Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/286

 278 CHARIVARI CHARLES (ENGLAND) CHARIVARI (Fr. charivari; Ger. Katzen- mwik; Sp. concezada; It. scampanata), a mock serenade, which was performed in the middle ages whenever an old man married a young girl, or when a man married for the second or third time, or generally when ill-as- sorted marriages took place. The neighbors assembled on such occasions during the night before the house of the wedded pair, with all sorts of pans and kettles, and iron and copper utensils (chalybaria), producing every variety of discordant noises, and accompanying them with derisive shouts and songs. The chariva- rists usually continued their uproar until their wrath was soothed by drink or food. The council of Trent attempted to put a stop to this nuisance, which frequently occasioned dis- turbances. In some French towns, as for in- stance in Lyons, the practice was maintained as late as the 16th century. In Canada, and in Louisiana and many other parts of the United States, it exists, though it is everywhere on the decline. In Brittany the term charivari was also applied to aggravated collisions be- tween husband and wife. Xantippe throwing a jug of water at the head of Socrates *s the most classic type of this sort. In the game of ombre the turn of four queens is called chari- vari. The Germans possess a work on the origin of Katzenmusik by Philipps (Freiburg, 1849). French literature boasts of a still more comprehensive work on the same subject: Hi- toire, morale, civile, politique et litteraire, du charivari, depuis son origins vers le 4me siecle, by Dr. Calybariat de St. Flour, with a supple- ment by Eldi Christophe Bassinet. CHARLEMAGNE, Emperor of the West. See CHARLES I. (GERMANY). CHARLEMONT. See GIVET. CHARLEROI, or Cbirieroy, a town of Belgium, in the province of Hainaut, situated on the Sambre, and connected by railroads with Brus- sels, Namur, and Paris, 28 m. S. of Brussels; pop. in 1866, 12,150. The glass works here are the most extensive in Belgium. The annual yield of the collieries in the vicinity is estimated at 3,000,000 cwt. There are about 6,000 nail maker's in the adjoining country, and 70 blast furnaces, 50 iron founderies, and 90 coal pits, almost all of which have sprung into existence within the last 50 years. There are also tan- neries, dyeing establishments, ropewalks, salt and sugar refineries, and factories for spinning wool. It is the chief seat of the Protestant missions in Belgium, and has had a Protestant church since 1850. The fortress was com- menced under Charles II. of Spain in 1 666, and completed by Vauban for Louis XIV. It is a hexagon, with five counterscarps, two horn- works, and five ravelins. It has changed mas- ters several times, and in 1794 stood a vigorous siege, and held out until all the advanced works were levelled with the ground, and until four assaults had been made by the French, when it capitulated. It was restored in 1816 under the direction of the duke of Wellington. CHARLES, a S. W. county of Maryland, sep- arated from Virginia by the Potomac river, and bounded N. E. by the Patuxent ; area, 450 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 15,738, of whom 9,318 were colored. The surface is uneven and the soil rather inferior. The forests consist mainly of oak, chestnut, ash, cedar, and locust. The chief productions in 1870 were 73,028 bushels of wheat, 221,726 of Indian corn, 50,813 of oats, 987 tons of hay, 53,878 Ibs. of butter, 11,428 of wool, and 2,102,739 of tobacco. There were 2,004 horses, 1,676 milch cows, 4,960 other cattle, 3,872 sheep, and 6,978 swine. Capital, Port Tobacco. CHARLES. The more important sovereigns of this name will be treated according to the alphabetical order of the countries over which they ruled, viz. : 1, England ; 2, France ; 3, Ger- many ; 4, Naples ; 5, Sardinia ; 6, Savoy ; 7, Spain ; 8, Sweden ; 9, Wurtemberg. These are followed by minor princes of the name, sover- eign and non-sovereign. I. ENGLAND. CHARLES I., the second of the house of Stu- art who sat on the English throne, third son of James VI. of Scotland and I. of England, and Anne, daughter of Frederick II. of Denmark, born at Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Scotland, Nov. 19, 1600, executed in London, Jan. 30, 1649. He became heir apparent to the crown of Eng- land on the death of his elder brother, Prince Henry, in 1612, was created prince of Wales in 1616, and succeeded his father as king in 1625. He early fell under the influence of his father's favorite, the duke of Buckingham, and in 1623 went with him secretly to Madrid, to confirm his marriage contract with the Span- ish infanta. They travelled under the names of John and Thomas Smith, and arrived at the house of the earl of Bristol, the English am- bassador, on the evening of March 7. They spent some months in Madrid, but the mar- riage, which was hateful to the people of Eng- land, appears not really to have been desired by Charles; and when he left, Sept. 9, the marriage articles, although formally confirmed, were in fact set aside, Buckingham being res- olute against them, while the prince probably agreed with his companion. This early enter- prise was most unfortunate, as being a begin- ning of that course of dissimulation and insin- cerity which was the great defect of Charles's whole career. There was great joy in England that the match was broken off. Buckingham assumed the credit of the deed, but soon ar- ranged a marriage with the princess Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of France and his second wife, Maria de' Medici, at least as great concessions being made to the English Catholics, in order to gratify the French king Louis XIII., and his minister Richelieu, as had been demanded by the court of Spain, against which war was simultaneously declared. James I. died, however, before the marriage was even ratified. But on March 30, 1625, three days