See CANNABIS, Botany Index.—It does not appear that the ancients were acquainted with the use of hemp, in respect of the thread it affords. Pliny, who speaks of the plant in his natural history, lib. xx. cap. 23, says not a word of this; contenting himself with extolling the virtues of its stem, leaves, and root. In effect, what some writers of the Roman antiquities remark, viz. that the hemp necessary for the use of war was all stored up into two cities of the western empire, viz. at Ravenna and Vienne, under the direction of two procurators, called procuratores linificii, must be understood of linum or flax.
The use of hemp is so extensive and important, that vast quantities of it are annually imported into this and other kingdoms from those countries where it grows in greatest plenty, of which Russia is one. In the year 1763, the quantity imported into England alone amounted to 11,000 tons. Sir John Sinclair informs us, that in the year 1785, the quantity exported from Petersburg in British ships was as follows:
| Poods | |-------| | Clean Hemp | 1038,791 | | Outehot | 38,282 | | Half-clean | 18,374 | | Hemp-codille | 19,251 |
Now, allowing 63 poods to a ton, the quantity just mentioned will amount to 17,695 tons; and supposing it to take five acres to produce a ton of hemp, the whole quantity of ground requisite for this purpose would amount to 88,475 acres.
By other accounts, the annual export of hemp to England is valued at 400,000l.; but by a computation of the whole imported into Britain and Ireland in 1788, it would seem that a considerably greater quantity must fall to the share of England. In that year the quantity amounted to no less than 58,464 tons; which at 20l. per ton amounted to 1,269,280l. We cannot wonder at this vast consumpt, when it is considered that the sails and cordage of a first rate man of war require 180,000 lb. of rough hemp for their construction; but even this will scarce account for the enormous consumpt in France, which in the year 1793 is said to have amounted to upwards of 400 millions of pounds, or 200,000 tons; of which more than one-third was imported.
Only the coarser kinds of hemp are employed in making cordage, the better sorts being used for linen, which, though it can never be made so fine as that from flax, is yet incomparably stronger, and equally susceptible of bleaching both in the old and new way. Cloths made of hemp have also this property, that their colour improves by wearing, while that of linen decays. The prices of hemp linen are various; from 10d. to 4s. 6d. per yard. The low-priced kinds are very generally worn in Suffolk, where hemp is cultivated, by husbandmen, farmers, &c.; those from 1s. 6d. to 2s. by farmers and tradesmen; and those from 2s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. are frequently preferred by gentlemen to flax-linen. linen, on account of their strength and warmth. The English hemp is much superior in strength to that which grows in any other country. Next to it is the Russian, from which sacking is usually made, as it is sometimes also from the offal of the English kind; but none of the Suffolk hemp is ever made into cordage, on account of its fineness. A considerable quantity of Russia sheeting is imported into England merely on account of its strength, and is much coarser at the price than any other foreign linen.
Besides these uses of hemp, it is said to possess a property as a plant which renders it almost invaluable; viz. that of driving away almost all insects that feed upon other vegetables. Hence in some places of the continent they secure their crops from these mischievous attacks, by sowing a belt of hemp round their gardens, or any particular spot which they wish to preserve.
The important uses of hemp, and the superiority of that produced in Britain to other kinds, have rendered the culture of it an object of attention to government. Accordingly, in the year 1787, a bounty of threepence per stone was allowed on all the hemp raised in England; and probably with a view to encourage the growth of English hemp, duties have been laid on that which comes from abroad. Dressed hemp in a British ship pays 2l. 4s. per cwt. import duty; in a foreign one 2l. 6s. gd.; and in both cases a drawback of 1l. 19s. is allowed. Undressed hemp in a British ship pays 2s. 8d.; and in a foreign one 3s. 11d. In both cases the drawback is 3s. 4d. The export of British hemp is free.
