good horse in Newminster;
the same may be said of Alice Hawthorn, dam of Thormanby, of Canezou,
dam of Fazzoletto, of Crucifix, dam of Surplice, and of Blink Bonny, dam
of Blair Athol; but many of the greatest winners have dropped nothing
worth training. On the other hand, there are mares of little or no value
as racers who have become the mothers of some of the most celebrated
horses on the turf; among them we may cite Queen Mary, Pocahontas and
Paradigm. Queen Mary, who was by Gladiator out of a daughter of
Plenipotentiary and Myrrha by Whalebone, when mated with Melbourne
produced Blink Bonny (winner of the Derby and Oaks); when mated with
Mango and Lanercost she produced Haricot, dam of Caller Ou (winner of
the St Leger). Pocahontas, perhaps the most remarkable mare in the
_Stud-Book_, never won a race on the turf, but threw Stockwell and
Rataplan to the Baron, son of Birdcatcher, King Tom to Harkaway, Knight
of St Patrick to Knight of St George, and Knight of Kars to Nutwith--all
these horses being 16 hands high and upwards, while Pocahontas was a
long low mare of about 15 hands or a trifle more. She also gave birth to
Ayacanora by Birdcatcher, and to Araucaria by Ambrose, both very
valuable brood mares, Araucaria being the dam of Chamant by Mortemer,
and of Rayon d'Or by Flageolet, son of Plutus by Touchstone. Paradigm
again produced, among several winners of more or less celebrity, Lord
Lyon (winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, Derby and St Leger) and
Achievement (winner of the St Leger), both being by Stockwell. Another
famous mare was Manganese (1853) by Birdcatcher from Moonbeam by Tomboy
from Lunatic by the Prime Minister from Maniac by Shuttle. Manganese
when mated with Rataplan threw Mandragora, dam of Apology, winner of the
Oaks and St Leger, whose sire was Adventurer, son of Newminster. She
also threw Mineral, who, when mated with Lord Clifden, produced Wenlock,
winner of the St Leger, and after being sold to go to Hungary, was there
mated with Buccaneer, the produce being Kisber, winner of the Derby.
We append the pedigree of Blair Athol, winner of the Derby and St Leger
in 1864, who, when subsequently sold by auction, fetched the then
unprecedented sum of 12,000 guineas, as it contains, not only Stockwell
(the emperor of stallions, as he has been termed), but Blink Bonny and
Eleanor--in which latter animal are combined the blood of Eclipse,
Herod, Matchem and Snap,--the mares that won the Derby in 1801 and 1857
respectively, as well as those queens of the stud, Eleanor's
great-granddaughter Pocahontas and Blink Bonny's dam Queen Mary. Both
Eleanor and Blink Bonny won the Oaks as well as the Derby.
/Whalebone* (1807) /Waxy* (1790)
/Sir Hercules< \Penelope (1798)
| (1826) \Peri (1823) /Wanderer (1790)
/Birdcatcher < \Thalestris (1809)
| [++] | /Bob Booty (1804) /Chanticleer (1787)
| (1833) |Guiccioli < \Ierne (1790)
| \ (1823) \Flight (1809) /Escape (1802)
/The Baron[++]< \Young Heroine
| (1842) | /Whisker* (1812) /Waxy* (1790)
| | /Economist < \Penelope (1798)
| | | (1825) \Floranthe (1818) /Octavian (1807)
| |Echidna < \Caprice (1797)
| \ (1838) | /Blacklock (1814) /Whitelock (1803)
| |Miss Pratt < \Coriander mare (1799)
| \ (1825) \Gadabout (1812) /Orville[++] (1709)
/Stockwell[++]< \Minstrel (1803)
|(1849) | /Selim (1802) /Buzzard (1787)
| | /Sultan < \Alexander mare (1790)
| | | (1816) \Bacchante (1809) /Williamson's Ditto (1800)
| | /Glencoe < \Sister to Calomel (1791)
| | | (1831) | /Tramp (1810) /Dick Andrews (1797)
| | | |Trampoline < \Gohanna mare
| | | \ (1825) \Web (1808) /Waxy* (1790)
| |Pocahontas < \Penelope (1798)
| \ (1837) | /Orville[++] (1799) /Beningbrough (1790)
| | /Muley < \Evelina (1791)
| | | (1810) \Eleanor*[++] (1798) /Whiskey (1789)
| |Marpessa < \Young Giantess (1790)
| \ (1830) | /Marmion (1806) /Whiskey (1789)
| |Clare < \Young Noisette (1789)
| \ (1824) \Harpalice (1814) /Gohanna (1790)
Blair | \Amazon (1799)
Athol*[++] < /Sorcerer (1796) /Trumpator (1782)
(1861) | /Comus < \Young Giantess (1790)
| | (1809) \Houghton Lass (1801)/Sir Peter* (1784)
| /Humphrey < \Alexina (1788)
| | Clinker | /Clinker (1805) /Sir Peter* (1784)
| | (1822) |Clinkerina < \Hyale (1797)
| | \ (1812) \Pewet (1786) /Tandem (1773)
| /Melbourne < \Termagant
| | (1834) | /Don Quixote (1784) /Eclipse (1764)
| | | /Cervantes < \Grecian Princess (1770)
| | | | (1806) \Evelina (1791) /Highflyer (1774)
| | |Daughter of < \Termagant
| | \ (1825) | /Golumpus (1802) /Gohanna (1790)
| | |Daughter of < \Catherine (1795)
| | \ (1818) \Daughter of (1810) /Paynator (1791)
|Blink Bonny*[+]< \Sister to Zodiac
\ (1854) | /Walton (1799) /Sir Peter* (1784)
| /Partisan < \Arethusa (1792)
| | (1811) \Parasol (1800) /Pot-8-os (1773)
| /Gladiator < \Prunella (1788)
| | (1833) | /Moses* (1819) /Whalebone* by Waxy* (1807)
| | |Pauline < \Gohanna mare
| | \ (1826) \Quadrille (1815) /Selim (1802)
|Queen Mary < \Canary Bird (1806)
\(1843) | /Emilius* (1820) /Orville[++] (1799)
| /Plenipote- < \Emily (1810)
| | ntiary* \Harriett (1819) /Pericles (1809)
|Daughter of < (1831) \Selim mare (1812)
\ (1840) | /Whalebone* (1807) /Waxy* (1790)
|Myrrha < \Penelope (1798)
\ (1830) \Gift (1818) /Young Gohanna (1810)
\Sister to Grazier by Sir
Peter* (1808)
* Winner of the Derby.
+ Winner of the Oaks.
++ Winner of the St Leger.
The shape of a race-horse is of considerable importance, although it is
said with some degree of truth that they win in all shapes. There are
the neat and elegant animals, like the descendants of Saunterer and
Sweetmeat; the large-framed, plain-looking, and heavy-headed Melbournes,
often with lop ears; the descendants of Birdcatcher, full of quality,
and of more than average stature, though sometimes disfigured with curby
hocks; and the medium-sized but withal speedy descendants of Touchstone,
though in some cases characterized by somewhat loaded shoulders. In
height it will be found that the most successful racers average from 15
to 16½ hands, the former being considered somewhat small, while the
latter is unquestionably very large; the mean may be taken as between
15½ and 16 hands (the hand = 4 in.). The head should be light and lean,
and well set on; the ears small and pricked, but not too short; the eyes
full; the forehead broad and flat; the nostrils large and dilating; the
muzzle fine; the neck moderate in length, wide, muscular, and yet light;
the throat clean; the windpipe spacious and loosely attached to the
neck; the crest thin, not coarse and arched. The withers may be
moderately high and thin; the chest well developed, but not too wide or
deep; the shoulder should lie well on the chest, and be oblique and well
covered with muscle, so as to reduce concussion in galloping; the upper
and lower arms should be long and muscular; the knees broad and strong;
legs short, flat and broad; fetlock joints large; pasterns strong and of
moderate length; the feet should be moderately large, with the heels
open and frogs sound--with no signs of contraction. The body or barrel
should be moderately deep, long and straight, the length being really in
the shoulders and in the quarters; the back should be strong and
muscular, with the shoulders and loins running well in at each end; the
loins themselves should have great breadth and substance, this being a
vital necessity for weight-carrying and propelling power uphill. The
hips should be long and wide, with the stifle and thigh strong, long and
proportionately developed, and the hind quarters well let down. The hock
should have plenty of bone, and be strongly affixed to the leg, and show
no signs of curb; the bones below the hock should be flat, and free from
adhesions; the ligaments and tendons well developed, and standing out
from the bone; the joints well formed and wide, yet without undue
enlargement; the pasterns and feet similar to those of the forehand. The
tail should be high set on, the croup being continued in a straight line
to the tail, and not falling away and drooping to a low-set tail.
Fine action is the best criterion of everything fitting properly, and
all a horse's points ought to harmonize or be in proportion to one
another, no one point being more prominent than another, such as good
shoulders, fine loins or excellent quarters. If the observer is struck
with the remarkable prominence of any one feature, it is probable that
the remaining parts are deficient. A well-made horse wants dissecting in
detail, and then if a good judge can discover no fault with any part,
but finds each of good proportions, and the whole to harmonize without
defect, deformity or deficiency, he has before him a well-shaped horse;
and of two equally well-made and equitably proportioned horses the best
bred one will be the best. As regards hue, the favourite colour of the
ancients, according to Xenophon, was bay, and for a long time it was the
fashionable colour in England; but for some time chestnut thoroughbreds
have been the most conspicuous figure on English race-courses, so far as
the more important events are concerned. Eclipse was a chestnut;
Castrel, Selim and Rubens were chestnuts; so also were Glencoe and
Pantaloon, of whom the latter had black spots on his hind quarters like
Eclipse; and also Stockwell and Doncaster. Birdcatcher was a chestnut,
so also were Stockwell and his brother Rataplan, Manganese, Mandragora,
Thormanby, Kettledrum, St Albans, Blair Athol, Regalia, Formosa, Hermit,
Marie Stuart, Doncaster, George Frederick, Apology, Craig Millar, Prince
Charlie, Rayon d'Or and Bend Or. The dark browns or black browns, such
as the Sweetmeat tribe, are not so common as the bays, and black or grey
horses are almost as unusual as roans. The skin and hair of the
throughbred are finer, and the veins which underlie the skin are larger
and more prominent than in other horses. The mane and tail should be
silky and devoid of curl, which is a sign of impurity.
Whether the race-horse of to-day is as good as the stock to which he
traces back has often been disputed, chiefly no doubt because he is
brought to more early maturity, commencing to win races at two years
instead of at five years of age, as in the days of Childers and Eclipse;
but the highest authorities, and none more emphatically than the late
Admiral Rous, have insisted that he can not only stay quite as long as
his ancestors, but also go a good deal faster. In size and shape the
modern race-horse is unquestionably superior, being on an average fully
a hand higher than the Eastern horses from which he is descended; and in
elegance of shape and beauty of outline he has certainly never been
surpassed. That experiments, founded on the study of his nature and
properties, which have from time to time been made to improve the breed,
and bring the different varieties to the perfection in which we now find
them, have succeeded, is best confirmed by the high estimation in which
the horses of Great Britain are held in all parts of the civilized
world; and it is not too much to assert that, although the cold, humid
and variable nature of their climate is by no means favourable to the
production of these animals in their very best form, Englishmen have by
great care, and by sedulous attention to breeding, high feeding and good
grooming, with consequent development of muscle, brought them to the
highest state of perfection of which their nature is capable.
(E. D. B.)
[Illustration: PLATE I.
SHIRE STALLION.
CLYDESDALE STALLION.
SUFFOLK STALLION.
HACKNEY STALLION.
BREEDS OF HORSES. (_From Photographs by F. Babbage._) The comparative
sizes of the horses are shown.]
[Illustration: PLATE II.
THOROUGHBRED STALLION.
SHETLAND PONY STALLION.
COACHING STALLION.
POLO PONY STALLION.
BREEDS OF HORSES. (_From Photographs by F. Babbage._) The comparative
sizes of the horses are shown.]
BREEDS OF HORSES
The British breeds of _light_ horses include the Thoroughbred, the
Yorkshire Coach-horse, the Cleveland Bay, the Hackney and the Pony; of
_heavy_ horses, the Shire, the Clydesdale and the Suffolk.
The _Thoroughbred_ is probably the oldest of the breeds, and it is known
as the "blood-horse" on account of the length of time through which its
purity of descent can be traced. The frame is light, slender and
graceful. The points of chief importance are a fine, clean, lean head,
set on free from collar heaviness; a long and strongly muscular neck,
shoulders oblique and covered with muscle; high, long withers, chest of
good depth and narrow but not extremely so; body round in type; back rib
well down; depth at withers a little under half the height; length equal
to the height at withers and croup; loins level and muscular; croup
long, rather level; tail set on high and carried gracefully; the hind
quarters long, strongly developed, and full of muscle and driving power;
the limbs clean-cut and sinewy, possessing abundance of good bone,
especially desired in the cannons, which are short, broad and flat;
comparatively little space between the fore legs; pastern joints smooth
and true; pasterns strong, clean and springy, sloping when at rest at an
angle of 45°; feet medium size, wide and high at the heels, concave
below and set on straight. The action in trotting is generally low, but
the bending of the knee and the flexing of the hock is smooth, free and
true. The thoroughbred is apt to be nervous and excitable, and impatient
of common work, but its speed, resolution and endurance, as tested on
the race-course, are beyond praise.
Many of the best hunters in the United Kingdom are thoroughbreds, but of
the substantial weight-carrying type. The Hunters Improvement Society,
established in 1885, did not restrict entries to the _Hunters'
Stud-Book_ to entirely clean-bred animals, but admitted those with
breeding enough to pass strict inspection. This society acts in consort
with two other powerful organizations (the Royal Commission on
Horse-breeding, which began its work in 1888, and the Brood Mare
Society, established in 1903), with the desirable object of improving
the standard of light horse breeding. The initial efforts began by
securing the services of thoroughbred stallions for specified districts,
by offering a limited number of "Queen's Premiums," of £200 each, to
selected animals of four years old and upwards. Since the formation of
the Brood Mare Society mares have come within the sphere of influence of
the three bodies, and well-conceived inducements are offered to breeders
to retain their young mares at home. The efforts have met with
gratifying success, and they were much needed, for while in 1904 the
Dutch government took away 350 of the best young Irish mares, Great
Britain was paying the foreigner over £2,000,000 a year for horses which
the old system of management did not supply at home. The Royal Dublin
Society also keeps a _Register of Thoroughbred Stallions_ under the
horse-breeding scheme of 1892, which, like the British efforts, is now
bearing fruit.
The _Yorkshire Coach-horse_ is extensively bred in the North and East
Ridings of Yorkshire, and the thoroughbred has taken a share in its
development. The colour is usually bay, with black or brown points. A
fine head, sloping shoulders, strong loins, lengthy quarters,
high-stepping action, flat bone and sound feet are characteristic. The
height varies from 16 hands to 16 hands 2 in.
The _Cleveland Bay_ is an ancestor of the Yorkshire Coach-horse and is
bred in parts of Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland. He is adapted
alike for the plough, for heavy draught, and for slow saddle work. Some
specimens make imposing-looking carriage horses, but they have low
action and are lacking in quality. The colour is light or dark bay, with
black legs. Though rather coarse-headed, the Cleveland Bay has a
well-set shoulder and neck, a deep chest and round barrel. The height is
from 16 to 17 hands.
The _Hackney_ has come prominently to the front in recent years. The
term _Nag_, applied to the active riding or trotting horse, is derived
from the A.S. _hnegan_, to neigh. The Normans brought with them their
own word _haquenée_, or _hacquenée_, a French derivative from the Latin
_equus_, a horse, whence the name hackney. Both nag and hackney continue
to be used as synonymous terms. Frequent mention is made of hackneys and
trotters in old farm accounts of the 14th century. The first noteworthy
trotting hackney stallion, of the modern type, was a horse foaled about
1755, and known as the Schales, Shields or Shales horse, and most of the
recognized hackneys of to-day trace back to him. The breeding of
hackneys is extensively pursued in the counties of Norfolk, Cambridge,
Huntingdon, Lincoln and York, and in the showyard competitions a keen
but friendly rivalry is usually to be noticed between the
hackney-breeding farmers of Norfolk and Yorkshire. The high hackney
action is uncomfortable in a riding horse. Excellent results have
sometimes followed the use of hackney sires upon half-bred mares, i.e.
by thoroughbred stallions and trotting mares, but it is not always so.
As regards the movement, or "action," of the hackney, he should go light
in hand, and the knee should be well elevated and advanced during the
trot, and, before the foot is put down, the leg should be well extended.
The hackney should also possess good hock action, as distinguished from
mere fetlock action, the propelling power depending upon the efficiency
of the former. The hackney type of the day is "a powerfully built,
short-legged, big horse, with an intelligent head, neat neck, strong,
level back, powerful loins, and as perfect shoulders as can be obtained,
good feet, flat-boned legs, and a height of from 15 hands 2 in. to 15
hands 3½ in." Carriage-horses hackney-bred have been produced over 17
hands high.
The _Pony_ differs essentially from the hackney in height, the former
not exceeding 14 hands. There is one exception, which is made clear in
the following extract from Sir Walter Gilbey's _Ponies Past and Present_
(1900):--
Before the establishment of the Hackney Horse Society in 1883 the
dividing line between the horse and the pony in England was vague and
undefined. It was then found necessary to distinguish clearly between
horses and ponies, and, accordingly, all animals measuring 14 hands or
under were designated "ponies," and registered in a separate part of
the (Hackney) Stud-Book. This record of height, with other particulars
as to breeding, &c., serves to direct breeders in their choice of
sires and dams. The standard of height established by the Hackney
Horse Society was accepted and officially recognized by the Royal
Agricultural Society in 1889, when the prize-list for the Windsor show
contained pony classes for animals not exceeding 14 hands. The altered
polo-rule, which fixes the limit of height at 14 hands 2 in., may be
productive of some little confusion; but for all other purposes 14
hands is the recognized _maximum_ height of a pony. Prior to 1883
small horses were called indifferently Galloways, hobbies, cobs or
ponies, irrespective of their height.
Native ponies include those variously known as Welsh, New Forest,
Exmoor, Dartmoor, Cumberland and Westmorland, Fell, Highland, Highland
Garron, Celtic, Shetland and Connemara. Ponies range in height from 14
hands down to 8 hands, Shetland ponies eligible for the Stud-Book not
exceeding the latter. As in the case of the hackney, so with the pony,
thoroughbred blood has been used, and with good results, except in the
case of those animals which have to remain to breed in their native
haunts on the hills and moorlands. There the only possible way of
improvement is by selecting the best native specimens, especially the
sires, to breed from. The thin-skinned progeny of thoroughbred or Arab
stock is too delicate to live unless when hand-fed--and hand-feeding is
not according to custom. Excellent polo ponies are bred as first or
second crosses by thoroughbred stallions on the mares of nearly all the
varieties of ponies named. The defective formation of the pony, the
perpendicular shoulder and the drooping hind quarters, are modified; but
neither the latter, nor bent hocks, which place the hind legs under the
body as in the zebra, are objected to, as the conformation is favourable
to rapid turning. One object of the pony breeder, while maintaining
hardiness of constitution, is to control size--to compress the most
valuable qualities into small compass. He endeavours to breed an animal
possessing a small head, good shoulders, true action and perfect
manners. A combination of the best points of the hunter with the style
and finish of the hackney produces a class of weight-carrying pony which
is always saleable.
