The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
by
Edited by Rev. James Wood
Part 12 out of 53
CHACKTAW INDIANS. See CHOCKTAW.
CHAD, LAKE, a shallow lake in the Sahara, of varied extent,
according as the season is dry or rainy, at its largest covering an area
as large as England, and abounding in hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, &c.,
as well as waterfowl and fish.
CHADBAND, REV. MR., a character in "Bleak House."
CHADWICK, SIR EDWIN, an English social reformer, born in Manchester,
associated with measures bearing upon sanitation and the improvement of
the poor-laws, and connected with the administration of them (1801-1890).
CHAERONEA, a town in Boeotia, where Philip of Macedon defeated the
Athenians, and extinguished the liberties of Greece.
CHALAIS, COUNT DE, a favourite of Louis XIII., accused of conspiracy
against Richelieu, arrested at Nantes, and beheaded (1599-1626).
CHALAZA, one of the two filaments attached to the ends of the yoke
of an egg to steady it in the albumen.
CHALCEDON, a city of Bithynia, at the entrance of the Thracian
Bosphorus, where the fourth Council of the Church was held in 451, which
defined the orthodox conception of Christ as God-man.
CHALCIDICE, the 3-fingered peninsula of the Balkan territory
stretching into the AEgean Sea.
CHALCIS, the ancient capital of Euboea or Negropont.
CHALDEA, ancient name for Babylonia.
CHALIER, a Piedmontese, head of the party of the Mountain at Lyons;
his execution the signal for an insurrection at Lyons against the
Convention (1747-1793).
CHALLENGER EXPEDITION, a scientific expedition sent out by the
British Government in the _Challenger_ in 1872 in the interest of
science, and under the management of scientific experts, to various
stations over the globe, to explore the ocean, and ascertain all manner
of facts regarding it open to observation, an expedition which concluded
its operations in 1876, of which as many as 50 volumes of reports have
been compiled.
CHALLIS, JAMES, an astronomer, born in Essex, noted the position of
the planet Neptune before its actual discovery (1803-1882).
CHALLONER, RICHARD, a Roman Catholic bishop, born at Lewes; a
zealous Catholic, author of "Garden of the Soul," a popular devotional
book, as well as several controversial books (1691-1781).
CHALMERS, ALEXANDER, a miscellaneous writer, born at Aberdeen;
settled in London; edited the "British Essayists" in 45 vols., and author
of "A General Biographical Dictionary."
CHALMERS, GEORGE, an English publicist, born at Fochabers, author of
"An Account, Historical and Topographical, of North Britain" (1742-1825).
CHALMERS, THOMAS, a celebrated Scotch ecclesiastic and pulpit
orator, born at Anstruther, Fife; studied for the Church, and entered the
ministry; after he did so was for some years more engrossed with physical
studies and material interests than spiritual, but he by-and-by woke up
to see and feel that the spiritual interest was the sovereign one, and to
the promotion of that he henceforth devoted himself body and soul; it was
for the sake of the spiritual he took the interest he did in the
ecclesiastical affairs of the nation, and that the Church might have
scope and freedom to discharge its spiritual functions was one chief
ruling passion of his life, and it is no wonder he bent all his energies
on a movement in the Church to secure this object; he was not much of a
scholar or even a theologian, but a great man, and a great force in the
religious life of his country; though the first pulpit-orator of his day,
and though he wrote largely, as well as eloquently, he left no writings
worthy of him except the "Astronomical Discourses" perhaps, to perpetuate
his memory; he was distinguished for his practical sagacity, and was an
expert at organisation; in his old age he was a most benignant,
venerable-looking man: "It is a long time," wrote Carlyle to his mother,
just after a visit he had paid him a few days before he died--"it is a
long time since I have spoken to so _good_ and really pious-hearted and
beautiful old man" (1780-1847).
CHALONS-SUR-MARNE (25), capital of the French dep. of Marne, 100 m.
E. of Paris, where Attila was defeated by the Romans and Goths in 451;
Napoleon III. formed a camp near it for the training of troops.
CHALONS-SUR-SAONE (24), a trading centre some 80 m. N. of Lyons;
manufactures machinery, glass, paper, and chemicals.
CHAINS, chief town of the French dep. of Haute Vienne, where Richard
Coeur de Lion was mortally wounded in 1199 by a shot with an arrow.
CHAM, the pseudonym of the French caricaturist Amedee de Noe, famous
for his humorous delineations of Parisian life (1819-1884).
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, an association of merchants to promote and
protect the interests of trade, particularly of the town or the district
to which they belong.
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, a French legislative assembly, elected now by
universal suffrage.
CHAMBERLAIN, RIGHT HON. JOSEPH, born in London, connected as a
business man with Birmingham; after serving the latter city in a
municipal capacity, was elected the parliamentary representative in 1876;
became President of the Board of Trade under Mr. Gladstone in 1880, and
chief promoter of the Bankruptcy Bill; broke with Mr. Gladstone on his
Home Rule measure for Ireland, and joined the Liberal-Unionists;
distinguished himself under Lord Salisbury as Colonial Secretary; _b_.
1836.
CHAMBERS, EPHRAIM, an English writer, born in Kendal, author of a
cyclopaedia which bears his name, and which formed the basis of subsequent
ones, as Johnson confessed it did of his Dictionary (1680-1750).
CHAMBERS, GEORGE, an English marine painter, born at Whitby; _d_.
1840.
CHAMBERS, ROBERT, brother of the succeeding and in the same line of
life, but of superior accomplishments, especially literary and
scientific, which served him well in editing the publications issued by
the firm; was the author of a great many works of a historical,
biographical, and scientific, as well as literary interest; wrote the
"Vestiges of Creation," a book on evolutionary lines, which made no small
stir at the time of publication, 1844, and for a time afterwards, the
authorship of which he was slow to own (1802-1871).
CHAMBERS, SIR WILLIAM, born at Peebles; apprenticed to a bookseller
in Edinburgh, and commenced business on his own account in a small way;
edited with his brother the "Gazetteer of Scotland"; started, in 1832,
_Chambers's Edinburgh Journal_ to meet a demand of the time for popular
instruction in company with his brother founded a great printing and
publishing establishment, from which there has issued a number of
valuable works in the interest especially of the propagation of useful
knowledge of all kinds; was a distinguished Edinburgh citizen, and did
much for the expansion and improvement of the city (1800-1883)
CHAMBERS, SIR WILLIAM, architect, born at Stockholm, of Scotch
origin; architect of Somerset House; was of the Johnson circle of wits
(1726-1796)
CHAMBERY (19), chief town of dep. of Savoy, in a beautiful district;
is the ancient capital, and contains the castle, of the dukes of Savoy;
manufactures cloth, wines, soap, and textile fabrics; is also a summer
resort.
CHAMBEZE, a head-stream of the Congo, N. of lake Nyassa.
CHAMBORD, spacious chateau in the dep. of Loire-et-Cher, France,
built by Francis I.; after being long a residence for royalty and people
of distinction, was presented in 1821 to the Duc de Bordeaux, the Comte
de Chambord.
CHAMBORD, COMTE DE, Duc de Bordeaux, son of the Duc de Berri and
grandson of Charles X., born at Paris; exiled in 1830, he retired to the
chateau of Frohsdorf, in Austria, where he died without issue; his father
and grandfather being dead, the monarchical party resolved to attempt a
restoration in his behalf in 1872, but he refused to adopt the tricolor
flag of the Revolution, and the scheme was abandoned, a like opportunity
offering itself twice before being let slip (1820-1883).
CHAMBRE ARDENTE, a name given to certain courts of justice
established to try certain cases that required to be sharply dealt with;
they were held at night, and even when held in the daytime with lighted
torches; a court of the kind was instituted for trial of the Huguenots in
1530, and again in 1680 and 1716.
CHAMFORT, a French wit and litterateur, born in Auvergne; took to
the Revolution, but offended the leaders, and being threatened with
arrest committed suicide, "cutting and slashing with frantic, uncertain
hand, gaining, not without difficulty, the refuge of death"; he was a
born cynic, and was famous for his keen insight into human nature and his
sharp criticisms of it, summed up in a collection of maxims he left, as
well as for his anecdotes in incisive portraiture of character. "He was a
man," says Professor Saintsbury, "soured by his want of birth, health,
and position, and spoilt by hanging on to the great persons of his time.
But for a kind of tragi-comic satire, a _soeva indignatio_, taking the
form of contempt for all that is exalted and noble, he has no equal in
literature except Swift" (1741-1794).
CHAMILLARD, Minister of Finance and of War under Louis XIV.;
"distinguished himself by his incapacity" (1651-1721).
CHAMISSO, ADALBERT VON, a German naturalist and litterateur born in
France, but educated in Berlin; is famous for his poetical productions,
but especially as the author of "Peter Schlemihl," the man who lost his
shadow, which has been translated into nearly every European language; he
wrote several works on natural history (1781-1838).
CHAMOUNI, OR CHAMONIX, a village in the dep. of Haute-Savoie, 33 m.
SE. of Geneva, in a valley forming the upper basin of the Arve, famous
for its beauty and for its glaciers; it is from this point that the
ascent of Mont Blanc is usually made.
CHAMOUSSET, a French philanthropist, born in Paris; the originator
of mutual benefit societies (1717-1773).
CHAMPAGNE, an ancient province of France, 180 m. long by 150 broad,
annexed to the Crown 1286, and including the deps. of Aube, Haute-Marne,
Marne, and Ardennes; the province where the wine of the name is
principally manufactured.
CHAMP-DE-MARS, a large space, of ground in Paris, between the front
of the Ecole Militaire and the left bank of the Seine; the site of recent
Expositions, and the scene of the Federation Fete, 14th July 1790.
CHAMPLAIN`, a beautiful lake between the States of New York and
Vermont; it is 100 m. in length, and from 1 m. at its S. end to 14 m. at
its N. end broad.
CHAMPLAIN, SAMUEL DE, a French navigator, born at Brouage, in
Saintonge, was founder of Quebec, and French Governor of Canada; wrote an
account of his voyages (1570-1635).
