FERGUSON, SIR SAMUEL (1810-1886).—Poet and antiquary,b.at Belfast, thes.of parents of Scottish extraction, he wased.at Trinity Coll., Dublin, from which he received in 1865 the honorary degree of LL.D. He practised with success as a barrister, became Q.C. in 1859, and Deputy Keeper of the Irish Records 1867, an appointment in which he rendered valuable service, and was knighted in 1878. He was a contributor toBlackwood's Magazine, in which appeared his best known poem,The Forging of the Anchor, and was one of the chief promoters of the Gaelic revival in Irish literature. Hiscoll.poems appeared under the title ofLays of the Western Gael(1865),Congal, an epic poem(1872), and his prose tales posthumously (1887), asHibernian Nights' Entertainments. His principal antiquarian work wasOgham Inscriptions in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
FERGUSSON, JAMES (1808-1886).—Writer on architecture,b.at Ayr, was engaged in commercial pursuits in India, where he became interested in the architecture of the country, andpub.his first work,Picturesque Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in Hindustan(1840), which was followed byAn Historical Inquiry into the True Principles of Beauty in Art(1849), andA History of Architecture in all Countries from the Earliest Times to the Present Day(1865-67). He also wroteFire and Serpent Worship, etc., and a book on the use of earthworks in fortification.
FERGUSSON, ROBERT (1750-1774).—Scottish poet,s.of a bank clerk, wased.at the Univ. of St. Andrews. Hisf.dying, he became a copying clerk in an Edin. lawyer's office. Early displaying a talent for humorous descriptive verse, he contributed toRuddiman's Weekly Magazine, then the principal Scottish receptacle for fugitivepoetry. His verses, however, attracted attention by their merit, and hepub.some of them in acoll.form. Unfortunately he fell into dissipated habits, under which his delicate constitution gave way, and hed.insane in his 24th year. His poems influenced Burns, who greatly admired them.
FERRIER, JAMES FREDERICK (1808-1864).—Metaphysician,b.in Edin., anded.there and at Oxf., he was called to the Scottish Bar in 1832, but devoted himself to literature and philosophy. In 1842 he was appointed Prof. of History in Edin., and in 1845 translated to the Chair of Moral Philosophy and Political Economy at St. Andrews. Hepub.in 1854Institutes of Metaphysics, and ed. thecoll.works of his father-in-law, Prof. Wilson ("Christopher North.")
FERRIER, SUSAN EDMONSTOUNE (1782-1854).—Novelist,dau.of James F., one of the principal clerks of the Court of Session, in which office he was the colleague of Sir Walter Scott. Miss F. wrote three excellent novels,Marriage(1818),The Inheritance(1824), andDestiny(1831), all characterised by racy humour and acute character-painting. Her cheerful and tactful friendship helped to soothe the last days of Sir W. Scott.
FIELD, NATHANIEL (1587-1633).—Dramatist and actor, was one of "the children of the Queen's Revels," who performed in Ben Jonson'sCynthia's Revelsin 1600. He wroteA Woman's a Weathercock(1612),Amends for Ladies(1618), and (with Massinger)The Fatal Dowry(1632).
