Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/1021

CET  in 1776. His Anacreontic poems—the first of their kind—have been highly admired; and several of his comedies in the old manner are remarkable, as marking the transition to a new school of poetry.—F. M. W.  CETRAS or GERAS, a mechanician of Chalcedon, celebrated for the improvements he effected in the construction of the ancient machine of war, the battering-ram, used for the purpose of effecting breaches in walls.  CEVALLOS,, a Spanish statesman, was born in 1764. After being employed as secretary to the embassy at Lisbon, he was appointed minister of foreign affairs, and discharged the duties of that office with great prudence and moderation. When Napoleon made known his designs upon Spain, Cevallos espoused the patriotic side, and took a prominent part in rousing the country against the aggressions of the French. After the return of Ferdinand he filled several high offices, and at one time possessed great influence with the king. He retired into private life in 1820, and died in 1840.—J. T.  CHABANNES: the name of an ancient family of Limousin in France. , Lord of Chartres, was killed at the battle of Agincourt in 1415. His second son—

, Grandmaster of France, Lord of La Palice and of Curton, &c., was born about 1400. He was one of those French captains, who by their bravery rendered signal service to their native country during the disastrous broils of the fifteenth century. He died in 1454.

, youngest son of Robert, lord of Chartres, grandmaster of France, Count of Dammartin, was born about 1411. Like his brother he signalized himself at the siege of Orleans in 1428, and assisted Joan of Arc in her campaigns against the English. He afterwards tarnished his reputation by becoming captain of a body of brigands called "the flayers," who wasted the country with fire and sword. Chabannes died in 1488, governor of the Isle of France and of Paris, leaving behind him a high reputation for bravery and military skill. It was this Chabannes who enjoyed for a long period, and abused at the court of Charles VII. that monstrous power, and that immunity from the consequences of mal-administration, which the king conceded to his favourite ministers.

, Lord of La Palice, Marshal of France, was born in the latter half of the fifteenth century. He was distinguished both for his valour and his fidelity to the service of his sovereign. He was, governor of Rubos, when that place was attacked by the Spaniards under the celebrated Gonsalvo; and having been severely wounded and taken prisoner in a sortie, was threatened with an ignominious death, unless he gave orders to his lieutenant to surrender the citadel. He was brought to the foot of the wall for this purpose; but instead of yielding to the threats of his captors, he exhorted the garrison to hold out to the last extremity. According to Arnaud, Chabannes was in consequence put to death; but this is a mistake. Gonsalvo, who could well appreciate such an instance of courage and fidelity, spared his life, and had him cured of his wounds. After his liberation Chabannes took a prominent part in the Italian wars of Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I., and contributed greatly to the victory of Ravenna in 1512, and of Marignano in 1515, which decided the fate of the whole duchy of Milan. He was taken prisoner by an Italian officer at the fatal battle of Pavia in 1525, which was fought against his earnest advice, and was brutally killed by a Spaniard.

, Lord of Vendenesse, brother of La Palice, was one of the most famous captains of his age, and, on account of his remarkable bravery, was surnamed "the Young Lion." At the battle of Agnadel he took prisoner the celebrated Venetian general, Alviano, and presented him to Louis XII. on the field of battle. He played a conspicuous part in the battle of Marignano. He was mortally wounded in the retreat of Rebec in 1524.

, Marquis de, was born in 1770; died in 1835. He quitted France on the breaking out of the Revolution, and joined the army of Condé. After this force was disbanded he retired to England, where he busied himself with projects for purifying charcoal, and lighting the city of London. On the repeal of the law against emigrants he returned to Paris, and devoted himself to the construction, on an improved principle, of carriages, which received the name of velocifers. On the restoration of the Bourbons, he returned to public life, and was elevated to the chamber of peers.—J. T.  CHABANON,, poet and musician, born at St. Domingo in 1730. He is best known through his own memoirs, which possess the interest that must ever attach to an account of personal experience, written with the warmth of one who sees the world through the medium of excited, even if erroneous feelings. In early life he was religious, even to fanaticism; and having devoted so many years to religion, and then so many to love, he gave up eight years to music, and three to literature, with a success which insured him admission into the Academy of inscriptions and the Academy of letters. His poetry is devoid of originality, and his dramatic efforts have not retained possession of the stage. His life is more interesting than his works. He died in June, 1792.—J. F. C.  CHABERT,, Marquis de, an eminent French admiral, astronomer, and geographer, born at Toulon in 1724; died at Paris in 1805. He made several voyages to America, with a view to rectifying the charts of Acadie and Newfoundland, and was long occupied with projects for obtaining correct charts of the Mediterranean. He served with the French fleet in the American war, and was for some time during the revolutionary period an exile in England, where he was honourably entertained by Dr. Maskelyne. On his return to France, Napoleon gave him a pension. He was a member of most of the learned societies of Europe.—J. S., G.  CHABOT,, one of the most cruel and corrupt of the French revolutionists, was born in 1759. He was originally a capuchin monk, but the perusal of the works of certain infidel philosophers converted him to atheism. In 1791 he was elected a member of the assembly, and at once took his seat among the extreme democrats. He was the instigator of not a few, and a strenuous promoter of all of the atrocious measures, adopted by the assembly during the frenzy of that terrible period. It was Chabot who was the author of the well-known blasphemous statement that "citizen Jesus Christ was the first sans-culotte of the world." He affected great severity of manners, and attended the convention in clothes made of the coarsest materials, his neck and breast bare, and his person filthy and squalid in the extreme. This ferocious monster was as notorious for his corruption as for his cruelty. In the end he became implicated in a conspiracy along with two profligate German barons named Frey, whose sister he married. His intrigues were detected, and finding death inevitable, he attempted to destroy himself by swallowing corrosive sublimate. His life, however, was prolonged in extreme torture for three days, and he was guillotined on the 5th of April, 1794.—J. T.  CHABOT,, Count of Charni and Busançois, known by the name of the Admiral de Brion. He was born about the end of the fifteenth century, and was educated along with Francis I., and several distinguished young nobles. In 1524 he threw himself into Marseilles, then besieged by the imperialists, whom he compelled to raise the siege. In 1535 he was intrusted with the management of the war against Savoy, and in a short time gained possession of nearly the whole of Piedmont; but he is said, through the influence of the cardinal of Lorraine, to have neglected to follow up his success. On his return to France he was mixed up with the intrigues of the court, and through the enmity of the constable De Montmorency, was arrested, brought to trial on the 3rd February, 1540, found guilty of various malversations, and condemned to pay a heavy fine, to banishment, and the confiscation of his goods. Francis, however, was induced to pardon Chabot, through the entreaties of the duchess d'Étampes, and to reinstate him in all his employments. In a short time after, the constable was in turn disgraced, and Chabot and the cardinal de Bourbon were appointed to succeed him in his offices. Chabot was the author of the project to colonize Canada. He died in 1543.—J. T. <section end="1021H" /> <section begin="1021I" />CHABOT, a distinguished French lawyer, born in 1758. He was admitted a councillor of the parliament of Paris in 1783. He was president of the tribunate when the peace of Amiens was concluded, and energetically supported the elevation of Napoleon to the imperial throne. Chabot was nominated inspector-general of schools of law in 1806, member of the legislative body in 1807, and councillor of the court of appeal in 1809. On the downfall of Napoleon, he was confirmed in all his offices by Louis XVIII. He died in 1819, leaving some legal dissertations.—J. T. <section end="1021I" /> <section begin="1021Zcontin" />CHABREY or CHABRÉE,, called also , a physician and botanist, was born at Geneva towards <section end="1021Zcontin" />