ANDREA DOREA; called so on his statue at Genoa (1468-1560).
ANDRONI´CUS PALÆOL´OGUS assumed the title (1260-1332).
GEORGE WASHINGTON, “Defender and Paternal Counseller of the American
States” (1732-1799).
=Father of the People=.
LOUIS XII. of France (1462, 1498-1515).
HENRI IV. of France, “The Father and Friend of the People” (1553,
1589-1610).
LOUIS XVIII. of France (1755, 1814-1824).
GABRIEL DU PINEAU, a French lawyer, (1573-1644).
CHRISTIAN III. of Denmark (1502, 1534-1559).
⁂ For other “Fathers,” see under the specific name or vocation, as
BOTANY, LITERATURE, and so on.
=Fathers= (_Last of the_), St. Bernard (1091-1153).
⁂ The “Fathers of the Church” were followed by “the Schoolmen.”
=Fatherless=. Merlin never had a father; his mother was a nun, the
daughter of the king of Dimetia.
=Fathom= (_Ferdinand Count_), a villain who robs his benefactors,
pillages any one, and finally dies in misery and despair.—T. Smollett,
_The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom_ (1754).
(The gang being absent, an old beldame conveys the count to a rude
apartment to sleep in. Here he found the dead body of a man lately
stabbed and concealed in some straw; and the account of his sensations
during the night, the horrid device by which he saved his life (by
lifting the corpse into his own bed), and his escape, guided by the hag,
is terrifically tragic).
=Fatima=, daughter of Mahomet, and one of the four perfect women. The
other three are Khadîjah, the prophet’s first wife; Mary, daughter of
Imrân; and Asia, wife of that Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea.
_Fat´ima_, a holy woman of China, who lived a hermit’s life. There was
“no one affected with headache whom she did not cure by simply laying
her hands on them.” An African magician induced this devotee to lend him
her clothes and stick, and to make him the fac-simile of herself. He
then murdered her, and got introduced into the palace of Aladdin.
Aladdin, being informed of the trick, pretended to have a bad headache,
and when the false Fatima approached, under the pretence of curing it,
he plunged a dagger into the heart of the magician and killed
him.—_Arabian Nights_ (“Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp”).
_Fat´ima_, the mother of Prince Camaral´zaman. Her husband was
Schah´zaman, Sultan of the “Isle of the Children of Khal´edan, some
twenty days’ sail from the coast of Persia, in the open sea.”—_Arabian
Nights_ (“Camaralzaman and Badoura”).
_Fat´ima_, the last of Bluebeard´s wives. She was saved from death by
the timely arrival of her brothers with a party of friends.—C. Perrault,
_Contes de Fées_ (1697).
=Fat´imite= (3 _syl._). _The Third Fatimite_, the Caliph Hakem
B’amr-ellah, who professed to be incarnate deity, and the last prophet
who had communication between God and man. He was the founder of the
Druses (_q.v._).
What say you does this wizard style himself—
Hakeem Biamrallah, the Third Fatimite?
Robt. Browning, _The Return of the Druses_, v.
=Fatme=. Beautiful sultana, who, looking down from her lattice into the
courtyard wept to see a lamb slaughtered, yet turned from the window to
ask in eager hope if the poison administered to her rival had produced
the desired effect.—_Heine_.
=Faulconbridge= (_Philip_), called “the Bastard,” natural son of
King Richard I. and Lady Robert Faulconbridge. An admirable
admixture of greatness and levity, daring and recklessness. He was
generous and open-hearted, but hated foreigners like a true-born
islander.—Shakespeare, _King John_ (1596).
=Faulkland=, the over-anxious lover of Julia [_Melville_], always
fretting and tormenting himself about her whims, spirit, health, life.
Every feature in the sky, every shift of the wind was a source of
anxiety to him. If she was gay, he fretted that she should care so
little for his absence; if she was low-spirited, he feared she was going
to die; if she danced with another, he was jealous; if she didn´t, she
was out of sorts.—Sheridan, _The Rivals_ (1775).
=Faultless Painter= (_The_), Andrea del Sarto (1488-1630).—R. Browning,
_Andrea del Sarto_.
=Fauntleroy= (_Little Lord_). The story of Cedric Errol, heir to his
grandfather, Lord Fauntleroy, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, has been
dramatized, Elsie Leslie, a child of rare promise, taking the part of
Cedric, and Kathryn Kidder that of his mother. (See ERROL).
=Faun=. Tennyson uses this sylvan deity of the classics as the symbol of
a drunkard.
Arise and fly
The reeling Faun, the sensual feast.
_In Memoriam_, cxviii
=Faust=, a famous magician of the sixteenth century, a native of Suabia.
A rich uncle having left him a fortune, Faust ran to every excess, and
when his fortune was exhausted, made a pact with the devil (who assumed
the name of Mephistoph´elês, and the appearance of a little grey monk)
that if he might indulge his propensities freely for twenty-four years,
he would at the end of that period consign to the devil both body and
soul. The compact terminated in 1550, when Faust disappeared. His
sweetheart was Margheri´ta [_Margaret_], whom he seduced, and his
faithful servant was Wagner.
Goethê has a noble tragedy entitled _Faust_ (1798); Gounod an opera
called _Faust e Margherita_ (1859) (See FAUSTUS.)
=Faustus= (_Dr._), the same as Faust; but Marlowe, in his admirable
tragedy, makes the doctor sell himself to Lucifer and Mephistophilis.
=Favor= (_Anna_). Young Anna Favor, married to Ezra Dalton, conceives
the insane idea that her baby is a changeling, and asks her husband to
rake open the coals that she may lay it upon them, and the witch shall
have her own.
“She’ll come when she hears it crying,
In the shape of an owl or bat,
And she’ll bring us our darling Anna
In place of her screeching brat.”
The delusion is removed and her senses restored in answer to the prayer
of her husband.
“Now, mount and ride, my goodman,
As thou lovest thy own soul!