FIELDING, HENRY (1707-1754).—Novelist, wasb.at Sharpham Park, near Glastonbury. His father was General Edmund F., descended from the Earls of Denbigh and Desmond, and his mother was thedau.of Sir Henry Gould of Sharpham Park. His childhood was spent at East Stour, Dorset, and his education was received at first from a tutor, after which he was sent to Eton. Following a love affair with a young heiress at Lyme Regis he was sent to Leyden to study law, where he remained until hisf., who had entered into a second marriage, and who was an extravagant man, ceased to send his allowance. Thrown upon his own resources, he came to London and began to write light comedies and farces, of which during the next few years he threw off nearly a score. The drama, however, was not his true vein, and none of his pieces in this kind have survived, unlessTom Thumb, a burlesque upon his contemporary playwrights, be excepted. About 1735 hem.Miss Charlotte Cradock, a beautiful and amiable girl to whom, though he gave her sufficient cause for forbearance, he was devotedly attached. She is the prototype of his "Amelia" and "Sophia." She brought him £1500, and the young couple retired to East Stour, where he had a small house inherited from his mother. The little fortune was, however, soon dissipated; and in a year he was back in London, where he formed a company of comedians, and managed a small theatre in the Haymarket. Here he produced successfullyPasquin, a Dramatic Satire on the Times, andThe Historical Register for 1736, in which Walpole was satirised. This enterprise wasbrought to an end by the passing of the Licensing Act, 1737, making theimprimaturof the Lord Chamberlain necessary to the production of any play. F. thereupon read law at the Middle Temple, was called to the Bar in 1740, and went the Western Circuit. The same year saw the publication of Richardson'sPamela, which inspired F. with the idea of a parody, thus giving rise to his first novel,Joseph Andrews. As, however, the characters, especially Parson Adams, developed in his hands, the original idea was laid aside, and the work assumed the form of a regular novel. It waspub.in 1742, and though sharing largely in the same qualities as its great successor,Tom Jones, its reception, though encouraging, was not phenomenally cordial. Immediately after this a heavy blow fell on F. in the death of his wife. The next few years were occupied with writing hisMiscellanies, which contained, along with some essays and poems, two important works,A Journey from this World to the Next, andThe History of Jonathan Wild the Great, a grave satire; and he also conducted two papers in support of the Government,The True PatriotandThe Jacobite Journal, in consideration of which he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Middlesex and Westminster, and had a pension conferred upon him. In 1746 he set convention at defiance by marrying Mary MacDaniel, who had been his first wife's maid, and the nurse of his children, and who proved a faithful and affectionate companion. F. showed himself an upright, diligent, and efficient magistrate, and hisInquiry into the Increase of Robbers(1751), with suggested remedies, led to beneficial results. By this time, however, the publication of his great masterpiece,The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling(1749), had given him a place among the immortals. All critics are agreed that this book contains passages offensive to delicacy, and some say to morality. This is often excused on the plea of the coarser manners of the age; but a much stronger defence is advanced on the ground that, while other novelists of the time made immorality an incentive to merriment, F.'s treatment of such subjects, as Lowell has said, "shocks rather than corrupts," and that in his pages evil is evil. On the other hand, there is universal agreement as to the permanent interest of the types of character presented, the profound knowledge of life and insight into human nature, the genial humour, the wide humanity, the wisdom, and the noble and masculine English of the book. His only other novel,Amelia, which some, but these a small minority, have regarded as his best, waspub.in 1751. His health was now thoroughly broken, and in 1753, as a forlorn hope, he went in search of restoration to Lisbon, where hed.on October 8, and was buried in the English cemetery. His last work was aJournalof his voyage. Though with many weaknesses and serious faults, F. was fundamentally a man of honest and masculine character, and though improvident and reckless in his habits, especially in earlier life, he was affectionate in his domestic relations, and faithful and efficient in the performance of such public duties as he was called to discharge. Thackeray thus describes his appearance, "His figure was tall and stalwart, his face handsome, manly, and noble-looking; to the last days of his life he retained a grandeur of air and, though worn down by disease, his aspect and presence imposed respect upon people round about him."
SUMMARY.—B.1707,ed.Eton, studied law at Leyden, came to London and wrote dramas, called to Bar 1740,pub.Joseph Andrews1742, became journalist, appointed a magistrate for Middlesex, etc., andpub.Inquiry into Increase of Robbers1751,pub.Tom Jones1749,Amelia1751,d.at Lisbon 1754.
His works are included in Ballantyne's Novelists' Library with a biography by Scott (1821). An ed. in 10 vols. with a study by L. Stephen waspub.by Smith, Elder and Co. (1882); another in 12 vols. by Prof. Saintsbury, Dent and Co. (1893), and various others. There are various Lives by Watson (1807). Lawrence (1855), and A. Dobson (Men of Letters, 1883).
FIELDING, SARAH (1710-1768).—Novelist, was the sister of the above, who had a high opinion of her talents. She wrote several novels, includingDavid Simple(1744),The Governess, andThe CountessofDellwyn. She also translated Xenophon'sMemorabiliaandApologia(1762).
FILMER, SIR ROBERT (d.1653?).—Political writer,s.of Sir Edward F., of East Sutton, Kent, wased.at Camb. He was an enthusiastic Royalist, was knighted by Charles I. and, in 1671, was imprisoned in Leeds Castle, Kent. He is notable as the defender, in its most extreme form, of the doctrine of the divine right of kings, which he expounded in a succession of works, of which the latest and best known,Patriarcha, appeared in 1679. His theory is founded on the idea that the government of a family by the father is the original and method of all government. His doctrines were afterwards attacked by Locke in hisTreatise on Government. He was opposed to the persecution of old women for supposed witchcraft.
