HAROUN-AL-RASCHID ("Aaron the Orthodox or Just"), the most renowned of the Abbaside caliphs; succeeded to the caliphate in 786 on the death of his elder brother, El Hadi, and had for grand-vizier the Barmacide Yahya, to whom with his four sons he committed the administration of affairs, he the while making his court a centre of attraction to wise men, scholars, and artists, so that under him Bagdad became the capital of the civilised world; his glory was tarnished by one foul blot towards the end of his reign, and that was the massacre out of jealousy of the Barmacide family, members of which had contributed so much to his fame, an act which he had soon occasion to repent, for it was followed by an insurrection which cost him his life; the halo that invests his memory otherwise was, however, more fabulous than real, and history shows him at his best to have been avaricious, resentful, and cruel.

HARPIES, fabulous ravenous creatures, living in filth and defiling everything they touch, with the head and breast of a woman, the wings and claws of a bird, and a face pale with hunger, the personification of whirlwinds and storms, conceived of as merely ravening, wasting powers.

HARRINGTON, JAMES, political writer; author of a political romance entitled “The Commonwealth of Oceana,” in which he argued that all secure government must be based on property, and for a democracy on this basis (1611-1677).

HARRIS, HOWEL, a noted Welsh Methodist, born at Trevecca, Brecon; embracing Calvinism, he at the age of 21 became an itinerant preacher, confining himself chiefly to Wales; in 1752 he took up his abode at Trevecca, where he erected a large house to accommodate those who sought his ministrations (1714-1773).

HARRIS, JOEL CHANDLER, American writer, born in Georgia, U.S.; author of “Uncle Remus,” his chief work a study of negro folk-lore, followed by interesting sketches and stories; b. 1848.

HARRIS, LUKE, founder of the “Brotherhood of the New Life,” born in Buckinghamshire, a spiritualistic Socialist; his system founded on SWEDENBORGIANISM (q. v.) on the one hand and a form of communism on the other, with a scriptural Christianity spiritualised as backbone; the destiny of man he regards as angelhood, or a state of existence like that of God, in which the unity of sex, or fatherhood and motherhood, meet in one; the late Laurence Oliphant and the late John Pulsford were among his disciples; b. 1823.

HARRISBURG (50), capital of Pennsylvania, is beautifully situated on the Susquehanna, 106 m.  NW. of Philadelphia; the industries include extensive iron and steel works and a flourishing lumber trade.

HARRISON, BENJAMIN.  President of the United States and grandson of William Henry Harrison, a former President, born at North Bend, Ohio; started as a lawyer in Indianapolis, became an important functionary in the court of Indiana, and subsequently proved himself a brave and efficient commander during the Civil War; engaging actively in politics, he in 1880 became a United States Senator; as the nominee of the Protectionist and Republican party he won the Presidency against Cleveland, but at the election of 1892 the positions were reversed; in 1893 he became a professor in San Francisco; b. 1833.