Holy Stone. A famous stone preserved at Ardmore, in the county of Waterford, Ireland, sacred to St. Patrick, and believed to have floated over the ocean from Rome with the vestments of the saint, a bell for his tower, and a lighted candle for the celebration of mass.

"The people crowd to the Holy Stone, and, having gone on their bare knees several times round it, creep under it, lying flat. The painful contortions of some of these poor people it is distressing to witness, as they force themselves through the narrow pas sage. It is only at low water that this part of the ceremony can be performed. The stone, which weighs perhaps four or five tons, rests upon two small rocks, leaving a passage under it."

Mr. and Mrs. Hall. Holy Synod, House of the. A celebrated structure in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia. It derives its name from the council-hall of the Holy Synod, which is in the building. It contains the robes worn by the Russian patriarchs during the last 600 years, as well as the silver jars containing the holy oil of baptism used throughout the whole empire.

Holyrood Abbey. [i. e., Abbey of the Holy Rood or Cross.] A ruined monastery in Edinburgh, Scotland, the foundation of which dates from the twelfth century. At the time of the Reformation the church was plundered and burned. Attempts were made to restore it in the last century, but the undertaking was relinquished.

Holyrood Palace. An ancient and famous royal palace in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on the summit of a huge rock, 443 feet above the sea, and is built in the shape of a quadrangle, with a court in the centre. The palace was begun in the reign of James IV., was nearly destroyed by the soldiers of Cromwell in 1650, and was rebuilt in the reign of Charles II. The apartments occupied by Mary Queen of Scots are preserved almost in their original condition. The palace has in recent times been very seldom used as a place of residence.

Hope, Mount. See MoUNT HOPE. Hore Abbey. An interesting and

well-preserved ruined_monastery in Tipperary County, Ireland. Hornberg. A castle on the Neckar in Germany, once the fortress of Goetz of the Iron Hand. His armor is kept here, and the castle was inhabited nearly to the beginning of the present century. Hornet, The. An American warship, which, under Capt. James Lawrence, captured, in January, 1813, the British ship Peacock. Horns of Hattin. A singularly shaped hill in Northern Palestine, not far from Nazareth. Accord

ing to the tradition of the Latin Church, this is the Hill of the Beatitudes from which the "Sermon on the Mount" was delivered. According to the tradition of the Greek Church, it is the scene of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes (Matt. xiv. 15 et seq.). In the neighborhood of this hill took place the great battle in which Saladin overthrew the Christian power in Syria.

Horologe of Petrus Lombardus. [Ital. Torre del Orologio.] A celebrated clock-tower in Venice, Italy, erected 1466. It has a blueand-gold dial, and is surmounted by two Moorish figures in bronze, which, swinging round, strike the hours upon a bell with a hammer.

"Over this Porch stands that admirable Clock celebrated next to that of Strasburg for its many movements; amongst which, about 12 and 6, which are their hours of Ave Maria, when all the towne are on their knees, come forth the three kings led by a starr, and, passing by the image of Christ in his Mother's arms, do their reverence, and enter into the clock by another door. At the top of this turret another automaton strikes the quarters. An honest merchant told me, that one day, walking in the Piazza, he saw the fellow who kept the Clock struck with this ham. mer so forceably as he was stooping his head neere the bell to mend something amisse at the minute of striking, that, being stunn'd, he reel'd over the battle. ments and broke his neck."

John Evelyn, 1645.

Horse Armory. A celebrated collection of equestrian figures clothed in the armor of various reigns from the time of Edward I. to James II., contained in a gallery of the Tower of London. Horse-fair, The. A well-known picture by Rosa Bonheur (b. 1822). Horse Guards. A building used for military purposes in London, and comprising the offices of the secretary-at-war, the commanderin-chief, the adjutant-general, and quartermaster-general. In the

rear is a parade-ground for the inspection of troops. In two stone alcoves, flanking the gates,

Let no man despair of Governments who looks on these two sentries at the Horse-Guards, and our United Service Clubs! Carly.

Horse of Berkshire. See WHITE HORSE OF BERKSHIRE.

Horse-Shoe Bend. A celebrated curve on the Pennsylvania Railroad, near Kittanning Point. The curve is so short that the front of the train may be seen going in a direction just opposite to that of the rear portion.

Horse-Shoe Fall. This fall at Niagara is 158 feet in height and nearly 2,400 feet in width. The. river is divided above the falls into two branches by Goat Island; and the larger volume of water, which flows on the Canada side, forms the Horse-Shoe Fall. [Called also the Canadian Fall.]

Horses, Bronze. See BRONZE HORSES.

Horticultural Hall. 1. A fine edifice in Boston, Mass., of composite architecture, designed for floral exhibitions, fairs, and other purposes.

