PELT 



2151 



FENNEL 



FELT, from the Dutch vilt, is an unwoven 

 material made from wool, hair and fur, mat- 

 ted together with the aid of moisture and heat 

 by a process of rolling, beating and pressure. 

 It is said to be of Asiatic origin, dating from 

 remote times, and the best and most durable 

 felts are still made in Persia and neighboring 

 countries. It was introduced into Europe at 

 the period of the Crusades. In ancient times 

 it was used for tents, hats, coats and carpets. 

 A higher grade of felt has been obtained since 

 the invention of the microscope, which made 

 possible the minute examination of the wool 

 fiber structure, and resulted in more scien- 

 tific manufacturing methods. Various grades 

 of the material are in use for a vast number 

 of purposes, including millinery, men's hats, 

 carpets, rugs, lining of rubber shoes, gloves, 

 trimmings, etc., and, on account of its heat- 

 resisting qualities, as a covering for steam 

 pipes, boilers, cylinders, etc. It is, perhaps, of 

 the greatest importance as headwear. 



FENC'ING, the use of a sword or a foil, or 

 of a weapon having either a point or an edge, 

 for the purpose of attack or self-defense. This 

 use of the foils prevailed for centuries, but 

 within the past hundred years fencing has 



POSITIONS IN FENCING 



(1) First position (4) Engagement in 



( 2 ) On guard tierce 



(3) The lunge (5) Parry in quarte 



(6) Parry In septime 



been merely a sport wherein is practiced the 

 art of self-defense. The art is said to have 

 originated in Italy in the sixteenth century, 

 and quickly became popular in Spain and 

 France, where it was one of the principal pas- 

 times of the nobility. It was the usual me- 

 dium for dueling before that practice began 

 to be regarded with disfavor in the early part 

 of the nineteenth century. Its development 

 was aided by the invention of gunpowder, 

 which rendered armor useless. 



Fencing is now one of the favorite sports of 

 modern times, and is played only with light 



foils or small flexible swords tipped with rub- 

 ber buttons. Its practice cultivates a graceful 

 carriage, and promotes agility and muscular 

 control. Bayonet fencing is a favorite form 

 of exercise in armies. A bayonet is attached 

 to the end of a rifle and is used in the same 

 general manner as the small sword. 



Some of the terms peculiar to fencing may 

 be defined as follows: Feint, a movement to 

 mislead an opponent; parry, a defense against 

 a thrust; riposte, a thrust made after a parry; 

 appel, a smart, stamp of the right foot upon 

 the ground in a retreat or a feint; prime and 

 quarte refer to the part of the body to the left 

 of the blade and above the hand; septime and 

 quinte, to the left but below the hand; tierce 

 and sixte, to the right above the hand; octave 

 and second, to the right below the hand. 



FENELON, jan'lawN', FRANCOIS DE SALIG- 

 NAC (1651-1715), a distinguished French author 

 and churchman, born in Perigord and educated 

 at Plessis College, Paris, and at the Seminary 

 of Saint Sulpice, where he was ordained in 

 1675. In 1678 he was placed at the head of 

 an institution designed to harbor and convert 

 to Roman Catholicism the young daughters 

 of the Huguenots who remained in France. 

 In 1689 he became the tutor of the grandsons 

 of Louis XIV, and in 1695 was appointed arch- 

 bishop of Cambrai. His most celebrated work 

 is The Adventures of Telemachus, a form of 

 historical romance dealing with the wanderings 

 of the son of Ulysses. His other works, in the 

 domain of philosophy, include The Maxims oj 

 the Saints, The Education of Girls and The 

 Temporal Power of the Medieval Popes. 



FENIANS, fe'nianz, a political association 

 of Irish and Irish-Americans, said by some to 

 have been founded in New York and by others 

 to have originated in Paris. Its object was 

 to secure the independence of Ireland and its 

 establishment as a republic. The movement 

 was organized in 1861 ; it spread through the 

 United States and Ireland and among the Irish 

 inhabitants of Great Britain, resulting in revolt 

 in Ireland and an attempted invasion of Can- 

 ada from the United States. Fenian was the 

 official title of the American branch only, but 

 in the public mind it covered the entire move- 

 ment. After 1872 the organization continued 

 as a secret society for a number of years. 

 Present-day efforts to improve the pondition 

 of Ireland are related under the title HOME 

 RULE. 



FENNEL, fen' el, an herb of the parsley 

 family, the leaves of which are very fragrant 