Woe’s me if my wicked fancies
Be the death of Goodwife Cole!”
J.G. Whittier, _The Changeling_.
W. Bayle Bernard, of Boston, Mass., has a tragedy on the same subject.
=Favori´ta= (_La_), Leonora de Guzman, “favorite” of Alfonzo XI. of
Castile. Ferdinando fell in love with her; and the king, to save himself
from excommunication, sanctioned the marriage. But when Ferdinando
learned that Leonora was the king’s mistress, he rejected the alliance
with indignation, and became a monk. Leonora also became a novice in the
same monastery, saw Ferdinando, obtained his forgiveness, and
died.—Donizetti, _La Favorita_ (an opera, 1842).
=Faw= (_Tibbie_), the ostler’s wife, in Wandering Willie’s tale.—Sir W.
Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
=Faw´nia=, the lady beloved by Dorastus.—R. Greene, _Pandosto, The
Triumph of Time_ (1588).
⁂ Shakespeare founded his _Winter’s Tale_ on Greene’s romance.
=Fazio=, a Florentine, who first tried to make a fortune by alchemy, but
being present when Bartoldo died, he buried the body secretly, and stole
the miser’s money-bags. Being now rich he passed his time with the
Marchioness Aldabella in licentious pleasure, and his wife Bianca, out
of jealousy, accused him to the duke of being privy to Bartoldo’s death.
For this offence Fazio was condemned to die; and Bianca, having tried in
vain to save him, went mad with grief, and died of a broken heart.—Dean
Milman, _Fazio_ (1815).
=Fea= (_Euphane_), the old house-keeper of the old udaller at
Burgh-Westra. (A “udaller” is one who holds land by allodial
tenure.)—Sir W. Scott, _The Pirate_ (time, William III.).
=Fear Fortress=, near Saragossa. An allegorical bogie fort, conjured up
by fear, which vanishes as it is courageously approached and boldly
besieged.
If a child disappeared, or any cattle were carried off, the frightened
peasants said: “The Lord of Fear Fortress has taken them.” If a fire
broke out anywhere, it was the Lord of Fear Fortress who must have lit
it. The origin of all accidents, mishaps, and disasters, was traced to
the mysterious owner of this invisible castle.—L’Epine,
_Croquemitaine_, iii. 1.
=Fearless= (_The_), Jean duc de Bourgoigne, called _Sans Peur_
(1371-1419).
=Featherhead= (_John_), Esq., an opponent of Sir Thomas Kittlecourt,
M.P.—Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).
=Fedalina=. Daughter of the gypsy chief and heroine of _The Spanish
Gypsy_, by George Eliot.
=Fee= and =Fairy=. Fee is the more general term, including the latter.
_The Arabian Nights_ are not all fairy tales, but they are all fee tales
or _contes des fées_. So again, the Ossianic tales, Campbell’s _Tales of
the West Highlands_, the mythological tales of the Basques, Irish,
Scandinavians, Germans, French, etc., may all be ranged under fee tales.
=Feeble= (_Francis_), a woman’s tailor, and one of the recruits of Sir
John Falstaff. Although a thin, starveling yard-wand of a man, he
expresses great willingness to be drawn. Sir John compliments him as
“courageous Feeble,” and says to him, “Thou wilt be as valiant as the
wrathful dove, or most magnanimous mouse.... most forcible
Feeble.”—Shakespeare, _2 Henry IV_. act iii. sc. 2 (1598).
=Feeder= (_Mr._), B.A., usher in the school of Dr. Blimber of Brighton.
He was “a kind of human barrel-organ, which played only one tune.” He
was in the habit of shaving his head to keep it cool. Mr. Feeder married
Miss Blimber, the doctor’s daughter, and succeeded to the school.—C.
Dickens, _Dombey and Son_ (1846).
=Feenix=, nephew of the Hon. Mrs. Skewton (mother of Edith, Mr. Dombey’s
second wife), Feenix was a very old gentleman, patched up to look as
much like a young fop as possible.
Cousin Feenix was a man about town forty years ago; but he is still so
juvenile in figure and manner that strangers are amazed when they
discover latent wrinkles in his lordship’s face, and crow’s feet in
his eyes. But cousin Feenix getting up at half-past seven, is quite
another thing from cousin Feenix got up.—C. Dickens, _Dombey and Son_,
xxxi. (1846).
=Feignwell= (_Colonel_) the suitor of Anne Lovely, an heiress. Anne
Lovely had to obtain the consent of her four guardians before she could
marry. One was an old beau, another a virtuoso, a third a broker on
’Change, and the fourth a canting quaker. The colonel made himself
agreeable to all, and carried off his prize.—Mrs. Centlivre, _A Bold
Stroke for a Wife_ (1717).
=Feinai´gle= (_Gregory de_), a German mnemonist (1765-1820). He obtained
some success by his aids to memory, but in Paris he was an object of
ridicule.
Her memory was a mine ... For her Feinaigle’s was a useless art Byron,
_Don Juan_, i. 11 (1819).
=Felice=, wife of Sir Guy Warwick, said to have “the same high forehead
as Venus.”
=Felic´ian= (_Father_), a catholic priest and schoolmaster of Grand Pré,
in Acadia (now called _Nova Scotia_). He accompanied Evangeline in part
of her wanderings to find Gabriel, her affianced husband.—Longfellow,
_Evangeline_ (1849).
=Felicians= (_The_), the happy nation. The Felicians live under a free
sovereignty, where the laws are absolute. Felicia is the French
“Utopia.”—Mercier de la Rivière, _L’Heureuse Nation_ (1767).
=Feliciano de Sylva=, Don Quixote’s favorite author. The two following
extracts were, in his opinion, unsurpassed and unsurpassable:—
The reason, most adored one, of your unreasonable unreasonableness
hath so unreasonably unseated my reason, that I have no reasonable
reason for reasoning against such unreasonableness.
