Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/397

with / oz. of the flowers to 10 oz. of boiling distilled water. An extract is also prepared by evaporating the infusion, and subsequently adding 15 minims of the essential oil for each pound of flowers used. It is an aromatic tonic and stomachic, and the infusion, if given warm and in large doses, acts as an emetic. The oil is stimulant and carminative, and forms a useful adjunct to purgative

medicines.

CHAMOUNI, or Chamonix, a celebrated valley and village of the French Alps, in the department of Upper Savoy, and the arrondissement of Bonneville. The village, which is the great centre for tourists in the Mont Blanc district, is situated 22 miles S. of Martigny, and 50 miles E.S.E. of Geneva, at a height of about 3400 feet above the level of the sea. A great part of it was destroyed by fire in 1855, and it has thus undergone a striking change in its appearance. It now possesses numerous hotels, a museum, and baths ; and an English chapel was opened in 1860. Upwards of 15,000 tourists are accommodated in the course of a year, the greater pro portion being from England, America, and France. The busiest months are August and September. Excellent butter and cheese are prepared by the peasants, and flax and honey are exported. The valley, which is bounded on the S. and E. by Mont Blanc and others of the Pennine Alps, and on the W. and N. by Bre>ent and the Aiguilles Rouges, is about 12 miles in length from north-east to south-wesb, with an average breadth of two miles ; it forms the upper part of the basin of the Arve, which traverses its entire length. It is the most celebrated in the Alps for the picturesque grandeur of its glaciers, which are only rivalled by those of the Zermatt in the Bernese Oberland. The view from the village up to the top of Mont Blanc is remarkable for its simple and massive sublimity.

The name of Chamouni is a corruption of the words Campus Munitus, or Champ Muni, the Defenced Field, applied by the Benedictine monks to the site of the monas tery here, probably with allusion to the protection afforded by the " strength of the hills." This establishment was founded some time before 1099, on the spot that is now occupied by the village church ; and it has left but little trace of its existence save the name of Le Prieure", some times used instead of Chamouni. In 1530 the right of holding fairs at the priory was granted by Philip of Savoy, and the place thus became a rendezvous for the surround ing population. The reputation of the valley, however, for the savagery of its inhabitants was so great that the nick name of The Cursed Mountains Les Montagnes Maudites was given to the district; and in the 17th century it was regarded as a proof of remarkable heroism on the part of Francis de Sales that he ventured to visit that part of his diocese. General interest was excited by the explora tions of Pococke and Wyndham, who published an account of their adventures in the Transactions of the Royal Society for 1741. They were followed by Saussure (1760), De Luc (1774), Bourrit (1775) and others ; and the number of visitors gradually increased, until the valley became the place of resort it now is.

CHAMPAGNE, a former province of the kingdom of France, with an area of about 10,500 square miles, bounded on the N. by Li^ge and Luxembourg, on the E. by Lor raine, on the S. by Burgundy, and W. by Isle de France and Picardy. It now forms the departments of Ardennes, Marne, Aube, and Haute Marne, with part of Seine-et- Marne, Meuse, Aisne, and Yonne. The details in regard to its physical features will be found under these separate headings. It was divided fnto three principal parts, Lower Champagne, Upper Champagne, and Brie. Of these the first comprised Champagne Proper, Se nonais, Vallage, and Bas- signy, Champagne Proper being the central district, which included the towns of Troyes, Chalons-sur-Marne, Vertus, La Fer8, Pleurs, Planci, Arcis-sur-Aube, Pont-sur-Seine, Nogent, Villemaure, and Aumont. That portion of the district which extended from near Rheims in the N. to near Troyes in the S.-, was further distinguished as Cham pagne Pouilleuse, on account of the poverty of its soil. Upper Champagne comprised the districts of Rethelois, Remois, and Pertois, of which the chief towns were respectively Rethel and M&zieres, Rheims and Rocroy, Vitry and Saint-Dizier ; while Brie included Meaux, Chateau-Thisrry, Coulommiers, Se zanne, Provins, and Bray-sur-Seine. Physically the province belonged for the most part to what is known as the great basin of Paris, only a small part being drained by the Meuse. The eastern portion has consequently the greatest elevation, and the whole surface has a general slope to the west. The principal heights are the mountains of the Meuse, the Forest of Argonne, and the "Western Ardennes, which reach an altitude of 1000 or 1500 feet, but have a very irregular formation. The greater part of the province consists of undulating plains, broken here and there by small clusters of gently swelling hills. Its wines have made its name known over the world. The most valuable grape- districts are the arrondissements of Rheims and Epernay in the department of Marne ; and the wine trade is principally centred in Rheims, Epernay, Avise, and Chalons-sur-Marne.

Sketch-Map of Champagne.

Champagne, which in the time of the Romans was inhabited by the Lingones, the Sinones, the Remi, the Tricasses, and the Cata- launi, began to be known by its modern name of Campania, or the Plain-Country, in the 6th century, when it formed a duchy of the kingdom of Austrasia. During the 9th century it was part of the great countship of Yermandois, and on the disintegration of that domain about 943, it took the rank of an independent countship. In 1030 the title passed to the house of Blois in the person of Odo II.