sure, and has brought the people of France under a more complete despotism than they were previous to the revolution of 1789. Depradt, in his work on the State of the Cultivation of France, states that one half of the French territory is arable; or that, out of 131,000,000 of acres, 66,000,000 are cultivated with grain: but then it is to be remarked that more than one half of the grain is rye, or corn even inferior to rye. That which may be pronounced good land does not exceed 28,000,000 of acres. The same writer informs us that “the territory of France is perhaps the best in Europe, the richest in point of soil, the most varied in respect of productions, and equally removed from the extremes of heat and cold. There is not in all Europe a tract of land of equal size, which can bear a comparison with that which extends from Calais to the Loire, from the heights of Nantes, Orleans, and Nanci, to Mayence. The part most desirable to inhabit is that which is included between the Loire, the Rhone, the Rhine, and the sea. Its northern districts are not so cold as Sweden, nor so humid as Holland; and its southern provinces are not burnt up like those of Spain and Italy. In short, France has been treated by nature as if she were her eldest daughter." The reader will make some allowance for the exaggerations of this author, who seems warmly attached to his native soil. It must also be recollected that the French are very defective both in agricultural science and practice. With these allowances Depradt's account may assist in forming an estimate of the soil and climate of France. Here are mines of iron, lead, and copper; there are likewise some of silver and gold, but the last are not rich enough to defray the expences of working. The chief productions of France, for exportation, are wines, as Champagne, Burgundy, claret, &c. brandy, vinegar, fruit, such as prunes and prunelloes, dried grapes, pears, apples, oranges, and olives; corn, salt, hemp, flax, silk, resin, oil, soap, cork, kid-skins, pertunes, drugs, &c. The manufactures are silks, such as lustrings, modes, brocades, velvets, &c. woollen cloth, linen coarse and fine, lace, paper, china, of exquisite beauty and fineness, soap, &c. The French have for some years past obtained the secret from Spain of making Castile soap, as it is called, and have very large manufactures both at Marseilles and Toulon, and have thereby deprived the Spaniards of that valuable branch of trade. Nor is this the only benefit the French receive by this manufacture; for as one of the chief ingredients of making this soap is Levantine olive oil, their large sale for their soap gives them the advantage of constant back-freights from the Levant with these oils; which, it seems, has proved one means of the French advancing their Turkey trade upon the ruin of the English. The arts and sciences have always been encouraged in France; and if there can be any pleasure derived from the contemplation of the melancholy picture which the history of the last 20 years of this unhappy VOL. V.

country presents, it must flow from the consideration that during all this cheerless period the arts and sciences have never been entirely neglected, or forgotten; but that, on the contrary, they have been cultivated with an ardour and success no where exceeded, nor any where equalled except in Britain.

FRANCE (İsle of), a late province of France, so called, because it was formerly bounded by the rivers Seine, Marne, Oise, Aisne, and Ourque. It now includes the four departments of Oise, Seine and Oise, Seine and Marne, and Paris.

FRANCE (Isle of), or MAURITIUS, an island in the Indian ocean, 200 leagues E. of Madagascar. It was early discovered by the Portuguese. After them, the Dutch settled on the S. E. shore, and gave it the name of Mauritius, in honour of prince Maurice, their stadtholder; but they abandoned it, on their acquisition of the Cape of Good Hope. It then remained uninhabited, till the French landed there in 1720. This island is about 45 leagues in circumference. Indigo is the general object of cultivation; of which four of five crops a-year are produced. In 1789 one person only sent to Europe 30,000lb. weight of it, of a very superior quality. Attempts have been made to rear cochineal, as the island abounds with the plant on which the insects lie; but a small bird destroys the insect. The soil of this island is little superior to that at Port Jackson. The town and harbour are called Port Louis. The number of inhabitants on the island, exclusive of the military, is about 8,000 whites, and 12,000 blacks. Lat. 20. 9 S. Lon. 57. 28 E.

FRANCFORT ON THE MAINE, an ancient and free imperial city of Germany, in the circle of Franconia. This is one of the most commercial places in Europe, and has two great fairs every year. The chief structure is the town-house, in which is preserved thẻ golden bull, the origin of the fundamental laws of the empire, and here is the chamber in which the emperor is elected. All religions are tolerated here, under certain restrictions'; but Lutheranism is the established faith. The principal church is in the possession of the Roman catholics. The Jews are compelled to live together in a long narrow street, separated from the other citizens by a high wall, and at a certain hour of the night both ends of this street are shut up. Lat. 49. 55 N. Lon. 8. 40 E.

FRANCFORT ON THE ODER, a town of Germany, in the circle of Upper Saxony, and Middle Mark of Brandenburg, with an university, founded in the year 1506, by the elector Joachim, and his brother Albert; com posed of Calvinist professors. It has besides a noble academy, a society for the promoting of arts and sciences, two colleges, two fauxbourgs, and several churches. Lat. 52. 23 N. Lon. 14. 39 E.

FRANCHE COMTE, a province of France, before the revolution, and anciently a part of the kingdom of Burgundy. It is now divided into the three departments of Mount Jura, the Doubs, and Upper Saône.

