of the arch. Harris.-The fweep of the arch will not contain above fourteen inches, and perhaps you must cement pieces to many of the courfes in the bance, to make them long enough to contain 14 inches. Moxon. (2.) HANCES. In a fhip.] Falls of the fife-rails placed on bannisters on the poop and quarter-deck down to the gangway. Harris. HANCKENBUTTEL, a town of Lower Saxony, in the duchy of Lunenburg, 24 m. E. of Zell, (1.) HANCOCK, a county of the United States in the diftrict of Maine, bounded on the E. by Washington county, S. by the Atlantic, W. by Lincoln county, and N. by Lower Canada, containing 18 townfhips, and 9549 citizens in 1790. Penobscot is the capital. (2.) HANCOCK, a town of Maryland, in Wafhington county, on the N. fide of the Potomac, 4 miles from Bath, in Virginia, and 205 W. by S. of Philadelphia. Lon. 3. 2. W. of that city. Lat. 39: 39. N. (1.)* HAND. n. f. [band, hond, Saxon, and in all the Teutonic dialects.] 1. The palm with the fingers; the member with which we hold or use any inftrument. They laid bands upon him, and bound him hand and foot. Knolles's Hiftory.They band in hand, with wandering fteps and flow, Through Eden took their folitary way. Milton. -That wonderful inftrument the band, was it made to be idle? Berkley. 2. Measure of four inches; a measure used in the matches of horses; a palm. 3. Side, right or left.-For the other fide of the court-gate on this hand, and that band, were hangings of fifteen cubits. Exod. xxxviii. 15. 4. Part; quarter; fide.-It is allowed on all hands, that the people of England are more corrupt in their morals than any other nation this day under the fun. Swift. 5. Ready payment with refpect to the receiver. Of which offer the baffa accepted, receiving in band one year's tribute. Knolles's Hiftory-Thefe two muft make our duty very eafy; a confiderable reward in hand, and the affurance of a far greater recompence hereafter, Tillotson, 6. Ready payment with regard to the payer. Let not the wages of any man tarry with thee, but give it him out of hand. Tob. iv. 14. 7. Rate; price.-Time is the measure of bufinefs; money of wares: bufinefs is bought at a dear band, where there is fmall dispatch. Bacon. 8. Terms; conditions; rate.-With fimplicity admire and ac cept the myftery; but at no hand by pride, igno. rance, intereft, or vanity wrest it to ignoble senses, Taylor's Worthy Communicant.-It is either an ill fign or an ill effect, and therefore at no band confiftent with humility. Taylor's rule of living holy. 9. Act; deed; external action.--Thou faweft the contradiction between my heart and band. King Charles. 10. Labour; act of the hand.-Alnaf char was a very idle fellow, that never would fet his band to any bufines during his father's life. Addifon. I rather fufpect my own judgment than I can believe a fault to be in that poem, which lay fo long under Virgil's correction, and had his laft band put to it. - Addison. 11. Performance, Where are thefe porters, VOL. XI. PART 1. Thefe lazy knaves? Y'ave made a fine hand! fellows, There's a trim rabble let in. Shakespeare. 12. Power of performance.-He had a great mind to try his hand at a Spectator, and would fain have one of his writing in my works. Addifon. A friend of mine has a very fine band on the violin. Addifon. 13. Attempt; undertaking.-Out of them you dare take in hand to lay open the original of fuch a nation. Spenfer on Ireland. 14. Manner of gathering or taking. As her majefty hath received great profit, fo may fhe, by a mo derate hand, from time to time reap the like. Bacon. 15. Workmanship; power or act of manufacturing or making.-An intelligent being, coming out of the bands of infinite perfection, with an aver fion or even indifferency to be reunited with its Author, the fource of its utmost felicity, is fuch a fhock and deformity in the beautiful analogy of things, as is not confiftent with finite wifdom and perfection, Cheyne, 16, Manner of acting or per forming. The mafter faw the madness rife; His glowing cheeks, his ardent eyes; And while he heav'n and earth defy'd, Chang'd his hand, and check'd his pride. Dryd. 17. Agency; part in action.-God muft have fet a more than ordinary esteem upon that which David was not thought fit to have an hand in. South. 18. The act of giving or prefenting.-Let Tamar drefs the meat in my fight, that I may eat it at her hand, 2 Sam. xiii. 5. To night the poet's advocate I ftand, And he deferyes the favour at my band. Addif. 19. Act of receiving any thing ready to one's hand, when it only waits to be taken. His power reaches no farther than to compound and divide the materials that are made to his hand; but can do nothing towards the making or deftroying one atom of what is already in being. Locke.-Many, whofe greatnefs and fortune were not made to their hands, had fufficient qualifications and opportunities of rifing to these high pofts. Addifon. 20. Care; neceffity of managing.