CHAMPOLLION, JEAN FRANCOIS, a celebrated French Egyptologist, born
in Figeac, dep. of Lot; early gave himself to the study of Coptic and
Egyptian antiquities; was the first to decipher the hieroglyphics of
ancient Egypt, a great discovery; conducted a scientific expedition to
Egypt in 1828, and returned in 1830 with the fruits of his researches; a
chair of Egyptology was in consequence instituted in the College of
France, and he was installed as the first professor; his writings on the
science, of which he laid the foundation, are numerous (1790-1832).
CHAMPS-ELYSEES, a Parisian promenade between the Place de la
Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe.
CHANCELLOR, RICHARD, an English seaman, voyaging in northern parts,
arrived in the White Sea, and travelled to Moscow, where he concluded a
commercial treaty with Russia on behalf of an English company; wrote an
interesting account of his visit; after a second visit, in which he
visited Moscow, was wrecked on the coast of Aberdeenshire in 1556.
CHANDERNAGORE (25), a small town and territory on the Hooghly, 22 m.
N. of Calcutta, belonging to France.
CHANDLER, RICHARD, a learned Hellenistic archaeologist, born in
Hants; travelled in Asia Minor and Greece, along with two artists, to
examine and describe the antiquities; the materials collected were
published in his "Ionian Antiquities," "Travels in Asia Minor," &c.
(1738-1810).
CHANDOS, an English title inherited by the Grenville family, of
Norman origin.
CHANDOS, JOHN, a celebrated English general in the 14th century; was
present at Crecy, governor of English provinces in France ceded by treaty
of Bretigny; defeated and took prisoner Du Guesclin of Auray; served
under the Black Prince, and was killed near Poitiers, 1369.
CHANGARNIER, NICOLAS, French general, born at Autun; distinguished
himself in Algeria, was exiled after the _coup-d'etat_, returned in 1870,
served in the Franco-German war; surrendered at Metz, at the close of the
war came back, and assisted in reorganising the army (1793-1877).
CHANNEL, THE ENGLISH, an arm of the Atlantic between France and
England, 280 m. long and 100 m. wide at the mouth; the French call it _La
Manche_ (the sleeve) from its shape.
CHANNEL ISLANDS (92), a group of small islands off the NW. coast of
France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark;
formerly part of the Duchy of Normandy, and now all that remains to
Britain of her French dominions, being subject to it since 1066; have a
delightful climate mild and bright, and varied and beautiful scenery;
the soil is fertile; flowers and fruit are grown for export to Britain,
also early potatoes for the London market; Guernsey pears and Jersey cows
are famous; valuable quarries of granite are wrought; the language is
Norman-French.
CHANNING, WILLIAM ELLERY, a Unitarian preacher and miscellaneous
writer, born at Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.; a man of the most liberal
sentiments, who shrank from being classed with any sect; ranked high in
point of moral character; was a vigorous thinker, and eloquent with the
pen; "a man of faithful, long-continued striving towards what is Best"
(1780-1842).
CHANSON DE GESTES (i. e. Songs of Deeds), poems of a narrative
kind much in favour in the Middle Ages, relating in a legendary style the
history and exploits of some famous hero, such as the "Chanson de
Roland," ascribed to Theroulde, a trouvere of the 9th century.
CHANTREY, SIR FRANCIS, an English sculptor, born in Derbyshire; was
apprenticed to a carver and gilder in Sheffield; displayed a talent for
drawing and modelling; received a commission to execute a marble bust for
the parish, church, which was so successful as to procure him further and
further commissions; executed four colossal busts of admirals for
Greenwich Hospital; being expert at portraiture, his busts were
likenesses; executed busts of many of the most illustrious men of the
time, among them of Sir Walter Scott, Wordsworth, Southey, and
Wellington, as well as of royal heads; made a large fortune, and left it
for the encouragement of art (1781-1841).
CHANZY, a French general, born at Nouart, Ardennes; served in
Algeria; commanded the army of the Loire in 1870-71; distinguished
himself by his brilliant retreat from Mans to Laval; was afterwards
Governor-General in Algeria; died suddenly, to the regret of his country
(1823-1883).
CHAOS, a name in the ancient cosmogomy for the formless void out of
which everything at first sprang into existence, or the wide-spread
confusion that prevailed before it shaped itself into order under the
breath of the spirit of life.
CHAPELAIN, a French poet, protege of Richelieu, born at Paris;
composed a pretentious poem on Joan of Arc, entitled "Pucelle," which was
laughed out of existence on the appearance of the first half, consisting
of only 12 of the 24 books promised, the rest having never passed beyond
the MS. stage (1595-1674).
CHAPMAN, GEORGE, English dramatic poet, born at Hitchin,
Hertfordshire; wrote numerous plays, both in tragedy and comedy, as well
as poems, of unequal merit, but his great achievement, and the one on
which his fame rests, is his translation into verse of the works of
Homer, which, though not always true to the letter, is instinct with
somewhat of the freshness and fire of the original; his translation is
reckoned the best yet done into English verse, and the best rendering
into verse of any classic, ancient or modern (1559-1634).
CHAPPELL, musical amateur, collector and editor of old English airs,
and contributor to the history of English national music; was one of the
founders of the Musical Hungarian Society, and the Percy Society
(1809-1888).
CHAPTAL, a distinguished French chemist and statesman, born at
Nogaret, Lozere; author of inventions in connection with the manufacture
of alum and saltpetre, the bleaching and the dyeing of cotton; held
office under Napoleon, and rendered great service to the arts and
manufactures of his country (1756-1832).
CHARCOT, JEAN MARTIN, a French pathologist; made a special study of
nervous diseases, including hypnotism, and was eminent for his works in
connection therewith (1823-1893).
CHARDIN, SIR JOHN, traveller, born in Paris; author of "Travels in
India and Persia," valuable for their accuracy (1643-1713).
CHARENTE (360), a dep. of France, W. of the Gironde, capital
Angouleme; with vast chestnut forests; produces wines, mostly distilled
into brandy.
CHARENTE-INFERIEURE (456), a maritime dep. of France, W. of the
former; includes the islands of Rhe, Oleron, Aix, and Madame; capital, La
Rochelle.
CHARIVA`RI, a satirical journal, such as the English _Punch_;
originally a discordant mock serenade.
CHARLEMAGNE i. e. Charles or Karl the Great, the first
Carlovingian king of the Franks, son and successor of Pepin le Bref (the
Short); became sole ruler on the death of his brother Carloman in 771; he
subjugated by his arms the southern Gauls, the Lombards, the Saxons, and
the Avares, and conducted a successful expedition against the Moors in
Spain, with the result that his kingdom extended from the Ebro to the
Elbe; having passed over into Italy in support of the Pope, he was on
Christmas Day 800 crowned Emperor of the West, after which he devoted
himself to the welfare of his subjects, and proved himself as great in
legislation as in arms; enacted laws for the empire called capitularies,
reformed the judicial administration, patronised letters, and established
schools; kept himself in touch and _au courant_ with everything over his
vast domain; he died and was buried at Aix-la-Chapelle (742-814).
CHARLEROI (21), a manufacturing town in Hainault, Belgium, 35 m. SE.
of Brussels.
CHARLES II., surnamed THE BALD, son of Louis "le Debonnaire";
after conquering his brother Lothaire at Fontenoy in 841, became by the
treaty of Verdun king of France, 843; was unable to defend his kingdom
against the Normans; went to Italy, and had himself crowned emperor at
Rome: _d_. 877.
CHARLES III., surnamed THE SIMPLE, became king of France in
893; his reign one long struggle against the Normans, which ended by
conceding Normandy to Rollo; was conquered by Hugh Capet, a rival for the
crown, at Soissons, and dethroned in 922; died in captivity, 929.
CHARLES IV., THE FAIR, third son of Philip the Fair, king of France
from 1322 to 1328; lost to France Guienne, which was taken from him by
the English; was the last of the Capetians; _d_. 1328.
CHARLES V., THE WISE, son of John II., king of France from 1361 to
1380; recovered from the English almost all the provinces they had
conquered, successes due to his own prudent policy, and especially the
heroism of Du Guesclin, De Clisson, and De Boucicaut; France owed to him
important financial reforms, the extension of privileges to the
universities, and the establishment of the first national library, into
which were gathered together thousands of MSS.; the Bastille was founded
in his reign.
CHARLES VI., THE WELL-BELOVED, king of France from 1380 to 1422, was
son and successor of Charles V.; began his reign under the guardianship
of his uncles, who rifled the public treasury and provoked rebellion by
their exactions; gained a victory at Rossbach over the Flemings, then in
revolt, and a little after dismissed his uncles and installed in their
stead the wise councillors of his father, whose sage, upright, and
beneficent administration procured for him the title of "Well-Beloved," a
state of things, however, which did not last long, for the harassments he
had been subjected to drove him insane, and his kingdom, torn in pieces
by rival factions, was given over to anarchy, and fell by treaty of
Troyes almost entirely into the hands of the English conquerors at
Agincourt (1368-1422).
CHARLES VII., THE VICTORIOUS, son of Charles VI., became king of
France in 1422; at his accession the English held possession of almost
the whole country, and he indolently made no attempt to expel them, but
gave himself up to effeminate indulgences; was about to lose his whole
patrimony when the patriotism of the nation woke up at the enthusiastic
summons of Joan of Arc; her triumphs and those of her associates weakened
the English domination, and even after her death the impulse she gave
continued to work, till at the end of 20 years the English were driven
out of France, and lost all they held in it except the town of Calais,
along with Havre, and Guines Castle (1403-1461).
CHARLES VIII., king of France, son and successor of Louis XI.;
during his minority the kingdom suffered from the turbulence and revolts
of the nobles; married Anne of Brittany, heiress of the rich duchy of
that name, by which it was added to the crown of France; sacrificed the
interests of his kingdom by war with Italy to support the claims of
French princes to the throne of Naples, which, though successful in a
military point of view, proved politically unfruitful (1470-1498).