H

rectory of Brasted in Kent. This gentleman was possessed of no inconsiderable share of learning and poetical abilities, and was long a favourite in the literary world. His translations of Phalaris, Sophocles, and Lucian, equally evince his learning and his genius, as they are not more distinguished for fidelity in the version, than congeniality with the spirit of the admirable originals. Dr. Francklin, like Mr. Foote, suffered a translation from the French to be printed in his name; but the Orestes and Electra are supposed to be all that were really by him. It was a translation of Voltaire's works, to which also Dr. Smollet's name appears. His own dramatic compositions, of which the principal are the tragedies of the Earl of Warwick and Matilda, are universally known, and deservedly esteemed by the public; so that his death, which happened March 15, 1784, may be considered as a real loss to the republic of letters.

FRANCOIS (the abbé Laurent), a zealous antagonist of the French philosophers, born in 1698, and died in 1782, His works are; 1. A Treatise of Geography. 2. Proofs of the Religion of Jesus Christ, 4 vols. 3. Defence of Religion, 4 vols. 4. Examination of the Catechism of an honest Man. 5. Examination of the Facts on which Christianity is founded, 3 vols. 12mo. 6. Observations on the Philosophy of History.

FRANCOIS (Cape), a town in the N. part of the island of St. Domingo. Lat. 19. 46 N. Long. 72. 18 W.

FRANCONIA, a circle of Germany; bounded on the north by Meissen and Thuringia, on the east by Bohemia and the Upper Palatinate, on the south by Bavaria and Suabia, and on the west by the Lower Palatinate and the electorate of Mentz. It is situate near the centre of Germany, the form inclined to a circle, whose diameter is about fifty leagues. In the centre the land is fertile in corn, wine, fruit, &c; but the frontiers are full of forests and mountains, and little cultivated. The principal river is the Maine. The inhabitants of imany towns are Roman Catholics, though the principal part are Lutherans. The Calvinists have some churches, and the Jews some synagogues. At the division of 300,000 florins to the chest of the empire, this circle was rated at 22,698 florins, 47 kruitzers.

FRANEKER, a town of the United Provinces, in Friesland, with a castle, and a noted university. The public buildings are magnificent, and the town well watered by two canals.

Lat. 53. 11 N. Lon. 5. 33 E. FRA'NGIBLE. a. (frango, Latin.) Fragile; brittle; easily broken (Boyle).

FRANGULA. (frangula, from frango, to break, so called because of the brittleness of its branches.) Black alder. This officinal tree is the rhamnus frangula; inermis floribus monogynis hermaphroditis, foliis integerrimis of Linnéus. The berries and bark are used medicinally as strong purgatives. The former are often substituted for those of the buckthorn; the latter, which is the internal bark, and of

a yellow colour, is mostly employed by the common people in dropsical and other disorders. See RHAMNUS.

FRANK. s. (from the adjective.) 1. A place to feed hogs in; a sty (Shakspeare). 2. A letter which pays no postage (Pope).

To FRANK. v. a. (from the noun.) 1. To shut up in a frank or sty (Shakspeare). 2. To feed high; to fat; to cram (Ainsworth). 3. To exempt letters from postage (Swift).

FRANK, or franc, meaning literally free from charges and impositions, or exempt from public taxes, has various significations in the ancient English customs.

FRANK ALMOIGN, signifies a tenure by spiritual service, where lands or tenements were held by an ecclesiastical corporation, sole or aggregate, to them and their successors, of some lord and his heirs, in free and perpetual alms.

FRANK FEE, signifies the same thing as holding lands and tenements in fee simple; that is, to any person and his heirs, and not by such service as is required by ancient demesne, but is pleaded at common law.

FRANK FERM, anciently signified lands charged in the nature of the fee by feoffment, &c. out of the knight's service for other certain yearly services.

FRANK FOLD, is where the lord has the liberty of folding his tenants' sheep within his manor.

FRANK LANGUAGE, or lingua franca, a kind of jargon spoken on the Mediterranean, and particularly throughout the coasts and parts of the Levant, composed of Italian, Spanish, French, vulgar Greek, and other languages.

FRANK LAW, a word applied to the free and common law of the land, or the benefit a person has by it.

FRANK MARRIAGE, is where a person, seised in fee of lands or tenements, has given them to another with his daughter, sister, or some woman otherwise of kin to him, in free marriage, by virtue of which the husband and wife have an estate in special tail, and shall hold the land of the donor, discharged of all services, except fealty, to the fifth degree.

FRANK PLEDGE, in our law, signifies a pledge or surety for the behaviour of freemen. According to the ancient custom of England, for the preservation of the public peace, every free-born man, at the age of 14, except religious persons, clerks, knights, and their eldest sons, was obliged to give security for his truth and behaviour towards the king and his subjects, or else be imprisoned. Accordingly, a certain number of neighbours became interchangeably bound for each other, to see each person of their pledge forthcoming at all times, or to answer for the offence of any one gone away; so that whenever any person offended, it was presently inquired in what pledge he was; and there the persons bound either produced the offender in 31 days, or made satisfaction for his offence.

