222 
FAR 
FAR 
for with hocly the profit is about five per cent. De 
Moivre’s Table is as follows..— Let it be propofed to find 
by the Table the lofs of the- ponti, when there are twenty-two. 
cards remaining in the flock, and ins. card is twice in'it .—. 
In the column N, find the 
number 22 ; ■ over againfi it, 
and under the number 2, 
printed at the head of one 
of the columns, you will 
find 38, which is the deno¬ 
minator of a fraftion, whofe 
numerator is unity, and 
which (hews that his lofs 
in that circumftance is one 
part in thirty-eight of "his 
flake.—Or, To find the lofs of 
the po/ite when there are. eight 
cards remaining in the fock, 
and his card is three times in 
it.— In the column N find 
the number 3 ; over againfi: 
8, and under the number 3, 
printed at the top of one of 
flic columns, you will find 
9, which denotes that his 
lofs is one part of nine in 
his flake ; equal to two (hil¬ 
lings and fourpencein every 
guinea.—Hence it is plain, 
from the conftrudlion of the 
table, that the fewer cards 
are in the flock, the greater 
is the lofs of the pont'e; and 
that the lead: lofs of the 
ponte, under the fame cir- 
cumftances of cards remain¬ 
ing in the flock, is when his 
card is but twice in it; the next greater, when his card 
is three times in ; the next w hen once ; and the greateft 
difadvantage when four times. 
FA'RO, an ifland of Sweden, about thirty miles in cir¬ 
cumference, feparated from the north-eaft part of the 
ifiand of Gothland by a narrow channel. It is populous 
and fertile ; the principal town has the fame name, and is 
fituated on the fouth-eaft coait. Lat. 57. 30. N. Ion. 19. 
7. E. Greenwich. 
FA'RO, a feaport of Portugal, in the province of Al- 
garva, in the Gulf of Cadiz ; the fee of a bifliop, fuffra- 
gan of Evora ; taken from the Moors in 1249, by Al- 
plionfo king of Portugal : twenty miles fouth-weft of 
Tavira. I.at. 37. 2. N. Ion. 9. 5. E. Ferro. 
FA'RO OF MESSINA, a (trait of the Mediterranean, 
between Sicily and Calabria, about feven miles acrcfs, 
remarkable for the tide ebbing and flowing every (ix 
hours. In this ftrait was a fea.fight in 1675, between the 
French and Spaniards, in which the latter were defeated. 
This ftrait is likewife celebrated for its very fingular op¬ 
tical appearances called Fata Morgana, deferibed as follows 
liy Minafi, in his Italian differtation, publiftied at Rome 
in 1773. “When the rifing fun (hines from that point 
whence its incident ray forms an angle of about forty-five 
degrees, and the bright furface of the: water in the bay is 
not difturbed either by the wind or the current, the fpec- 
tator being placed on an eminence of the city of Medina, 
with his back to the fun and his face to the fea, on a hid¬ 
den there appear in.the water, as in a catoptric theatre, 
various multiplied objefts; that is to fay, numberlefs 
feries of pilaftr.es, arches, caftles well delineated, regular 
columns, lofty towers, fuperb' palaces, with balconies 
and windows, extended alleys of trees, delightful plains 
with herds and flocks, armies of men on foot and horfe- 
back, and many other ({range images, in their natural co¬ 
lours and proper aiftions, palling rapidly in fucceffionalong 
the furface of the fea, during the whole of the fhort pe¬ 
riod of time while the above-mentioned aerial caufes re¬ 
main.” The philofophy of this ftrikingappearance feems 
(till to be in a very imperfect date of inveftigation. That 
the atmofphere in calm weather becomes feparated, by 
fubfldenee, or other wife, into various ftrata of different 
denfities and refradtive powers, which, when quite undjf- 
turbed., produce the appearance called looming, and when 
difturbed may for a fhort time afford furfaces capable of 
reflecting and. refradting the light under fmall angles, ap¬ 
pears to be fufficientiy afeertained ; but on.the whole of 
the fadts of atmofpheric illufipn, there is certainly much 
room for fpeculation and refearch. 