CHARLES IX., second son of Henry II. and Catharine de' Medici,
became king of France in 1560; the civil wars of the Huguenots and
Catholics fill up this reign; the first war concluded by the peace of
Amboise, during which Francis of Guise was assassinated; the second
concluded by the peace of Longjumeau, during which Montmorency fell; the
third concluded by the peace of St. Germain, in which Conde and
Moncontour fell, which peace was broken by the massacre of St.
Bartholomew, into the perpetration of which Charles was inveigled by his
mother and the Guises; incensed at this outrage the Huguenots commenced a
fourth war, and were undertaking a fifth when Charles died, haunted by
remorse and in dread of the infinite terror (1550-1574).
CHARLES X., brother of Louis XVI. and Louis XVIII., the latter of
whom he succeeded on the throne of France in 1824; was unpopular in
France as Duc d'Artois in the time of the Revolution, and had to flee the
country at the outbreak of it, and stayed for some time as an exile in
Holyrood, Edinburgh; on his accession he became no less unpopular from
his adherence to the old regime; at an evil hour in 1830 he issued
ordinances in defiance of all freedom, and after an insurrection of three
days in the July of that year had again to flee; abdicating in favour of
his son, found refuge for a time again in Holyrood, and died at Goertz in
his eightieth year (1757-1837).
CHARLES V., (I. of Spain), emperor of Germany, son of Philip,
Archduke of Austria, born at Ghent; became king of Spain in 1516, on the
death of his maternal grandfather Ferdinand, and emperor of Germany in
1519 on the death of his paternal grandfather Maximilian I., being
crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1520; reigned during one of the most
important periods in the history of Europe; the events of the reign are
too numerous to detail; enough to mention his rivalry with Francis I. of
France, his contention as a Catholic with the Protestants of Germany, the
inroads of the Turks, revolts in Spain, and expeditions against the
pirates of the Mediterranean; the ambition of his life was the
suppression of the Protestant Reformation and the succession of his son
Philip to the Imperial crown; he failed in both; resigned in favour of
his son, and retired into the monastery of St. Yuste, in Estremadura,
near which he built a magnificent retreat, where, it is understood,
notwithstanding his apparent retirement, he continued to take interest in
political affairs, and to advise in the management of them (1500-1558).
CHARLES VI., emperor of Germany from 1711 to 1740, as well as king
of Spain from 1703, was son of the Emperor Leopold I., and father of
Maria Theresa.
CHARLES XII., king of Sweden, son of Charles XI., a warlike prince;
ascended the throne at the age of 15; had to cope with Denmark, Russia,
and Poland combined against him; foiled the Danes at Copenhagen, the
Russians at Narva, and Augustus II. of Poland at Riga; trapped in Russia,
and cooped up to spend a winter there, he was, in spring 1709, attacked
by Peter the Great at Pultowa and defeated, so that he had to take refuge
with the Turks at Bender; here he was attacked, captured, and conveyed to
Demotica, but escaping, he found his way miraculously back to Sweden, and
making peace with the Czar, commenced an attack on Norway, but was killed
by a musket-shot at the siege of Friedrickshall; "the last of the Swedish
kings"; "his appearance, among the luxurious kings and knights of the
North" at the time, Carlyle compares to "the bursting of a cataract of
bombshells in a dull ballroom" (1697-1718).
CHARLES I., king of England, third son of James I., born at
Dunfermline; failing in his suit for the Infanta of Spain, married
Henrietta Maria, a French princess, a devoted Catholic, who had great
influence over him, but not for good; had for public advisers Strafford
and Laud, who cherished in him ideas of absolute power adverse to the
liberty of the subject; acting on these ideas brought him into collision
with the Parliament, and provoked a civil war; himself the first to throw
down the gauntlet by raising the royal standard at Nottingham; in the end
of which he surrendered himself to the Scots army at Newark, who
delivered him to the Parliament; was tried as a traitor to his country,
condemned to death, and beheaded, 30th January, at Whitehall (1600-1649).
CHARLES II., king of England, son of Charles I., horn at St. James's
Palace, London; was at The Hague, in Holland, when his father was
beheaded; assumed the royal title; was proclaimed King by the Scots;
landed in Scotland, and was crowned at Scone; marching into England, was
defeated by Cromwell at Worcester, 3rd September 1651; fled to France; by
the policy of General Monk, after Cromwell's death, was restored to his
crown and kingdom in 1660, an event known as the Restoration; he was an
easy-going man, and is known in history as the "Merry Monarch"; his reign
was an inglorious one for England, though it is distinguished by the
passing of the Habeas Corpus Act, one of the great bulwarks of English
liberty next to the Magna Charta (1630-1685).
CHARLES, a French physicist, born at Beaugency; was the first to
apply hydrogen to the inflation of balloons (1746-1823).
CHARLES, ARCHDUKE, of Austria, son of the Emperor Leopold II. and
younger brother of Francis II., one of the ablest generals of Austria in
the wars against the French Republic and the Empire; lost the battle of
Wagram, after which, being wounded, he retired into private life
(1771-1847).
CHARLES ALBERT, king of Sardinia, succeeded Charles Felix in 1831;
conceived a design to emancipate and unite Italy; in the pursuit of this
object he declared war against Austria; though at first successful, was
defeated at Novara, and to save his kingdom was compelled to resign in
favour of his son Victor Emmanuel; retired to Oporto, and died of a
broken heart (1798-1849).
CHARLES EDWARD, the Young Pretender, grandson of James II. of
England, born at Rome, landed in Scotland (1745); issued a manifesto in
assertion of his father's claims; had his father proclaimed king at
Edinburgh; attacked and defeated General Cope at Prestonpans; marched at
the head of his adherents into England as far as Derby; returned, and
defeated the king's force at Falkirk, but retired before the Duke of
Cumberland, who dispersed his army at Culloden; wandered about thereafter
in disguise; escaped to France, and died at Florence (1721-1789).
CHARLES MARTEL (i. e. "Charles the Hammer"), son of Pepin
d'Heristal and grandfather of Charlemagne; became mayor of the Palace,
and as such ruler of the Franks; notable chiefly for his signal victory
over the Saracens at Poitiers in 732, whereby the tide of Mussulman
invasion was once for all rolled back and the Christianisation of Europe
assured; no greater service was ever rendered to Europe by any other
fighting man (689-741).
CHARLES OF ANJOU, brother of St. Louis, king of Naples; lost Sicily
after the Sicilian Vespers (1220-1285).
CHARLES OF VALOIS, third son of Philip the Bold, one of the greatest
captains of his age (1270-1324).
CHARLES THE RASH, last Duke of Burgundy, son of Philip the Good,
born at Dijon; enemy of Louis XI. of France, his feudal superior; was
ambitious to free the duchy from dependence on France, and to restore it
as a kingdom, and by daring enterprises tried hard to achieve this; on
the failure of the last effort was found lying dead on the field
(1433-1477).
CHARLES'S WAIN, the constellation of Ursa Major, a wagon without a
wagoner.
CHARLESTON (56), the largest city in S. Carolina, and the chief
commercial city; also a town in Western Virginia, U.S., with a spacious
land-locked harbour; is the chief outlet for the cotton and rice of the
district, and has a large coasting trade.
CHARLET, NICOLAS TOUSSAINT, a designer and painter, born in Paris;
famous for his sketches of military subjects and country life, in which
he displayed not a little humour (1792-1845).
CHARLEVILLE (17), a manufacturing and trading town in the dep. of
Ardennes, France; exports iron, coal, wines, and manufactures hardware
and beer.
CHARLEVOIX, a Jesuit and traveller, born at St. Quentin, explored
the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi (1682-1761).
CHARLOTTE, PRINCESS, daughter and only child of George IV. of
England, married to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, afterwards king of
Belgium; died after giving birth to a still-born boy, to the great grief
of the whole nation (1796-1817).
CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH OF BAVARIA, second wife of the Duke of Orleans,
brother of Louis XIV., called the Princess Palatine (1652-1722).
CHARLOTTENBURG (76), a town on the Spree, 3 m. W. of Berlin, with a
palace, the favourite residence of Sophie Charlotte, the grandmother of
Frederick the Great, and so named by her husband Frederick I. after her
death; contains the burial-place of William I., emperor of Germany.
CHARLOTTETOWN (13), the capital of Prince Edward Island.
CHARMETTES, a picturesque hamlet near Chambery, a favourite retreat
of Rousseau's.
CHARNAY, a French traveller; a writer on the ancient civilisation of
Mexico, which he has made a special study; _b_. 1828.
CHARON, in the Greek mythology the ferryman of the ghosts of the
dead over the Styx into Hades, a grim old figure with a mean dress and a
dirty beard, peremptory in exacting from the ghosts he ferried over the
obolus allowed him for passage-money.
CHARONDAS, a Sicilian law-giver, disciple of Pythagoras; is said to
have killed himself when he found he had involuntarily broken one of his
own laws (600 B.C.).
CHARRON, PIERRE, a French moralist and theologian, as well as pulpit
orator, born in Paris; author of "Les Trois Verites," the unity of God,
Christianity the sole religion, and Catholicism the only Christianity;
and of a sceptical treatise "De la Sagesse"; a friend and disciple of
Montaigne, but bolder as more dogmatic, with less _bonhommie_ and
originality, and much of a cynic withal (1541-1603).
CHARTERHOUSE, a large London school, originally a Carthusian
monastery, and for a time a residence of the dukes of Norfolk.
CHARTIER, ALAIN, an early scholarly French poet and prose writer of
note, born at Bayeux; secretary to Charleses V., VI., and VII. of France,
whom Margaret, daughter of James I. of Scotland and wife of Louis XI.,
herself a poetess, once kissed as he lay asleep for the pleasure his
poems gave her; was a patriot, and wrote as one (1390-1458).
CHARTISM, a movement of the working-classes of Great Britain for
greater political power than was conceded to them by the Reform Bill of
1832, and which found expression in a document called the "People's
Charter," drawn up in 1838, embracing six "points," as they were called,
viz., Manhood Suffrage, Equal Electoral Districts, Vote by Ballot, Annual
Parliaments, Abolition of a Property Qualification in the Parliamentary
Representation, and Payment of Members of Parliament, all which took the
form of a petition presented to the House of Commons in 1839, and signed
by 1,380,000 persons. The refusal of the petition gave rise to great
agitation over the country, which gradually died out in 1848.
