FAIN. 126 FAIR. Civil List. He was Deputy from Montargis until 1S34. He wrote some readable and accurate memoirs, dealing chiefly with the later years of the reign of Bonaparte, such as it manuscrii de 1814, conteriant /'A six derniers du regne de Napolion { 1823-25) ; Le manu- scrit de 1813 (1824-25); containing tin- history of the principal events of thai year, designed to serve as a basis for a history of Napoleon: Le manuscrii de 1812 (1827) ; and Le manuscrii de Van 111. (1828). FAIN'ALL. A rascally character in Con- greve's comedy The Way of the World, who marries a wealthy widow, but fails in his at- tempt to get possession of her property. FAINEANT, ffi'na'aN', Le Noir (Fr., the black sluggard). A name given in Scott's Ivan- hoe to Richard Cceur de Lion, disguised as the Black Knight, because of the indifference he dis- played at a tournament, in which he was never- theless the victor. FAINE'ANTS (Fr., do-nothings). A designa- tion especially applied to the later Merovingian sovereigns of France, in whose name the mayors of the palace really governed the country. See Major Domus. FAINTING (from OF. faint, feint, p.p. of feindre, to feign, from Lat. fingere, to fashion), or Syncope. Loss of consciousness, of sensation, and of power of motion, with pallor of the face, temporary cessation of respiration, and tem- porary feebleness of the heart, with loss of pulsa- tion at the wrist. It is caused by anaemia of the brain, due to temporary heart failure from shock, great weakness or exhaustion, loss of blood, or disease of the heart. Sudden emotion, as fright, excessive joy or grief, may cause fainting in a neurasthenic person. In all cases of fainting the clothing which may impede breathing should be loosened, and the patient should be placed on the back, with the head and dust lower than the abdomen and legs. In a protracted faint a hypodermic of whisky or ether may be necessary. In heart disease and in severe injuries the pa- tient may die without regaining consciousness. See Heart, Diseases of the. FAIN'WELL, or FEIGNWELL, Colonel. A character in Mrs. Centlivre's comedy A Bold Stroke for a Wife. After many expedients he succeeds in securing the hand of the heiress. Ann Lovely, by impersonating Simon Pure, whom the lady's guardian had selected as her husband. FAIR (OF. feire, foire, Fr. foire. It. fiera, f;iir, from Lat. feria, holiday; connected with Lat. festus, feast). A meeting held for (lie purpose of exhibiting <>r selling goods. Originally fairs «ere held at stated times and places, some for the ol i particular class of merchandise, others for the sale of goods of a general character. People resorted t < ■ them to exchange goods, and l.i e.illect their stores to last for several months. Princes ana" the magistrates of cities encouraged them, and some of the privileges granted still remain in places. With the crowding togethei of people in large cities and the rise in rent, the • it m store of goods to las! longer than
- i few days became impossible, so (lie original
function of the t - < i i ceo ed to exist. They flour- ish mostlj t ■ ■ 1 1 ; i mii the outskirts of civilization, I < wl in ill inn .'I re defer! I r In i ..iin have originated in the Church festivals, which were found to afford I lie best opportunity for commercial transactions, the concourse of people being such as took place upon no other occasions. In western I the goods' exposed for sale are chiefly those of which there is a frequent change of fashion. Pro- vi>ioiis are seldom an article of sale in them; and while in some parts of the Continent persons of all ranks still wait for the great yearly fairs to make their principal purchases of articles of every description, such as corn, wine, spirits, tea, coffee, etc., these articles are seldom seen in them. One of the most noted of English fairs was that of Saint Bartholomew. Smithfield, London, found- ed at the beginning of the twelfth century. They grew in importance in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but declined in the fifteenth century, and at the close of the reign of Queen Elizabeth they had degenerated into resorts for pleasure- seekers. The Bartholomew, Greenwich, Glas- gow, and Donnybrook fairs are examples of these. The greatest fairs in Germany are those of Leipzig, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Frankfort-on-the- Oder, and Brunswick. At the first named meetings are held three times a year — New Year's. Easter, and on the Feast of Saint Michael — and it is estimated that $50,000,000 worth of goods are sold. Other noted European fairs are those of Zurzach, in Switzerland; Budapest, in Hungary; Sinigaglia and Teramo, in Italy; Beaucaire and Lyons, in France; and Nizhni-Novgorod, in Rus- sia. The last-named, beginning in July and last- ing eight weeks, is frequented by buyers and sellers from all parts of Europe and northern and central Asia, and it is said that merchan- dise to the value of over $100,000,000 is sold. Outside of Europe, the most important fairs are those of Tanta, in Upper Egypt; Kiakhta and Irbit, in Siberia; Hurdwar, in India; and Mecca. in Arabia. The last-named fair is held at I lie time of the annual pilgrimage, and over 100,000 people visit it. In the United States there are no fairs of the kind that have been common in the Old Worldj but the term is applied to a variety of exhibi tions, such as church, charity, and agricultural fairs, and local, State, national, or international expositions or fairs. In fact, the term is ap- plied to all exhibitions where people are expect- ed to bestow patronage or to make purchases. At church or charity fairs articles, chiefly of the fancy sort, are sold. The most con n kind are the agricultural fairs, county and State. Elkanah Watson, a prosperous merchant of l bany, . Y.. was the originator of these. Main- ly through his influence the New York Legisla- ture appropriated, in 1819, $10,000 a year for -i e:iis. for premiums on agricultural prod- ucts and family manufactures. Since then an- niml State fairs have become quite general, and many State- appropriate funds to aid them. The most common fairs are the annual county lairs. where live stock and all kinds of vegetable pred- icts and manufactured goods are exhibited, and premiums are awarded to the possessors of the best grades. These lairs arc not held primarily for (he purpose of selling commodities al the fair, but largely for advertising purposes. The city street fairs, where amusements of various kinds are furnished, arc intended to promote I be welfare of the city hv attracting trader, to them.
