Chapter VII: Part 7

_Flora and Fauna._--The vegetation of the island is characterized by tropical luxuriance,--the mountainous regions being clad with dense forest, in which various species of palms, the camphor-tree (_Laurus Camphora_), and the aloe are conspicuous. Consul R. Swinhoe obtained no fewer than 65 different kinds of timber from a large yard in Taiwanfu; and his specimens are now to be seen in the museum at Kew. The tree which supplies the materials for the pith paper of the Chinese is not uncommon, and the cassia tree is found in the mountains. Travellers are especially struck with the beauty of some of the wild flowers, more especially with the lilies and convolvuluses; and European greenhouses have been enriched by several Formosan orchids and other ornamental plants. The pine-apple grows in abundance. In the lowlands of the western portion, the Chinese have introduced a large number of cultivated plants and fruit trees. Rice is grown in such quantities as to procure for Formosa, in former days, the title of the "granary of China"; and the sweet potato, taro, millet, barley, wheat and maize are also cultivated. Camphor, sugar, tea, indigo, ground peanuts, jute, hemp, oil and rattans are all articles of export.

The Formosan fauna has been but partially ascertained; but at least three kinds of deer, wild boars, bears, goats, monkeys (probably _Macacus speciosus_), squirrels, and flying squirrels are fairly common, and panthers and wild cats are not unfrequent. A poisonous but beautiful green snake is often mentioned by travellers. Pheasants, ducks, geese and snipe are abundant, and Dr C. Collingwood in his _Naturalist's Rambles in the China Seas_ mentions _Ardea prasinosceles_ and other species of herons, several species of fly-catchers, kingfishers, shrikes and larks, the black drongo, the _Cotyle sinensis_ and the _Prinia sonitans_. Dogs are kept by the savages for hunting. The horse is hardly known, and his place is taken by the ox, which is regularly bridled and saddled and ridden with all dignity. The rivers and neighbouring seas seem to be well stocked with fish, and especial mention must be made of the turtles, flying-fish, and brilliant coral-fish which swarm in the waters warmed by the _Kurosiwo_ current, the gulf-stream of the Pacific. Shell-fish form an important article of diet to both the Chinese and the aborigines along the coast--a species of _Cyrena_, a species of _Tapes_, _Cytheraea petechiana_ and _Modiola teres_ being most abundant.

_Population._--The population of Formosa, according to a census in 1904, is estimated at 3,022,687, made up as follows: aborigines 104,334, Chinese 2,860,574 and Japanese 51,770. The inhabitants of Formosa may be divided into four classes: the Japanese, who are comparatively few, as there has not been much tendency to immigration; the Chinese, many of whom immigrated from the neighbourhood of Amoy and speak the dialect of that district, while others were Hakkas from the vicinity of Swatow; the subjugated aborigines, who largely intermingled with the Chinese; and the uncivilized aborigines of the eastern region who refuse to recognize authority and carry on raids as opportunity occurs. The semi-civilized aborigines, who adopted the Chinese language, dress and customs, were called Pe-pa-hwan (_Anglice_ Pepo-hoans), while their wilder brethren bear the name of Chin-hwan or "green savages," otherwise Sheng-fan or "wild savages." They appear to belong to the Malay stock, and their language bears out the supposition. They are broken up into almost countless tribes and clans, many of which number only a few hundred individuals, and their language consequently presents a variety of dialects, of which no classification has yet been effected: in the district of Posia alone a member of the Presbyterian mission distinguished eight different mutually unintelligible dialects. The people themselves are described as of "middle height, broad-chested and muscular, with remarkably large hands and feet, the eyes large, the forehead round, and not narrow or receding in many instances, the nose broad, the mouth large and disfigured with betel." The custom of tattooing is universal. In the north of the island at least, the dead are buried in a sitting posture under the bed on which they have expired. Petty wars are extremely common, not only along the Chinese frontiers, but between the neighbouring clans; and the heads of the slain are carefully preserved as trophies. In some districts the young men and boys sleep in the skull-chambers, in order that they may be inspired with courage. Many of the tribes that had least intercourse with the Chinese show a considerable amount of skill in the arts of civilization. The use of Manchester prints and other European goods is fairly general; and the women, who make a fine native cloth from hemp, introduce coloured threads from the foreign stuffs, so as to produce ornamental devices. The office of chieftain is sometimes held by women.

The chief town is Taipe (called by the Japanese Taihoku), which is on the Tamsui-yei river, and has a population of about 118,000, including 5850 Japanese. Taipe may be said to have two ports; one, Tamsui, at the mouth of the river Tamsui-yei, 10 m. distant on the north-west coast, the other Kelung (called by the Japanese Kiirun), on the north-east shore, with which it is connected by rail, a run of some 18 m. The foreign settlement at Taipe lies outside the walls of the city, and is called Twatutia (Taitotei by the Japanese). Kelung (the ancient Pekiang) is an excellent harbour, and the scenery is very beautiful. There are coal-mines in the neighbourhood. Tamsui (called Tansui by the Japanese) is usually termed Hobe by foreigners. It is the site of the first foreign settlement, has a population of about 7000, but cannot be made a good harbour without considerable expenditure. On the west coast there is no place of any importance until reaching Anping (23 deg. N. lat.), a port where a few foreign merchants reside for the sake of the sugar trade. It is an unlovely place, surrounded by mud flats, and a hotbed of malaria. It has a population of 4000 Chinese and 200 Japanese. At a distance of some 2-1/2 m. inland is the former capital of Formosa, the walled city of Tainan, which has a population of 100,000 Chinese, 2300 Japanese, and a few British merchants and missionaries. Connected with Anping by rail (26 m.) and laying south of it is Takau, a treaty port. It has a population of 6800, and is prettily situated on two sides of a large lagoon. Six miles inland from Takau is a prosperous Chinese town called Feng-shan (Japanese, Hozan). The anchorages on the east coast are Soo, Karenko and Pinan, which do not call for special notice. Forty-seven m. east of the extreme south coast there is a little island called Botel-tobago (Japanese, Koto-sho), which rises to a height of 1914 ft. and is inhabited by a tribe whose customs differ essentially from those of the natives on the main island.

