178 



CHESTERFIELD CHIAOUS. 



other articles, are received from Ireland; grocery 

 from London, timber from Wales ; hemp, flax, and 

 iron from the Baltic ; and fruit, oil, barilla, cork, and 

 wine from Spain and Portugal. The exports are coal, 

 lead, calamine, copper-plates, cast-iron, and vast 

 quantities of cheese. The only manufacture of con- 

 sequence is that of gloves. Here are also iron found- 

 eries, and snuff-mills, and some well conducted estab- 

 lishments for ship-building. The shop-keepers of 

 Chester likewise keep up a very profitable intercourse 

 with North Wales. The port of Chester has been 

 much improved of late years, but the shifting naviga- 

 tion of the Dee will never allow it to become of lead- 

 ing consequence. Population of the city in 1831, 

 21,363. 



CHESTERFIELD (PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE), 

 earl of, a statesman, orator, and author, born in Lon- 

 <lon, in 1694, studied with great success at Cam- 

 bridge. In 1714, he made a tour through Europe, 

 and acquired, particularly at Paris, that polished 

 grace of manners for wliich he was distinguished. 



^ ~ * . .o 



borough of St Germain's, in Cornwall, elected him to 

 parliament, though he had not yet attained the legal 

 age. At the close of the first month of his member- 

 snip, he delivered a speech, in which he astonished 

 the audience by the vigour of his thoughts no less 

 tlian by the elegance of his style, and the facility and 

 grace of lus delivery. He distinguished himself equal- 

 ly in the house of lords, in which he took his seat 

 after his father's death. In 1728, he was appointed 

 ambassador to Holland, and succeeded in delivering 

 Hanover from the calamities of a war, by which it was 

 threatened. On his return, he was made knight of the 

 garter and lord steward of the household to G eorgi 

 He was afterwards appointed lord-lieutenant ot 

 land, and, on his return, in 1746, received the place 

 of secretary of state ; but he soon retired from pub- 

 lic affairs, and devoted the remainder of his life to 

 study and the society of his friends. His talents as 

 an author are displayed in several moral, critical, and 

 humorous essays, in his parliamentary speeches, which 

 were printed at a later period, and particularly in a 

 collection of letters to his son, wliich are celebrated 

 throughout Europe. To the charms of wit and grace 

 he united good sense, a thorough knowledge of the 

 manners, customs, and the political condition of Eu- 

 rope, extensive information, a noble and unaffected 

 elegance, and a style that would do honour to the 

 most experienced writer. All this, however, cannot 

 excuse the corrupt moral tone of his letters. One is 

 shocked to hear a father recommending to his son 

 grace of manners as the most essential quality for a 

 man of the world, and even instigating him to licen- 

 tious irregularities. It must be mentioned, however, 

 in his excuse, that the young man to whom these let- 

 ters were addressed (a natural son, whom he had 

 adopted under the name of Stanhope}) was remark- 

 able for the awkwardness of his manners, and that his 

 father, who set so high a value on elegance, hoped 

 to inspire him with the same taste, by setting the sub- 

 ect in its strongest light. His efforts, however, were 

 not successful. Towards the close of his life, Ches- 

 terfield became deaf, and suffered from other bodily 

 infirmities, wliich cast a gloom over his last days. He 

 was intimate with Pope, Swift, Bolingbroke, and 

 other distinguished scholars, and an acquaintance of 

 doctor Johnson, who called him a wit among lords, 

 and a lord among wits, and said of his letters, that 

 they taught the morals of a prostitute, and the man- 

 ners of a dancing-master. He died in 1773, at the 

 age of seventy-nine. 

 CHESTNUT. The sweet chestnut (fagut cas- 



tariea) is a stately tree, and is distinguished by liaving 

 spear-shaped and pointed leaves, with tapering serra- 

 tures at the edge. The flowers appear in long, hang- 

 ing spikes, or clusters, about the month of May ; and 

 the fruit, which is ripe in September, is enveloped in 

 a husk defended by a great number of complicated 

 prickles. Notwithstanding the known durability of 

 the oak, there does not appear any well authenticated 

 instance of the age of an oak being equal to that of 

 the celebrated chestnut-tree at Tortworth, in Glou- 

 cestershire, which was known as a boundary mark in 

 the reign of king John. This tree is supposed to 

 have been then m'ore than 500 years old, making its 

 age at this time above 1100 years. The diameter ot 

 its trunk is fifteen feet, and it still continues to bear 

 fruit. Few forest trees are more beautiful than tlio 

 chestnut. It is true that the generality of painters 

 prefer the oak for its picturesque form ; yet, in the 

 landscapes of Salvator Rosa, and other celebrated 

 masters, chestnut-trees are very conspicuous. Tlu> 

 timber of this tree was formerly much in use. It is 

 frequently used for the beams and rafters of houses, 

 and its appearance so nearly resembles that of the 

 oak, that it requires the eye of a good judge to dis- 

 tinguish them from each other. For the heads and 

 staves of casks, the wood of the chestnut is con- 

 sidered peculiarly excellent ; and pipes made of it 

 for the conveyance of water under ground are said 

 to be more durable than those made of either elm or 

 oak. For furniture, it may be stained so as some- 

 what to resemble mahogany. Hop-poles and poles 

 for espaliers, and dead fences, made of young chest- 

 nut-trees, are preferred to most others. In America, 

 it is chiefly used in the manufacture of rails for 

 fences. 



CHESTNUT, HORSE. See Horse-Chestnut. 



CHE.VAL, A (French} ; on horseback ; astride 

 any object. In a military sense, a body of troops is 

 said to be d cheval of a river, if one wing is stationed 

 on the right and the other on the left bank. 



CHEVAUX DE FRISE (Friesland horses, so 

 called because first used at the siege of Groningen, in 

 that province, in 1658) ; an armed beam of square 

 timber or iron, used to defend the fronts of camps, 

 breaches, &c. They are usually from fifteen to eigh- 

 teen feet long, and connected by chains, each being; 

 perforated with small holes, to receive rods of wood 

 or iron, pointed at their extremities, and, when 

 moved in any direction, affording a sort of hedge of 

 spears. 



CHIABRERA, GABRIEL ; a poet, born at Savona, 

 in the Genoese territory, in 1552. Sound in mind 

 and body, he lived to a great age, and died at Savona 

 in 1638. His poetical genius developed itself late, 

 and he was considerably advanced, when he began 

 to study the poets attentively. He preferred the 

 Greeks, and particularly Pindar, his admiration for 

 whom inspired him with the desire of imitating him. 

 Thus he created a manner and style which was alto- 

 gether different from that of the other Italian lyric 

 poets, and which procured him the surname of the 

 Italian Pindar. Equally successful were his attempts 

 to imitate Anacreon ; his canzonets are as easy and 

 elegant as his canzoni are sublime. He is, besides, 

 the author of several epic, dramatic, pastoral, and 

 other poems. His fame soon spread over all Italy. 

 He visited Rome, and resided a considerable time at 

 Florence and Genoa. Wherever he went, he wa> 

 loaded with presents and honours. 



CHIAOUS, or CHIAOUX, is a French corrup- 

 tion of the Turkish word chaush, or chavush, the 

 title of the royal-messengers or gentlemen-ushers in 

 the court of the grand signer. Their office partakes 

 both of a civil and military character, and they act 

 as the heralds and messengers of the empire. 



