HART 



II AKTFOUD 



exist, does not ascribe it to Blind Hairy, nor is his 

 name given to it in the earlier printed editions. 

 The poem, which contains 11, SOI lines, of ten 

 syllables each, is written in rhyming couplets. The 

 language is fid) in-lit ly obscure, and sometimes 

 unintelligible, but the work as a whole is written 

 with vigour; in some passages it kindles into 

 poetry ; and it is altogether a .surprising perform- 

 ance, if we regard it as the composition of one who 

 wa-s horn blind. The author seems to have been 

 familiar with the metrical romances which were the 

 popular literature of the time, and, though his poem 

 lias no claim to be regarded as history, he makes 

 fre|iient references to original authorities which 

 form the main groundwork of the narrative. He 

 represents himself as deeply indebted to the life of 

 the great Scottish patriot, written in Latin by his 

 schoolfellow Master John Blair, the chaplain of 

 Wallace, and to another by Sir Thomas Gray, the 

 parson of Liberton. The poem was at one time 

 regarded as wholly a work of fiction, but authentic 

 documents recently brought to light have shown 

 that though it contains a great number of mistakes 

 or misrepresentations of well-known facts, it is on 

 the whole a valuable and in not a few incidents a 

 trustworthy narrative. The work is believed to 

 Lave l>een printed in the Scottish capital as early as 

 1520, but no perfect copy is known to be preserved 

 of any earlier edition than that of Edinburgh in 

 1570, bearing the title of The Actis and Deidis of 

 the Mxi.it Illiaiter and Vailyeand Campioun Schir 

 William Wallace, Knicht of Ellerslie. The work 

 was reprinted at Edinburgh in 1594, 1601, 1620, 

 1648, 1673, and 1758; at Glasgow, in 1665 and 

 1699; also at Aberdeen and at Perth. Good 

 editions are that by Jamieson (Edinburgh, 1820, 

 4t<> ) and that by Moir for the Scottish Text Society 

 ( 1SS.V89). The work was for about 200 years one 

 of the most popular in Scotland, but gradually fell 

 into neglect as its language, never very plain, 

 ceased to be understood except by scholars. Its 

 place was supplied by a modernised version by 

 William Hamilton of Gilbertfield, published at 

 Glasgow in 1722, with the title of A New Edition 

 of the Life and Heroic Actions of the Renoun'd Sir 

 William Wallace. This is a poor performance, but 

 it continued to be widely circulated among the 

 Scottish people almost to our own day. 



Hart, the name given to the stag or male deer, 

 from the age of six years, when the crown or sur- 

 royal antler begins to appear. 



Hart, SOLOMON ALEXANDER, painter, was born 

 at Plymouth, in April 1806, the son of a Jewish 

 goldsmith, who in 1820 removed to London. Ap- 

 prenticed first to a line engraver, in 1823 young 

 Hart became a student at the Royal Academy. 

 Amongst his works are ' The Elevation of the 

 Law' (1830), 'Isaac of York' (1830), 'English 

 Nobility receiving the Communion ' ( 1831 ), ' Henry 

 I. receiving Intelligence of the Death of his Son' 

 (1840), 'Milton visiting Galileo in Prison '( 1847), 

 The Three Inventors of Printing ' ( 1852), &c. He 

 also painted miniatures and portraits. In 1840 

 Hart Itecame R. A., in 18.~>4 professor of Painting, 

 and in 18(J."> librarian of the Royal Academy. He 

 died in London, llth June 1881. 



Harte* FHANCIS BRET, a ]>oi>ular American 

 , was born in Albany, New York, August -!.">, 



< ..i.yrlght 1890. 1897, and 

 IUOO In Hi.- i:.S. br J. B. 

 Llppluootl Conipmoj. 