CHARTRES (23), the capital of the French dep. of Eure-et-Lois, 55 m.
SW. of Paris; gave title of Duke to the eldest of the Orleanist Bourbons.
CHARTREUSE, LA GRANDE, a monastery founded by St. Bruno in 1084 in
the dep. of Isere, 14 m. NE. of Grenoble; famous as the original place of
the manufacture of the Chartreuse liqueur, held in much repute; it was
honoured by a visit of Queen Victoria in 1887; Ruskin was disappointed
with both monks and monastery.
CHARYBDIS. See SCYLLA.
CHASE, SALMON PORTLAND, Chief-Justice of the United States; a great
anti-slavery advocate and leader of the Free-Soil party; aimed at the
Presidency, but failed (1773-1808).
CHASI`DIM, a party among the Jews identified with the Pharisees,
their supreme concern the observance of their religion in its purity.
CHASLES, MICHEL, an eminent French mathematician, and held one of
the first in the century; on the faith of certain autographs, which were
afterwards proved to be forgeries, he in 1867 astonished the world by
ascribing to Pascal the great discoveries of Newton, but had to admit he
was deceived (1793-1880).
CHASLES, PHILARETE, a French litterateur, born near Chartres, a
disciple of Rousseau; lived several years in England, and wrote
extensively on English subjects, Shakespeare, Mary Stuart, Charles I.,
and Cromwell among the chief (1799-1873).
CHASSE, DAVID HENDRIK, BARON, a Dutch soldier; served France under
Napoleon, who called him "General Baionnette," from his zealous use of
the bayonet; fought at Waterloo on the opposite side; as governor of
Antwerp, gallantly defended its citadel in 1832 against a French and
Belgian force twelve times larger than his own (1765-1849).
CHASSEPOT, a French breech-loading rifle named from the inventor.
CHASSEURS, picked bodies of light cavalry and infantry in the French
service, called respectively _Chasseurs-a-cheval_ and _Chasseurs-a-pied_.
CHASTELARD, PIERRE DE BOSCOSEL DE, grandson of Bayard; conceived an
insane passion for Queen Mary, whom he accompanied to Scotland; was
surprised in her bedchamber, under her bed, and condemned to death, it
being his second offence (1540-1562).
CHAT MOSS, a large bog in Lancashire, 7 m. W. of Manchester, which
is partly reclaimed and partly, through the ingenuity of George
Stephenson, traversed by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
CHATEAUBRIAND, FRANCOIS RENE DE, eminent French litterateur, born in
St. Malo, younger son of a noble family of Brittany; travelled to N.
America in 1791; returned to France on the arrest of Louis XVI., and
joined the EMIGRANTS (q. v.) at Coblenz; was wounded at the
siege of Thionville, and escaped to England; wrote an "Essay on
Revolutions Ancient and Modern," conceived on liberal lines; was tempted
back again to France in 1800; wrote "Atala," a story of life in the wilds
of America, which was in 1802 followed by his most famous work, "Genie du
Christianisme"; entered the service of Napoleon, but withdrew on the
murder of the Duc d'Enghien; though not obliged to leave France, made a
journey to the East, the fruit of which was his "Itineraire de Paris a
Jerusalem"; hailed with enthusiasm the restoration of the Bourbons in
1814; supported the Bourbon dynasty all through, though he wavered
sometimes in the interest of liberty; withdrew from public life on the
elevation of Louis Philippe to the throne; he was no thinker, but he was
a fascinating writer, and as such exercised no small influence on the
French literature of his day; he lived in a transition period, and
hovered between legitimism and liberty, the revolution and reaction, and
belonged to the Romantic school of literature--was perhaps the father of
it in France (1766-1848).
CHATEAUX EN ESPAGNE, castles in Spain, visionary projects.
CHATELET, MARQUISE DE, a learned Frenchwoman, born at Paris, with
whom Voltaire kept up an intimate acquaintanceship (1706-1749).
CHATELLERAULT (18), a town in the dep. of Vienne, 24 m. NE. of
Poitiers; gave title to the Scottish regent, the Earl of Arran;
manufactures cutlery and small-arms for the Government.
CHATHAM (59), a town in Kent, on the estuary of the Medway, a
fortified naval arsenal; is connected with Rochester.
CHATHAM, WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF, a great British statesman and
orator, born in Cornwall; determined opponent of Sir Robert Walpole;
succeeded in driving him from power, and at length installing himself in
his place; had an eye to the greatness and glory of England, summoned the
English nation to look to its laurels; saw the French, the rivals of
England, beaten back in the four quarters of the globe; driven at length
from power himself, he still maintained a single regard for the honour of
his country, and the last time his voice was heard in the Parliament of
England was to protest against her degradation by an ignoble alliance
with savages in the war with America; on this occasion he fell back in a
faint into the arms of his friends around, and died little more than a
month after; "for four years" (of his life), says Carlyle, "king of
England; never again he; never again one resembling him, nor indeed can
ever be." See SMELFUNGUS on his character and position in
Carlyle's "Frederick," Book xxi. chap. i. (1708-1775).
CHATHAM ISLANDS, a group of islands 360 m. E. of New Zealand, and
politically connected with it; the chief industry is the rearing of
cattle.
CHATSWORTH, the palatial seat of the Duke of Devonshire, in
Derbyshire, 8 m. W. of Chesterfield, enclosed in a park, with gardens, 10
m. in circumference.
CHATTERTON, THOMAS, a poet of great promise, had a tragic fate, born
at Bristol, passed off while but a boy as copies of ancient MSS., and
particularly of poems which he ascribed to one Rowley, a monk of the 17th
century, what were compositions of his own, exhibiting a genius of no
small literary, not to say lyric, power; having vainly endeavoured to
persuade any one of their genuineness, though he had hopes of the
patronage of Sir Robert Walpole, he left Bristol for London, and made
vehement efforts with his pen to bespeak regard, but failed; grew
desperate, and committed suicide at the early age of 18 (1752-1770).
CHAUCER, GEOFFREY, the great early English poet, and father of
English poetry, the son of a vintner and taverner, born probably in
London, where he lived almost all his days; when a lad, served as page in
the royal household; won the favour and patronage of the king, Edward
III. and his son, John of Gaunt, who pensioned him; served in an
expedition to France; was made prisoner, but ransomed by the king; was
often employed on royal embassies, in particular to Italy; held
responsible posts at home; was thus a man of the world as well as a man
of letters; he comes first before us as a poet in 1369; his poetic powers
developed gradually, and his best and ripest work, which occupied him at
intervals from 1373 to 1400, is his "CANTERBURY TALES" (q. v.),
characterised by Stopford Brooke as "the best example of English
story-telling we possess"; besides which he wrote, among other
compositions, "The Life of St. Cecilia," "Troilus and Cressida," the
"House of Fame," and the "Legend of Good Women"; his influence on English
literature has been compared to that of Dante on Italian, and his
literary life has been divided into three periods--the French, the
Italian, and the English, according as the spirit of it was derived from
a foreign or a native source (1340-1400).
CHAUMETTE, PIERRE GASPARD, a violent member of the extreme party in
the French Revolution, could "recognise the suspect from the very face of
them"; provoked the disgust of even Robespierre, and was arrested amid
jeers and guillotined (1763-1794).
CHAUTAUQUA, a summer resort on a lake of the name in the W. of New
York State, centre of a novel institution, which prescribes a four years'
course of private readings, and grants diplomas to those who anywhere
achieve it.
CHAUVINISM, a name among the French for what is known as Jingoism
among the English, i. e. an extravagant zeal for the glory of one's
country or party, from one _Chauvin_, who made threatening displays of
his devotion to Napoleon after his fall in 1815.
CHEDDAR, a village in Somersetshire, on the Mendip Hills, famous for
its cheese.
CHEKE, SIR JOHN, a zealous Greek scholar, born at Cambridge, and
first regius professor of Greek there; did much to revive in England an
interest in Greek and Greek literature; was tutor to Edward VI., who
granted him landed estates; favouring the cause of Lady Jane Grey on the
accession of Mary, left the country, was seized, and sent back; for fear
of the stake abjured Protestantism, but never forgave himself, and died
soon after; he introduced the mode of pronouncing Greek prevalent in
England (1514-1557).
CHELMSFORD (11), the county town of Essex, on the Chelmer.
CHELSEA (96), a western suburb of London, on the N. of the Thames;
famous for its hospital for old and disabled soldiers, and the place of
residence of sundry literary celebrities, among others Sir Thomas More,
Swift, Steele, and Carlyle.
CHELTENHAM (49), a healthy watering-place and educational centre in
Gloucestershire; first brought into repute as a place of fashionable
resort by the visits of George III. to it; contains a well-equipped
college, where a number of eminent men have been educated.
CHELYUSKIN, CAPE, in Siberia, the most northerly point in the
Eastern hemisphere.
CHEMICAL AFFINITY, the tendency elementary bodies have to combine
and remain in combination.
CHEMISM, in the Hegelian philosophy "the mutual attraction,
interpenetration, and neutralisation of independent individuals which
unite to form a whole."
CHEMISTRY, the science that treats of elementary bodies and their
combinations: _inorganic_, relating to physical compounds; _organic_,
relating to vegetable and animal compounds.
CHEMNITZ (160), a manufacturing town in Saxony, called the "Saxon
Manchester," at the foot of the Erzgebirge, in a rich mineral district;
manufactures cottons, woollens, silks, machinery, &c.
CHEMNITZ, MARTIN, an eminent Lutheran theologian, born in
Brandenburg, a disciple of Melanchthon; author of "Loci Theologici," a
system of theology; took a leading part in procuring the adoption of the
"Formula of Concord"; his chief work "Examen Concilii Tridentini"
(1522-1586).
CHEMOSH, the national god of the Moabites, akin to Moloch, and their
stay in battle, but an abomination to the children of Jehovah.
CHEMULPO, a town on the W. coast of Corea; a thriving town since it
became a treaty-port in 1883.