_Administration and Commerce._--The island is treated as an outlying territory; it has not been brought within the full purview of the Japanese constitution. Its affairs are administered by a governor-general, who is also commander-in-chief of the forces, by a bureau of civil government, and by three prefectural governors, below whom are the heads of twenty territorial divisions called _cho_; its finances are not included in the general budget of the Japanese empire; it is garrisoned by a mixed brigade taken from the home divisions; and its currency is on a silver basis. One of the first abuses with which the Japanese had to deal was the excessive use of opium by the Chinese settlers. To interdict the importation of the drug altogether, as is done in Japan, was the step advocated by Japanese public opinion. But, influenced by medical views and by the almost insuperable difficulty of enforcing any drastic import veto in the face of Formosa's large communications by junk with China, the Japanese finally adopted the middle course of licensing the preparation and sale of the drug, and limiting its use to persons in receipt of medical sanction. Under the administration of the Japanese the island has been largely developed. Among other industries gold-mining is advancing rapidly. In 1902 48,400 oz. of gold representing a value of L168,626 were obtained from the mines and alluvial washings. Coal is also found in large quantities near Kelung and sulphur springs exist in the north of the island.

An extensive scheme of railway construction has been planned, the four main lines projected being (1) from Takau to Tainan; (2) from Tainan to Kagi; (3) from Kagi to Shoka; and (4) from Shoka to Kelung; these four forming, in effect, a main trunk road running from the south-west to the north-east, its course being along the foot of the mountains that border the western coast-plains. The Takau-Tainan section (26 m.) was opened to traffic on the 3rd of November 1900, and by 1905 the whole line of 259 m. was practically complete. Harbour improvements also are projected, but in Formosa, as in Japan proper, paucity of capital constitutes a fatal obstacle to rapid development.

There are thirteen ports of export and import, but 75% of the total business is done at Tamsui. Tea and camphor are the staple exports. The greater part of the former goes to Amoy for re-shipment to the west, but it is believed that if harbour improvements were effected at Tamsui so as to render it accessible for ocean-going steamers, shipments would be made thence direct to New York. The camphor trade being a government monopoly, the quantity exported is under strict control.

_History._--The island of Formosa must have been known from a very early date to the Chinese who were established in the Pescadores. The inhabitants are mentioned in the official works of the Yuan dynasty as _Tung-fan_ or eastern barbarians; and under the Ming dynasty the island begins to appear as Kilung. In the beginning of the 16th century it began to be known to the Portuguese and Spanish navigators, and the latter at least made some attempts at establishing settlements or missions. The Dutch were the first, however, to take footing in the island; in 1624 they built a fort, Zelandia, on the east coast, where subsequently rose the town of Taiwan, and the settlement was maintained for thirty-seven years. On the expulsion of the Ming dynasty in China, a number of their defeated adherents came over to Formosa, and under a leader called in European accounts Coxinga, succeeded in expelling the Dutch and taking possession of a good part of the island. In 1682 the Chinese of Formosa recognized the emperor K'ang-hi, and the island then began to form part of the Chinese empire. From the close of the 17th century a long era of conflict ensued between the Chinese and the aborigines. A more debased population than the peoples thus struggling for supremacy could scarcely be conceived. The aborigines, _Sheng-fan_, or "wild savages," deserved the appellation in some respects, for they lived by the chase and had little knowledge even of husbandry; while the Chinese themselves, uneducated labourers, acknowledged no right except that of might. The former were not implacably cruel or vindictive. They merely clung to their homesteads, and harboured a natural resentment against the raiders who had dispossessed them. Their disposition was to leave the Chinese in unmolested possession of the plain. But some of the most valuable products of the island, as camphor and rattan, are to be found in the upland forests, and the Chinese, whenever they ventured too far in search of these products, fell into ambushes of hill-men who neither gave nor sought quarter, and who regarded a Chinese skull as a specially attractive article of household furniture. A violent rebellion is mentioned in 1788, put down only after the loss, it is said, of 100,000 men by disease and sword, and the expenditure of 2,000,000 taels of silver. Reconciliation never took place on any large scale, though it is true that, in the course of time, some fitful displays of administrative ability on the part of the Chinese, and the opening of partial means of communication, led to the pacification of a section of the _Sheng-fan_, who thenceforth became known as Pe-pa-hwan (_Pepohoan_).

In the early part of the 19th century the island was chiefly known to Europeans on account of the wrecks which took place on its coasts, and the dangers that the crews had to run from the cannibal propensities of the aborigines, and the almost equally cruel tendencies of the Chinese. Among the most notable was the loss in 1842 of the British brig "Ann," with fifty-seven persons on board, of whom forty-three were executed at Taichu. By the treaty of Tientsin (1860) Taichu was opened to European commerce, but the place was found quite unsuitable for a port of trade, and the harbour of Tamsui was selected instead. From 1859 both Protestant and Presbyterian missions were established in the island. An attack made on those at Feng-shan (Hozan) in 1868 led to the occupation of Fort Zelandia and Anping by British forces; but this action was disapproved by the home government, and the indemnity demanded from the Chinese restored. In 1874 the island was invaded by the Japanese for the purpose of obtaining satisfaction for the murder of a shipwrecked crew who had been put to death by one of the semi-savage tribes on the southern coast, the Chinese government being either unable or unwilling to punish the culprits. A war was averted through the good offices of the British minister, Sir T.F. Wade, and the Japanese retired on payment of an indemnity of 500,000 taels. The political state of the island during these years was very bad; in a report of 1872 there is recorded a proverb among the official classes, "every three years an outbreak, every five a rebellion"; but subsequent to 1877 some improvement was manifested, and public works were pushed forward by the Chinese authorities. In 1884, in the course of belligerent proceedings arising out of the Tongking dispute, the forts at Kelung on the north were bombarded by the French fleet, and the place was captured and held for some months by French troops. An attack on the neighbouring town of Tamsui failed, but a semi-blockade of the island was maintained by the French fleet during the winter and spring of 1884-1885. The troops were withdrawn on the conclusion of peace in June 1885.

