Page:Imperialdictiona02eadi Brandeis.pdf/363

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
FAT
337
FAU

escort a convoy of provisions to the English army, which was at that time besieging Orleans. He was attacked on the road by a powerful force of French and Scots, whom he completely defeated after a fierce struggle, and brought his convoy in safety to the English camp. This celebrated conflict was called the Battle of Herrings, because herrings, with other salted fish, formed a principal part of the provisions which Sir John was escorting. A few months later, however, the English were defeated at Patay by the famous Joan of Arc; Talbot and many other noble captains were taken prisoners, and Fastolf, finding his men utterly dispirited and panic-stricken, turned and retreated without fighting. It is said that the regent was so enraged at this behaviour, that he deprived Sir John of the order of the garter; but he succeeded in convincing the duke that he had conducted himself with prudence and propriety, and the honour was soon after restored to him. In 1430 Fastolf was appointed lieutenant of Caen, and two years later was nominated ambassador to negotiate a peace with France. He was a second time selected to discharge this office in 1435, and on the death of the regent in the same year, was appointed one of his executors. During the next four years he attended to the duties of his office in Normandy, and at length, in 1440, he returned home laden with years and honours. He was as remarkable for his hospitality and generosity, as he had been distinguished for his valour and skill. He bequeathed a considerable legacy to the university of Cambridge for the erection of schools of philosophy and law, and was also a liberal benefactor to Magdalen college, Oxford, which had been recently founded by his friend, William Wainfleet. He died in 1459, when he was upwards of eighty years of age. His memory was long cherished as one of "the stout old captains that did fight in France."—J. T.

FATIMAH, the daughter of Mahomet by his wife Khadijah, was born at Mecca in 606, and died in 632. She was married to her father's cousin, Ali, one of her father's most devoted followers, in the fifteenth year of her age, and bore him Al-hasan, Al-huseyn, and Mohasan. She was tenderly loved by her husband, and was his only wife. Fatimah was one of Mahomet's four perfect women. The Egyptian khalifs, who were called after her Fatimites, claimed to be descended from her; and even at the present time, the seyyids and scherifs, the only hereditary nobility existing amongst the Mussulmans, pride themselves in deducing their origin from Mahomet's illustrious daughter.—R. M., A.

FATIMITES. See Almadhi.

FATIO. See Faccio.

FATTORE Il. See Penni.

FAUCHE-BOREL, Louis, born at Neufchatel in Switzerland, 12th April, 1762. When the Revolution broke out in France, Fauche-Borel resolved upon devoting himself to the royal cause. This was the more extraordinary, as his family, originally noble, had suffered persecution at the hands of the Bourbons. His ancestors at the revocation of the edict of Nantes took refuge in Switzerland, where Fauche-Borel was a bookseller in good circumstances. In 1795 he undertook the perilous mission of bearing proposals from the Prince of Condé to General Pichegru, then at Altkirch, the head-quarters of the republican army, and, as it is believed, succeeded in winning over the conqueror of Holland to the royal cause. The directory got some inkling of his designs, and on the 21st of November, 1795, he was arrested at Strasbourg; but as no proofs were forthcoming, he was liberated. He continued to be actively engaged in secret negotiations between the royalists and members of the government of the directory, whose objects, never very clear, became utterly deranged by the coup d'etat of the 18th Brumaire, which threw the government into the hands of Bonaparte. Fauche-Borel removed to London, where he set up a French book-shop; but the royalists once more induced him to undertake a mission to Paris, where he was seized and sent a prisoner to the Temple. Having undergone several examinations with inflexible courage, he was, after several months' detention, liberated at the request of the Prussian ambassador, and allowed to go to Berlin. Here he gave warning to the king as to the designs of Bonaparte, and his proceedings coming to the ear of the latter, it was thought prudent to send Fauche-Borel once more to London, and he became a great favourite with Louis XVIII., then residing at Hartwell. Before the battle of Waterloo, this indefatigable agent, having spent some time in Paris baffling the police, contrived to leave with valuable information, which he carried to his sovereign. At the restoration, he published an account of his exertions in the cause of the monarchy, which was widely read, but which elicited no mark of favour from the Bourbons. Overwhelmed with debt, he returned to London and obtained from George IV. a small pension. But the neglect shown him by the Bourbons preyed upon his mind, and he again sought, by a residence in Paris and the publication of further "Memoirs," to evoke their gratitude. He was unsuccessful, and, returning to his birthplace, committed suicide, September 7, 1829.—J. F. C.

