able powers of annoyance, and fly from the sight of man with the greatest rapidity and alarm. But between man and the feline tribe a contest for dominiou is kept up over extensive regions of the globe, many of them highly ornamented and productive, and calculated to become the abodes of harmony and civilization.

FELLOWSHIP, or Company, in arithmetic, is when two or more join their stocks and trade together, dividing their gain or loss proportionably.

Fellowship is either with or without time. Questions without time, or in the single rule of fellowship, as it is frequently called, are wrought by the following proportion.

As the whole stock to the whole gain or loss, so is each man's particular stock to his particular share of gain or loss.

Suppose three partners, A, B, and C, make a joint stock in this manner: A puts in 241.; B, 321.; and C, 401.; in all 96l.; with which they trade, and gain 12l.; required each man's true share of that gain? The first operation for A's part of the gain will stand thus:

2. B's stock, 78 x 3. C's stock, 84 X

Proof, 31. +41.+5l. = 121. the whole gain.

That is, if the total of all their particular gains amounts to the whole gain, the work is true; if not, some mistake has been committed.

FELLOWSHIP with time, usually called the Double Rule of Fellowship, because every man's money is to be considered with relation to the time of its continuance in the joint stock. It is worked thus: multiply each man's stock by the respective time he puts it in for, and add all the products, the total of which must be your first numher through all the statings; the gain or loss the second, as before, and each man's particular stock, multiplied by its time, the third..

Note, the times, and sums, (if not so given) must be reduced into one denomination, i. e. all years, all months, all weeks, or all days, &c.

Ex. Three merchants, A, B, and C, enter into partnership thus: A puts into the stock 651. for eight months; B puts in 781. for twelve months; and C puts in 841. for six months: with this joint stock they traffic, and gain 1667. 12s.: it is required to 'find each man's share of the gain proportionable to his stock and time of employing it.

FELO de se, in law, one who is felon of himself; i. e. being of sound memory, and of the age of discretion, or 14 years, kills himself. All his chattels, real and personal, are forfeited to the crown, when it is found by the Coroner that he is felo de se; a will, therefore, made by him, is void as to his personal estate, but not as to his land or real estate; nor is his wife barred of her dower. If a man and his wife are possessed of a term, and the man commit suicide, the term is forfeited, and the wife shall not have

it by survivorship. The Coroner must find the fact upon an inquest, on view of the body, in order to vest the goods in the King.

This law is, in our opinion, hard and unjust: if a man is determined to commit sui. cide, human laws can have no hold upon him and the cruelty of punishing the descendant for the act of the father, is so generally acknowledged, that where the party has any thing to forfeit, it is either found lunacy, or the crown gives up the forfeiture

upon petition. The further punishment of a felo de se is, to be buried in a highway, and a stake run through the body. This being never practised but upon the poor, is become merely an odious distinction. The law of the Romans seems more reasonable, which only forfeited the estate where the party killed himself to avoid punishment for a crime.

FELONY, in the general acceptation of law, comprises every species of crime which occasions, at common law, the forfeiture of land or goods. The punishment of a person for felony, by our ancient books, is, 1st, to lose his life; 2dly, to lose his blood, as to his ancestry, and so to have neither heir nor posterity; 3dly, to lose his goods; 4thly, to lose his lands, and the King shall have year, day, and waste, to the intent that his wife and children be cast out of the house, his house pulled down, and all that he had for his comfort and delight destroyed. A felony, by statute, incidentally implies, that the offender shall be subject to the like attainder and forfeiture, &c., as is incident to a felon at common law. This is now the punishment in case of a capital felony only; but for some offences benefit of clergy is allowed, when the offence is punished only with transportation, imprisonment, &c. which are called felonies with benefit of clergy; but the goods and estate of the felon are forfeited as in cases of capital felony.

FELT, in commerce, a sort of stuff, deriving all its consistence merely from being fulled, or wrought with lees and size, without either spinning or weaving. Felt is made either of wool alone, or of wool and hair.

