FLOOD (Henry), an eminent orator and politician of the eighteenth century, the son of the right honorable Warden Flood, lord chief justice of the King's bench in Ireland, was born in 1732, and educated in Dublin. In 1749, after attending the university of Dublin for three years, he spent two years with much advantage under the tuition of Dr. Markham, afterwards archbishop of York. Besides the acquisition of mathematics and other sciences, he became so complete a master of the Greek, that he read it with as much facility as English. In 1759 and 1761 he was chosen a member of the Irish par liament, and soon rendered himself conspicuous as the great leader of opposition. The first important measure which he attempted was, an explanation of Poyning's law, by a misconstruction of which the privy council had assumed a degree of power so unconstitutional, as to render the Irish parliament a mere cypher. See PoyNING'S LAW. By his repeated efforts, the obnoxious part of that law was repealed. He next introduced a bill for limiting the duration of the Irish parliament, which till then had always continued during the life of the king. This measure, after much opposition, he at last effected, under the administration of lord Townshend, in 1769, when the octennial bill was passed, which first gave Ireland a constitution somewhat resembling the British. In 1775 he was appointed a privy counsellor in both kingdoms, and a vice-treasurer of Ireland; but resigned this office in 1781; upon whieh his name was struck out of the list of the privy council. In 1782, the British parliament having repealed the act, 6 Geo. I. c. 5, declaring Ireland subordinate to, and dependent on, the imperial crown of Great

Britain, Mr. Flood, in two able speeches, in sisted, that the simple repeal of this act was no security against similar future claims; and, though he was supported by only three members in the Irish parliament, yet his doctrine was soon after adopted and ratified by the British parliament, who passed an act renouncing the claim for ever. In November, 1783, a violent altercation took place between Mr. Flood and Mr. Grattan, and he was soon after elected a member of the British parliament for Winchester; and in the subsequent one for Seaford, which he continued to represent till its dissolution in 1790; soon after which he died of a pleurisy. His first known production was verses on the death of Frederick prince of Wales; in the Oxford collection, 1751. He also wrote an Ode to Fame; translated the first Pythian Ode of Pindar, printed in 1785; and several orations of Demosthenes, schines, and Cicero; still in MS. Several of his speeches are extant; the last of which, delivered March 4th, 1790, on a parliamentary reform, was celebrated by Mr. Fox as containing the most rational scheme ever proposed on the subject. He married Lady Frances Beresford, daughter of the earl of Tyrone, in 1762, but had no issue.

FLOOK, n. s. German, pflug, a plough. The broad part of an anchor which takes hold of the ground; a flounder, a flat river fish.

FLOORING, n. s.

FLOOR, n. s. & v. a. I Sax. plon, Flore; flat; low.-Thomson). Isl. floar; Belg. vloer; Goth. flor (from fla, Teut. flur; Fr. fleur. The bottom of an apartment: Dr. Johnson says, 'the pavement: a pavement is always of stone: the floor of wood or stone'; but see his own extract from Shakspeare: the part on which one treads: a story of first, or the second story, &c., they are also dea house; a suite of rooms, either the ground, the nominated floors: to cover the bottom with a floor: a modern cant term among boxers for knocking a man down.

Hewn stone and timber to flour the houses.

2 Chron. xxxiv.

Whose spacious barns groan with increasing store, And whirling flails disjoint the cracking floor. Gay. Who fell as rolls an ox o'er in his pasture, And roared out, as he writhed his native mud in, Unto his nearest follower or henchman,

Oh Jack! I'm floored by that ere bloody Frenchman.' Byron. FLOOR, in building. Floors are of several sorts; some of earth, some of brick, others of stone, of boards, &c. See PAVEMENT. Carpenters never floor their rooms with boards till the carcase is set up, and also enclosed with walls, lest the weather should injure the flooring. Yet they generally rough-plane their boards for flooring before they begin any thing else about the building, that they may set them by to dry and season, which is done in the most careful manner. The best wood for flooring is the fine yellow deal well seasoned, which when laid will keep its color for a long while; whereas the white sort becomes black by often washing, and looks very bad. The joints of the boards are commonly made plain so as to touch each other only but when the stuff is not quite dry, and the boards shrink, the water runs through them whenever the floor is washed, and injures the ceiling underneath. For this reason they are made with feather edges, so as to cover each other about half an inch, sometimes they are made with grooves and tenons; and sometimes the joints are made with dove-tails; in which case the lower edge is nailed down and the next drove into it, so that the nails are concealed. The manner of measuring floors is by squares of ten feet on each side, so that taking the length and breadth, and multiplying them together and cutting off two decimals, the content of a floor in square will be given. Thus 18 by 16 gives 288, or 2 square and 88 decimal parts.