CHENAB`, an affluent on the left bank of the Indus, and one of the
five rivers, and the largest, which give name to the Punjab; is 750 m.
long.
CHENERY, THOMAS, a journalist; became editor of the _Times_; was
distinguished for his knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew, and was one of the
Old Testament revisers (1826-1884).
CHENIER, MARIE-ANDRE, French poet, greatest in the 18th century,
born at Constantinople; author of odes, idylls, and elegies, which place
him high among French poets; took part in the Revolution as a lover of
order as well as of liberty; offended Robespierre, and was guillotined
two days before the fall of Robespierre; as a poet he was distinguished
for the purity of his style and his originality (1762-1794).
CHENONCEAUX, a magnificent chateau near Amboise, in, France; built
by Francis I. for the Duchesse d'Etampes, afterwards the property of the
Condes, and afterwards of Madame Dupont.
CHENU, a French naturalist; author of an "Encyclopaedia of Natural
History" (1808-1879).
CHEOPHREN, king of Egypt, brother and successor of Cheops; built the
second great pyramid.
CHEOPS, king of Memphis, in Egypt, of the 4th dynasty; builder of
the largest of the pyramids about 3000 B.C.
CHEPSTOW (4), a port on the Wye, Monmouthshire, 17 m. N. of Newport;
with a tubular suspension bridge, and where the tides are higher than
anywhere else in Britain.
CHER, an affluent of the Loire below Tours; also the dep. in France
(359) to which it gives name; an agricultural and pastoral district;
capital Bourges.
CHERBOURG (40), a French port and arsenal in the dep. of Manche,
opposite the Isle of Wight, 70 m. distant, on the construction and
fortifications of which immense sums were expended, as much as eight
millions; the fortifications were begun by Vauban.
CHERBULIEZ, VICTOR, novelist, critic, and publicist, born at Geneva,
of a distinguished family; professor of Greek at Geneva; holds a high
place, and is widely known, as a writer of a series of works of fiction;
_b_. 1826.
CHER`IBON (11), a seaport of Java, on the N. of the island.
CHERITH, a brook E. of the Jordan, Elijah's hiding-place.
CHEROKEES, a tribe of American Indians, numbering some 20,000, in
the NW. of the Indian Territory, U.S.; civilised, self-governing, and
increasing; formerly occupied the region about the Tennessee River.
CHERONE`A, a town in Boeotia, where Philip of Macedon conquered the
Athenians and Thebans, 338 B.C., and Sulla defeated Mithridates, 86 B.C.;
the birthplace of Plutarch, who is hence called the Cheronean Sage.
CHERRA PUNJI (5), a village in the Khasi Hills, Assam, with the
heaviest rainfall of any place on the globe.
CHERSONE`SUS (i. e. continent island), a name which the Greeks
gave to several peninsulas, viz., the Tauric C., the Crimea, the Thracian
C., Gallipoli; the Cimbric C., Jutland; the Golden C., the Malay
Peninsula.
CHERTSEY (11), a very old town of Surrey, 21 m. SW. of London, on
the right bank of the Thames.
CHERUBIM, an order of angelic beings conceived of as accompanying
the manifestations of Jehovah, supporting His throne and protecting His
glory, guarding it from profane intrusion; winged effigies of them
overshadowed the MERCY SEAT (q. v.).
CHERUBIM, a character in the "Mariage de Figaro"; also the 11th
Hussars, from their trousers being of a cherry colour.
CHERUBINI, a celebrated musical composer, born at Florence;
naturalised in France; settled in Paris, the scene of his greatest
triumphs; composed operas, of which the chief were "Iphigenia in Aulis,"
and "Les deux Journees; or, The Water-Carrier," his masterpiece; also a
number of sacred pieces and requiems, all of the highest merit; there is
a portrait of him by Ingres (1842) in the Louvre, representing the Muse
of his art extending her protecting hand over his head (1760-1842).
CHERUEL, ADOLPHE, French historian, born at Rouen; author of
"History of France during the Minority of Louis XIV."; published the
"Memoirs of Saint-Simon" (1809-1891).
CHERUSCI, an ancient people of Germany, whose leader was Arminius,
and under whom they defeated the Romans, commanded by Varus, in 9 A.D.
CHESAPEAKE BAY, a northward-extending inlet on the Atlantic coast of
the United States, 200 m. long and from 10 to 40 m. broad, cutting
Maryland in two.
CHESELDEN, WILLIAM, an English anatomist and surgeon, whose work,
"Anatomy of the Human Body," was long used as a text-book on that science
(1688-1752).
CHESHIRE (730), a western county of England, between the Mersey and
the Dee, the chief mineral products of which are coal and rock-salt, and
the agricultural, butter and cheese; has numerous manufacturing towns,
with every facility for inter-communication, and the finest pasture-land
in England.
CHESHUNT (9), a large village in Hertfordshire, 14 m. N. of London,
with rose gardens, and a college founded by the Countess of Huntingdon.
CHESIL BEACH, a neck of land on the Devonshire coast, 15 m. long,
being a ridge of loose pebbles and shingle.
CHESNEY, C. CORNWALLIS, professor of Military History, nephew of the
succeeding, author of "Waterloo Lectures" (1826-1876).
CHESNEY, FRANCIS RAWDON, explorer, born in co. Down, Ireland;
explored with much labour the route to India by way of the Euphrates,
though his labours were rendered futile by the opposition of Russia;
proved, by survey of the isthmus, the practicability of the Suez Canal
(1798-1872).
CHESTER (41), the county town of Cheshire, on the Dee, 16 m. SE. of
Liverpool; an ancient city founded by the Romans; surrounded by walls
nearly 2 m. long, and from 7 to 8 ft. thick, forming a promenade with
parapets; the streets are peculiar; along the roofs of the lower storeys
of the houses there stretch piazzas called "Rows," at the original level
of the place, 16 ft. wide for foot-passengers, approached by steps; it
abounds in Roman remains, and is altogether a unique town.
CHESTERFIELD (22), a town in Derbyshire, 21 m. N. of Derby; in a
mineral district; manufactures cotton, woollen, and silk; has a canal
connecting it with the Trent.
CHESTERFIELD, PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE, EARL OF, statesman, orator,
and man of letters, eldest son of the third earl, born in London; sat in
the House of Commons from 1716 to 1726; was an opponent of Walpole; held
office under the Pelhams; in 1748 retired from deafness, or perhaps
disgust, into private life; celebrated for his "Letters to his Son,"
models of elegance, though of questionable morality, which it appears he
never intended to publish, and for the scorn with which Dr. Johnson
treated him when he offered to help him, after he no longer needed any,
in a letter which gave the death-blow to the patronage of literature; is
credited by Carlyle with having predicted the French Revolution; it
should be added, the "Letters" were printed by his son's widow
(1694-1773).
CHEVALIER, MICHEL, a celebrated French economist, born at Limoges;
originally a Socialist of the St. Simonian school; for defending
Socialism was imprisoned, but recanted, and wrote ably against Socialism;
was a free-trader and coadjutor of Cobden (1806-1879).
CHEVALIER, SULPICE. See GAVARNI.
CHEVALIER D'INDUSTRIE, one who lives by his wits, specially by
swindling.
CHEVALIER ST. GEORGE, the Pretender.
CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE, a military fence composed of a beam or a bar armed
with long spikes, literally Friesland horses, having been first used in
Friesland.
CHEVERT, a French general, born at Verdun; "a bit of right soldier
stuff"; distinguished himself in many engagements, and especially at the
siege of Prague in 1757 (1696-1773).
CHEVIOT HILLS, a range on the borders of England and Scotland,
extending 35 m. south-westwards, the highest in Northumberland 2676 ft.,
the Carter Fell being 2020 ft.; famous for its breed of sheep.
CHEVREUL, MICHEL EUGENE, a French chemist, born at Angers; an expert
in the department of dyeing, and an authority on colours, as well as the
chemistry of fats; was director in the dyeing department in the Gobelins
manufactory; he lived to witness the centenary of his birth (1786-1889).
CHEVREUSE, DUCHESSE DE, played an important part in the Fronde and
in the plots against Richelieu and Mazarin; her Life has been written by
Victor Cousin (1600-1679).
CHEVRON, in heraldry an ordinary of two bands forming an angle
descending to the extremities of the shield; representing the two rafters
of a house, meeting at the top.
CHEVY CHASE, the subject and title of a highly popular old English
ballad, presumed to refer to an event in connection with the battle of
Otterburn; there were strains in it which Sir Philip Sidney said moved
his heart more than with a trumpet.
CHEYENNE INDIANS, a warlike tribe of Red Indians, now much reduced,
and partially settled in the Indian Territory, U.S.; noted for their
horsemanship.
CHEYNE, GEORGE, a physician and medical writer, born in
Aberdeenshire, in practice in London; suffered from corpulency, being 32
stone in weight, but kept it down by vegetable and milk diet, which he
recommended to others in the like case; wrote on fevers, nervous
disorders, and hygiene; wrote also on fluxions (1671-1743).
CHEYNE, THOMAS KELLY, an eminent Biblical scholar, born in London;
Oriel Professor of Scripture Exegesis, Oxford, and canon of Rochester;
author of numerous works on the Old Testament, particularly on "Isaiah"
and the "Psalms," in which he advocates conclusions in accord with modern
critical results; _b_. 1841.
CHEZY, DE, a French Orientalist, born at Neuilly; the first to
create in France an interest in the study of Sanskrit (1773-1832).
CHIABRERA, GABRIELLO, an Italian lyric poet, born at Savona;
distinguished, especially for his lyrics; surnamed the "Pindar of Italy,"
Pindar being a Greek poet whom it was his ambition to imitate
(1552-1637).
CHIA`NA, a small, stagnant, pestilential affluent of the Tiber, now
deepened into a healthful and serviceable stream, connecting the Tiber
with the Arno.
CHIAPAS, LAS (270), a Pacific State of Mexico, covered with forests;
yields maize, sugar, cacao, and cotton.
CHIAROSCURO, the reproduction in art of the effects of light and
shade on nature as they mutually affect each other.
