# The Nuttall Encyclopædia/F

F
Faber, Frederick William, a Catholic divine and hymn-writer, born at Calverley, Yorkshire; at Oxford he won the Newdigate Prize in 1836; for three years was rector of Elton, but under the influence of Newman joined the Church of Rome (1845), and after founding a brotherhood of converts at Birmingham in 1849, took under his charge a London branch of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri; wrote several meritorious theological works, but his fame chiefly rests on his fine hymns, the “Pilgrims of the Night” one of the most famous (1814-1863).
Faber, George Stanley, an Anglican divine, born in Holland; a voluminous writer on theological subjects and prophecy (1773-1854).
Fabian, St., Pope from 236 to 251; martyred along with St. Sebastian during the persecution of Decius.
Fabian Society, a middle-class socialist propaganda, founded in 1883, which “aims at the reorganisation of society by the emancipation of land and industrial capital from individual and class ownership, and vesting of them in the community for the general benefit”; has lectureships, and issues “Essays” and “Tracts”; it watches and seizes its opportunities to achieve Socialist results, and hence the name. See Fabius Quintus (1).
Fabii, a family of ancient Rome of 307 members, all of whom perished in combat with the Veii, 477 B.C., all save one boy left behind in Rome, from whom descended subsequent generations of the name.
Fabius Pictor, the oldest annalist of Rome; his annals of great value; 216 B.C.
Fabius Quintus, (Maximus Verrucosus), a renowned Roman general, five times consul, twice censor and dictator in 221 B.C.; famous for his cautious generalship against Hannibal in the Second Punic War, harassing to the enemy, which won him the surname of “Cunctator” or delayer; d. 203 B.C.
Fabius Quintus (Rullianus), a noted Roman general, five times consul and twice dictator; waged successful war against the Samnites in 323 B.C.
Fabius, The American, General Washington, so called from his Fabian tactics. See Fabius Quintus (1).
Fable of the Bees, a work by Mandeville, a fable showing how vice makes some people happy and virtue miserable, conceived as bees.
Fabliaux, a species of metrical tales of a light and satirical nature in vogue widely in France during the 12th and 13th centuries; many of the stories were of Oriental origin, but were infused with the French spirit of the times; La Fontaine, Boccaccio, and Chaucer drew freely on them; they are marked by all the vivacity and perspicuity, if also lubricity, of their modern successors in the French novel and comic drama.
Fabre, Jean, a French Protestant, celebrated for his filial piety; he took the place of his father in the galleys, who had been condemned to toil in them on account of his religious opinions (1727-1797).
Fabre d'Eglantine, a French dramatic poet, born at Carcassonne; wrote comedies; was a member of the Convention and of the Committee of Public Safety, of the extreme party of the Revolution; falling under suspicion, was guillotined along with Danton (1752-1794).
Fabricius, Caius, a Roman of the old school, distinguished for the simplicity of his manners and his incorruptible integrity; his name has become the synonym for a poor man who in public life deals honourably and does not enrich himself; was consul 282 B.C.
Fabricius or Fabrizio, Girolamo, a famous Italian anatomist, born at Aquapendente; became professor at Padua in 1565, where he gained a world-wide reputation as a teacher; Harvey declares that he got his first idea of the circulation of the blood from attending his lectures (1537-1619).
Fabroni, Angelo, a learned Italian, born in Tuscany; wrote the Lives of the illustrious literati of Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and earned for himself the name of the “Plutarch” of his country (1732-1803).
Facciolati, Jacopo, lexicographer, born at Torreglia; became a professor of Theology and Logic at Padua; chiefly interested in classical literature; he, in collaboration with an old pupil, Egidio Forcellini (1688-1768), began the compilation of a new Latin dictionary, which was completed and published two years after his death by his colleague; this work has been the basis of all subsequent lexicons of the Latin language (1682-1769).
Facial Angle, an angle formed by drawing two lines, one horizontally from the nostril to the ear, and the other perpendicularly from the advancing part of the upper jawbone to the most prominent part of the forehead, an angle by which the degree of intelligence and sagacity in the several members of the animal kingdom is by some measured.
Faërie Queene, the name of an allegorical poem by Edmund Spenser, in which 12 knights were, in twelve books, to represent as many virtues, described as issuing forth from the castle of Gloriana, queen of England, against certain impersonations of the vices and errors of the world. Such was the plan of the poem, but only six of the books were finished, and these contain the adventures of only six of the knights, representing severally Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice, and Courtesy.
Faed, John, a Scottish artist, son of a millwright, born at Barley Mill, Kirkcudbright; was elected an A.R.S.A. in 1847, and R.S.A. in 1851; his paintings are chiefly of humble Scottish life, the “Cottar's Saturday Night” among others; b. 1820.
Faed, Thomas, brother of the preceding, born at Barley Mill; distinguished himself in his art studies at Edinburgh; went to London, where his pictures of Scottish life won him a foremost place among those of his contemporaries; was elected R.A. in 1864 and honorary member of the Vienna Royal Academy; b. 1826.
Faenza (14), an old Italian cathedral town, 31 m. SE. of Bologna; noted for its manufacture of majolica ware, known from the name of the town as “faience.”
Fagel, Gaspar, a Dutch statesman, distinguished for his integrity and the firmness with which he repelled the attempts of Louis XIV. against his country, and for his zeal in supporting the claims of the Prince of Orange to the English throne (1629-1688).
Fagot vote, a vote created by the partitioning of a property into as many tenements as will entitle the holders to vote.
Fahrenheit, Gabriel Daniel, a celebrated physicist, born at Danzig; spent much of his life in England, but finally settled in Holland; devoted himself to physical research; is famed for his improvement of the thermometer by substituting quicksilver for spirits of wine and inventing a new scale, the freezing-point being 32° above zero and the boiling 212° (1686-1736).
Faineant, Le Noir, Richard Coeur-de-Lion in “Ivanhoe.”
Faineants (i. e. the Do-nothings), the name given to the kings of France of the Merovingian line from 670 to 752, from Thierry III. to Childéric III., who were subject to their ministers, the mayors of the palace, who discharged all their functions.
Fair City, Perth, from the beauty of its surroundings.
Fair Maid of Kent, the Countess of Salisbury, eventually wife of the Black Prince, so called from her beauty.
Fair Maid of Norway, daughter of Eric II. of Norway, and granddaughter of Alexander III. of Scotland; died on her way from Norway to succeed her grandfather on the throne of Scotland, an event which gave rise to the famous struggle for the crown by rival competitors.
Fair Maid of Perth, a beauty of the name of Kate Glover, the heroine of Scott's novel of the name.
Fair Rosamond, the mistress of Henry II.; kept in a secret bower at Woodstock, in the heart of a labyrinth which only he could thread.
Fairbairn, Andrew M., able and thoughtful theologian, born in Edinburgh where he also graduated (1839); received the charge of the Evangelical Church at Bathgate, and subsequently studied in Berlin. In 1878 became Principal of the Airedale Congregational College at Bradford; was Muir Lecturer on Comparative Religions in Edinburgh University in 1881-83, and five years later was elected Principal of Mansfield College at Oxford; author of “The Place of Christ in Modern Theology,” and several other scholarly works; b. 1838.
Fairbairn, Sir William, an eminent engineer, born at Kelso; served an apprenticeship in N. Shields, and in 1817 started business in Manchester, where he came to the front as a builder of iron ships; improved upon Robert Stephenson's idea of a tubular bridge, and built upwards of 1000 of these; introduced iron shafts into cotton mills, and was employed by Government to test the suitability of iron for purposes of defence; created a baronet in 1869 (1789-1874).
Fairfax, Edward, translator of Tasso, born at Denton, Yorkshire, where he spent a quiet and studious life; his stately translation of Tasso's “Gerusalemme Liberata” was published in 1600, and holds rank as one of the best poetical translations in the language; he wrote also a “Discourse” on witchcraft (about 1572-1632).
Fairfax, Thomas, Lord, a distinguished Parliamentary general, nephew of the preceding, born at Denton, Yorkshire; served in Holland, but in 1642 joined the Parliamentarians, of whose forces he became general (1645); after distinguishing himself at Marston Moor and Naseby, was superseded by Cromwell (1650), and retired into private life until Cromwell's death, when he supported the restoration of Charles II. to the English throne (1612-1671).
Fairies, imaginary supernatural beings conceived of as of diminutive size but in human shape, who play a conspicuous part in the traditions of Europe during the Middle Ages, and are animated more or less by a spirit of mischief out of a certain loving regard for, or humorous interest in, the affairs of mankind, whether in the way of thwarting or helping.
Fairservice, Andrew, a shrewd gardener in “Rob Roy.”
Fairy Rings, circles of seemingly withered grass often seen in lawns and meadows, caused by some fungi below the surface, but popularly ascribed in superstitious times to fairies dancing in a ring.
Faith, in its proper spiritual sense and meaning is a deep-rooted belief affecting the whole life, that the visible universe in every section of it, particularly here and now, rests on and is the manifestation of an eternal and an unchangeable Unseen Power, whose name is Good, or God.
Faith, St., a virgin martyr who, in the 4th century, was tortured on an iron bed and afterwards beheaded.
Fakir (lit. poor), a member of an order of monkish mendicants in India and adjoining countries who, from presumed religious motives, practise or affect lives of severe self-mortification, but who in many cases cultivate filthiness of person to a disgusting degree.
Falaise (8), a French town in the dep. of Calvados, 22 m. SW. of Caen; the birthplace of William the Conqueror.
Falconer, Hugh, botanist and palæontologist, born at Forres, Elginshire; studied at Aberdeen and Edinburgh; joined the East India Company's medical service; made large collections of fossils and plants; became professor of Botany in Calcutta; introduced the tea-plant into India, and discovered the asafoetida plant; died in London (1808-1865).
Falconer, Ion Keith, missionary and Arabic scholar, the third son of the Earl of Kintore; after passing through Harrow and Cambridge, his ardent temperament carried him into successful evangelistic work in London; was appointed Arabic professor at Cambridge, but his promising career was cut short near Aden while engaged in missionary work; translated the Fables of Bidpaï; a noted athlete, and champion cyclist of the world in 1878 (1856-1887).
Falconer, William, poet, born in Edinburgh; a barber's son; spent most of his life at sea; perished in the wreck of the frigate Aurora, of which he was purser; author of the well-known poem “The Shipwreck” (1732-1769).
Falconry, the art and practice of employing trained hawks in the pursuit and capture on the wing of other birds, a sport largely indulged in by the upper classes in early times in Europe.
Falk, Adalbert, Prussian statesman, born at Metschkau, Silesia; as Minister of Public Worship and Education he was instrumental in passing laws designed to diminish the influence of the clergy in State affairs; retired in 1879; b. 1827.
Falkirk (20), a town in Stirlingshire, 26 m. NW. of Edinburgh, noted for its cattle-markets and the iron-works in its neighbourhood; Wallace was defeated here in 1298 by Edward I.
Falkland (2), a royal burgh in Fifeshire, 10 m. SW. of Cupar; has ruins of a famous palace, a royal residence of the Stuart sovereigns, which was restored by the Marquis of Bute in 1888.
Falkland, Lucius Gary, Viscount, soldier, scholar, and statesman, son of Sir Henry Cary, Viscount Falkland; was lord-deputy of Ireland under James I.; entered the service of the new Dutch Republic, but soon returned to England and settled at Tew, Oxfordshire, where he indulged his studious tastes, and entertained his scholarly friends Clarendon, Chillingworth, and others; after joining Essex's expedition into Scotland he sat in Parliament, and in 1642 became Secretary of State; suspicious of Charles's weakness and duplicity, he as much distrusted the Parliamentary movement, and fell at Newbury fighting for the king (1610-1643).
Falkland Islands (2), a group of islands in the S. Atlantic, 240 m. E. of Tierra del Fuego; discovered in 1592 by Davis; purchased from the French in 1764 by Spain, but afterwards ceded to Britain, by whom they were occupied in 1833 and used as a convict settlement until 1852; besides E. and W. Falkland there are upwards of 100 small islands, mostly barren; wheat and flax are raised, but sheep-farming is the main industry.
Fall, The, the first transgression of divine law on the part of man, conceived of as involving the whole human race in the guilt of it, and represented as consisting in the wilful partaking of the fruit of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of both good and evil. The story of the Fall in Genesis has in later times been regarded as a spiritual allegory, and simply the Hebrew attempt, one amongst many, to explain the origin of evil. It is worthy of note that a narrative, similar even to detail, exists in the ancient religious writings of the Hindus and Persians.
Fallopius, Gabriello, anatomist, born at Modena; professor of Anatomy at Pisa and at Padua; the Fallopian tubes which connect the ovaries with the uterus, first accurately described by him, are called after his name, as also the duct which transmits the facial nerve after it leaves the auditory nerve (1523-1562).
Falloux, Frédéric Alfred Pierre, Vicomte de, author and statesman, born at Angers; member of the House of Deputies; favoured the revolutionaries of 1848, and under the Presidency of Louis Napoleon became Minister of Public Instruction; retired in 1849, and became a member of the French Academy (1857); author of a “History of Louis XVI.” and a “History of Pius V.,” both characterised by a strong Legitimist bias (1811-1886).
Falmouth (13), a seaport on the Cornish coast, on the estuary of the Fal, 18 m. NE. of the Lizard; its harbour, one of the finest in England, is defended E. and W. by St. Mawes Castle and Pendennis Castle; pilchard fishing is actively engaged in, and there are exports of tin and copper.
Falstaff, Sir John, a character in Shakespeare's “Henry IV.” and the “Merry Wives of Windsor”; a boon companion of Henry, Prince of Wales; a cowardly braggart, of sensual habits and great corpulency. See Fastolf.
Familiar Spirits, certain supernatural beings presumed, agreeably to a very old belief (Lev. xix. 31), to attend magicians or sorcerers, and to be at their beck and call on any emergency.
Familists, or the Brotherhood of Love, a fanatical sect which arose in Holland in 1556, and affected to love all men as brothers.
Family Compact, a compact concluded in 1761 between the Bourbons of France, Spain, and Italy to resist the naval power of England.
Fan, a light hand implement used to cause a draught of cool air to play upon the face; there are two kinds, the folding and non-folding; the latter, sometimes large and fixed on a pole, were known to the ancients, the former were invented by the Japanese in the 7th century, and became popular in Italy and Spain in the 16th century; but Paris soon took a lead in their manufacture, carrying them to their highest pitch of artistic perfection in the reign of Louis XIV.
Fanariots, the descendants of the Greeks of noble birth who remained in Constantinople after its capture by Mahomet II. in 1453, so called from Fanar, the quarter of the city which they inhabited; they rose at one time to great influence in Turkish affairs, though they have none now.
Fandango, a popular Spanish dance, specially in favour among the Andalusians; is in ¾ time, and is danced to the accompaniment of guitars and castanets.
Fans, an aboriginal tribe dwelling between the Gaboon and Ogoway Rivers, in western equatorial Africa; are brave and intelligent, and of good physique, but are addicted to cannibalism.
Fanshawe, Sir Richard, diplomatist and poet, born at Ware Park, Hertford; studied at the Inner Temple, and after a Continental tour became attached to the English embassy at Madrid; sided with the Royalists at the outbreak of the Civil War; was captured at the battle of Worcester, but escaped and shared the exile of Charles II.; on the Restoration negotiated Charles's marriage with Catharine, and became ambassador at the court of Philip IV. of Spain; translated Camoëns's “Lusiad” and various classical pieces (1608-1666).
Fantine, one of the most heart-affecting characters in “Les Misérables” of Victor Hugo.
Fantis, an African tribe on the Gold Coast, enemies of their conquerors the Ashantis; fought as allies of the British in the Ashanti War (1873-74), but, although of strong physique, proved cowardly allies.
Farad, the unit of electrical energy, so called from Faraday.
Faraday, Michael, a highly distinguished chemist and natural philosopher, born at Newington Butts, near London, of poor parents; received a meagre education, and at 13 was apprenticed to a bookseller, but devoted his evenings to chemical and electrical studies, and became a student under Sir H. Davy, who, quick to detect his ability, installed him as his assistant; in 1827 he succeeded Davy as lecturer at the Royal Institution, and became professor of Chemistry in 1833; was pensioned in 1835, and in 1858 was allotted a residence in Hampton Court; in chemistry he made many notable discoveries, e. g. the liquefaction of chlorine, while in electricity and magnetism his achievements cover the entire field of these sciences, and are of the first importance (1791-1867).
Faraizi, a Mohammedan sect formed in 1827, and met with chiefly in Eastern Bengal; they discard tradition, and accept the Korân as their sole guide in religious and spiritual concerns, in this respect differing from the Sunnites, with whom they have much else in common; although of a purer morality than the main body of Mohammedans, they are narrow and intolerant.
Farel, William, a Swiss reformer, born at Dauphiné; introduced, in 1534, after two futile attempts, the reformed faith into Geneva, where he was succeeded in the management of affairs by John Calvin; he has been called the “pioneer of the Reformation in Switzerland and France” (1489-1565).
Faria y Sousa, Manuel de, a Portuguese poet and historian; entered the diplomatic service, and was for many years secretary to the Spanish embassy at Rome; was a voluminous writer of history and poetry, and did much to develop the literature of his country (1590-1649).
Farinata, a Florentine nobleman of the Ghibelline faction, whom for his infidelity and sensuality Dante has placed till the day of judgment in a red-hot coffin in hell.
Farinelli, Carlo, a celebrated singer, born in Naples; his singing created great enthusiasm in London, which he visited in 1734 (1705-1782).
Farini, Luigo Carlo, an Italian statesman and author, born at Russi; practised as a doctor in his native town; in 1841 was forced, on account of his liberal sympathies, to withdraw from the Papal States, but returned in 1846 on the proclamation of the Papal amnesty, and afterwards held various offices of State; was Premier for a few months in 1863; author of “Il Stato Romano,” of which there is an English translation by Mr. Gladstone (1812-1866).
Farmer, Richard, an eminent scholar, born at Leicester; distinguished himself at Cambridge, where he became classical tutor of his college, and in the end master (1775); three years later he was appointed chief-librarian to the university, and afterwards was successively canon of Lichfield, Canterbury, and St. Paul's; wrote an erudite essay on “The Learning of Shakespeare” (1735-1797).
Farmer George, George III., a name given to him from his plain, homely, thrifty manners and tastes.
Farmers-General, a name given in France prior to the Revolution to a privileged syndicate which farmed certain branches of the public revenue, that is, obtained the right of collecting certain taxes on payment of an annual sum into the public treasury; the system gave rise to corruption and illegal extortion, and was at best an unproductive method of raising the national revenue; it was swept away at the Revolution.
Farne or Ferne Isles, The, also called the Staples, a group of 17 isles 2 m. off the NE. coast of Northumberland, many of which are mere rocks visible only at low-water; are marked by two lighthouses, and are associated with a heroic rescue by Grace Darling (q. v.) in 1838; on House Isle are the ruins of a Benedictine priory; about 50 people have their homes upon the larger isles.
Farnese, the surname of a noble Italian family dating its rise from the 13th century.
Farnese, Alessandro, attained the papal chair as Paul III. in 1534; the excommunication of Henry VIII. of England, the founding of the Order of the Jesuits (1540), the convocation of the Council of Trent (1542), mark his term of office (1468-1549).
Farnese, Alessandro, grandson of the following, and 3rd duke of Parma, a famous general; distinguished himself at the battle of Lepanto; was governor of the Spanish Netherlands, and fought successfully against France, defeating Henry IV. before the walls of Paris, and again two years later at Rouen, where he was mortally wounded (1546-1592).
Farnese, Pietro Luigi, a natural son of Pope Paul III., who figures in Benvenuto Cellini's Life; received in fief from the Papal See various estates, including the dukedom of Parma; he ill requited his father's trust and affection by a life of debauchery and finally suffered assassination in 1549.
Faroe Islands (13), a group of 22 islands of basaltic formation, about 200 m. NW. of the Shetlands; originally Norwegian, they now belong to Denmark; agriculture is limited, and fishing and sheep-farming chiefly engage the natives; there is an export trade in wool, fish, and wild-fowl leathers. The people, who still speak their old Norse dialect, although Danish is the language of the schools and law courts, are Lutherans, and enjoy a measure of self-government, and send representatives to the Danish Rigsdag.
Farquhar, George, comic dramatist, born at Londonderry; early famous for his wit, of which he has given abundant proof in his dramas, “Love and a Bottle” being his first, and “The Beaux' Stratagem” his last, written on his deathbed; died young; he commenced life on the stage, but threw the profession up in consequence of having accidentally wounded a brother actor while fencing (1678-1707).
