chancellor, the bishop of Fulda), the sons and grandsons of the king, the first prince of the blood, the orders of knighthood, the universities, &c., all had their chancellors. The German states began about the middle of the 15th century to appoint chancellors, whose duties are widely different, but are generally united with the office of president of the higher judicial and executive authorities. In Bavaria, for example, there were a chancellor of the privy council, and a court-chancellor, a chancellor of fiefs, and executive chancellors, in the different provinces. King Frederic II (the Great) of Prussia established, some years after his accession to the throne, in 1747, the office of a grand-chancellor and chef de justice for the famous Samuel de Cocceji, to whom he had committed the reform of the judiciary. He had several successors in this dignity, but it was finally abolished. In the Austrian monarchy there are three court-chanceries-1. the imperial-royal, at the head of which stand the high court-chancellor, with three other court-chancellors, viz., the Bohemian-Galician, the Lombardo-Venetian, and the Austrian-Illyrian; 2. the Hungarian; and, 3. the Transylvanian. In Austria, almost every office of importance is called a court office. The dignity of a privychancellor of the court and state was conferred, after a long interruption, on prince Metternich.

CHANCERY. (See Equity, Courts of.) CHANGES. (See Combination.)

CHANNEL, ENGLISH; the sea between England and France, the passage of which is often very tedious for vessels going from the Atlantic into the German ocean. (See Calais and Dover.)

CHANNELS, OF CHAIN-WALES, of a ship; broad and thick planks projecting horizontally from the ship's outside, abreast of and somewhat behind the masts. They are formed to extend the shrouds from each other, and form the axis or middle line of the ship, so as to give greater security and support to the masts, as well as to prevent the shrouds from damaging the gunwale, or being injured by rubbing against it.

CHANT. (See Church Music.)

CHANTREY, Francis; an English statuary. The opinion of English critics is not without foundation, that this artist, who was formed in the school of nature, and who has struck out a new career by the power of his own genius, has exercised a favorable influence on the improvement of sculpture in England. He was born in 1782, at Morton, a village on the

borders of Derbyshire. While a schoolboy, he made models in clay. His mother, the widow of a wealthy_farmer, had destined him for a lawyer. But the very day that he arrived at Sheffield, to enter his new school, he saw some images exhibited at the window of the sculptor and gilder Ramsay. That moment decided his destiny; and, in obedience to his impulse, he resolved to become an artist. He became a pupil of Ramsay, labored three years without cessation, designed and modelled every leisure moment, and studied from nature, but was obliged to conceal his productions from his dissatisfied master. In 1802, he went to London, where he became known by a successful bust of the celebrated Horne Tooke, in which he displayed the principles of a free, natural style. The city of London now intrusted him with the execution of the statue of George III; after the completion of which he prepared a design of a monument, to be erected on the shore of Yarmouth, in honor of Nelson; but the idea, in itself tasteless, of erecting the statue of the hero 130 feet high, with a star on his left breast (to be illuminated by night), as a Pharos, on a pier projecting far into the sea, and on a pedestal made of the bows of vessels taken from the enemy, was too gigantic to be executed. Chantrey's reputation was more increased by a group of two sisters (in the cathedral of Litchfield) embracing each other in the gentle slumber of death, whose childish forms exhibit repose and tranquillity in every outline and in every member; a kneeling female, lady St. Vincent, and a lively girl, standing on tiptoe, and caressing a dove in her bosom (the daughter of the duke of Bedford), placed at Woburn abbey, at the side of Canova's Graces. He has also executed several other monuments in St. Paul's church and other places. His latest productions are highly esteemed-the busts of Playfair, Walter Scott, Benjamin West, Wordsworth, &c. In 1814, Chantrey visited Paris, where he viewed the models of Italian sculpture, and afterwards travelled to Italy. He has, nevertheless, remained faithful to his original natural style. Ono of the last works of Chantrey is the statue of Washington, in the state-house at Boston. He has lately completed a bronze statue of Pitt, 12 feet high, in modern costume, for the city of London.

