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of the Hessian dynasty are the landgraves of Hesse-Philippsthal, of Barchfeld, and of HesseRheinfels-Rothenburg.

HESSE-CASSEL (Germ. Kurhessen), a German electorate, bounded by Hanover, Prussian Saxony, Weimar, Bavaria, Nassau, Hesse-Darmstadt, Waldeck, and Westphalia; area, 4,420 sq. m.; pop. in 1856, 736,392. The most populous province is that of Lower Hesse, which comprises the county of Schaumburg. The other provinces are Upper Hesse, Fulda, and Hanau. The country is hilly, and the soil generally not fertile, except in Fulda. Among the principal mountains are branches of the Thuringian forest (on which Schmalkalden, a detached possession of Hesse-Cassel, is situated), the Spessart, the Rhön, the Hundsrück, the Wesergebirge, and the Vogelsgebirge. The principal rivers are the Werra, Fulda, Weser, Lahn, and Main. The climate is temperate; mildest on the banks of the last named river, and most rigorous on the summit of the Rhön. Grain, especially buckwheat, is produced, with potatoes, pulse, large quantities of flax, some hemp and tobacco, chicory, fruit, a small amount of wine, and much timber. The mineral productions are copper, iron, quicksilver, cobalt, salt (from numerous saline springs), saltpetre, vitriol, alum; also coal, marble, white alabaster, porcelain clay, potters' earth, pipe clay, &c. The principal manufactures are linen, flannel, carpets, silks, velvets, jewelry, cotton, paper, musical instruments, chemical products, beet root sugar, tobacco, wooden ware, &c. Schmalkalden manufactures almost all the steel and iron of the country; and Grossalmerode is noted for its pottery and crucibles. The manufacturing industry has much increased since 1832, when Hesse-Cassel joined the Zollverein. The Weser and Main are navigable, and for smaller vessels also the Werra and Fulda. Commerce is carried on by these rivers, and by the railways which connect the country with the other portions of Germany. Hesse-Cassel possesses many educational institutions, the principal of which is the university of Marburg. A large proportion of the population are connected with the Reformed church, but there are about 160,000 Lutherans, 100,000 Roman Catholics (under the bishop of Fulda), 15,000 Jews (emancipated since 1833), and 270 Mennonites. The dialects spoken are low German along the banks of the Diemel, Hessian high German on those of the Werra and Fulda, and Rhenish high German on the Lahn and Kinzig. The principal towns are Hanau and the capital, Cassel.-Hesse-Cassel occupies the 8th place in the German confederation, and has 3 votes in the general assembly. The revenue and expenditures for the 3 years from 1858 to 1860 are estimated respectively at about 5,000,000 Prussian thalers. The public debt amounts to about 11,000,000, chiefly for railways. The army comprises about 15,000 men. The theory of government is that of a constitutional monarchy. The sovereign retains the old title of elector or prince elector (Kurfürst). His dignity is hereditary,

with exclusion of females. He is assisted by a council of ministers, who are responsible. The people are represented in two chambers.-HesseCassel is the elder branch of the Hesse dynasty, and was founded by the eldest son of Philip the Generous, the landgrave William IV., surnamed the Wise (1567 to 1592). His grandson, William V., took part in the 30 years' war, and his widow obtained, after the restoration of peace, the greater part of Schaumburg and other territory. William VII. was succeeded in 1670 by his brother Charles, while another brother, Philip, founded the branch of Hesse-Philippsthal. Charles's eldest son became, by his marriage with Ulrike Eleonore, king of Sweden in 1720. In 1730 he assumed the government of his native country as Frederic Ï., and was succeeded in 1751 by his brother William VIII., who fought in the 7 years' war on the side of Prussia. His son, the notorious Frederic II., became a convert to the church of Rome, and between 1776 and 1784, received over £3,000,000 by hiring his soldiers to the English government to fight against the Americans in the war of independence. He died in 1785, and was succeeded by his son William IX., who after 1803, when he was raised to the rank of an elector, reigned under the name of William I. Although recognized by Napoleon as one of the neutral princes in 1806, he was expelled from his possessions after the battle of Jena, and Hesse-Cassel was incorporated with the kingdom of Westphalia. On his return to power in 1813, he restored the old order of things. He is identified with the rise of the Rothschilds. During the Napoleonic wars he deposited his large property with Mayer Amschel Rothschild, a Jewish money-changer of Frankfort, who acquitted himself of this trust with so much skill and honesty, that the prince afterward afforded him facilities which, together with the peculiar financial tact of the elder Rothschild, laid the foundation of the great wealth and influence of his house. This same prince was the father of the notorious Austrian general Haynau, by his mistress Frau von Lindenthal. He was not popular with his subjects. On his death in 1821 he was succeeded by his son, the elector William II., whose relation with his subjects became seriously complicated by his connection with the obnoxious countess of Reichenbach. Riots broke out in 1830. The countess left Cassel, and on Jan. 9, 1831, the elector promulgated the long promised liberal constitution. On the return of the countess fresh disturbances arose, which incensed the elector to such an extent that he also left Cassel. He retired to Frankfort, where after the death of his legitimate wife (1841), the electress Auguste, he contracted a morganatic marriage with his mistress, and, 6 months after her decease in Feb. 1843, with Karoline von Berlepsch. On his death in 1847 he was succeeded by his son, who had officiated as regent after his departure from Cassel, and who assumed the sovereignty under the name

