[1] He had lost his first wife, Frances Smith; and later he had a
third wife, Mary, daughter of Sir John Coke and widow of Sir Edward
Hartopp.
FLEETWOOD, WILLIAM (1656-1723), English divine, was descended of an
ancient Lancashire family, and was born in the Tower of London on New
Year's Day 1656. He received his education at Eton and at King's
College, Cambridge. About the time of the Revolution he took orders, and
was shortly afterwards made rector of St Austin's, London, and lecturer
of St Dunstan's in the West. He became a canon of Windsor in 1702, and
in 1708 he was nominated to the see of St Asaph, from which he was
translated in 1714 to that of Ely. He died at Tottenham, Middlesex, on
the 4th of August 1723. Fleetwood was regarded as the best preacher of
his time. He was accurate in learning, and effective in delivery, and
his character stood deservedly high in general estimation. In episcopal
administration he far excelled most of his contemporaries. He was a
zealous Hanoverian, and a favourite with Queen Anne in spite of his
Whiggism. His opposition to the doctrine of non-resistance brought him
into conflict with the tory ministry of 1712 and with Swift, but he
never entered into personal controversy.
His principal writings are---_An Essay on Miracles_ (1701); _Chronicum
preciosum_ (an account of the English coinage, 1707); and _Free
Sermons_ (1712), containing discourses on the death of Queen Mary,
the duke of Gloucester and King William. The preface to this last was
condemned to public burning by parliament, but, as No. 384 of _The
Spectator_, circulated more widely than ever. A collected edition of
his works, with a biographical preface, was published in 1737.
FLEETWOOD, a seaport and watering-place in the Blackpool parliamentary
division of Lancashire, England, at the mouth of the Wyre, 230 m. N.W.
by N. from London, the terminus of a joint branch of the London &
North-Western and Lancashire & Yorkshire railways. Pop. (1891) 9274;
(1901) 12,082. It dates its rise from 1836, and takes its name from Sir
Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, by whom it was laid out. The seaward views,
especially northward over Morecambe Bay, are fine, but the neighbouring
country is flat and of little interest. The two railways jointly are the
harbour authority. The dock is provided with railways and machinery for
facilitating traffic, including a large grain elevator. The shipping
traffic is chiefly in the coasting and Irish trade. Passenger steamers
serve Belfast and Londonderry regularly, and the Isle of Man and other
ports during the season. The fisheries are important, and there are
salt-works in the neighbourhood. There is a pleasant promenade, with
other appointments of a watering-place. There are also barracks with a
military hospital and a rifle range. Rossall school, to the S.W., is one
of the principal public schools in the north of England. Rossall Hall
was the seat of Sir Peter Fleetwood, but was converted to the uses of
the school on its foundation in 1844. The school is primarily divided
into classical and modern sides, with a special department for
preparation for army, navy or professional examinations. A number of
entrance scholarships and leaving scholarships tenable at the
universities are offered annually. The number of boys is about 350.
FLEGEL, EDWARD ROBERT (1855-1886), German traveller in West Africa, was
born on the 1st of October 1855 at Wilna, Russia. After receiving a
commercial education he obtained in 1875 a position in Lagos, West
Africa. In 1879 he ascended the Benue river some 125 m. above the
farthest point hitherto reached. His careful survey of the channel
secured him a commission from the German African Society to explore the
whole Benue district. In 1880 he went up the Niger to Gomba, and then
visited Sokoto, where he obtained a safe-conduct from the sultan for his
intended expedition to Adamawa. This expedition was undertaken in 1882,
and on the 18th of August in that year Flegel discovered the source of
the Benue at Ngaundere. In 1883-1884 he made another journey up the
Benue, crossing for the second time the Benue-Congo watershed. After a
short absence in Europe Flegel returned to Africa in April 1885 with a
commission from the German African Company and the Colonial Society to
open up the Niger-Benue district to German trade. This expedition had
the support of Prince Bismarck, who endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to
obtain for Germany this region, already secured as a British sphere of
influence by the National African Company (the Royal Niger Company).
Flegel, despite a severe illness, ascended the Benue to Yola, but was
unable to accomplish his mission. He returned to the coast and died at
Brass, at the mouth of the Niger, on the 11th of September 1886. (See
further GOLDIE, SIR GEORGE.)
