Hooft is one of the most brilliant figures that adorn Dutch literature at its best period. He was the first writer to introduce a modern and European tone into belles lettres, and the first to refresh the sources of native thought from the springs of antique and Renaissance poetry. His lyrics and his pastoral of Cranida are strongly marked by the influence of Tasso and Sannazaro ; his later tragedies belong more exactly to the familiar tone of his native country. Bat high as Hooft stands among the Dutch poets, he stands higher, he holds perhaps the highest place, among writers of Datcli prose. His historical style has won the warmest eulogy from so temperate a critic as Motley, and his letters are the most charming ever published in the Dutch language. After Yondel, he may on the whole be considered the most considerable author that Holland has produced.
Hooft s poetical and dramatic works were collected in two volumes, 1871, 1875, by P. Leeridertz. Many editions exist of his prose works.
HOOGEVEEN (i.e., High Fen or Moor), a village and commune of the Netherlands in the province of Drenthe, about 12 miles north-east of Meppel on the railway opened in 1870 between that town and Groningen. The village contains a Reformed church, erected in 1652 and restored in 1766 and 1801, a small but handsome synagogue, a poorhouse dating from 1810, and a library belonging to the local branch of the society Tot nut van t Alyemeen; and among the industrial establishments of the commune are timber yards, sail factories, block factories, tanneries, brick-works, gin distilleries, and breweries. Hoogeveen was founded in 1625 by Baron van Eichten, and i L ne following year it was erected into a lordship winch lasted till 1795. The population of the commune, which was 7339 in 1840, had risen to 10,763 in 1874.
HOOGHLY, or Húglí. The Hooghly river is the most westerly and commercially the most important channel by which the Ganges enters the Bay of Bengal. It takes its distinctive name near the town of Santipur, about 120 miles from the sea. The stream now known as the Hooghly re presents three western deltaic distributaries of the Ganges viz.,—(1) the Bhagirathi, (2) the Jalangi, and (3) part of the Matabhanga. The Bhagirathi and Jalangi unite at Nadiya. above the point of their junction with the lower waters of the Matabhanga, which has taken the name of the Churni before the point of junction and thrown out new distributaries of its own. These three western distributaries are known as "The Nadiya Rivers," and are important, not only as great highways for internal traffic, but also as the headwaters of the Hooghly. Like other deltaic distribu taries, they are subject to sudden changes in their channels, and to constant silting up. The supervising and keeping- open of the Nadiya rivers has, therefore, formed one of the great tasks of fluvial engineering in Bengal. Proceeding south from Santipur, with a twist to the east, the Hooghly river divides Murshidabad from Hooghly district, until it touches the district of the Twenty-Four Parganas in 22 57 30" N. lat. and 88 27 15" E. long. It then proceeds almost due south to Calcutta, next twists to the south-west, and finally turns south, entering the Bay of Bengal in 21 41 N. lat. and 88 E. long.
In the 40 miles of its course that are above Calcutta, the channels of the Hooghly are under no supervision, and the result is that they have silted up and shifted to such an extent as to be no longer navigable for sea-going ships. Yet it was upon this upper section that all the famous ports of Bengal lay in olden times. From Calcutta to the sea (about 80 miles) the river is a record of engineer ing improvement and success. A minute supervision, with steady dredging and constant readjustment of buoys, now renders it a safe waterway to Calcutta for ships of the largest tonnage. Much attention has also been paid to the port of Calcutta. For its trade, shipping, and adminis tration, see Calcutta.
The tide runs rapidly on the Hooghly, and produces a remarkable example of the fluvial phenomenon known as a " bore." This con sists of the headwave of the advancing tide, hemmed in where the estuary narrows suddenly into the river, and often exceeds 7 feet in height. It is felt as high up as Calcutta, and frequently sinks small boats or dashes them to pieces on the bank. The difference from the lowest point of low-water in the dry season to the highest point of high-water in the rains is reported at 20 feet 10 inches. The greatest mean rise of tide, about 16 feet, takes place in March, April, or May, with a declining range during the rainy season to a mean of 10 feet, and a minimum during freshets of 3 feet (i inches. The scenery on the banks of the Hooghly varies greatly. The sea approach presents nothing to view but sandbanks, succeeded by mean-looking mud formations covered with coarse grass. As the river narrows, however, the country improves. Trees and rice fields and villages are common, and at length a section is reached where the banks are high, and lined with hamlets buried under evergreen groves. Then come long tiers of shipping, with the stately painted mansions of Garden Reach on the margin in the foreground, the fort rising from the great plain on the bank higher up, and the domes, steeples, and noble public buildings of Calcutta beyond, all gradually unfolding their beauties in a long panorama.
HOOGHLY, a British district in the lieutenant-governor ship of Bengal, lying between 22 13 45" and 23 13 15" N. lat., and between 87 47 and 88 33 E. long. The area, including the magistracy of Howrah, amounted in 1878 to 1467 square miles. It forms the south-eastern portion of the Bardwan division, and is bounded N. by the district of Bardwan, E. by the Hooghly river, separating it from the districts of Nadiya and the Twenty-Four Parganas; S. by the Rupmirdyan, separating it from Midnapur ; and W. by the same river, separating it from Midnapur, and by Bardwan district.
The district is flat, with a gradual ascent to the north and north-west. The scenery along the high-lying bank of the Hooghly has a quiet beauty of its own, presenting the appearance of a connected series of orchards and gardens, interspersed with factories, villages, and temples. The principal rivers are the Hooghly, the Damodar, and the Rupnarayan. The Damodar is the only large river which intersects the district. As in other deltaic districts, the highest land lies nearest the rivers, and the lowest levels are found midway between two streams. There are in con sequence considerable marshes both between the Hooghly and the Damodar and between the latter river and the Rupnarayan.
The first regular census of the district (1872) showed a population of 1,488,556 persons, of whom 722,856 were males and 765,700 females. Of these 813 were Non-Asiatics, the great majority of them Europeans, and 557 were of mixed races (Eurasians). The Hindus numbered 1,186,435 ; Mahometans, 299,025 ; and the Christian community, 2583. Seven municipalities contain a popu lation of over 5000 each, viz., Howrah, 97,784 ; Hooghly and Chinsurah given as one town, 34,761 ; Serampur, 24,448 ; Baidyabati, 13,332 ; Bansbaria, 7861 ; Bhadreswar, 7417 ; and Kotrang, 6811. Howrah (q.v.)isthe largest and most important town in the district. Amongst other places of interest are ; Tribeni, a place of great sanctity, and the scene of many religious j gatherings ; Panduah, now a small village, but in ancient times i the fortified seat of a Hindu raja ; Tarakeswar, a village containing a large and richly endowed shrine of great holiness, visited at all times of the year by crowds of pilgrims. The total revenue in 1870-71 was 239,452, and the expenditure 84,989. In 1870 there were 16 magisterial and 35 civil and revenue courts, with 8 covenanted English oflieers. The regular police force of Hooghly and Howrah consisted (1871) of 1140 men, maintained at a cost of 20,726. There was also in 1870 a municipal force (exclusive of Howrah) of 583 men, costing 4475, and a rural police of 7068 men, costing 17,856. The number of Government-aided schools in
