bility used in most countries of continental Europe, and corresponding with that of earl in Great Britain. It is derived from the Latin comes, meaning companion, which, under the republic, designated young Romans of family accompanying a proconsul or proprætor during his governorship or command, in order to acquire a practical knowledge of political and military affairs. Under the empire a number of persons belonging to the household of the court, or to the retinue of the chief of the state, received the title of comes, with some addition designating their function or office. Comites as well as jurisconsulti surrounded the emperor when sitting as judge, to assist him in the hearing of causes, which were thus judged with the same authority as in full senate. This mark of office was first converted into a title of dignity by Constantine the Great. As such it was soon conferred not only on persons of the palace, or companions of the prince, but also on most kinds of higher officers. These dignitaries, according to Eusebius, were divided into 3 classes, of which the first received the distinguishing appellation of illustrious, the second, that of most renowned, and the third, that of most perfect. The senate was composed of the first two. Among the multitude of officers who, at this period of the Roman empire, were dignified by the title of comes, and of whom some served in a civil, some in a legal, and others in a religious capacity, we find comites of the treasury, of sacred expenditures, of the sacred council, of the palace, of the chief physicians, of commerce, of grain, of the domestics, of the horses of the prince or of the stable (comes stabuli, the origin of the modern constable), of the houses, of the notaries, of the laws, of the boundaries or marks (the origin of the later margrave and marquis), of the harbor of Rome, of heritages, &c. Most of these titles were imitated, with slight modifications, in the feudal kingdoms which arose on the ruins of the Roman empire. Thus we can easily trace in some of the above mentioned titles the origin of the modern grand almoner, grand master of ceremonies, grand master of the royal household, grand equerry, &c., in which the word grand is used as a substitute for the ancient comes. Under the Franks counts appear as governors of cities or districts, next in rank to the dukes, commanding in time of war, and administering justice in time of peace. Charlemagne divided his whole empire into small districts (pagi, Ger. Gaue), governed by counts, whose duties are minutely described in the capitularies of the monarch. The Frankish counts had also their deputies or vicars (missi or vicarii, whence our viscount or vice-comes). Under the last of the Carlovingian kings of France the dignity of the counts became hereditary; they even usurped the sovereignty, and their encroachments remained unchecked even after the accession of Hugh Capet, who was himself the son of the count of Paris, and it was not until the lapse of several centuries that their territories became by degrees reunited with the crown. The German term for count,

Graf (which is variously derived from grau, gray or venerable; from ypapw, to write, whence the medieval Latin word graffare, and the French greffier; from the ancient Grman gefera, companion, and gerefa, bailiff or steward, whence the English sheriff) first appears in the Salic law in the form of grafio. With the development of the feudal system, as well as of that of imperial dignitaries in Germany, we find there counts palatine (comes palatii, palatinus, Pfalzgraf), presiding over the supreme tribunal; constables, afterward marshals (Stallgraf); district counts (Gaugraf); counts deputy (Sendgraf), control lers of the preceding; margraves (Markgraf), intrusted with the defence of the frontiers (Mark); landgraves (Landgraf), counts of large possessions; burggraves (Burggraf), commanders, and afterward owners of a fortified town (Burg), &c. With the decline of the imperial power most of these titles became hereditary, as well as the estates or territories with which they were connected, the dignity and possessions of the counts ranking next to those of the dukes in the empire. But there were also counts whose title depended solely on their office, as counts of the wood, of the salt, of the water, of mills, &c. The dignity of count is now merely a hereditary title, mostly attached to the possession of certain estates, and bestowed by the monarch, but including neither sovereignty nor jurisdiction, though connected in some states with the peerage, as was the case for instance under the late constitution of Hungary. In England, where the wife of the earl is still termed countess, the dignity of count was attached by William the Conqueror to the provinces or counties of the realm, and given in fee to his nobles. The German term has been adopted by several nations of Europe, as for instance by the Poles (hrabia), Russians (graf), and Hungarians (gróf).

COUNTERPOINT. See HARMONY.

COUNTERSCARP, in fortification, the outer slope or boundary of a ditch. The inner slope is called escarpe. The term is applied also to the whole covered way, with its parapet and glacis, as when the enemy is said to be lodged in the counterscarp.

COUNTERSIGN, the signature of a secretary or other public officer to attest that a writing has been signed by a superior. Thus the certificates recognovit, relegit, et subscripsit are common on charters granted by kings in the middle ages.-In military affairs, the countersign is a particular word given out by the highest in command, intrusted to those employed on duty in camp and garrison, and exchanged between guards and sentinels.

