bone, in umerous layers, arranged alternately at right angles to each other, and the outside was covered with a bright glossy corrugated enamel. The spines of the fins were large and hollow; the bones were partially ossified; the centre remained in its original cartilaginous condition, and consequently appears hollow in the fossil. The jaws were covered with hard enamel instead of skin, and were furnished with a double row of teeth; the outer row, placed along the edge of the mouth, were small and thickly set; the inner range were widely set, and very large, at least twenty times the bulk of the others. The specimen figured was obtained at

Holoptychius Nobilissimus (Agass.).

Clashbennie, on the Firth of Tay, by Mr Noble; it now forms part of the British Museum collection. It is a foot across by two feet and a half long without the tail, which is wanting. It is nearly perfect, lying on its back, with the scales and the ventral fins in their original position.

The genus is peculiar to the Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous Measures; eight species being found in the former, and nine in the latter. It has been proposed to confine the name Holoptychius to the fossils of the Old Red Sandstone, and to give that of Rhizodus, which Owen applied to the teeth remains before their connection with the fish was known, to the Holoptychians of the Coal Measures, which have the outer row of teeth more robust and obtuse, and the inner set longer, sharper, and more slender than in the older species.

HOLOTHU'RIA, a genus of Echinodermata

SEA-SLUG and SEA-CUCUMBER are popular names of some of the animals of this family. The Holo thuridae have not the covering of calcareous plates characteristic of the more typical Echinodermata but a soft leathery muscular integument, very irritable, and capable of great distention and contraction. Some of them are almost globose, some so much elongated as to be almost worm-like; but the same individual is often capable of extending itself to several times the length which it has in a state of repose. In locomotion, the body is extended and contracted as by the annelides, but the principal organs of locomotion, as in star-fishes and sea-urchins, are

suckers or Ambulacra (q. v.), of which there are usually five double rows, whilst sometimes they are distributed over the whole surface of the body; but some of the species have the suckers developed only on a disc, and the body then presents an upper and an under surface. The radiate structure is most apparent in the mouth, which is surrounded with tentacles, in number always a multiple of five, exhibiting great variety of beautiful forms, and capable of being completely retracted. Little is known of the food of the Holothuridae, which, however, probably consists of small marine animals. Within the opening of the mouth there is a circle of teeth. There is no proper stomach. The intestine is often very complicated. The respiratory organs are near the anus, and consist of branching tubes. The organs of both sexes are found in each individual. The young pass through several stages or transformations, in which they are very unlike their parents; in their first stage, after leaving the egg, they swim vigorously by means of membranous expansions of the body. The Holothuridae are capable of the most extraordinary reproduction of parts, even of the most important organs. They are found in all seas, but particularly abound in the Red Sea, and between the south of Asia and Australia. The largest European species, H. (Cucumaria) frondosa, occasionally found in the British seas, is about a foot in length, and capable of extending itself Most of the British species are to three feet. small, and they are not of a pleasing appearance as they usually come under observation, although the expanded tentacles give them beauty in their proper abodes. But many of the tropical species exhibit splendid colours, and are among the creatures which make the bottom of the sea, particularly among coral reefs and islands, gay and lovely as a garden.

The Béche-de-mer (q. v.), or Trepang, so much esteemed as a delicacy by the Chinese, belongs to this family.

HOLSTEIN, a duchy of Northern Germany, belonging to the kingdom of Denmark, and at the same time a member of the Germanic Confederation. It is separated from Slesvig on the N. by the river Eyder and the Slesvig-Holstein Canal; is bounded on the E. by the Baltic Sea, the territory of Lübeck, and the duchy of Lauenburg; on the S. by the Hamburg territory and the river Elbe, which separates it from Hanover; and on the W. by the North Sea. Area, 3270 square miles; pop. 544,419. The principal rivers, besides the Elbe and the Eyder, are the Stör and the Trave. Of the surface of the land, one-eighth consists of marshes. The central districts of the province are occupied by an undulating plain, varied by low hills, and traversed from north to south by a heathy and sandy ridge, from which the land falls away gradually on the east-where the surface is varied by lakes and fertile well-wooded valleys-and on the west. The soil, with the exception of several

tracts of sand and heath, is very fruitful, and is most luxuriant in the marshes. The climate and natural productions closely resemble those of similar districts in the north of Germany. Salt and lime are the only minerals found. Amber is obtained on the eastern coast, and the interior abounds in peat. The manufactures of H. are inconsiderable; agriculture and the rearing of cattle are the chief employments of the people. The history of H. and its political relations are noticed in the article SLESVIG-HOLSTEIN.