The usual height of the plant when growing is from five to six feet, but this varies very considerably according to circumstances. That which is cultivated near Bischwiller in Alsace is sometimes more than 12 feet high, and upwards of three inches in circumference, the stalks being so deeply rooted that a very strong man can scarce pull them up. Mr Arthur Young, in a tour through Catalonia in Spain, says, that where the country is well-watered, the crops of hemp are extraordinary; and that the plants generally rise to the height of seven feet. In Italy hemp is generally cultivated, though the Bolognese only pretend to any superiority in the management of it. It is there sown upon their best lands, which are rich strong loams; and on which they are at all possible pains to procure a fine friable surface. For manure they use dung, pieces of rotten cloth, feathers, and horns brought from Dalmatia. The plant, however, may be cultivated upon ground of every kind; the poorer land producing that which is finer in quality though in smaller quantity; whereas strong and rich land produces a great quantity but coarser. It does not exhaust the land on which it grows like flax; whence it is probable, that if properly managed, and care taken in the cultivation, it might be found to supersede flax entirely. A Sussex manufacturer, who writes on this subject in the Annals of Agriculture, informs us, that it may be raised for many years successively on the same ground, provided it be well manured. An acre requires from nine to twelve pecks, according to the nature of the soil; the latter being the most usual, though a variation in the quality of the soil makes an alteration both in the quantity and quality of the hemp. An acre produces on an average 36 or 38 stone. The abbé Brulle, in a treatise upon the Cultivation and Management of Hemp, printed by order of the lords of the committee of council for trade and foreign plantations, informs us, that the season for sowing it extends from the 25th of March to the 15th of June. The seed ought always to be sown thin, not exceeding two bushels to an acre; and if you have the advantage of a drill plough, still less will answer. As there are two kinds of hemp, the male and female, of which the former only produces seed, some regard must be had to this circumstance. In Sussex the male and female are pulled together about 13 weeks after the sowing, but in the fens they are frequently separated. This last method is recommended by the abbé Brulle, who, for the more easy accomplishment of it, directs that little paths should be made lengthwise through the field at about seven feet distance from each other, to allow a passage for the person who pulls up the female hemp from among the others; the latter requiring to stand more than a month after for the purpose of ripening the seeds. The female hemp is known to be ripe by the fading of the flowers, the falling of the farina fecundans, and some of the stalks turning yellow. After the whole of this kind is pulled, it must be manufactured according to the directions to be afterwards given, and ought to be worked if possible while green; the hemp thus produced being much finer than that which is previously dried. The reason of this is, that the plant contains a great quantity of glutinous matter; which being once dried, agglutinates the fibres in such a manner that they can never be afterwards perfectly separated. The female hemp, however, is always in smaller quantity than the male; and therefore where the crop is large, it will be impossible to work the whole as fast as it is pulled or cut. It is known to be ripe by the stems becoming pale; but it must be remembered, that hemp of any kind will be much less injured by pulling the plants before they are ripe, than by letting them stand too long.
The male hemp being stripped of its leaves, &c. as afterwards directed, will soon be dry for storing by the heat of the atmosphere, though sometimes it may be necessary to use artificial means; but where these are used, the utmost care must be taken, hemp when dry, being exceedingly inflammable. The stored or dried hemp must be steeped and treated in every other respect as though it had been green; whence it is evident that this operation ought never to be used but in cases of necessity. It is likewise impossible to make hemp which has been dried previous to its being steamed so white as that which has been worked green.
With regard to the perfecting of hemp-seed for a subsequent season, it would seem proper to set apart a hothouse piece of ground for this purpose: for M. Amien, from vol. v. 40 plants raised in the common way, had only a pound and a half of seed, though the plants from which it was taken might be deemed fine; whereas, from a single plant which grew by itself, he had seven pounds and a half. Some are of opinion, that by putting the clusters which contain the hemp-seed to beat and sweat, the quality is improved; as many of those seeds which would otherwise wither and die may thus arrive at perfection. This, however, seems to be very problematical; as there are no experiments which show that seeds when separated from the vegetable producing them, have any power of meliorating themselves.
