Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/604

CHARLET. 524 CHARLOTTE. iiig in a Rain." Tie took deli^'lit in representing liuniorouslv rustic scenes of jieasants and diil- dren, and in attaching to those designs (]iiaint descriptive mottoes. He enjoyed the friendsliip of the distinguished painter (Jrricault, whom lie <ince restrained l>y good-natured ridicule from committing suicide. Charlet introduced Napo- leon I. in so many of his pictures that his work has been called '"an epic in |)piicil of the gray (oat and the little hat." He died December 30, 1845. Consult de Lacombe, Cliarlct, sa vie et scs Icttics (Paris, 1858). CHARLEVILLE, shilrM'-vfl' (Fr., Charles's town). A town of France, on the Meusc. in the Department of Ardennes, about a mile from Jlc- zi^res, with which it communicates by a suspen- -sion bridge over the Meuse (Jlap: France, L 2). It is a thriving place, well built, with clean spacious streets. It has a teachers' college, a lyceum, and a library of 2;i..")00 ])rinted volumes and 557 !MSS. It manufactires liardware, leather, and beer, and the Meuse alTords facilities for considerable trade in coal, iron, slate, wine, and nails. Population, in 1901, of town. 17.901 ; of commune, 18,772. It was the media-val Arcw J'oiiorum and Carolopolis, and an importjint military station rmtil the destruction of its for- tifications in 1(!87. CHARLEVOIX, shiir'l'-vwii', Pierre Fran- <;ois X.vviEK HE (1082-1701). A French mission- arc and traveler, best known as the historian of 'New France.' He was bom in Saint-Quentin, became a member of the Society of Jesus in 1098, and from 1705 to 1709 taught in the Jesuit Col- lege in Quet«>c, Canada. He then returned to France, where he taught "the humanities and philosophy" in a Jesuit college; but in 1720 was sent to America by the Duke of Orleans to gather infonnation concerning the 'Western Sea,' then supposed to be only a short distance from the Jlississippi River. Arriving at Quebec in Sep- tember, he ascended the Saint Lawrence and the (ireat Lakes "as far as Micbilimackinac. and, after questioning the Indians, reported that the Pacific could probably best be reached liy way of the ilissouri, "the source of which." he said, "is certainly not far from the sea." He pro- ceeded by way of Lake Michigan and the Illinois River to the Mississippi, descended in a small vessel to New Orleans, and. after suffering a shipwreck, went to the island of Santo Domingo, whence, in December, 1722, he returned to France. Subsequently he was sent on various missions by his order, and from 1733 to 1755 collaborated on the Journal des Trfvoux. He was a voluminous writer, but is best known for his Histoirc et description qfnfralc de la Xou- i^elle France avec le journal historique d'un roil- ape fait dans I'Amdrique septcntrionale (174-i; English translation by J. O. Shea, 1805-72), a work which, though written from the .Tesuit standpoint and frequently marred by carelessness and a fatiguing prolixity, contains much valuable material, and has been of great service to later writers on the history of the French in America. .mong his other writings, some of which have considerable value, are: Uistoire et description pcn/rale du Japon (1715; siibsequent editions, much enlarged, 1736 and 17.'>4) ; Histoire du christianismc nu Japon ; Tie dc hi mere Marie de Vlncarnation, fnndatriee des Vrsulines de la Xou- relle France (1724) ; Uistoire de Vile espagnole. i,u de SaintDoniiniquc (1730) : and Uistoire dv I'arapuay (1750: English translation, 1709). CHARLIES. A nickname given to London watchmen in the reign of Charles I., suggested by that monarch's interest in improving the con- dition of the city street patrol. The term held good until the reorganization of the police fon'C by Sir Rolicrt Peel in 1829, after which time it was exdiangcd for that of 'bobbies' or 'peelers.' CHAR'LOCK. See MrsTARu. CHARLOTTE, sh-ir'lot. A city and county- seat of Katon County, ilich., 18 miles southwest of Lansing, on the Michigan Central and the Chicago and Grand Trunk railroads (Map: Jlichigan, J 6). It is of importance as a mami- facturing centre, and ha.s furniture and carriage factories, brewery, creamery, grain - elevators, grist-mills, etc. Settled in 1835. Charlotte was incorporated as a village in 1803. and in 1871 as a city. The government is administered by an annually elected mayor and a city council. The water-works are owned and operated by the nuinicipality. Population, in 1890, 3807 ; in 1900. 4092." CHARLOTTE. A city and county-seat of Mecklenburg County, N. C., 125 miles west by south of Raleigh, on Sugar Creek, and on the Southern and the Seaboard Air-line railroads (Map: North Carolina. 15 2). It is in the gold region of the State, and a branch mint was es- tablished here in 1838. It was closed by the breaking out of the Civil War, reopened in 1809, and was made an assay ollice. The city h:is two female colleges, a military institute, and other educational institutions, a (^arnegie public li- brary, a library for the colored population, hos- pitals for white and colored persons, a United States court-lumse. Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation building, and Vance Park. Biddle Uni- versity (Presbyterian), for colored students, .opened in 1807, is just outside the city limits. Charlotte is the centre of important commercial interests, and has extensive manufactures of cot- ton, iron, mill supplies, caskets, show-cases, leather belting, clothing, etc. The government, imder a charter of 1860 and subsequent amend- ments, is vested in a mayor, biennially elected, and a city council, with school commissioners elected by popular vote. There are municipal water-works. Population, in 1880, 7094; in 1890, 11,557; in 1900, 18,091. Settled about 1750. Charlotte was incorporated in 1708, and in 1774 was made the county-seat. The so-called -Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde- pendence (q.v.) was adopted here on Jlay 31, 1775, the signers of which are commemorated by a monument. In Septeml>er, 1 780. Lord Corn- wallis, after a short skirmish, entered ("liarlotte and occupied it for several days, and later in the year fieneral Gates made his headcpiarters here, imtil superseded by General Greene on De- cenil>er 2. Consult W. II. Foote, Sketches of Xorth Carolina (New York, 1840). CHARLOTTE. ( 1 1 The daughter of Sir Jas- per in Fielding's farce The Mock Doctor. The character was suggested by Lucinde in MoliJ're'.s Medcrin maltjrf lui. (2) The gay fiancIV of Cantwcll, who later marries Darnley. in Hicker- staffe's Ui/pocrite, suggested by Marianne in Mo- liJre's Tartuffe. (3) The simple wife of -Albert, whom Werther loves, in Goethe's Sorrows of