PELS FELTRE. 



1C3 



PELS, and FELSEN; a German word occurring in 

 many geographical names, and signifying rock ; as 

 Drachenfels, Dragon-rock. 



FELS(E; a Hungarian word, meaning superior, 

 situated above. It is the opposite of ALSO, situated 

 lower. It occurs in geographical names. 



FELSPAR. See Feldspar. 



FELTHAM, OWEN; an English author, born 

 about the middle of the seventeenth century, de- 

 scended of a respectable family in Suffolk. Little 

 more is known of him than that he resided many years 

 in the family of the earl of Thomond, during which 

 period he published a work of great merit, entitled 

 Resolves, Divine, Political, and Moral. This book 

 went through twelve editions before the year 1709. 

 A thirteenth has lately appeared. His death is sup- 

 posed to have taken place about the year 1 678. 



FELTING. The texture of modern hats, which 

 are made of fur and wool, depends upon the process 

 of felting, which is similar to that of fulling (q. v.). 

 The fibres of these substances are rough in one direc- 

 tion only, as may be perceived by passing a hair 

 through the fingers in opposite directions. This 

 roughness allows the fibres to glide among each 

 other, so that when the mass is agitated, the anterior 

 extremities slide forward in advance of the body, or 

 posterior half of the hair, and serve to entangle and 

 contract the whole mass together. The materials 

 commonly used for hat-making, are the furs of the 

 beaver, seal, rabbit, and other animals, and the wool 

 of sheep. The furs of most animals are mixed with 

 a longer kind of thin hair, which is obliged to be first 

 pulled out, after which the fur is cut off with a knife. 

 The materials to be felted are intimately mixed 

 together by the operation of bowing, which depends 

 on the vibrations of an elastic string ; the rapid al- 

 ternations of its motion being peculiarly well adapted 

 to remove all irregular knots and adhesions among 

 the fibres, and to dispose them in a very light and 

 uniform arrangement. This texture, when pressed 

 under cloths and leather, readily unites into a mass 

 of some firmness. This mass is dipped into a liquor 

 containing a little sulphuric acid ; and, when intend- 

 ed to form a hat, it is first moulded into a large con- 

 ical figure, and this is afterwards reduced in its di- 

 mensions by working it for several hours with the 

 hands. It is then formed into a flat surface, with 

 several concentric folds, which are still further com- 

 pacted in order to make the brim, and the circular 

 part of the crown, and forced on a block, which 

 serves as a mould for the cylindrical part. The nap, 

 or outer portion of the fur, is raised with a fine wire 

 brush, and the hat is subsequently dyed, and stiffened 

 on the inside with glue. An attempt has been 

 made, and at one time excited considerable expecta- 

 tion in England, to form woollen cloths by the pro- 

 cess of felting, without spinning or weaving. Perfect 

 imitations of various cloths were produced, but they 

 were found deficient in the firmness and durability 

 which belongs to woven fabrics. 



FELTRE (Feltria) ; a town of the Lombardo- 

 Venetian kingdom, in the province of Belluno, about 

 sixteen leagues from Venice ; lat. 46" 0' 43" N. ; 

 Ion. 11 55' 24" E. There are some manufactures 

 here of silk and leather. Feltre is the see of a bi- 

 shop ; it contains 4530 inhabitants. In 1809, Napo- 

 leon gave the title duke of Feltre to general Clarke. 

 See the following article. 



FELTRE (HENRY JAMES WILLIAM CLARKE), duke 

 of, of Irish extraction, was born at Landrecies, Octo- 

 ber 17, 1765. His father was a keeper of the public 

 stores at Landrecies. In 1781, he entered the mili- 

 tary school at Paris. In 1790, he went to London 

 with the French embassy, and afterwards served in 

 the infantry and cavalry, until he was suspended* and 



imprisoned as a noble. At a later period, he was 

 appointed chief of the topographical oftice, by Carnot, 

 then a member of the committee of public safety, and 

 the head of all military affairs. His services in this 

 office were valuable, and he was retained in it by the 

 directory, which, in 1795, created him general of 

 division. Bonaparte having at this time excited the 

 jealousy of the directory, by his success in Italy, and 

 his great popularity, Clarke was sent to watch the 

 young general; but Bonaparte soon perceived the 

 purpose of his mission, succeeded in gaining over 

 Clarke entirely to his interests, and employed him as 

 his secretary in the negotiations of Campo Forrnio. 

 The eighteenth of Fructidor having obliged Carnot 

 to leave France, Clarke was recalled to Paris, whi- 

 ther, however, he did not immediately repair. His 

 double dealing had now become known, and render- 

 ed him obnoxious to the army. He assisted in the 

 revolution of the eighteenth of Brumaire (q. v.), and 

 became now closely connected with Bonaparte. In 

 1800, he was commandant extraordinary of Luneville, 

 during the sessions of the congress at that place. 

 After passing three years as charge d'affaires at the 

 court of the young prince of Parma, who had just 

 been created king of Etruria, he was appointed coun- 

 sellor of state, and secretary of the imperial cabinet 

 for the marine, and for war. In 1805, Napoleon 

 made him governor of Vienna, and grand officer of 

 the legion of honour. He was employed, after the 

 peace of Presburg, in several diplomatic negotiations 

 with Russia and England, and, after the battle of 

 Jena, was appointed governor of Berlin. In 1807, 

 he was made minister of war. Shortly after, he was 

 created duke of Feltre, with a very large dotation. 

 (See Dotations.) He had previously been made count 

 of Huneburg. Elated by his elevation, he is said to 

 have claimed descent from the Plantagenets. Napo- 

 leon, amused by his pretensions, said to him, jesting- 

 ly, before a crowd of spectators, Vous ne m'aviez 

 jamais parle de votre origine doublement royale, ni de 

 vos droits au trone d'Angleterre ; il faut les revendi* 

 yuer. The most absolute devotion to the wishes of 

 Napoleon in the administration of his department, 

 and a professed hatred of England, characterized the 

 duke at this time. He has been accused of render- 

 ing the imperial government obnoxious by his con- 

 duct, and of contributing much to hurry Napoleon 

 into the war against Spain. His words respecting 

 this subject, as late as in 1809, are remarkable. On 

 the breaking out of Mallet's conspiracy, in 1812, in 

 the absence of Napoleon, Clarke lost his presence of 

 mind, and did not recover it till the danger was over, 

 when he ordered the arrest of general Lamothe. At 

 the time of the levy of the guards of honour, he is- 

 sued secret orders to the prefects, representing the 

 nobles as objects of suspicion, and designating their 

 children as hostages. At this moment, when his 

 measures were creating numerous enemies against 

 the imperial government, the duke of Rovigo (Savary), 

 then minister of police, warned Napoleon to beware 

 of Feltre, and accused him of being leagued with 

 those senators who had made overtures at London ; 

 but the emperor, unfortunately for himself, would not 

 believe Clarke capable of such ingratitude. During 

 the siege of Paris, everything in Feltre's department 

 was left undone. The most important points were 

 left defenceless, and all precautions were neglected. 

 To disguise his perfidy, Clarke followed the empress 

 to Blois, and even proposed to declare the senate and 

 provisory government hors de la loi; a few days 

 later, he was found among those whom he had just 

 proscribed. So important were his services to the 

 Bourbons, that he would have been left in the office 

 of minister of war, had it not been impossible, as 

 Louis XVIII. expressed himself, de le prendretiut 

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