After the hemp is pulled, it must be taken in large handfuls, cutting off the roots (though this is not absolutely necessary), the leaves, seeds, and lateral branches, being dressed off with a wooden sword or ripple. It is then to be made up into bundles of twelve handfuls each, in order to be steeped, like flax, in water. This, or something similar, is absolutely necessary, in order to separate the bark; which is properly the hemp, from the reed or woody part. In Suffolk this operation is called water-retting; but sometimes a mere exposure to the air is substituted in its place, turning the hemp frequently during the time it is exposed. This is called dew-retting; but the former method is universally deemed preferable. Such hemp as is designed for seed is seldom water-retted, though in the opinion of the manufacturer already quoted, it would be better if it were so. Dew-retted hemp is generally stacked and covered during the winter: in January and February it is spread upon meadow land, and whitens with the frost and snow; though it is always much inferior to the other, and proper for coarser yarns only.
The length of time required for steeping hemp is various, and a complete knowledge of it can only be attained by practice. In Suffolk it is usual to continue the immersion, four, five, or six days; standing water is preferred, and the same water will steep hemp three times during the season, but the first has always the best colour. The abbé Brulle prefers clear and running water, especially if overhung with trees. The bundles are to be laid crosswise upon each other, taking particular notice of the manner in which they lie when put in, that they may be taken out without difficulty. His time of steeping is from six to eleven days; and here we must observe, that it is much better to let it remain too long in the water than too short a time. The slenderest hemp requires the most soaking. The operation is known to be finished by the reed separating easily from the bark.
After the hemp is thoroughly steeped, the next operation is to separate the bark from the reed or woody part; and this may be done in two ways, viz. either pulling out the reed from every stalk with the hand, or drying and breaking it like flax. The abbé Brulle is very particular in his directions for this last operation, which he calls reeding, and which may be performed either in a trough under water or upon a table. The whole, however, may be reduced to the following, viz. pressing down the bundles either in the trough or on a table by proper weights, to keep the hemp steady in the middle and top end. Then beginning at the upper parts of the bundle, pull out the reeds one by one. As you proceed, the rind which remains will press closely upon the remaining unreeded hemp, and keep it more steady; so that you may take two, four, or even six stalks, at a time. The weight is then to be removed from the top, and all the pieces of reed which remain there having broken off in the former operation, are to be taken out. Lastly, the middle weight is to be taken off, and any small pieces which remain there taken out. If the reeding is performed on a table, the bundle must be weeded frequently, though slightly; a continual dropping of water would perhaps be the best method.
After the hemp is reeded, it must next be freed from the mucilaginous matter with which it still abounds. This is done by pouring water through it, squeezing out the liquid after every infusion, but taking care not to let the threads twist or entangle each other, which they will be very apt to do. The abbé is of opinion, that soft soap should be dissolved in the last water, in the proportion of an ounce to three pounds of dry hemp; which though not absolutely necessary, contributes much to the softening and rendering the hemp easy and pleasant to dress.
Hemp is broken by machinery, after being steeped, in a manner similar to flax; but the instruments used for this purpose in Suffolk are all worked by the hand. That which breaks in the operation is called shorts, and is about half the value of the long hemp. The best water-retted hemp sells for about 8s. 6d. per stone; the other kind from one to two shillings lower.
Beating of hemp is the next operation, which formerly was performed entirely by hand, but now in most places by a water-mill, which raises three heavy beaters that fall upon it alternately; the hemp being turned all the while by a boy in order to receive the strokes equally. The finer it is required to make the tow, the more beating is necessary. It is then dressed or combed by drawing it through heckles formed like the combs of wool manufacturers, only fixed. Sometimes it is divided into two or three sorts of tow, and sometimes the whole is worked together into one sort; the prices varying from 6d. to 1s. per pound.
