HELVETII 



637 



became private secretary to Spring- Rice, then Chan- 



cellor ill" tin- K\i-he.|iier, mill next to Lord Morpcth, 

 tlie Irish secretary. On the fall of the Melbourne 

 ministry In- retired to enjoy twenty yean* of lettered 

 I.-IMIM-. In ISliO lie was appointed Clerk to the 

 Privy -council, ami was in consemience much thrown 

 Into contact with tin- Queen, who, it is on^antood, 

 >. i ;i lii-h value upon his character and talent-. 

 !! \MI- employed to edit tlic I'l-ini-ifHil ,s'/r<y/r.v 

 mill .lrA//vw, v ,',///,, /,,(,- /'nitre Consort ( 1862), and 

 the < t >iieen's own /.n;s fi-oni it Journal nfOtir l.ij'r 

 in ll- llii//i/,n/* (iStiS). Hf received tlie degree 

 <(' D.C.L. fnun Oxford in 1864, was made C.B. in 

 1ST I, and K.C.B. in 1872. He died in London, 

 after a few days' illness, 7th March 1875. 



Mis fust work was a series of aphorisms entitled 

 T/ti>iitfltt.i in tlic. (.'Inixlrr and the Crowd, published 

 as 1835. The next, a work of more real 



c.iii-i'<|uence, was .\w///.v irritti-n in the Intervals of 

 IIIIXIIH: ( 1841 ). Two worthless plays followed, 

 then The Claims of Labour (1844), and Friends in 

 ('niiHcil (two series, 1847-59), an admirable series 

 of discussions on social questions, thrown into a 

 conversational form. The same familiar speakers 

 ( Milverton, Kllesmere, and Dunsford) reappeared 

 in Rculinitli ( 1809), Conversations on War and 



Culture (1871), and Talk about Animals 

 niul tlit-ir .Mi inters (1873). His strong interest 

 in the question of slavery prompted his Con- 

 </>t> rors of the New World and their Bondsmen 

 (1848-52), and the greater work, The Spanish 

 Conquest in America (4 vols. 1855-61). Out 

 of his studies for this work grew his admirable 

 biographies of L<t* Ctisitx (1868), Columbus ( 1869), 

 1'iznrro (1869), and Cortes (1871). Other works 

 are Companions of my Solitude (1850), Casimir 

 Maremnui (1870), JBrevia (1871), Thoughts upon 

 Government (1872), Life and Labours of Thomas 

 r.nmsey (1872), and Social Pressure (1875). 



Helps is one of the most suggestive and delight- 

 ful of our later essayists, revealing everywhere 

 acuteuess, humour, a satire which gives no pain, 

 and !i quiet depth of moral feeling and sense of 

 man's social responsibilities ; while his style pos- 

 sesses in a rare degree the qualities of grace, clear- 

 ness, and distinction. 



Helsillgborg, an ancient seaport of southern 

 Sweden, 32 miles NW. of Malmd, on the Sound, 

 opposite Elsinore (Dan. Helsingor}. It is con- 

 nected by branch-lines with the railway from 

 Stockholm to Maltno. There are a good harbour, 

 some fishing, and some trade (6500 vessels annu- 

 ally in and out). It figures several times in the 

 wars between Sweden and Denmark. Pop. (1875) 

 9471 ; ( 1888) 17,465 ; (1893) 21,214. 



llclsillgfors, a fortified seaport, capital of the 

 grand-duchy of Finland, and after Cronstadt the 

 must important naval station on the Baltic, is 

 beautifully situated on a peninsula, surrounded by 

 islands and rocky cliffs, in the Gulf of Finland, 1!U 

 miles W. from St Petersburg by sea and 256 by 

 rail. A series of formidable batteries, called 

 the fortifications of SvealK>rg, and consisting 

 of seven strongly-fortified islands and numerous 

 islets belonging to Kn>sia. protect the entrance 

 to the harlxnir, and are of such strength, 

 and so well appointed, as to warrant the ap 

 plication to them of the name of the Northern 

 Gibraltar. The whole front presented by the suc- 

 cessive works is more than a mile in length, and, 

 besides the casemates for small-amis, the united 

 fortresses mount about 300 guns or mortars, ami 

 are garrisoned by 12,000 men in war-time, there 

 being only alnnit 2000 men in time of peace. The 

 harlnmr itself is further defended by two forts. 

