592 II E N 
in 1713, he was elefted to fnpply his place in the French 
Academy. His Chronological Abridgment of the Hif- 
tory of France, which fir ft appeared in 1744, has fince 
undergone many impreffions; and has been tranflated 
into Italian, German, Englifii, and even Chinefe. In 
1755,"-he became an honorary member of the'Academy 
of Infcriptions and Belles Lettres of Paris ; and lie had 
been previoufiy received into tliofe of Nancy, Berlin, 
and Stockholm: but the appointment which molt fenfi- 
bly gratified his feelings was that of fuperintendant of 
the queen’s houfehold, which he had folicited for a 
friend, and which her majefty very generoufly bellowed 
on himfelf. The lucrative emoluments of this office he 
fhared with madame de C.oubetf, the widow of his pre- 
deceffor. 
With the view of improving his health, which was 
never vigorous, M. Henault had often recoiirle to the 
waters of Ptombieres, and fometimes to more protradled 
excurfions. In one of thefe lad, he made the tour of 
Swiffierland, in company with his friend the marquis 
de Paulmy, who had been appointed ambaffador to the 
Helvetic government. Monfieur Lebeau, his biogra¬ 
pher, relates that in 1763, he was threatened with fud- 
den diffiolution, that he prepared his mind for the event 
with becoming compofure, and that he recalled the 
faying of madame de Sevigne ,—Je ne laiJJ'e id que des 
mourans: i. e. “ What do I regret ? I leave here only 
dying creatures.” When, next'morning, to the joy of 
his friends, he was pronounced to be out of danger; 
“ I now know,” faid he, “what death is; it will no 
longer be new tome.” He furvived this attack only 
feven years, a period of his life which, like all the reft 
of it, was mild and tranquil. Grateful to heaven, and 
refigned to its decrees, he contemplated his gradual 
decay with a prefence and a firmnefs of mind, which 
fufficiently proved that his extraordinary gentleness of 
temper never degenerated into weaknefs. He expired • 
on the 24th of December, 177Q, in the eighty-fixth year 
of his age. In 1714 he married mademoifelle le Bas de 
Montargis, whole father held fome confiderable office 
under the crown. This lady died in 1728, without 
leaving him any children : but he adopted tliofe of his 
filter, and educated them as his own. Befides the well- 
known work above-mentioned, the prefident Henault 
publifhed feveral academical harangues; an hiftorical 
tragedy in profe on the reign of Francis II. fome come¬ 
dies, and other dramatic pieces, reprelented in private 
focieties; fugitive poems, &c. Of thefe mifcellaneous 
works, 2 vols. 121110. were printed in 1768. A volume 
of inedited works of M. Henault was alfo publifhed at 
Paris, 8vo. 1806. 
To finiffi the portrait of this extraordinary man, 
(fays M. Lebeau,) I fhall borrow a pencil as delicate as 
the features of his character. The following is the idea 
exhibited of him in his life-time, by a lady (till more 
diftinguifhed by the graces of her mind than by her ele¬ 
vated rank. “ The prefident Henault unites to gieat 
knowledge equal eafe and refinement of manners. He 
belongs to the fir ft daffies of fociety ; his wit is-fprightly 
and amiable ; and his convention is fraught with inge¬ 
nious turns, without degenerating into pointed conceits. 
In no talent is he deficient—the grave, the gay, every 
thin" fuits his fphere. He is one of thole who derive 
the greateft benefit from the two extremes. Such is he 
in the world. His modelty, which forms the baiis of 
his character, had long thrown a veil over the depth of 
his ftudies; and the profperous circumltances of his 
friends had long deprived them of any opportunity of 
appreciating the fidelity and goodnefs of his heart. The 
excellent works, which he has condefcended to publilh, 
have at length revealed the extent of his information, 
and we are now fully aware of the generous ardour of 
his friend (hips, and the benign fenfibility ot his mind.” 
HEN AU'LT (John), a French poet of the feventeenth 
century, the fon of a baker at Paris. He travelled into 
HEN 
the Low-countries and England ; and upon his return 
became known by his poems, a collection of which was 
publifhed in 1670. His talte caufed him to be confulted 
as an adept in polite literature; and he was the poetical 
inftruCtor of madame des Houlieres. His works confift 
of fonnets, of letters in verfe and profe, and of an imi¬ 
tation of two a£ts of the Troas of Seneca. He died in 
1682. 
HEN'BANE, f. in botany. See Hyoscyamus. 
HEN'BIT, /. in botany. See Lamium. 
HENCE, adv. or inter]. [heoinan, Saxon; kennes, old 
Englilh. ] From this place to another: 
Difcharge my follcrw’rs ; let them hence away, 
From Richard’s night to Bolingbroke ! s fair day. Skakefp, 
Away; toadiltance. A word of command.— Hence with 
denial vain, and coy excufe. Milton. —At a diltance; in 
other places. Not in vfe: 
Why Ihould I then be falfe, fince it is true 
That I mult die here, and live hence by truth. Shakefp. 
From this time; in the future.—Let not polterity a 
thoufand years hence look for truth in the voluminous 
annals of pedants. Arbuthnot. —For this reafon ; in confe- 
quence of this.— Hence perhaps it is, that Solomon calls 
the fear of the Lord the beginning of wifdom. Tillotfon. 
■—From this caufe ; from this ground.—By too Ittong 
a projeCtile motion the aliment tends to putrefaction : 
hence may be deduced the force of exercife in helping 
digeftion. Arbuthnot.- —From this fource; from this ori¬ 
ginal; from this Itore : 
My Flora was my fun; for as 
One fun, fo but one Flora was ; 
All other faces borrowed hence 
Their light and grace as liars do-thence. Suckling. 
From hence is a vicious expreffion, which crept into life 
even among good authors, as the original force of the 
word hence was gradually forgotten. Hence fignifies from 
this : 
An ancient author prophefy’d from hence , 
Behold on Latian fhores.a foreign prince ! Drydcn. 
To HENCE, v. a. To fend off ; to difpatch to a dif- 
tance. Obfolete: 
Go bawling cur! thy hungry maw go fill 
On yon foul flock, belonging not to me. 
With that his dog he henc'd, his flock he curs’d.. Sidney. 
HENCE, v. n. [ufed only in the imp. mode.] Be 
gone ; depart lienee. 
HENCEFO'RTH, adv. [henonpopS, Sax.] From 
this time forward: 
Thanes and kinfmen, 
Henceforth be earls. Shakefpeare. 
If we treat gallant foldiers in this fort, 
Who then henceforth to ourdefer.ee will come? Dryden. 
HENCE FOR'WARD or Henceforwards, adv. 
From this time to' all futurity.—The royal academy 
will admit henceforward only fuch who are endued with 
good qualities. Dryden.— As your journey to Paris ap¬ 
proaches, my letters will henceforwards be principally 
calculated for that meridian. Ckejlerjteld. 
Henceforward will I bear 
Upon my target three fair fluffing fuiTs. Shakefpeare. 
HE'NCH-BOY, and HE'NCH-MAN, f. [hync, Sax. 
a fervant ; or from hengfT., a horfe.] A page; an at¬ 
tendant. Obfolete.— He laid grace as prettily as any of 
the fheriff’s kenck-boys. B. Jonfon's Chrijlmas Majques.— 
Thefe proCtors of Belzebub, Lucifer’s kenck-boys. Ran¬ 
dolph’s Mu/e’s Looking-glafs. 
Three henchmen were for every knight affign’d, 
All in rich livery clad, and of a kind. Dryden. 
To HEND, 
