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Medals, in regard they know the feveral Changes in Value they have undergone ; which are exprefs'd by thofe Counter- Marks.
Antiquaries, however, are not well agreed about the Sig- nification of the Characters they find on 'em. On fome, N.PROB. on others, N.CAPR. on others CAIR, RM, MT, AUG. SC. Some have for their Counter-Mark an Emperor's Head ; fome feveral ; fome a Cornucopia.
Care mult be taken not to confound the Monograms with the Countermarks : The Method of diftinguifhing them is eafy. The Counter-Marks being ftruck after the Medal, are dented or funk in ; whereas the Monograms being ftruck at the fame time with the Medals, have rather a little Relievo. See Monogram.
Counter-Poison, an Antidote, or Remedy, which pre- vents the Effect of Poifon. See Antidote, and Poison.
Of this Kind are Treacle, Mithridate, and Orvietan. See
MlTHRlDATE, l$C.
Counter-poifons are either general, or fpccipZc : General Counter-jPoifons are Angelica, Rice, Carduus Benediclus, the Vincctoxicum, Dittany, Scorzonera, Citrons, Bezoar, Hartf- horn, i£c.
The Spccificks arc thofe that follow ; Citron-Bark, v. g. is a Counter poifon to Nux Vomica 5 Venice-Treacle ro the Bite of a Viper ; Oil of Scorpion, to the Bite of Scorpions; Oil of Pine-Apples, to Orpi ment ■ Gentian, to the Cicuta, £fV. Vender Linden, in his Treatife de Venenis, fays, that in every puttid Indifpofition, whether arifing from the Bite of venomous Beafts, or from an Akali form'd by Putrefaction, Vinegar drank is fovereign, cither Simple ordiftill'd 5 either with Honey in form of Oximcl, or with Sea-Onion.
Counter-poise, any thing ferving to weigh againft ano- ther ; particularly a piece of Metal, ordinarily Brafs or Iron, making a Part of the Statera Romana, or Stilyard. See Stater a.
It is made to Aide along the Beam ; and from the Divi- sion in which it keeps the Balance in Equilibrio, the Weight of the Body is determin'd. See Balance.
It is alfo call'd the Pear, on account of its Figure 5 and Mafs, by reafon of its Weight.
Rope-Dancers ule a Pole by way of Count er-poife, to keep their Bodies in Equilibrio.
COUNTERFORTS, Suttrejjl-s, Spurs, are Pillars of Ma- fonry, ferving to prop or fuftain Walls or Tcrraffes, fubjeft to buldgc, or be thrown down. See Buttress.
Thefe Works are ufually bent into Arches, and placed at a diftance from each other.
When any thing is built on the Defccnt of a Mountain, it mud be ftrengthen'd with Counterforts well bound to the Wall, and at the Diftance of about twelve Yards from each other.
COUNTERMAND, a Revocation of an Order ; or an Excufe for Setting aSide, or deferring a Confignment.
A Countermand differs from an Effoign, firft, in that in the Countermand, the Confignment is propos'd to be defer'd to a Day certain, which is not in the Effoign. 2d, In the Effoign, the Caufe of deferring the Confignment is exprefs'd and affirm'd to be true, but in a Countermand that Affir- mation is not requir'd. See Essoign.
Countermand, is alfo where a thing formerly executed is afterward, by fome Act or Ceremony, made void by the Party that firft did it. As, if a Man make his Laft Will, and devife his Land to T. S. and afterwards enfeoffs another of the fame Land 5 this Feoffment is a Countermand of the Will, and the Will void as to the Difpofition of the Land. COUNTING, or COMPTING-HOUSE, in the King's Koufhold, an Office wherein account is daily taken of the Expcnces, £5?c. of the Houftiold ; Provisions made for the fame ; as alfo Payments, and Orders for the well-governing of the Servants. See Houshold.
The principal Officer hereof, is the Lord Steward ; under whom are the Treafurer, Comptroller, Cofferer, Mafter of the Houftiold, Clerks of the Green Cloth, and Clerks Con- trollers. See Steward, Z£c.
In the Compting-Hoiife, is the Board of Green Cloth, which is a Court of Juftice. See Green-Cloth.
COUNTY, originally Signifies the Territory.xif a Count, or Earl See Count.
But now it is ufed in the fame Senfe with Shire ; the one Word coming from the French, the other from the Saxon. See Shire.
In this View, a County is a Circuit, or Portion of the Realm, inte 52 of which, the whole Land, England and Hales, is divided, for the better Government thereof, and more eafy Adminiftration of Juftice therein.
Thefe Counties are fubdivided into Rapes, Lathes, Wapen- takes, Hundreds; and thefe again into Tytbings. See Rape, Wapentake, Hundred, &c.
For the Execution of the Laws in the feveral Counties excepting Cumberland, Wejlmorland, and ^Durham, every Michaelmas Term, Officers are appointed, under the Deno- mination of Sheriffs. See Sheriff.