The _Shire_ horse owes its happily-chosen name to Arthur Young's
remarks, in the description of his agricultural tours during the closing
years of the 18th century, concerning the large Old English Black Horse,
"the produce principally of the _Shire_ counties in the heart of
England." Long previous to this, however, the word Shire, in connexion
with horses, was used in the statutes of Henry VIII. Under the various
names of the War Horse, the Great Horse, the Old English Black Horse and
the Shire Horse, the breed has for centuries been cultivated in the rich
fen-lands of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, and in many counties to
the west. The Shire is the largest of draught horses, the stallion
commonly attaining a height of 17 to 17.3 hands. Though the black colour
is still frequently met with, bay and brown are more usually seen. With
their immense size and weight--1800 lb. to 2200 lb.--the Shires combine
great strength, and they are withal docile and intelligent. They stand
on short stout legs, with a plentiful covering--sometimes too
abundant--of long hair extending chiefly down the back but also round
the front of the limbs from knees and hocks, and when in full feather
obscuring nearly the whole of the hoofs. The head is a good size, and
broad between the eyes; the neck fairly long, with the crest well arched
on to the shoulders, which are deep and strong, and moderately oblique.
The chest is wide, full and deep, the back short and straight, the ribs
are round and deep, the hind quarters long, level and well let down into
the muscular thighs. The cannon-bones should be flat, heavy and clean,
and the feet wide, tough, and prominent at the heels. A good type of
Shire horse combines symmetrical outlines and bold, free action. There
is a good and remunerative demand for Shire geldings for use as draught
horses in towns.
The _Clydesdale_, the Scottish breed named from the valley of the Clyde,
is not quite so large as the Shire, the average height of stallions
being about 16 hands 2 in. The popular colour is bay, particularly if of
a dark shade, or dappled. Black is not uncommon, but grey is not
encouraged. White markings on one or more of the legs, with a white star
or stripe on the face, are characteristic. The long hair on the legs is
not so abundant as in the Shires, and it is finer in texture. It is
regarded as an indication of good bone. The bones of the legs should be
short, flat, clean and hard; the feet large, with hoofs deep and concave
below. With its symmetry, activity, strength and endurance the
Clydesdale is easily broken to harness, and makes an excellent draught
horse. This breed is growing rapidly in favour in Canada, but in the
United States the _Percheron_, with its round bone and short pasterns,
holds the field. A blend of the Shire and Clydesdale strains of the
British rough-legged draught horse (virtually sections of the same
breed) is a better animal than either of the parents. It is an
improvement upon the Shire due to the quality contributed by the
Clydesdale, and it surpasses the Clydesdale in strength and substance,
as a result of the Shire connexion. To secure success the two Stud-Books
will require to be opened to animals eligible to be entered in either
record. The blend is being established in U.S.A. as a National breed.
The _Suffolk_ is a horse quite distinct from the Shire and the
Clydesdale. Its body looks too heavy for its limbs, which are free from
the "feather" so much admired in the two other heavy breeds; it
possesses a characteristic chestnut colour. How long the Suffolks have
been associated with the county after which they are named is unknown,
but they are mentioned in 1586 in Camden's _Britannia_. With an average
height of about 16 hands they often have a weight of as much as 2000
lb., and this may explain the appearance which has given rise to the
name of the Suffolk Punch, by which the breed is known. The Suffolk is a
resolute and unwearying worker, and is richly endowed with many of the
best qualities of a horse. The _Suffolk Stud-Book and History of the
Breed_, published in 1880, is the most exhaustive record of its kind in
England. (W. Fr.; R. W.)
MANAGEMENT
_Breeding._--Animals to breed from should be of good blood, sound and
compactly built, with good pluck and free from nervous excitability and
vicious tendency. A mare used to be put to the horse at three years old,
but latterly two has become the common age. Young sires begin to serve
in moderation at two. May is considered the best month for a mare to
foal, as there is abundance of natural food and the weather is mild
enough for the mare to lie out. Show specimens generally profit by being
born earlier. The period of gestation in the mare is about eleven
months. No nursing mare should go to work, if this can possibly be
avoided. A brood mare requires plenty of exercise at a slow pace and may
work, except between shafts or on a road, till the day of foaling.
To avoid colic an animal has to be gradually prepared by giving small
quantities of green food for a few days before going to grass. Shelter
against severe storms is needed. Succulent food encourages the flow of
milk, and the success of the foal greatly depends on its milk supply.
Mares most readily conceive when served at the "foal heat" eleven days
after foaling. A mature stallion can serve from eighty to one hundred
mares per annum.
Foals are weaned when five or six months old, often in October, and
require to be housed to save the foal-flesh, and liberally but not
overfed; but from the time they are a month old they require to be
"gentled" by handling and kindly treatment, and the elementary training
of leading from time to time by a halter adjusted permanently to the
head. When they are hand-reared on cow's milk foals require firm
treatment and must have no fooling to teach them tricks. Young horses
that are too highly fed are apt to become weak-limbed and top-heavy.
_Breaking._--Systematic breaking begins at about the age of two years,
and the method of subduing a colt by "galvayning" is as good as any. It
is a more humane system than "rareying," which overcame by exhaustion
under circumstances which were not fruitful of permanent results.
Galvayning is accomplished by bending the horse's neck round at an angle
of thirty-five to forty degrees and tieing the halter to the tail, so
that when he attempts to walk forward he holds himself and turns "round
and round, almost upon his own ground." The more strenuous his
resistance the sooner he yields to the inevitable force applied by
himself. A wooden pole, the "third hand," is then gently applied to all
parts of the body until kicking or any form of resistance ceases.
"Bitting" or "mouthing," or the familiarizing of an animal to the bit in
his mouth, and to answer to the rein without bending his neck, is still
a necessity with the galvayning method of breaking. Experience can only
be gained by a horse continuing during a considerable time to practise
what he has been taught.
Three main characteristics of a successful horse-breaker are firmness,
good temper and incessant vigilance. Carelessness in trusting too much
to a young colt that begins its training by being docile is a fruitful
source of untrustworthy habits which need never have developed. Driving
with long reins in the field should precede the fastening of ropes to
the collar, as it accustoms the animal to the pressure on the shoulders
of the draught, later to be experienced in the yoke. If a young horse be
well handled and accustomed to the dummy jockey, mounting it is not
attended with much risk of resistance, although this should invariably
be anticipated. An animal ought to be in good condition when being
broken in, else it is liable to break out in unpleasant ways when it
becomes high-spirited as a result of improved condition. It should be
well but not overfed, and while young not overworked, as an overtired
animal is liable to refuse to pull, and thus contract a bad habit. Most
bad habits and stable tricks are the result of defective management and
avoidable accidents.
_Feeding._--Horses have small stomachs relatively to ruminating animals,
and require small quantities of food frequently. While grazing they feed
almost continually, preferring short pasture. No stable food for quick
work surpasses a superior sample of fine-hulled whole oats like
"Garton's Abundance" (120 lb. per week), and Timothy hay harvested in
dry weather. The unbruised oats develop a spirit and courage in either a
saddle or harness horse that no other food can. A double handful of
clean chaff, or of bran mixed with the oats in the manger, prevents a
greedy horse from swallowing a considerable proportion whole. Unchewed
oats pass out in the faeces uninjured, so that they are capable of
germination, and are of less than no value to a horse. Horses doing slow
or other than "upper ten" work may have oats crushed, not ground, and a
variety of additions made to the oats which are usually the basis of the
feed--for example, a few old crushed beans, a little linseed meal,
ground linseed cake or about a wine-glassful of unboiled linseed oil.
Indian pulses are to be avoided on account of the danger of Lathyrus
poisoning. A seasoning of ground fenugreek or spice is sometimes given
to shy feeders to encourage them to eat. A little sugar or molascuit
added to the food will sometimes serve the same purpose. Newly crushed
barley or cracked maize, even in considerable proportion to the rest of
the food, gives good results with draught, coach, 'bus and light
harness horses generally. Boiled food of any kind is unnatural to a
horse, and is risky to give, being liable to produce colic, especially
if the animal bolts its food when hungry, although it generally produces
a glossy coat. Too much linseed, often used in preparing horses for
market, gives a similar appearance, but is liable to induce fatty
degeneration of the liver; given in moderation it regulates the bowels
and stimulates the more perfect digestion of other foods. In England
red-clover hay, or, better still, crimson-clover or lucerne hay, is
liberally fed to farm horses with about 10 lb. per day of oats, while
they usually run in open yards with shelter sheds. Bean straw is
sometimes given as part of the roughage in Scotland, but not in England.
In England hunters and carriage horses are generally fed on natural hay,
in Scotland on Timothy, largely imported from Canada, or ryegrass hay
that has not been grown with nitrate of soda. Heavily nitrated hay is
reputed to produce excessive urination and irritation of the bladder.
Pease straw, if not sandy, and good bright oat straw are good fodder for
horses; but with barley and wheat straw, in the case of a horse, more
energy is consumed during its passage through the alimentary canal than
the digested straw yields. Three or four Swedish turnips or an
equivalent of carrots is an excellent cooling food for a horse at hard
work. The greater number of horses in the country should have green
forage given them during summer, when the work they do will permit of
it, as it is their natural food, and they thrive better on it than on
any dry food.
When a horse has been overstrained by work the best remedy is a long
rest at pasture, and, if it be lame or weak in the limbs, the winter
season is most conducive to recovery. The horse becomes low in condition
and moves about quietly, and the frost tends to brace up the limbs. In
autumn all horses that have been grazing should be dosed with some
vermifuge to destroy the worms that are invariably present, and thus
prevent colic or an unthrifty or anaemic state. On a long journey a
horse should have occasional short drinks, and near the end a long drink
with a slower rate of progression with the object of cooling off. In the
stable a horse should always be provided with rock salt, and water to
drink at will by means of some such stall fixture as the Mundt hygienic
water-supply fittings. Overhead hay-racks are unnatural and are liable
to drop seeds into a horse's eye.
LITERATURE.--For riding, &c. see RIDING, DRIVING, HORSEMANSHIP, and
HORSE-RACING. For diseases of the horse see VETERINARY SCIENCE. The
literature about the horse and its history and uses is voluminous, and
is collected up to 1887 in Huth's _Works on Horses, &c._, a
bibliographical record of hippology. See also, besides the works
already mentioned, various books by Capt. M. Horace Hayes, _Points of
the Horse_ (1893, 2nd ed., 1897); _Stable Management and Exercise_
(1900); _Illustrated Horse-breaking_ (1889, 2nd ed., 1896); and _The
Horsewoman_ (1893) (with Mrs Hayes); E. L. Anderson, _Modern
Horsemanship_ (1884); W. Day, _The Horse: How to Breed and Rear Him_
(1888); W. Ridgeway, _Origin and Influence of the Thoroughbred Horse_
(1905); Major-General Tweedie, _The Arab Horse_ (1894); J. Wortley
Axe, _The Horse; its Treatment in Health and Disease_ (1906); R.
Wallace, _Farm Live Stock of Great Britain_ (1885, 4th ed., 1907);
Sydney Galvayne, _The Twentieth Century Book of the Horse_ (1905); C.
Bruce Low, _Breeding Racehorses by the Figure System_ (1895); J. H.
Wallace, _The Horse of America in his Derivation, &c._ (1897);
Weatherly's _Celebrated Racehorses_ (1887); Ruff's _Guide to the
Turf_; T. A. Cook, _History of the English Turf_ (1903); _The General
Stud-Book_ (issued quinquennially); and the _Stud-Books_ of the
various breed societies. (R. W.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Compare Sans, _açva_, Zendish and Old Persian _açpa_, Lithuanian
_aszva_ (mare), Prussian _asvinan_ (mare's milk), O.H. Ger. _ehu_,
A.S. _eoh_, Icel. _iör_, Gothic _aihos_, _aihous_ (?), Old Irish
_ech_, Old Cambrian and Gaelic _ep_ (as in _Epona_, the horse
goddess), Lat. _equus_, Gr. [Greek: hippos] or [Greek: ikkos]. The
word seems, however, to have disappeared from the Slavonic languages.
The root is probably _ak_, with the idea of sharpness or swiftness
([Greek: akros, ôkus], _acus_, _ocior_). See Pott, _Etym. Forsch_,
ii. 256, and Hehn, _Kulturpflanzen u. Hausthiere in ihrem Ueber gang
aus Asien nach Griechenland u. Italien sowie in das übrige Europa_
(3rd ed., 1877), p. 38. The last-named author, who points out the
absence of the horse from the Egyptian monuments prior to the
beginning of the 18th century B.C., and the fact that the earliest
references to this animal in Hebrew literature (Judges v. 22, 28; cf.
Josh, xi. 4) do not carry us any farther back, is of opinion that the
Semitic peoples as a whole were indebted for the horse to the lands
of Iran. He also shows that literature affords no trace of the horse
as indigenous to Arabia prior to about the beginning of the 5th
century A.D., although references abound in the pre-Islamitic poetry.
Horses were not numerous even in Mahomet's time (Sprenger, _Leb.
Moh._ iii. 139, 140). Compare Ignazio Guidi's paper "Della sede
primitiva dei popoli Semitici" in the _Transactions_ of the Accademia
dei Lincei (1878-1879), Professor W. Ridgeway, in his _Origin and
Influence of the Thoroughbred Horse_ (1905), reinvestigated the
historical mystery as to the Arab breed, and its connexion with the
English thoroughbred stock, but his conclusions have been hotly
controverted; archaeology and biology are in fact still in the dark
on the subject, but see the section on "Species" above. According to
Ridgeway, the original source of the finest equine blood is Africa,
still the home of the largest variety of wild Equidae; he concludes
that thence it passed into Europe at an early time, to be blended
with that of the indigenous Celtic species, and thence into western
Asia into the veins of an indigenous Mongolian species, still
represented by "Przewalski's horse"; not till a comparatively late
period did it reach Arabia, though the "Arab" now represents the
purest form of the Libyan blood. The controversy depends upon the
consideration of a wealth of detail, which should be studied in
Ridgeway's book; but zoological authorities are sceptical as to the
suggested species, _Equus caballus libycus_.
[2] Some fragments of legislation relating to the horse about this
period may be gleaned from _Ancient Laws and Institutes of England_
(fol., London, 1840), and _Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales_
(fol., London, 1841).
HORSE LATITUDES, the belts of calms and variable breezes at the polar
edge of the N.E. and S.E. trades. According to the _New English
Dictionary_ two explanations have been given of the origin of the name:
one that the calm kills horses on a sailing ship, the other that the
name signifies the unruly and boisterous nature of these winds compared
with the pleasant trades. The name is commonly applied to the permanent
belt of high atmospheric pressure which encircles the globe in 30° to
35° from the equator.
HORSE-MACKEREL, the name applied to a genus of fishes (_Caranx_) found
in abundance in almost all temperate and especially in tropical seas.
The designation "cavalli," given to them by the early Portuguese
navigators, and often met with in the accounts of the adventures of the
buccaneers, is still in frequent use among the sailors of all nations.
Some ninety different kinds are known--the majority being wholesome
food, and some of the species attaining a length of 3 ft. and more. The
fish to which the name horse-mackerel is applied in Great Britain is
_Caranx trachurus_, distinguished by having the lateral line in its
whole length armed with large but narrow bony plates. Horse-mackerel are
found singly on the coast all the year round, but sometimes they
congregate in shoals of many thousands. Although well-flavoured, they
are much more frequently used for bait than for food. This species has a
most extraordinary range, being found almost everywhere within the
temperate and tropical zones of the northern and southern hemispheres.
HORSEMANSHIP, the art of managing the horse from his back and
controlling his paces and the direction and speed of his movement. The
ordinary procedure is dealt with in the articles on RIDING and cognate
subjects (see also HORSE: section _Management_). A special kind of skill
is, however, needed in breaking, training, bitting and schooling horses
for a game like polo, or for the evolutions of what is known as the
_haute école_. It is with the latter, or "school" riding, that we deal
here. The middle ages had seen chivalry developed into a social
distinction, and horsemanship into a form of knightly prowess. The
Renaissance introduced the cultivation of horsemanship as an art, with
regular conditions and rules, instead of merely its skilful practice for
utility and exercise. In Italy in the 16th century schools of
horsemanship were established at Naples, Rome and other chief cities;
thither flocked the nobility of France, Spain and Germany; and Henry
VIII. of England and other monarchs of his time had Italians for their
masters of the horse. The academy of Pignatelli at Naples was the most
famous of the schools in the middle of the 16th century, but a score of
other less renowned masters devoted themselves to teaching the riders
and training the horses. Trappings of all sorts multiplied; the
prescribed tricks, feats and postures involved considerable dexterity;
they were fatiguing to both man and beast, and were really useless
except for show. This elaborate art, enthusiastically followed among the
Romance nations, was the parent of later developments of the _haute
école_, and of the circus-performances of modern days. In England,
however, the continental style did not find favour for long. The duke of
Newcastle's _Méthode nouvelle de dresser les chevaux_ (1648) was the
leading text-book of the day, and in 1761 the earl of Pembroke published
his _Manual of Cavalry Horsemanship_. In France a simplification was
introduced in the early part of the 18th century by La Guérinière
(_École de cavalerie_) and others. The French military school thus
became the model for Europe, though the English style remained in
opposition, forming a sort of compromise with the ordinary method of
riding across country. In more modern times France again came to the
front in regard to the _haute école_, through the innovations of the
vicomte d'Aure (1798-1863) and François Baucher (1796-1873). Baucher was
a circus-rider who became the greatest master of his art, and who had an
elaborate theory of the principles involved in training a horse. His
system was carried on, with modifications, by masters and theorists like
Captain Raabe, M. Barroil and M. Fillis. In more recent times the style
of the _haute école_ has also been cultivated by various masters in the
United States, such as H. L. de Bussigny at Boston.
See d'Aure, _Traité d'équitation_ (1847); Hundersdorf, _Équitation
allemande_ (Bruxelles, 1843); Baucher, _Passe-temps équestres_ (1840),
_Méthode d'équitation_ (1867); Raabe, _Méthode de haute école
d'équitation_ (1863); Barroil, _Art équestre_; Fillis, _Principes de
dressage_; Hayes, _Riding on the flat, &c._ (1882).
