FOURCROY (Antoine François de), was born at Paris on the 15th of June, 1755. His family had long resided in the capital, and several of his ancestors had distinguished themselves at the bar. His father, however, was a poor apothecary, and he was at length even compelled to give up that business by the corporation of apothecaries. The care of an elder sister preserved the subject of this memoir with difficulty till he reached the age at which it was usual to be sent to college. Here he was unlucky enough to meet with a brutal master, who treated him with cruelty. The consequence was a dislike to study; and he quitted the college at the age of fourteen, scarcely better instructed than when he went to it. His poverty now was such, that he was under the necessity of endeavouring to support himself by commencing writing-master. He had even some thoughts of going upon the stage; but, while uncertain what plan to follow, the advice of Viq. d'Azyr induced him to commence the study of medicine. This to a man in his situation was by no means an easy task. Fourcroy, however, studied with so much zeal and ardor that he soon became well acquainted with the subject of medicine. It was now necessary to get a doctor's degree; and all the expenses, at that time, amounted to £250 sterling. Viq. d'Azyr was particularly obnoxious to the faculty of medicine at Paris; and Fourcroy was unluckily the acknowledged protegée of this eminent anatomist, This was sufficient to induce the faculty of medicine to refuse him a gratuitous degree; and he would have been excluded in consequence from entering upon the career of a practitioner, had not the friends of d'Azyr, enraged at this treatment, formed a subscription, and contributed the necessary expenses. But above the simple degree of doctor, there was a higher one, entitled, Docteur Regent, which depended entirely upon the votes of the faculty; and this was unanimously refused to M. de Fourcroy. Fourcroy being thus entitled to practise in Paris, his success depended entirely upon the reputation which he could contrive to establish. For this purpose he devoted himself to the sciences connected with medicine, as the shortest and most certain road by which he could reach his object. His first writings showed no predilection for any particular branch of science. He wrote upon chemistry, anatomy, and on natural history. He published an Abridgment of the History of Insects, and a Description of the Bursa Mucose of the Tendons. This last piece seems to have given him the greatest celebrity; for in 1785 he was admitted, in consequence of it, into the Academy of Sciences as an anatomist; but the reputation of Bucquet, which at that time was very high, gradually directed his particular attention to chemistry, and he retained this predilection during the rest of his life. Bucquet was at that time professor of chemistry in the medical school of Paris, and was then greatly celebrated on account of his eloquence. Fourcroy became in the first place his pupil, and soon after his particular friend. One day, when illness prevented him from lecturing as usual, he entreated M. de Fourcroy to supply his place he at last consented; and acquitted himself to the satisfac tion of his whole audience. Bucquet soon after substituted him in his place; and it was in his laboratory and in his class-room that Fourcroy first made himself acquainted with chemistry. There was a college established in the king's garden, which was at that time under the superintendance of Buffon, and Macquer was the professor of chemistry in this institution. On the death of this chemist, in 1784, though Lavoisier stood candidate for the chair, Fourcroy was appointed; and continued professor at the Jardin des Plantes during the remainder of his life, which lasted twenty-five years; and such was his eloquence, that his celebrity as a lecturer continued always upon the increase. We must now notice the political career of Fourcroy during the progress of the revolution. In the autumn of 1793 he was elected a member of the National Convention. The National Convention, and France herself, were at that time in a state of abject slavery; and so sanguinary was the tyrant who ruled over that unhappy country, that Fourcroy, notwithstanding his reputation for eloquence, and the love of eclat which appears all along to have been his domineering passion, had sufficient wisdom never to open his mouth in the convention till after the death of Robespierre. During this unfortunate and disgraceful period, several of the most eminent literary characters of France were destroyed; among others, Lavoisier; and Fourcroy has been accused of contributing to the death of this illustrious philosopher, his former rival, and his master in chemistry. How far such an accusation is deserving of credit, there are no means of determining; but Cuvier, who was upon the spot, and in a situation which enabled him to investigate its truth or falsehood, acquits Fourcroy entirely of the charge. If