-Jupiter had a farm a long time upon his hands, for want of a tenant to come up to his price. L'Eftrange. When a statesman wants a day's defence, Or envy holds a whole week's war with fenfe, Or fimple pride for flattʼry makes demands, May dunce by dunce be whistled off my hands, lity, and chofe rather to advance clergymen and lawyers. Bacon's Henry VII.-However ftrict a hand is to be kept upon all defires of fancy, yet in recreation fancy must be permitted to speak. Locke. 35. Influence; management. very great found near band hath ftrucken many deaf. Bacon. It is not probable that any body fhould effect that at a distance, which, nearer hand, it cannot perform. Brown.-When mineral or metal is to be generated, nature needs not to have at band salt, fulphur, and mercury. Boyle. 23. Manual management. Nor fwords at hand, nor hiffing darts afar, Are doom'd t'avenge the tedious bloody war. Dryden. 24. State of being in preparation. Where is our ufual manager of mirth? What revels are in band? Is there no play, To eafe the anguish of a torturing hour? Shak. 25. State of being in prefent agitation. I look'd upon her with a foldier's eye; That lik'd, but had a rougher task in hand Than to drive liking to the name of war. Shak. -It is indifferent to the matter in band which way the learned fhall determine of it. Locke. 26. Cards held at a game.-There was never a hand drawn, that did double the rest of the habitable world, ́ before this. Bacon. 27. That which is ufed in oppofition to another. He would difpute, Confute, change hands, and ftill confute. Hudibr. 28. Scheme of action. Confult of your own ways, and think which band Is beft to take. Ben Johnson. -They who thought they could never be fecure, except the king were firft at their mercy, were willing to change the band in carrying on the war. Clarendon. 29. Advantage; gain; fuperiority. The French king, fuppofing to make his hand by thofe rude ravages in England, broke off his treaty of peace and proclaimed hoftility. Hayward. 30. Competition; conteft. She in beauty, education, blood, Holds band with any princess in the world. Shak. 31. Tranfmiffion; conveyance; agency of conveyance. The falutation by the band of me Paul. Col. iv. 18. 32. Poffeffion ; power.-Sacraments ferve as the moral inftruments of God to that purpofe; the ufe whereof is in our hands, the effect in his. Hooker. And tho' you war, like petty wrangling ftates, You're in my hand; and when I bid you ceafe, You fhall be crush'd together into peace. Dryd. Between the landlord and tenant there must be a quarter of the revenue of the land conftantly in their hands. Locke. It is fruitless pains to learn a language, which one may guess by his temper he will wholly neglect, as foon as an approach to manhood, fetting him free from a governor, shall put him into the hands of his own inclination. Locke.-Vectigales Agri were lands taken from the enemy, and diftributed amongst the foldiers, or left in the hands of the proprietors under the condition of certain duties. Arbuthnot. 33. Preffure of the bridle. Hollow men, like horses hot at hand, Make gallant show and promise of their mettle. Shakef. 34. Method of government; difcipline; reftraint. Menelaus bare an heavy hand over the citizens, having a malicious mind againft his countrymen. Mac. v. 23. He kept a ftrict hand on his nobi Flattery, the dang'rous nurfe of vice, Got hand upon his youth, to pleasures bent. Daniel. 36. That which performs the office of a hand in pointing.-The body, though it moves, yet not changing perceivable diftance with other bodies, as faft as the ideas of our own minds do naturally follow one another, the thing feems to stand still; as is evident in the hands of clocks and fhadows of fun-dials. Locke. 37. Agent; perfon employed; a manager.-The wifeft prince, if he can fave himself and his people from ruin, under the worst adminiftration, what may not his fubjects hope for when he changeth hands, and maketh ufe of the beft. Swift. 38. Giver and receiver.-This tradition is more like to be a notion bred in the mind of man, than transmitted from hand to hand through all generations. Tillotson. 39. An a&; a workman; a foldier. Your wrongs are known: impofe but your commands, This hour fhall bring you twenty thousand bands. Dryden. -Demetrius appointed the painter guards, pleafed that he could preferve that hand from the barbarity and infolence of foldiers. Dryden.-A dic. tionary containing a natural history requires too many bands, as well as too much time, ever to be hoped for. Locke. 40. Catch or reach with out choice.-The men of ifrael fmote as well the men of every city as the beaft, and all that came to hand. Judges. A fweaty reaper from his tillage brought First fruits, the green ear, and the yellow fheaf, Uncull'd as came to hand Milton. 