The hemp thus manufactured is sold to spinners, who reel their yarn as follows:
| 2 yards make | 1 thread. | |--------------|----------| | 40 threads | 1 lea. | | 20 leas | 1 skain. | | 3 skains | 1 clue of 4800 yards. |
It is next delivered to the bleachers, who return it bleached on receiving 20 or 21 clues for every 120 bleached. The prices of the hemp-yarn are as follow:
| 1 clue from a pound | 7d. or 6½d. | |---------------------|-------------| | 1½ from do. | 8½d. or 8d. | | 2 from do. | 9½d. or 9d. | | 2½ from do. | 10½d. or 10d. | | 3 from do. | 12d. |
Chinese Hemp, a species of cannabis, of which an account is given in the 72d volume of the Philosophical Transactions, p. 46. In that paper Mr Fitzgerald, vice-president of the society for encouraging arts, mentions his having received the seeds from the late Mr Elliot; which being sown, according to his directions, produced plants 14 feet high, and nearly seven inches in circumference. These being pulled up in November, and steeped for a fortnight in water, were placed against a southern wall to dry. After this the hemp was found to separate easily from the woody part; and so great was the produce, that 32 plants yielded three pounds and a quarter. In consequence of this success, Mr Fitzgerald applied to the directors of the India Company to procure some of the seeds from China; which being complied with, the society were furnished, in 1785, with some more of the seeds, which were distributed. but to several of the members; but, notwithstanding their endeavours, few of the plants appear to have ripened their seeds in this country. Two of the species of hemp, tried by the duke of Northumberland, rose to the height of 14 feet seven inches, and would have been much larger, had they not been hurt by a high wind: another kind arose only to that of three feet and a half, the stem about the size of a common wheat straw; but though it flowered well, did not produce any seed. These kinds were sown in a hot-bed where the heat was very strong, on the 14th of April. They appeared above ground in four days, and were transplanted into pots on the 25th. They were then put under a hot-bed frame where the heat had been gone off, to harden them for the natural ground, in which they were planted on the 30th, by turning them whole out of the pots; letting them, three together, be planted at two feet distance every way; covering them at times for about ten days, until they were supposed to be rooted. Only a few seeds were preserved from plants which had been kept constantly in a stove.
Other trials were attended with little better success; but, in 1789, the Rev. Dr Hinton of Northwold near Brandon, made a successful experiment with some seeds he received from the secretary of the society. They were sown on the 17th of May, and appeared on the 6th of June. The plants were few and sickly; and notwithstanding some fine showers, they continued to languish so much that the experiment was entirely abandoned, and buckwheat was harrowed into the ground for a fallow crop. In the beginning of October, however, the persons employed in cutting the buckwheat discovered some seed in the heads of a few straggling hemp plants which had been suffered to grow in the crop; which being carefully threshed, afforded three pints of seed tolerably bright and heavy. These seeds were sown on the 10th of May 1787. On the 19th they appeared above the ground numerous and healthy. The male hemp was drawn on the 13th of August, but the female not till the 9th of October; the spot on which the plants were sown measured only 322 square yards, and produced of marketable hemp no less than 95 stone 7 pounds 12 ounces; being upwards of one-third more than the best crops of English hemp are ever known to produce. Thus it appeared, that the seeds of the Chinese hemp had retained their superiority over those of the English; though how long they would continue to do so cannot be determined but by experience. From this experiment Dr Hinton received a silver medal from the society. Few of the seeds either of Chinese, or any other hemp, will vegetate if two years old at the time of sowing; and to this circumstance the doctor attributes the failure of other trials of Chinese hemp.
**Hemp Agrimony**, a species of eupatorium. See Eupatorium, Botany Index.
**Hempstead**, a town of Hertfordshire in England, in a hilly country, upon a small river called the Gade, and 20 miles north-west of London. It was, in the time of the Saxons, called by the name of Henamsted, or Hean-Hemsted, i.e. High-Hemstead; in William the Conqueror's time, by the name of Hemelamstede. Henry VIII. incorporated this village by the name of a bailiff; and he empowered the inhabitants to have a common seal, and a pye-powder court during its market and fairs. It has been reckoned one Hempstead of the greatest markets for wheat in this county, if not in England. Eleven pair of mills stand within four miles of the place, which produce a great trade. Population 3240 in 1811.
