Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/434

 420 F R F R lie views a variety of articles, some of which were republished in two volumes of Biographical and Historical Essays in 1858. In 1848 appeared his Life of Oliver Goldsmith, which, especially as revised and improved in a second edition (1854), has taken an acknowledged place as one of the most admirably executed biographies to be found in the whole range of English literature. Continuing his original researches into English history at the period of the Revolution, he published in 1860 two volumes, respect ively entitled Arrest of the Five Members by Charles I. A Chapter of English History rewritten, and The Debates on the Grand Remonstrance, ivith an Introductory Essay on English Freedom. These were followed by his Biography of Sir John Eliot, published in 1864, an elaborate and finished picture from one of his earlier studies for the Lives of the Statesmen. In 1868 appeared his biography of his friend Walter Savage Landor. For several years he had bsen collecting materials for a life of Swift, but his studies in this direction were for a time suspended in con sequence of the death of Charles Dickens, with whom ho had long been on terms of intimate friendship. The first volume of Forster s Life of Dickens appeared in 1871, and the work was completed in 1874. Towards the close of 1875 the first volume of his Life of Swift was published; and he had made some progress in the preparation of the second, when he was seized with an illness of which he died on the 1st of February 1876. He lies buried in Kensal-Green Cemetery, where a just and discriminative inscription tells that he was &quot; noted in private life for the robustness of his character and the warmth of his affec tions ; for his ceaseless industry in literature and business, and the lavish services which, in the midst of his crowded life, he rendered to his friends ; for his keen appreciation of every species of excellence, and the generosity of his judgments on books and men.&quot; In 1855 Forster had been appointed secretary to the Lunacy Commission, and for some years after 1861 he held the office of a commis sioner in lunacy. In 1860 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the university of Edinburgh. His valuable oollection of manuscripts, along with his books and pictures, was bequeathed to the South Kensington Museum. FORT DE FRANCE, formerly PORT ROYAL, the capital of the French island of Martinique, one of the smaller Antilles, is situated on the west coast of the island, on the north side of a well-sheltered bay. It is the residence of the governor, and possesses a court of justice and a chamber of commerce. The harbour, which is commanded by a fort, is good and safe, and connected with it there is a floating dock and a repairing dock. The town possesses sugar works, and its chief exports are sugar, coffee, and rum. Its trade will be considerably increased by the railway to St Pierre. During the war with France Port Royal was for a time the headquarters of the British West Indian fleet. The population of the town is about 11,500. FORTESCUE, SIR JOHN, an eminent English lawyer in the reign of Henry VL, was descended from an ancient family in Devonshire, and, in all probability, was born at Norris, near South Brent in Somersetshire, towards the close of the 14th century. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. During the reign of Henry VI. he was three times appointed one of the governors of Lincoln s Inn. In 1441 he was made a king s sergeant at law, and in the following year chief justice of the king s bench. As a judge Fortescue is highly commended for his wisdom, gravity, and uprightness; and he seems to have enjoyed great favour with the king, who is said to have given him same substantial proofs of esteem and regard. He held his office during the remainder of the reign of Henry VL, to whom he steadily adhered ; and having faithfully served that unfortunate monarch in all his troubles, he was attainted of treason in the first parliament of Edward IV. When Henry subsequently fled into Scotland, he is sup posed to have appointed Fortescue, who appears to have accompanied him in his flight, chancellor of England. In 1463 Fortescue accompanied Queen Margaret and her court in their exile on the Continent, and returned with them afterwards to England. During their wanderings abroad the chancellor wrote for the instruction of the young Prince Edward his celebrated work De laudibus legum Anglic. On the defeat of the Lancastrian party, he made his submission to Edward IV., from whom he re ceived a general pardon dated Westminster, October 13, 1471. He died at an advanced age, but the exact date of his death has not been ascertained. Fortescue s masterly vindication of the laws of England, though received with great favour by the learned of the profession to whom it was communicated, did not appear in print until the reign of Henry VIII., when it was published by &quot;Whitechurch in 16mo, but without a date. In 1516 it was translated by Mulcaster, and printed by Tottel; and again in 1567, 1573, and 1575, and also by White in 1598, 1599, and 1609. It was likewise printed, with Hengham s Summa Magna ct Parva, in 1616 and 1660, 12mo; and again with Selden s notes in 1672, in 12mo. In 1737 it appeared in folio; and, in 1775, an English translation, with the original Latin, and Selden s notes, besides a variety of remarks relative to the history, antiquities, and laws of England, was published in 8vo. Vaterhouse s Fortescue Illustratus, which appeared in 1663, though prolix and defective in style, may be consulted with advantage. Another valuable and learned work by Fortescue, written in English, was published in 1714, under the title of The Difference between cm Absolute and Limited Monarchy, as it more particularly regards the English Constitution, and accompanied with some remarks &amp;lt;// John Fortescue Aland, of the Inner Temple, London; and a second edition with amendments appeared in 1719. In the Cotton Library there is a manuscript of this work, in the title of which it is said to have been addressed to Henry VI.; but many passages show plainly that it was written in favour of Edward IV. Of Fortescue s other writings, which were pretty numerous, the most important are 1. Opusculum de Natura Legis Natura, ct dc ejus ccnsura in sncccssione. Regnorum Suprcmorum; 2. Defensio juris Domus Lan castrian; 3. Genealogy of the House of Lancaster; 4. Of the Title of the House of York; 5. Genealogix jRcgum Scotia&quot;, 6. A Dialogue between Understanding and Faith; 7. A Prayer Book which sarours much of the Times we lire in. In 1869 his descendant, Lord Clermont, printed for private distribution The Works of Sir Jol/n Fortescue, now first collected and arranged, and A History of the Family of Fortescue in all its branches (sea Lambeth Jicvicic, 1872). FORTH, one of the largest rivers in Scotland. It is formed of two streams rising to the north of Ben Lomond, (one of them passing through Loch Chon and Loch Ard), which unite above Aberfoyle. The river flows east ward in a direct course for above 100 miles, receiving in its progress the Goodie, the Teith, and the Allan above Stirling, and below it the Devon, the Carron, the Avon, the Almond, the Leith, the Esk, the Leven, the Tyne, and others; and it discharges itself into the German Ocean in about 56 10 N. lat. The windings or &quot; links ;&amp;gt; of the Forth above and below Stirling are extremely tortuous. From its junction with the Teith to the &quot; carse &quot; or al luvial plain below Gartmore they extend about 28 miles, although the distance in a direct line is only about 20. From Stirling harbour to Alloa, where it widens into an estuary, the length of the river is 10-J- miles, though the distance in a straight line is not more than 5. From Grangemouth to North Queensferry the depth increases in the first mile from 10 to 15 feet, in the second to 25, and in the third mile to 53 feet, while the remaining part of the distance 7 miles, including the great anchorage of St Margaret s Hope has a depth generally of about 60 feet at low water. At Queensferry the firth is 2 miles wide ; between Dysart and Aberlady about 1 2 ; and between St Abb s Head and Fifeness, where it joins the German Ocean, it is from 35 to 40 miles. Near Queensferry, be tween Inchgarvie and the North shore, it deepens to 37 fathoms. The bed of the river consists to a great extent of mud, the depth of the deposit in some places being