hack A horse for ordinary riding, as distinguished from crosscountry, military, or other special riding; a saddle-horse for the road. The word implies technically a half-bred horse with more bone and substance than a thoroughbred. Also, a person whose services may be hired for any kind of work required of him; a common drudge.
hackle The long shiny feathers on the neck of certain birds, such as the domestic cock, that rise when the bird is angry. “With the hackles up” means angry or ready to fight.
hackney-coach A four-wheeled coach with seats for six people, drawn by two horses and kept for hire.
hack-watch A watch used when taking observations so as not to disturb the standard chronometer.
haggis A traditional Scottish dish consisting of the heart, lungs, and liver (or sometimes the tripe and chitterlings) of a sheep or calf, minced with suet and oatmeal, seasoned with salt, pepper, onions, etc., and boiled like a large sausage in the stomach of the animal.
haglet A small species of seagull, the KTITIWAKE.
hake An edible fish resembling or related to the common Atlantic cod; also called forkbeard, forked hake.
hakim A Muslim or Indian doctor; a judge, ruler, or governor in a Muslim country or in India.
hale Of a sail, to draw up, HOIST, set. Of a rope, to draw or pull.
half-deck In old ships of war, a deck extending from the MAINMAST AFT, between the then smaller QUARTERDECK and the upper or MAIN DECK. When the two decks above the main deck were reduced to one quarterdeck, “half-deck” survived only in the expression “under the half-deck,” the part of the main deck from the mainmast aft to the quarterdeck, formerly covered by the half-deck. The term was also applied to a deck-house placed aft of the mainmast. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, this was applied to a cabin on the deck of a merchant vessel, accommodating the apprentices.
half-galley A GALLEY of about half the full size.
half-pay officer An officer of the army or navy who receives a reduced allowance—usually half salary—when not in actual service or after retirement at a prescribed time.
halfpenny or ha’penny A coin of either copper or bronze worth half the value of a penny; a sum equivalent to two FARTHINGS.
Haliaetus albicilla The white-tailed eagle, a species of sea eagle.
Halifax A major Canadian seaport and the capital of the province of NOVA SCOTIA, founded by the British in 1749 as a naval base and dockyard.
halliard See HALYARD.
halloo An exclamation to incite dogs to the chase, also to call attention at a distance or to express surprise.
Hallowell, Admiral Benjamin (1760-1834) At the time a Captain, he commanded the Swiftsure at the Battle of the NILE (1798), after which he presented NELSON a coffin made from the MAINMAST of the French FLAGSHIP L’ORIENT. In 1806, Nelson was buried in it.
hallucinating cacti Probably peyote (Lophophora williamsii), found in Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Halte là. Qui vive?... le docteur Ralphe Stop. Who goes there? ... Doctor Ralph (French).
halyard or halliard Originally “haul yard,” a rope or TACKLE used for raising or lowering a sail, YARD, SPAR, or flag.
Hamadryad, H.M.S. A 34-gun fifth-rate named for a tree nymph. Formerly the Matilda, taken from the Spanish in November 1804. Sold in 1815.
hammock A naval hammock usually consisted of a piece of hemp cloth, about six feet long and three feet wide, with several small lines supporting each end, gathered together in a CLEW and slung from the underside of the deck above. It often held a mattress made of flock or wool, but sometimes (and objectionably) of chopped, old clothes.
hammock-cloth A cloth used for covering the hammocks to protect them from wet when stowed in the nettings on the top of the BULWARKS.
hammock-netting Rope nettings along the sides of the upper deck and around the break of the POOP where rolled-up hammocks were stowed. They served as a shield against small arms fire or a flotation device when needed.
hamper A large basket or wickerwork used as a packing-case. Also, objects that are a necessary part of a vessel’s equipment but that are in the way at certain times.