2. A building on Broad Street, Philadelphia, Penn., devoted to exhibitions of flowers and fruit. Hospice of St. Bernard. A cele

brated stone building, serving both as a monastery and as an inn for the accommodation of travellers, at the summit of the St. Bernard Pass, in Switzerland. It is supposed to have been founded by St. Bernard in 962, hence the name of both Hospice and Pass. Everybody has heard of the St. Bernard dogs which render such efficient aid to travellers: their number has now be

come very small. This is the highest winter habitation in the Alps.

Hospice of the Grimsel. A celebrated inn, once a monastery, near the summit of the Grimsel pass in Switzerland.

Hospice of the St. Gothard. A well-known inn near the summit of the St. Gothard pass in Switzerland.

Hôtel Cluny. This beautiful building in Paris derives its name from the Abbé of Cluny, who bought an ancient palace which stood on the spot now occupied by the present one. This was built in 1490. It was once used as a theatre, afterwards as a convent, and during the Revolution Marat held his meetings there. Subsequently it became a museum, and passed into the hands of the government. It contains many treasures of art, mosaics, reliefs, stained glass windows, ivory cabinets, vases, and paintings. The building itself is much admired for the grace and delicacy of its sculptures. See PALAIS DES THERMES. Hôtel de Pimodan. A noted mansion in Paris of the time of Louis XIV.

Hôtel de Rambouillet. A palace in Paris-the residence of the Marquis de Rambouillet very famous in the seventeenth cen

tury, and subsequently, as the centre of a literary and political coterie. According to Roederer, the opening of the salon of the Hôtel de Rambouillet took place in the year 1600, under the reign of Henry IV. The marquis was an enemy of Sully; and his house became the headquarters of the opposition party, where the barbarisin and immoralities of the court were offset by purity of language and of manners. The most celebrated wits of the period, and the finest ladies of the realm, sought admission to these réunions. Through the indifference to literature manifested by Louis XIII. and the various ministries which succeeded each other down

to the time of Richelieu, the Hôtel de Rambouillet soon had the exclusive patronage and direction of letters, and exerted an influence which was for a long time without a rival. But notwithstanding the excellence of its motives, it could not escape the law which governs all literary coteries. In time it engendered mannerism and affectation. The discussions turned upon idle and frivolous questions, upon the merits of roundelays, madrigals, enigmas, and acrostics. The women who frequented the Hôtel de Rambouillet took the name of Précieuses. It was a title of honor and a sort of diploma of talent and purity; but when pedantry and affectation had begun to draw down upon them the shafts of the satirists, it lost its original meaning, the epithet ridicules was appended to it, and Molière, with his pungent irony, gave the fatal blow to the literary fame of the celebrated salon by holding it up to public laughter in his "Précieuses Ridicules" and his "Femmes Savantes." The name Hôtel de Rambouillet is at present only a derisive sobriquet.

The house of Mlle. de L'Enclos was a branch establishment of the Hôtel de Rambouillet. J Janin. The great comédienne (Contat] had her court and her Hôtel Rambouillet Roger de Beauvoir.

Hôtel de Ville. [City-Hall.] A general term applied in France and Belgium to the buildings used for municipal offices, some of which are among the finest existing specimens of architecture. See infra.

Hôtel de Ville. A large and beautiful building in Paris, the official residence of the Prefect of the Seine. It contained also rooms for the public festivals of the city, the sittings of the council, and meetings of learned and scientific societies. It was adorned by sculptures which were chiefly from the hand of Jean Goujon. The building had many interesting historical associations; the

insurrection of the Maillotins, in 1358, broke out here; here met societies of the Fronde; here Robespierre held his council; and here Louis Philippe was presented to the French nation by La Fayette in 1830. The Hôtel de Ville was destroyed by the leaders of the Commune prior to the entrance of the German army, May 28, 1871, and has not been rebuilt. Among the finer examples of architecture bearing this name may be mentioned the town-halls of Brussels, Bruges, Louvain, Ypres, etc.

And for about four months all France, and to a great degree all Europe, roughridden by every species of delirium, except happily the murderous for most part, was a weltering mob, presided over by M. de Lamartine at the Hôtel de Ville.

Carlyle.

A

Hôtel de Ville. [Brussels.] noble Gothic edifice, the municipal hall of Brussels, Belgium. In the grand hall of this building the abdication of Charles V. took place in 1555. It is considered the finest of the town-halls of Belgium. It was begun_in_1401, and finished in 1455. It has a spire of open stone-work 364 feet in height.