HOLSTERS, cases for pistols affixed to the pommel of a saddle. They are frequently covered with wool or fur, to prevent injury to the rider in the event of his being thrown forward upon them. HOLY ALLIANCE, a league formed after the fall of Napoleon by the sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia, nominally to regulate the relations of the states of Christendom by the principles of Christian charity, but really to preserve the power and influence of the existing dynasties. Most of the other European rulers acceded to it, and the treaty was formally made public in the Frankfurt Journal, February 2, 1816. It was in virtue of this league that Austria, in 1821, crushed the revolutions in Naples and Piedmont, and that France, in 1823, restored absolutism in Spain. Subsequently, both France and England seceded, after which it became a mere nominis umbra. A special article of the treaty excluded for ever the members of the Bonaparte family from any European throne!

HOLY COAT, a relic preserved with the greatest reverence in the cathedral of Treves, of which city it is esteemed the greatest treasure. It is alleged to be the seamless coat of our Saviour, and to have been discovered in the 4th c. by the Empress Helena, in her memorable visit to Palestine, and by her deposited at Treves. The Treves relics were

The Holy Coat of Treves.

concealed from the Normans in the 9th c. in crypts; but the Holy Coat was rediscovered in 1196, and then solemnly exhibited to the public gaze, which

did not take place again till 1512, when multitudes flocking to see and venerate it, Leo X. appointed it to be exhibited every seven years. The Reformation and wars prevented the regular observance of this great religious festival; but it was celebrated in 1810, and was attended by a concourse of no fewer than 227,000 persons; and in 1844 by still greater multitudes, whilst miraculous cures were confidently asserted to be performed by the precious relic. The exhibition of the Holy Coat in 1844 is otherwise memorable for the reaction which it produced, leading to the secession of Rongé and the German Catholics from the Church of Rome. For further information see The Book of Days, published by

W. & R. Chambers.

HOLY FAMILY, the name given, in the language of art, to every representation of the infant Saviour and his attendants. In the early part of the middle ages, when the object in view was to excite devotion, the Virgin and Child were usually the only persons represented. At a later period, Joseph, Elizabeth, St Anna (the mother of the Virgin), and John the Baptist, were included. Some of the old German painters have added the twelve apostles as children and playfellows of the infant Christ, as well as their mothers, as stated in the legends. The Italian school, with its fine feeling for composition, was the first to recognise of how many figures the group must consist, if the interest is to remain undivided, and be concentrated on one figure, whether that figure be the Madonna or the Child. Two masters are pre-eminent in this species of representation-Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael.

HOLY GHOST, or HOLY SPIRIT, in Orthodox Theology, the third person of the Trinity (q. v.), proceeding from the Father and the Son, yet of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God. His distinct personality is believed to be attested by a multitude of passages in Scripture, which it is unnecessary to quote. One may suffice: But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me' (John xv. 26). The Procession' (q. v.) of the Spirit is the subject of one of the chief differences between the Eastern and the Western or Latin Churches. He is essentially a spirit of holiness, and his grand function is to apply to the hearts of men the benefits of Christ's death, to work in them, first, a belief of the truth as it is in Jesus, and then to sanctify them by that truth.

HOLY GRASS (Hierochloe borealis), a grass about a foot high, with a brownish glossy lax panicle. It is found in the most northern parts of Britain, and in the north of Europe. It has a sweet smell, like that of vernal grass; and in Iceland, where it is plentiful, it is used for scenting apartments and clothes. In some countries, it is strewed on the floors of places of worship on festival-days, whence its name.

HOLY ISLAND, or LINDISFA'RNE a small island of England, belonging to the county of Northumberland, and situated about ten miles south-east of Berwick-on-Tweed. It is about four miles long, and two miles broad, and is connected with the mainland by sands three miles in extent, which can be traversed at low-water by vehicles of all kinds. Pop. of parish, 614; but including the chapelries of Kyloe, Ancroft, and Tweedmouth, all in the ancient parish, and called Islandshire4049. On the south coast is the village of Holy Island. finely situated, and now much resorted to by summer visitors. On the island are several ruins, the chief of which are the extensive and

sombre-looking remains of the famous Abbey of Lindisfarne, originally a Saxon edifice; there is also an ancient castle, now fortified and occupied by a party of artillery. In former times, H. I. was the seat of a bishopric.

HOLY LAND. See PALESTINE.

HOLY PHIAL, or SAINTE AMPOULE, ORDER OF, the name of an order of knighthood which formerly existed in France, and was composed of four persons, usually the first in point of rank, family, and fortune in the province of Champagne, and styled Barons de la Sainte Ampoule. At the coronation of the French kings, they were delivered to the Dean, Priors, and Chapter of Rheims, as hostages for the fulfilment of the engagements entered into by the great officers of the crown to return the holy phial in which the coronation oil was kept, and which, according to the legend, was brought from heaven by the Holy Ghost under the form of a dove, and put into the hands of St Remy at the coronation of Clovis an enormous crowd having prevented the messenger from bringing in time that which had already been prepared. The peculiarity of this order was that the knights were only knights for a day. Their badge was a cross of gold enamelled white, cantoned with four fleur-de-lis, and on the cross a dove descending with a phial in its beak, and a right hand receiving it.