In 1895 the island was ceded to Japan by the treaty of Shimonoseki at the close of the Japanese war. The resident Chinese officials, however, refused to recognize the cession, declared a republic, and prepared to offer resistance. It is even said they offered to transfer the sovereignty to Great Britain if that power would accept it. A formal transfer to Japan was made in June of the same year in pursuance of the treaty, the ceremony taking place on board ship outside Kelung, as the Chinese commissioners did not venture to land. The Japanese were thus left to take possession as best they could, and some four months elapsed before they effected a landing on the south of the island. Takau was bombarded and captured on the 15th of October, and the resistance collapsed. Liu Yung-fu, the notorious Black Flag general, and the back-bone of the resistance, sought refuge in flight. The general state of the island when the Japanese assumed possession was that the plain of Giran on the eastern coast and the hill-districts were inhabited by semi-barbarous folk, the western plains by Chinese of a degraded type, and that between the two there existed a traditional and continuous feud, leading to mutual displays of merciless and murderous violence. By many of these Chinese settlers the Japanese conquerors, when they came to occupy the island, were regarded in precisely the same light as the Chinese themselves had been regarded from time immemorial by the aborigines. Insurrections occurred frequently, the insurgents receiving secret aid from sympathizers in China, and the difficulties of the Japanese being increased not only by their ignorance of the country, which abounds in fastnesses where bandits can find almost inaccessible refuge, but also by the unwillingness of experienced officials to abandon their home posts for the purpose of taking service in the new territory.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--C. Imbault-Huart, _L'Ile Formose, histoire et
description_ (Paris, 1893), 4^o; J.D. Clark, _Formosa_ (Shanghai,
1896); W.A. Pickering, _Pioneering in Formosa_ (London, 1898); George
Candidius, _A Short Account of the Island of Formosa in the Indies_
..., vol. i.; Churchill's _Collection of Voyages_ (1744); Robert
Swinhoe, _Notes on the Island of Formosa_, read before the British
Association (1863); W. Campbell, "Aboriginal Savages of Formosa,"
_Ocean Highways_ (April 1873); H.J. Klaproth, _Description de l'ile de
Formose, mem. rel. a l'Asie_ (1826); Mrs T.F. Hughes, _Notes of a Six
Years' Residence in Formosa_ (London, 1881); Y. Takekoshi, _Japanese
Rule in Formosa_ (transl. by G. Braithwaite) (London, 1907).

FORMOSUS, pope from 891 to 896, the successor of Stephen V. (or VI.). He first appears in history when, as bishop of Porto, he was sent on an embassy to the Bulgarians. Having afterwards sided with a faction against John VIII., he was excommunicated, and compelled to take an oath never to return to Rome or again to assume his priestly functions. From this oath he was, however, absolved by Marinus, the successor of John VIII., and restored to his dignities; and on the death of Stephen V. in 891 he was chosen pope. At that time the Holy See was engaged in a struggle against the oppression of the princes of Spoleto, and a powerful party in Rome was eager to obtain the intervention of Arnulf, king of Germany, against these dangerous neighbours. Formosus himself shared this view; but he was forced to yield to circumstances and to consecrate as emperor Lambert, the young son of Guy of Spoleto. Guy had already been consecrated by Stephen V., and died in 894. In the following year Arnulf succeeded in seizing Rome, and Formosus crowned him emperor. But, as he was advancing on Spoleto against Lambert, Arnulf was seized with paralysis, and was forced to return to Germany. Overwhelmed with chagrin, Formosus died on the 4th of April 896. The discords in which he had been involved continued after his death. The validity of his acts was contested on the pretext that, having been originally bishop of Porto, he could not be a legitimate pope. The fundamental factor in these dissensions was the rivalry between the princes of Spoleto and the Carolingian house, represented by the king of Germany. The body of Formosus was disinterred in 897 by Stephen VI., and treated with contumely as that of a usurper of the papal throne; but Theodore II. restored it to Christian burial, and at a council presided over by John IX. the pontificate of Formosus was declared valid and all his acts confirmed. (L. D.*)

FORMULA (Lat. diminutive of _forma_, shape, pattern, &c., especially used of rules of judicial procedure), in general, a stereotyped form of words to be used on stated occasions, for specific purposes, ceremonies, &c. In the sciences, the word usually denotes a symbolical statement of certain facts; for example, a chemical formula exhibits the composition of a substance (see CHEMISTRY); a botanical formula gives the differentia of a plant; a dentition formula indicates the arrangement and number of the teeth of an animal.