of Frederic William I. (born Aug. 20, 1802; married to Gertrude, princess of Hanau, countess of Schaumburg). The heir apparent to his throne is his son Frederic William, born Nov. 18, 1832. Yielding in 1848 to the revolutionary demand for political reforms, but retracing his steps after the reaction had set in, he gave great dissatisfaction to the people, especially in 1850, when the unpopular minister Hassenpflug came into power as premier, and Haynau, a nephew of the Austrian general, as minister of war. So great became the excitement of the people that the elector sought refuge in flight, and Hassenpflug saw no other means of saving the crown than by invoking the aid of the other German powers. By their military interference quiet was restored, and by their negotiation a new constitution was promulgated in 1852, which however met with much opposition on account of its illiberality. After protracted agitations on the subject, a proposal in favor of the reëstablishment of the old constitution was presented to the electors by a vote of the second chamber, Nov. 5, 1859. During the war excitement in 1859, the chambers unanimously voted to join the Austrians against Napoleon III.

HESSE-DARMSTADT, a German grand duchy, consisting of two large portions, separated by a long strip of land extending from E. to W., which belongs to Hesse-Cassel and to the free city of Frankfort. The N. portion is bounded W. by Nassau and Prussia, and N. E. and S. by Hesse-Cassel; the S. portion is bounded N. by Nassau, Frankfort, and Hesse-Cassel, E. by Bavaria, S. by Baden, S. W. by Rhenish Bavaria, and W. by Prussia. Area, 3,231 sq. m.; pop. in 1859, 845,571, of whom about 218,000 are Roman Catholics, 29,000 Jews, and the rest Protestants. It is divided into 3 provinces, Upper Hesse, Starkenburg, and Rhenish Hesse. The principal mountains are the Odenwald and the Vogelsgebirge. The Vogelsgebirge is a volcanic mass, occupying with its branches about 400 sq. m. The country is also traversed by branches of the Westerwald, Taunus, &c. The chief rivers are the Rhine, Main, Nahe, Nidda, and Lahn. HesseDarmstadt is one of the best cultivated agricultural countries in Germany. Offenbach, near Frankfort, is the chief manufacturing town. Mentz is the great emporium for the corn, wine, and transit trade. Darmstadt is the capital. The grand duchy possesses many railways and excellent public roads. It occupies the 9th rank in the German confederation, has 3 votes in the full and one in the minor council, and furnishes a contingent of 6,195 men; in 1859 the whole army comprised 10,621 men.-The government is a constitutional monarchy. The grand duke, who bears the title of Grossherzog con Hessen und bei Rhein, is assisted by a council of state and a cabinet, which consists of the premier or president (who is at the same time minister of the grand ducal household), of the minister of the interior and of foreign affairs, and

