190 



FIELDING FIESOLE. 



Rnd the principal of them, his Enquiry into the Cause 

 of the late Increase of Robbers, &c., made a great 

 impression at the period. It was in the intervals of 

 those serious occupations that he wrote his celebrated 

 Tom Jones, which was followed, in 1751, by Amelia. 

 At length, however, his constitution began to yield 

 to the repeated attacks upon it, and he was recom- 

 mended by the faculty to take a voyage to Lisbon. 

 He followed then* advice ; and the last gleams of his 

 wit and humour are to be found in his Journal on 

 thnt occasion. He reached Lisbon in August, 1754, 

 and about two months after expired. The chief 

 merits of Fielding, as a novelist, are wit, humour, 

 correct delineation of character, and knowledge of 

 the human heart. No novel exceeds Tom Jones in 

 the exhibition of character and manners, in the de- 

 velopment of the story, and the management of the 

 catastrophe. Amelia, with less variety and inven- 

 tion, is, in regard to portraiture and knowledge of 

 life, almost equally felicitous; while, as to pure 

 raciness of humour, Joseph Andrews is often deemed 

 before both. Even Jonathan Wild, coarse as are the 

 persons and doings described, is irresistible in the 

 way of humorous caricature, as well as instructive as 

 a satire. 



FIELDING, SARAH; third sister of Henry Field- 

 ing. She was born in 1714, lived unmarried, and 

 died at Bath, where she long resided, in April, 1768. 

 She was the author of the novel of David Simple; a 

 less popular production of a kindred class, called 

 The Cry, a dramatic Fable; Xenophon's Memoirs of 

 Socrates, translated from the Greek (for which she 

 was favoured^with some valuable notes by Mr Harris 

 of Salisbury); The Countess of Delwyn; The History 

 of Ophelia; The Lives of Cleopatra and Octavia; 

 and one or two more of a minor class. 



FIELD PIECES; small cannons, from three to 

 twelve pounders, carried with an army. Field siqff; 

 a staff carried by the gunners, about the length of a 

 halbert, with a spear at one end, having on each side 

 ears screwed on, like the cock of a matchlock, into 

 which the bombardiers screw lighted matches when 

 they are upon command ; and then the field staffs are 

 said to be armed. 



FIELD WORKS, in fortification, are those thrown 

 up by an army in besieging a fortress, or by the be- 

 sieged to defend the place; as the fortifications of 

 camps, highways, &c. 



FIERI FACIAS, in law, is a judicial writ of exe- 

 cution issued on a judgment, by which the sheriff is 

 ordered to levy the amount of the judgment on the 

 goods and chattels of one party, for the benefit of 

 another. See Execution. 



FIERY CROSS. See Crantara. 



FIESCO, GIOVANNI LUIGI DE' FIESCHI, count of 

 Lavagna, a distinguished victim of unsuccessful am- 

 bition in the sixteenth century, was the head of one of 

 the noblest houses in Genoa. He became master of 

 a large patrimony at the age of eighteen, and, being 

 surrounded with dependents and flatterers, and really 

 possessing considerable talents and eloquence, he was 

 readily induced to aim at that power and distinction 

 in the state which was then possessed by the family 

 of Doria, headed by the famous Andrew Doria. 

 The latter, whose patriotism and great qualities had 

 justly raised him to the distinction of first citizen, 

 being too intent upon the elevation of his nephew 

 Giannetino, a youth of brutal and insolent character, 

 a great degree of discontent was engendered among 

 the nobles of Genoa, who, forming a party against 

 Doria, willingly accepted a leader of the wealth and 

 talents of Fiesco. The court of France, anxious to 

 detach Genoa from the interest of the emperor, was 

 easily induced to favour this enterprise, to which the 

 concurrence of pope Paul III., who furnished some 



galleys, was also aflbrded. Although Andrew Doria 

 received some intimation of the design in agitation, 

 Fiesco conducted himself with so much circumspec- 

 tion and apparent tranquillity, tliat he could not be 

 induced to believe aught to iu's prejudice. After 

 several meetings, the plan of the conspiracy was 

 fixed, and the destruction of the Doria family formed 

 an essential part of it. On the evening of Jan. 1, 

 1547, Fiesco, who hud prepared a galley under pre- 

 tence of a cruise against the corsairs, waited upon 

 Andrew Doria, to request permission to depart from 

 the harbour early in the morning, and took his leave 

 with strong demonstrations of respect and affection. 

 The same evening, however, he assembled a large 

 body of his partisans at his house, on the pretence of 

 an entertainment, to whom he made a warm and 

 eloquent address; and, their concurrence being 

 unanimous, he hastened to the apartment of his 

 wife, and acquainted her with his intention. She 

 earnestly, and in vain, entreated him to abandon his 

 desperate undertaking. He took leave of her, 

 saying, " Madam, you shall never see me again, or 

 you shall see every tiling in Genoa beneath you." 

 While the city was buried in sleep, he sallied forth, 

 preceded by 500 armed men, and, despatching parties 

 to different quarters, himself proceeded to secure the 

 dock, in which the galleys lay. He went on board 

 one of these, from which he was proceeding across 

 a plank to the captain galley, when the board gave 

 way, and, falling into the water, encumbered with 

 his armour, he sank to rise no more. Thus termi- 

 nated the life of this young and able votary of ambi- 

 tion, at the early age of twenty-two. His con- 

 federates failed in their attempt on Andrew Doria, 

 but Giannetino fell beneath their swords. The loss 

 of their leader, however, proved fatal to the con- 

 spiracy ; his brother Jerome was deserted, and the 

 whole family paid the penalty of the ambition of 

 their head, by ruin and proscription. 



FIESOLE (so called from the monastery to which 

 he belonged); one of the most celebrated restorers 

 of painting in Italy. His family name was Santi 

 Tosini. He was born, 1387, at Mugello, a district 

 of the Florentine territory. In 1407, he entered the 

 Dominican order, under the name of Fra Giovanni 

 da Fiesole. He was also called angelica and il lealo 

 (the blessed), on account of his pious life and his 

 sacred pictures, in which grace and angelic beauty 

 are the leading characteristics. The Dominican 

 order encouraged, among its members, the acquisi- 

 tion and practice of the profane sciences and arts, 

 and Giovanni devoted himself entirely to religious 

 paintings. He not only ornamented sacred books, 

 but also executed large fresco paintings for his 

 monastery. His industry was immense, and all the 

 profits were expended in acts of benevolence. His 

 merits were soon known and acknowledged. Cosmo 

 de' Medici, who personally knew and loved the 

 pious artist, employed him in painting the monas- 

 tery of St Mark, and the church of St Annunziata. 

 In the monastery of St Mark, he adorned all th 

 cells with large fresco paintings ; and a fine Annun- 

 ciation, among other paintings, is still discernible 

 upon the walls. These pictures gained him so much 

 celebrity, that Nicholas V. invited him to Rome, to 

 ornament his private chapel in the Vatican, the 

 chapel of St Laurence, with the most important 

 scenes from the life of this saint. Sketches of thes ;; 

 pictures appeared at Rome, in the year 1810, La 

 Pittura delta L'apella di Nicolo V., &c. (Paintings 

 in the Chapel of Nicholas V., &c.), by Francis Gian- 

 giacomo Romano. Vasari relates the most striking 

 anecdotes of the piety, humility, innocence, and purity 

 of this master, which also show that he considered 

 the exercise of his art as a most solemn and sacred 



