[Feretrum], the shrine containing the sacred effigies and relics of a saint.
[Fergus], the name of three Scottish kings: F. I., d. 356; F. II., king from 411 to 427; and F. III., king from 764 to 767.
[Ferguson, Adam], a Scotch philosopher and historian, born at Logierait, Perthshire; after passing through the universities of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, he in 1745 was appointed Gaelic chaplain to the Black Watch Highland Regiment, and was present at the battle of Fontenoy; in 1757 he became keeper of the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh; two years later professor of Natural Philosophy, and subsequently of Moral Philosophy in the university there; during his professorship he, as secretary, was attached to the commission sent out by Lord North to bring about a friendly settlement of the dispute pending between England and the North American colonies; resigning his chair in 1785 he retired to Neidpath Castle, to engage in farming at Hallyards, an estate in the same neighbourhood; died at St. Andrews; his best-known works are "Institutes of Moral Philosophy," "History of the Roman Republic," and "Principles of Moral and Political Science" (1723-1816).
[Ferguson, James], a popular writer on astronomy and mechanics, born at Rothiemay, Banff, son of a labourer; his interest in astronomy was first aroused by his observation of the stars while acting as a "herd laddie," and much of his time among the hills was spent in the construction of mechanical contrivances; compelled by circumstances to betake himself to various occupations, pattern-drawing, clock-mending, copying prints, and portrait sketching, he still in his leisure hours pursued those early studies, and coming to London in 1743 (after a residence of some years in Edinburgh), began lecturing on his favourite subjects; a pension of £50 was granted him out of the privy purse, and in 1763 he was elected an F.R.S.; besides publishing lectures on mechanics, hydrostatics, optics, &c., he wrote several works on astronomy, chiefly popular expositions of the methods and principles of Sir Isaac Newton (1710-1776).
[Ferguson, Patrick], soldier and inventor of the breech-loading gun, born at Pitfour, Aberdeenshire; served in the English army in Germany and Tobago; brought out his new rifle in 1766, which was tried with success in the American War of Independence; rose to be a major, and fell at the battle of King's Mountains, in South Carolina (1744-1780).
[Ferguson, Robert], a notorious plotter, who took part in Monmouth's invasion in 1685 and was prominent in the various plots against Charles II. and James II., but after the Revolution turned Jacobite; published a history of the Revolution in 1706; died in poverty (about 1637-1714).
[Fergusson, James], a writer on the history and art of architecture, born at Ayr; went to India as an indigo-planter, but afterwards gave himself up to the study of the rock-temples; published various works, and in his later years interested himself in the fortifications of the United Kingdom; his "History of Architecture," in 4 vols., is a standard work (1808-1886).
[Fergusson, Robert], a Scottish poet, born in Edinburgh; after a university course at St. Andrews he obtained a post in the office of the commissionary-clerk of Edinburgh; his first poems appeared in Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine, and brought him a popularity which proved his ruin; some years of unrestrained dissipation ended in religious melancholia, which finally settled down into an incurable insanity; his poems, collected in 1773, have abundant energy, wit, and fluency, but lack the passion and tenderness of those of Burns; he was, however, held in high honour by Burns, who regarded him as "his elder brother in the Muses." "In his death," says Mr. Henley, "at four-and-twenty, a great loss was inflicted to Scottish literature; he had intelligence and an eye, a right touch of humour, the gifts of invention and observation and style, together with a true feeling for country and city alike ... Burns, who learned much from him, was an enthusiast in his regard for him, bared his head and shed tears over 'the green mound and the scattered gowans,' under which he found his exemplar lying in Canongate Churchyard, and got leave from the managers to put up a headstone at his own cost there" (1750-1774). See Mr. Henley's "Life of Burns" in the Centenary Burns, published by the Messrs. T. C. and E. C. Jack.
[Fergusson, Sir W.], surgeon, born at Prestonpans; graduated at Edinburgh; was elected to the chair of Surgery in King's College, London, and in 1866 was made a baronet; was serjeant-surgeon to the Queen, and president of the Royal College of Surgeons; Fergusson was a bold and skilful surgeon; is the author, amongst other treatises, of a "System of Practical Surgery," besides being the inventor of many surgical instruments (1808-1877).
[Ferishtah], a Persian historian, born at Astrabad, on the Black Sea; went at an early age, accompanied by his father, to India, where his life was spent in the service, first of Murtaza Nizam Shah, in Ahmednagar, and afterwards at the court of the prince of Bijapur; his famous history of the Mohammedan power in India, finished in 1609, and the writing of which occupied him for 20 years, is still a standard work, and has been translated into English (about 1570-1611).