of the ministers of justice, finance, and war. The legislature is composed of two chambers. The annual receipts and expenditures amount respectively, according to the budget of 1857-'9, to about $400,000. The public debt of $7,000,000 comprises about $5,000,000 due for railways and loans made in 1857 and 1859. The grand duchy possesses 1,600 elementary, 6 primary, and 2 normal schools, 7 gymnasia and Pada gogien, 2 Protestant divinity schools, an academy for studies relating to woods and forests, many other private educational institutions, and the famous university of Giessen.-The line of Hesse-Darmstadt was founded in 1567 by George L., youngest son of Philip the Generous. The war of succession with Hesse-Cassel which broke out under the reign of his successor, Louis V. the Faithful, continued to rage during that of his son George II. (1626-'61), but was brought to a close in 1647 by the cession of Marburg and other contested localities in exchange for Giessen and other territory. During the French revolution much territory was lost, which was more than regained by the treaty of Luneville in 1801. Louis X. (born 1753, died 1830), joined the confederation of the Rhine, adopting as grand duke the name of Louis I., obtained from Napoleon still further accessions of territory, caused his troops to act against Austria in 1809 and in concert with the French in 1813, but joined the allies after the battle of Leipsic, on condition of being left in possession of his newly acquired territory. In 1815 he joined the German confederation, and made large cessions on the right bank of the Rhine to Prussia and other states, but obtained valuable possessions on the left bank of that river, including Mentz and Bingen. In 1828 the grand duke joined the Prussian customs union, by which he gave the first impulse to the formation of a more general union, which culminated eventually in the Zollverein. Soon after the death of Louis I. and the accession of Louis II., riots were produced by the French revolution of 1830, which were quelled by the army. The revolution of 1848 extorted from the grand duke the concession of the trial by jury. He appointed his son as co-regent, March 5, 1848. He died June 16, and his son, the present grand duke Louis III., succeeded.

HESSE-HOMBURG, a German landgraviate, consisting of the province of Homburg, which is surrounded by the territory of Nassau, Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Cassel, and Frankfort, and of the more populous province of Meissenheim, which lies between Rhenish Prussia, the Bavarian Palatinate, and the Oldenburg principality of Birkenfeld; total area, 106 sq. m.; pop. in 1859, about 25,000, of whom 3,000 are Roman Catholics, about 200 Jews, and the rest Protestants. The country produces grain, cattle, and timber in abundance, also iron and coal in Meissenheim. The woollen, linen, and other goods manufactured there are chiefly destined for the Frankfort market. The landgrave (since 1848, Ferdinand) owns extensive estates in various parts of Germany. The public debt is

$500,000. The expenditures in 1858 were $200,000, $25,000 more than the receipts. A large amount is annually received from the gambling tables at the watering place of Homburg, the capital. The attempts made by the Frankfort parliament in 1849 to close them by force of arms were set at naught as soon as the troops had left, and gambling has since been resumed with great spirit. Hesse-Homburg has one vote in the full council of the German confederation, to which it contributes a contingent of 333 men. It belonged formerly to HesseDarmstadt, and became an independent territory in 1596, when it was allotted to Frederic I. by his father George I. In 1815 Meissenheim was added to its territory. In 1830 disturbances broke out consequent upon the French revolution. In 1835 the landgrave joined the Zollverein. A liberal constitution was promulgated after the revolution of 1848, but withdrawn in 1852. The present landgrave, Ferdinand, is childless, and after his death Hesse-Homburg will again revert to Hesse-Darmstadt.

HESSIAN FLY, a small gnat or midge, of the order diptera, faunily cecidomyiada or gall gnats, and genus cecidomyia (Latr.). It was called Hessian fly from the supposition that it was brought to this country in some straw by the Hessian troops during the revolutionary war; it was first scientifically described in 1817 by Mr. Say as cecidomyia destructor. The body of the insect is about of an inch in length, and the expanse of wings of an inch or more; the head, antennæ, thorax, and feet are black; the hind body is tawny, marked with black on each ring, and with fine grayish hairs; the wings are blackish, tawny at the narrow base, fringed with short hairs, and rounded at the tip; the legs pale red or brownish; the egg tube of the female rose-colored. The antennæ are long, with bead-like swellings most distinct in the male, surrounded by whorls of short hairs, with 15 to 18 joints, globular in the male, oblong oval in the female; the proboscis is short, without piercing bristles; eyes kidney-shaped; legs long and slender, with the first joint of the feet short; and the wings with few veins. This insect, so destructive in some seasons in the fields of wheat, barley, and rye, generally matures 2 broods in the course of a year, appearing in spring and autumn, earliest in the southern states; the transformations of some are retarded in various ways, so that their life from the egg to the perfect insect may be a year or more, rendering the continuance of the species in after years more sure. The eggs, about of an inch long, translucent, and pale red, are placed in the longitudinal creases of the leaves of both winter and spring wheat very soon after the plants are above the ground, to the number of 20, 30, or more on a leaf; if the weather be warm, they are hatched in 4 or 5 days, and the larva, small footless maggots, tapering at each end, and of a pale red color, crawl down the leaf and fix themselves between it and the main stalk, just below the surface of