He'went to California with his mother in 1S.~>1, and 

 opened a school at Sonora ; but he was not success- 

 ful in this, nor in mining, which he tried after- 

 wards. He next became a compositor, and in ls.">7 

 obtained employment in the office of the (llil< n 

 l-'.ri , in San J -aucisco. His experiences among 



is.'i'.i. Mis father, a teacher, 

 dying early, the boy received 

 <>iil v a common school education. 



minersand t he rough imputation tliat were attracted 

 by the 'gold-craze' had made a powerful impres- 

 sion upon his mind, and his first literary effort* 

 were UMtehM of the people ami the wMi be had 

 observed. These sketches attracted much atten- 

 tion, and as a result the author became one of the 

 stafl' of the paper. II is ( 'ondrntird Novrlx, travesties 

 upon the novels of standard author*, afterwards ap- 

 peared in another weekly, the I 'iilijoniinn. During 

 hi- -i-i vice as secretary of the mint at San Fran 

 cisco ( 1864-70), he wrote some of his most famous 

 poems, ' John Bums of Gettysburg, 1 ' The 

 Society upon the Stanislau,' &c. He founded in 

 1868 and edited the Orcrland Monthly, to which 

 he contributed The Luck of lioarhnj < '"//</>, The 

 <iiiti-n.if.iof Poker Flat, Mif/gleft, Tennessee's Partner, 

 'I'ln' Idyl of Red Gulch, and Plain Language from 

 Truthfid James ('The Heathen Chinee'). Return- 

 ing to the East, he became a contributor to the 

 Atlantic Monthly, and from time to time delivered 

 lectures in various cities upon the pioneers of Cali- 

 fornia. In 1878 he received the appointment of 

 United States consul at Crefeld. After two years 

 he was transferred to Glasgow, and held that post 

 until 1885. Since that time he has resided in 

 London, and devoted himself to literary pursuits. 



Bret Harte has been a prolific writer, and almost 

 everything from his pen bears the stamp of his 

 original genius. This, however, is truer of the 

 early and middle period than of the later. Gener- 

 ally, he is strongest in the field of which he was the 

 discoverer ; although in some instances notably 

 in Thankful Blossom he has produced exquisite 

 romances, sometimes with a pastoral flavour, wholly 

 unlike the turbulence of the first efforts. 



The mixture of southern and western people in 

 the early rush to the goldfields seems to nave pro- 

 duced a new dialect, out it probably had a brief 

 existence. At least, it woula be wrong to suppose 

 that the peculiar phrases in the mining sketches 

 (so picturesque and shocking at once) are part of 

 the daily talk of the people to-day. But the dialect 

 was not all. Harte has described or invented 

 new types of character, and has portrayed them and 

 their surroundings with a vivid energy that has no 

 modern counterpart. It is difficult to say whether 

 he has been more successful in poetry or in prose ; 

 for the same virile power appears in both, and he 

 has evidently by nature a strong sense of melody 

 and great facility in verse. In 'John Burns of 

 Gettysburg' and 'Dickens in Camp' there is 

 evidence that he might have taken a higher place 

 among poets if he had devoted himself to serious 

 work. But his instinct has been his guide, and has 

 led him in the path of fame. It must be remem- 

 bered that he acquired the art of effective writing 

 by practice, without previous discipline, and that 

 for turn there was no model. Since he has shown 

 the way, not a few have followed him afar. 



His Complete Works, collected and revised by himself, 

 appeared in London in 5 vols. in 1881. Since then hi* 

 publications have included Flip ( 1882 ) ; In the Carquinez 

 Woods (1883): En Shore and Sedije (1885); Snow- 

 bound at /;<*<//<'. ( 1880) ; A Phyllis of the Xirrrcu and A 

 Drift from 'jiedtcood Camp (1888) ; Ore *sy ( 1889 ) ; The 

 Heritmje of Dedlow Marsh (18S-.it; A \\'<i>i of the 

 Plains (1890) ; A Ward of the Golden Gate (1890); A 

 Sqppho of Green Springs (1892); Sally Dova (1892); 

 Siwv (1893); The Bell-Ringer of Anyefs (1894); and 

 Clarence (1895). 



Hartebeest. See ANTELOPES. 



Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, is situ- 

 ated on the right bank of the Connecticut River, 

 50 miles from its mouth, and 112 by rail NE. of 

 New York, with which it is also in daily communi- 

 cation by steamboat. It is a handsome city, with 

 streets not all too regular, and many tasteful private 

 houses. It has an imposing state capitol of white 



