HARP HARPER'S FERRY. 



6'39 



by the foot of the performer, by which three different 

 notes can be produced by one string. 

 HARP, ^EoLiAN. See JEolian Harp. 

 HARPAGUS ; a Mede, minister of king Asty- 

 ages, who ordered him to put Cyrus to death. As 

 he did not obey this command, Astyages invited him 

 to a banquet, at which the body of his own son was 

 served up before him ; at least, so Herodotus tells us. 

 HARPE. See Laharpe. 



HARPER, ROBERT GOODLOE, a celebrated Ameri- 

 can lawyer, was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, 

 of poor, but respectable parents, who, while he was 

 very young emigrated to Granville, in North Caro- 

 lina. He displayed, in his boyhood, vivacity of spirit 

 and versatility of talent, and, before the age of fifteen, 

 possessed the rudiments of a liberal education, a 

 various fund of profitable ideas, and an expertness in 

 the use of tools, which would have made him a suc- 

 cessful mechanic. The ardour and gallantry of his 

 character prompted him, at that age, to join a troop 

 of horse, composed of the young men of the neigh- 

 bourhood, to which he acted as quarter-master ; but 

 his thirst for learning and intellectual culture soon in- 

 duced him to withdraw from the military career, and 

 seek some situation in which he could complete his 

 studies. He procured admission into Princeton col- 

 lege, where he taught one or two of the inferior 

 classes, while he gained instruction and distinction 

 in the upper. About the age of nineteen or twenty, 

 he accompanied a fellow student to Philadelphia, on 

 a visit, and here formed the resolution to embark, at 

 once, for England, and make the tour of Europe on 

 foot. He intended to begin with giving lessons in 

 London, and to work simultaneously at the trade of 

 a joiner, for which he was qualified by his early prac- 

 tice. This romantic project was frustrated by ice in 

 the Delaware, that prevented 'the departure of any 

 vessel during many weeks, in the course of which the 

 youthful adventurer nearly exhausted his purse, and 

 had leisure to reflect upon the difficulties of the enter- 

 prise. As soon as the river became navigable, he 

 resolved to sail for Charleston, and try his fortune 

 there, his new scheme being to study the law. He 

 arrived, after a short passage, at that city, and found 

 himself on the wharf, a stranger to every one, with 

 but a dollar or two in his pockets. As he stood ru- 

 minating on his condition, he was accosted by a man 

 of respectable appearance, who asked him whether 

 lie had not taught a class at Princeton college, in 

 which there was a youth of a certain name ; and, 

 being answered affirmatively, he proceeded to say 

 that the youth was his son, who had rendered him 

 familiar with the name of his tutor by the affectionate 

 testimony often repeated in his letters. He professed 

 a strong desire to serve his new acquaintance, men- 

 tioned that he kept a tavern, and offered him any 

 assistance which he might require. The welcome 

 kindness was accepted : the generous friend intro- 

 duced him to a lawyer, under whom he prepared 

 himself for the same profession ; and, in less than a 

 twelvemonth, he undertook causes on his own ac- 

 count. The hope of speedier success in his profession 

 induced him to retire from Charleston to an interior 

 district ; and in this residence he first acquired some 

 political consideration by a series of essays, in a news- 

 paper, on a proposed change of the constitution oi 

 the state ; and he was soon elected into the legisla- 

 ture. The reputation which he gained, as a speaker 

 and man of business, soon placed him in congress. 

 It is unnecessary to follow him, in his legislative 

 course of eight or nine years, from the commence- 

 ment of the French revolution to the year 1802 

 when the democratic party had succeeded to the 

 national government. He sided with the federalists 

 and zealously supported the policy and measures o 



Washington, of whom he was the personal friend, as 

 le was also of Hamilton, and others of the principal 

 ederal statesmen. Many years afterwards, he col- 

 ected into an octavo volume a portion of his circulars 

 and addresses to his constituents and a few of his 

 speeches, as they were printed while he was a re- 

 presentative. These attest the vigour of his faculties, 

 ,he depth of his views, and the extent of his know- 



ge. His pamphlet, published in 1797, and en- 

 ;itied Observations on the Dispute between the 

 United States and France, acquired great celebrity at 

 lome, passed rapidly through several editions in 

 Britain, and was esteemed, over Europe, one of 

 the ablest productions of the crisis. Soon after the 

 downfall of the federal party, he retired from congress, 

 and, having married the daughter of Charles Carroll 

 of Carrolton, resumed the practice of the law, in 

 Baltimore, where he soon became eminent in his pro- 

 'ession. Mr Harper attended almost every session of 

 -he supreme court, from the time of its removal to 

 Washington to that of his death, and was always 

 listened to with respect by the court. His style of 

 speaking was animated, neat, sufficiently fluent, and 

 uncommonly perspicuous. Juries especially felt the 

 lombined influence of his clear, natural tones, simple, 

 easy gesture, lucid arrangement and impressive ex- 

 position of facts, and his facility in applying general 

 principles, and deducing motives or consequences at 

 ;he exact point of time. Mr Harper did not suffer 

 !iis taste for literature to languish. He was a diligent 

 reader of belles-lettres, of history, geography, travels 

 and statistics. He was versed in the sciences of 

 morals and government, and was particularly well ac- 

 quainted with political economy, and well knew how 

 to use, in his public addresses, the stores with which 

 tiis excellent memory readily supplied him. The. 

 federal party happening to acquire the ascendant in 

 Maryland, Mr Harper was immediately elected, by 

 the legislature, a senator in congress ; but this posi- 

 tion the demands of his profession obliged him soon 

 to relinquish. The same councils bestowed upon 

 him the rank of major-general in the militia. About 

 the years 181920, he set out for Europe with a 

 part of his family, and visited, in succession, England, 

 France, and Italy. He was absent from home nearly 

 two years. During the few years between his return 

 and death, he employed himself chiefly in plans of a 

 public character, such as the promotion of internal 

 improvement and the colonization of the blacks. He 

 delighted in topographical and geographical studies; 

 and the particular notice which he had bestowed 

 upon African geography served, besides his philan- 

 thropic zeal, to draw him into the scheme of African 

 colonization. He died in 1825, aged sixty. 



In private life., general Harper had signal virtues 

 and attractions. He administered aid, praise, and 

 sympathy wherever they were due. He lived with 

 elegant hospitality, and enjoyed the company of the 

 young and gay. In conversation, he excelled, per- 

 haps, even more than he did in public speaking. He 

 was above the middle size, well shaped, muscular, and 

 robust ; of erect, firm gait ; of regular features and 

 expressive countenance, and of active habits. 



HARPER'S FERRY ; a post village in Jefferson 

 county, Virginia, at the junction of the Shenandoah 

 with the Potomac ; it is eight miles E. N. E. of 

 Charleston, and sixty -five W. N. W. of Washington. 

 The celebrated passage of the Potomac, at this place, 

 is an object truly grand and magnificent. The eye 

 takes in, at a glance, on the north side of the Potomac 

 and Shenandoah, at their junction, an impetuous tor- 

 rent, foaming and dashing over numerous rocks, 

 which have tumbled from precipices that overhang 

 them ; the picturesque tops and sides of the mountains 

 the gentle and winding current of the river below the 



