FORTUNE-TELLER--FOSCOLO.

possessors of an inexhaustible purse of gold and a wishing-cap, which however, in the end, prove the cause of their ruin. The moral is, that worldly prosperity alone is insufficient to produce lasting happiness. The oldest printed edition of the book now extant bears the date Frankfurt am Maine, 1509. Later German editions mostly bear the title, Fortunatus, von Seinem Seckel und Wunsch-hütlein (Fortunatus: Story of his Purse and Wishing-cap. Augsb. 1530; Nürnb. 1677; and Basel, 1699). It has been reprinted in Simrock's Deutsche Volksbücher (3 vols., Frankt. am Maine, 1846). Various French versions of the German story have appeared from time to time, as the Histoire de Fortunatus (Rouen, 1670); which served as the groundwork of the Italian Avennimenti de Fortunatus e de' Suoi Figli (Naples, 1676). From the German original, have also sprung, among others, the Dutch version Een Nieuwe Historie van Fortunatus Borse en van Zijnen Wensch hoed (Amst. 1796); later, the English History of Fortunatus and his Two Sons (London, no date); the Danish Fortunati pung og önskehat (Kopen. 1664, 1672, 1695, 1756, 1783); the Swedish Fortunatus (1694); and about 1690, two Icelandic versions, one in verse and another in prose. The first to dramatise the subject was Hans Sachs, in his Der Fortunatus mit dem Wunschseckel (1553), after whom comes the English Thomas Decker with his Pleasant Comedie of Old Fortunatus (1600), a work which had the honour to make its reappearance in German about the year 1620. The most poetical edition of the story is that given by Tieck in his Phantasus (3 vols., Berlin, 1816). See Grässe's Die Sagenkreise des Mittelalters (Dresd. and Leip. 1842), and Ersch and Gruber's Encyclopedie (first sect.,

vol. 46).

FORTUNE-TELLER. Under the designation Vagabonds, in the Scottish Act 1579 c. 74, are included all who go about pretending to foretell fortunes. The punishment inflicted on them by the statute is scourging and burning on the ear.

banquets for the populace, and the combats of the gladiators, were, in the time of the republic, usually held in the great forum, which also contained monuments of various kinds, of which may be mentioned the famous Columna Rostrata of C. Duilius, erected in memory of his victory over the Carthaginians. The rostra, or platforms from which public orations were delivered, formed the boundary between the forum in its narrower usage and the comitium. After the time of Julius Cæsar and Augustus, the Forum Romanorum lost the import ance it had previously derived from being the central point of Roman political life. The other two fora judicialia were the Forum Julii and the Forum Augusti. Compare Becker, Handbuch der Röm. Alterthümer (1 vol., Leipsic, 1843).

FORUM COMPETENS, in Law, is the court to the jurisdiction of which the party is amenable.

FOSCARI, FRANCESCO, Doge of Venice from 1423 to 1457, a brilliant period of conquest and prosperity to his country, and of unexampled afflic tion to himself and family. Born about 1370, his aspiring ambition soon fired him with passionate eagerness to exalt his reign by the glory of conquest, and speedily involved the state in a severe conflict with the Dukes of Milan; which, however, the doge's great military ability in the end turned into a source of glory and aggrandisement to Venice. His triumph was embittered by the successive loss of three sons; and the one who remained to transmit the name, and succeed to the inheritance of the family, was, in 1445, denounced for having received bribes from the hostile generals, to use his influence with the doge in procuring less rigorous terms. Tried for this grave crime before the Tribu nal of the Ten, and racked cruelly in view of his father, Giacopo Foscari was banished for life, under pain of death should he attempt to revisit his native land. In 1450, the assassination of one of the Council of Ten,' Hermolao Donati, was imputed, on what seem most unfounded grounds, to Giacopo, who was consequently summoned from his exile, tried, tortured, and banished a second time on still more rigorous terms to the island of Candia. Grown reckless through suffering, and longing to see his home and country on any terms, Giacopo petitioned, the Duke of Milan to intercede in his behalf with the senate, a step which, by Venetian law, was punished as a high crime, and led to the unfortunate Giacopo being for the third time subjected to torture and renewed banishment, on entering into which he died of grief. The doge had vainly besought permission to resign a dignity grown loath