The bright heaven of your divinity that lifts you to the stars, most
celestial of women, renders you deserving of every desert which your
charms so deservedly deserve.—Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I. i. 8
(1605).
=Félicie=, happy French girl, the daughter of Jean and Gabrielle Waldo.
Her mother gives her poison by mistake, from the effects of which she is
relieved by John of Lugio, summoned from his home many leagues away, “IN
HIS NAME.”—Edward Everett Hale, _In His Name_ (1887).
=Felix=, a monk who listened to the singing of a milk-white bird for a
hundred years; which length of time seemed to him “but a single hour,”
so enchanted was he with the song.—Longfellow, _The Golden Legend_. (See
also _Hildesheim_.)
_Felix_ (_Don_), son of Don Lopez. He was a Portuguese nobleman, in love
with Violante; but Violante’s father, Don Pedro, intended to make her a
nun. Donna Isabella, having fled from home to avoid a marriage
disagreeable to her, took refuge with Violante; and when Colonel Briton
called at the house to see Donna Isabella, her brother Don Felix was
jealous, believing that Violante was the object of his visits. Violante
kept “her friend’s secret,” even at the risk of losing her lover; but
ultimately the mystery was cleared up, and a double marriage took
place.—Mrs. Centlivre, _The Wonder_ (1714).
_Felix Holt_ (See Holt).
_Felix_ (_M. Minucius_), a Roman lawyer, who flourished A.D. 230; he
wrote a dialogue entitled _Octavius_, which occupies a conspicuous place
among the early Apologies of Christianity.
Like Menucius Felix, she believed that evil demons hid themselves in
the marbles [_statues_].—Ouida, _Ariadnê_, i. 9.
_Felix_ (_St._), of Burgundy, who converted Sigbert (Sigebert or Sabert)
king of the East Saxons, (A.D. 604).—Ethelwerd, _Chronicles_, v.
So Burgundy to us three men most reverend bare ...
Of which way Felix first, who in th’ East Saxon reign
Converted to the faith King Sigbert. Him again
Ensueth Anselm ... and Hugh ... [_bishop of Lincoln_].
Drayton _Polyolbion_, xxiv. (1622).
=Fe´lixmar´te= (4 _syl._) of Hyrcania, son of Flo´risan and Martedi´na,
the hero of a Spanish romance of chivalry. The curate in _Don Quixote_
condemned this work to the flames.—Melchior de Orteza, _Caballera de
Ubĕda_ (1566).
=Felix= (_Varian_). The Adonis of his circle, who falls in love with a
beautiful woman, already the wife of another man. He flies from
temptation and does not return until she is the other man’s widow; then
woos and weds her.—Miriam Coles Harris, _A Perfect Adonis_ (1875).
=Fell= (_Dr._). Tom Brown, being in disgrace, was sent by Dr. Fell, dean
of Christ Church (1625-1686), to translate the thirty-third epigram of
Martial.
Non amo te, Zabidi, nec possum dicere quare;
Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te.
Which he rendered thus:
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell—
The reason why I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell.
=Feltham= (_Black_), a highwayman with Captain Colepepper or Peppercull
(the Alsatian bully).—Sir W. Scott, _Fortunes of Nigel_ (time, James
I.).
=Femmes Savantes= (_Les_), women who go in for women’s rights, science,
and philosophy, to the neglect of domestic duties and wifely amenities.
The “blue-stockings” are (1) Philaminte (3 _syl._) the mother of
Henriette, who discharges one of her servants because she speaks
ungrammatically; (2) Armande (2 _syl._) sister of Henriette, who
advocates platonic love and science; and (3) Bélise, sister of
Philaminte, who sides with her in all things, but imagines that every
one is in love with her. Henriette, who has no sympathy with these
“lofty flights,” is in love with Clitandre, but Philaminte wants her to
marry Trissotin, a _bel esprit_. However, the father loses his property
through the “savant” proclivities of his wife, Trissotin retires, and
Clitandre marries Henriette, the “perfect” or thorough woman.—Moliere,
_Les Femmes Savantes_ (1672).
=Fenella=, _alias_ Zarah (daughter of Edward Christian), a pretended
deaf and dumb fairy-like attendant on the countess of Derby. The
character seems to have been suggested by that of Mignon, the Italian
girl in Goethê’s _Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship._—Sir W. Scott,
_Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
Let be _tableaux vivants_, and I will appear as
“Fenella.”
Percy Fitzgerald, _Parvenu Family_, iii. 224.
_Fenella_, a deaf and dumb girl, sister of Masaniello the fisherman. She
was seduced by Alfonso, son of the Duke of Arcos; and Masaniello
resolved to kill him. He accordingly headed an insurrection, and met
with such great success that the mob made him chief magistrate of
Portici, but afterwards shot him. Fenella, on hearing of her brother’s
death, threw herself into the crater of Vesuvius.—Auber, _Masaniello_
(an opera, 1831).
=Fenris=, the demon wolf of Niflheim. When he gapes one jaw touches the
earth and the other heaven. This monster will swallow up Odin at the day
of doom. (Often but incorrectly written FENRIR.)—_Scandinavian
Mythology_.
=Fenton=, clever fellow who makes caricatures while Browning is read,
and when called upon for the substance of his notes by the president of
the Club, rises with perfect coolness and pronounces opinion upon the
poem.—Arlo Bates, _The Philistines_ (1889).
_Fenton_, the lover of Anne Page, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Page,
gentle-folks living at Windsor. Fenton is of good birth, and seeks to
marry a fortune to “heal his poverty.” In “sweet Anne Page” he soon
discovers that which makes him love her for herself more than for her
money.—Shakespeare, _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc. 4 (1601).
