The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 195

FALL, THE, the first transgression of divine law on the part of man, conceived of as involving the whole human race in the guilt of it, and represented as consisting in the wilful partaking of the fruit of the forbidden tree of the _knowledge_ of both good and evil. The story of the Fall in Genesis has in later times been regarded as a spiritual allegory, and simply the Hebrew attempt, one amongst many, to explain the origin of evil. It is worthy of note that a narrative, similar even to detail, exists in the ancient religious writings of the Hindus and Persians.

FALLOPIUS, GABRIELLO, anatomist, born at Modena; professor of Anatomy at Pisa and at Padua; the Fallopian tubes which connect the ovaries with the uterus, first accurately described by him, are called after his name, as also the duct which transmits the facial nerve after it leaves the auditory nerve (1523-1562).

FALLOUX, FReDeRIC ALFRED PIERRE, VICOMTE DE, author and statesman, born at Angers; member of the House of Deputies; favoured the revolutionaries of 1848, and under the Presidency of Louis Napoleon became Minister of Public Instruction; retired in 1849, and became a member of the French Academy (1857); author of a "History of Louis XVI."

and a "History of Pius V.," both characterised by a strong Legitimist bias (1811-1886).

FALMOUTH (13), a seaport on the Cornish coast, on the estuary of the Fal, 18 m. NE. of the Lizard; its harbour, one of the finest in England, is defended E. and W. by St. Mawes Castle and Pendennis Castle; pilchard fishing is actively engaged in, and there are exports of tin and copper.

FALSTAFF, SIR JOHN, a character in Shakespeare's "Henry IV." and the "Merry Wives of Windsor"; a boon companion of Henry, Prince of Wales; a cowardly braggart, of sensual habits and great corpulency. See FASTOLF.

FAMILIAR SPIRITS, certain supernatural beings presumed, agreeably to a very old belief (Lev. xix. 31), to attend magicians or sorcerers, and to be at their beck and call on any emergency.

FAMILISTS, or the Brotherhood of Love, a fanatical sect which arose in Holland in 1556, and affected to love all men as brothers.

FAMILY COMPACT, a compact concluded in 1761 between the Bourbons of France, Spain, and Italy to resist the naval power of England.

FAN, a light hand implement used to cause a draught of cool air to play upon the face; there are two kinds, the folding and non-folding; the latter, sometimes large and fixed on a pole, were known to the ancients, the former were invented by the j.a.panese in the 7th century, and became popular in Italy and Spain in the 16th century; but Paris soon took a lead in their manufacture, carrying them to their highest pitch of artistic perfection in the reign of Louis XIV.

FANARIOTS, the descendants of the Greeks of n.o.ble birth who remained in Constantinople after its capture by Mahomet II. in 1453, so called from Fanar, the quarter of the city which they inhabited; they rose at one time to great influence in Turkish affairs, though they have none now.

FANDANGO, a popular Spanish dance, specially in favour among the Andalusians; is in time, and is danced to the accompaniment of guitars and castanets.

FANS, an aboriginal tribe dwelling between the Gaboon and Ogoway Rivers, in western equatorial Africa; are brave and intelligent, and of good physique, but are addicted to cannibalism.

FANSHAWE, SIR RICHARD, diplomatist and poet, born at Ware Park, Hertford; studied at the Inner Temple, and after a Continental tour became attached to the English emba.s.sy at Madrid; sided with the Royalists at the outbreak of the Civil War; was captured at the battle of Worcester, but escaped and shared the exile of Charles II.; on the Restoration negotiated Charles's marriage with Catharine, and became amba.s.sador at the court of Philip IV. of Spain; translated Camoens's "Lusiad" and various cla.s.sical pieces (1608-1666).

FANTINE, one of the most heart-affecting characters in "Les Miserables" of Victor Hugo.

FANTIS, an African tribe on the Gold Coast, enemies of their conquerors the Ashantis; fought as allies of the British in the Ashanti War (1873-74), but, although of strong physique, proved cowardly allies.

FARAD, the unit of electrical energy, so called from Faraday.

FARADAY, MICHAEL, a highly distinguished chemist and natural philosopher, born at Newington b.u.t.ts, near London, of poor parents; received a meagre education, and at 13 was apprenticed to a bookseller, but devoted his evenings to chemical and electrical studies, and became a student under Sir H. Davy, who, quick to detect his ability, installed him as his a.s.sistant; in 1827 he succeeded Davy as lecturer at the Royal Inst.i.tution, and became professor of Chemistry in 1833; was pensioned in 1835, and in 1858 was allotted a residence in Hampton Court; in chemistry he made many notable discoveries, e. g. the liquefaction of chlorine, while in electricity and magnetism his achievements cover the entire field of these sciences, and are of the first importance (1791-1867).

