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FERREIRA FESCENNINE VERSES. 



to establish their claims upon it without success. ' 

 The chief city, Ferrara, in a low and unhealthy plain, 

 on an arm of the Po, contains 3,500 houses, 23,600 

 inhabitants, upwards of 100 churches, a university, a 

 museum, &c. Under the dukes of Este, it contained 

 80,000 inhabitants, and the most splendid and refined 

 court of Italy. It is now comparatively solitary and 

 forsaken. The streets are broad and regular, but 

 deserted ; its palaces large and splendid, but little 

 inhabited. The castle, the residence of the papal 

 legates, still contains some remains of elegant fresco 

 paintings, by Dossi and Titian. In the churches are 

 many fine pictures, particularly by Garofalo, one of 

 Raphael's scholars, who formerly resided here. The 

 cathedral, with an ancient Gothic front, but built in 

 a modern style in the interior, is a large building, of 

 a not very attractive appearance. The public library, 

 where, besides very valuable collections of old manu- 

 scripts, antiquities, coins, &c., there are many monu- 

 ments of the former glories of the city, is a more 

 pleasing edifice. Here is shown Ariosto's inkstand 

 and chair, the manuscript of his satires, several let- 

 ters, and his monument, which was brought hither 

 from the church of St Benedetto, where he lies buried. 

 Here, too, is preserved the manuscript of the Pastor 

 Fido, by Guarini,and many remains of Tasso, among 

 which is his Rime, with the dedication to Leonora 

 of Este, a manuscript of the Jerusalem Delivered, by 

 another hand, in which he corrected some passages 

 in the margin, several letters, &c. In the hospital 

 of St Ann, a marble tablet, with a proud inscription, 

 stands over the wet and gloomy dungeons, in which 

 the cruelty of duke Alfonso compelled the poet to 

 languish for seven years. (See~,Este and Tasso). 

 More pleasant are the recollections of Ariosto. One 

 of the squares in the city is called the Piazza Ariostea, 

 in honour of him ; and his house, covered with inscrip- 

 tions, is revered as a sacred spot by the inhabitants 

 and by strangers. The fortifications of Ferrara are 

 strong. By the decree of the congress of Vienna, 

 Austria has a right to maintain a garrison there. 



FERREIRA, ANTONIO ; one of the classic poets 

 of Portugal, was born at Lisbon, 1528. He carried 

 to perfection the elegiac and epistolary style, already 

 attempted with success by Sa de Miranda, and 

 added to Portuguese poetry the epithalamium, the 

 epigram, ode, and tragedy. His Ines de Castro is 

 the second regular tragedy that appeared after the 

 revival of letters in Europe. It was preceded only 

 by Trissino's Sofonisba. It is still considered by the 

 Portuguese as one of the finest monuments of their 

 literature, for its deep pathos and the perfection of 

 its style. The works of Ferreira are not numerous, 

 as his judicial office left him little leisure. He died 

 1569. Dias Gomes says of him, The reading of 

 Horace, the desire of imitating Miranda, and the 

 natural severity of his genius, led him to cultivate 

 conciseness in his style, which he carried so far as 

 almost always to sacrifice harmony to thought. All 

 his works are distinguished by soundness and depth 

 of thinking. His expression is strong, rather than 

 sweet, is extremely animated, and full of that fire 

 which elevates the mind and warms the heart. He 

 understood well the utile dulci of the Roman lyric 

 poet. His Poemas Lusitanos appeared complete at 

 Lisbon, first in 1598, 4to, and Todas as Obras de 

 Ferreira, Lisbon, 1771, 2 vols. 



