Among the various families which have owed their aggrandisement entirely to a papal ancestor, the Farnese attained the highest rank among Italian priuces, and retained it the longest. It has produced several cardinals, distinguished for their learning.
(Ciaccouitia rites et Gala surernerum Pora(ticzon et Cardina/ium; bloreri, Dictionary, article Affo, Vita di Pier Luigi Amex, and the Italian historians of the 16th century.) FAIIQUHAIt, GEORGE, was born at Londonderry in 1078, and received his education at the University of Dublin. Though he displayed talents at an early age he did not take any degree, but forsook his severer studies for the stage, and appeared at the Dublin theatre. Ile never however made any great figure as an actor, and having had the misfortune to wound a brother comedian with a real sword, which he mistook for a foil, he forsook the stage, being at that time only seventeen years of age. lie accompanied the actor Wilks to Loodon, and attracted the notice of the Earl of Orrery, who him a commission in his own regiment, which wu then in Ireland.
Willa exhorted him to try his powers as a dramatist. Accordingly in 1093 he produced hiss comedy of 'Love and a Bottle,' which was so successfol as to encourage him to another effort. His 'Constant Couple,' which appeared two years afterwards, was played fifty-three nights In the first season, and was the cause of the favourable reception of a very Indifferent sequel which he wrote under the title of 'Sir Harry Wildair.' In 1703 he produced a version of Beaumont and Fletcher's Wild-goose Chase,' under the name of the queen stint,' which long continued to be occasionally played at the London theatres. Ho was married in the same year, and getting into great difficulties was forced to sell his commission; other mortitications and disappointments ensued, and he became so deeply affected that ho fell into a decline, and died in 1707. During his last illness he
wrote his celebrated 'Beaux Stratagem.' The appearance of Farquhsee comedies may be regarded as an Important epoch in the history of the English drama. He was the first of his period to write in an easy flowing style, equally removed from the pedantic stiffness of Cougreve and the formal vicietsuess of the Etherege school, and he also attended more to character than most writers of the day. Immoral and licentious as his plays may appear to readens of the present day, those who are conversant with writings of that time must acknowledge them to be considerably more pure than those of his contemporaries, if we except his first piece ' Love and a Bottle.' It is singular enough that the critics regarded as Farquhar's chef d'osuvre a serious comedy called the 'Twin Rivals,' which has now sunk entirely into oblivion, or at best Is only remembered by readers of the old English drama as containing a masterly though disgusting portrait under the name of 'Mother Midnight.' A neat edition of his works was published in 1736.
FAltRANT, RICHARD, one of the fathers of English church music, was born in the early part of the 16th century. Ho was a gentleman of the chapel-royal in 1564, and subsequently organist and master of the choristers of St. George's chapel, Windsor. Ho Is sup posed to have died about 1585. So long as solemn harmony of the purest and finest kind shall find admirers, so long will his service iu G minor, and more especially his two anthems, "Hide not thou thy face," and "Call to remembrance," be productive of the most delightful emotions that can arise out of a love of art combined with religious feeling.