Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/187

 FIELDING 179 is that of the thrushes, is orange at the base and brownish black at the end ; the inside of the mouth is orange, the edges of the lids yel- low, the iris brown, the feet and claws dusky ; the head, hind neck, and rump are gray, most of the feathers on the first with a central dusky streak ; a space before the eye brown- ish black, and a whitish line over the eye ; the anterior half of the back and the wing coverts are chestnut, shading behind into ash-gray ; fore neck and breast yellowish red, with elongated triangular brownish black spots, the sides paler with broadly rounded spots; the lower breast and abdomen grayish white tinged with red ; the wings are grayish black, with the edges of the feathers paler ; tail deeper black, the lateral feathers grayish toward the end ; the lower wing coverts and axillary feathers are pure white, conspicuous during flight. The specific name is derived from a few hairy filaments on the occiput, which are also found in other species, and even in other genera. The female very closely resembles the male. The above is the plumage when it enters Great Britain from the continent ; varieties in size and coloring are met with, and albinos are occasionally seen. They arrive in October and November, and some remain until the following spring if the season is mild ; they roost in trees if they can, leaving for the fields at early dawn, in parties of from three or four to many hundreds ; their flight is easy but not rapid, and their move- ments in the trees and on the ground are grace- ful ; they frequent open fields, associating often with other species, and are generally very shy. The food consists of hawthorn and other ber- ries, worms, larva}, insects, seeds, and grains. They generally disappear in April or May, re- tiring probably in summer to the north to breed ; the nests are built in society, usually in fir and spruce trees, and with the eggs, five or six in number, resemble those of the blackbird. The flesh is tender, fat, and of good flavor; this is supposed to be the species so highly es- teemed by the Romans. FIELDING, Copley Vandyke, an English paint- er in water colors, born about 1*787, died in Worthing, Sussex, March 3, 1855. He be- longed to a family of artists, and his first pic- ture was exhibited in 1810. He early became a teacher, and acquired many pupils and friends. On the death of Joshua Cristall, he was elected president of the old society of painters in water colors, which office he held till his death. Fielding's favorite subjects were either rich wooded landscapes, or ships at sea off a stormy and rock-bound coast. From these two types he seldom varied. His manipulation was peculiar, but it represents atmospheric ef- fects with great freshness. The demand for his works was so great that they were pro- duced too rapidly, and fell into mannerism. FIELDING, Henry, an English novelist and dramatist, born at Sharpham Park, near Glas- tonbury, Somersetshire, April 22, 1707, died in Lisbon, Oct. 8, 1754. His father was a grand- son of the earl of Desmond, and great-grandson of the first earl of Denbigh, and served under Marlborough, attaining the rank of lieutenant general at the close of the reign of George I. The family of the Fieldings is stated in the English peerages (where the name is spelled Feilding) to be descended from the same an- cestry as the imperial house of Hapsburg. The early education of Fielding was intrusted to the care of the Rev. Mr. Oliver, a private teacher in Gen. Fielding's family, and who, it is said, appears in "Joseph Andrews" as Parson Trulliber. He received but little bene- fit from his tutor, and was sent at an early age to Eton, where he distinguished himself by his brilliant parts, and before his 16th year had made great progress in classical learning. From Eton he was sent to the university of Leyden, where he applied with assiduity to his studies, but led so gay a life that his father, who had taken a second wife, and had a nu- merous family, found himself unable to defray the cost of his son's extravagance. In his 20th year Fielding was compelled to return to Eng- land, and was at once thrown upon his own resources, with a fondness for costly pleasures and but slender means of paying for them. His father had promised him an allowance of 200 per annum; but this, as Fielding said, " any one might pay who would." His viva- city, good humor, and talent gained him the companionship of the most eminent wits of his time; and after he arrived in London, while yet a minor, he commenced writing for the stage. His first comedy, "Love in Sever- al Masques," was produced in 1727, when he was but 20 years of age. He wrote his dra- matic pieces with great rapidity, and threw into them a marvellous amount of wit and satire. As the pay he received was small, the neces- sity for constant production left him little time to make elaborate plots, or to pay much attention to the characters of his plays. " The Wedding Day," one of his most successful comedies, gained him but 50, and his voca- tion of a dramatist brought him in contact with acquaintances who were not calculated to im- prove either his finances or his morals. In the midst of his gay career, while living from hand to mouth by his pen, and writing his plays on the backs of his tavern bills, he formed an ac- quaintance with Miss Craddock of Salisbury, whom he married in his 27th year. As his wife had a fortune of but 1,500, the financial condition of the dramatist was not much im- proved by his marriage. He retired to a small estate in the country which he had inherited from his mother, worth about 200 per an- num. He was devotedly attached to his young bride, and made serious resolutions of reform. He gave up writing for the stage, having produced about 20 comedies, farces, and burlesques, only one of which, the bur- lesque of " Tom Thumb," has kept its place in the theatre. He applied himself with great vigor to literary studies in his country retreat ;