Flegel wrote _Lose Blatter aus dem Tagebuche meiner Haussaafreunde_
(Hamburg, 1885), and _Vom Niger-Benue. Briefe aus Afrika_ (edited by
K. Flegel, Leipzig, 1890).
FLEISCHER, HEINRICH LEBERECHT (1801-1888), German Orientalist, was born
at Schandau, Saxony, on the 21st of February 1801. From 1819 to 1824 he
studied theology and oriental languages at Leipzig, subsequently
continuing his studies in Paris. In 1836 he was appointed professor of
oriental languages at Leipzig University, and retained this post till
his death. His most important works were editions of Abulfeda's
_Historia ante-Islamica_ (1831-1834), and of Beidhawi's _Commentary on
the Koran_ (1846-1848). He compiled a catalogue of the oriental MSS, in
the royal library at Dresden (1831); published an edition and German
translation of Ali's _Hundred Sayings_ (1837); the continuation of
Babicht's edition of _The Thousand and One Nights_ (vols. ix.-xii.,
1842-1843); and an edition of Mahommed Ibrihim's _Persian Grammar_
(1847). He also wrote an account of the Arabic, Turkish and Persian MSS.
at the town library in Leipzig. He died there on the 10th of February
1888. Fleischer was one of the eight foreign members of the French
Academy of Inscriptions and a knight of the German _Ordre pour le
merite_.
FLEMING, PAUL (1609-1640), German poet, was born at Hartenstein in the
Saxon Erzgebirge, on the 5th of October 1609, the son of the village
pastor. At the age of fourteen he was sent to school at Leipzig and
subsequently studied medicine at the university. Driven away by the
troubles of the Thirty Years' War, he was fortunate enough to become
attached to an embassy despatched in 1634 by Duke Frederick of
Holstein-Gottorp to Russia and Persia, and to which the famous traveller
Adam Olearius was secretary. In 1639 the mission returned to Reval, and
here Fleming, having become betrothed, determined to settle as a
physician. He proceeded to Leiden to procure a doctor's diploma, but
died suddenly at Hamburg on his way home on the 2nd of April 1640.
Though belonging to the school of Martin Opitz, Fleming is distinguished
from most of his contemporaries by the ring of genuine feeling and
religious fervour that pervades his lyric poems, even his occasional
pieces. In the sonnet, his favourite form of verse, he was particularly
happy. Among his religious poems the hymn beginning "In allen meinen
Taten lass ich den Hochsten raten" is well known and widely sung.
Fleming's _Teutsche Poemata_ appeared posthumously in 1642; they are
edited by J.M. Lappenberg, in the Bibliothek des litterarischen
Vereins (2 vols., 1863; a third volume, 1866, contains Fleming's Latin
poems). Selections have been edited by J. Tittmann in the second
volume of the series entitled _Deutsche Dichter des siebzehnten
Jahrhunderts_ (Leipzig, 1870), and by H. Osterley (Stuttgart, 1885). A
life of the poet will be found in Varnhagen von Ense's _Biographische
Denkmale_, Bd. iv. (Berlin, 1826). See also J. Straumer, _Paul
Flemings Leben und Orientreise_ (1892); L.G. Wysocky, _De Pauli
Flemingi Germanice scriptis et ingenio_ (Paris, 1892).
FLEMING, RICHARD (d. 1431), bishop of Lincoln, and founder of Lincoln
College, Oxford, was born at Crofton in Yorkshire. He was descended from
a good family, and was educated at University College, Oxford. Having
taken his degrees, he was made prebendary of York in 1406, and the next
year was junior proctor of the university. About this time he became an
ardent Wycliffite, winning over many persons, some of high rank, to the
side of the reformer, and incurring the censure of Archbishop Arundel.
He afterwards became one of Wycliffe's most determined opponents. Before
1415 he was instituted to the rectory of Boston in Lincolnshire, and in
1420 he was consecrated bishop of Lincoln. In 1428-1429 he attended the
councils of Pavia and Siena, and in the presence of the pope, Martin V.,
made an eloquent speech in vindication of his native country, and in
eulogy of the papacy. It was probably on this occasion that he was named
chamberlain to the pope. To Bishop Fleming was entrusted the execution
of the decree of the council for the exhumation and burning of
Wycliffe's remains. The see of York being vacant, the pope conferred it
on Fleming; but the king (Henry V.) refused to confirm the appointment.
