Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/404

 396 CHIAPAS CHIAVARI and the Memoires of the academy of inscrip- tions are also important. Among the manu- scripts which he left were a Chrestomathie per- sane, a ChrestomatMe sanscrite, a Grammaire sanscrite, and a Vocabulaire Sanscrit, pracrit et francais. II. Vfilhelmine Christiane von, a German authoress, wife of the preceding, born in Berlin, Jan. 26, 1783, died Jan. 28, 1856. She was a granddaughter of Anna Luise Karsch, and a daughter of Karoline Luise von Klenke, both authoresses. In 1799 she was divorced from her first husband, and in 1802 found an asylum in the house of Mme. de Genlis in Paris, and gradually secured a competency as a writer. She was married to M. de Chezy in 1805, and in 1810 a voluntary separation took place, after which she went to Germany, where she found an influential friend in the prince of Dalberg, and where in 1813 she displayed great zeal for the relief of wounded soldiers. The latter part of her life, during which she became blind, was spent chiefly in Switzerland. She wrote the libretto of Weber's opera Euryanthe, many poems and novels, besides works descrip- tive of French society, and a biography of her mother, which she published under the name Hehnina. Bertha Borntrager has published her memoirs under the title Unvergessenes (2 vols., Leipsic, 1858). III. Wilhelm, son of the preceding; born in Heidelberg, March 21, 1806, died in Vienna, March 13, 1865. He studied jurisprudence at Munich, but devoted himself to journalism and literature, and wrote many novels, besides Erinnerungen (2 vols., Schaff- hausen, 1863-'4). A younger brother of Wil- helm, MAX, a painter, died in Heidelberg in 1846. CHIAPAS, the southernmost state of the Mex- ican republic, bounded N. W. by Vera Cruz, N. by Tabasco, N. E. by Yucatan, E. and S. E. by Guatemala, S. W. by the Pacific ocean, and W. byOajaca; area, about 17, 000 sq. m. ; pop. about 200,000, the greater part Indians and mestizos. It is traversed by the cordillera of the Sierra Ma- dre, and watered by several rivers, chief among which are the Chiapas or Tabasco, rising in the mountains of Cuchumatanes in Central America, and flowing N. W. through the state and N. E. through Tabasco to the gulf of Mex- ico ; the Usumasinta, which also rises in Cen- tral America, and flows into the gulf of Mexico by three mouths ; and the Teapa. These are navigable to an inconsiderable extent. The lake of Chiapas, or more correctly Tepancua- pan, in the southern part of the state, is 18 m. long and 3 m. wide, and abounds in crabs; and the Lago de los Istotes, in the same region, affords a plentiful supply of excellent fish, and is by some supposed to be the source of the Usumasinta. There are several other lakes of smaller dimensions. The ounce, puma, wild cat, a species of deer, the flying squirrel, wild hog, porcupine, ant-eater, armadillo, two spe- cies of monkey, the otter, and the black bear are common in Chiapas. Among the insects may be mentioned the tarantula, centipede, scorpion, and a few others almost equally venomous. Among the birds are black and gray eagles, owls, peacocks, mocking-birds, woodpeckers, carpenter birds, and a great I variety of small song birds. Timber suita- i ble for all purposes is abundant; as are also annotto, fustic, logwood, dragon's blood, and other dyewoods. Cotton grows well, and to- j bacco, vanilla, pepper, ginger, aniseed, coffee, tea, and India rubber are produced. Jalap, sarsaparilla, colpachi (possessing properties analogous to those of quinine), and other medi- cinal products are found in large quantities. Indigo and cochineal are no longer produced. The manufactures are limited to the weaving of some very coarse cotton and woollen cloths, and to the distillation of aguardiente, or brandy, from bran, which spirit, being exempt from excise duties, is extensively consumed, espe- cially by the indigenous inhabitants. This state is remarkable for numerous ruins of ancient cities and monuments, those of Palenque being the most noteworthy. (See PALENQUE.) Two stones in the shape of a tongue, about a yard long and two thirds of a yard in width, one of which has an inscription, are still standing, and are objects of adoration to the Indians. There is hardly any commerce, and there is almost an entire lack of passable roads. Capital, San Crist6bal. nil IK V MOM K. a town of Sicily, in the prov- ince and 30 m. W. of Syracuse; pop. about 7,200. It stands on a spur of the mountain range extending between Castrogiovanni and Noto, and the former Capuchin convent com- mands one of the finest views in Sicily. The town has a well preserved feudal castle. The vicinity produces good wine. CHIARI, a town of N. Italy, in the province and 15 m. W. of Brescia, near the left bank of the Oglio; pop. about 10,000. It has a hand- some collegiate church and a public library, and considerable trade, especially in silk. It is surrounded by an ancient ruined wall, and many Roman remains are found. CHIAROSCURO, an Italian word, sometimes rendered in English by the term " clear-ob- scure," which is used in painting to designate the distribution of the lights and shadows of a picture in such a manner that the objects may be naturally and effectively relieved from one another. It comprehends all the lights and darks of a picture, and particularly refers to their arrangement in masses on opposite sides. Correggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Giorgione, and particularly Rembrandt, were the chief masters of the art of chiaroscuro. CHIAVARI, a town of Italy, in the province of Genoa, situated on the gulf and 20 m. S. E. of Genoa, at the mouth of the river Sterla, and on the Genoa and Sarzana railway ; pop. about 10,000. It has narrow streets, open Gothic arcades, substantial houses of remark- able architecture, picturesque towers, and handsome churches. It contains a Franciscan convent, a hospital, an ecclesiastical seminary, a public library, and agricultural and artistic