HARPSICHORD 



2694 



HARRIS 



toggle iron can be fired, some guns being so 

 large as to be mounted in a whaleboat like a 

 cannon. Few harpoons are now thrown by 

 hand. 



HARPSICHORD, hahrp'sikawrd, a keyed 

 and stringed musical instrument, now little 

 known. The modern piano is an evolution of 

 the harpsichord, and in appearance and inter- 

 nal arrangement the two are somewhat simi- 

 lar. The keys, all of one color, were in front, 

 the long ones being the naturals and the short 

 ones the sharps and flats. The date of the 

 invention of the instrument is uncertain, but 

 it is known to have been introduced into Eng- 

 land early in the seventeenth century. 



HARPY, hahr'pi, a large bird, probably of 

 the eagle family, named after the harpies in 

 mythology (see. HARPIES). It is a bird of prey, 

 about forty-two inches long, with large, power- 

 ful talons and a strong, hooked beak. Being 

 very active, it is able to swoop down after 

 small animals and birds, snatching them up in 

 its talons and devouring them. It is grayish 

 in color, barred with black, and has a white 

 breast, while its white head has a dark crest. 

 The harpy is a native of tropical America, from 

 Southern Mexico to Brazil. It makes its nest 

 in a tall tree or on the ledge of a high cliff, 

 where it lays five eggs. A greedy, unfeeling 

 person is often called a harpy, probably a sug- 

 gestion also derived from the harpies. 



HAR'RADEN, BEATRICE (1864- ), an Eng- 

 lish author, whose first novel, Ships That Pass 

 in the Night, made her at once famous in two 

 hemispheres. he was graduated from the Uni- 

 versity of London at the age of twenty-one. 

 She wrote Ships That Pass in the Night when 

 she was so ill that she could not hold a pen, 

 and was obliged to use a peculiar device that 

 she held in the palm of her hand. The lines 

 that suggested its title occur in Longfellow's 

 Tales of a Wayside Inn: 



Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other 



in passing, 

 Only a signal show and a distant voice in the 



darkness, 

 So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one 



another, 

 Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and 



silence. 



Her book passed through thirteen editions 

 in England but, unfortunately, she had not 

 secured a copyright in the United States, and 

 the novel was "pirated" by unscrupulous pub- 

 lishers. Her next book, At the Green Dragon, 

 elicited the interest of England's queen, who 



inquired about the author. In 1894 Miss Har- 

 raden visited the United States atid lived for 

 a time on a California ranch. Her other nov- 

 els include In Varying Moods, The Fowler, 

 and Hilda Strafford, besides which she wrote 

 a great many short stories. 



HARRIMAN, hair 'i man, EDWARD HENRY 

 (1848-1909), an American capitalist and rail- 

 road builder, born at Hempstead, L. I. After 

 a common school course, he became a clerk 

 in a New York brokerage office, and at the 

 age of twenty-two had accumulated enough 

 money to buy a seat on the New York Stock 

 Exchange. He prospered greatly in his specu- 

 lations, and showed so thorough an under- 

 standing of American railways that in 1883 

 he was elected to be a director of the Illinois 

 Central Railroad. In 1887 he became vice- 

 president of the road and showed extraordinary 

 executive ability. In 1898 Harriman secured 

 the financial backing of a great New York 

 banking house, and through it gained control 

 of the Union Pacific, then in an impoverished 

 condition. Within two years he had made it 

 a highly efficient line, and this success led to 

 his acquiring so many other large lines that 

 at his death he controlled at least 60,000 miles 

 of road. His competitive methods were at 

 times so harsh and bitter that he frequently 

 met with criticism, and in 1907 received severe 

 public denunciation from President Roosevelt ; 

 but whatever his methods, he vastly improved 

 American transportation facilities. 



HAR'RIS, JOEL CHANDLER (1848-1908), an 

 American story-writer whose tales of "Uncle 

 Remus," "Br'er Fox" and "Br'er Rabbit" have 

 made him a favorite with every youthful 

 reader. "Br'er Rabbit" is the hero of these 

 stories, and the 

 clever tricks by 

 which he outwits 

 the sly "Br'er 

 Fox" rouse the 

 keenest and most 

 gleeful delight in 

 his little admir- 

 ers. Children are 

 not alone in find- 

 ing pleasure in 

 "Uncle Remus's" 

 tales. To the JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS 

 student of negro folklore these are a mine of 

 intimate, faithful information, possessing a 

 genuine scientific value. 



Harris was born at Eatonton, Ga., was ap- 

 prenticed to a printer and later studied law. 