In 1427 Fleming obtained the royal licence empowering him to found a
college at Oxford for the special purpose of training up disputants
against Wycliffe's heresy. He died at Sleaford, on the 26th of January
1431. Lincoln College was, however, completed by his trustees, and its
endowments were afterwards augmented by various benefactors.
FLEMING, SIR SANDFORD (1827- ), Canadian engineer and publicist, was
born at Kirkcaldy, Scotland, on the 7th of January 1827, but emigrated
to Canada in 1845. Great powers of work and thoroughness in detail
brought him to the front, and he was from 1867 to 1880 chief engineer of
the Dominion government. Under his control was constructed the
Intercolonial railway, and much of the Canadian Pacific. After his
retirement in 1880 he devoted himself to the study of Canadian and
Imperial problems, such as the unification of time reckoning throughout
the world, and the construction of a state-owned system of telegraphs
throughout the British empire. After years of labour he saw the first
link forged in the chain, in the opening in 1902 of the Pacific Cable
between Canada and Australia. Though not a party man he strongly
advocated Federation in 1864-1867, and in 1891 vehemently attacked the
Liberal policy of unrestricted reciprocity with the United States. He
took the deepest interest in education, and in 1880 became chancellor of
Queen's University, Kingston.
He published _The Intercolonial: a History_ (Montreal and London,
1876); _England and Canada_ (London, 1884); and numerous _brochures_
and magazine articles on scientific, social and political subjects.
FLEMING, SIR THOMAS (1544-1613), English judge, was born at Newport,
Isle of Wight, in April 1544, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn
in 1574. He represented Winchester in parliament from 1584 to 1601, when
he was returned for Southampton. In 1594 he was appointed recorder of
London, and in 1595 was chosen solicitor-general in preference to Bacon.
This office he retained under James I. and was knighted in 1603. In 1604
he was created chief baron of the exchequer and presided over many
important state trials. In 1607 he was promoted to the chief justiceship
of the king's bench, and was one of the judges at the trial of the
_post-nati_ in 1608, siding with the majority of the judges in declaring
that persons born in Scotland after the accession of James I. were
entitled to the privileges of natural-born subjects in England. He was
praised by his contemporaries, more particularly Coke, for his "great
judgments, integrity and discretion." He died on the 7th of August 1613
at his seat, Stoneham Park, Hampshire.
See Foss, _Lives of the Judges_.
FLEMISH LITERATURE. The older Flemish writers are dealt with in the
article on DUTCH LITERATURE; after the separation of Belgium, however,
from the Netherlands in 1830 there was a great revival of Flemish
literature. The immediate result of the revolution was a reaction
against everything associated with Dutch, and a disposition to regard
the French language as the speech of liberty and independence. The
provisional government of 1830 suppressed the official use of the
Flemish language, which was relegated to the rank of a patois. For some
years before 1830 Jan Frans Willems[1] (1793-1846) had been advocating
the claims of the Flemish language. He had done his best to allay the
irritation between Holland and Belgium and to prevent a separation. As
archivist of Antwerp he made use of his opportunities by writing a
history of Flemish letters. After the revolution his Dutch sympathies
had made it necessary for him to live in seclusion, but in 1835 he
settled at Ghent, and devoted himself to the cultivation of Flemish. He
edited old Flemish classics, _Reinaert de Vos_ (1836), the rhyming
Chronicles of Jan van Heelu and Jan le Clerc, &c., and gathered round
him a band of Flemish enthusiasts, the chevalier Philipp Blommaert
(1809-1871), Karel Lodewijk Ledeganck (1805-1847), Fr. Rens (1805-1874),
F.A. Snellaert (1809-1872), Prudens van Duyse (1804-1859), and others.
Blommaert, who was born at Ghent on the 27th of August 1809, founded in
1834 in his native town the _Nederduitsche letteroefeningen_, a review
for the new writers, and it was speedily followed by other Flemish
organs, and by literary societies for the promotion of Flemish. In 1851
a central organization for the Flemish propaganda was provided by a
society, named after the father of the movement, the "Willemsfonds." The
Catholic Flemings founded in 1874 a rival "Davidsfonds," called after
the energetic J.B. David (1801-1866), professor at the university of
Louvain, and the author of a Flemish history of Belgium (_Vaderlandsche
historie_, Louvain, 1842-1866). As a result of this propaganda the
Flemish language was placed on an equality with French in law, and in
administration, in 1873 and 1878, and in the schools in 1883. Finally in
1886 a Flemish Academy was established by royal authority at Ghent,
where a course in Flemish literature had been established as early as
1854.
