642 



H A RRISBURG HARTFORD. 



t : .me to classical literature. In 1744, In- 

 volume, containing three treatises, On Art; tin 

 Music and Painting j aiul on Happiness. This vf\s 

 a prelude U tlie n:ost celebrated of his productions, 

 Hermes, or a Philosophical Enquiry concerning Uni- 

 versal Gra'nmar. This work displays much ingenuity, 

 and an extensive acquaintance with the writings of 

 the Greek poets and philosophers ; b'it the author's 

 ignorance of the ancient dialects of tne northern 

 ntitions has caused him to take an imperfect survey 

 of his subject. In 1761, he was chosen member of 

 parliament, rjid held several public places. In 1775, 

 he published Philosophical Arrangements part of a 

 systematic work, which he had projected, as an illus- 

 tration of the Logic of Aristotle. Mis concluding 

 work, Philological Inquiries, was completed in 1780, 

 but was not published till after his death (December 

 22, 1,780). A collective edition of his works was 

 published by his son, the earl of Malraesbury (2 vols. 

 4to, 1801). 



HARRIS BURG ; an American borough in Dau- 

 phin county, and the seat of government of the state. 

 of Pennsylvania, on the east bank of the S'isquehan- 

 nah, over which there is here erected a covered 

 bridge, of twelve arches. The Pennsylvania canal 

 passes along the eastern side of tie town and forms 

 a large basin for a harbour ; thirty-five miles W. N. 

 W. Lancaster, ninety-six W. by N Philadelphia. 

 Population, in 1820, 2990; in 1830, 4307; and, 

 including the adjoining village of Macclaysburg, 

 4526. Fifty years since, Harrisburg was a wilder- 

 ness, inhabited by Indians. 



HARRISON, JOHN ; a skilful mechanic, celebra- 

 ted as the inventor of the time-keeper for ascertaining 

 the longitude at sea, and also of the gridiron-pendu- 

 lum. He was born at Foulby, near Pontefract, in 

 Yorkshire, in 1693, and was the son of a carpecter or 

 builder, who brought him up to the same occupation. 

 Before he had attained the age of twenty- one he 

 found out, without instruction, how to clean clocks 

 and watches, and made two clocks, chiefly of wood- 

 work. In 1735, he executed his first machine for 

 determining the longitude at sea, the merit of which 

 he proved in a voyage to Lisbon. In 1739, he com 

 pleted a second, and, in 1749, a third machine, which 

 erred only three or four seconds in a week. He then 

 turned his attention to the improvement of pocket 

 watches, in which he succeeded so well, that he was 

 induced to make a fourth machine, or time-keeper, in 

 that form, which he finished in 1759. This chrono- 

 meter, in two voyages, having been found to correct 

 Jie longitude within the limits required by the act of j 

 parliament of the twelfth of queen Anne, Harrison 

 applied for the proposed reward of 20,000, which 

 he received. This ingenious artist employed the 

 latter part of his life in constructing a fifth improved 

 time-keeper, on the same principle. This, after a ten 

 weeks' trial, was found to have erred only four and a 

 half seconds. He died in 1776. He was the author 

 of a tract, entitled a Description concerning such j 

 Mechanism as will afford a nice or true Mensuration 

 of Time (1775, 8vo). 



HARROW-ON-THE-HILL ; a village in Middle- 

 sex, ten miles N. W. from London, situated on the 

 highest hill in the county, and commanding one of 

 the finest prospects of the metropolis on the east. It 

 is famous for its free school, founded in the reign of 

 Elizabeth, by John Lyon, and still considered one of 

 the first in the kingdom. Population of the parish, 

 3861. Doctor Parr, Sir William Jones, Sheridan, 

 Byron, earl Spenser, Sir Robert Peel, &c., were edu- 

 cated there. Pop. in 1H41, 4627. 



HARROWGATE, a village of Yorkshire, 211 

 miles N. N. W. from London, usually called High 

 Harrowgate, from its situation, in contradistinction to 



to a neighbouring place, named Low Harrowgate. 