41. Form or caft of writing. Here is th' indictment of the good lord Haftings, Which in a fet hand fairly is engross'd; Eleven hours I've spent to write it over. Shak. -Solyman fhewed him his own letters intercep ted, afking him if he knew not that band, if he knew not that feal? Knolles.-Being discovered by their knowledge of Mr Cowley's hand, I happily escaped. Denham. If my debtors do not keep their day, Deny their bands, and then refuse to pay, I must attend. Dryden. -Whether men write court or Roman hand, or any other, there is something peculiar in every one's writing. Cockburn.-The way to teach to write, is to get a plate graved with the characters of fuch hand you like. Locke.-Conftantia faw that the hand writing agreed with the contents of the letter. Addison. I present these thoughts in an ill band; but scholars are bad penmen: we seldom regard the mechanic part of writing. Felton on the Claffics.-They were wrote on both fides, and in a small hand. Arbuthnot. 42. HAND over head. Negligently; rathly; without feeing what one does.-So many ftrokes of the alarum bell of fear and awaking to other nations, and the facility of the titles, which, hand over head, have ferved their turn, doth ring the peal so much the louder. Bacon.-A country fellow got an unlucky tumble from a tree: Thus 'tis, fays a paffenger, when people will be doing things band over head, without either fear or wit. L'Eftrange. 43. HAND to HAND. Clofe fight. In fingle oppofition, hand to hand, He did confound the best part of an hour. Shak. He iffues, ere the fight, his dread command, That flings afar, and poniards hand to hand, Be banish'd from the field. Dryden. 44. Hand in HanD. In union; conjointly.—Had the fea been Marlborough's element, the war had been beftowed there, to the advantage of the country, which would then have gone hand in band with his own. Swift. 45. HAND in HAND. Fit; pat.-As fair and as good a kind of hand in band comparison, had been something too fair and too good for any lady in Britanny. Shakefp. Cymh. 46. HAND to mouth. As want requires.-I can get bread from band to mouth, and make even at the year's end. L'Etrange. 47. To bear in HAND. To keep in expectation; to elude.-A rafcally yea forfooth knave, to bear in hand, and then ftand upon fecurity. Shak. 48. To be IIAND and Glove. To be intimate and familiar; to fuit one another. (2) HAND, a member of the human body (§ 1, def. 1.) at the extremity of the arm. See ANA TOMY, 151-154, and 214. The mechanifin of the hand is excellently fitted for the various ufes and occafions we have for it, and the great number of arts and manufactures it is to be employed in. It confifts of a compages of nerves, and little bones joined into each other, which give it a great degree of ftrength, and at the fame time an unufual flexibility, to enable it to handle adjacent bodies, lay hold of them, and grasp them, in order either to draw them toward us or thurft them off. Anaxagoras is faid to have maintained that man owes all his wisdom, knowledge, and superiority over other animals, to the ufe of his hands. But Galen more juftly remarks, that man is not the wifeft creature, because he has hands; but he had hands given him because he was the wifeft creature; for it was not our hands that taught us arts, but our reafon. The hands are the organs of reafon, &c. In fcripture, the word hand is varioufly applied. To pour water on any one's hand, fignifies to ferve him. To wash the hands was a ceremony used to denote innocence from murder or manflaughter. To kifs the hand was an act of adoration. To fill the hand fignified taking poffeffion of the priesthood, and performing functions. To lean upon any one's hand was a mark of familiarity and fuperiority. To give the hand fignifies to grant peace, fwear friendship, promife fecurity, or make alliance. The right hand was the place of honour and refpect. Amongst the Greeks and Romans it was cuftomary for inferiors to walk on the left hand of fuperiors, that the right hand might be ready to afford protection and defence to their left fide, which was, on account of the awkwardnefs of the left hand, more exposed to danger. (3.) HAND, in falconry, is used for the foot of the hawk. To have a clean, ftrong, flender, glu. tinous hand, well clawed, are good qualities of a hawk of falcon. (4.) HAND, in the manege. See f 1. def. 2. It is alfo ufed for the fore foot of a horfe: alfo for a divifion of the horfe into two parts, with respect to the rider's hand. The fore hand includes the head, neck, and fore quarters; the hind hand s all the rest of the horse. (5.) HAND, in painting, fculpture, &c. is figu ratively used for the ftyle of a mafter. (6.) HAND is much used in compofition for that which is manageable by the hand, as a handfaw; or borne in the hand, as a handbarrow. (7.) HANDS are borne in coat armour, dexter and finifter; that is, right and left, expanded or open; and after other manners. A bloody hand in the centre of the efcutcheon is the badge of a baronet of Great Britain. (8.) HANDS, IMPOSITION OF. See IMPOSITION. *To HAND v. a. [from the noun.] 1. To give or tranfmit with the hand.