the main-mast, and which generally contains the fresh water and beer, for the use of the ship's company.

HOLE, BLACK, at Calcutta, denotes a place of confinement, 18 feet by 18 feet, containing 324 square feet, in which 146 persons were shut up, when fort William was taken, in 1756, by Surajah Dowla, nabob of Bengal. The room afforded for each person a space of 264 inches by 12 inches, which was just enough to hold them, without pressing violently upon each other. To this dungeon there was only one small grated window, and, the weather being very sultry, the air within could neither circulate nor be changed. In less than an hour, many of the unhappy people were seized with extreme difficulty of breathing, several were delirious, and the place was filled with incoherent ravings and exclamations of distress, in which the cry for water was predominant. This was handed to them by the sentinels, but had no effect to allay their thirst. In less than four hours, many were suffocated, or died in violent deliriums. In an hour more, the survivors, except those at the grate, were, in the highest degree, frantic and outrageous. At length, those at the grate became insensible, so that we have no account of what happened till they were released at six o'clock in the morning, having been confined from seven at night. Such were the effects of animal effluvia, in a close and unventilated place, in the space of 11 hours, that out of 146 persons, not more than 23 came out alive, and those in a high putrid fever, from which, however, by fresh air and proper attention, they gradually recovered. Mr. Holwell, who commanded in fort William at the time when it was taken, and was one of the sufferers in the black hole, published an interesting Narrative of the sufferings endured in the Black Hole of Calcutta.

HOLIBUT (pleuronectes hippoglossus). This large and excellent fish is sometimes upwards of 300 pounds in weight. The color above is of an obscure green, bordering upon black; that of the belly a pure white. The scales are small, and the body free from spines: even the edges of the fins have no asperity from the projection of the rays. The eyes are on the right side of the animal. It is brought to our markets very plentifully in the spring. From its large size, it is usually cut up and sold piece-meal. The head, fins and flap are considered as the most savory Darts. It usually makes its appearance with the shad and herring, or about the

As

end of March and beginning of April. It is taken on the Nantucket shoals, and sometimes as far south as Sandy Hook, before the water loses its wintry coldness. the temperature increases,these fish change their ground, and migrate to the banks of Newfoundland. The bait used in taking them is small herring.

HOLINSHED, OF HOLINGSHED, Raphael; an English chronicler, of the age of queen Elizabeth. He has been represented as a clergyman, and bishop Tanner farther states that he was educated at Cambridge, and took the degree of M. A. there in 1544. But doctor Farmer, in his Essay on the Learning of Shakspeare, has corrected this mistake, having ascertained that the graduate was one Ottewall Holingshed, who was subsequently nominated by the founder one of the first fellows of Trinity college. From the will of the historian, preserved by Hearne, it appears that at the close of his life he was a steward or servant to Thomas Burdet, esquire, of Bromcote, in Warwickshire. His death took place about 1582. The Chronicles of Holinshed were first published in two vols., fol. (1577); and a second edition, in three vols., in 1587. Several individuals were concerned in the compilation of this work. In 1807, a new edition of it appeared, in six vols., 4to, in which the omissions, chiefly from the preceding impression of the third volume, were restored. They principally relate to the history of lord Cobham and the earl of Leicester, during the reign of Elizabeth, to whom the passages in question appeared offensive. Prefixed to the Chronicles is one of the most curious and interesting memorials existing of the manners and domestic history of the English in the 16th century.

HOLKAR; a Mahratta chief, distinguished in the wars of the British in India. (See Mahrattas.)

