FLEMING, PAUL, a celebrated German poet, born at Hartenstein, Vogtland; received a medical training at Leipzig, and was engaged in emba.s.sies 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 Hotel 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 Moliere'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, ANDRe HERCULE DE. CARDINAL, French statesman, born at Lodeve, 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 Frejus 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, ABBe, 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 foresh.o.r.e, 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 a.s.sociations; 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 ma.s.ses of driftwood on which debris, 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 sh.o.r.es 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 n.o.bility, 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, G.o.ddess 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 sh.o.r.e 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 Tallaha.s.see.

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).

FLORUS, a Latin historian, contemporary of Trajan.

FLUDD, ROBERT, physician and theosophist, born at Milgate, Kent; studied at Oxford, and travelled on the Continent, where he came under the influence of Paracelsus's writings; settled in London as a doctor, and published a work embodying a vague theosophy (1574-1637).

FLUSHING (13), a Dutch seaport, strongly fortified, on the island of Walcheren, at the mouth of the western Scheldt; has an active shipping trade, docks, a.r.s.enals, &c.

FLUXIONS, a method, invented by Sir Isaac Newton, of determining the rate of increase or decrease of a quant.i.ty or magnitude whose value depends on that of another which itself varies in value at a uniform and given rate. See CALCULUS, DIFFERENTIAL, AND INTEGRAL.

FLYING DUTCHMAN, a Dutch captain, fated for his sins to scour the sea and never reach port, who appeared from time to time to sea-captains as on a black spectral ship, and from the very terror he inspired made them change their course; there are many versions of this fable in the German mythology.

FO, the name in China for Buddha.

FO-HI, or FUH-HE, the mythical founder of the Chinese dynasty, is said to have introduced cattle-rearing, inst.i.tuted marriage, and invented letters.

FOIX, GASTON DE, ill.u.s.trious French captain, nephew of Louis XII., was from his daring exploits called the Thunderbolt of Italy; he beat the Swiss, routed the Papal troops, captured Brescia from the Venetians, and gained the battle of Ravenna against the Spaniards, but was slain when pursuing the fugitives (1489-1512).

FOIX, GASTON III. DE, French captain, surnamed Phoebus on account of his beauty and handsome presence; distinguished in the wars against the English and in the Jacquerie revolt, in which he rescued the dauphin at Meaux (1331-1391).

FOLEY, JOHN HENRY, an eminent sculptor, born in Dublin; his first success was achieved in a series of cla.s.sical figures, including some Shakespearian subjects; statues of Hampden, Burke, J. S. Mill, Goldsmith, &c., brought him further fame, and he was commissioned by the Queen to execute the figure of Prince Albert in the Albert Memorial; his vigour and genius were further revealed in the n.o.ble equestrian statues of Hardinge and Outram (1818-1874).