"The spire that surmounts its centre is unrivalled for beauty of outline and design by any spire in Belgium, and is entitled to take rank amongst the noblest examples of its class in Europe." Fergusson.

some parts, the whole is so consistent, and the outline and general scheme of decoration so good, that little fault can be found with it. In design it follows very closely the hall at Bruges, but wants the tower which gives such dig. nity to those at Brussels and at Ypres." Fergusson.

Hôtel de Ville. [Ypres.] A noted building in Ypres, Belgium, restored in 1860, and now used for municipal purposes. It was originally called the Halle, or ClothHall, cloth having been the great staple manufacture of Belgium during the Middle Ages.

"The cloth-hall at Ypres is by far the most magnificent and beautiful of these [trade-halls], as also the earli est. The foundation-stone was laid in 1200 by Baldwin of Constantinople, but it was not finished till 104 years afterwards. The façade is 440 feet in length, and of the simplest possible design, being perfectly straight and unbroken from end to end. . . . Its height is varied by the noble belfry which rises from its centre, and by a bold and beau. tiful pinnacle at each end. The whole is of the pure architecture of the thirteenth century, and is one of the most majestic edifices of its class to be seen anywhere." Fergusson. Hôtel de Ville, Place de l'. See PLACE DE L' Hôtel de VILLE. Hôtel des Invalides. See INVA

LIDES.

Hôtel des Monnaies. A handsome

classical edifice near the Pont Neuf, Paris, built in 1775. The mint of Paris is the principal one in France. The rate at which coins can be struck off is about 1,500,000 per day. In the Museum are interesting collections of coins, medals, models, etc. The establishment also contains, besides the workshops for coining, laboratories for assaying. Hôtel Dieu. A magnificent hospital in Paris, on the river Seine. Its wards are on both sides of the river. It was established as early as the seventh century, and has been richly endowed by various kings, nobles, and wealthy men. All the arrangements are on the most liberal scale. This name is given to the chief hospi tal of many places.

Hôtel Lambert. A handsome structure on the Ile St. Louis, Paris, of the style of architecture under Louis XIV. Voltaire lived here; and here, in 1815, Napoleon held one of his last conferences. Hôtel St. Aignan. An old aristocratic hotel of Paris, where lived the Duc d'Avaux, and later the Duc de St. Aignan. The gateway and court, with Corinthian pilasters, are left.

Hôtel St. Paul. A former palace

of Paris, built by Charles V. about 1364. Nothing now remains of it.

Hotoie, La. A fine promenade in the city of Amiens, France. It covers 52 acres.

Houghton Hall. A splendid mansion in the county of Norfolk, England, formerly the residence of Sir Robert Walpole, and famous for the rare collection of pictures which it contained. Most of the pictures are now dispersed; the greater part, having been sold to the Empress of Russia, are now at St. Petersburg. The estate now belongs to the Marquis of Cholmondeley.

Hougoumont. A mansion in the neighborhood of Waterloo, noted for its importance in connection with the battle upon that field. [Written also Goùmont.]

Nor wood, nor tree, nor bush. are there, Her course to intercept or scare,

Nor fosse nor fence are found, Save where, from out her shatter'd bow

ers.

Rise Hougoumont's dismantled towers. Scott. Hounsditch or Houndsditch. This is the centre of the Jews' quarter in London, so called from the ancient foss around the city, once a receptacle for dead dogs.

"From Aldgate, north-west to Bishopsgate, lieth the ditch of the city, called Houndsditch; for that in old time, when the same lay open, much filth (conveyed from the city), espe cially dead dogs, were there laid or cast." Stow.

More knavery and usury, And foolery and trickery, than Dogsditch. Beaumont and Fletcher.

If it please Heaven, we shall all yet make our Exodus from Houndsditch, and bid the sordid continents, of once rich apparel now grown poisonous Ou-clo', a mild farewell! Carlyle.

Hounslow Heath. A region once open and infested by highwaymen, but now enclosed, adjacent to Hounslow, in Middlesex County, England.

"The waste tracts which lay on the great routes near London were especially haunted by plunderers of this class. Hounslow Heath, on the great Western road, and Finchley Common, on the great Northern road, were perhaps the most celebrated of these spots." Macaulay. House. For names beginning with HOUSE, see the next prominent word. See also infra.

Howard. See CASTLE HOWARD. Howe's Cave. A natural curiosity in Schoharie County, N.Y. The cave has been penetrated a distance of eight or ten miles, and visitors usually go as far as three or four miles. It was discovered in 1842, and is thought to be hardly surpassed by any cavern except the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. [Sometimes called also the Ötsgaragee Cavern.] Hoy, Old Man of. See OLD MAN OF HOY.

Hradschin, The. The ancient palace of the Bohemian kings, in Prague, Austria. This imposing pile was begun in 1541, but not completed till 200 years later. There are said to be 440 apartments in it. It commands a noble view.