castellan of Coucy are in the Mémoires historiques sur Raoul de Coucy, Paris, 1781 (in the ancient dialect, with a translation subjoined, and old music). Uhland has made this story the subject of a fine ballad.

COUGH, in medicine; a deep inspiration of air, followed by a sudden, violent and sonorous expiration, in a great measure involuntary, and excited by a sensation of the presence of some irritating cause in the lungs or windpipe. The organs of respiration are so constructed, that every foreign substance, except atmospheric air, offends them. The smallest drop of water, entering the windpipe, is sufficient to produce a violent coughing, by which the organs labor to expel the irritating substance. A similar effect is produced by inhaling smoke, dust, &c. The sudden expulsion of air from the lungs is produced by the violent contraction of the diaphragm and the muscles of the breast and ribs. These parts are thus affected by a sympathy with the organs of respiration, which sympathy springs from the connexion of the nerves of the different parts. The sensation of obstruction or irritation, which gives rise to cough, though sometimes perceived in the chest, especially near the pit of the stomach, is most commonly confined to the trachea, or windpipe, and especially to its aperture in the throat, termed the glottis. Yet this is seldom the seat of the irritating cause, which is generally situated at some distance from it, and often in parts unconnected by structure or proximity with the organs of respiration. Of the various irritations which give rise to cough, some occur within the cavity of the chest; others are external to that cavity; some exist even in the viscera of the pelvis. Of those causes of cough which take place within the chest, the disorders of the lungs themselves are the most common, especially the inflammation of the mucous membranes, which excites the catarrhal cough, or common cold. This disease is generally considered unimportant, particularly if there be no fever connected with it. But every cough, lasting longer than a fortnight or three weeks, is suspicious, and ought to be medically treated. Another common cause of cough, which has its seat in the lungs, is inflammation of those organs, whether in the form of pleurisy or peripneumony. (q. v.) These diseases do not differ very essentially, except in violence and extent, from the acute catarrh, but are more dangerous, and more rapid in their progress, and the constitution is excited to a highly febrile

condition. Even after the acute state of inflammation may have subsided, a cough, attended with extreme danger, sometimes continues to be excited by collections of pus, or abscesses, which ensue in the substance of the lungs, and either terminate in consumption, or suffocate the patient by suddenly bursting; more rarely the pus is discharged gradually from a small aperture, and the patient recovers. In such cases, the fever, originally acute, is converted into a hectic, with daily chills, succeeded by heat and flushing of the face, night sweats, and emaciation. Another frequent origin of cough is the rupture of some of the blood-vessels of the lungs, and the consequent effusion of blood into the cells, which is expelled by the cough that its irritation excites, constituting what is technically termed hæmoptoe, hæmoptysis, or spitting of blood. When the vessels of the lungs are thus ruptured, they seldom heal readily, but degenerate into ulcers, which pour out a purulent matter; and, by this discharge, the vital powers are gradually worn down and destroyed. This is a common source of consumption, or phthisis pulmonalis. (See Consumption.) A cough is excited, and the same fatal disorder is also induced, by the existence of tubercles in the lungs. These are little tumors, which gradually inflame and ulcerate, and produce the same consequences as the ulcerations from hemoptysis. Calculi, or stony concretions, are sometimes formed in the lungs, and the irritation which they produce necessarily excites a cough, which is liable to terminate in consumption. There is yet another source of irritation within the lungs, of which cough is an attendant, namely, an effusion of serum into the parenchymatous substance of the lungs, or into the cellular membrane, which connects the cells and blood-vessels together. This has been called anasarca pulmonum, or dropsy of the lungs, and is marked by great difficulty of breathing, with a sense of weight and oppression in the chest, occasioned by the compression of the air-cells and vessels by the accumulated water; hence also great irregularity of pulse, frightful dreams, imperfect sleep, &c., are among its symptoms. Inflammation of the heart, and of the pericardium, or membrane surrounding it, is also accompanied by cough, and other symptoms not easily distinguishable from those of pleurisy and peripneumony. Where a cough is excited by disorders of parts external to the cavity of the chest, it is generally dry, as the irritating cause is external, and not any obstructing