-Judas was not far off, not only because he dipped in the fame dish, but because he was fo near that our Saviour could hand the fop unto him. Brown's Vulgar Errours.-I have been fhewn a written prophecy that is handed among them with great fecrecy. Addison. 2. To guide or lead by the hand. Angels did band her up, who next God dwell. Donne. By fafe and infenfible degrees he will pafs from a boy to a man, which is the most hazardous fiep in life: this therefore should be carefully watched, and a young man'with great diligence handed over it. Locke. 3. To feize; to lay hands on. Let him, that makes but trifles of his eyes, Firft hand me: on mine own accord, I'll off. 4. To manage; to move with the hand. 'Tis then that with delight we rove, Upon the boundlefs depth of love: I blefs my chains, I hand my oar, Shak Prior. Nor think on all I left on fhoar. 5. To tranfmit in fucceffion, with down; to deliver from one to another. They had not only a tradition of it in general, but even of several the moft remarkable particular accidents of it likewife, which they handed downwards to the fucceeding ages. Woodw.-I know no other way of securing thefe monuments, and making them numerous enough to be handed down to future ages. Addifon, Arts and fciences confift of scattered theorems and practices, which are handed about amongst the mafters, and only revealed to the filii artis, 'till fome great genius appears, who collects thefe difjointed propofitions, and reduces them into a regular fyftem. Arbuthnot.-One would think a ftory fo fit for age to talk of, and infancy to hear, were incapable of being handed down to us. Pope. HANDA, (Celt, Aonda, i. e. the ifle of one colour.] an inhabited ifland of Scotland, on the coast of Sutherland, 1 mile fquare. It has a large tremendous rock on the N. from 80 to 100 fathoms high, much frequented by fea fowls. HAND-BARROW. n.. A frame on which any thing is carried by the hands of two men, without wheeling on the ground.-A handbarrow, wheelbarrow, fuovel, and fpade. Tuffer.-Set the board whereon the hive standeth on a handbarrow, and carry them to the place you intend. Mortimer. * HAND-BASKET. n, S. A portable basket.Yon G 2 You must have woollen yarn to tie grafts with, (2.) HAND-BREADTH, a measure of 3 inches. HANDED, adj. [from hand.] 1. Having the ufe of the hand left or right.-Many are right handed, whofe livers are weakly conftituted; and many ufe the left, in whom that part is ftrongeft. Brown's Fulg. Err. 2. With hands joined.Into their inmoft bow'r Handed they went. Milton (1.) HANDEL, George Frederick, a moft eminent mafter and compofer of mufic, born at Hall, in Upper Saxony, 24th Feb. 1684. His father was a physician in that city, and was upwards of 60 years of age when he was born. During his infancy young Handel amufed himself with mufical inftruments, and made confiderable progrefs before he was 7 years of age, without inftruction. His propenfity for mufic at laft became fo strong, that his father, who defigned him for the law, forbade him to touch a mufical inftrument. Handel however got a little clavichord privately conveyed to a room in the uppermoft ftory of the house, to which he conftantly fole when the family were afleep; and thus made fuch advances in his art, as enabled him to play on the harpsichord. He was firft taken notice of by the Duke of Saxe Weiffenfels on the following occafion. His father went to fee another fon by a former wife, who was valet de chambre to the duke. Young Handel being then in his 7th year, begged leave to go along with him; but being refufed, he followed the chaife on foot, and overtook it. His father, after chiding him for his difobedience, took him into the chaife. While he was in the duke's court, it was impoffible to keep him from harpsichords; and he fometimes got into the organ-loft at church, and played after service was over. On one of thefe occafions, the duke happening to go out later than ufual, found fomething fo uncommon in Handel's manner of playing, that he inquired of his valet who it was; and receiving for anfwer that it was his brother, he defired to see him. The duke was fo much taken with the mufical genius fhown by young Handel, that he perfuaded his father to let him follow his inclination. He made the boy a prefent; and told him, that if he minded his ftudies, no encouragement fhould be wanting. On his return to Hall, Handel was placed under one Zackaw, the organist of the cathedral, and was even then able to fupply his mafter's place in his abfence. At 9 years of age he began to compofe church-fervices for voices and inftruments, and continued to compofe one every week for 3 years. At 14, he far excelled his mafter, as he himself owned; and he was fent to Berlin, where he had a