HORSENS, a market town of Denmark, at the head of Horsens Fjord, on the
east side of Jutland, 32 m. by rail S.W. of Aarhus, in the _amt_
(county) of that name. Pop. (1901) 22,243. It is the junction of branch
railways to Bryrup and to Törring inland, and to Juelsminde on the
coast. The exports are chiefly bacon and butter; the imports, iron,
yarn, coal and timber. The town is ancient; there is a disused convent
church with tombs of the 17th century, and the Vor-Frelsers-Kirke has a
carved pulpit of the same period. Horsens is the birthplace of the
navigator Vitus Bering or Behring (1680), the Arctic explorer. To the
north lies the picturesque lake district between Skanderborg and
Silkeborg (see AARHUS).
HORSE-POWER. The device, frequently seen in farmyards, by which the
power of a horse is utilized to drive threshing or other machinery, is
sometimes described as a "horse-power," but this term usually denotes
the unit in which the performance of steam and other engines is
expressed, and which is defined as the rate at which work is done when
33,000 lb. are raised one foot in one minute. This value was adopted by
James Watt as the result of experiments with strong dray-horses, but, as
he was aware, it is in excess of what can be done by an average horse
over a full day's work. It is equal to 746 watts. On the metric system
it is reckoned as 4500 kilogram-metres a minute, and the French
_cheval-vapeur_ is thus equal to 32,549 foot-pounds a minute, or 0.9863
of an English horse-power, or 736 watts. The "nominal horse-power" by
which engines are sometimes rated is an arbitrary and obsolescent term
of indefinite significance. An ordinary formula for obtaining it is
(1/15.6)D^2 [root 3]S for high-pressure engines, and (1/47)D^2 [root 3]S
for condensing engines, where D is the diameter of the piston in inches
and S the length of the stroke in feet, though varying numbers are used
for the divisor. The "indicated horse-power" of a reciprocating engine
is given by ASPN/33,000, where A is the area of the piston in square
inches, S the length of the stroke in feet, P the mean pressure on the
piston in lb. per sq. in., and N the number of effective strokes per
minute, namely, one for each revolution of the crank shaft if the engine
is single-acting, but twice as many if it is double-acting. The mean
pressure P is ascertained from the diagram or "card" given by an
indicator (see STEAM-ENGINE). In turbine engines this method is
inapplicable. A statement of indicated horse-power supplies a measure of
the force acting in the cylinder of an engine, but the power available
for doing external work off the crank-shaft is less than this by the
amount absorbed in driving the engine itself. The useful residue, known
as the "actual," "effective" or "brake" horse-power, can be directly
measured by a dynamometer (q.v.); it amounts to about 80% of the
indicated horse-power for good condensing engines and about 85% for
non-condensing engines, or perhaps a little more when the engines are of
the largest sizes. When turbines, as often happens in land practice, are
directly coupled to electrical generators, their horse-power can be
deduced from the electrical output. When they are used for the
propulsion of ships recourse is had to "torsion meters" which measure
the amount of twist undergone by the propeller shafts while transmitting
power. Two points are selected on the surface of the shaft at different
positions along it, and the relative displacement which occurs between
them round the shaft when power is being transmitted is determined
either by electrical means, as in the Denny-Johnson torsion-meter, or
optically, as in the Hopkinson-Thring and Bevis-Gibson instruments. The
twist or surface-shear being proportional to the torque, the horse-power
can be calculated if the modulus of rigidity of the steel employed is
known or if the amount of twist corresponding to a given power has
previously been ascertained by direct experiment on the shaft before it
has been put in place.
HORSE-RACING. Probably the earliest instance of the use of horses in
racing recorded in literature occurs in _Il._ xxiii. 212-650, where the
various incidents of the chariot-race at the funeral games held in
honour of Patroclus are detailed with much vividness. According to the
ancient authorities the four-horse chariot-race was introduced into the
Olympic games as early as the 23rd Olympiad; to this the race with
mounted horses was added in the 33rd; while other variations (such as
two-horse chariot-races, mule races, loose-horse races, special races
for under-aged horses) were admitted at a still later period. Of the
training and management of the Olympic race-horse we are left in
ignorance; but it is known that the equestrian candidates were required
to enter their names and send their horses to Elis at least thirty days
before the celebration of the games commenced, and that the charioteers
and riders, whether owners or proxies, went through a prescribed course
of exercise during the intervening month. At all the other national
games of Greece (Pythian, Isthmian, Nemean), as well as at many of the
local festivals (the Athenian Olympia and Panathenaea), similar contests
had a prominent place. Some indication of the extent to which the
passion for horse-racing was indulged in at Athens, for example, about
the time of Aristophanes may be obtained from the scene with which _The
Clouds_ opens; while it is a significant fact that the Boeotians termed
one of the months of their year, corresponding to the Athenian
Hecatombaeon, Hippodromius ("Horse-race month"; see Plutarch, _Cam._
15). For the chariot-races and horse-races of the Greeks and Romans, see
CIRCUS and GAMES.
GREAT BRITAIN
There is no direct historical evidence to show that the ancient Britons
addicted themselves to any form of this amusement; but there are
indications that among some at least of the Germanic tribes, from a very
early period, horse-racing was an accompaniment of their religious
cultus. There can be no doubt that the Romans encouraged the pursuit in
Britain, if they did not introduce it; traces of race-courses belonging
to the period of their occupation have been frequently discovered. The
influence of the Christian Church was everywhere at first strongly
against the practice. The opinion of Augustine and other fathers of the
church with regard to attendance at the spectacles, whether of theatre
or of circus, is well known; those who performed in them were rigidly
excluded from church fellowship, and sometimes even those who merely
frequented them. Thus the first council of Arles, in its fourth canon,
declared that those members of the church who drove chariots at the
public games should, so long as they continued in that employment, be
denied communion. (Compare the rule in the _Ap. Const._ viii. 32; ap.
Bingham. _Ant. Chr. Church_, xvi. 4, 10.) In many cases, however, the
weight of ecclesiastical authority proved insufficient to cope with the
force of old custom, or with the fascination of a sport the unchristian
character of which was not very easily demonstrable; and ultimately in
Germany and elsewhere the old local races appear to have been admitted
to a recognized place among the ceremonies peculiar to certain Christian
festivals.
The first distinct indication which contemporary history affords of
horse-racing as a sport occurs in the _Description of the City of
London_ of William Fitzstephen (c. 1174). He says that in a certain
"plane field without one of the gates (quidam planus campus re et
nomine--_Smithfield_, quasi Smoothfield) every Friday, unless it be one
of the more solemn festivals, is a noted show of well-bred (_nobilium_)
horses exposed for sale. The earls, barons and knights who are resident
in the city, as well as a multitude of citizens, flock thither either to
look on or buy." After describing the different varieties of horses
brought into the market, especially the more valuable chargers
(_dextrarios preciosos_), he says: "When a race is to be run by such
horses as these, and perhaps by others which, in like manner, according
to their breed are strong for carriage and vigorous for the course, the
people raise a shout and order the common horses to be withdrawn to
another part of the field. The jockeys, who are boys expert in the
management of horses, which they regulate by means of curb bridles,
sometimes by threes and sometimes by twos, as the match is made, prepare
themselves for the contest. Their chief aim is to prevent a competitor
from getting before them. The horses too, after their manner, are eager
for the race: their limbs tremble, and impatient of delay they cannot
stand still; upon the signal being given they stretch out their limbs,
hurry on the course, and are borne along with unremitting speed. The
riders, inspired with the love of praise and the hope of victory, clap
spurs to their flying horses, lashing them with whips, and inciting them
by their shouts" (see Stow's Translation).
In the reign of Richard I. knights rode at Whitsuntide on steeds and
palfreys over a three-mile course for "forty pounds of ready gold,"
according to the old romance of Sir Bevys of Hampton. The feats of the
tilt-yard, however, seem to have surpassed horse-racing in popular
estimation at the period of the crusades. That the sport was to some
extent indulged in by King John is quite possible, as running horses are
frequently mentioned in the register of royal expenditure; and we know
that Edward III. had a number of running horses, but it is probable they
were chiefly used for field sports.
An evidence of the growing favour in which horse-racing was held as a
popular amusement is furnished by the fact that public races were
established at Chester in 1512. Randle Holme of that city tells us that
towards the latter part of Henry VIII.'s reign, on Shrove Tuesday, the
company of saddlers of Chester presented to "the drapers a wooden ball
embellished with flowers, and placed upon the point of a lance. This
ceremony was performed in the presence of the mayor at the cross of the
Roody or Roodee, an open place near the city; but this year (1540) the
ball was changed into a silver bell, valued at three shillings and
sixpence or more, to be given to him who shall run best and furthest on
horseback before them on the same day, Shrove Tuesday; these bells were
denominated St George's bells." In the reign of Elizabeth there is
evidence from the poems of Bishop Hall (1597) that racing was in vogue,
though apparently not patronized by the queen, or it would no doubt have
formed part of the pastimes at Kenilworth; indeed, it seems then to have
gone much out of fashion.
The accession of the Stuarts opened up an era of prosperity for the
sport, for James I., who, according to Youatt, had encouraged if not
established horse-racing in Scotland, greatly patronized it in England
when he came to the throne. Not only did he run races at Croydon and
Enfield, but he endeavoured to improve the breed of horses by the
purchase for a high figure of the Arab stallion known as Markham's
Arabian, which little horse, however, was beaten in every race he ran.
In 1607, according to Camden's _Britannia_, races were run near York,
the prize being a little golden bell. Camden also mentions as the prize
for running horses in Gatherley Forest a little golden ball, which was
apparently anterior to the bell. In 1609 Mr Robert Ambrye, sometime
sheriff of the city of Chester, caused three silver bells to be made of
good value, which bells he appointed to be run for with horses on St
George's day upon the Roodee, the first horse to have the best bell and
the money put in by the horses that ran--in other words, a
sweepstake--the bells to be returned that day twelvemonth as challenge
cups are now; towards the expenses he had an allowance from the city. In
1613 subscription purses are first mentioned. Nicholls, in his _Progress
of James I._, makes mention of racing in the years 1617 and 1619.
Challenge bells appear to have continued to be the prizes at Chester,
according to Randle Holme the younger, and Ormerod's _History of
Chester_, until 1623 or 1624, when Mr John Brereton, mayor of Chester,
altered the course and caused the horses to run five times round the
Roodee, the bell to be of good value, £8 or £10, and to be a free bell
to be held for ever--in other words, a presentation and not a challenge
prize.
During James's reign public race meetings were established at Gatherley
or Garterley, near Richmond in Yorkshire, at Croydon in Surrey, and at
Enfield Chase, the last two being patronized by the king, who not only
had races at Epsom during his residence at Nonsuch, but also built a
house at Newmarket for the purpose of enjoying hunting, and no doubt
racing too, as we find a note of there having been horse-races at this
place as early as 1605. Races are also recorded as having taken place at
Linton near Cambridge, but they were probably merely casual meetings.
The prizes were for the most part silver or gold bells, whence the
phrase "bearing away the bell." The turf indeed appears to have
attracted a great deal of notice, and the systematic preparation of
running horses was studied, attention being paid to their feeding and
training, to the instruction of jockeys--although private matches
between gentlemen who rode their own horses were very common,--and to
the adjustment of weights, which were usually about 10 stone. The sport
also seems to have taken firm hold of the people, and to have become
very popular.
The reign of Charles I., which commenced in 1625, saw still more marked
strides made, for the king not only patronized the racing at Newmarket,
which we know was current In 1640, but thoroughly established it there,
and built a stand house in 1667, since which year the races have been
annual. Mention is likewise made in the comedy of the _Merry Beggars_,
played in 1641, of races, both horse and foot, in Hyde Park, which were
patronized by Charles I., who gave a silver cup, value 100 guineas, to
be run for instead of bells. Butcher, in his survey of the town of
Stamford (1646), also says that a race was annually run in that town for
a silver and gilt cup and cover, of the value of £7 or £8, provided by
the care of the aldermen for the time being out of the interest of a
stock formerly made by the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood.
In 1648 Clarendon tells us that a meeting of Royalists was held at
Banstead Downs, as Epsom Downs were then called, "under the pretence of
a horse-race," so that horse-racing at Epsom was not unknown early in
the 17th century; Pepys, too, in his _Diary_ of 1663, mentions his
having intended to go to Banstead Downs to see a famous horse-race.
Cromwell is said to have kept running horses in the year 1653, but in
1654 he appears to have gone so far as to forbid racing for six and
eight months respectively. After the Reformation in 1660, a new impetus
was given to horse-racing, which had languished during the civil wars,
and the races at Newmarket, which had been suspended, were restored and
attended by the king; and as an additional spur to emulation, according
to Youatt, royal plates were given at each of the principal courses, and
royal mares, as they were called, were imported from abroad. Charles II.
rebuilt the house originally erected at Newmarket by James I., which had
fallen into decay. The Round course was made in 1666, and racing at the
headquarters of the turf was regulated in the most systematic way, as to
the course, weights and other conditions. Charles II. was the first
monarch who entered and ran horses in his own name; and, besides being a
frequent visitor at the races on Newmarket Heath, and on Burford Downs,
near Stockbridge, where the Bibury Club meeting was held, he established
races at Datchet. In the reign of James II. nothing specially noteworthy
occurred, but William III. continued former crown donations and even
added to them.
Anne was much devoted to horse-racing, and not only gave royal plates to
be competed for, but ran horses for them in her own name. In 1703
Doncaster races were established, when 4 guineas a year were voted by
the corporation towards a plate, and in 1716 the Town Plate was
established by the same authority to be run on Doncaster Moor. Nearly a
century, however, elapsed before the St Leger was instituted. Matches at
Newmarket had become common, for we find that Basto, one of the earliest
race-horses of whom we have any authentic account, won several matches
there in 1708 and 1709. In the latter year, according to Camden, York
races were established, the course at first being on Clifton Ings, but
it was subsequently removed to Knavesmire, on which the races are now
run. In 1710 the first gold cup said to have been given by the queen, of
60 guineas value, was run for by six-year-old horses carrying 12 stone
each, the best of three 4-mile heats, and was won by Bay Bolton. In 1711
it was increased to 100 guineas. In 1712 Queen Anne's gelding Pepper ran
for the Royal Cup of £100 at York, and her Mustard, a nutmeg-grey horse,
ran for the same prize in 1713. Again in 1714 her Majesty's bay horse
Star won a sweepstake of 10 guineas added to a plate of £40 at the same
place, in four heats, carrying 11 stone. In 1716 the Ladies' Plate at
York for five-year-olds was won by Aleppo, son of the Darley Arabian.
Racing and match-making continued to be a regular sport at Newmarket,
and at York and Hambleton, and we also find a record of a race at
Lincoln in August 1717 for a silver tea-board, won by Brocklesby Betty,
as was the Queen's Plate at Black Hambleton in the year before.
Between 1714 and 1720 there were races at Pontefract in Yorkshire for
plates or money. The best of two out of three heats was to be the
winner, provided the said horse was not distanced in the third heat--the
distance post being 1 furlong from the winning post; and this appears to
have been a usual condition. In or about the year 1721 Flying Childers
is said to have run a trial against Almanzor and Brown Betty over the
Round course at Newmarket (3 m. 4 f. 93 y.) in 6 m. 40 s., and another
trial over the Beacon course (4 m. 1 f. 138 y.) in 7 m. 30 s.--which is
fast even for a six-year old; but it is just possible that in those days
the art of time-taking was anything but perfect. In 1721 George I. gave
100 guineas in specie in lieu of the gold cup at York presented by Anne,
and the king's or queen's plates have been given in cash ever since. In
1725 a ladies' plate was run for on the 14th of September by female
riders on Ripon Heath in Yorkshire. In 1727 Mr John Cheney established
the _Racing Calendar_--an historical list of all the horse matches run,
and of all plates and prizes run for in England and Wales of the value
of £10 or upwards in 1727, &c. No systematic records had till then been
preserved of the running of the race-horses of the day, and it is only
through the performances of certain celebrated horses and mares that we
have any information of what actually took place, and even that is more
or less of a fragmentary kind. At this time racing was thoroughly
established as a national and popular sport, for there were upwards of a
hundred meetings in England and Wales; but the plates or sweepstakes run
for were for the most part of small value, as £10, £20, £30, £40, and
sometimes £50. In 1727, according to Whyte, there were only a dozen
royal plates run for in England: one at Newmarket in April for
six-year-old horses at 12 stone each, in heats over the Round
course--first called the King's Plate course; one for five-year-old
mares at 10 stone each, in one heat, and another in October for
six-year-old horses at 12 stone, in heats over the same course; one at
York (which commenced in 1711) for six-year-old horses, 12 stone each,
4-m. heats; one at Black Hambleton, Yorkshire (of which no regular
account was kept until 1715), for five-year-old mares, 10 stone, 4 m.;
one at each of the following places, Nottingham, Lincoln, Guildford,
Winchester, Salisbury and Lewes, for six-year-old horses, 12 stone each,
4-m. heats; and one at Ipswich for five-year-old horses, 10 stone each.
A royal plate was also run for at Edinburgh in 1728 or 1729, and one at
the Curragh of Kildare in 1741.
In 1739 an act was passed to prevent racing by ponies and weak horses,
13 Geo. II. cap. 10, which also prohibited prizes or plates of less
value than £50. At this period the best horses seldom ran more than five
or six times, and some not so often, there being scarcely any plates of
note except royal ones, and very few sweepstakes or matches of value
except at Newmarket until after 1750; moreover, as the races were run in
heats, best three out of four, over a course of several miles in length,
the task set the horses before winning a plate was very severe, and by
no means commensurate with the value of the prize. In 1751 the great
subscription races commenced at York, the city also giving £50 added
money to each day's racing. At Newmarket there were only two meetings,
one in April and the other in October, but in 1753 a second spring
meeting was established, and in that year the Jockey Club, which was
founded in 1750, established the present racing ground. In 1762 a second
October meeting was added, in 1765 the July meeting, in 1770 the
Houghton meeting, and in 1771 the Craven meeting. In 1766 Tattersall's
was established at Hyde Park Corner by Richard Tattersall for the sale
of horses; it remained the great emporium of horses, and the rendezvous
for betting on horse races, until 1865, when, the lease of the premises
at the Corner having run out, it was removed to Knightsbridge.
We now come to a very important period--that at which the great
three-year-old races were instituted.
The St Leger.
The St Leger was established in 1776 by Colonel St Leger, who resided at
Parkhill, near Doncaster. On the 24th of September, during the Doncaster
races, which took place annually in the autumn, at his suggestion a
sweepstake of 25 guineas each for three-year-old colts and fillies was
run over a 2-m. course; there were six competitors, the property of as
many subscribers,--a very small beginning, it must be owned. The race
was won by a filly by Sampson, belonging to Lord Rockingham, which was
afterwards named Allabaculia. In the following year the same stake had
twelve subscribers and ten starters, and was won by Mr Sotheron's
Bourbon. It was not, however, until the succeeding year, 1778, that it
was named the St Leger, in compliment to the founder, at the suggestion
of the marquis of Rockingham. The stakes were increased in 1832 to 50
sovs. each, and the weights have been raised from time to time to keep
pace with modern requirements. The Doncaster Cup, a weight for age race
for three-year-olds and upwards, was established in 1801. The course is
nearly flat, of an oval or kite shape, about 1¾ m. round the town-moor.
