FIELDING, HENRY, b. April 22, 1707, was the son of gen. Edmund Fielding, con nected with the earls of Denbigh. He was sent to Eton. and was afterwards transfer red to the university of Leyden, to prosecute legal studies. to London, lie began to write for the stage, and worked with so much industry that between 1727 and 1736, he produced nearly a score of comedies and farces, which were forgotten with nearly as much speed as they were produced. He married in 1736, and falling heir to a small estate, he, with his young wife, retired from London. But his was not a For tunatus's purse, anti his hand was continually in it; and in three years after his mar riage, he was back in London a student at the temple. He was called to the bar at the usual time, but gout intervening, steady practice was rendered impossible. Happily, a way of escape was at hand. Richardson published Pamela; the town was ringing with it; and F., whose strong, healthy, unconventional nature revolted from the moral priggishness of " Virtue Rewarded," resolved to write a counterpart, purporting to be the adventures of Pamela's brother, Joseph Andrews. This work, begun in a satirical mood, and intended merely to quiz Richardson, deepened as it proceeded, and flowered out into humorous adventure. The exquisite character of parson Adams took the world by surprise, and remains one of the permanent glories of English fiction. The next important work undertaken by him was Jonathan Wild, a masterpiece of irony, which has never been sufficiently appreciated, and which doubtless suggested to Mr. Thackeray the scope and conduct of Barry Lyndon. The rebellion of 1745 induced F. to undertake the direction of the Jacobite Journal, in support of the Hanoverian succes sion; and shortly after, as a reward for his loyalty, he was, through the influence of lord Lyttelton, promoted to a pension, and to the place of justice of the peace of Mid dlesex and Westminster. While engaged in magisterial duties, he produced Tom Jones, his most famous fiction, which the world has never ceased to read, nor critics to admire. His next work was Amelia—less striking and masterly than its predecessor, but quieter in style, and enriched with scenes of domestic tenderness. Shortly after its
publication, he was attacked by dropsy, jaundice, and asthma, a complication of dis orders which baffled the skill of the physicians. Seeking relief, lie left England for Lisbon on the 26th June, 1754, and died there on the 8th Oct. of the same year, at the early age of forty seven.
F. was the first great English novelist, and he remains to this day one of the greatest. Tom Jones is a miracle of invention, character, and wit. It contains the most amusing scenes and adventures, the, most sparkling delineations of life, high and low, the most abundant satire. Everywhere, the author's manliness, shrewd sense, and scorn of meanness and hypocrisy, are apparent. if defects may be hinted, it may be said that F.'s nature was more robust than delicate; that it was deficient in the sentimental and poetic side; and, as a consequence, that his ideal of woman is not high, and his descrip tions of the tender passion either commonplace or extravagantly rapturous. The love scenes between Tom and Sophia, and the episode of the "Man of the Hill," which is meant to be passionate and poetic, are perhaps the only portions of the great novel which readers skip. It is to be regretted that all F.'s works are disfigured by coarseness of circumstance and expression; but that was the fault of the time as much as of the man. He was coarse, as he wore ruffles, drank claret, and bated the pretender. He set himself to paint society as he saw it, and we must forgive the coarseness for the truthfulness of the picture.
the highest rank of general officers in the British and some foreign armies. In the former, it is a special honor enjoyed by very few officers, and only con ferred by selection, either on the ground of distinguished service or of royal birth. When unemployed, the field-marshal has no higher pay than any other gen., but if commanding an army, he receives £16 8s. 9d. a day for staff-pay, while a gen. has but £9 9s. 6d. The equivalent rank in the .navy is that of admiral of the fleet. Formerly, a capt.gen. was occasionally appointed, who had rank higher even than a field-marshal.