FARAIZI, a Mohammedan sect formed in 1827, and met with chiefly in Eastern Bengal; they discard _tradition_, and accept the Koran as their sole guide in religious and spiritual concerns, in this respect differing from the Sunnites, with whom they have much else in common; although of a purer morality than the main body of Mohammedans, they are narrow and intolerant.

FAREL, WILLIAM, a Swiss reformer, born at Dauphine; introduced, in 1534, after two futile attempts, the reformed faith into Geneva, where he was succeeded in the management of affairs by John Calvin; he has been called the "pioneer of the Reformation in Switzerland and France"

(1489-1565).

FARIA Y SOUSA, MANUEL DE, a Portuguese poet and historian; entered the diplomatic service, and was for many years secretary to the Spanish emba.s.sy at Rome; was a voluminous writer of history and poetry, and did much to develop the literature of his country (1590-1649).

FARINATA, a Florentine n.o.bleman of the Ghibelline faction, whom for his infidelity and sensuality Dante has placed till the day of judgment in a red-hot coffin in h.e.l.l.

FARINELLI, CARLO, a celebrated singer, born in Naples; his singing created great enthusiasm in London, which he visited in 1734 (1705-1782).

FARINI, LUIGO CARLO, an Italian statesman and author, born at Russi; practised as a doctor in his native town; in 1841 was forced, on account of his liberal sympathies, to withdraw from the Papal States, but returned in 1846 on the proclamation of the Papal amnesty, and afterwards held various offices of State; was Premier for a few months in 1863; author of "Il Stato Romano," of which there is an English translation by Mr. Gladstone (1812-1866).

FARMER, RICHARD, an eminent scholar, born at Leicester; distinguished himself at Cambridge, where he became cla.s.sical tutor of his college, and in the end master (1775); three years later he was appointed chief-librarian to the university, and afterwards was successively canon of Lichfield, Canterbury, and St. Paul's; wrote an erudite essay on "The Learning of Shakespeare" (1735-1797).

FARMER GEORGE, George III., a name given to him from his plain, homely, thrifty manners and tastes.

FARMERS-GENERAL, a name given in France prior to the Revolution to a privileged syndicate which farmed certain branches of the public revenue, that is, obtained the right of collecting certain taxes on payment of an annual sum into the public treasury; the system gave rise to corruption and illegal extortion, and was at best an unproductive method of raising the national revenue; it was swept away at the Revolution.

FARNE or FERNE ISLES, THE, also called the Staples, a group of 17 isles 2 m. off the NE. coast of Northumberland, many of which are mere rocks visible only at low-water; are marked by two lighthouses, and are a.s.sociated with a heroic rescue by GRACE DARLING (q. v.) in 1838; on House Isle are the ruins of a Benedictine priory; about 50 people have their homes upon the larger isles.

FARNESE, the surname of a n.o.ble Italian family dating its rise from the 13th century.

FARNESE, ALESSANDRO, attained the papal chair as Paul III. in 1534; the excommunication of Henry VIII. of England, the founding of the Order of the Jesuits (1540), the convocation of the Council of Trent (1542), mark his term of office (1468-1549).

FARNESE, ALESSANDRO, grandson of the following, and 3rd duke of Parma, a famous general; distinguished himself at the battle of Lepanto; was governor of the Spanish Netherlands, and fought successfully against France, defeating Henry IV. before the walls of Paris, and again two years later at Rouen, where he was mortally wounded (1546-1592).

FARNESE, PIETRO LUIGI, a natural son of Pope Paul III., who figures in Benvenuto Cellini's Life; received in fief from the Papal See various estates, including the dukedom of Parma; he ill requited his father's trust and affection by a life of debauchery and finally suffered a.s.sa.s.sination in 1549.

FAROE ISLANDS (13), a group of 22 islands of basaltic formation, about 200 m. NW. of the Shetlands; originally Norwegian, they now belong to Denmark; agriculture is limited, and fishing and sheep-farming chiefly engage the natives; there is an export trade in wool, fish, and wild-fowl leathers. The people, who still speak their old Norse dialect, although Danish is the language of the schools and law courts, are Lutherans, and enjoy a measure of self-government, and send representatives to the Danish _Rigsdag_.

FARQUHAR, GEORGE, comic dramatist, born at Londonderry; early famous for his wit, of which he has given abundant proof in his dramas, "Love and a Bottle" being his first, and "The Beaux' Stratagem" his last, written on his deathbed; died young; he commenced life on the stage, but threw the profession up in consequence of having accidentally wounded a brother actor while fencing (1678-1707).