FORNER, JUAN BAUTISTA PABLO (1756-1799), Spanish satirist and scholar, was born at Merida (Badajoz) on the 23rd of February 1756, studied at the university of Salamanca, and was called to the bar at Madrid in 1783. During the next few years--under the pseudonyms of "Tome Cecial," "Pablo Segarra," "Don Antonio Varas," "Bartolo," "Pablo Ignocausto," "El Bachiller Reganadientes," and "Silvio Liberio"--Forner was engaged in a series of polemics with Garcia de la Huerta, Iriarte and other writers; the violence of his attacks was so extreme that he was finally forbidden to publish any controversial pamphlets, and was transferred to a legal post at Seville. In 1796 he became crown prosecutor at Madrid, where he died on the 17th of March 1799. Forner's brutality is almost unexampled, and his satirical writings give a false impression of his powers. His _Oracion apologetica por la Espana y su merito literario_ (1787) is an excellent example of learned advocacy, far superior to similar efforts made by Denina and Antonio Cavanilles; and his posthumous _Exequias de la lengua castellana_ (printed in the _Biblioteca de autores espanoles_, vol. lxiii.) testifies to his scholarship and taste.

FORRES (Gaelic, _far uis_, "near water"), a royal and police burgh of Elginshire, Scotland. Pop. (1891) 3971; (1901) 4317. It is situated on the Findhorn, which sweeps past the town and is crossed by a suspension bridge about a mile to the W., 11 m. W. of Elgin by the Highland railway, and 6 m. by road from Findhorn, its port, due north. It is one of the most ancient towns in the north of Scotland. King Donald (892-900), son of Constantine, died in Forres, not without suspicion of poisoning, and in it King Duff (961-967) was murdered. Macbeth is said to have slain Duncan in the first structure that gave its name to Castlehill, which was probably the building demolished in 1297 by the adherents of Wallace. The next castle was a royal residence from 1189 to 1371 and was occupied occasionally by William the Lion, Alexander II. and David II. It was burned down by the Wolf of Badenoch in 1390. The ruins on the hill, however, are those of a later edifice and are surmounted by a granite obelisk, 65 ft. high, raised to the memory of Surgeon James Thomson, a native of Cromarty, who at the cost of his life tended the Russian wounded on the field of the Alma. The public buildings include the town hall, a fine and commodious house on the site of the old tolbooth; the Falconer museum, containing among other exhibits several valuable fossils, and named after Dr Hugh Falconer (1808-1865), the distinguished palaeontologist and botanist, a native of the town; the mechanics' institute; the agricultural and market hall; Leanchoil hospital and Anderson's Institution for poor boys. The cross, in Decorated Gothic, stands beside the town hall. Adjoining the town on the south-east is the beautifully-wooded Cluny Hill, a favourite public resort, carrying on its summit the tower, 70 ft. high, which was erected in 1806 to the memory of Nelson, and on its southern slopes a well-known hydropathic. An excellent golf-course extends from Kinloss to Findhorn. The industries comprise the manufacture of chemicals and artificial manures, granite polishing, flour and sawmills, boot- and shoe-making, carriage-building and woollen manufactures. There is also considerable trade in cattle.

Sueno's Stone, about 23 ft. high, probably the finest sculptured monolith in Scotland, stands in a field to the east of the town. Its origin and character have given rise to endless surmises. It is carved with figures of soldiers, priests, slaughtered men and captives on one side, and on the other with a cross and Runic ornamentation. One theory is that it is a relic of the early Christian church, symbolizing the battle of life and the triumph of good over evil. According to an older tradition it was named after Sueno, son of Harold, king of Denmark, who won a victory on the spot in 1008. A third conjecture is that it commemorates the expulsion of the Danes from Moray in 1014. Skene's view is that it chronicles the struggle in 900 between Sigurd, earl of Orkney, and Maelbrigd, Maormor of Moray. Another storied stone is called the Witches' Stone, because it marks the place near Forres where Macbeth is said to have encountered the weird sisters.

Forres is one of the Inverness district group of parliamentary burghs, the other members being Nairn, Fortrose and Inverness. The town is amongst the healthiest in Scotland and has the lowest rainfall in the county.

Within 2 m. of Forres, to the S.W., lie the beautiful woods of Altyre, the seat of the Gordon-Cummings. Three miles farther south is Relugas House, the favourite residence of Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, romantically situated on a height near the confluence of the Divie and the Findhorn. Not far away stand the ruins of the old castle of Dunphail. On the left bank of the Findhorn, 3-1/2 m. W. of Forres, is situated Brodie Castle, partly ancient and partly modern. The Brodies--the old name of their estate was Brothie, from the Irish _broth_, a ditch, in allusion to the trench that ran from the village of Dyke to the north of the house--were a family of great consequence at the period of the Covenant. Alexander Brodie (1617-1680), the fourteenth laird, was one of the commissioners who went to the Hague to treat with Charles II., and afterwards became a Scottish lord of session and an English judge. He and his son were regarded as amongst the staunchest of the Presbyterians. Farther south is the forest of Darnaway, famous for its oaks, in which stands the earl of Moray's mansion of Darnaway Castle. It occupies the site of the castle which was built by Thomas Randolph, the first earl. Attached to it is the great hall, capable of accommodating 1000 men, with an open roof of fine dark oak, the only remaining portion of the castle that was erected by Archibald Douglas, earl of Moray, in 1450. Queen Mary held a council in it in 1562. Earl Randolph's chair, not unlike the coronation chair, has been preserved. Kinloss Abbey, now in ruins, stands some 2-1/2 m. to the N.E. of Forres. It was founded in 1150 by David I., and remained in the hands of the Cistercians till its suppression at the Reformation. Robert Reid, who ruled from 1526 to 1540, was its greatest abbot. His hobby was gardening, and it is believed that many of the 123 varieties of pears and 146 varieties of apples for which the district is famous were due to his skill and enterprise. Edward I. stayed in the abbey for a short time in 1303 and Queen Mary spent two nights in it in 1562.