CHAOS; according to the signification of the word, the void which embraces all things. Hesiod mentions, as the original principles of all things, Chaos, Earth, Tar

tarus and Eros (Love); other ancient poets made Chaos alone the primeval source from which every thing is derived; others added to it Night, Erebus and Tartarus; and others still represented Chaos as the parent of the Earth and Heaven; after the production of which, Eros (Love) completed the creation. In later times, by chaos is understood the unformed primeval matter, of which every thing is made. Chaos, according to Hesiod, produced by and out of itself Erebus and Night, who, in turn, were the parents of Æther and Day.

CHAPEL HILL; a post-town in Orange county, North Carolina, near the head of New Hope creek, a branch of the Haw; 28 miles W.N. W. of Raleigh; lon. 79° 3' W.; lat. 35° 40 N. It has an elevated and healthy situation, and contains about 30 houses. The surrounding country is hilly, abounding in springs, and the soil is not remarkably fertile. This is the seat of the university of North Carolina, which was incorporated in 1793; and degrees were first conferred in 1797. The college buildings consist of a chapel, two spacious, edifices for the accommodation of students, all of brick, and a president's house. The funds consist of 30 or 40,000 dollars in bank stock, 50 or 60,000 acres of land, and all escheated property. There is a good chemical apparatus. The college library contains about 1800 volumes. The executive officers consist of a president, who is also professor of moral philosophy, and 4 professors, 1 of mathematics, 1 of chemistry, 1 of languages, and 1 of rhetoric; and 2 tutors.

CHAPELAIN, Jean, better known by an unsuccessful poem than many poets by successful ones, was born in Paris, Dec. 4, 1595. Marini, who went to Paris to have his Adonis printed there, induced him to write a preface to that poem, by which Chapelain attracted the notice of cardinal Richelieu. The latter, having the weakness to set up for a bel esprit, stood in need of a poet who would labor with him, and, at times, also, for him. Chapelain was possessed of talents and learning; he was obsequious and (which was the principal thing) discreet, and thus his fortune was made. He became one of the first members of the Académie Française, and was charged with the organization of that body. He received a large pension, and soon became the oracle of the French poets of that time. It would have been better, however, if he himself had not set up for a poet. His Maid of Orleans (Pucelle) was begun in 1630, and was, con

sequently, one of the first epic attempts in French literature. As it was announced 20 years before its publication, great expectations had been raised, which were by no means answered on its appearance (1656). In the first 18 months, indeed, six editions were rapidly sold; but it soon became an object of ridicule with the modern French poets, and sunk into oblivion. As a man, Chapelain was universally esteemed. He died Feb. 22, 1674. The most complete edition of his Pucelle (18 books) appeared at Geneva in 1762. The royal library in Paris contains all the 24 books in manuscript.

CHAPELLE (properly Claude Emanuel Luillier); so called from La Chapelle, a village near Paris, where he was born in 1626; one of the most amiable and pleasing of the French poets. His lively and convivial disposition, his wit and talents, procured him the friendship of persons the most distinguished for rank and learning: among the latter were Racine, Boileau, Molière, Lafontaine, Bernier, &c. The productions of Chapelle bear the stamp of his characteristic ease, gayety and wit. His description of a journey to Montpellier, Relation d' un Voyage fait en France (1662, 12mo.), written jointly with Bachaumont, is a model of ease and pleasantry. He also wrote many songs, sonnets and epistles. He possessed, in a remarkable degree, the talent of saying many witty things on a barren subject. He died in 1688.

CHAPLAIN properly signifies a person provided with a chapel, or who discharges the duties thereof. The name is applied to clergymen both in the Catholic and Protestant churches. The origin of the term is generally explained in the following manner: Bishop Martin (q. v.) is said to have worn a hood (capa) which was valued as possessing miraculous powers, and was, therefore, preserved, after his death, in a separate house, called, from this hood, capella (chapel), and the person stationed in the chapel to show it to pious spectators was termed chaplain. Charlemagne is said to have possessed St. Martin's hood among his relics, and to have erected a chapel, called by the name of St. Martin, in Germany, at the place where Fürth afterwards arose. This emperor is also related to have built similar chapels at Nuremberg and Altenfurt. Another less probable derivation deduces the word, indeed, from capella, but explains it to signify the box in which the first missionaries carried the requisites for celebrating the Supper, who were thence denominated chaplains.