FLOOR OF A SHIP, strictly taken, is only so much of her bottom as she rests on when a-ground. Such ships as have long, and withal broad floors, lie on the ground with most security and are not apt to heel, or tilt on one side; whereas others, which are narrow in the floor, or, in the sea phrase, craned by the ground, cannot be grounded without danger of being overturned.

FLOORS, EARTHEN, are commonly made of loam, and sometimes, especially to make malt on, of lime, and brooksand, and gun-dust, or anvil-dust from the forge. Ox blood and fine clay tempered together, Sir Hugh Plat says, make the finest floors. The manner of making earthen floors for plain country habitations is as follows:-Take two-thirds of lime, and one of coal ashes well sifted, with a small quantity of loam clay; mix the whole together, and temper it well with water, making it up into a heap; let it lie a week or ten days and then temper it over again. After this, heap it up for three or four days, and repeat the tempering very high, till it becomes smooth, yielding, tough, and gluey. The ground being then levelled, lay the floor therewith about two and a half or three inches thick, making it smooth with a trowel: the hotter the season is, the better; and, when it is thoroughly dried, it will make the best floor, especially for malt-houses. Those who would have their floors look better, let them take lime

made of rag-stones, well tempered with whites of eggs, covering the floor about half an inch thick with it, before the under flooring is too Jry. If this be well done, and thoroughly dried, it will look, when rubbed with a little oil, as transparent as metal or glass. In farmers' houses, floors of this nature are made of stucco, or of plaster of Paris, beaten and sifted, and mixed with other ingredients.

FLOOR TIMBERS, in a ship, are those parts of a ship's timbers which are placed immediately across the keel, and upon which the bottom of a ship is framed; to these the upper parts of the timbers are united, being only a continuation of floor timbers upwards.

FLOP, v. a. From flap. To clap the wings with noise; to play with any noisy motion of a broad body,

A blackbird was frighted almost to death with a huge flopping kite that she saw over her head. L'Estrange.

FLORA, the reputed goddess of flowers, was, according to Lactantius, originally a lady of pleasure, who, having gained large sums of money by prostitution, made the Roman people her heir, on condition that certain games called Floralia might be annually celebrated on her birth-day. Some time afterwards, however, such a foundation appearing unworthy the majesty of the Roman people, the senate, to ennoble the ceremony, converted Flora into a goddess, whom they supposed to preside over flowers; and so made it a part of religion to render her propitious, that it might be well with their gardens, vineyards, &c. But Vossius, De Idolol. lib. i. c. 12, will not allow the goddess Flora to have been a courtezan, but rather a Sabine deity, and thinks her worship commenced under Romulus. His reason is, that Varro, in his fourth book of the Latin tongue, ranks Flora among the deities to whom Tatius, king of the Sabines, offered up vows before he joined battle with the Romans. And from another passage in Varro it appears, that there were priests of Flora, with sacrifices, &c., as early as the times of Romulus and Numa. The goddess Flora was, according to the poets, the wife of Zephyrus. Her image in the temple of Castor and Pollux was dressed in a close habit, and she held in her hands the flowers of peas and beans.

FLORA, among botanists, is used for a catalogue of the plants and trees growing spontaneously in any particular country or district. Thus Flora Scotica, and Flora Suecica, are the titles of works describing the plants growing in Scotland and Sweden.

FLORAC, a town of France, in the department of Lozere, near the Tarn; thirteen miles and a half south of Mende. Long. 18° 0' E. of Ferro, lat. 44° 19′ N.

FLORAL, adj. FLORET, n. s. FLOR'ID, adj. FLORID'ITY, n. s. FLOR IDNESS, n. s. FLORIFEROUS, adj. FLORIST.

All from Lat. flos, floris, à Gr. plož, a flower. Floral is relating to Flora; or flowers: florid(Fr.flleurette) a small or imperfect flower: florid, Fr. floride; Lat. floridus; productive of flowers; covered with flowers; flushed with

red; decorated with brilliant colors; embellished; gaudy; ambitious elegance; particularly applied to the ruddy hue of the face: floriferous is productive of flowers: a florist, one who cultivates or is skilled in them.

For not icladde in silk wos he,
But all in flours and flourettes,
Ipainted all with amourettes.

Chaucer. Romaunt of the Rose. Our beauty is in colour inferiour to many flowers; and, when it is most florid and gay, three fits of an ague can change it into yellowness and leanness.