Hampstead Now a part of greater London, Hampstead, in 1810, was a village of about 900 houses and 5,500 inhabitants. During the reign of Henry VIII, the laundry of the nobility was washed in the village. Later its waters made it a spa destination, and eventually it attracted the idle doing the ill-advised. Its chief topographical feature is a large heath reaching nearly 450 feet above sea level. In Post Captain, Aubrey walks on the Heath after attending a ROUT at Lady KEITH’S and is assaulted by a literary mugger.
hance A curved, often ornamentally carved rise of the FIFERAILS or BULWARKS from the WAIST to the QUARTERDECK.
hand Of a sail, to take in, to FURL. Also, a member of a ship’s crew. A hand is also a linear measure, once equal to three inches but now to four. A palm, a hand-breadth.
hand-barrow A flat, rectangular frame or litter with poles at each end for carrying it.
hand-mast A round wooden pole between 24 inches (six hands) and 72 inches in circumference, suitable for making into a MAST. Those with a smaller circumference are called SPARS.
handspike A wooden bar used as a lever or crow primarily in moving artillery pieces. Round at one end and square at the other and usually shod with iron, it also functioned as a lever for turning a WINDLASS.
hanger A short sword that hung from the belt.
hangfire A delay in the explosion of a gun’s charge or of a blasting charge.
hanging knee A wooden KNEE with one leg against a ship’s side and the other on the underside of a BEAM.
hank A small ring of rope, wood, or iron fastened to the LUFF of a FORE-AND-AFT sail or STAYSAIL to run on a STAY. Also, a coil of small line or twine used for small work.
Hannibal, H.M.S. A 74-gun third rate (Captain Ferris) that surrendered beneath the batteries of Algeciras to a French SQUADRON commanded by Admiral Linois on July 5, 1801. Aubrey witnesses the taking of Hannibal in Master and Commander.
hapax A word or form occurring only once in a body of literature.
hard A firm beach or foreshore. Also, a sloping stone roadway or jetty at the water’s edge for convenience in landing and putting out. In PORTSMOUTH, Hampshire, the street along the landing leading to the Dockyard Gate. On shipboard, to the fullest degree, as in “hard alee.”
hard-tack Ship-biscuit. Also, ordinary sea fare in general.
hare To run or move speedily.
harness-cask A cask or tub with a rimmed cover for keeping the salt meats currently being used.
harrier or harrower Any of the hawks of the genus Circus, having long wings and slender bodies, such as the hen-harrier and the marsh-harrier. Harriers are indefatigable hunters of other birds and rabbits.
Harris’s Guaranteed Unguent A proprietary topical remedy of unknown properties.
Harrogate A spa with mineral springs in West Yorkshire, 13 miles north of Leeds.
harrow A heavy frame of timber or iron with iron tines dragged over ploughed land to break clods, stir the soil, or bury seed.
harry To raid or ravage. To overrun with an army; to lay waste, sack, pillage, spoil.
hartebeest An antelope common in Africa.
hartshorn Calcium phosphates extracted from stag horns, used as a medicinal tonic. Ammonium chloride, often used medically as a diuretic. Smelling salts, a pungent mixture of ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium carbamate in water.
Harwich On the east coast of Essex, England, a port used by ships sailing between England and Holland or Scandinavia.
Haslar The largest naval hospital in the world in its time, built on Haslar Creek east of PORTSMOUTH, England, in 1746, and headed by the famous physician James LIND and later by Sir Gilbert BLANE.
hat See TRICORN.
hatchway A square or oblong opening in a ship’s deck through which cargo is moved to the hold; a passage from one deck to another. Can be qualified, as after-, fore-, main-hatchway.
haud crede colori Do not trust outward show, or beauty (Latin).
haul To pull. To “haul her wind” or to “haul up” means to TRIM the sails of a ship so as to sail nearer to the direction from which the wind is blowing. To change or turn the ship’s course. To sail in a certain course. Also, to sail along a coast.