CHIBCHAS or MUYSCAS, a civilised people, though on a lower
stage than the Peruvians, whom the Spaniards found established in New
Granada in the 16th century, now merged in the Spanish population; they
worship the sun.
CHICA, an orange-red colouring matter obtained from boiling the
leaves of the _Bignonia chica_, and used as a dye.
CHICAGO (1,700), the metropolis of Illinois, in the NE. of the
State, on the SW. shore of Lake Michigan, is the second city in the
Union; its unparalleled growth, dating only from 1837--in 1832 a mere
log-fort, and now covering an area of 180 sq. m., being 21 m. in length
and 10 m. in breadth--is due to its matchless facilities for
communication. Situated in the heart of the continent, a third of the
United States railway system centres in it, and it communicates with all
Canada, and with the ocean by the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River;
laid out with absolute regularity, it has many magnificent buildings,
enormously tall office "sky-scrapers," and an unrivalled system of parks
and avenues; there are a university, medical, commercial, and theological
colleges, an art institute, libraries, and observatory; it suffered
severely from fire in 1871 and 1874; it is the greatest grain and pork
market in the world, and its manufactures include almost every variety of
production; the population is a mixture of all European peoples;
native-born Americans are a small minority, outnumbered by the Germans
and almost equalled by the Irish.
CHICARD, the harlequin of the modern French carnival, grotesquely
dressed up.
CHICHELEY, HENRY, archbishop of Canterbury, a scholar and statesman,
often employed on embassies, a moderate churchman; accompanied Henry V.
to Agincourt (1362-1442).
CHICHESTER (9), a cathedral city in the W. of Sussex, 17 m. NE. of
Portsmouth, with a port on the Channel 2 m. SW. of it; chief trade in
agricultural produce.
CHICHEVACHE, a monster fabled to feed on good women, and starved,
from the scarcity of them, to skin and bone, in contrast with another
called Bicorn, that fed on good men, who are more plentiful, and was fat
and plump.
CHICKASAWS, N. American Indians, allied to the Chocktaws, settled in
a civilised state in the Indian Territory like the Cherokees.
CHICLANA (12), a watering-place 12 m. SB. of Cadiz, with mineral
baths.
CHIEF, the upper part of an escutcheon cut off by a horizontal line.
CHIEM-SEE, a high-lying lake in Upper Bavaria, 48 m. from Muenich,
adorned with three islands; famous for its fish.
CHIEN DE JEAN DE NIVELLE, the dog that never came when it was
called. See NIVELLE.
CHIE`TI (22), a city in Central Italy, 78 m. NE. of Rome, with a
fine Gothic cathedral.
CHIGI, a distinguished Italian family, eminent in the Church.
CHIGOE, an insect which infests the skin of the feet, multiplies
incredibly, and is a great annoyance to the negro, who, however, is
pretty expert in getting rid of it.
CHIHUA`HUA (25), a town in Mexico; capital of a State (298), the
largest in Mexico, of the same name, with famous silver and also copper
mines.
CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES, an American scholar, born in Boston; professor
of Anglo-Saxon and Early English Literature at Harvard; distinguished as
the editor of Spenser and of "English and Scottish Ballads," "a
monumental collection"; _b_. 1825.
CHILD, LYDIA MARIA, an American novelist and anti-slavery advocate
(1802-1880).
CHILD, SIR JOSHUA, a wealthy London merchant, author of "Discourse
on Trade," with an appendix against usury; advocated the compulsory
transportation of paupers to the Colonies (1630-1699).
CHILDE, the eldest son of a nobleman who has not yet attained to
knighthood, or has not yet won his spurs.
CHILDE HAROLD, a poem of Byron's, written between 1812 and 1819,
representing the author himself as wandering over the world in quest of
satisfaction and returning sated to disgust; it abounds in striking
thoughts and vivid descriptions; in his "Dernier Chant of C. H."
Lamartine takes up the hero where Byron leaves him.
CHILDERBERT I., son of Clovis, king of Paris, reigned from 511 to
558. C. II., son of Siegbert and Brunhilda, king of Austrasia,
reigned from 575 to 596. C. III., son of Thierri III., reigned over
all France from 695 to 711, under the mayor of the palace, Pepin
d'Heristal.
CHILDERBRAND, a Frank warrior, who figures in old chronicles as the
brother of Charles Martel, signalised himself in the expulsion of the
Saracens from France.
CHILDERIC I., the son of Merovig and father of Clovis, king of the
Franks; _d_. 481. C. II., son of Clovis II., king of Austrasia in
660, and of all France in 670; assassinated 673. C. III., son of the
preceding, last of the Merovingian kings, from 743 to 752; was deposed by
Pepin le Bref; died in the monastery of St. Omer in 755.
CHILDERMAS, a festival to commemorate the massacre of the children
by Herod.
CHILDERS, ROBERT C., professor of Pali and Buddhistic Literature in
University College, and author of Pali Dictionary (1809-1876).
CHILDREN OF THE WOOD, two children, a boy and girl, left to the care
of an uncle, who hired two ruffians to murder them, that he might inherit
their wealth; one of the ruffians relented, killed his companion, and
left the children in a wood, who were found dead in the morning, a
redbreast having covered their bodies with strawberry leaves; the uncle
was thereafter goaded to death by the furies.
CHILE (2,867), the most advanced and stable of the S. American
States, occupies a strip of country, 100 m. broad, between the Andes and
the Pacific Ocean, and stretching from Cape Horn northward 2200 m. to
Peru, with Argentine and Bolivia on its eastern borders. The climate is
naturally various. In the N. are rainless tracts of mountains rich in
copper, manganese, silver, and other metals, and deserts with wonderful
deposits of nitrate. In the S. are stretches of pastoral land and virgin
forest, with excessive rains, and cold, raw climate. The central portion
enjoys a temperate climate with moderate rainfall, and produces excellent
wheat, grapes, and fruits of all kinds. The Andes tower above the
snow-line, Aconcagua reaching 23,500 ft. The rivers are short and rapid,
of little use for navigation. The coast-line is even in the N., but
excessively rugged and broken in the S., the most southerly regions being
weird and desolate. The people are descendants of Spaniards, mingled with
Araucanian Indians; but there is a large European element in all the
coast towns. Mining and agriculture are the chief industries;
manufactures of various kinds are fostered with foreign capital. The
chief trade is with Britain: exports nitre, wheat, copper, and iodine;
imports, textiles, machinery, sugar, and cattle. Santiago (250) is the
capital; Valparaiso (150) and Iquique the principal ports. The government
is republican; Roman Catholicism the State religion; education is fairly
well fostered; there is a university at Santiago. The country was first
visited by Magellan in 1520. In 1540 Pedro Valdivia entered it from Peru
and founded Santiago. During colonial days it was an annex of Peru. In
1810 the revolt against Spain broke out. Independence was gained in 1826.
Settled government was established in 1847. Since then a revolution in
1851, successful wars with Spain 1864-66, with Bolivia and Peru 1879-81,
and a revolution in 1891, have been the most stirring events in its
history.
CHILLIANWALLA, a village in the Punjab, 80 m. NW. of Lahore, the
scene in 1849 of a bloody battle in the second Sikh War, in which the
Sikhs were defeated by Gen. Gough; it was also the scene of a battle
between Alexander the Great and Porus.
CHILLINGHAM, a village in Northumberland, 8 m. SW. of Belford, with
a park attached to the castle, the seat of the Earl of Tankerville,
containing a herd of native wild cattle.
CHILLINGWORTH, WILLIAM, an able English controversial divine, who
thought forcibly and wrote simply, born at Oxford; championed the cause
of Protestantism against the claims of Popery in a long-famous work, "The
Religion of Protestants the Safe Way to Salvation," summing up his
conclusion in the oft-quoted words, "The Bible, the Bible alone, is the
religion of Protestants"; though a Protestant, he was not a Puritan or a
man of narrow views, and he suffered at the hands of the Puritans as an
adherent of the Royalist cause (1602-1643).
CHILLON, CASTLE OF, a castle and state prison built on a rock, 62
ft. from the shore, at the eastern end of the Lake of Geneva; surnamed
the Bastille of Switzerland, in which Bonivard, the Genevese patriot,
was, as celebrated by Byron, incarcerated for six years; it is now an
arsenal.
CHILOE (77), a thickly wooded island off the coast, and forming a
province, of Chile, 115 m. long from N. to S., and 43 m. broad; inhabited
chiefly by Indians; exports timber; is said to contain vast deposits of
coal.
CHILTERN HILLS, a range of chalk hills extending about 70 m. NE.
from the Thames in Oxfordshire through Bucks, from 15 to 20 m. broad, the
highest Wendover, 950 ft.
CHILTERN HUNDREDS, a wardship of beech forests on the Chiltern Hills
against robbers, that at one time infested them; now a sinecure office,
the acceptance of which enables a member of Parliament to resign his seat
if he wishes to retire, the office being regarded as a Government one.
CHIMAERA, a fire-breathing monster of the Greek mythology, with a
goat's body, a lion's head, and a dragon's tail; slain by Bellerophon,
and a symbol of any impossible monstrosity.
CHIMBORA`ZO, one of the loftiest peaks of the Andes, in Ecuador,
20,700 ft.; is an extinct volcano, and covered with perpetual snow.
CHIMPANZEE, a large African ape, from 3 to 4 ft. in height, and more
allied in several respects to man than any other ape: it is found chiefly
in W. Africa.