in the rigorous researches which we have made,' says Cuvier, in his Eloge of Fourcroy, we had found the smallest proof of an atrocity so horrible, no human power could have induced us to sully our mouths with his Eloge, or to have pronounced it within the walls of this temple, which ought to be no less sacred to honor than to genius.' Fourcroy began to acquire influence only after the ninth thermidor, when the nation was wearied with destruction, and when efforts were making to restore those monuments of science, and those public institutions for education, which, during the wantonness and folly of the revolution, had been overturned and destroyed. Fourcroy was particularly active in this renovation, and it was to him chiefly that almost all the schools established in France for the education of youth are to be ascribed. The convention had destroyed all the colleges, and universities, and academies, throughout France. The effects of this ridicu lous abolition soon became visible. The army stood in need of surgeons and physicians, and there were none educated to supply the vacant places. Three new schools were founded for educating medical men. They were nobly endowed, and still continue connected with the university of Paris. The term schools of medicine was proscribed as too aristocratical. were distinguished by the ridiculous appellation of schools of health. The Polytechnic School They was next instituted, as a kind of preparation for the exercise of the military profession, where young men could be instructed in mathematics and natural philosophy, to make them fit for entering the schools of the artillery, and of the marine. Fourcroy, either as member of the convention, or of the council of ancients, took an active part in all these institutions, both as far as regarded the plan and the establishment. He was equally concerned in the establishment of the Institute, and of the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle. This last was endowed with the utmost liberality, and Fourcroy was one of the first professors; as he was, also, in the School of Medicine, and the Polytechnic School. The violent exertions which M. de Fourcroy made in the numerous situations which he filled, and the prodigious activity which he displayed, gradually undermined his constitution. He himself was sensible of his approaching death, and announced it to his friends as an event which would speedily take place. On the 16th of December, 1809, after signing some despatches, he suddenly cried out, Je suis mort, and dropped lifeless on the ground. He was twice married: first to Mademoiselle Bettinger, by whom he had two children; a son, an officer in the artillery, who inherits his title; and a daughter, Madame Foucaud. He was married a second time to Madame Belleville, the widow of Vailly, by whom he had no family. He left but little fortune behind him; and two maiden sisters who lived with him, depended for their support upon his friend M. Vauquelin. The character of M. de Fourcroy is sufficiently obvious. It was exactly fitted to the country in which he lived, and the revolutionary government, in the midst of which he was destined to finish his career. Vanity was his ruling passion, and the master-spring of all his actions. It was the source of all the happiness, and of all the misery of his life; for every attack, from what quarter soever it proceeded, was felt by him with equal acuteness. The changes which took place in the science of chemistry were brought about by others, who were placed in a different situation, and endowed with different talents; but no man contributed so much as Fourcroy to the popularity of the Lavoisierian opinions, and the rapidity with which they were propagated over France, and most countries in Europe. He must have pos sessed an uncommon facility in writing, for his literary labors are exceedingly numerous. Besides those essays which have been already noticed, he published five editions of his System of Chemistry; the first edition being in two volumes, and the fifth in ten. It contains a vast quantity of valuable matter, and contributed considerably to the general diffusion of chemical knowledge. Perhaps the best of all Fourcroy's productions is his Philosophy of Chemistry, which is remarkable for its conciseness, its perspicuity, and the neatness of its arrangement. Besides these works, and the periodical work called Le Medecin Eclairé, of which he was the editor, there are above 160 papers on chemical subjects, with his name attached to them as the author, which appeared in the Memoirs of the Academy of the Institute, in the Annales de Chimie, or the Annales de Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, of which last work he was the original projector. As in most of these papers the name of Vauquelin is associated with his own, as the author; and as during the publication of those which appeared with his own name alone, Vauquelin was the operator in his laboratory, it is not possible to determine what part of the experiments were made by Fourcroy, and what by Vauquelin. FOURMONT (Stephen), professor of the Arabic and Chinese languages, was born at Herbelai, a village twelve miles from Paris, in 1683. He studied in Mazarine College He was at length appointed professor of Arabic in the Royal College, and was made a member of the Academy of Inscriptions. In 1738 he was chosen F. R. S. of London, and of Berlin in 1741. He was often consulted by the duke of Orleans, who greatly esteemed him, and made him one of his secretaries. He wrote a great number of works. The chief of which are, 1. The Roots of the Latin Tongue, in verse. Critical Reflections on the Histories of ancient Nations, 2 vols. 4to. 3. Meditationes Seneca, folio. 