CHOROGRAPHY; the description of a single district, in contradistinction to geography (the description of the earth). The art of drawing maps of particular districts is also called chorography.

CHORUS, in the drama. This was, originally, a troop of singers and dancers, intended to heighten the pomp and solemnity of festivals. This, without doubt, was at first the purpose of tragedy and comedy, of which the chorus was originally the chief part, in fact, the basis. In the sequel, it is true, the chorus became only an accessory part. During the most flourishing period of Attic tragedy, the chorus was a troop of male and female personages, who, during the whole representation, were bystanders or spectators of the action, never quitting the stage. In the intervals of the action, the chorus chanted songs, which related to the subject of the performance, and were intended either to augment the impression, or to express the feeling of the audience on the course of the action. Sometimes it even took part in the performance, by observations on the conduct of the personages, by advice, consolation, exhortation or dissuasion. It usually represented a part, generally the oldest portion of the people, where the action happened, sometimes the counsellors of the king, &c. The chorus was an indispensable part of the representation. In the beginning, it consisted of a great number of persons, sometimes as many as 50; but the number was afterwards limited to 15. The exhibition of a chorus was in Athens an honorable civil charge, and was called choragy. The leader or chief of a chorus was called coryphæus, who spoke in the name of the rest, when the chorus participated in the action. Sometimes the chorus was divided into two parts, who sung alternately. The divisions of the chorus were not stationary, but moved from one side of the stage to the other; from which circumstance the names of the portions of verse which they recited, strophe, antistrophe and epode, are derived. But it cannot be determined in what manner the chorus sung. It is probable that it was in a sort of solemn recitative, and that their melodies, if we may call them so, consisted in unisons and octaves, and were very simple. They were also accompanied by instruments, perhaps flutes. With the decline of ancient tragedy, the chorus was omitted. Some tragedians of the present age, of whom Schiller was the first (see his prologue to the Bride of Messina) have attempted to revive the ancient chorus.

Chorus, in music, in its general sense, denotes a composition of two, three, four or more parts, each of which is intended to be sung by a plurality of voices. It is applied, also, to the performers who sing those parts. These choruses are adapted to express the joy, admiration, grief, adoration, &c., of a multitude, and sometimes produce much effect, but are very difficult for the composer.

CHOSROES I, king of Persia, succeeded to the throne in 531. His memory is still venerated in the East, and his virtues obtained him the titles of the Magnanimous and the Just. At his accession to the crown, Persia was involved in a war with Justinian, to whom Chosroes granted a perpetual peace, on the payment of a large sum of money. But, in 540, Chosroes invaded Syria, laid Antioch in ashes, and returned home laden with spoils. After several other victorious expeditions, he invaded India and Arabia, renewed the war with Justin, the successor of Justinian, whom he compelled to solicit a truce, but was, soon after, driven back across the Euphrates by Tiberius, the new emperor, and the Romans took up their winter quarters in the Persian provinces. Chosroes died in 579. His love of justice sometimes led him to acts of cruelty; but he encouraged the arts, founded academies, and made a considerable proficiency in philosophy himself. His reputation obtained him a visit from seven sages of Greece, who still adhered to the pagan religion; and, in a treaty with Justinian, he required that they should be exempt from the penalties enacted against those who continued to favor paganism. Persian historians ascribe to him the completion of the great wall of Jabouge and Magogue, extending from Derbent along the Persian frontiers.

In

CHOSROES II, grandson to the preceding, ascended the throne in 590, and carried his arms into Judea, Libya and Egypt, and made himself master of Carthage. 617, he reduced Heraclius, the Roman emperor, to solicit a peace, which he refused to grant, except on condition of his renouncing the crucified God, and worshipping the sun. Heraclius, deriving courage from despair, penetrated into the Persian empire, and pillaged and burned the palace of Chosroes, who was dethroned by his own son, and cast into prison, after witnessing the massacre of 18 of his sons, and suffering every indignity. His sufferings were terminated by his death, in 628.