hawse The BOWS of a ship where the HAWSE-HOLES are cut for the anchor CABLES to pass through. The space between the STEM of a vessel at anchor and the anchors or a little beyond, as in “athwart the hawse.”
hawse-holes Two cylindrical holes in the BOWS of a vessel for the anchor CABLE to run through. “To come in through the hawse-holes” means to enter the service at the lowest level.
hawser A large rope or small CABLE, more than five inches in circumference, used in WARPing and MOORing.
hawser-laid Of a rope, made of three or four strands laid up right-handed.
haysel The hay season (proper to East Anglia).
head A lavatory for seamen, found in the “head” or FORE part of the ship. Of a sail, the upper part.
head, down by the Of a ship, drawing more water at the BOWS than the STERN.
headed by the wind Of a ship, when the wind swings around to blow toward a ship’s BOWS, causing a need to alter the ship’s course.
headland A point of land projecting into the sea; a cape or promontory.
head-money A reward for prisoners taken, slaves recovered, or people brought in according to various prescriptions. In Britain, an allowance of £5 per head was paid for all persons captured who were on the enemy ship’s books previous to the action.
head-piece Person of intellect.
head-rope One of the supporter STAYS for the head of a MAST. The part of the BOLT-ROPE along the upper edge of a square sail. Also, a small rope used to HOIST a flag.
headsail Any of the sails set between the FOREMAST and BOWSPRIT.
healing by first intention Facilitating the healing process by keeping the wound clean; healing by second intention implied that the appearance of pus was beneficial in that it demonstrated that the foul HUMOURS causing the inflammation were escaping from the wound site.
“Heart of Oak” A patriotic song with references to victories at Minden, Quiberon Bay, and Quebec. Written in 1759 by David Garrick, with music by William Boyce, for the pantomime Harlequin’s Invasion. A verse and the chorus:
Come cheer up my lads, ‘tis to Glory we steer, To add something more to this wonderful Year: To Honor we call you, not Press you like Slaves, For who are so free as the Sons of the waves?
chorus:
Heart of Oak are Our Ships, Heart of
Oak are our Men, We always are ready,
Steady Boys, steady, We’ll fight and we’ll conquer
again and again.
heath An extensive area of level, uncultivated, open land without trees, usually of poor soil with a peaty surface in which heather and other low-growing plants naturally proliferate. There are several areas in London with this name, such as, Black Heath, west of the GREENWICH Observatory, and HAMSTEAD Heath. The term “one’s native heath” means the place where one grew up.
heave To pull or HAUL; to push, as at the CAPSTAN, to heave in the CABLE. To move the ship in some direction by these means. Of a ship, to move or turn.
heave to To stop the vessel by shortening sail and throwing some of the canvas ABACK. A ship is also said to be “hove to” when lying ATRY (lying to) under storm canvas.
heave down To turn a ship on its side for cleaning or repairing; to CAREEN. The part above the water is said to be “hove out.”
hecatomb In ancient Greece and Rome, a great public sacrifice of 100 oxen. Loosely, a large number or quantity, a “heap.”
hedge-creeper One that skulks under hedges for bad purposes; a sneaking rogue; a hedge-bird.
heel To lean to one side; a ship normally heels in the wind. The usually squared lower end of a MAST or the lower end of a BOOM or SPAR. The point where the after end of the KEEL and the STERNPOST connect.
heel-piece An angle-bar joining the HEELS of a frame across the KEEL. The piece forming the heel of a MAST or other SPAR.
heel-tap Liquor left in the bottom of a glass after drinking; the dross of a bottle.
HEI Company See EAST INDIA COMPANY.
Heligoland Bight The area of water between the island of Heligoland in the North Sea and the German coast. The British captured the island in 1807 and retained it until 1890, after which it became a German naval base.
heliocentric Having the sun as center. Also, considered as viewed from the center of the sun, as in heliocentric latitude and longitude.
hellebore A drastic cathartic made from root of black hellebore or Christmas rose and containing several toxic compounds, including hyoscyamine, digitalislike compounds, and severe intestinal irritants. In classical times it was reputed to cure insanity. Helleborus foetidus, stinking hellebore; a green-flowered plant of the buttercup family found in calcareous woodlands.