Farr, William, statistician, born at Kenley, Shropshire; studied medicine, and practised in London; obtained a post in the Registrar-General's office, and rose to be head of the statistical department; issued various statistical compilations of great value for purposes of insurance (1807-1883).
Farragut, David Glasgow, a famous American admiral, of Spanish extraction, born at Knoxville, Tennessee; entered the navy as a boy; rose to be captain in 1855, and at the outbreak of the Civil War attached himself to the Union; distinguished himself by his daring capture of New Orleans; in 1862 was created rear-admiral, and two years later gained a signal victory over the Confederate fleet at Mobile Bay; was raised to the rank of admiral in 1866, being the first man to hold this position in the American navy (1801-1870).
Farrar, Frederick William, a celebrated divine and educationalist, born at Bombay; graduated with distinction at King's College, London, and at Cambridge; was ordained in 1854, and became head-master of Marlborough College; was for some years a select preacher to Cambridge University, and held successively the offices of honorary chaplain and chaplain-in-ordinary to the Queen; became canon of Westminster, rector of St. Margaret's, archdeacon, chaplain to the House of Commons, and dean of Canterbury; his many works include the widely-read school-tales, “Eric” and “St. Winifred's,” philological essays, and his vastly popular Lives of Christ and St. Paul, besides the “Early Days of Christianity,” “Eternal Hope,” and several volumes of sermons; in recent years have appeared “Darkness and Dawn” (1892) and “Gathering Clouds” (1895); b. 1831.
Fasces, a bundle of rods bound round the helve of an axe, and borne by the lictors before the Roman magistrates in symbol of their authority at once to scourge and decapitate.
Fascination, the power, originally ascribed to serpents, of spell-binding by the eye.
Fasti, the name given to days among the Romans on which it was lawful to transact business before the prætor; also the name of books among the Romans containing calendars of times, seasons, and events.
Fastolf, Sir John, a distinguished soldier of Henry V.'s reign, who with Sir John Oldcastle shares the doubtful honour of being the prototype of Shakespeare's Falstaff, but unlike the dramatist's creation was a courageous soldier, and won distinction at Agincourt and at the “Battle of the Herrings”; after engaging with less success in the struggle against Joan of Arc, he returned to England and spent his closing years in honoured retirement at Norfolk, his birthplace; he figures in the “Paston Letters” (1378-1459).
Fata Morgana, a mirage occasionally observed in the Strait of Messina, in which, from refraction in the atmosphere, images of objects, such as men, houses, trees, etc., are seen from the coast under or over the surface of the water.
Fatalism, the doctrine that all which takes place in life and history is subject to fate, that is is to say, takes place by inevitable necessity, that things being as they are, events cannot fall out otherwise than they do.
Fates, The, in the Greek mythology the three goddesses who presided over the destinies of individuals—Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos (q. v.). See Parcæ.
Father of Comedy, Aristophanes (q. v.).
Father of Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius (q. v.).
Father of French History, Duchesne (q. v.).
Father of German Literature, Lessing (q. v.).
Father of History, Herodotus (q. v.).
Father of Tragedy, Eschylus (q. v.).
Father Paul, Paul Sarpi (q. v.).
Fathers of the Church, the early teachers of Christianity and founders of the Christian Church, consisting of live Apostolic Fathers—Clement of Home, Barnabas, Hermes, Ignatius, and Polycarp, and of nine in addition called Primitive Fathers—Justin, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenæus, Clemens of Alexandria, Cyprian of Carthage, Origen, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Tertullian. The distinctive title of Apostolic Fathers was bestowed upon the immediate friends and disciples of the Apostles, while the patristic period proper may be said to commence with the 2nd century, but no definite date can be assigned as marking its termination, some closing it with the deaths of Gregory the Great (601) and John of Damascus (756), while Catholic writers bring it down as far as the Council of Trent (1542); discarded among Protestants, the Fathers are regarded by Catholics as decisive in authority on points of faith, but only when they exhibit a unanimity of opinion.
Fathom, a measure of 6 ft. used in taking marine soundings, originally an Anglo-Saxon term for the distance stretched by a man's extended arms; is sometimes used in mining operations.
Fathom, Count Ferdinand, a villain in the novel of Smollett so named.
Fatima, the last of Bluebeard's wives, and the only one who escaped being murdered by him; also Mahomet's favourite daughter.
Fatimides, a Mohammedan dynasty which assumed the title of caliphs and ruled N. Africa and Egypt, and later Syria and Palestine, between the 10th and 12th centuries inclusive; they derived their name from the claim (now discredited) of their founder, Obeidallah Almahdi, to be descended from Fatima, daughter of Mahomet and wife of Ali; they were finally expelled by Saladin in 1169.
Faucher, Léon, a political economist, brought into notice by the Revolution of 1830; edited Le Temps; opposed Louis Philippe's minister, M. Guizot; held office under the Presidency of Louis Napoleon, but threw up office on the coup d'état of 1851 (1803-1854).
Fauchet, Abbé, a French Revolutionary, a Girondin; blessed the National tricolor flag; “a man of Te Deums and public consecrations”; was a member of the first parliament; stripped of his insignia, lamented the death of the king, perished on the scaffold (1744-1793).
Faucit, Helen, a famous English actress; made her début in London (1836), and soon won a foremost place amongst English actresses by her powerful and refined representations of Shakespeare's heroines under the management of Macready; she retired from the stage in 1851 after her marriage with Theodore Martin (q. v.); in 1885 she published a volume of studies “On Some of Shakespeare's Female Characters” (1820-1899).
Fauns, divinities of the woods and fields among the Romans, and guardians of flocks against the wolf.
Fauntleroy, Henry, banker and forger; in his twenty-third year became a partner in the bank of Marsh, Sibbald, & Co., London; was put on trial for a series of elaborate forgeries, found guilty, and hanged; the trial created a great sensation at the time, and efforts were made to obtain a commutation of the sentence (1785-1824).
Faunus, a god, grandson of Saturn, who figures in the early history of Latium, first as the god of fields and shepherds, and secondly, as an oracular divinity and founder of the native religion, afterwards identified with the Greek Pan.
Faure, François Felix, President of the French Republic, born in Paris; carried on business in Touraine as a tanner, but afterwards settled in Havre and became a wealthy shipowner; he served with distinction as a volunteer in the Franco-German War; entered the Assembly in 1881, where he held office as Colonial and Commercial Minister in various Cabinets; was elected President in 1895 (1841-1899).
Faust, Johannes. See Fust.
Faust, or Doctor Faustus, a reputed professor of the black art, a native of Germany, who flourished in the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, and who is alleged to have made a compact with the devil to give up to him body and soul in the end, provided he endowed him for a term of years with power to miraculously fulfil all his wishes. Under this compact the devil provided him with a familiar spirit, called Mephistopheles, attended by whom he traversed the world, enjoying life and working wonders, till the term of the compact having expired, the devil appeared and carried him off amid display of horrors to the abode of penal fire. This myth, which has been subjected to manifold literary treatment, has received its most significant rendering at the hands of Goethe, such as to supersede and eclipse every other attempt to unfold its meaning. It is presented by him in the form of a drama, in two parts of five acts each, of which the first, published in 1790, represents “the conflicting union of the higher nature of the soul with the lower elements of human life; of Faust, the son of Light and Free-Will, with the influences of Doubt, Denial, and Obstruction, or Mephistopheles (q. v.), who is the symbol and spokesman of these; and the second, published in 1832, represents Faust as now elevated, by the discipline he has had, above the hampered sphere of the first, and conducted into higher regions under worthier circumstances.”
Fausta, the wife of Constantino the Great.
Faustina, Annia Galeri, called Faustina, Senior, wife of Antoninus Pius, died three years after her husband became emperor (105-141).
Faustina, Annia, Junior, wife of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, daughter of the preceding. Both she and her mother are represented by historians as profligate and unfaithful, and quite unworthy the affection lavishly bestowed upon them by their husbands.
Faustulus, the shepherd who, with his wife Laurentia, was the foster-parent of Romulus and Remus, who, as infants, had been exposed on the Palatine Hill.
Favart, Charles Simon, French dramatist, born at Paris, where he became director of the Opéra Comique; was celebrated as a vivacious playwright and composer of operas; during a temporary absence from Paris he established his Comedy Company in the camp of Marshal Saxe during the Flanders campaign; his memoirs and correspondence give a bright picture of theatrical life in Paris during the 18th century (1710-1792).
Favonius, the god of the favouring west wind.
Favre, Jules Claude Gabriel, a French Republican statesman, born at Lyons; called to the Paris bar in 1830; a strong Republican, he joined the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848; held office as Minister of the Interior in the New Republic, and disapproving of the coup d'état, resumed practice at the bar; defended the Italian conspirator Orsini (q. v.), and in 1870, on the dissolution of the Empire, became Minister of Foreign Affairs; mistakes in his negotiations with Bismarck led to his resignation and resumption of his legal practice (1809-1880).
Fawcett, Henry, statesman and political economist, born at Salisbury; though blind, it was his early ambition to enter the arena of politics, and he devoted himself to the study of political economy, of which he became professor at Cambridge; entering Parliament, he became Postmaster-General under Mr. Gladstone in 1880; he wrote and published works on his favourite study (1832-1884).
Fawkes, Guy, a notorious English conspirator, born of a respected Yorkshire family; having spent a slender patrimony, he joined the Spanish army in Flanders; was converted to the Catholic faith; and on his return to England allied himself with the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot (q. v.), and was arrested in the cellars of the House of Commons when on the point of firing the explosive; was tried and executed (1570-1606).
Fay, Andreas, Hungarian dramatist and novelist, born at Kohany; studied law, but the success of a volume of fables confirmed him in his choice of literature in preference; wrote various novels and plays; was instrumental in founding the Hungarian National Theatre; was a member of the Hungarian Diet (1786-1804).
Fayal (26), a fruit-bearing island among the Azores (q. v.), exports wine and fruits; Horta, with an excellent bay, is its chief town.
Fayyum (160), a fertile province of Central Egypt, lies W. of the Nile, 65 miles from Cairo, is in reality a southern oasis in the Libyan desert, irrigated by means of a canal running through a narrow gorge to the Nile valley; its area is about 840 sq. m., a portion of which is occupied by a sheet of water, the Birket-el-Kern (35 m. long), known to the ancients as Lake Moeris, and by the shores of which stood one of the wonders of the world, the famous “Labyrinth.”
Feasts, Jewish, of Dedication, a feast in commemoration of the purification of the Temple and the rebuilding of the altar by Judas Maccabæus in 164 B.C., after profanation of them by the Syrians: of the Passover, a festival in April on the anniversary of the exodus from Egypt, and which lasted eight days, the first and the last days of solemn religious assembly: of Pentecost, a feast celebrated on the fiftieth day after the second of the Passover, in commemoration of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; both this feast and the Passover were celebrated in connection with harvest, what was presented in one in the form of a sheaf being in the other presented as a loaf of bread: of Purim, a feast in commemoration of the preservation of the Jews from the wholesale threatened massacre of the race in Persia at the instigation of Haman: of Tabernacles, a festival of eight days in memory of the wandering tentlife of the people in the wilderness, observed by the people dwelling in bowers made of branches erected on the streets or the roofs of the house; it was the Feast of Ingathering as well.
February, the second month of the year, was added along with January by Numa to the end of the original Roman year of 10 months; derived its name from a festival offered annually on the 15th day to Februus, an ancient Italian god of the nether world; was assigned its present position in the calendar by Julius Cæsar, who also introduced the intercalary day for leap-year.
Fécamp (13), a seaport in the dep. of Seine-Inférieure, 25 m. NE. of Havre; has a fine Gothic Benedictine church, a harbour and lighthouse, hardware and textile factories; fishing and sugar refineries also flourish; exports the celebrated Benedictine liqueurs.
Fechner, Gustav Theodor, physicist and psychophysicist, born at Gross-Särchen, in Lower Lusatia; became professor of Physics in Leipzig, but afterwards devoted himself to psychology; laid the foundations of the science of psychophysics in his “Elements of Pyschophysics”; wrote besides on the theory of colour and galvanism, as well as poems and essays (1801-1887).
Fechter, Charles Albert, a famous actor, born in London, his father of German extraction and his mother English; made his début in Paris at the age of 17; after a tour through the European capitals established himself in London as the lessee of the Lyceum Theatre in 1863; became celebrated for his original impersonations of Hamlet and Othello; removed to America in 1870, where he died (1824-1879).
Feciales, a college of functionaries in ancient Rome whose duty it was to make proclamation of peace and war, and confirm treaties.
Federal Government, in modern parlance is the political system which a number of independent and sovereign States adopt when they join together for purposes of domestic and especially International policy; local government is freely left with the individual States, and only in the matter of chiefly foreign relations is the central government paramount, but the degree of freedom which each State enjoys is a matter of arrangement when the contract is formed, and the powers vested in the central authority may only be permitted to work through the local government, as in the German Confederation, or may bear directly upon the citizens throughput the federation, as in the U.S. of America, and since 1847 in Switzerland.
Federalist, a name in the United States for a supporter of the Union and its integrity as such; a party which was formed in 1788, but dissolved in 1820; has been since applied to a supporter of the integrity of the Union against the South in the late Civil War.
Federation, The Champs-de-Mars, a grand féte celebrated in the Champs-de-Mars, Paris, on July 14, 1790, the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille, at which deputies from the newly instituted departments assisted to the number of 80,000, as well as deputies from other nations, “Swedes, Spaniards, Polacks, Turks, Chaldeans, Greeks, and dwellers in Mesopotamia,” representatives of the human race, “with three hundred drummers, twelve hundred wind-musicians, and artillery planted on height after height to boom the tidings all over France, the highest recorded triumph of the Thespian art.” Louis XVI. too assisted at the ceremony, and took solemn oath to the constitution just established in the interest of mankind. See Carlyle's “French Revolution.”
Fehmgericht. See Vehmgerichte.
Feith, a Dutch poet, born at Zwolle, where, after studying at Leyden, he settled and died; his writings include didactic poems, songs, and dramas; had a refining influence on the literary taste of his countrymen (1753-1824).
Félicité, St., a Roman matron, who with her seven sons suffered martyrdom in 164. Festival, July 10.
Felix, the name of five Popes: F. I., St., Pope from 269 to 274, said to have been a victim of the persecution of Aurelius; F. II., Pope from 356 to 357, the first anti-pope having been elected in place of the deposed Liberius who had declined to join in the persecution of Athanasius (q. v.), was banished on the restoration of Liberius; F. III., Pope from 483 to 492, during his term of office the first schism between the Eastern and Western Churches took place; F. IV., Pope from 526 to 530, was appointed by Theodoric in face of the determined opposition of both people and clergy; F. V., Pope from 1439 to 1449. See Amadeus VIII..
Felix, Claudius, a Roman procurator of Judæa in the time of Claudius and Nero; is referred to in Acts xxiii. and xxiv. as having examined the Apostle Paul and listened to his doctrines; was vicious in his habits, and formed an adulterous union with Drusilla, said by Tacitus to have been the granddaughter of Antony and Cleopatra; was recalled in A.D. 62.
Felix Holt, a novel of George Eliot's, written in 1866.
Fell, John, a celebrated English divine; Royalist in sympathy, he continued throughout the Puritan ascendency loyal to the English Church, and on the Restoration became Dean of Christ Church and a royal chaplain; was a good man and a charitable, and a patron of learning; in 1676 was raised to the bishopric of Oxford; was the object of the well-known epigram, “I do not like thee, Dr. Fell, The reason why I cannot tell” (1625-1686).
Fellah, the name applied contemptuously by the Turks to the agricultural labourer of Egypt; the Fellahin (pl. of Fellah) comprise about three-fourths of the population; they are of good physique, and capable of much toil, but are, despite their intelligence and sobriety, lazy and immoral; girls marry at the age of 12, and the children grow up amidst the squalor of their mud-built villages; their food is of the poorest, and scarcely ever includes meat; tobacco is their only luxury; their condition has improved under British rule.
Fellows, Sir Charles, archæologist, born at Nottingham; early developed a passion for travel; explored the Xanthus Valley in Asia Minor, and discovered the ruins of the cities Teos and Xanthus, the ancient capital of Lycia (1838); returned to the exploration of Lycia in 1839 and again in 1841, discovering the ruins of 13 other ancient cities; accounts of these explorations and discoveries are fully given in his various published journals and essays; was knighted in 1845 (1799-1861).
Fellowship, a collegiate term for a status in many universities which entitles the holder (a Fellow) to a share in their revenues, and in some cases to certain privileges as regards apartments and meals in the college, as also to a certain share in the government; formerly Fellowships were usually life appointments, but are now generally for a prescribed number of years, or are held during a term of special research; the old restrictions of celibacy and religious conformity have been relaxed.
Felo-de-se, in English law the crime which a man at the age of discretion and of a sound mind commits when he takes away his life.
Felony, “a crime which involves a total forfeiture of lands or goods or both, to which capital or other punishment may be superadded, according to the degree of guilt.”
Felton, Cornelius Conway, American scholar, born at West Newbury, Massachusetts; graduated at Harvard in 1827, and became professor of Greek there, rising to the Presidency of the same college in 1860; edited Greek classics, and made translations from the German; most important work is “Greece, Ancient and Modern,” in 2 vols. (1807-1862).
Felton, John, the Irish assassin of the Duke of Buckingham in 1628.
Femmes Savantes, a comedy in five acts by Molière, and one of his best, appeared in 1672.
Fenella, a fairy-like attendant of the Countess of Derby, deaf and dumb, in Scott's “Peveril of the Peak,” a character suggested by Goethe's Mignon in “Wilhelm Meister.”
Fénélon, François de Salignac de la Mothe, a famous French prelate and writer, born in the Château de Fénélon, in the prov. of Périgord; at the age of 15 came to Paris, and, having already displayed a remarkable gift for preaching, entered the Plessis College, and four years later joined the Seminary of St. Sulpice, where he took holy orders in 1675; his directorship of a seminary for female converts to Catholicism brought him into prominence, and gave occasion to his well-known treatise “De l'Éducation des Filles”; in 1685, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, he conducted a mission for the conversion of the Huguenots of Saintonge and Poitou, and four years later Louis XIV. appointed him tutor to his grandson, the Duke of Burgundy, an appointment which led to his writing his “Fables,” “Dialogues of the Dead,” and “History of the Ancient Philosophers”; in 1694 he became abbé of St. Valery, and in the following year archbishop of Cambrai; soon after this ensued his celebrated controversy with Bossuet (q. v.) regarding the doctrines of Quietism (q. v.), a dispute which brought him into disfavour with the king and provoked the Pope's condemnation of his “Explication des Maximes des Saints sur la Vie intérieure”; the surreptitious publication of his most famous work “Télémache,” the MS. of which was stolen by his servant, accentuated the king's disfavour, who regarded it as a veiled attack on his court, and led to an order confining the author to his own diocese; the rest of his life was spent in the service of his people, to whom he endeared himself by his benevolence and the sweet piety of his nature; his works are extensive, and deal with subjects historical and literary, as well as philosophical and theological (1651-1715).
Fenians, an Irish political organisation having for its object the overthrow of English rule in Ireland and the establishment of a republic there. The movement was initiated in the United States soon after the great famine in Ireland of 1846-47, which, together with the harsh exactions of the landlords, compelled many Irishmen to emigrate from their island with a deeply-rooted sense of injustice and hatred of the English. The Fenians organised themselves so far on the model of a republic, having a senate at the head, with a virtual president called the “head-centre,” and various “circles” established in many parts of the U.S. They collected funds and engaged in military drill, and sent agents to Ireland and England. An invasion of Canada in 1866 and a rising at home in 1867 proved abortive, as also the attack on Clerkenwell Prison in the same year. Another attempt on Canada in 1871 and the formation of the Skirmishing Fund for the use of the Dynamitards and the institution of the Clan-na-Gael leading to the “Invincibles,” and the Phoenix Park murders (1882) are later manifestations of this movement. The Home Rule and Land League movements practically superseded the Fenian. The name is taken from an ancient military organisation called the Fionna Eirinn, said to have been instituted in Ireland in 300 B.C.
Ferdinand the Catholic, V. of Castile, II. of Aragon and Sicily, and III. of Naples, born at Sos, in Aragon, married Isabella of Castile in 1849, a step by which these ancient kingdoms were united under one sovereign power; their joint reign is one of the most glorious in the annals of Spanish history, and in their hands Spain quickly took rank amongst the chief European powers; in 1492 Columbus discovered America, and the same year saw the Jews expelled from Spain and the Moorish power crushed by the fall of Granada. In 1500-1 Ferdinand joined the French in his conquest of Naples, and three years later managed to secure the kingdom to himself, while by the conquest of Navarre in 1512 the entire Spanish peninsula came under his sway. He was a shrewd and adroit ruler, whose undoubted abilities, both as administrator and general, were, however, somewhat marred by an unscrupulous cunning, which found a characteristic expression in the institution of the notorious Inquisition, which in 1480 was started by him, and became a powerful engine for political as well as religious persecution for long years after (1452-1516).