FELTING, the method of working up hair or wool into a species of cloth, independently of either spinning or weaving. A hatter separates the hairs from each other by striking the wool with the string of his bow, causing them to spring up in the air, which fall on the table in every direction, which is covered by the workman with cloth, pressing it with his hands, and moving the hairs backwards and forwards in different directions. In this manner the hairs are brought against each other, and their points of contact considerably multiplied, and the agitation gives each hair a progressive motion towards the root, in consequence of which the hairs become twisted together. As the mass becomes compact, the pressure should be increased, in order to keep up the progressive motion and twisting of the hairs, which is then per

formed with greater difficulty. The hair intended for the manufacturing of hats is always cut off with a sharp instrument, and not pulled out by the roots, because the bulb of the hair, which would come out with it in the latter case, would render the end which was fixed in the skin very obtuse, and nearly destroy its disposition to unite with the adjacent hairs. The hairs should not be straight like needles, for then there would be no compactness in the stuff. The fibres of wool having naturally a crooked form, that substance is well adapted to the operation of felting The hair of bea. vers, rabbits, hares, &c., being straight, cannot be used in felting, till it has been prepared for the purpose.

FEMME covert, in law, a married wo man, so called from being under the cover, protection, and influence of her husband. FEMME sole, in law, a single or unmarried woman.

FEMME sole truder, a married woman who, by the custom of London, trades on her own account, independent of her hus band; who, by the same custom, is answerable for her own debts, and may be made a bankrupt.

FEMININE, in grammar, one of the genders of nouns. As there are but two sexes, so, in fact, there can be but two genders.

The feminine gender serves to intimate that the noun belongs to the female. In Latin, the feminine gender is most com monly distinguished by the article hæc, as it is in the Greek by the article. In the French, the article la commonly denotes this gender; but we have no such distinction by articles in the English language.

FEMINEUS flos, a female flower. By this name Linnæus denominates a flower which is furnished with the pistillum, or female organ of generation, but wants the stamina or male organ. Female flowers may be produced apart from the male, either on the same root, or on distinct plants. The birch and mulberry are examples of the first case; willow and poplar of the second. Male and female flowers separated on the same plant, constitute the class Monoecia of Limæus; separated on distinct roots, the class Dioecia.

FEN, a place overflowed with water, or abounding with bogs the term is also ap plied to such boggy lands as are naturally disposed to produce coarse vegetables from the retention of water. In many parts of the kingdom since the introduction of a

laudable spirit of improvement in agriculture, much valuable land has been redeemed both in England and Ireland from bogs and fens. There are, however, vast tracts of land of this kind still in different districts, in Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Cambridgeshire, and the West of England. In short, there are but few counties without them, which, by proper inclosing, draining, pair ing and burning, and the growth of suitable crops, might be rendered highly valuable; but which at present afford little except reeds, sedge, or rushes and coarse grass.

FENCE, in country affairs, a hedge, wall, ditch, bank, or other inclosure, made around gardens, woods, corn-fields, &c. See AGRI

CULTURE.

FENCING, is the manner of attacking an adversary with the sword, and defending the person from his thrusts. It is necessary in acquiring this difficult art to use foils, or small thin swords, which being blunted at the points, and bending readily, prevents accidental wounds. The gladiators, who were compelled to sacrifice their lives for the amusement of the Romans, received instructions in the use of the sword in order to lengthen the diversion of their cruel masters, who were fearful that sudden rage might otherwise prompt an abrupt termina tion of the combat. Kennet says, "Before the combatants fell to it in earnest they tried their skill against one another with more harmless weapons, as the rudes, and the spears without heads, the blunted swords, the foils, and such like." To this Cicero admirably alludes, "If in the mortal combats of the gladiators, where the victory is decided by arms, before they actually engage, there are several flourishes given more for a shew of art than a design of hurting; how much more proper would this look in the contention of an orator."

Fencing was indispensible to almost all ranks of people, long after armies had ceased to use swords in the field of battle, through the absurd fashion of wearing side. arms; when men of turbulent dispositions might have immediate recourse to weapons it became necessary for the peaceable citizen to learn the best mode of defence, that he might not perish for an offence which would end at present in altercation. During the long period this supposed ornament of the person was worn, numerous masters brought the art of using it to great perfection; but the French appear to have excelled every other nation in fencing, which may be attributed in a great measure to the

physical properties of their bodies. Their teachers and their imitators have, therefore, been loud in its praises, asserting that the art should be taught in every polite academy, that the figure may be formed into com, plete grace by the active movements of the limbs and body in every possible position.