The Derby and Oaks.
The Epsom Derby and Oaks were established in 1779 and 1780, the Oaks in
the former and the Derby in the latter year. It is true that in 1730
Epsom races became annual, but the prizes were nothing more than the
usual plates run for in heats, the money required being raised by
voluntary subscriptions, as well by the owners of booths on the downs as
by the parties more immediately interested, whence arose the custom of
charges being made by the lord of the manor for permission to erect
booths, &c. during the race-meetings. On the 14th of May 1779 the
twelfth earl of Derby originated the Oaks stakes (named after his seat
or hunting-box "The Oaks" at Woodmansterne), a sweepstake for
three-year-old fillies run on a course 1½ m. long. The race was won by
Lord Derby's bay filly Bridget, bred by himself--her sire being Herod
and her dam Jemima. In the following year the earl established a
sweepstake of 50 sovs. each, half forfeit, for three-year-old colts.
This, the first Derby, was won by Sir C. Bunbury's chestnut colt Diomed
by Florizel, son of Herod, who beat eight opponents, including the duke
of Bolton's Bay Bolton and Lord Grosvenor's Diadem. These two races have
since been run for regularly every year, the Derby, which before 1839
was run on the Thursday, now taking place on the Wednesday, and the Oaks
on the Friday, in the same week at the end of May.
Ascot Races.
Ascot races, which are held on Ascot Heath, were established by the duke
of Cumberland, uncle of George III., and are patronized by royalty in
state or semi-state. They are mentioned in the first _Racing Calendar_,
published in 1727, but the races were for the most part plates and other
prizes of small importance, though a royal plate for hunters appears to
have been given in 1785. The Gold Cup was first given in 1807, and has
been regularly competed for ever since, though from 1845 to 1853
inclusive it went by the designation of the Emperor's Plate, the prize
being offered by the emperor of Russia. In 1854, during the Crimean War,
the cup was again called the Ascot Gold Cup, and was given from the race
fund. The Queen's Vase was first given in 1838, and the Royal Hunt Cup
in 1843, while in 1865 a new long-distance race for four-year-olds and
upwards was established, and named the Alexandra Plate, after the
Princess of Wales.
Goodwood.
Goodwood races were established by the duke of Richmond on the downs at
the northern edge of Goodwood Park in 1802, upon the earl of Egremont
discontinuing races in his park at Petworth. The races take place at the
end of July, on the close of the London season. The Goodwood Cup, the
chief prize of the meeting, was first given in 1812; but from 1815 to
1824 inclusive there was no race for it, with the single exception of
1816.
Two Thousand, &c.
During the latter half of the 18th century horse-racing declined very
much in England, and numbers of meetings were discontinued, the wars
which took place necessarily causing the change. From the beginning of
the 19th century, and especially after the conclusion of the French war
in 1815, racing rapidly revived, and many new meetings were either
founded or renewed after a period of suspension, and new races were from
time to time established. Among others the Two Thousand Guineas at
Newmarket for three-year-old colts and fillies, and the One Thousand
Guineas for fillies, were established in 1809 and 1814 respectively, the
Goodwood Stakes in 1823, the Chester Cup and Brighton Stakes in 1824,
the Liverpool Summer Cup in 1828, the Northumberland Plate in 1833, the
Manchester Cup in 1834, the Ascot Stakes and the Cesarewitch and
Cambridgeshire Handicaps at Newmarket in 1839, the Stewards' and
Chesterfield Cups at Goodwood in 1840, the Great Ebor Handicap at York
in 1843, and, to omit others, the City and Suburban Handicap at Epsom in
1851, and the Lincoln Handicap in 1853.
Two-year-old racing was established very shortly after the great
three-year-old races, and on a similar footing, that is to say, the
competitors carried the same weights, with the exception of a slight
allowance for sex,--the July Stakes at the Newmarket Midsummer Meeting
having been founded as early as 1786. The Woodcote Stakes at Epsom
succeeded in 1807, the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster in 1823, the
Criterion Stakes at the Houghton Meeting in 1829, the Chesterfield
Stakes at the Newmarket July meeting in 1834, the New Stakes at Ascot in
1843, the Middle Park Plate (or two-year-old Derby, as it is sometimes
called) at the Newmarket Second October Meeting in 1866, the Dewhurst
Plate at the Houghton Meeting in 1875, and the Richmond Stakes at
Goodwood in 1877. (E. D. B.)
Classic Races in England.
_Present Conditions._--Horse-racing, usually described as "the national
sport," has greatly advanced in general popularity in the British Isles.
There is no doubt that the best specimens of the English thoroughbred
horse are the finest animals of their kind in existence; the value of an
infusion of the blood for chargers, hunters, hacks, and other varieties
is scarcely to be overestimated; and the only way of ascertaining what
animals may be most judiciously employed for breeding purposes is to
submit them to the tests of preparation for and performance on the turf.
Racing is therefore a practical necessity. On some accepted authority,
the origin of which is not to be traced, five races run each season by
three-year-olds are distinguished as "classic." Of these the chief, by
universal consent, is the Derby, which takes place at Epsom during the
week which includes the 31st May. The Epsom course, on which the Derby
has been run since its origin in 1780, is by no means a good one, in
consequence of the abrupt turn at Tattenham Corner; and the severe
descent after this turn is made is also held to be a disadvantage,
though a really good horse should be able to act on ascents, descents
and level ground with equal relative facility. In many respects the St
Leger, run at Doncaster about the middle of September, is a better test,
as here colts and fillies meet when both are presumably able to do
themselves the fullest justice. September, indeed, has been called "the
Mares' Month," for though fillies are eligible to run in the Derby, they
are very frequently out of sorts and always more or less uncertain in
their performances during the summer--only four have been successful in
129 contests for the stake--whereas in the autumn their numerous
victories in the St Leger prove them to be at their best. It was the
recognition of this fact which induced an alteration of the weights in
the year 1882, previously to which fillies had carried 5 lb. less than
colts; the weights, formerly 8 st. 10 lb. and 8 st. 5 lb., are now 9 st.
and 8 st. 11 lb. The Doncaster course is superior for racing purposes to
that at Epsom, where the Oaks, another of the "classic races," is run on
the Friday following the Derby; the other two contests which come into
this category being the Two Thousand Guineas for colts and fillies, and
the One Thousand Guineas for fillies only. These races take place at
Newmarket during the First Spring Meeting, the former always on a
Wednesday, the latter on Friday. The expression "a Derby horse" is
common, but has no precise significance, as the three-year-olds vary
much in capacity from year to year. It is generally understood, for
instance, that Ormonde, who won the Derby in 1886, must have been at
least 21 lb. superior to Sir Visto or Jeddah, who were successful in
1895 and 1898. By their ability to carry weight the value of horses is
estimated on the turf. Thus one horse who beats another by a length over
a distance of a mile would be described as a 5-lb. better animal.
Handicap Horses.
The term "handicap horse" once had an adverse significance which it does
not now possess. In handicaps horses carry weight according to their
presumed capacity, as calculated by handicappers who are licensed by the
Jockey Club and employed by the directors of different meetings. The
idea of a handicap is to afford chances of success to animals who would
have no prospect of winning if they met their rivals on equal terms; but
of late years the value of handicaps has been so greatly increased that
few owners resist the temptation of taking part in them. Horses nowadays
who do not run in this kind of contest are very rare, though a few, such
as Ormonde, Isinglass, and Persimmon, never condescended to this class
of sport. The duke of Westminster did not hesitate to put his Derby
winner Bend Or into some of the chief handicaps; and it is, of course, a
great test of merit when horses carrying heavy weights show marked
superiority in these contests to rivals of good reputation more lightly
burdened. St Gatien, who dead-heated with Harvester in the Derby of
1884; Robert the Devil, who won the St Leger in 1880 and on several
occasions beat the Derby winner Bend Or; and La Flèche, who won the Oaks
and the St Leger in 1892, added to the esteem in which they were held by
their successes under heavy weights, the colts in the Cesarewitch, the
filly in the Cambridgeshire. Of the chief handicaps of the year, special
mention may be made of the City and Suburban, run at the Epsom Spring
Meeting over 1¼ m.; the Kempton Park Jubilee, over 1 m.; the Ascot
Stakes, 2 m., and the Royal Hunt Cup, 1 m.; the Stewards' Cup at
Goodwood, six furlongs; the Cesarewitch Stakes and the Cambridgeshire
Stakes at Newmarket, the former 2¼ m., the latter now a mile and a
furlong--till lately it was "a mile and a distance"--"a distance" on the
Turf being a fixed limit of 240 yds. The cups at Manchester, Newbury,
and Liverpool are also handicaps of some note, though it may be remarked
that the expression "a cup horse" is understood to imply an animal
capable of distinguishing himself over a long distance at even weights
against the best opponents. There are many other valuable stakes of
almost equal importance, diminishing to what are known as "selling
handicaps," the winners of which are always put up for sale by auction
immediately after the race, in the lowest class of them the condition
being that the winner is to be offered for £50. No stake of less than
£100 can be run for under Jockey Club rules, which govern all reputable
flat racing in England, nor is any horse ever entered to be sold for
less than £50. As horses mature they are naturally able to carry heavier
weights.
_Scale of Weight for Age._
The following scale of weight for age is published under the sanction
of the Stewards of the Jockey Club as a guide to managers of race
meetings, but is not intended to be imperative, especially as regards
the weights of two-and three-year olds relatively to the old horses in
selling races early in the year. It is founded on the scale published
by Admiral Rous, and revised by him in 1873, but has been modified in
accordance with suggestions from the principal trainers and practical
authorities.
+-----------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Age. |Mar. and| May. | June. | July. | Aug. | Sept. |Oct. and|
| | April. | | | | | | Nov. |
+-----------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|_Five Furlongs_--|st. lb.|st. lb.|st. lb.|st. lb.|st. lb.|st. lb.|st. lb.|
| Two years | 6 0 | 6 2 | 6 7 | 6 9 | 7 0 | 7 4 | 7 7 |
| Three years | 8 2 | 8 3 | 8 5 | 8 7 | 8 9 | 8 10 | 8 11 |
| Four years | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 |
| Five, six and | | | | | | | |
| aged | 9 1 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 |
|_Six Furlongs_-- | | | | | | | |
| Two years | 6 0 | 6 4 | 6 7 | 6 11 | 7 0 | 7 5 | 7 7 |
| Three years | 8 4 | 8 6 | 8 8 | 8 10 | 8 12 | 9 0 | 9 2 |
| Four years | 9 7 | 9 7 | 9 7 | 9 7 | 9 7 | 9 7 | 9 7 |
| Five, six and | | | | | | | |
| aged | 9 9 | 9 8 | 9 7 | 9 7 | 9 7 | 9 7 | 9 7 |
|_One Mile_-- | | | | | | | |
| Two years | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6 5 | 6 7 |
| Three years | 7 9 | 7 11 | 7 13 | 8 2 | 8 4 | 8 5 | 8 6 |
| Four years | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 |
| Five, six and | | | | | | | |
| aged | 9 4 | 9 3 | 9 2 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 |
|_One Mile and a | | | | | | | |
| Half_-- | | | | | | | |
| Two years | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6 0 | 6 4 |
| Three years | 7 7 | 7 9 | 7 11 | 7 13 | 8 1 | 8 3 | 8 5 |
| Four years | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 |
| Five, six and | | | | | | | |
| aged | 9 5 | 9 4 | 9 3 | 9 2 | 9 1 | 9 0 | 9 0 |
|_Two Miles_-- | | | | | | | |
| Two years | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6 0 | 6 2 |
| Three years | 7 8 | 7 11 | 7 12 | 8 0 | 8 3 | 8 4 | 8 5 |
| Four years | 9 4 | 9 4 | 9 4 | 9 4 | 9 4 | 9 4 | 9 4 |
| Five, six and | | | | | | | |
| aged | 9 10 | 9 9 | 9 8 | 9 7 | 9 6 | 9 5 | 9 4 |
|_Three Miles_-- | | | | | | | |
| Three years | 7 1 | 7 4 | 7 5 | 7 7 | 7 9 | 7 11 | 7 13 |
| Four years | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 9 0 |
| Five years | 9 8 | 9 7 | 9 6 | 9 5 | 9 5 | 9 4 | 9 3 |
| Six and aged | 9 10 | 9 8 | 9 7 | 9 6 | 9 5 | 9 4 | 9 3 |
+-----------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
£10,000 Races.
In the year 1884 the managers of Sandown Park formulated the scheme of a
race for a prize of £10,000, to be called the Eclipse Stakes, and to be
run over a distance of 1¼ m. In order to secure a large entry, horses
were to be nominated soon after their birth; owners who perceived the
hopelessness of their nominations could withdraw at stated intervals by
the payment of increasing forfeits; if their animals finally went to the
post a stake amounting in all to £115 would have to be paid for them;
and thus it will be seen that owners were really running for their own
money, though if there were an insufficient number of entries the funds
of the club might be taxed to supply the deficiency. The scheme was
found to be attractive, and the example was followed at Leicester and at
Manchester, at both of which places, however, it lapsed. At Newmarket,
under the immediate auspices of the Jockey Club, the £10,000 races
succeeded, and there were two of them each year. The Princess of Wales's
Stakes was run for the first time in 1894 at the First July Meeting, and
the Jockey Club Stakes at the First October. The former has, however,
now been reduced to £2000 added to a sweepstake of £30 each with a minor
forfeit. In the year 1900 a fourth race of similar character, the
Century Stakes, was originated at Sandown, but the experiment proved a
failure, and the contest was discontinued.
Two-year-old Races.
The age of the thoroughbred horse is always dated from the 1st January.
Foals are generally born in February, March or April, though not a few
good horses have been born in May; they become yearlings, therefore, on
the 1st January following, two-year-olds twelve months later, and many
of them begin to race in the following March, for flat racing always
starts during the week which contains the 25th, except when Easter falls
unusually early. In France no two-year-olds run until the 1st August,
and discussion is frequently raised as to the respective wisdom of the
English and French systems. It happens, however, that some young horses
"come to hand" soon, and deteriorate with equal rapidity. They are, in
fact, able to win races at the beginning of the season, and fail to hold
their own later in the year against bigger and more powerful animals of
their own age who have taken longer to mature; so that there is some
argument in favour of the earlier date. The first noteworthy
two-year-old race is the Brocklesby Stakes, run at Lincoln during the
first week of the season. Sometimes the winner of the Brocklesby is
really a good animal, as was the case with The Bard in 1885 and Donovan
in 1888, but as a general rule when the autumn comes he is found to be
far inferior to the winners of subsequent two-year-old races of good
class. It is seldom that a first-class two-year-old appears before the
Ascot Meeting about the middle of June, though horses of character
sometimes run for the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom and in other contests
elsewhere. The names of many of the most famous horses on the turf are
found in the list of winners of the New Stakes at Ascot, which was first
run in 1843 and maintains its character. In 1890 the Coventry Stakes was
originated, and is regarded as a race of practically equal importance.
The July Stakes at Newmarket is the oldest of existing two-year-old
races, having been first run in 1786. The list of winners is a brilliant
one. The Chesterfield Stakes ranks with it. The best two-year-olds are
usually seen out at Goodwood, and as a general rule those that have
chiefly distinguished themselves during the year, and are to make names
for themselves later in life, are found contesting the Middle Park Plate
at the Newmarket Second October Meeting and the Dewhurst Plate at the
Newmarket Houghton. The Middle Park Plate is generally worth over £2000,
the other races named are between £1000 and £2000 in value; but these
are not the richest two-year-old prizes of the year, the value of the
National Breeders' Produce Stakes at Sandown, run on the day following
the Eclipse, being between £4000 and £5000, and the Imperial Stakes at
Kempton Park falling not very far short of £3000. As a rule, a colt who
has been specially successful as a two-year-old maintains his capacity
later in life, unless it be found that he cannot "stay"--that is to say,
is unable to maintain his best speed over more than five or six
furlongs; but it is frequently the case that fillies who have won good
races as two-year-olds entirely lose their form and meet with little or
no success afterwards.
Newmarket.
Ascot and other meetings.
Newmarket is called with reason "the headquarters of the Turf." There
are about forty training establishments in the town, each trainer being
in charge of an average of thirty to forty horses, irrespective of
mares, foals and yearlings. During the year eight race meetings are held
on the Heath: the Craven; the First and Second Spring; the First and
Second October--the First October usually occurring at the end of
September; and the Houghton. These are contested on "the Flat," the
course which includes the Rowley Mile. It is said that the Rowley Mile
is so called from the fact of its having been a favourite race-ground
with Charles II. The First and Second July Meetings take place on
another course, known as "Behind the Ditch," the Ditch being the huge
embankment which runs through several counties and has existed from time
immemorial. The Craven Stakes for three-year-olds is an event of some
importance at the first meeting of the year. It used to finish on an
ascent at what is called the "Top of the Town," a course over which the
handicap for the Cambridgeshire was run. This course has now been
abandoned and the stand pulled down. At the First Spring Meeting the Two
Thousand Guineas and the One Thousand Guineas occur, as already stated,
but the names do not represent the values of the stakes, which are, in
fact, usually worth close on £5000 each. The July Stakes and the
Princess of Wales' Stakes are run at the First July Meeting. The Jockey
Club Stakes is the leading event of the First October; the Cesarewitch
and the Middle Park Plates follow in the Second October; the Criterion
Stakes, another of the few races that once finished at the "Top of the
Town," the Cambridgeshire and the Dewhurst Plate take place at the
Houghton Meeting. The majority of races finish at the Rowley Mile post;
but there are three other winning-posts along the Rowley Mile. "Behind
the Ditch" races finish at two different posts, one of which enables
horses to avoid the necessity of galloping up the severe ascent of the
"Bunbury Mile." Although, as a rule, there is no better racing to be
seen than the best events at Newmarket, the programmes are often spun
out by selling plates and paltry handicaps, and a high level is nowhere
so consistently maintained as at Ascot. The Ascot meeting is
distinguished by the entire absence of selling plates, and much more
"added money" is given than on any other course. Added money is the sum
supplied by the directors of a race meeting, derived by them from the
amounts paid for entrances to stands and enclosures; for in many
races--the Ten Thousand prizes, for instance--owners run mainly or
entirely for money which they have themselves provided. The Ascot Cup is
generally spoken of as a race success in which sets the seal to the fame
of a good horse. It is a prize of the highest distinction, and of late
years has been of considerable value, the winner in 1909 having gained
for his owner £3430. That the number of runners for this race should be
invariably small--the average for many years past has been about six--is
not a matter of surprise to those who are familiar with the Turf. There
are very few horses possessing sufficient speed and staying power to
make it worth the while of their owners to submit them to the
exceedingly severe test of a preparation for this race, which is run
over 2½ m. of ground at a time of year when the turf is almost always
extremely hard everywhere, and harder at Ascot than almost anywhere
else. There is no course on which more good horses have hopelessly
broken down. All the prizes are handsome, and success at Ascot confers
much prestige, for the reason that the majority of horses that run are
good ones; but annually there is a list of victims that never recover
from the effects of galloping on this ground. Goodwood also attracts
horses of high character, though some unimportant races fill out the
programme. Formerly there were many meetings around London, which fell
into disrepute in consequence of the manner in which they were
conducted. These have been replaced by well-managed gatherings in
enclosed parks, and here the value of the prizes is often so high that
the best horses in training are attracted. These meetings include
Sandown, Kempton, Gatwick, Lingfield, Newbury and Hurst Park. Liverpool,
Manchester, Birmingham, Brighton, York and various other towns have race
meetings twice or oftener in the course of each year. At the various
fixtures over half a million of money is annually given in stakes. The
largest sum ever won by a horse was the £57,185 gained by Isinglass in
1892-1895. Donovan follows with £54,935. In all probability these large
totals would have been considerably exceeded had not Flying Fox--who had
won in his first two seasons £40,090--been disqualified by the death of
his owner, the duke of Westminster, as this colt was engaged in the four
£10,000 races of 1900, in which to all appearance he could not have been
beaten, so much was he superior to his contemporaries. The death of an
owner of horses disqualifies the animals he has entered--a necessary
regulation, as otherwise an heir might be burdened with a stable of
horses the possession of which would entail heavy expense and serious
responsibility on a person who perhaps had no knowledge of or taste for
racing.