Ferdinand I., emperor of Germany (1556-64), born at Alcalá, in Spain, son of Philip I., married Anna, a Bohemian princess, in 1521; was elected king of the Romans (1531), added Bohemia and Hungary to his domains (1503-1564).
Ferdinand II., emperor of Germany (1619-37), grandson of the preceding and son of Charles, younger brother of Maximilian II., born at Grätz; his detestation of the Protestants, early instilled into him by his mother and the Jesuits, under whom he was educated, was the ruling passion of his life, and involved the empire in constant warfare during his reign; an attempt on the part of Bohemia, restless under religious and political grievances, to break away from his rule, brought about the Thirty Years' War; by ruthless persecutions he re-established Catholicism in Bohemia, and reduced the country to subjection; but the war spread into Hungary and Germany, where Ferdinand was opposed by a confederacy of the Protestant States of Lower Saxony and Denmark, and in which the Protestant cause was in the end successfully sustained by the Swedish hero, Gustavus Adolphus (q. v.), who had opposed to him the imperial generals Tilly and Wallenstein (q. v.); his reign is regarded as one of disaster, bloodshed, and desolation to his empire, and his connivance at the assassination of Wallenstein will be forever remembered to his discredit (1578-1637).
Ferdinand III., emperor of Germany (1637-57), son of the preceding, born at Grätz; more tolerant in his views, would gladly have brought the war to a close, but found himself compelled to face the Swedes reinforced by the French; in 1648 the desolating struggle was terminated by the Peace of Westphalia; the rest of his reign passed in tranquillity (1608-1657).
Ferdinand I., king of the Two Sicilies, third son of Charles III. of Spain, succeeded his father on the Neapolitan throne (1759), married Maria Caroline, daughter of Maria-Theresa; joined the Allies in the struggle against Napoleon, and in 1806 was driven from his throne by the French, but was reinstated at the Congress of Vienna; in 1816 he constituted his two States (Sicily and Naples) into the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and in the last four years of his reign ruled, with the aid of Austria, as a despot, and having broken a pledge to his people, was compelled ere his return to grant a popular constitution (1751-1825).
Ferdinand II., king of the Two Sicilies, grandson of the preceding and son of Francis I.; after the death of his first wife, a daughter of Victor Emmanuel I., he married the Austrian princess Maria-Theresa, and fell under the influence of Austria during the rest of his reign; in 1848 he was compelled to grant constitutional rights to his people, but was distrusted, and an insurrection broke out in Sicily; with merciless severity he crushed the revolt, and by his savage bombardment of the cities won him the epithet “Bomba”; a reign of terror ensued, and in 1851 Europe was startled by the revelations of cruel injustice contained in Mr. Gladstone's famous Neapolitan letters (1810-1859).
Ferdinand III., Grand-duke of Tuscany and Archduke of Austria, born at Florence; succeeded to the government of Tuscany in 1790; introduced many wise measures of reform, which brought peace and prosperity to his State; reluctantly joined the coalition against Napoleon in 1793, but two years later entered into friendly relations with France, and in 1797, in order to save his States being merged in the Cisalpine Republic, undertook to make payment of an annual subsidy; later he formed an alliance with Austria, and was by Napoleon driven from his possessions, which were, however, restored to him in 1814 by the Peace of Paris (1769-1824).
Ferdinand VII. of Spain, son of Charles IV. of Spain; too weak to steer his way through the intrigues of the court, he appealed to Napoleon in 1807 to support the king, his father, and himself; but his letter was discovered, and his accomplices exiled; the following year the French entered Spain, and Charles abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand; but soon after, under Napoleon's influence, the crown was surrendered to the French, and Joseph Bonaparte became king; in 1813 Ferdinand was reinstated, but found himself immediately met by a demand of his people for a more liberal representative government; the remaining years of his reign were spent in an internecine struggle against these claims, in which he had French support under Louis XVIII. (1784-1833).
Ferdusi. See Firdausi.
Feretrum, the shrine containing the sacred effigies and relics of a saint.
Fergus, the name of three Scottish kings: F. I., d. 356; F. II., king from 411 to 427; and F. III., king from 764 to 767.
Ferguson, Adam, a Scotch philosopher and historian, born at Logierait, Perthshire; after passing through the universities of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, he in 1745 was appointed Gaelic chaplain to the Black Watch Highland Regiment, and was present at the battle of Fontenoy; in 1757 he became keeper of the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh; two years later professor of Natural Philosophy, and subsequently of Moral Philosophy in the university there; during his professorship he, as secretary, was attached to the commission sent out by Lord North to bring about a friendly settlement of the dispute pending between England and the North American colonies; resigning his chair in 1785 he retired to Neidpath Castle, to engage in farming at Hallyards, an estate in the same neighbourhood; died at St. Andrews; his best-known works are “Institutes of Moral Philosophy,” “History of the Roman Republic,” and “Principles of Moral and Political Science” (1723-1816).
Ferguson, James, a popular writer on astronomy and mechanics, born at Rothiemay, Banff, son of a labourer; his interest in astronomy was first aroused by his observation of the stars while acting as a “herd laddie,” and much of his time among the hills was spent in the construction of mechanical contrivances; compelled by circumstances to betake himself to various occupations, pattern-drawing, clock-mending, copying prints, and portrait sketching, he still in his leisure hours pursued those early studies, and coming to London in 1743 (after a residence of some years in Edinburgh), began lecturing on his favourite subjects; a pension of £50 was granted him out of the privy purse, and in 1763 he was elected an F.R.S.; besides publishing lectures on mechanics, hydrostatics, optics, &c., he wrote several works on astronomy, chiefly popular expositions of the methods and principles of Sir Isaac Newton (1710-1776).
Ferguson, Patrick, soldier and inventor of the breech-loading gun, born at Pitfour, Aberdeenshire; served in the English army in Germany and Tobago; brought out his new rifle in 1766, which was tried with success in the American War of Independence; rose to be a major, and fell at the battle of King's Mountains, in South Carolina (1744-1780).
Ferguson, Robert, a notorious plotter, who took part in Monmouth's invasion in 1685 and was prominent in the various plots against Charles II. and James II., but after the Revolution turned Jacobite; published a history of the Revolution in 1706; died in poverty (about 1637-1714).
Fergusson, James, a writer on the history and art of architecture, born at Ayr; went to India as an indigo-planter, but afterwards gave himself up to the study of the rock-temples; published various works, and in his later years interested himself in the fortifications of the United Kingdom; his “History of Architecture,” in 4 vols., is a standard work (1808-1886).
Fergusson, Robert, a Scottish poet, born in Edinburgh; after a university course at St. Andrews he obtained a post in the office of the commissionary-clerk of Edinburgh; his first poems appeared in Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine, and brought him a popularity which proved his ruin; some years of unrestrained dissipation ended in religious melancholia, which finally settled down into an incurable insanity; his poems, collected in 1773, have abundant energy, wit, and fluency, but lack the passion and tenderness of those of Burns; he was, however, held in high honour by Burns, who regarded him as “his elder brother in the Muses.” “In his death,” says Mr. Henley, “at four-and-twenty, a great loss was inflicted to Scottish literature; he had intelligence and an eye, a right touch of humour, the gifts of invention and observation and style, together with a true feeling for country and city alike ... Burns, who learned much from him, was an enthusiast in his regard for him, bared his head and shed tears over 'the green mound and the scattered gowans,' under which he found his exemplar lying in Canongate Churchyard, and got leave from the managers to put up a headstone at his own cost there” (1750-1774). See Mr. Henley's “Life of Burns” in the Centenary Burns, published by the Messrs. T. C. and E. C. Jack.
Fergusson, Sir W., surgeon, born at Prestonpans; graduated at Edinburgh; was elected to the chair of Surgery in King's College, London, and in 1866 was made a baronet; was serjeant-surgeon to the Queen, and president of the Royal College of Surgeons; Fergusson was a bold and skilful surgeon; is the author, amongst other treatises, of a “System of Practical Surgery,” besides being the inventor of many surgical instruments (1808-1877).
Ferishtah, a Persian historian, born at Astrabad, on the Black Sea; went at an early age, accompanied by his father, to India, where his life was spent in the service, first of Murtaza Nizam Shah, in Ahmednagar, and afterwards at the court of the prince of Bijapur; his famous history of the Mohammedan power in India, finished in 1609, and the writing of which occupied him for 20 years, is still a standard work, and has been translated into English (about 1570-1611).
Fermanagh (74), an Irish county in the SW. corner of Ulster, of a hilly surface, especially in the W.; is well wooded, and produces indifferent crops of oats, flax, and potatoes; some coal and iron, and quantities of limestone, are found in it; the Upper and Lower Loughs Erne form a waterway through its centre; chief town, Enniskillen.
Fermat, Pierre de, a French mathematician, born near Montauban; made important discoveries in the properties of numbers, and with his friend Pascal invented a calculus of probabilities; was held in high esteem by Hallam, who ranks him next to Descartes (1601-1665).
Fernandez, Juan, a Spanish navigator, discovered the island off the coast of Chile that bears his name; d. in 1576.
Fernando Po (25), a mountainous island, with an abrupt and rocky coast, in the Bight of Biafra, W. Africa; the volcano, Mount Clarence (9300 ft.), rises in the N.; is covered with luxuriant vegetation, and yields maize and yams, some coffee, and palm-oil and wine; is inhabited by the Bubis, a Bantu tribe; is the chief of the Spanish Guinea Isles.
Ferozepore (50), the chief town of the district of the same name in the Punjab, India, a few miles S. of the Sutlej; is strongly fortified, and contains a large arsenal; the present town was laid out by Lord Lawrence. F. District (887), lies along the S. bank of the Sutlej; came into the possession of the British in 1835; cereals, cotton, sugar, and tobacco are cultivated.
Ferrar, Nicholas, a religious enthusiast in the reign of Charles I.; was elected a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1610; afterwards devoted himself to medicine and travelled on the Continent; subsequently joined his father in business in London, and entered Parliament in 1624; but a year later retired to the country, and at Little Gidding, Huntingdonshire, founded, with some of his near relations, a religious community, known as the “Arminian Nunnery,” some account of which is given in Shorthouse's “John Inglesant”; it was broken up by the Puritans in 1647; he was the intimate friend of George Herbert; this community consisted of some “fourscore persons, devoted to a kind of Protestant monasticism; they followed celibacy and merely religious duties, employed themselves in binding prayer-books, &c., in alms-giving and what charitable work was possible to them in their desert retreat, kept up, night and day, a continual repetition of the English liturgy, never allowing at any hour the sacred fire to go out” (1592-1637).
Ferrar, Robert, an English prelate, born at Halifax, was prior of the monastery of St. Oswald's, embraced the Reformation, and was made Bishop of St. David's by Edward VI.; suffered martyrdom under Mary in 1555.
Ferrara, a broadsword bearing the name of Andrea Ferrara, one of an Italian family famous in the 16th and 17th centuries for the quality of their swords.
Ferrara (31), a fortified and walled Italian city, capital of the province of the name, situated on a low and marshy plain between the dividing branches of the Po, 30 m. from the Adriatic; it has many fine ecclesiastical buildings and a university founded in 1264, with a library of 100,000 vols., but now a mere handful of students; a fine old Gothic castle, the residence of the Estes (q. v.), still stands; it was the birthplace of Savonarola, and the sometime dwelling-place of Tasso and Ariosto; once populous and prosperous, it has now fallen into decay.
Ferrari, Gaudenzio, Italian painter and sculptor, born at Valduggia, in Piedmont; studied at Rome under Raphael; many of his paintings and frescoes are to be found in the Lombard galleries, and principally in Milan; his work is characterised by bold and accurate drawing, inventiveness, and strong colouring, but it somewhat lacks the softer qualities of his art (1484-1550).
Ferrari, Paolo, Italian dramatist, born at Modena; produced his first play at the age of 25; his numerous works, chiefly comedies, and all marked by a fresh and piquant style, are the finest product of the modern Italian drama; in 1860 he was appointed professor of History at Modena and afterwards at Milan; his dramatic works have been published in 14 vols. (1822-1889).
Ferrier, David, a distinguished medical scientist, born at Woodside, Aberdeen; graduated in arts there; studied at Heidelberg, and coming to Edinburgh graduated in medicine with high distinction in 1868; in 1872 became professor of Forensic Medicine at King's College, London, and afterwards physician to the National Hospital for the Paralysed and Epileptic; his most notable work has been done in connection with the brain, and his many experiments on the brains of living animals have resulted in much valuable information, embodied in his various writings; is editor and co-founder of the periodical Brain; b. 1843.
Ferrier, James Frederick, a metaphysician of singular ability and originality, born at Edinburgh; after graduating at Oxford was called to the Scotch bar in 1832; but under the influence of Sir W. Hamilton, metaphysics became his dominant interest, and he found an outlet for his views in the pages of Blackwood by a paper on “Consciousness,” which attracted the attention of Emerson; in 1842 was appointed professor of History in Edinburgh University, and three years later of Moral Philosophy in St. Andrews; published the “Institutes of Metaphysics,” a lucid exposition of the Berkleian philosophy, and “Lectures on Greek Philosophy,” and edited the works of his uncle and father-in-law, Christopher North; “he belongs,” says Dr. Stirling, “to an era of thought that was inaugurated by Thomas Carlyle” (1808-1864).
Ferrier, Susan Edmonston, a Scottish novelist, aunt of the preceding, born in Edinburgh, where her life was chiefly spent, her father being Clerk in the Court of Session, and a colleague of Sir Walter Scott; her novels, “Marriage,” “The Inheritance,” and “Destiny,” &c., are rich in humour and faithful in their pictures of Scottish life and character; Scott held her in high esteem, and kept up a warm friendship with her till his death (1782-1854).
Ferrol (26), a strongly fortified seaport in Galicia, Spain, 10 m. NE. of Coruña, on a narrow inlet of the sea which forms a splendid harbourage, narrow at the entrance and capacious within, and defended by two forts; it possesses one of the largest Spanish naval arsenals; manufactures linen and cotton, and exports corn, brandy, and sardines.
Ferry, Jules François Camille, a distinguished French statesman, born at Saint Dié, in the Vosges; called to the Paris bar in 1854, he speedily plunged into the politics of the time, and offered uncompromising opposition to the party of Louis Napoleon; as a member of the Corps Législatif he opposed the war with Prussia, but as central mayor of Paris rendered signal service during the siege by the Germans; during his tenure of office as Minister of Public Instruction in 1879 was instrumental in bringing about the expulsion of the Jesuits; as Prime Minister in 1880 and again in 1883-85 he inaugurated a spirited colonial policy, which involved France in war in Madagascar, and brought about his own downfall (1832-1893).
Fesch, Joseph, an eminent French ecclesiastic, born at Ajaccio, the half-brother of Napoleon's mother; was educated for the Church, but, on the outbreak of the Revolution, joined the revolutionaries as a storekeeper; co-operated with his illustrious nephew in restoring Catholicism in France, and became in 1802 archbishop of Lyons, and a cardinal in 1803; as ambassador at Rome in 1804 he won the Pope's favour, and brought about a more friendly understanding between him and Napoleon; later he lost favour with the emperor, and retired to Lyons, whence in 1814 he fled to Rome, there to end his life; was a lover of art, and left a magnificent collection of pictures (1763-1839).
Festus, the name of a poem by Philip James Bailey (q. v.), first published in 1839, but extended to three times its length since, a poem that on its first production produced no small sensation.
Festus, Sextus Pompeius, a Latin grammarian of probably the 3rd century; noted for an epitome of a great work by Verrius Flaccus on the meaning and derivation of Latin words, which, although only a portion of it exists, is regarded as an invaluable document, and is preserved at Naples.
Fetichism, the worship of a fetich, an object superstitiously invested with divine or demonic power, and as such regarded with awe and worshipped.
Feudalism, or the Feudal system, that system which prevailed in Europe during the Middle Ages and in England from the Norman Conquest, by which vassals held their lands from the lord-superior on condition of military service when required, for “the extreme unction day” of which see Carlyle's “French Revolution,” vol. i. Bk. 4.
Feuerbach, Ludwig Andreas, German philosopher, son of the succeeding, born at Landshut; studied theology at Hiedelberg, but coming under the influence of Hegel went to Berlin and devoted himself to philosophy; after failing in an attempt to support himself by lecturing in Erlangen, he was fortunate in his marriage, and upon his wife's means lived a retired and studious life at Bruckberg; in his philosophy, which is a degeneracy and finally total departure from Hegel, he declines to find a higher sanction for morality than man's own conception of right and wrong as based on a doctrine of Hedonism (q. v.); his chief work, on the nature of Christianity, which was translated into English by George Eliot, is extravagant in its departure from orthodox lines of thought; his influence has been trifling outside his own country; he began with Hegel, but “descended at last from Hegel's logical idea to naked sense,” and what guidance for life might be involved in it (1804-1872).
Feuerbach, Paul Johann Anselm von, a highly distinguished criminal jurist, born at Jena, where he studied philosophy and law; at 23 came into prominence by a vigorous criticism of Hobbes's theory on civil power; and soon afterwards, in lectures on criminal jurisprudence he set forth his famous theory, that in administering justice judges should be strictly limited in their decisions by the penal code; this new doctrine gave rise to a party called “Rigorists,” who supported his theory; he held professorships in Jena and in Kiel, and in 1804 was appointed to an official post in Münich; in 1814 he became president of the Court of Appeal at Anspach; his chief work was the framing of a penal code for Bavaria, which became a model for several other countries (1775-1833).
Feuillans, a reformed brotherhood of Cistercian monks, founded in 1577 by Jean de la Barrière, abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Feuillans, in Languedoc. The movement thus organised was a protest against the laxity which had crept into the Church, and probably received some stimulus from the Reformation, which was then in progress. The Feuillans settled in a convent in the Rue St. Honoré, Paris, which in after years became the meeting-place of a revolutionary club, which took the name of Feuillans; founded in 1790 by Lafayette, La Rochefoucauld, &c., and which consisted of members of the respectable property classes, whose views were more moderate than those of the Jacobins. They could not hold out against the flood of revolutionary violence, and on March 28, 1791, a mob burst into their place of meeting and dispersed them.
Féuillet, Octave, a celebrated French novelist, born at Saint-Lò, in La Manche; started his literary career as one of Dumas' assistants, but made his first independent success in the Revue des Deux Mondes by a series of tales, romances, &c., begun in 1848; in 1862 he was elected a member of the Academy, and later became librarian to Louis Napoleon; his novels, of which “Le Roman d'un Jeune Homme Pauvre” and “Sibylle” are the most noted, are graceful in style, and reveal considerable dramatic force, but often lapse into sentimentality, and too often treat of indelicate subjects, although in no spirit of coarseness (1812-1890).
Fez (150), the largest city in Morocco, of which it is the second capital; is surrounded by walls and prettily situated in the valley of the Sebu, a stream which flows through its centre and falls into the Atlantic 100 m. to the E. It has been for many centuries one of the most important of the sacred cities of the Moslem; has many fine mosques, the Sultan's palace, and an important university; is yet a busy commercial centre, although signs of decay appear all over the city, and carries on an active caravan trade with Central Africa.
Fezzan (50), a Turkish province lying to the S. of Tripoli, to which it is politically united; in character partakes of the desert region to which it belongs, being almost wholly composed of barren sandy plateaux, with here and there an oasis in the low valleys, where some attempt at cultivation is made. The people, who belong to the Berber stock, are Mohammedans, honest, but lazy and immoral. Murzuk (6) is the chief town.
Fiars, an expression in Scotch law given to the prices of grain which are determined, by the respective sheriffs in the various counties assisted by juries. The Court for “striking the fiars” is held towards the end of February in accordance with Acts of Sederunt of the Court of Session. The prices fixed are used in the settling of contracts where no prices have been determined upon, e. g. in fixing stipends of ministers of the Church of Scotland, and are found useful in other ways.