COUNTY (Fr. comté), in Great Britain and some of the British colonies, and in most of the United States of America, a political division nearly corresponding to a province of Prussia or a department of France. It is synonymous with shire, with which designation it is often interchanged in England, but never in Ireland. The division of England into shires or counties,

though popularly attributed to Alfred, was probably of earlier date, since several of them, as Kent, Sussex, and Essex are nearly identical with ancient Saxon kingdoms. There are now 52 counties in England and Wales, 33 in Scotland, and 32 in Ireland. The county is an administrative division, and its principal officers are a lord lieutenant, who has command of the militia; a custos rotulorum, or keeper of the rolls or archives; a sheriff, a receiver-general of taxes, a coroner, justices of the peace, an under-sheriff, and a clerk of the peace. The assize court, county court, and hundred courts, are the chief judicial tribunals. There are in England 3 counties palatine, Chester, Lancaster, and Durham, the earl of each of which had all the jura regalia, or rights of sovereignty, in his shire. The first two of these have been long annexed to the crown, and Durham, previously governed by its bishop, was annexed in 1836. The United States are divided into counties, with the exception of South Carolina (divided into districts) and Louisiana (divided into parishes). In each county there are county officers who superintend its financial affairs, a county court of inferior jurisdiction, and stated sessions of the supreme court of the state. COUP (French), a blow, is used in various connections to denote a sudden, decisive action, as coup de main, in military language, a prompt, unexpected attack; coup d'ail, in the same, a rapid conception of the advantages and disadvantages of position and arrangement in a battle; coup de grace, a killing stroke, finishing the torments of the victim; coup de théâtre, a sudden change in the action; coup de soleil, a stroke of the sun; coup d'état, a sudden, arbitrary, and forcible measure in politics, used mostly for the violent overthrow of a constitution.

COUPON (Fr. couper, to cut), an interest certificate attached to the bottom of bonds on which the interest is payable at particular periods. There are as many of these certificates as there are payments to be made, and at each payment one of them is cut off and delivered to the payer.

COURAYER, PIERRE FRANÇOIS LE, a Roman Catholic ecclesiastic, born in Vernon, Normandy, 1681, died in England, 1776. He had taken refuge in England (1728) in consequence of a "Defence of English Ordinations," which he had published (1723) as a result of the convictions to which he was brought by a correspondence with Archbishop Wake. The correspondence took place while Courayer was canon of St. Geneviève, and professor of theology and philosophy. The university of Oxford conferred on him the title of doctor of laws, and Queen Caroline settled a pension of £200 on him for a French translation of Father Paul's "History of the Council of Trent." He also translated Sleidan's "History of the Reformation," and wrote several theological works. He entertained many religious opinions contrary to the doctrines and practices of the church of Rome, but declared himself, two years before his death, still a member of her communion.

He was buried in the cloisters of Westminster abbey. COURCELLES, THOMAS DE, a French theologian, born in 1400, died in Paris, Oct. 23, 1469. He was educated at the university of Paris, of which institution he became one of the brightest ornaments. In 1430 he was chosen rector of that university, and in 1431 was made canon of Amiens, Laon, and Thérouanne, He took a prominent part in the trial and condemnation of Joan of Arc, but was not present at her execution. In the process of her rehabilitation in 1456 he made no excuse for his conduct in this affair. COURIER DE MÉRÉ, PAUL LOUIS, a French scholar and publicist, born in Paris, Jan. 4, 1772, murdered near Veretz (Indre-et-Loire), April 10, 1825. Having received an excellent education, he took, while in the army of Italy, every opportunity of visiting libraries and works of art, and denounced in his private correspondence the spoliation of the latter by the French soldiery. Returning to France in 1800, he attracted the attention of Hellenists by the publication of his remarks upon Schweighäuser's edition of Athenæus. In 1806 he was again with the army, stationed in dangerous and isolated parts of Calabria, and afterward at Naples and Portici, where he occupied his leisure hours in translating Xenophon's treatise on cavalry, and on equitation. Censured for lingering in Rome and Florence instead of attending to his duties, he threw up his commission, but rejoined the army just before the battle of Wagram, after which, however, he left it entirely. While in Florence, he had discovered in the Laurentian library an unedited manuscript of Longus, "Daphnis and Chloe," which he published in Greek and French in 1810. Having, however, in copying the manuscript, accidentally blotted it with ink, he was accused of doing so purposely, and ultimately expelled from Tuscany, while the 27 remaining copies of the 52 he had printed were seized by the Tuscan government. This proceeding was probably prompted by Courier's castigation of the Florentine library authorities in a spirited letter addressed to M. Renouard, and prefixed to his Longus. On his final return to France in 1814, he married, at the age of 42, a young lady of 18, a daughter of his friend, the Hellenist Clavier. The restoration gave him opportunities of trying his strength in politics. He denounced the follies of the new administration in numerous pamphlets, which produced a strong impression upon the public mind, but involved Courier in troubles with the government, and he was arrested on several occasions. His most effective pamphlet, Pamphlet des pamphlets, appeared in 1824, and was called by his biographer, Armand Carrel, "the last note of the expiring swan," for during the spring of the following year he was found shot near his country seat. Five years later it was ascertained that he had been murdered by his gamekeeper, Frémont, who had died of apoplexy, but no clue was discovered to the motive which

