FARRAR 



2139 



FASHION 



bled for the capture of Mobile (see MOBILE 

 BAY, BATTLE OF). His storming of the forts 

 and his victorious fight against the Confed- 

 erate fleet in the harbor, during which he was 

 lashed to the mast of his flagship, was one of 

 the most stirring incidents of the war. This 

 engagement marked the end of his active 

 service. Farragut was created vice-admiral in 

 1864 and admiral in 1866 (see ADMIRAL). 



FARRAR, fair'ar (pronounced by herself 

 fahrrahr'), GERALDINE (1882- ), one of the 

 few American grand opera singers who have 

 risen to fame, was born at Melrose, Mass. 

 She was graduated from the Melrose public 

 school, and re- 

 ceived her musi- 

 cal education in 

 Paris and Berlin. 

 Her debut was 

 made in 1901 at 

 the Royal Opera 

 House, Berlin, as 

 Marguerite in 

 Faust. She then 

 became a mem- 

 ber of the Ber- 

 lin Royal Opera 

 Company, and, 

 after 1906, of the 

 Metropolitan Op- 

 era Company of 

 New York. Her soprano roles include Margue- 

 rite, Madame Butterfly, Manon, Juliette and 

 Tosca, in all of which she has been enthusiasti- 

 cally received. In 1915, by appearing as Car- 

 men for a moving-picture company, she made it 

 possible for future generations to possess a 

 knowledge of her art as an actress. It is de- 

 clared she received $30,000 for six weeks of this 

 service. In March, 1916, Miss Farrarwas mar- 

 ried to an actor, Lou Tellegen. 



FARRELL, jahr' el, PA. (until 1912 known 

 as South Sharon), a city in Mercer County, 

 near Sharon (which see), and near the center 

 of the western state boundary. Farrell is on 

 the New York Central and the Pennsylvania 

 railroads, and has coal-mining and stone- 

 quarrying interests, steel, iron and tin-plate 

 works, and manufactories of chains, stoves, 

 brass and explosives. The population in 1910 

 was 10,190. 



FAR 'THING, a bronze coin of the lowest 

 value in English currency. It represents one- 

 fourth of a penny, or the 960th part of a pound 

 sterling. In United States or Canadian money 

 it equals half a cent. The farthing was first 



GERALDINE FARRAR 



issued in the reign of Edward I, and until 

 the reign of Queen Mary it was a silver coin. 

 It is still in circulation, but is scarce except 

 in the poorer quarters of large cities. In 

 large stores, if change includes a farthing, the 

 purchaser is usually given a small packet of 

 pins, a pencil or some other article instead of 

 a coin. 



FASCES, fas'eez, in the political history of 

 ancient Rome, a bundle of birch or elm rods 

 bound together by a red thong, in the middle 

 of which was an ax. Servants called lictors 

 carried fasces in advance of the king as a sym- 

 bol of his power to punish by flogging and by 

 putting to death. At the time of the republic 

 they were carried before the consuls and prae- 

 tors, and later, before the emperor. For illus- 

 tration, see LICTORS. 



FASHION, fash'un, a word from the Latin 

 factionem, meaning the make of anything, is 

 a term applied to styles of dress in vogue for 

 a limited period. Fashion bears about the 

 same relation to costume that weather does 

 to climate, the first in each case being vari- 

 able and temporary, the other constant and 

 permanent. To appear well dressed one must 

 conform more or less to prevailing styles, for, 

 as Alexander Pope says in his Essay on Criti- 

 cism 



In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold, 

 Alike fantastic, if too new or old. 



For centuries men of fashion have looked 

 upon the costume-makers of London as the 

 guardians and creators of correct styles in 

 dress; social leaders among the women have 

 accepted Paris as the fashion center of the 

 world. These arbiters of fashion are not, how- 

 ever, the only factors in determining the style 

 of dress. New modes of living are reflected in 

 contemporary costume, the popularity of the 

 automobile, for instance, making fashionable 

 the tourist's bonnet and veil. Events of world- 

 wide importance which engage the attention 

 of large numbers of people are frequently re- 

 sponsible for fancies in dress. The Balkan 

 War in 1912 started the vogue of Bulgarian 

 colors in men's neckties and women's hat trim- 

 mings, and soon after the outbreak of the War 

 of the Nations, in 1914, women began wearing 

 tailor-made suits modeled on the military coat 

 of the soldier. In 1915-1916, full short skirts, 

 reaching to the shoe tops, became popular, a 

 style adapted, it was said, from the uniform 

 of the French hospital nurses in the war. 



Books and plays have been known to inspire 

 new styles of dress, one of the most interest- 