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the ground, there remaining head downward till their transformations are completed, nourished by the juices of the plant, which they obtain by suction. Two or three larvæ thus placed will cause the plant to wither and die. In about 6 weeks they attain their full size, of an inch in length, when the skin gradually hardens and becomes of a bright chestnut color, about the 1st of December in the autumn brood, and in June or July in the spring brood. In the beginning of this, the pupa state, they look like flax seed; in 2 or 3 weeks the insect within becomes detached from the leathery skin, and lies loosely in it, a motionless grub; within this it gradually advances toward the winged state about tho end of April or beginning of May, according to the warmth of the weather. When mature, it breaks through this case, enveloped in a delicate skin, which soon splits on the back, setting the perfect insect at liberty. Many of those laid by the spring brood are left in the stubble, and remain unchanged until the following spring; some, however, do not get so low on the stalk as to be out of the way of the sickle, and thus with the straw may be transported long distances, and might have been brought in the flaxseed state across the Atlantic from Europe. The perfect insects, though small, are active and able to fly considerable distances in search of fields of grain. The insect supposed to be the Hessian fly, which Miss Morris found laying its eggs in the seeds of wheat instead of on the leaves, she afterward ascertained to be another species, which she called C. culmicola. This destructive insect was not known to exist in America before the revolution, and was first observed in 1776 on Staten island, near the place of debarkation of the Hessian troops under the command of Sir William Howe; thence it spread to Long island, southern New York, and Connecticut, proceeding inland at the rate of about 20 miles a year; it was seen at Saratoga, 200 miles from Staten island, in 1789, and west of the Alleghanies in 1797; so great was the destruction, that the cultivation of wheat was abandoned in many places. Burning the stubble in wheat, rye, and barley fields, afterward ploughing and harrowing the land, appears to be the best method of getting rid of this insect; steeping the grain, rolling it in plaster or lime, or other methods of securing a rapid and vigorons growth, sowing the fields with wood ashes and feeding off the crop by cattle in the autumn, are useful accessory means. Various minute parasitic insects, of the hymenopterous order, similar in their habits to the ichneumon flies, destroy a very large proportion of every generation of the Hessian fly, preying upon their eggs, larvæ, and pupæ. The insect which commits such depredations on the wheat crops of Great Britain, C. tritici (Kirby), will be described under WHEAT FLY. For details on the history, habits, and transformations of the Hessian fly, the reader is referred to the work of Dr. Harris on "Insects Injurious to Vegetation," and to the numerous authorities cited by him.

HETMAN. See ATTAMAN.

HETTNER, HERMANN JULIUS THEODOR, a German archæologist, born in Leysersdorf, Silesia, in 1821. He studied at Berlin, Heidelberg, Halle, and Breslau, spent 3 years in Italy in the examination of works of art, and became in 1851 professor of æsthetics and of the history of literature and art at Jena. In 1852 he accompanied Göttling and Preller on their journey to Greece, published in 1853 Griechische ReiseSkizzen, and has officiated since 1855 at Dresden as director of the royal museum of antiquities, as professor of art history, and member of the senate of the academy of fine arts.

HEUSDE, PHILIPPUS WILHELMUS, a Dutch philosopher, born in Rotterdam, June 17, 1778, died in Geneva, July 28, 1839. He studied philosophy and law at Amsterdam under Cras and Wyttenbach, following the latter in 1799 to Leyden. He was appointed professor of eloquence and history in the university of Utrecht, and by his reputation and labors raised that institution to a higher position than it ever before occupied.

HEVELIUS (HEVEL, or Hewelcke), JOHANN, a Polish astronomer, born in Dantzic, Jan. 28, 1611, died there, Jan. 28, 1688. He was of noble birth, studied at Leyden, and from 1630 to 1634 travelled in Europe. Returning to Dantzic, he applied himself to drawing and mechanics with a view of improving optical instruments, established in his house a private press from which most of his works were issued, and was chosen councillor in 1651. In 1641 he constructed an observatory, called Stellæburgum, which he provided with instruments chiefly of his own manufacture, that had been surpassed in excellence only by those of Tycho Brahe. In 1679 he was visited by Halley, whom the royal society of London had requested to examine his observations. In that year his observatory was burned down, with his library and many of his manuscripts. He soon rebuilt it, and continued his astronomical pursuits till his death. As an observer he ranked next to Flamsteed among the astronomers of his age. Among his works are: Selenographia (1647); Cometographia (1668); Machina Calestis (1678-'9); Firmamentum Sobiescianum (1690); and Prodromus Astronomiæ (1691).