CHOUANS, in the French revolution; the insurgents on the right and left banks of

the Loire. The name was properly applied to the royalists on the right bank of the Loire, in Bretagne, Anjou and Maine. The principal theatre of the war formed nearly a square, the angles of which are the cities of Nantes, Angers, Mayenne and Rennes; but the excursions sometimes extended to the coast, to the city of L'Orient. The origin of the word Chouans is not known. Some derive it from the name of the sons of a blacksmith, who first excited the insurrection in that quarter; others from a corruption of the word chat-huant (screech-owl). According to the latter, there was a horde of smugglers, who, before the revolution, secretly exported salt from Bretagne into the neighboring provinces, and whose signal was the cry of the screech-owl. The revolution broke up the trade of these men, most of whom had no other resource. Accustomed to a vagabond life, they wandered through the country, committing depredations, and were gradually joined by others of a similar character. At first, murder and pillage was the chief object of these wretches, but they afterwards united with the Vendeans (see Vendée) in defence of monarchy and religion, and shared their fate. Since the return of Louis XVIII, several of the chiefs of the Chouans have been honorably rewarded for their former services.

CHOUGH, OF CHOUCH (choucas, French);. the trivial name of a species of crow (corvus monedula, L.). It is about the size of a pigeon, and has a sharp cry; is nearly omnivorous, except that it does not feed upon carrion; is of a dark ash color about the neck and under the belly, though frequently entirely black. The choughs live together in large flocks, and make their nests in steeples, old towers, or in large and lofty trees. Their manners are very similar to those of the rooks, with which they are sometimes seen flying in company. They are exceedingly vigilant in guarding their nests and young from birds of prey, which they attack and drive off with great vigor whenever they approach their vicinity.

CHOUMLA, SHUMLA, or SHIUMLA; a Turkish fortress in the mountains of the Balkan. (q. v.) Varna (q. v.) and Choumla are called, on account of their great military importance, the gates of Constantinople. The town of Choumla, properly so called, is nearly surrounded by a natural rampart, consisting of a portion of mount Hæmus, or the Balkan. The steep slopes of this great bulwark are covered with detached rocks and close, thorny

bushes. The nature of the ground makes it a very advantageous position for the Turkish soldier, who, when sheltered by the inequalities of the ground and a few entrenchments, displays great resolution and address. The town is about a league in length and half a league in breadth, and may contain from 30,000 to 35,000 souls. The fortifications are rudely constructed, but its situation in the midst of a vast natural fortress, capable of containing an immense army, with its magazines, &c., secures it from the enemy's artillery. The air is very healthy in the elevated parts of the Balkan, and in the narrow valleys which lie between its ridges. On the other hand, there cannot be a more unhealthy country than that which extends from the Balkan to the borders of the Danube and the Pruth. This difference between the climate of the mountains and that of the plain is the most effectual defence which nature has given to Choumla. In the late war between Russia and Turkey, it was besieged by the troops of the former power from July 20, 1828, until Oct. 25, of the same year, when they retired, after the conquest of Varna, Oct. 11. On the 11th of June, 1829, a decisive victory was gained by the Russians over the Turks, not far from Choumla. The grand vizier commanded the Turks, who are said to have lost 6000 killed, 1500 prisoners, and 60 pieces of cannon, with large quantities of ammunition and baggage. The loss of the Russians amounted only to 1400 killed and 600 wounded.

CHRISM (from the Greek xpioua, salve); the holy oil prepared on Holy Thursday by the Catholic bishops, and used in baptism, confirmation, ordination of priests, and the extreme unction. Hence the name Christ, the anointed.

CHRIST (Gr. Xorròs, the anointed). Messiah, from the Hebrew, has the same signification. (See Christianity, and Jesus.)

