Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 20.djvu/347

Fyfe inflammable substances was great, and he often gave evidence in official inquiries on such subjects. He was much esteemed both by his students and in private life. He was twice married; his son, also named Andrew Fyfe, was a London physician.

 FYFE, WILLIAM BAXTER COLLIER (1836?–1882), painter, was born at Dundee about 1836, and brought up in the neighbouring village of Carnoustie. Although the Scottish prejudices of his father's household were unpropitious to art, friends enabled him to become a student of the Royal Scottish Academy when only fifteen. Here his crayon portraits won prizes, and were highly praised. He afterwards studied at Paris during parts of 1857 and 1858. His first picture of importance, ‘Queen Mary resigning her Crown at Loch Leven Castle,’ appeared at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1861. In 1863, after having passed a year among the art treasures of France, Italy, and Belgium, he settled in London and devoted much of his time to portraiture, which he varied with landscapes and fancy subjects, but his summers were often spent in Scotland. His pictures of ‘The Death of John Brown of Priesthill’ and ‘Jeanie Deans and the Laird o' Dumbiedykes’ attracted much notice, and in 1866 he began to exhibit at the Royal Academy. In 1868 and 1869 he painted ‘The Wood Merchant,’ ‘The “Scotsman,” Sir?’ ‘The Flower Girl,’ ‘The Orange Girl,’ ‘Marketing,’ and ‘A Girl of the Period,’ the last of which became very popular. These were followed during the next four years by ‘The Young Cavalier,’ ‘The Page,’ ‘On Household Cares intent,’ ‘The Maid of Honour,’ ‘Bide a wee,’ and ‘What can a young Lassie dae wi' an auld Man?’ several of which were engraved in the illustrated newspapers of Europe and America, and even of Asia. About 1874 Fyfe again visited Italy, and painted several Italian subjects. His best-known works of later date were ‘A Good Catholic,’ ‘Wandering Minstrels,’ ‘The Love Letter,’ ‘A Quiet Christmas,’ ‘The Fisherman's Daughter,’ ‘A Chelsea Pensioner,’ and ‘The Raid of Ruthven,’ his most important historical picture, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1878, and afterwards at the Royal Scottish Academy. His last works were ‘Hide and Seek,’ ‘A Fisher Girl,’ and ‘Nellie.’ Among his portraits some of the most important were those of the Earl and Countess of Dufferin, Lord Houghton, Sir David and Lady Baxter, Alderman Sir William m'Arthur, and Dr. Lorimer, first principal of the London Presbyterian College. His own portrait was one of his latest works.

Fyfe died suddenly at Abbey Road, St. John's Wood, London, on 15 Sept. 1882, in the forty-seventh year of his age, and was buried in Willesden cemetery.

 FYNCH or FINCH, MARTIN (1628?–1698), ejected minister, was born about 1628, and entered the ministry about 1648. His maiden effort as an author was a criticism (1656) of the mystical theology of Sir Henry Vane. He was ejected from the vicarage of Tetney, Lincolnshire, by the uniformity act of 1662. In 1668 we find him in Norwich, where he acted as one of three ‘heads and teachers’ of a congregation of three hundred independents, who met for worship in the house of John Tofts, a grocer, in St. Clement's parish. On the issuing of the indulgence of 1672, Fynch took out a license to preach in the house of Nicholas Withers, in St. Clement's. He became pastor of the independent congregation in succession to John Cromwell (d. April 1685). Their meeting-place was the west granary in St. Andrew's parish. Fynch removed his flock to a brewhouse in St. Edmund's parish, which he fitted up as a meeting-house; and after the passing of the Toleration Act (1689) he secured a site in St. Clement's parish, being ‘part of the Friars' great garden,’ on which a handsome building was erected (finished 1693), originally known as the ‘New Meeting,’ but since 1756 called the ‘Old Meeting.’ John Stackhouse was Fynch's colleague from about 1691.

With the presbyterian minister at Norwich,, D.D. [q. v.], who died 18 Jan. 1691, Fynch was in close relations, both personal and ecclesiastical. In accordance with the terms of the ‘happy union’ (mooted in 1690), these divines agreed to discard the dividing names ‘presbyterian’ and ‘independent’ and co-operate simply as dissenters. Fynch preached Collinges's funeral sermon, and defended his memory in reply to a pamphlet by (1634–1692) [q. v.]

Fynch suffered from failing eyesight, and was a victim to calculus, a malady prevalent in Norfolk. He died on 13 Feb. 1697 (i.e. 1698), and was buried in the graveyard on the north side of his meeting-house, 