Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/301

* HOUSE-FINCH. 261 HOUSEHOLD GODS. names for lliis bird are 'adobe finch,' 'red-headed linnet,' and "buriou.' HOUSE-FLY. The most common and famil- iar lly of civilization (Alusca domesticaj, the type of the family Muscidie (see Fly). It is remarkable for its extensive geographic distribu- tion, and is found practically in every spot where man has been. It is a very rapid breeder and swarms in enormous numbers during the summer and in warm regions. Its eggs for the most part are laid in horse-manure, and it is safe to say that more than 00 per cent, of the house-flies in America to-day were reared from liorse-manure. In the absence of this substance, however, they will breed in cow-dung, in decaying vegetation, and in privies. The eggs are small, slender, and white in color, and in summer-time hatch in four or five hours. The larv« become full grown in three day.s, and the pupa stage lasts only three to five days. The total life-round of a genera- tion may be as short as seven or eight days. Each female lays about l.'iO eggs, and this pro- lificncss and rapidity of breeding, taken in con- nection with the general abundance of larval food, readily accounts for the enormous numbers of flics which infest dwellings. The house-fly is undoubtedly an important fac- tor in the spread of certain diseases, especially enteric fevers and cholera, as it may breed in human excreta and afterwards visit food-supplies or dining-tables. The best remedy is the exercise of great care and cleanliness. Stables where horses are kept should be cleaned every day or so. The manure should be put in a close room or pit, and each day's additions should be sprinkled over with a shovelful of chloride of lime. HOUSEHOLD, Royal (of Great Britain). The personal attendants upon the reigning sov- ereign. Among all primitive Germanic peoples we find such attendants. The chief officers of the household are usually four in number: the steward, who is the head of the household ; the marshal, or head of the royal stables; the cup- bearer: and the chamberlain, who has charge of the King's chambers. These four officers are found among the Anglo-Saxons and at the Court of the Xorman dukes. As the royal power de- veloped, the household attendants became officers of state, and the King's household is his min- istry. Under the Norman kings of England the royal household consisted of two sets of officers, whose functions greatly resembled each other. Foremost among them was the justiciar, the Kinir's chief adviser and his representative in England when the King was abroad. The stew- ard, whose most important functions of state jiassed over to the justiciar, remained head of the royal household. Other members were the treasurer, who had charge of the King's treasurv, and the chamberlain, who audited the accounts; the constable, a sort of quartermaster-general of the Court and the army, who had a seat in the excherpicr, and the marshal, whose functions were similar. Some of these officers, viz. the steward, the constable, butler and marshal, were hereditary in the great Norman families, and either lost their importance or became merely household officers. Others which were appointed, like the justiciar, chancellor, and treasurer, be- came the important officers of state. In the present organization of the royal house- hold the lord steward is the chief officer. His autliority extends over the treasurer, the con- troller and the master of the household, and over all the other household officers and servants ex- cept those of the chapel, the chamber, and the stable. The dean and the subdean are the prin- cipal Officers of the cliapel, which is composed of a number of clerks and chaplains. The lord chamberlain controls the officers and servants of the royal chambers, and appoints the trades- men who are purveyors to the sovereign. The master of the horse is in charge of the royal stables, and has under his charge the master" of the hounds, the grand falconer, the crown equerry, and other ser'ants. In the court of a female sovereign the ladies of the household play an important part. The mistress of th^ robes is the head of this department, and under her are the ladies of the bedchamber, maids of honor, and other attendants. The ladies of the bedchamber are the personal attendants of the Queen. Be- sides these there are a large number of physi- cians, surgeons, apothecaries, druggists, and den- tists in attendance. The other members of the royal family have similar households, but on a much smaller scale. The expenses connected with the royal house- hold have varied greatiy in the diff'erent periods of English historJ^ In the Middle Ages the King was always attended by a large following of lords, both spiritual and temporal, besides knights, esquires, and other inferior attendants. He obtained provisions for his Court by exercising the right of Pi-rtcyaxce (q.v.), which has been abolished. Notwithstanding this, the expenses of the royal household often proved a burden to Parliament, which sometimes regulated them. Tills was most carefully done in the House- hold Hook of Edward IV., which rigorously de- fined the ofl^cers of the household and the duties of its members. The expenses of the household of Edward IV. were £13,000 a year, which may be taken as a fair average sum for the household expenses of a king during that period. Since the accession of William III., Parliament has fi.xed the amount of the appropriation at t)ic beginning of each reign. Queen Victoria received an allow- ance of £385,000 a year, distributed as follows: Pri%-j' purse. £G0.000: household salaries and retired allowances. £131,200; household ex- penses, £172.500; royal bounty, arms and special services, £13,200; leaving an unappropriated balance of £8040, to be used at discretion. The Prince of Wales received an annuity of £40.000 over and above his other revenues, "the Duke of Connaught £25.000. and the other mcnil)ors of the royal family in proportion to their rank. Bv a grant of llav 0. 1001, Parliament increased the civil list to £415.000 for Edward VII., the King's privy purse being increased to £110.000. For the early period consult : Kemble, flaxons in Enqland. vol. iii. (London. 1886) ; Stubbs, Constitutional Flistorif of Eiirjland, vol. i. (6th ed.. Oxford. 1807) ; The Ordinances and Regula- tions for the Government of the Royal Household were published by the Society of Antiquaries (London, 1790) ; Lindsay, The' Royal Household (London, 1898). HOUSEHOLD GODS (Lat. di famiUares, or domestici). Among the ancient Romans, the divinities supposed to preside and watch over the house and the family. Thus Vesta was the goddess of the hearth and guardian of domestic