relation about the court, on whofe care his pa rents could rely. The opera was then flourishing, being encouraged by Frederick 1. K. of Pruffia, and under the direction of Buononcini, Attilio, and other eminent Italian mafters. Buononcini, being of a haughty difpofition, treated Handel with contempt; but Attilio behaved to him with great kindness, and he profited much by his in. ftructions. His abilities foon recommended him to the king, who frequently made him prefents. After this he went to Hamburgb, where the opera was little inferior to that of Berlin. Soon after his arrival his father died; and his mother being left in narrow circumstances, he thought it neceffary to procure fome fcholars, and to accept a place in the orcheftra; by which means, instead of being a burden, he became a great relief to her. At this time, the firft harpsichord in Hamburgh was played by one Kefer, who alfo excelled in compofition; but he, having involved himself in debt, was obliged to abfcond. Upon this vacancy, the perfon who had been used to play the fecond harpsichord claimed the firft by right of fuccef fion; but was oppofed by Handel, who founded his claim upon his fuperior abilities. After much difpute, it was decided in favour of Handel; but his antagonist, as they were coming out of the orchestra, made a push at Handel's breaft with a fword, which muft undoubtedly have killed him, had there not fortunately been a mufic-book in the bofom of his coat. Handel, though yet but in his 15th year, became composer to the house; and the fuccefs of Almeria, his firft opera, was so great, that it ran 30 nights without interruption. Within less than a year after this, he fet two others, called Florinda and Norene, which were received with equal applaufe. During his ftay here, which was about 4 or 5 years, he alfo compofed a con. fiderable number of fonatas, which are now loft. Here his abilities procured him the acquaintance of many perfons of note, particularly the prince of Tufcany, brother to John Gafton de Medicis the grand duke. This prince preffed him to go with him to Italy, where he affered him that no convenience fhould be wanting; but this offer Handel declined, being refolved not to give up his independency for any advantage that could be offered him. In his 19th year, Handel took a journey to Italy, where he was received with the greatest kindness by the prince of Tuscany, a well as by the grand duke, who was impatient to have fomething compofed by fo great a master; and notwithstanding the difference between the ftyle of the Italian mufic and the German, te which Handel had hitherto been accustomed, he fet an opera, called Roderigo, which pleased fo well, that he was rewarded with 100 fequins and a fervice of plate. After staying about a year in Florence, he went to Venice, where he is faid to have been first discovered at a masquerade. He was playing on a harpsichord in his vifor, when Scar latti, a famous performer, cried out, that the perfon who played must be either the famous Saxon or the devil. Here he compofed his opera called Agrippina, which was performed 27 nights fucceflively, with the highest applause. From Venice he proceeded to Rome, where he became acquainted with cardinal Ottoboni and many other dignitaries, by whom he was frequent ly attacked on account of his religion; but Handel declared he would live and die in the religion in which he had been educated. Here he compofed an oratorio called Refurrectione, and 150 can tatas, befides fome fonatas, and other mufic. Ot toboni alfo contrived to have a trial of skill between him and Dominici Scarlatti. When they came to the organ, Scarlatti himfelf yielded the fuperiority to Handel. From Rome Handel went to Naples; af ter which he paid a second visit to Florence; and at laft, having spent 6 years in Italy, fet out for his na tive country. In his way thither, he was introdu ced at the court of Hanover by baron Kilmanfeck; when the Elector, (afterwards K. George I.) of fered him a penfion of 1500 crowns a-year as an inducement for him to continue there. This generous offer he declined, on account of his having promifed to vifit the court of the Elector Palatine. The elector being made acquainted with this ob jection, generously ordered him to be told, that his acceptance of the penfion fhould not reftrain him from his promife, but that he should be at full liberty to be abfent a year or more if he chofe it, and to go wherever he thought fit. Soon after, the place of mafter of the chapel was beftowed up on Handel; and having vifited his mother, who was now aged and blind, and his old mafter Zackaw, and staid fome time at the court of the Elector Palatine, he fet out for England, where he arrived in 1710. Operas were then a new en tertainment in England, and were conducted in a very abfurd manner; but Handel foon put them on a better footing; and fet a drama called