Chambord
a castle, park, and village, near Blois, department of Loir-et-Cher, in France. The splendid castle, in the Renaissance style, was mainly built by Francis I., being begun in 1526, and was completed under Louis by Louis XV. XIV. In 1745 it was given to Marshal Saxe, who died there in 1750. Napoleon gave it to Berthier, and in 1821 a company of Legitimists bought it and gave it to the Duke of Bordeaux, in name of the people of France.
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Chambray
sham'bra, a superior quality of gingham woven in plain colors, and usually without pattern. The blended appearance which is a characteristic of chambray is produced by the use of colored warps and white weft. Chambray is woven of finer yarns than ordinary gingham. A coarser variety is known as chambray gingham. When taken from the loom, chambray is starched heavily and calendered. A Jacquard chambray is a figured chambray produced by an arrangement which allows the weft to skip certain warp threads at regular intervals. In calendering a Jacquard chambray is finished by a method which gives it the gloss, general appearance and feeling of linen. See Gingham ; Calendering ; Jacquard ; Linen
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Chamfer
To groove. To cut a channel in. To cut or grind in a sloping manner anything originally right-angled. To bevel.
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Chamfering Tool
A tool for cutting a bevel or chamfer. A tool for cutting a furrow or channel is also known as a chamfering tool.
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Chaminade
CÉCILE LOUISE STEPHANIE, a French composer, born in Paris in 1861. She studied music in Paris and made several successful recital tours in England and the United States. She wrote many pieces of music which had high merit. These include a dramatic symphony, "Trios," and a large number of works for piano and violin, besides many songs.
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Chamisso
ADELBERT DE (shämis'ō), a German poet, born at the castle of Boncourt, in Champagne, France, Jan. 30, 1781. His family being driven to Berlin by the Revolution, he became, from 1796 to 1798, page to the queenmother, and afterward entered the Prussian service, where he remained till 1808. He then revisited France; but shortly after returned to Prussia, and for three years devoted himself to the study of natural science at Berlin. In 1815 he accompanied as naturalist an expedition for the discovery of the Northwest Pas- Jage, and on his return took up his residence at Berlin, where he was appointed superintendent of the botanic garden. He wrote several works on natural history and botany, and an account of his voyage, but his reputation as a naturalist has been somewhat eclipsed by that which he acquired as a poet. In 1804- 1806, in concert with Varnhagen von Ense, he published a collection of poems, under the name of the "Muses' Almanac, ," and in 1813 appeared his famous tale, "Peter Schlemihl, or the Shadowless Man," the plot suggested by a casual question of Fouqué's. Many of his ballads and songs are masterpieces in their way and still maintain their popularity. He died in Berlin in 1838.
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Chamois Leather
a leather made from the skin of the Chamois (Rupicapra tragus), but the skins of sheep, goats, deer, calves, and the split hides of other animals, are also used for making this kind of leather; the superior kinds of which are called chamois, and the inferior, wash-leather. CHAMOMILE or CAMOMILE (kam' ō-mil; Anthemis nobilis), a well-known plant belonging to the natural order Compositæ. It is perennial, and has slender, trailing, hairy, and branched stems. The flower is white, with a yellow center. Both leaves and flowers are bitter and aromatic. The fragrance is due to the presence of an essential oil, called oil of chamomile, of a light blue color when first extracted, and used in the preparation of certain medicines. It is cultivated in gardens in the United States, and also found wild.
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Champ De Mars
a large, rectangular public place in PARIS (q. v.), on the left bank of the Seine. CHAMPFLEURY (shon-fle-rē')_pseudonym of Jules Fleury-Husson, a French novelist born at Laon, Sept. 10, 1821. His story of "The Faience Violin" was a masterpiece of realistic description. He wrote an autobiographical novel of his youthful years in "The Confessions of Sylvius" (1849), continuing continuing the story in "The Adventures of Mariette" (1856). But his "Burghers "Burghers of Molinchart" (1855), a satiric delineation of the provincial bourgeoisie, made him famous. He is a pronounced "realist." He died at Sèvres, Dec. 5, 1889.
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Champaign
a city in Champaign co., Ill., on the Illinois Central, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, and other railroads, 48 miles S. E. of Bloomington. It is the trade center of a rich agricultural region, is the seat very of the Burnham Athenæum and Hospital, and has several banks, daily and weekly newspapers, etc. Pop. (1910) 12,421; (1920) 15,873.
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Champion Hills
a place in Hinds co., Miss., near Vicksburg, where, on May 16, 1863, a battle was fought between the Union army under General Grant and the Confederate under General Pemberton. The Confederate army was defeated and retreated to Big Black river, with a considerable loss of men and guns.
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Champlain (LAKE a picturesque body)
LAKE, a picturesque body of water occupying a basin between the Green and Adirondack mountains, on the border of the States of Vermont and New York. Its length is about 125 miles, and its maximum depth is 280 feet. The waters find an outlet at the N. end, by the Richelieu or Sorel river, which empties into the St. Lawrence. Since the construction of the Champlain canal (1818-1823), which connects it with the Hudson river, the lake has become an important medium of commerce between Canada and the United States. During the wars between the United and Great Britain, this body of water was the scene of numerous military operations. On Sept. 11, 1814, the American Commodore McDonough gained, under adverse circumstances, a most brilliant and thorough victory over the British fleet, near Plattsburg. This was one of the earliest substantial successes for the United States, in the War of 1812. The tercentenary of Lake Champlain's discovery was celebrated in 1909, French, British, and American representatives participating.
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