Helleborus foetidus See HELLEBORE.
Hellespont The DARDANELLES, the strait that separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey and links the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara.
helm The handle or TILLER, in large ships the wheel, used to move the RUDDER and thus steer the vessel. Also, the entire steering apparatus. Orders to the helmsman were traditionally given in terms of the position of the TILLER, not the position of the RUDDER. Putting the tiller to STARBOARD made the vessel go to LARBOARD. Since sailing ships heel to leeward, the high side was to windward, thus, the order to put her helm up meant to push it to the windward side, while putting the helm down meant to turn the tiller toward the LEE side.
hemp Rope made of the fibers of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. Where it is exposed to the weather, hemp rope needs to be tarred to prevent decay. Untarred hemp rope is called white rope. It is about three-quarters as strong as Manila hemp, a rope made from the leaves of the abaca plant, native to the Philippine Islands. Although mentioned by O’Brian, it was not imported for use in Europe or America until the 1820s.
hemp, vapour of Known from antiquity, smoking marijuana seeds was reintroduced to European medicine by physicians who had accompanied Napoleon’s army to Egypt in 1798. Used as an astringent, analgesic, and anticonvulsant.
henbane Black henbane. Used medically as a sedative and an analgesic, it can also produce a wide range of poisonous effects, including death.
Hendaye A town on the Atlantic coast of France, 13 miles southwest of Biarritz, on the Spanish frontier.
hepatic Of or pertaining to the liver.
hepatica Any of several plants of the genus Hepatica, whose tri-lobed leaves were thought to resemble the liver, hence its use in treating liver diseases. Sometimes called liverwort, but that name was more often applied to several species of moss.
hermaphrodite A sailing vessel that combines the sails and RIGGING of two kinds of craft.
HERMIONE, H.M.S.
A 32-gun fifth-rate ship built in Bristol in 1782 and handed over to the Spanish in 1797 by mutineers who murdered her Captain and nine officers in the WEST INDIES. In October of 1799, she returned to the Royal Navy when boats from H.M.S. SURPRISE under Captain Sir Edward Hamilton cut her out of the harbor at Puerto Cabello on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. She was renamed Retaliation and in 1800 was renamed again as Retribution. She was broken up in 1805.
Reproduced from The Naval Chronicle, vol. 5 (courtesy of the Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, Virginia)
H.M.S. Surprise cuts out the Hermione. The Naval Chronicle, on whose report of the attack the following account is based, called this event “one of the most singular, as well as the most gallant, which ever hitherto graced the naval annals of Britain.” Pictured on the previous page is the Hermione; the crew of the Surprise is about to board her. Having received orders from Sir Hyde Parker, H.M.S. Surprise, under Captain Hamilton, had cruised between the island of Aruba and Cape St. Roman, near the gulf of Venezuela, to look for the Hermione. Hamilton found her at Puerta Cabello, moored between two strong batteries.
The Surprise prepared for the attack for two days. A speech by Captain Hamilton, along with the Hermione’s well-known bloody history, so inspired the crew that “many instances occurred of pecuniary offers being made by those who were ordered to remain with the ship, on condition of their exchanging stations with such as had been selected to make the attack.”
The Surprise’s boats reached the Hermione under fire. Captain Hamilton and about ten men boarded at the forecastle and advanced to the starboard gangway, where they met a contingent of Spaniards. Hamilton left the Gunner in charge here and joined the Surgeon and his party, moving along the larboard gangway to the quarterdeck. Meanwhile, the black cutter, with a Lieutenant, the red cutter, under the Boatswain, and an Officer of the Marines and his party struggled to board. In the launch, the First Lieutenant and his crew were busy cutting the Hermione’s bower cable, while in the jollyboat, the Carpenter and his men were cutting the stern cable. The crews of these boats were to immediately take the ship in tow.