**Hemscherck, Egbert**, called the Old, a celebrated Flemish painter of humorous conversations, of whom, though so universally known, we have no information as to the time in which he flourished, or the school in which he was taught. Though the taste of his compositions is but low, yet it ought to be considered that he took his subjects from nature; from persons in the meanest occupations, whose dress, actions, and manners, could not furnish the imagination with any ideas of elegance; and to express their passions and undisguised humours, seems to have been the utmost of his ambition. By frequenting fairs, merry-meetings, gaming-houses, and inns, he acquired a surprising power of connecting humorous circumstances. He designed and drew correctly, and his pictures have a strong effect from his accurate management of the chiaro oscuro. Some of his pictures have suffered from unskilful cleaners, and many things are sold as his which dishonour him; but his genuine works, well preserved, have a clearness and force equal to any of the Flemish artists.
**Hen. See Phasianus, Ornithology Index.**
**Guinea-Hen. See Numida, Ornithology Index.**
**Hen-Bane. See Hyoscyamus, Botany and Materia Medica Index.**
**Hen-Harrier. See Falco, Ornithology Index.**
**Hen-Mould Soil**, in Agriculture, a term used by the husbandmen in Northamptonshire, and other counties, to express a black, hollow, spongy, and mouldering earth, usually found at the bottom of hills. It is an earth much fitter for grazing than for corn, because it will never settle close enough to the grain to keep it sufficiently steady while it is growing up, without which, the farmers observe, it either does not grow well; or, if it seem to thrive, as it will in some years, the growth is rank, and yields much straw, but little ear. It is too moist, and to that is principally to be attributed this rankness of the crop in some years; and the occasion of its retaining so much moisture is, that it usually has a bed of stiff clay, which will not let the water run off into the under strata.
In some places they also give this name to a black, rich, and dense earth, with streaks of a whitish mould in many parts. This sort of hen-mould is usually found very rich and fertile.
**Henault, Charles John Francis**, an ingenious French writer, was the son of John Remi Henault lord of Moussy, and was born at Paris in 1685. He early discovered a sprightly benevolent disposition, and his penetration and aptness soon distinguished itself by the success of his studies. Claude de Lisle, father of the celebrated geographer, gave him the same lessons in geography and history which he had before given to the duke of Orleans, afterwards regent; and which have been printed in seven volumes, under the title of "Abridgement of Universal History." On quitting college, Henault entered the Oratory, where he soon attached himself to the study of eloquence; and, on the death of the abbé Rene, reformer of La Trappe, he undertook to pronounce his panegyric; which not meet- Henault, ing the approbation of Father Massillon, he quitted the Oratory after two years, and his father bought for him, Mareschal Villeroy, the "lieutenant des chasses," and the government of Corbeil. At the marshal's he formed connexions, and even intimate friendships, with many of the nobility, and passed the early part of his life in agreeable amusements, and in the liveliest company, without having his religious sentiments tainted. He associated with the wits till the dispute between Rousseau and de la Motte soon gave him a disgust for these trifling societies. In 1707, he gained the prize of eloquence at the French academy; and another next year at the academy des Jeux Floraux. About this time M. Reaumur, who was his relation, came to Paris, and took lessons in geometry under the same master, Guinée. Henault introduced him to the abbé Bignon, and this was the first step of his illustrious course. In 1713 he brought a tragedy on the stage, under the disguised name of Fuselier. As he was known to the public only by some slighter pieces, "Cornelia the Vestal" met with no better success. He therefore locked it up without printing. In his old age his passion for these subjects reviving, and Mr Horace Walpole being at Paris in 1768, and having formed a friendship with him as one of the most amiable men of his nation, obtained this piece, and had it printed at his own press. In 1751 M. Henault, under a borrowed name, brought out a second tragedy, intitled, "Marius," which was well received and printed. He had been admitted counsellor in parliament in 1706, with a dispensation on account of age; and in 1710 president of the first chamber of inquests. These important places, which he determined to fill in a becoming manner, engaged him in the most solid studies. The excellent work of M. Domat charmed him, and made him eager to go back to the fountain head. He spent several years in making himself master of the Roman law, the ordinances of the French kings, their customs, and public law. M. de Morville, procureur-general of the great council, being appointed