4. A Chinese Grammar, in Latin, folio. 5. Several Dissertations printed in the Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions, &c. He died at Paris in 1745. 6 2. FOURNESS, a track in Loynsdale, Lancashire, between the Kent, Leven, and Dudden Sands, which runs north parallel with the west sides of Cumberland and Westmoreland, and on the south runs into the sea as a promontory. Here, as Camden expresses it, the sea, as if enraged at it, lashes it more furiously, and in high tides has even devoured the shore, and made three large bays; viz. Kent-sand, into which the river Ken empties itself; Leven-sand and Dudden-sand, between which the land projects in such a manner that it has its name thence; Foreness and Foreland, signifying the same with us as promontorium anterius in Latin.' Bishop Gibson, however, derives the name of Fourness, or Furness, from the numerous furnaces that were there anciently, the rents and services of which, called bloomsmithy rents, are still paid. Here are several cotton mills; and in the mosses of Fourness much fir is found, but more oak: the trunks in general lie with their heads to the east, the high winds having been from the west. Fourness produces all sorts of grain, but principally oats, of which the bread is generally made: and there are veins of a very rich iron ore, which is not only melted and wrought, but exported in great quantities. The three sands above-mentioned are very dangerous to. travellers, by the tides and the many quicksands. There is a guide on horseback appointed to Kent or Lancaster-sand at £10 a year, to Leven at £6 out of the public revenue; but to Dudden-sands, which are most dangerous, none; and it is no uncommon thing for persons to pass over in parties of 100 at a time like caravans, under the direction of the carriers, who pass every day. The sands are less dangerous than formerly, being much more frequently passed and better known, and travellers who are strangers, never going without guides. FOURNESS ABBEY, or FURNIS ABBEY up in the mountains,' was begun at Tulket in Amounderness, in 1124, by Stephen earl of Boulogne, afterwards king of England, for the monks of Savigny in France, and three years after removed to the valley, then called Bekangesgill, or the vale of night-shade.' It was of the Cistertian order, endowed with above £800 per annum. Out of the monks of this abbey, Camden says, the bishops of the Isle of Man, which lies over against it, used to be chosen by ancient custom; it being as it were the mother of many monasteries in Man and Ireland. Some ruins, and part of the fosse which surrounded the monastery, are still to be seen at Tulket. The remains at Fourness breathe the plain simplicity of the Cistertian abbeys; the chapter-house was the only piece of elegant Gothic about it. Part of the painted glass from the east window, representing the crucifixion, &c., is preserved at Winder-mere church in Bowlness, Westmoreland. FOURSCORE, adj. Four and score. Four times twenty; eighty. It is used elliptically for fourscore years in numbering the age of man. When they were out of reach, they turned and crossed the ocean to Spain, having lost fourscore of their ships, and the greater part of their men. Bacon's War with Spain. In the mean time, the batteries proceeded, And fourscore cannon on the Danube's border Were briskly fired and answered in due order. And so all ye, who would be in the right, Byron. In health and purse, begin your day to date From day-break, and when coffined at fourscore, Engrave upon the plate, you rose at four. Id. FOURSQUARE, adj. Four and square. Quadrangular; having four sides and angles equal. The temple of Bel was environed with a wall carried foursquare, of great height and beauty; and on each square certain brazen gates curiously engraven. Raleigh's History. FOURTEEN, adj. Sax. reopentyn. Four and ten; twice seven. I am not fourteen pence on the score for sheer ale. Shakspeare. FOURTEENTH, adj. From fourteen. The ordinal of fourteen; the fourth after the tenth. I have not found any that see the ninth day, few before the twelfth, and the eyes of some not open before the fourteenth day. Browne's Vulgar Errours. FOURTH, adj. From four. The ordinal of four; the first after the third. A third is