=Ferad-Artho,= son of Cairbre and only surviving descendant of the line
of Conar (the first king of Ireland.) On the death of Cathmor (brother
of the rebel Cairbar) in battle, Ferad-Artho was placed by Fingal on the
throne as “king of Ireland.” The race was thus: (1) Conar (a
Caledonian); (2) Cormac I., his son; (3) Cairbre, his son; (4) Artho,
his son; (5) Cormac II., his son, (a minor); (6) Ferad-Artho, his
cousin.—Ossian, _Temora_, vii.
=Fer´amorz,= the young Cashmerian poet who relates poetical tales to
Lalla Rookh on her journey from Delhi to Lesser Bucharĭa. Lalla is going
to be married to the young sultan, but falls in love with the poet. On
the wedding morn she is led to her bridegroom, and finds with
unspeakable joy that the poet is the sultan himself.—T. Moore, _Lalla
Rookh_ (1817).
=Ferda=, son of Damman, chief of a hundred hills in Albion. Ferda was
the friend of Cuthullin, general of the Irish forces in the time of king
Cormac I. Deuga´la (spouse of Cairbar) loved the youth, and told her
husband if he would not divide the herd she would no longer live with
him. Cuthullin, being appointed to make the division, enraged the lady
by assigning a snow-white bull to the husband, whereupon Duegala induced
her lover to challenge Cuthullin to mortal combat. Most unwillingly the
two friends fought, and Ferda fell. “The sunbeam of battle fell—the
first of Cuthullin’s friends. Unhappy [_unlucky_] is the hand of
Cuthullin since the hero fell.”—Ossian, _Fingal_, ii.
=Ferdinand=, king of Navarre. He agreed with three young lords to spend
three years in severe study, during which time no woman was to approach
his court; but no sooner was the agreement made than he fell in love
with the princess of France. In consequence of the death of her father,
the lady deferred the marriage for twelve months and a day.
... the sole inheritor
Of all perfections that a man may owe [_own_]
Matchless Navarre.
Shakespeare, _Love’s Labor’s Lost_ (1594).
_Fer´dinand,_ son of Alonso, king of Naples. He falls in love with
Miranda, daughter of Prospero, the exiled duke of Milan.—Shakespeare,
_The Tempest_ (1609).
Haply so
Miranda’s hope had pictured Ferdinand
Long ere the gaunt wave tossed him on the shore.
Lowell.
_Ferdinand_, a fiery young Spaniard, in love with Leonora.—Jephson, _Two
Strings to your Bow_ (1792).
_Ferdinand_ (_Don_), the son of Don Jerome of Seville, in love with
Clara d’Almanza, daughter of Don Guzman.—Sheridan, _The Duenna_ (1773).
=Ferdinan´do,= a brave soldier who having won the battle of Tari´fa, in
1340, was created Count of Zamo´ra and Marquis of Montreal. The king,
Alfonso XI., knowing his love for Leonora de Guzman, gave him the bride
in marriage; but no sooner was this done than Ferdinando discovered that
she was the king’s mistress, so he at once repudiated her, restored his
ranks and honors to the king, and retired to the monastry of St. James
de Compostella. Leonora entered the same monastery as a novice, obtained
the pardon of Ferdinando, and died.—Donizetti, _La Favori´ta_ (1842).
=Fergus= (_Derrick_). Engineer in the coalpits of Lancashire. “A young
son of Anak, brains and muscle evenly balanced and fully developed.” Is
interested in Joan Lowrie and at last wins her to a promise “to work an’
strive to make herself worthy of the man she loves.”—Frances Hodgson
Burnett, _That Lass of Lowrie’s_ (1877).
_Fergus_, fourth son of Fingal, and the only one that had issue at the
death of his father. Ossian, the eldest brother, had a son named Oscar,
but Oscar was slain at a feast by Cairbar “Lord of Atha;” and of the
other two brothers, Fillan was slain before he had married, and Ryno,
though married, died without issue.
According to tradition, Fergus (son of Fingal) was the father of Congal;
Congal of Arcath; and Arcath of Fergus II., with whom begins the real
history of the Scots.—Ossian.
_Fergus_, son of Rossa, a brave hero in the army of Cuthullin, general
of the Irish tribes.
Fergus first in our joy at the feast; son of Rossa; arm of
death.—Ossian, _Fingal_, i.
=Fern= (_Fanny_) the pseudonym of Sarah Payson Willis, sister of N.P.
Willis. She married James Parton, the author. (1811-1872).
_Fern_ (_Will_), a poor fellow who, being found asleep in a shed, is
brought before Alderman Cute. He says emphatically “he must be put
down.” The poor fellow takes charge of his brother’s child, and is both
honest and kind, but, alas! he dared to fall asleep in a shed, an
offence which must be “put down.”— C. Dickens, _The Chimes_, third
quarter (1844).
=Fernan Calbal´lero,= the pseudonym of Cecilia Böhl de Faber, a Spanish
novelist (1797-1877).
=Fernando=, son of John of Procĭda, and husband of Isoline (3 _syl._),
daughter of the French governor of Messina. The butchery of the Sicilian
Vespers occurred the night after their espousals. Fernando was among the
slain, and Isoline died of a broken heart.—S. Knowles, _John of Procida_
(1840).
_Fernando_ (_Don_), youngest son of the Duke Ricardo. Gay, handsome,
generous, and polite; but faithless to his friend Cardenio, for,
contrary to the lady’s inclination, and in violation of every principle
of honor, he prevailed on Lucinda’s father to break off the betrothal
between his daughter and Cardenio, and to bestow the lady on himself. On
the wedding day Lucinda was in a swoon, and a letter informed the
bridegroom that she was married already to Cardenio; she then left the
house privately, and retired to a convent. Don Fernando, having entered
the convent, carries her off, but stopping at an inn, found there
Dorothea his wife, with Cardenio the husband of Lucinda, and the two
parties paired off with their respective spouses.—Cervantes, _Don
Quixote_, I. iv. (1605).
_Fernan´do,_ a Venetian captain, servant to Annophel (daughter of the
governor of Candy).—Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Laws of Candy_ (1647).
