Page images
PDF
EPUB

FEMERN-FEMGERICHTE.

commissioner appointed under the act. An action cannot be maintained either by or against a married woman during the subsistence of the marriage, unless with the concurrence and in name of the husband. A married woman cannot bind her husband by any contract she may enter into, but as he is bound to support her, he is liable for necessaries supplied to her while she lives with him, or if he wilfully deserts her, but not where she has left him of her own accord. Formerly, a wife could not obtain a divorce from her husband; but by 20 and 21 Vict. c. 85, she may now obtain a divorce on the ground of adultery, coupled with cruelty or desertion. See DIVORCE. For the law of Scotland in regard to the rights of married women, see MAN AND WIFE. FE'MERN, an island of Denmark, north-east of Holstein, and separated from it by a strait called the Femern Sound, has an area of 63 square miles, and a population of about 9000. The island is flat, fruitful, and destitute of wood. Agriculture, fisheries, and stocking-weaving for exportation, form the principal employments of the inhabitants. The chief town is Burg, which has about 2000 inhabitants.

FE'MGERICHTÉ (derived from the old German Fem, punishment, and Gericht, court of justice), spoken of as the Holy Feme (or Fehme), and also known as the Westphalian or Secret Tribunals, were among the most remarkable phenomena of the middle ages, and supplied the place of the regular administration of justice, then in a deplorable condition. The origin of these courts has been ascribed to Charlemagne, who, it was pretended, had instituted them to prevent the relapse into Paganism of the Saxons who had been forcibly converted to Christianity. It is more probable, however, that they were a relic of the ancient German free courts of justice, the preservation of which may have been favoured in Westphalia by special circumstances. When Henry the Lion was put under the ban of the empire, and deprived of his possessions in 1179, Westphalia, which then comprised nearly the whole district between the Rhine and the Weser, was granted to the Archbishop of Cologne; and from this time the secret tribunals gained in importance. In the general confusion which then prevailed in Germany, when all laws, both civil and ecclesiastical, had lost their authority, and the fabric of society seemed on the point of toppling into ruins, the Femgerichte were organised for the purpose of arresting and controlling the incipient anarchy that threatened to bring chaos back again, and of inspiring with feelings of salutary terror, through the agency of their mysterious powers and solemn judgments, all rapacious and lawless persons (but especially the feudal barons), who-on account of the impotence of the ordinary legal checks-committed crimes with impunity. In the causes, therefore, which led to their formation, and in their general design, the Femgerichte resemble the Hanseatic towns. They soon acquired tremendous influence, the emperors themselves having recourse to their assistance against powerful and rebellious nobles. It was in the 14th and 15th centuries, however, that they attained the summit of their dread authority, when they began to extend themselves over the whole of Germany. Beneficial as in many instances they proved to be, they could not fail, in the long-run, to degenerate, and to be frequently employed as a cloak to selfmterest and malice. It is therefore by no means surprising that many voices were raised against them, and that in 1461 various princes and cities of Germany, as well as the Swiss confederates, formed unions for affording justice to every indi

vidual, and preventing any from seeking it from the secret tribunals. Particular classes likewise obtained imperial letters of protection against the pretensions of these tribunals. The emperors themselves, however, could go no further than to make some unavailing attempts to introduce improvements into the constitution of the Femgerichte, as the latter were bold enough to oppose the imperial authority, and even summoned the emperor Friedrich III. to appear before them. Their influence came to an end only when the public peace (Landfriede) was established in Germany, and an amended form of trial and penal judicature was introduced. The last real Femgericht was held at Celle in Hanover, in the year 1568. A remnant of the institution, howwhich time it was performing the function of a ever, existed in Westphalia until the year 1811, at society for the suppression of vice, when it was abolished by an order of Jerome Bonaparte. Beyond the limits of Westphalia, notwithstanding all their endeavours, the Femgerichte never succeeded in fully establishing their authority; and even in the the colour of the soil), they were restricted by the Red Land, as Westphalia was called (probably from imperial privileges on which they founded their authority."