matter in the lungs themselves. Disorders of the viscera of the abdomen, especially of those which lie in contact with the diaphragm (the muscular curtain separating the cavities of the belly and chest), frequently induce a cough. A short, dry cough invariably attends inflammation of the liver, whether acute or chronic, and accompanies the various tubercular and other obstructions in that organ. Hence inflammation of the liver is not unfrequently mistaken for inflammation in the lungs; and, in some of the chronic diseases of the liver, the cough is occasionally complained of as the most urgent symptom. The presence of pain in the right side, shooting up to the top of the shoulder, the dryness of the cough, and pain, enlargement, hardness, or uneasiness on pressure below the ribs of that side, will afford the best means of distinguishing whether a disease of the liver is the origin of the cough. Disorders of the stomach are, also, often accompanied with a cough of the same dry and teasing nature, especially when that organ is over distended with food, or is in the opposite condition of emptiness. A short cough is, therefore, a frequent symptom of indigestion and hypochondriasis, or of that weakness of the stomach which is popularly termed bilious. In short, there is scarcely any one of the viscera, in the cavity of the abdomen, the irritation of which, in a state of disease, has not excited cough. Disorders of the spleen, pancreas, and even the kidneys, have all given rise to this symptom; and external tumors, attached to them, have had the same effect. Any distension of the abdomen, which, by its pressure upwards, impedes the descent of the diaphragm, and consequently the expansion of the lungs, occasions cough. Thus, in the ascites, or dropsy of the belly, the water-in tympanites, the air—in corpulency, the fat in the omentum-and, in pregnancy, the gravid uterus,—all have the effect of exciting cough in many constitutions. The variety of causes from which coughs may arise, must convince every reader of the absurdity of attempting to cure all kinds of cough by the same remedy.

COULOMB, Charles Augustin de; born 1736, at Angoulême; entered the corps of engineers; was sent to Martinique, where he constructed fort Bourbon. In 1779, his theory of simple machines obtained the prize offered by the academy; and, in 1781, he was unanimously chosen a member of that body. In all difficult cases of mechanics, his judgment was appealed to,

A plan

and invariably proved correct. had been proposed to the estates of Brittany for making navigable canals in their province, and Coulomb, as commissioner of the government, was to give his opinion of the scheme. Convinced that the ultimate benefit would by no means be proportioned to the immense cost of the work, he decided against it. As this interfered with the plans of certain of the ministry, he was obliged to do penance in the Abbaye. Coulomb requested permission to resign his office. His request was denied, and he was sent again to Brittany. His second decision was the same as the former, and the estates of Brittany honored his judgment by the present of a watch bearing the arms of the province. On the breaking out of the revolution, Coulomb was knight of the order of St. Louis, and lieutenant-colonel in the corps of engineers. He gave up all his offices to devote himself to the education of his children. This leisure was useful to the cause of science; for he was led, by experi ments on the elastic force of bent metal rods, to discover the secrets of magnetism, and the principles of electricity, which he ascertained with the more precision from his habit of combining, in all his inquiries, calculation with observation. On the restoration of the institute, he was made a member, and appointed inspector-general of public instruction. He was actively employed in this department, which he was constantly elevating by his writings, and was in the enjoyment of much domestic happiness, when he died, Aug. 23, 1806.

COUMASSIE; a town in Upper Guinea, the capital of the kingdom of the Ashantees. Bowdich estimates its inhabitants at 18,000. Lat. 6° 39′ 50′′ N.; lon. 2° 11' 45" W.

COUNCIL; an assembly: by way of eminence, an assembly. of the church, called, also, synod. Provincial councils were held as early as the 2d century, that is, synods consisting of the prelates of a single province. The assembled bishops and elders deliberated on doctrines, rites and church discipline, and promised to execute the resolutions of the synod in their churches. These assemblies were usually held in the capitals of the provinces (metropolis), the bishops of which, who, in the 3d century, received the title of metropolitans, usually presided over their deliberations. The councils had no other legislative authority than that which rested on the mutual agreement of the members. After Christianity had become the established religion of