 It owes its sole, importance to mineral springs, strong 

 ly impregnated with steel, sulphur, and much fre- 

 quented tor medicinal purpose*. There are different 

 wells, varying in their peculiar properties. The first, 

 or old Spa, in Knaresborough Forest, about three 

 miles from the tovn of that name, was discovered by 

 Captain Slingsby, in 1620; and a handsome dome 

 was erected over the well, in 1786, at the expense of 

 the earl of Rosslyn. It is a powerful chalybeate, 

 which may be used with advantage, in diseases ac- 

 companied with debility ; there are two other chaly- 

 beate springs, called the Allum Well, and the Tur- 

 whet Well. The most noted of the mineral springs 

 is the sulphureous well, which is of more recent dis- 

 covery than the preceding. It is distinguished by its 

 strong hepatic odour, arising from the presence of 

 hydro-sulphurous gas, thrown off in part as the 

 water rises, sparkling with air-bubbles, like soda- 

 water. It tinges silver of a dark purple colour, 

 leaves a black precipitate on standing, and a part of 

 the sulphur which it contains rises to the surface. 

 Its taste is nauseous, though it is sometimes adminis- 

 tered internally in dyspeptic, dropsical, and arthritic 

 complaints ; but it is chiefly employed externally, by 

 bathing, in cases of rheumatism, palsy, scorbutic, 

 and cutaneous diseases, in the cure of which it seems 

 to possess considerable efficacy. The usual season 

 for bathing is froir. May to the end of September ; 

 The village lies in the parish of Bilton, and its 

 population is included in it. 



HARSDORFER, GEORGE PHILIP, a distinguished 

 scholar and poet of the seventeenth century, lived 

 from 1607 till 1658. He was descended from a pa- 

 trician family in Nuremberg, travelled through Hol- 

 land, England, France and Italy, and acquired so 

 much knowledge of languages, that he was called tl e 

 learned. He was also a member of the high council 

 at Nuremberg. His German and Latin works, his- 

 torical and literary fill forty-seven volumes. Yet he 

 was neither a profound scholar nor a poetical genius. 

 His best songs are to be found in his Frauenzimmer- 

 gespriichen (Nuremberg, 1642, 8 vols.). With his 

 friend and poetical companion, John Klai (Clajus), 

 who was born at Meissen, 1616, and died (1656) at 

 Kitz'ngen in Franconia, where he was a preacher, he 

 instituted at Nuremberg, in 1644, the Order of 

 Flowers, or Society of Shepherds of the Pegnitz, 

 which is yet in existence. The purity of the German 

 language was the object of this society, which num- 

 bered princes and distinguished scholars among its 

 members. Klai's poems are partly in the collection 

 published by the Shepherds of the Pegnitz, and have 

 been partly published by themselves. 



HARTFORD ; a city of America in Hartford 

 county, and the semi capital of Connecticut, on the 

 west bank of Connecticut river, fifty miles above its 

 mouth, and 100 W. S. W. of Boston ; Ion. 72 50' 

 W. ; lat. 41 46' N. : population in 1830, 9789. It 

 has a pleasant and advantageous situation at the head 

 of sloop navigation, and is surrounded by a fertile 

 and beautiful country. Hartford was first settled by 

 the English in 1635. Washington college, an insti- 

 tution under the direction of the Episcopalians, was 

 established here in 1826. It is very pleasantly situ- 

 ated, and has a president, eight professors, about 

 eighty students, and a library of 5000 volumes. 



The American Asylum for the education and in- 

 struction of the deaf and dumb, at Hartford, owes its 

 origin to the success which attended the efforts of the 

 reverend Thomas H. Gallaudet, to give instruction to 

 the deaf and dumb daughter of a gentleman of that city . 

 The attention of people being excited, it was comput- 

 ed that there were more tlian a hundred deaf mutes 

 in Connecticut ; and Mr Gallaudet was induced 