FINLAY, GEORGE (1799-1875).—Historian, of Scottish descent, wasb.at Faversham, Kent, where hisf., an officer in the army, was inspector of government powder mills. Intended for the law, he wased.at Glasgow, Göttingen, and Edin., but becoming an enthusiast in the cause of Greece, he joined Byron in the war of independence, and thereafter bought a property near Athens, where he settled and busied himself with schemes for the improvement of the country, which had little success. HisHistory of Greece, produced in sections between 1843 and 1861, did not at first receive the recognition which its merits deserved, but it has since been given by students in all countries, and specially in Germany, a place among works of permanent value, alike for its literary style and the depth and insight of its historical views. It was re-issued in 1877 asA History of Greece from the Roman Conquest to the Present Time(146 B.C.to1864).
FISHER, JOHN (c.1469-1535).—Controversialist and scholar,b.at Beverley, anded.at Camb., entered the Church, and became in 1504 Bishop of Rochester. He wrote in Latin against the doctrines of the Reformation, but was a supporter of the New Learning, and endeavoured to get Erasmus to teach Greek at Camb. Through his influence the Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity were founded at both the Univ. by Margaret Countess of Richmond,and in 1502 he became first prof. at Camb., where he was also (1505-8) Head of Queen's Coll. He was also instrumental in founding Christ's and St. John's Coll. For opposing the divorce proceedings of Henry VIII. he was burned. Made a cardinal in 1535, he was beatified in 1886.
FISKE, JOHN (1842-1901).—Miscellaneous writer, wasb.at Hartford, Connecticut. The family name was Green; but this he dropped, and adopted that of his mother's family. After being at Harvard he studied for, and was admitted to, the Bar, but did not practise. He wrote on a variety of subjects, including mythology, history, and evolution. Among his books on these subjects are,Myths and Mythmakers(1872),Cosmic Philosophy,Darwinism,The Idea of God,Origin of Evil. He was also the author of many works on America. These includeOld Virginia,New France and New England,The American Revolution, andDiscovery of America(1892).
FITZGERALD, EDWARD (1809-1883).—Translator and letter-writer, wasb.near Woodbridge, Suffolk,s.of John Purcell, who took his wife's surname on the death of herf.. in 1818. He wased.at Bury St. Edmunds and Camb. Thereafter he lived in retirement and study with his parents until 1838, when he took a neighbouring cottage. In 1856 hem.adau.of Bernard Barton, the poet, from whom, however, he soon separated. Afterwards he lived at various places in the East of England, continuing his studies, with yachting for his chief recreation. By this time, however, he had become an author, having written a life of his father-in-law prefixed to hiscoll.poems (1849),Euphranor, a dialogue on youth (1851), andPolonius, a Collection of Wise Saws and Modern Instances(1852). Becoming interested in Spanish literature, hepub.translations ofSix Dramas of Calderon. Thereafter turning his attention to Persian, he produced (1859), anonymously, his famous translation of theRubaiyat of Omar Khayyám. He alsopub.translations of theAgamemnonof Æschylus, and theŒdipus TyrannusandŒdipus Coloneusof Sophocles. In his translations F. aimed not so much at a mere literal reproduction of the sense of the original, as at reproducing its effect on the reader, and in this he was extraordinarily successful. In the department of letter-writing also he attained an excellence perhaps unequalled in his day.
FITZSTEPHEN, WILLIAM (d.1190).—Was a servant of Thomas à Becket, witnessed his murder, and wrote his biography, which contains an interesting account of London in the 12th century.
FLAVEL, JOHN (1627-1691).—Divine,b.at Bromsgrove, studied at Oxf., was a Presbyterian, and was settled at Dartmouth, but ejected from his living in 1662, continuing, however, to preach there secretly. He was a voluminous and popular author. Among his works areHusbandry SpiritualisedandNavigation Spiritualised, titles which suggest some of his characteristics as an expositor.
FLECKNOE, RICHARD (d.1678).—Poet, said to have been an Irish priest. He wrote several plays, now forgotten, also miscellaneous poems, some of them sacred, and a book of travels. His name has been preserved in Dryden's satire,MacFlecknoe, as"throughout the realms of nonsense absolute;" but according to some authorities his slighter pieces were not wanting in grace and fancy.
