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HEIGHT. s. (from high.) 1. Elevation above the ground (Addison). 2. Altitude; space measured upwards (Dryden). 3. Degree of latitude (Abbot). 4. Summit; ascent; towering eminence; high place (Dryden). 5. Elevation of rank; station of dignity (Sh.). 6. The utmost degree; full completion (Bacon). 7. Utmost exertion (Shak.). 8. State of excellence; advance toward perfection (Add.). HEIGHT, in geometry, is a perpendicular let fall from the vertex, or top, of any rightlined figure, upon the base or side subtending it. It is likewise the perpendicular altitude of any object above the horizon; and is found several ways, by two staffs, a plain mirror, with the quadrant, theodolite, or some graduated instrument, &c. The measuring of heights or distances is of two kinds: when the place or object is accessible, as when we can approach to its bottom; or inaccessible, when it cannot be approached. See SURVEYING, and AL

TITUDE.

To HEIGHTEN. v. a. (from height.) 1. To raise higher. 2. To improve; to meliorate. 3. To aggravate (Addison). 4. To improve by decorations (Dryden).

HEILA, a town of Western Prussia, at the mouth of the Vistula, on the Baltic Sea. Lat. 54. 53 N. Lon. 19. 25 E.

HEILIGELAND, an island in the German Ocean, between the mouths of the Eyder and the Elbe, belonging to Denmark. Lat. 54. 21 N. Lon. 8. 20 E.

HEILIGENSTADT, a town of Germany, capital of the territory of Etchset, belonging to the elector of Mentz. Lat. 51. 22 N. Lon. 10. 14 E.

HEINECCIUS (John Gotlieb), one of the greatest civilians of the 18th century, was born at Eisenberg, in the principality of Altenburg, in 1081. After having studied at Goslar and Leipsic, he was designed for the ministry, and began to preach; but disliking that profession, he laid it aside, and applied himself entirely to the study of philosophy and the civil law. In 1710 he became professor of philosophy at Hall; and in 1721 he was made professor of civil law, with the title of counsellor of the court. His great reputation made the States of Friesland invite him to Franeker in 1724; but three years after the king of Prussia prevailed on him to accept of a professorship of law at Francfort on the Oder, where he distinguished himself till the year 1733. Becoming again professor at Hall, he remained there till his death, which happened in 1741, notwithstanding his being invited to Marpurg, Denmark, and three academies in Holland. He wrote many works, all of them much esteemed. The principal are, 1. Antiquitatum Romanarum jurisprudentiam illustrantium syntagma. It was this excellent abridgement that gave rise to his reputation in foreign countries. 2. Elementa juris civilis secundum ordinem institutionum et pandectarum. 3. Fundamenta styli cultioris. There are few works so useful as this for forming a Latin style. 4. Elementa philosophiæ rationalis et moralis,

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HEINOUSNESS. s. (from heinous.) Atro ciousness; wickedness (Rogers).

HEINSIUS (Daniel), a famous critic, was born at Ghent in 1580. After going through his studies at various universities he was made Greek professor at Leyden, when he was but eighteen ; and afterwards succeeded his master Joseph Scaliger in the professorship of politics and history. He died in 1621. He wrote numerous poems in different languages; several admired works in prose, as Laus Asini, Laus Pediculi, &c.; and illustrated many of the Greek and Latin classics.

HEINSIUS (Nicholas), son of the preceding, was born at Leyden in 1620. He was an eminent Latin poet, and has been called the Swan of Holland. He also published editions of Virgil, Ovid, Claudian, and other Latin authors, with learned notes. He died in 1681.

HEIR, is he to whom lands, tenements, or hereditaments, by the act of God and right of blood, descend of some estate of inheritance. Co. Lit. 7. b.

HEIR APPARENT. Here we must observe, that no person can be heir until the death of his ancestor : yet in common parlance, he who stands nearest in degree of kindred to the ancestor is called even in his life-time heir apparent. Co. Lit. 8. n. The law also takes notice of an heir apparent, so far as to allow the father to bring an action of trespass for taking away his son and heir, the father being guardian by nature to his son, where any lands descended to him. Co. Lit. 37.