Rinalda, which was performed with uncommon fuccefs. Having ftaid a year in England, he returned to Hanover; but in 1712 he again came over to England; and the peace of Utrecht being concluded a few months afterwarde, he compofed a grand Te Deum and Jubilate on the occafion. He now found the nobility very defirous that he fhould refume the direction of the opera-houfe in the Hay market; and queen Anne having added her authority to their folicitations, and conferred on him a penfion of L. 200 a-year, he remained in Britain till the death of the queen in 1714, and the acceffion of king George I; who added a penfion of L. 200 a-year to that beftowed by queen Anne; which was foon after increased to L. 400, on his being appointed to teach the young prin ceffes mufic. In 1715, Handel compofed his opera of Amadige; but from that time to 1720 he composed only Tefeo and Paftor Fido, Buononcini and Attilio being then composers for the operas. About this time a project was formed by the nobility for erecting a kind of Academy at the Hay Market, to fecure to themselves a conftant fupply of operas to be compofed by Handel, and per formed under his direction. No lefs than L. 50,000 were subscribed for this scheme, of which the king fubfcribed L. 1000, and it was propofed to continue the undertaking for 14 years. Handel went over to Dresden, to engage fingers, and returned with Senefino and Duriftanti. Buononcini and Attilio had ftill a ftrong party, but not equal to that of Handel; and therefore in 1720 he obtain ed leave to perform his opera of Radamifto. The houfe was fo crowded, that many fainted; and 40s. were offered by fome for a feat in the galle ry., The contention, however, ftill ran very high between Handel's party and that of the two Ita lian mafters; upon which Dean Swift, with his ufual acrimony, wrote the following epigram. Some fay that fignior Buononcini Compar'd to Handel's a mere ninny i Others do fwear that to him Handel Is hardly fit to hold the candle. Strange that fuch high contests should be "Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee! At laft it was determined that the rivals should be jointly employed in making an opera, in which each fhould take a distinct act, and he who by the general fuffrage was allowed to have given the beft proof of his abilities should be put in poffef fion of the house. This opera was called Muzio Scævola, and Handel fet the laft act. It is faid that Handel's fuperiority was owned even in the overture; but when the act was performed, there remained no pretence of doubt. The academy was now firmly established, and Handel conduct ed it for nine years with great fuccefs; but about that time an irreconcileable enmity took place be tween Handel and Senefino. Senefino accused Handel of tyranny, and Handel accufed Senetino of rebellion. The nobility became mediators for fome time, but having failed in this, they at laft became parties in the quarrel. Handel refolved to difmifs Senefing, and the nobility refolved not to permit him. The haughtiness of Handel's tem per would not allow him to yield, and the affair ended in the diffolution of the academy. Handel now found that his abilities, great as they were, could not fupport him againft fuch powerful op pofition. His audience dwindled away, and Hanə del entered into an agreement with Heidegger to carry on aperas in conjunction. New fingers were engaged from Italy; but the offended hobi. lity raised a fubfcription against him, to carry on operas in the play-houfe in Lincoln's-Inn fields. Handel bore up 4 years against this oppofition : 3 in partnership with Heidegger, and one by himself? but though his mufical abilities were fuperior to thofe of his antagonists, the aftonishing powers of the voice of Farinelli, whom the oppofite party had engaged, determined the victory againft him. At laft Handel, having spent all he was worth in a fruitless oppofition, defifted; but his difapoint ment had fuch an effect upon him, that for fome time his mind was deranged, and at the fame time his right arm was rendered afelefs by a stroke of the palfy. In this deplorable fituation, he was fent to the baths of Aix-la-Chapelle; from which he re ceived fuch extraordinary and fudden relief, that his cure was looked upon by the nuns as miraculous. In 1736, he returned to England, and foon after his Alexander's Feaft was performed with aps plaufe at Covent Garden. The fuccefs and fplen dor of the Hay Market was by this time fo much reduced by repeated mifmanagements, that lord Middlefex undertook the direction of it himself, and applied to Handel for compofition. He accord ingly compofed two operas called Faramondo and Alejandro Severo, for which, in 1737, he received L. 1000. In 1738 he received L. 1500 from a fingle benefit, and nothing feemed wanting to retrieve his affairs, except fuch conceffions on his part as his opponents had a right to expect The |