secret

The members of the Feme were called Wissende, 'the knowing ones,' or the initiated. It was necessary that they should be born in wedlock, be of the Christian religion, lead a blameless life, and bind themselves by a tremendous oath to support the holy Feme, and to conceal it from wife and child, father and mother, sister and brother, fire and wind, from all that the sun shines on and the rain wets, and from all that is between heaven and earth.' Originally, none but an inhabitant of the Red Land,' possessed of real property, could be admitted a member of the Wissende; at a later period, this rule was relaxed. From the general body were elected officers called Freischöffen (free justices), who were assessors of the court, and executors of its sentences. The presiding judge was called the Freigraf (free count). The general superintendence and presidency of the tribunals belonged to the lord of the land-i. e., in Westphalia, to the Archbishop of Cologne. The highest office, however, as supreme president, was nominally held by the emperor, who was usually elected into the number of the Wissende on the occasion of his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle. The court of a Freigraf was called Freiding (a free court of justice), and the place where he held court a Freistuhl (free bench or court). One of the most celebrated free courts had its seat at Dortmund. The sittings of the tribunal were either open or secret. The former were held by day in the open air, and decided in civil disputes: the secret tribunals took cognizance of those who had been unable to prove their innocence in the open courts, as well as of those who were accused of heresy, sorcery, rape, theft, robbery, cr murder. The accusation was made by one of the Freischöffen, who declared, upon oath, that the accused had committed the crime. The citation was secretly affixed, with symbolical signs, to the door of the accused, who was to meet the Wissende at a certain hour and place, and be conducted by them before the tribunal. The accused could now clear himself by an oath, but the accuser and witnesses could oppose this with another. If the accused could now bring forward six witnesses to swear in his favour, the accuser could strengthen his oath with 14 witnesses; and it was not till after 21 witnesses had made their affidavit in his favour that sentence of acquittal necessarily followed. The persons convicted, as well as those who refused to obey the

FENCES-FENCING.

sunnen, were given over to the Freischöffen. The first Freischöffe who met him was bound to hang him on a tree, or, if he made any resistance, to put him otherwise to death. A knife was left by the corpse, to shew that it was not a murder, but a punishment inflicted by one of the Freischöffen. Compare Wigand, Das Fehmgericht Westfalen's (Hamm. 1825), and Usener, Die Frei- und heimlichen Gerichte Westfulen's (Frankfort, 1832).

FENCES, in Agriculture, serve the twofold purpose of enclosing animals on pasture-grounds, and of protecting land from straying animals. They are formed of a great variety of materials, and of very different structure. In countries where wood or stones are scarce, more especially where they have been long settled, hedges, formed of various kinds of plants, are common. These, when well kept and managed, give a clothed and picturesque appearance to the landscape. The hawthorn is the favourite hedge-plant in this country. See HEDGES. When stones are used as fences, they are built as walls. The form and mode of building varies with the nature and quality of the stones, and the degree of taste and nicety required. Aberdeenshire forms its walls or dykes surrounding its fields with the granite boulders that are strewed over the surface of the country. The graywacke affords slaty stones, which give the walls their peculiar form in other parts, and so with the various kinds of sandstone.

In new countries, where wood is abundant, the fences are all of this material. The snake-fence, named from its zigzag form, is made by merely laying the ends of trees above each other, and requires no other means of fixing. As wood becomes more valuable, it is made into stobs and rails. The stobs are driven into the ground from two to three yards apart, and from four to five rails are nailed across, according to the purpose it is meant to serve. The stob and rafter fence is made by driving the stobs from three to four inches apart, and binding the whole by a rafter or rail nailed across the top. This is one of the strongest of wooden fences, but requires more material than the other.