Value of horses.
The value of an unquestionably good horse is enormous. It has been seen
what handsome prizes are offered for competition, and when withdrawn
from the Turf the horse may secure a large income to his owner at the
stud. A stallion's fee of 600 guineas (as in the case of St Simon)
should mean well over £20,000 a year; and fees of 100 guineas and more
are common. Proved merit on the Turf is considered essential in a sire,
though there have been instances of horses, unsuccessful during their
racing career, who have distinguished themselves at the stud: Wisdom,
sire of the Derby winner Sir Hugo, and several notable examples might be
cited. Mares are much more uncertain in this respect. On the whole, the
famous mares that have won the Oaks, the St Leger and other leading
races, have been apt to fail in the paddocks; but there is always a hope
of success with them, and the large sum of 12,600 guineas was paid for
La Flèche when she had ceased from active service on the Turf. For
None-the-Wiser 7200 guineas was given; and 4600 guineas for Wedlock when
well advanced in years, on the strength of her having been the dam of a
good horse called Best Man. Well-bred mares that have shown no capacity
for racing are, however, frequently the dams of good winners. Breeding
is a lottery. An Australian enthusiast some years since published a book
the object of which was to enable breeders to produce good horses by a
species of mathematical calculation; but the fallacy of the "Figure
System" was at once proved by the simple circumstance that in very many
cases the own brothers and sisters of good winners, whose breeding
conformed entirely to the system, proved to be utterly worthless for
racing purposes. It is a fact difficult of explanation that the majority
of famous winners have been privately bred by their owners. Many persons
breed for sale, in some cases sparing no expense or trouble in the
endeavour to secure good results, and yearlings sold by auction have
fetched prices of from 10,000 guineas (paid for Sceptre, a daughter of
Persimmon and Ornament, in 1900) downwards; sums of over 1000 guineas
being frequently given. That so large a proportion of high-priced
yearlings should turn out failures is not at all a matter for surprise,
considering the uncertainties of the Turf, but it by no means follows
that a high-priced yearling is necessarily an expensive animal; 5500
guineas was, for instance, given for La Flèche, who won for her owner
£34,585 in stakes, and, as already observed, was subsequently sold for
12,600 guineas. The principal yearling sales take place during the July
meeting at Newmarket and the Doncaster meeting in September. There are
also sales at Ascot and elsewhere. The Royal Stud at Bushey Park, where
Memoir, La Flèche, Best Man and other good animals were bred, has now
been abandoned.
Trainers and jockeys.
In many cases trainers have graduated from jockeys. The usual charge to
an owner is 50s. a week per horse, but, as regards the cost of a horse
in training, to this there are various additions irrespective of
entrances to races, forfeits, travelling, jockey's fees, &c. The
recognized sum paid to a jockey is 3 guineas for a losing mount, 5
guineas for winning. In many cases special terms are made; the principal
owners usually have a claim on a rider's services, and for this call as
much as £5000 per annum, exclusive of the usual riding fees, has been
given.
From time immemorial until within a very recent period jockeys rode in
much the same style, though, of course, with varying degrees of skill.
Many hundreds of boys exercise daily at Newmarket and other training
grounds, all of them necessarily having a firm seat in the saddle, for
the thoroughbred horse is, as a rule, high-couraged and apt to play
violent tricks; but though most of these lads find chances to
distinguish themselves in trials and races for apprentices, probably not
5% grow into professional jockeys, increasing weight keeping many from
the business, as a jockey has few chances unless he can ride well under
9 stone. Knowledge of pace is a rare gift or acquisition which is
essential to successful jockeyship. The rider must also be quick to
perceive how his own horse is going--what he has "left in him"; he must
understand at a glance which of his rivals are beaten and which are
still likely to be dangerous; must know when the moment comes for the
supreme effort to be made, and how to balance and prepare the horse for
that critical struggle. At the beginning of the race the jockey used to
stand in his stirrups, with the idea of removing weight from the horse's
back and preserving perfect steadiness; towards the end of the race, if
it were necessary to drive the animal home, he sat down "to finish."
This method used to be adopted in all countries, but recently a new
system came into practice in America. Instead of putting the saddle in
the middle of the horse's back, where it had always been placed
previously, it was shifted forward on to the animal's withers. The
jockey rode with very short stirrups, leaning forward over the neck and
grasping the reins within a few inches of the horse's mouth. The
appearance of this was ungainly in the extreme and an entire departure
from ancient ways (though Fordham and a few other riders of great
reputation had always sat much more forward than their contemporaries),
but it was found to be remarkably effective. From the position thus
adopted there was less resistance to the wind, and though the saving in
this respect was largely exaggerated, in racing, where success or
failure is frequently a matter of a very few inches, every little that
helps is to be considered. The value of the discovery lay almost
entirely in the fact that the horse carries weight better--and is
therefore able to stride out more freely--when it is placed well forward
on his shoulders. With characteristic conservatism the English were slow
to accept the new plan. Several American jockeys, however, came to
England. In all the main attributes of horsemanship there was no reason
to believe that they were in the least superior to English jockeys, but
their constant successes required explanation, and the only way to
account for them appeared to be that horses derived a marked advantage
from the new system of saddling. A number of English riders followed the
American lead, and those who did so met with an unusual degree of
success. Race-riding, indeed, was in a very great measure revolutionized
in the closing years of the 19th century.
Foreign horses.
Of late years American horses--bred, it must always be remembered, from
stock imported from England--have won many races in England. Australian
horses have also been sent to the mother country, with results
remunerative to their owners, and the intermixture of blood which will
necessarily result should have beneficial consequences. French
horses--i.e. horses bred in France from immediate or from more or less
remote English parentage--have also on various occasions distinguished
themselves on English race-courses. That coveted trophy, the Ascot Cup,
was won by a French horse, Elf II., in 1898, it having fallen also to
the French-bred Verneuil in 1878, to Boiard in 1874, to Henry in 1872
and to Mortemer in 1871. In the Cesarewitch Plaisanterie (3 yrs., 7 st.
8 lb.) and Ténébreuse (4 yrs., 8 st. 12 lb.) were successful in 1885 and
1888; and Plaisanterie also carried off the Cambridgeshire as a
three-year-old with the heavy weight of 8 st. 12 lb. in a field of 27
runners. In most respects racing in France is conducted with
praiseworthy discrimination. There are scarcely any of the five- and
six-furlong scrambles for horses over two years old which are such
common features of English programmes.
Time.
That the horses who have covered various distances in the shortest times
on record must have been exceptionally speedy animals is obvious. The
times of races, however, frequently form a most deceptive basis in any
attempt to gauge the relative capacity of horses. A good animal will
often win a race in bad time, for the reason that his opponents are
unable to make him exert himself to the utmost. Not seldom a race is
described as having been "won in a canter," and this necessarily
signifies that if the winner had been harder pressed he would have
completed the course more quickly. The following figures show the
shortest times that had been occupied in winning over various distances
up to the spring of 1910:--
M. S.
/ Mirida (2 years), Epsom, 1905 \
Five furlongs < Le Buff (aged), Epsom, 1903 > 0 56(2/5)
\ Master Willie (aged), Epsom, 1903 /
Six furlongs Master Willie (5 years), Epsom, 1901 1 7(1/5)
Seven furlongs Vav (4 years), Epsom, 1907 1 20(3/5)
Mile Caiman (4 years), Lingfield, 1900 1 33(1/5)
Mile and a quarter Housewife (3 years), Brighton, 1904 2 1(4/5)
Mile and a half Zinfandel (3 years), Manchester, 1903 2 28(4/5)
Mile and three quarters Golden Measure (4 years), York, 1906 2 57(4/5)
Two miles Pradella (aged), Ascot, 1906 3 19(2/5)
Two miles and a half Bachelor's Button, Ascot, 1906 4 23(1/5)
Three miles Corrie Roy, Ascot, 1884 5 9
It may be noted that, as compared with similar records in 1901, only
three of these latter held good in 1910, i.e. the mile, the six
furlongs and the three miles. The fastest times over a mile and a half
(the Derby and Oaks distance) up to 1901 may be repeated here as of
some interest: Avidity, 2 min. 30(4/5) secs., in September 1901 at
Doncaster; Santoi, 2 min. 31 secs., in May 1901 at Hurst Park; King's
Courier, 2 min. 31 secs., in 1900 at Hurst Park; Landrail, 2 min. 34
secs., in September 1899 at Doncaster; Carbiston, 2 min. 37(2/5)
secs., in August 1899 at York; Bend Or, 2 min. 40 secs., in 1881 at
Epsom (gold cup): Volodyovski won the Derby in 1901, and Memoir the
Oaks in 1890, in 2 min. 40(4/5) secs.
As regards time in famous races, Ormonde, perhaps the best horse of the
19th century--one, at any rate, that can scarcely have had a
superior--occupied 2 minutes 45(3/5) seconds in winning the Derby; and
Lonely, one of the worst mares that have won the Oaks, galloped the same
mile and a half in 2 seconds less. Ormonde's St Leger time was 3 m.
21(2/5) s., and Sir Visto, one of the poorest specimens of a winner of
the great Doncaster race, took 3 m. 18(2/5) s. The regulation of the
weight to be carried serves to "bring the horses together," as the
popular sporting phrase runs--that is to say, it equalizes their chances
of winning; hence handicaps, the carrying of penalties by winners of
previous races, and the granting of "maiden allowances." A horse that
has never won a race, and is therefore known as a "maiden," often has an
allowance of as much as 7 lb. made in its favour.
The Jockey Club.
Sport is carried on under the auspices of the Jockey Club, a
self-elected body of the highest standing, whose powers are absolute and
whose sway is judicious and beneficent. Three stewards, one of whom
retires each year, when a successor is nominated, govern the active--and
extremely arduous--work of the club. They grant licences to trainers and
jockeys and all officials, and supervise the whole business of racing.
The stewards of the Jockey Club are _ex officio_ stewards of Ascot,
Epsom, Goodwood and Doncaster. All other meetings are controlled by
stewards, usually well-known patrons of the Turf invited to act by the
projectors of the fixture, who settle disputed points, hear and
adjudicate on objections, &c., and, if special difficulties arise,
report to the stewards of the Jockey Club, whose decision is final.
Steeplechasing.
Steeplechasing has altered entirely since the first introduction of this
essentially British sport. In early days men were accustomed to match
their hunters against each other and ride across country to a fixed
point near to some steeple which guided them on their way; and this is
no doubt, in several respects, a class of sport superior to that now
practised under the name of steeplechasing; for it tested the capacity
of the horse to jump fences of all descriptions, and provided the rider
with opportunities of showing his readiness and skill in picking the
best line of country. But racing of this kind afforded spectators a very
small chance of watching the struggle; and made-up steeplechase courses,
the whole circuit of which could be viewed from the enclosures, came
into existence. The steeplechase horse has also changed. The speed of
the thoroughbred is so much greater than that of all other breeds that
if one were in the field, if he only stood up and could jump a little,
his success was certain; consequently, except in "point-to-point" races,
organized by various hunts, where a qualification is that all starters
must have been regularly ridden with hounds, few other than thoroughbred
horses are nowadays ever found in races run under the rules of the
National Hunt Committee, the body which governs the sport of
steeplechasing. A considerable proportion of existing steeplechase
horses have done duty on the flat. Members of certain equine families
display a special aptitude for jumping; thus the descendants of Hermit,
who won the Derby in 1867, are very frequently successful in
steeplechases--Hermit's son Ascetic, the sire of Cloister, Hidden
Mystery and other good winners, is a notable case in point. The sons and
daughters of Timothy and of several other Hermit horses often jump well.
When a flat-race horse appears to have comparatively poor prospects of
winning under Jockey Club rules, he is frequently, if he "looks like
jumping," schooled for steeplechasing, generally in the first place over
hurdles, and subsequently over what is technically called "a country,"
beginning with small fences, over which he canters, led by some steady
animal who is to be depended on to show the way. A great many
steeplechase horses also come from Ireland. They are usually
recognizable as thoroughbred, though it is possible that in some cases
the name of an ancestor may be missing from the Stud Book. Irish
horse-masters are for the most part particularly skilful in schooling
jumpers, and the grass and climate of Ireland appear to have beneficial
effects on young stock; but, as a rule, the imported Irish horse
improves considerably in an English training-stable, where he is better
fed and groomed than in most Irish establishments. All steeplechase
courses must at the present time contain certain regulation jumps, the
nature of which is specified in the National Hunt rules:--
44. In all steeplechase courses there shall be at least twelve fences
(exclusive of hurdles) in the first 2 m., and at least six fences in
each succeeding m. There shall be a water jump at least 12 ft. wide
and 2 ft. deep, to be left open, or guarded only by a perpendicular
fence not exceeding 2 ft. in height. There shall be in each m. at
least one ditch 6 ft. wide and 3 ft. deep on the taking-off side of
the fence, which ditch may be guarded by a single rail, or left open,
and which fence must be 4 ft. 6 in. in height, and, if of dead
brushwood or gorse, 2 ft. in width.
45. In all hurdle-race courses there shall be not less than eight
flights of hurdles in the first 2 m., with an additional flight of
hurdles for every quarter of a m. or part of one beyond that distance,
the height of the hurdles being not less than 3 ft. 6 in. from the
bottom bar to the top bar.
Natural fences would no doubt be desirable if they could be utilized;
but it is obvious that fences must be made up, because when the same
hedge is jumped frequently, and for the most part in the same place--as
it is the object of riders to go the shortest way round--gaps would
necessarily be made. The use of these made courses naturally renders
the sport somewhat artificial, but under existing conditions this is
unavoidable; and as a matter of fact, by reason of the conformation of
the ground, the arrangement and make of the fences, courses do vary in
no small degree. The steeplechase horse differs from the hunter in his
method of jumping. In riding to hounds a man usually steadies his horse
at a fence, and in almost every case the animal "dwells" more or less
after the leap. In a steeplechase, where speed is everything, horses
must be taught to dash resolutely at their jumps without hesitation, and
to get away with no pause on the other side; as a rule, therefore, an
old steeplechase horse who is employed as a hunter is rarely a pleasant
mount for any but a bold rider. It has been remarked that steeplechase
horses are usually in the first place schooled over hurdles, and many
animals remain hurdle racers till the end. More speed is required for
hurdles than for a steeplechase course, and there is more money to be
won over hurdles than over "a country." No hurdle race is worth so much
as the Grand National or the Lancashire Handicap Steeplechase, the two
richest prizes now offered; but, with the exception of these,
hurdle-race stakes are as a rule of greater value. Except as a
spectacle, there is little to be said in defence of this mongrel
business, which is neither one thing nor the other; but hurdle races are
popular and are therefore likely to continue. A few years ago an attempt
was made to discriminate between what were called "hunters" and handicap
steeplechase horses, and certain races were only open to the former
class. It proved, however, to be a distinction without a difference;
thoroughbred horses crept into the ranks of the so-called hunters, and
when nominal hunters began to be entered for, and in some cases to win,
the Grand National and other important steeplechases, for which they
could be nominated by abandoning their qualification of hunter, the
meaningless title was relinquished. Still more absurd were the hunters'
flat races of a former day. In order to compete in these the rule was
that an owner must produce a certificate from a master of hounds to the
effect that his horse had been hunted. Thoroughbreds who lacked speed to
win under Jockey Club rules used to be ridden to a meet, perhaps
cantered across a field or two, and were then supposed to have become
hunters. Animals who were genuinely and regularly utilized for the
pursuit of foxes had of course no chance against these race-horses in
shallow disguise. What are called National Hunt flat races still exist,
the qualification being that a horse must have been placed first, second
or third in a steeplechase in Great Britain or Ireland, after having
jumped all the fences and completed the whole distance of the race to
the satisfaction of at least two of the stewards, to whom previous
notice must have been given in writing. There are no handicaps for such
animals, and none is allowed to carry less than 11 stone. No race under
National Hunt rules can be of a shorter distance than 2 m., except for
three-year-olds, who sometimes run a mile and a half over hurdles; and
the lowest weight carried can never be less than 10 stone except in a
handicap steeplechase of 3½ m. or upwards, when it may be 9 st. 7 lb.
Horses are ridden in these races either by gentlemen, or qualified
riders or jockeys. The first of these classes comprises officers on full
pay in the army or navy, persons holding commissions under the Crown,
bearing titles either in their own right or by courtesy, or members of
certain social and racing clubs. Qualified riders may be farmers holding
at least a hundred acres of land, their sons if following the same
occupation, and persons elected by members of the National Hunt
Committee, a proviso being that they must never have ridden for hire;
but it is feared that this rule is in not a few cases evaded.
Professional jockeys are paid £5 for each mount or £10 if they win. The
sport is governed by the National Hunt Committee, a body which receives
delegated powers from the Jockey Club, and six stewards are elected
every year to supervise the business of the various meetings.
Steeplechases and hurdle races are either handicaps or weight-for-age
races according to the following scale:--
_For Steeplechases of 3 miles and upwards._
From the 1st of January to the 30th of June, both inclusive:--
4 yrs. 5 yrs. 6 and aged
10 st. 3 lb. 11 st. 8 lb. 12 st. 3 lb.