HOLLAND; a maritime province of the Netherlands, remarkable above all others, even in that populous country, for the density of its towns and villages, and for the triumph of persevering industry over the difficulties of nature. In the present article will be described the province, properly so called, and consisting of two parts, North and South Holland. They form a narrow tract, extending from lat. 51° 40 to 53° 10′ N.; in length about 90 miles, in breadth varying from 25 to 40. The greatest breadth is in the south. This province is bounded west by the German ocean, south by Zealand, east by the Zuyder Zee and the province of Utrecht. The superficial extent of the whole prov

ince of Holland is about 2200 square miles. The whole province contains 37 cities and towns, 38 smaller towns with markets, and 418 villages. The division into the two governments of South and North Holland, is recognised by the constitution of 1814; population, 820,449. The following are the chief towns: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hague, Leyden, Haarlem, Dort, Delft, Gouda, Alkmaar, Hoorn. The national religion is Calvinism; but there is a Lutheran congregation in every town of consequence; and among the lower classes the Catholics are numerous. The whole province of Holland is a continued flat, and lies so low as to be under the level of the sea at high water: the tide is prevented from flowing in by means of dikes and natural sand-banks. The numerous canals and ditches which traverse the province in all directions, are likewise provided with dikes, and serve not only to promote internal communication, but to drain the country of superfluous water. In addition to the two great rivers which water this province in common with the rest of the Netherlands, viz., the Rhine and the Maese, Holland has several smaller rivers, the Amstel, the Schie, the Rotte; but they have so little current as to be more properly canals, or water-courses. The principal lake is that of Haarlem. The soil is in general rich, consisting of a deep, fat loam. From the humidity of both soil and climate, there is little of the province under tillage, and that little is in South Holland. The crops principally cultivated, are wheat, madder, tobacco, hemp and flax. The agricultural wealth of the province at large, consists in its pastures, which are almost unrivalled in the abundance and luxuriance of the grass which they produce. The manufactures of Holland, though no longer extensive, embrace a variety of articles, viz., linen, woollen, and leather; also paper, wax, refined sugar, starch, and, in certain districts, pottery and tiles. Large quantities of gin are likewise made, particularly at Schiedam, near the Maese. (For the history and statistics, see Netherlands.)

HOLLAND, NEW; an island in the south Pacific ocean, the largest in the world, and long supposed to form a part of a great southern continent. It stretches from east to west above 2600 miles, between Sandy cape and the entrance of Sharks' bay; and it is above 2000 miles in length from cape York on the north, 10° 45', to Wilson's promontory, in 39° 10' S. latitude. The superficial area is estimated at three

and a half millions of square miles. The country was first discovered by the Dutch, in 1605, and was visited, in 1616, by Dirk Hartag, who commemorated his visit in a plate of tin left by him, which was found by some English navigators, in 1801. It was occasionally visited by the Dutch navigators till the end of the century. It was visited by captain Cook, in 1770, and was determined by him to be an island. It was afterwards visited by captain Furneaux, in 1773; by Vancouver, in 1791; by the French navigator, Bruny d'Entrecasteaux; and, in 1795-1799, by Bass and Flinders. In 1801, captain Flinders surveyed its coasts; and, in 1818 and 1824, captain King completed what had been left undone by his predecessors. Very little is known of the interior of this vast country. The principal animal and vegetable productions have been described under the head of Australia. On the north coast lies the gulf of Carpentaria, 400 miles deep and 300 broad. From cape Wessel, the north-west head of the gulf, to cape Van Diemen, the country is called Arnheim's Land. The coast here is low, containing many fine ports and harbors. Liverpool river empties into the sea on this coast. What on the old maps is called Van Diemen's bay, was found by captain King to be a strait 70 miles long and 40 broad, separating two large islands from the main land, called Melville and Bathurst islands; the former is 200 miles, the latter 120 miles, in circumference. The northern coast, with these islands, is now included in the British territory (formal possession of the country between 129 and 136° E. longitude having been taken in 1824). A colony was founded at Port Cockburn, on Melville island, at the mouth of Apsley strait, which separates the two islands. To the west of this point, the coast trends to the south, and is low and sterile as far as Cambridge gulf, in 128° E. longitude; westward from the gulf, the coast is intersected by numerous bays, ports, and some rivers, one of which, Prince Regent's river, is of considerable size. The remainder of the north-west coast, as far as North-west cape, an extent of 1000 miles, called in the maps, De Will's Land, is low, sandy, and dangerous of approach. Endracht's, Edel's and Leeuwin's Land, are the names of successive portions of the coast from North-west cape to cape Leeuwin, a distance of 800 miles. The only openings of any importance here, are Sharks' bay and Swan river (q. v.); the latter has been selected by the British government, as the site of a