Fichte, Johann Gottlieb, a celebrated German philosopher, born in Upper Lusatia; a man of an intensely thoughtful and noble nature; studied theology at Jena, and afterwards philosophy; became a disciple of Kant, and paid homage to him personally at Königsberg; was appointed professor of Philosophy at Jena, where he enthusiastically taught, or rather preached, a system which broke away from Kant, which goes under the name of “Transcendental Idealism,” and which he published in his “Wissenschaftslehre” and his “System der Sittenlehre”; obliged to resign his chair at Jena on a charge of atheism, he removed to Berlin, where he rose into favour by his famous “Address to the Germans” against the tyranny of Napoleon, and after a professorate in Erlangen he became head of the New University, and had for colleagues such men as Wolff, Humboldt, Scheiermacher, and Neander; he fell a victim to the War of Independence which followed, dying of fever caught through his wife and her nursing of patients in the hospitals, which were crowded with the wounded; besides his more esoterico-philosophical works, he was the author of four of a popular cast, which are worthy of all regard, on “The Destiny of Man,” “The Nature of the Scholar,” “The Characteristics of the Present Age,” and “The Way to the Blessed Life”; “so robust an intellect, a soul so calm,” says Carlyle, “so lofty, massive, and immovable, has not mingled in philosophic discussion since the time of Luther ... the cold, colossal, adamantine spirit, standing erect and clear, like a Cato Major among degenerate men; fit to have been the teacher of the Stoa, and to have discoursed of Beauty and Virtue in the groves of Academe” (1762-1814).
Fichtelgebirge, a mountain chain in North-East Bavaria, so called from its having once been covered with pines, Fichtel meaning a pine. In its valleys rise the Elbe, Rhine, and Danube; considerable quantities of iron, copper, and lead are found, which give rise to a smelting industry, while mother-of-pearl is obtained from the streams. The climate is cold and damp, but the district has of late become a favourite resort of tourists.
Ficino, Marsilio, an eminent Italian Platonist, born at Florence; in 1463 became president of a Platonic school, founded by Cosmo de' Medici, where he spent many years spreading and instilling the doctrines of Plato, and, indeed, ancient philosophy generally; entered the Church in 1473, and under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici was appointed to the canonry of Florence Cathedral; his religious beliefs were a strange blend of Platonism and Christianity, but were the foundation of a pure life, while his interest in classical studies helped considerably to further the Renaissance (1433-1499).
Fick, August, a German philologist, born at Petershagan; spent his life chiefly at Göttingen, where he first studied philology under Benfey; became a teacher in the Gymnasium, and eventually in 1876 professor of Comparative Philology in the university; in 1887 accepted a professorship in Breslau, but retired four years later; author of a variety of learned works on philology; b. 1833.
Fidelio, a celebrated opera by Beethoven, and his only one.
Fi`des, the Roman goddess of fidelity, or steadfast adherence to promises and engagements. Numa built a shrine for her worship and instituted a festival in her honour; in later times a temple containing a statue of her dressed in white adjoined the temple of Jupiter, on the Capitol at Rome.
Field, Cyrus West, brother of the following, born at Stockbridge, Massachusetts; was first a successful paper manufacturer, but turning his attention to submarine telegraphy was instrumental in establishing cable communication between England and America, and founded the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856; on the successful laying of the 1866 cable, since which time communication between the Old and New Worlds has never been interrupted, he was awarded a gold medal and the thanks of the nation; afterwards interested himself in developing the overhead railway in New York (1819-1892).
Field, David Dudley, an eminent American Jurist, born in Haddam, Connecticut; for 57 years a prominent member of the New York bar, during which time he brought about judiciary reforms, and drew up, under Government directions, political, civil, and penal codes; interested himself in international law, and laboured to bring about an international agreement whereby disputes might be settled by arbitration and war done away with; was President of the London Peace Congress in 1890 (1805-1894).
Field of the Cloth of Gold, a plain near Guisnes, where Henry VIII. had an interview with Francis I.; was so called from the magnificence displayed on the occasion on the part of both sovereigns and their retinue.
Fielding, Copley, an eminent English water-colour painter; became secretary and treasurer and finally president of the Society of Water-Colour Painters (1787-1855).
Fielding, Henry, a famous novelist, who has been styled by Scott “the father of the English novel,” born at Sharpham Park, Glastonbury, son of General Edmund Fielding and a cousin of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (q. v.); was educated at Eton and at Leyden, where he graduated in 1728; led for some years a dissipated life in London, and achieved some celebrity by the production of a series of comedies and farces, now deservedly sunk into oblivion; in 1735 he married Miss Charlotte Cradock, and after a brief experiment as a theatre lessee studied law at the Middle Temple, and was called to the bar; literature was, however, his main pursuit, and in 1742 he came to the front with “Joseph Andrews,” a burlesque on Richardson's “Pamela,” in which his powers as a novelist first showed themselves; in 1743 followed three volumes of “Miscellanies,” including “Jonathan Wild”; after his wife's death he turned again to law, but in 1745 we find him once more engaged in literature as editor of the True Patriot and afterwards of the Jacobite's Journal; “Tom Jones,” his masterpiece, appeared in 1749, and three years later “Amelia”; journalism and his duties as a justice of the peace occupied him till 1754, when ill-health forced him abroad to Lisbon, where he died and was buried. Fielding is a master of a fluent, virile, and attractive style; his stories move with an easy and natural vigour, and are brimful of humour and kindly satire, while his characters in their lifelike humanness, with all their foibles and frailties, are a marked contrast to the buckram and conventional figures of his contemporary Richardson; something of the laxity of his times, however, finds its way into his pages, and renders them not always palatable reading to present-day readers (1707-1754).
Fieschi, Count, a Genoese of illustrious family who conspired against Andrea Doria, but whose plot was frustrated on the eve of its fulfilment by his falling into the sea and being drowned as he stept full-armed from one of his ships into another (1523-1547).
Fieschi, Joseph Marco, a Corsican conspirator; served under Murat and in Russia in 1812; obtained a government post in 1830, and in consequence of his discharge from this five years later he, by means of an infernal machine, made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Louis Philippe, for which, along with his accomplices, he was tried and executed (1790-1836).
Fiesole, a small town, 3 m. from Florence, where the wealthy Florentines have villas, and near which Fra Angelico lived as a monk.
Fife (190), a maritime county in the E. of Scotland, which juts out into the German Ocean and is washed by the Firths of Tay and Forth on its N. and S. shores respectively, thus forming a small peninsula; has for the most part a broken and hilly surface, extensively cultivated however, while the “How of Fife,” watered by the Eden, is a fertile valley, richly wooded; and valuable coal deposits are worked in the S. and W.; its long coast-line is studded with picturesque towns, many of them of ancient date, a circumstance which led James VI. to describe the county as “a beggar's mantle fringed with gold”; it is associated with much that is memorable in Scottish history.
Fifth-Monarchy Men, a set of fanatics of extreme levelling tendencies, who, towards the close of the Protectorate, maintained that Jesus Christ was about to reappear on the earth to establish a fifth monarchy that would swallow up and forcibly suppress all that was left of the four preceding—the Assyrian, the Persian, the Macedonian, and the Roman; their standard exhibited the lion of the tribe of Judah couchant, with the motto, “Who will rouse him up?” some of them conspired to murder the Protector, but were detected and imprisoned till after his death.
Figaro, a name given by the French dramatist Beaumarchais to a cunning and intriguing barber who figures in his “Barbier de Seville” and his “Mariage de Figaro,” and who has since become the type of all such characters. The name has been adopted by various journals in England and in France.
Figaro, Mariage de, a play by Beaumarchais, “issued on the stage in Paris 1784, ran its hundred nights; a lean and barren thing; succeeded, as it flattered a pruriency of the time and spoke what all were feeling and longing to speak.”
Figuier, Louis, a popular writer on scientific subjects, born at Montpellier, where he became professor of Pharmacy in 1846, and subsequently in Paris; his voluminous writings have done much to popularise science, and they comprise a volume on alchemy and one in defence of immortality; many of these have been received with favour in England (1819-1894).
Fiji (125), a group of islands in the S. Pacific Ocean, known also as the Viti Islands; they lie between 15°-22° S. lat. and 176° E.-178° W. long., and are a dependency of Britain; sighted by Tasman in 1643, though first discovered, properly speaking, by Cook in 1773, came first into prominence in 1858, when the sovereignty was offered to England and declined, but in 1874 were taken over and made a crown colony; they number over 200 islands, of which Viti Leon and Vanua Leon are by far the largest; Suva is the capital; sugar, cotton, vanilla, tea, and coffee are cultivated, besides fruit.
Fildes, S. Luke, artist, born in Lancashire; made his mark first as a designer of woodcuts; contributed to various magazines and illustrated books, notably Dickens's “Edwin Drood”; his most noted pictures are “Applicants for a Casual Ward,” “The Widower,” and “The Doctor”; he was made an R.A. in 1887; b. 1844.
Filibuster, a name given to buccaneers who infested the Spanish-American coasts or those of the West Indies, but more specially used to designate the followers of Lopez in his Cuban expedition in 1851, and those of Walker in his Nicaraguan in 1855; a name now given to any lawless adventurers who attempt to take forcible possession of a foreign country.
Filigree, a name given to a species of goldsmith's ornamental work fashioned out of fine metallic (usually gold or silver) wire into lace-like patterns; the art is of ancient date, and was skilfully practised by the Etruscans and Egyptians, as well as in Central Asia and India.
Filioque Controversy, a controversy which ended in the disruption of the Western from the Eastern Church on the question whether the Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son or from the Father only, the Western maintaining the former and the Eastern the latter.
Fillan, St., a name borne by two Scottish saints: (1) the son of a Munster prince, lived in the 8th century, was first abbot of the monastery on the Holy Loch in Argyll, and afterwards laboured at Strathfillan, Perthshire; some of his relics are to be seen in the Edinburgh Antiquarian Museum; (2) or Faolan, known as “the leper,” had his church at the end of Loch Earn, Perthshire; a healing well and chair are associated with his name.
Fillmore, President of the United States from 1850 to 1853.
Finality John, Lord John Russell, from his complacently pronouncing the Reform Bill of 1832 a final measure.
Finch, Heneage, first Earl of Nottingham and Lord Chancellor of England, born in Kent, studied at Oxford, and was called to the bar in 1645; at the Restoration he was appointed Solicitor-General, and took an active part in prosecuting the regicides; in 1670 he became Attorney-General, and in 1675 Lord-Chancellor; he presided as Lord-High Steward at the trial of Stafford in 1680, and pronounced judgment in a speech of great eloquence (1621-1682).
Findlater, Andrew, encyclopedist, born near Aberdour, in Aberdeenshire, of humble parentage; graduated at Aberdeen, and became a schoolmaster at Tillydesk, and afterwards held the post of head-master of Gordon's Hospital in Aberdeen; in 1853 joined the staff of Messrs. W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh, and became eventually editor of the first edition of their encyclopedia (1861-1868); amongst other work done for the Messrs. Chambers were various manuals on astronomy, geography, &c.; was a man of wide and accurate scholarship (1810-1877).
Fingal or Fionn, the great hero of Gaelic mythology, represented by Ossian (q. v.) to have ruled over the kingdom of Morven, which may be said to have been then co-extensive with Argyllshire and the West Highlands; in ballad literature he is represented as belonging also to Ireland.
Fingal's Cave, a remarkable cave of basaltic formation on the coast of the Isle of Staffa (q. v.); entrance to the cave is effected in boats through a natural archway 42 ft. wide and 66 ft. high, and the water fills the floor of this great hall to a distance of 227 ft.
Finisterre or Finistère (727), the most westerly department of France, washed on the N. by the English Channel, and on the S. and W. by the Atlantic; has a rugged and broken coast-line, but inland presents a picturesque appearance with tree-clad hills and fertile valleys; the climate is damp, and there is a good deal of marshy land; mines of silver, lead, &c., are wrought, and quarries of marble and granite; fishing is largely engaged in; and the manufacture of linen, canvas, pottery, &c., are important industries, while large quantities of grain are raised.
Finland (2,431), a grand-duchy forming the NW. corner of Russia; was ceded by the Swedes in 1809, but still retains an independent administration. The coast-line is deeply indented, and fringed with small islands; the interior, chiefly elevated plateau, consists largely of forest land, and is well furnished with lakes, many of which are united by canals, one 36 m. connecting Lake Saima with the Gulf of Finland. Various cereals (barley, oats, &c.) are grown, and there is a varied and valuable fauna; fishing is an extensive industry, and no less than 80 kinds of fish are found in the rivers, lakes, and coast waters. The country is divided into eight counties, and is governed by a Senate and Diet, the reigning Russian emperor holding rank as grand-duke; education is highly advanced; Swedish and Finnish are the two languages of the country, Russian being practically unknown. There is an excellent Saga literature, and the beginnings of a modern literature. The Finns came under the dominion of the Swedes in the 12th and 13th centuries, and were by them Christianised.
Finlay, George, a distinguished historian, horn at Faversham, Kent, but of Scotch parents; received a university training at Glasgow and Göttingen, and in 1822 went to Greece, where he met Byron and fought in the War of Independence; henceforth Greece became his home, and there, after an unavailing effort to promote agriculture, he betook himself to a studious life and to writing the history of his adopted country; his valuable history, published in various parts, traces the national life of Greece from 146 B.C. to A.D. 1864 (1799-1875).
Finmark (29), a province of Norway, lying in the extreme N., with a rocky and indented coast and a barren and mountainous interior; fishing is the main industry of the inhabitants, who are chiefly Lapps.
Finns, the native inhabitants of Finland, and originally of the districts in Sweden and Norway as well, are of the Mongolian type, and were settled in Europe before the arrival of the Slavic and Teutonic races.
Fiords, deep indentations forming inlets of the sea, especially on the coast of Norway, overlooked by high mountains and precipitous cliffs.
Firdausi or Firdusi, the pseudonym of Abu-'l Kasim Mansur, the great poet of Persia, born near Tûs, in Khorassan; flourished in the 10th century B.C.; spent 30 years in writing the “Shah Nama,” a national epic, but having been cheated out of the reward promised by Sultan Mahmud, he gave vent to bitter satire against his royal master and fled the court; for some time he led a wandering life, till at length he returned to his birthplace, where he died; a complete translation of his great poem exists in French.
Fire-Worship, worship of fire, especially as embodied in the sun viewed as the most express and emphatic exhibition of beneficent divine power.
Firmament, a name given to the vault of the sky conceived as a solid substance studded with stars, so applied in the Vulgate.
Firman, a Persian word denoting a mandate or decree; among the Turks the term is applied to such decrees as issue from the Ottoman Porte, and also to passports, the right of signing which lies with the Sultan or a Pasha; the word is also used in India to denote a permit to trade.
Firmin, St., bishop of Amiens, who suffered martyrdom in 287. Festival, Sept. 25.
First Gentleman of Europe, George IV., from his fine style and manners.
Fischart, Johann, a German satirist; an imitator of Rabelais (1545-1589).
Fischer, Ernst Kuno Berthold, a German historian of philosophy, born at Sandewalde, Silesia; as a student of Erdmann at Halle he was smitten with the love of philosophy, and gave his life to the study of it; after graduating he went to Heidelberg and there established himself as a private lecturer, in which capacity he was eminently successful, but in 1853 was deprived of his status by Government, probably on account of the alleged Pantheistic trend of his teaching; in 1856, however, he was elected to the chair of Philosophy in Jena, and 16 years later was called back to Heidelberg as Zeller's successor; his chief work is a “History of Modern Philosophy”; b. 1824.
Fisher, John, bishop of Rochester, born at Beverley; was distinguished at Cambridge, and became chaplain and confessor to the Countess of Richmond, Henry VII.'s mother, who had him appointed professor of Divinity at his alma mater; in 1504 he was elected Chancellor of the University and made bishop of Rochester, but incurred the royal displeasure by opposing Henry VIII.'s divorce of Catherine of Aragon, and by upholding the Pope's supremacy; became involved in the deceptions of Elizabeth Barton, maid of Kent, and was sent to the Tower in 1534 for refusing to take the oath of succession; was created a cardinal, but was beheaded by order of the king ere his hat arrived; was beatified in 1886 (1469-1535).
Fiske, John, American writer, born at Hartford, Conn., U.S.; studied at Harvard; in 1869 lectured at his old university as a Positivist, and was under-librarian from 1872 to 1879; he is the author of a number of works on Darwinism, American history, philosophy, etc.; b. 1842.
Fitch, John, an American inventor, born in Connecticut; led a life of adventure, at one time acting as gunsmith to the American revolutionaries and at another falling into the hands of Indians whilst trading in the West; in 1785 he brought out a model steamboat with side wheels, and in 1788 and in 1790 constructed larger vessels, one of the latter being for some time employed as a passenger boat; some of his plans are said to have fallen into Robert Fulton's hands and given him the idea of his steamship; disheartened by the ill-success of a trip to France he committed suicide at Bardstown, Kentucky (1743-1798).
Fitz-Boodle, George, Thackeray's pseudonym in Fraser's Magazine.
FitzGerald, Edward, English scholar, born in Suffolk; at Cambridge, where he graduated in 1830, he formed close friendships with James Spedding and Thackeray, and afterwards was on intimate terms with Carlyle and Tennyson; his life was quietly spent in his country residence in Suffolk, varied by yachting expeditions and visits to London, where he made the round of his friends; his first book, “Euphranor,” a dialogue on youth, appeared when he was 42, “Polonius” followed and some Spanish translations, but his fame rests on his translations of Persian poetry, and especially on his rendering of the 11th-century poet, Omar Khayyám (1809-1883).
Fitzgerald, Lady, a daughter of Egalité and Mme. Genlis, called Pamela; distinguished for her beauty and enthusiasm for liberty, and who became the wife of Lord Fitzgerald, the Irish patriot (q. v.); d. 1831.
Fitzgerald, Lord Edward, the younger son of the Duke of Leinster, born at Carlton Castle, near Dublin; spent his early years in France; joined the English army and served with distinction in the American War; in 1784 he was elected to the Irish Parliament, and opposed the English Government; was attracted to France by the Revolution, but returned to Ireland and joined the United Irishmen in 1796, and began plotting the rising of 1798; his scheme was betrayed, and he was arrested in Dublin after a determined resistance, during which he received wounds of which he died in prison (1763-1798).
Fitzherbert, Mrs., a Roman Catholic lady, maiden name Maria Anne Smythe, with whom, after her second widowhood, George IV., while Prince of Wales, contracted a secret marriage in 1785, which, however, under the Royal Marriage Act, was declared invalid (1756-1837).
Fitzroy, Robert, admiral, navigator, and meteorologist, born at Ampton Hall, near Bury St. Edmunds; entered the navy at 14, and in 1828-1830 conducted a survey of the coasts of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, a work he continued while commanding the Beagle (1831-1836), in which Darwin accompanied him; in 1843-1845 was governor of New Zealand; in his later years devoted himself to meteorology, and, on the retired list, rose to be vice-admiral; published accounts of his voyages, etc.; under pressure of work his mind gave way, and he committed suicide (1805-1865).
Fitzwilliam, William, Earl, a politician of George the Third's time; the excesses of the French Revolution caused him to come over from the Whigs and support Pitt; favoured Catholic emancipation during his Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland, but was recalled; held office under Grenville in 1806, and took some part in the Reform Bill agitation of the day (1748-1833).
Fiume (29), a seaport of Hungary, on the Adriatic, at the rocky entrance of the Fiumara, 40 m. SE. of Trieste; a new town of spacious and colonnaded streets and many fine buildings, has grown up on the ground sloping down from the old town; has an excellent harbour, and flourishing industries in paper, torpedoes, tobacco, etc., besides being the entrepôt of an important and increasing commerce.
Flacius or Vlacich, Matthias, surnamed Illyricus, a German theologian, born at Albona, in Illyria; was the pupil of Luther and Melanchthon; became professor of the Old Testament Scriptures at Wittenberg, but four years later lost his position on account of certain attacks he made on Melanchthon; subsequently he was elected professor at Jena, but was again deposed for heterodox notions on original sin; died in poverty; was author of an ecclesiastical history and other works (1520-1575).
Flagellants, a set of medieval fanatics, who first arose in Italy in 1260, and subsequently appeared in other quarters of Europe, and who thought by self-flagellation to atone for sin and avert divine judgment, hoping by a limited number of stripes to compensate for a century of scourgings; the practice arose at a time when it was reckoned that the final judgment of the world was at hand.
Flahault de la Billarderie, Auguste Charles Joseph, Comte de, a French soldier and diplomatist, born at Paris; was aide-de-camp to Napoleon, and for distinguished services in the Peninsular war and at Leipzig was made a general and count; fought at Waterloo, and two years later married Margaret Elphinston, who by inheritance became Baroness Keith; he was ambassador at the Courts of Venice (1841-48) and at London (1860) (1785-1870).
Flambard, Randolph, a Norman who came over with the Conqueror to England and became chaplain to William Rufus, whom he abetted and pandered to in his vices, in return for which, and a heavy sum he paid, he was in 1099 made bishop of Durham.
