Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/523

 HASTINGS in "Westminster hall, Feb. 13, 1788, to hear the impeachment. The hall was richly adorned, and a distinguished assembly of royalty and nobility, of men of genius, of influence, and of fame, gathered to hear the trial. Hastings, il, small, sickly, but still resolute, knelt at the and then heard without exhibiting any lotion the terrible denunciations of his accu- jrs. On the 15th Burke, in the name of the imons of England, opened the charge in a which lasted three days. He was assist- by Fox, Sheridan, Grey, and others, and Iso in private by Sir Philip Francis. During sessions of 1788-'90 the prosecution pre- ited its charges. In 1791 the commons, to lorten the trial, were willing to withdraw )ine of the articles, and on June 2, the 73d day of the proceedings, Hastings began his de- fence. This continued until April 23, 1795, on which day, the 148th, he was acquitted by large majorities on each separate charge. Pub- lic opinion had turned in his favor, and his acquittal was approved by a majority of his countrymen. He convinced the nation that his measures had secured its prosperity, and showed by his poverty that he had not amassed wealth in his government. The expenses of the trial, 76,000, had consumed all his for- tune. In March, 1796, the East India company granted him an annuity of 4,000 for 28 years, and lent him 50,000 for 18 years with- out interest. He now purchased the Hastings estate at Daylesford, and retired from political life, occupying himself in rebuilding the family mansion, and in agricultural pursuits, seeking to naturalize in England the plants and animals of India. During his second voyage to India he had become acquainted with the baron and baroness Imhoff, who were his fellow passen- gers. The baroness attended him during a se- vere illness on shipboard, and about a year after his arrival in India, the baron having by agree- ment procured a divorce, his wife became Mrs. Hastings. This lady, who was accomplished and attractive, always preserved his regard, and now presided over the hospitalities of Daylesford. Hastings had long aspired to a peerage, but never received any higher public honor than an appointment as privy councillor, a short time before his death. He was how- ever treated with the most distinguished re- spect by both houses of parliament when in 1813 he appeared at the bar of the commons as a witness on Indian affairs. In private life Warren Hastings displayed many virtues. He was generous, unselfish, hospitable, and a steady friend. He was a good scholar, and wrote with readiness and force. He encour- aged among his countrymen the study of the Indian languages and history. He was for a time president of the Asiatic society, promoted geographical research, invited learned Hindoos to settle in Calcutta, founded colleges for the instruction of the native youth, and urged upon them the necessity of becoming familiar with the language, literature, and science of HAT 509 England. In his political conduct he is gener- ally allowed to have shown remarkable ability. Macaulay says that he administered govern- ment and war with more than the capacity of Richelieu; and Mill, the historian of British India, thinks him the most eminent of the chief rulers of the East India company. HAT, a covering for the head. From the most remote times man has made use of a head covering of some kind. The most an- cient form probably is the cap, such as is seen in figures representing the goddess of liberty. The ancient Greeks had several other kinds of head dress, the names and appearance of which have been preserved in their writings and on engraved gems. According to Strutt, the pileus was a woollen cap, which was sometimes worn as a lining to the helmet ; and he quotes several Latin authorities to show that it was adopted by the Romans at the public games and festivals, by those who had been slaves, and by the aged and infirm for the sake of its warmth. It is supposed to have been made of felt, in some of its forms not unlike hats of the same material at the present day. When coni- cal it was the apex of the Roman priests, worn probably from the time of Numa ; with an ele- vated crest pointed forward like the liberty cap, it was the Phrygian or Mysian bonnet ; with a brim, it became the petasus, a hat much like the round felt hats now worn. Among the Romans the cap was a symbol of liberty, and slaves were presented with one on receiving their freedom. After the assassination of Cae- sar coins were issued by Brutus and Cassius on which was represented a cap between two daggers; and after Nero's death many Ro- mans put on caps in order to proclaim" the restoration of their liberties. Even at a later period the cap or hat was identified with lib- erty, as in the republic of the Netherlands after the emancipation from Spain, when a hat be- came the national emblem. The first hatters in the middle ages appeared in Nuremberg in 1360, under the name of Filzkappenmacher (manufacturers of felt caps) ; in France, under the reign of Charles VI., 1380-1422 ; and in 1401 in Wurzburg, Bavaria. Charles VII., in a pic- ture of his entrance into the city of Rouen in 1449, is represented as wearing a felt hat. The early Anglo-Saxons wore generally no other covering for the head than the long flowing hair they sedulously cultivated. The few ex- amples of caps are simple in form and scanty in dimensions. About the 8th century they wore caps resembling the Phrygian bonnet. " Those of the lower class of people," says Strutt, " appear rough behind, and probably were composed of the skin of some animal dressed with the hair upon the hide, and the shaggy part turned outward. When the men of quality wore this kind of covering, it was usually enriched with some species of ornament. Another cap, in the form of a perfect cone, was worn occasionally by the nobility." Speaking of the head dress in use in the 9th century, the