some

FO'RUM, a Latin word, which originally signified an open place,' and is probably connected with foras, out-of-doors.' The Roman fora were places where the markets and courts of justice were held. The former were termed fora venalia, and the latter fora judicialia. Of the fora judicialia, the most ancient and celebrated was the forum Romanorum, or, par excellence, the forum magnum, occupying the quarter now known as the campo vaccino (or cattlemarket). It stretched from the foot of the Capitoline Hill, where the arch of Septimius Severus stands, to the temple of the Dioscuri, was seven jugera in extent, and was surrounded by streets and houses. The boundary on the east and north was the Sacra via, of which the side nearest the forum was left open; while on the other were corridors and halls, such as those of the argentarii (bankers or moneychangers). At a later period, the site of these was, for the most part, occupied by basilicas and temples. In the eastern portion of this space, were held the earliest Comitia (q. v.) of the Romans-the comitia curiata; hence this part took the name of the comitium, and was distinguished from the forum strictly 80 called. Here were hung up for the benefit of the public the laws of the Twelve Tables; and, after 304 B.C., the Fasti written on white tables to inform the citizens when the law-courts were open. The FO'SCOLO, UGO, an Italian author, was born Forum, in the narrower usage of the word, probably ceased to be employed as a market-place about 472 B. C., when it became the place of assembly of the Comitia Tributa. Of the later fora venalia, the principal were the forum boarium (the cattle-market), the forum suarium (pig-market), piscatorium (fishmarket). olitorium (vegetable-market), &c. Public

to him, from its imposing the barbarous obligation of witnessing his son's torture; but in the end he was deposed, and ordered to vacate the palace in three days. At the age of 87, decrepit Francesco F., supported by his venerable brother, from years, and bowed by sorrow and humiliation, descended the Giant's Staircase, and passed out for ever from the ducal palace, the scene of such vain pomp and bitter misery. Pasqual Malapieri was elected in his stead in 1457, and at the first peal of the bells in honour of his elevation, F. expired from the rupture of a blood-vessel. Byron has written a tragedy on the subject, entitled The Two

Foscari.

about 1778, at Zante, one of the Ionian isles, and proceeded to Venice in his 16th year, where for a time he pursued his studies, repairing later to Padua to enjoy Melchiore Cesarotti's noble course of classic literature. His earliest efforts at poetical composition were strictly modelled on his favourite Greek classics; and, as early as 1797, his tragedy,

FOSS-FOSSIL FERNS.

derivation, to whatever was dug out of the earth, whether mineral or organic, but now restricted to the remains of plants and animals imbedded in the earth's crust. They were formerly, and are sometimes still, called petrifactions. They occur in nearly all the stratified rocks, which have, on this account, been called Fossiliferous strata. It is difficult or impossible to detect them in the metamorphic rocks, for the changes that altered the matrix have also affected the organisms, so as either almost or altogether to obliterate them. In the fundamental mica-schist and gneiss they have escaped notice, if ever they existed; and it is only within the last few years that their presence has been detected in the gneiss and other rocks, which are the greatly metamorphosed representatives of the Lower Silurian Measures in the north of Scotland.

I Tieste, was received with favour by a critical a term formerly applied, in accordance with its Venetian audience. The dismemberment of the Venetian states, decreed by the treaty of Campo Formio, bitterly incensed F.'s patriotic spirit, and inspired him with one of his most remarkable works, Le Lettere di Jacopo Ortis, which, owing to the fierce political excitement then prevailing throughout the entire peninsula, was received with immense popularity. F. repaired to Milan on its being declared the capital of the Cisalpine republic, and there obtained the grade of officer in the Lombard legion. On the downfall of the republic, he retreated with the French into Genoa, where, in the midst of the terrors of a rigorous siege, he composed two exquisite odes to Luigia Pallavicini Caduta da Cavallo, and All Amica risanata. F. subsequently entered France with the intention of joining Napoleon's expedition against England, and prepared a much admired version of Sterne's Sentimental Journey, to exercise himself in English. On the failure of the plan, he returned to Milan, and prepared a splendid edition of Montecuculi's works, with notes and historical references Opere di Raimondo Montecuculi, per Luigi Mussi (Milan, 1807-1808), a very rare edition. At this time, he also published his exquisite poem, in blank verse, I Sepolcri, which at once placed him among the classic authors of his country. In the same year, he was appointed to the chair of eloquence in Pavia, and continued to occupy the post, to the delight and benefit of his students, until the professorship was suppressed in all the colleges of Italy. His inaugurative address, Dell' Origine e dell' Ufficio della Letteratura, is a masterpiece of beautiful, noble, and patriotic writing. From the time F. lost faith in the sincerity of Bonaparte's intentions to his country, he not only ceased to worship his early idol, but employed the full powers of his wrath and sarcasm in denouncing his treachery. After various vicissitudes, F. finally sought refuge in Britain about 1816, and soon mastered the language sufficiently to contribute to the Quarterly and Edinburgh Reviews. In London, some of his best writings were published-viz., Essays on Petrarca and Dante, Discorso sul testo del Decamerone, Discorso storico sul testo di Dante, and various minor compositions. He died October 10, 1827, of dropsy, at Turnham Green near London. His works in prose and verse were published in Milan, 1822, by Silvestri.