On board the Hermione, the enemy was caught between the boarding parties. Many were killed and some jumped overboard. The cables were now cut, and the boats took the ship in tow. The boarding crew set sail while the battle raged on.
After the quarterdeck was taken, the Officer of the Marines and the Surgeon led an attack on the maindeck. Captain Hamilton and the Gunner had been too badly wounded to take part. Fortunately for the British, the Spanish shore batteries could not tell who possessed the ship. By the time it was clear that the British had won the bloody battle on board, the Hermione had traveled half a mile out. The shore batteries opened fire, but it was too late. The Surprise had pulled off one of the war’s memorable achievements.
Hermitage A French wine from near Valence in the north of the Rhone Valley, named for a ruin said to have been a hermit’s cell.
heroic couplet Poetry of iambic pentameter lines in rhymed pairs.
heron Long-necked, long-legged wading birds of several genera.
herring-buss The Dutch haring-buis, a round-bowed, two-or three-masted vessel used in herring fishing. See also BUSS.
Herschel, Sir William (1738-1822) Noted English astronomer and mathematician who discovered the planet Uranus. His sister Caroline Lucretia (1750-1848) independently discovered eight comets.
Hessian boots A high, tasseled boot, first worn by Hessian troops, that was fashionable in the early 19th century.
heuch An exclamation of excitement. The cry of a dancer of the Highland fling, a Scottish folk dance.
hey-bote A tenant’s right to take wood or thorns for fence repair from a landlord’s estate.
Heywood, Peter (1773-1831) Joined the Navy at age 13. His first ship was H.M.S. Bounty, under the command of William BLIGH, on her infamous voyage to Tahiti to obtain breadfruit trees. When the mutiny broke out on April 28, 1789, the mutineers confined Heywood and apparently planned to put him into the Bounty’s launch with Bligh. However, there was not enough room and Heywood was left behind. In the Bounty, the mutineers reached Tahiti, and Heywood stayed there until H.M.S. Pandora arrived in 1791.
On the voyage home, Captain Edwards confined Heywood with the others in irons, caged on the QUARTERDECK. When the Pandora sank after hitting a reef in the Endeavour Strait, Heywood and a few of the others managed to escape in the boats. Edwards, as well as the officers of the Dutch merchant ship that took them from BATAVIA to England, treated the Bounty’s men severely.
Upon their return, the Bounty’s men were COURT-MARTIALed and all sentenced to death, but the court, presided over by Lord Hood, recommended mercy in Heywood’s case. The First Lord, the Earl of Chatham, gave him an unconditional pardon. Hood advised Heywood to continue in the Navy. At the GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE, Heywood acted as captain’s aide de camp on board the FLAGSHIP Queen Charlotte, and on the ship’s return was one of two Midshipmen attending the side when the King and Queen visited the ship. Promoted to temporary Lieutenant, his good behavior cleared his name for further promotion. Having served around the world and risen to the rank of Captain, he retired in 1816.
hiera picra A cathartic made with aloes and canella bark, sometimes mixed with honey and other ingredients. Also, corrupted to hickery-pickery, hicra picra, higry-pigry.
hieratic Pertaining to or used by the priestly class; used in connection with sacred subjects.
highland bonnet or Scotch cap A man’s hat made of thick, firm wool with no brim and decorated with two tails or streamers.
Highlander A native or inhabitant of the Highlands of Scotland. Also, a soldier of a Highland regiment.
high road A main road or highway.
Hilum Point at which one of the internal organs connects to the vascular system. Also, certain small apertures and depressions.
hip Morbidly depressed, low-spirited.
hippogriff A mythic creature with the foreparts of a griffin and the body and hindquarters of a horse.
hirundine Of or pertaining to a swallow.