western Australian colony; and an expedition to form the settlement was sent in 1829. The south coast, extending above 1200 miles, between cape Leeuwin and cape Howe, trends to the northward from both extremities, so as to form a wide gulf. The western portion of it is called Nuyt's Land; of the other portion, nothing was known till the voyages of Flinders and Baudin, who met in the middle of the gulf. Spencer's and St. Vincent's gulf are on this coast. The coast near Bass's straits is of the most sterile description; it has, however, two fine harbors, Port Western and Port Philip, in the neighborhood of which the country is rich; the former will probably be soon made the seat of a settlement. Cape Howe forms the south-east point of New Holland. The eastern coast is called New South Wales, and under that head we shall give an account of the British colonies there, and of the nature of the country, so far as it is known. The inhabitants of New Holland are of the middle stature. They have a large, misshapen head, slender extremities and projecting bellies. Their noses are flat, nostrils wide, eyes much sunk in the head, and covered with thick eye-brows. Their lips are thick, their mouths very wide, their teeth white, sound and even. Many have very prominent jaws. The skin is at first red, and afterwards becomes almost of an African blackness. Both sexes rub fish oil into their skins to protect them from the air and the musquitoes. Their habitations are extremely rude, and their habits barbarous.

HOLLAND; a fine and close kind of linen, so called from its being first manufactured in Holland.

HOLLAND (Henry Richard Fox), lord, son of Stephen, second lord Holland, and nephew of the celebrated Charles James Fox (q. v.), one of the distinguished whig leaders in the English house of lords, was born in 1773, and educated at Eton and Oxford, and, on coming of age, took his seat in the upper house (1794), having lost his father at a very early age. Attached to the policy of his uncle, he felt a strong desire to visit the continent during the progress of the French revolution; but, the state of France at that time rendering a long residence there impossible, he went to Italy, where he became acquainted with the beautiful wife of sir Godfrey Webster. He eloped with her to England, and, on her husband obtaining a divorce, married her. After his return to England, he took an active part in the

opposition, and, on the peace of Amiens, he went to Spain, partly for his health, and partly for the purpose of becoming more intimately acquainted with Spanish literature. This visit produced his Account of the Life and Writings of Lope de Vega (1806), and some translations from the Spanish. In 1806, he became a member of the short-lived whig adminis tration formed at that time. In 1808, he edited the History of the Reign of James II, by his uncle. He has supported the claims of the dissenters, opposed the restrictions on the regency, advocated the cause of the queen, and, during the confinement of Napoleon in St. Helena, exerted himself in favor of the illustrious captive, who acknowledged his efforts by the bequest of an antique cameo to lady Holland.

HOLLES, Denzil, lord, an eminent political character of the seventeenth century, the second son of Holles the first earl of Clare, was born in 1597. He was liberally educated, and, when his father had a place at court, was playfellow and companion to prince Charles. The earl of Clare's subsequent discontent was communicated to his sons, and, in the last parliament of James I, Denzil sided with the opposition. In the parliament of 1627, he took a leading part in favor of liberty, with his characteristic ardor and courage. When the three resolutions of the commons, against popery, Arminianism, and tonnage and poundage by the king's prerogative, were drawn up, he was one of the two members who forcibly held the speaker in the chair until they were passed. For this conduct, refusing to give bail or sureties for his good behavior, he was condemned to fine and imprisonment, the latter of which he endured in the Tower for upwards of twelve months. In 1640, he entered the long parliament, a determined foe to the court, and was placed at the head of the Presbyterian party. The earl of Strafford having married his sister, he was prevented from taking part in the prosecution of that minister; but he carried up the impeachment against archbish op Laud. He was also one of the members, the imprudent attempt to seize whom, in the parliament house, formed the immediate cause of taking up arms. In the ensuing war, the parliament conferred on him the command of a regiment, and appointed him lieutenant of Bristol; but becoming aware of the designs of the leaders of the Independents, he endeavored to frustrate them by promoting a treaty with the king. In 1644, he was one of the

