PRESNBL
FRIGATE-BIRD
and are well known in art-stores. Ruskin was enthusiastic in praise of several of his works, which were shown in the French gallery in 1857. The Seamstress, Little Gourmand, Preparing for Church and the Gleaner Boy are among his best-known pictures. Preparing for Church is in Corcoran Gallery at Washington. He died on May 23, 1886.
Fresnel (frd'nel'), Augustin Jean, a French engineer distinguished as the principal founder of the modern wave-theory of light, was born in Normandy in 1788 and died near Paris in 1827. As a child he was not considered brilliant, but, nevertheless, he was ready to enter the Polytechnic school in Paris at* 16. In 1816, through the influence of Arago, he received an appointment in Paris, where he remained during the rest of his life. When we recall that his first studies in optics date from 1814, his accomplishments during the n years of his Paris residence almost surpass belief. The great advances which he made over Grimaldi, Hooke, Huygens, Young and other advocates of the wave-theory consist in the introduction of the idea of transverse vibrations in the ether and in the combination of the principle of Huygens with that of interference. Fresnel's works were published in 1866 by the French government in three superb quartos.
Fresno, Cal., capital of Fresno County, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, situated about 20 miles east of San Joaquin River and 40 miles north of Tulare Lake, in a region devoted to sheep-raising, wheat and fruit-growing, with the cultivation of the grape and wine-making. The raisin-trade alone is valued at $3,000,000 annually, and the olive-trade is also large. It is 200 miles southeast of San Francisco. It has an active civic life, and is supplied with street-railways, electric lights and good water-power from the falls of the San Joaquin. Population 24,892.
Freytag (frt'tdg), Gustav, a German novelist and play-writer, was born in Silesia, July 13, 1816, and died at Wiesbaden, April 30, 1895. He studied at Breslau and Berlin, and lectured on German literature in the University of Breslau. He edited a newspaper at Leipsic, and held a court-position at Gotha. He wrote poems, successful plays and novels. His best-known work is Debit and Credit, which has appeared in several English translations. The Lost Manuscript and a series called Our Ancestors were nearly as popular, while the plays, The Valentine and Count Waldemar, were brilliant successes.
Frick, Henry Clay, capitalist and manufacturer, was born at West Overton, Pa., on Dec. 19, 1849. He completed his education at Otterbein University, Ohio, and in 186^ accepted a position as bookkeeper in his grandlathejr's office at Broad
Ford, Pa., where he soon became interested in the coking-coal deposits of that vicinity. He formed a company to buy 300 acres of coke-lands and start coke-ovens. The business grew rapidly, and he used the profits to buy more coke-and-coal lands. By 1882 the capital of this company, which bears his name, had been increased to $10,000,000. It now is probably the largest producer of coke in the world, and owns 40,000 acres of coal-lands.
In 1892 Mr. Frick became president of the Carnegie Steel Company, when it had a capital of $25,000,000. In that year much trouble was caused by a strike of its employees, in connection with which he was shot and stabbed by an anarchist. He recovered, however; carried the day against the strikers; and by his firmness, decision and fairness so won their approval that there has since that time been very little labor-trouble in the companies with which he is connected. He has retired to a considerable extent from active business management.
Friendly Islands or Tonga Group lie 250 miles southeast of Fiji. The total area is only 390 square miles. Most of the islands are coral formations, but some are volcanic. There are several active volcanoes. Earthquakes are frequent. The islands were discovered by Tasman in 1643, and named by Cook in 1777. Among the products are tropical fruits, copra, coffee, sponges and cocoanuts. The native animals are few. Missionary work on the islands has, since 1827, been done by the Methodists. Almost all the islanders are Christians; many can speak English; and schools are numerous. The people are in many ways superior to the other South Sea islanders. But they are decreasing in numbers and have dwindled to 23,011. Since 1845 the islands have been under the rule of one chief, and they have a constitution and a parliament. By agreement of the European powers in 1896 the islands wereallowed to remain neutral; but British interests have long been predominant, and the islands are a protectorate of Great Britain. The protectorate was declared in 1899, and in 1904 the British High Commissioner assumed control of the legal and financial administration. The revenue, chiefly derived from customs, amounted in 1910 to about $220,000, while the expenditures were $213,000. The trade (import and export) is chiefly with New Zealand, New South Wales and Great Britain. Two ships of the New Zealand Union Company visit the group every four weeks, between Auckland and Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Sydney. See H. S. Cooper's Coral Islands.
Friends, Society of. See QUAKERS.
Frigate=Bird, a sea-bird related to the pelicans, because of its warlike attitude toward otker birds is known as the. man-ot-