HEWES, JOSEPH, an American patriot, one of the signers of the declaration of independence, born in Kingston, N. J., in 1730, died in Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 1779. He was educated at Princeton college, and then went to Philadelphia to engage in mercantile business. About 1760 he removed to North Carolina, and settled in Edenton. He soon became a member of the colonial legislature, and in 1774 was sent as a delegate to the general congress at Philadelphia. Soon after taking his seat he was appointed on a committee to "state the rights of the colonies in general, the several instances in which those rights are violated or infringed, and the means most proper to be pursued for obtaining a restoration of them," and

aided in the preparation of its report. The congress adjourned in October, and a new one met in the succeeding May, of which Mr. Hewes was again chosen a member, and served with distinction on many of the most important committees during 1775-'6. In 1777 he declined a reëlection, but resumed his seat in July, 1779.

HEWITT (STEBBINS), MARY ELIZABETH, an American authoress, born in Malden, Mass. Her maiden name was Moore, and she was the daughter of a New England farmer, who died when she was but 3 years old. Her mother then removed with her to Boston, where she remained till soon after her marriage with Mr. James L. Hewitt, when she took up her residence in New York. She is chiefly known by her poetry, which has appeared in different periodicals, and in a collection from these entitled "Songs of our Land" (Boston, 1845). In 1850 she edited the "Gem of the Western World," and the "Memorial," the latter a tribute to her friend Mrs. Frances S. Osgood. Her last work is "The Heroines of History" (1856). In 1854 she was married to Mr. R. Stebbins.

HEXAMETER (Gr. ¿§, six, and μerpov, measure), the heroic verse of the Greeks and Romans, consisting of 6 feet, the last of which must be a spondee, the last but one a dactyl, and the first 4 dactyls and spondees indifferently. The 5th foot is sometimes a spondee, when the verse is termed spondaic. The casural pause occurs near the middle of each verse. The hexameter has been successfully attempted in German, as in the Hermann und Dorothea of Goethe; and Southey, Lockhart, and Longfellow have employed it in English.

HEYDEN, FRIEDRICH AUGUST VON, a German novelist and poet, born near Heilsberg, East Prussia, Sept. 3, 1789, died in Breslau, Nov. 5, 1851. He was educated at the gymnasium and university of Königsberg with a view to state service, but his tastes inclined him to languages, art, and literature; and having determined to devote himself to them, he went first to Berlin, where he attended the lectures of Niebuhr, Wolf, and Fichte, and then to Göttingen. There he made rapid progress, chiefly through his intimacy in the circle of literature which gathered around the intelligent, Dorothea von Rodde, Schlözer's daughter. In 1813 political excitement induced him to enter the army, with which he was in active service until 1815. After the peace he obtained civil employment, married the niece of the author Hippel, and was advanced to the rank of Prussian state councillor. Previous to 1815 he had published his drama Renata, after which he wrote the tragedy Konradin, his "Dramatic Novels," poetical works, and several plays. He formed the plan of writing a series of grand historical poems, which should reproduce the romantic and heroic ages not only of Europe but of India, and the first part of this appeared in Reginald, a work of great merit. He also wrote a great number of small tales and novels, which are less esteemed.

