[Hampole, Richard Rolle], "the Hermit of Hampole," born at Thornton, Yorkshire; studied at Oxford, and at the age of 19 turned hermit; was the author of "The Pricke of Conscience," a lengthy poem of a religious character (1290-1349).
[Hampshire, Hants] (690), a maritime county of S. England, fronting the English Channel between Dorset on the W. and Sussex on the E.; in the NE. are the "rolling Downs," affording excellent sheep pasturage, while the SW. is largely occupied by the New Forest; the Test, Itchen, and Avon are principal rivers flowing to the S.; besides the usual cereals, hops are raised, while Hampshire bacon and honey are celebrated; Southampton, Portsmouth, and Gosport are the chief trading and manufacturing towns.
[Hampstead] (68), a Parliamentary borough of Middlesex, has a hilly and bright situation, 4 m. NW. of London; is a popular place of resort with Londoners, and contains many fine suburban residences; beyond the village is the celebrated Heath; many literary associations are connected with the place; the famous Kit-Cat Club of Steele and Addison's time is now a private house on the Heath; here lived Keats, Leigh Hunt, Coleridge, Hazlitt, &c.
[Hampton] (4), a village of Middlesex, on the Thames, 15 m. SW. of London; in the vicinity is Hampton Court Palace, a royal residence down to George II.'s time, and which was built originally by Wolsey, who presented it to Henry VIII.; in William III.'s time considerable alterations were made under the guidance of Wren; there is a fine picture-gallery and gardens; it is now occupied by persons of good family in reduced circumstances; the Hampton Court Conference to settle ecclesiastical differences took place here in 1604 under the presidency of James I., and the decisions at which proved unsatisfactory to the Puritan members of it; it was here at the suggestion of Dr. Reynolds the authorised version of the Bible was undertaken.
[Hanau] (25), a Prussian town in Hesse-Nassau, at the junction of the Kinzig and the Main, 11 m. NE. of Frankfurt; is celebrated for its jewellery and gold and silver work, and is otherwise a busy manufacturing town; it is the birthplace of the brothers Grimm.
[Hancock, Winfield Scott], a noted American general, born near Philadelphia; he had already graduated and served with distinction in the Mexican War, when, on the outbreak of the Civil War, he received a commission as brigadier-general of volunteers; he led a heroic charge at Fredericksburg, and in 1864 his gallant conduct in many a hard-fought battle was rewarded by promotion to a major-generalship in the regular army; subsequently he held important commands in the departments of Missouri, Dakota, &c., and in 1880 unsuccessfully opposed Garfield for the Presidency (1824-1886).
[Händel], musical composer, born at Halle; distinguished for his musical ability from his earliest years; was sent to Berlin to study when he was 14; began his musical career as a performer at Hamburg in 1703; produced his first opera in 1704; spent six years in Italy, devoting himself to his profession the while; came, on invitation, to England in 1710, where, being well received, he resolved to remain, and where, year after year—as many as nearly fifty of them—he added to his fame by his diligence as a composer; he produced a number of operas and oratorios; among the latter may be noted his "Saul," his "Samson," and "Judas Maccabæus," and pre-eminently the "Messiah," his masterpiece, and which fascinates with a charm that appeals to and is appreciated by initiated and uninitiated alike (1684-1759).
[Hang-chow] (800), a Chinese town, a treaty-port since the recent war with Japan; is at the mouth of the Tsien-tang at the entrance of the Imperial Canal, 110 m. SW. of Shanghai; it is an important literary, religious, and commercial centre; has flourishing silk factories, and is noted for its gold and silver ware.
[Hanging Gardens, The, of Babylon], one of the seven wonders of the world, had an area of four acres, formed a square, were a series of terraces supported by pillars sloping upwards like a pyramid and seeming to hang in air; they are ascribed to Semiramis.
[Hanif], name given to a Mohammedan or an Arab of rigidly monotheistic belief.