CHAPPE D'AUTEROCHE, Jean, born in the year 1722, in Auvergne, took clerical orders, and devoted himself to the study of astronomy. In 1760, he was appointed academy observe

(q. v.) of Venus over the sun's disk, at Tobolsk (June 6, 1761). He had the good fortune to find the sky clear and serene at the time when he wished to make his observations. After an absence of two years, he returned, and published a narrative of his travels. Besides much valuable information, it contains many unfavorable remarks on Russia, so that the empress Catharine II herself wrote a reply to it, in a pamphlet, entitled Antidote contre le Voyage de l'Abbé Chappe. The same phenomenon, by which Chappe had been attracted to the north, prompted him, in 1769, at the suggestion of the academy, to undertake a voyage to California; but, before he could complete the object of his voyage, he died at St. Lucar, Aug. 1, 1769. His observations on this voyage have been published by C. F. Cassini, under the title Voyage de Californie (Paris, 1772, 4to.). They did not answer the expectations which had been entertained of them.

CHAPPE, Claude, nephew of Chappe d'Auteroche (q. v.), born in 1763, celebrated as the inventor of the telegraph, attracted notice, in his 20th year, by several valuable essays in the Journal de Physique. Wishing to communicate with his friends, who lived at the distance of several miles from him, he conceived the idea of conversing with them by means of signals; and his experiments for this purpose led him to his important invention. Having succeeded in erecting his machine on a large scale, he laid a description of the work, which he called telegraph, before the national assembly, in 1792. The establishment of the first telegraphic line was ordered in 1793: the first event communicated by it was the capture of Condé. The convention, having received this news at the opening of a session, forthwith decreed that Condé should be called, in future, Nordlibre, and was apprized, in the same sitting, that the edict had been delivered and published to the army.* The method of interchanging messages by signals was known to the ancients, and has been used by navigators from time im

The telegraph at Liverpool communicated intelligence to that at Holy Head, 156 miles distant, and received an answer, the whole within the period of 35 seconds. This is supposed to be the quickest interchange of communication that ever took place. Atlas (London paper), Sept. 27, 1829.

memorial. The tactician Eneas mentions several attempts to express the letters of the alphabet at a distance by signals; and, towards the end of 18th century,

The

of kind was mede-by Amoy tons. The system of the former, however, admits of only a very limited application; a whole night being hardly sufficient to compose two or three words according to his method. Amontons, who is generally placed among the inventors of the telegraphic art, left no sketch of the machine contrived by him. The problem, therefore, still remained to be solved. object was, to discover an expedient for conveying any information with despatch to any place and at any time. Chappe invented a machine, the signals of which are very distinct, while its motions are easy and simple. It may be erected at any place, defies every kind of weather, and, notwithstanding its simplicity, contains signs enough to convey any ideas, in such a way that not more than two signals are commonly necessary. The honor of this invention was contested by many persons. The chagrin which these disputes produced in the mind of Chappe threw him into a deep melancholy, and, in 1805, he put a period to his existence by precipitating himself into a well. His brother, Jean Joseph, became director of the telegraph in Paris.

CHAPTAL, Jean Antoine Claude, count of Chanteloup, peer of France, born in 1756, devoted himself to the study of medicine and the natural sciences. Having been long known as a distinguished physician, he rendered himself conspicuous as an adherent to the cause of the revolution, at the assault upon the citadel of Montpellier, in 1791. Being called to Paris, in 1793, on account of the scarcity of gun-powder, his chemical knowledge, and his activity in the enormous factory at Grenoble, enabled him to supply the necessary quantity, by the production of 3500 pounds every day. In 1794, he returned to Montpellier, received a place in the administration of the department of the Herault, and the professorship of chemistry, which had been founded there for him. In 1798, he was made a member of the Institute, favored the revolution of the 18th Brumaire (q. v.), was appointed by the first consul, in 1799, counsellor of state, and, in 1800, minister of the interior, in which post he encouraged the study of all the arts, and established a chemical manufactory in the neighborhood of Paris. In 1804, he fell into disgrace: the reason assigned is, that he refused to declare, in

whole, unite in an epigrammatic point. The most agreeable manner of expressing such conceits is in verse. Sometimes charades are proposed under the form of little stories, sonnets, &c.