FORREST, EDWIN (1806-1872), American actor, was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of March 1806, of Scottish and German descent. He made his first stage appearance on the 27th of November 1820, at the Walnut Street theatre, in Home's _Douglas_. In 1826 he had a great success in New York as Othello. He played at Drury Lane in the _Gladiator_ in 1836, but his Macbeth in 1845 was hissed by the English audience, and his affront to Macready in Edinburgh shortly afterwards--when he stood up in a private box and hissed him,--was fatal to his popularity in Great Britain. His jealousy of Macready resulted in the Astor Place riot in 1849. In 1837 he had married Catherine, daughter of John Sinclair, an English singer, and his divorce suit in 1852 was a _cause celebre_ which hurt his reputation and soured his temper. His last appearance was as Richelieu in Boston in 1871. He died on the 12th of December 1872. He had amassed a large fortune, much of which he left by will to found a home for aged actors.

See Lawrence Barrett's _Edwin Forrest_ (Boston, 1881).

FORREST, SIR JOHN (1847- ), West Australian statesman and explorer, son of William Forrest, of Bunbury, West Australia, was born near Bunbury, on the 22nd of August 1847, and educated at Perth, W.A. In 1865 he became connected with the Government Survey Department at Perth, and in 1869 led an exploring expedition into the interior in search of D. Leichardt, penetrating through bush and salt-marshes as far inland as 123 deg. E. In 1870 he again made an expedition from Perth to Adelaide, along the southern shores. In 1874, with his brother Alexander Forrest (born 1849), he explored eastwards from Champion Bay, following as far as possible the 26th parallel, and striking the telegraph line between Adelaide and Port Darwin; a distance of about 2000 m. was covered in about five months with horses and without carriers, a particularly fine achievement (see AUSTRALIA: _Exploration_). John Forrest also surveyed in 1878 the north-western district between the rivers Ashburton and Lady Grey, and in 1882 the Fitzroy district. In 1876 he was made deputy surveyor-general, receiving the thanks of the colony for his services and a grant of 5000 acres of land; for a few months at the end of 1878 he acted as commissioner of crown lands and surveyor-general, being given the full appointment in 1883 and retaining it till 1890. When the colony obtained in 1890 its constitution of self-government, Sir John Forrest (who was made K.C.M.G. in 1891, and G.C.M.G. in 1901) became its first premier, and he held that position till in 1901 he joined the Commonwealth government, first as minister for defence, later as minister for home affairs and postmaster-general, resigning the office of federal treasurer in July 1907. His influence in West Australia was one of an almost autocratic character, owing to the robust vigour of his personality and his success in enforcing his views (see WESTERN AUSTRALIA: _History_). In 1897 he was made a member of the Privy Council. Sir John Forrest married in 1876 Margaret Hamersley. He published _Explorations in Australia_ (1876) and _Notes on Western Australia_ (1884-1887).

FORREST, NATHAN BEDFORD (1821-1877), Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, was born near Chapel Hill, Tennessee, on the 13th of July 1821. Before his father's death in 1837 the family had removed to Mississippi, and for some years thereafter it was supported principally by Nathan, who was the eldest son. Thus he never received any formal education (as witnessed by the uncouth phraseology and spelling of his war despatches), but he managed to teach himself with very fair success, and is said to have possessed considerable ability as a mathematician. He was in turn a horse and cattle trader in Mississippi, and a slave dealer and horse trader in Memphis, until 1859, when he took to cotton planting in north-western Mississippi, where he acquired considerable wealth. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 he volunteered as a private, raised a cavalry battalion, of which he was lieut.-colonel, and in February 1862 took part in the defence of Fort Donelson, and refusing, like Generals Floyd and Pillow, to capitulate with the rest of the Confederate forces, made his way out, before the surrender, with all the mounted troops there. He was promptly made a colonel and regimental commander, and fought at Shiloh with distinction, receiving a severe wound. Shortly after this he was promoted brigadier-general (July 1862). At the head of a mounted brigade he took a brilliant part in General Bragg's autumn campaign, and in the winter of 1862-1863 he was continually active in raiding the hostile lines of communication. These raids have been the theme of innumerable discussions, and on the whole their value seems to have been overrated. At the same time, and apart from the question of their utility, Forrest's raids were uniformly bold and skilful, and are his chief title to fame in the history of the cavalry arm. Indeed, next to Stuart and Sheridan, he was the finest cavalry leader of the whole war. One of the most remarkable of his actions was his capture, near Rome, Georgia, after five days of marching and fighting, of an entire cavalry brigade under Colonel A.D. Streight (April 1863). He was present at the battle of Chickamauga in September, after which (largely on account of his criticism of General Bragg, the army commander) he was transferred to the Mississippi. Forrest was made a major-general in December 1863. In the winter of 1863-1864 he was as active as ever, and in the spring of 1864 he raided as far north as Paducah, Ky. On the 12th of April 1864 he assaulted and captured Fort Pillow, in Tennessee on the Mississippi; U.S. negro troops formed a large part of the garrison and according to survivors many were massacred after the fort had surrendered. The "Massacre of Fort Pillow" has been the subject of much controversy and there is much conflicting testimony regarding it, but it seems probable that Forrest himself had no part in it. On the 10th of June Forrest decisively defeated a superior Federal force at Brice's Cross Roads, Miss., and throughout the year, though the greatest efforts were made by the Federals to crush him, he raided in Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama with almost unvarying success. He was once more with the main Confederate army of the West in the last disastrous campaign of Nashville, and fought stubborn rearguard actions to cover the retreat of the broken Confederates. In February 1865 he was made a lieut.-general, but the struggle was almost at an end and General James H. Wilson, one of the ablest of the Union cavalry generals, rapidly forced back the few Confederates, now under Forrest's command, and stormed Selma, Alabama, on the 2nd of April. The surrender of General Forrest and his whole command, under the agreement between General Richard Taylor and General E.S. Canby, followed on the 9th of May. After the war he lived in Memphis. He sold his cotton plantation in 1867, and for some years was president of the Selma, Marion and Memphis Railroad. He died at Memphis, Tennessee, on the 29th of October 1877.

