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 270 CHAPTER CHARA him in charge of the saltpetre works of Gre- nelle. Returning to Montpellier, he was elect- ed member of the institute, and devoted him- self to science till Bonaparte summoned him to the council of state, where he had the super- vision of national education. When Lucien Bonaparte resigned the portfolio of the interior, Chaptal took his place as minister, and retained it for four years. He founded the conserva- tory, school of arts, and society for encourage- ment of industry, introduced the modern French system of weights and measures, established a model farm and a system of distribution of agricultural seeds, reorganized the prisons and hospitals, extended the network of high- ways over the country, and originated the plans of extension of the Louvre and rues de Rivoli and Castiglione, afterward completed by Na- poleon III. In whe midst of his usefulness a misunderstanding arose between him and Na- poleon ; some accounts say, because Chaptal refused to report in favor of beet-root over cane sugar, while oth- ers assert that it was on account of the ac- tress Mile. Bourgoin, to whom both emperor and minister paid their addresses. A recon- ciliation afterward took place, and the ex-min- ister was made count, senator, and grand offi- cer of the legion of honor. On Napoleon's return from Elba, the count Avas appointed director general of com- merce and manufac- tures. Louis XVIII. struck him from the list of peers, but left him on the roll of the academy. He was however re- stored to the chamber of peers in 1819. His works are all on chemical subjects, and may yet be consulted with advantage, especially his Chimie appliquee aux arts (4 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1806), and Chimie appliquee d V agri- culture (2 vols. 8vo, 1823). CHAPTER) tho community of canons or preb- endaries attached to a cathedral or collegiate church, and presided over by a dean. (See CANON.) They govern the diocese during the vacancy of the see, in some countries have the right of choosing the bishop, and act as his advisers. In England the appointing privilege was assumed by Henry VIII. as a royal pre- rogative. Some of the Roman Catholic cathe- drals in England have their chapters, but there are none in the United States. They were sup- pressed in France by the civil constitution of the clergy, but restored by the concordat of 1801. The title of chapter is applied not only to the canons in their collective capacity, but also to their meetings, and to the place in which the latter are held. It is given to the assembly of members of a religious order, to the convoca- tions of the military orders of the middle ages, and even to the meetings of certain corpora- tions of mechanics and tradesmen. It was first used about the 8th century, and is sup- posed to have originated in the fact that at such sessions it was customary to read some or all of the chapters containing the rules of the community. CHAPl'LTEPEC, a Mexican fortress, built upon a rock of the same name, 150 or 200 ft. high, about 2 m. S. W. of the city of Mexico. At the time of the war with the United States it was heavily armed, had a frontage of 900 ft., and defended a causeway which formed the ap- proach to the city. At the base of the hill, in front, was the wall of an aqueduct; in the rear an old powder mill, known as Molino del Chapnltepec. Rev. The castle was the seat of the national military academy, and was defended by Gen. Bravo and a picked force. Santa Anna, with the greater portion of his army, occupied the city of Mexico, and was in communication with Chapultepec. On Sept. 8, 1847, Gen. Scott first stormed Molino del Rey, then, under cover of a demonstration against the city, brought four batteries to bear upon the castle from an opposite ridge (Sept. 12), and after a fire of a day and a half made the attack in two columns, simultaneously upon the E. and W. sides of tho fortress. The American loss was slight, tho Mexican much heavier. The day after the fall of the castle the city of Mexico was occupied by the American forces. CHARA, a genus of aquatic plants of the order characece, found in most parts of the world. In the United States they occur in the great lakes and in the large fresh-water lakes of New York, frequently growing with such luxuriance as to render the bottom green like a grassy