former is by Sainte-Beuve (12 vols., 1859-'61), with a review of his literary labors. A new and complete illustrated edition, to consist of fourteen volumes, was begun in 1804. Marin's “Histoire de la vie et des ouvrages de M. de Chateaubriand” appeared in 1833, and M. Villemain's “Chateaubriand, sa vie, ses écrits, son influence sur son temps” in 1858.
CHATFIELD, Julia, educator, b. in London,
England, in 1809; d. in Brown county, Ohio, in 1878.
She was educated by the Ursulines of Boulogne,
and became a nun of that order in 1834. In 1845
she conducted a body of Ursulines from Boulogne
to the United States. When she visited Cincinnati
she was offered three different sites for the convent
and academy she purposed founding. She selected
that in Brown co., Ohio, and erected the convent
and academy of St. Martin's, which became a leading
Catholic institution in the west. She acted as
president of the academy for over thirty years.
CHATHAM, William Pitt, Earl of, British
statesman, b. in Boconnoc, Cornwall, England, 15
Nov., 1708; d. in Hayes, Somerset, 11 May, 1778.
His grandfather, Thomas Pitt, was governor of
Madras, and brought from India the celebrated
Pitt diamond, which he had purchased for £24,000.
The Regent Orleans bought it of him for £135,000,
and it was esteemed the most precious of the crown
jewels of France as long as the monarchy lasted.
Gov. Pitt used his wealth in buying rotten
boroughs until he acquired for his family a vast
parliamentary influence. He sat in the House of Commons
for the famous rotten borough of Old Sarum,
which had no inhabitants. His son, Robert, who
afterward represented this same borough, married
Harriet Villiers, and had two sons, of whom the
older, Thomas, inherited the estate. The younger
son, William, was educated at Eton, and entered
Trinity college, Oxford, at the age of seventeen.
He already began to feel the tortures of gout, so
that he left college without taking a degree, and
travelled in France and Italy for his health. On
his return home he obtained a cornetcy in the
Blues; but in 1735 his family interest gained him
a seat in parliament as member for Old Sarum.
His first speech, in April, 1736, made a profound
impression. He was in the opposition during
Walpole's ministry, and during that of his successor
Carteret. He fiercely denounced the prevailing
custom of subsidizing with British gold petty German
states for the benefit of the German dominions
of the Guelph family. This earned for him
the enmity of George II., who seems to have cared
more for Hanover than for Great Britain; but it
won the patriotic heart of the old Duchess of
Marlborough, who, on her death in 1744, left Pitt
a legacy of £10,000 as a testimonial of her admiration
for his conduct. In that same year Henry
Pelham became prime minister, and would have
had Pitt in his cabinet but for the king's opposition.
Pelham made an issue of this, and in
February, 1746, in the very crisis of the Jacobite
rebellion, the ministry resigned, and the obstinate
king found himself suddenly deserted by the whole
party that had placed his family on the throne.
Carteret, now Lord Granville, tried in vain to form
a ministry; he could not count on more than thirty
lords and eighty members of the lower house. The
ministers therefore returned in triumph, with Pitt
as vice-treasurer of Ireland, and shortly afterward
as paymaster of the forces. In this office one of
Pitt's leading traits of character soon showed itself.
The salary was small, but the various perquisites
made it the most lucrative office in the gift of the
government. Pitt refused to take a farthing
beyond
his stated salary, thus setting an example
that proved to be of great effect in purifying
English politics. Such conduct was considered idiotic
by the politicians of the time, but it won the hearts
of the English people. In 1754 Pitt married Lady
Hester Grenville, sister of Earl Temple and of
George Grenville. In that year the death of Henry
Pelham threw the government into confusion.
His elder brother, the Duke of Newcastle, became
prime minister, and Pitt remained for a time as
paymaster; but in the following year, as war on
the continent was threatened, the king became
alarmed for Hanover, and proposed to subsidize
the Hessian princes and to bribe the Russian
government to browbeat Frederick of Prussia. Against
these stupid measures, which might have ruined
England's chances for victory, both in Europe and
in America, in the great war that was coming, the
far-sighted Pitt most resolutely set his face, and
was accordingly turned out of office. War began
in 1756 between England and France, and it began
with disasters for England. The vast ability and
the lofty character of Pitt had already won such
recognition that there was a popular demand that
he should enter the cabinet as secretary of state
for foreign affairs. He refused to serve with
Newcastle, who was a political intriguer of the worst
type. Newcastle then resigned, and the Duke of
Devonshire became nominal prime minister, with
Pitt as secretary of state and wielding the real
power. During this short ministry occurred the
judicial murder of Admiral Byng for his error of
judgment in failing to relieve Minorca. At the
risk of his power and popularity, Pitt thundered
against this wickedness, and did all that he could
to save the gallant Byng, but in vain. The ministry
lasted only five months. In April, 1757, Pitt
and his brother-in-law, Lord Temple, were dismissed
by the hostile king, but the great cities took pains
to express their disapproval of this action and their
unbounded confidence in Pitt. For eleven weeks,
in the midst of one of the greatest wars of modern
times, England was without a government, while
the Duke of Newcastle was vainly trying to form
a ministry that should not include Pitt. At length
the king was obliged to give way, and in forming
the new ministry Pitt dictated the terms upon
which he would consent to serve with Newcastle.
The latter became prime minister, with Pitt for
secretary of state, but for the next four years “the
Great Commoner,” as he was now called, was the
real ruler of England. These four years were the
most glorious in English history. They decided
the contest for supremacy in the world between
the French and English races, and between
despotic and liberal ideas in religion and politics.
They laid the foundations of modern Germany, of
the British empire in India, and of American
dominion over the Mississippi valley. They made
England mistress of the sea, and at the same time
prepared the way for the independence of the
United States. In the combinations that led to
these magnificent results, Pitt showed himself the
greatest war minister and one of the greatest
statesmen that ever lived. The year 1757 was
made illustrious by the victories of Frederick at
Rossbach and Leuthen, and of Clive at Plassey.
The following year saw the capture of Louisburg
and Fort Duquesne, and the naval victories of
Basque Roads and Carthagena. Next followed in
1759 the capture of Guadeloupe, the overthrow of
the French at Minden, the naval victories at Lagos
and Quiberon, and the memorable triumph of
Wolfe at Quebec. Finally, in 1760 the great
victory of Wandiwash completed the downfall of the
