CHATHAM CHATTERTON. 



iiirestedness and patriotism were united in him with 

 tedefatigable industry, promptitude, and sagacity. In 

 eloquence lie was never surpassed by any of his coun- 

 trymen. His speeches were bold and sublime, and 

 his influence over the minds of liis audience was ir- 

 reHstible. His ease and dignity, fine voice and mas- 

 terly gesticulation (in which even Garrick allowed 

 him to be his superior), prepossessed his hearers in 

 his favour, while the perspicuity and power of his 

 arguments carried conviction. He was the son of 

 Robert Pitt of Boconnoc, in Cornwall, borri in 1708, 

 and educated at Eton and Oxford. On quitting the 

 university, he became a cornet in the blues, and, in 

 1735, represented the borough of Old Saruin in the 

 house of commons, where he attracted universal no- 

 tice. He was a powerful opponent of Sir Robert 

 \Valpole, who revenged himself by taking away his 

 commission. In 1744, he received, on account of his 

 jiatriotism, a legacy of 10,000 from the duchess of 

 -Murlborough, and, at a later period, a considerable 

 estate was uequeathed him by Sir W. Pynsent. He 

 had been appointed gentleman of the bedchamber 

 to the prince of Wales, but resigned this place in 

 1745; became, in 1746, vice-treasurer of Ireland, 

 paymaster-general of the army, and member of the 

 privy-counc.1. In 1755, Mr Pitt was turned out of 

 office. In 1756, he was appointed secretary of 

 state, but was dismissed in the same year, on ac- 

 count of his opposition to the Hanoverian policy of 

 George II. The nation, however, was enthusiasti- 

 cally attached to him, and the public discontent was 

 so loudly manifested, that he was appointed secretary 

 of state again in 1757. His great mind now revealed 

 its full force. His ascendency was complete over 

 the parliament no less than in the ministry; he 

 aroused the English nation to new activity, and, in 

 the space of a few years, recovered the superiority 

 over France, annihilating her navy, and stripping 

 her of her colonies. France was beaten in the four 

 quarters of the world. In 1760, he advised the de- 

 claration of war against Spain, while she was unpre- 

 pared for resistance, as he foresaw that she would 

 assist France. The elevation of England on the 

 ruins of the house of Bourbon was the great object 

 of his policy. But his plans were suddenly inter- 

 rupted by the death of George II. George III. was 

 prejudiced against Pitt by his adversary, the earl of 

 Bute, a statesman of limited views. Pitt,, therefore, 

 resigned his post in 1761, only retaining his seat in 

 the house of commons. On his retirement, his wife 

 was created baroness Chatham. The thanks of the 

 city of London were presented to him in a public ad- 

 dress, an inscription in his honour was ordered to be 

 placed on Blackfriar's bridge, and he was declared 

 the palladium of England's liberty. In 1762, when 

 Spain formally allied herself with France, Pitt urged 

 the continuance of the war, by which both states 

 woidd, perhaps, have been totally exhausted; but 

 peace was concluded by the opposite party in 1763. 

 Pitt uniformly supported the cause of the people. 

 Foreseeing the separation of the American colonies 

 from the mother country, if the arbitrary measures 

 then adopted should be continued, he advocated, 

 especially in 1766, a conciliatory policy, and the re- 

 peal of the stamp act. In the same year, he was 

 invited to assist in forming a new ministry, in which 

 he took the office of privy seal, and was created 

 viscount Burton, baron Pynsent and earl of Chatham. 

 In 1768, he resigned, as he found himself inade- 

 quately seconded by his colleagues. In the house of 

 lords, he continued to recommend the abandonment 

 of the coercive measures employed against America, 

 particularly in 1774 ; but his warning was rejected, 

 fuid, in 1776, the colonies declared themselves inde- 

 pendent. In vain did lie renew his motion for re- 



conciliation in 1777; iii vain did he declare the 

 conquest of America impossible. April 7, 1778. 

 though labouring under a severe illness, he repaired 

 to the house, to attack the unjust and impolitic pro- 

 ceedings of the ministers towards the colonies. At 

 the close of his speech, he fainted and fell back- 

 wards; he was conveyed out of the house, and 

 afterwards removed to his country-seat at Hayes, in 

 Kent, where he died, May 11. The parliament 

 annexed an annuity of 4000 to the earldom of 

 Chatham; his debts were paid, and he was ho- 

 noured with a public funeral, and a magnificent monu- 

 ment in Westminster abbey. Another was erected, 

 in 1782, in Guildhall. The sentiments of Lord 

 Chatham were liberal and elevated, but he was 

 haughty, and impatient of contradiction, and perhaps 

 exhibited too marked a consciousness of his own su- 

 periority. His private was as estimable as his pub- 

 lic character. To use the language of Lord Ches- 

 terfield, " it was stained by no vice, nor sullied by 

 any meanness." No literary production of lord 

 Chatham, except one or two short poems, had ap- 

 peared, until the publication by lord Grenville, in 

 1804, of his " Letters " to his nephew, afterwards the 

 first lord Camelford, which contain much excellent 

 advice to a young man, clothed in easy and familiar 

 language, and reflect equal honour on the author's 

 head and heart. In America, where lord Chatham 

 was very popular, several places are called after his 

 title. Pittsburg was so called from his family name. 



CHATILLON, CONGRESS OF. The negotiations 

 of the allied powers with Napoleon, begun at Frank- 

 fort, Oct. 10 and Nov. 27, 1813, but broken off, 

 when, in consequence of their declaration of Dec. 1, 

 the theatre of war was transferred to the heart of 

 France, Jan. 8, 1814, were renewed in the small 

 town of Chatilion-sur-Seine (chief place of arr<m~ 

 dissement in the department Cote d'Or, with 3967 

 inhabitants), which had been declared neutral. Cau- 

 laincourt (duke of Vicenza), who had succeeded 

 Maret (duke of Bassano) as minister of foreign af- 

 fairs, was waiting, in that place, the answer of prince 

 Metternich to his last letter. Lord Castlereagh 

 conducted the negotiations in the name of Great 

 Britain : besides him, there were three other British 

 ministers present lords Cathcart, Aberdeen, and 

 Stewart. Count Razumoffsky was the minister of 

 Russia, count Stadion of Austria, and baron William 

 von Humboldt of Prussia. 



CHATTERTON, THOMAS, a youth whose genius, 

 eccentricity, and melancholy fate have gained him 

 much celebrity, was born at Bristol, in 1752, of poor 

 parents. He had not yet learned to read, when an 

 old French musical work happened to fall into his 

 hands, the characters of which excited his curiosity. 

 His mother now taught him to read from an old 

 black-letter Bible. When eight years old, he en- 

 tered a charity school at Colston, where the work- 

 ings of his genius lay concealed under the appearance 

 of melancholy and incapacity. At about ten years 

 of age, he acquired a taste for reading, which be- 

 came, from that period, a kind of ruling passion. 

 His first work, a satire on a Methodist, who had 

 abandoned his sect from interested motives, was 

 written at the age of ll years. From this tune his 

 taste was decided. His melancholy gave way to 

 vivacity and vanity, and dreams of glory, fortune, 

 and immortality. He became particularly fond of 

 antiquities and antique expressions. At the ag? of 

 fourteen, he left school, and was articled as ap- 

 prentice to a scrivener, at Bristol. His father, who 

 died before his birth, had accidentally obtained pos- 

 session of a number of old parchments of the 1 5th 

 century. Many of these were consumed in the fam- 

 ily ; but several fell into the hands of Chatterton who, 



