Chapter Hardouin to Harness of H by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Hare and the Tortoise (The). Everyone knows the fable of the race between the hare and the tortoise, won by the latter; and the moral, "Slow and steady wins the race." The French equivalent is "Pas à pas le bœuf prend le lièvre. '

Hares shift their Sex It was once thought that hares are sexless, or that they change their sex every year.

"Lepores omnes utrumque sexum habent.
Munsterus.

"Snakes that cast their coats for new,
Cameleons that alter hue,
Hares that yearly sexes change."
Fletcher: Faithful Shepherd, iii. 1.

Haricot Mutton A ragout made with hashed mutton and turnips. In old French harigot, harligot, and haligote are found meaning a "morsel," a "piece."

"Et li chevalier tuit monté,
Detaillie et dehaligoté."
Chauvenci: Les Tournois, p. 138.

Harikiri [Happy despatch. ] A method of enforcing suicide by disembowelling among Japanese officials when government considered them worthy of death.

Hark Back (To). To return to the subject. "Revenons à nos moutons " (q.v.). A call to the dogs in fox- hunting, when they have overrun the scent, "Hark [dogs] come back"; so "Hark for'ards!" "Hark away!" etc.

Harlequin means a species of drama in two parts, the introduction and the harlequinade, acted in dumb show. The prototype is the Roman atellanæ but our Christmas pantomime or harlequinade is essentially a British entertainment, first introduced by Mr. Weaver, a dancing-master of Shrewsbury, in 1702. (See below.)

"What Momus was of old to Jove,
The same a harlequin is now.
The former was buffoon above,
The latter is a Punch below."
Swift: The Puppet Show.

    The Roman mime did not at all correspond with our harlequinade. The Roman mimus is described as having a shorn head, a sooty face, flat unshod feet, and a patched parti-coloured cloak.
   Harlequin, in the British pantomime, is a sprite supposed to be invisible to all eyes but those of his faithful Columbine. His office is to dance through the world and frustrate all the knavish tricks of the Clown, who is supposed to be in love with Columbine. In Armoric, Harlequin means "a juggler," and Harlequin metamorphoses everything he touches with his magic wand.
    The prince of Harlequins was John Rich (1681-1761).
   Harlequin. So Charles Quint was called by Francois I. of France.

Harlot is said to be derived from Harlotta, the mother of William the Conqueror, but it is more likely to be a corruption of horlet (a little hireling), "hore" being the past participle of hyran (to hire). It was once applied to males as well as females. Hence Chaucer speaks of "a sturdy harlot ... that was her hostes man." The word varlet is another form of it.

"He was gentil harlot, and a kinde;
A bettre felaw shulde man no wher finde."
Chaucer: Canterbury Tales, prol. 649.

"The harlot king is quite beyond mine arm."
Shakespeare: Winter's Tale, ii. 3.

    Proverbial names for a harlot are Aholibah and Aholah (Ezek. xxiii. 4), probably symbolic characters; Petrowna (of Russia), and Messalina (of Rome).

Harlowe (Clarissa). The heroine of Richardson's novel of that name. In order to avoid a marriage urged upon her by her parents, she casts herself on the protection of a lover, who grossly abuses the confidence thus reposed in him. He subsequently proposes to marry her, but Clarissa rejects the offer, and retires from the world to cover her shame and die.

Harm Harm set, harm get. Those who lay traps for others get caught themselves. Haman was hanged on his own gallows. Our Lord says, "They that take the sword shall perish with the sword" (Matt. xxvi. 52).