HAND HANDEL. 



627 



in 1754. He was then placed in the counting-house 

 u( his benefactor, and not long afterwards visited 

 England, where he was present at the coronation of 

 George III., as little prescient as the monarch him- 

 self of the part which he was destined to act in rela- 

 tion to the British government. On the sudden 

 demise of his uncle, in 1764, he succeeded to his 

 large fortune and extensive business ; both of which 

 he managed with great judgment and munificence. 

 As a member of the provincial legislature, he ex- 

 erted himself with zeal and resolution against the 

 royal governor and the British ministry, and became 

 so obnoxious to them, in consequence, that in the 

 proclamation issued by general Gage, after the bat- 

 tle of Lexington, and a few days before that of Bun- 

 ker hill, offering pardon to the rebels, he and Samuel 

 Adcims were especially excepted, their offences being 

 " of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other 

 consideration than that of condign punishment." 

 This circumstance gave additional celebrity to 

 these two patriots, between whom, however, an 

 unfortunate dissension took place, which produced 

 a temporary schism in the party they headed, and 

 a long personal estrangement between themselves. 

 In fact, they differed so widely in their modes 

 of living and general dispositions, that their con- 

 currence in political measures may be considered 

 one of the strongest proofs of their patriotism. 

 Hancock was a magnificent liver, lavishly bountiful, 

 and splendidly hospitable; Samuel Adams had neither 

 the means nor the inclination for pursuing a similar 

 course. He was studiously simple and frugal, and 

 was of an austere, unbending character. Hancock 

 was president of the provincial congress of Massa- 

 chusetts, until he was sent as a delegate from, the 

 province to the general congress at Philadelphia, in 

 1775. Soon after his arrival there, he was chosen 

 to succeed Peyton Randolph as president of that as- 

 sembly, and was the first to affix his signature to the 

 declaration of independence. He continued to fill 

 the chair until the year 1779, when he was compell- 

 ed by disease to retire from congress. He then was 

 elected governor of Massachusetts, and was annually 

 chosen from 1780 to 1785. After an interval of two 

 years, during which Mr Bowdoin occupied the post, 

 he was re-elected, and continued in the office until his 

 death, Oct. 8, 1793, at the age of fifty-six years. In 

 the interval, he acted as president of the convention 

 of the state for the adoption of the federal constitution, 

 for which lie finally voted. (An able sketch of his 

 character is contained in Tudor's Life of Otis.) The 

 talents of Hancock were rather useful than brilliant. 

 He seldom spoke, but his knowledge of business, and 

 facility in despatching it, together with his keen in- 

 sight into the characters of men, rendered him pecu- 

 liarly fit for public life. As the president of a deli- 

 berative assembly, he excelled. His voice was so- 

 norous, his apprehension of questions quick ; he was 

 well acquainted with parliamentary forms, and he 

 inspired respect and confidence by his attention, im- 

 partiality, and dignity. In private life, he was eminent 

 for his hospitality and beneficence. He was a com- 

 plete gentleman of the old school, both in his appear- 

 ance and manners ; dressing richly, according to the 

 fashion of the day, keeping a handsome equipage, 



and being distinguished for politeness and affa- 

 bility in social intercourse. When Washington con- 

 sulted the legislature of Massachusetts upon the pro- 

 priety of bombarding Boston, Hancock advised its 

 being done immediately, if it would benefit the cause, 

 although nearly his whole property consisted in 

 houses and other real estate hi that town. 



HAND; a measure of four inches, or of the clench- 

 ed fist. In painting and sculpture, it signifies also 

 the style of the artist. " ' 



armour, right and left, expanded or open ; and a 

 bloody hand in the centre of an escutcheon, is the 

 badge of a baronet of Great Britain. 



HANDBREADTH ; a measure of three inches. 



HANDCUFFS ; an instrument formed of two cir- 

 cular pieces of iron, each fixed on a hinge on the ends 

 of a very short iron bar, which, being locked over the 

 wrists of a malefactor, prevents his using his hands. 



HANDEL, properly HAENDEL, GEORGE FRE- 

 DERIC. This celebrated composer was a native of 

 Halle, in the duchy of Magdeburg, in Lower Saxony, 

 where his father practised with considerable reputa- 

 tion as a physician and surgeon. He was born Feb. 

 24, 1684. His father, intending him for the law, dis- 

 couraged, as much as possible, the strong passion 

 which he evinced early in life for the science of music. 

 But, although he was forbidden the use of musical 

 instruments, the young musician contrived to hide a 

 small clavichord in a garret, where he amused himself 

 during great part of the night after the rest of the fa- 

 mily had retired, and made such progress that, 

 on paying a visit to the court of Saxe-Weissenfels, 

 where his brother held a subordinate situation in the 

 household, he played on the church organ with such 

 power and effect, that the duke, who accidentally 

 witnessed his performance, used his influence suc- 

 cessfully with his father, to permit him to follow his 

 inclination. He was accordingly placed under the 

 tuition of Zachau, organist of the cathedral, and at 

 the age of nine was so far advanced in the practi- 

 cal part of the science, as to be able to officiate oc- 

 casionally as deputy to his instructer, while his theo- 

 retical proficiency enabled him to compose a service, 

 or spiritual cantata, weekly, for nearly three years. 

 On the death of his father in 1703, he repaired to 

 Hamburg, then celebrated for the excellence of its 

 musical performances, and procured an engage- 

 ment in the orchestra at the opera there. At this 

 period of his life, he commenced an acquaintance 

 with Matheson the composer, which, though unto- 

 ward in its commencement, ripened into a strict 

 friendship. A breach of etiquette during the perfor- 

 mance of the latter's opera of Cleopatra, on the 

 4th of December, 1704, produced a quarrel between 

 the young men, which terminated in a duel. Fortu- 

 nately, Matheson 's sword broke against one of Han- 

 del's buttons, which ended the encounter, and a recon- 

 ciliation took place. On the 30th of the same month, 

 Handel brought out his first opera, Almira, which, in 

 the February following, was succeeded by his Nero, 

 Matheson performing the principal character in each. 

 Having at length saved 200 ducats, enough to 

 warrant him in making a journey to Italy, he pro- 

 ceeded in succession to Florence, Venice, Naples 

 and Rome ; in which latter capital he formed an ac- 

 quaintance with Corelli, at the house of cardinal 

 Ottoboni. On his return to Germany, in 1710, he 

 entered the service of the elector of Hanover, after- 

 wards George I. of England, as chapel-master ; but, 

 having received pressing invitations from several of 

 the British nobility to visit London, he, with the per- 

 mission of that prince, set out for England, where 

 he arrived in the latter end of 1710. The flattering 

 reception which he met with in that country, induc- 

 ed him to break his continental engagement, in vio- 



lation of a positive promise which he had given to 

 return within a specified time ; and he was, in con- 

 sequence, on the accession of his royal patron to the 

 throne of Great Britain, in much disgrace, till the 

 good offices of baron Kilmansegge restored him to 

 favour, and the pension of ^200, granted him by 

 queen Anne, was doubled. From 17 L5 to 17 IS, 

 Handel resided with the earl of Burlington, and then 

 quitted that nobleman for the sen-ice of the duke of 



Hands are borne in coats of ! Chandos, who entertained him as maestro di capella to 



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