H.M.S. The prefix to a ship’s name, meaning “His/Her Majesty’s Ship,” used from 1789 on to indicate that a ship belongs to the Royal Navy.
Hoare’s Bank Originally a goldsmith business founded by Richard Hoare in 1672, it moved from Cheapside to Fleet Street in 1690 and became a bank around the turn of the century. Early customers were Samuel Pepys and John Dryden. The Hoare family still runs the privately held bank.
hobnail Nails with large heads and short tangs, used for protecting the soles of heavy boots and shoes.
hoboy An oboe.
hock A white wine from the Rhine Valley, originally from Hochheim, Germany.
hog Of a ship, to react to a strain by having the BOW and STERN droop and the KEEL and bottom arch upward. Also, a very stiff scrubbing brush made of birch twigs sandwiched between wooden planks and trimmed to make bristles.
hogget A young boar of the second year. A yearling sheep.
hogshead A large cask for liquids, especially one of a definite capacity that varied for different liquids and commodities and in different localities. For example, a hogshead of wine contained 63 old wine-gallons (52 1/2 imperial gallons). The London hogshead of beer held 54 gallons, that of ale 48 gallons. In other places a hogshead of ale or beer held 51 gallons.
hoist To raise or HAUL up a flag, COLORS, sail, or anything else. The side of the flag on which the HALYARDS are attached. A group of flags that make a particular signal.
hola A form of “holla,” a shout to draw attention.
holothurian An ECHINODERM with a tough, elongated body, and a ring of tentacles around the mouth. A sea slug, sea cucumber, or trepang.
holt A dwelling or refuge, an animal’s den, especially an otter’s.
holystone A soft sandstone used by sailors for scouring the decks of ships, after which the deck was hosed down with saltwater, creating a smooth, blanched appearance. Small HOLYSTONES were called prayer books and large ones BIBLES. The provenance of the terminology is unknown; the theories range from the possibility that the stones were first taken from the broken monuments of St. Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth to the fact that sailors often scrubbed the deck on hands and knees.
Home Office In Great Britain after 1782, the department of the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, which deals with domestic administration and some of the matters dealt with by a ministry of justice in other countries.
hominy Ground corn boiled with water or milk.
Homo homini lupus Man is a wolf to man (Latin).
homoiousian Of like essence or substance. A person who believes the Father and the Son, in the Godhead, to be of like, but not the same, essence or substance. Compare HOMOOUSIAN.
homologue A counterpart, an equivalent in position, value, structure, or function.
homoousian Of the same essence or substance. A person who believes in the doctrine of the Nicene Creed, that the Father and Son of the Trinity are of the same essence or substance. Compare HOMOIOUSIAN.
honey-buzzard A bird of prey of the genus Pernis, especially the European P. apivorus, which feeds on the contents of bees’ and wasps’ nests.
Honi soit qui mal y pense See GARTER.
Honneur and Patier Honneur et Patrie means Honor and Country (French).
hood-ends The ends of the hull planks, which fit into slits, or RABBETS, in the STEM and STERN posts.
Hoogli or Hooghly River The most westerly and most important channel of the Ganges River, leading to Calcutta, founded by the English in c.1690. Hooghly-Chinsura is a town on the river where the English first established a trading post in 1651. The Nawab of Bengal forced them out temporarily in 1685, and the Marathas sacked the town in 1742.
hooker A variant of the KETCH employed primarily by the Dutch as a fishing vessel. An irreverent reference to a ship past its prime.
hoopoe or hoop Upupa epops, a southern European bird with variegated plumage and a large standing crest, occasionally seen in England.
hop-pillow A pillow made to induce sleep by being stuffed with hops, the ripened cones of the female hop plant, considered to be soporific.
horchata A sweet white drink made from either the juice of almonds or from chufa (also called nut grass or earth almond), popular in Spain and Latin America.
horn-book A kind of primer for children, often covered by a thin plate of animal horn and mounted on a wooden tablet with a handle, consisting of a leaf of paper containing the alphabet and sometimes the ten digits, rules for spelling, and the Lord’s Prayer.
hornpipe A wind instrument possibly so called from once having the bell and mouthpiece made of horn. Also a lively English country dance, usually to the tune of a wind instrument, and especially associated with the revelry of sailors.
