the claims of a right-minded and ethical religion against those of mere sacerdotal traditionalism. His ‘‘ middoth,” so far as they go (but they do not go far), are based on sound principles of logie and hermeneutie; the so-called ‘‘ prosbol,”” by which he evaded the restrictions laid upon commerce through the law relating to the sibbatic year, showed that he possessed at least some power of adapting old institutions to the changing circumstances and wants of a progressive society ; and if most of the questions which are alleged to have divided his sehool from that of Shammai cannot but strike the modern reader as having been infinitely small, the ‘*golden rule” and some other sayings attributed to him show that he was not incapahle of large and true views on the deepest problems of human life.
A remote descendant of the same name, who flourished about 350 a.d., is said to have sought to quiet his co-religionists, restive under foreign domination, with the novel doctrine that all the ‘* Messianic” prophecies of the Old Testament had related to Hezekiah, and had been fulfilled in him.
Our only source of information with regard to Hillel “the old” is the Talmud, unless indeed the Pollion referred to once and again by Josephus be also Hillel under a Greek name. For the grounds on which this probable identification rests, and for a masterly sketch of Hillel and his place in the history of Jsract, the great work of Ewald may be consulted (Gesch. d. V. Jsrael, vol. v.). See also Delitzsch, Jesus u. Hillel (Gd ed. 1879); Derenbourg, Jistotre de la Palestine, pp. 176-92; and Schiirer, Neutestumentliche Zeitgeschichte, sec. 25. All the recent works dealing with the life of Christ also touch upon this subject, especially with reference to the question regarding the * originality” of the two teachers. Renan, Keim, and Farrar (vol. ii. appendix) may be specially named.
HILLER, Johann Adam (1728–1804), musical composer, was born at Wendisch-Ossig near Gérlitz in Silesia, Decem- ber 25, 1728. By the death of his father in 1734 he was left dependent to a large extent on the charity of friends. Entering in 1747 the Kreuzschule in Dresden, the school frequented many years afterwards by Richard Wagner, he afterwards went to the university of Leipsic, where he studied jurisprudence, supporting himself by giving music lessons, and also by performing at concerts both on the flute and as a vocalist. Gradually he adopted music as his sole profession, and devoted himself more especially to the per- manent establishment of a concert institute at Leipsic. It was indeed he who originated (in 1781) the celabrated Gewandhaus concerts which still flourish at Leipsic. In 1789 he became “cantor” of the Thomas school there, a position previously held by the great Johu Sebastian Bach. Mle died June 16, 1804. Two of his pupils placed a monument to his memory in front of the Thomas school. Hiller’s compositions are numerous, and comprise almost every kind of church music, from the cantata to the simple chorale. But infinitely more important are his operettas, 14 in number, which for a long time retained their place on the boards, and had considerable influence on the development of light dramatic music in Germany. The Jolly Cobbler, Love in the Country, and the Village Barber were amongst the most popular of his works. Hiller also excelled in songs and ballads of the sentimental kind. With great simplicity of structure his music com- bines a considerable amount of genuine melodic invention. Although an admirer and imitator of the Italian school, Hiller fully appreciated the greatness of Handel, for the appreciation of whose music in Germany he did much. It was under his direction that the Jfessiah was for the first time given at Berlin, more than forty years after the composition of that great work. Hiller was also a writer on music, and for some years (1766-1770) edited a musical weekly periodical named Wochentliche Nachrichten und Anmerkungen die Musik betreffend.
HILL TIPPERAH, a native state adjoining the British district of Tipperah, Bengal, lying between 22° 59’ and 24° ol N. lat., and between 91° 12’ and 92° 24’ E. long., with en area of about 3867 square miles, and population (1878) 75,792. It is bounded on the N. by the Assam district of Sylhet, on the W. by the Bengal districts of Tipperah and Noakhali, on the 8. by Nodékhalf and Chittagong districts, and on the E. by the Lushai country and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. As its name implies the country is hilly. Five or six ranges of hills run parallel from north to south, at an average distance of about 12 miles from each other. The hills are covered for the most part with bamboo jungle, while the low ground abounds with trees of various kinds, canebrakes, and swamps. ‘The principal ranges are, begin- ning from the east, the Jampui, Sakkankhang, Langtarai, and Atha4ramura. The chief rivers are the Gumti, Haord, Khozai, Dulai, Manu, and Pheni. During the heavy rains the people in the plains use boats as almost the sole means of conveyance. The forests give shelter to numbers of wild elephants and other large game. Small game of various kinds are met with.
The history of the state relates to two distinct periods—the traditional period described in the Adjmadld, or ‘‘Chronicles of the Kings cf Tipperah,” and the period since 1407 a.d. The Ldjmdld is a history in Bengali verse, compiled by the Brahmans of the court of Tripura. In the early history of the state, the rajas were in a state of chronic feud with all the neighbouring countries. The worship of the All-destroyer was here, as elsewhere in India, associated with the practice of human sacrifice, and in no part of India were more victims offered up. 1t was not until the beginning of the 17th century that the Mughals obtained any footing in this country. By dint of constant invasions and continual intrigues, the Mahometans gradually established themselves, and Tipperah soon became a mere Mughal province under a Mussulman governor. The raja still remained in possession of the hilly tracts, but sulject to the nawab of Murshidabad. When the East India Company obtained the diwdni of Bengal in 1765, so much of Tipperah as had been placed on the rent-roll came under British rule. Since 1808, each successive ruler has reccived investiture from the British Government, and has been required to pay the usual vazar or tribute on acecssion. The state has a chronological era of its own, adopted by Raja Birraj, from whom the present raja is 92d in descent. The year 1875 corresponded with 1285 of the Tipperah era.
Both as regards its constitution and its relations to the British Government, the state of Hill Tipperah differs alike from the independent native states of India and from those which are tributary and dependent. Besides being the ruler of Hill Tipperah, the raja holds an estate in the British district of Tipperah, called chaklé Roshnabad, which is by far the most valuable of his possessions. The form of government is despotic and patriarchal. The raji’s word is law, without appeal. In 1871 an English officer was appointed as political agent to protect British interests and advise with the raja. The most important hill tribe is that of the Tipperahs, who were estimated in 1874-75 to number 34,727. There are no towns in Hill Tipperah. Agartala, the capital of the state and residence of the raja, is merely a moderate-sized village situated on the north bank of the Maura.
The prineipal crop and inain food staple is rice. The other articles of produce are cotton, chillies, and vegetables. The chief exports are cotton, timber, ¢i/, bamboo canes, thatching-grass, and firewood. Oceasionally small imports are required from the neighbouring dis- tricts. The total revenue in 1874-75 was £18,693. Besides this, the raja’s estates in Tipperah and Sylhet yield about £50,000 and £1400 respectively. His total annual incoine, therefore, is about £70,000. The police force (1874-75) consisted of 102 men, and the raja maintains a force of 277 officers and men. The state has only 2 schools, and only 103 boys are being educated. The climate of Hill Tipperah is generally pleasant; the annual rainfall is 60 inches. The chief endemic diseases are bowel complaints, remittent and inter- mittent fevers, and rheumatisin; the principal epidemie is cholera.
