274 FLODDEN FIELD FLORENCE the will of the owner. Remarkable floating islands occur in the Malay archipelago. FLODDEN FIELD, Battle of, fought Sept. 9, 1513, between the Scots under King James IV. and the English under the earl of Surrey. Henry VIII. was on the continent engaged in his expedition against France when the border feuds broke into open war. James crossed the Tweed, Aug. 22, at the head of the feudal ar- ray of his kingdom, captured four border for- tresses, and encamped, Sept. 6, on Flodden, the last of the Cheviot hills, in Northumberland, 8 m. S. E. of Coldstream. The earl of Surrey, to whom was intrusted the defence of the Eng- lish border, summoned the gentlemen of the northern counties to join him at Newcastle, and reached Alnwick Sept. 3, with 26,000 men, where he offered battle to James in a message sent by a pursuivant-at-arms. By a skilful countermarch he placed himself on the morn- ing of Sept. 9 between James and Scotland. The battle began between 4 and 5 o'clock P. M., and was decided in little more than an hour. The Scottish army, setting fire to its tents, de- scended the ridge of Flodden to secure the eminence of Brankstone, and was met by the English army, which advanced in four divisions under the command of Surrey, his two sons, Thomas and Sir Edmund Howard, and Sir Ed- ward Stanley. Earls Huntley and Home, who led the Scottish left wing, charged the How- ards so successfully with a body of spearmen that Sir Edmund was unhorsed and his division put to flight. The battle was restored in this quarter by the advance of Lord Dacre with the reserve of cavalry. On the right wing the highlanders were unable to stand against the severe execution of the Lancashire archers. James, surrounded by some thousands of chosen warriors, charged upon Surrey in the centre of his army with such resolution as to penetrate within a few yards of the royal standard, when he was attacked in the flank and rear by Stanley, already victorious over the Scottish right. James fell by an unknown hand within a lance's length of Surrey, and all of his division perished with their king, not one of them being made prisoner. Before dawn the Scots abandoned the field in disorder. Their loss was about 10,000 men, which in- cluded the prime of their nobility, gentry, and even clergy. "Scarce a family of eminence," says Scott, "but had an ancestor killed at Flodden, and there is no province of Scotland, even at this day, where the battle is mentioned without a sensation of terror and sorrow." The English lost about 7,000 men. Scott's J* Marmion, a Tale of Flodden Field," contains in the last canto an accurate and most animated description of the battle. FLOOD, Henry, an Irish orator and politician, born in 1732, died Dec. 2, 1791. He was a son of the chief justice of the court of king's bench in Ireland, and was educated at Trinity college, Dublin, and at Oxford. In 1759 he became a member of the Irish house of com- mons, where his eloquence made a remarkable impression, and his activity in support of all measures beneficial to his country won him great popularity. His relations to the govern- ment, however, exposed him to the charge of inconsistency. He was reflected to parliament in 1761, and was made a privy councillor for the two kingdoms, and vice treasurer of Ire- land in 1775, but resigned in 1781. In 1783 he held a celebrated discussion with Mr. Grat- tan in the house of commons. In the same year he was returned to the English parliament for the city of Winchester, and in 1785 he rep- resented Seaford. His speeches were logical, pure in style, and rich in figures and classical allusions. He left a Pindaric " Ode to Fame," and a poem on the death of Frederick, prince of Wales, to be found in the Oxford collection, and published a volume -of speeches in 1787. His " Life and Correspondence," by W. Flood, was published in London in 1838. FLORA, the Roman goddess of flowers and spring. She was worshipped in Rome from the very earliest time. Her temple stood near the circus maximus; and her festival was cele- brated annually on the last three days of April. FLORENCE (Ital. Firenze). I. A province of central Italy, included in Tuscany, bordering on Modena, Bologna, Ravenna, Forli, Pesaro ed Urbino, Arezzo, Siena, Pisa, and Lucca; area, 2,263 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 766,326. It comprises the four districts of Florence, Pis- toja, Rocca San Casciano, and San Miniato. The principal chain of the central Apennines traverses the E. part of the province. ' Other detached mountains extend into the E. and S. parts. The remainder is partly hilly and partly level. The principal river is the Arno, which receives a considerable number of afflu- ents. Agriculture is flourishing in the numer- ous valleys, and the wine in the vicinity of the city of Florence is the best of Tuscany. Other branches of industry are cattle breeding, the cultivation of the olive, fishing, and mining. II. A city, capital of the province and former- ly of the grand duchy of Tuscany, in lat. 43 46' 36" N., Ion. 11 15' 30" E., 194 m. S. E. of Turin, 140 m. K N. W. of Rome, and 250 m. N. N. W. of Naples ; pop. in 1872, 167,093. Of late the area of the city has been consid- erably increased by the extension of the sub- urbs, and while Florence was the capital of Italy (1865-'71) the population is believed to have considerably exceeded 200,000 ; but since the transfer of the seat of government to Rome it has rapidly decreased. The city lies in a beautiful, well wooded, well cultivated valley, surrounded by the Apennines. It was encircled by an old wall 5 or 6 m. long, with 8 gates, but the wall was demolished in 1873. The river Arno flows through it, the larger part of the city being on the right or N. bank. The river within the city is crossed by four fine stone bridges, of which the most noted is the Ponte di Santa Trinita, built in 1566-'70. It is adorned with statues, is 323 ft. long, and the central arch