FRANK. a. (franc, French.) 1. Liberal; generous; not niggardly (Sprat). 2. Open; ingenuous; sincere; not reserved. 3. With out conditions; without payment. 4. Not restrained; licentious (Spenser).

FRANK, also denotes an ancient coin cur rent in France: the frank was either of gold or silver, the first being worth something more than the gold crown, the latter, a third of the former. In the French new money they have retained the term frank or franc. Their three denominations are 10 decimes=1 centime; 10 centimes franc; 1 livre=3 deniers tournois, of the old French money, or nearly 10. English money.

FRANKED LETTERS. The privilege of letters coming free of postage to and from members of parliament was claimed by the House of Commons in 1660, when the first legal settlement of the present post-office was made; but afterwards dropped, upon a private assurance from the crown, that this privilege should be allowed the members. Accordingly a warrant was constantly issued to the postmaster-general, directing the allowance thereof to the extent of two ounces in weight: till at length it was expressly confirmed by 4 Geo. III c. 24. which added many new regulations, rendered necessary by the great abuses in the practice of franking; whereby the annual amount of franked letters had increased from 23,6001. in the year 1715, to 170,7001. in the year 1763. Other regulations afterwards took place; in particular, franks were required to be dated (the month written at length), and put into the office the same day; notwithstanding which, the revenue still lost by this privilege above 80,000 per aunum. The following are the regulations of frauking required by 35 Geo. III. and now in force.

No letter directed by or to any member of parliament shall be exempted from postage if it exceeds one ounce in weight. No letter directed by any member shall be exempted unless he shall actually be in the post-town, or within the limits of its delivery of letters, or within twenty miles of such post-town, on the day or on the day before the day, on which the let ter shall be put into the office. No member shall be entitled to send free from postage more than ten letters in one day, nor to receive more than fifteen.

Whenever the number of letters sent or received by such member in one day shall exceed the number exempted, and the postage upon any of them shall differ, the letters chargeable with a higher postage shall be included in the number exempted, in preference to any chargeable with a lower postage, and the remainder shall be chargeable with the postage to which common letters are chargeable. Persons who may now in right of their offices send and receive letters free may continue so to do. Printed votes or proceedings in parliament, and printed newspapers, may also be sent as usual.

No single letter sent by the post from any non-commissioned officer, seaman, or private,

in the navy, army, militia, fencible regiments, artillery, or marines, shall be charged with more postage than one peuny, but the same must be paid at the time of putting the same into the post-office; and such letter must have written thereon, in the handwriting of and signed by the commanding officer, the name of such commanding officer, and of the ship, vessel, corps, regiment, or detachment. Also no single letter directed to any such non-commissioned officer, seaman, or private, shall be charged with more postage than one penny, to be paid on the delivery thereoof; but such letter must be directed to such persons, specifying the ship, vessel, regiment, troop, corps, company, or detachment to which they belong: and the postmaster must deliver such letter either to the party to whom it shall be directed, or to some person appointed to receive the same by the commanding officer, and to no other.

Every cover containing patterns or samples of goods, not exceeding one ounce, shall be charged only as a single letter, if sent open at the sides, and without any letter or writing therewith, other than the name of the person sending the same, the place of his abode, and the prices of the articles.

FRANKENDAL, a town of Germany, in the palatinate of the Rhine. Lat. 49. 25 N. Lon. 8. 29 E.

FRANKENHAUSEN, a town of Upper Saxony, with some extensive salt-works. Lat. 50. 42 N. Lon. 11.5 E.

FRANKENIA. Sea-heath. In botany, a genus of the class hexandria, order monogynia. Calyx five-cleft, funnel-form; petals five; stigmas three; capsule oue-celled, three-valved. Four species, one a native of the Cape, one of Siberia, and two common to the salt marshes of our own country: they are not cultivated in our gardens.

FRANKFORT BLACK, is the chief ingredient in the copper-plate printer's ink; it is made of the lees of wine, burnt, washed in water, and ground in mills, together with ivory, or the stones from peaches and other fruit. The best is that made at Frankfort on the Maine, though a great deal is made at Mentz, Strasburgh, and different parts of France.

FRANKINCENSE. See THUS. FRANKINCENSE TREE. See PINUS. FRANKINCENSE (Jews.) See STYRAX. FRANKLAND'S ISLANDS, a cluster of islands in the N. E. coast of New Holland, in the S. Pacific ocean. Lat. 17. 19 S. Lon. 146° E.

FRANKLIN. s. (from frank.) A steward, or bailiff of land: not in use.

FRANKLIN (Benjamin), a celebrated American philosopher and politician, was born at Boston in New England, in 1706. His father was a soap-boiler and tallow-chandler in that town, and intended him for the same business; but conceiving a disgust to it, he was bound apprentice to one of his brothers, who was a printer. He did not serve out his time, owing to some quarrels between him and his brother, but withdrew privately to New York in 1723.