FARO'ER ISLANDS, iflands in the North Sea, be¬ 
longing to Denmark, about a hundred and feventy leagues 
fouth of Iceland, but fomething more to the weft cf Nor¬ 
way, and are twenty-five in number ; though but feven- 
teen are inhabited. They extend about feventy miles in 
length, and fifty in breadth. When the day. is at the 
greateft length in thefe iflands, the fun rife.s at feven mi¬ 
nutes after two, and fets, fifty-three minutes after nine. 
In the fliorteft day the fun rifes here fifty-three minutes 
after nine, and fets feven minutes after two. The fum- 
mers and winters are very moderate in this climate ; and 
as the latter.are neither long nor fevere, the cattle feed 
here in the open air all the year round. However, the 
dampnefsof the air makes the inhabitants fubjedt to many 
diftempevs, as coughs, the feurvy, &c. Thefe iflands 
are, indeed, fo many folid rocks, but the furface of them 
is covered with earth, or mould, to the depth of two 
feet, and this (hallow foil is fo fertile as to yield twenty 
for one. The paftures are excellent, efpecially for (beep, 
in the great flocks of which the wealth of the inhabitants 
confifts. But a hard winter is very deftrudtive to thefe 
animals, as in general they run wild about the country. 
Here is a great plenty both of land and water fowl ; and 
it is naturally to be fuppofed that the inhabitants do not 
want fifii. The commodities vended here to foreigners 
are falted mutton, goofe-quills, feathers, and eiderdown ; 
knit woollenwaiftcoa.ts, caps, and (lockings; tallow, See. 
The iflands of Faroer were difeovered and peopled in the 
time of Harold Haarfager, king of Norway ; and Griener- 
Camban was the firft who built a houfe on one of thefe 
iflands. The Chriftian religion being quite eftabliflied in 
Denmark, about the year of Chrift 1000, the Gofpel was 
alfo propagated in'the iflands of Faroer, which were even 
thought worthy of a particular bifliop ; and the ifland of 
Stromoe was appointed for his place of relidence. There 
are feven parifhes and thirty-nine churches under the dio- 
cefe of Zealand. Thefe iflands, together with Iceland, 
are under one governor; but they have their refpedtive 
langman, or provincial judge, their land-vogt, their infe¬ 
rior judge, and king’s conful, who fuperintends the trade 
carried on between the Faroer iflands and Copenhagen. 
Lat. 61. 15. to 62. 10 N. 
FAROGNAGU'R, a town ofHindooftan, in the coun¬ 
try of Delhi -. thirty-five miles weft-fouth-weft of Delhi. 
FA'ROUT HEAD, a cape of Scotland, on the north 
coaft of the county of Sutherland : ten miles eaft cape of 
Wrath. Lat. 58.35. N. Ion. 1. 20. W. Edinburgh. 
FAR'QUHAR (George), a pleafing writer of comedy, 
born at Londonderry in Ireland, about 1678. His fond- 
nefs for dramatic exhibitions induced him to try his for¬ 
tune as an adtor upon the Dublin ftage ; but his powers 
of voice were inadequate ; and the accident of wounding 
a brother player in a tragedy-feene, through the negledt 
of exchanging his fword for a foil, at once terminated his 
attempts in that profefiion. About the year 1696, he ac¬ 
companied his friend Wilks the player to London. At 
what period it was that a lieutenant’s commiflion was con¬ 
ferred upon him by the ear! of Oirery is not certain ; but 
there is no doubt that fora confiderable time he (attained 
the military character. He firft appeared as a dramatic 
writer in 1698, when his play of Love and a Bottle 
was brought upon the ftage at Drury-lane, with great 
fuccefs. This was followed, in 1700, by The Conftant 
Couple, or a Trip to the J ubilee. Farquhar was in Hoi- 
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