and other so-called humanitarians took measures to try him for murder, but failed. Tennyson and Carlyle were among his most strenuous defenders.
Eyre, Lake, a large salt-water lake of South Australia. Area about 4000 sq. miles, but it is subject to great fluctuations in size.
Eze´kiel (Heb. Yehezgēl, 'God shall strengthen'), the third of the great prophets, a priest, and the son of Buzi. He was carried away when young (about 599 B.C.) into the Babylonian captivity. His prophetic career extended over a period of twenty-two years, from the fifth to the twenty-seventh year of the captivity. The Book of Ezekiel contains predictions made before the fall of Jerusalem, 586 B.C. (chaps. i-xxiv); prophecies against some of the neighbouring tribes (chaps. xxv-xxxii); prophecies concerning the future of Israel (xxxiii-xxxix); and a series of visions relating to the circumstances of the people after the restoration.
Ezra, a celebrated Jewish scribe and priest. Under his guidance the second expedition of the Jews set out from Babylon to Palestine in the reign of Artaxerxes I, about 458 B.C. The important services rendered by Ezra to his countrymen on that occasion, and also in arranging, and in some measure, it is believed, settling the canon of Scripture, are specially acknowledged by the Jews, and he has even been regarded as the second founder of the nation. Josephus states that he died in Jerusalem; others assert that he returned to Babylon, and died there at the age of 120 years. The Book of Ezra contains an account of the favours bestowed upon the Jews by the Persian monarchs, the rebuilding of the temple, Ezra's mission to Jerusalem, and the various regulations and forms introduced by him. It is written partly in Hebrew and partly in Chaldee; this has led some to conclude that it is the work of different hands.
F
F, the sixth letter of the English alphabet, is a labio-dental articulation, formed by the passage of breath between the lower lip and the upper front teeth. It is classed as a surd spirant, its corresponding sonant spirant being v, which is distinguished from f by being pronounced with voice instead of breath, as may be perceived by pronouncing ef, ev. The figure of the letter F is the same as that of the ancient Greek digamma, which it also closely resembles in power. As a mediæval Roman numeral F stands for 40, and with a bar above it, it is 40,000. F, in music, is the fourth note of the diatonic scale.
Faam-tea, or Faham-tea, a name given to the dried leaves of the Angræcum fragrans, an orchid growing in the Mauritius and in India, and much prized for the fragrance of its leaves, an infusion of which is used as a stomachic and as an expectorant in pulmonary complaints.
Faber, Frederick William, D.D., a theologian and hymn-writer, the nephew of George Stanley Faber, born at Durham in 1814, died 26th Sept., 1863. In 1845 he became a convert to Roman Catholicism, and founded the oratory of St. Philip Neri, afterwards transferred to Brompton.
Fabian Society, a Socialist organization, founded in 1888, whose object, as defined by the basis which members are required to sign, is the nationalization of all land and industrial capital for the benefit of the whole community; this result to be attained, not by any violent upheaval, but by educating the minds of the masses and gradually extending the control of the State over the factors of production. Its policy, as expounded in Fabian Essays (1889) by a number of its early members, is frankly opportunist, and contemplates the use of existing political machinery and the acceptance of any measure of reform which will further the ultimate aims of the society. The name is derived from that of the Roman general, Quintus Fabius Maximus, known as Cunctator from the cautious tactics by which he ultimately defeated Hannibal. Prominent members of the society at different times have been Bernard Shaw, Sidney Webb, H. G. Wells, and J. A. Hobson. The society has branches in Great Britain, the Colonies, and America, and has issued a number of publications, notably Fabian Tracts. A research department recently established has done useful work. The growth of the labour movement has rather diminished the importance of the society, and has led to some secessions from its ranks.