CHARCOAL. (See Carbon.) To the information contained in the article Carbon, we will only add a fact lately announced in the scientific journals, that, in Picardy, and other provinces of France, where turf is almost exclusively used as fuel, the inhabitants, by means of a cheap apparatus, are able to carbonize it so as to render it equal to the best charcoal.

CHARDIN, Jean, son of a Protestant jeweller in Paris, and a jeweller himself, was born in 1643. Before he had reached his 22d year, his father sent him to the East Indies, in order to buy diamonds. After a short residence in Surat, Chardin lived six years in Ispahan, where he was less engaged in mercantile business than in profound studies and scientific researches, making use of his connexions at court for collecting the most authentic information of the political and military state of Persia. He collected the most valuable materials relating to antiquities and history. In 1670, he returned to France. Finding, however, that he could hope for no employment on account of his religion, he again left France for Persia, in 1671, taking with him a considerable quantity of jewels, &c. He spent 10 years partly in Persia and partly in India. In 1681, he arrived in London, where, soon after his arrival, Charles II bestowed on him the honor of knighthood. Chardin published the first volume of his travels, in London, in 1686. The other volumes were about to follow, when he was appointed minister plenipotentiary of the king of England to the states-general of Holland, and agent of the English East India company to the same. His new duties did not distract him from his favorite employment, so that, in 1711, two editions of his travels appeared. He soon after returned to England, where he died in 1713. The exactness and truth of his statements, and the extent of his knowledge, have been confirmed by all succeeding travellers. The best edition of Chardin's travels is that by Langlès, 1811, in 10 vols. 8vo., with an atlas in folio.

CHARENTE; a river in France, rising in the department of the Upper Vienne. It falls into the sea about 8 miles below Rochefort, opposite to the isle of Oleron, after a course of about 100 miles. It gives its name to a department. (See Departments.)

CHARENTON ; a market-town about three leagues and a half from Paris, on the road to Troyes and Lyons, at the confluence of the Marne with the Seine. To its situation, Charenton, which is a very busy and populous place, owes its numerous mercantile and manufacturing establishments. The bridge across the Marne must be considered as the key to Paris on this side; hence the memorable attacks upon it both in the civil wars of France, and in those with foreign enemies. In 865, the Normans made themselves masters of it, and destroyed it. In 1814, its possession was warmly contested. The students of the veterinary school at Alfort, in the neighborhood, had solicited from the government permission to defend this post against the advancing troops of Wirtemberg and Austria. was intrusted to them; but they were compelled to retire, after a heroic defence, before superior numbers. At PetitCharenton is the celebrated hospital for the insane, where many unfortunate individuals, of both sexes (usually 4-500), are treated with great care, in order to effect their cure: those who are declared incurable are sent to Bicètre. Here died, in 1813, Sade, the author of Justine, whom Napoleon, on account of this immoral and dangerous publication, had ordered to be treated as insane.

It

CHARETTE DE LA COUTRIE. (See Ven

dée.)

CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES. (See Minister, Foreign.)

CHARITY, brothers and sisters of. (See Fraternities.)

CHARKOW; capital of Slobodsk-Ukraine, in Russia, containing about 1500 houses, and nearly 15,000 inhabitants. It carries on considerable commerce, and four great fairs are held in the place every year. În 1803, the high school at Charkow was erected into a university, and several professors were invited thither from Germany. The emperor granted it an annual income of 130,000 paper-rubles, and, in addition to this, a donation of 400,000 rubles was offered by the nobility of the country for its organization, of which sum, however, the greater part was yet unpaid in 1809. The number of professors is 38, and that of the students about 300; 60 of whom are supported at the emperor's expense. The latter are bound, after leaving the university, to teach, for six years, in the schools within the district of the university, and are pretty arbitrarily sent, by the university, to those places in which they are to be employed.