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HOLOTHURIA, in zoology, a genus 
belonging to the order of vermes mollusca. 
The body, detached, naked, gibbous, termi- 
nated by the anus. Many tentacula at the 
other extremity surrounding the mouth. 
There are nine species, all inhabitants of the 
ocean. The following descriptions of three 
species are given by Mr. Barbut. 
1. The tremula, or quivering holothuria, 
*' commonly measures eight inches in length 
when dead ; but alive it extends itself to more 
than a foot, or contracts its body into a ball. 
Its figure is cylindric, the diameter of \s Inch 
is every way equal to an inch and a few lines. 
The belly is of a pale brown, and set all over 
with cylindric tentacula, in such numbers' 
that the head of a pin could scarcely find 
room between. By the help of these tcn- 
tacula, the holothuria lives its body at the 
bottom of the sea, so as not to be easily 
forced away by tempests, which would 
otherwise happen the more frequently, as 
this zoophite dwells near the shores where 
the water scarcely rises to a fathom’s height. 
2. The physalis, or bladder-shaped holo- 
thuria. The body of this species is oval, 
approaching to triangular, of a glossy trans- 
parency; the. back sharp-edged, of a dark 
green colour, whence run out a number of 
sinews ; anteriorly the bodv is of a reddish 
hue. The trunk spiral, reddish towards the 
thicker end. Many tentacula of unequal 
length under that thicker end ; the shorter 
ones are taper and thicker, the middle ones 
capillary, the point clay-colour, and in shape 
like a ball ; the rest, which are longer, are 
filiform, of which the middlemost is thicker 
and twice as long. Brown, in his Jamaica, 
calls it a diaphanous bladder with numerous 
tentacula representing a man’? belly ; above 
it is furnished with a comb full of cells ; 
under the other extremity hang a number of 
branchy tentacula. It inhabits the seas. 
3. Thepentactes, or five-rowed holothuria, 
has the mouth encompassed with tentacula, 
the bodv bearing tentacula five different 
ways. The animal is of a red colour, nearly 
ova.1, or somewhat cylindrical, assuming vari- 
ous shapes. The mouth is set round with 
den rays, bristly at the points ; the body is 
longitudinally dotted with warts. It inhabits 
the sea of Norway. 
HOLY-GHOST, order of the, the prin- 
cipal military order in the old government of 
France, instituted by Henry III. in 1569. 
HOLLOW-square, in the military art, 
a body of foot drawn up, with an empty 
space in the middle for colours, drums, and 
baggage. 
Hollow-tower, according to Harris, is 
a rounding made of the remainder of two 
brisures, to join the curtin to the orillon, 
where the small shot are played, that they 
may not be so much exposed to the view of 
the enemv. 
HOMAGE. In Ihe original grants of lands 
and tenements by way of fee, the lord did 
not only tie his tenants to certain services, 
but also took a submission, with promise and 
oath to be true ^and loyal to him as their 
lord and benefactor. This submission was 
and is called homage. 
Horace Amcestrel, is where a man’s 
ancestors, time out of mind, held their land 
mi their lord and his ancestors, by homage ; 
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and if such lord has received homage, he is 
bound to acquit the tenant against all other 
lords above him of all service ; and if the 
tenant lias done homage to his lord, and is 
impleaded, and vouches the lord to war- 
ranty, the lord is bound to warrant him ; 
and if the tenant loses, he shall recover in 
value against the lord so much of the lands 
as he had at the time of the voucher, or any 
time after. 
Homage Jury, a jury in a court baron, 
consisting of tenants that do homage to the 
lord of the fee, and there by the feudists are 
called pares curias; they inquire and make 
presentments of defaults and deaths of te- 
nants, admittances, 3.11 d surrenders in the 
lord’s court, &c. 
HOMAL1UM, a genus of the class and 
order polyandria trigynia. The calyx is six or 
seven-parted : corolla, six or seven-petalled : 
stamina, 21 in three bodies: pericarpium, 
one-celied, many-seeded : There are two 
species, a tree of Jamaica and a shrub of 
Guiana. 
HOMICIDE, properly so called, is the 
killing of a man by a man. Of this there 
are several species, as homicide by self-de- 
fence, homicide by misadventure, justifiable 
homicide, manslaughter, chance-medley, and 
murder. 
Homicide by self-defence. Homicide se 
defendendo, or in a man’s own defence, st'ems 
to be, where one has no other possible means 
of preserving his life from one who combats 
with him on a sudden quarrel, and kills the 
person by whom he is reduced to such in- 
evitable necessity. 1 Haw. 75. 