From the 1st of July to the 31st of December, both inclusive:--
4 yrs. 5 yrs. 6 and aged
11 st. 11 st. 12 lb. 12 st. 3 lb.
_For Steeplechases of less than 3 miles._
From the 1st of January to the 30th of June, both inclusive:--
4 yrs. 5 yrs. 6 and aged
10 st. 10 lb. 11 st. 10 lb. 12 st. 3 lb.
From the 1st of July to the 31st of December, both inclusive:--
4 yrs. 5 yrs. 6 and aged
11 st. 6 lb. 12 st. 12 st. 3 lb.
_For Hurdle Races._
From the 1st of January to the 31st of August, inclusive:--
4 yrs. 5 yrs. 6 and aged
11 st. 6 lb. 11 st. 10 lb. 12 st. 0 lb.
From the 1st of September to the 31st of December, inclusive:--
3 yrs. 4 yrs. 5, 6, and aged
10 st. 7 lb. 11 st. 12 lb. 12 st. 3 lb.
The Grand National.
The great test of merit in a steeplechase horse is success in the Grand
National, which is always run at Liverpool during the first week of the
flat-racing season. The course is 4½ m., and includes thirty jumps, the
fences being for the most part larger than are found elsewhere. The
average time occupied is well under ten minutes. The stake has varied in
value since the race was originated in 1839; it now amounts to close on
£2500. Only a very small percentage of steeplechase horses possess the
speed and staying power to give them a chance in this race, and the
number of entries year by year falls considerably short of a hundred,
the prospects of many of these usually appearing hopeless to all but
unduly sanguine owners. The average number of starters during the period
1860-1901 was rather over twenty. As many as thirty-two competed in
1909, when the French-bred Latteur III. won; in 1883, when Zoedone,
ridden by her owner, Count Kinsky, was successful, only ten went to the
post. Mishaps are almost invariably numerous; in most years about
one-third complete the course. So severe is the task that for a long
time many good judges of steeplechasing believed that no horse with more
than 12 stone on his back could possibly win. In 1893, however, Cloister
won in a canter by forty lengths carrying 12 st. 7 lb., and with the
same weight Manifesto also won in 1899. The race which most nearly
approaches the Grand National in importance is the Lancashire Handicap
Steeplechase, run at Manchester over 3½ m. early in April. The stake is
worth about £1750. An interesting steeplechase called the Grand Sefton
takes place at Liverpool about the middle of November; the distance is 3
m. During the winter, and extending into the spring, steeplechasing and
hurdle racing are carried on at Sandown, Kempton, Gatwick, Lingfield,
Newbury and Hurst Park; at Ludlow, Newmarket, Aldershot, Birmingham,
Manchester, Windsor and other places. A race called the National Hunt
Steeplechase, under the immediate patronage of the National Hunt
Committee, is run annually over a 4-mile course, the stake being £1000.
Managers of various courses bid for the privilege of having the race on
their ground, and it is therefore found in different localities. A
condition is that no horse who has ever won a race can compete; and, as
few owners are willing to keep their animals with a view to success in
this event, the field consists either of unknown horses or of those that
have been beaten.
AUSTRALIA
Racing in Australia has its headquarters at Sydney, under the
government of the Australian Jockey Club, the principal course being
at Ranwick; and at Melbourne, where the Victoria Jockey Club is
supreme, the principal course being at Flemington. In New Zealand
sport is carried on under the authority of delegates from the chief
racing clubs, who meet in conference. There is a Sydney Derby and a
Victoria Derby, and a notable event at Flemington is the Champion
Race, weight-for-age, for three-year-olds and upwards, which usually
attracts the best horses in training, as the fee at which a sire
stands depends in a great measure on his success in this contest. This
race is over a distance of 3 m., and to ensure a good pace there is a
regulation that the time in which it is run must not exceed 5 minutes
40 seconds, though the stewards have power to extend this in case the
ground should be made exceptionally heavy by rainy weather. The
Melbourne Cup is regarded as one of the most important races in the
state. This is a handicap, and in comparison with English races may
perhaps be ranked with the Cesarewitch. The birth of horses dates from
the 1st of August, which corresponds as nearly as possible to the 1st
of February in England, so that the Australian horses are practically
seven months younger than the English--a matter of some importance in
the case of those sent to run in England. There are few races which
close long before the date of decision, and practically all the good
animals run in handicaps. The five- and six-furlong races for other
than two-year-olds, so common in Great Britain, are extremely rare;
and it is asserted by colonial sportsmen that their horses stay better
than those bred in England, a circumstance which is largely attributed
to the fact that mares and foals have much more liberty and exercise
than is the case in the mother country.
UNITED STATES
Horse-racing was indulged in to a limited extent in Maryland and
Virginia as early as the middle of the 17th century, particularly in the
latter colony. Most of the inhabitants of both were either from the
British Isles or were descended from parents who had immigrated from
them, and they inherited a taste for the sport. The animals used for
this purpose, however, were not highly prized at the time, and the
pedigree of not even one of them has been preserved. A horse called
Bully Rock by the Darley Arabian out of a mare by the Byerly Turk,
granddam by the Lister Turk, great-granddam a royal mare, foaled 1718,
is the first recorded importation of a thoroughbred horse into America.
He was imported into Virginia in 1730. In 1723 the duke of Bolton bred a
mare named Bonny Lass by his celebrated horse Bay Bolton out of a
daughter of the Darley Arabian. She became celebrated in England as a
brood mare, and was the first thoroughbred mare, according to the
records, that was carried to America. This is supposed to have been in
or after 1740, as the _Stud-Book_ shows she produced in England after
1739 a filly by Lord Lonsdale's Arabian, and subsequently became
familiar to the public as the granddam of Zamora. The importations
increased very rapidly from this period, and many valuable shipments
were made before the war which resulted in a separation of the colonies
from the mother country. This acquisition of thoroughbred stock
increased the number and value of racing prizes, and extended the area
of operations into the Carolinas in the South, and New Jersey and New
York in the North. The first race run in South Carolina was in February
1734 for £20. It took place over "the Green," on Charleston Neck. This
shows that the earlier races in America were actually on the turf, as
they have always been in England. The next year a Jockey Club was
organized at Charleston (1735), and a course was prepared, such as those
which came later into general use throughout the states, the turf being
removed and the ground made as level as possible.
After 1776, when the United States declared their independence of Great
Britain, the importation of thoroughbred horses from England became
quite common, and selections were made from the best stocks in the
United Kingdom. This continued and even increased as the country became
developed, down to 1840. The following Derby winners were among those
carried into the states: Diomed, who won the first Derby in 1780;
Saltram, winner in 1783; John Bull, winner in 1792; Spread Eagle, winner
in 1795; Sir Harry, winner in 1798; Archduke, winner in 1799; and Priam,
who won in 1830. The most important and valuable importations, however,
proved to be Jolly Roger, Fearnought, Medley, Traveller, Diomed,
Glencoe, Leviathan, Tranby, Lexington, Margrave, Yorkshire Buzzard,
Albion and Leamington. The best results were obtained from Diomed and
Glencoe. Diomed sired one horse, Sir Archy, who founded a family to
which nearly all the blood horses of America trace back. He was foaled
in 1805, in Virginia, and became celebrated as a sire. The superiority
of his progeny was so generally conceded that they were greatly sought
after. From this period, too, the number and value of races increased;
still they were comparatively few in number, and could not compare in
value with those of Great Britain. Up to 1860 the value of racing prizes
was quite inadequate to develop large breeding establishments, or to
sustain extensive training stables. Then the civil war between the North
and the South broke out, which raged for four years. Breeding
establishments were broken up during that time; the horses were taken by
the armies for cavalry purposes, for which service they were highly
prized; and racing was completely paralysed. It took some time to regain
its strength; but an era of prosperity set in about 1870, and since then
the progress in interest has been continuous.
In the United States interest in trotting races more than rivals that
felt in the contests of thoroughbred horses. This interest dates back to
the importation to Philadelphia from England, in 1788, of the
thoroughbred horse Messenger, a grey stallion, by Mambrino, 1st dam by
Turf, 2nd dam by Regulus, 3rd dam by Starling, 4th dam by Fox, 5th dam
Gipsey, by Bay Bolton, 6th dam by duke of Newcastle's Turk, 7th dam by
Byerly Turk, 8th dam by Taffolet Barb, 9th dam by Place's White Turk. He
was eight years old when imported to the United States. He was at the
stud for twenty years, in the vicinity of Philadelphia and New York,
serving a number of thoroughbred mares, but a far greater number of
cold-blooded mares, and in the progeny of the latter the trotting
instinct was almost invariably developed, while his thoroughbred sons,
who became scattered over the country, were also noted for transmitting
the trotting instinct. The first public trotting race of which there is
any account in the United States was in 1818, when the grey gelding
Boston Blue was matched to trot a mile in 3 minutes, a feat deemed
impossible; but he won, though the time of his performance has not been
preserved. From about that date interest in this gait began to increase;
breeders of trotters sprang up, and horses were trained for trotting
contests. The problem of breeding trotters has been necessarily found to
be a much more complex one than that of breeding the thoroughbred, as in
the latter case pure blood lines of long recognized value could be
relied upon, while in the former the best results were constantly being
obtained from most unexpected sources. Among the leading families came
to be the Hambletonian, of which the modern head was Rysdyk's
Hambletonian, a bay horse foaled in 1849, got by Abdallah (traced to
imp. Messenger on the side of both sire and dam) out of the Charles Kent
mare, by imp. (i.e. imported) Bellfounder, with two crosses to imp.
Messenger on her dam's side; the Mambrinos, whose modern head was
Mambrino Chief, foaled 1844, by Mambrino Paymaster, a grandson of imp.
Messenger; the Bashaws, founded by Young Bashaw, foaled 1822, by Grand
Bashaw, an Arabian horse, dam Pearl, by First Consul; the Clays,
springing from Henry Clay, a grandson of Young Bashaw through Andrew
Jackson; the Stars, springing from Stockholm's American Star, by Duroc,
son of imp. Diomed; the Morgans, whose founder was Justin Morgan, foaled
1793, by a horse called True Briton, or Beautiful Bay, who was probably
thoroughbred; the Black Hawks, a branch of the Morgan family; the Blue
Bulls, descended from Doyle's Blue Bull, foaled 1855, a pacer, sired by
a pacer of the same name, dam by Blacknose, son of Medoc; the Canadians,
whose best representatives were St Lawrence and pacing Pilot, horses of
unknown pedigree; the Gold Dusts, another branch of the Morgan family;
and the Royal Georges, springing from Tippoo, a horse who was probably
by Ogden's Messenger, son of imp. Messenger. But trotters of great speed
have been produced which do not trace to any of the sources mentioned.
Very large prices are paid. Steinway, a three-year-old colt, was sold in
1879, to go to California, for $13,000; and in 1878 $21,000 was paid for
the four-year-old filly Maud S., after she had trotted a mile in public
in 2 m. 17½ s. Much larger sums have been paid, however, for matured
trotters, such as $40,000 for the stallion Smuggler, $38,000 for
Pocahontas, $35,000 for Dexter, $36,000 for Rarus, and long prices for
many others; St Julien, the trotter with the fastest record at the close
of 1879, was held at $50,000, while Rysdyk's Hambletonian, Messenger
Duroc and Volunteer were valued, in their prime, at $100,000 each.
Compared with the early days of American trotting, the advance has been
rapid and the changes marked. After the performance of Boston Blue,
mentioned above, more attention was paid to the gait, but for a long
time the races were generally under saddle, and at long distances, 3 m.
being rather the favourite. The best of the old time trotters were Edwin
Forrest, who trotted a mile in 2 m. 31½ s. in 1834; Dutchman, who did 3
m. under saddle in 7 m. 32½ s.; Ripton; Lady Suffolk, who trotted a mile
in 2 m. 26½ s. in 1843, and headed the list of performers; Mac, Tacony,
&c. After 1850, however, the taste of the people settled upon the style
of race called "mile heats, best three out of five, in harness" as the
favourite. By "in harness" is meant that the horse draws a sulky, a
light two-wheeled vehicle in which the driver sits close to the horse,
with his legs on each side of his flanks. These sulkies often weigh less
than 40 lb. The driver is required to weigh, with the blanket on which
he sits, 150 lb., while for saddle races the regulation weight is 145
lb., or 10 st. 5 lb. Each heat of a mile is a separate race; 20 minutes
is allowed between heats; and the horse that first places three heats to
his credit wins the race. There are various penalties imposed upon a
horse that breaks into a run in a trotting race. The driver is required
to pull him to a trot as quickly as possible; if the horse gains by
running, the judges set him back at the finish twice the distance he has
gained, in their estimation, by running; and for repeated "breaks" they
can declare him distanced. The first-class tracks are of oval shape,
with long stretches and easy curves, measuring 1 m. at 3 ft. distance
from the "pole," as the inner railing of the track is called. The time
in which the leading horse trots each heat is accurately kept, placed on
a blackboard in front of the judges' stand for the information of the
public, and also placed in the book of the course. The fastest time that
any trotter has is thus entered as his "record." This is one of the
distinctive features of trotting in America.
Prior to 1866 purses for trotters were small; match races were more in
vogue, and the trotting turf was in bad odour. In that year an
association was formed at Buffalo, N.Y., which inaugurated its efforts
by offering the then unprecedented sum of $10,500 for a trotting meeting
of four days' duration. The experiment was successful; other cities
followed the example of Buffalo; larger and larger purses were given;
and at Buffalo in 1872 the prizes amounted to $70,000. Since then the
amount offered in the United States and Canada, during a single year,
has reached $1,500,000. Individual trotters, in the course of a long
turf career, earn enormous amounts. A remarkable instance of this was
the mare Goldsmith Maid, by Alexander's Abdallah (a son of Rysdyk's
Hambletonian), out of an Abdallah mare. She began trotting in 1866, and
left the turf in 1878, when twenty-one years old, and her winnings
amounted to over $200,000.
In 1869 the National Trotting Association was formed, under which an
elaborate code of rules has been published.
In trotting races, it will be noted, the time test is supreme, differing
from running races, in which time is of comparatively little
consequence. The animal which has the fastest record for 1 mile in
harness is, until deposed, the king or queen of the trotting turf. Lady
Suffolk, with her record of 2 m. 26½ s., in 1843, held this honour until
1853, when Tacony trotted in 2 m. 25½ s. under saddle; Flora Temple
wrested it from him in 1856 by trotting in 2 m. 24½ s. in harness. This
latter mare, in 1859, trotted a mile in 2 m. 19¾ s., a feat which the
best horsemen thought would never be repeated, but since that time
forty-two trotters have beaten 2 m. 20 s. Dexter's record was 2 m. 17¼
s. in 1867, and Goldsmith Maid's in 1871 was 2 m. 17 s., which she
reduced, by successive efforts, to 2 m. 16¾ s., 2 m. 16 s., 2 m. 15 s.,
2 m. 14¾ s., and finally, in 1874, to 2 m. 14 s. In 1878 Rarus trotted a
mile in 2 m. 13¼ s., and in October 1879 the bay gelding St Julien, by
Volunteer, son of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, dam by Henry Clay, trotted a
mile in California in 2 m. 12¾ s. Other notable performances reducing
the record were Maud S. in 1881, 2 m. 10¼ s.; Maud S. in 1885, 2 m. 8¾
s.; Sunol in 1891, 2 m. 8¼ s.; Nancy Hanks in 1892, 2 m. 4 s.; Alix in
1894, 2 m. 3¾ s.; Cresceus in 1901, 2 m. 2¼ s.; Lou Dillon in 1905, 1 m.
58½ s. Improved times have doubtless been the result of improved
methods, as well as of care in the breeding of the trotter. Some very
severe training rules used to be sedulously observed; about 1870, for
instance, a horse never had water the night before a race, and the
system generally appears to have overtaxed the animal's strength. A
prominent consideration in trotting races is the adjustment of
toe-weights, which are fastened on to the horses' feet to equalize their
action, and it is found that horses improve their time to the extent of
several seconds when properly shod.
Pacing races are also frequent in the United States. In trotting the
action may be described as diagonal; the pacer moves both legs on the
same side at the same time, and both feet stride as one. A similar
"gait," to employ the American term, was called in England some
centuries ago an "amble." The pacer moves more easily and with
apparently less exertion than the trotter, and the mile record (made by
Prince Alert in 1903) stands at 1 m. 57 s.
Owing to the vast size of the country there are various centres of
sport, which can be classified with reasonable accuracy as follows: the
Eastern States, dominated by the Jockey Club, founded in New York in
1894, and recognized by a state law in 1895; the Middle Western States,
under the control of the Western Jockey Club, whose headquarters are in
Chicago; the Pacific Coast, with San Francisco for its centre; and the
Southern and South-Western States, with Louisville as the most important
centre. The passage of the racing law in New York State marked the
opening of a new era. Supreme even over the Jockey Club is a State
Racing Commission of three, appointed by the governor of the state.
While the Jockey Club is only recognized by law in its native state, it
has assumed and maintains control of all racing on the eastern seaboard,
within certain lines of latitude and longitude, extending as far north
as the Canadian border and south to Georgia. There is small question
that other states, both east and west, will follow suit and enact
similar laws. The Western Jockey Club, though not recognized by law,
controls practically all the racing through the middle west, south-west
and south; but the racing associations of the Pacific Coast have
maintained a position of independence.
What New York is to the east, Chicago is to the middle west, and a very
large proportion of American racing is conducted close to these centres.
In New York State the Coney Island Jockey Club, at Sheepshead Bay; the
Brooklyn Jockey Club, at Gravesend; the Westchester Racing Association,
at Morris Park; the Brighton Beach Racing Association, at Brighton
Beach; the Queen's County Jockey Club, at Aqueduct; and the Saratoga
Racing Association, at Saratoga, are the leading organizations; and all
these race-courses, with the exception of Saratoga, are within a radius
of 20 miles of the city. The Empire City Jockey Club, near Yonkers, and
another club with headquarters near Jamaica, Long Island, have also
become prominent institutions. The Washington Park Club, at Chicago, is
the leading Turf body of the west, and the only one on an equal footing
with the prominent associations of New York State. With this single
exception the most important and valuable stakes of the American Turf
are given in the east; and so great has the prosperity of the Turf been
since the Jockey Club came into existence that the list of rich prizes
is growing at a surprising rate. In this respect the principal fault is
the undue encouragement given to the racing of two-year-olds. At the
winter meetings held at New Orleans and San Francisco, two-year-olds are
raced from the very beginning of the year; and under the rules of the
Jockey Club of New York they run as early as March. The Westchester
Racing Association, with which are closely identified some of the
principal members of the Jockey Club, gives valuable two-year-old stakes
in May. The Futurity Stakes, the richest event of the year--on one
occasion it reached a value of $67,675--is for two-year-olds, and is run
at Sheepshead Bay in the autumn. The institution of races, either
absolutely or practically at weight-for-age, and over long courses, has
engaged much attention. The Coney Island Jockey Club has the leading
three-year-old stake in the Lawrence Realization, over 1 mile 5
furlongs, with an average value of about $30,000. The Westchester Racing
Association's two principal three-year-old stakes, the Withers, over a
mile, run in May, and the Belmont, 1 mile and 3 furlongs, run later in
the same month, are of less value, but are much older-established and
have a species of "classic" prestige, dating from the old Jerome Park
race-course in the 'sixties. The Coney Island Jockey Club's Century and
the Annual Champion Stakes, both for three-year-olds and upwards, over a
mile and a half and two miles and a quarter respectively, are fair
specimens of the races the associations have founded. At Saratoga a
stake of $50,000 for three-year-olds and upwards, distance a mile and a
quarter, was opened, and run for first in 1904. The hope is to wean
owners from the practice of overtaxing their two-year-olds, which has
resulted practically in a positive dearth, almost a total absence, of
good four-year-olds and upwards of late years. Handicaps play a more
important part than in England. The principal events of this character,
such as the Brooklyn Handicap at Gravesend and the Suburban at
Sheepshead Bay, have for years drawn the largest attendances of the
racing season.
