Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/145

 CAULAINCOURT and according to Grose, the health of the per- son born with it could in after life be judged of by its condition, whether dry and crisp, or relaxed and flaccid. Medicinal virtues are probably ^till imputed to it by the ignorant, as is the property of preserving the owner of it from drowning. C.U'LAI.V I'OIUT, Armand Angustin Louis de, duke of Vicenza, a French general and diplomatist, born at Caulaincourt, near Saint-Quentin, in 1773, died in Paris, Feb. 19, 1827. His father, the marquis of Caulaincourt, was a general officer, and the son served in the army from an early age, both in the ranks, under the con- scription, and as a staff officer. He was im- prisoned for a time after 1792, but followed Gen. Aubert du Bayet to Constantinople in 1797, and made the campaign of 1800 under Gen. Moreau, and those of 1805, 1806, and 1807 under Napoleon. Upon the accession of the emperor Alexander in 1801, he was sent as diplomatic agent to St. Petersburg. He was afterward appointed by Napoleon grand equerry and duke of Vicenza, and in 1807 was sent as ambassador to Russia, in the place of the duke of Kovigo. Being suspected of complicity in the death of the duke d'Enghien, he was coldly received by the Russian nobility, until Alex- ander wrote him a letter declaratory of his innocence, and gave him special marks of per- sonal esteem. He subsequently disapproved of the foreign policy of Napoleon, and in 1811 asked to be recalled. He also opposed the in- vasion of Russia. After the burning of Moscow Napoleon chose him as his companion on his flight to France. He was plenipotentiary to the allied sovereigns during the campaign of Sax- ony, signed the armistice of Plaswitz, June 4, 1813, and was appointed French plenipotentiary to the abortive congress of Prague. He was attached to the person of Napoleon in the cam- paign that followed. On April 5, 1813, he was made senator, and in September minister of foreign affairs, and in this capacity he went to the congress of Chatillon. When Napoleon seemed about to abdicate, Caulaincourt used his influence with the emperor Alexander to secure the best terms possible, and it is thought that the sovereignty of Elba was secured by his efforts. He signed the treaty of April 11, 1814, and retired to his country seat. On the return of Napoleon in 1815 he was again made minister of foreign affairs. His circular of April 3 to the French diplomats abroad represented the second accession of Napoleon in the best light, and gave assurance of respect for the rights of other nations. He took part in the delibera- tions of the two chambers in regard to the second abdication, and was a member of the commission of government which preceded the second return of Louis XVIII. His name was upon the list of July 24, but by the influ- ence of the emperor Alexander it was erased. From this time his life was wholly private, except that the old accusation of complicity in the death of the duke d'Enghien was revived ; CAULIFLOWER 137 upon which he published the letter of Alex- ander exonerating him. This accusation weighed upon him, and he referred to it in his will, protesting his entire innocence. He left unpublished memoirs, said to be of value. CAULIER, Madeleine, a French peasant girl who during the siege of Lille, Sept. 8. 1708, volunteered to penetrate into the city for the purpose of conveying an important order to Marshal Boufflers. She succeeded in her mis- sion through her brother, who was a soldier in the besieged army. Though Lille was obliged to capitulate (Oct. 23), the duke of Burgundy offered her a reward, which she declined; but she was permitted at her request to enlist in a regiment of dragoons. She displayed great gallantry, and fell in the battle of Denain, July 24, 1712. CAULIFLOWER (brassica oleracea lotrytis, De Candolle), a cultivated plant of the cabbage tribe. It has a compact rounded head of deli- cate flavor, standing on a stalk 18 to 26 inches in height, and surrounded by long leaves. The leaves are not closely packed as hi the cabbage. Cauliflower. / It is more tender than the cabbage, and in transplanting should have a ball of earth lifted with the roots to secure a continuous growth. In the vicinity of New York two crops are raised in the kitchen garden in one season. If the early cauliflower does not come to perfec- tion by the end of June, it will usually fail to head, from the excessive heat at that time. To obtain plants for this crop seeds should be sown in September in good soil, and in about four weeks transplanted to a cold frame, set two or three inches apart, and carefully protected by glass during the winter, being opened to the air only during warm days. In February they should be set into another frame, eight to twelve inches apart, to prevent a spindling growth. They should be transplanted as early in the spring as possible, at a distance of three feet from each other, and well watered and fre- quently hoed during the dry weather. At the time of heading, the larger leaves may be broken over the head to protect it from the sun, and the waterings should be frequent.