the

the Roman empire, in the beginning of the 4th century, the emperors summoned councils, which were called ecumenical, that is, universal councils, because all the bishops of the empire were invited to them. Among these, the most remarkable are, 1. the council of Nice (q. v.), in 325, by which the dogma respecting the Son of God was settled; 2. that of Constantinople (q. v.), 381, by which the doctrine concerning the Holy Ghost was decided; 3. that of Ephesus, 431; and, 4. that of Chalcedon, 451; in which two last, the doctrine of the union of the divine and human nature in Christ was more precisely determined. In the 4th century, the opinion arose, that the councils were under the particular direction of the Holy Ghost; hence the great authority which their resolutions obtained. Like the Roman emperors, the German kings exercised, at first, the right of assembling synods; in particular, Charlemagne, during whose reign the clergy of the Frankish empire held a council at Frankfort on the Maine, in 749, which condemned the worship of images introduced among the Greeks. In the middle ages, popes maintained the right of summoning councils, which, however, cannot be considered as general councils, since the Western church was soon separated from the Greek. The principal of these Latin councils are that of Clermont (1096), in the reign of Urban II, in which the first crusade was resolved upon, and some later ones, in which a reunion with the Greeks was attempted. In consequence of the great schism towards the end of the 14th century, which gave rise to, at first two, and afterwards three, candidates for the papal throne, the council of Pisa was convened, in 1409, which declared that the popes were subordinate to the general council, and condemned the schismatic candidates. After the dissolution of the council of Pisa, without having terminated the schism, the council of Constance (q. v.) was held in 1414, the most solemn and numerous of all the councils, which revived the principle, that a general council is superior to the pope, adjusted the schism, and pronounced the condemnation of John Huss (1415), and of his friend Jerome of Prague (1416). The council of Bâle (q. v.), in 1431, asserted the same principle, and intended a reformation, if not in the doctrines, yet in the constitution and discipline of the church. At the time of the reformation, the Protestants repeatedly demanded such a council; even the emperor, and the states which had remained faithful to the old doctrine,

thought it the best means for restoring peace to the church. But the popes, recollecting the decisions at Pisa, Constance and Bâle, so disadvantageous to their authority, constantly endeavored to evade it. At length the pope could no longer resist the importunities of the emperor and the states. He summoned a council at Trent (q. v.), which began its session in 1545, and labored chiefly to confirm the doctrines of the Catholic church against the Protestants. Since the council of Trent, there has been no council, in which all the Catholic states of the West have been represented; but there have been several national councils, particularly in France. The Lutherans have never settled their church concerns by councils; but in the Calvinistic churches, many particular synods have been held, among which, that of Dort (1618), which confirmed the peculiar opinions of Calvin on election, in opposition to the Arminians, is distinguished. The Protestant councils could never have the same authority as the Catholic in matters of doctrine, for the Protestants do not consider their clergy as constituting the church: moreover, in the Protestant countries of Europe, each monarch has assumed the station of head of the church of his country. The chief questions in regard to councils are, 1. What is their authority in matters of doctrine and discipline? 2. What is necessary to give them the character of œcumenical or general councils, and to which of those that have been held should this name be confined? 3. Who has the right to convoke councils, to preside over them, to be a member of them? 4. Whether their decrees are authoritative per se, or whether they require to be confirmed by some other power, as the pope, for instance? All these points are of vital interest to the Catholic church, and have occasioned violent contests. They involve too many considerations to be treated here, and we must refer the reader to Catholic works on this point. Among others, the Dictionnaire de Théologie, par Bergier, extrait de l'Encyclopédie Méthodique, Toulouse, 1817, contains a full article Concile.