CHRIST, PICTURES OF. Legends exist of a portrait of the Savior, which king Abgarus of Edessa is said to have pc. sessed. This was miraculously impressed by the Savior on a napkin which he placed upon his face, and afterwards sent to the king. The handkerchief of St. Veronica (Berenice) is said to have also contained a portrait of Christ impressed in a similar way. A picture of Christ, taken by St. Luke, is likewise mentioned. In a letter, evidently spurious, which Lentulus, the predecessor of Pilate, is said to have written to the Roman senate, Christ is described as being of a handsome, manly stature and countenance. Among

the existing representations of Christ, the most ancient is in a basso-relievo of marble, on a sarcophagus, of the 2d or 3d century, in the Vatican. Christ is there exhibited as a young man without beard, with Roman features, flowing and slightly curled hair, wearing a Roman toga, and seated upon a curule chair. In the same place, there is another Christ, of the 4th century, with an oval face, Oriental features, parted hair, and a short, straight beard. This representation was the model which the Byzantine and Italian painters followed until the time of Michael Angelo and Raphael. Since the 16th century, the Italian school has generally taken the heads of Jupiter and Apollo as the models for the pictures of Christ. Different nations have given his image their own characteristic features. The head of Christ has become the highest point of the art of painting among Christian nations; and men of the greatest genius have labored to imbody their conceptions of his divinity, the union of the different virtues of his character, his meekness and firmness, and the full perfection of his Godlike nature. The representations of the Savior by Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, &c., are among the sublimest productions of modern art. Christ's head is, for the modern artist, what the head of Jupiter or Apollo was for the ancient, with this difference, however, that it has become more especially the ideal of the painter, whilst the others principally furnished subjects for the genius of the sculptor; and this circumstance shows the difference in the character of the two periods of art, which must, of course, be most apparent in their highest productions. Some of the most elevated expressions of the countenance of the Savior, e. g. the glowing love of his divine soul, cannot be well represented by the marble. There exist, however, excellent statues of Christ. The two best of modern times are that of Thorwaldsen at Copenhagen, and that of Dannecker at Stuttgart.

CHRIST-CHURCH COLLEGE. (See Or

ford.)

CHRIST'S HOSPITAL (generally known by the name of Blue coat school, the title having reference to the costume of the children educated there); a school in London, founded by Edward VI, for supporting poor orphans. At the same time St. Bartholomew's hospital was founded, for the wounded and diseased, and Bridewell was assigned as a place of confinement for vagabonds. Charles II connected a mathematical school with it. There

are generally from 1000 to 1200 boys and girls at this establishment, receiving instruction, board and clothing. The great hall at Christ's hospital is remarkable for some very fine pictures.

CHRISTIAN II, king of Denmark, born at Copenhagen, 1481, was educated with little care. While yet a youth, his violent character led him into great extravagances. King John, his father, punished him severely, but in vain. In 1507, he was called to Bergen, to suppress some seditious movements, where he conceived a violent passion for a young Dutchwoman, named Dyveke, whose mother kept an inn. Dyveke became the mistress of Christian, who allowed her, and particularly her mother, an unlimited influence over him. He was viceroy in Norway, until the declining health of his father recalled him to Copenhagen. After he had ascended the throne, he married, in 1515, Isabella, sister of Charles V. He afterwards remonstrated with Henry VIII of England, on account of the piracies committed by the English ships, renewed the treaties which had been made with the grand-duke of Moscow, and endeavored to deprive the Hanse towns of their commerce. The hopes which this conduct excited among his subjects were soon annihilated by the horrible scenes caused by the death of Dyveke. The relations of Torbern Oxe, governor of the castle of Copenhagen, were accused of having poisoned her. Oxe acknowledged a former passion for her, and the king ordered him to be beheaded. Several other executions spread horror through the whole kingdom.

Christian hated the nobility, and protected the commons and the peasantry against their oppressions. In 1516, a papal legate arrived in the North, in order to dispose of indulgences. Christian received him, hoping that he might be useful to him in Sweden, in obtaining the crown, at which he was then aiming. The Swedes were divided into several parties. Gustavus Trolle, archbishop of Upsal, a sworn enemy of Stenon Sture, administrator of the kingdom, had secretly united himself with Christian; but the Swedish states protected Sture, dismissed Trolle, and caused his castle to be demolished. The nuncio, who arrived during these events in Sweden, was gained over by Sture, discovered to him the plans of Christian, and justified the Swedes to the pope against the charges of Trolle. Christian finally arrived at Stockholm in 1518, for the sake of an interview with the administrator, receiving, for his own

