Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/638

* HARP-SHELL. 582 HARBADEN. ing the last whorl of the shell very large, the shell ribbed longitudinally, the foot ot the animal very large. The species, which are not very nu- merous, are found in the warmer seas, and par- ticularly at Mauritius. The shells are much prized for their great beauty, but must be kept in drawers and not exposed to light, or their delicate and brilliant colors will fade. HARPSICHORD, hlirp'si-kord (OF. harpe- chorde, from luiriic, harp + chords, chord, cord). A keyed musical instrument, formerly in exten- sive use, but now little kno«Ti. In shape it was exactly like a grand pianoforte, to which its internal arrangements were also similar. The sound from the strings was produced by a small piece of crow-quill, or a piece of hard leather, which projected out of a slip of wood, called the jack, that stood upright between the strings, and was puslied upward by the key till the quill, or leather, twitched the string, causing a brilliant but somewhat harsh sound, deficient of any HARPeiCHORD. means of modification in respect to loudness or softness. Specimens of the harpsichord, although now becoming quite rare, are still to be found in good preservation, but rather as articles of virtu or curiosity than as useful musical instru- ments. Jtany Italian and Dutch harpsichords were highly ornamented by the most eminent artists with valuable oil paintings on the inside of the lid. The date of the invention of the hjirpsichord is imcertain. Before the fifteenth century there is no trace of its existence. It was introduced into England early in the seventeenth century. In the eighteentli century Kirkman, and later Broadwood and Schudi. were the fa- mous makers in London. After the invention of the pianoforte (q.v.) the harpsichord and all instruments of the same kind, such as the spinet, were in time entirely superseded. The harpsichord shown in the accompanying illustration was pre- sented to Nelly Cistis by George Washington. It was made in London, is eight feet long, three and a half feet wide, and has two banks of 120 keys. HARPUT. See Kharput. HAR'PY (Lat. harpyia, from Gk."Apirwo, from apnaC^iv, harpazcin. Lat. rnpere. Alban. rjep. to snatch). In Greek legend, a personification of the swift destructive wind-storm, and hence also a symbol of death. In this character they are found on Lycian graves, monuments, and' else- where, carrying away the departed. In legend they are the daughters of Thaumas (the per- sonification of the wonders of the sea) and Elec- tra, and sisters of Iris. Commonly only two are mentioned, .EUo ('Ae/./.u; and Okypete ('Ukv- TTertj). In Homer the harpy Podarge is by Zephyrus, the mother of the horses of Achilles. Later writers mention other names, as C'cla>no, who in Vergil is their leader. The later writers also make them loathsome and filthy, bringing pollution to all that they approach. The harpies appear in the Argonautic legend as sent by the gods to punish the blind Phineus, whose food they carry oft'. They were pursued by the winged sons of Boreas, Zetes. and Calais, and either killed or, in the usual, version, forced to promise to cease harassing Phineus. In the earlier art the harpies are represented as winged human beings. Later they appear regularly with tlie head, breasts, and arms of a woman, but the claws, wings, and tail of a bird. This is their form on the celebrated Harpy tomb from Xan- thus in the British Museum. HARPY BAT. Two different kinds of bats are called 'harpies.' One is a genus of fruit-bats (Harpyia). of which there are two species in the East Indies, one about four inches long, and the other much larger. The fur of both is pale bulf in color, and both have the nostrils prolonged into divergent tubes, so that the genus is fre- quently called 'tube-nosed.' See Plate of Bats. Another group of 'harpy' bats is found in the insect-catching vespertilionine genus .Harpyio- cephalus, which is closely allied to ouf common North American bats. Though so far removed otherwise, this group agrees with the frugivorous genus (Harpyia) above mentioned, in having tubular nostrils — a remarkable similarity in two so divergent groups. These bats, of several species, inhabit India, the Malayan Archipelago, and Japan, and include one. the white-bellied harpy of the Himalayas, remarkable for its bril- liant coloration, the fur being golden orange on the head, van-ing rust-red on the back and outer surface of the membranes, and white on the chin, throat, and abdomen. All have large ears, and numerous and verj- strong teeth, and they are believed to catch and crush beetles as well as to seize smaller insects. HARPY EAGLE. A huge, crested bird of ]irey (Thrasiictiis luirpi/ia), allied to the eagles and found in South and Central America and Eio Grande Valley. See Eagle; and Plate of Eagles and Hawks. HARQUEBUS, har'kwe-biis. See Arqi-ebus. HAR'BADEN, Beatrice (1S64— ). An Eng- lish novelist, born at Hampstead and educated at Dresden, and in Cheltenhajn. Queen's, and Bed- ford Colleges, finally taking her degree, with honors in classics and mathematics, at the Uni- versity of London (1883). .She traveled on the Continent and in 1804-95 visited the United States, spending several months on a ranch in California. She created a sensation in 1893 by her novel flhips that Pass in the Xight. Among her other novels are: Things Will Take a Turn (1801) ; In Van/inq .1/ooJs "( 1894) : Hilda Straf- fcrd (1897); and The Fowler (1899).
 * Iexico, occasionally coming as far north as the