 Helsingfors is the largest and handsomest town of 

 Finland ; the broad streets intersect at right angles, 



and there are several fine parks and public square*. 

 ill die public buildiwn tlie nio*t striking are the 

 li. !!- in which the diet meet*, the senate-house, 

 and the university buildings. Then? are also 

 three very handsome churches. The unit-entity, re- 

 moved hither from A I HI in 1828, where it had been 

 founded in 1640, comprises four faculties, and in 

 1888 had 45 professors, and 1703 -indent-, in-ciilx-d 

 on the lists, of whom 12 were ladies, but of whom 

 only 1002 were actually in residence. In con- 

 nection with it are a library of 200,000 volumes, 

 a hospital, a botanic garden, and a valuable 

 observatory. Helsingfors is a favourite bathing- 

 place, and attracts many visitors during summer 

 i mm St Petersburg. The town carries on a 

 considerable trade in Baltic produce ; it exports 

 chielly timber, paper, and butter, and impoi t iron 

 and steel goods, with machinery, fancy articles, 

 colonial wares, &c. Pop. (1870) 32,11*3; (1889) 

 64,817 ; (1895) 73,820, with the garrison. 



Helsingfors was founded by Gustavus I. of 

 Sweden in the 16th century, but the site of the 

 town was removed nearer the shore in 1639. In 

 1819 it became the capital of Finland. In August 

 1855, during the Crimean war, Sveaborg was bom- 

 barded for two days and nights by a section of the 

 allied fleet, without any material impression lieing 

 made upon the forts. Helsingfors has still many 

 Swedish characteristics, the majority of the popu- 

 lation being of Scandinavian origin, hence Swed- 

 ish is the tongue generally spoken. The Finnish 

 language, however, is beginning to assert itself. 



Heist* BARTHOLOMEWS VAN DEE, a Dutch 

 painter, was born (according to tradition) at Haar- 

 lem in 1613. He was joint-founder in 1654 of the 

 painters' guild of St Luke at Amsterdam, where 

 he lived, and where he died in 1670. He attained 

 great celebrity as a portrait-painter. Some of his 

 pictures seem to bear traces of Franz Hals's influ- 

 ence. One of his works at Amsterdam, a ' Muster 

 of the Burgher Guard,' with thirty full-length 

 figures, was pronounced by Sir Joshua Reynolds 

 to be 'the first picture of portraits in the world.' 

 His later creations are inferior in merit to the 

 pieces painted before 1650. Numerous paintings 

 by him exist in European galleries. 



IIHston. an old market-town and municipal 

 borough of Cornwall, 10 miles \VSW. of Falmouth. 

 It was made a borough by King John in 1201 ; and 

 from the reign of Edward I. to 1832 it sent two 

 meml)ers to parliament, and one till 1885. It has 

 long been noted for its Furry or Flora Dance, held 

 on the 8th May. A branch-line from Gwinear 

 Road was opened in 1887. Pop. (1891) 3198. 



Helvetia* a genus of fungi, of the class Ascom y- 

 cetes (see FUNGI), having the pileus turned down- 

 wards, lobed and folded, and the surface of the 

 hymenittm even. Some of the Helvelhe are edible, 

 and much used in Germany. 



Helvellyn* one of the highest mountains of 

 England, in the west of Cumberland, between 

 Keswick and Ambleside. It is 3118 feet high, is 

 easy of ascent, and commands magnificent vie\\ -. 



Helvetia, a Swiss colony (founded 1856) in the 

 Argentine Republic, in the Gran Chaco, 80 miles 

 N. of Santa F6. Pop. 2500. For ancient Helvetia, 

 see HKI.VETII, SWITZERLAND. For the Helvetic 

 Confessions, see CONKKSSIONS OF FAITH; and for 

 the Helvetic Republic, see SWIT/KRI.AM- 



HelvetH* a Celtic people inhabiting, according 

 to Civsar, the region oetween the mountains of 

 .lura on the west, the Rhone on the south, and the 

 Rhine on the east and north, the region correspond- 

 ing pretty closely with the western part of modern 

 S\\ it/.erland. Their chief town \ra Arenticttm, and 

 they were divided into four pagi or cantons, of 