CHINA (300,000 to 400,000), which, with Tibet, Mongolia (from which
it is separated by the Great Wall), and parts of Turkestan, forms the
Chinese Empire; is a vast, compact, and densely peopled country in
Eastern Asia; bounded on the N. by Mongolia; W. by Tibet and Burmah; S.
by Siam, Annam, and the China Sea; and E. by the Pacific. In the W. are
lofty mountain ranges running N. and S., from which parallel ranges run
E. and W., rising to greatest height in the S. Two great rivers traverse
the country, the Hoang-ho and the Yangtse-kiang, the latter with many
large lakes in its course, and bearing on its waters an innumerable fleet
of boats and barges. Between the lower courses of these rivers lies the
Great Plain, one of the vastest and richest in the world, whose yellow
soil produces great crops with little labour and no manure. The
coast-line is long and much indented, and out of it are bitten the gulfs
of Pe-che-lee, the Yellow Sea, and Hang-chou. There are many small
islands off the coast; the mountainous Hainau is the only large one still
Chinese. The climate in the N. has a clear frosty winter, and warm rainy
summer; in the S. it is hot. The country is rich in evergreens and
flowering plants. In the N. wheat, millet, and cotton are grown; in the
S. rice, tea, sugar, silk, and opium. Agriculture is the chief industry,
and though primitive, it is remarkably painstaking and skilful. Forests
have everywhere been cleared away, and the whole country is marvellously
fertile. Its mineral wealth is enormous. Iron, copper, and coal abound in
vast quantities; has coal-fields that, it is said, if they were worked,
"would revolutionise the trade of the world." The most important
manufactures are of silk, cotton, and china. Commerce is as yet chiefly
internal; its inter-provincial trade is the largest and oldest in the
world. Foreign trade is growing, almost all as yet done with Britain and
her Colonies. Tea and silk are exported; cotton goods and opium imported.
About twenty-five ports are open to British vessels, of which the largest
are Shanghai and Canton. There are no railways; communication inland is
by road, river, and canals. The people are a mixed race of Mongol type,
kindly, courteous, peaceful, and extremely industrious, and in their own
way well educated. Buddhism is the prevailing faith of the masses,
Confucianism of the upper classes. The Government is in theory a
patriarchal autocracy, the Emperor being at once father and high-priest
of all the people, and vicegerent of heaven. The capital is Pekin (500),
in the NE. Chinese history goes back to 2300 B.C. English intercourse
with the Chinese began in 1635 A.D., and diplomatic relations between
London and Pekin were established this century. The Anglo-Chinese wars of
1840, 1857, and 1860 broke down the barrier of exclusion previously
maintained against the outside world. The Japanese war of 1894-95
betrayed the weakness of the national organisation; and the seizure of
Formosa by Japan, the Russo-Japanese protectorate over Manchuria and
Corea, the French demand for Kwang-si and Kwang-tung, enforced lease of
Kiao-chau to Germany, and of Wei-hai-wei to Britain (1898), seem to
forebode the partition of the ancient empire among the more energetic
Western nations.
CHINA, THE GREAT WALL OF, a wall, with towers and forts at
intervals, about 2000 m. long, from 20 to 30 ft. high, and 25 ft. broad,
which separates China from Mongolia on the N., and traverses high hills
and deep valleys in its winding course.
CHINAMPAS, floating gardens.
CHINCHA ISLANDS, islands off the coast of Peru that had beds of
guano, often 100 ft. thick, due to the droppings of penguins and other
sea birds, now all but, if not quite, exhausted.
CHINCHILLA, a rodent of S. America, hunted for its fur, which is
soft and of a grey colour; found chiefly in the mountainous districts of
Peru and Chile.
CHINESE GORDON, General Gordon, killed at Khartoum; so called for
having, in 1851, suppressed a rebellion in China which had lasted 15
years.
CHINOOK, a tribe of Indians in Washington Territory, noted for
flattening their skulls.
CHINSURA, a Dutch-built town on the right bank of the Hoogly, 20 m.
N. of Calcutta, with a college; is famous for cheroots.
CHINZ, a calico printed with flowers and other devices in different
colours; originally of Eastern manufacture.
CHIOGGIA (25), a seaport of Venetia, built on piles, on a lagoon
island at the mouth of the Brenta, connected with the mainland by a
bridge with 43 arches.
CHIOS, or SCIO (25), a small island belonging to Turkey, in the
Grecian Archipelago; subject to earthquakes; yields oranges and lemons in
great quantities; claims to have been the birthplace of Homer.
CHIPPENDALE, THOMAS, a cabinet-maker, born in Worcestershire; famous
in the last century for the quality and style of his workmanship; his
work still much in request.
CHIPPEWAYS, a Red Indian tribe, some 12,000 strong, located in
Michigan, U.S., and in Canada adjoining; originally occupied the N. and
W. of Lake Superior.
CHIQUITOS, Indians of a low but lively type in Bolivia and Brazil.
CHIRIQUI, an archipelago and a lagoon as well as province in Costa
Rica.
CHIRON, a celebrated Centaur, in whose nature the animal element was
subject to the human, and who was intrusted with the education of certain
heroes of Greece, among others Peleus and Achilles; was endowed with the
gift of prophecy, and skilled in athletics as well as music and the
healing art. See CENTAURS.
CHISLEHURST (6), a village in Kent, 10 m. SE. of London, where
Napoleon III. died in exile in 1873.
CHISWICK (21), a suburb of London, 7 m. SW. of St. Paul's; the
Church of St. Nicholas has monuments to several people of distinction.
CHITIN, a white horny substance found in the exoskeleton of several
invertebrate animals.
CHITRAL, a State on the frontier of India, NW. of Cashmere; since
1895 occupied by the British; a place of great strategical importance.
CHITTAGONG (24), a seaport in the Bay of Bengal, 220 m. E. of
Calcutta; exports rice, gum, tobacco, and jute.
CHITTIM, the Bible name for Cyprus.
CHIVALRY, a system of knighthood, for the profession of which the
qualifications required were dignity, courtesy, bravery, generosity; the
aim of which was the defence of right against wrong, of the weak against
the strong, and especially of the honour and the purity of women, and the
spirit of which was of Christian derivation; originally a military
organisation in defence of Christianity against the infidel.
CHIVALRY, COURT OF, a court established by Edward III., which took
cognisance of questions of honour and heraldry, as well as military
offences.
CHLADNI, FRIEDRICH, a physicist, born at Wittenberg; one of the
earliest investigators of the phenomena of sound; wrote also on aerolites
(1756-1827).
CHLOPICKI, JOSEPH, a Polish hero, born in Galicia; fought against
Russia under Napoleon; was chosen Dictator in 1830, but was forced to
resign; fought afterwards in the ranks, and was severely wounded
(1771-1854).
CHLORAL, a colourless narcotic liquid, obtained at first by the
action of chlorine on alcohol; treated with water it produces _chloral
hydrate_.
CHLORINE, elementary, greenish-yellow gas obtained from common salt;
powerful as a disinfectant, and a bleaching agent.
CHLORIS, the wife of Zephyrus, the goddess of flowers.
CHLOROFORM, a limpid, volatile liquid, in extensive use as an
anaesthetic; produced by treating alcohol with chloride of lime.
CHLOROPHYLL, the green colouring matter in plants, especially the
leaves; due to the presence and action of light.
CHLOROSIS, green sickness, a disease incident to young females at a
critical period of life, causing a pale-greenish complexion.
CHOCOLATE, a paste made by grinding the kernels of cocoa-nuts.
CHOCKTAWS, or CHACTAWS, a tribe of American Indians, settled to
civilised life in the Indian Territory, U.S.; the Chactaw Indian, with
his proud array of scalps hung up in his wigwam, is, with Carlyle, the
symbol of the pride of wealth acquired at the price of the lives of men
in body and soul.
CHOISEUL, DUC DE, minister of Louis XV.; served his master in
various capacities; was rewarded with a peerage; effected many reforms in
the army, strengthened the navy, and aided in bringing about the family
compact of the Bourbons; exercised a great influence on the politics of
Europe; was nicknamed by Catharine of Russia _Le Cocher de l'Europe_,
"the Driver of Europe"; but becoming obnoxious to Mme. du Barry, "in whom
he would discern nothing but a wonderfully dizened scarlet woman," was
dismissed from the helm of affairs, Louis's "last substantial man"
(1719-1795).
CHOISY, ABBE, a French writer, born in Paris; author of a "History
of the Church" (1644-1724).
CHOLERA MORBUS, an epidemic disease characterised by violent
vomiting and purging, accompanied with spasms, great pain, and debility;
originated in India, and has during the present century frequently spread
itself by way of Asia into populous centres of both Europe and America.
CHOLET (15), a French manufacturing town, 32 m. SW. of Angers.
CHOLULA, an ancient city, 60 m. SE. of Mexico; the largest city of
the Aztecs, with a pyramidal temple, now a Catholic church.
CHOPIN, a musical composer, born near Warsaw, of Polish origin; his
genius for music early developed itself; distinguished himself as a
pianist first at Vienna and then in Paris, where he introduced the
mazurkas; became the idol of the _salons_; visited England twice, in 1837
and 1848, and performed to admiration in London and three of the
principal cities; died of consumption in Paris; he suffered much from
great depression of spirits (1809-1849).
CHORLEY (23), a manufacturing town in N. Lancashire, 25 m. NE. of
Liverpool, with mines and quarries near it.
CHORUS, in the ancient drama a group of persons introduced on the
stage representing witnesses of what is being acted, and giving
expression to their thoughts and feelings regarding it; originally a band
of singers and dancers on festive occasions, in connection particularly
with the Bacchus worship.
CHOSROES I., surnamed the Great, king of Persia from 531 to 579, a
wise and beneficent ruler; waged war with the Roman armies successfully
for 20 years. CH. II., his grandson, king from 590 to 625; made
extensive inroads on the Byzantine empire, but was defeated and driven
back by Heraclius; was eventually deposed and put to death.
CHOUANS, insurrectionary royalists in France, in particular
Brittany, during the French Revolution, and even for a time under the
Empire, when their head-quarters were in London; so named from their
muster by night at the sound of the _chat-huant_, the screech-owl, a
nocturnal bird of prey which has a weird cry.
CHRETIEN, or CHRESTIEN, DE TROYES, a French poet or trouvere
of the last half of the 12th century; author of a number of vigorously
written romances connected with chivalry and the Round Table.
CHRIEMHILDE, a heroine in the "Niebelungen" and sister of Gunther,
who on the treacherous murder of her husband is changed from a gentle
woman into a relentless fury.
CHRISAOR, the sword of Sir Artegal in the "Faerie Queene"; it
excelled every other.