commissioners appointed to carry propositions of peace to Charles at Oxford; and, in 1647, he made a motion for disbanding the army, but that party was now too strong, and the attack was returned upon himself by an impeachment for high treason. He consulted his safety by retiring to France, whence he was allowed to return in 1648, when he resumed his seat in parliament, and was one of the commissioners appointed to treat with the king in the Isle of Wight. He was soon after again obliged, by the violence of the times, to retreat to France, where he remained until the restoration, which he zealously promoted. He was one of the members of the house of commons who waited upon the king at the Hague; and Charles II, before his coronation, advanced him to the peerage, by the title of lord Holles of Isfield in Sussex. In 1663, he was sent ambassador to France; and in 1667 was one of the English plenipotentiaries at Breda. Notwithstanding these employments, he remained a zealous friend to liberty; and when the politics of the reign tended to make the king absolute, lord Holles was a conspicuous leader of opposition. He is mentioned by Barillon, the French ambassador, as one of the noblemen who entered into negotiations with France to thwart the suspected measures of Charles against liberty at home; but it is at the same time intimated, that he and lord William Russell alone refused the money offered by Louis XIV. He died with a high character for honor, integrity and patriotism, in 1680, in the eighty-second year of his age. In 1699 were published Memoirs of Denzil Lord Holles, from 1641 to 1648, (4to); some of his letters and speeches have been published separately.

HOLLEY, Horace, reverend, LL.D., was born in Salisbury, Conn., Feb. 13, 1781, and in his early childhood gave indications of high and generous qualities. While a boy of twelve or thirteen years of age, he was employed in his father's shop or on the farm; but, showing a decided taste for study, he was, at the age of sixteen, sent to school, and entered Yale college in 1799. Having finished his collegiate course with credit, he began the study of the law, which he soon after abandoned for that of divinity. In 1805, he was ordained to the pastoral charge of Greenfield Hill, Fairfield, Conn., where he continued three years, when this connexion was amicably dissolved. He was now at maturity; his mind was active, vigorous and glowing; his person manly, graceful and imposing, and his eloquence

warm and impressive. In 1809, he was installed over the society in Hollis street, Boston, where he continued ten years, the pride of his people, from whom he received every demonstration of affection and esteem. Mr. Holley had been educated at Yale college, under doctor Dwight, and, of course, in the Calvinistic faith. Further study and reflection had led to a change in his religious views, and he became Unitarian in his sentiments. His sermons were generally extemporaneous, or, if written, were seldom finished; they were practical, addressed equally to the heart and understanding, and distinguished for eloquence and power. It was his custom to remain in his study late Saturday evening, arranging the plan of his discourse, and making notes. After a few hours' sleep, he returned to his study, without allowing himself to be interrupted by a breakfast; and often passed the day without dining; so that he kept his mind full of his subject, and constantly on the watch. In 1818, he accepted an invitation to become president of Transylvania university in Kentucky. Here he remained until 1827, when he was induced to resign the presidency of the institution, of which he had elevated the character, and increased the number of the students. A plan was then formed of erecting a seminary in Louisiana, to be placed under his direction; but he was taken sick while at New Orleans, in the summer of 1827, and, having embarked for New York, died on the passage, July 31.

HOLLIS, Thomas, an English gentleman, memorable for his attachment to civil and religious liberty, and his services to literature and the arts, was born in London in 1720. He was descended from a Yorkshire family of dissenters, and was sent, after a common school education, to Amsterdam, in his thirteenth or fourteenth year, to learn the Dutch language and merchant's accounts. Not long after his return, in 1735, his father died; and, being now the heir of a handsome fortune, it was resolved to complete his education upon a liberal plan. In 1740, he took chambers in Lincoln's inn, but never engaged in the law as a profession. His attention seems to have been chiefly occupied with the study of the English constitution, and the cultivation of a zealous attachment for civil and religious liberty, and of the friendship of its most eminent supporters, especially among the dissenters. In 1748, he travelled over a part of the continent, and in 1750 engaged in another tour through the remainder. Find