Practically all flat racing in the United States is held on
"dirt-tracks," i.e. courses with soil specially prepared for racing,
instead of turf courses. At Sheepshead Bay there is a turf course, but
it is only used for a minority of races. Dirt-tracks, which are, like
many other things in American racing, a legacy from the once hugely
popular harness-racing, are conducive to great speed, but are costly in
the extreme strain on horses' legs. Steeplechases are run on turf. This
branch of the sport in the east is now flourishing under the
administration of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association, a
sister body of the Jockey Club. Comparatively few races are, however,
run under these rules, as the weather conditions render it impossible to
have a separate season for cross-country sport and steeplechases, and
hurdle races are incorporated in programmes of flat racing held through
the spring, summer and autumn, though the ground is frequently so hard
as to be unsafe. Since the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association
assumed control, regulation courses, practically similar in every
respect to those used in England, have been insisted upon in the east,
the "open ditch" figuring under the name of the "Liverpool." In the west
and south there is not the same uniformity, and so far the sport has not
flourished.
FRANCE
Racing in France as conducted on modern lines may be said to date from
the year 1833, when the French _Stud-Book_ was originated, and a body
formed, somewhat after the model of the English Jockey Club, under the
title of the Société d'Encouragement pour l'Amélioration des Races de
Chevaux en France. Races took place in the Champs de Mars, and an
unsuccessful attempt was made in 1834 to arrange for a course, or
"hippodrome," as it is termed in France, at Maisons Laffitte. Chantilly
was, however, fixed upon as the principal racing centre; on the 22nd
April 1836 the first meeting was held there, with five races on the
card, the principal being the Prix d'Orléans, a stake of 3500 francs,
named after the due d'Orléans, one of the chief promoters of the
fixture. Next day the first race for the Prix du Jockey Club was run,
and won by Frank, the property of Lord Henry Seymour, who was at the
time taking a very active part in French sport. The Prix du Jockey Club
was then worth 5000 francs; the value has since increased to 200,000
francs. This race occupies in France the place of the English Derby. The
Prix de Diane, which corresponds to the English Oaks, was first run in
1843. Chantilly still continues an important centre of the French Turf,
and a great many horses are trained in the district. Attempts had been
made to popularize racing at Longchamps prior to the year 1856, when the
Société d'Encouragement obtained a lease, erected stands, laid out the
course, and held their first meeting on the 27th August 1857. Next
season two meetings were held, one of four days in the spring and
another of three in the autumn; at the present time the sport is
vigorously carried on from March to the end of October, except during a
summer recess. In 1857 meetings under the auspices of the Société
d'Encouragement began to take place at Amiens, Caen, Nantes,
Versailles, Moulins and other towns; and there were stakes for
two-year-olds in the spring, though of late years the appearance of the
young horses has been postponed to the 1st of August. Progress was
rapid, and in 1863 two important events were contested for the first
time, the Prix du Prince Impérial, which was designed to balance the
English St Leger, but for obvious reasons faded out of the programme,
and the Grand Prix de Paris, an international race for three-year-olds,
run at Longchamps over a distance of 1 mile 7 furlongs, and now the most
valuable stake in Europe. In 1909 the prize was £14,071. The first Grand
Prix fell to an English horse, Mr Savile's The Ranger; two years later
it was won by Gladiateur, winner of the English Derby and the property
of the comte de Lagrange, who raced equally in France and in England;
the duke of Beaufort's Ceylon was successful in 1866, and the marquis of
Hastings' Earl in 1868. Mr Savile's Cremorne followed up his Derby
victory by a victory at Longchamps in 1872, as did Mr Baltazzi's Kisber
four years later. English horses were also victorious in 1874 (Mr W. R.
Marshall's Trent), in 1878 (Prince Soltykoff's Thurio), in 1880 (Mr C.
Brewer's Robert the Devil), in 1881 (Mr Keene's Foxhall, who, however,
should rather rank as an American horse), in 1882 (Mr Rymill's Bruce),
in 1885 (Mr Cloete's Paradox), in 1886 (Mr Vyner's Minting); and in 1906
Major Eustace Loder's Derby winner Spearmint. During the first 23 years
of the Grand Prix (owing to the war the race did not take place in 1871)
the stake fell to English horses--if Kisber and Foxhall be included--on
twelve occasions, and generally to English jockeys. In recent years,
however, French owners have held their own. In not a few respects racing
is managed more judiciously than in England. The courses, for one thing,
are better tended and maintained. The five- and six-furlong races for
others than two-year-olds, which are so common at English meetings, are
comparatively rare in France, and the value of the prizes in an average
day's racing is considerably higher across the Channel than in England.
A very large percentage of trainers and jockeys are English, and the
former are, as a rule, quite as expert as at Newmarket and elsewhere.
Transatlantic methods have been introduced by American jockeys since
1899. From the middle of February until the middle of December a race
meeting within easy reach of Paris takes place almost every day, except
during August, when the sport is carried on in the provinces, notably at
Deauville. Near Paris, the chief centre after Longchamps is Maisons
Laffitte. At Longchamps, early in October, a race called the Prix du
Conseil Municipal, worth £4000, for three-year-olds and upwards, over a
mile and a half, was organized in 1893, and has usually attracted
English horses, Mr Wallace Johnstone's Best Man having been successful
in 1894, and Mr Sullivan's Winkfield's Pride the following year. Except
when the Whip is challenged for and the challenge decided over the
Beacon Course at Newmarket, no race is run in England over a longer
distance than two miles and 6 furlongs; but in France the Prix
Gladiateur, of £1200 and a work of art value £100, 3 miles 7 furlongs,
creates considerable interest at Longchamps in the autumn.
Steeplechasing.
The first recognized steeplechase in France took place at Croix de
Berny, and was won by the comte de Vaublanc's May-fly, all the horses at
that time being ridden by gentlemen. Sport does not seem to have been
carried on with much spirit, for it is said that the death of an animal
called Barcha, in 1839, nearly led to the abandonment of the meeting;
and it was not till 1863, when the Société des Steeplechases de France
was founded, that the business was resolutely taken in hand. Gravelle
and Vincennes were the principal centres until 1873, when the Société
obtained possession of the ground at Auteuil, where the excellent course
now in use was laid out. In 1874 twelve days' racing took place here,
the card each day including three steeplechases and a hurdle race, the
"hurdles," however, being small fences, as they are at present. The
Grand Steeplechase d'Auteuil was then for a stake of 30,000 francs, at
the time the most valuable offered in any country; but, as in racing on
the flat, the stakes have enormously increased in value, and in 1901 the
Paris Grand Steeplechase, as the chief event is now called, credited the
winner with £6020, the hurdle race being worth rather more than half as
much. In England there is scarcely any steeplechasing between March and
November, except at hunt meetings, but in Paris cross-country sport is
pursued almost all through the year, the chief races at Auteuil taking
place in June, about the time of the Grand Prix, which is usually run
for between the English Epsom and Ascot meetings. The Auteuil course is
laid out in the shape of the figure 8, with varied fences, several of
which really test a horse's jumping capacity; and variety is further
obtained by starting the fields in different places and traversing the
course in different ways. St Ouen, a meeting within half an hour's drive
of the Louvre, is entirely devoted to steeplechasing; and jumping is
also carried on at Vincennes, Colombes, Enghien, and elsewhere near
Paris, as also at Nice in the winter, at Dieppe and other places in
August. As a rule, the stakes run for, especially at Auteuil, are very
much larger than in England. There are none of the clubs and special
enclosures such as at Sandown, Kempton, Hurst, Lingfield, Gatwick, &c.,
though portions of the stand are set apart for privileged persons. A fee
of 20 francs is charged for admission to the chief French race-courses,
with half as much for a lady's voucher, and the tickets give access
everywhere but to the very few reserved portions. At Vincennes, St
Cloud, and some other courses trotting races are also contested.
_Other Countries._--Racing in Germany is mainly conducted under the
authority of the Union Club of Berlin, the principal course being the
Hoppegarten. Two-year-olds do not run until the 1st of June, except in
Saxony, where they appear a month earlier. During the month of August
there are several days' racing at Baden-Baden, steeplechases as well
as flat races being run. Some of the more valuable stakes are usually
contested by a proportion of horses from France and other countries, a
few being occasionally sent from England. For years past blood-stock
has been imported from England. In Austria the two centres of racing
are Vienna and Budapest, each of which has its Jockey Club. Racing in
Belgium derives no little support from the contiguity of the country
to France. The headquarters of the Belgium Jockey Club are in the Bois
de la Cambre at Boisfort, and meetings are held at Ostend, Antwerp,
Spa, Bruges and elsewhere. Steeplechases take place at Groenenval and
on other Belgian courses, but are not of high class. Racing has not
reached a great degree of excellence in Italy, though attempts have
been made to improve competitors by the purchase of Melton, who won
the Derby of 1885, and of other notable animals. Meetings take place
at Florence, Padua, Bologna and other places, but the stakes are
usually small. (A. E. T. W.)
HORSERADISH (Ger. _Meerrettig_; Fr. _raifort_ = _racine forte_, _cran de
Bretagne_; Swed. _Peppar-rot_; Russ. _chren_), known botanically as
_Cochlearia Armoracia_, a perennial plant of the natural order
Cruciferae, having a stout cylindrical rootstock from the crown of which
spring large radical leaves on long stalks, 4 to 6 in. broad, and about
a foot in length with a deeply crenate margin, and coarsely veined; the
stem-leaves are short-stalked or sessile, elongated and tapering to
their attachment, the lower ones often deeply toothed. The flowers,
which appear in May and June, are 3/8 in. in width, in flat-topped
panicles, with purplish sepals and white petals; the fruit is a small
silicula, which does not ripen in the climate of England. The
horseradish is indigenous to eastern Europe. Into western Europe and
Great Britain, where it is to be met with on waste ground, it was
probably introduced. It was wild in various parts of England in Gerard's
time.
The root, the _armoraciae radix_ of pharmacy, is ½ to 2 in. or more in
diameter, and commonly 1 ft., sometimes 3 ft. in length; the upper part
is enlarged into a crown, which is annulated with the scars of fallen
leaves; and from the numerous irregular lateral branches are produced
vertical stolons, and also adventitious buds, which latter render the
plant very difficult of extirpation. From the root of Aconite (q.v.),
which has occasionally been mistaken for it, horseradish root differs in
being more or less cylindrical from a little below the crown, and in its
pale yellowish (or brownish) white hue externally, acrid and penetrating
odour when scraped or bruised, and pungent and either sweetish or
bitter taste. Under the influence of a ferment which it contains, the
fresh root yields on distillation with water about .05% of a volatile
oil, butyl sulphocyanide, C4H9CNS. After drying, the root has been found
to afford 11.15% of ash. Horseradish root is an ingredient in the
_spiritus armoraciae compositus_ (dose 1-2 drachms) of the British
Pharmacopoeia. It is an agreeable flavouring agent. In common with other
species of _Cochlearia_, the horseradish was formerly in high repute as
an antiscorbutic. The root was, as well as the leaves, taken with food
by the Germans in the middle ages, whence the old French name for it,
_moutarde des Allemands_; and Coles, writing in 1657, mentions its use
with meat in England, where it is still chiefly employed as a condiment
with beef.
For the successful cultivation of the horseradish, a light and friable
damp soil is the most suitable; this having been trenched 3 ft. deep in
autumn, and the surface turned down with a liberal supply of farm-yard
manure, a second dressing of decomposed manure should in the ensuing
spring be dug in 2 ft. deep, and pieces of the root 6 in. in length may
then be planted a foot apart in narrow trenches. During summer the
ground requires to be kept free of weeds; and the application of liquid
manure twice or thrice in sufficient quantity to reach the lowest roots
is an advantage. When dug the root may be long preserved in good
condition by placing it in sand.
See Gerard, _Herball_, p. 240, ed. Johnson (1636); Flückiger and
Hanbury, _Pharmacographia_, p. 71 (2nd ed., 1879); Bentley and Trimen,
_Med. Pl._, i. 21 (1880).
HORSE-SHOES. The horny casing of the foot of the horse and other
Solidungulates, while quite sufficient to protect the extremity of the
limb under natural conditions, is found to wear away and break,
especially in moist climates, when the animal is subjected to hard work
of any kind. This, however, can be obviated by the simple device of
attaching to the hoof a rim of iron, adjusted to the shape of the hoof.
The animal itself has been in a very marked manner modified by shoeing,
for without this we could have had neither the fleet racers nor the
heavy and powerful cart-horses of the present day. Though the ancients
were sufficiently impressed by the damage done to horses' hoofs to
devise certain forms of covering for them (in the shape of socks or
sandals), the practice of nailing iron plates or rim-shoes to the hoof
does not appear to have been introduced earlier than the 2nd century
B.C., and was not commonly known till the close of the 5th century A.D.,
or in regular use till the middle ages. The evidence for the earlier
date depends on the doubtful interpretations of designs on coins, &c. As
time went on, however, the profession of the farrier and the art of the
shoesmith gradually grew in importance. It was only in the 19th century
that horse-shoeing was introduced in Japan, where the former practice
was to attach to the horse's feet slippers of straw, which were renewed
when necessary, a custom which may indicate the usage of early peoples.
In modern times much attention has been devoted to horse-shoeing by
veterinary science, with the result of showing that methods formerly
adopted caused cruel injury to horses and serious loss to their owners.
The evils resulted from (1) paring the sole and frog; (2) applying shoes
too heavy and of faulty shape; (3) employing too many and too large
nails; (4) applying shoes too small and removing the wall of the hoof to
make the feet fit the shoes, and (5) rasping the front of the hoof. In
rural districts, where the art of the farrier is combined with general
blacksmith work, too little attention is apt to be given to
considerations which have an important bearing on the comfort,
usefulness and life of the horse. According to modern principles (1)
shoes should be as light as compatible with the wear demanded of them;
(2) the ground face of the shoe should be concave, and the face applied
to the foot plain; (3) heavy draught horses alone should have toe and
heel calks on their shoes to increase foothold; (4) the excess growth of
the wall or outer portion of horny matter should only be removed in
re-shoeing, care being taken to keep both sides of the hoof of equal
height; (5) the shoe should fit accurately to the circumference of the
hoof, and project slightly beyond the heel; (6) the shoes should be
fixed with as few nails as possible, six or seven in fore-shoes and
eight in hind-shoes, and (7) the nails should take a short thick hold of
the wall, so that old nail-holes may be removed with the natural growth
and paring of the horny matter. Horse-shoes and nails are now made with
great economy by machinery, and special forms of shoe or plate are made
for race-horses and trotters, or to suit abnormalities of the hoof.
HORSETAIL (_Equisetum_), the sole genus of the botanical natural order
Equisetaceae, consisting of a group of vascular cryptogamous plants (see
PTERIDOPHYTA) remarkable for the vegetative structure which resembles in
general appearance the genera of flowering plants _Casuarina_ and
_Ephedra_. They are herbaceous plants growing from an underground
much-branched rootstock from which spring slender aerial shoots which
are green, ribbed, and bear at each node a whorl of leaves reduced to a
toothed sheath. From the nodes spring whorls of similar but more slender
branches. Some shoots are sterile while others are fertile, bearing at
the apex the so-called fructification--a dense oval, oblong conical or
cylindrical spike, consisting of a number of shortly-stalked peltate
scales, each of which has attached to its under surface a circle of
spore-cases (sporangia) which open by a longitudinal slit on their
inner side. The spores differ from those of ferns in their outer coat
(_exospore_) being split up into four club-shaped hygroscopic threads
(_elaters_) which are curled when moist, but become straightened when
dry. In most species the fertile and sterile shoots are alike, both
being green and leaf-bearing, but in a few species the fertile are more
or less different, e.g. in _E. arvense_ the fertile shoots appear first,
in the spring, and are unbranched and not green. Any portion of the
underground rhizome when broken off is capable of producing a new plant;
hence the difficulty of eradicating them when once established. There
are 24 known species of the genus which is universally distributed.
[Illustration: From Strasburger's _Lehrbuch der Botanik_, by permission
of Gustav Fischer.
_Equisetum arvense._
A, Fertile shoot, springing from the rhizome, which also bears tubers;
the vegetative shoots have not yet unfolded.
F, Sterile vegetative shoot.
B, C, Sporophylls bearing sporangia, which in C have opened.
D, Spore showing the two spiral bands of the perinium.
E, Dry spores showing the expanded spiral bands.
(A, F, reduced. B, C, D, E, enlarged.)]
The corn horsetail _E. arvense_, one of the commonest species, is a
troublesome weed in clayey cornfields (see fig.). The fructification
appears in March and April, terminating in short unbranched stems. It is
said to produce diarrhoea in such cattle as eat it. The bog horsetail,
_E. palustre_, is said to possess similar properties. It grows in
marshes, ditches, pools and drains in meadows, and sometimes obstructs
the flow of water with its dense matted roots. The fructification in
this species is cylindrical, and in that of _E. limosum_, which grows in
similar situations, it is ovate in outline. The largest British species,
_E. maximum_, grows in wet sandy declivities by railway embankments or
streams, &c., and is remarkable for its beauty, due to the abundance of
its elegant branches and the alternately green and white appearance of
the stem. In this species the fructification is conical or lanceolate,
and is found in April on short, stout, unbranched stems which have large
loose sheaths. Horses appear to be fond of this species, and in Sweden
it is stored for use as winter fodder. _E. hyemale_, commonly known as
the Dutch rush, is much more abundant in Holland than in Britain; it is
used for polishing purposes. _E. variegatum_ grows on wet sandy ground,
and serves by means of its fibrous roots to bind the sand together. The
horsetails are remarkable for the large quantity of silica they contain
in the cuticle (hence their value in polishing), which often amounts to
half the weight of the ash yielded by burning them; the roots contain a
quantity of starch.
