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 CHARDIN CHARES 275 CHARDIN, Jean Baptist* Simeon, a French paint- er, born in Paris about 1699, died Dec. 6, 1779. The son of a workman, and without teachers, he yet reached eminence, and became a mem- ber of the academy in 1728. He excelled in painting still life, flowers and fruits, and sub- sequently in delineating the life of the middle classes. His Benedicite in the Louvre, repre- senting a woman reciting prayers before din- ner to her two children, gave him a wide repu- tation, and was regarded by Diderot as supe- rior even to Greuze. He was in his 80th year when he exhibited his " Jacquet;" and shortly after he painted an admirable portrait of him- self, which is in the Louvre. CHARENTE, a W. department of France, bor- dering on the departments of Vienne, Haute- V-ienne, Dordogne, Charente-Inferieure, and Deux-Sevres; area, 2,294 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 367,520. It is formed principally out of the ancient province of Angoumois, and derives its name from the river Charente, by which it is drained. The soil is generally far from being fertile. There are many shallow ponds, called etangs, some of them of considerable extent. Numerous caverns, some of great depth, are found, among which that of Rancogne, near La Rochefoucauld, is particularly remarkable. It seems as if earthquakes had been once fre- quent here. Two rivers, the Tardoufere and the Bandiat, the course of which is toward the Charente, disappear repeatedly, and finally are entirely lost before reaching that river. There are mines of iron, antimony, and lead, and quarries of free and rag stone. The grain crop is poor, and scarcely sufficient for home consumption; but the vineyards, covering about 24,000 acres, yield a considerable surplus. Their produce is mostly converted into brandy, the superiority of that made at Cognac being universally acknowledged. Hemp, flax, and potatoes are extensively cultivated. Truffles are abundant, as well as chestnuts. Cattle, mules, and asses are numerous; horses are comparatively scarce. Game, fish, poultry, and bees are found in abundance. Besides large iron works connected with the mines, there are paper mills, especially at Angouleme, dis- tilleries, manufactories of earthenware, &c. The export trade is mostly in brandy, which is forwarded to nearly all parts of the world. Nearly 900 fairs are annually held in the de- partment. It is divided into the arrondisse- ments of Angouleme, RufFec, Cognac, Con- folens, and Barbezieux. Capital, Angoul6me. < IHUKMK-IM ERIKIRE, a W. department of France, on the Atlantic coast, bordering on Vendee, Deux-Sevres, Charente, Dordogne, and Gironde; area, 2,635 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 465,653. Besides being intersected by the Charente, it is watered on the N. frontier by the Sevre-Niortaise, and on the S. by the Gironde, which offer great facilities to exterior commerce. There are several other navigable streams, and a canal connecting La Rochelle with Niort. The climate is agreeable; the surface is flat, and partly covered, especially in the neighbor- hood of the sea, with marshes yielding large quantities of salt. There are quarries of free- stone ; peat, and fine sand for the manufacture of glass, are also found. The soil is mostly calcareous or sandy, but yields large crops of grain and wine. Large quantities of brandy are exported. Cattle, horses, and sheep are raised in great numbers. Oysters are sent to Paris and London. Sardines form an impor- tant branch of trade, and vessels are fitted out for the cod fishery. La Rochelle, Rochefort, and the other ports have a considerable share of the colonial and coasting trade of France. There are manufactories of coarse woollen stuffs, soap, fine earthenware, and glass, with tanneries and sugar refineries. The islands of Oleron, Re, and Aix lie near the coast of this department. It is divided into the arrondisse- ments of La Rochelle, Rochefort, Marennes, Saintes, Jonzac, and St. Jean d'Angely. Capi- tal, La Rochelle. CHARENTON-LE-PONT, a town of France, in the department of Seine, on the right bank of the Marne, near its confluence with the Seine, 5 m. S. E. of the centre of Paris; pop. in 1866, 6,190. It derives its surname from the fine bridge which, crossing the Marne, unites the town with the village of Alfort. This bridge has been always considered as of great importance for the defence of Paris, and is pro- tected by the fort of Charenton, near Alfort, which guards the passages of both rivers. CHAREiTON-ST.-MAURlCE (the name changed to St. Maurice since 1842), a village of France, in the vicinity of Paris, on the right bank of the Marne, about 1 m. E. of Charenton-le- Pont; pop. in 1866, 4,931. It contains an excellent lunatic asylum, founded in 1741, and capable of accommodating 500 patients. The Protestants formerly had here a large church, in which several synods were held; but it was demolished in 1685, on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. CHARES. I. An Athenian general, first men- tioned in 367 B. C., when he was sent to the aid of the Phliasians, whom he relieved from siege by the Arcadians and Argives. He was next sent to take command against Oropus, and in 361 succeeded Leosthenes, who had been defeated by Alexander of Phera3, and, sailing to Corcyra, aided an oligarchical conspiracy to overthrow the democracy, a proceeding that resulted in the loss of that island to Athens at the outbreak of the social war. Sent to Thrace in 358, he compelled Charidemus to ratify the treaty he had made with Athenodorus. The following year, with Chabrias, he commanded the forces in the social war, and made an un- successful attack upon Chios, in which his col- league was slain. In 356 Iphicrates and Ti- motheus were joined with him in the com- mand; but he soon procured their recall by accusing them to the people, and entered into the service of Artabazus, the revolted satrap of western Asia. This act was at first ap-