The claims put forward by the Flemish school were justified by the
appearance (1837) of _In't Wonderjaar_ 1566 (In the Wonderful year) of
Hendrik Conscience (q.v.), who roused national enthusiasm by describing
the heroic struggles of the Flemings against the Spaniards. Conscience
was eventually to make his greatest successes in the description of
contemporary Flemish life, but his historical romances and his popular
history of Flanders helped to give a popular basis to a movement which
had been started by professors and scholars.
The first poet of the new school was Ledeganck, the best known of whose
poems are those on the "three sister cities" of Bruges, Ghent and
Antwerp (_Die drie zustersteden, vaderlandsche trilogie_, Ghent, 1846),
in which he makes an impassioned protest against the adoption of French
ideas, manners and language, and the neglect of Flemish tradition. The
book speedily took its place as a Flemish classic. Ledeganck, who was a
magistrate, also translated the French code into Flemish. Jan Theodoor
van Rijswijck (1811-1849), after serving as a volunteer in the campaign
of 1830, settled down as a clerk in Antwerp, and became one of the
hottest champions of the Flemish movement. He wrote a series of
political and satirical songs, admirably suited to his public. The
romantic and sentimental poet, Jan van Beers (q.v.), was typically
Flemish in his sincere and moral outlook on life. Prudens van Duyse,
whose most ambitious work was the epic _Artavelde_ (1859), is perhaps
best remembered by a collection (1844) of poems for children. Peter
Frans Van Kerckhoven (1818-1857), a native of Antwerp, wrote novels,
poems, dramas, and a work on the Flemish revival (_De Vlaemsche
Beweging_, 1847).
Antwerp produced a realistic novelist in Jan Lambrecht Damien Sleeckx
(1818-1901). An inspector of schools by profession, he was an
indefatigable journalist and literary critic. He was one of the founders
in 1844 of the _Vlaemsch Belgie_, the first daily paper in the Flemish
interest. His works include a long list of plays, among them _Jan Steen_
(1852), a comedy; _Gretry_, which gained a national prize in 1861; _De
Visschers van Blankenberg_ (1863); and the patriotic drama of _Zannekin_
(1865). His talent as a novelist was diametrically opposed to the
idealism of Conscience. He was precise, sober and concrete in his
methods, relying for his effect on the accumulation of carefully
observed detail. He was particularly successful in describing the life
of the shipping quarter of his native town. Among his novels are: _In't
Schipperskwartier_ (1856), _Dirk Meyer_ (1860), _Tybaerts en K^ie_
(1867), _Kunst en Liefde_ ("Art and Love," 1870), and _Vesalius in
Spanje_ (1895). His complete works were collected in 17 vols.
(1877-1884).
Jan Renier Snieders (1812-1888) wrote novels dealing with North Brabant;
his brother, August Snieders (b. 1825), began by writing historical
novels in the manner of Conscience, but his later novels are satires on
contemporary society. A more original talent was displayed by Anton
Bergmann (1835-1874), who, under the pseudonym of "Tony," wrote _Ernest
Staas, Advocat_, which gained the quinquennial prize of literature in
1874. In the same year appeared the _Novellen_ of the sisters Rosalie
(1834-1875) and Virginie Loveling (b. 1836). These simple and touching
stories were followed by a second collection in 1876. The sisters had
published a volume of poems in 1870. Virginie Loveling's gifts of fine
and exact observation soon placed her in the front rank of Flemish
novelists. Her political sketches, _In onze Vlaamsche gewesten_ (1877),
were published under the name of "W.G.E. Walter." _Sophie_ (1885), _Een
dure Eed_ (1892), and _Het Land der Verbeelding_ (1896) are among the
more famous of her later works. Reimond Styns (b. 1850) and Isidoor
Teirlinck (b. 1851) produced in collaboration one very popular novel,
_Arm Vlaanderen_ (1884), and some others, and have since written
separately. Cyril Buysse, a nephew of Mme Loveling, is a disciple of
Zola. _Het Recht van den Sterkste_ ("The Right of the Strongest," 1893)
is a picture of vagabond life in Flanders; _Schoppenboer_ ("The Knave of
Spades," 1898) deals with brutalized peasant life; and _Sursum corda_
(1895) describes the narrowness and religiosity of village life.