The professors divide fencing into two parts, which they distinguish from each other by terining the first simple, and the second compound; the first they perform instantaneously and actively on the same line, either on the offensive or defensive. The principle on which they act, in this instance, is to push or make passes in any direction, to strike the least guarded part of the adversary, at the same time endeavouring to parry his thrusts.

Compound fencing consists of every description of feint appeals, entangling of foils, slashing, half thrusts, &c. contrived to distract the attention of the enemy, and thus suddenly and unexpectedly to reach that spot which he skilfully defends in simple fencing; but the utmost care must be used to push at the proper moment when' parrying.

FEND, in the sea language, imports the same as defend: thus, fending the boat, is saving it from being dashed to pieces against the rocks, shore, ship's sides. And hence

FENDERS are pieces of old hawsers, cable-ropes, or billets of wood, hung over the ship's sides, to keep other ships from rubbing against and injuring her.

This

FENNEL. See ANETHUM. FEODAL, or FEUDAL system. system originated from an assumed right obtained by conquest. When the Roman empire began to decline and that government became too feeble to support its most distant possessions, the Celtic nations taking advantage of the reduced state of their various military posts marched in such numbers through the southern parts of Europe that opposition was deemed vain, and these northern hordes of Lombards, Franks, Huns, Goths, and Vandals conquered them without difficulty. Acting upon their previous policy, they immediately introduced the military practice they had adopted towards their enemies, which was the general confiscation of land to the use of the most powerful chiefs; those for obvious motives distributed portions to enterprising subordinates, and even to the common soldier who had earned laurels in their predatory wars. The grants thus made were conditional, and called feoda, feuds, fiefs, or fees, which words

imply the receipt of a reward given for past, and to secure future services; it might, indeed, be considered an actual sale of the person for military purposes, and the bargain became void by the land reverting to the first possessor, if the party refused to march, or fled from his chief in battle; but this, or similard ishonourable conduct, was further guarded against by an oath of fealty.

Viewing this system only in the light of a firm bond of union subsisting between barbarians, it must be admitted that a better could not well be devised, as the chief held officers of trust to his interest, by combining it with their own, and the vassals of the latter had an equally just reason to rely on the fidelity of others, who held land under their fee. The necessity of preserving their conquests rather than any generous principle towards each other, evidently dictated the feodal system, and it was rendered almost impossible by this means that insurrections of the conquered nations should succeed, or that foreign armies could have the least chance of success when opposed to a prince at the head of his feudatories; hence the nations thus constituted, became powerful in the aggregate, and every individual, oppressed by his lord, had a common claim for redress from the lowest feudatory in gradation to the chief, otherwise the whole fabric must have fallen into ruin. Exclusive of the feodal grants, there were others, termed allodial, which, though not free from military service, were given upon more liberal principles than the former, by those all free men had a right to dispose of their territory. In order to secure the prompt assistance of this description of persons, they were invited by a sort of honourable liberty to defend the country in battle, which was denied to the slaves, who were compelled to follow what was then thought the inglorious arts of peace. These allodial proprietors composed a national militia, and had the privilege of possessing moveables and money, a circumstance which compelled them to take the field at the requisition of the sovereign, when the country was in danger; but they were exempt from interfering in the disputes of feudal lords, and this exemption operated at length in subverting all their advantages, being independent of either party, both the lords and their vassals viewed them with jealousy, and each presuming upon their inability to protect themselves, injured and insulted them, well knowing

that as they were scattered at remote distances throughout the country, and forbidden by law from committing hostilities, they had nothing to apprehend from their resentment. The folly and barbarity of this con duct can only be accounted for by the consummate ignorance and brutality of all classes of men, who inured to rapine, injustice, and bloodshed, paid homage to power alone, rejecting the sacred claims of property, and despising all other merit besides that of courage; the necessary consequence was, that the prince courted the most valiant and powerful of his chiefs, and neglected the allodial proprietors in proportion, because he could derive no advantage from them; they in return became completely disgusted with their situation, and wearied by the neglect of the monarch, the destruction of their property without hope of redress, and continual insults, they finally determined to solicit common protection, by resigning their lands to those lords who would deign to return them as feodal tenures; such was the effect of this cruel system of plunder which made fiefs universal.