Flamboyant, the name given, from the flame-like windings of its tracery, to a florid style of architecture in vogue in France during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Flamens, priests elected in Rome by the people and consecrated by the chief pontiff to the service of a particular god, such as Jupiter, Mars, &c.
Flaminius, Caius, a Roman tribune and consul, who constructed the Flaminian Way; perished at Lake Trasimene, where he was defeated by Hannibal in the Second Punic War, 217 B.C.
Flaminius, T. Quintus, a Roman consul, who defeated Philip of Macedon and proclaimed the freedom of Greece, and it was his close neighbourhood to Hannibal that induced the latter to take poison rather than fall into his hands (230-174 B.C.).
Flammarion, Camille, French astronomer, born at Montigny-le-Roi; he was attached to the Paris Observatory in 1858, and by means of books and lectures has spent a busy life in popularising his science; many of his works have been translated into English; b. 1842.
Flamsteed, John, the first astronomer-royal of England, born near Derby; his devotion to astronomy gained him the favour of Sir Jonas Moore, who was the means of getting him the appointment of astronomer-royal in 1675; from the Observatory of Greenwich, specially built for his use, he catalogued the fixed stars and supplied Newton with useful information bearing on his lunar theory; in 1675 he took holy orders, and was presented to the living of Burstow in Surrey, which he held till his death (1646-1719).
Flanders, the land of the Flemings, borders upon the North Sea, formerly extended from the Scheldt to the Somme, and included, besides the present Belgian provinces of East and West Flanders, part of Zealand, and also of Artois, in France; the ancient county dates from 862, in which year Charles the Bold of France, as suzerain, raised it to the status of a sovereign county, and bestowed it upon his son Baldwin I.; it has successively belonged to Spain and Austria, and in Louis XIV.'s reign a portion of it was ceded to France, now known as French Flanders, while Zealand passed into the hands of the Dutch; the remainder was in 1714 made the Austrian Netherlands, and in 1831 was incorporated with the new kingdom of Belgium (q. v.).
Flandrin, a French painter, born at Lyons; was a pupil of Ingres; represented the religious movement in art in the 19th century (1809-1864).
Flaubert, Gustave, a realistic romancer, born at Rouen; author of “Madame Bovary,” a study of provincial life, which became the subject of a prosecution, and “Salammbô,” wonderful for its vigour and skill in description; he indulged in repulsive subjects (1821-1880).
Flavel, John, an English Nonconformist divine of spiritualising tendencies, much read by pious people of his class; d. 1691.
Flaxman, John, an eminent sculptor, born at York; was brought up in London, where his father carried on business as a moulder of plaster figures; his love of drawing and modelling soon marked him out as an artist, and helped by friends he devoted himself to art; exhibited at the age of 12, and won the silver medal of the Royal Academy at 14; for some years he supplied the Wedgwoods with designs for their famous pottery, and in 1787 he went to Rome, which for seven years became his home; in 1810 became professor of Sculpture to the Royal Academy; besides many fine statues of eminent men and much exquisite work in bas-reliefs, he executed a series of noble designs illustrating Homer, Dante, and Æschylus; he was a Swedenborgian by religious creed (1755-1826).
Flechier, a famous French pulpit orator, bishop of Nîmes; his funeral orations compare with Bossuet's (1632-1710).
Fleet Marriages, clandestine marriages, suppressed in 1754, performed without license by the chaplains of Fleet Prison, London.
Fleet Prison, a celebrated London jail in Farringdon Street; was a debtor's prison as far back as the 12th century.
Fleetwood, Charles, a Cromwellian officer; fought as lieutenant-general against the king at Worcester, and acted as lord-deputy in Ireland; on the death of Cromwell advised the abdication of Richard; d. 1692.
Flegel, African explorer, born in Wilna, of German descent; made three journeys from Europe to explore the Niger territory, in which he made important discoveries; was suddenly stricken down in the last (1855-1886).
Fleischer, Heinrich Leberecht, Orientalist, born at Schandau, Saxony; after a university training at Leipzig he undertook a catalogue of the Oriental MSS. in the royal library at Dresden, and in 1836 became professor of Oriental Languages at Leipzig; did important work as a critical editor of Oriental works and MSS. (1801-1888).
Fleming, Paul, a celebrated German poet, born at Hartenstein, Vogtland; received a medical training at Leipzig, and was engaged in embassies in Russia and Persia; settled in Hamburg in 1639, but died the following year; as a lyrist he stood in the front rank of German poets (1609-1640).
Flemish School, a school of painting established in the 15th century, and to which Reubens, Vandyck, and Teniers belonged.
Fleshly School, a name given by Robert Buchanan to a realistic school of poets, to which Rossetti, William Morris, and Swinburne belong.
Flesselles, the last provost of the merchants of the Hôtel de Ville, Paris; “shot by an unknown hand at the turn of a street” after the fall of the Bastille (1721-1789).
Fletcher, Andrew, of Saltoun, a Scottish patriot and politician; after travelling on the Continent for four years he entered the Scottish Parliament, but got into trouble through his opposition to James, Duke of York, the Royal Commissioner in Scotland, and fled to Holland; his estates were confiscated, and for the next seven years he was a political refugee; he took part in the Rye House Plot and in Monmouth's invasion; his estates were restored in 1688, and he again sat in the Scottish Parliament; he was an active promoter of the abortive Darien Scheme, and a strong opponent of the Union of 1707 (1653-1716).
Fletcher, Giles, an English poet, born in London; was the unappreciated rector of Alderton, in Suffolk, and author of a fervid and imaginative poem, “Christ's Victory and Triumph,” which won the admiration of Milton (1588-1623).
Fletcher, John, English dramatist, the son of a bishop of London; was left an orphan and in poverty; collaborated with Beaumont (q. v.) in the production of the plays published under their joint names; died of the plague (1570-1625).
Fletcher, Phineas, poet, brother of preceding; was rector of Hilgay, Norfolk; celebrated for his poem the “Purple Island, or the Isle of Man,” an ingenious allegory descriptive of the human body—i. e. the Purple Island—and its vices and virtues.
Fleurant, Monsieur, a character in Molière's “Malade Imaginaire.”
Fleur-de-lis (i. e. lily-flower), a badge of ultimately three golden fleurs-de-lis on a blue field, borne from the days of Clovis on their arms by the kings of France.
Fleury, André Hercule de. Cardinal, French statesman, born at Lodève, in Languedoc; studied philosophy in Paris; became a doctor of the Sorbonne and almoner to the Queen and King Louis XIV., who subsequently made him bishop of Frèjus and tutor to his son Louis; in 1726 he was chosen Prime Minister by Louis XV., and created a cardinal; he carried through a successful war with Germany, which resulted in the acquisition of Lorraine by France, but although honest and cautious, he cannot be styled a great statesman (1653-1743).
Fleury, Claude, Abbé, an ecclesiastical historian, born in Paris; was at the outset of his career a successful advocate, but afterwards entered the Church; as tutor he educated various princes, including an illegitimate son of Louis XIV., who in reward appointed him to the priory of Argenteuil; was chosen confessor to the young Louis XV., and in 1696 was elected to the Academy; his chief work is his great “Ecclesiastical History” in 20 vols., on which he laboured for 30 years, and the learning, ability, and impartiality of which procured for him the esteem of all parties (1640-1723).
Flinders, Matthew, a naval officer, born in Lincolnshire; explored the coast of Australia, experiencing not a few adventures, and adding materially to our geographical knowledge (1760-1814).
Flint, 1, a maritime county (77) of North Wales, between Lancashire and Denbigh, of which a detached portion lies to the N. of Shropshire; low stretches of sand form its foreshore, but inland it is hilly, with here and there a picturesque and fertile valley in which dairy-farming is extensively carried on. 2, a seaport (5), on the estuary of the Dee, 13 m. NW. of Chester; has ruins of a castle with interesting historical associations; in the neighbourhood are copper-works and lead and coal mines.
Flint, Robert, a theologian, born in Dumfriesshire; professor of Divinity in Edinburgh University; an eminent scholar, a vigorous thinker, and a man of broad sympathies, who takes a deep interest in all the vital questions of the times, and has contributed to the solution of them; has written on Theism, the Philosophy of History, Socialism, &c.; b. 1838.
Floating Islands are sometimes formed of masses of driftwood on which débris, vegetation, &c., gradually form a soil, but are more commonly portions of river banks detached by the force of the current when swollen and drifted put, sometimes as much as 100 m., to sea, carrying with them plants, reptiles, and larger animals, and thus contributing to the distribution to distant shores of animal and vegetable life; they are to be met with off the mouths of the larger American, Asian, and African rivers, and sometimes in inland seas and lakes; Derwent Lake, in England, has a notable one, which sinks, and rises periodically; they are also made artificially in districts subject to floods as asylums of refuge.
Flodden, Battle of, fought on Flodden Hill, a low spur of the Cheviots, 6 m. S. of Coldstream, between James IV. of Scotland and the English under the Earl of Surrey on the 9th of September 1513, which resulted in the crushing defeat of the Scots, who lost their king and the flower of their nobility, an event celebrated in Jean Elliot's “Flowers of the Forest”; a spirited account is given in the sixth canto of Scott's “Marmion.”
Flood, Henry, an Irish Nationalist, trained at Dublin and Oxford Universities; entering the Irish Parliament, he by his fervid oratory soon won a place in the front rank of Irish politicians; in 1769 he was put on trial for killing an opponent in a duel, but was acquitted; from 1775 to 1781 he was Vice-Treasurer of Ireland; to Grattan's Irish Bill of Right he offered bitter opposition, holding it to be an altogether inadequate measure; in 1783 he was returned to the English House of Commons, but failed to make his mark (1732-1791).
Flora, goddess of the blossom of flowers and the spring, an early Roman divinity; had in the time of Numa a flamen (q. v.) to herself.
Florence (137), a famous Italian city, situated 50 m. from the sea; it lies in the valley of the Arno, and is built on both sides of the river, but chiefly on the N.; the outlying suburbs are singularly beautiful, and are surrounded by finely wooded hills, bright with gay villas and charming gardens; the old city itself is characterised by a sombre grandness, and is full of fine buildings of historic and artistic interest; chief amongst these is the cathedral, or Duomo, begun in 1298, with its grand dome and campanile (293 ft.), by Giotto. It is the city of Dante, Petrarch, Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Galileo and many more of Italy's great men, and has a history of exceptional interest; it has many fine art galleries; is an educational centre, and carries on a trade in straw-plaiting and silk.
Florian, Jean Pierre de, a French novelist and writer of fables; was the friend of Voltaire, from whom he received his first literary impulse; was the author of several romances plays, &c., but his finest work is found in his Fables, in which department of literature he ranks next La Fontaine (1755-1794).
Florida (391), “Land of Flowers,” the most southern of the American States, forms a bold peninsula on the E. side of the Gulf of Mexico, and has on its eastern shore the Atlantic; has a coast-line of 1150 m.; the chief physical feature is the amount of water surface, made up of 19 navigable rivers and lakes and ponds to the number of 1200, besides swamps and marshes; the climate is, however, equable, and for the most part healthy; fruit-growing is largely engaged in; the timber trade flourishes, also the phosphate industry, and cotton and the sugar-cane are extensively cultivated; a successful business in cigar-making has also of recent years sprung up, and there are valuable fisheries along the coast; Florida was admitted into the Union in 1845; the capital is Tallahassee.
Florio, John, the translator of Montaigne, born in London, of Italian parents; was a tutor of foreign languages for some years at Oxford, and in 1581 became a member of Magdalen College and teacher of French and Italian; published two works of a miscellaneous character, called “First Fruits” and “Second Fruits,” and an English-Italian dictionary called a “World of Words,” but his fame rests on his translation of Montaigne, which Shakespeare used so freely (1553-1625).
Florus, a Latin historian, contemporary of Trajan.
Fludd, Robert, physician and theosophist, born at Milgate, Kent; studied at Oxford, and travelled on the Continent, where he came under the influence of Paracelsus's writings; settled in London as a doctor, and published a work embodying a vague theosophy (1574-1637).
Flushing (13), a Dutch seaport, strongly fortified, on the island of Walcheren, at the mouth of the western Scheldt; has an active shipping trade, docks, arsenals, &c.
Fluxions, a method, invented by Sir Isaac Newton, of determining the rate of increase or decrease of a quantity or magnitude whose value depends on that of another which itself varies in value at a uniform and given rate. See Calculus, Differential, and Integral.
Flying Dutchman, a Dutch captain, fated for his sins to scour the sea and never reach port, who appeared from time to time to sea-captains as on a black spectral ship, and from the very terror he inspired made them change their course; there are many versions of this fable in the German mythology.
Fo, the name in China for Buddha.
Fo-Hi, or Fuh-He, the mythical founder of the Chinese dynasty, is said to have introduced cattle-rearing, instituted marriage, and invented letters.
Foix, Gaston de, illustrious French captain, nephew of Louis XII., was from his daring exploits called the Thunderbolt of Italy; he beat the Swiss, routed the Papal troops, captured Brescia from the Venetians, and gained the battle of Ravenna against the Spaniards, but was slain when pursuing the fugitives (1489-1512).
Foix, Gaston III. de, French captain, surnamed Phoebus on account of his beauty and handsome presence; distinguished in the wars against the English and in the Jacquerie revolt, in which he rescued the dauphin at Meaux (1331-1391).
Foley, John Henry, an eminent sculptor, born in Dublin; his first success was achieved in a series of classical figures, including some Shakespearian subjects; statues of Hampden, Burke, J. S. Mill, Goldsmith, &c., brought him further fame, and he was commissioned by the Queen to execute the figure of Prince Albert in the Albert Memorial; his vigour and genius were further revealed in the noble equestrian statues of Hardinge and Outram (1818-1874).
Folkestone (24), a seaport and watering-place on the coast of Kent, 7 m. SW. of Dover; has a fine harbour and esplanade; is much engaged in the herring and mackerel fisheries, and is steam-packet station for Boulogne; a fine railway viaduct spans the valley in which the old town lies.
Fonblanque, Albany William, journalistic editor, after serving on the staff of the Times and the Morning Chronicle became editor of the Examiner, which he conducted successfully from 1830 to 1847; Carlyle was introduced to him on his visit to London in 1831, and describes him as “a tall, loose, lank-haired, wrinkly, wintry, vehement-looking flail of a man,” but “the best of the Fourth Estate” then extant; “I rather like the man,” he adds, “has the air of a true-hearted Radical” (1793-1872).
Fontainebleau, a town on the left bank of the Seine, 35 m. SE. of Paris, and famous for a château or palace of the kings of France, and the forest that surrounds it. This château, founded towards the end of the 10th century, was enlarged and embellished by successive kings, beginning with Francis I., and was the place where Napoleon signed his abdication in 1814.
Fontanes, Louis, Marquis de, poet and man of letters, born at Niort, Poitou; came to Paris and achieved some celebrity by his poems and translations from Pope and Gray; changing from the Royalist side, he, during the Revolution, edited two journals in the Republican interest, and held the post of professor of Literature at the College of the Four Nations; was for some time a refugee in England, but afterwards returned and became a zealous supporter of Napoleon, on the downfall of whom he embraced the Bourbon cause, and was raised to the peerage (1757-1821).
Fontenelle, Bernard le Bovier de, a miscellaneous French writer, born at Rouen, a nephew of Corneille, whose Life he wrote; was designed for the bar, but under his uncle's patronage embarked on a literary career in Paris; he vehemently upheld the moderns in the famous literary quarrel of Moderns versus Ancients, and brought upon himself the satirical attacks of Boileau and Racine; became Secretary and then President of the Académie des Sciences; died in his hundredth year; his vigorous and versatile nature found vent in a wide variety of writings—literary, scientific, and historical; author of “Dialogues of the Dead,” in imitation of Lucian, and “Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds”; is credited with the saying, “A man may have his hand full of truth, and yet only care to open his little finger,” and this other, “No man was ever written down but by himself” (1657-1757).
Fontenoy, a village in Belgium, 5 m. SW. of Tournay, where Marshal Saxe beat the English, Dutch, and Austrians under the Duke of Cumberland in 1745.
Foochow (630), a Chinese city, the capital of the province of Fu-chien, situated on the Min, 125 m. NE. of Amoy. Massive walls 30 ft. high enclose the original town, but the extensive suburbs reach down to the river, which is bridged, and is a convenient waterway for trading with the interior; it was made a free port in 1842, and is the centre of a busy trade in tea, timber, and textiles.
Fools, Feast of, a festival of wild mirth in the Middle Ages, held on 1st January, in which the Ass of Scripture celebrity played a chief part, and in which many of the rites and ceremonies of the Church were travestied.
Foot-Pound, the name given in mechanics to the force required to raise 1 lb. through 1 foot, the unit of work.
Foote, Samuel, a celebrated English actor and playwright, born at Truro, Cornwall, of a good family; was educated at Oxford, and studied law, but ruined himself by gaming, and took to the stage; he became the successful lessee of Haymarket Theatre in 1747, where, by his inimitable powers of mimicry and clever comedies, he firmly established himself in popular favour (1720-1777).
Forbes, Archibald, a noted war-correspondent, born in Morayshire; was educated at Aberdeen University; served in a cavalry regiment, acted as war-correspondent for the Daily News during the Franco-German war, and has since been the brilliant chronicler of war news in all parts of the globe; has published several volumes; b. 1838.
Forbes, Duncan, of Culloden, a distinguished lawyer and patriotic politician, born at Bunchrew; was trained at Edinburgh and Leyden, and called to the Scotch bar in 1709; took an active part in putting down the rebellion of 1715, and in 1722 entered Parliament; three years later he was appointed Lord Advocate and Lord President of the Court of Session; succeeded his brother in the estates of Culloden and Bunchrew; during the 1745 rebellion he was active in the Hanoverian interest, and did much to quell the uprising; Forbes was a devoted Scot, and unweariedly strove to allay the Jacobite discontent and to establish the country in peace, and used his great influence and wealth to further these ends, services which, in the end, impoverished him, and received little or no recognition at the hands of Government (1685-1747).
Forbes, Edward, a noted naturalist, born at Douglas, in the Isle of Man; studied medicine at Edinburgh, where he became smitten with the love of natural science, to which he devoted his life; in 1841 he accompanied the Beacon as naturalist, and returning in 1843 found himself elected to the chair of Botany in King's College, London; various geological appointments followed, and in 1852 he became President of the Geological Society, and two years later received the chair of Natural History in Edinburgh; Forbes was a prolific author, and his writings cover the whole field of natural science, to every section of which he has made contributions of great value (1815-1854).
Forbes, James David, physicist, born at Edinburgh, the grandson of Sir William, and the son of the first lady-love of Sir Walter Scott, and very like her; was called to the bar in 1830; physical science, however, was his ruling passion, and in 1833 he became professor of Natural Philosophy in Edinburgh University, from which he was called in 1859 to the Principalship of the United College, St. Andrews, in which he succeeded Sir David Brewster, whom he had defeated in obtaining the Edinburgh chair; he made some valuable contributions to natural science, including discoveries in the polarisation of heat and in regard to the motion of glaciers, to investigate which he travelled in Norway and in the Alps (1809-1868).
Forbes, Sir John, physician, born at Cuttlebrae, Banffshire; entered the navy as assistant-surgeon in 1807, and became M.D. of Edinburgh ten years later; practised at Penzance and Chichester, but finally settled at London in 1840, where he became physician to the Queen; was for twelve years editor of the British and Foreign Medical Review, which he founded in 1836, and was joint-author of the “Cyclopædia of Practical Medicine”; first to use the stethoscope in England (1787-1861).
Forbes, Sir William, an eminent banker, son of a Scotch advocate and baronet, born in Edinburgh; became partner in the banking firm of Messrs. John Coutts & Co.; two years later a new company was formed, of which he rose to be manager, and which in 1830 became the Union Bank of Scotland; he is author of a Life of his friend Beattie, the Scottish poet, and of “Memoirs of a Banking-House” (1739-1806).
Ford, John, dramatist, born at Islington, North Devon; studied at Oxford, and entered the Middle Temple in 1602, but was never called to the bar; in 1606 appeared his first poetic work “Fame's Memorial,” an elegy on the death of the Earl of Devonshire, and for the next 33 years he was a prolific writer of plays, chiefly tragedies, collaborating in some cases with Dekker and Webster; “The Broken Heart” was greatly admired by Charles Lamb, and “Perkin Warbeck” is considered by Stopford Brooke the best historical drama after Shakespeare; there is little of the lighter graces about his work, and he is prone to go beyond the bounds of nature in his treatment of the tragic, but his grip on the greater human passions, and his power of moving presentment, are undoubted (1586-1639).