And not only he who on an assault retreats 
to a wall, or some such strait, beyond which 
he can go no farther before he kills the other, 
isjudged by the law to act upon unavoidable 
necessity ; but also he, who being assaulted 
in such a manner and in such a place, that 
lie cannot go back without manifestly en- 
dangering his life, kills the other without 
retreating at all. Id. 
And though a person who retreats from an 
assault to the wall should give the other 
wounds in his retreat, yet if he gives him no 
mortal wound till lie gets thither, and then 
kills him, he is guilty of homicide se defen- 
dendo only. Id. 
But if the mortal wound was given first, 
then it is manslaughter. Hale’s PI. 42. 
Homicide by misadventure, is where a 
man in doing a lawful act without any intent 
of hurt, unfortunately chances to kill another, 
as where a labourer being at work with an 
hatchet, the head thereof flies off’, and kills 
one who stands by. 1 Haw. 73. 
It seems clear, ^tliat neither homicide by 
misadventure, nor homicide se defendendo 
are felonious, because they are not accom- 
panied with a felonious intent, which is ne- 
cessary in every felony. 1 Haw. 29. 
Justifiable homicide. To make homicide 
justifiable, it must be owing to some unavoid- 
able necessity, to which a person who kills 
another must be reduced, without any man- 
ner of fault in himself. 
And there must be no malice coloured 
under pretence of necessity; for wherever 
a person who kills another, acts in truth upon 
malice, and takes occasion upon the appear- 
ance of necessity to execute his own private 
revenge, he is guilty of murder. 1 Haw. 69. 
But if a woman kills him who assaults to 
ravish her, it is no felony ; or if a man comes 
to burn my house, and I go out thereof and 
kill him, it is no felony. Id. 39- 
If any evil-disposed person shall attempt 
feloniously to rob or murder any person in 
any dwelling-house, or highway, or felonious- 
ly attempt to break any dwelling-house in 
the night time, and shall happen to be slain 
in such felonious attempt, the slayer shall be 
discharged, and shall forfeit no lands, nor 
goods. 24 H. VI II. c. 5. 
Justifiable homicide of a public nature, is 
such as isoccasioned by the due execution or 
advancement of public justice, with regard 
to which it must be observed. 
1. That the judgment, by virtue whereof 
any person is put to death, must be given bv 
one who has legal jurisdic tion in the cause'; 
for otherwise both judge and officer may be 
guilty of felony. 
2. The execution must be pursuant to, 
and warranted by the judgment, otherwise 
it is without authority; and consequently, 
if a sheriff shall behead a man, when it is no 
part of the sentence to cut off the head, he 
is guilty of felony. 1 Ilaw. 70. 
Manslaughter. Homicide against the life 
of another, is cither with or without malice; 
that which is without malice is called man- 
slaughter, or sometimes chance medley, by 
which is understood such killing as happens 
either on a sudden quarrel, or in the com- 
mission of an unlawful act, without any de- 
liberate intention of doing any mischief at all. 
3 Inst. 56. 
Hence it follows, that there can be no ac- 
cessaries to this offence before the fact, be- 
cause it must be done without premedita- 
tion ; but there may be accessaries after the 
fact. Id. 
The only difference between murder and 
manslaughter, is, that murder is upon malice 
aforethought, and manslaughter upon a sud- 
den occasion, as if two meet together, and 
striving for the wall the one kills the other, 
this is manslaughter and felony. And so it 
is if they had,, on that sudden occasion, gone 
into the field and fought, and the one had 
killed the other, this had been but man- 
slaughter and no murder, because ail that ’ 
followed was but a continuance of the first 
sudden occasion, and the blood was never 
cooled till the blow was given. 3 Inst. 55. 
Chance or chaunce-medley. Authors of" 
the first authority disagree about the appli- 
cation of this word ; by some it is applied 
to homicide by misadventure, by others (o 
manslaughter. The original meaning of the 
word seems to favour the former opinion, as 
it signifies a sudden or casual meddling or 
contention; but homicide by misadventure 
supposes no previous meddling or falling 
out. 
Murder is the highest crime against the 
law of nature that a man is capable of com- 
mitting. 
Murder is when a man of sound memory, 
and at the age of discretion, unlawfully kills 
another person under the king’s peace 
with malice aforethought, either expressed ■ 
by live party, or implied by the law, so as 
the party wounded or hurt die of the wound 
or hurt within a year and a day. 3 Inst. 
47. 
And the whole day on which the hurt was 
done, shall be reckoned the first. 1 IIavv„ 
79. 