Horsburgh, James (1762-1836) The cartographer who succeeded DALRYMPLE as Hydrographer of the EAST INDIA COMPANY. He is often remembered as the compiler of Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, China, New Holland, Cape of Good Hope and Interjacent Ports (1809-1811).
horse A FOOTROPE stretched under a yard and supported by STIRRUPS, which is used by sailors to stand on while REEFing or FURLing sails. Also, various other ropes used to support or to guide. A Flemish horse is a short footrope used by the man at the YARDARM when furling or reefing.
horse-coper A horse-dealer.
Horse-Guard Cavalry picked for special service as a guard. Also the cavalry brigade of the English Household troops, specifically the third regiment of this body. The guard house at Whitehall, home of the British Army’s mounted troops. Nearby is the Horse Guard Parade, a broad plaza bordering ST. JAMES’S PARK. It is the site of military exercises, medal presentation ceremonies, and other processions.
horse-leach or horse-leech A horse doctor or veterinary surgeon.
horse-pistol A large pistol carried by a horseman beside the pommel.
horseshoe-bat Any species of bat having a horseshoe-shaped nose.
horse-tail In Turkey, an ornament used as a military standard, as a symbol of war, and as an ENSIGN denoting the rank of a pasha.
hortus siccus A collection of dried plants (Latin); also, a set of boring facts, minutiae, etc.
Hoste, Sir William (1780-1828) An officer who served under NELSON in H.M.S. AGAMEMNON and later was Captain of the Mutine. Hoste commanded a SQUADRON of British FRIGATES in the Adriatic from 1808 to 1814, regularly defeating the French in land raids and sea battles.
hostler A man who attends to horses at an inn; a groom.
Hôtel Dieu Said to have been founded in the late seventh century, it was one of the great teaching hospitals of early-19th-century Paris. Maturin tells Aubrey he had “walked the wards” there, meaning that he had purchased a ticket that allowed him to further his professional training by following a professor of medicine on his regular daily patient rounds for a given period, usually an academic term.
houario A French lug-rigged boat of the CHASSE-MAREE type.
houbara bustard A game bird, Chlamydotis undulata, found in North Africa and in Asia as far east as India and Persia.
hounds Projections attached to either side of the MAST just below the MASTHEAD to support the TRESTLETREES. The hounds of the lower masts are called CHEEKS.
house-bote The right of a tenant to cut wood for house repairs from a landlord’s estate.
House of Commons The elected, lower chamber of Parliament.
hoveller An unlicensed pilot or boatman, especially on the coast of Kent. A boatman who goes out to wrecks to render aid or sometimes to plunder. Also, the craft used by these boatmen.
howdah A seat usually with a railing and a canopy erected on the back of an elephant for two or more people.
Howe, Admiral Lord Richard (1726-1799) Called “Black Dick” for his dark complexion, Admiral Howe—brother of General Sir William Howe, who commanded British troops during the American Revolution—was one of the Royal Navy’s great tacticians. He won his greatest victory when he defeated the French fleet under Villaret de Joyeuse at the GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE, 1794. Howe sank one French warship and captured six more without losing a British ship, but he allowed the convoy they were protecting to reach port safely. Nelson believed he should have pushed his advantage more and later referred to an unfinished victory as a “Lord Howe victory.” For reasons of health, Howe retired from the Navy soon after the battle, in 1797. He served as First Lord of the ADMIRALTY from 1783 to 1788.
howitzer A short piece of ORDNANCE, usually of light weight, specially designed for firing shells with small charges and adapted for use in a mountainous country.
howker See HOOKER.
hoy A small COASTING vessel often with a large MAIN hatch for moving goods and supplies in and out quickly.
hoyden A rude or dumb fellow; a rude or rambunctious girl or woman.
hubble-bubble A rudimentary form of the oriental hookah, or smoking pipe, in which the smoke bubbles through a coconut shell half filled with water. Also, similar pipes, made of clay, glass, silver, or other materials.
