397 



H. 



HJEMATOCELE. 



H 



XT 

 "-^ 



is an aspirate of the guttural series, and is a faint pronunciation of 

 the sound which in the German alphabet is denoted by ch. In the 

 earliest alphabets, as the Greek and Hebrew, the symbol whence the 

 modern character is derived [ALPHABET] denoted the syllable che or he. 

 Hence the Hebrew name was cheth or heth ; and the Greek probably 

 at first heta, as it was afterwards eta. As the guttural sound disappeared 

 in the latter language, the letter finally denoted the simple vowel e. 

 On the other hand, in the Latin alphabet it was retained as the symbol 

 of the aspirate. The English name aitch was probably at first ech, 

 with the vowel prefixed, as in ef, d, &c. The guttural sound of t h is 

 often confounded with the sibilant ch, as heard in church. 



The letter A is liable to the following changes in different dialects or 

 kindred languages : 



1. H is interchangeable with c. This is well seen in a comparison of 

 the Latin and German languages [C, 3]. To the examples there given 

 may be added the Latin decem compared with the German zeheit, and 

 duccrt compared with ziihtn (zy). 



'2. H is interchangeable with eh. Thus the Greek forms x 6 '/*-""'. 

 \tiiiupaw, XI>TOS, x<M", are severally connected with the Latin hieme, 

 hilternus, /lortus, l> 



3. H with chili. This is similar to the interchange of p with 

 pt, as seen in the Greek nouns oAi> and TTOA.IS, vo\(fu>s, and 

 Trro\fftos. Of the interchange between the aspirates there are examples 

 in the Greek x" compared with the Latin root ha-, seen in heri and 

 ftaternui, and perhaps the Greek xOov (nom. x" "') compared with the 

 Latin humo- {nom. humus). 



4. H is interchangeable with g. Examples : the German xke com- 

 pared with the Latin dii/ito- : the German fliehen, sehen, compared with 

 the English substantives ftiyht, ii'jht ; and perhaps the Latin / I 



the first element of which is identical with the German prefix weg, a 

 derivation which will make vehement equivalent to amtnt or demens. 



5. H with . Compare the Latin sub, ef, teptem, <, (a/to, with the 

 Greek Into, i, turn, in, aAAouai, &c. Thus the ancient Spanish town 

 Hermandica, mentioned by Livy in his 21st book, is proved by the 

 Greek form Helmantice to be identical with Salmantic*, the ancient 

 name of Salamanca. 



6. H with /. Hence the Latin words hottit, hottia, says Festus, were 

 sometimes written fottit, fosiia. So, too, the French word hurt, well 

 known in the phrase hart de combat, is derived from the Latin fan*. 

 The Spanish language abounds in examples of this change, as in the 

 names fferdinando and Fentinando ; BO also hermiao, from the Latin 

 farmoto- ; the Portuguese retains the form formoto-. 



7. H with K. Many Greek words which had originally the digamma 

 (another name for the letter w) at the beginning, took a mere aspirate 

 afterwards. So in our own language the word who has nearly exchanged 

 the for what is sounded as an A ; and the relative adverb how is no 

 iloubt derived from the relative itself. It is in this way that the Latin 

 homo (homtm-) is uumo in Italian and a/towi in Walachian. 



8. When any consonant or consonants in the middle of words had 

 nearly loot all sound, the letter h appears to have been employed as a 

 fit representative of the vanishing sound. Hence in German ittln.n 

 and yehen, for what must originally have been standen and yanyen ; but 

 the A of the Latin mih-i is part of the stem, as shown by the German 

 forms icA and mich of the same pronoun. 



9. The letter A is often dropped altogether in pronunciation, and 

 hence in writing also. This was perhaps the reason why the Greeks 

 gave up the letter A for the little mark called the fpiritwt aiptr. In 

 Latin many words are written indifferently, with or without an A, as 

 arena, harena ; arundo, harundo ; onutv, honialiut. Thus the last 

 words show that hon-ar and Aon-ut (onus), knaetltu and luiniulnx, are all 

 of the same origin, being derived from a root han, denoting a load or 

 charge, which is either an honor or a burden, according to the nature of 

 the case. The Italians for the most part, like the inhabitants of ancient 

 Rome, are averse to all aspirates ; the people of Tuscany, on the other 

 hand, still maintain their ancient character for the strongest pronun- 

 ciation of these harsh sounds. Evidence of this is seen in the name 

 Leyhvni, which no doubt more accurately represents the pronunciatii >n 

 which prevailed on that part of the Italian coast, than Lirnrno. 



HABEAS CO'RPOBA JURATO'RUM, a judicial writ for the 

 purpose of enforcing the attendance of jurors, abolished by the 

 Comnton Law Procedure Act, 1852. [JURY.] 



HA'BEAS CORPUS is a writ at the common law, used for varimH 

 purposes. When the writ of Habeas Corpus is spoken of without 

 further explanation, it always implies the important writ which will 

 presently be described ; but it is also used for certain formal purposes 

 in the courts of common law at Westminster for removing prisoners 

 from on court into another, and for compelling the attendance of 

 prisoners as witnes, 4c. But the great writ of Habeas Corpus is 

 that which in caw of alleged illegal confinement is directed to the per- 

 v>n who detains another ; and the purport of the writ is a command to 



such person to produce the body of the prisoner, and to state the cause 

 of his detention, and, further, to submit to and receive whatsoever the 

 judge or court awarding the writ shall direct. 