Iron or wire fencing has come much into use of late. Vast stretches of waste land in this country, as well as pastures in Australia, have been enclosed by means of wire-fencing. Strong wires are stretched on posts firmly secured in the ground, from 100 to 200 yards or more apart. Intermediate or lighter posts are put in at from two to three yards' distance. After the wires are fully stretched, they are fixed to the smaller posts; when of wood, by means of staples, or threaded through, when of iron. Law regarding Fences.-In England, it is held to be the duty of the occupier of lands to repair and uphold fences, and not of the landlord; and without any special agreement, the landlord may maintain an action against the tenant for not doing so. Though a tenant from year to year is not bound to put the fences and other buildings on his farm into repair, he must not do anything that amounts to waste, or to a breach of the rules of good husbandry. He cannot cut and sell hedgerows, or if he does so, he must make up the hedges and fences according to the course of good husbandry. If there be a quickset fence of white thorn, and the tenant shut it up, or suffer it to be destroyed, this is destruction; but cutting up quicksets is not waste, if it preserves the spring-Woodfall On Landlord and Tenant, pp. 456, 457, and cases cited. Where, in answer to a declaration against a tenant for not using premises in a husbandlike manner in repairing fences, on his implied obligation to do so, the tenant pleaded that the fence became out of repair by natural decay, and that there was no proper wood which he had a right to cut for repairing the fences, and that the

plaintiff ought to have set out proper wood for the purpose of repairs, which he had neglected to do, the plea was held to be bad, because it did not aver any request to the plaintiff so to do, or a custom of the country in that respect.-Whitfield v. Weedon, 2 Chit. 685. By 7 and 8 Geo. IV. c. 29, ss. 23, 40, 44, the destruction of fences is declared to be punishable summarily with a fine of not more than £5; or in the case of a deer-park fence, with £50. The statute is limited to England.

As

In Scotland, the landlord is held bound to put the fences on the farm in due repair on the entry of the tenant, independently of any stipulation in the lease; whilst the tenant must maintain them and leave them, with the exception of ordinary tear and wear, in the state in which they were given over to him. But the landlord is not entitled to increase the burdens of his tenant by erecting new fences not stipulated for, unless they be march-fences, which he may be compelled to erect by contiguous proprietors, and half the expense of which he must share with them, under the act 1661 c. 41, ratified by 1685 c. 39, of the existence of which the tenant is presumed to have been aware when he entered to the farm. regards fences erected spontaneously by the tenant, the rule is that if, being entitled to remove them, he allows them to remain, he must leave them in repair; but if they are Fixtures (q. v.), which he is not entitled to remove, he is not bound to repair them. It is optional to the landlord, at the termination of the lease, to order removal of fences and other buildings voluntarily built by the tenant, except in the case of palings and movable fences, or to prevent their being removed without offering any indemnification.-Hunter, Landlord and Tenant, ii. p. 208. As buildings, fences, and other ameliorations made by the tenant, are supposed to be made for his own sake, and not for the sake of the landlord, he has no claim for the moneys which he may have expended for such purposes, at the end of the lease; except under a special stipulation to that effect. But if the tenant's occupation be terminated abruptly, and more particularly if his lease excludes assignees and sub-tenants, it is equitable that the landlord, getting the benefit beyond what was contemplated by the tenant, the family or the creditors of the latter should be allowed a proportion of the value of the amelioraThe cases in which tions. Bell's Princip. s. 1255. meliorations are or are not removable will be explained under FIXTURES (q. v.).

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

FENCING may be described, for a general definition, as the art of defending one's own body or assailing another person's in fair fight by the aid of a side-weapon-i. e., by a sword, rapier, or bayonet. Technically, fencing is usually limited to the second of these; and works on the art touch only on attack and defence with the foil in pastime, and the rapier in actual personal combat. The present opportunity will, however, be taken to introduce the elements of single combat with foil, sword, and bayonet. The objection formerly existed that instruction in fencing encouraged a

FENCING.