FLETCHER, ANDREW (1655-1716).—Scottish statesman and political writer,s.of Sir Robert F. of Saltoun, East Lothian, to which estate he succeeded at an early age. He wased.under the care of Bishop Burnet, who was then minister of Saltoun. Being firmly opposed to the arbitrary measures of the Duke of York, afterwards James II., he went to Holland, where he joined Monmouth, whom he accompanied on his ill-starred expedition. Happening to kill, in a quarrel, one Dare, another of the Duke's followers, he fled to the Continent, travelled in Spain and Hungary, and fought against the Turks. After the Revolution he returned to Scotland, and took an active part in political affairs. He opposed the Union, fearing the loss of Scottish independence, and advocated federation rather than incorporation. He introduced various improvements in agriculture. His principal writings areDiscourse of Government(1698),Two Discourses concerning the Affairs of Scotland(1698),Conversation concerning a right Regulation of Government for the Common Good of Mankind(1703), in which occurs his well-known saying, "Give me the making of the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws."
FLETCHER, GILES, AND PHINEAS (1588?-1623) (1582-1650).—Poets, were the sons of Giles F., himself a minor poet, and Envoy to Russia. Phineas, the elder, wased.at Eton and Camb., and entered the Church, becoming Rector of Hilgay, Norfolk. He wroteThe Purple Island(1633), a poem in 10 books, giving an elaborate allegorical description of the body and mind of man, which, though tedious and fanciful, contains some fine passages, recalling the harmonious sweetness of Spenser, whose disciple the poet was. He was also the author ofPiscatory Dialogues. GILES, the younger, was alsoed.at Camb., and, like his brother, became a country parson, being Rector of Alderton. His poem,Christ's Victory and Triumph(1610), which, though it contains passages rising to sublimity, is now almost unknown except to students of English literature, is said to have influenced Milton.
Both brothers, but especially Giles, had a genuine poetic gift, but alike in the allegorical treatment of their subjects and the metre they adopted, they followed a style which was passing away, and thus missed popularity. They were cousins of John F., the dramatist.
FLORENCE of WORCESTER (d.1118).—Chronicler, was a monk of Worcester. His work is founded upon that of Marianus, an Irish chronicler, supplemented by additions taken from theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bede'sLives of the Saints, and Asser'sLife of Alfred. After his death it was brought down to 1295.
FLORIO, JOHN (1553?-1625).—Translator,s.of an Italian preacher, exiled for his Protestantism, but who appears to have lost credit owing to misconduct,b.in London, was, about 1576, a private tutor of languages at Oxf. In 1581 he was admitted a member ofMagdalen Coll., and teacher of French and Italian. Patronised by various noblemen, he became in 1603 reader in Italian to Anne of Denmark, Queen of James I. Hepub.First Fruites(1578).Second Fruites(1591), consisting of Italian and English Dialogues, and his great Italian dictionary entitledA World of Wonder, in 1598. His chief contribution to pure literature is his famous translation ofThe Essays of Montaigne, in stately if somewhat stiff Elizabethan English.
FONBLANQUE, ALBANY WILLIAM (1793-1872).—Journalist and political writer, was of Huguenot descent, thes.of a Commissioner in Bankruptcy. He was bred to the law, but deserted it for journalism, in which he took a high place. He wrote much forThe Times, andWestminster Review, and subsequently became ed. and proprietor of theExaminer. His best articles were republished asEngland under Seven Administrations(1837). He also wroteHow we are Governed. In 1847 he was appointed Statistical Sec. to the Board of Trade.
FOOTE, SAMUEL (1720-1777).—Actor and dramatist,b.at Truro of a good family, anded.at Oxf., succeeded by his extravagance and folly in running through two fortunes. To repair his finances he turned to the stage, and began with tragedy, in which he failed. He then took to comedy, and the mimetic representation of living characters, for which his extraordinary comic powers highly qualified him. He also became a prolific author of dramatic pieces. He wrote 20 plays, and claimed to have added 16 original characters to the stage. Several of his pieces, owing to the offence they gave to persons of importance, were suppressed, but were usually revived in a slightly modified form. His conversation was agreeable and entertaining in the highest degree. Among his best works areAn Auction of Pictures,The Liar, andThe Mayor of Garratt(1763),The Lame Lover(1770),The Knights(1749),Author(suppressed) 1757,Devil upon Two Sticks(1768),The Nabob(1779),The Capuchin(1776).
