Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/479

 HARLOW gin, bricks, paper, salt, &c. The principal ex- ports are cattle, butter, cheese, fruit, vegeta- bles, flax, hemp, and wool; the chief imports are corn, timber, tar, pitch, coal, chalk, and earthenware. It occupies a site where in 1134 a whole town was destroyed by an inunda- tion of the sea. It is protected by one of the largest dikes in Holland, and contains a monu- ment to the Spanish governor Robles, who first introduced an improved method of construct- ing these sea wails. HARLOW, George Henry, an English painter, born in London, June 10, 1787, died there, Feb. 4, 1819. He studied under Sir Thomas Law- rence, who used to employ him to prepare pictures in the dead coloring and to advance copies. He had so large a share in painting the much admired lap dog of a fashionable lady, that he claimed the work as his own, and Lawrence dismissed him. In 1818 Harlow vis- ited Rome, and astonished the artists of that city by completing an effective copy of Ra- phael's " Transfiguration " in 18 days. Canova exhibited one of his pictures at his house, and procured his election as a member of the acad- emy of St. Luke. His best original works are two designs from Shakespeare, " Hubert and Prince Arthur" and the "Trial of Queen Cath- arine." The principal characters in the latter are portraits of the Kemble family. HARMATTAN, a dry, hot wind, which, blow- ing from the interior of Africa toward the At- lantic ocean, prevails in December, January, and February along the coast of that continent, from Cape Verd to Cape Lopez. It comes on at any time, continues sometimes one or two and sometimes even 15 or 16 days, and is ac- companied by a fog which obscures the sun, rendering it of a mild red color. All vegeta- tion is checked, young or tender plants are destroyed, and grass is turned to hay. It af- fects the human body also, making the eyes, nostrils, and lips dry, and at times causing the skin to parch and peel off; but it checks epi- demics, and cures persons afflicted with dys- entery, fevers, or cutaneous diseases. The har- mattan is the same in its character as the sirocco of Italy and the Icamsin of Egypt. HARMER, Thomas, an English clergyman, born in Norwich in 1715, died at Wattesfielcl, Suf- folk, in November, 1788. He was educated in London, and in his 20th year was ordained minister of the Independent church in Wattes- field. He published in 1764 "Observations on Various Passages of Scripture," illustra- ting them by quotations from books of oriental travel. An enlarged edition appeared in 2 vols. in 1776. The 5th and best edition was published under the editorial care of Dr. Adam Clarke (4 vols., T816). His other works are " Outlines of a New Commentary on Solomon's Song, drawn by the Help of Instructions from the East" (1768), and a volume of miscellane- ous writings, edited by Youngman (1823). HARMODIUS AND ARISTOGITON, two Athe- nians, commonly reckoned among the martyrs HARMONICA 465 of liberty. Aristogiton had conceived a pas- sion for Harmodius, a beautiful youth, in which Hipparchus, one of the Pisistratid, was his rival. Stung by jealousy, in conjunction with Harmodius and others, he formed a conspiracy to destroy the tyrant during the Panathenaic festival, at which the conspirators were pres- ent, with their swords concealed in garlands of myrtle. The plot succeeded ; but Harmo- dius was slain by the guards, and Aristogiton arrested, 514 B. 0. When subjected to tor- ture by Hippias, the brother of Hipparchus, he named as his accomplices the best friends of the tyrant, who were immediately put to death. On the expulsion of Hippias in 510, the Athe- nians paid distinguished honors to Harmodius and Aristogiton, erecting statues and singing hymns to their memory, and decreeing that no slave should bear their names. In 307, when the Athenians wished to pay the highest hon- ors to Antigonus and his son Demetrius Poli- orcetes, they placed their statues near those of Harmodius and Aristogiton. To the mis- tress of Harmodius, who refused to disclose the names of the conspirators, was erected a tongueless statue, to commemorate the victory gained by woman over her love of talking. HARMONICA, or Armonica, a musical instru- ment, in which the tone is produced by the vibration of bell-shaped glasses, caused by fric- tion from the moistened finger. It was first contrived by Mr. Packeridge, an Irish gentle- man, was improved by Mr. E. Delaval, a mem- ber of the royal society, and still further by Dr. Franklin, whose instrument had a compass of three octaves from G- to g. The glasses, care- fully tuned in semitones, were revolved by a pedal movement and touched by the tips of the fingers, occasionally moistened with water. Once tuned, it did not vary from the pitch, and the volume of tone was swelled or 'diminished by a greater or less pressure. The quality of the tone is exceedingly pure and sweet, but of such a penetrating character that it is painful to the ears of many sensitive persons. A some- what similar application of glass vessels for musical instruments is described in the Ma- thematiscJie und philosophische Erquiclcung- stunden, published at Nuremberg in 1677; and a harpsichord harmonica, in which a key ac- tion was substituted for finger pressure, was made by Rollig at Vienna, and by Klein at Presburg. In one made by Abbate Mazzuchi, the friction was produced by a hair bow ; and Stein, the celebrated organ builder, invented a stringed harmonica, in which strings were used instead of glasses, with a kind of spinet attachment, the effect of which was thought remarkable. Still another modification was the substitution of steel pegs for the glasses. The construction of Franklin's harmonica is fully described by him in his letters. His en- thusiasm evidently expected for the harmonica an extended use, which none of the forms of the instrument have ever attained ; nor has it been regarded by musicians or composers as