HOLY PLACES, HOLY SEPULCHRE. Under the head JERUSALEM (q. v.) are enumerated many localities which, from the memories associated with them, must be full of solemn interest for every religious mind; but the name Holy Places of Jerusalem more strictly designates the group of sacred places of which the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the centre, and which are supposed to comprise the sites of the chief events of our Lord's passion, death, and burial: Gethsemane, the Supperroom, the Church of the Ascension, the Tomb of the Virgin, &c.

In the article JERUSALEM, the general topography of the ancient and modern city is briefly described. The so-called Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands within the modern city, on the north-western or Latin quarter. It is a Byzantine building, in the centre of a spacious enclosed court. Under the great dome of the church stands the Holy Sepulchre, which is of an oblong form, fifteen feet by ten, and is surmounted by a rich ceiling, decorated with gold, silver, and precious marble. A circular hall surrounds the space beneath the dome. Around this circular hall are oratories for the Syrians, Copts, and Maronites; and above it is a series of galleries, which are similarly appropriated. In the body of the church are the chapels of the Greek, Latin, and Armenian Christians, the church as a whole being maintained by the Ottoman authorities in the condition, as it were, of a common meeting-ground for all the Christian communions, as the rivalries of the several religious bodies constantly lead to angry controversy, and not unfrequently to sanguinary conflicts. Opposite the entrance of the enclosure is a somewhat elevated marble slab, which is called the Stone of Unction, and is shewn as the stone on which our Lord's body was anointed before entombment; and above is an elevation approached by steps, which is the traditionary Mount Calvary, and on which now stands a rich dome-shaped building, floored with rich marbles, in the crypt of which is the cavity supposed to have been formed by the erection of the The street by which this site is approached, from the direction of the ruins of Herod's palace, on the north side of the city, is the principal street

cross.

of the Latin quarter, and is called by the Turks Harât-el-Albam, and by the Christians the a Dolorosa, as being the supposed route of our Lord from the hall of judgment to Calvary.

Such is the traditional view as to the locality, not only of these leading events of our Lord's history, but also of many others of minor importance, and less prominently noticeable. For a long course of ages, the Christian world unhesitatingly acquiesced in this view of the topography of the Holy Places; but since the beginning of last century, doubts have been entertained as to its correctness; and in late years, the question has been discussed with much learning, although with little positive, or at least conclusive result. About the year 1730, a German, named Korte, who had visited Jerusalem, and explored the locality, published a work, calling the authenticity of the received system of sacred topography into question. The doubts expressed by him have been repeated at intervals ever since his day, and especially by the celebrated American critic, Dr Robinson, author of Biblical Researches in Palestine, who may be said, in two successive investigations, to have exhausted the evidence, on one side of the question, at least so far as the remains of the ancient city had at that time been explored. Dr Robinson distinctly affirms the impossibility of reconciling the received sacred localities with the plain requirements of the gospel history; but he fails himself to point out a scheme of topography which may be substituted for that which has been traditionally received. More recent critics, and especially Mr James Ferguson, in an Essay on the Ancient Topography of Jerusalem, agreeing with Dr Robinson in rejecting the received topography, contends against him that the true site of the Holy Sepulchre can be accurately determined, and that it is no other than the Mosque of Omar, or, as the Mohammedans call it, the Dome of the Rock.' This he holds to be the identical church which Constantine erected over the rock which contained the tomb of our Lord. The latest

biblical traveller in Palestine, Dr Stanley, has left the question undecided. It is beyond the scope of this work to discuss such a subject. We can but refer the reader to the chief authorities on each side of the controversy. It is one upon which future explorers may throw much light by skilful and judiciously conducted excavations. The works at present about to be undertaken under the autho rity of the Russian government are looked to with much interest. See, on the one side, Robinson's Biblical Researches in Palestine, Sinith's Dictionary of the Bible, article Jerusalem' (Ferguson); Essay on the Ancient Topography of Jerusalem, by the same author. On the other, Williams's Holy City, Raumer's Beiträge zur Bibl. Geographie, Sepp's Forschungen eines Deutschen Reisenden in Jerusalem, Schaffter's Aechte Lage des heiligen Grabes.

HOLY SEPULCHRE, KNIGHTS OF THE, an order of knighthood instituted, probably by Pope Alexander VI., for the guardianship of the Holy Sepulchre, and the relief and protection of pilgrims. The pope was originally the grand-master, but he subsequently ceded his rights to the Guardian Father of the Holy Sepulchre. The knights must, by the rules of the order, be all of noble descent; they were bound to hear mass daily, to fight, to live, and to die for the Christian faith, &c. In return for these duties, the knights had the most unusual and extraordinary privileges conferred on them: they were exempt from taxation, could marry, and yet possess church property, legitimise bastards, and cut down and bury the bodies of criminals who had been hanged. On the recapture of Jerusalem by the Turks, the knights retired to Italy, and settled