FRI 
Fribourg tion is made between the two parts of the town by three 
4 
Friendly 
“Islands. 
bridges, from which there are very picturesque views. 
The most advantageous stations, from which an idea may 
——~— be formed of the extraordinary situation of Fribourg, are 
‘ing among their inhabitants, and the courteous 
the top of Schonenberg ; the meadow situated beyond 
the crucifix, which is seen in guing out by the gate of 
Bourguillon ; and the meadow which extends behind the 
Place @ Armes, near the gate of Romont. 
The houses of Fribourg, which are raised above each 
other in regular gradation, are built with a grey sandstone 
from an adjacent quarry, and are in general neat and 
well built, though the town has a dull appearance. 
In the middle of the principal square, is the celebrated 
limetree, of great size and beauty, which is said to have 
been planted there in the 22d June 1476, by a soldier, 
on his return from the battle of Merat. For some years, 
this venerable tree has been losing its vigour.. The town- 
house is an ancient edifice, which was built on the spot 
where the palace of the Dukes of Zubringul formerly 
stood. The cathedral church, dedicated to St Nicholas, 
was founded in 1283, Its tower is 356 feet high, being 
the highest in Switzerland. The bells are reckoned the 
finest in the country. The ci-devant college -of the Je- 
suits, situated in the highest part of the town, affords, 
from its lofty towers, some of the finest and most exten- 
sive views. The other objects of interest at Fribourg 
are, the gate of Bourgillon, situated between two preci- 
pices ; the principal altar of the church of the convent of 
Augustins ; the great reservoirs situated near the college 
of Jesuits ; the mill of Motta, opposite to the convent of 
Maigrange ; and the defile of Gotteron. The cabinet of 
natural history belonging to M. Fontaine; the library, 
pictures, minerals, and philosophical mstruments belong- 
ing to M. Joseph Praroman ; the collection of books and 
MSS. relative to the history of Switzerland, belonging to 
M. Ignace Gady ; and the small botanic garden of M, 
Odet, are worthy of the notice of travellers, 
There is at Fribourg a seminary of priests ; a gym- 
nasium ; schools for young persons in the convents of 
the Ursulines, and the Visitandines, and other inferior 
schools kept by the Franciscans and the Capuchins. 
There are 28 public fountains in Fribourg, of which the 
water is excellent. The inhabitants of the lower town, 
however, were formerly much. afflicted with the goitre 
necks, but the disease is now less general. 
The line of demarcation between. the German and 
French Janguages passes through Fribourg. The inha- 
bitants of the lower parts of the town speak German, and 
those in the higher part French, while the two langua- 
ges are confounded in the middle of the town. 
The principal manufactures of Fribourg are hats, ean- 
dles, beer, earthenware, cotton cloths, &e.. The chief 
promenades are in the square, planted with limes and in 
the Place d’Armes. Population 6,000. East Long. 
6° 48’, and North Lat. 46° 50. 
FRIBOURG, ‘Canton or. ‘See‘Switzer.anp. 
FRICTION. ‘See Mecuanics. 
FRIEDLAND, Barrie or. See France, p- 648. 
FRIENDLY Istanps, are situated in the eastern 
of the Pacific Ocean, and lie between 163° and 21 4°South 
Latitude, and between 176° 30’ and 185° 50’ East‘Lon- 
gitude. Their name expresses the firm alliance gubsist- 
havi- 
our which they testify towards strangers. Their num- 
754) 
be i 
fish, old wives, parrot fish, soles, leather jackets, albicores, 
FRI 
ber exceeds 150, but the gr part are mere rocks and ° 
shoals, or barren and desert spots. Nearly one half, 
however, are of considerable size, but the situation and 
extent of a few only have been ascertained. Sixty-one 
are marked on Captain Cook's chart, and t pa peiecipel in 
formation concerning them is to be found in his es 
The most important are, Tonga, Tong + 
wor ae 
sterdam, discovered by Tasman in 1 $i n 
21° 9’ South Latitude, and 175° 1’ West Longitude. It 
is rather of an oblong form, bearing some tere 
to an isosceles triangle, stretching in length from east to 
west, broadest at east end, and about 20 leagues in 
circumference. It is a low Jand, nearly all of an equal 
height, never rising more than 80 feet above the level 
of the sea; and is surrounded by a reef of coral rocks, 
extending about 100 fathoms from the shore, and break« 
ing the force of the sea before it reaches the land. A 
deep lagoon on the north coast, forms a secure and capa« 
cious harbour with a good bottom, but there is gr 
scarcity of good fresh water in all these islands. 
kind of rock appears also to be the basis of the island, as 
scarcely any other stone is seen either on the coast urin 
the interior. The rock projects in many places above 
the surface, but the soil is generally of a considerable 
depth, and in the cultivated parts is a loose black mould, 
apparently produced by decayed vegetables. The surface 
..at-a distance appears to be clothed with trees of diffe- 
‘rent sizes ; but the tufted heads of the cocoa palms pro- 
duce the most striking effect. The largest tree is a spe- 
cies of fig; and the most common bushes on the uncul- 
tivated spots, are the pandanus, saitanoo, and several 
sorts of hibiscus. Though the climate is more variable 
than in countries farther within the line of the tropic, 
yet the foliage is only shed by degrees, every leaf as it 
falls being succeeded by another ; and th the couns 
try exhibits little of that landscape beauty, which is pro- 
duced by a variety of hills and vallies, yet it is well laid 
out in plantations, and altogether presents the appearance 
of perpetual spring, and exuberant fertility, It abounds 
in the richest productions of nature; cocoa nut trees, 
bread fruit, plantains of fifteen varieties, bananoes, shad- 
docks, sugar-cane, a kind of plum, fig, and nectarine, 
yams white and black, the latter of which weigh from 20 
to 30 pounds, gourds, Jesuits bark, bamboo, &c. and an 
innumerable list of uncultivated plants. The only qua- 
drupeds are hogs, dogs, rats,and small lizards.* The land 
birds, besides large domestic fowls, are pigeons, turtle- 
doves, parrots, parroquets, cuckoos, king’s fishers, rails, 
.coots, fly-catchers, swallows ; large bats, measuring from 
.three to four feet between the tips of the wings when ex- 
tended ; a kind of green-coloured thrush, the only sing- 
ing bird observed in the island; and several smaller 
birds.. The water fowl are ducks, tropic-birds, herons, 
noddies, terns, small curlew, and large spotted plover. 
. Nearly fifty different sorts of insects have been noticed, 
particularly very large spiders, and the most beautiful . 
moths and butterflies; and of the reptile tribe, sea 
-snakes about three fect long, scorpions, centipedes, and 
guanoes. The variety of fish is not so great as might 
magined ; and the most common aré mullets, silver 
botinelos, -eels, pike, and devil fish; but there is great 
abundance of shell fish about the reefs and shoals, espe- 
cially huge eockles, pearl shell and some other oysters, 
* M. Dentrecasteaux was informed in 1793, that the horses’ and cows left by Captain ‘Cook were all dead ; ‘but found that the hogs had 
been greatly improved by the cross with those of Europe, some of them weighing not less\than 200. poundsy.» F 