like the former: filthy hags! FOURTH FIGURE TRAP, the trap generally used in gardens, plantations, &c., to catch the mice which devour the seeds. It is composed of three pieces of wood in the shape of a figure 4 (see diagram) supporting a piece of slate. The following is the account given of it in Nicholls's Planter. The longest of these pieces of wood, or the bait-stick (a), should be seven inches in length, half an inch broad, and onesixteenth thick; the outward end on the upper side is notched to one-fourth of its thickness, at half an inch from the end. Two inches and a half inwards from the last mentioned notch, holding the above end from you, there is a cut made on the right side to half the breadth of the stick, quite through; from which, towards the outer end on the same side, a little within the first mentioned notch, the wood is cut out in a circular manner. The inner end is tapered and left rough, in order to make the bait at (b) hold the latter upon it. The upper piece (c) is three inches long, half an inch broad, and onesixteenth of an inch thick. At half an inch from what is to be the highest part of the trap, it is to be notched, like the outer end of the baitstick, to one-fourth of its thickness: the other end is made sharp like the face of a chisel. The third piece is of the same thickness and breadth, and four inches long, sharpened at one of its ends like the above, and cut square at the other. This piece is called the pillar (d). There are two slates required; one to lie upon the ground, and this must be pressed so deep into it as to cause its upper side to be equal with the general surface; because, if access to the bait is any way difficult, the mice will take the seeds as the readiest food, although not perhaps the most palatable. Having laid the above slate, and being provided with another, from six to seven inches square, and from one and a half to two pounds weight, take the upper piece (c) into the left hand, holding the sharp end towards you, and the notch downwards. Next place the sharpened end of the pillar into this notch, forming an acute angle; hold these two pieces in this position with the fingers and thumb of the left hand, and place the under end of the of the upper slate near the extremity of the upper pillar upon the lower slate, and the outer edge part of the trap; then take the bait-stick (previously baited) with your right hand, and place it so as that the notched part near the extremity may receive the sharpened end of the upper stick, and let that place of it which was cut half end of the bait-stick may slightly rest upon the through hold the pillar, but so as that the baited slate; and the trap is set. A very little practice will enable any person who is a stranger to this kind of trap to use it with facility; and a great number may be placed in the nursery grounds at no expense. Bricks are sometimes used in place of slates. The best bait is oatmeal made into dough by butter, and tied on the bait-stick with a little flax: after being tied on, it will be of use to burn the bait a little, to make it smell. Such a quantity of bait must not be used as may prevent the mouse from being killed by the fall of the slate. FOURTHLY, adv. From fourth. In the excellent poor-house, and an alms-house for fourth place. Fourthly, plants have their seed and seminal parts uppermost, and living creatures have them lowermost. Bucon's Natural History. FOURWHEELED, adj. Four and wheel. Running upon twice two wheels. Scarce twenty fourwheeled cars, compact and strong, The massy load could bear, and roll along. Pope. FOU-TCHEOU, a city of China of the first rank in the province of Fo-Kien. It carries on a great trade, and has a good harbour and a most magnificent bridge, which has more than 100 arches, constructed of white stone, and ornamented with a double balustrade throughout. It is the residence of a viceroy, and has under its jurisdiction nine cities of the third class. It lies 870 miles south of Pekin. Long. 136° 50′ E. of Ferro, lat. 26° 4′ N. FOU-TCHEOU, a city of China of the first rank, in the province of Kiang-si; formerly one of the finest cities in the empire, but almost ruined by the Tartar invasion. It lies 735 miles east of Pekin. Long. 133° 42′ E. of Ferro, lat. 27° 55' N. FO'UTRA, n. s. Fr. foutre. A fig; a scoff; a word of contempt. Not used. A foutra for the world, and worldlings base. Shakspeare. FOWEY, FAWEY, or Foy, a populous and flourishing town of Cornwall, with a commodious haven on the British Channel. It extends above a mile on the east side of the river, and has a spacious market-house, with a town-hall above it, erected by the then representatives of the borough, Philip Rashleigh, Esq., and lord viscount Valletort. It has also a fine old church, a free-school, and an hospital. It rose so much formerly by naval wars and piracies, that, in the reign of Edward III., its ships refusing to strike when required, as they sailed by Rye and Winchelsea, were attacked by the ships