FOURNESS ABBEY, or FURNIS ABBEY up in the mountains,' was begun at Tulket in Amounderness, in 1124, by Stephen earl of Boulogne, afterwards king of England, for the monks of Savigny in France, and three years after removed to the valley, then called Bekangesgill, or the vale of night-shade.' It was of the Cistertian order, endowed with above £800 per annum. Out of the monks of this abbey, Camden says, the bishops of the Isle of Man, which lies over against it, used to be chosen by ancient custom; it being as it were the mother of many monasteries in Man and Ireland. Some ruins, and part of the fosse which surrounded the monastery, are still to be seen at Tulket. The remains at Fourness breathe the plain simplicity of the Cistertian abbeys; the chapter-house was the only piece of elegant Gothic about it. Part of the painted glass from the east window, representing the crucifixion, &c., is preserved at Winder-mere church in Bowlness, Westmoreland.

FOURSCORE, adj. Four and score. Four times twenty; eighty. It is used elliptically for fourscore years in numbering the age of man. When they were out of reach, they turned and crossed the ocean to Spain, having lost fourscore of their ships, and the greater part of their men.

Bacon's War with Spain.

In the mean time, the batteries proceeded, And fourscore cannon on the Danube's border Were briskly fired and answered in due order.

Byron.

And so all ye, who would be in the right,
In health and purse, begin your day to date
From day-break, and when coffined at fourscore,
Engrave upon the plate, you rose at four. Id.

FOURSQUARE, adj. Four and square. Quadrangular; having four sides and angles equal.

The temple of Bel was environed with a wall carried foursquare, of great height and beauty; and on each square certain brazen gates curiously engraven. Raleigh's History.

FOURTEEN, adj. Sax. Feopentýn. Four and ten; twice seven.

I am not fourteen pence on the score for sheer ale. Shakspeare. FOURTEENTH, adj. From fourteen. The ordinal of fourteen; the fourth after the tenth.

I have not found any that see the ninth day, few before the twelfth, and the eyes of some not open before the fourteenth day. Browne's Vulgar Errours. FOURTH, adj. From four. The ordinal of four; the first after the third.

A third is like the former: filthy hags! Why do you shew me this? A fourth? start eye! What! will the line stretch out to the crack of doom? Shakspeare.

FOURTH FIGURE TRAP, the trap generally used in gardens, plantations, &c., to catch the mice which devour the seeds. It is composed of three pieces of wood in the shape of a figure 4 (see diagram) supporting a piece of slate. The following is the account given of it in Nicholls's Planter. The longest of these pieces of wood, or the bait-stick (a), should be seven inches in length, half an inch broad, and onesixteenth thick; the outward end on the upper side is notched to one-fourth of its thickness, at

half an inch from the end. Two inches and a half inwards from the last mentioned notch, holding the above end from you, there is a cut made on the right side to half the breadth of the stick, quite through; from which, towards the outer end on the same side, a little within the first mentioned notch, the wood is cut out in a circular manner. The inner end is tapered and left rough, in order to make the bait at (b) hold the latter upon it. The upper piece (c) is three inches long, half an inch broad, and onesixteenth of an inch thick. At half an inch from what is to be the highest part of the trap, it is to be notched, like the outer end of the baitstick, to one-fourth of its thickness: the other end is made sharp like the face of a chisel. The third piece is of the same thickness and breadth, and four inches long, sharpened at one of its ends like the above, and cut square at the other. This piece is called the pillar (d).

There are two slates required; one to lie upon the ground, and this must be pressed so deep into it as to cause its upper side to be equal with the general surface; because, if access to the bait is any way difficult, the mice will take the seeds as the readiest food, although not perhaps the most palatable. Having laid the above slate, and being provided with another, from six to seven inches square, and from one and a half to two pounds weight, take the upper piece (c) into the left hand, holding the sharp end towards you, and the notch downwards. Next place the sharpened end of the pillar into this notch, forming an acute angle; hold these two pieces in this position with the fingers and thumb of the left hand, and place the under end of the of the upper slate near the extremity of the upper pillar upon the lower slate, and the outer edge part of the trap; then take the bait-stick (previously baited) with your right hand, and place it so as that the notched part near the extremity may receive the sharpened end of the upper stick, and let that place of it which was cut half end of the bait-stick may slightly rest upon the through hold the pillar, but so as that the baited slate; and the trap is set.

A very little practice will enable any person who is a stranger to this kind of trap to use it with facility; and a great number may be placed in the nursery grounds at no expense. Bricks are sometimes used in place of slates. The best bait is oatmeal made into dough by butter, and tied on the bait-stick with a little flax: after being tied on, it will be of use to burn the bait a little, to make it smell. Such a quantity of bait must not be used as may prevent the mouse from being killed by the fall of the slate.

the game he designs to kill. The barrel should De well polished and smooth within, and the bore of an equal size from one end to the other; which may be proved by putting in a piece of pasteboard cut to the exact roundness of the top, for if this goes down without stops or slipping, you may conclude the bore good. The bridgepau must be somewhat above the touch hole. As to the locks, choose such as are well filled with true work, whose springs must be neither too strong nor too weak. The hammer ought to be well hardened, and pliable to go down to the pan with a quick motion.

FOX, n. s. Sax. Fox; Belg. vos, vosch, from Goth. for. A wild animal of the canine kind, with sharp ears and a bushy tail, remarkable for his cunning, living in holes, and preying upon fowls or small animals; by way of reproach, applied to a knave or cunning fellow.

The sely widewe, and hire daughtrer troo,
Her len these hennes crie and maken wo;
And out at the doors sterten they anon;
And saw the for toward the wode is gon,
And bare upon his back the cok away;
They crieden, out harou and wala wa'

A ha the for!' and after him they rau
And eke with staves many another man.

Chaucer. The Nonnes Preestes Tale. The for barks not when he would steal the lamb. Shakspeare.

He that trusts to you, Where he should find you lions, finds you ha res; Where fores, geese. Id. Macbeth. These retreats are more like the dens of robbers, or holes of fores, than the fortresses of fair warriours.

Locke.

Fox, in zoology. See CANIS. The fox is a great nuisance to the husbandman, by taking away and destroying his lambs, geese, poultry, &c. The common way to catch him is by gins; which being baited, and a train made by drawing raw flesh across in his usual paths or haunts to the gin, it proves an inducement to bring him to the place of destruction. The fox is also a beast of chase, and is taken with greyhounds, terriers, &c. See HUNTING.

Fox (Charles James), an illustrious statesman, who took a large and important share in all the public business of the British empire, from 1768 to 1806. The period of Mr. Fox's political life was filled with measures of such interest and magnitude as would have conferred celebrity on a meaner agent; while his talents were so considerable as to exalt and dignify even the ordinary course of affairs. His era and character, therefore, mutually aid each other's immortality; and, when taken together, command a double portion of that historical interest which either of them would have separately possessed. Another accessary circumstance, which serves to augment his natural and intrinsic claims to fame, was the distinguished eminence of his chief political opponent. The mind, like the body, is generally disposed to exert no more of its power than the occasion requires; and, from the want of a sufficient stimulus, many have allowed their intellectual vigor to degenerate by inaction, and its extent to remain unknown both to others and themselves. But the co-existence and competition of Fox and Pitt tasked the facul

ties of each to their full strength, and revealed to the world the ultimate resources of two of the most distinguished men that ever struggled for superiority, by eloquence and wisdom. The nearness of their deatns, too, secures the complete coincidence of their histories; so that, in all future periods, the name of the one must naturally suggest that of the other, and each communicate to his rival a portion of his own renown, It is fair, however, to observe that, if their comparative merit is to be weighed by their celebrity alone, the balance must incline towards the claims of him who, without place or power, and acting more as a commentator on great national measures, than as their author, created for himself splendor of reputation equal to that of an opponent, who enjoyed nearly through life the most eminent and efficient station. antagonist of Godolphin or Harley, of Walpole or Pelham, fills so large a space in the eye of the historian, as these long established dispensers of profit and preferment: and even of the great Chatham it is the glorious administration, not the animated opposition, that is most frequently in the mouths of his admirers. If Fox, therefore, contrary to all former example, contrived, during a life of political adversity, to acquire an equal name with his more fortunate competitor, it is natural to ascribe to him a superiority of that genius which captivates popular attention.

No

Mr. Fox was born on the 13th of January, 1749. He was the second son of Henry lord Holland, who, by a public career in an opposite direction to that of his son, at once ennobled and enriched his family. The former was as zealous in maintaining, as the latter in resisting, the principles of the court; yet, notwithstanding this contrariety of conduct, some features of a family likeness may be traced between the father and the son. We find in both a certain masculine vigor of character, united with a kind, indulgent, and affectionate temper; political activity with domestic indolence; and an equal ardor in public enmities and private friendships. The more pleasing qualities in lord Holland's character were remarkably displayed towards his favorite boy, whose genius he had sufficient penetration very early to discern. To its growth he is reported to have given the fullest scope, by freeing him from every species of restraint; conversing with him on state affairs; and, at times, even profiting by his suggestions. His mother was lady Georgina Caroline Lennox, sister to the late duke of Richmond, through whom he inherited the blood, and even the features, of the royal house of Stuart; but in character, as has been observed by Mr. Burke, he bore a much closer resemblance to Henry IV. of France, another of his royal progenitors. He enjoyed the full advantage of a public education, having been sent to Eton, during the mastership of Dr. Barnard, and under the private tuition of Dr. Newcome, the late primate of Ireland. Pitt spent his boyhood at home, and it is amusing to remark how complete a contrast, in every particular, these illustrious men have been destined to exhibit to the world; since they even assist us to appreciate, in minds nearly of equal force, the comparative benefits of public and private education. Fox,

by mingling with society, and acting in that little world, where all the principles and passions, which are afterwards to operate in the great one, are exercised and disciplined on a narrow scale, acquired, together with literary accomplishments, a wider knowledge of human nature and human conduct, than his rival ever attained. There, he was formed to that companionable cordiality; that open and friend-making benignity; and that skill to manage, to attach, and to act with others, which distinguished him through life; and probably also to that love of dissipation and profuseness, which can be indulged only in society. In Pitt, on the contrary, were seen that sobriety and caution, that backwardness and reserve, that deficiency in interestingness, attraction, and power of popular captivation, and perhaps that high sense of his own sufficiency, which are too often the effect of privacy and seclusion, and of the want of an early necessity to conciliate and compare ourselves with others. His attachments, we have reason to believe, had more steadiness than enthusiasm; his manner was more unexceptionable than engaging; and his conduct more guarded by discretion, than the strength of his passions appeared to require. Fox passed through all the gradations of boyhood, youth, and maturity, with that change of character which is naturally created by each; but Pitt, like the northern year, in which summer commences without any spring, seemed to leap at once from infancy to manhood, without any intervening period of adolescence. Nature had, no doubt, laid the foundation of this difference; but what nature began was consummated by education.

Though, in the traditionary history of Eton, Mr. Fox is better remembered for his extravagances than for his literary industry, yet he by no means neglected the proper business of the place. His active and elastic mind found no enjoyment in idleness. Dissipation requires frequent intervals: and every pause in its pursuit was occupied by the acquisition of knowledge. He was not the first scholar of his day, but certainly, parvo intervallo proximus. As a specimen of his boyish talents, we shall quote from his school exercises the concluding lines of his address to the dove :—

Quis cæli tibi claudet iter? dum lumina fallens
Vana virum, scindis tuta sub astra fugam.
Sævit unda maris, moveant insana tumultus
Equora, et eversas concitet Eurus aquas.
Tu fugis incolumis, volucri pernicior Euro,
Carpis et aërias inviolata vias.
Garrulitas nostræ quondam temeraria linguæ
Indicio prodit multa tacenda levi :

At tibi vox nulla est; nec, si loquereris, amoris
Furta Cytheriacæ lingua loquatur avis.
Hoc Venus ipsa vetat, te sæpe experta fidelem,
Usa ministeriis in sua furta tuis:

Nempe alis invecta tuis, tibi semper amores
Fidit in amplexus Martis itura Venus.
Nunc quoque (dilectam docet hoc Cytherea volu-
crem)

Nunc quoque amatori, fida columba, fave.
I, pete per cœlos nostram festina Susaunain,
Sic mihi, sic Veneri grata futura tuæ.

From Eton he was removed to Oxford, where his associates and mode of life continued nearly

the same. At both places he was so lavishly supplied with money, that similar supplies became necessary to the companions who wished to keep pace with him in his amusements; and larger sums were, about that period, risqued a the gaming table, than was ever previously known to be the case, either at school or college. It s reported that one member of this dissipated circle demanded of another, in after life, a debt of £10,000, which had been contracted while they were fellow students. And though the latter declared that he never believed this sum to have been seriously staked, yet the rate of the frole may serve, in some measure, as a standard by which we may estimate the rate of their play.

From Oxford Mr. Fox, according to the fashionable plan of education, set out on a tour to the continent, during which his expenses were supplied by his father with an injudicious indulgence, which betrayed him into habits of unbounded extravagance. The present writer is enabled to give some idea of the prodigious sums which he carelessly squandered, having been personally informed by an eminent banker, that in the house, of which he was a partner, £100,000 had been paid, by lord H's order, to discharge the debts contracted by his son before he was of age! On his return to England, and at the age of nineteen, he was elected into parliament for Midhurst. Here he was the advocate, under the duke of Grafton, and afterwards under lord North, of the unpopular proceedings against Wilkes, and against the liberty of the press; and drew upon himself the distinction of a sarcasm from Junius. As his talents gave him early importance, he was placed, in 1770, on the board of admiralty; and, in 1772, promoted to the Treasury. But on the death of his father in 1774, finding himself possessed not only of a patrimonial independence, but perhaps too of more freedom of action than he had before enjoyed, he attached himself to the opposition. Whether the minister, as has been affirmed, bad disappointed his ambitious solicitations, or was himself disappointed with Mr. Fox's support in some favorite design, it is now almost impossible to discover: but, on the 12th of March, a new commission of treasury was issued; in which, as lord North laconically informed him, his name was not observable. It was fortunate for his future consistency, that this happened before be had been called upon to deliver any decided opinion on the controversy with America: as he was thus left free to reprobate, with all his natural vehemence, the conduct of his former colleagues through the whole of that unhappy contest. Leagued in the same cause with Mr. Burke, his penetration enabled him immediately to perceive and justly to estimate the vast intellectual superiority of that accomplished senator. Under his tuition he, in a manner, recommenced and newmodelled his political studies; and declared afterwards that, if all he had learned from other sources were put in one scale, and what he had been taught by Burke in the other, the latter would preponderate.' The brilliancy of his parliamentary course, during the American war, was attended with more public curiosity than public favor. We are old enough to remember

that he was then less talked of as a statesman, who could occasionally be a dissolute wit, than as a dissolute wit who could occasionally be a statesman. Business appeared to be a subordinate object of his attention: and he was represented as one of those intellectual prodigies, in whom singular extremes were united; whose powers a life of irregularity could neither cloud nor enfeeble; and who, issuing from the orgies of Brookes's, or the squabbles of Newmarket, could drop, as if accidently into the senate, and astonish the world by unpremeditated invectives, far surpassing the eloquence of those who had devoted their days and nights to laborious study. This procured him universally the familiar and companionable appellation of Charles Fox, and to this idol of the sprightly and unscrupulous, every epigrammatic sally, every gambling anecdote, and every humorous subterfuge to disarm importuning creditors were at that time ascribed. Towards the end of the war, however, whether from the effect of time, of disgust at dissipation, or of connecting himself with a female companion, which rendered his habits more domestic, he seemed to apply his mind more assiduously to public affairs, and his parliamentary exertions increased both in frequency and force. In November, 1779, in a debate on the address, having used some expressions, which were interpreted by Mr. Adam into a personal insult, he was challenged by that gentleman; and, on the 27th, received a wound, by which he was for some time confined. On his recovery, however, he renewed his attacks with unabated vigor.

The ministry at last, beginning to give way, his ardor increased with the prospect of success; and he pressed them so powerfully and unceasingly by his logical invectives, that, in March 1782, they were driven from their stations.

On the arrangement of a new administration, the office generally held by the premier was given to the marquis of Rockingham; but Mr. Fox, and lord Shelburne, the secretaries of state, were understood to be the efficient ministers. The cabinet had no sooner begun their deliberatons for restoring peace, than a considerable difference of opinion, however, was found to exist, particularly with regard to the acknowledgment of American independence: Mr. Fox judging that it should be made without delay or solicitation, and the States afterwards treated with, as an independent power; and the earl of Shelburne that it should be granted as part of the concessions, necessary to purchase peace. On the 1st of July, the marquis of Rockingham died, and Mr. Fox, foreseeing that he would be outvoted in the cabinet, resigned his office. Of his motives for this step, which was blamed by several of his friends, as inexpedient and precipitate, he gave a full account, both to parliament and to the electors of Westminster, who had chosen him their representative in 1780.

The present period was an important one, on many accounts, to Mr. Fox; and more so on none, than by introducing to public notice his future antagonist, Mr. Pitt. This gentleman took his seat, in his twenty-second year, for the borough of Appleby, in 1780, and his first con

spicuous exertion was on the 19th of February, 1781, when he was highly complimented by Mr. Dundas, then opposing him, but probably foreseeing, with his usual sagacity, the possibility of their future concurrence. When the Shelburne administration was formed, Mr. Pitt became chancellor of the exchequer, and having thus embraced a party, which Mr. Fox had just indignantly abandoned, an opposition began between these two conspicuous statesmen, which never ceased during the remainder of their lives. As the latter found himself now embarked in the same interest, and contending on the same side, with his former opponent, lord North, a daily agreement in argument began to blunt the remembrance of their past animosity. A cordial alliance, indeed, was gradually formed; and they united their power, to accomplish another revolution in the cabinet. From the number and attachment of their respective adherents, whom lord Shelburne had not thinned, by the usual expedient of a dissolution, this was an easy achievement; and, on April 1783, the new allies took their seat on the treasury bench, Mr. Fox occupying his former office of foreign secretary. By a step so unexpected, this gentleman lost a portion of the popular favor, which he never afterwards recovered. It was thought an indecent violation and public mockery of his previous professions; induced suspicions of the apparent simplicity and sincerity of his conduct; and cherished a comfortless belief that the attachments and aversions of statesmen are always guided by their interest and convenience. Its defenders pleaded the necessity of constituting a vigorous government, which could be effected by no other means; but those who censured it were more numerous, and seemed only on the watch for a favorable occasion, to make the effects of their censure substantially felt. Such an occasion was soon presented, by the first business of national importance which occupied the attention of the coalition, as this administration was significantly named. It was a plan for the better government of India. The affairs of the company had, under their own uncontroled direction, fallen into great disorder; and had been conducted with such disregard, both to policy and justice, as was extremely hurtful, not merely to the national interests in that quarter of the empire, but to those of the mercantile sovereigns themselves. It was absolutely necessary, therefore, that government should interfere; and a bill, prepared, as is supposed, by Mr. Burke, was brought into parliament by Mr. Fox, soon after its meeting in the end of 1783. By this bill, the rights and property of the company, and the management of their affairs, were to be vested in a board of commissioners named by the legislature. It was certainly a bold, direct, and unequivocal measure; and was supported by its advocates on the plea that the company, having become insolvent, were disqualified for the direction of their own affairs, and that no palliative, nothing short of a radical remedy, could be of any avail. The suspicion, however, was very general that its authors, finding themselves neither the personal favorites of the crown, nor firmly established in the ap