propensity to duelling; but as that absurdest of absurd customs has entirely ceased-at least in Britain-to demand its annual victims, no such objection now holds. Fencing may therefore be safely learned and taught as an elegant and manly accomplishment, developing gracefulness and activity, while it imparts suppleness to the limbs, strength to the muscles, and quickness to the eye. This regards fencing with the foils (the rapier has disappeared with the duels which employed it); but instruction in fencing with the sword and bayonet, while conferring the same advantages, has in addition the recommendation of helping to fit the student for taking an active part in any general national defence that political circumstances might render necessary. The Foil (q. v.) is a circular or polygonal bar of pliable and very highly tempered steel, mounted as any other sword, and blunted at the point by a 'button,' to prevent danger in its use. From its nature, the foil can only be employed in thrusting, and, being edgeless, it can be handled without liability to cutting wounds. The length of the blade should be proportioned to the height of the person using it-31 inches being the medium length for men, and 38 inches from hilt to point the maximum allowable. As a protection against accidental thrusts, the face is generally guarded by a wire-mask. The two portions of the blade are known as the 'forte' and the 'feeble;' the first extending from the hilt to the centre, and the other from the centre to the point.

In drawing, advance the right foot slightly to the front, take the scabbard with the left hand, raise the right elbow as high as the shoulder, seize the hilt with right hand, nails turned inward, and hav ing drawn the foil, pass it with vivacity over the head in a semicircle, and bring it down to the guard (of which presently) with its point towards the adversary, not higher than his face, nor lower than his lowest rib. Simultaneously with the weapon being brought into position, the left hand with fingers extended should be raised to a level with the head, as a counterpoise in the various motions to ensue. In establishing the position of guard, the right foot must be advanced 24 inches before the left, the heels in a straight line, and each knee slightly bent, to impart elasticity to the movements, but not too much, lest the firmness of the position be diminished.

In fencing, there are three openings or entrances -the inside, comprising the whole breast from shoulder to shoulder; outside, attackable by all the thrusts made above the wrist on the outside of the sword; and the low parts, embracing from the armpits to the hips. For reaching and guarding these entrances, there are five positions of the wristprime, seconde, tierce, carte (quarte), and quinte. The most important, and those to commence with, are carte and tierce, from which are derived the subordinate positions of carte over the arm, low carte, and flanconnade or octave.

To engage is to cross swords with your adversary, pressing against his with sufficient force to prevent any manoeuvre taking you unawares. To disengage is to slip the point of your sword briskly under his blade, and to raise it again on the other side, pressing in a direction opposite to that of the previous

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

the guard. If the parade were called the 'parry,' it would convey its meaning more readily to English ears. Another, and perhaps more appropriate name for thrust, is the 'lunge' or longe, as the thrust is almost always accompanied by a lunge forward of the right foot, to give at once greater force and longer command to the blow.

The following are directions for the principal guards and thrusts, which may also be seen depicted roughly in the sketches below.

Carte, Guard.-Turn wrist with nails upwards; hand on a line with lower part of breast; arm somewhat bent, and elbow inclined a little to the outside; point of foil elevated at an angle of about 15°, and directed at upper part of adversary's breast.

Thrust. Being at the guard in carte, straighten the arm, raise the wrist above the head, drop the foil's point to a line with the adversary's breast, throw first the wrist, and then the whole body, forward by a lunge with the right foot of two feet from the guard,' the left foot remaining firm. The left hand should be dropped during the lunge to a level with the thigh, and to a position distant about a foot from the body; it will then afford a good counterpoise to the sword-arm. During the whole action, the body must be perfectly upright. When per formed briskly, it appears that the point and foot are advanced simultaneously, but in fact the point has, or should have, priority, in order that the instantly following lunge may drive it home. Most of these observations concerning thrust in carte apply equally to all other thrusts.

Fig. 1.-Carte.

Carte over the arm is a variety of this thrust. The sword is driven outside the adversary's blade, from the carte position, but in the tierce line.

Low Carte. Engage adversary's blade in carte, then drop point under his wrist, in a line to his elbow, and thrust at his flank, the body being considerably bent.

Flanconnade or Octave.-Engage adversary's blade in carte, and bind it with yours, then carry your point behind his wrist and under his elbow: without quitting his blade, plunge your point to his flank.

Tierce, Guard-As in carte, the nails and wrist being somewhat more downward, and the arm stretched a little outward, to cover the outside.

Parade. Move arm, from the guard, obliquely downward to the right about six inches, and oppose the inside of the adversary's blade.