COUNCIL, AULIC. (See Aulic Council.) COUNCIL OF STATE, in modern politics; a term of very vague meaning. In general, it means a council intended to assist the sovereign, and composed of members, whose chief business it is to discuss, advise, legislate or decide; it being the duty of the ministers to execute. Buillard's Histoire du Conseil d'État (Paris, 1718, 4to.),

and Guyot's Traité des Droits des Dignités, et Offices du Royaume (Paris, 1787), show the indefinite, vacillating and arbitrary character of the powers of the conseil d'état, in France, before the revolution. It judged cases of maritime prizes, often decided in civil and criminal processes, determined the authority of the papal bulls, &c. The abolition of such a body was an act of wisdom in the constituent assembly. It was succeeded by the court of cassation (q. v.), which is not only the court of ultimate appeal, but also defines the jurisdiction of different tribunals in case of conflict. The constitution of the year III established a council of state, under the direction of the consuls, pour rédiger les projets de loi et de réglements, et pour résoudre les difficultés en matière administrative. These extensive and vague powers of the council contained the seeds of mischief, particularly as that body was under the direction of the consuls. In 1802, the conseil d'etat was constituted juge des appels comme d'abus; and this abuse still continues. The powers of the council were still further enlarged by senatus-consultes, and even by imperial decrees: thus it was empowered to annul the decisions of the cour des comptes, and still retains this dangerous authority. Under the Bourbons, the conseil d'état has been intrusted with powers of indefinite extent, and of all kinds, which are by no means vested in the executive, by the charte. Besides this, the members are appointed and removed at the will of the king. This council has, says Corménin (Questions de Droit Administratif, p. 5), une juridiction tellement étendue, qu'on ne trouve rien de semblable ni en France dans les temps antérieurs à la révolution, ni dans les autres pays de l'Europe, telle enfin, qu'elle se mêle à presque tous nos intérêts, qu'elle affecte presque toutes nos propriétés, qu'elle touche à presque toutes nos personnes. In Spain, when the constitution of the cortes was in force, a constitutional council of state existed. In Prussia, an assernbly composed of the highest civil and military officers, with the princes, is called Staatsrath (council of state), but, of course, no power is vested in that body. They give their opinion on questions laid before them by the king. The prince royal is its president. In some of the U. States, there are councils, which the governors are obliged to consult upon executive business, and which have a negative upon their appointments to office.

COUNCIL, PRIVY, in England, is the principal council belonging to the king.

In 1679, the number of members, having become inconveniently large, was limited to 30. It is now, however, again indefinite, but only such members attend as are summoned on each particular occasion. The lord president of the council is the fourth great officer of state. He is appointed, by letters patent under the great seal, during pleasure. Privy counsellors are nominated by the king, without patent or grant, and removable at his pleasure. The power of the privy council, in offences against the government, extends only to inquiry, and their committal is not privileged beyond that of an ordinary justice of the peace. But in plantation or admiralty causes, in disputes of colonies concerning their charters, and in some other cases, an appeal lies to the king in council. The privy council continues for six months after the accession of a new prince, unless he previously dissolve it. Proclamations, which, if consonant to the law of the land, are binding on the subject, are issued with the advice of this council.

COUNCIL AND SESSION, LORDS OF; the supreme judges of the highest court of Scotland. (See Scotland.)

COUNCIL BLUFFS; a military post belonging to the U. States, on the west bank of the Missouri, about 50 miles above the junction of the La Platte, and 650 above the junction of the Missouri with the Mississippi. Lon. 96° 42′ W.; lat. 41° 31' N. It is an important station, the highest up the Missouri, that is occupied by the U. States as a military position. Before the U. States occupied this post, the Ottoes and Missouris held a council there, Aug. 3, 1814, which gave rise to the name. Bluff was originally a sea term meaning high land. (See Pickering's Vocabulary of Americanisms.)

COUNSEL; those who give counsel in law; any counsellor or advocate, or any number of counsellors, barristers or sergeants, as the plaintiff's counsel or the defendant's counsel. In this sense, the word has no plural, but is applicable, in the singular number, to one or more persons.

COUNSELLOR, in law, is one whose profession is to give advice in questions of law, and to manage causes for clients. (See Advocate.)