Taylor's Rule of Living Holy.
Nor that Nyseiar isle

Girt with the river Triton, where old Cham,
Whom Gentiles Ammon call and Lybian Jove,
Hlid Amalthea and her florid son

Young Bacchus, from his step-dame Rhea's eye.

But with a heavenly rapture on his face
The good old Khan, who long had ceased to see
Houris, or aught except his florid face,
Who grew like cedars round him gloriously.

Byron. FLORAL GAMES, florales ludi, in antiquity, were games held in honor of Flora. They were celebrated with shameful debaucheries. There were several sorts of shows exhibited on these occasions; Suetonius in Galba, and Vopiscus in Carinus, say, that these princes presented elephants dancing on ropes on these occasions. They were chiefly held in the nighttime, in the Patrician street; some will have it there was a circus for the purpose on the Collis Hortulorum.

FLORALIA, in antiquity, a general name for the feasts, games and ceremonies, held in honor of the goddess Flora. See FLORA, and FLORAL GAMES.

FLOREAL; Fr. i. e. flowery month. from fleurir, to flourish; the eighth month in the French revolutionary calendar, which began on the 20th of April, and ended on the 19th of May. See CALENDAR.

FLOREF, a town of France, in the department of Sambre and Meuse, late of the Netherlands, and duchy of Namur, seated on the Sambie, seven miles west of Namur,

FLO'REN, n. s. So named, says Camden, because made by Florentines. A gold coin of Edward III., in value six shillings.

This yongest, which that wente to the town, Ful oft, in herte he rolleth up and down The beautee of thise Floreins newe and bright. Chaucer. The Pardoneres Tale.

FLOREN, OF FLORENCE. Every pound weight of standard gold was, by act 18 Edw. III., to be coined into fifty florences, to be current at six shillings each; which made in tale fifteen pounds; or into a proportionate number of half florences or quarter pieces, by indenture of the

mint.

FLORENCE, the capital of the grand duchy. of Tuscany, and one of the finest cities in Italy, is said to have been first founded by the soldiers of Sylla, and embellished and enlarged by the Roman triumviri. It was destroyed by Totla; and rebuilt by Charlemagne. It is surrounded on all sides but one with high hills, which rise insensibly, and at last join with the Appennines. Towards Pisa there is a vast plain, forty miles in length, so filled with villas and villages that they seem to be a continuation of the suburbs of the city.

This city is divided into two unequal parts by of which, the Della Trinita, is much admired for the Arno, over which there are four bridges; one its elegant lightness of appearance, and is entirely built of white marble. The quays, the buildings on each side, and the bridges, render that part of Florence through whici. the river runs by far the finest. The handsomest square is the Piazza del Duca, lined with elegant buildings, and adorned with statues. The number of churches is unusually great, even for Italy, and they contain many excellent paintings and statues. In the church of La Sante Crose are the tombs of Michael Angelo, and Machiavel; between which has lately been placed that of Alfieri, the work of Canova. Galileo has likewise an illexecuted monument in this church. The palace of the grand duke, of heavy Tuscan architecture, is said to contain 900 apartments. The cathedral is of great extent and magnificence, its walls being cased, and its interior paved with marble, disposed in part by Michael Angelo. The dome of this building is much admired; as well as the tower adjoining 280 feet in height. The chapel of St. Lorenzo is perhaps the finest and most expensive habitation that ever was reared for the dead; it is encrusted with precious stones, and adorned by the workmanship of the best modern sculptors. Addison remarked that this chapel advanced so very slowly in his time, that it was not impossible but the family of Medici might be extinct before their burial place was finished. This has actually happened, the Medici family is extinct, and the chapel remains still unfinished. The adjoining convent contains the fine library of this family, celebrated for its MSS. The Medicean gallery, known throughout the world as one of the finest collections of works of art, is more than 500 feet long, and so stored with busts, statues, and paintings, as perfectly to dazzle the spectator on his first entrance. The crowning boast of this gallery is the celebrated Venus de Medicis, carried off by the French in the late

vent; and it is a curious instance of the neglect which falls on fine pictures in such places, that a beautiful fresco of Andrea del Sarto, in chiaroscuro, remains on the walls, where it was long exposed to the fading influence of the sun. It is now covered by an indifferent picture of Raffaello del Garbo, which serves it as a screen. All the galleries of this academy are sufficiently interesting, as containing many noble specimens of the arts, as they existed in the great days of Italian genius. There is also a gallery filled with casts from the antique, admirably executed in plaster of Paris. În the Academia delle Belle Arti is the school of that art so purely Florentine, La Scuola di Lavori in Scagliuola; and the studio, or work-room, of its present amiable and eminent professor, signore Pietro Stoppione.'

