1 I- 



FROXTO, MARCUS CORNELIUS. 



FRY, MRS. ELIZABETH. 



1048 



raperintrndeuce of the supply of water to Home, and while filling this 

 office, which he retained under Trajan, he wrote his work on the 

 aqueduct*, which ba> been printed in the earlier editions under the 

 titlo f l)e Aquis quic in Urbein infiuunt," but is now generally known 

 by the title ' Da Aqujoductibus." It contains much Tsluable informa- 

 tion on the mode in which ancient Rome was supplied with water, and 

 on everything that concerned this important part of the economy of 

 that city. Krontinus died under Trajan, about A.D. 106. Several 

 otht-r work* have been attributed to him, such as ' De Coloniis," ' Do 

 Limitibun,' ' De Qualitate Agrorum," but seemingly without foundation. 

 See the Bipontine edition of his worka, with n life of Krontinus, Svo, 

 1788. ' The Stratagems, Sleighton, and Policies of Warre,' of Fron- 

 tintift were translated into English by Richard Morysine, and published 

 in London in 1589, and another vcrson appeared in 1680, and it has 

 been translated into German, Italian, French, Spanish, &c. His work 

 'Do Aquneductibua" was translated into French, and illustrated by 

 engravings, 4 to, Paris, 1830. 



FltOXTO, MARCUS CORNELIUS, born at Cirta, in Africa, of an 

 Italian family, after studying in his own country came to Home in the 

 reign of Hadrian, snd acquired great reputation as a rhetorician and 

 grammarian. Antoninus Piu appointed him preceptor to his two 

 adopted sons, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, whose confidence 

 and affection lie gained. After being consul, Fronto was appointed to 

 a government in Asia, which his bad health prevented him from filling. 

 Hi* lr:iming and his instructive conversation are mentioned with praise 

 by Aulus Gellius, the historian Appion, and others of his contempo- 

 raries. He died in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, at on advanced nge. 

 Until of late years we had nothing of his works, except fragments of 

 his treatise ' De Differentia Verborum,' being a vocabulary of the 

 so-called synonyms; but in 1815 Angelo Mai, having discovered in 

 the Ambrosian Library at Milan a palimpsest manuscript on which 

 bad been originally written some letters of Fronto to his two pupil?, 

 deciphered the text wherever the writing was not entirely obliterated, 

 and published it with notes. It happened by singular good fortune 

 that Mai, being some years after appointed librarian of the Vatican, 

 discovered in another palimpsest volume another part of Fronto's 

 letters, with the answers of Marcus Aurelius and Verus. Both the 

 volumes came originally from the convent of St. Columbanus, at 

 Bobbio, the monks having written them over with the Acts of the first 

 council of Chalcedon. It happened that one of the volumes was trans- 

 ferred to Milan, and the other to Rome. Mai published the whole in 

 a new edition : ' M. Cornell! Frontouis et M. Aurelii imperatoria 

 epistula : L. Veri et Antonini Pii et Appiani epistularum reliquiae : 

 Fragment* Frontonis et scripta gratnmatica," Svo, Rome, 1823. These 

 letters are very valuable, as throwing additional light on the age of 

 the Antonincs, confirming what we know of the excellent character of 

 Marcus Aurelius, nnd also showing bis colleague Verus in a more 

 favourable light than he hail been viewed in before. The affectionate 

 manner in which both emperors continue to address their former 

 preceptor is very touching. Two or three short epistles of Antoninus 

 Pius are also interesting. There are besides many letters of Fronto to 

 various friends, a few of which are in Gre-k. The work was translated 

 into French, and published with the text and notes, 2 vols. Svo, Paris, 

 1830. 