FOSS, or FOSSE (Lat. fossa, from fodio, I dig), in Fortification, is a ditch or moat, either with or without water, the excavation of which has contributed material for the walls of the fort it is designed to protect. The foss is immediately

without the wall, and offers a serious obstacle to escalading the defences.

FO'SSA ET FU'RCA, or PIT AND GALLOWS, was an ancient privilege granted by the crown to barons and others, which implied the right of drowning female felons in a ditch, and hanging male felons on a gallows.

FOSSA'NO, a town of Piedmont, in the administrative division of Coni or Cuneo, is situated on the left bank of the Stura, on a hill surmounted by an old castle, 14 miles north-east of Coni. It is surrounded with old walls, and is well built; but the houses are erected over arcades, under which run the footways, and thus the streets have a somewhat gloomy appearance. It has handsome cathedral, ten churches, a royal college, and numerous minor educational institutions, silk-factories, paper-mills, and tanneries. Pop. 16,423.

a

The conditions in which fossils occur are very various. In some Pleistocene beds the organic remains are but slightly altered, and are spoken of as sub-fossil. In this state are the shells in some raised sea-beaches, and the remains of the huge struthious birds of New Zealand, which still retain a large portion of the animal basis. In the progress of fossilisation, every trace of animal substance disappears; and if we find the body at this stage, without being affected by any other change, it is fragile and friable, like some of the shells in the London clay. Most frequently, however, a petrify. ing infiltration occupies the cavities left in the fossil by the disappearance of the animal matter, and it then becomes hardened and solidified. Sometimes the whole organism is dissolved and carried off by water percolating the rock, and its former presence is indicated by the mould of its outer surface, and the cast of its inner in the rocky matrix, leaving a cavity between the cast and the mould agreeing with the size of the fossil. This cavity is occasionally filled up with calcareous spar, flint, or some other mineral; and we thus obtain the form of the organism, with the markings of the outer and inner surfaces, but not exhibiting the internal structure. The most advanced and perfect condition of fossilisation is that in which not only the external form, but also the most minute and complicated internal organisation is retained; in which the organism loses the whole of its constituents, particle by particle, and as each little molecule is removed, its place is taken by a little molecule of another substance, as corals perfectly preserved in flint, and trees exhisilica or iron pyrites. In this way we find calcareous biting in their silicified or calcified stems all the spiral vessels, or disc-bearing tissue, as well as the details of their microscopic structure the cells, medullary rays and rings of growth.

FOSSIL FERNS. As far as has been yet determined from the rocky tablets of the earth's crust, ferns first appeared in the Devonian period, but then only sparingly, not more than nine or ten species having been observed. In the immediately suc ceeding Coal-measures, they suddenly reached their maximum development. The dense forests and the moist atmosphere of this period were so suited to their growth that they formed a large bulk of the vegetation. Upwards of 350 species have been described, some of them tree ferns of a size fitting them to be the companions of the immense Sigillarias and Lepidodendrons whose remains are found associated with theirs in the Carboniferous rocks. Twenty-three species have been found in Permian strata. Many new forms in the Trias, appear fresh-water beds of this period contain numerons and their number is increased in the Oolite. The beautiful ferns, upwards of fifty species having been

FO'SSIL (Lat. fossilis, dug out of the earth), | described. The marine beds of the Cretaceous

FOSSILIFEROUS ROCKS-FOUCHE.

period contain very few forms, and in the Tertiary and republished in Bohn's Standard Library in rocks they are equally rare.

1852.

FOSSILI FEROUS ROCKS are those which FOTHERGILL PROCESS. This is one of the contain organic remains. If we except the lowest numerous dry processes in Photography (q. v.) metamorphic rocks, in which, as yet, no fossils which have for their object the preservation of have been found, the term is equivalent to the sensitive plates ready for exposure. It is named 'stratified rocks,' when used comprehensively; but after the inventor, and consists in the partial it may also be applied to a particular bed, as when removal of the free nitrate of silver which adheres we speak of an unfossiliferous sandstone compared to the collodion film on withdrawing it from the with the neighbouring fossiliferous shale or lime-sensitising bath by washing with water, and the

stone.

FOSSOMBRO'NÉ, a small episcopal town of Italy, in the province of Urbino and Pesaro, is pleasantly situated on a hill on the left bank of the Metauro-which is here spanned by a fine modern bridge-11 miles east of the town of Urbino. It rose in the 14th c., from the ruins of Forum Sempronii, destroyed by the Goths and Lombards. Some interesting Roman inscriptions and remains of the ancient city are contained in the cathedral of St Aldobrando. F. is celebrated for its fine manufactures of carpets and woollen cloths, and particularly for the excellent silk of its neighbourhood. Three miles from F. is Il Monte d'Asdrubale, famous as the scene of the engagement in which the Carthaginian general was defeated and killed by the Romans in 207 B. C.-See Lauro Jacomo, Historia

e Pianta di Fossombrone.

subsequent conversion of the remaining free nitrate of silver into albuminate and chloride of silver by pouring over the plate dilute albumen, containing chloride of ammonium, the excess of albumen being finally washed off by violent agitation with a copious supply of water. The plates being set aside to drain on folds of blotting paper, are, when dry, ready for use. For details of manipulation, see Hardwich's Photographic Chemistry.