HORSHAM, a market town in the Horsham parliamentary division of Sussex,
England, 38 m. S. by W. from London by the London, Brighton and South
Coast railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 9446. It is pleasantly
situated in the midst of a fertile country near the source of the Arun.
A picturesque avenue leads to the church of St Mary, principally Early
English and Perpendicular, with remains of Norman work, having a lofty
tower surmounted by a spire, and containing several fine monuments,
tombs and brasses. Other buildings include the grammar school, founded
in 1532 and rebuilt in 1893, a town hall and corn exchange, erected in
1866 in Italian style, with an assembly room. In the vicinity are
several fine mansions. The buildings of Christ's Hospital (q.v.) at West
Horsham were opened in 1902, the school being removed hither from
London. The town has industries of tanning, founding, carriage-building
and flour-milling.
Some neolithic remains have been found at Horsham. The town is not
mentioned in Domesday Book, but the Rape of Bramber, in which it lies,
belonged at that time to William de Braose. His descendants held the
borough and the manor of Horsham, and through them they passed to the
family of Mowbray, afterwards dukes of Norfolk. There are traces of
burgage tenure at Horsham in 1210, and it was called a borough in 1236.
It has no charter of incorporation. Horsham sent two representatives to
parliament from 1295 until 1832, when the number was reduced to one. In
1885 it was disfranchised. In 1233 Henry III. granted William de Braose
a yearly three-days' fair at his manor of Horsham. In the reign of
Edward I. William de Braose claimed to have a free market on Wednesdays
and Saturdays. Fairs are held on the 5th of April, 18th of July, 17th of
November and 27th of November. Market days are Monday and Wednesday.
"Glovers" of Horsham are mentioned in a patent roll of 1485, and a
brewery existed here in the time of Queen Anne.
HORSLEY, JOHN (c. 1685-1732), British archaeologist. John Hodgson
(1779-1845), the historian of Northumberland, in a short memoir
published in 1831, held that he was born in 1685, at Pinkie House, in
the parish of Inveresk, Midlothian, and that his father was a
Northumberland Nonconformist, who had migrated to Scotland, but returned
to England soon after the Revolution of 1688. J. H. Hinde, in the
_Archaeologia Aeliana_ (Feb. 1865), held that he was a native of
Newcastle-on-Tyne, the son of Charles Horsley, a member of the Tailors'
Company of that town. He was educated at Newcastle, and at Edinburgh
University, where he graduated M.A. on the 29th of April 1701. There is
evidence that he "was settled in Morpeth as a Presbyterian minister as
early as 1709." Hodgson, however, thought that up to 1721, at which time
he was residing at Widdrington, "he had not received ordination, but
preached as a licentiate." Even if he was ordained then, his stay at the
latter place was probably prolonged beyond that date; for he
communicated to the _Philosophical Transactions_ (xxxii. 328) notes on
the rainfall there in the years 1722 and 1723. Hinde shows that during
these years "he certainly followed a secular employment as agent to the
York Buildings Company, who had contracted to purchase and were then in
possession of the Widdrington estates." At Morpeth Horsley opened a
private school. Respect for his character and abilities attracted pupils
irrespective of religious connexion, among them Newton Ogle, afterwards
dean of Westminster. He gave lectures on mechanics and hydrostatics in
Morpeth, Alnwick and Newcastle, and was elected F.R.S. on the 23rd of
April 1730. It is as an archaeologist that Horsley is now known. His
great work, _Britannia Romana, or the Roman Antiquities of Britain_
(London, 1732), one of the scarcest and most valuable of its class,
contains the result of patient labour. There is in the British Museum a
copy with notes by John Ward (c. 1679-1758), biographer of the Gresham
professors. Horsley died of apoplexy on the 12th of January 1732, on the
eve of the publication of the _Britannia Romana_. He also published two
sermons and a handbook to his lectures on mechanics, &c., and projected
a history of Northumberland and Durham, collections for which were found
among his papers.
J. P. Wood (d. 1838) (_Parish of Cramond_, 1794, and _Anecdotes of
Bowyer_, 1782, p. 371) says that his wife was a daughter of William
Hamilton, D.D., minister of Cramond, afterwards professor of divinity
in Edinburgh University, but probably the John Horsley in question was
another, the father of Samuel Horsley (q.v.).
HORSLEY, JOHN CALLCOTT (1817-1903), English painter, son of William
Horsley, the musician, and grand-nephew of Sir Augustus Callcott, was
born in London, on the 29th of January 1817. He studied painting in the
Academy schools, and in 1836 exhibited "The Pride of the Village"
(Vernon Gallery) at the Royal Academy. This was followed by numerous
_genre_ pictures at subsequent exhibitions up to 1893, the best known of
these being "Malvolio," "L'Allegro and il Penseroso" (painted for the
Prince Consort), "Le Jour des Morts," "A Scene from Don Quixote," &c. In
1843 his cartoon of "St Augustine Preaching" won a prize in the
Westminster Hall competition, and in 1844 he was selected as one of the
six painters commissioned to execute frescoes for the Houses of
Parliament, his "Religion" (1845) being put in the House of Lords; he
also painted the "Henry V. assuming the Crown" and "Satan surprised at
the Ear of Eve." In 1864 he became R.A., and in 1882 was elected
treasurer, a post which he held till 1897, when he resigned and became a
"retired Academician." Mr Horsley had much to do with organizing the
winter exhibitions of "Old Masters" at Burlington House after 1870.
When, during the 'eighties, the example of the French Salon began to
affect the Academy exhibitors, and paintings of the nude became the
fashion, he protested against the innovation, and his attitude caused
_Punch_ to give him the punning sobriquet of "Mr J. C(lothes) Horsley."
He died on the 18th of October 1903. His son, Sir Victor Horsley (b.
1857), became famous as a surgeon and neuropathologist, and a prominent
supporter of the cause of experimental research.
HORSLEY, SAMUEL (1733-1806), English divine, was born in London on the
15th of September 1733. Entering Trinity College, Cambridge, he became
LL.B. in 1758 without graduating in arts, and in the following year
succeeded his father in the living of Newington Butts in Surrey. Horsley
was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1767; and secretary in
1773, but, in consequence of a difference with the president (Sir Joseph
Banks) he withdrew in 1784. In 1768 he attended the eldest son of the
4th earl of Aylesford to Oxford as private tutor; and, after receiving
through the earl and Bishop Lowth various minor preferments, which by
dispensations he combined with his first living, he was installed in
1781 as archdeacon of St Albans. Horsley now entered in earnest upon his
famous controversy with Joseph Priestley, who denied that the early
Christians held the doctrine of the Trinity. In this controversy,
conducted on both sides in the fiercest polemical spirit, Horsley showed
the superior learning and ability. His aim was to lessen the influence
which the prestige of Priestley's name gave to his views, by indicating
inaccuracies in his scholarship and undue haste in his conclusions. For
the energy displayed in the contest Horsley was rewarded by Lord
Chancellor Thurlow with a prebendal stall at Gloucester; and in 1788 the
same patron procured his promotion to the see of St David's. As a
bishop, Horsley was energetic both in his diocese, where he strove to
better the position of his clergy, and in parliament. The efficient
support which he afforded the government was acknowledged by his
successive translations to Rochester in 1793, and to St Asaph in 1802.
With the bishopric of Rochester he held the deanery of Westminster. He
died at Brighton on the 4th of October 1806.
Besides the controversial _Tracts_, which appeared in 1783-1784-1786,
and were republished in 1789 and 1812, Horsley's more important works
are:--_Apollonii Pergaei inclinationum libri duo_ (1770); _Remarks on
the Observation ... for determining the acceleration of the Pendulum
in Lat. 70° 51´_ (1774); _Isaaci Newtoni Opera quae extant Omnia_,
with a commentary (5 vols. 4to, 1779-1785); _On the Prosodies of the
Greek and Latin Languages_ (1796); _Disquisitions on Isaiah xviii._
(1796); _Hosea, translated ... with Notes_ (1801); _Elementary
Treatises on ... Mathematics_ (1801); _Euclidis elementorum libri
priores XII._ (1802); _Euclidis datorum liber_ (1803); _Virgil's Two
Seasons of Honey_, &c. (1805); and papers in the _Philosophical
Transactions_ from 1767 to 1776. After his death there
appeared--_Sermons_ (1810-1812); _Speeches in Parliament_ (1813);
_Book of Psalms, translated with Notes_ (1815); _Biblical Criticism_
(1820); _Collected Theological Works_ (6 vols. 8vo, 1845).
HORSLEY, WILLIAM (1774-1858), English musician, was born on the 15th of
November 1774. He became in 1790 the pupil of Theodore Smith, an
indifferent musician of the time, who, however, taught him sufficient to
obtain in 1794 the position of organist at Ely Chapel, Holborn. This
post he resigned in 1798, to become organist at the Asylum for Female
Orphans, as assistant to Dr Callcott, with whom he had long been on
terms of personal and artistic intimacy, and whose eldest daughter he
married. In 1802 he became his friend's successor upon the latter's
resignation. Besides holding this appointment he became in 1812 organist
of Belgrave Chapel, Halkin Street, and in 1838 of the Charter House. He
died on the 12th of June 1858. Horsley's compositions are numerous, and
include amongst other instrumental pieces three symphonies for full
orchestra. Infinitely more important are his glees, of which he
published five books (1801-1807) besides contributing many detached
glees and part songs to various collections. His glees, "By Celia's
arbour," "O nightingale," "Now the storm begins to lower," and others,
are amongst the finest specimens of this peculiarly English class of
compositions. Horsley's son Charles Edward (1822-1876), also enjoyed a
certain reputation as a musician. He studied in Germany under Hauptmann
and Mendelssohn, and on his return to England composed several oratorios
and other pieces, none of which had permanent success. In 1808 he
emigrated to Australia, and in 1872 went to America; he died in New
York.
HORSMAN, EDWARD (1807-1876), English politician, was the son of a
well-to-do gentleman of Stirling, and connected on the mother's side
with the earls of Stair. He was educated at Rugby and Cambridge, and
was called to the Scotch bar in 1832, but then took to politics. He was
elected to parliament as a Liberal for Cockermouth in 1836, and
represented that constituency till 1852, when he was defeated; in 1853
he was returned for Stroud, and sat there till 1868; and from 1869 till
he died he was member for Liskeard. He was a junior lord of the treasury
in Lord Melbourne's administration for a few months during 1841, and
became prominent for attacking Lord John Russell's ecclesiastical policy
in 1847 and subsequent years. In 1855, under Lord Palmerston, he was
made chief secretary for Ireland, but resigned in 1857. He gradually
took up a position as an independent Liberal, and was well known for his
attacks on the Church, and his exposures of various "jobs." But his name
is principally connected with his influence over Robert Lowe (Lord
Sherbrooke) in 1866 at the time of Mr Gladstone's Reform Bill, to which
he and Lowe were hostile; and it was in describing the Lowe-Horsman
combination that John Bright spoke of the "Cave of Adullam." Horsman
died at Biarritz on the 30th of November 1876.
HORST, the term used In physical geography and geology for a block of
the earth's crust that has remained stationary while the land has sunk
on either side of it, or has been crushed in a mountain range against
it. The Vosges and Black Forest are examples of the former, the Table,
Jura and the Dôle of the latter result. The word is also applied to
those larger areas, such as the Russian plain, Arabia, India and Central
South Africa, where the continent remains stable, with horizontal
table-land stratification, in distinction to folded regions such as the
Eurasian chains.
HORT, FENTON JOHN ANTHONY (1828-1892), English theologian, was born in
Dublin on the 23rd of April 1828, the great-grandson of Josiah Hort,
archbishop of Tuam in the 18th century. In 1846 he passed from Rugby to
Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was the contemporary of E. W.
Benson, B. F. Westcott and J. B. Lightfoot. The four men became lifelong
friends and fellow-workers. In 1850 Hort took his degree, being third in
the classical tripos, and in 1852 he became fellow of his college. In
1854, in conjunction with J. E. B. Mayor and Lightfoot, he established
the _Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology_, and plunged eagerly
into theological and patristic study. He had been brought up in the
strictest principles of the Evangelical school, but at Rugby he fell
under the influence of Arnold and Tait, and his acquaintance with
Maurice and Kingsley finally gave his opinions a direction towards
Liberalism. In 1857 he married, and accepted the college living of St
Ippolyts, near Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, where he remained for fifteen
years. During his residence there he took some part in the discussions
on university reform, continued his studies, and wrote essays for
various periodicals. In 1870 he was appointed a member of the committee
for revising the translation of the New Testament, and in 1871 he
delivered the Hulsean lectures before the university. Their title was
_The Way, the Truth, and the Life_, but they were not prepared for
publication until many years after their delivery. In 1872 he accepted a
fellowship and lectureship at Emmanuel College; in 1878 he was made
Hulsean professor of divinity, and in 1887 Lady Margaret reader in
divinity. In the meantime he had published, with his friend Westcott, an
edition of the text of the New Testament. The Revision Committee had
very largely accepted this text, even before its publication, as a basis
for their translation of the New Testament. The work on its appearance
created an immense sensation among scholars, and was vehemently attacked
in many quarters, but on the whole it was received as being much the
nearest approximation yet made to the original text of the New Testament
(see BIBLE: _New Testament_, "Textual Criticism"). The introduction was
the work of Hort, and its depth and fulness convinced all who read it
that they were under the guidance of a master. Hort died on the 30th of
November 1892, worn out by intense mental labour. Next to his Greek
Testament his best-known work is _The Christian Ecclesia_ (1897). Other
publications are: _Judaistic Christianity_ (1894); _Village Sermons_
(two series); _Cambridge and other Sermons_; _Prolegomena to ...
Romans and Ephesians_ (1895); _The Ante-Nicene Fathers_ (1895); and two
_Dissertations_, on the reading [Greek: monogenês theos] in John i. 18,
and on _The Constantinopolitan and other Eastern Creeds in the Fourth
Century_. All are models of exact scholarship and skilful use of
materials.
His _Life and Letters_ was edited by his son, Sir Arthur Hort, Bart.
(1896).
HORTA, the capital of an administrative district comprising the islands
of Pico, Fayal, Flores and Corvo, in the Portuguese archipelago of the
Azores. Pop. (1900) 6574. Horta is a seaport on the south-east coast of
Fayal. It is defended by two castles and a wall, but these
fortifications are obsolete. The harbour, a bay 2 m. long and nearly 1
m. broad, affords good anchorage in 5 to 20 fathoms of water, but is
dangerous in south-westerly and south-easterly winds. It is the
headquarters of profitable whale, tunny, bonito and mullet fisheries.
Its exports include sperm-oil, fruit, wine and grain. Between 1897 and
1904 the port annually accommodated about 140 vessels of 220,000 tons,
mostly of British or Portuguese nationality.
HORTEN, a seaport of Norway, in Jarlsberg-Laurvik _amt_ (county),
beautifully situated on the west bank of the Christiania Fjord, opposite
Moss, 38 m. by water and 66 by rail S. of Christiania. Pop. (1900) 8460.
It is practically united with Karl-Johansvaern, which is defended by
strong fortifications, is the headquarters of the Norwegian fleet, and
possesses an arsenal and shipbuilding yards. There are also an
observatory and a nautical museum.
HORTENSIUS, QUINTUS (114-50 B.C.), surnamed Hortalus, Roman orator and
advocate. At the age of nineteen he made his first speech at the bar,
and shortly afterwards successfully defended Nicomedes III. of Bithynia,
one of Rome's dependants in the East, who had been deprived of his
throne by his brother. From that time his reputation as an advocate was
established. As the son-in-law of Q. Lutatius Catulus he was attached to
the aristocratic party. During Sulla's ascendancy the courts of law were
under the control of the senate, the judges being themselves senators.
To this circumstance perhaps, as well as to his own merits, Hortensius
may have been indebted for much of his success. Many of his clients were
the governors of provinces which they were accused of having plundered.
Such men were sure to find themselves brought before a friendly, not to
say a corrupt, tribunal, and Hortensius, according to Cicero (_Div. in
Caecil._ 7), was not ashamed to avail himself of this advantage. Having
served during two campaigns (90-89) in the Social War, he became
quaestor in 81, aedile in 75, praetor in 72, and consul in 69. In the
year before his consulship he came into collision with Cicero in the
case of Verres, and from that time his supremacy at the bar was lost.
After 63 Cicero was himself drawn towards the party to which Hortensius
belonged. Consequently, in political cases, the two men were often
engaged on the same side (e.g. in defence of Rabirius, Murena, Publius
Cornelius Sulla, and Milo). After Pompey's return from the East in 61,
Hortensius withdrew from public life and devoted himself to his
profession. In 50, the year of his death, he successfully defended
Appius Claudius Pulcher when accused of treason and corrupt practices by
P. Cornelius Dolabella, afterwards Cicero's son-in-law.
Hortensius's speeches are not extant. His oratory, according to Cicero,
was of the Asiatic style, a florid rhetoric, better to hear than to
read. He had a wonderfully tenacious memory (Cicero, _Brutus_, 88, 95),
and could retain every single point in his opponent's argument. His
action was highly artificial, and his manner of folding his toga was
noted by tragic actors of the day (Macrobius, _Sat._ iii. 13. 4). He
also possessed a fine musical voice, which he could skilfully command.
The vast wealth he had accumulated he spent on splendid villas, parks,
fish-ponds and costly entertainments. He was the first to introduce
peacocks as a table delicacy at Rome. He was a great buyer of wine,
pictures and works of art. He wrote a treatise on general questions of
oratory, erotic poems (Ovid, _Tristia_, ii. 441), and an _Annales_,
which gained him considerable reputation as an historian (Vell. Pat. ii.
16. 3).
His daughter HORTENSIA was also a successful orator. In 42 she spoke
against the imposition of a special tax on wealthy Roman matrons with
such success that part of it was remitted (Quint. _Instit._ i. 1. 6;
Val. Max. viii. 3. 3).
In addition to Cicero (_passim_), see Dio Cassius xxxviii. 16, xxxix.
37; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ ix. 81, x. 23, xiv. 17, xxxv. 40; Varro,
_R.R._ iii. 13. 17.
HORTENSIUS, QUINTUS, dictator of Rome 286 B.C. When the people, pressed
by their patrician creditors, "seceded" to the Janiculum, he was
commissioned to put an end to the strife. He passed a law whereby the
resolutions of the multitude (_plebiscita_) were made binding on all the
citizens, without the approval of the senate being necessary. This was
not a mere re-enactment of previous laws. Another law, passed about the
same time, which declared the _nundinae_ (market days) to be _dies
fasti_ (days on which legal business might be transacted), is also
attributed to him. He is said to have died while still dictator.
Aulus Gellius xv. 27; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xvi. 15; Macrobius,
_Saturnalia_ i. 16; Livy, _Epit._ ii.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 - "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus"" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.