FROST, WILLIAM EDWARD, A.R.A., was born at Wandsworth, 

 Surrey, in September 1810. His artistic training, like that of a largo 

 number of our eminent painters, was commenced (about 1S25) at 

 Bass's academy in Rloomsbury, and completed at the Royal Ac 

 where ho entered as a student in 1 829. As a student he distinguished 

 himself both by diligence and success : in each of the schools of the 

 Royal Academy, except that of the antiqtie, where Moclise was the 

 successful competitor, he won the first prize ; and he completed his 

 course as a scholar by carrying off the gold medal in 18"9 by his 

 picture of ' Prometheus bound by Force and Strength." While 

 attending the academy, and until his original pictures secured him 

 patron*, Mr. Frost painted portraits, which no doubt served, beside* 

 their temporary purpose, to train his eye to observation of character 

 and individual expression. 



Mr. Frost first attracted notice by a cartoon of ' Una alarmed by the 

 Fauns and Satyrs," which he rout to the cartoon competition of 1843 

 at Westminster Hall, where it obtained one of the premiums of 10(11, 

 Hi* gold-medal picture had been exhibited at the Royal Academy in 

 1840, but bis name does not occur again in the catalogue till 1848, 

 when a painting by him of 'Christ crowned with Thorns' app* ami, 

 and with bis cartoon attracted so much notice, that Mr. r'ro-t at once 

 resolved to abandon portrait-painting. When Mr. Frost firnt thought 

 of adopting painting as a profession be had been introduced to Mr. 

 Ktty, who kindly assisted him in his early studies, ami coutiuurd sub- 

 sequently to favour him with valuable 'advice. Whether this may 

 bar* bad ny thing to do with the direction of the young artist's efforts 

 we know not, but eventually it was to the same line of subject* as that 

 by which Etty had acquired so much fame that Mr. Frost devoted 

 hinirclf. His first important works of this class were a ' Bacchanalian 

 Dance" exhibited at the Hrlti.h Institution in 1844, and 'Nymphs 

 Dane ing,' exhibited the fame year at the Royal Academy. They were 

 quickly rold, and brought substantial commissions. In 1845 followed 

 'Sabriua ;' in 1M6 ' Diana surprised by Actoon," which won for itself 

 a place in Lord Northwick's fine collection .and for the painter tb<- 



dignity of A.R. A. The _ following year Mr. Frost contributed to the 

 Academy exhibition a still more ambitious work, ' Una and the Wood- 

 Nymphs, " which was purchased by the Queen, who an well as Prince 

 Albert has since continued to patronise the painter. His subsequent 

 pictures are ' Kuphrosyue,' 1848 ; the 'Syrenii > '1849; the' l>i*armini; 

 of Cupid," painted for Prince Albert, and ' Andromeda,' 1 S50 ; ' ' 

 N T ymphs ' and ' Hylas," 1S51 ; ' Nymph and Cupid ' and ' May M or 

 1852; 'Chastity,' 1854; ' Bacchante and Young Fawn D&nciag,' 

 and the ' Graces," 1856, besides various smaller pieces. 



Although Mr. Frost has followed Ktty in his style of subjects, and 

 perhaps caught something from him in composition and colour, nothing 

 can bo less like the dash and daring, or the joyous abandon of Etty, than 

 the chastely correct, and almost coldly academic, undraped nym 

 Frost's painting. Hia works are, from the nature of their u> 

 necessarily conventional; and they appeal essentially to a highly- 

 artificial, perhaps we ought to say highly-cultivated, tasto. They tiiM 

 however, as they abundantly deserve, warm admirers in the class to 

 which they are addressed. Their technical merits are very high. Th : 

 drawing is excellent, the colour sufficiently pleasing, ami the execution 

 sometimes almost miniature-like in its elaborate finish ; while, if 

 deficient in free living spontaneity and unconsciousness, they i 

 display great refinement and almost courtly grace. 