HEYDT, AUGUST VON DER, a Prussian statesman, born in Elberfeld, Feb. 15, 1801. At an early age he visited France and England with a view of familiarizing himself with industrial and commercial affairs. After his return to his native city, he became a member of the banking establishment of his father and of the municipal government. In 1840 he was appointed president of the tribunal of commerce, in 1841 deputy to the diet of the Rhenish provinces, and in 1847 to the general diet. He declined to serve in the German parliament, but accepted, Dec. 4, 1848, the office of minister of commerce, industry, and public works. The improvement in the Prussian postal and telegraphic systems and the extension of railways and public works are mainly due to his energy. The commercial treaties with Sardinia (1850), Holland (1850), Austria (1853), Bremen (1850), and Mexico (1855), were concluded under his auspices. By a law of Feb. 5, 1855, he permitted foreign shipping to participate in the Prussian coasting trade, on condition that the same privilege should be reciprocated by other countries; and the navigation school of Dantzic has been reorganized and a new school of navigation established in Stettin through his influence. He remodelled the system of industrial instruction, which now comprises the ordinary and the provincial industrial schools and the great industrial academy of Berlin, and aims at producing harmony among the various pursuits of mechanics by the reëstablishment of guilds, without interfering, however, with individual enterprise. Mining has greatly advanced under his administration; the production of coal has risen from 23,000,000 tons in 1851 to 34,000,000 in 1855, and the number of forges from 173 in 1852 to 223 in 1855. Joint stock manufacturing companies have received his special patronage, numbering 54 in 1854, with a capital of $40,000,000; and the manufacturing interest of Prussia generally has flourished since his advent to the ministry. Since 1851 he has presided over the bank of Prussia, and contributed much to raise the national importance and the credit of that institution.

HEYLIN, PETER, an English theologian, born in Burford, Oxfordshire, in 1600, died in London, May 8, 1662. He was educated at Oxford, read lectures on history and geography, was made D.D., and in 1629 was nominated, at the request of Laud, one of the chaplains in ordinary to the king. He was a zealous royalist, and in the time of the rebellion his property was confiscated by the parliament, and he himself was obliged to fly to Oxford, where he edited the journal called Mercurius Aulicus till 1645. On the restoration he was appointed sub-dean of Westminster by Charles II. His writings comprise about 37 works, chiefly on church history and polemics.

HEYNE, CHRISTIAN GOTTLOB, a German philologist, born in Chemnitz, Saxony, Sept. 25, 1729, died in Göttingen, July 14, 1812. He studied philology and the classics at Leipsic, and

afterward obtained at Dresden a situation as under secretary in the library of the minister there, with a salary of 400 francs a year. In the library of Dresden he became intimate with Winckelmann, then a young, poor student like himself. In 1763 he was appointed to fill the chair of eloquence and poetry in the university of Göttingen, and he remained connected with that institution till his death. He published his views on the manner of studying the ancient authors in his edition of the Apollodori Bibliotheca (Göttingen, 1782), and in several essays, which appeared in the "Transactions of the University of Göttingen." He was made chief librarian of the library of Gōttingen, perpetual secretary of the royal society, and foreign member of the institute of France. He published editions of Tibullus (Leipsic, 1755), Epictetus (1756), Virgil (1767), Pindar (Göttingen, 1774), Homer (Leipsic, 1802), Diodorus Siculus, and other classic authors. His life has been written by his son-in-law, Heeren.

HEYWOOD, Jonn, an English humorist, born probably at North Mims, near St. Albans, in the early part of the 16th century, died in Mechlin in 1565. He was educated at Oxford, and became a favorite of Henry VIII. and subsequently of Queen Mary, whom he amused by his wit and musical talents. He is the author of a number of "interludes" of a humorous character, the best known of which, perhaps, is "The Four P's," and of a tedious burlesque allegory called "The Spider and the Fly." He also published "Six Centuries of Epigrams," from which he has been called the epigrammist. On the accession of Queen Elizabeth he was obliged to leave England.-THOMAS, an English dramatist, born in Lincolnshire in the latter half of the 16th century, died about 1650. He was educated at Cambridge, and was an actor as well as a writer. In voluminousness he probably exceeds any other English author, having written either the whole or the greater part of 220 plays, of which but 23 survive. Some of them, such as "A Woman Killed with Kindness" and "The Four London Prentices," are not inferior to the productions of Massinger, Ford, and others of his contemporaries. Charles Lamb calls him "a sort of prose Shakespeare."

HEZEKIAH, king of Judah, succeeded his father Ahaz about 728 B. C., when he was 25 years old, died about 699. Following the injunctions of the prophet Isaiah, immediately on his accession he took measures to break up the idolatrous customs into which the people had fallen during the life of his father, and to repair the losses and defeats they had suffered. Early in his reign the Assyrians invaded the neighboring kingdom of Israel, and carried away captive the 10 tribes to distant provinces beyond the Tigris; but notwithstanding the power and threats of the conquerors, Hezekiah refused to acknowledge subjection to Assyria, or to pay the tribute which had been imposed and paid during the reign of his father. In consequence of this, the Assyrian king Sennacherib invaded

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