FOUCHÉ, JOSEPH, Duke of Otranto, the son of a sea-captain, was born at Nantes, 29th May 1763, and educated at the Oratoire. He hailed the Revolution with enthusiasm, and in 1792 became a member of the National Convention. He voted for the death of Louis XVI., and was one of the commissioners of the Committee of Public Safety sent to Lyon in 1794 to reduce that city to obedience. In 1795, he was expelled from the Convention as FOSTER, JOHN, a well-known English essayist, a dangerous Terrorist, and kept in confinement for was born in the parish of Halifax, Yorkshire, Sep- a short time. After the revolution of the 18th tember 17, 1770. He was educated for the ministry Brumaire (5th November 1799), in which he took at the Baptist College at Bristol, but after preach- a part, F., as minister of police (an office to which ing for several years to various small congregations he had been appointed on the 31st July of the with very indifferent success, he resolved to devote same year), organised an extraordinary police. He himself mainly to literature. His Essays, in a restrained the new government from deeds of Series of Letters, were published in 1805, while he violence, and by his advice the list of émigrés was was officiating as pastor of a Baptist chapel at closed, a general amnesty proclaimed, and the prinFrome, in Somersetshire. They were only four in ciple of moderation and conciliation steadily adhered number-On a Man's Writing Memoirs of Himself; to. His remark upon the execution of the Duke On Decision of Character; On the Application of d'Enghien was very happy: C'est bien pis qu'un the Epithet Romantic; and On some of the Causes crime, c'est une faute' (It is much worse than a crime; by which Evangelical Religion has been rendered it is a blunder). In July 1804, he was again placed. less acceptable to Persons of Cultivated Taste; yet at the head of the police. His chief endeavours were Sir James Mackintosh did not hesitate to affirm directed, as before, to attaching the royalists to the that they shewed their author to be one of the imperial throne by prudent moderation. In 1809, most profound and eloquent writers that England the Emperor conferred on him the title of Duke of has produced.' They have been remarkably popu- Otranto, along with large grants from the revenues lar, especially among the more thoughtful of the of the Neapolitan territory. An unguarded expres community, and have gone through upwards of sion, however, in a proclamation, lost him the twenty editions. In 1808, F. married the lady to favour of Napoleon, and in the following year he whom his essays were originally addressed, and was forced to resign. In the campaign of 1813, the retired to Bourton-on-the-Water, in Gloucestershire, Emperor summoned F. to head-quarters at Dresden, where he lived a quiet, studious, literary life, and sent him thence as governor of the Illyrian preaching, however, in the villages round about on provinces, and, after the battle of Leipsic, to Rome Sundays. In 1819 appeared his celebrated Essay and Naples, in order to keep a watch upon Murat's on the Evils of Popular Ignorance, in which he proceedings. Being recalled to Paris in the spring urges the necessity of a national system of edu- of 1814, he predicted the downfall of Napoleon even cation. He was long the principal writer in the before his arrival in France. After the Emperor's Eclectic Review, and a selection from his contribu- abdication, F. advised him to abandon Europe tions to that magazine was published by Dr Price in altogether. On his return from Elba, Napoleon. 1844. He died at Stapelton, near Bristol, October again nominated him minister of police; but after 15, 1843. F. was a man of deep but sombre piety. the battle of Waterloo, F. placed himself at the The shadows that overhung his soul were, however, head of the provisional government, brought about those of an inborn melancholy, and had nothing the capitulation of Paris, drew back the army in common with the repulsive gloom of bigotry or behind the Loire, and thereby prevented unnecestanaticism. His thinking is rugged, massive, and sary bloodshed. At the Restoration, Louis XVIII. original; and at times, when his great imagination reappointed him minister of police; but he resigned: rouses itself from sleep, a splendour of illustration his office in a few months, and went as ambassador breaks over his pages that startles the reader both to Dresden. The law of the 12th January 1816, by its beauty and its suggestiveness. Besides the banishing all those who had voted for the death of works already mentioned, F. published several Louis XVI., was extended to F. also, who from. others, of which the most important is an Intro- that time resided in different parts of Austria. ductory Essay to Doddridge's Rise and Progress He died at Trieste, 26th December 1820, leaving of Religion (1825). Compare the Life and Corres- an immense fortune. Napoleon, at St Helena, called pondence of F. (2 vols. 1846), edited by J. E. Ryland, F. a miscreant of all colours;' and Bourrienne

185

419

FOUGERES-FOULIS.

FOUNDATION-FOUNDING.