_Fernan´do_ [FLORESTAN], a State prisoner of Seville, married to
Leonora, who (in boy’s attire and under the name of Fidēlio) became the
servant of Rocco the jailer. Pizarro, governor of the jail, conceived a
hatred to the State prisoner, and resolved to murder him, so Rocco and
Leonora were sent to dig his grave. The arrival of the minister of State
put an end to the infamous design, and Fernando was set at
liberty.—Beethoven, _Fidelio_ (1791).
=Ferney= (_The Patriarch of_), Voltaire; so called because he lived in
retirement at Ferney, near Geneva (1694-1778).
=Ferquhard Day=, the absentee from the Clan Chattan at the combat.—Sir
W. Scott, _Fair Maid of Perth_ (time, Henry IV.).
=Fer´racute,= a giant who had the strength of forty men, and was
thirty-six feet high. He was slain by Orlando, who wounded him in the
navel, his only vulnerable part.—Turpin, _Chronicle of Charlemagne_.
⁂ Ferracute is the prototype of Pulci’s “Morgante,” in his serio-comic
poem entitled _Morgante Maggiore_ (1494).
=Fer´ragus=, the Portuguese giant, who took Bellisant under his care
after her divorce from Alexander, emperor of Constantinople.—_Valentine
and Orson_ (fifteenth century).
My sire’s tall form might grace the part
Of Ferragus or Ascapart.
Sir W. Scott.
=Fer´ramond= (_Sir_), a knight, whose lady-love was Lucĭda.
=Ferrand de Vaudemont= (_Count_), duc de Lorraine, son of René, king of
Provence. He first appears disguised as Laurence Neipperg.—Sir W. Scott,
_Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
=Ferrardo= [GONZAGA], reigning duke of Mantua in the absence of his
cousin Leonardo. He was a villain, and tried to prove Mariana (the bride
of Leonardo) guilty of adultery. His scheme was this: He made Julian St.
Pierre drunk with drugged wine, and in his sleep conveyed him to the
duke’s bed, throwing his scarf under the bed of the duchess, which was
in an adjoining chamber. He then revealed these proofs of guilt to his
cousin Leonardo, but Leonardo refused to believe in his wife’s guilt,
and Julian St. Pierre exposed the whole scheme of villainy, amply
vindicating the innocence of Mariana, who turned out to be Julian’s
sister.—S. Knowles, _The Wife_ (1833).
=Ferrau=, a Saracen, son of Landfu´sa. Having dropped his helmet in a
river, he vowed never to wear another till he won that worn by Orlando.
Orlando slew him by a wound in the navel, his only vulnerable
part.—Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Ferraugh= (_Sir_), introduced in bk. iii. 8, but without a name, as
carrying off the false Florimel from Braggadoccio. In bk. iv. 2, the
name is given. He is there overthrown by Sir Blandamour, who takes away
with him the false Florimel, the lady of snow and wax.—Spenser, _Faëry
Queen_ (1590, 1596).
=Ferret=, an avaricious, mean-spirited slanderer, who blasts by
innuendoes, and blights by hints and cautions. He hates young Heartall,
and misinterprets all his generous acts, attributing his benevolence to
hush-money. The rascal is at last found out and foiled.—Cherry, _The
Soldier’s Daughter_ (1804).
=Ferrex=, eldest son of Gorboduc, a legendary king of Britain. Being
driven by his brother Porrex from the kingdom, he returned with a large
army, but was defeated and slain by Porrex.—_Gorboduc_, a tragedy by
Thom. Norton and Thom. Sackville (1561).
=Ferris= (_Henry_). Artist and American consul at Venice. In love with
Florida Vervain, but believes her infatuated by an Italian priest who
longs to leave his vocation. He learns the truth at the priest’s
death-bed. Finds Florida in New York, explains, receives absolution and
is married.—W.D. Howells, _A Foregone Conclusion_ (1874).
=Ferrol=. Northern man of letters who makes “a study” of Louisiana and
Louisiana’s father. The honest planter surveys him with curiosity as “‘a
littery man. I had an idee that thar was only one on ye now an’
ag’in—jest now an’ ag’in.’ Ferrol did not smile at all. His manner was
perfect—so full of interest that Mr. Rogers quite warmed and expanded
under it.”—Frances Hodgson Burnett, _Louisiana_ (1880).
=Fetnab= (“_a tormentor of hearts_”), the favorite of the Caliph
Haroun-al-Raschid. While the caliph was absent in his wars, Zobeidê (3
_syl._), the caliph’s wife, out of jealousy, ordered Fetnab to be buried
alive. Ganem happened accidentally to see the interment, rescued her,
and took her home to his own private lodgings in Bagdad. The caliph, on
his return, mourned for Fetnab; but receiving from her a letter of
explanation, he became jealous of Ganem, and ordered him to be put to
death. Ganem, however, contrived to escape. When the fit of jealousy was
over, the caliph heard the facts plainly stated, whereupon he released
Fetnab, and gave her in marriage to Ganem, and appointed the young man
to a very lucrative post about the court.—_Arabian Nights_, (“Ganem, the
slave of Love”).
=Fe´zon,= daughter of Savary, duke of Aquitaine. The Green Knight, who
was a pagan, demanded her in marriage, but Orson (brother of Valentine),
called “The Wild Man of the Forest,” overthrew the pagan and married
Fezon.—_Valentine and Orson_ (fifteenth century).
=Fiammetta,= a lady beloved by Boccaccio, supposed to be Maria, daughter
of Robert, king of Naples. (Italian, fiammetta, a little flame).
=Fib,= an attendant on Queen Mab.—Drayton, _Nymphidia_.
=Fiction.= _Father of Modern Prose Fiction_, Daniel Defoe (1663-1731).
=Fiddler= (_Oliver’s_). Sir Roger l’Estrange was so called, because at
one time he was playing a fiddle or viole in the house of John Hingston,
where Cromwell was one of the guests (1616-1704).