The Palazzo Pitti, the principal residence of the count of Tuscany, vast and noble as it is,' says lady Morgan, and most wonderful as the house of a merchant in the middle ages, is still the most notable for its precious collections of pictures, the chefs-d'œuvre of the Tuscan, Florentine, and Roman school. Here is Michael Angelo's picture of the Three Fates. They are Shakspeare's Weird Sisters. Here glows the divine beauty of Raphael's famous Madonna della Sedia, so known to the world by the countless copies and engravings, the sure proof of its excellence. Here too are some of Saivator Rosa's finest sea-pieces, with those calm skies and waters, and brilliant lights, so contrasted to the force, gloom, and energy of his Catiline conspiracy. Here also is the noble Cleopatra of Guido, that true woman's painter-laureate! and here, in short, are hundreds of pictures, some of supreme merit, and all of interest, by the names attached to them, or the likenesses they preserve. Among the latter is, Titian's superb portrait of cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, the elegant voluptuary and princely virtuoso: Luther playing on the Spinette; his strong marked and somewhat vulgar face turned to wards a priest, who accompanies him on the guitar, evidently asking his opinion of a chromatic transition, through which he has just modulated; Luther's wife, who has exchanged her nun's veil for a smart Flemish hat and feather, more lady-like and less hideous than in any other of her pictures, is their sole auditress. Numberless portraits of the ladies of the Medici family, particularly in the latter times, loaded with gold and jewels, simple and commonplace looking-women, such as one meets making up the mass of assemblies, all 'very fine and all alike.' I could not trace among their prim countenances the brilliancy of talent for which the accomplished and unfortunate Isabella was so celebrated, nor the ferocious genius of Catherine, nor the cold dull iniquity of Marie de Medici; yet some of them were handsome.'

The university of Florence was founded in 1438. In 1542 was instituted the Academia Florentina, for making translations from the Greek and Latin classics; the Academia della Crusca was intended to improve and reduce to a standard the Tuscan language; the two were united some time back, and now bear the name

of the Florentine Academy. Here are also schools, and an academy of the fine arts, where nearly thirty pupils receive gratuitous instruction. The Georgofili is a royal agricultural society. Of the libraries, the largest is the Magliabechiana of 90,000 volumes; the next the Marcelliana of 40,000. The museum of natural history is extensive and well arranged; there is also a botanic garden. Dante, Machiavel, Guicciardini, Americus Vesputius, and other distinguished characters were born here.

Florence is surrounded by a wall, and defended by two citadels. It has two theatres, and beautiful promenades, as well in the Boboli gardens, as along the banks of the Arno. It is the see of an archbishop, and was a place of great trade from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century; at present its productive industry is confined to a few manufactures, such as satin, taffetas, damask, straw hats, jewellery, and precious stones; the woollen manufactures are adapted only to the common people, among whom are included many Jews, who principally conduct its trade. Population 75,000. Leghorn is its harbour.

Mr. Eustace, in his Classical Tour, thus describes the general appearance of this far-famed city:

-

Florence is seated in a vale, intersected by the Arno, graced by numberless hills, and bordered, at no great distance, by mountains of various forms rising gradually towards the Appennines. The whole vale is one continued grove and garden, where the beauty of the country is enlivened by the animation of the town, and the fertility of the soil redoubled by the industry of its cultivators. White villas gleam through the orchards on every side, and large populous hamlets border the roads and almost line the banks of the river. Such is the scene of comfort and prosperity that surrounds the Tuscan capital (alas! how different now), raised originally by the genius of liberty, and restored by the grand duke Leopold. Happy will it be for the inhabitants if its charms can resist the blasts from hell which have passed the Alps and the Appennines, and now brood in tempest over the Val d'Arno.

"The city itself spreads along the side of the river, which forms one of its greatest ornaments, and contributes not a little to its fame. Its streets are well paved, or rather flagged, wider than usual in southern climates; and its houses in general solid and rather stately. It has several squares, and many churches and palaces, so that its appearance is airy, clean, and sometimes rising towards grandeur. I do not, however, think that the number of great edifices corresponds with the reputation of the city, or with the figure which it has so long made in the annals of modern history; it is, indeed, to be considered, that we came directly from Rome, and that the glories of that capital, when fresh upon the mind, must naturally eclipse the inferior splendor of every other city.'

The cathedral and some other churches, in the edification or restoration of which Michael Angelo bore a part, are next described; then the Palazzi, and afterwards the gallery, now,' says