HALACHA, the Jewish law as developed into validity by the decisions of the Scribes, on the basis of inferential reasoning or established custom; it was of higher authority than the law as written, though not held valid till sanctioned by a majority of the doctors.

HALBERSTADT (37), an interesting old town in Prussian Saxony, 30 m.  SW. of Magdeburg; the 13th-century cathedral is a fine specimen of Pointed Gothic, and the Church of Our Lady, a 12th-century structure, is in the Byzantine style; its industries embrace gloves, cigars, machines, sugar, &c.

HALCYON DAYS, days of peace, happiness, and prosperity, properly the seven days before and the seven after the winter Solstice, days of quiet, during which the halcyon, or kingfisher, is fabled to be breeding.

HALDANE, ROBERT, born in London, and JAMES, born in Dundee, brothers; entered the English navy, and after distinguishing themselves in it, left the service, and devoted their time and their wealth to evangelistic labours and the building of “tabernacles,” as they were called, for religious worship in connection eventually with the Baptist body; they both contributed to theological literature in the Calvinistic interest; Robert died in 1842, being born in 1764, and James in 1851, being born in 1766.

HALE, SIR MATTHEW, Lord Chief-Justice of England, born at Alderley, Gloucestershire:  in 1629 he entered Lincoln’s Inn after some years of roving and dissipation, and eight years later was called to the bar; as he held aloof from the strife between king and commons, his service as advocate were in requisition by both parties, and in 1653 he was raised to the bench by Cromwell; on the death of the Protector he declined to receive his commission anew from Richard Cromwell, and favoured the return of Charles; after the Restoration he was made Chief Baron of the Exchequer and knighted; in 1671 he was created Lord Chief-Justice; charges of “trimming” have been made against him, but his integrity as a lawyer has never been impugned (1609-1676).

HALES, ALEXANDER OF, a scholastic philosopher, surnamed “Doctor Irrefragabilis,” who flourished in the 15th century; author of “Summa Theologiae.”

HALES, JOHN, the “Ever-memorable,” canon of Windsor; a most scholarly man, liberal-minded and highly cultured; was professor of Greek at Oxford; suffered great hardships under the Puritan supremacy (1584-1656).

HALES, STEPHEN, scientist, born at Beckesbourn, Kent; became a Fellow of Cambridge in 1702; took holy orders, and in 1710 settled down in the curacy of Teddington, Middlesex; science was his ruling passion, and his “Vegetable Staticks” is the first work to broach a true morphology of plants; his papers on Ventilation led to a wide-spread reform in prison ventilation, and his method of collecting gases greatly furthered the work of subsequent chemists (1677-1761).

HALEVY, JACQUES FRANCOIS ELIAS, a French operatic composer, born at Paris; became a professor at the Conservatoire; wrote a large number of operas, of which “La Juive” and “L’Eclair” were the best, and enjoyed a European reputation (1799-1862).