FAUCHER, César and Constantin, French generals, were born at La Réole in 1759, and died at Bordeaux in 1815. They were twins, and bore so perfect a likeness to each other, not only in outward appearance, but also in their manners and tastes, that even their parents had sometimes difficulty in distinguishing them. Nor were they less similar in their career and fate. After receiving a most careful education they entered the army at the age of fifteen, and passed unnoticed, except for the peculiarity we have mentioned, till 1789. In that year they went to Paris, and being amongst those who desired a wise and moderate reform in the government, attached themselves to Necker, Bailly, and Mirabeau. Two years afterwards César was appointed president of the district of La Réole and commander of the national guard of the Gironde, while his brother was placed at the head of the municipality of the same district. In the war of La Vendee, which broke out soon after, they fought side by side for the national cause, and gave many proofs of that intense brotherly affection which characterized them through life. They were both promoted to the command of a brigade, but being by birth children of the Gironde, the terrible jealousy of the time fixed upon them the suspicion of sympathizing with the illustrious federalists of the Assembly. They were accordingly brought to trial, and being condemned to death, were actually mounting the scaffold, when Lequinio, the representative of the people, suspended the execution and procured a revision of the trial, which happily issued in their acquittal and liberation. Retiring from government service they now engaged in trade, and only reappeared in political life in 1815. Induced by the promises of Napoleon, who knew well their worth, the two brothers again held important places in their native district. They were also enrolled in the legion of honour, and subsequently sent as major-generals to the army of the eastern Pyrenees. But the Hundred Days soon expired; the second restoration was proclaimed, and the occupation of the devoted brothers was gone. A slight incident, in which they were no way concerned, led to their being accused as enemies to the new government. It was in vain that they pleaded their entire innocence. The trial came on; they could not procure an advocate to undertake their cause, and accordingly appeared defenceless. Summarily condemned to death, they heard their sentence with perfect equanimity, and were shortly afterwards led out to the place of execution, where a discharge of musketry put a period to their mortal life.—R. M., A.

FAUCHER, Leon, a French politician and politico-economical writer, was born at Limoges in 1803, and was educated, under the pressure of poverty, at the college of Toulouse. Repairing to Paris, and procuring employment as a tutor and usher, he soon evinced his bias for economical discussion, and in 1828 was in the habit of controverting the dogmas of the Saint Simonians at their own meetings. The revolution of 1830 found him engrossed with literature and scholarly pursuits; but obeying its impulse, he became a journalist, contributing to Le Temps, and founding an unsuccessful weekly journal, the Bien Public. Faucher was an advanced liberal, but not a republican; and he became by degrees a prominent journalist, of what was called the Dynastic Left. Called in 1833 to the management of the Constitutionnel, he afterwards conducted, until 1839, the Courier Français. His habit, then an uncommon one, of signing his articles with his name, procured him a reputation; and thus, firm but moderate in his opinions, he was consulted and listened to by the Thiers ministry of 1840. In 1836 he had made his début in the Revue des Deux Mondes as a writer on social and economical topics, and on these he grew to be considered a leading authority, uniting, as he did, prudence and discretion with his zeal for progress. He took an active part in the proceedings of the French Free Trade Association, founded on the model of the English anti-corn law league; but quitted it when its policy appeared to him incautiously uncompromising and thorough-going. Paying a visit to England, mainly to study its popular and industrial