of those ports, but defeated them; whereupon they bore their arms mixed with the arms of those two cinque ports, which gave rise to the name of the Gallants of Fowey. And Camden informs us that this town quartered a part of the arms of all the other cinque ports with their own; intimating that they had at times triumphed over them all. In the same reign they rescued certain ships of Rye from distress, for which this town was made a member of cinque ports. Edward IV. favored Fowey so much, that when the French threatened to come up the river to burn it, he caused two towers, the ruins of which are yet visible, to be built at the public charge for its security but he was afterwards so provoked at the inhabitants for attacking the French, after a truce proclaimed with Louis XI., that he took away all their ships and naval stores, together with a chain drawn across the river between the two forts, which was carried to Dartmouth. For the present defence of the harbour three batteries have been erected at the entrance, which stand so high that no ship can bring her guns to bear upon them. The market-house is large and spacious, over which there is a neat town-hall. Here are also two free-schools, an eight decayed widows. No wheeled carriages can come into this town, owing to the narrowness and sudden turnings of the streets. Most of the inhabitants are in the pilchard fishery, which employs a great number of vessels. About 28,000 hhds. of fish are annually brought into this port. The corporation consists of a mayor, recorder, eight aldermen, a town clerk, and two of the market, fairs, and harbour, were vested in assistants: the market is on Saturday. The tolls the corporation on the payment of a fee-farm rent of about 40s. It has sent two members to parliament since the 13th of queen Elizabeth. Fowey lies twenty-two miles E. N. E. of Truro, FOWL, n. s. & v. n. Sax. Fugel, ruhl; FOWLER, n. s. Belg. vogal; Goth. FOWLING-PIECE, n. s.fugl; from Ayga, to fly: A winged animal; a bird. It is colloquially used of edible birds, but in books, of all the feathered tribes. Fowl is used collectively; as, we dined upon fish and fowl: to kill birds for food or game: a sportsman who pursues birds; a gun for birds. and 239 W. S. W. of London. -, the foules of ravine Were highest set; and, then, the foules smale, That eten as hem nature would encline, As worme or thing, of whiche I tell no tale; And water foule sate, lowest, in the dale; And foules that liveth by sede, sat on the greene, And that so fele, that wonder wos to sene. Chaucer. Assemble of Foules. The fowler we defy And all his craft. Id. Legend of Good Women. The beasts, the fishes, and the winged fowls, Are their males' subjects, and at their controuls. Shakspeare. Lucullus entertained Pompey in a magnificent house: Pompey said, this is a marvellous house for the Summer; but methinks very cold for Winter. Lucullus answered, Do you not think me as wise as divers fowls, to change my habitation in the Winter season? Bacon's Apophthegms. 'Tis necessary that the countryman be provided Mortimer. with a good fowlingpiece. The fowler, warned By those good omens, with swift early steps Treads the crimp earth, ranging through fields and glades, Offensive to the birds. Philips. With slaughtering guns the' unwearied fowler roves, When frosts have whitened all the naked groves. FowL, among zoologists, denotes the larger sorts of birds, whether domestic or wild: such as geese, pheasants, partridges, turkeys, ducks, &c. Tame fowl make a necessary part of the stock of a country farm. See POULTRY. Fowls are again distinguished into two kinds, viz. land and water fowls, these last being so called from their living much in and about water; also into those which are counted game, and those which are not. See GAME. FOWLING PIECES are reckoned best when they have a long barrel, from five feet and a half to six feet, with a modera te bore. But every fowler should have them of different sizes suitable to the game he designs to kill. The barrel should Je well polished and smooth within, and the bore of an equal size from one end to the other; which may be proved by putting in a piece of pasteboard cut to the exact roundness of the top, for if this goes down without stops or slipping, you may conclude the bore good. The bridgepan must be somewhat above the touch hole. As to the locks, choose such as are well filled with true work, whose springs must be neither too strong nor too weak. The hammer ought to be well hardened, and pliable to go down to the pan with a quick motion. FOX, n. s. Sax. Fox; Belg. vos, vosch, from Goth. for. A wild animal of the canine kind, with sharp ears and a bushy tail, remarkable for his cunning, living in holes, and preying upon fowls or small animals; by way of reproach, applied to a knave or cunning fellow. The sely widewe, and hire daughtrer troo, Chaucer. The Nonnes Preestes Tule. The for barks not when he would steal the lamb. Shakspeare. He that trusts to you, Where he should