security, six hostages from the first families. When these hostages, among whom was Gustavus Vasa, arrived at the Danish fleet, the faithless monarch treated them as prisoners, and returned to Denmark. He appeared in Sweden, in 1520, in the middle of winter, at the head of an army. The Swedes were beaten at Bogesund, Jan. 19, and Sture was mortally wounded. The Danes pursued their advantage. Trolle presided over the assembly of the states-general at Upsal, and proposed to them to acknowledge Christian for their king. Although many were disinclined to the union, they were, nevertheless, obliged to submit to it. A general amnesty was proclaimed, and all hastened to profit by it. The capital, to which the widow of the administrator had repaired, offered some resistance. As soon as the sea was open, Christian appeared with his fleet before Stockholm, which did not surrender to him. The summer was passing away; his provisions were nearly exhausted; his troops murmured. At last, he resolved to send Swedish messengers to the inhabitants. His promises, aided by famine, effected what his arms had not been able to accomplish. The gates were opened to him. He promised to maintain the liberty of Sweden, and to forget the past. He arrived at Stockholm near the end of October, demanded from the bishops and senators an act acknowledging him as their hereditary king, and caused himself to be crowned, two days after, by Trolle. He bestowed the honor of knighthood only on foreigners, and declared that he would confer this dignity on no Swedish subject, because he had conquered the country by force of arms. In spite of the general consternation, he ordered public rejoicings, during which he knew how to gain the favor of the multitude. He determined to strengthen the royal authority in Sweden, and to effect his purpose by the annihilation of the first families. His advisers differed only as to the means. Finally, Slaghoek, the king's confessor, reminded him of the excommunication of the enemies of Trolle, and added, that, though, as a prince, he might forget the past, he ought to extirpate the heretics, in obedience to the commands of the pope. Accordingly, Trolle demanded the punishment of the heretics; the king appointed commissioners before whom the accused appeared. Christina, the widow of the administrator, was among them. To vindicate her husband's memory, she produced the decree of the senate passed in 1517. Christian

obtained possession of it, and formed from it his list of proscriptions. The accused were declared guilty, and 94 victims were executed in the presence of the king. These bloody scenes continued in the capital as well as in the provinces. Christian justified himself by the public declaration, that they were necessary for the tranquillity of the kingdom. He then returned to Denmark. His way was marked with blood: he garrisoned all the cities, and committed the same cruelties in Denmark. He soon after went to the Netherlands, to request the assistance of Charles V against Frederic, duke of Holstein, his uncle, and against the inhabitants of Lűbeck, who were always ready to assist the Swedes. On his return to Copenhagen, he found all Sweden in arms. Slaghoek's tyranny had excited a general revolt. Christian gave him the archbishopric of Lund, but soon after caused him to be burnt alive, in order to appease the pope, who had sent a legate to Denmark, to examine into the murder of the bishops at Stockholm. In order to reconcile the pope, he altered every thing in the laws which favored Lutheranism, for which he had previously shown much inclination. Meanwhile Gustavus Vasa escaped from prison, and raised his standard against the Danes. The states-general, assembled at Wadstena, declared that Christian had forfeited the Swedish crown. The garrison of Stockholm revolted on account of the want of pay. Christian, exasperated by these events, ordered the Danish governors to execute all the rebels. This measure hastened his ruin. Norby still held Stockholm, Calmar and Abo, three places which were considered as the keys of the kingdom; but he was soon harassed by the inhabitants of Lübeck, who even made an attack upon the coasts of Denmark. Christian, to revenge himself, commenced negotiations with the duke of Holstein, but they were soon interrupted by his own violence. Meanwhile, he published two codes restricting the privileges of the clergy, and extending the rights of the peasantry. They contained many wise laws, which are still in force, but mixed with others which caused general discontent. The nation complained of the debasement of the currency, and the insupportable burthen of the taxes. The bishops and senators of Jutland, perceiving the disposition of the people, formed the plan of revolting against the king. About the end of 1522, they renounced their allegiance, declared Christian to have forfeited his rights, and offered