Thrust. From the guard, turn wrist with nails downward, the same height as in carte, the inside of the arm in a line with the right temple; then thrust and lunge as in carte.

Seconde, Parade.-Nails and wrist downward, hand opposed outward, and blade, pointing low, should form an angle of about 45° with the ground.

FENCING.

Thrust-The same as tierce, but delivered under the adversary's wrist and elbow, to a point between

with shoulder, nails up: by quick motion of wrist sweep point from right to left in a circle covering

Fig. 2.-Tierce.

Fig. 5.-Quinte.

his right armpit and right breast: the body to be your body from head to knee, until the adversary more bent than in carte or tierce.

Fig. 3.-Seconde.

Prime, Parade.-In using prime to parry the thrust in seconde, pass your point over the adversary's blade, lower it to the waist, keeping your wrist as high as your mouth, nails downward, elbow bent, and body held back as far as possible. The left foot should also be drawn backward a few inches, to remove the body further from the hostile point.

Thrust.-An extension movement from the parade.

Fig. 4.-Prime.

Quinte, Parade.-Wrist in high carte, sword-point low, and oppose adversary from the forte of the outside edge of your blade.

Thrust. Make a feint on the half-circle parade, with the wrist in carte; disengage your point over the adversary's blade, and thrust directly at his flank.

Half-circle, Parade-One of the principal defensive parades: straighten arm, keep wrist in line

blade is found and opposition established.

The parades parry thrusts as follows:

Carte, with wrist low, parries low carte and seconde; with wrist raised, all the thrusts over the point on the inside of the sword and the flanconnade.

Tierce parries high carte; with raised wrist, parries tierce.

Seconde parries all lower thrusts, both inside and outside.

Half-circle parries carte, high carte, tierce, and seconde.

Prime parries carte, low carte, and seconde.
Quinte parries seconde and flanconnade.

In all parades or parries, care must be taken that in covering the side attacked, the parade is not so wide as to expose the other side to the enemy. A steady countenance, shewing no disquietude at any attempt he may make, is, above all, necessary in parades.

Every parade has its return, which should be made with vivacity and decision. A thrust can be returned when the adversary thrusts, or when, baffled in his attack, he is recovering to his guard. In the first case, no lunge is necessary, the return being made from the wrist: this return requires great skill and quickness, since the adversary should receive the thrust before, by finishing his own, he has touched your body.

Ordinary Returns.-After carte parry, return i carte; after tierce, return in tierce; after parrying high carte, return seconde; after parrying seconde, return in quinte; after parade in prime, return seconde or low carte.

Feints, of which there are many varieties, consist in threatening an attack on one side of the sword, and then executing it on the other. The best parade against a feint is that of the halfcircle, which will be sure to find the adversary's point.

Advance and Retreat are motions of attack or withdrawal, performed by advancing the right, or withdrawing the left foot suddenly about 18 inches, and instantly following it with the other foot. As the adversary advances, you must retreat, unless prepared to receive him at the sword-point.

Salute. The salute is a courteous opening of the fencing, and consists in gracefully taking off the hat, while, with the foils, your adversary and your self measure your respective distances.

Appels or beats with the right foot, beats on the adversary's blade, and glissades or glidings of one sword along the other, are motions intended to confuse the enemy, and give openings for thrusts.

Voltes, demi-voltes, and disarming, were mano:uvres formerly taught with care, but they are now quite

FENCING.

discarded in the academies of England and France, as useless and undesirable.

In Spain and Italy, considerable differences of practice from that in France and England prevail. The left hand is used as an auxiliary in parrying, and in Italy is aided by a dagger, or sometimes a cloak. The Spaniard, though trusting to his sword and left hand only, has his blade five feet long, with sharp edges; his guard is nearly straight, and one of his favourite attacks is by a cut (not thrust) at the head.

In an article limited in length as this must necessarily be, it is impossible to give more than the merest outline of the various motions; but, of course, in actual practice, there are endless variations of the different modes of attack and defence, which will be severally adopted according to the skill and option of the fencer. There is no finer indoor exercise than fencing, as the muscles in every limb are developed and strengthened by it. The great requirements for success are a steady eye and hand, a quick purpose as quickly executed, and, perhaps above all, perfect equanimity of temper.