The military character of General Forrest, apart from questions of his technical skill, horsemastership and detail special to his arm of the service, was admittedly that of a great leader. He never commanded a large force of all arms. He was uneducated, and had neither experience of nor training for the strategical handling of great armies. Yet his personality and his natural soldierly gifts were such that General Sherman considered him "the most remarkable man the Civil War produced on either side." Joseph Johnston, the Confederate general whose greatness lay above all in calm and critical judgment, said that Forrest, had he had the advantage of a thorough military training, "would have been the great central figure of the war."

See the biographies by J.A. Wyeth (1899) and J.H. Mathes (1902).

FORSKAL, PETER (1736-1763), Swedish traveller and naturalist, was born in Kalmar in 1736. He studied at Gottingen, where he published a dissertation entitled _Dubia de principiis philosophiae recentioris_ (1756). Thence he returned to his native country, which, however, he had to leave after the publication of a pamphlet entitled _Pensees sur la liberte civile_ (1759). By Linnaeus he was recommended to Frederick V. of Denmark, who appointed him to accompany Carsten Niebuhr in an expedition to Arabia and Egypt in 1761. He died of the plague at Jerim in Arabia on the 11th of July 1763.

His friend and companion, Niebuhr, was entrusted with the care of
editing his MSS., and published in 1775 _Descriptiones animalium,
avium, amphibiorum, piscium, insectorum, vermium, quae in itin.
Orient. observavit Petrus Forskal_. In the same year appeared also his
account of the plants of Arabia Felix and of lower Egypt, under the
title of _Flora Aegyptiaco-Arabica_.

FORSSELL, HANS LUDVIG (1843-1901), Swedish historian and political writer, the son of Adolf Forssell, a distinguished mathematician, was born at Gefle, where his father was professor, on 14th January 1843. At the age of sixteen he became a student in Upsala University, where he distinguished himself, and where, in 1866, having taken the degree of doctor, he was appointed reader in history. At the age of thirty, however, Forssell, who had already shown remarkable business capacity, was called to Stockholm, where he filled one important post after another in the Swedish civil service. In 1875 he was appointed head of the treasury, and in 1880 was transferred to the department of inland revenue, of which he continued to be president until the time of his death. In addition to the responsibilities which these offices devolved upon him, Forssell was constantly called to serve on royal commissions, and his political influence was immense. In spite of all these public duties, which he carried through with the utmost diligence, Forssell also found leisure for an abundant literary activity. Of his historical writings the most important were: _The Administrative and Economical History of Sweden after Gustavus I._ (1869-1875) and _Sweden in 1571_ (1872). He was also for several years, in company with the poet Wirsen, editor of the _Swedish Literary Review_. He published two volumes of _Studies and_ _Criticisms_ (1875, 1888). In the year 1881, at the death of the historian Anders Fryxell, Forssell was elected to the vacant seat on the Swedish Academy. The energy of Forssell was so great, and he understood so little the economy of strength, that he unquestionably overtaxed his vital force. His death, however, which occurred with great suddenness on the 2nd of August 1901 while he was staying at San Bernardino in Switzerland, was wholly unexpected. There was little of the typical Swedish urbanity in Forssell's exterior manner, which was somewhat dry and abrupt. Like many able men who have from early life administered responsible public posts, there appeared a certain want of sympathy in his demands upon others. His views were distinct, and held with great firmness; for example, he was a free-trader, and his consistent opposition to what he called "the new system" had a considerable effect on Swedish policy. He was not exactly an attractive man, but he was a capable, upright and efficient public servant. In 1867 he married Miss Zulamith Eneroth, a daughter of the well-known pomologist of Upsala; she survived him, with two sons and two daughters. (E. G.)

FORST (originally FORSTA or FORSTE), a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Brandenburg, on the Neisse, 44 m. S.E. of Frankfort-on-Oder. Pop. (1905) 33,757. It has two Evangelical, a Roman Catholic and an Old Lutheran church; there are two schools and two hospitals in the town. The chief industry of Forst is the manufacture of cloth, but spinning, dyeing and the making of artificial flowers are also carried on. Founded in the 13th century, Forst passed in 1667 to the duke of Saxe-Merseburg, becoming part of electoral Saxony in 1740. It was ceded to Prussia in 1815.

FORSTER, FRANCOIS (1790-1872), French engraver, was born at Locle in Neufchatel, on the 22nd of August 1790. In 1805 he was apprenticed to an engraver in Paris, and he also studied painting and engraving simultaneously in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His preference was ultimately fixed on the latter art, and on his obtaining in 1814 the first "grand prix de gravure," the king of Prussia, who was then with the allies in Paris, bestowed on him a gold medal, and a pension of 1500 francs for two years. With the aid of this sum he pursued his studies in Rome, where his attention was devoted chiefly to the works of Raphael. In 1844 he succeeded Tardieu in the Academy. He died at Paris on the 27th of June 1872. Forster occupied the first position among the French engravers of his time, and was equally successful in historical pieces and in portraits. Among his works may be mentioned--The Three Graces, and _La Vierge de la legende_, after Raphael; _La Vierge au bas-relief_, after Leonardo da Vinci; Francis I. and Charles V., after Gros; St Cecilia, after Paul Delaroche; Albert Durer and Henry IV., after Porbus; Wellington, after Gerard; and Queen Victoria, after Winterhalter.