CHRIST CHURCH, a college in Oxford, founded by Wolsey 1525; was
Gladstone's college and John Ruskin's, as well as John Locke's.
CHRISTABEL, a fragmentary poem of Coleridge's; characterised by
Stopford Brooke as, for "exquisite metrical movement and for imaginative
phrasing," along with "Kubla Khan," without a rival in the language.
CHRISTADELPHIANS, an American sect, called also Thomasites, whose
chief distinctive article of faith is conditional immortality, that is,
immortality only to those who believe in Christ, and die believing in
him.
CHRISTCHURCH (16), capital of the province of Canterbury, New
Zealand, 5 m. from the sea; Littleton the port.
CHRISTIAN, the name of nine kings of Denmark, of whom the first
began to reign in 1448 and the last in 1863, and the following deserve
notice: CHRISTIAN II., conquered Sweden, but proving a tyrant, was
driven from the throne by Gustavus Vasa in 1522, upon which his own
subjects deposed him, an act which he resented by force of arms, in which
he was defeated in 1531, his person seized, and imprisoned for life;
characterised by Carlyle as a "rash, unwise, explosive man" (1481-1559).
CHRISTIAN IV., king from 1588 to 1648; took part on the Protestant
side in the Thirty Years' War, and was defeated by Tilly; he was a good
ruler, and was much beloved by his subjects; was rather unsteady in his
habits, it is said (1577-1648). CHRISTIAN IX., king from 1863; son
of Duke William of Sleswick-Holstein, father of the Princess of Wales,
George I., king of Greece, and the dowager Empress of Russia; _b_. 1818.
CHRISTIAN CONNECTION, a sect in the United States which acknowledges
the Bible alone as the rule of faith and manners.
CHRISTIAN KING, THE MOST, a title of the king of France conferred by
two different Popes.
CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING (S. P. C. K.), a religious
association in connection with the Church of England, under the patronage
of the Queen and the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
established 1698, the object of which is to disseminate a knowledge of
Christian doctrine both at home and abroad by means of churches, schools,
and libraries, and by the circulation of Bibles and Christian literature.
CHRISTIANIA (130), the capital of Norway, romantically situated at
the head of Christiania Fiord; the residence of the king and the seat of
government; a manufacturing and trading city, but it is blocked up
against traffic for four months in the year.
CHRISTIANITY, BELIEF (q. v.) that there is in Christ, as in
no other, from first to last a living incarnation, a flesh and blood
embodiment, for salvation of the ever-living spirit of the ever-living
God and Father of man, and except that by eating His flesh and drinking
His blood, that is, except by participating in His divine-human life, or
except in His spirit, there is no assurance of life everlasting to any
man; but perhaps it has never been defined all round with greater brevity
and precision than it is by Ruskin in his "Praeterita," under the
impression that the time is come when one should say a firm word
concerning it: "The total meaning of it," he says, "was, and is, that the
God who made earth and its creatures, took, at a certain time upon the
earth, the flesh and form of man; in that flesh sustained the pain and
died the death of the creature He had made; rose again after death into
glorious human life, and when the date of the human race is ended, will
return in visible human form, and render to every mail according to his
work. _Christianity is the belief in, and love of, God thus manifested_.
Anything _less_ than this," he adds, "the mere acceptance of the sayings
of Christ, or assertion of any less than divine power in His Being, may
be, for aught I know, enough for virtue, peace, and safety; but they do
not make people Christians, or enable them to understand the heart of the
simplest believer in the old doctrine."
CHRISTIANSAND (12), a town and seaport in the extreme S. of Norway,
with a considerable trade.
CHRISTIE, WILLIAM HENRY MAHONEY, astronomer-royal, born at Woolwich,
of Trinity College, Cambridge; author of "Manual of Elementary
Astronomy"; _b_. 1845.
CHRISTINA, queen of Sweden, daughter and only child of Gustavus
Adolphus; received a masculine education, and was trained in manly
exercises; governed the country well, and filled her court with learned
men, but by-and-by her royal duties becoming irksome to her, she declared
her cousin as her successor, resigned the throne, and turned Catholic;
her cousin dying, she claimed back her crown, but her subjects would not
now have her; she stayed for a time in France, but was obliged to leave;
retired to Rome, where she spent 20 years of her life engaged in
scientific and artistic studies, and died (1628-1689).
CHRISTINA, MARIA, daughter of Francis I. of Naples, and wife of
Ferdinand VII. of Spain, on whose death she acted for four years as
regent, during the infancy of her daughter Isabella (1806-1878).
CHRISTISON, SIR ROBERT, toxicologist, born at Edinburgh, and
professor, first of Medical Jurisprudence and then of Materia Medica, in
his native city; wrote a "Treatise on Poison," a standard work
(1797-1882).
CHRISTMAS, the festival in celebration of the birth of Christ now
celebrated all over Christendom on 25th December, as coinciding with an
old heathen festival celebrated at the winter solstice, the day of the
return of the sun northward, and in jubilation of the prospect of the
renewal of life in the spring.
CHRISTOLOGY, the department of theology which treats of the person
of Christ.
CHRISTOPHE, HENRI, a negro, born in Grenada; one of the leaders of
the insurgent slaves in Hayti, who, proving successful in arms against
the French, became king under the title of Henry I., but ruling
despotically provoked revolt, and shot himself through the heart; he was
a man of powerful physique; _b_. 1820.
CHRISTOPHER, ST., (the Christ-Bearer), according to Christian legend
a giant of great stature and strength, who, after serving the devil for a
time, gave himself up to the service of Christ by carrying pilgrims
across a bridgeless river, when one day a little child, who happened to
be none else than Christ Himself, appeared to be carried over, but,
strange to say, as he bore Him across, the child grew heavier and
heavier, till he was nearly baffled in landing Him on the opposite shore.
The giant represented the Church, and the increasing weight of the child
the increasing sin and misery which the Church has from age to age to
bear in carrying its Christ across the Time-river; the giant is
represented in art as carrying the infant on his shoulder, and as having
for staff the stem of a large tree.
CHRISTOPHER NORTH, the name assumed by JOHN WILSON (q. v.)
in _Blackwood's Magazine_.
CHRISTOPHER'S, ST., (30), popularly called _St. Kitts_, one of the
Leeward Islands, discovered by Columbus (1493), who named it after
himself; belongs to England; has sugar plantations.
CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, the Blue-Coat School, London, was founded in
1547, a large institution, on the foundation of which there are now 2170
pupils instead of 1200 as formerly; entrance to it is gained partly by
presentation and partly by competition, and attached are numerous
exhibitions and prizes; among the _alumni_ have been several noted men,
such as Bishop Stillingfleet, Coleridge, Leigh Hunt, and Charles Lamb.
CHROMATICS, that department of optics which treats of colours, and
resolves the primary colours into three--red, yellow, and blue.
CHRONICLERS, THE RHYMING, a series of writers who flourished in
England in the 13th century, and related histories of the country in
rhyme, in which the fabulous occupies a conspicuous place, among which
Layamon's "Brut" (1205) takes the lead.
CHRONICLES I. and II., two historical books of the Old
Testament, the narratives of which, with additions and omissions, run
parallel with those of Samuel and Kings, but written from a priestly
standpoint, give the chief prominence to the history of Judah as the
support in Jerusalem of the ritual of which the priests were the
custodians; Ezra and Nehemiah are continuations.
CHRYSEIS, the daughter of Chryses, priest of Apollo, a beautiful
maiden who fell among the spoils of a victory to Agamemnon, and became
his slave, and whom he refused to restore to her father until a deadly
plague among the Greeks, at the hands of Apollo, whose priest her father
was, compelled him to give her up.
CHRYSIPPUS, a Greek philosopher, born at Soli, in Cilicia, and lived
in Athens; specially skilled in dialectic; the last and greatest
expounder and defender of the philosophy of the Stoa, so pre-eminent,
that it was said of him, "If Chrysippus were not, the Stoa were not"; is
said to have written 705 books, not one of which, however, has come down
to us save a few fragments (280-208 B.C.). See STOICISM.
CHRYSOLO`RAS, a Grecian scholar, born at Constantinople, left his
native country and lived in Florence, where he, in the 14th century,
became a teacher of Greek literature, and contributed thereby to the
revival of letters in Italy; _d_. 1415.
CHRYSOSTOM, ST. JOHN, that is, Mouth of Gold, so called from his
eloquence, born at Antioch; converted to Christianity from a mild
paganism; became one of the Fathers of the Church, and Patriarch of
Constantinople; he was zealous in suppressing heresy, as well as
corruption in the Church, and was for that reason thrice over subjected
to banishment; in the course of the third of which and while on the way,
he died, though his remains was brought to Constantinople and there
deposited with great solemnity; he left many writings behind
him--sermons, homilies, commentaries, and epistles, of which his
"Homilies" are most studied and prized (347-407). Festival, Jan. 27.
CHUBB, THOMAS, an English Deist, born near Salisbury; he regarded
Christ as a divine teacher, but held reason to be sovereign in matters of
religion, yet was on rational grounds a defender of Christianity; had no
learning, but was well up in the religious controversies of the time, and
bore his part in them creditably (1679-1746).
CHUNDER SEN, one of the founders of the BRAHMO-SOMAJ (q. v.);
he visited Europe in 1870, and was welcomed with open arms by the
rationalist class of Churchmen and Dissenters.
CHUQUISA`CA (20), (i. e. Bridge of Gold), the capital of Bolivia,
in a sheltered plain 9000 ft. above the sea-level; is a cathedral city;
has a mild climate; it was founded in 1538 by the Spaniards on the site
of an old Peruvian town.
CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM, dean of St. Paul's, born in Lisbon; a
scholarly man; distinguished himself first as such by his "Essays and
Reviews," wrote thoughtful sermons, and "A Life of Anselm," also essays
on eminent men of letters, such as Dante, Spenser, and Bacon (1815-1890).
CHURCH, STATES OF THE, the Papal States, extending irregularly from
the Po to Naples, of which the Pope was the temporal sovereign, now part
of the kingdom of Italy.
Back to Full Books
|