Fordun, John of, a Scottish chronicler; lived in the 14th century; was a canon of Aberdeen Cathedral, and wrote a chronicle of Scottish history, bringing the story up to 1153; materials for further volumes, which he left, were utilised by Walter Bower, an abbot of Inchcolm, in the Forth, who extended the account to 1437, but often tampered with Fordun's narrative; the work is the chief authority in Scottish history up to the time it treats of.
Foreland, North and South, two rocky promontories on the E. coast of Kent, which lie 16 m. apart; have the Downs and Goodwin Sands between them; they are well marked with lighthouses.
Forensic Medicine, or Medical Jurisprudence, a branch of legal science in which the principles of medicine are applied to the purposes of the law, and originating out of the frequency with which medical points arise in the administration of justice, e. g. in murder trials and in cases where insanity is involved.
Forest Laws, laws enacted in ancient times for the purpose of guarding the royal forest lands as hunting preserves, and which were up to the time of Henry III. of excessive harshness, death being a not infrequent penalty for infringement. The privileges of forest (at one time the sole prerogative of the sovereign, but by him capable of being vested in another), which might include the right to the wild animals in the forests lying in the domains of a private estate, have now fallen into abeyance, as also the special Forest Courts, while many of the royal forests, which in Henry VIII.'s time numbered 69, have been disafforested.
Forfar (13), the county town of Forfarshire, 14 m. NE. of Dundee; manufactures linen; was once an important royal residence, and was made a royal burgh by David I.
Forfarshire or Angus (278), a maritime county on the E. side of Scotland, lying N. of the Firth of Tay; Strathmore and the Carse of Gowrie are fertile valleys, where agriculture and cattle-rearing flourish, and which, with the Braes of Angus in the N. and the Sidlaw Hills to the S., make up a finely diversified county; jute and linen are the most important articles of manufacture, of which Dundee and Arbroath are centres; Forfarshire is a county particularly rich in antiquities—Roman remains, castles, priories, &c.
Formosa (3,500), a large island off the coast of China, from which it is separated by the Fukien Channel, 90 m. broad. Formosa was ceded to Japan by the Chinese in 1895; it is an island of much natural beauty, and is traversed N. and S. by a fine range of hills; is famed for its bamboos, and exports coal, rice, tea, &c. Name also of a large territory in the Argentine.
Fornarina, a Roman lady of great beauty, a friend of Raphael's, and who frequently posed as a model to him.
Forres (3), a royal burgh in Elginshire, on the Findhorn, 2 m. from the sea and 10 m. SW. of Elgin by railway; has ruins of a castle—once a royal residence—and a famous “Stan'in Stane,” Sueno's Stone, 25 ft. high, placed in the year 900.
Forrest, Edwin, a celebrated American actor, born in Philadelphia; went on the stage at 14, and from the provinces made his way to New York, where his rendering of Othello at the age of 20 raised him to the front rank among actors; he made three tours in England, but during his last in 1845 he entirely lost the popular favour through his conduct in an embittered quarrel with Macready; after his final appearance on the stage in 1871 he continued for a short while to give Shakespearian readings; he was a tragedian of the highest order, and in his profession amassed a large fortune (1806-1872).
Fors Clavigera, the name given by Ruskin to a series of letters to workmen, written during the seventies of this century, and employed by him to designate three great powers which go to fashion human destiny, viz., Force, wearing, as it were, (clava) the club of Hercules; Fortitude, wearing, as it were, (clavis) the key of Ulysses; and Fortune, wearing, as it were, (clavus) the nail of Lycurgus; that is to say, Faculty waiting on the right moment, and then striking in. See Shakespeare's “Time and tide in the affairs of men,” &c., the “flood” in which is the “Third Fors.” The letters are represented as written at the dictation of the Third Fors, or, as it seems to the author, the right moment, or the occurrence of it.
Förster, Ernst, an art critic, brother of succeeding, author of a number of elaborate and important works bearing on the history of art in Germany and Italy; was the son-in-law of Jean Paul, whose works he edited, and to whose biography he made contributions of great value (1800-1885).
Förster, Friedrich Christoph, German poet and historian; his poetic gifts were first called into exercise during the war of liberation, in which he served as a volunteer, and the series of spirited war-songs he then wrote procured him a wide-spread fame; afterwards he lived in Berlin, teaching in the school of artillery, and subsequently becoming custodian of the Royal Art Museum; besides poems he wrote several historical and biographical works (1791-1868).
Forster, Johann George Adam, naturalist, son of the succeeding; accompanied his father in the voyage with Cook, and contributed to the literature anent the expedition; subsequently became professor of Natural History at Cassel and at Wilna, and eventually librarian to the Elector of Mayence in 1788; his works are published in 9 vols. (1754-1794).
Forster, Johann Reinhold, a German naturalist and traveller, born in Prussia; accompanied Captain Cook as a naturalist on his second expedition to the South Seas, and in connection with which he wrote a volume of observations; died professor of Natural History and Mineralogy at Halle (1729-1798).
Forster, John, a noted English writer, born at Newcastle; was educated for the bar, but took to journalism, and soon made his mark as a political writer in the Examiner; he subsequently edited the Foreign Quarterly Review, the Daily News (succeeding Dickens), and the Examiner (1847-56); he was the author of several historical sketches, but his best-known works are the admirable biographies of Goldsmith, Landor, and Dickens (1812-1876).
Forster, William Edward, statesman, born at Bradpole, Dorset, son of a Quaker; entered upon a commercial career in a worsted manufactory at Bradford, but from the first politics engaged his paramount attention, and in 1861 he became member of Parliament for Bradford; became in succession Under-Secretary for the Colonies, Vice-president of the Council of Education, and a Privy Councillor; his chief legislative measure was the Elementary Education Bill of 1870, which, as a member of Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet, he carried through Parliament, two years after which the Ballot Act was introduced by him; in 1874 he visited the United States, and on his return was elected Lord Rector of Aberdeen University; as Irish Secretary in 1880 he made an earnest effort to grapple with the Irish problem, but losing the support of his colleagues, over the imprisonment of Mr. Parnell and other Land League leaders, he resigned; he was married to Jane, eldest daughter of Dr. Arnold of Rugby; his transparent honesty and rugged independence of character won him universal esteem (1819-1886).
Fort Augustus, a small village on the Caledonian Canal, 33 m. SW. of Inverness; the fort, built in 1716 and enlarged in 1730, was utilised as a barrack during the disturbances in the Highlands, but after being dismantled and again garrisoned down to 1857, it finally, in 1876, passed into the hands of the Benedictines (q. v.), who have converted it into an abbey and college.
Fort George, a fortress on the Moray Firth, 12 m. NE. of Inverness; was built in 1748, and is now the head-quarters of the Seaforth Highlanders.
Fort William, a small police-burgh in Inverness-shire, 66 m. SW. of Inverness, near the southern end of the Caledonian Canal; the railway station stands on the site of the old fort, which in 1655 was built by Monk; a meteorological observatory was erected here in 1889.
Fortescue, Sir John, an eminent English lawyer, born in Somersetshire; flourished in the 15th century; was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, and in 1442 became Lord Chief-Justice of the Court of King's Bench; he was a staunch Lancastrian during the Wars of the Roses, and shared the exile of Queen Margaret and her son Edward, for whom he wrote in dialogue form his famous “De Laudibus Legum,” a treatise still read; the fate of the Lancastrian cause was sealed on the field of Tewkesbury, and he himself was taken prisoner; he died at the advanced age of 90.
Forth, a river of Scotland, formed by the junction of Duchray Water and the Avondhu, streams which rise one on Ben Lomond and the other on Ben Venue, and which, after 14 and 9 m., unite at Aberfoyle; the river thence flows with many windings, called Links, through some of the fairest country of the eastern lowlands to Alloa (51½ m.), where begins the Firth, which stretches 51 m. to the German Ocean, and which at Queensferry is spanned by a massive railway bridge known as the Forth Bridge (1882-1890).
Fortuna, a Roman divinity, the goddess of luck, and especially good luck, to whom Servius Tullius, in acknowledgment of her favours to him, erected several temples in Rome; is represented in art as standing poised on a globe or a wheel, to express her inconstancy.
Fortunatus, a character in a popular German legend, who possessed a purse out of which he was able to provide himself with money as often as he needed it and cap, by putting on of which, and wishing to be anywhere, he was straightway there; these he got, by his own free election and choice, conceded to him by the Upper Powers, and they proved a curse to him rather than a blessing, he finding out when too late that “the god Wish is not the true God.”
Forty Thieves, a fraternity in the “Arabian Nights” who inhabited a secret den in a forest, the gate of which would open only to the magic word “Sesamë.”
Forum, a public place in Rome and Roman cities where the courts of justice were held, and popular assemblies for civic business.
Forwards, Marshal, Marshal Blücher (q. v.).
Foscari, a Doge of Venice from 1423 to his death; his reign was distinguished by the glories of conquest, but his life was embittered by the misfortunes of his sons, and the judicial tortures inflicted on one of them which he was compelled to witness; he died at the age of 87, broken-hearted (1370-1457).
Foscolo, Ugo, an Italian patriot and author, born at Zante; his literary career began in Venice with the successful performance of his tragedy “Trieste,” but on the Austrian occupation of the town he joined the French army; disappointed in the hope that France would unite with and free Italy, he returned to literary work in Milan, and in 1809 was called to the chair of Eloquenco in Pavia; but the conquering Austrians again forced him to become a refugee, first in Switzerland and finally in England, where he died; he was the author of various essays, poems, etc., and of a translation of Sterne's “Sentimental Journey” (1778-1827).
Foster, Birket, a celebrated artist, born at North Shields; his earliest work was done in wood-engraving under the direction of Landells, and many of his sketches appeared in the Illustrated London News; following this he executed, in collaboration with John Gilbert, a series of illustrations for the works of Goldsmith, Cowper, Scott, and other poets, in which he exhibited a rare skill in rural scenes; subsequent work has been in water-colours, and in 1861 he was elected a member of the Water-Colour Society (1825-1899).
Foster, John, an English essayist, born in Halifax, Yorkshire; was trained for the Baptist ministry, and for 25 years officiated in various congregations, but met with little success; from 1817 he devoted himself solely to literature, and became a contributor to the Eclectic Review, for which he wrote no fewer than 184 articles; his best-known work is an “Essay on the Evils of Popular Ignorance,” in which he advocates a system of national education (1770-1843).
Fotheringay, a village in Northamptonshire, on the Nen, 9 m. SW. of Peterborough; the ruined castle there was the scene of the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587.
Foucault, John Bernard, a French physicist, born in Paris; distinguished for his studies in optics and problems connected with light; demonstrated the rate of the rotation of the globe by the oscillation of a pendulum (1819-1868).
Fouché, Joseph, Duke of Otranto, born at Nantes, a member of the National Convention, and voted for the death of Louis XVI.; became Minister of Police under Napoleon; falling into disfavour, was sent into exile, but recalled to Paris in 1814; advised Napoleon to abdicate at that time and again after Waterloo; served under Louis XVIII. for a time, but was obliged at length to quit France for good; died at Trieste (1763-1820).
Foula, a high and rocky islet among the Shetlands, 32 m. W. of Lerwick; its sandstone cliffs on the NW. are 1220 ft. in height, and rise sheer from the water; it is sparsely peopled; fishing is the almost sole pursuit.
Fould, Achille, French statesman, born at Paris; entered political life in 1842; became an authority in finance, served in that capacity under Louis Napoleon (1800-1865).
Foulis, Robert and Andrew, celebrated printers; were brought up in Glasgow, where Robert, the elder, after practising as a barber, took to printing, and in 1743 became printer to the university; his press was far-famed for the beauty and accuracy of editions of the classics; Andrew was trained for the ministry, but subsequently joined his brother; an academy, started by the brothers in 1753 for engraving, moulding, etc., although a complete success artistically, involved them in expense, and eventually financial ruin; they have been called the “Scottish Elzevirs” (Robert, 1707-1776; Andrew, 1712-1775).
Foulon, a French financier, nicknamed the Ame damnée, Familiar demon, of the parlement of Paris prior to the Revolution; “once, when it was objected to some financial scheme of his, 'What will the people do?' made answer, 'The people may eat grass,'” words which the people never forgot; when attacked by them “he defended himself like a mad lion, but was borne down, trampled, hanged, and mangled,” his head thereafter paraded through the city on a pike and the mouth stuffed with grass (1715-1789).
Foundling Hospitals are institutions for the rearing of children who have been deserted by their parents, and exist with varying regulations in most civilised countries; the first foundling hospital was established at Milan in 787, and others arose in Germany, Italy, and France before the 14th century; the Paris foundling hospital is a noted institution of the kind, and offers every encouragement for children to be brought in, and admits legitimate orphans and children pronounced incorrigible criminals by the court; the London foundling hospital was founded by Captain Thomas Coram, and supports about 500 illegitimates.
Fouquier-Tinville, a merciless revolutionary, born near Artois; member of the Jacobin Club, Attorney-General of the Revolutionary Tribunal, purveyor of the guillotine; was guillotined himself after the fall of Robespierre (1747-1795).
Fourth Estate, the daily press, so called by Edmund Burke, pointing, in the House of Commons, to the reporters' gallery.
Fourth of July, the anniversary of the declaration of American Independence in 1776.
Fowler, Sir John, K.C.M.G., civil engineer, born at Sheffield; was actively engaged in the construction of numerous railways (notably the London and Brighton), and in dock and bridge building; carried through important works in Egypt in 1885, and, along with Sir B. Baker, he designed the Forth Bridge, on the completion of which he received a baronetcy (1817-1889).
Fox, Charles James, an eminent Whig statesman, third son of Henry Fox, first Lord Holland, born in London; was educated at Eton and Oxford, and at the age of 19 sat in Parliament for Midhurst; under Lord North he held office, but quarrelled with the premier and went over to the Whigs, then led by Rockingham; here he came under the influence of Burke, and with him offered uncompromising opposition to the American War; in the Rockingham ministry which followed he was Foreign Secretary, and subsequently joined North in the short-lived coalition ministry of 1783; during the next 14 years he was the great opponent of Pitt's Government, and his brilliant powers of debate were never more effectively displayed than in his speeches against Warren Hastings and in the debates arising out of the French Revolution, in which he advocated a policy of non-intervention; his sympathy with the French revolutionaries cost him the friendship of Burke; during a retirement of five years he wrote his “History of James II.”; on Pitt's death in 1806 he again came into office as Foreign Secretary, but died shortly afterwards when about to plead in the House of Commons the cause of slave abolition; Fox stands in the front rank of our parliamentary debaters, and was a man of quick and generous sympathies, but the reckless dissipation of his private life diminished his popular influence, and probably accounts for the fact that he never reached the highest office of State (1749-1806).
Fox, George, the first of the Quakers, born at Drayton, Leicestershire; son of a poor weaver, and till his twentieth year plied the trade of a shoemaker; conceived, as he drudged at this task, that he had a call from above to withdraw from the world and give himself up to a higher ministry; stitched for himself one day a suit of leather, and so encased wandered through the country, rapt in his thoughts and bearing witness to the truth that God had revealed to him; about 1646 began his crusade against the religion of mere formality, and calling upon men to trust to the “inner light” alone; his quaint garb won him the title of “the man with the leather breeches,” and his mode of speech with his “thou's” and “thee's” subjected him to general ridicule; but despite these eccentricities he by his earnestness gathered disciples about him who believed what he said and adopted his principles, and in the prosecution of his mission he visited Wales, Scotland, America, and various parts of Germany, not without results; he had no kindly feeling towards Cromwell, with whom he had three interviews, and who in his public conduct seemed to him to pay no regard to the claims of the “inner light” and the disciples of it (1624-1690). See “Sartor Resartus,” Book iii. chap. i.
Fox, William Johnson, religious and political orator, born near Southwold, Suffolk; was trained for the Independent ministry, but seceded to the Unitarians, and subsequently established himself as a preacher of pronounced rationalism at Finsbury; as a supporter of the Anti-Corn-Law movement he won celebrity as an impassioned orator, and from 1847 to 1863 represented Oldham in Parliament; he was editor of the Monthly Repository, and a frequent contributor to the Westminster Review, and published various works on political and religious topics (1786-1864).
Foxe, John, martyrologist, born at Boston, Lincolnshire; in 1545 he resigned his Fellowship in Magdalen College, Oxford, on account of his espousing the doctrines of the Reformation, and for some years after he acted as a private tutor in noble families; during Queen Mary's reign he sought refuge on the Continent, where he formed acquaintance with Knox and other leading Reformers; he returned to England on the accession of Elizabeth, and was appointed a prebend in Salisbury cathedral, but his Nonconformist leanings precluded his further preferment; his most famous work is his “Book of Martyrs,” first published in Latin on the Continent, the noble English version appearing in 1563 (1516-1587).
Foyers, Fall of, a fine cascade, having a fall of 165 ft., on the lower portion of the Foyers, a river of Inverness-shire, which enters Loch Ness on the E. side, 10 in. NE. of Fort Augustus.
Fra Diavolo, chief of a band of Italian brigands, born in Calabria; leader in sundry Italian insurrections; was hanged at Naples for treachery, in spite of remonstrances from England; gave name to an opera by Auber, but only the name (1760-1806).
Fracas`toro, Girolamo, a learned physician and poet, born at Verona; became professor of Dialectic at Padua in his twentieth year; subsequently practised as a physician, but eventually gave himself up to literature (1483-1553).
Fragonard, Jean Honoré, a French artist, born at Grasse; gained the “prix de Rome” in 1752, and afterwards studied in Rome; was a member of the French Academy, and during the Revolution became keeper of the Musée; many of his paintings are in the Louvre, and are characterised by their free and luscious colouring (1732-1806).
Franc, a silver coin 835/1000 fine, the monetary unity of France since 1799, weighs 5 grammes and equals about 9½ d. in English currency (£1 = 25.3 francs); has been adopted by Belgium and Switzerland, while under other names a similar coin is in use in Spain (peseta), Italy (lira), and Greece (drachma).
France (38,343), the land of the French; a nation standing in the front rank among the powers of Europe. It occupies a geographical position of peculiar advantage in the western portion of it, having a southern foreshore on the Mediterranean and a western and northern seaboard washed by the Atlantic and the English Channel, possessing altogether a coast-line, rather undeveloped however, of upwards of 2000 m., while to the E. it abuts upon Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. It is divided into 87 departments, including Corsica. It is mainly composed of lowland and plateau, but has the Cévennes in the S., while the Pyrenees and Alps (with the Vosges and Ardennes farther N.) lie on its southern and eastern boundaries. Rivers abound and form, with the splendid railway, canal, and telegraph systems, an unrivalled means of internal communication; but there are singularly few lakes. It enjoys on the whole a fine climate, which favours the vineyards in the centre (the finest in the world), the olive groves in the S., and the wheat and beetroot region in the N. The mineral wealth is inconsiderable, and what of coal and iron there is lies widely apart. Her manufactures, which include silk, wine, and woollen goods, are of the best, and in fine artistic work she is without an equal. The colonies are together larger in area than the mother-country, and include Algeria, Madagascar, and Cochin China. The French are a people of keen intelligence, of bright, impulsive, and vivacious nature; urbane, cultured, and pleasure-loving in the cities, thrifty and industrious in the country; few races have given so rich a bequest to the literature and art of the world. Roman Catholicism is the dominant form of religion, but Protestantism and the Jewish religion are also State supported, as also Mohammedanism in Algiers. Free compulsory education is in vogue. The Government is a Republic, and there are two chambers—a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. Originally occupied by Celts, the country, then called Gallia, was conquered by the Romans between 58 and 51 B.C., who occupied it till the 4th century, when it was overrun by the Teutons, including the Franks, who became dominant; and about 870 the country, under Charles the Bald, became known as France. The unsettling effects of the great cataclysm of 1789 have been apparent in the series of political changes which have swept across the country this century; within that time it has been thrice a monarchy, thrice an empire, and thrice a republic.
Francesca, Pistro della, an Italian painter, sometimes called Piero Borghese after his native place; did fresco-work in Florence and at Loretto; painted pictures for the Duke of Rimini, notably “The Flagellation”; was a friend of Raphael's father; some of his pictures are in the London National Gallery (1420-1492).
Francesca da Rimini, a beautiful Italian lady of the 13th century, whose pathetic love story finds a place in Dante's “Inferno”; she was betrothed by her father, the Lord of Ravenna, to Giovanni of Rimini, but her affections were engaged by Paolo, his brother; the lovers were found together by Giovanni and murdered by him.