Heir-general: the heir-general, or heir at common law, is he who after his father's or ancestor's death has a right to, and is introduced into, all his land, tenements, and hereditaments; but he must be of the whole blood, not a bastard, alien, &c. None but the heirgeneral, according to the course of the cominon law, can be heir to a warrantry, or sue an appeal of the death of his ancestors. Co. Lit. 14.

Customary heir: a custom in particular places varying the rules of descent at common law is good; such is the custom of gavelkind, by which all the spus shall inherit, and make but one heir to their ancestor; but the general custom of gavelkind lands extends to sons only; but a special custom, that if one brother dies without issue, all his brothers may inherit, is good. Co. Lit. 140. a.

To prevent the wrong and injury to creditors by the alienation of the lands descended, &c. by 3 and 4 W. and M. c. 14. it is enacted that in all cases where any heir at law shall be liable to pay the debt of his ancestor in regard of any lands, tennements, or hereditaments descending to him, and shall sell, alien, and make over, the same before any action

brought or process sued out against him, such heir at law shall be answerable for such debt or debts in action or actions of debt to the value of the said land so by him sold, alienated, or made over: in which case all creditors shall be preferred, as in actions against executors and administrators: and such execution shall be taken out upon any judgment or judgments so obtained against such heirs, to the value of the said land, as if the same were his own proper debts; saving that the lands, tenements, and hereditaments, bona fide aliened before the action brought, shall not be liable to such execution. Provided, that where any action of debt upon any specialty is brought against any heir, he may plead riens per descent at the time of the original writ brought, or the bill filed against him; any thing therein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. And the plaintiff in such action may reply, that he had lands, tenements, or hereditaments, from his ancestor before the original writ brought, or the bill filed; and if upon issue joined thereupon, it is found for the plaintiff, the jury shall inquire of the value of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments so descended, and thereupon judgment shall be given, and exeeution shall be awarded as aforesaid; but if judgment is given against such heir, by confession of the action with the assets descended, or upon demurrer, or nihil dixit, it shall be for the debt and damages, without any writ to enquire of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, so descended.

Before this statute, if the ancestor had derised away the lands, a creditor by specialty had no remedy, either against the heir or devisee. Abr. Eq. 149.

But by the said statute, it is enacted that all wills and testaments, of or concerning any manors, messuages, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or of any rent, profit, term, or charge out of the same, whereof any person at the time of his decease shall be seized in fee simple, possession, reversion, or remainder, or have power to dispose of the same by his last will and testament, shall be deemed and taken only against such creditor as aforesaid, his heirs, successors, executors, administrators and assigns, and every of them, to be fraudulent, and clearly, absolutely, and utterly void, frustrate, and of none effect; any pretence, colour, feigned or presumed consideration, or any other matter or thing, to the contrary notwithstanding.

And for the means, that such creditors may be enabled to recover their said debts, it is farther enacted, that in the cases before-mentioned, every such creditor shall and may maintain his action of debt, upon his said bonds and specialties, against the heir at law of such obligor, and such devisee and devisees jointly, by virtue of this act; and such devisee and devisees shall be liable and chargeable for a false plea by him or them pleaded in the same manner as any heir should have been for false plea by him pleaded, or for not confessing the lands or tenements to him desconded.

Provided, that where there has been or shall be any limitation or appointment, devise or disposition, of any manors, messuages, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, for the raising or payment of any real or just debt, or any portion, sum, or sums of money, for any child or chil dren of any person, other than the heir at law, in pursuance of any marriage-contract or agree ment in writing bona fide made before such marriage; the same and every of them shall be in full force, and the same manors, &c. may be holden and enjoyed by every such person, his heirs, executors,administrators, and assigns, for whom the said limitation, appointment, devise, or disposition was made, and by his trustee, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, for such estate or interest as shall be so limited or appointed, devised, or disposed, until such debt or debts, portion or portions, shall be raised, paid, and satisfied; any thing contained in this act to the contrary notwithstanding.