The advocates for a state of society so constituted, urge with some degree of jus. tice, that a feudal lord, surrounded by his vassals, resembled the father of a numerous family, each reciprocally benefiting the other, and this was certainly the fact in some particular cases, when the lord happened to be of a benevolent disposition and dispensed his favours liberally, such a man deserved, and perhaps received, gratitude equivalent, and hence originated feodal incidents. The expectants of fiefs, before they were hereditary, and the heirs afterwards, educated under his immediate inspection, were attached to him as if they had been his own offspring, and received their lands when of age, with a determination to defend his interest to the utmost of their ability, in return for his careful and paternal wardship, which they further demonstrated by a grateful present on taking possession. The former was called the incident of wardship, and the latter the incident of relief.

There was also an incident of marriage, which was founded upon the same principle as that of reliefs; this operated to prevent alliances with the family or vassals of inimical chiefs, and induced the lord to find such persons for his wards as would promote his own future advantage.

The incident of aid, is explained by the term; in this case all vassals were com

pelled to assist their lord, whether his misfortunes were caused by extravagance, or losses by war.

The incident of escheat has been already noticed, and took place upon the default of the vassal in his customary service.

It will be observed, that this system depended solely on high conceptions of honour, while the chief made it apparent that he gloried in the fidelity and happiness of his vassals, they felt equal pride in supporting his splendor, and in endeavouring to elevate his consequence beyond that of his neighbour; but when the lord ceased to value the lives and property of his vassals, and made both subservient to purposes of mere ambition and avarice, the feodal system began to tremble to its base; wardship instead of being as before mutually advantageous, was then rendered the means of filling the coffers of the lord, and the ward was sometimes ransomed to prevent worse consequences: the result is obvious, the vas ils received their inheritance almost exhausted, and viewed the incidents as so many lawless exactions, by which they might be stripped of large sums in reliefs, married to whom the lord pleased, purchase the freedom of marrying, or lose his land if he did neither. The aid which had been given as a tribute of gratitude on the marriage of the eldest daughter of the chief; when his heir received the distinction of knighthood; or when the lord was made prisoner, was demanded as a tax on the most trivial pretences; nor were escheats confined to real causes of forfeiture; on the contrary, every venial offence, entirely out of contemplation in the original compact, was converted into a crime, and pronounced just reasons for seizure. In this wretched situation, disheartened by oppression, and unable to resist without virtually resigning the whole of their property, by that single act the vassals shrunk from the firm attitude they had assumed in battle, when fighting by the side of a generous chief into the inertness of slaves, who, burning with secret hatred, often committed military errors purposely, equally involving their sovereigns and their own safety; from this cause knights' service had its origin. See KNIGHT service.

FEOFFMENT, in law, may be defined to be the gift of any corporeal purditament to another. He that so gives or enfeoffs is called the feoffer; and the person enfeoffed is denominated the feoffee. But by the mere words of the deed the feoffinent is by

no means perfected. There remains a very material ceremony to be performed, called livery of seisin, without which the feoffee hath but a mere estate at will. Livery in deed is the actual tradition of the land, and is made either by the delivery of a branch of a tree or a turf of the land, or some other thing, in the name of all the lands and tenements contained in the deed; and it may be made by words only, without the delivery of any thing, as if the feoffer upon the land, or at the door of the house, says to the feoffee, "I am content that you should enjoy this land according to the deed." This is a good livery to pass the freehold. The livery within view, or the livery in law, is when the feoffer is not actually on the land, or in the house, but being in sight of it, says to the feoffee, "I give you yonder house, or land, go and enter into the same, and take possession of it accordingly:" This livery in law cannot be given or received by an attorney, as livery in deed may; but only by the parties themselves. A feoffment cannot be made of a thing of which livery cannot be given, as of incorporeal inheritances, such as rent, advowson, common, &c. Though it be an advowson, &c. in gross. A man may either give or receive livery in deed, by letter of attorney; for since a contract is no more than the consent of a man's mind to a thing, where that consent or concurrence appears, it were most unreasonable to oblige each person to be present at the execution of the contract, since it may as well be performed by any other person delegated for that purpose, by the parties to the contract.

FERE, in natural history, an order of quadrupeds, of which the distinguishing characters are, fore-teeth conic, usually six in each jaw; tusks longer; grinders with conic projections; feet with claws; claws subulate; food carcases and preying on other animals: this order comprehends the following genera: