FREILIGRATH, FERDINAND, a popular German poet, born at Detmold; was engaged in commerce in his early years, but the success of a small collection of poems in 1838 induced him to adopt a literary career; subsequently his democratic principles, expressed in stirring verse, involved him in trouble, and in 1846 he became a refugee in London; he was permitted to return in 1848, and shortly afterwards was the successful defendant in a celebrated trial for the publication of his poem “The Dead to the Living,” after which fresh prosecution drove him to London in 1851, where, till his return in 1868, he engaged in poetical work, translating Burns, Shakespeare, and other English poets (1810-1876).

FREISCHUeTZ (i. e.  Freeshooter), a legendary hunter who made a compact with the devil whereby of seven balls six should infallibly hit the mark, and the seventh be under the direction of the devil, a legend which was rife among the troopers in the 13th and 14th centuries, and has given name to one of Weber’s operas.

FREMONT, JOHN CHARLES, an American explorer, born at Savannah, Georgia; at first a teacher of mathematics in the navy, subsequently took to civil-engineering and surveying; in 1843 explored the South Pass of the Rockies, and proved the practicability of an overland route; explored the Great Salt Lake, the watershed between the Mississippi and Pacific, and the upper reaches of the Rio Grande; he rendered valuable services in the Mexican War, but was deprived of his captaincy for disobedience; after unsuccessfully standing for the Presidency in the anti-slavery interest, he again served in the army as major-general; a scheme for a southern railway to the Pacific brought him into trouble with the French government in 1873, when he was tried and condemned for fraud, unjustly it would seem; from 1878 to 1882 he was governor of Arizona; he was the recipient of distinctions from various geographical societies (1813-1890).

FRENCH PHILOSOPHISM, an analysis of things conducted on the presumption that scientific knowledge is the key to unlock the mystery and resolve the riddle of the universe.

FRENCH REVOLUTION, according to Carlyle “the open violent revolt, and victory, of disimprisoned Anarchy against corrupt, worn-out Authority, the crowning Phenomenon of our Modern Time,” but for which, he once protested to Mr. Froude, he would not have known what to make of this world at all; it was a sign to him that the God of judgment still sat sovereign at the heart of it.

FRERE, SIR HENRY BARTLE EDWARD, a distinguished diplomatist and colonial governor, born near Abergavenny; entering the East India Company in 1834, he rendered important services as administrator in Mahratta and as Resident in Sattara in 1847; as the chief-commissioner in Sind he did much to open up the country by means of canals, roads, etc.; during the Mutiny, which arrested these works of improvement, he distinguished himself by the prompt manner in which he suppressed the rising in his own province; from 1862 to 1867 he was governor of Bombay; in 1867 was knighted, and five years later carried through important diplomatic work in Zanzibar, signing the treaty abolishing the slave-trade; his last appointment was as governor of the Cape and High-Commissioner for the settlement of South African affairs; the Kaffir and Zulu Wars involved him in trouble, and in 1880 he was recalled, having effected little (1815-1884).