ambassador to the Hague in 1718, engaged M. Henault to accompany him. His personal merit soon introduced him to the acquaintance of the most eminent personages at that time there. The grand pensionary, Heinsius, who, under the exterior of Lacedaemonian simplicity, kept up all the haughtiness of that people, lost with him all that hauteur which France itself had experienced from him in the negotiations of the treaty of Utrecht. The agitation which all France felt by Law's system, and the consequent sending of the parliament into exile, was a trial to the wise policy of the president Henault. His friendship for the first president, De Mesnes, led him to second all the views of that great magistrate; he took part in all the negotiations, and was animated purely by the public good, without any private advantage. On the death of the cardinal du Bois, in 1732, he succeeded in his place at the French academy. Cardinal Fleury recommended him to succeed himself as director, and he pronounced the eloge of M. de Malezieux.
History was M. Henault's favourite study: not a bare collection of dates, but a knowledge of the laws and manners of nations; to obtain which he drew instruction from private conversations, a method he so strongly recommends in his preface. After having thus discussed the most important points of our public law, he undertook to collect and publish the result of his inquiries, and he is deservedly accounted the first framer of chronological abridgements: in which, without stepping at detached facts, he attends only to those which form a chain of events that perfect or alter the government and character of a nation, and traces only the springs which exalt or humble a nation, extending or contracting the space it occupies in the world. His work has had the fortune of those literary phenomena, where novelty and merit united excite minds eager after glory, and fire the ardour of young writers to press after a guide whom few can overtake. The first edition of the work, the result of 40 years' reading, appeared in 1744, under the auspices of the chancellor Daguiseau, with the modest title of an Essay. The success it met with surprised him. He made continual improvements in it, and it has gone through nine editions, and been translated into Italian, English, and German, and even into Chinese. As the best writings are not secure from criticism, and are indeed the only ones that deserve it, the author read to the academy of Belles Lettres a defence of his abridgement. All the ages and events of the French monarchy being present to his mind, and his imagination and memory being a vast theatre wherein he beheld the different movements and parts of the actors in the several revolutions, he determined to give a specimen of what passed in his own mind, and to reduce into the form of a regular drama one of the periods of French history, the reign of Francis II., which, though happy only by being short, appeared to him one of the most important by its consequences, and most easy to be confined within the stage bounds. His friend the chancellor highly approved the plan, and wished it to be printed. It accordingly went through five editions; the harmony of dates and facts is exactly observed in it, and the passions interested without offence to historic truth.
In 1755, he was chosen an honorary member of the academy of Belles Lettres, being then a member of the academies of Nancy, Berlin, and Stockholm. The queen appointed him superintendent of her house. His natural sprightliness relieved her from the serious attendance on his private morning lectures. The company of persons most distinguished by their wit and birth, a table more celebrated for the choice of the guests than its delicacies, the little comedies suggested by wit, and executed by reflections, united at his house all the pleasures of an agreeable and innocent life. All the members of this ingenious society contributed to render it agreeable, and the president was not behind any. He composed three comedies: La Petite Matron, La Jalousie de Soi même, and La Reveil d'Epinard. The subject of the last was the Cretan philosopher, who is pretended to have slept 27 years. He is introduced fancying that he had slept but one night, and astonished at the change in the age of all around him; he mistakes his mistress for his mother; but discovering his mistake, offers to marry her, which she refuses, though he still continues to love her. The queen was particularly pleased with this piece. She ordered the president to restore the philosopher's mistress to her former youth: he introduced Hebe, and this episode produced an agreeable entertainment. He was now in such favour with her majesty, that on the place of superintendent becoming vacant by the death of M. Bernard de Conbert. Henley master of requests, and the sum he had paid for it being lost to his family, Henault solicited it in favour of several persons, till at last the queen bestowed it on himself, and consented that he should divide the profits with his predecessor's widow. On the queen's death he held the same place under the dauphiness.
