HARWICH HASSELQU1ST. 



645 



would have been still more interesting, had not the 

 plunder of the author's museum, while be was in the 

 king's service, deprived him of the fruits of some of 

 his anatomical researches, especially those relative 

 to the generation of insects. He presented to the 

 college of physicians his paternal estate of 56 a 

 year, for the institution of an annual festival and other 

 purposes. In his old age, he was subject to distress- 

 ing attacks of the gout, which imbittered his exist- 

 ence so much, that he is said to have shortened his 

 life with a dose of opium. He died June 3, 1658. 

 A splendid edition of his works was published in one 

 volume, 4to, with an account of his life, by doctor 

 Lawrence. 



HARWICH ; a seaport of England, on a peninsu- 

 lar point of land on the Essex coast, 71 miles N. E. 

 London ; Ion. 1 17' E. ; lat. 51 57' N. It is the 

 port from which the packets sail regularly, in time 

 of peace, for Holland and Germany; the seat of a 

 navy-yard, and also a considerable bathing place. 

 Two light-houses have lately been erected on the 

 Harwich side, to facilitate the entrance by night. 

 The harbour is of great extent, and forms, united to 

 the bay, a roadstead for the largest ships of war, and 

 for an immense number of vessels at a time, upwards 

 of 300 sail having anchored with ease. Population, 

 in 1841, 3829. 



H ASDRUB AL ; the name of several distinguished 

 Carthaginians ; among others, of the brother of Han- 

 nibal, (q. v.) 



H ASENCLEVER, PETER, a distinguished merchant, 

 was born at Remscheid, in the duchy of Berg, in 

 1716. In 1748, he established himself at Lisbon, 

 and afterwards at Cadiz, whence he returned to Ger- 

 many, and had a great influence in promoting the 

 manufacture of linen in Silesia. Frederic the Great 

 used to ask his advice in important commercial af- 

 fairs. In 1761, he returned to Cadiz, and, though a 

 Protestant, was the intimate friend of Velasquez, the 

 grand inquisitor. He afterwards established a com- 

 pany in London, for exporting hemp, potash, and 

 iron to North America, which was connected, in 1765 

 with a house at New York, where he built a great 

 many vessels. The speculations of his partner hav- 

 ing caused the bankruptcy of the firm, he went to 

 Europe, but soon after returned to America. He 

 then settled in Landshut in Silesia, where he carried 

 on an important linen trade. He died there in 

 1793. 



HASSE, JOHN ADOLPHUS, chapel-master of Au- 

 gustus, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, one of 

 the most eminent musical composers of the eighteenth 

 century, was born at Bergedorf, near Hamburg 

 (1699). His extraordinary talents were soon ob- 

 served by Konig, afterwards poet laureate to the king 

 of Poland, who recommended him as tenor singer for 

 the Hamburg opera, where the celebrated Kaiser 

 was then composer. His masterpieces served as 

 models for Hasse, who, in the course of four years, 

 became distinguished as a musician and singer. He 

 brought out his first opera, Antigonus, which was 

 received with great applause, in 1723. To perfect 

 himself in counterpoint, he determined to study in 

 one of the celebrated Italian schools. In 1724, he 

 went to Italy, and studied at Naples under Porpora. 

 Scarlatti was so pleased with his talents and modesty, 

 that he voluntarily offered him his instruction, and 

 called him his son. An opera which he set to music 

 for the theatre royal, was the foundation of his repu- 

 tation, and procured him from the Italians the title 

 of il euro Sussone. All the theatres of Italy con- 

 tended for the honour of having him as leader of the 

 orchestra. He went to Venice, in 1727, where his 

 future wife, Faustina Bordoni, was at that time in 

 the bloom of her beauty, and the object of universal 



admiration. Having once heard Hasse play upon 

 the harpsichord, she immediately fell in love with 

 him. He was here appointed chapel-master in the 

 conservatorio degli incurubili. His reputation now 

 procured him the situation of chapel-master at Dres- 

 den, with a yearly salary of 9000 dollars for himself 

 and wife ; but as he was pressed to remain in Italy, 

 he divided his time, until 1740, between the two 

 countries. After repeated invitations, he went to 

 England, in 1733, where he was received with great 

 distinction, and his opera Artaxerxes met with the 

 highest applause. He soon, however, returned to 

 Dresden. He went, in 1763, to Vienna, where he 

 composed his last opera, Rttggiero, and finally re- 

 moved to Venice (1770), in which city he died, in 

 1783. Hasse is deservedly celebrated as the most 

 natural, elegant and judicious composer of his time. 

 He always regarded the voice as the chief object ot 

 attention, and, without being ignorant of harmony, 

 he made the instrumental accompaniment as simple 

 as possible. A pupil of Leo, Vinci, Pergolese and 

 Porpora, he was contented with being simple and 

 natural. His compositions are so numerous, that he 

 himself said, there were many which he should not 

 recognise. He set all the operas of Metastasio, ex- 

 cept Themistocles, and most of them twice or oftener. 

 His sacred compositions (masses, Te Deums, &c.), 

 are still favourites at Dresden, where the greatest 

 collection of them is to be found. His wife, Faustina 

 Bordoni, born at Venice (1700), was one of the most 

 celebrated and beautiful singers of the eighteenth 

 century. She made her debut on the stage of her 

 native city, in her 16th year ; and, wherever she was 

 heard, she was called the modern Siren. Medals 

 were struck in honour of her at Florence. The ef- 

 fect of her musical talents was increased by her 

 beauty. In 1726, she received an appointment of 

 15,000 florins at Vienna. In Dresden, where she 

 was married to Hasse, she sang for the first time in 

 1731, and was ever after the faithful companion of 

 her husband. 



HASSEL, JOHN GEORGE HENRY, a distinguished 

 German geographer and statistical writer, was born 

 in 1770, at Wolfenbuttel, in Brunswick, and died 

 Jan. 18, 1829, at Weimar. He was, from 1809 to 

 1813, director of the statistical bureau, &c., in Cas- 

 sel, then the capital of the kingdom of Westplialia. 

 After 1816, he lived a private life at Weimar. He 

 wrote many works of much reputation; among 

 others, General Geographico-Statistical Lexicon (2 

 vols., Weimar, 1817 and 1818); Statistical Sketch 

 of all the European States, and the most important 

 of the other parts of the World (3 numbers, Weimar, 

 1823 and 1824); Genealogico-Statistico-Historical 

 Almanac (annually, from 1824 to 1829, Weimar) 

 a work which contains very extensive statistical in- 

 formation. It will be continued by doctor Dede, 

 who edited the number for 1830. Hassel was co- 

 editor of the Complete Manual of the latest Geo 

 graphy (Weimar, 1819 to 1829), and, in connexion 

 with W. Muller, edited the second chief division of 

 the Encyclopaedia of Ersch and Gruber, from H to 

 O, and contributed largely to Pierer's Encyclopaedia 

 Dictionary (Altenburg, 1824 to 1828,) from A to K. 



HASSELQU1ST, FREDERIC, a Swedish naturalist, 

 was one of the most eminent among the disciples of 

 Linnaeus. He was born in the province of Ostro- 

 gothia, in 1722. The death of his father, who was 

 vicar of a parish, leaving him without the means of 

 support, he exerted his faculties, and obtained 

 friends, by whose assistance he was supplied with 

 the means of instruction. In 1741, he went to the 

 university of Upsal, where his talents and industry 

 drew the attention of Linnaeus. In 1747, he pub- 

 lished a dissertation De f'iribus Plantarum. Soon 