And it is further enacted by the said sta tute, that all and every devisee and devisees made liable by this act, shall be liable and chargeable in the same manner as the heir at law, by force of this act, notwithstanding the lands, tenements, and hereditaments to him or them devised, shall be aliened before the action brought.

In the construction of this statute it has been holden, that though a man is prevented thereby from defeating his creditors by will, yet any settlement or disposition he shall make in his life-time of his lands, whether vo luntary or not, will be good against bond creditors; for that was not provided against by the statute, which only took care to secure such creditors from any imposition which might be supposed in a man's last sickness; but if he gave away his estate in his life-time, this prevented the descent of so much to the heir, and consequently took away their remedy against him, who was only liable in respect of the lands descended; and as a bond is no lien whatsoever on the lands in the hands of the obligor, much less can it be so when they are given away to a stranger. Abr. Eq. 149. To HEIR. v. a. To inherit (Dryden). HEIRESS. s. (from heir.) An inheritrix; a woman that inherits (Waller).

HE'IRLESS. a. (from keir.) Without an heir; wanting one to inherit after him (Sh.). HEIRLOOM. s. (heir and geloma, goods, Saxon.) Any furniture or moveable decreed to descend by inheritance, and therefore insepa rable from the freehold (Swift).

HEIRSHIP. s. (from her.) The state, cha racter, or privileges of an heir (Ayliffe).

HEISTERIA. In botany, a genns of the class decandria, order monogynia. Calyx fivecleft, petals five; drupe with a very large coloured calyx. One species only; a tree of Martinico with oblong leaves, and small ax illary flowers.

HELCONIA. (helcoma, from x, an ulcer). An ulcer in the external or internal superficies of the cornea, known by an exca

vation and ouzing of purulent matter from the

cornea.

HELD. The preterit and part. pass. of hold. HELENA, HELEN, the most celebrated beauty of her age, sprang from one of the eggs which Leda, the wife of Tyndaris, brought forth after her amour with Jupiter, metamorphosed into a swan. Her beauty was so admired even in infancy, that Theseus, with his friend Pirithous, carried her away before she had attained her tenth year, and concealed her at Aphidnæ; but her brothers, Castor and Pollux, recovered her, and she returned unpolluted to Sparta. This violence offered to her virtue rather augmented her fame, and her hand was eagerly solicited by many of the young princes of Greece. At length all the suitors agreed by oath to abide by the uninfluenced choice which Helen herself should make, and also to unite, in order to defend her if any attempt was made to force her from her husband. Helen then fixed upon Menelaus, and married him. Hermione was the early fruit of this union. After this, Paris, son of Priam, came to Lacedæmon on pretence of sacrificing to Apollo. He was kindly received by Menelaus, but shamefully, in his absence in Crete, corrupted the fidelity of his wife Helen, and persuaded her to follow him to Troy, B. C. 1198. At his return, Menelaus, highly sensible of the injury, assembled the Grecian princes, and reminded them of their solemn promises. They resolved to make war against the Trojans; but previously sent ambassadors to Priam to demand the restitution of Helen, but received no satisfactory answer. Soon after their return, their combined forces assembled, and sailed for the coast of Asia. Authors have differed much with respect to her conduct while at Troy. After the death of Paris she married Deiphobus, whom she betrayed, in order to ingratiate herself with Menelaus. She returned to Sparta with Menelaus, who pardoned all her errors. Some assert that she had willingly followed Paris, and that she warmly supported the cause of the Trojans; while others believe that she secretly favoured the cause of the Greeks, always sighed after her husband, and cursed the day in which she had proved faithless to his bed. Homer represents her as in the last instance. After she had lived for some years at Sparta, Menelaus died, and she was driven from Peloponnesus by Megapenthes and Nicostratus, the illegitimate sons of her husband. She retired to Rhodes, where Polyxo, a native of Argos, who reigned over the country, caused her to be tied to a tree and strangled. Herodotus mentions a tradition, that Paris, on his return from Sparta, was driven on the coast of Egypt where Helen was detained by Proteus, king of the country, in consequence of his ingratitude to Menelaus. Helen was honoured after death as a goddess, and the Spartans built her a temple at The rapne, which had power of giving beauty to all the deformed women that entered it.-2. A young woman of Sparta, often confounded with the daughter of Leda. As she was going

to be sacrificed, because the lot had fallen upon her, an eagle came and carried away the knife of the priest, upon which she was released, and the barbarous custom of offering human victims was abolished.