A delicate constitution made him liable to much illness; which, however, did not interrupt the serenity of his mind. He made several journeys to the waters of Plombières: in one of these he visited the deposed king Stanislaus at Luneville; and in another accompanied his friend the marquis de Pauliny, ambassador to Switzerland. In 1763 he drew near his end. One morning, after a quiet night, he felt an oppression, which the faculty pronounced a suffocating cough. His confessor being sent to him, he formed his resolution without alarm. He has since said, that he recollected having then said to himself, "What do I regret?" and called to mind that saying of Madame de Sevigne, "I leave here only dying creatures." He received the sacraments. It was believed the next night would be his last; but by noon next day he was out of danger. "Now (said he) I know what death is. It will not be new to me any more." He never forgot it during the following seven years of his life, which, like all the rest, were gentle and calm. Full of gratitude for the favours of providence, resigned to its decrees, offering to the Author of his being a pure and sincere devotion; he felt his infirmities without complaining, and perceived a gradual decay with unabated firmness. He died Dec. 24, 1771, in his 86th year. He married in 1714 a daughter of M. le Bas de Montargis keeper of the royal treasure, &c. who died in 1723 without leaving any issue.
**Hendecagon**, in Geometry, a figure having eleven sides and as many angles.
**Hened-penny**, in our old writers, a customary payment of money, instead of hens at Christmas. It is mentioned in a charter of King Edward III. Mon. Angl. tom. ii. p. 327. Du Cange is of opinion it may be hen-penny, gallinagium, or a composition for eggs; but Cowell thinks it is misprinted hened-penny for head-penny or headpenny.
**Heniochas**, or Heniochus, a northern constellation, the same as Auriga.
**Henley**, a town of Oxfordshire in England, seated on the river Thames, over which there is a handsome bridge. It sends malt, corn, and other things, to London in barges. W. Long. o. 40. N. Lat. 51. 34.
**Henley**, a town of Warwickshire in England, seated on the river Alne, in W. Long. o. 40. N. Lat. 52. 18.
**Henley**, John, better known by the appellation of Orator Henley, a very singular character, was born at Melton-Mowbray, Leicestershire, in 1691. His father, the Rev. Simon Henley, and his grandfather by his mother's side (John Dowel, M. A.), were both vicars of that parish. Having passed his exercises at Cambridge, and his examination for the degree of B. A. with the particular approbation of Mr Field, Mr Smales, and the master of the college, he returned to his native place, where he was first desired by the trustees of the school in Melton to assist in, and then—to take the direction of, that school; which he increased and raised from a declining to a flourishing condition. He established here a practice of improving elocution by the public speaking of passages in the classics, morning and afternoon, as well as orations, &c. Here he was invited by a letter from the Rev. Mr Newcombe to be a candidate for a fellowship in St John's; but as he had long been absent, and therefore lessened his personal interest, he declined appearing for it. Here likewise he began his "Universal Grammar," and finished ten languages, with dissertations prefixed, as the most ready introduction, to any tongue whatever. In the beginning of this interval he wrote his poem on "Esther," which was approved by the town, and well received. He was ordained a deacon by Dr Wake, then bishop of Lincoln; and after having taken his degree of M. A. was admitted to priest's orders by Dr Gibson, his successor at that see. He formed an early resolution to improve himself in all the advantages of books and conversation the most effectually, on the first opportunity, at London. But he laid the basis of future proficiency in assisting at the curacy of his native town; where he preached many occasional sermons, particularly one at the assizes at Leicester; he then gave a voluntary warning for the choice of a new master and curate, and came to town recommended by above 30 letters from the most considerable men in the country, both of the clergy and laity; but against the inclination of his neighbours and his school, which was now, as from his first entrance upon it, still advancing: and his method being established and approved, one of his own scholars was appointed to succeed him.