FORSTER, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH (1791-1868), German historian and poet, was the second son of Karl Christoph Forster (1751-1811), and consequently a brother of the painter, Ernest Joachim Forster (1800-1885). Born at Munchengosserstadt on the Saale on the 24th of September 1791, he received his early education at Altenburg, and after a course of theology at Jena, devoted some time to archaeology and the history of art. At the outbreak of the War of Liberation in 1813, he joined the army, quickly attaining the rank of captain; and by his war-songs added to the national enthusiasm. On the conclusion of the war he was appointed professor at the school of engineering and artillery in Berlin, but on account of some democratic writings he was dismissed from this office in 1817. He then became connected with various journals until about 1829, when he received an appointment at the royal museum in Berlin, with the title of court councillor (_Hofrat_). He was the founder and secretary of the _Wissenschaftlicher Kunstverein_ in Berlin, and died in Berlin on the 8th of November 1868. Forster's principal works are: _Beitrage zur neueren Kriegsgeschichte_ (Berlin, 1816); _Grundzuge der Geschichte des preussischen Staates_ (Berlin, 1818); _Der Feldmarschall Blucher und seine Umgebungen_ (Leipzig, 1820); _Friedrich der Grosse, Jugendjahre, Bildung und Geist_ (Berlin, 1822); _Albrecht von Wallenstein_ (Potsdam, 1834); _Friedrich Wilhelm I., Konig von Preussen_ (Potsdam, 1834-1835); _Die Hofe und Kabinette Europas im 18. Jahrhundert_ (Potsdam, 1836-1839); _Leben und Taten Friedrichs des Grossen_ (Meissen, 1840-1841); _Wallensteins Prozess_ (Leipzig, 1844); and _Preussens Helden in Krieg und Frieden, neuere und neueste preussische Geschichte_, 7 volumes (Berlin, 1849-1860). The three concluding volumes of this work contain the history of the war of liberation of 1813-14-15. He brought out an edition of Hegel's works, adapted several of Shakespeare's plays for the theatre, wrote a number of poems and an historical drama, _Gustav Adolf_ (Berlin, 1832).

Many of his lesser writings were collected and published as
_Kriegslieder, Romanzen, Erzahlungen und Legenden_ (Berlin, 1838). The
beginning of an autobiography of Forster, edited by H. Kletke, has
been published under the title, _Kunst und Leben_ (Berlin, 1873).

FORSTER, JOHANN GEORG ADAM (1754-1794), German traveller and author, was born at Nassenhuben, a small village near Danzig, on the 27th of November 1754. His father, Johann Reinhold Forster, a man of great scientific attainments but an intractable temper, was at that time pastor of the place; the family are said to have been of Scottish extraction. In 1765 the elder Forster was commissioned by the empress Catherine to inspect the Russian colonies in the province of Saratov, which gave his son an opportunity of acquiring the Russian language and the elements of a scientific education. After a few years the father quarrelled with the Russian government, and went to England, where he obtained a professorship of natural history and the modern languages at the famous non-conformist academy at Warrington. His violent temper soon compelled him to resign this appointment, and for two years he and his son earned a precarious livelihood by translations in London--a practical education, however, exceedingly useful to the younger Forster, who became a thorough master of English, and acquired many of the ideas which chiefly influenced his subsequent life. At length the turning point in his career came in the shape of an invitation for him and his father to accompany Captain Cook in his third voyage round the world. Such an expedition was admirably calculated to call forth Forster's peculiar powers. His account of Cook's voyage (_A Voyage round the World_, London, 1777; in German, Berlin, 1778-1780), is almost the first example of the glowing yet faithful description of natural phenomena which has since made a knowledge of them the common property of the educated world. The publication of this work was, however, impeded for some time by differences with the admiralty, during which Forster proceeded to the continent to obtain an appointment for his father as professor at Cassel, and found to his surprise that it was conferred upon himself. The elder Forster, however, was soon provided for elsewhere, being appointed professor of natural history at Halle. At Cassel Forster formed an intimate friendship with the great anatomist Sommerring, and about the same time made the acquaintance of Jacobi, who gave him a leaning towards mysticism from which he subsequently emancipated himself. The want of books and scientific apparatus at Cassel induced him to resort frequently to Gottingen, where he became betrothed to Therese Heyne, the daughter of the illustrious philologist, a clever and cultivated woman, but ill-suited to be Forster's wife. To be able to marry he accepted (1784) a professorship at the university of Wilna, which he did not find to his taste. The penury and barbarism of Polish circumstances are graphically described in his and his wife's letters of this period. After a few years' residence at Wilna he resigned his appointment to participate in a scientific expedition projected by the Russian government, and upon the relinquishment of this undertaking became librarian to the elector of Mainz. He actively promoted the incorporation of the left bank of the Rhine with France and in 1793 went to Paris to carry on the negotiations. Meanwhile, however, the Germans seized Mainz, and Forster--already disheartened by the turn of events in France--was cut off from all return. Domestic sorrows were added to his political troubles and he died suddenly at Paris on the 10th of January 1794.

Forster's masterpiece is his _Ansichten vom Niederrhein, von Brabant, Flandern, Holland, England und Frankreich_ (1791-1794), one of the ablest books of travel of the 18th century. His style is clear and vivid; his method of describing what he sees extraordinarily plastic; above all, he has the art of presenting objects to us from their most interesting and attractive side. The same qualities are also more or less conspicuous in his minor writings. By his translation (from the English) of the _Sakuntala_ of Kalidasa (1791), he first awakened German interest in Indian literature.

Forster's _Samtliche Werke_ appeared at Leipzig in 9 vols. in 1843.
The _Ansichten vom Rhein_, &c., has been frequently reprinted (best
edition by A. Leitzmann, Halle, 1893); Leitzmann has also published
(Stuttgart, 1894) a selection of Forster's _Kleine Schriften_, which
originally appeared in 6 vols. (1789-1797). His correspondence was
published by his wife (2 vols., Leipzig, 1829); his _Briefwechsel mit
Sommerring_ by H. Hettner (Brunswick, 1877). See J. Moleschott, _G.
Forster, der Naturforscher des Volks_ (1854; 3rd ed., 1874); K. Klein,
_G. Forster in Mainz_ (Gotha, 1863); A. Leitzmann, _G. Forster_
(Vorlesung) (Halle, 1893).

