Hourly

Occurring or performed every hour; often repeated; frequent; continual. -adv . Every hour; continually; frequently Hour'-plate, n. The dial or plate of a clock, chronometer, ., on which the hours are indicated by inscription. Housaton'ic, in Ma achusetts , a post-village of Berks hire co., about 120 m. S.W. of Boston. Housaton'ic, a river which rises in Berks hire co., Ma achusetts, and entering Connecticut in Litchfield co., continues a general S., S.E., and S. course to Long Island Sound, which it falls into between New Haven and Fairfield cos. Length , about 150 m. House, n . [A.S., O. Sax., O.M.H. Ger., O. Fris., and Icel. hus; Ger. haus; D. huis; Dan. huus ; allied to Lat. casa , and Ar. kas a , to cover.] A building or edifice for the habitation of man; a dwelling-place, mansion, or abode for any of the human species; also a covering or shelter for animals of whatsoever kind. The first form of the house, considered generally as a dwelling, may be found in the conical huts and wigwams constructed by uncivilized nations. These consist chiefly of a simple framework of sticks, tied tightly together at the top, and covered with various materials, in accordance with the climate of the country in which they are erected. When implements and tools fit for hewing and shaping timber, and working stone, had been brought into use, and men had attained a degree of semi-civilization, the buildings that they reared were most probably somewhat similar to the rude blockhouses formed by settlers in the woods, from which the transition to more durable abodes, built of brick and stone, but still of one story only in height, and covered with thatch supported on an inclined framework, would be rapid. The houses of the ancient Egyptians, and those of all Eastern nations, in the early ages of the world, consisted of a series of contiguous apartments opening into a central court, that was frequently adorned with shrubs and a fountain in the centre (Fig. 1326), and always separated from the Fig . 1326. - AN ANCIENT JEWISH HOUSE. street by a high blank wall with a single door in it, for the purpose of affording the means of ingre and egre to the inmates. The walls were built of sun dried bricks plastered over with stucco; the windows were small, the heat, rain, and wind being excluded by wooden shutters that moved on hinges; the floors were paved with stone, or formed of cement; and the roof, which was often used as a terrace on which the occupants of the building were accustomed to sit and walk in the cool of the morning and evening, and even sleep during the sultry nights of summer, was flat, being formed of tiles and earth, supported on beams of timber, and of sufficient thickne to prevent the entrance of the rain. When the house was two stories in height, the upper rooms were used as sitting-rooms and bedrooms, while the lower ones served as receptacles for grain and stores. The houses of the Greeks and Romans were built on a similar plan. In Greece, the dwelling house was situated at the lower end of a court, which was entered from the street through a pa age, on either side of which were stables and offices. It was generally two stories in height, the women occupying the upper rooms, and the men those on the ground-floor. On this floor large chambers were also formed, one of which served as a work-room for the female part of the household, and the other as a common dining-hall. Round this hall, and opening into it, were apartments which were devoted to the accommodation of guests and strangers. The general arrangement of the houses of the Romans is described under HOUSE, ROMAN, q. v. The method of construction adopted by the Greeks and Romans, the main feature of which was a central court with chambers opening into it on every side, was followed, with a few modifications, in all European countries during the Middle Ages. Entrance into an inner quadrangle was afforded by a large arched gateway in one of the sides; the parlors, kitchens, and living-rooms being placed round this square court on the ground floor, and the sleeping-rooms on the floor above, all opening into a cloister, or gallery. In the houses of the med iæval period, the walls of the basement story were strongly built, to afford protection to the inmates against the attacks of robbers and personal foes. The shop and store-rooms, and sometimes the stables of the owner of the house, were to be found on this floor. The principal apartments were situated on the floor immediately above, to which acce was gained by a small winding staircase, lighted by narrow windows in the wall, which could be defended by a single resolute swordsman against a score of hostile visitants. In France, Scotland, and Belgium, the houses were often many stories in height, and of great size. The roofs were high and steep, and a picturesque character was given to many of these old buildings by the peaked gables, which were often richly adorned by carved woodwork (Fig. 1124). Another peculiar feature in med iæval houses was the projection of one floor over that which was immediately below it; so that in a street in which the houses were of considerable height, the upper stories of the buildings on either side were only a few feet apart. There were no ceilings; the floors were generally dirty, even in houses that were occupied by the nobility and the higher cla es; and the rooms were dark, the light being admitted through pieces of horn, or small diamond-shaped panes of illmade gla , defective in transparency, and commonly of a greenish hue. Although the houses of Italy, Holland, Belgium, Flanders, and France, that were built during the 12th and 13th centuries, are frequently marked by great architectural beauty externally, yet little improvement was made in domestic architecture in England, especially in the interior arrangements, until the reign of Elizabeth, when the architects of the day began to construct dwelling-houses with some regard to the locality in which they were situated, and the purposes for which they were specially required, and also in accordance with the tastes, habits, and pursuits of the persons for whom they were erected. The houses of the 18th century, consisting chiefly of large square piles of red brick, pierced with numerous windows in front and at the back, with a porch over the entrance, and a heavy slated roof projecting beyond the face of the walls, and supported by a bold but simple cornice, were roomy and comfortable, if not picturesque and ornate in appearance; but those of the present age, as exemplified in our principal cities, as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, ., combine external elegance of struc ture with judiciously contrived internal arrangements that tend to the comfort and convenience of the occupants in every respect. Practical details respecting house-building and matters in immediate connection with it, are given elsewhere. - See BUILDING, BRICKWORK, . -A temple; a church; a monastery; as, a religious house. -A household; a family circle. "I am all the daughters of my father's house." - Shaks. -Manner of living; household affairs; domestic routine; concerns of housekeeping; regulation of the table; as, he keeps a good house , they have set up house together. - A family of ancestors, descendants, and kindred; a tribe; a clan; a race of persons from the same stock; lineage; as, the house of Brandenburg. - A body of men united in their legislative capacity; one of the estates or political bodies of a kingdom or state a embled in parliament, congre , diet, or any legislative se ion; as, the House of Commons, House of Representatives, the upper house , lower house , . (Games.) In che , a square on the board, looked upon as the rightful place of a piece. -A house of public entertainment; an hotel; an inn; as, the Girard House , Philadelphia. (Astrol.) The station of a planet in the heavens. (Com.) A firm; a commercial establishment; a mercantile or busine concern; as, the house of Rothschild, Sons & Co. House of call , a tavern, or other house of public resort, where operatives a emble when unemployed, ready for any call upon their services: - hence, in England, a drinking-saloon, tavern, or gin-palace, frequented by its own set of customers. House of correction, a prison; a jail; a house of detention. - House of God, a temple, church, or other sacred edifice. To bring down the house, to elicit a general hurricane of applause from an auditory in a theatre or other place of popular entertainment; as, Garrick, in "Richard," brought down the house. House'-dog, n. A watch-dog; a dog kept to guard one's house or premises. House'ful, a . As much as a house will hold. Household, n. Those who keep together and dwell under the same roof, and compose a family. -a. Belonging to the house and family; domestic. Householder, n. The master or chief of a household his family; a householder. - A female servant who has the chief care of the family. House'keeping, n . The family state in a dwelling; care of domestic concerns. -a. Domestic; useful to a family. House'leek, n. ( Bot . ) See SEMPERVIVUM. House'le , a. Destitute of a house or habitation; destitute of shelter. House'line, n. ( Naut . ) A small cord made of three small yarns, and used for seizings. House'maid, n. A female servant employed to keep a house clean, . House'-pigeon, n. A domesticated or tame pigeon. House of Commons, House of Lords. See