ing, on his return, that he could not enter parliament without compliances which he did not approve, he made collections of books and medals, especially such as preserved the memory of eminent asserters of liberty, among whom he highly regarded Milton and Algernon Sidney. He was a fellow of the royal, antiquarian, and other learned societies, and made many valuable presents to the British museum. He presented a handsome collection of English books to the library at Berne, and also to Harvard college, in New England, to which, in imitation of some deceased members of his family, he was a most liberal benefactor. In his own country, also, it was one of his leading objects to disseminate books favorable to popular principles of government, editions of many of which he caused to be re-printed. He died in 1774. He was very gentle and polite in his manners, and seems to have united much of the ancient stoic to the modern partisan of freedom and general philanthropist. (See Memoirs of Thomas Hollis, by Thomas Brand Hollis, London, 1780.)

HOLLOW SQUARE, in the military art; a body of foot soldiers drawn up with an empty space in the middle.

HOLLY. The American holly (ilex opaca) is widely diffused throughout the U. States, extending from about lat. 42° to the gulf of Mexico, and beyond the Mississippi to the border of the desert plains which skirt the base of the Rocky mountains. In many parts of this district, it is not uncommon, and adds to the beauty of the forest by its red berries and brilliant evergreen foliage. It sometimes attains the height of forty feet, with a trunk a foot in diameter. The leaves are undulated, coriaceous, dentate, and spiny on the margin; the flowers, as in the rest of the genus, inconspicuous, consisting of a four toothed calyx, four petals, and as many stamens; and they are succeeded by rounded berries containing four osseous seeds. The wood is very hard, susceptible of a fine polish, and more capable of receiving a black color than any other: it is used principally for veneering; the black lines with which cabinet work is frequently ornamented, in this country, are formed of this wood, dyed in the coppers of the hatter. It is a good wood for turning, for the cogs of wheels, and for the pulleys of vessels; but for this latter purpose lignum vitæ is preferable. The European holly is very similar to the American in size, appearance, and the qualities of the wood. The I. vomitoria is a shrub,

inhabiting the Southern States from lat. 37° to the gulf of Mexico, bearing smooth, elliptical and serrated leaves, an infusion of which is taken like tea by the aborigines, who ascribe to it extraordinary virtues, and are accustomed to assemble every spring, with much ceremony, for the purpose of drinking it. It is tonic and diuretic, and, in large doses, purgative and emetic. Three other species of ilex inhabit the southern parts of the U. States. From its retaining its foliage during the winter, the holly is a very desirable tree for shrubberies and ornamental planting. As a fence, it is very serviceable; and when formed into hedges, it admits of being cropped, and retains its verdure even through the severest winters. Its growth is slow, but its duration is longer than that of most other trees. In winter, it affords shelter to birds, and its berries supply them with food; and in Corsica they are used to make a liquor somewhat similar to coffee. The bark is smooth, and replete with a strong mucilaginous substance, from which birdlime is made. Birdlime, it is well known, is used for snaring small birds. Among the Romans, it was customary to send boughs of holly to friends, with new year's gifts, as emblematical of good wishes; and in England it is used, as other evergreens are here, to decorate houses at Christmas.

HOLLYHOCK (althæa rosea); a malvaceous plant, a native of the East, and very frequently cultivated in gardens for the sake of its ornamental spikes of large and beautiful flowers. The root is biennial, and shoots up one or several very upright, hairy stems, which attain the height of from five to eight feet. The leaves are cordate at base, and divided into from five to seven lobes. The flowers are subsessile, rose-colored, and situated in the axils of the superior leaves, thus forming a long terminal spike. From cultivation, many varieties have arisen, bearing flowers, single or double, white, yellow, red, or even almost black. It is a hardy plant, and easily re-produced from seed.

HOLMES' HOLE; a safe and commodious harbor on N. side of Martha's Vineyard, in the township of Tisbury, Mass. It is formed by West and East Chops; the former of which is 24, and the latter 2 miles, from the head of the harbor. The points are 23 miles apart. The depth of water is from 34 to 8 fathoms. Numerous vessels, bound to Boston or the eastward, are frequently seen here waiting for a fair wind. From about 1000 to 1200 sail anchor here in the course of a year. Here is