396 HOFFMANN, HEINRICH A. 



HONDURAS. 



of the publications (a compilation published in 

 Hamburg in 1840-'41), entitled "Unpolitical 

 Songs," in 2 vols., being, in spite of its title, 

 extremely republican, called down upon the 

 poet the displeasure of the then reigning King 

 of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV., who in con- 

 sequence dismissed him from his positions in 

 the university in December, 1842. This only 

 rendered Hoffmann more popular as the poet of 

 the people. He traveled over most of Conti- 

 nental Europe during the next two years, study- 

 ing the language and literature of the different 

 nations. In 1845 he settled in Mecklenberg. 

 In 1848 the hostility of the Prussian Govern- 

 ment having relaxed, he was invited to return, 

 and received a pension from the crown. He 

 took no part in the revolutionary movement 

 of that time, but pursued assiduously his liter- 

 ary labors. In 1854 he removed to Weimar, 

 where he edited, in company with Schade, the 

 "Year Book," published in that city, and in 

 1861 became librarian to the Duke of Ratisbon, 

 a German nobleman with whom he remained 

 till his death. Hoffmann's political, liberal, 

 and bacchanalian songs are very numerous, 

 and make him very popular in Germany, so 

 much so that during his travels he was often re- 

 ceived with great heartiness and enthusiasm by 

 the people. " His poems," Longfellow observes, 

 " are distinguished by an artless simplicity, by 

 harmony of language, and skillful versification." 

 The following are the principal volumes of 

 poems, both compilations and original songs 

 and ballads, which he published: "German 

 Songs " (1826) ; "Poems," 2 vols. (1834) ; " Un- 

 political Songs," 2 vols. (1840-'41); "Popular 

 Songs of Silesia, with Melodies " (1842) ; "Ger- 

 man Songs composed in Switzerland " (1843) ; 

 "Fifty Songs for Children" (1843); "Fifty New 

 Songs for Children" (1845); "Forty Songs 

 for Children" (1847); "A Hundred Songs for 

 Students" (1847); " Diavolini " (1847) ; "The 

 German Popular Song-Book" (1848); "Songs 

 of Love" (1850); "Echoes of the Country" 

 (1850); "The Life on the Rhine" (1851); 

 "Songs of the Soldiers" (1851); "Political 

 Poems of the Early Times in Germany " (1843) ; 

 " Songs of the German Societies (Guilds) of 

 the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries" 

 (1844). Besides this long array of poetical 

 works, Prof. Hoffmann had published numer- 

 ous works on literature, history, and philology. 

 The most important of these were: " Horce 

 llelgicas," 8 vols. (1830-1852) ; "Materials for a 

 History of the German Language and Litera- 

 ture,"^ vols. (1830-1837); "History of Religious 

 Music in the German Church up to the Times 

 of Luther" (1832); " Reineke Fos" (1834); 

 " Fragmenta Theostica" (1834); " Monumenta 

 Elnonensia" This contained the Ludwigslied 

 discovered a short time previous at Valenci- 

 ennes (1837); "Principal Characteristics of 

 German Philology ":(1836); with Haupt, "Ger- 

 man Antiquities," 2 vols. (1835-'40); "Cata- 

 logue of Old German Manuscripts in the Im- 

 perial Library at Vienna " (1841) ; " Materials 



for a History of German Literature," 2 vols. 

 (1845); "Theophilus" (1853). Besides these, 

 he had written numerous articles on philology, 

 criticism, and literature, for the principal peri- 

 odicals of Germany. His literary activity had 

 somewhat abated in the last twenty years. 



HONDURAS (REPUBLICA DE HONDURAS), 

 one of the five independent states of Central 

 America, extending from the 13th to the 16th 

 parallel of north latitude, and from 85 39' to 

 89 6' west longitude. It is bounded on the 

 north by Guatemala and the gulf of its own 

 name ; on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea ; 

 on the south by Nicaragua, Fonseca Bay, and 

 the republic of San Salvador, and on the west 

 by the country just named and the republic 

 of Guatemala. It embraces an area of 58,168 

 square miles, and the population was estimated 

 in 1874 at 351,700, but the figures set down in 

 the ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA for 1873 are prob- 

 ably more approximate to the truth. The 

 number of white inhabitants does not exceed 

 5,000. Comayagua, the capital, has a popula- 

 tion of about 7,500. 



The President of the Republic is Sefior Pon- 

 ciano Leiva, elected in 1874; the Minister of 

 the Interior and of Foreign Affairs is Sefior 

 A. Zufiiga ; of Finance, Sefior E. Ferrari ; and 

 of War, Sefior J. L6pez. The Bishop of Co- 

 mayagua is J. F. Zepeda, appointed in 1861. 



The army is composed of some 600 regular 

 troops and about 6,000 militia. 



In a country continually distracted by war- 

 fare, as is Honduras, but little attention is paid 

 to the publication of commercial statistics. 

 None of a reliable character have here been 

 given since the overthrow of the Medina ad- 

 ministration in 1872 ; and it is difficult, if not 

 impossible, to arrive at even an approximate 

 estimate of the value of the foreign commerce 

 for the past year. It is, however, to be pre- 

 sumed that, if the precise state of affairs were 

 given, a formidable diminution, rather than 

 an increase, would be registered ; for, if report 

 be true, large numbers of laborers were diverted 

 from agricultural concerns to fill up the ranks 

 of the armies in the successive revolutions since 

 the middle of 1873, and a natural consequence 

 would be limited crops, and of course a corre- 

 sponding decrease in the exports. Then the 

 capture of Amapate, and the siege of Coma- 

 yagua, the former at' the end of 1873, and the 

 latter from December of that year to the last 

 days of the January following, did not tend to 

 better the general condition of trade. Accord- 

 ing to Medina's report, in 1872, as above stated, 

 the exports were of the value of $1,305,000; 

 but it is quite probable that they did not ex- 

 ceed $1,000,000 in 1874. 



The financial situation is disastrous. The 

 revenue, computed in the most favorable times 

 at not more than $4,000,000, must of necessity 

 have fallen far short of that figure last year, 

 owing to the depression of foreign trade, for 

 fully one-third is derived from the customs, 

 while another proceeds from the sale of spirits, 