Hugli See HOOGLI.
huitieme Eighth (French).
hull-down So far away that only the MASTS and sails are showing and the hull is not visible, being below the horizon.
hull-up When the hull of a ship on the horizon is visible.
Humane Society The Royal Humane Society, for the rescue of drowning people. It was founded in England in 1774. The Society once awarded Aubrey, the savior of some two dozen sailors, a gold medal, which he hocked in Gibraltar.
humble pie A pie made of the “umbles,” or innards, of a deer or other animal.
Humboldt, Baron Alexander von (1769-1859) Prussian naturalist and explorer who traveled in South America from 1799 to 1803 and spent two decades analyzing his scientific findings. The northward-flowing Pacific current from Antarctica along South America is named the Humboldt Current after him. Humboldt’s work Kosmos detailed his beliefs on the physical laws of the universe.
Hummel, Johann Nepomuk (1778-1837) Born in Pressburg, Bratislava, the son of the director of the Imperial School of Military Music, Hummel studied piano with Mozart for two years in Vienna. He toured Europe as a child prodigy pianist. He was the concertmaster to Prince Esterhazy from 1804 to 1811. He composed about 130 works, primarily for the piano, but also wrote nine operas and three masses.
hummum A Turkish bath; a hammam. A bathing place called “the Hummums” was opened in Covent Garden in London in 1631 and later became a hotel.
humour In ancient and medieval physiology, any fluid or juice of an animal or plant, either natural or caused by disease. One of the four chief fluids of the body—blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy or black choler—whose relative proportions, it was believed, determined a person’s physical and mental qualities and disposition. For more on the humours, see “The Disease Burden of the Royal Navy,” page 37.
hundredweight A unit of weight equal, in Britain, to 112 pounds, but originally and in the United States, equal to 100 pounds and so the name. Abbreviated as CWT.
Hunter, John (1728-1793) Famous teacher of surgery and anatomy in London, regarded as the founder of experimental pathology and a pioneer in physiology. After accidentally infecting himself with syphilis, he used the opportunity to study the disease in himself. An expert on gunshot wounds, he developed a number of improvements in trauma surgery along with his copious anatomical discoveries.
Huron A confederation of five Iroquoian peoples formerly living near Lake Huron in North America. Also, a member of the Huron, or their language.
hurricano Hurricane.
hussar A member of a military unit based on the light horsemen organized in Hungary in the 15th century and subsequently introduced in most European armies. The bright, elaborate uniforms of the Hungarian force set the dress standard for hussars of other nations.
hussif A small case for sewing gear, such as needles, pins, thread, and scissors. The word is a corruption of “housewife.”
hydatic cyst The encysted larva of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, found in the livers of afflicted patients. The word “hydatid” is now used.
hydrography The scientific description and study of the waters of the earth’s surface, including rivers, lakes, and seas. It includes the charting of bodies of water and physical features, such as shallows, winds, tides, and currents. Earlier, it included the principles of navigation. Also, a treatise on or a scientific description of the waters of the earth. The Admiralty Hydrographic Office was established in 1795.
hydropericardium Abnormal accumulation of water in the PERICARDIUM.
Hygeia Goddess of health.
hygrometer Instrument for measuring the humidity of the air.
hylobate A long-armed ape or gibbon.
hyoid bone The U-shaped tongue-bone, or os linguae, between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. In most mammals it is comparatively larger, more complicated, and more important than in humans.
hyperaemia An excess of blood.
hyperborean Of or relating to the extreme north of the earth.
hypnotic A sleeping medicine