find you lions, finds you ha res; Where fores, geese. Id. Macbeth. These retreats are more like the dens of robbers, or holes of foxes, than the fortresses of fair warriours. Locke. Fox, in zoology. See CANIS. The fox is a great nuisance to the husbandman, by taking away and destroying his lambs, geese, poultry, &c. The common way to catch him is by gins; which being baited, and a train made by drawing raw flesh across in his usual paths or haunts to the gin, it proves an inducement to bring him to the place of destruction. The fox is also a beast of chase, and is taken with greyhounds, terriers, &c. See HUNTING. Fox (Charles James), an illustrious statesman, who took a large and important share in all the public business of the British empire, from 1768 to 1806. The period of Mr. Fox's political life was filled with measures of such interest and magnitude as would have conferred celebrity on a meaner agent; while his talents were so considerable as to exalt and dignify even the ordinary course of affairs. His era and character, therefore, mutually aid each other's immortality; and, when taken together, command a double portion of that historical interest which either of them would have separately possessed. Another accessary circumstance, which serves to augment his natural and intrinsic claims to fame, was the distinguished eminence of his chief political opponent. The mind, like the body, is generally disposed to exert no more of its power than the occasion reqnires; and, from the want of a sufficient stimulus, many have allowed their intellectual vigor to degenerate by inaction, and its extent to remain unknown both to others and themselves. But the co-existence and competition of Fox and Pitt tasked the facul ties of each to their full strength, and revealed to the world the ultimate resources of two of the most distinguished men that ever struggled for superiority, by eloquence and wisdom. The nearness of their deatns, too, secures the complete coincidence of their histories; so that, in all future periods, the name of the one must naturally suggest that of the other, and each communicate to his rival a portion of his own renown, It is fair, however, to observe that, if their comparative merit is to be weighed by their celebrity alone, the balance must incline towards the claims of him who, without place or power, and acting more as a commentator on great national measures, than as their author, created for himself a splendor of reputation equal to that of an opponent, who enjoyed nearly through life the most eminent and efficient station. antagonist of Godolphin or Harley, of Walpole or Pelham, fills so large a space in the eye of the historian, as these long established dispensers of profit and preferment: and even of the great Chatham it is the glorious administration, not the animated opposition, that is most frequently in the mouths of his admirers. If Fox, therefore, contrary to all former example, contrived, during a life of political adversity, to acquire an equal name with his more fortunate competitor, it is natural to ascribe to him a superiority of that genius which captivates popular attention. No Mr. Fox was born on the 13th of January, 1749. He was the second son of Henry lord Holland, who, by a public career in an opposite direction to that of his son, at once ennobled and enriched his family. The former was as zealous in maintaining, as the latter in resisting, the principles of the court; yet, notwithstanding this contrariety of conduct, some features of a family likeness may be traced between the father and the son. We find in both a certain masculine vigor of character, united with a kind, indulgent, and affectionate temper; political activity with domestic indolence; and an equal ardor in public enmities and private friendships. The more pleasing qualities in lord Holland's character were remarkably displayed towards his favorite boy, whose genius he had sufficient penetration very early to discern. To its growth he is reported to have given the fullest scope, by freeing him from every species of restraint; conversing with him on state affairs; and, at times, even profiting by his suggestions. His mother was lady Georgina Caroline Lennox, sister to the late duke of Richmond, through whom he inherited the blood, and even the features, of the royal house of Stuart; but in character, as has been observed by Mr. Burke, he bore a much closer resemblance to Henry IV. of France, another of his royal progenitors. He enjoyed the full advantage of a public education, having been sent to Eton, during the mastership of Dr. Barnard, and under the private tuition of Dr. Newcome, the late primate of Ireland. Pitt.spent his boyhood at home, and it is amusing to remark how complete a contrast, in every particular, these illustrious men have been destined to exhibit to the world; since they even assist us to appreciate, in minds nearly of equal force, the comparative benefits of public and private education. Fox, |