the crown to Frederic, duke of Holstein. The king, who suspected their designs, summoned the nobility of Jutland to Callundborg, in Zealand; and, as none obeyed the call, he summoned them anew in 1523, to Aarhuus, in Jutland, whither he repaired himself. His arrival compelled the conspirators to hasten the execution of their plans. They assembled in Viborg, and adopted two acts; by one of which they deposed the king, and by the other invited Frederic to take possession of the throne. A civil war was on the point of breaking out, when Christian abandoned his kingdom. In April, 1523, he left Denmark, and took the queen, his children, his treasures, and the archives of the kingdom, on board the fleet. A storm dispersed his ships, threw him upon the coast of Norway, and, after the greatest dangers, he reached Veere, in Zealand. Charles V contented himself with writing to forbid Frederic, the nobility of Jutland, and the city of Lübeck, to act against Christian. The latter had, meanwhile, raised an army and equipped a fleet, and landed at Opslo, in Norway, in 1531. But his troops suffered new losses. Being attacked in his camp by the Danish and Hanseatic fleet, he shut himself up in the city, and his vessels became a prey to the flames. Deprived of all resources, he proposed a treaty to the Danish generals, who finally granted him a safe conduct, permitting him to repair, in the Danish fleet, to Copenhagen, for the purpose of a personal interview with Frederic. In July, 1532, he arrived before Copenhagen. But Frederic rejected the treaty, and the senate ordered the imprisonment of Christian. He was accordingly conveyed to the castle of Sonderburg, in the island of Alsen. He there passed 12 years in the society, at first, of a dwarf, and afterwards of an old invalid, in a tower, the door of which was walled up. A stone table is still shown, around the edge of which is a line worn by the hand of Christian, whose sole exercise consisted in walking round it, with his hand resting on the surface. He was totally abandoned. When Christian III ascended the throne, in 1543, his condition was improved, by virtue of a treaty with Charles V. He lived, from 1546, at Callundborg, with a fixed income, and died at this place, Jan. 24, 1559. His wife, Christina, a professor of Lutheranism, faithfully shared his misfortunes until her death, in 1526. He had three children-John, who died at Ratisbon in 1532, at the age of 13 years; Dorothea, who married Frederic, the elector

palatine; and Christina, who married Francis Sforza, duke of Milan, and, after his death, Francis, duke of Lorraine. It ought not to be forgotten, that Christian's cruelty was, in some degree, owing to the insolence of the nobility, whose arrogance he was determined to repress.

CHRISTIAN VII, king of Denmark, born 1749, son of Frederic V and Louisa of England, succeeded his father, Jan. 13, 1766. In the same year, he married Caroline Matilda (q. v.), sister of George III of England. During his travels, in 1767-69, through Germany, Holland, England and France, he visited the most distinguished men of learning, the academies and literary societies, was made doctor of laws in Cambridge, and everywhere maintained the character of an affable and enlightened prince. At first, the count J. H. G. de Bernstorff, who had enjoyed the entire confidence of Frederic V, continued to preside over the affairs of the state. But, in 1770, Struensee (q. v.), the king's physician, who had gained an unlimited influence over him, and had also insinuated himself into the favor of the imprudent young queen, obtained this post. The reforms undertaken by this minister excited the hatred of the nobility and the discontent of the military. The ambitious queen dowager (Julia Maria of Brunswick, step-mother of Christian) had in vain endeavored to disunite Christian and his wife, in order to obtain the direction of affairs. She now formed a connexion with some malcontents, and succeeded, Jan. 16, 1772, in conjunction with them and her son, the hereditary prince Frederic (Christian's step-brother), in obtaining from the king, after a long resistance, an order for the imprisonment of his queen and Struensee, on pretence that they were conspiring the deposition of the king. From that time the guidance of affairs was in the hands of Julia and of her son Frederic. The king, whom disease had deprived of his reason, reigned. only nominally. In 1784, the present king was placed, as regent, at the head of the government. (See Frederic VI.) Before the taking of the capital by the English, in 1807, Christian VII had been carried to Rendsburg, in Holstein, where he died, March 13, 1808. The queen, Caroline Matilda, after having been conducted to the castle of Cronborg, had been subjected to an examination as to her connexion with Struensee. She afterwards repaired to Celle, where she died in 1775. Christian had but two children, the present king, Frederic VI, and the princess Au