might be thoroughly domesticated and " rendered nearly as familiar and faithful as the dog himself." The cheetah is found throughout Africa and Southern Asia, and has been employed for centuries in India and Persia in hunting antelopes and other ruminant game. According to Sir W. Jones, this mode of hunting originated with Hushing, king of Persia, 8G5 B.C., and afterwards became so popular that certain of the Mongol emperors were in the habit of being accompanied in their sporting expeditions by a thousand hunting leopards. In prosecuting this sport at the present day the cheetah is conveyed to the field in a low car with out sides, hooded and chained like hunting-birds in Europe in the days of falconry. When a herd of deer or antelopes is seen, the car, which bears a close resemblance to the ordinary vehicles used by the peasants, is usually brought within 200 yards of the game before the latter takes alarm ; the cheetah is then let loose and the hood removed from its eyes. Xo sooner does it see the herd, than dropping from the car on the side remote from its prey, it approaches stealthily, making use of whatever means of concealment the nature of the ground permits, until observed, when making a few gigantic bounds, it generally arrives in the midst of the herd and brings down its victim with a stroke of its paw. The sportsman then approaches, draws off a bowl of the ruminant s blood, and puts it before the cheetah, which is again hooded and led back to the car. Should it not succeed in reaching the herd in the first few bounds, it makes no further effort to pursue, but retires seemingly dispirited to the car. In Africa the cheetah is only valued for its skin, which is worn by chiefs and other people of rank. It forms an article of export
from Senegal.CHEKE, Sir John (1514-1557), was born of good family at Cambridge, and was educated at St John s College. His learning gained him the position of king s scholar, and in 1540 he was chosen to fill the chair of Greek then instituted by Henry VIII. Together with Sir Thomas Smith he has the honour of being one of the first who revived the knowledge of that language in England. He specially interested himself in its pronunciation ; and he finally carried his point, through his popularity with the students, notwithstanding the strenuous opposition of the chancellor, Bishop Gardiner. Among those whom he taught were William Cecil and Roger Ascham, the latter of whom, in his Schoolmaster, gave him the highest praise both for scholarship and character. About 1544 he was appointed tutor to Prince Edward, and on the accession of his pupil to the throne he received several considerable grants, and, among other honours, rose to the position of secretary of state. Unfortunately for himself he followed the duke of Northumberland, and acted as secretary to Lady Jane Grey during her nine days nominal reign. In consequence Mary threw him into the Tower, and confiscated his wealth. In September 1554 he obtained his liberty, with leave to travel abroad. He visited Italy, gave lectures on Greek at Padua, and afterwards was forced to support himself by teaching that language at Strasburg. In 1556 he was lured to Brussels by a message that his wife was in that town, and, on his way thither, was seized by order of Philip of Spain, and again brought to the Tower. He was immediately visited by two Catholic priests, who failed to convert him till he was informed that he must recant or be burned. Upon this he yielded, and made two public recantations. He did not long survive his disgrace, and in September 1557 he died in London. Perhaps the most interesting of Cheke s works is the Hurt of Sedition (1549), which gives advice to the people who had risen in rebellion under Ket. To seek equality, he argues, is to make all poor ; and, besides, " riches and inheritance be God s providence, and given to whom of His wisdom He thinketh good." He also wrote Latin translations of some of St Chrysostotn s homilies ; De Obitu Martini Buceri (1551) ; De Pronunciatione Grcecce Linguae, 1555) ; De Super- stitione, presented to King Henry VIII. ; translation of Leo De Apparutu Bfllico ; Carmen Heroiciim, aut EpitapMvm in Antonivm Deneium. See Life by Strype.
CHELMSFORD, the county-town of Essex, in England, 29 miles N.N.E. of London, with which it is connected by the Great Eastern Railway. It is situated in a valley on the Chelmer, near the confluence of the Cann, and has communication by the river with Maldon and the sea, 11 miles to the east. The Cann is crossed by tvo bridges, one of stone and the other of cast-iron ; and there is also a bridge over each of the two branches into which the Chelmer is divided at this part of its course. In the neighbourhood of the island enclosed by this bifurcation are the works of the gas company, and the wharves for the barges on the river. Besides the parish church of St Mary, an ancient and elegant edifice, rebuilt in 1428 and again in 1800, the town has seven churches and c-hapels belonging to different denominations, a grammar school founded by Edward A 7 !., an endowed charity school, a mechanics institute, a museum, and a library. It is the seat of the county assizes and quarter sessions, and has an elegant and commodious shire hall. Its corn and cattle markets are among the largest in the county ; for the former a fine exchange was provided in 185G at a cost of 10,000, and a similar sum is being expended on an enclosure for the latter. In the centre of the square in which the corn-exchange is situated there stands a bronze statue, by Bailey, of Lord Chief-Justice Tindal, who was a native of the parish. There are corn mills, tanneries, and a brewery in the town ; but most of the inhabitants are engaged in agriculture or the trades im mediately connected with it. About a mile to the north is situated the county jail at Springfield Hill, and at a distance of two miles to the south is the racecourse, with a grand stand erected in 1863. The town, not being a corporation, is under the government of a local beard, and within the limits of that jurisdiction it had 9318 inhabi tants in 1872.
Chelmsford lies but a short distance from the site of the Roman colony of Caesaromagus, usually identified with Writtle. At the time of the Conquest the manor was held by the bishops of London ; and in the reign of Henry I. the town was indebted for its bridge over the Cann to Bishop Maurice. After this improvement it rapidly increased in prosperity, and in the reign of Edward 111. it sent four representatives to the council at Westminster. Of the Dominican convent founded in the town at an early period there are no remains ; but a chronicle composed by friar Langford is still extant.
of London, on the left bank of the Thames, but now an integral part of the great metropolis. It gives its name to a parish and a parliamentary borough, the former with 71,089 inhabitants, and the latter, which includes Fulham, Hammersmith, Kensington, and part of Willesden, with 258,050, at the census of 1871. It is connected with the district of Battersea on the other side of the river by three bridges, known respectively as Battersea, Albert, and Chelsea suspension bridges. Like many of the suburban villages of London, it has an interesting history of its own. In 785 it is mentioned by the name of Cealscythe as the seat of an ecclesiastical synod ; and in Domesday Book it appears as Cercehede or C helched. The name was still written Chelchith in the time of Sir Thomas More, who had a house in the village, but it began to assume the form of Chelsey in the 16th century. The
manor was bestowed by Henry VIII. on Catharine Parr,
