FIR 
that a skilful master teaches is good-finger- 
ing, and to attain this, a pupil should spare 
no pains so as to be able to give passages 
with articulation, accent, and expression. 
FINGERS, the extreme part of the hand, 
divided into five members. See Anatomy. 
The names of the fingers, reckoning from 
the thumb, are, 1. Pollex. 2. Index. 
3 . Medius. 4. Annularis. 5. Auricularis, 
FINING, or Refining. See Clarifica- 
tion and Rf.fining. 
FINITE, something bounded or limited, 
in contra-distinction to infinite. 
FIRE. The word heat has been used 
with so much precision by Doctors Black, 
Irvine, Crawford, and others, that the word 
fire seems to have been rendered of little 
use, except to denote a mass of matter in a 
state of combustion, which is, indeed, its 
vulgar acceptation. The term has, how- 
ever, been used by many eminent writers, 
to denote what these great philosophers call 
the matter of heat, now generally termed 
Caloric, which see. 
Fire, balls of, in meteorology, a kind 
of luminous bodies, generally appearing 
at a great height above the earth, with a 
splendour surpassing that of the moon ; 
and sometimes equalling her apparent size. 
They generally proceed in this hemisphere 
from north to south with vast velocity, fre- 
quently breaking into several smaller ones, 
sometimes vanishing with a report, some- 
times not. These luminous appearances 
no doubt constitute one part of the ancient 
prodigies, blazing-stars or comets, which 
last they sometimes resemble in being at- 
tended with a train ; but frequently they ap- 
pear with around and well defined disk. The 
first of these of which we have any ac- 
curate account, was observed by Dr. 
Halley and some other philosophers at dif- 
ferent places, in the year 1719. From the 
slight observations they could take of its 
course among the stars, the perpendicular 
height of this body was computed at about 
seventy miles from the surface of the earth, 
The height of others has also been com- 
puted, and found to be various ; though in 
general it is supposed to be beyond the 
limits assigned to our atmosphere, or where 
it loses its refractive power. The most 
remarkable of these on record appeared 
on the 18th of August 1783, about 9 o’clock 
in the evening. It was seen to the north- 
ward of Shetland, and took a southerly 
direction for an immense space, being ob- 
served as far as the southern provinces of 
France, and one account says, that it was 
FIR 
seen at Rome also. During its course it 
appeared frequently to have changed its 
shape; sometimes appearing in the form 
of one ball, sometimes of two or more ; 
sometimes with a train, sometimes without 
one. It passed over Edinburgh nearly in 
the zenith, and had then the appearance 
of a well-defined round body, extremely 
luminous, and of a greenish colour; the 
light which it diffused on the ground, giving 
likewise a greenish cast to objects. After 
passing the zenith it was attended by a 
train of considerable length, which con- 
tinually augmenting, at last obliterated the 
head entirely; so that it looked like a 
wedge, flying with the obtuse end foremost. 
The motion was not apparently swift, by 
reason of its great height ; though in reality 
it must have moved with great rapidity, 
on account of the vast space it travelled 
over in a short time. In other places its 
appearance was very different. At Green- 
wich we are told, that two bright balls 
parallel to each other led the way, the 
diameter of which appeared to be about 
two feet ; and were followed by an expul- 
sion of eight others, not elliptical, seeming 
gradually to mutilate, for the last w'as 
small. Between each two balls a luminous 
serrated body extended, and at the last 
a blaze issued which terminated in a point. 
Minute particles dilated from the whole. 
The balls were tinted first by a pure bright 
light, then followed a tender yellow, mixed 
with azure, red, green, &c. ; which, with 
a coalition of bolder tints, and a reflection 
from the other balls, gave the most beauti- 
ful rotundity and variation of colours, that 
the human eye could be charmed with. 
The sudden illumination of the atmosphere, 
and the form and singular transition of this 
bright luminary, tended much to make it 
awful : nevertheless, the amazing vivid ap- 
pearance of the different balls, and other 
rich connective parts not very easy to 
delineate, gave an effect equal to the rain- 
bow in the full zenith of its glory. 
Fire, Extinguishing of. The world has 
long been of an opinion, that a more ready 
way, than that in general use, might be 
found for extinguishing fires in buildings; 
and it has been generally attempted upon 
the doctrine of explosion. Zachary Grcyl 
was the first per son who put this plan into 
execution with any tolerable degree of 
success. He contrived certain engines, 
easily manageable, which he proved, before 
some persons of the first rank, to be of 
sufficient efficacy, and offered to discover 
