FORMULA (Lat. diminutive of forma, shape, pattern, &c., especially used of rules of judicial procedure), in general, a stereotyped form of words to be used on stated occasions, for specific purposes, ceremonies, &c. In the sciences, the word usually denotes a symbolical statement of certain facts; for example, a chemical formula exhibits the composition of a substance (see Chemistry); a botanical formula gives the differentia of a plant; a dentition formula indicates the arrangement and number of the teeth of an animal.
FORNER, JUAN BAUTISTA PABLO (1756–1799), Spanish
satirist and scholar, was born at Mérida (Badajoz) on the 23rd
of February 1756, studied at the university of Salamanca, and
was called to the bar at Madrid in 1783. During the next few
years—under the pseudonyms of “Tomé Cecial,” “Pablo
Segarra,” “Don Antonio Varas,” “Bartolo,” “Pablo Ignocausto,”
“El Bachiller Regañadientes,” and “Silvio Liberio”—Forner
was engaged in a series of polemics with García de la
Huerta, Iriarte and other writers; the violence of his attacks
was so extreme that he was finally forbidden to publish any
controversial pamphlets, and was transferred to a legal post at
Seville. In 1796 he became crown prosecutor at Madrid, where
he died on the 17th of March 1799. Forner’s brutality is almost
unexampled, and his satirical writings give a false impression of
his powers. His Oración apologética por la España y su mérito
literario (1787) is an excellent example of learned advocacy,
far superior to similar efforts made by Denina and Antonio
Cavanilles; and his posthumous Exequias de la lengua castellana
(printed in the Biblioteca de autores españoles, vol. lxiii.) testifies
to his scholarship and taste.
FORRES (Gaelic, far uis, “near water”), a royal and police
burgh of Elginshire, Scotland. Pop. (1891) 3971; (1901)
4317. It is situated on the Findhorn, which sweeps past the town
and is crossed by a suspension bridge about a mile to the W.,
11 m. W. of Elgin by the Highland railway, and 6 m. by road
from Findhorn, its port, due north. It is one of the most ancient
towns in the north of Scotland. King Donald (892–900), son
of Constantine, died in Forres, not without suspicion of poisoning,
and in it King Duff (961–967) was murdered. Macbeth is said
to have slain Duncan in the first structure that gave its name
to Castlehill, which was probably the building demolished in
1297 by the adherents of Wallace. The next castle was a royal
residence from 1189 to 1371 and was occupied occasionally by
William the Lion, Alexander II. and David II. It was burned
down by the Wolf of Badenoch in 1390. The ruins on the hill,
however, are those of a later edifice and are surmounted by a
granite obelisk, 65 ft. high, raised to the memory of Surgeon
James Thomson, a native of Cromarty, who at the cost of his
life tended the Russian wounded on the field of the Alma. The
public buildings include the town hall, a fine and commodious
house on the site of the old tolbooth; the Falconer museum,
containing among other exhibits several valuable fossils, and
named after Dr Hugh Falconer (1808–1865), the distinguished
palaeontologist and botanist, a native of the town; the mechanics’
institute; the agricultural and market hall; Leanchoil hospital
and Anderson’s Institution for poor boys. The cross, in Decorated
Gothic, stands beside the town hall. Adjoining the town on
the south-east is the beautifully-wooded Cluny Hill, a favourite
public resort, carrying on its summit the tower, 70 ft. high, which
was erected in 1806 to the memory of Nelson, and on its southern
slopes a well-known hydropathic. An excellent golf-course
extends from Kinloss to Findhorn. The industries comprise
the manufacture of chemicals and artificial manures, granite
polishing, flour and sawmills, boot- and shoe-making, carriage-building
and woollen manufactures. There is also considerable
trade in cattle.