—In town he published several pieces, as a translation of Pliny's Epistles, of several works of Abbé Vertot, of Montfaucon's Italian Travels in folio, and many other learnings. His most generous patron was the earl of Macclesfield, who gave him a benefice in the country, the value of which to a resident would have been above 80l. a year; he had likewise a lecture in the city; and preached more charity sermons about town, was more numerously followed, and raised more for the poor children, than any other preacher, however dignified or distinguished. But when he pressed his desire and promise from a great man of being fixed in town, it passed in the negative. He took the people (it seems) too much from their parish-churches; and as he was not so proper for a London divine, he was very welcome, notwithstanding all difficulties, to be a rural pastor. But it was not for a second rustication, as he informs us, that he left the fields and the swains of Arcadia to visit the great city: and as he knew it was Tramontana as lawful to take a license from the king and parliament as at Hicks's-hall as at Doctors Commons (since the ministerial powers of this kingdom are and ought to be parliamentary only), he freely, without compulsion, or being desired or capable of being compelled to reside in the country, gave up his benefice and lecture, certainties for an uncertainty; believing the public would be a more hospitable protector of learning and science, than some of the upper world in his own order.
Mr Henley, in answer to a evil (that he borrowed from books), proposed, "that if any person would single out any celebrated discourse of an approved writer, dead or living, and point out what he thought excellent in it, and the reasons; he would submit it to the world, whether the most famed composition might not Henley be surpassed in their own excellency, either on that or any different subject."
Henley preached on Sundays upon theological matters, and on Wednesdays upon all other sciences. He declaimed some years against the greatest persons, and occasionally, says Warburton, did Pope that honour.
The poet in return thus blazons him to infamy:
But where each science lifts its modern type, History her pot, Divinity his pipe, While proud Philosophy repines to show, Dishonest sight! his breeches rent below; Imbrown'd with native bronze, lo Henley stands, Tuning his voice, and balancing his hands. How fluent nonsense trickles from his tongue! How sweet the periods, neither said nor sung! Still break the benches, Henley! with thy strain, While Kennet, Hare, and Gibson preach in vain. O great restorer of the good old stage, Preacher at once and zany of thy age! O worthy thou of Egypt's wise abodes, A decent priest where monkeys were the gods! But Fate with butchers plac'd thy priestly stall, Meek modern faith to murder, hack, and maul: And bade thee live to crown Britannia's praise, In Toland's, Tindal's, and in Woolston's days."
This extraordinary person (who died October 14, 1736) struck medals, which he dispersed as tickets to his subscribers: a star rising to the meridian, with this motto, Ad summa; and below, Inveniam viam aut faciam. Each auditor paid 1s. He was author of a weekly paper called the Hyp Doctor, for which he had 100l. a-year. Henley used every Saturday to print an advertisement in the Daily Advertiser, containing an account of the subjects he intended to discourse on the ensuing evening at his oratory near Lincoln's-inn-fields, with a sort of motto before it, which was generally a sneer at some public transaction of the preceding week. Dr Cobden, one of Geo. II.'s chaplains, having, in 1748, preached a sermon at St James's from these words, "Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness;" it gave so much displeasure, that the Doctor was struck out of the list of chaplains; and the next Saturday the following parody of his text appeared as a motto to Henley's advertisement:
Away with the wicked before the king, And away with the wicked behind him; His throne it will bless With righteousness, And we shall know where to find him."
His audience was generally composed of the lowest ranks; and it is well known that he even collected an infinite number of shoe-makers, by announcing that he could teach them a speedy mode of operation in their business, which proved only to be, the making of shoes by cutting off the tops of ready-made boots.