THE SWORD EXERCISE differs from fencing with the foil; in that, the weapon employed has one cutting edge as well as a point, and is therefore intended to cut and thrust. The sword is the arm of all officers in the army and navy, of many noncommissioned officers, and constitutes the sole mode of attack and defence for the officers of the British volunteers. A certain degree of proficiency in its use is therefore always serviceable. In practice, the asual substitute is a stout, straight stick, called a single-stick,' having a basket-handle to protect the knuckles.

The position of the combatant is the same as that assumed in fencing with the foil; the lunge is similar, as are also the advance' and 'retreat,' and other minor points. According to the instructions of drill-masters, there are seven cuts, with seven corresponding guards, and three thrusts. The theoretical directions of all these are shewn on the accompanying diagram, which represents a target placed opposite a pupil, so that he may see the motions he is expected to perform displayed before him. The centre of the target is supposed to be in a line with the centre of his breast.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

in the several guards by which the cuts are opp sed. The sword-handles illustrate the situation of the right hand with reference to the centre of the body. The points or thrusts are shewn by the black circles. That towards No. 1 should be directed with the wrist and edge of the sword upwards to the right; towards 2, with the edge upwards to the left; and in the 3d point, with the wrist rising to the centre, and the edge upwards to the right.

The 'parry' is an additional defensive movement, and consists in bringing the wrist nearly to the right shoulder; whence, as centre, a circular sweep of the sword is made from left to right. A considerable latitude is allowable in regard to the cuts, as to the part of the adversary's body at which they are directed, provided the general inclination of the blow be observed; similarly, the cut may at times be parried by a guard other than that intended specially for it, according to the discretion of the fencer.

In engaging, or joining swords, with the enemy, press the blades but lightly together, so that the hand and wrist may be readily susceptible of any motion. In making the guards, care must always be taken to receive, if possible, the feeble of the enemy's blade on the forte of your own, so as to offer the greater opposition. It should also be borne in mind that, in all cuts at the leg, when at proper distance, the shifting of your own leg, and delivering a cut at the same moment, becomes the most effectual and advantageous defence, particularly if you happen to be taller than your adversary, as you will then probably be out of his reach, while he is within yours.

In contending with bayonet or pike, the most effectual guard is the 5th, which, if well timed, enables the swordsman to seize the musket or pike with his left hand, and then make the 6th cut at his opponent's neck. In an encounter with the rapier, the best cuts are Nos. 3 and 4, as they attack the enemy's arm, which must be advanced within reach before he can touch your body, and also constitute a defence against his thrust. If the enemy-no matter how armed-be on horseback, the dismounted swordsman (provided he have proper nerve and agility) has decidedly the advantage. Endeavour to place yourself on his left, where he has less power of defending himself or his horse, and cannot reach to so great a distance as on his right: an attack on the horse will probably render it ungovernable, and it becomes easy then to avoid the rider's blows, while he himself may be attacked with impunity in almost any direction.

BAYONET EXERCISE.-If the sword exercise be of use to volunteer officers, there are (1862) thirty times as many volunteers themselves to whom a proper command of the bayonet is indispensable. In close-quarter engagements, there is no weapon more formidable: from its length and weight, the thrust of the bayonet gives a terrible wound, and its force is such that there is great difficulty in parrying the attack. Like other small-arms, it is most serviceable when handled on scientific principles; and the art of using it to advantage is so simple as to be very easily acquired, while the exercise, from the weight of the rifle, admirably aids in developing the muscles of all parts of the body.

Of course, the bayonet is always fixed at the end of the musket, when it becomes virtually a pike. The position of the feet in the bayonet exercise remains always the same relatively, and absolutely until advance or retreat be effected. The right foot is thrown back 24 inches, and the weight of the body thrown upon it. The heels are kept in a line with each other, both knees bent and well apart; the right knee directly over the foot, the left easy and

« PreviousContinue »