FORBES, JAMES DAVID (1809-1868).—Natural Philosopher,s.of Sir William F., of Pitsligo, wasb.anded.at Edin. He studied law, and was called to the Bar, but devoted himself to science, in which he gained a great reputation both as a discoverer and teacher. He was Prof. of Natural Philosophy at Edin., 1833-1859, when he succeeded Sir D. Brewster, as Principal of the United Coll. at St. Andrews. He was one of the founders of the British Association in 1831. His scientific investigations and discoveries embraced the subjects of heat, light, polarisation, and specially glaciers. In connection with the last of these he wroteTravels through the Alps(1843),Norway and its Glaciers(1853),Tour of Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa(1855), andPapers on the Theory of Glaciers.
FORD, JOHN (c.1586?).—Dramatist,b.probably at Ilsington, Devonshire, was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1602, and appears to have practised as a lawyer. His chief plays areThe Lover's Melancholy(1629),'Tis Pity,The Broken Heart, andLove's Sacrifice(1633),Perkin Warbeck(1634),The Lady's Trial(1639), andFancies Chaste and Noble(1638). He also collaborated withDekker and Rowley inThe Witch of Edmonton(1624). F. has a high position as a dramatist, though rather for general intellectual power and austere beauty of thought than for strictly dramatic qualities. C. Lamb says, "F. was of the first order of poets." He had little humour; his plays, though the subjects are painful, and sometimes horrible, are full of pensive tenderness expressed in gently flowing verse. The date of his death is uncertain.
FORD, PAUL LEICESTER (1865-1902).—Novelist and biographer, wasb.in Brooklyn. He wrote Lives of Washington, Franklin, and others, ed. the works of Jefferson, and wrote a number of novels, which had considerable success, includingPeter Sterling(1894),Story of an Untold Love,Janice Meredith,Wanted a Matchmaker, andWanted a Chaperone. Hed.by his own hand.
FORD, RICHARD (1796-1858).—Writer on art and travel,ed.at Winchester and Camb., and travelled for several years in Spain, becoming intimately acquainted with the country and people. He wrote aHandbook for Travellers in Spain(1845), which is much more than a mere guide-book, andGatherings from Spain(1846). An accomplished artist and art critic, he was the first to make the great Spanish painter, Velasquez, generally known in England.
FORDUN, JOHN (d.1384?).—Chronicler, said to have been a chantry priest and Canon of Aberdeen. He began theScotichronicon, for which he prepared himself, it is said, by travelling on foot through Britain and Ireland in search of materials. He also compiledGesta Annalia, a continuation. He brought the history down to 1153, leaving, however, material to the time of his own death, which was subsequently worked up byWalter Bower(q.v.).
FORSTER, JOHN (1812-1876).—Historian and biographer,b.at Newcastle,ed.at the Grammar School there, and at Univ. Coll., London, became a barrister of the Inner Temple, but soon relinquished law for literature. In 1834 he accepted the post of assistant ed. of theExaminer, and was ed. 1847-55. In this position F. exercised a marked influence on public opinion. He also ed. theForeign Quarterly Review1842-3, theDaily Newsin 1846, and was Sec. to the Lunacy Commission and a Commissioner 1861-72. His historical writings were chiefly biographies, among which areStatesmen of the Commonwealth of England(1836-9),Life of Goldsmith(1854),Biographical and Historical Essays(1859),Sir John Eliot(1864),Lives of Walter S. Landor(1868), andCharles Dickens(1871-4). He also left the first vol. of a Life of Swift. F., who was a man of great decision and force of character, concealed an unusually tender heart under a somewhat overbearing manner.
FORTESCUE, SIR JOHN (1394?-1476?).—Political writer, was descended from a Devonshire family. He was an eminent lawyer, and held the office of Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench (1442). During the Wars of the Roses he was a staunch Lancastrian. On the triumph of Edward IV. at Towton he was attainted, and followed the fortunes of the fallen Lancastrians, accompanying Queen Margaret to Scotland and Flanders. He fought at Tewkesbury, was captured, but pardoned on condition of writing in supportof the Yorkish claims, which he did, considering that his own party appeared to be hopelessly ruined. He is said to have been at one time Lord Chancellor; but it is probable that this was only a titular appointment given him by the exiled family. His works are various defences of the Lancastrian title to the crown, and two treatises,De Laudibus Legum Angliæ(1537) (in praise of the laws of England), andOn the Governance of the Kingdom of England, not printed till 1714, the former for the instruction of Edward, Prince of Wales.
