James Wood

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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) . ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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) . ”

“ Franc, a silver coin 835/1000 fine, the monetary unity of France since 1799, weighs 5 grammes and equals about 91⁄2 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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) . ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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) . ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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) . ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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” ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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.” ”

“ 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 ”