=Fiddler Joss,= Mr. Joseph Poole, a reformed drunkard, who subsequently
turned preacher in London, but retained his former sobriquet.
=Fide´le= (3 _syl._), the name assumed by Imogen, when, attired in boy’s
clothes, she started for Milford Haven to meet her husband
Posthŭmus.—Shakespeare, _Cymbeline_ (1605).
⁂ Collins has a beautiful elegy on “Fidele.”
=Fidelia,= “the foundling.” She is in reality Harriet, the daughter of
Sir Charles Raymond, but her mother dying in childbirth, she was
committed to the charge of a governante. The governante sold the child,
at the age of 12, to one Villiard, and then wrote to Sir Charles to say
that she was dead. One night, Charles Belmont, passing by, heard cries
of distress, and going to the rescue took the girl home as a companion
to his sister. He fell in love with her: the governante, on her
death-bed, told the story of her birth; and Charles married the
foundling.—Ed. Moore, _The Foundling_ (1748).
=Fide´lio,= Leono´ra, wife of Fernando Florestan. She assumed the name
of Fidelio, and dressed in male attire when her husband was a state
prisoner, that she might enter the service of Rocco the jailer, and hold
intercourse with her husband.—Beethoven, _Fidelio_ (1791).
=Fides= (2 _syl._), mother of John of Leyden. Believing that the
prophet-ruler of Westphalia had caused her son’s death, she went to
Munster to curse him. Seeing the ruler pass, she recognized in him her
own son; but the son pretended not to know his mother, and Fidês, to
save him annoyance, professed to have made a mistake. She was put into a
dungeon, where John visited her, and when he set fire to his palace,
Fidês rushed into the flames, and both perished together.—Meyerbeer, _Le
Prophete_ (1849).
=Fidessa,= the companion of Sansfoy; but when the Red Cross Knight slew
that “faithless Saracen,” Fidessa told him she was the only daughter of
an emperor of Italy; that she was betrothed to a rich and wise king; and
that her betrothed being slain, she had set forth to find the body, in
order that she might decently inter it. She said that in her wanderings
Sansfoy had met her and compelled her to be his companion: but she
thanked the knight for having come to her rescue. The Red Cross Knight,
wholly deluded by this plausible tale, assured Fidessa of his sympathy
and protection: but she turned out to be Duessa, the daughter of
Falsehood and Shame. The sequel must be sought under the word
DUESSA.—Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, i. 2 (1590).
=Fido,= Faith personified, the foster-son of Acŏë (“hearing,” _Rom._ x.
17); his foster-sister is Meditation. Fully described in canto ix. of
_The Purple Island_ (1633), by Phineas Fletcher. (Latin, _fidês_,
“faith.”)
=Field of the Forty Footsteps,= at the back of the British Museum, once
called Southampton Fields. The tradition is that two brothers, in the
Monmouth rebellion, took different sides, and engaged each other in
fight. Both were killed, and forty impressions of their feet were
traceable in the field for years afterwards.
⁂ The Misses Porter wrote a novel called _The Field of the Forty
Footsteps_, and the Messrs. Mayhew took the same subject for a
melodrama.
=Fielding= (_Mrs._), a little querulous old lady with a peevish face,
who, in consequence of having once been better off, or of laboring under
the impression that she might have been, if something in the indigo
trade had happened differently, was very genteel and patronizing indeed.
When she dressed for a party, she wore gloves, and a cap of state
“almost as tall, and quite as stiff as a mitre.”
_May Fielding_, her daughter, very pretty and innocent. She was engaged
to Edward Plummer, but heard that he had died in South America, and
consented to marry Tackleton the toy merchant. A few days before the day
fixed for the wedding, Edward Plummer returned, and they were married.
Tackleton gave them as a present the cake he had ordered for his own
wedding feast.—C. Dickens, _The Cricket on the Hearth_ (1845).
=Fielding of the Drama,= George Farquhar, author of _The Beaux’
Stratagem_, etc. (1678-1707).
=Fielding’s Proverbs.= These were in reality compiled by W. Henry
Ireland, the Shakespeare impostor, who published _Miscellaneous Papers
and Instruments, under the hand and seal of William Shakespeare,
including the tragedy of King Lear and a small fragment of Hamlet, from
the original_, 1796, folio, £4 4_s_. The whole was a barefaced forgery.
=Fierabras= (_Sir_) [_Fe.ā´.ra.brah_], a Saracen of Spain, who made
himself master of Rome, and carried away the crown of thorns and the
balsam with which the Lord had been embalmed. His chief exploit was to
slay the giant who guarded the bridge of Mantible, which had thirty
arches, all of black marble. Bal´and of Spain assumed the name of Sir
Fierabras.
_Balsam of Fierabras_, the balsam used in embalming the body of Christ,
stolen by Sir Fierabras. It possessed such virtues that one single drop,
taken internally, sufficed to heal the most malignant wound.
=Fierabras of Alexandria,= the greatest giant that ever walked the
earth. He possessed all Babylon, even to the Red Sea, was seigneur of
Russia, lord of Cologne, master of Jerusalem, and of the Holy Sepulchre.
This huge giant ended his days in the odor of sanctity, “meek as a lamb,
and humble as he was meek.”
=Fierce= (_The_), Alexander I. of Scotland, so called from the
impetuosity of his temper (*, 1107-1124).
=Fiesco,= the chief character of Schiller’s tragedy so called. The poet
makes Fiesco to be killed by the hand of Verri´na the republican; but
history says his death was the result of a stumble from a plank (1783).
=Fig´aro=, a barber of extraordinary cunning, dexterity, and
intrigue.—Beaumarchais, _Barbier de Séville_ (1775).
_Fig´aro_, a valet, who outwits every one by his dexterity and
cunning.—Beaumarchais, _Mariage de Figaro_ (1784).
⁂ Several operas have been founded on these two comedies: _e.g._
Mozart’s _Nozze di Figaro_ (1786); Paisiello’s _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_
(1810); Rossini’s _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_ (1816).
