Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/528

516 CHONTALES CHOPTANK RIVER 1858. Under the instruction of Boyer, Cor- visart, and Pinel, he made rapid progress in his studies, and at an early age was attached to the medical service of the hospitals in Paris. In 1813 he published an Essai sur les rheuma- tismes; in 1817, Clemens de pathologic gene- rale ; in 1821, Traite defievre et des maladies pestilentielles, which was attacked by Broussais, but which has outlived Broussais's theory, and made a reputation for the author. In 1827 Chomel was appointed professor of medicine at the faculty of Paris, as successor to the celebrated Laennec, whose views he held and taught in the same chair. His practice be- came more lucrative than that of any other physician in France. Genest, Requin, and Sestier published their notes of his clinical lectures on typhoid fevers, rheumatisms, and pneumonia (3 vols. 8vo, 1836), which are still deemed standard works in France. CHONTALES, a district of Nicaragua, N. E. of Lakes Nicaragua and Managua, separated from Honduras by the district of Segovia. The chain of the Cordilleras called the Alto Grande mountains traverses the district in a N. W. and S. E. direction, making up the greater part of it. The mining region, which gives the prin- cipal importance to this portion of Nicaragua, lies along the slopes of the mountains, and in this are several towns, mostly occupied by the native Indians. One of the most important of these is Libertad, 35 m. N. E. of Lake Nicara- gua. The gold mines in its vicinity, on the rivers Mica and Bola, branches of the Blue- fields, were worked by the early Spanish settlers, and are still worked by the Indians. The gold appears to be obtained from decomposed aurif- erous slates, which are ground by arrastres. In the same region are found veins of silver ores. Near Lake Nicaragua a bed of coal has been opened, which is probably of the nature of the tertiary coals of South America. Among the mountains are vast plains covered with grass, which gives support to immense herds of cattle and horses. Much good timber is found in the vicinity of the mines, among which are species of oak and pine. Fruits of the tropics grow abundantly in close prox- imity to those of the temperate zones, and the articles necessary for subsistence are easily ob- tained in the greatest abundance. The dis- trict is easily accessible from the lakes. CHOPIN, Frfderie Francois, a Polish pianist and composer, born at Zelazowa-Wola, near War- saw, Feb. 8, 1810, died in Paris, Oct. 17, 1849. His father was French, his mother Polish. His education in music was begun at the age of nine, and was for seven years conducted by Ziwny, and subsequently by Eisner. Prince Anton Radziwill was his patron, and intro- duced him into the best society in Warsaw. He made several journeys to Germany to study the masterpieces of his art, and was at Vienna when the Polish revolution of 1830 broke out. Here he gave several concerts, but the public was absorbed in politics, and his success was 1 not great. He set out for London, but stopped at Paris, where he won immediate and brilliant ] fame as a composer, and performed in private j concerts, but rarely appeared in public. For ten years previous to 1844 he gave only a single concert. In 1836 he formed an intima- cy with Mme. Dudevant (George Sand). His health, always fragile, required a southern cli- mate, and in 1837 they took up their residence i in the island of Majorca, where she nursed him through a long and dangerous illness. The intimacy continued till 1847. In the spring of 1848 he made his long-projected visit to Eng- land, where he met with an enthusiastic recep- tion. Contrary to his former habits, he en- tered much into society, and performed fre- quently at private concerts, but only three times in public, the last being at a concert for the benefit of the Poles. He returned to Paris utterly broken in health, and thenceforth incapable of any continuous labor. He had projected a book upon the theory and art of music ; but only a few pages of it were writ- ten, and these were destroyed with all his un- finished works. As a composer Chopin ranks in the first class, although he produced no great continuous work. Liszt, his friend and admirer, gives an elaborate analysis of the character of his works: "We meet with beau- ties of a high order, expressions entirely new, and a harmonic tissue as original as erudite. In his compositions boldness is always justified ; richness, even exuberance, never interferes with clearness. Daring, brilliant, and attractive, his works disguise their profundity under so much grace, their science under so many charms, that it is with difficulty we free ourselves suffi- ciently from their magical enthralment to judge coldly of their theoretical value." This refers especially to the earlier compositions, " written in the commencement of his career, and char- acterized by a youthful vigor not to be found in some of his subsequent works, even when i more elaborate, finished, and richer in combi- nations ; a vigor which is entirely lost in his j latest productions, marked by an over-excited | sensibility, a morbid irritability, and giving painful intimations of his own state of suffer- ing and exhaustion. His nocturnes, ballads, impromptus, and scherzos are full of refine- ments of harmony never heard before ; bold, and of startling originality. His concertos and sonatas are beautiful indeed, but we may discern in them more effort than inspiration. Some of these efforts, however, are resplendent with a rare dignity of style ; and passages of ' exceeding interest, beauty, and grandeur may be found among them." A complete list of the works of Chopin is given in Lowinski's j MttMciens polonnis et slaves. His life by Liszt, i which is critical rather than biographical, lias been translated by Martha Walker Cook (Phil- adelphia, 1863). His life has also been written by Barbedette (20th ed., 1869). CHOPTANK RIVER rises in Kent co., Dela- ware, flows S. W. into Maryland, and near the