FEMUR 115 FENIANS the United States has been far in the lead over Great Britain and the Conti- nental countries, with the possible ex- ception of the Scandinavian countries. As far back as 1833 the coeducation of men and women was introduced in Ober- lin College, and gradually became a com- mon feature of a large number of Ameri- can institutions of learning. The right of women to a place in the professions has long been recognized in this country, while in other countries women who ven- tured into the gainful occupations would be socially ostracized. FEMUR, in vertebrate animals the first bone of the leg or pelvic extremity, situated between the os innominatum and the tibia; in insects the third joint of the leg; it is long and generally com- pressed; also in architecture, the long, flat, projecting face between each chan- nel of a triglyph in the Doric order. FENCING, the art of using skillfully, in attack or self-defense, a sword, rapier, or bayonet; but usually taken to mean address in the use of the second of these weapons. In the school of fence, the foil is wielded. The foil is a circular or quadrangular rod or blade of pliable, highly tempered steel, blunted and covered with leather at the point, so as to prevent accidents in its practice. Froni its nature, the foil can only be employed in thrusting; and, being edgeless, it can be handled without liability to cutting wounds. Fencers wear a strong wire mask upon their faces, as a defense against accidental thrusts, etc. Fencing was cultivated by the an- cients; the Roman gladiators instructed the soldiery of that period; but as their weapons differed so materially from those of the present day, and as they de- fended themselves by shields and armor, their methods were infinitely less com- plicated and efficient than those of the present day. During the period com- prised within the Middle Ages, fencing became greatly neglected, and this was owing most likely to the fact that there was a great improvement in the armor worn by knights in battle; from which circumstance battle axes and other pon- derous weapons of offense were substi- tuted for the sword. When metal casing became somewhat, if not altogether disused, fencing came once more into vogue; and as all gentle- men wore swords, and quarrels were fre- quent, it was absolutely necessary that all should have some knowledge of the "fence." The peculiar state of society in Italy made this even more needed than in any other country, and it followed that the Italians became the best fencers in Europe. Spain next found the art necessary, and soon France, in which latter country it created such a favorable impression that a school was established for its prosecution. In fencing there are three openings or entrances — the inside, comprising the whole breast from shoulder to shoulder; the outside, which can be attacked by all the thrusts made above the wrist on the outside of the sword; and, finally, low ports, which embrace the armpits to the hips. FENELON, FRANCOIS DE SALIG- NAC DE LA MOTHE,'a French prelate; born in the Chateau de F^nelon, province of Perigord, France, Aug. 6, 1651, was educated at Plessis College in Paris, and at the seminary of St. Sulpice, where he received holy orders in 1675. In 1678 he was appointed head of an institution, then newly organized in Paris, for the reception of female converts to the Ro- man Catholic faith. His success in the du- ties here led to his appointment as head of a mission to Saintonge for the con- version of the Huguenots. In 1689 Louis XIV. intrusted to him the edu- cation of his grandsons, the dukes of Burgundy, Anjou, and Berri; and in 1694 he was created Archbishop of Cam- bray. A theological dispute with Bos- suet, his former instructor, terminated in his condemnation by Pope Innocent XII., and his banishment to his diocese by Louis XIV. He was the author of the famous "Fables," "Dialogues of the Dead," "The Education of Girls," "Tel- emachus," "History of the Ancient Phi- losophers," and numerous other works on philosophy, theology, and belles-lettres. He died in Cambray, France, Jan. 7. 1715. FENIANS, an Irish secret society npmed from an ancient military organi- zation of Ireland that became extinct in the 3d century. The Fenian society was formed in the United States probably in March, 1858, by the refugees who crossed the Atlantic after the unsuccess- ful outbreak of 1848, and had for its ob- ject the expulsion of the British Govern- ment, or even the Saxons from Ireland, and the conversion of that island into an independent republic. Its originator di- vided it into district clubs called circles, each with a president called a center; the whole organization being ruled over by a senate, over which a "head center" pre- sided. Its members had to take an oath before being intrusted with its secrets. In January, 1864, they began to attract notice in Ireland, and the next year some of them were seized and imprisoned. Be- tween 1865 and 1867 they made various outbreaks. In 1866 they captured a