In poetry Julius de Geyter (b. 1830), author of a rhymed translation of
_Reinaert_ (1874), an epic poem on Charles V. (1888), &c., produced a
social epic in three parts, _Drie menschen van in de wieg tot in het
graf_ ("Three Men from the Cradle to the Grave," 1861), in which he
propounded radical and humanitarian views. The songs of Julius Vuylsteke
(1836-1903) are full of liberal and patriotic ardour; but his later life
was devoted to politics rather than literature. He had been the leading
spirit of a students' association at Ghent for the propagation of
"_flamingant_" views, and the "Willemsfonds" owed much of its success to
his energetic co-operation. His _Uit het studenten leven_ appeared in
1868, and his poems were collected in 1881. The poems of Mme van Ackere
(1803-1884), _nee_ Maria Doolaeghe, were modelled on Dutch originals.
Joanna Courtmans (1811-1890), nee Berchmans, owed her fame rather to her
tales than her poems; she was above all a moralist, and her fifty tales
are sermons on economy and the practical virtues. Other poets were
Emmanuel Hiel (q.v.), author of comedies, opera libretti and some
admirable songs; the abbe Guido Gezelle (1830-1899), who wrote religious
and patriotic poems in the dialect of West Flanders; Lodewijk de Koninck
(b. 1838), who attempted a great epic subject in _Menschdon Verlost_
(1872); J.M. Dautzenberg (1808-1869), author of a volume of charming
_Volksliederen_. The best of Dautzenberg's work is contained in the
posthumous volume of 1869, published by his son-in-law, Frans de Cort
(1834-1878), who was himself a song-writer, and translated songs from
Burns, from Jasmin and from the German. The _Makamen en Ghazelen_
(1866), adapted from Ruckert's version of Hariri, and other volumes by
"Jan Ferguut" (J.A. van Droogenbroeck, b. 1835) show a growing
preoccupation with form, and with the work of Theodoor Antheunis (b.
1840), they prepare the way for the ingenious and careful workmanship of
the younger school of poets, of whom Charles Polydore de Mont is the
leader. He was born at Wambeke in Brabant in 1857, and became professor
in the academy of the fine arts at Antwerp. He introduced something of
the ideas and methods of contemporary French writers into Flemish verse;
and explained his theories in 1898 in an _Inleiding tot de Poezie_.
Among Pol de Mont's numerous volumes of verse dating from 1877 onwards
are _Claribella_ (1893), and _Iris_ (1894), which contains amongst other
things a curious "_Uit de Legende van Jeschoea-ben-Jossef_," a version
of the gospel story from a Jewish peasant.
Mention should also be made of the history of Ghent (_Gent van den
vroegsten Tijd tot heden_, 1882-1889) of Frans de Potter (b. 1834), and
of the art criticisms of Max Rooses (b. 1839), curator of the Plantin
museum at Antwerp, and of Julius Sabbe (b. 1846).
See Ida van Duringsfeld, _Von der Schelde bis zur Maas_. _Das geistige
Leben der Vlamingen_ (Leipzig, 3 vols., 1861); J. Stecher, _Histoire
de la litterature neerlandaise en Belgique_ (1886); _Geschiedenis der
Vlaamsche Letterkunde van het jaar 1830 tot heden_ (1899), by Theodoor
Coopman and L. Scharpe; A. de Koninck, _Bibliographie nationale_ (3
vols., 1886-1897); and _Histoire politique et litteraire du mouvement
flamand_ (1894), by Paul Hamelius. The _Vlaamsche Bibliographie_,
issued by the Flemish Academy of Ghent, by Frans de Potter, contains a
list of publications between 1830 and 1890; and there is a good deal
of information in the excellent _Biographisch woordenboeck der Noord-
en Zuid- Nederlandsche Letterkunde_ (1878) of Dr W.J.A. Huberts and
others. (E. G.)