FORSTER, JOHN (1770-1843).—Essayist, wasb.at Halifax, anded.at Bristol for the Baptist ministry. Though a man of powerful and original mind he did not prove popular as a preacher, and devoted himself mainly to literature, his chief contribution to which is his four Essays (1)On a Man's Writing Memoirs of Himself, (2)On Decision of Character, (3)On the Epithet "Romantic," (4)On Evangelical Religion, etc., all of which attracted much attention among the more thoughtful part of the community, and still hold their place. These Essays werepub.in 1805, and in 1819. F. added another on theEvils of Popular Ignorance, in which he advocated a national system of education.
FOSTER, STEPHEN COLLINS (1826-1864).—Song-writer, wasb.in Pittsburgh. He wrote over 100 songs, many of which had extraordinary popularity, among which may be mentionedThe Old Folks at Home,Nelly Bly,Old Dog Tray,Camp Town Races,Massa's in de cold, cold Ground, andCome where my Love lies Dreaming. He composed the music to his songs.
FOX, CHARLES JAMES (1749-1806).—Statesman and historian,s.of Henry F., 1st Lord Holland, was one of the greatest orators who have ever sat in the House of Commons. His only serious literary work was a fragment of a proposedHistory of the Reign of James the Second. An introductory chapter sketching the development of the constitution from the time of Henry VII., and a few chapters conducting the history up to the execution of Monmouth are all which he completed.
FOX, GEORGE (1624-1691).—Religious enthusiast, and founder of the Society of Friends,b.at Drayton, Leicestershire, was in youth the subject of peculiar religious impressions and trances, and adopted a wandering life. The protests which he conceived himself bound to make against the prevailing beliefs and manners, and which sometimes took the form of interrupting Divine service, and the use of uncomplimentary forms of address to the clergy, involved him in frequent trouble. The clergy, the magistrates, and the mob alike treated him with harshness amounting to persecution. None of these things, however, moved him, and friends, many of them influential, among them Oliver Cromwell, extended favour towards him. From 1659 onwards he made various missionary journeys in Scotland, Ireland, America, and Holland. Later he was repeatedly imprisoned, again visited the Continent, andd.in 1691. F.'s literary works are hisJournal,Epistles, andDoctrinal Pieces. He was not a man of strong intellect, and the defence of hisdoctrines was undertaken by the far more competent hand of his follower,Barclay(q.v.). TheJournal, however, is full of interest as a sincere transcript of the singular experiences, religious and others, of a spiritual enthusiast and mystic.
The best Life is that by Hodgkin, 1896.Journal(reprint, 1885).
FOXE, JOHN (1516-1587).—Martyrologist, wasb.at Boston, Lincolnshire, anded.at Oxf., where he became a Fellow of Magdalen Coll. While there he gave himself to the study of the theological questions then in debate, and ended by becoming a Protestant, in consequence of which he in 1545 left his coll. He then became tutor in the family of Sir T. Lucy of Charlecote, and afterwards to the children of the recently executed Earl of Surrey. During the reign of Mary he retired to the Continent, andpub., at Strasburg, hisCommentarii(the first draft of theActs and Monuments). Removing to Basel he was employed as a reader for the press by the famous printer Oporinus, whopub.some of his writings. On the accession of Elizabeth, F. returned to England, was received with kindness by the Duke of Norfolk, one of his former pupils, and soon afterwards (1563)pub.the work on which his fame rests, the English version of theActs and Monuments, better known asThe Book Martyrs. Received with great favour by the Protestants, it was, and has always been, charged by the Roman Catholics with gross and wilful perversion of facts. The truth of the matter appears to be that while Foxe was not, as in the circumstances he could hardly have been, free from party spirit or from some degree of error as to facts, he did not intentionally try to mislead; and comparison of his citations from authorities with the originals has shown him to have been careful and accurate in that matter. F., who had been ordained a priest in 1560, became Canon of Salisbury in 1563. He wrote sundry other theological works, andd.in 1587. There is a memoir of him attributed to hiss., but of doubtful authenticity. Some of his papers, used byStrype(q.v.), are now in the British Museum.
