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24:4 CHAMISSO CHAMOIS the terrorists, and defined the doctrine of equal- ity as signifying Sois mon frere ou je te tue. Placed under arrest, he was released after a few days and resumed the directorship of the national library, to which he had been appoint- ed. His arrest being again determined upon, he inflicted serious wounds upon himself while attempting to blow out his brains and to cut his throat with his razor, declaring that he would rather die by his own hand in the full enjoyment of his liberty than submit to the slavery of a dungeon. He was restored to health, but a relapse ended his life. Mirabeau called him une tete electrique, and Grimm, Chateaubriand, and Sainte-Beuve all refer to his influence. M. Auguis published the most complete edition of his works, with a notice of his life and writings (5 vols., Paris, 1824-'5). See also (Euvres de Chamfort, by Arsene Hous- saye (1852), and Pensees, maximes, anecdotes, dialogues, with a biography of Chamfort, by P. J. Stahl (new enlarged ed., with letters from Mirabeau to Chamfort, 1860). CH1MISSO, Adalbert von, or Loots Charles Ade- laide de Chamisso de Bonronrt, a German poet and naturalist, born at Boncourt, France, Jan. 27, 1781, died in Berlin, Aug. 21, 1838. He went in his boyhood to Berlin, where he became a page of the queen of Prussia, and studied at the French gymnasium. He was a lieutenant from 1798 to 1806, when he returned to France ; but he went again to Berlin in 1811 to study natural history. He accompanied Otto von Eotzebue as naturalist in Count Rumiantzeff's expedition around the world, 1815-'18, was subsequently employed in the botanical garden in Berlin, and was a member of the academy of sciences. He wrote the famous story of Peter 8chlemihl(181t; 9th ed., Hamburg, 1867; new illustrated ed., 1868), which has been translated into the principal foreign languages. Among his Gedichte (17th ed., Leipsic, 1861) are many poems which gave him a foremost rank among the lyrical poets of his country. They fill the 3d and 4th volumes of his Qesam- melte Werke (6 vols., 1836-'9 ; 5th ed., 1864), the first two volumes containing his Reise um die Welt, and the 5th and 6th his biography and correspondence. His other publications include another work on his travels, one relating to botany, and one upon the Hawaiian language. With Varnhagen von Ense he edited for some time the Musenalmanach. CHAMOIS, or Gens (nntilope rupicapra, Pal- las), the mountain or Alpine antelope of Eu- rope, and the only animal of that geographical division which partakes in any degree of the character of the antelopes. It is found in the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Carpathian and Grecian mountains, the Caucasus and Taurus ranges, the heights of the Himalaya, and perhaps in other situations of similar character. The chamois is rather more than 3 ft. in length, and a little above 2 ft. in height. Its smooth black horns are about 6 in. long, rising nearly perpendicularly from the fore part of the brow, abruptly hooked backward at their extremities, and nearly parallel through their entire extent. It is beardless, but the body is covered with a short thick fleece of fine wool, to protect the animal from cold, and also with long and silky hair of a deep brown color in winter, brown fawn color in summer, and slightly mixed with gray in spring. The head is silvery yellow, the inside of the thighs and ears white, and the tail black. A small black band winds from the corner of the mouth around each eye. The kids are of a deep yellow color. Impatient of heat, the chamois remains in the summer on the loftiest ridges, or in snowy valleys, clipping for its food the mountain herbs and the tender shoots of shrubs, and rarely drinking. It is remarkable for its agility, and for its keenness of sight and smell. It scents a man at a long distance, is at once thrown into great agitation, and flies at its utmost speed on his first appear- ance. It bounds from rock to rock with an admirable grace, and ascends and descends Chamois (Antilope rupicapra). cliffs which few other animals would attempt. It is more closely allied to the prong-horn (an- tilope Americana) than to any other species of antelope. The structure and form of their horns are nearly similar; and the pelage of each of the two animals is peculiar, though not identical. It is, in some respects, a connecting link between the true antelopes and the goats, although far more closely allied to the former. The chamois is easily tamed, and becomes very familiar and fond of the persons who feed it. The venison is but moderately good, bearing some resemblance to that of the roebuck, but inferior in flavor and quality. The skin is dressed into a fine light leather, in use for un- der garments, and for cleaning plate, glass, and the like ; though but a small quantity of what is sold as chamois, or, as it is usually termed, shammy leather, is actually made from the hide of this animal. Of all sports, the pursuit of the chamois is the most difficult and perilous.