Sueno’s Stone, about 23 ft. high, probably the finest sculptured monolith in Scotland, stands in a field to the east of the town. Its origin and character have given rise to endless surmises. It is carved with figures of soldiers, priests, slaughtered men and captives on one side, and on the other with a cross and Runic ornamentation. One theory is that it is a relic of the early Christian church, symbolizing the battle of life and the triumph of good over evil. According to an older tradition it was named after Sueno, son of Harold, king of Denmark, who won a victory on the spot in 1008. A third conjecture is that it commemorates the expulsion of the Danes from Moray in 1014. Skene’s view is that it chronicles the struggle in 900 between Sigurd, earl of Orkney, and Maelbrigd, Maormor of Moray. Another storied stone is called the Witches’ Stone, because it marks the place near Forres where Macbeth is said to have encountered the weird sisters.
Forres is one of the Inverness district group of parliamentary burghs, the other members being Nairn, Fortrose and Inverness. The town is amongst the healthiest in Scotland and has the lowest rainfall in the county.
Within 2 m. of Forres, to the S.W., lie the beautiful woods of Altyre, the seat of the Gordon-Cummings. Three miles farther south is Relugas House, the favourite residence of Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, romantically situated on a height near the confluence of the Divie and the Findhorn. Not far away stand the ruins of the old castle of Dunphail. On the left bank of the Findhorn, 312 m. W. of Forres, is situated Brodie Castle, partly ancient and partly modern. The Brodies—the old name of their estate was Brothie, from the Irish broth, a ditch, in allusion to the trench that ran from the village of Dyke to the north of the house—were a family of great consequence at the period of the Covenant. Alexander Brodie (1617–1680), the fourteenth laird, was one of the commissioners who went to the Hague to treat with Charles II., and afterwards became a Scottish lord of session and an English judge. He and his son were regarded as amongst the staunchest of the Presbyterians. Farther south is the forest of Darnaway, famous for its oaks, in which stands the earl of Moray’s mansion of Darnaway Castle. It occupies the site of the castle which was built by Thomas Randolph, the first earl. Attached to it is the great hall, capable of accommodating 1000 men, with an open roof of fine dark oak, the only remaining portion of the castle that was erected by Archibald Douglas, earl of Moray, in 1450. Queen Mary held a council in it in 1562. Earl Randolph’s chair, not unlike the coronation chair, has been preserved. Kinloss Abbey, now in ruins, stands some 212 m. to the N.E. of Forres. It was founded in 1150 by David I., and remained in the hands of the Cistercians till its suppression at the Reformation. Robert Reid, who ruled from 1526 to 1540, was its greatest abbot. His hobby was gardening, and it is believed that many of the 123 varieties of pears and 146 varieties of apples for which the district is famous were due to his skill and enterprise. Edward I. stayed in the abbey for a short time in 1303 and Queen Mary spent two nights in it in 1562.
FORREST, EDWIN (1806–1872), American actor, was born
at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of March 1806, of
Scottish and German descent. He made his first stage appearance
on the 27th of November 1820, at the Walnut Street theatre, in
Home’s Douglas. In 1826 he had a great success in New York
as Othello. He played at Drury Lane in the Gladiator in 1836,
but his Macbeth in 1845 was hissed by the English audience, and
his affront to Macready in Edinburgh shortly afterwards—when
he stood up in a private box and hissed him,—was fatal to his
popularity in Great Britain. His jealousy of Macready resulted
in the Astor Place riot in 1849. In 1837 he had married Catherine,
daughter of John Sinclair, an English singer, and his divorce
suit in 1852 was a cause célèbre which hurt his reputation and
soured his temper. His last appearance was as Richelieu in
Boston in 1871. He died on the 12th of December 1872. He
had amassed a large fortune, much of which he left by will to
found a home for aged actors.
See Lawrence Barrett’s Edwin Forrest (Boston, 1881).
FORREST, SIR JOHN (1847– ), West Australian statesman
and explorer, son of William Forrest, of Bunbury, West Australia,
was born near Bunbury, on the 22nd of August 1847, and
educated at Perth, W.A. In 1865 he became connected with
the Government Survey Department at Perth, and in 1869 led
an exploring expedition into the interior in search of D. Leichardt,
penetrating through bush and salt-marshes as far inland as
