HEDLINGER HEGIRA. 



strong spines, of a whitish tint, with a bar of black 

 through their middle. They are usually about ten 

 inches long, the tail about one. Their usual resi- 

 dence is in small thickets, and they feed on fallen 

 fruits, roots, and insects j they are also fond of flesh, 

 either raw or roasted. Pallas remarks, that they 

 can eat hundreds of cantharides, without suffering 

 from them, whilst a single one of these acrid insects 

 will cause the most horrible torments in dogs or cats. 

 It has been asserted, that they mount fruit trees, and 

 come down with apples, pears, &c., stuck upon their 

 bristles. This is equally false with the imputation 

 that they suck cows, and injure their udders. Mr 

 White observes, that the manner in which they eat 

 the roots of the plaintain is very curious. With their 

 upper mandible, which is much longer than the 

 lower, they bore under the plant, and gnaw off the 

 root upwards, leaving the tuft of leaves untouched. 

 The hedgehog defends himself from the attacks of 

 other animals by rolling himself up, and thus expos- 

 ing no part of his body that is not furnished with a 

 defence of spines. It may be rendered domestic to 

 u cer tain degree, and lias been employed in Europe 

 to d estroy cockroaches, which it pursues with avidity. 

 In the winter, the hedgehog wraps itself in a warm 

 nest, composed of moss, dried hay and leaves, and 

 remains torpid till the return of spring. The female 

 produces four or five young at a birth, which soon 

 become covered with prickles. These animals are 

 sometimes used as food, and are said to be very 

 delicate. The skin was formerly used for the pur- 

 pose of napping cloths. The long-eared hedgehog 

 (E. auritus) is smaller than the common, and is dis- 

 tinguished by the great size of its ears ; in its man- 

 ners, it is said to be similar to that species. The 

 female produce twice each year, having six or seven 

 young at a birth. This species inhabits from the 

 northern part of the Caspian sea to Egypt. 



HEDLINGER, JOHN CHARLES, the most cele- 

 brated die-cutter of his age, was born at Schweitz, 

 in 1691, and, while a boy, manufactured graving 

 tools for his own use. At his own request, his 

 father placed him with the director of the mint, 

 Cramer, to learn the art. In 1717, Hedlinger went 

 to Paris, and was intrusted with the execution of 

 some works, which gained for him the notice of the 

 king of France. At that time, baron Gortz was in 

 Paris, having been commissioned by Charles XII., 

 among other things, to select artists who might be 

 prevailed upon to go to Sweden. Hedlinger ac- 

 cepted his proposals, and was made director of the 

 mint, upon his own conditions. Charles XII. soon 

 after fell at Fredericshall, and Hedlinger honoured 

 his memory by the productions of his art. The 

 favour manifested by Charles towards Hedlinger was 

 continued by his successor. On this account, the 

 artist refused the offers of Peter the Great. He 

 made a journey to Italy in 1726, and met there a 

 distinguished reception. Benedict XIII. conferred 

 upon him the order of Christ, for a medal which the 

 artist presented to him. After his return, the empress 

 Anna repeated the invitation to come to Petersburg, 

 in st pressing a manner, that Hedlinger at last, with 

 tlie approbation of his court, went thither in 1735, 

 and remained two years ; after which he returned to 

 Stockholm, loaded with honours. In 1741, he 

 returned to his native country, and was married. 

 He afterwards visited Sweden frequently, where the 

 academy, in 1744, elected him one of its members, 

 and the king honoured him with new dignities ; but, 

 in 1745, he left Sweden for ever. On his last voyage 

 from that country, he lost his property, which was in 

 another vessel, by shipwreck; the consequences of 

 which would have been very distressing, but for the 

 kindness of the king of Sweden. Hedlinger hence- 



forth lived in peaceable employment in Schweitz, 

 where he found consolation, in the society of a 

 daughter, for the loss of a wife, whom he honourea 

 by some very splendid medals. He died in 1771. 

 His works are distinguished by simplicity and cor- 

 rectness of design, and a softness which by no means 

 injures the distinctness of them. They are, for the 

 most part, happily designed. It is generally re- 

 marked, in Hedlinger's works, that there are greater 

 endeavours to attain the elegance and precision of the 

 French models, than to produce imitations of the 

 ancients. A splendid work of Chr. de Mechel 

 ((Euvres du Chevalier Hedlinger, ou Recueil des 

 Medailles de ce celebre Artiste Works of the Cheva- 

 lier Hedlinger, or a Collection of the Medals of this 

 celebrated artist, folio, Basil, 1775), contains elegant 

 copies of his medals, and a well deserved eulogy of 

 this excellent artist. 



HEEMSKERK, MARTIN VAN, a Dutch painter, 

 born in 1498, at the village of Heemskerk, from 

 which he derived his name, was the son of a mason, 

 of the name of Van Veen, who at first placed him 

 with a painter at Haerlem, but afterwards took him 

 home, to learn his own trade. The young Martin 

 returned to his father's house unwillingly, and seized 

 the first opportunity of leaving it again. He then 

 went to John Lucas, a painter of some celebrity at 

 Delft ; but, finding that his master did nothing for 

 him, he placed himself under the direction of J. 

 Shoreel, a celebrated artist, who had brought from 

 Rome and Venice many valuable studies. Heems- 

 kerk now made such rapid progress, that his master, 

 fearing to be eclipsed by him, sent him away. He 

 then executed his picture of St Luke painting the 

 blessed Virgin and the child Jesus, and presented it 

 to the corporation of painters at Haerlem. This 

 picture had great success. Heemskerk afterwards 

 visited Italy, remained there about three years, 

 forming his taste on ancient models, and enjoyed the 

 instructions of the celebrated Michael Angelo, who, 

 at that time, was enriching the capital of the Chris- 

 tian world with the works of his pencil. When he 

 returned to Holland, some of his admirers lamented 

 that they no longer found in his pictures the charms 

 which had delighted them ; but connoisseurs knew 

 how to appreciate the progress which he had made 

 in the art of drawing, and his improvement in taste. 

 His apartments were soon filled with scholars, and in 

 a short time he became rich. A great part of the 

 now rare works of this diligent and prolific artist 

 were lost, in 1572, at the capture of Haerlem, where 

 his own house was likewise destroyed. Heemskerk's 

 drawing is firm and accurate, but his outlines are 

 without elegance or grace ; his drapery is stiff, and 

 overloaded with folds, and his heads want dignity. 

 He is chiefly indebted for his fame to his knowledge 

 of anatomy, in which he endeavoured to imitate 

 Michael Angelo. He died at Haerlem, 1574. 



HEGIRA (Hedschra) ; an Arabic word signifying 

 flight. The Mohammedans designate, by this word, 

 the flight of Mohammed, their prophet, from Mecca 

 to Yatreb (Medina), which latter place, was, in con- 

 sequence, called Medina al Nabi, that is, the City of 

 the Prophet. From this flight, which they fix on the 

 16th of July, A. D. 622, they begin their computa- 

 tion of time. The reduction of the years of the He- 

 gira to the corresponding period in the Christian com- 

 putation, where strict accuracy is not required, may 

 be performed as follows: Since the Mohammedan 

 year is a lunar year of 354 days, 33 Mohammedan 

 years amount to about 32 Christian or tropical years. 

 We must, therefore, subtract from the number of Mo- 

 hammedan years, one for every 33 years, and add 

 thereto 622 years. Thus, for example, the year 1000 

 of the Mohammedan reckoning will correspond to the 



