CHASSEUR 438 chIteaxt-thierry can school, he was particularly success- ful as a teacher. He died in 1916. CHASSEUR (shas-er') a male at- tendant upon persons of distinction, at- tired in a military dress, and wearing a sword. It is also the name given by the French to bodies of light infantry which act as skirmishers and sharpshooters. The name was originally given to some troops raised in 1815, in imitation of the Jagei-s of the Austrian army, who were chiefly Tyrolese chamois-hunters, and unerring marksmen. The French Chas- seurs are of two kinds, light cavalry and infantry. The Chasseurs of the Italian army are called Bersaglieri. CHASTELARD, or CHASTELET, PIERRE DE BOSCOSEL (shat-lar'), a French poet, nephew of the Chevalier Bayard, born about 1540. He was one of the French gentlemen who accom- panied Mary Stuart on her return to her native country. The young and handsome poet fell in love with the beau- tiful queen, and in his madness, believ- ing that his addresses were encouraged, he invaded the bedroom of Mary, was discovered, and ordered to quit the court. Chastelard, however, again concealed himself, Feb. 14, 1563, within a recess in the bedroom of Mary, at Burntisland. For this offense, he was brought publicly to trial at St. Andrew's, sentenced to death, and hanged; the queen remaining inaccessible to all appeals for mercy on his behalf. CHATEAU, CHATEL, or CASTEL (sha-to'), from the Lat. castellum, "a, fort," enters as a component part into many names of places in France. A "chateau en Espagne" is a castle in the air. The word is also applied to the resi- dences of feudal lords and, in France, to country estates in general, CHATJiiAUBRIAND, FRANCOIS RENlfe AUGUSTE, VICOMTE DE' (sha- to-bre-on'), a French statesman, trav- eler, novelist, and historical writer, born in St. Malo, Sept. 14, 1768. He made a voyage in search of the Northwest Pas- sage in 1791 ; but on touching the Ameri- can continent abandoned that quest, and proposed to himself a study of the life of the American Indians. He lived for some time among the aborigines, and the fruits of his observations were the three novels "Atala," "Rene," and "The Natchez," which by the charms of the lit- erary style and the interesting poetical descriptions of life remote from civiliza- tion, won instant and great popularity. Perhaps his greatest and certainly his most ambitious work is "The Genius of Christianity" (5 vols., 1856-1857). Of ■works connected with literature and its history he wrote "An Essay on English Literature" and translated Milton's "Paradise Lost." He died in Paris, July 4, 1848. CHATEAU-THIERRY, a French town on the right bank of the Marne in the department of the Aisne, 59 miles N. E. of Paris. It is notable as being the birthplace of La Fontaine and the scene of a battle in which Napoleon de- feated the Prussians and Russians, Feb. 12, 1814. During the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the German Emperor made the town for a time his headquarters. "^ It is a center of the wine trade and its chief manufactures are woolen yarn, mu- sical and scientific instruments. Stone is extensively quarried. Its population preceding the World War was 7,771. The name of Chateau-Thierry will ever be associated in American mir ' ; with the memorable deeds done there by United States troops in the World War. On May 31, 1918, American machine gun units were hurried in motor lorries to the town, the outskirts of which had already been reached by the advancing Germans. The little city lay on both sides of the Marne, which was spanned by a long bridge. To the north, there was a canal, running parallel with the river and crossed by a smaller bridge. On June 1 the Germans drove a gap through the Allied lines to the left of the town and poured through the streets toward the main bridge, intending to cross the river and establish themselves on the opposite bank. The French colo- nials an^ the Americans were sent for- , ward to repel the attack. The Ameri- t cans defended the bridge, and working . % with coolness and precision, though most of them were under fire for the first time, they raked the enemy line so ef- fectively that the Germans wavered and retreated. The next night under cover of darkness they made another attempt, but were again met with a devastating fire from the American machine guns. Some of them persisted, however, and were on the bridge when it was blown up, throwing many into the river, while those who remained on the south side of the shattered structure were immedi- ately taken prisoner. All subsequent at- tempts to cross the river were nullified by a storm of machine gun fire, and the enemy finally abandoned the attempt after suffering heavy casualties. Again in the Chateau-Thierry region, at Jaulgonne and Dormans, the Ameri- cans were the principal factor in check- ing the thrust of the German Crown Prince at Paris. It was the last great effort of the German offensive. On July 15 the enemy launched a terrific at- (
