[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 littérateur, 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 littérateur 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 École Militaire and the left bank of the Seine; the site of recent Expositions, and the scene of the Federation Féte, 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).