The old writ de homine repl&jiando was issued for the purpose of 

 replevying a man out of custody iu the same manner as chattels taken 

 in distress may bo replevied [REPLEVIN] upon giving security to the 

 sheriff that the man should be forthcoming to answer any charge 

 against him. And if the prisoner was removed out of the sheriff's 

 jurisdiction, the sheriff might make his return accordingly, and there- 

 upon a process issued (called a capias in irithernam) to imprison the 

 party withholding the prisoner until he was produced. From the many 

 exceptions, however, with which this writ was guarded, especially in 

 causes where the crown was concerned, it was a very insufficient 

 remedy. The decision of the judges of the King's Bench in the early 

 part of the reign of Charles I., that they could not, upon a Habeas 

 Corpus, bail or deliver a prisoner, though committed without any cause 

 assigned, in cases where he was committed by the special command of 

 the king, or by the lords of the Privy Council, caused the parliamentary 

 inquiry which was followed by the Petition of Right, which recites 

 this judgment, and enacts that no freeman shall be so imprisoned or 

 detained. The court, however, and the judges, still endeavoured to 

 uphold the prerogative of the crown ; and, consequently, the statute 

 16 Car. I. c. 10, was extorted by the parliament, enacting that any per- 

 son committed by the king himself or his Privy Council, or any mem- 

 bers thereof, should have the writ of Habeas Corpus granted to him 

 upon demand or motion made to the court, which should thereupon, 

 within three court days after the return of the writ, examine and 

 determine the legality of the commitment, aud do justice in delivering, 

 bailing, or remanding the prisoner. Still, however, new shifts and 

 devices were made use of to prevent the due execution of this act, and 

 eventually the statute 31 Chas. II., c. 2., was passed, which is called 

 the Habeas Corpus Act, and is frequently spoken of as another Magua 

 Charta. By this statute the methods of obtaining this writ are plainly 

 pointed out, and so long as it remains in force no English subject can 

 'be long detained in prison, except in those cases where the law justifies 

 a detainer. And lest it should be evaded by demanding unreasonable 

 bail, it is declared by the 1 W. & M., stat. ii., c. 2, that excessive bail 

 shall not be required. 



It has been customary in times of alleged danger to suspend the 

 Habeas Corpus Act ; but these are in fact the very times when the 

 statute is most necessary. The Habeas Corpus is the protection only 

 of the innocent, not the defence of the guilty. A suspension of the 

 Habeas Corpus Act is effected by an act of parliament authorising the 

 crown, for a limited period, to imprison suspected persons without 

 giving any reason for so doing. But it has been customary to pass acts 

 of indemnity subsequently, for the protection of those who have acted 

 under the suspension. An instance of the one is afforded by the 

 57 Geo. III. c. 3, and of the other by the 58 Gep. III. c. 6. (Blackst., 

 ' Comin.,' Mr. Kerr's ed., vol. iii.) 



The statute 31 Chas. II. has been re-enacted or adopted, if not in 

 terms yet in substance, iu most of the American states. The New 

 York statutes formerly provided for relief under the writ de homine 

 replegiando, in favour of fugitives from service in any other state ; but 

 this provision has been held to be contrary to the constitution and 

 laws of the United States, and void in respect to slaves being fugitives 

 from states where slavery is lawful. (Kent's ' Com.') 



HABE'RE FA'CIAS POSSESSIO'NEM, a judicial writ directed to 

 the sheriff, commanding him to put the person who has recovered n, 

 chattel or popsessory interest in lands into actual possession. It corre- 

 sponds to the Ha&fre facias seisinam ; but now that the possession 

 alone is recovered in ejectment, this writ is the one most in use. 



[EXECUTION.] 



HABE'RE FA'CIAS SEISI'NAM, a judicial writ directed to the 

 sheriff, commanding him to put the pernon who has recovered a free- 

 hold interest in lands into actual possession. Iu the execution of this 

 writ, as well as of the writ of ll A /- /<"/(/. {KMMBtfenent, the sheriff 

 may justify breaking open doors if thn possession be not quietly 

 delivered. The execution is effected by the delivery of a twig, or a 

 clod, &c., if land ; or by the delivery of the key of the door, &c., if a 

 house is the subject matter of which the sheriff is directed to put the 

 recoveror in possession, all other persons being first removed from 

 the premises. But if it be the presentation to a benefice which is 

 recovered, the execution is by writ de clerico admittendo, directed, not 

 to the sheriff, but to the bishop or archbishop, directing him to admit 

 and institute the clerk of the recoveror. [EXECUTION.] 



HACKNEY COACH. [STAOE CARRIAGE.] 



H.'EMATE'MESIS (from a?^o, blood, and <!/'<>, to vomit), a bleeding 

 from or into the stomach. [HjEMORUHAOK.] 



H^EM ATO'CELE (from alpm, blood, and icf\\it, a tumour), an effusion 

 of Hood into the ncrotum. 