Francesco di Paula or St. Francis of Paola, founder of the order of the Minims, born at Paula, in Calabria; was trained in a Franciscan convent, but at the age of 19 took up his abode in a cave, where the severe purity and piety of his life attracted to him many disciples; subsequently he founded an ascetic brotherhood, first called the Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi, but afterwards changed to Minim-Hermits of St. Francis of Paola; he eventually lived in France, where convents were built for him and his brotherhood under royal patronage (1416-1507).
Franche-Comté, an ancient province in the E. of France, added to the crown of France in the reign of Louis XIV. at the peace of Nimeguen in 1671.
Francia, Dr. José Gaspar Rodriguez da, dictator of Paraguay, born near Asunçion, in Paraguay; graduated as a doctor of theology, but subsequently took to law, in the practice of which profession he was engaged for 30 years, and won a high reputation for ability and undeviating honesty; in the revolutionary uprising which spread throughout Spanish South America, Paraguay played a conspicuous part, and when in 1811 she declared her independence, Francia was elected secretary of the first national junta, and two years later one of two consuls; eventually, in 1814, he became dictator, a position he held till his death; he ruled the country with a strong hand and with scrupulous, if somewhat rough, justice, making it part of his policy to allow no intercourse, political or commercial, with other countries; the country flourished under his rule, but fell into disorder after his death; he is the subject of a well-known essay by Carlyle, who finds him a man very much after his own heart (1757-1840).
Francis, St., of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, born at Assisi, in Umbria; began life as a soldier, but during a serious illness his thoughts were turned from earth to heaven, and he devoted himself to a life of poverty and self-denial, with the result that his enthusiasm provoked emulation, and some of his neighbours associated with him and formed a brotherhood, which gave rise to the order; St. Dominic and he were contemporaries, “the former teaching Christian men how to behave, and the latter what they should think”; each sent a little company of disciples to teach and preach in Florence, where their influence soon made itself felt, St. Francis in 1212 and St. Dominic in 1220.
Francis, St., of Sales, bishop of Geneva, born In the château of Sales, near Amiens, founder of the Order of the Visitation; was sent to persuade the Calvinists of Geneva back to the Church of Rome, and applied himself zealously to the reform of his diocese and the monasteries (1567-1622).
Francis Joseph, emperor of Austria and king of Hungary; succeeded to the throne in 1848 on the abdication of his uncle, Ferdinand I.; the Hungarian difficulty has been the chief problem of his reign, with which he at first dealt in a spirit of harsh oppression, but since 1866 a milder policy has been adopted, and the desire for national autonomy was met by the creation of a dual monarchy in 1867, Francis being crowned king of Hungary; other important events have been the cession of Lombardy to Sardinia in 1859 and of Venetia in 1866, after an unsuccessful war with Prussia; b. 1830.
Franciscans, or Minorites, an order of monks founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1208; according to Ruskin, they were the order that preached with St James the gospel of Works as distinct from the Dominicans, who preached with St. Paul the gospel of Faith, and their gospel required three things: “to work without money and be poor, to work without pleasure and be chaste, and to work according to orders and be obedient”; these were the rules they were sworn to obey at first, but they gradually forsook the austerity they enjoined, acquired great wealth, instituted a highly sensuous ceremonial, and became invested with privileges which excited the jealousy of the regular clergy; with the order were associated a number of men eminent in the Church, and many no less so in philosophy, literature, and art.
Franck, Sebastian, early German writer, born at Donauwörth; from a Catholic priest became a Protestant, but fell into disfavour for promulgating the doctrine that regeneration of life is of more importance than reform of dogma, and in 1531 was banished from Strasburg; subsequently he became a soap-boiler and eventually a printer; his most noted work is his “Chronica,” a rough attempt—the first in Germany—at a general history (1499-1542).
Francke, August Hermann, a German religious philanthropist, born at Lübeck; was professor of Oriental Languages and subsequently of Theology at Halle; he founded various educational institutions and a large orphanage, all of which still exist and afford education for some 3000 children annually; he was active in promoting Pietism, q. v. (1663-1727).
Franconia, the name formerly applied to a loosely defined district in Central Germany, which, as the home of the Franks, was regarded as the heart of the Holy Roman Empire; the emperors long continued to be crowned within its boundaries; subsequently it was divided into two duchies, East Franconia and Rhenish Franconia; the latter was abolished in 1501 and the former much diminished; from 1806 to 1837 the name had no official existence, but in 1837 the names Upper, Middle, and Lower Franconia were given to the three northern divisions of Bavaria.
Franc-Tireurs (i. e. free-shooters), French volunteers, chiefly peasants, who carried on a guerilla warfare against the Germans in the Franco-German War; were at first denied the status of regular soldiers by the Germans and mercilessly shot when captured, but subsequently, having joined in the movements of the regular army, they were when captured treated as prisoners of war.
Frankenstein, a monster of romance created without a soul, yet not without craving for human sympathy, who found existence on these terms a curse, as a man with high cravings might find science to be without God.
Frankfort-on-the-Main (180), one of the old free cities of Germany, a centre of importance under the Kaisers and the seat of the Diet of the Germanic Confederation, and one of the great banking cities of the world; it is the birthplace of the poet Goethe, and is associated with his early history.
Frankfort-on-the-Oder (56), a town of Prussia, in the province of Brandenburg, 51 m. SE. of Berlin, is a well-built town; has a university incorporated with Breslau in 1811, and is actively engaged in the manufacture of machinery, chemicals, paper, &c.
Frankland, Sir Edward, an eminent chemist, born at Churchtown, Lancashire; has held successively the chairs of Chemistry in Owens College, in Bartholomew's Hospital, in the Royal Institution, in the Royal College of Chemistry, and in the Normal School of Science, South Kensington, the latter of which he resigned in 1885; has published various works, and was engaged with Lockyer in researches on the atmosphere of the sun; b. 1825.
Franklin, Benjamin, born in Boston, was the youngest son of a tallow-chandler and one of a family of 17; received a meagre education, and at the age of 12 became apprenticed to his brother, a printer and proprietor of a small newspaper, to whose columns he began to contribute; but subsequently quarrelling with him made his way almost penniless to Philadelphia, where he worked as a printer; in 1724 he came to England under promises of assistance, which were not fulfilled, and for 18 months laboured at his printing trade in London, when he returned to Philadelphia, and there, by steady industry, won a secure position as a printer and proprietor of the Pennsylvania Gazette; in 1732 began to appear his Poor Richard's Almanac, which, with its famous maxims of prudential philosophy, had a phenomenal success; four years later he entered upon a public career, rising through various offices to the position of Deputy Postmaster-General for the Colonies, and sitting in the Assembly; carried through important political missions to England in 1757 and 1764, and was prominent in the deliberations which ended in the declaration of American independence in 1776; he visited France and helped to bring about the French alliance, and made an unavailing effort to bring in Canada, and, as American minister, signed the Treaty of Independence in 1783; was subsequently minister to France, and was twice unanimously elected President of Pennsylvania; his name is also associated with discoveries in natural science, notably the discovery of the identity of electricity and lightning, which he achieved by means of a kite; received degrees from Oxford and Edinburgh Universities, and was elected an F.R.S.; in 1730 he married Deborah Reid, by whom he had two children (1706-1790).
Franklin, Sir John, a famous Arctic explorer, born at Spilsby, Lincolnshire; entered the navy in 1800; was a midshipman; was present at the battle of Copenhagen; shortly afterwards accompanied an expedition, under Captain Minders, to explore and survey the coasts of Australia; was wrecked, and returned home on board the Camden as a signal-midshipman; he subsequently distinguished himself at the battle of Trafalgar, and took part in the attack on New Orleans; in 1818 he was second in command of an expedition sent out under Captain Buchan to discover a North-West Passage, which, although unsuccessful, contributed to reveal Franklin's admirable qualities as a leader, and in 1819 he was chosen to head another Arctic expedition, which, after exploring the Saskatchewan and Copper-Mine Rivers and adjacent territory, returned in 1822; Franklin was created a post-captain, and for services in a further expedition in search of a North-West Passage was, in 1829, knighted; after further services he was in 1845 put in command of an expedition, consisting of the Erebus and Terror, for the discovery of the North-West Passage; the expedition never returned, and for many years a painful interest was manifested in the various expeditions (17 in all) which were sent out to search for the lost party; many relics of this unfortunate explorer were found, demonstrating the discovery of the North-West Passage; but the story of his fate has never been precisely ascertained (1786-1847).
Franks, the name given in the 3rd century to a confederation of Germanic tribes, who subsequently grouped themselves into two main bodies called the Salians and the Ripuarians, the former dwelling on the Upper Rhine, and the latter on the Middle Rhine. Under their king, Clovis, the Salians overran Central Gaul, subjugating the Ripuarians, and extending their territory from the Scheldt to the Loire, whence in course of time there generally developed the kingdom of France. The Franks were of a tall and martial bearing, and thoroughly democratic in their political instincts.
Franz, Robert, musical composer, born at Halle; his first songs appeared in 1843, and were cordially appreciated by Mendelssohn and other masters; in 1868 ill-health forced him to resign his musical appointments in Halle, but by the efforts of Liszt, Joachim, and others, funds were raised by means of concerts to ensure him a competence for life; he published upwards of 250 songs (1815-1892).
Franzensbad or Franzensbrunn (2), a watering-place on the NW. frontier of Bohemia, 3 m. NW. of Eger; is 1460 ft. above sea-level, amidst a mountainous country; is much frequented by invalids for its mineral springs.
Franz-Josef Land, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, N. of Nova Zembla; was discovered and partly explored in 1873-74 by Payer and Weyprecht; consists of two main divisions, Wilczek Land to the E., and Zichy Land to the W., between which runs Austria Sound. Arctic animals are found in good numbers. It is considered an excellent base for expeditions in quest of the North Pole.
Fraser, Alexander Campbell, philosopher, born at Ardchattan, Argyllshire; after a university training at Edinburgh and Glasgow he entered the Free Church; was for a brief term Free Church minister of Cramond, from which he was transferred to a chair in the Free Church College, but in 1856 succeeded Sir William Hamilton as professor of Logic and Metaphysics at Edinburgh, a position he held till 1891, when he resigned; his writings include the standard edition of Berkeley, with notes and a life, monographs on Locke and Berkeley in the series of “Philosophical Classics,” and two vols. on the “Philosophy of Theism,” being the Gifford Lectures delivered 1895-96; b. 1819.
Fraser, James, bishop of Manchester, born near Cheltenham, became a Fellow of Oriel after graduating with highest honours, and in 1847 was appointed to a college living; he issued in 1862-1864 valuable reports on education in Canada and the United States after visiting these countries; and in 1870 was appointed bishop by Mr. Gladstone; his strong sense and wide sympathy and interest in the labour questions won him universal respect (1818-1885).
Fraser River, the chief river of British Columbia, is formed by the junction near Fort George of two streams, one rising in the Rockies, the other flowing out of the Lakes Stuart and Fraser; it discharges into the Georgian Gulf, 800 m. below Fort George. Rich deposits of gold are found in the lower basin, and an active industry in salmon-catching and canning is carried on.
Fraticelli (i. e. Little Brethren), a religious sect which arose in Italy in the 13th century, and continued to exist until the close of the 15th. They were an offshoot from the Franciscans (q. v.), who sought in their lives to enforce more rigidly the laws of St. Francis, and declined to accept the pontifical explanations of monastic rules; ultimately they broke away from the authority of the Church, and despite the efforts of various popes to reconcile them, and the bitter persecutions of others, maintained a separate organisation, going the length of appointing their own cardinals and pope, having declared the Church in a state of apostasy. Their régime of life was of the severest nature; they begged from door to door their daily food, and went clothed in rags.
Fraunhofer, Joseph von, German optician, born in Straubing, Bavaria; after serving an apprenticeship as a glass-cutter in Münich, he rose to be manager of an optical institute there, and eventually attained to the position of professor in the Academy of Sciences; his name is associated with many discoveries in optical science as well as inventions and improvements in the optician's art; but he is chiefly remembered for his discovery of the dark lines in the solar spectrum, since called after him the Fraunhofer lines (1787-1826).
Fredegonda, wife of Chilpéric I. of Neustria; a woman of low birth, but of great beauty and insatiable ambition, who scrupled at no crime to attain her end; made away with Galswintha, Chilpéric's second wife, and superseded her on the throne; slew Siegbert, who had been sent to avenge Galswintha's death, and imprisoned Brunhilda, her sister, of Austrasia, and finally assassinated her husband and governed Neustria in the name of her son, Clotaire II. (543-597).
Frederick I., surnamed Barbarossa (Red-beard), of the house of Swabia, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (q. v.) from 1152 till 1190; “a magnificent, magnanimous man, the greatest of all the Kaisers”; his reign is the most brilliant in the annals of the empire, and he himself among the most honoured of German heroes; his vast empire he ruled with iron rigour, quelling its rival factions and extending his sovereign rights to Poland, Hungary, Denmark, and Burgundy; the great struggle of his reign, however, was with Pope Alexander III. and the Lombard cities, whose right to independence he acknowledged by the treaty of Constanz (1183); he “died some unknown sudden death” at 70 in the crusade against Saladin and the Moslem power; his lifelong ambition was to secure the independence of the empire, and to subdue the States of Italy to the imperial sway (1123-1190).
Frederick II., called the Wonder of the World, grandson of the preceding; he was crowned emperor in 1215, at Aix-la-Chapelle, having driven Otto IV. from the throne; he gave much attention to the consolidating of his Italian possessions, encouraged learning and art, founded the university of Naples, and had the laws carefully codified; in these attempts at harmonising the various elements of his empire he was opposed by the Papal power and the Lombards; in 1228 he gained possession of Jerusalem, of which he crowned himself king; his later years were spent in struggles with the Papal and Lombard powers, and darkened by the treachery of his son Henry and of an intimate friend; he was a man of outstanding intellectual force and learning, but lacked the moral greatness of his grandfather (1194-1250).
Frederick III., emperor of Germany, born at Potsdam; bred for the army; rose to command; did signal service at Königgratz in 1860, and again in 1870 in the Franco-German War; married the Princess Royal of England; succeeded his father, but fell a victim to a serious throat malady after a reign of only 101 days, June 18 (1831-1888).
Frederick V., Electoral Prince Palatine; succeeded to the Palatinate in 1610, and three years later married Elizabeth, daughter of James I. of England; an attempt to head the Protestant union of Germany and his usurpation of the crown of Bohemia brought about his ruin and expulsion from the Palatinate in 1620 by the Spaniards and Bavarians; he took refuge in Holland, but two years later his principality was given to Bavaria by the emperor (1596-1632).
Frederick III., of Denmark, succeeded to the throne in 1648; during his reign the arrogance and oppression of the nobles drove the commons, headed by the clergy, to seek redress of the king by proclaiming the constitution a hereditary and absolute monarchy (1609-1670).
Frederick V., of Denmark, ascended the throne in 1746; during his reign Denmark made great progress, manufactures were established, commerce extended, while science and the fine arts were liberally patronised (1723-1766).
Frederick VI., of Denmark, became regent in 1784 during the insanity of his father, who died in 1808; his reign is noted for the abolishment of feudal serfdom and the prohibition of the slave-trade in Danish colonies, and the granting of a liberal constitution in 1831; while his participation in the maritime confederation between Russia, Sweden, and Prussia led to the destruction of the Danish fleet off Copenhagen in 1800 by the British, and his sympathy and alliance with Napoleon brought about the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, and the cession of Norway to Sweden in 1814 (1768-1839).
Frederick I., first king of Prussia, third elector of Brandenburg, and son of the Great Elector Frederick-William, whom as elector he succeeded in 1688; he extended his territory by purchase; supported William of Orange in his English expedition, and lent assistance to the Grand Alliance against France, for which he received the title of king of Prussia, being crowned such in Königsberg in 1701; he was “an expensive Herr, and much given to magnificent ceremonies, etiquettes, and solemnities” (1657-1713).
Frederick II., king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, surnamed “The Great,” grandson of the preceding, and nephew of George I. of England, born at Berlin; the irksome restraints of his early military education induced him to make an attempt, which failed, to escape to England, an episode which incensed his father, and nearly brought him to the scaffold; after his marriage in 1733 he resided at Rheinsburg, indulging his taste for music and French literature, and corresponding with Voltaire; he came to the throne with the ambition of extending and consolidating his power; from Austria, after two wars (1740-1744), he wrested Silesia, and again in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), and in 1778 by force of arms acquired the duchy of Franconia; as administrator he was eminently efficient, the country flourished under his just, if severe, rule; his many wars imposed no debt on the nation; national industries were fostered, and religious toleration encouraged; he was not so successful in his literary attempts as his military, and all he wrote was in French, the spirit of it as well as the letter; he is accounted the creator of the Prussian monarchy “the first,” says Carlyle, “who, in a highly public manner, announced its creation; announced to all men that it was, in very deed, created; standing on its own feet there, and would go a great way on the impulse it got from him and others” (1712-1786).
Frederick Charles, Prince, nephew of William I. of Germany; bred for the army; distinguished himself in the wars against Denmark and Austria, and in the Franco-German War (1828-1885).
Frederick-William I., king of Prussia, born at Berlin, ascended the throne in 1713; in 1720, at the peace of Stockholm, he received part of Pomerania with Stettin for espousing the cause of Denmark in her war with Russia and Poland against Sweden; the rest of his reign was passed in improving the internal conditions of his country and her military resources; in praise of him as a sternly genuine man and king, Carlyle has much to say in the early volumes of his “Frederick”; “No Baresark of them” (“the primeval sons of Thor”), among whom he ranks him, “no Baresark of them, not Odin's self, I think, was a bit of truer human stuff; his value to me in these times, rare and great” (1688-1740).
Frederick-William II., king of Prussia, nephew of Frederick the Great (q. v.); succeeded to the throne in 1786, but soon lost favour by indolence and favouritism; in 1788 the freedom of the press was withdrawn, and religious freedom curtailed; he involved himself in a weak and vacillating foreign policy, wasting the funds accumulated by his uncle in a useless war with Holland; at the partition of Poland in 1793 and 1795 various districts were added to the kingdom (1744-1797).
Frederick-William III., king of Prussia from 1797 till 1840; incited by the queen and the commons he abandoned his position of neutrality towards Napoleon and declared war in 1806; defeat followed at Jena and in other battles, and by the treaty of Tilsit (1807) Prussia was deprived of half her possessions; under the able administration of Stein the country began to recover itself, and a war for freedom succeeded in breaking the power of France at the victory of Leipzig (1813), and at the treaty of Vienna (1815) her lost territory was restored; his remaining years were spent in consolidating and developing his dominions, but his policy was sometimes reactionary in its effects (1770-1840).
Frederick-William IV., king of Prussia from 1840 till 1861; his reign is marked by the persistent demands of the people for a constitutional form of government, which was finally granted in 1850; a year previous he had declined the imperial crown offered by the Frankfort Diet; in 1857 he became insane, and his brother was appointed regent (1795-1861).
Frederikshald, a fortified seaport of Norway, 65 m. SE. of Christiania; was burnt in 1826, but handsomely restored in modern style; timber is the main trade; in the immediate neighbourhood is the impregnable fortress of Frederiksteen, associated with the death of Charles XII. of Sweden, who fell fighting in the trenches before its walls in 1718.
Free Church of Scotland, an ecclesiastical body formed by those who left the Established Church in 1843 on the ground that they were not free in their connection with the State to enforce certain obligations which they considered lay on them as a Church of Christ, to whom, and not to the State, they held themselves as a Church subject.
Free Cities of Germany, were cities which enjoyed sovereign rights within their own walls, independent representation in the Diet, and owned allegiance solely to the emperor. Their internal government was sometimes democratic, sometimes the opposite. Their peculiar privileges were obtained either by force of arms, by purchase, or by gift of the emperors, who found in them a convenient means of checking the power of their feudal lords. Most of them lost their privileges in 1803, and since 1866 only Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg remain in the category of free cities.
Free Port, name given to a port at which ships of all nations may discharge or load cargo without payment of customs or other duties, save harbour dues. They were created in various Continental countries during the Middle Ages for the purpose of stimulating trade, but Copenhagen and, in a restricted sense, Hamburg and Bremen are now the only free ports in Europe. The system of bonded warehousing has superseded them.
Free Soilers, a political party which arose in the United States in 1848 to oppose slave-extension. In 1856 their principles were adopted, and the party absorbed in the newly-formed Republican party.