FERRERAS, JUAN DE ; a Spanish historian, born 

 at Labaneza, 1652, of a noble but poor family. A 

 paternal uncle superintended the education of the 

 young Ferreras, and sent him to the Jesuit's college 

 of Montfort de Lemos. After having learned the 

 Latin and Greek languages, he studied poetry, ora- 

 tory, philosophy, ana theology, in three Dominican 

 monasteries. He distinguished himself everywhere 



by his penetration and diligence, and gained the 

 iffections of all by his gentleness of character and 

 his good deportment. Ferreras was designed for the 

 church, and completed his studies at the university 

 of Salamanca. His eloquence gave him a high 

 reputation as a preacher. In his intercourse with the 

 marquis de Mendoza, a lover of the muses and of 

 literature, he not only improved his former knowledge, 

 but also learned the difficult art of the historian. 

 His inclination for theological studies was revived at 

 a later period, and he wrote a complete system of 

 theology. His reputation continually increased, and 

 lie was gradually advanced from one station of honour 

 to another, and was employed in the service of the 

 congregation of the inquisition. Other high dignities 

 tie refused. The new Spanish academy made him 

 one of its members in 1713, and he rendered import- 

 ant assistance in the preparation of the Spanish dic- 

 tionary, which appeared in 1739. At the same time, 

 Philip V. appointed him his librarian. Here he 

 continued the History of Spain, begun in his earlier 

 years. After having discharged this office for seve- 

 ral years, he died in 1735, aged eighty-three. He 

 wrote, in all, thirty-eight works, some of which have 

 never been printed . The Historia de Espana (Madrid , 

 1700 27, 16 vols. 4to) is the most important, and 

 has contributed much to correct and illustrate the 

 history of Spain. It extends from the first origin of 

 the people of Spain to 1589, and deserves the fullest 

 confidence. The style is pure, manly, and concise, 

 though sometimes deficient in vivacity and elegance. 

 In this respect he is inferior to Mariana. 



FERRET (mustela furo, L.). This little animal, 

 although generally admitted by naturalists as a dis- 

 tinct species, is thought by Cuvier to be only a 

 variety of the common pole-cat (M. putorius). It is 

 distinguished by having a sharp nose, red and fiery 

 eyes, and round ears. The colour of its whole body is 

 a pale yellow, somewhat resembling that of boxwood. 

 It is a native of Barbary, though it is extensively 

 naturalized in Spain, where it was introduced to rid 

 that country from the multitudes of rabbits with 

 which it was overrun. Its habits are similar to those 

 of the other species of weasels. It is lively and 

 active, and an inveterate destroyer of rabbits. If a 

 dead rabbit be presented for the first time to a young 

 ferret, he will fly at it, and bite it with great fury; 

 but, if it be alive, he will seize it by the throat and 

 suck its blood. Great numbers of these animals are 

 imported into England and France, for the purpose 

 of driving rabbits from their burrows. In such cases, 

 they are muzzled, otherwise they would destroy the 

 rabbits in their holes. They suck the blood of their 

 prey, but seldom tear it. The ferret breeds in the 

 last mentioned countries, bringing forth from five to 

 nine young; but it is apt to degenerate, and lose its 

 savage nature. The warreners in England use a 

 crossed breed between this animal and the pole-cat. 

 This hybrid is of a darker colour than the ferret. 



FERRO, the most western of the Canary Isles, 

 belongs to the crown of Spain. It is about eighty 

 square miles in extent, and has 4000 inhabitants. A 

 large linden tree upon this island has a cloud perpe- 

 tually resting on it, the moisture of which it collects 

 in drops upon its leaves, and thus fills a cistern. 

 Geographers formerly drew their first meridian 

 through this island, which is 20 W. Ion. from Paris, 

 and 17 46' W. of Greenwich. 



FERROCYANIC ACID. See Prussic Acid. 



FERTE ; a prefix to many French geographical 

 names, as Ferte-Alpes, Ferte- Bernard. It is derived 

 from firmitas, Latin, which, in Low-Latin, signifies a 

 small fortress. 



FESCENNINE VERSES ; so called from the town 

 of Fescennia, in Etruria, where they were first used. 