FRY, MRS. ELIZABETH, was the third daughter of John Guruey, 

 Esq., of Earlharn Hall, near Norwich, an opulent merchant and banker, 

 and a member of the Society of Friends. Elizabeth Gurney was born 

 May 21, 1780, at Bramerton, four miles from Norwich, where her 

 parents had then a summer residence; in winter they occupied a 

 largo and commodious house in Norwich. They were not ' plain 

 Friends," that is, they did not wear the plain dress of the Quaker*, 

 nor use 'thou' nnd 'thee' in place of the ordinary 'you,' nor abstain 

 from the usual amusements of social life. They of course attended 

 the Friends' meeting-house at Norwich, and the monthly and quarterly 

 and yearly meetings; but in other respects there was little distinction 

 b -tween them and the gentry who belonged to the Church of Knglaud. 

 Mrs. Guruey died when Elizabeth was only twelve years of age, ! 

 seven daughters and four sons. Mr. Gurney's business-: 

 him into intercourse with persons of all denominations; and a w.inu 

 heart, social disposition, and courteous manners, introduced him to 

 many acquaintances without as well as within the pale of the Society 

 of Friends. The daughters, as they advanced in years, especially the 

 three eldest, dressed gaily, and sang and danced sometimes attending 

 concerts and balls at Norwich, and sometimes pursuing their favourite 

 amusements at Earlharn Hall, which had then become their father's 

 country residence. 



Elizabeth Guruey, from the age of fourteen to seventeen, wag, as 

 she herself states in her ' Diary," somewhat sceptical, nnd her doubU 

 greatly distressed her. While she was in this fluctuating state of 

 mind, William Savory, an American Quaker, p.iid a religious vi-it t'i 

 England, and, on the 4th of February 1798, preached in the Fi ; 

 meeting-house at Norwich. His discourse produced a very strong 

 effect upon her feelings, and turned the balance of her judgment in 

 favour of religion a change which subsequent discourses and conver- 

 sations tended strongly to confirm. She had made great progress 

 towards becoming a 'plain Friend," and instructed about seventy poor 

 uliildivn in her father's house at Norwich, when Joseph Fry, who. with 

 his brother, carried on an extensive business in London, paid a visit 

 to Mr. Gurney at Earlham Halt While there he made an offer of 

 marriage to Elizabeth Gurney; and on the 19th of August 1800 they 

 were married in the Friends meeting-house in Norwich. Joseph Fry 

 and his family belonged to the strict section of the Quaker 

 Elizabeth Fry was now prepared to adopt their uoa. resided 



wi'h her husband in his house of business, Mildred's-Court, in tlio 

 City of London, till the spring of 1809, when, on the dcit'.i .if h.-r 

 husband's father, she removed to Plashet House, Essex. In 1M 

 became a preacher among the Friends, and ever afterwards continued 

 to perform with great zeal tho duties of her sacred office. 



In the month of February 1813 she visited the prison of Newgato 

 in London, and saw about 300 women, tried and untried, with numer- 

 ous children, crowded together, without classification or employment, 

 in rags and dirt, with no bedding, and nothing but the lloor t 

 on. The season was inclement, and she supplied them with somu 

 necessary covering. After several other visit*, and making much im- 

 provement in their manners as well as their condition, she in 1817 

 succeeded in establishing a Ladies' Committee for the reformation of 

 the female prisoners in Newgate the sheriff* of London and the 

 governor of the prison granting their pcrmUsion, but affording no 

 auixtance. A school and n manufactory were established in the 

 prison; and riot, intoxication, and filth, were succeeded by order, 

 sobriety, and neatness. The improvement* which she had been the 

 means of introducing into Newgate were gradually extended to other 

 prisons. She ho/1 interviews with the most influential of the minister?, 

 was examined before the House of Commons, obtained the assistance 

 of clergymen, and visited different parts of the kingdom, including 

 Scotland and Ireland, for the purpose of carrying out her benevolent 

 plans. She next turned her attention to the female convicts sentenced 

 to transportation, and introduced many improvements, tending not 

 only to nmeli. irate their condition but to reform their characters. 

 From 1833 to 1886 she paid visits to Jersey and Guernsey; and about 



