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).