Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/303

* HOUSEMAID'S KNEE. 263 HOTJSE-SPABKOW. or sac that intervenes between the patella, or kneepan, and the skin. Housemaids are espe- cially liable to it from their kneeling on hard surfaces. It causes considerable pain, swelling, and febrile disturbaiice. The only disease for which it can be mistaken is acute inflammation of the synovial membrane lining the cavity of the joint; but in this disease the patella is thrown fonvard, and the swelling is at the sides, while in housemaid's knee the swelling is very superficial, and is in froilt of the patella. The tieatnunt consists essentially in the employment of rest, cold applications, and bandaging. Where the condition has become chronic, radical relief can be secured by the excision of the bursa, or the injection of iodine. If suppuration occurs, the sae must be opened and the pus evacuated. HOUSE-MARTIN. See HousE-SwALLow. HOUSE OF COMMONS. See Great Britain, section Gijicni m rn I. HOUSE OF CORRECTION. See Reform- ATOKIK.S. HOUSE OF FAME, The. A poem by Chau- cer, in three books, probably written in 1384. The influence of Dante is evident in the con- struction of the poem, which tells first of the poet's dream of the glass temple of Venus, a direct suggestion from Vergil; next, his flight on an eagle to the House of Fame, where names of great men were written on walls of ice, and awards were made by the goddess of fame to claimants in the presence of the poet. HOUSE OF KEYS. See Man, Isle of. HOUSE OF LIFE, The. A century of son- nets by Dante Gabriel Rosetti, published among the Ballads and >ionne1s in 1881. Some of the poems were reprints from the Poems of 1870. HOUSE OF LORDS. See Great Britain, section <}oririiuirnt. HOUSE OF THE FAUN (It. Casa del Fauno). One of the largest and finest houses of Pompeii, famous for its elaboiate decorations. In it was discovered the statue of the "Dancing Faun," from which the house received its name. Its mosaics are the most beautiful that have been preserved to the present day. Among them, occupying the floor of the exedra. was discovered the celebrated mosaic of the Battle of Issus, showing Darius fleeing from Alexander, now in the Xaples Museum, where the other mosaics belonging to the House of the Faun are also pre- served. These include a representation of the creatures of the Xile, which foimed the threshold to the Battle of Issus; the Genius of Autumn riding on a panther, doves pulling a necklace out of a jewel-liox. and otlier compositions. HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES, The. A novel by Xathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1851. It is the story of a decayed Xew England family, and deals with the heritage of evil which has been passed down to an inoffensive genera- tion. The leading character. Hepzibah Pyncheon, a spinster, is obliged, in her old age, to open a toyshop in the old homestead. HOUSE-SNAKE. See Milk-Snake. HOUSE, nr 'ENGLISH,' SPARRCW. This typical sparrow I Pi/rtjila domesticn) is the most familiar fringilline bird of Europe, and latterly of the whole civilized world. It is indigenous to Europe and Asia, where it is only partly migratory, and a constant attendant upon man- kind. It was not known south of the Sahara, nor in Australasia, until the European coloniza- tion of those regions caused its introduction there; and since 1850 it has become a resident of both North and South America. Everywhere it flourishes, increases with amazing rapidity, and impresses itself upon the locality by its adaptability, and pugnacity toward native birds. From the earliest times it has associated fear- lessly with mankind, and has been a denizen of towTs more than of the coimtry. This charac- teristic is most prominent in the new countries, where it clings at first to cities, and later spreads along railroads and other highways to the in- terior towns. It remains everywhere a town bird, rarely visiting, and never nesting in, the wilderness. To this urban habit is due in large measure its extraordinary hardihood and prolif- icacy, for in town it can always find an abun- dance of food in the streets, or about warehouses, railroads, etc. Consequently it is nearly inde- pendent of season in breeding, and may rear several broods a year; moreover, its nests and fledgelings are safe against nearly all the enemies and dangers which beset the lives of wild birds. The result is a longevity and a rapidity of multiplication which may speedily render the species a serious local nuisance. This is felt in the more populous parts of the Old World, as well as in the countries to which it has been transplanted, and where it flourishes with ag- gressive vigor. Miile the sparrow seems able to eat all sorts of food, it is naturally graminivorous, and only when young, or in feeding its young, does this species consume insects in any considerable quan- tity. Its servic-es to agriculture in this way are so limited in time and amount that they are insignificant, and more than overbalanced by its incessant attacks upon the smaller insect-eating birds, which otherwise would come freely about villages, orchards, and farmhouses. In the United States it has greatly lessened the number of such birds in some localities, or at any rate has driven them away from villages and farm- steads — ^particularly bluebirds, wrens, and all sorts of swallows, whose nests it destroys or appropriates; but there is reason to believe that the native birds are learning more and more how to cope with this bandit. Moreover, in some districts, besides great destruction wrought to the buds of fruit-trees, the sparrows annually migrate in summer in large companies to the grain-fields, and devour or shake down quantities of ripening grain. A third evil attributed to this bird is the spread of disease, due to its propensity for using feathers and rags in the constniction of the nest, and for placing this nest upon or as near as possible to the house; since it may, and frequently does, gather these materials from infected clothing or bedding thrown out of sick-rooms. Introduction into America. The house-spar- row was first brought to the United States from England in 18.50 by Nicholas Pike and other directors of the Brooklyn Institute, when eight pairs were liberated in Brooklyn. N. Y. ; but a second importation in 185.3 was needed to estab- lish the race. Sparrows were brought in and colonized elsewhere during the next twenty years, in various parts of the country, including Cali- fornia, the city government of Philadelphia im-