Free Trade, the name given to the commercial policy of England, first elaborately set forth with cogent reasoning by Adam Smith in his “Wealth of Nations,” and of which the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 was the first step towards its adoption. Strictly used, the term is applicable only to international or foreign trade, and signifies a policy of strict non-intervention in the free competition of foreign goods with home goods in the home markets. Differential duties, artificial encouragements (e. g. bounties, drawbacks), to the home producer, all of which are characteristic of a protective system of trading, are withheld, the belief being entertained by free-traders that the industrial interests of a country are best served by permitting the capital to flow into those channels of trade into which the character and resources of the country naturally dispose it to do, and also by bringing the consumer as near as possible to the cheapest producer. But it is not considered a violation of the Free Trade principles to impose a duty for revenue purposes on such imported articles as have no home competitor, e. g. tea.
Freeman, Edward Augustus, historian, born at Mitchley Abbey, Staffordshire; was a Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford; examiner in the School of Law and Modern History; in 1884 he was elected Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford; most of his life was spent in country retirement at Somerleaze, varied by Continental travel; he is the author of many scholarly works ranging over the whole field of history, his fame, however, mainly resting on his great “History of the Norman Conquest” (1823-1892).
Freemasonry, in modern times is the name given to a world-wide institution of the nature of a friendly benevolent society, having for its objects the promotion of social intercourse amongst its members, and, in its own language, “the practice of moral and social virtue,” the exercise of charity being particularly commended. By a peculiar grip of the hand and certain passwords members are enabled to recognise each other, and the existence of masonic lodges in all countries enables the freemason to find friendly intercourse and assistance wherever he goes. Its origin is found in the masonic brotherhoods of the Middle Ages, and some of the names, forms, and symbols of these old craft guilds are still preserved. In an age when great cathedrals and monasteries were rapidly springing up masons were in great demand, and had to travel from place to place, hence signs were adopted by which true masons might be known amongst each other and assisted. The idea of utilising this secret method of recognition for general, social, and charitable purposes, without reference to the mason's craft, seems to have originated in the Edinburgh Lodge, where, in 1600, speculative or theoretical masons were admitted. In its present form of organisation it dates back to 1813, when the “United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England” was formed, and of which, since 1874, the Prince of Wales has been Grand-Master, and which has nearly 2000 local lodges under its protection.
Freeport, Sir Andrew, a London merchant; a member of the imaginary club under whose auspices the Spectator was issued.
Freiberg (29), in the centre of the Saxon mining district, 20 m. SW. of Dresden; is an old town, which arose upon the discovery of its silver mines in 1163. It has a fine old cathedral, and a famous school of mines; and the manufactures comprise gold and silver work, wire, chemicals, etc.
Freiburg, 1, a Swiss canton (119) between Bern and Vaud, and having three esclaves in the latter; the population consists chiefly of French Catholics; is hilly; dairy-farming, watchmaking, and straw-plaiting are the chief industries. 2, Capital (12) of the canton, is situated on the Saane, 19 m. SW. of Bern; the river is spanned by a suspension bridge, and there is an old Gothic cathedral with one of the finest-toned organs in Europe.
Freiburg (49), in Breisgau, an important town in Baden, at the W. side of the Black Forest, and 32 m. NE. of Basel; has a Gothic cathedral famous for its architectural beauty, a university with 87 professors and teachers and 884 students; has important manufactures in silk, cotton, thread, paper, etc.; is the seat of a Catholic archbishop, and is associated with many stirring events in German history.
Freiligrath, Ferdinand, a popular German poet, born at Detmold; was engaged in commerce in his early years, but the success of a small collection of poems in 1838 induced him to adopt a literary career; subsequently his democratic principles, expressed in stirring verse, involved him in trouble, and in 1846 he became a refugee in London; he was permitted to return in 1848, and shortly afterwards was the successful defendant in a celebrated trial for the publication of his poem “The Dead to the Living,” after which fresh prosecution drove him to London in 1851, where, till his return in 1868, he engaged in poetical work, translating Burns, Shakespeare, and other English poets (1810-1876).
Freischütz (i. e. Freeshooter), a legendary hunter who made a compact with the devil whereby of seven balls six should infallibly hit the mark, and the seventh be under the direction of the devil, a legend which was rife among the troopers in the 13th and 14th centuries, and has given name to one of Weber's operas.
Frémont, John Charles, an American explorer, born at Savannah, Georgia; at first a teacher of mathematics in the navy, subsequently took to civil-engineering and surveying; in 1843 explored the South Pass of the Rockies, and proved the practicability of an overland route; explored the Great Salt Lake, the watershed between the Mississippi and Pacific, and the upper reaches of the Rio Grande; he rendered valuable services in the Mexican War, but was deprived of his captaincy for disobedience; after unsuccessfully standing for the Presidency in the anti-slavery interest, he again served in the army as major-general; a scheme for a southern railway to the Pacific brought him into trouble with the French government in 1873, when he was tried and condemned for fraud, unjustly it would seem; from 1878 to 1882 he was governor of Arizona; he was the recipient of distinctions from various geographical societies (1813-1890).
French Philosophism, an analysis of things conducted on the presumption that scientific knowledge is the key to unlock the mystery and resolve the riddle of the universe.
French Revolution, according to Carlyle “the open violent revolt, and victory, of disimprisoned Anarchy against corrupt, worn-out Authority, the crowning Phenomenon of our Modern Time,” but for which, he once protested to Mr. Froude, he would not have known what to make of this world at all; it was a sign to him that the God of judgment still sat sovereign at the heart of it.
Frere, Sir Henry Bartle Edward, a distinguished diplomatist and colonial governor, born near Abergavenny; entering the East India Company in 1834, he rendered important services as administrator in Mahratta and as Resident in Sattara in 1847; as the chief-commissioner in Sind he did much to open up the country by means of canals, roads, etc.; during the Mutiny, which arrested these works of improvement, he distinguished himself by the prompt manner in which he suppressed the rising in his own province; from 1862 to 1867 he was governor of Bombay; in 1867 was knighted, and five years later carried through important diplomatic work in Zanzibar, signing the treaty abolishing the slave-trade; his last appointment was as governor of the Cape and High-Commissioner for the settlement of South African affairs; the Kaffir and Zulu Wars involved him in trouble, and in 1880 he was recalled, having effected little (1815-1884).
Frere, John Hookham, English politician and author, born in London, uncle of the preceding; he was a staunch supporter of Pitt, and in 1799 became Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs; a year later he was envoy to Lisbon, and subsequently minister to Spain; in 1821 he retired to Malta, where he devoted himself to scholarly pursuits, twice declining a peerage; in his early days he was a contributor to the Anti-Jacobin, and shares with his school-fellow Canning the authorship of the “Needy Knife-Grinder”; but he is best known by his fine translations of some of Aristophanes' plays (1769-1841).
Fresco, the art of painting on walls freshly laid with plaster, or which have been damped so as to permit of the colour sinking into the lime; there were two methods, the fresco secco and the fresco buon; in the first the wall was sprinkled with water, and the colours were then worked into the damp surface; in the second process, in which finer and more permanent effects were obtained, the artist worked upon the fresh plaster of the wall (which is laid for him as he proceeds), pouncing or tracing his designs with a stylus; only colours which are natural earths can be employed, as they require to be mixed with lime ere being applied, and are subject to the destroying effect of that substance; as a method of mural decoration it was known to the ancients, and some of the finest specimens are to be seen in the Italian cathedrals of the 14th and 15th centuries; the art is still in vogue, but can only be practised successfully in a dry climate.
Fresnel, Augustin Jean, French physicist, born at Broglie, Eure; as an engineer he rose to be head of the Department of Public Works at Paris; in 1825 he was elected an F.R.S. of London; he made discoveries in optical science which helped to confirm the undulatory theory of light, also invented a compound lighthouse lens (1783-1827).
Fresno (11), a town in California, on the Southern Pacific Railway, 207 m. SE. of San Francisco; the surrounding district, extensively irrigated, produces abundance of fruit, and raisins and wine are largely exported.
Freund, Wilhelm, German philologist, born at Kempen, in Posen; studied education at Berlin and Breslau, and was chiefly occupied in teaching till 1870, when he retired in order to devote himself to his literary pursuits; besides classical school-books and some works on philology, he compiled an elaborate Latin dictionary in 4 vols., which has been the basis of the standard English-Latin dictionaries since; b. 1806.
Freyr, figures in the Scandinavian mythology as the god who rules the rain and sunshine, and whose gifts were peace, wealth, and abundant harvests; the wooing of Gerda, daughter of the giant Gymer, by Freyr is one of the most beautiful stories in the northern mythology; his festival was celebrated at Christmas, and his first temple was built at Upsala by the Swedes, who especially honoured him.
Freytag, Gustav, an eminent German novelist and dramatist, born at Kreuzburg, Silesia; from 1839 was teacher of German language and literature at Breslau, and became editor of a journal, a position he held till 1870; was a member of the North German Diet, and accompanied the Crown Prince during the war of 1870-71; from 1879 resided at Wiesbaden; his many novels and plays and poems, which reveal a powerful and realistic genius, place him in the front rank of modern German littérateurs; several of his novels have been translated into English, amongst which his masterpiece, “Soll und Haben” (Debit and Credit) (1816-1895).
Friar (i. e. brother), a name applied generally to members of religious brotherhoods, but which in its strict significance indicated an order lower than that of priest, the latter being called “father,” while they differed from monks in that they travelled about, whereas the monk remained secluded in his monastery; in the 13th century arose the Grey Friars or Franciscans, the Black Friars or Dominicans, the White Friars or Carmelites, Augustinians or Austin Friars, and later the Crutched Friars or Trinitarians.
Friar John, a friar of Seville, in Rabelais' “Pantagruel,” notorious for his irreverence in the discharge of his religious duties and for his lewd, lusty ways.
Friar Tuck, Robin Hood's chaplain and steward, introduced by Scott into “Ivanhoe” as a kind of clerical Falstaff.
Friday, the young savage, the attendant of Robinson Crusoe, so called as discovered on a Friday.
Friday, the sixth day of the week, so called as consecrated to Freyia or Frigga, the wife of Odin; is proverbially a day of ill luck; held sacred among Catholics as the day of the crucifixion, and the Mohammedan Sunday in commemoration as the day on which, as they believe, Adam was created.
Friedland, Valentin, an eminent scholar and educationist, born in Upper Lusatia; friend of Luther and Melanchthon; his fame as a teacher attracted to Goldberg, in Silesia, where he taught, pupils from far and near; the secret of his success lay in his inculcating on his pupils respect for their own honour; had a great faith in the intelligence that evinced itself in clear expression (1490-1556).
Friend of Man, Marquis de Mirabeau, so called from the title of one of his works, “L'Ami des Hommes.”
Friendly Islands, islands of the S. Pacific, some 180 in number, mostly of coral or volcanic origin, and of which 30 are inhabited; the natives rank high among the South Sea islanders for intelligence. See Tonga Islands.
Friendly Societies, associations of individuals for the purpose of mutual benefit in sickness and distress, and of old and wide-spread institution and under various names and forms.
Friends, Society of, a community of Christians popularly known as Quakers, founded in 1648 by George Fox (q. v.), distinguished for their plainness of speech and manners, and differing from other sects chiefly in the exclusive deference they pay to the “inner light,” and their rejection of both clergy and sacrament as media of grace; they refuse to take oath, are averse to war, and have always been opposed to slavery.
Friends of the People, an association formed as far back as 1792 to secure by constitutional means parliamentary reform.
Fries, Elias, Swedish cryptogamic botanist, professor at Upsala; wrote on fungi and lichens (1794-1878).
Fries, Jakob Friedrich, a German Kantian philosopher; was professor at Jena; aimed at reconciling the Kantian philosophy with Faith, or the intuitions of the Pure Reason (1773-1843).
Friesland, the most northerly province of Holland, with a rich soil; divided into East and West Friesland; low-lying and pastoral; protected by dykes.
Frigga, a Scandinavian goddess, the wife of Odin; worshipped among the Saxons as a goddess mother; was the earth deified, or the Norse Demeter.
Frisians, a Low German people, who occupied originally the shores of the North Sea from the mouths of the Rhine and Ems; distinguished for their free institutions; tribes of them at one time invaded Britain, where traces of their presence may still be noted.
Frith, William Powell, an English painter, born near Ripon, Yorkshire; his works are numerous, his subjects varied and interesting, and his most popular pictures have brought large sums; b. 1819.
Fritz, Father, name given to Frederick the Great by his subjects “with a familiarity which did not breed contempt in his case.”
Frobisher, Sir Martin, famous English sailor and navigator, born near Doncaster; thrice over enthusiastically essayed the discovery of the North-West Passage under Elizabeth; accompanied Drake to the West Indies; was knighted for his services against the Armada; conducted several expeditions against Spain; was mortally wounded when leading an attack on Brest, and died on his passage home (1535-1594).
Froebel, Friedrich, a devoted German educationist on the principles of Pestalozzi, which combined physical, moral, and intellectual training, commencing with the years of childhood; was the founder of the famous Kindergarten system (1782-1852).
Frogmore, a royal palace and mausoleum in Windsor Park, the burial-place of Prince Albert.
Froissart, Jean, a French chronicler and poet, born at Valenciennes; visited England in the reign of Edward III., at whose Court, and particularly with the Queen, he became a great favourite for his tales of chivalry, and whence he was sent to Scotland to collect more materials for his chronicles, where he became the guest of the king and the Earl of Douglas; after this he wandered from place to place, ranging as far as Venice and Rome, to add to his store; he died in Flanders, and his chronicles, which extend from 1322 to 1400, are written without order, but with grace and naïveté (1337-1410).
Fromentin, Eugène, an eminent French painter and author, born at Rochelle; was the author of two travel-sketches, and a brilliant novel “Dominique” (1820-1876).
Fronde, a name given to a revolt in France opposed to the Court of Anne of Austria and Mazarin during the minority of Louis XIV. The war which arose, and which was due to the despotism of Mazarin, passed through two phases: it was first a war on the part of the people and the parlement, called the Old Fronde, which lasted from 1648 till 1649, and then a war on the part of the nobles, called the New Fronde, which lasted till 1652, when the revolt was crushed by Turenne to the triumph of the royal power. The name is derived from the mimic fights with slings in which the boys of Paris indulged themselves, and which even went so far as to beat back at times the civic guard sent to suppress them.
Froude, Hurrell, elder brother of the succeeding, a leader in the Tractarian movement; author of Tracts IX. and LXIII. (1803-1836).
Froude, James Anthony, an English historian and man of letters, born at Totnes, Devon; trained originally for the Church, he gave himself to literature, his chief work being the “History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada,” in 12 vols., of which the first appeared in 1854 and the last in 1870, but it is with Carlyle and his “Life of Carlyle” that his name has of late been most intimately associated, and in connection with which he will ere long honourably figure in the history of the literature of England, though he has other claims to regard as the author of the “Nemesis of Faith,” “Short Studies on Great Subjects,” a “Life of Cæsar,” a “Life of Bunyan,” “The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century,” and “English Seamen in the Sixteenth Century”; he ranks as one of the masters of English prose, and as a man of penetration, insight, and enlarged views, if somewhat careless about minor details (1818-1894).
Froude, William, another brother, a civil engineer, assistant to Brunel; made important discoveries in hydro-dynamics of great practical avail (1810-1879).
Fry, Mrs. Elizabeth, philanthropist, born at Norwich, third daughter of John Gurney, the Quaker banker; married Joseph Fry of Plashet, Essex; devoted her life to prison reform and the reform of criminals, as well as other benevolent enterprises; she has been called “the female Howard” (1780-1845).
Fuad-Mahmed, Pasha, a Turkish statesman, diplomatist, and man of letters; studied medicine, but soon turned himself to politics; was much esteemed and honoured at foreign courts, at which he represented Turkey, for his skill, sagacity, and finesse; became Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1852; was hostile to the pretensions of Russia, and gave umbrage to the Czar; published a Turkish grammar, which is received with favour (1814-1869).
Fudge Family, The, a satiric piece by Thomas Moore, published in 1818.
Fuentes, Count, a Spanish general and statesman, eminent both in war and diplomacy; commanded the Spanish infantry at the siege of Rocroi when he was eighty-two, borne on a litter in the midst of the fight, and perished by the sword, the Great Condé having attacked the besiegers (1560-1643).
Fuero-Fuego, a Wisigoth Spanish law of the 7th century, a curious monument of the legislation of the Middle Ages.
Fugger, the name of a family of Augsburg who rose from the loom by way of commerce to great wealth and eminence in Germany, particularly under the Emperors Maximilian and Charles V., the real founder of the wealth being Jacob, who died 1409.
Fulham, a suburb of London, on the Middlesex bank of the Thames, opposite Putney, with the palace and burying-place of the bishops of London.
Fullah, a people of the Upper Soudan whose territory extends between Senegal and Darfur, a race of superior physique and intelligence, and of a certain polish of manners, and with Caucasian type of feature.
Fuller, Andrew, an eminent Baptist minister, born in Cambridgeshire, was settled at Kettering, and a zealous controversialist in defence of the gospel against hyper-Calvinism on the one hand and Socinianism on the other, but he is chiefly distinguished in connection with the foundation of the Baptist Missionary Society, to which he for most part devoted the energies of his life (1754-1815).
Fuller, Margaret, an American authoress, born at Cambridgepont, Mass., a woman of speculative ability and high aims, a friend of Emerson, and much esteemed by Carlyle, though he thought her enthusiasm extravagant and beyond the range of accomplishment; she was one of the leaders of the transcendental movement in America; visited Europe, and Italy in particular; engaged there in the struggle for political independence; married the young Marquis of Ossoli; sailed for New York, and was drowned with her husband and child on the sand-bars of Long Island (1810-1850).
Fuller, Thomas, historian, divine, and wit, born in Northamptonshire, son of the rector of Sarum; entering into holy orders, he held in succession several benefices in the Church of England, and was a prebend in Salisbury Cathedral; taking sides with the king, he lost favour under the Commonwealth; wrote a number of works, in which one finds combined gaiety and piety, good sense and whimsical fancy; composed among other works the “History of the Holy War,” a “History of the Crusades,” “The Holy and the Profane States,” the “Church History of Great Britain,” and the “Worthies of England,” the last his principal work, and published posthumously; he was a man of great shrewdness, broad sympathies, and a kindly nature; was an author much admired by Charles Lamb (1608-1661).
Fulton, Robert, an American engineer, born in Pennsylvania; began life as a miniature portrait and landscape painter, in which he made some progress, but soon turned to engineering; he was one of the first to apply steam to the propulsion of vessels, and devoted much attention to the invention of submarine boats and torpedoes; he built a steamboat to navigate the Hudson River, with a very slow rate of progress however, making only five miles an hour (1615-1765).
Fum, a grotesque animal figure, six cubits high, one of four presumed to preside over the destinies of China.
Funchal (19), the capital of Madeira, at the head of a bay on the S. coast, and the base of a mountain 4000 ft. high, extends a mile along the shore, and slopes up the sides of the mountain; famous as a health resort, more at one time than now.
Fundy Bay, an arm of the sea between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; it is of difficult navigation owing to the strong and rapid rush of the tides.
Fünen (221), the second in size of the Danish islands, separated from Zealand on the E. by the Great Belt and from Jutland on the W. by the Little Belt; is flat except on S. and W., fertile, well cultivated, and yields crops of cereals.
Furies. See Erinnyes.
Furnivall, Frederick James, English barrister, born at Egham, in Surrey; devoted to the study of Early and Middle English Literature; founder and director of numerous societies for promoting the study of special works, such as the Early English Text, Chaucer, Ballad, and New Shakespeare Societies, and editor of publications in connection with them; was in his early days a great authority on boating and boat-building; b. 1825.
Fürst, Julius, a distinguished German Orientalist, born in Posen, of Jewish descent; a specialist in Hebrew and Aramaic; author of a Hebrew and Chaldee Manual (1805-1873).
Fürst, Walter, of Uri, a Swiss patriot, who, along with William Tell, contributed to establish the liberty and independence of Switzerland; d. 1317.
Fuseli, Henry, properly Fusoli, a famous portrait-painter, born at Zurich; coming to England at the age of 22, he became acquainted with Sir Joshua Reynolds, who advised him to go to Rome; after eight years spent in study of the Italian masters, and Michael Angelo in particular, he returned to England and became an R.A.; he painted a series of pictures, afterwards exhibited as the “Milton Gallery” (1741-1825).
Fust Johann, a rich burgher of Mainz, associated with Gutenberg and Schöffer, to whom along with them the invention of printing has been ascribed; d. 1466.
Fyne, Loch, an Argyllshire arm of the sea, extending N. from Bute to Inveraray, and from 1 m. to 5 m. broad; famed for its herrings.
Fyzabad (78), capital of Oudh, in India, at one time, 78 m. E. of Lucknow; much decayed.