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C H A 



Chartes- town, the site of which still retains the name of Old 

 town. Charlestown ; but finding it inaccessible to large ves- 

 "' sels, they renounced it for Oyster Point, where they 

 founded the present city. In the construction of the 

 houses of Charlestown, the first object of attention is 

 to moderate the excessive heat. For this purpose, 

 the windows are made open ; the doors pass through 

 both sides of the houses ; the upper part of the house 

 is sheltered by large galleries from the rays of the 

 sun ; and only the cooling north-east wind is admit- 

 ted to blow through the rooms. In the formation 

 of the streets, less attention has been paid to the pe- 

 culiarities of climate and situation. The principal 

 streets extend in a straight line from river to river, 

 and thus open agreeable prospects to the east and 

 west. These streets are intersected by others nearly 

 at right angles, dividing the town into a number of 

 squares, which have dwelling-houses in front, and of- 

 fice-houses and small gardens behind. In general, 

 however, they are most uncomfortably narrow ; and 

 the pernicious effects resulting from the want of a 

 free circulation of air in that burning climate, are 

 greatly increased by the slovenly negligence of the 

 inhabitants. Cleanliness is not much attended to ei- 

 ther in the houses or in the streets ; and the burying- 

 grounds in the midst of the town frequently present 

 the disgusting spectacle of carcases uninterred. For- 

 tunately the deficiency of the police is in some mea- 

 sure remedied by the voracity of the turkey buzzard, 

 which devours the carcase before it has time to pu- 

 trify ; and the inhabitants regard with a kind of ve- 

 neration the useful bird, which thus saves them the 

 trouble of being cleanly. 



Fire, whose ravages, though dreadful at the time, 

 often contribute essentially to the improvement of ill- 

 built towns, has been extremely useful in this respect 

 to Charlestown. At various times, whole streets 

 have been burned to the ground ; and have always 

 been replaced by others more spacious and elegant. 

 Several of the modern streets, too, are as wide as any 

 in the world ; and experience will certainly teach the 

 inhabitants the necessity of greater attention to their 

 own comforts. The houses, though mean in their ex- 

 ternal appearance, are in general commodious and well 

 furnished. Some of those recently built can even boast 

 of a degree of elegance. The most remarkable pub- 

 lic buildings are an exchange, a state-house, an ar- 

 moury, a poor-house, and an hospital for orphans. 



The site of Charlestown, though originally a mere 

 quagmire, is now drier and more elevated than any 

 other part of the low country of South Carolina. 

 This salutary change has been effected, partly by 

 draining, and partly by the accumulation of offals 

 and rubbish. Creeks and ponds have been converted 

 into solid land, and afford now firm and dry founda- 

 tions for extensive streets. 



The society in Charlestown is extremely agreeable. 

 The inhabitants are distinguished by frankness, po- 

 liteness, and hospitality. Its superior salubrity at- 

 tracts numbers of planters from the surrounding coun- 

 try ; and its vicinity to the Leeward Islands, makes 

 it a favourite resort for rich West Indians. From 

 these causes, it is the gayest town in the United 

 States ; and there are few places where social amuse- 

 ments, and refined and elegant pleasures, can be en- 

 joyed in greater perfection. In science and literature 



the inhabitants of Charlestown are as far advanced as CkarJes- 

 any of the Americans. As yet, indeed, they have town 



few literary institutions ; but a spirit of improvement ^ u 



, , , ' . i i i Cnartres. 



has lately arisen among them, which promises the 



most beneficial consequences. A medical society 

 was instituted in Charlestown in 1789, and incorpo- 

 rated in 1794. It meets monthly, when a conversa- 

 tion takes place on the prevailing diseases ; the me- 

 teorological observations of the members are exa. 

 mined and recorded ; and a medical question or sub- 

 ject is discussed. Under the auspices of this associa- 

 tion, a botanical society was formed and incorpora- 

 ted in the year 1805. From the medical society it 

 received three hundred dollars, fifty dollars per an- 

 num, and a large field which had been presented to 

 them by a lady, to be cultivated as a botanic garden. 

 This institution has flourished beyond the most san- 

 guine expectation ; and the garden is now enriched 

 with a considerable number of plants, both indige- 

 nous and exotic, arranged according to the system 

 of Linnaeus. 



For 120 years after the first settlement of South 

 Carolina, Charlestown continued to be the seat of 

 government. The great increase of population to 

 the westward, however, made it desirable that the 

 residence of government should be in a more cen- 

 tral situation. The beauty, salubrity, and conveni- 

 ence of Columbia, as a point of general communica- 

 tion, recommended it as the most proper site for the 

 new establishment. A city was immediately begun j 

 and the legislature convened there for the first time 

 in 1790. 



Charlestown was incorporated in 1783, and divided 

 into three wards, which choose as many wardens, 

 from among whom the inhabitants elect an intendant 

 of the city. The town-council is composed of the 

 intendant and wardens, who have power to make and 

 enforce bye-laws for the regulation of the town. The 

 value of exports from this city amounted, in 1794', 

 to 3,84'6,392 dollars. Its population was computed, 

 in 1791, to be 16,359 inhabitants, of whom 7681< 

 were slaves. Long. 80 2' West. Lat. 32 50' North. 

 See Ramsay's History of South Carolina. Liancourt, 

 Duke de la Rochefoucault's Travels in North Ame- 

 rica. Morse's American Geography. Morse's Ame- 

 rican Gazetteer, (k) 



CHARTS. See GEOGRAPHY and MAPS. 

 CHARTRES, a city of France, in the depart- 

 ment of the Eure and Loire ; is situated upon the 

 river Eure, over which is a bridge built by the cele- 

 brated Vauban. The houses have a very singular 

 appearance, from the great number of crosses. The 

 principal curiosity of this town is the church of No- 

 tre Dame, with its two spires, one of which is the 

 admiration of strangers, from its enormous mass, and 

 from its pyramidal and finely tapering form ; while 

 the other is admired for the strength of its architec- 

 ture, and the richness and delicacy of its ornaments. 

 A fine piece of sculpture by Bridaut, the subject of 

 which is the assumption of the Virgin, adorns the 

 principal altar of this church. The arabesque figures 

 engraven on the pillars are singularly beautiful, and a 

 magnificent groupe on white marble is reckoned the 

 masterpiece of the celebrated sculptor Coustou. The 

 Marshal Vauban considered the bold construction of 

 the spire of St Andrews as one of the wonders of 

 3 