FRANCIS, SIR PHILIP (1740-1818).—Reputed author ofThe Letters of Junius,s.of the Rev. Philip F., a scholar of some note, wasb.in Dublin. On the recommendation of Lord Holland he received an appointment in the office of the Sec. of State, and was thereafter private sec. to Lord Kinnoull in Portugal, and to Pitt in 1761-2. He was then transferred to the War Office, where he remained from 1762-72, during which period he contributed to the press under various pseudonyms. His next appointment was that of a member of Council of Bengal, which he held from 1773-80. While in India he was in continual conflict with the Governor-General, Warren Hastings, by whom he was wounded in a duel in 1779. He returned to England in 1780 with a large fortune, and entered Parliament as a Whig. In 1787 he was associated with Burke in the impeachment of Hastings, against whom he showed extraordinary vindictiveness. Later he was a sympathiser with the French Revolution, and a member of the association of the Friends of the People. He retired from public life in 1807, andd.in 1818. He was the author of about 20 political pamphlets, but the great interest attaching to him is his reputed authorship of theLetters ofJunius. These letters which, partly on account of the boldness and implacability of their attacks and the brilliance of their literary style, and partly because of the mystery in which their author wrapped himself, created an extraordinary impression, and have ever since retained their place as masterpieces of condensed sarcasm. They appeared inThe Public Advertiser, a paperpub.by Woodfall, the first on January 21, 1769, and the last on the corresponding day of 1772, and were chiefly directed against the Dukes of Grafton and Bedford, and Lord Mansfield; but even the king himself did not escape. Not only were the public actions of those attacked held up to execration, but every circumstance in their private lives which could excite odium was dragged into the light. Their authorship was attributed to many distinguished men,e.g.Burke, Lord Shelburne, J. Wilkes, Horne Tooke, and Barré, and recently to Gibbon; but the evidence appears to point strongly to F., and, in the opinion of Macaulay, would "support a verdict in a civil, nay, in a criminal trial." It rests upon such circumstances as the similarity of the MS. to what is known to be the disguised writing of F., the acquaintance of the writer with the working of the Sec. of State's Office and the War Office, his denunciation of the promotion of a Mr. Chamier in the War Office, which was a well-known grievance of F., his acquaintance with Pitt, and the existence of a strong tie to Lord Holland, the silence of Junius when F. was absent, and resemblances in the style and the moral character of the writer to those of F.
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN (1706-1790).—American statesman, philosopher, and writer, was one of a numerous family. Hisf.was a soap-boiler at Boston, where F. wasb.He was apprenticed at the age of 13 to his brother, a printer, who treated him harshly. After various changes, during which he lived in New York, London, and Philadelphia, he at last succeeded in founding a successful business as a printer. He also started a newspaper,The Gazette, which was highly popular,Poor Richard's Almanac, and theBusybody Papers, in imitation of theSpectator. After holding various minor appointments, he was made deputy Postmaster-General for the American Colonies. In 1757 he went to London on some public business in which he was so successful that various colonies appointed him their English agent. In the midst of his varied avocations he found time for scientific investigation, especially with regard to electricity. For these he became known over the civilised world, and was loaded with honours. In 1762 he returned to America, and took a prominent part in the controversies which led to the Revolutionary War and the independence of the Colonies. In 1776 he was U.S. Minister to France, and in 1782 was a signatory of the treaty which confirmed the independence of the States. He returned home in 1785, and, after holding various political offices, retired in 1788, andd.in 1790. His autobiography is his chief contribution to literature, and is of the highest interest.
Works (10 vols., Bigelow, 1887-9), Autobiography (1868), Lives by M'Master (1887), and Morse (1889).
FREEMAN, EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1823-1892).—Historian,s.of John F., wasb.at Harborne, Staffordshire. He lost both his parents in childhood, and was brought up by his paternal grandmother.He wased.at private schools, and as a private pupil of the Rev. R. Gutch, whosedau.he afterwardsm.In 1841 he was elected to a scholarship at Oxf. He had inherited an income sufficient to make him independent of a profession, and a prepossession in favour of the celibacy of the clergy disinclined him to enter the Church, of which he had at one time thought. He settled ultimately at Somerleaze, near Wells, where he occupied himself in study, writing for periodicals, and with the duties of a magistrate. He was a strong Liberal, and on one occasion stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for Parliament. He was also twice unsuccessful as an applicant for professional chairs, but ultimately, in 1884, succeeded Stubbs as Prof. of Modern History at Oxf. He had always been an enthusiastic traveller, and it was when on a tour in Spain that he took ill andd.on May 16, 1892. F. was a voluminous author, and a keen controversialist. His first book was aHistory of Architecture(1849), and among the very numerous publications which he issued the most important wereHistory of Federal Government(1863),The History of the Norman Conquest(6 vols., 1867-79),The Historical Geography of Europe(1881-2),The Reign of William Rufus(1882), and an unfinishedHistory of Sicily. Besides these he wrote innumerable articles in periodicals, many of which were separatelypub.and contain much of his best work. He was laborious and honest, but the controversial cast of his mind sometimes coloured his work. His short books, such as hisWilliam I., and hisGeneral Sketch of European History, are marvels of condensation, and show him at his best. His knowledge of history was singularly wide, and he sometimes showed a great power of vivid presentation.