HELENA (St.), an island in the Atlantic Ocean, first discovered by the Portuguese. From them it passed to the Dutch; and in the year 1600 the English became its masters. After they had once obtained possession, they maintained it without disturbance till the year 1673, when the Dutch took it by surprise, but did not long enjoy the fruits of their conquest, for it was retaken a short time afterwards, by the brave captain Munden, with three Dutch East Indianen in the harbour. The island of St. Helena is about twenty miles in circumference, and the land so high, that it may be discerned at sea above twenty leagues' distance. It consists indeed of one vast rock, perpendicu lar on every side, like a castle in the middle of the ocean, whose natural walls are too high to be attempted by scaling-ladders; nor is there the smallest breach, except at the bay called Chapel Valley Bay, which is fortified with a strong battery of fifty large cannon, planted even with the water, and farther defended by the perpetual dashing of prodigious waves against the shore, which, without farther resistance, makes the landing difficult; and a little creek, where two or three men may land from a small boat, but now rendered inaccessible by a battery. As there is no other anchorage but at Chapel Valley, touching here is extremely precarious; for the wind always setting from the south-east, if a ship once over-shoots it, it is a matter of great difficulty again to recover the harbour. Notwithstanding St. Helena appears on every side to be a hard barren rock, yet on the top it is covered with a coat of fine rich mould, about a foot and a half deep, which produces all manner of grain, grass, fruits, herbs, roots, and every kind of vegetables, in the utmost perfection and plenty. After ascending the rock which borders it to the sea, the country is prettily diversified with rising hills and vallies; the first covered naturally with a great variety of herbs, and the latter adorned with elegant plantations of fruit-trees and gardens, among which are dispersed the houses of the natives; while herds of cattle low about the fields, some of which are fattened for the supply of shipping and of the islanders, and the rest kept for milk, butter, and cheese, and to afford a prospect equally rich and delightful. Upon this island there are nearly 300 English families, or, at least, descended from English parents. Some French refugees were likewisę encouraged to settle, in order to propagate vines, and make wine, a point in which they have been by no means successful. Every fa mily has its house and plantation,on the higher part of the island, where they look after their cattle, hogs, goats, and poultry, fruit and kitchen gardens, without scarcely ever descending to the town in Chapel Valley, unless it be once a week to church, or when the shipping arrives; at which times almost every house in the valley

is converted to a punch-house, or lodgings for their guests, to whom they sell their hogs, poultry, and fruits, receiving in exchange flour, wine, and whatever necessaries they want, but they must first come into the company's warehouse. The merchandize usually laid in by the company are Cape wines, brandy, European or Canary wines, Batavia arrack, beer, malt, sugar, tea, coffee, china-ware, Japan cabinets, calicoes, chintzes, muslins, ribands, woollen cloths and stuffs, with a variety of other particulars. The governor resides in a fort with a garrison, and centinels are always placed on the highest part of the island, to give notice of the approach of any vessels. This island is situated about 400 leagues from the coast of Africa, and 600 from the coast of South America. Lon. 5. 49 W. Lat. 15. 55 S.

HELENA (St.), an island in the Atlantic, in a bay called St. Helena Sound, about thirty miles in circumference. Lon. 80. 36 W. Lat. 32. 25 N.

