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CHANNING

367

CHARITY, SISTERS OP

fine breeds of Alderney and Jersey cattle come from here.

Chaining, William Ellery, a great American preacher and writer, was born on April 7, 1780, at Newport, Rhode Island. He graduated from Harvard in 1798, and preached first as pastor of a Congregational church in Boston. Here his sermons soon-became famous for their fervor, solemnity and beauty. He gradually drifted toward the Unitarian creed. His interest was not confined to religion alone, for he advocated temperance and education and was opposed to war and slavery. He stands high also as an essayist. Among his most popular essays are those on National Literature, John Milton, Fenelon and Self-Culture. He died at Bennington, Vermont, Oct. 2,1842.

Chantilly (shan-te-yef}, a town in France, in the department of the Oise, 25 miles north-northeast of Paris, noted for its fine lace-manufactures. The famous races of the French Jockey Club are held here. Here was the magnificent palace of the great Conde, which was destroyed during the Revolution. The Due d'Aumale, in 1850, built a fine castle here, which, with its domains about it, he presented in 1887 to the French Institute. Population, 4,500.

Chapleau, Hon. Joseph Adolphe, was born in Terrebonne (Quebec), in 1840. He was called to the bar in 1861, and was created an officer of the Legion of Honor (France) in 1882. A professor, in Laval University, of Criminal Jurisprudence. He was solicitor-general under Mr. Ouimet in 1873, was appointed provincial secretary, 1876, and in 1879 was premier of 8uebec. Appointed Secretary of State in anada in 1882. He was elected to the parliament of Canada in 1867, 1871 and 1875, and was elected for Terrebonne in the House of Commons in 1882. He was a very prominent and influential French Canadian for at least a quarter of a century. His death occurred in 1889.

Chapultepec (chd-pool'td-pek'), a Mexican fortress, built on a rock 150 feet high, about two miles from the city of Mexico. On Sept. 8, 1847, General Scott first stormed Molino del Rey, an old powder-mill in rear of the fortress and then, September 12, brought four batteries to bear on Chapultepec from the opposite ridge. After cannonading a day and a half, attacks on the two sides were made at the same time, which carried the castle, with slight loss to the Americans. This victory threw open the causeway leading to the city, and, the day after, United States troops occupied the Mexican capital. To-day Chapultepec is occupied as the summer residence of the president of Mexico, General Diaz; it is the seat also of an observatory and a military school.

Characeae (ka-ra? se-e). A group of aquatic plants, commonly called stone-

worts and usually included among the green alga3 (chlorophycecE). They have no other coloring matter than chlorophyll, but they are so different from the other green algas that it is doubtful whether they should be included with them. They are more complex than the other algae, growing in fresh or brackish waters and being fixed to the bottom. They often form great masses, even choking up shallow, ponds. They are coarse, thready and branching growths, whose walls become incrusted with a deposit of lime, which makes them harsh and brittle and suggests the common name, stoneworts.

Char'coal. Animal charcoal is made from bones by heating in a closed vessel or retort, when the gases, water-vapor and oil are given off, and bone-black, mainly carbon, remains. It is seen usually in coarse grains, from the size of peas to pin-heads, and is used mostly in removing colors from liquids. Syrup of sugar, for example, is allowed to drip through a layer of bone-black; all color is held by the charcoal and the syrup runs through clear and colorless. This is due to the charcoal's earthy matter and also to its being porous. Bone-black is also used to absorb disagreeable smells. Wood-charcoal is one of the most important varieties of carbon. Wood consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. When heated in the open air, it burns away, except a small white ash; but if the air is partially cut off, only the gaseous matters escape, leaving the carbon. Billets of wood are stood on end in rows, making a large cone-like heap, which is covered with turf or moistened charcoal ashes, and holes left at the bottom for air to get in. An open space for a chimney is also left at the top, and the wood burns slowly from top to bottom and from center to outside. When fully burned, the heap is covered and left to cool two or three days. One hundred parts of wood average 24 parts by weight of charcoal. Charcoal is black and brittle, and keeps its wood-form. It is never pure carbon, usually from 65 to 96 per cent. Charcoal is largely used as a fuel, in some countries taking the place of coal. Its use in the reduction of iron-ore is important. Fence posts, telegraph poles and piles driven in mud or beds of rivers for foundations are often charred on the outside to preserve them from decay. It is also used in water filters, for tooth powder and as a medicine.

Chares of Lindus, the Rhodian sculptor. See COLOSSUS OF RHODES.

Charity, Sisters of, an organization usually consisting of nuns or celibate women, founded by St. Vincent de Paul near Paris about the year 1633. The object of the sisterhood was to take care of the poor, especially the sick, and to educate children. Prisons, free schools, hospitals and alms-houses were at once placed under their care.