138 



CHAMPAGNE CHAMP-DE-MARS. 



CHAMPAGNE ; before Uie revolution, a country 

 of France, bordered E. by Lorraine and Franche- 

 Comtd, S. by Burgundy mid Nivernois, VV. by the 

 Isle of France and Picardy, and N. by Flanders. It 

 is about 195 miles in length, and 135 broad. The 

 land is fertile, and produces the celebrated wine 

 called after its name ; also much grain and pasturage. 

 Troyes was the capital. Population, 1,200,000. 

 Square miles, 11,880. It now forms the whole of 

 tlic departments of Ardennes, Marne, Upper Marne, 

 A ul ir. and part of those of Yonne and Seine-and- 

 Marne. 



CHAMPAGNE is a wine which is made chiefly in 

 die department of the Marne, in the ci-devant prov- 

 ince Champagne, and is commonly divided into river 

 and mountain wines (vins de la riviere de Marne, and 

 vins de la montagne de Reims) ; the former being, for 

 the most part, wlu'te, the latter, red. Not all of 

 these wines are sparkling or frothing, though by the 

 name champagne, is generally understood such wine 

 as has been subjected to an imperfect fermentation, 

 and contains a quantity of carbonic acid gas, gen- 

 erated during the insensible fermentation in the Dot- 

 tle, which is disengaged on removing the pressure 

 by which it was detained in solution. The briskest 

 wines are not always the best ; they are, of course, 

 the most defective in true vinous quality ; and the 

 small portion of alcohol which they contain imme- 

 diately escapes from the froth as it rises on the sur- 

 face, carrying with it the aroma, and leaving the 

 liquor that remains in the glass nearly vapid. For 

 it has been shown, by Humboldt, that, when the 

 froth js collected under a bell-glass surrounded with 

 ice, the alcohol becomes condensed on the sides of 

 the vessel. Hence the still, or the creaming or 

 slightly sparkling Champagne wines (vins cremans, 

 or demi-mousseujc) are more highly valued by con- 

 noisseurs, and fetch greater prices than the full- 

 frothing wines (vins grand mousseux). By icing these 

 wines before they are used, the tendency to effervesce 

 is in some degree repressed; but, when they are 

 kept cool, this precaution is unnecessary. In gen- 

 eral, it may be observed that the vineyards on the 

 banks of the Marne supply the choicest wines, and 

 that the quality degenerates in proportion as they 

 recede from the river. Among the white wines of 

 Champagne, the first rank is generally assigned to 

 those or Sillery, the produce of the vineyards of 

 Verzeuay, Mailli, Raumont, &c. Of the Reims moun- 

 tain wines, those of Verzi, Verzenay, Mailli, Bouzy 

 and St Basle, are most esteemed; but the Clos 

 St Thierry furnishes perhaps the finest red Cham- 

 pagne. The soil of the principal vineyards through- 

 out Champagne is composed of a loose marl, resting 

 on chalk, and sometimes mixed with flints. For the 

 manufacture of the white Champagne wines, black 

 grapes are now generally used. In making the red 

 wines, the grapes are trodden before they are intro- 

 duced into the vat. Champagne, when well made, 

 and placed in cool cellars, will retain its good quali- 

 ties from ten to twenty years. For further informa- 

 tion respecting this delicious liquor, and the art of 

 making it, see A. Henderson's History of Ancient 

 and Modern Wines, London, 1824, 1 vol., 4to. 



CHAMPAGNE, PHILIP, an eminent painter, was 

 born at Brussels, in 1602, and went to Paris in 1621, 

 where he was afterwards appointed painter to the 

 queen Maria de Medicis, who gave him the direction of 

 the paintings for the Luxembourg. He commenced 

 the Galerie det Hommes illustres. In the suburb 

 St Jacques he painted six pictures for the Carmelites. 

 Their church contains a crucifix by him, which, though 

 painted on a horizontal surface, appears to the most 

 practised eye to be perpendicular. The paintings in 

 the dome of the Sorbonne are among his best works. 



He was director of the academy of fine arts. When 

 he began to feel the infirmities of age, he retired to 

 the Port Royal, where hi> dngfctor WM a nun. She 

 afforded him the subject for a beautiful painting. 

 She is represented seated, a protracted fever liaving 

 brought her to the verge of death, given up by the 

 physicians. She is praying with a sister of the con- 

 vent, and regains her health. The figure of the 

 daughter, particularly her head, is of extraordinary 

 beauty. The museum of Paris possesses, bcsid< s 

 this painting, six others of the same artist, among 

 which are a Lord's Supper and a Mater Dolorosa. 

 Numerous works of his are also to be found at Paris, 

 and scattered through many towns of France. Cham- 

 pagne was very conscientious. He would never 

 paint naked figures. He deserves a very high place 

 amongst the painters of the Flemish school. He 

 died in 1674. 



CHAMPARTY, or CHAMPERTY (campi par- 

 titio, because the parties in champarty agree to divide 

 the land, &c., in question), is a bargain with the 

 plaintiff or defendant in any suit, to have part of the 

 land, debt, or other thing sued for, if the party that 

 undertakes it prevails therein ; whereupon the cham- 

 pertor is to carry on the party's suit at his own ex- 

 pense. It is a species of maintenance, and punished 

 in the same manner. See Maintenance. 



CHAMP CLOS. This was, from the commence- 

 ment of modern history, and long afterwards, a place 

 authorized by the laws made by sovereigns for the 

 purpose, and consecrated to particular combats be- 

 tween those who wished to determine, in that man- 

 ner, either a lawsuit or dispute of honour. This name 

 was also given to the place set apart for tour- 

 naments. 



CHAMP D'ASILE ; a settlement of French sol- 

 diers, in the province of Texas, which was put down 

 in its infancy by the government of Mexico, because 

 Spain was unwilling to permit its existence on the 

 borders of that state. In October, 1818, the colo- 

 nists were dispersed by a party of Spanish troops. 

 General Lallemand, who was banished from France, 

 and resided in New Orleans, collected them again, 

 and led most of them to a colony established by 

 French emigrants on the Tombigbee, in the state of 

 Alabama. The district where they settled, and part 

 of which they purchased, while the rest was granted 

 them, was called Marengo, and the capital which 

 they built was called Aigleville. Aigleville was 

 founded principally under the direction of generals 

 Clauzel and Lefebvre Desnouettes. In the treaty con- 

 cluded by the United States with Spain, in 1819, re- 

 specting the cession of Florida, Texas was given up, 

 without reserve, to New Spain. At the same time, 

 the republic of Texas was formed, under a president, 

 general James Long, who was joined by several 

 Frenchmen from the Champ d'Asile. The capital 

 was Nacodoches. This republic, likewise, was soon 

 dissolved, and general Long returned to the United 

 States. Texas, at present, belongs to the United 

 Mexican States, forming a part of the state of San- 

 tander. See Texas and San Felipe. 



CHAMP-DE-BATAILLE (field of battle), in mi- 

 litary language, is the ground on which an action is 

 fought. The commander who obliges his adversary 

 to quit this ground, and abandon it to him, obtains 

 the victory. 



CHAMP-DE-MARS, or DE-MAI (campus Mar- 

 tins). The campus Martius was a large field on the 

 Tiber, in ancient Rome, near the modern Ponte 

 Molle. After the expulsion of the last king, who 

 was the owner, it was consecrated to Mars, and 

 served the Roman youth for a place of military exer- 

 cise. The people used to assemble there for the 

 election of magistrates, and the place was adorned 