Counsellor (in German, Rath). In Germany, the mania for titles is carried to a greater degree than in any other country in Europe. Almost every man is desirous of possessing one, and the title of even the lowest officer is reverently repeated, with a preceding Mr., as often as the in

dividual is addressed by persons of equal or lower rank; for instance, we have Mr. Lieutenant,nay,sometimes Mr.Taxgatherer, and even Mrs. Taxgatheress (Frau Steuereinnehmerin). The title Rath (counsellor), in particular, has been distributed with a most ridiculous profusion. In all branches of government, you meet counsellors in abundance. Évery one is a counsellor who has passed through certain preparatory degrees, particularly in Prussia. In fact, the term, in Prussia, is as common as mandarin in China. The judges are not judges, but court-counsellors, which title, for the sake of precision, is amplified to country, or city, or high-country-court counsellor (Oberlandesgerichtsrath). There are also Finanz-Räthe, Medizinal-Rathe, Regierungs-Räthe, &c.; and, in all branches, Geheime-Räthe, as, Geheime-Medizinal-Räthe, Geheime-Finanz-Räthe, &c. Moreover, as it always happens that honors and titles gradually decline in value, new ones must be 'invented: thus, in Prussia, the title Geheime Rath being given to persons who have nothing to do with the private deliberations of the government, it has been deemed necessary to give to the actual counsellors a new and distinguishing title: they are called real-privy-counsellors. And you find, therefore, in Prussia Wirkliche-Geheime-Ober-Finanz-Räthe (real-privy-highfinance-counsellors)! and so in all branches. And who are these real-privy-high &c.'s? You would think they were at least several degrees higher than the privy counsellors of England. They are, in fact, however, mere assistants of the minister. Besides this host of Räthe, who have actually official duties to discharge, there is another swarm, equally numerous, of people whose title of counsellor is a mere title of honor, like the Chinese peacock's feather. The title most generally bestowed in this way is Hofrath (counsellor of the court). Hofrathe and Geheime-Hofräthe are so common in Germany, that a traveller observes, if you spit out of the window on a crowd, it is ten to one that you hit a Hofrath. There are also Bau-Räthe (building-counsellors), Steuer-Räthe (tax-counsellors), Universitäts-Räthe, CommerzienRäthe; and again the same titles, with the honorary term Geheime (privy) prefixed, as Geheime-Bau-Räthe, &c. The title of Kriegs-Rath (counsellor of war) is often given to men who have nothing military in their occupation or habits. The old proverb says, Sat verbum sapienti, but here we are tempted to exclaim, Sat verbum stulto. COUNSELLOR, PRIVY. (See Council, Privy.)

COUNT, COUNTEE, or COUNTY (from the Latin comes), appears to have been first used, as a title of dignity, under the reign of Constantine. During the existence of the republic, the inferior officers, as tribuni, præfecti, scribæ, medici, haruspices, accensi, præcones, who accompanied the proconsules and proprætores into their provincial governments, were known as the comites or cohors of their principal. (Cic. pro Rab. Post. 6.) On the establishment of the imperial government, the name was applied to the court and household of the prince; and Dio (53) mentions a council of senators, selected by Augustus as his comites. (Salmas. ad Sueton. Tib. 46.) On the first distribution of his dominions, and the foundation of the new capital by Constantine, 10 out of 35 provincial generals received the title of comes. The civil officers, likewise, who were honored with this distinction, gradually became very numerous, and lists of them may be found in the Cod. Theod. vi, 12-20, in the Notitia Imper., and in the glossaries of Spelman and Du Cange. After the fall of the Roman power, the title was retained by the conquerors; and, under Charlemagne, it denoted equally a military or civil employment. About the end of the 15th century, in Germany, and under the last princes of the Merovingian race in France, the title appears to have become hereditary in families, from the weakness of the crown, which was unable to recall the dignity which it had once bestowed. Selden, in his Titles of Honor, treats the origin and progress of the title at much length, and with his usual learning. Such is the account usually given of the origin of the counts of modern times. The institutions of the ancient German tribes may, however, have contributed much to the establishment of this class of nobles. In early times, before the existence of the Latin comites, the Germans had officers chosen, at least in some tribes, by the people. These were a kind of inferior judges. After the Franks became the ruling nation, they made a change in their character. The kings now appointed them, and they exercised jurisdiction over certain districts in the king's name, with the title of Grafen. The word has been derived very variously from grau (gray or venerable), from yoάow, to write (like the GallicoLatin word graffare, whence greffier), &c., from gefera, signifying companion, and corresponding to the Latin comes; but there is little doubt that it is really from the Saxon gerefa_(gatherer, and subsequently judge). These ancient officers