FRENEAU, PHILIP (1752-1832).—Poet,b.in New York, produced two vols. of verse (1786-8), the most considerable contribution to poetry made up to that date in America. He fought in the Revolutionary War, was taken prisoner, and confined in a British prison-ship, the arrangements of which he bitterly satirised inThe British Prison Ship(1781). He also wrote vigorous prose, of whichAdvice to Authorsis an example. Amid much commonplace and doggerel, F. produced a small amount of genuine poetry in his short pieces, such asThe Indian Burying Ground, andThe Wild Honeysuckle.
FRERE, JOHN HOOKHAM (1769-1846).—Diplomatist, translator, and author, eldests.of John F., a distinguished antiquary, wasb.in London, anded.at Eton and Camb. He became a clerk in the Foreign Office, and subsequently entering Parliament was appointed Under Foreign Sec. In 1800 he was Envoy to Portugal, and was Ambassador to Spain 1802-4, and again 1808-9. In 1818 he retired to Malta, where hed.He was a contributor to theAnti-Jacobin, to Ellis'sSpecimens of the Early English Poets(1801), and to Southey'sChronicle of the Cid. He also made some masterly translations fromAristophanes; but his chief original contribution to literature was a burlesque poem onArthur and the Round Table, purporting to be by William and Robert Whistlecraft. All F.'s writings are characterised no less by scholarship than by wit.
FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY (1818-1894).—Historian and essayist, 3rds.of the Archdeacon of Totnes, Devonshire, nearwhich he wasb., and brother of Richard Hurrell. F., one of the leaders of the Tractarian party, wased.at Westminster School and Oxf., where for a short time he came under the influence of Newman, and contributed to hisLives of the English Saints, and in 1844 he took Deacon's orders. The connection with Newman was, however, short-lived; and the publication in 1848 ofThe Nemesis of Faithshowed that in the severe mental and spiritual conflict through which he had passed, the writer had not only escaped from all Tractarian influences, but was in revolt against many of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. One result of the book was his resignation of his Fellowship at Oxf.: another was his loss of an appointment as Head Master of the Grammar School of Hobart Town, Tasmania. In the same year began his friendship with Carlyle, and about the same time he became a contributor to theWestminster Reviewand toFraser's Magazine, of which he was ed. from 1860-74. These papers were afterwardscoll.andpub.in the 4 vols. ofShort Studies on Great Subjects. In 1856 hepub.the first 2 vols. of the great work of his life,The History of England from the Fall of Cardinal Wolsey to the Spanish Armada, which extended to 12 vols., the last of which appeared in 1870. As literature this work has a place among the greatest productions of the century; but in its treatment it is much more dramatic, ethical, and polemical than historical in the strict sense; and indeed the inaccuracy in matters of fact to which F. was liable, combined with his tendency to idealise and to colour with his own prejudices the characters who figure in his narrative, are serious deductions from the value of his work considered as history.The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Centuryappeared in 1872-4. On the death of Carlyle in 1881, F. found himself in the position of his sole literary executor, and in that capacitypub.successively theReminiscences(1881),History of the First Forty Years of Carlyle's Life(1882),Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle(1883),History of Carlyle's Life in London(1884). The opinion is held by many that in the discharge of the duties entrusted to him by his old friend and master he showed neither discretion nor loyalty; and his indiscreet revelations and gross inaccuracies evoked a storm of controversy and protest. F. did not confine his labours to purely literary effort. In 1874-5 he travelled as a Government Commissioner in South Africa with the view of fostering a movement in favour of federating the various colonies there; in 1876 he served on the Scottish Univ. Commission; in 1884-5 he visited Australia, and gave the fruit of his observations to the world inOceana(1886), and in 1886-7 he was in the West Indies, andpub.The English in the West Indies(1888). The year 1892 saw his appointment as Prof. of Modern History at Oxf., and his lectures there werepub.in his last books,Life and Letters of Erasmus(1894),English Seamen in the Sixteenth Century(1895), andThe Council of Trent(1896). F. was elected in 1869 Lord Rector of the Univ. of St. Andrews, and received the degree of LL.D. from Edinburgh in 1884. By his instructions no Biography was to be written.