This Officer has a double Function ; firft, Minifleriat, to execute all Precedes and Precepts of the Courts of Law directed to him : and fecondly, Judicial ; whereby he has Authority to hold two Courts, the one call'd the Sheriff's- Tiirn, the other the County-Court. See Turn, andCouNTY- Court.
Other Officers of the feveral Counties, are, Lord Lieute- nant, who has the Command of the Militia of the County ■ Cuftodes Rotulorum, Juftices of 'Peace, Bailiffs, High Con- flable, and Coroner. See Lord Lieutenant, Militia, Gustos Rotulorum, Justice of the Peace, High Consta- ble, Bailiff, Coroner, £$c.
Of the 5« Counties, there are four of fpecial Note, which are therefore term'd Counties 'Palatine ; as, Lancafler, Chcfter, lJurham, and Ely : Pembroke alfo, and Hexam were antiently Counties Palatine ; which laft belong'd to the Archbiftiop of Tork, and was ftripp'd of its Privilege in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, and redue'd to be a Part of the County of Northumberland. See Palatine.
The Chief Governours of thefe Counties Palatine, here- tofore, by a fpecial Charter from the King, fent out all Writs in their own Names ; and, touching Juftice, did all Things as abfolutely as the King himfelf in other Counties; only acknowledging him their Superior and Governour. But in Henry Vlll's Time, the faid Power was much abridg'd.
CovNTY-Corporate, is a Title given to feveral Cities, or antient Boroughs, on which the Englijh Monarchs have thought fit to beftow extraordinary Privileges ; annexing ro them a particular Territory, Land, or Jurifdiftion.
The Chief of thefe is the famous City of London ; with Tork, Canterbury, Sriftol, Chefter, Norwich ; the Town of Kingfton upon Hull, Neivcafile upon Tine, Haver ford- Weji in Wales, &c.
Covurt-Court, is a Court of Juftice held in each County by the Sheriff thereof, every Month. See Sheriff.
This County Court had antiently the Cognizance of Mat- ters of great Moment ; but was much abridg'd by Magna Cham, and more 1 Edix. IV. but has ftill the Determina. tion ot Debts and Trefpaffes under forty Shillings.
In effect, till the Courts at Weftminfier were erefled, the County-Courts were the chief Courts of the Kingdom. See Court.
Among the Laws of K. Edgar is this, viz. Let there be two County-Courts in a Year, and let there be prefent a Biftiop, and an Alderman or Earl ; one whereof Shall judge according to the Common Law, the other according to the Ecclefiaftical Law. The Conjunction of thefe two Powers to aflift each other, is as antient as the Englijb Government it felf.
They were firft feparated by William the Conqueror, who brought all the Ecclefiaftical Bufinefs into a Conliftory, erec- ted for that Purpofe ; (fee Consistory:) and the Law-Bu- finefs into the Iving's-Bench. See King's-Bench.
COUPED, Coupe, in Heraldry, expreffes a Head, Limb, or other Thing in an Efcutcheon which is borne as if cut, clear and even off, from the Trunk ; in opposition to its being for- cibly torn off which they call Erajed. See Erased.
Thus, the Arms of Ulfter, which all Baronets carry, is a Dexter-Hand couped, or cut off at the Wrift.
Coufed is alfo ufed to denote fuch Croffes, Bars, Bends, Chevrons, \£c. as do not touch the Sides of the Efcutcheon, but are as it were cut off from 'em,
COUPEE, a Motion in Dancing, wherein one Leg is a little bent, and fufpended from the Ground 5 and with the other a Motion is made forwards. The Word, in the original French, Signifies a Cut. COUPLE Clofe, in Heraldry, the fourth Part of a Chev- ron. Thefe are never born but in Pairs, except a Chevron be between them, faith Guillim ; tho Shorn gives an In- stance to the contrary. See Chevron.
COUPLET, a Division of an Hymn, an Ode, Song, l$c. wherein, an equal Number, or an equal Meafure of Ver- fes are found in each Part.
In Odes, thefe Divisions are more ordinarily call'd Strophes. See Strophe. The Word is form'd from the Latin Copula. By an Abufe, Couplet is Sometimes ufed to fignify a Cou- ple of Vctfes.
COURANT, a Term ufed to exprefs the prefent Time : Thus, the Year 1725 is the Courant Year ; the 15th Cou- rant, the 1 5th Day of the Month now running.
With regard to Commerce, the Price Courant of any Merchandize, is the known and ordinary Price accuftom'd to be given for it.
The Word is alfo ufed for any thing that has Courfe, or is receiv'd in Commerce : In which Senfe, we fay, Courant or Current Coin, &c. See Current.
Courant is alfo a Term in Mufick and Dancing ; being ufed to exprefs both the Time or Air, and the Dance.
With regard to the firft, Courant or Currant is a Piece of Mufick in triple Time : The Air of the Courant is ordinarily noted in Triples of Minims ; the Parts to be repeated twice.
It