_Fig´aro,_ the sweetheart of Susan (favorite waiting-woman of the
Countess Almaviva). Figaro is never so happy as when he has two or three
plots in hand.—T. Holcroft, _The Follies of a Day_ (1745-1809).
=Fighting Prelate= (_The_), Henry Spencer, bishop of Norwich. He opposed
the rebels under Wat Tyler with the temporal sword, absolved them, and
then sent them to the gibbet. In 1383 he went to assist the burghers of
Ghent in their contest with the count of Flanders.
The bishop of Norwich, the famous “Fighting Prelate,” had led an army
into Flanders.—Lord Campbell.
=Filch=, a lad brought up as a pick-pocket. Mrs. Peachum says, “He hath
as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman, and is as nimble-fingered
as a juggler. If an unlucky session does not cut the rope of thy life, I
pronounce, boy, thou wilt be a great man in history” (act i. 1).—Gay,
_The Beggar’s Opera_ (1727).
=Fi´ler=, a lean, churlish man, who takes poor Toby Veck’s tripe,
and delivers him a homily on the sinfulness of luxury and
self-indulgence.—C. Dickens, _The Chimes_ (1844).
=Filia Doloro´sa=, the Duchess d’Angoulême, daughter of Louis XVI. Also
called “The Modern Antig´onê” (1778-1851).
=Fillan=, son of Fingal and Clatho, the most highly finished character
in the poem of _Tem´ora_. Fillan was younger than his nephew Oscar, and
does not appear on the scene until after Oscar’s death. He is rash and
fiery, eager for military glory, and brave as a lion. When Fingal
appointed Gaul to command for the day, Fillan had hoped his father’s
choice might have fallen to his own lot. “On his spear stood the son of
Clatho ... thrice he raised his eyes to Fingal; his voice thrice failed
him as he spoke ... He strode away; bent over a distant stream ... the
tear hung in his eye. He struck at times the thistle’s head with his
inverted spear.” Yet showed he no jealousy, for when Gaul was in danger,
he risked his own life to save him. Next day was Fillan’s turn to lead,
and his deeds were unrivalled in dash and brilliancy. He slew Foldath,
the general of the opposing army, but when Cathmor, “Lord of Atha,” the
commander-in-chief, came against him, Fillan fell. His modesty was then
as prominent as his bravery. “Lay me,” he said to Ossian, “in that
hollow rock. Raise no stone above me ... I am fallen in the first of my
fields, fallen without renown.” Every incident of Fillan’s life is
beautiful in the extreme.—Ossian, _Temora_, v.
=Filippo= (_Don_). In love with Camilla, heroine of _Signor Monaldini’s
Niece_. His wife is insane, and he suffers himself to become enamored of
this young girl, who repels him with holy, heroic words. His conscience
comes to his aid when she appeals to him. While he hesitates to speak
the words of parting, she springs into a pool beside them, and is to all
appearance drowned. While she lies unconscious, a telegram is brought,
saying that his wife is dead. Camilla revives, after a long period of
insensibility, and all is well.—Mary Agnes Tincker, _Signor Monaldini’s
Niece_, (1879).
=Fillpot= (_Toby_), a thirsty old soul, who “among jolly topers bore off
the bell.” It chanced as in dog-days he sat boosing in his arbor, that
he died “full as big as a Dorchester butt.” His body turned to clay, and
out of the clay a brown jug was made, sacred to friendship, mirth, and
mild ale.
His body, when long in the ground it had lain,
And time into clay had resolved it again,
A potter found out in its covert so snug,
And with part of fat Toby he formed this brown jug,
Now sacred to friendship, to mirth, and mild ale.
So here’s to my lovely sweet Nan of the vale.
Rev. Francis Fawkes (1721-1777).
⁂ The two best drinking songs in the language were both by clergymen.
The other is, _I Cannot Eat but Little Meat_, by John Still, bishop of
Bath and Wells (1534-1607).
=Filome´na= (_Santa_). At Pisa the church of San Francisco contains a
chapel lately dedicated to Santa Filomena. Over the altar is a picture
by Sabatelli, which represents Filomena as a nymph-like figure floating
down from heaven, attended by two angels bearing the lily, the palm, and
a javelin. In the fore-ground are the sick and maimed, healed by her
intercession.
Nor ever shall be wanting here
The palm, the lily, and the spear:
The symbols that of yore
St. Filomena bore
Longfellow, _St. Filomena_.
⁂ Longfellow calls Florence Nightingale “St. Filomena” (born at
Florence, 1820).
=Finality John,= Lord John Russell (afterwards “Earl Russell”), who
maintained that the Reform Bill of 1832 was a _finality_ (1792-1878).
=Finch= (_Margaret_), queen of the gypsies, who died aged 109, a.d.
1740. She was born at Sutton, in Kent, and was buried at Beckenham, in
the same county.
_Finch_ (_Lucilla_). Blind girl whose sight is restored for a little
while. The man she has loved while blind has received injuries that make
him repulsive to the eye. His crafty brother contrives that the girl
shall mistake him for her betrothed. A series of complications has a
climax in the return of Miss Finch’s blindness, after which matters
resume the former course and she marries the right man.—Wilkie Collins,
_Poor Miss Finch_.
=Fine-ear,= one of the seven attendants of Fortunio. He could hear the
grass grow, and even the wool on the sheep’s back.—Comtesse D’Aunoy,
_Fairy Tales_ (“Fortunio,” 1682).
⁂ In Grimm’s _Goblin’s_ is the same fairy tale (“Fortunio”).
=Fin´etor,= a necromancer, father of the Enchantress Damsel.—Vasco de
Lobeira, _Amadis de Gaul_ (thirteenth century).
=Finetta,= “the cinder girl,” a fairy tale by the Comtesse D’Aunoy
(1682). This is merely the old tale of Cinderella slightly altered.