HELENIUM. Bastard sun-flower. In botany, a genus of the class syngenesia, order polygamia superflua. Receptacle naked, except the calycine chaff of the margin; down fiveawned; calyx one leafed, many-parted; florets of the margin half three-cleft. Three species natives of America. The species most comnon in our own gardens is H. autumnale, with serrate and quite glabrous leaves. It rises to the height of six or seven feet, in good ground, and may be propagated either by seeds or by parting of the roots, which last method is generally practised in this country, because the plant seldom perfects its seeds here. The seeds should be sown in March, on a bed of light earth, where they often remain a whole year before the plants appear. When they come up, if the season prove dry, they should be often watered, thinned where they grow too close, and transplanted into beds a foot asunder, every May; then let them be shaded till they have taken root, and watered in dry weather. In autumn they may be transplanted to the places where they are to remain. The old roots should be transplanted and parted in October, when their flowers are over, or in the beginning of March, just before they begin to shoot. They should be carefully watered, if the season require it; and not be removed oftener than every other year.

HELENS (St.), a town of the Isle of Wight, in East-Medina, has a bay which runs a considerable way within land, and in a war with France is often the station and place of rendezvous for the royal navy. At the mouth of the bay is that cluster of rocks called the Mixen. It had an old church situated at the extremity of the coast, which was in danger of being washed away, as was great part of the churchyard, which occasioned a new church to be built in 1719.

HELENUS, in fabulous history, son of Priam and Hecuba, was a famous prophet, and greatly respected by all the Trojans. It was he who disclosed that Troy could not be taken

whilst in the possession of the palladium, nor until Philoctetes came from his retreat at Lemnos, and assisted at the siege. After the ruin of his country, he fell to the share of Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, and received from his hand Andromache, the widow of his brother Hector; some say he married her after the death of Pyrrhus. Helenus was the only one of Priam's sons who survived the ruin of his country. After the death of Pyrrhus, he reigned over part of Epirus, which he called Chaonia, in memory of his brother Chaon, whom he had inadvertently killed.

HELEPOLIS, in antiquity, a military machine, for battering down walls.

The helepolis, as described by Diodorus Siculus, &c. appears to have been no more than the aries or battering-ram, with a roof or covering over it, to prevent its being set on fire, as also to screen the men who worked it.

HELIACAL, in astronomy, a term applied to the rising and setting of the stars; or, more strictly speaking, to their emersion out of and immersion into the rays and superior splendor of the sun. A star is said to rise heliacally, when, after having been in conjunction with the sun, and on that account invisible, it comes to be at such a distance from him as to be seen in the morning before sun-rising; the sun, by his apparent motion, receding from the star towards the east. On the contrary, the heliacal setting is when the sun approaches so near a star as to hide it with his beams, which prevent the fainter light of the star from being perceived; so that the terms apparition and occultation would be more proper than rising and setting.

HELIAA, in Grecian antiquity, was the greatest and most frequented court in Athens for the trial of civil affairs. See HELIASTE.

Twen

HELIANTHUS. Sun-flower. In botany, a genus of the class syngenesia, order polygamia frustranea. Receptacle chaffy, flat; seeds crowned with two lanceolate chaffy leaves; calyx imbricate, spreading at the top. ty-one species; a few natives of the East Indies, but the greater part indigenous to North or South America. Some of them perennial, (see Nat. Hist. Pl. CXXVII), some trienni al, and some annual plants. Most of them are propagated in our own gardens, and especially the large annual sun-flower and the Jerusalem artichoke, which is one of the species of this genus. The Jerusalem artichoke is perennial, and a native of Brazil: it is propagated in many gardens for the sake of the roots, which are by some people very much esteemed: these, as well as all the other species, are hardy plants, and are propagated by parting their roots, which spread and increase greatly. The best season for this is about the middle of October, soon after the flowers are past, or very early in the spring; after which the plants will require no other trouble than to be kept clear from weeds.

The following are worthy of notice.

1. H. alhagi: with simple, lanceolate obtuse leaves; shrubby spinous stem. A native of

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Helianthus multiflorus.

Hedysarum obscurum,

rum

Perennial Sun flower. Creeping-rooted Hedlipses.

From Mc Donald's Dictionary Plate 32.

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