FORSTER, JOHN (1812-1876), English biographer and critic, was born on the 2nd of April 1812 at Newcastle. His father, who was a Unitarian and belonged to the junior branch of a good Northumberland family, was a cattle-dealer. After being well grounded in classics and mathematics at the grammar school of his native town, John Forster was sent in 1828 to Cambridge, but after only a month's residence he removed to London, where he attended classes at University College, and was entered at the Inner Temple. He devoted himself, however, chiefly to literary pursuits. He contributed to _The True Sun, The Morning Chronicle_ and to _The Examiner_, for which he acted as literary and dramatic critic; and the influence of his powerful individuality soon made itself felt. His _Lives of the Statesmen of the Commonwealth_ (1836-1839) appeared partly in Lardner's Cyclopaedia. He published the work separately in 1840 with a _Treatise on the Popular Progress in English History_. Its merits obtained immediate recognition, and Forster became a prominent figure in that distinguished circle of literary men which included Bulwer, Talfourd, Albany, Fonblanque, Landor, Carlyle and Dickens. Forster is said to have been for some time engaged to Letitia Landon, but the engagement was broken off, and Miss Landon married George Maclean. In 1843 he was called to the bar but he never became a practising lawyer. For some years he edited the _Foreign Quarterly Review_; in 1846, on the retirement of Charles Dickens, he took charge for some months of the _Daily News_; and from 1847 to 1856 he edited the _Examiner_. From 1836 onwards he contributed to the _Edinburgh Quarterly_ and _Foreign Quarterly_ Reviews a variety of articles, some of which were republished in two volumes of _Biographical and Historical Essays_ (1858). In 1848 appeared his admirable _Life and Times of Oliver Goldsmith_ (revised in 1854). Continuing his researches into English history under the early Stuarts, he published in 1860 the _Arrest of the Five Members by Charles I.--A Chapter of English History rewritten_, and _The Debates on the Grand Remonstrance, with an Introductory Essay on English Freedom_. These were followed by his _Sir John Eliot: a Biography_ (1864), elaborated from one of his earlier studies for the _Lives of Eminent British Statesmen_. In 1868 appeared his _Life of Landor_, and, on the death of his friend Alexander Dyce, Forster undertook the publication of his third edition of Shakespeare. For several years he had been collecting materials for a life of Swift, but he interrupted his studies in this direction to write his standard _Life of Charles Dickens_. He had long been intimate with the novelist, and it is by this work that John Forster is now chiefly remembered. The first volume appeared in 1872, and the biography was completed in 1874. Towards the close of 1875 the first volume of his _Life of Swift_ was published; and he had made some progress in the preparation of the second at the time of his death on the 2nd of February 1876. In 1855 Forster had been appointed secretary to the lunacy commission, and from 1861 to 1872 he held the office of a commissioner in lunacy. His valuable collection of manuscripts, including the original copies of Charles Dickens's novels, together with his books and pictures, was bequeathed to South Kensington Museum.

An admirable account of him by Henry Morley is prefixed to the
official handbook (1877) of the Dyce and Forster bequests.

FORSTER, JOHN COOPER (1823-1886), British surgeon, was born in 1823 in Lambeth, London, where his father and grandfather before him had been local medical practitioners. He entered Guy's hospital in 1841, was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in 1850, assistant-surgeon, 1855, and surgeon, 1870. He became a member of the College of Surgeons in 1844, fellow in 1849 and president in 1884. He was a prompt and sometimes bold operator. In 1858 he performed practically the first gastrostomy in England for a case of cancer of the oesophagus. Among his best-known papers were discussions of acupressure, syphilis, hydrophobia, intestinal obstruction, modified obturator hernia, torsion, and colloid cancer of the large intestine; and he published a book on _Surgical Diseases of Children_ in 1860, founded on his experience as surgeon to the hospital for children and women in Waterloo Road. He died suddenly in London on the 2nd of March 1886.

FORSTER, WILLIAM EDWARD (1818-1886), British statesman, was born of Quaker parents at Bradpole in Dorsetshire on the 11th of July 1818. He was educated at the Friends' school at Tottenham, where his father's family had long been settled, and on leaving school he was put into business. He declined, however, on principle, to enter a brewery. Becoming in due time a woollen manufacturer in a large way at Bradford, Yorkshire (from which after his marriage he moved to Burley-in-Wharfedale), he soon made himself known as a practical philanthropist. In 1846-1847 he accompanied his father to Ireland as distributor of the Friends' relief fund for the famine in Connemara, and the state of the country made a deep impression on him. In 1849 he wrote a preface to a new edition of Clarkson's _Life of William Penn_, defending the Quaker statesman against Macaulay's criticisms. In 1850 he married Jane Martha, eldest daughter of the famous Dr Arnold of Rugby. She was not a Quaker, and her husband was formally excommunicated for marrying her, but the Friends who were commissioned to announce the sentence "shook hands and stayed to luncheon." Forster thereafter ranked himself as a member of the Church of England, for which, indeed, he was in later life charged with having too great a partiality. There were no children of the marriage, but when Mrs Forster's brother, William Arnold, died in 1859, leaving four orphans, the Forsters adopted them as their own.

One of these children was Mr H.O. Arnold-Forster (1855-1909), the well-known Liberal-Unionist member of parliament, who eventually became a member of Mr Balfour's cabinet; he was secretary to the admiralty (1900-1903), and then secretary of state for war (1903-1905), and was the author of numerous educational books published by Cassell & Co., of which firm he was a director.