Finetta was the youngest of three princesses, despised by them, and put
to all sorts of menial work. The two sisters went to balls, and left
Finetta at home in charge of the house. One day she found a gold key,
which opened a wardrobe full of most excellent dresses; so arraying
herself in one, she followed her sisters to the ball, but she was so
fine that they knew her not, and she ran home before them. This occurred
two or three times, but at last, in running home, she lost one of her
slippers. The young prince resolved to marry her whose foot fitted the
slipper, and Finetta became his wife. Finetta was also called Auricula
or “Fine-ear.”
=Fingal= (or _Fion na Gael_).
His _father_ was Comhal or Combal, and his _mother_ Morna.
(Comhal was the son of Trathal, king of Morven, and Morna was the
daughter of Thaddu.)
His first _wife_ was Roscrana, mother of Ossian. His second was Clatho,
mother of Fillan, etc.
(Roscrana was the daughter of Cormac I. third king of Ireland).
His _daughter_ was Bosmi´na, and his _sons_ Ossian, Fillan, Ryno, and
Fergus. (The son of Ossian was Oscar.)
(Fillan was younger than his nephew Oscar, and both, together with Ryno,
were slain in battle before Fingal died.)
His _bard_ and _herald_ was Ullin. His _sword_ Luno, so called from its
maker, Luno of Locklin (_Denmark_).
His _kingdom_ was Morven (_The northwest coast of Scotland_); his
_capital_ Semo; his _subjects_ were Caledonians or Gaels.
After the restoration of Ferad-Artho to the throne of Ireland, Fingal
“resigned his spear to Ossian,” and died A.D. 283.
_Fingal_, an epic in six books, by Ossian. The subject is the invasion
of Ireland by Swaran, king of Lochlin (_Denmark_) during the reign of
Cormac II. (a minor), and its deliverance by the aid of Fingal, king of
Morven (_northwest coast of Scotland_). The poem opens with the
overthrow of Cuthullin, general of the Irish forces, and concludes with
the return of Swaran to his own land.
=Finger.= “Little finger tell me true.” When M. Argan wishes to pump his
little daughter Louison, respecting a young gentleman who pays
attentions to her elder sister, he says to the child, “Prenez-y bien
garde au moins; car voilà un petit doigt, qui sait tout, qui me dira si
vous mentez.” When the child has told him all she knows, he puts his
little finger to his ear and says, “Voilà mon petit doigt pourtant qui
gronde quelque chose. Attendez! Hé! Ah, ah! Oui? Oh, oh! voila mon petit
doigt, qui me dit quelque chose que vous avez vu et que vous ne m’avez
pas dit.” To which the child replies, “Ah! mon papa, votre petit doigt
est un menteur.”—Molière, _Le Malade Imaginaire_, ii. 11 (1673).
=Finis Poloniæ.= These words are attributed (but without sufficient
authority) to Koscziusko the Pole, when he lay wounded by the balls of
Suwaroff’s troops on the field of Maciejowieze (October 10, 1794).
Percé de coups, Koscziusko s’écria en tombant “Finis
Poloniæ.”—Michaud, _Biographie Universelle_.
=Finlayson= (_Luckie_), landlady of the lodgings in the Canongate of
Edinburgh.—Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).
=Fin´niston= (_Duncan_), a tenant of the laird of Gudgeonford.
_Luckie Finniston_, wife of Duncan.—Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time,
George II.).
=Fion= (son of Comnal), an enormous giant, who could place one foot on
Mount Cromleach, in Ulster, and the other on Mount Crommal, close by,
and then dip his hand in the river Lubar, which ran between.
With one foot on the Crommal set and one on Mount Cromleach,
The waters of the Lubar stream his giant hand could reach.
_Translation of the Gaelic._
=Fiona,= a series of traditionary old Irish poems on the subject of Fion
M’Comnal and the heroes connected with him.
=Fionnua´la,= daughter of Lir. Being transformed into a swan, she was
doomed to wander over the lakes and rivers of Ireland till the Irish
became Christians, but the sound of the first mass bell in the island
was to be the signal of her release.
Silent, O Moyle, be the roar of thy water [_County Tyrone_] ...
While murmuring mournfully Lir’s lonely daughter
Tells to the night-star her tale of woes.
When shall the “Swan,” her death-note singing,
Sleep with wings in darkness furled?
When will heaven, its sweet “bell” ringing,
Call my spirit from this stormy world?
T. Moore, _Irish Melodies_, iv. (“The Song of Fionnuala”).
=Fips= (_Mr_.), a sedate, mysterious personage, living in an office in
Austin Friars (London). He is employed by some unknown benefactor
(either John Westlock or old Martin Chuzzlewit) to engage Tom Pinch at a
weekly salary as librarian to the Temple Library.—C. Dickens, _Martin
Chuzzlewit_ (1844).
=Fir-bolg= (_i.e._ _bowmen_, from _bolg_, “a quiver”), a colony of Belgæ
from Britain, led by Larthon to Ireland and settled in the southern
parts of the island. Their chief was called “lord of Atha” (a country of
Connaught), and thence Ireland was called Bolga. Somewhat later a colony
of Caledonians from the western coast of Scotland settled in the
northern parts of Ireland, and made Ulster their headquarters. When
Crotha was “lord of Atha” he carried off Conlama (daughter of the Cael
chief) by force, and a general war between the two races ensued. The
Cael were reduced to the last extremity, and sent to Trathal
(grandfather of Fingal) for aid. Trathal accordingly sent over Conar
with an army, and on his reaching Ulster he was made “king of the Cael”
by acclamation. He utterly subdued the Fir-bolg, and assumed the title
of “king of Ireland;” but the Fir-bolg often rose in insurrection, and
made many attempts to expel the race of Conar.—Ossian.
=Fire-Brand of France= (_The_) John duke of Bedford, regent of France
(1389-1435).
John, duke of Bedford, styled the “Firebrand of France.”