prompted him to the deed. Courier's pamphlets are masterpieces of style. They have been published, together with his translations from the Greek and other works, in Paris, 1834, in 4 vols., and reprinted by Didot in 1 vol. The best edition of his translation of Longus is that of 1825.

COURLAND, or KURLAND, one of the Baltic provinces of Russia in Europe, bounded N. by the gulf of Riga and Livonia, E. by the government of Vitepsk, S. by that of Kovno, and W. by the Baltic sea; area, 10,608 sq. m.; pop. in 1851, 539,270. The face of the country is level, but interspersed with some hills, the highest of which has an elevation of 700 feet. The province contains a great many forests, especially of pine and fir, and there are said to be no less than 300 lakes and ponds, beside a large number of small streams and brooks, and several rivers. Among the larger rivers are the Düna, Aa, and Windau. The soil is not rich, but when properly tilled is productive. The principal products are wheat, rye, barley, oats, peas, beans, hemp, flax, and linseed. Clay, iron, lime, and gypsum are found, and are wrought to some extent. The manufactures are unimportant. The province is formed of the old duchies of Courland and Semigallia, united with the ancient bishopric of Pilten, and the district of Polangen, which once formed part of the duchy of Lithuania. It is divided into 5 arrondissements, each of which is subdivided into 2 captaincies. It has 2 shipping ports, Libau and Windau. Capital, Mitau. The predominant religion is Protestantism, and the ecclesiastical affairs are conducted by the consistory of Mitau. There are about 15,000 members of the Greek church and 45,000 Roman Catholics, who together possess but 19 churches, and are subject respectively to the bishops of Samogitia and Pskof. There are also many Jews, Poles, Russians, and various residents of other nations, among whom are the Krewincks, a race of Finnish descent. The nobility and the city population, and the higher classes generally, are of German descent, while the peasantry and the lower classes are chiefly of Lettish origin. Courland was ruled for a long time by sovereign dukes, as a dependency of the Polish crown. By the marriage in 1710 of Duke Frederic William with the princess Anna of Russia, the influence of that empire became predominant in Courland. It was strengthened in the following year, when after the duke's death Anna was appointed regent, under the protection of Peter the Great. After Anna's accession to the Russian throne in 1730, her uncle Ferdinand officiated as duke of Courland until his death in 1737. Subsequently the duchy was ruled by Anna's favorite, the adventurer Biron, who died in 1772, and bequeathed it to his eldest son Peter. The latter, failing to give satisfaction to the country, was obliged to cede Courland to Catharine II. in 1795. Since that time it has formed part of Russia, though retaining some ancient privileges. The civil governor of Courland is now (1859)

M. de Brevern, who resides in Mitau, while the general direction of affairs devolves upon the governor-general of the Baltic provinces, in 1859 Prince Italiski.

COURT (Lat. curia, the senate house), in the early middle ages, the feudal lord and his family, with their companions and servants-all the persons, collectively regarded, who occupied the various departments of a feudal castle. After the rise of the modern monarchies the name was given by preeminence to the family of the sovereign and their attendants, the residents in the royal palace. Pomp and obeisance had waited on the ancient Roman and oriental masters of empires, and when Charlemagne founded the empire of the West he adopted the titles and ceremonial which were in use in the palace of the emperors of Constantinople. The marriage of the emperor Otho II. with the Byzantine princess Theophania, also contributed to spread in Europe the usages of the imperial court of the Orient. The cours plenières, which followed the establishment of royal over feudal supremacy, were assemblages of all the nobility of the kingdom around the monarch. Charles V. in vain sought to introduce permanently into the German courts the severe and stately manners of the Spanish; and the Spanish reverences and bending of the knee were soon succeeded by the fashion of merely bowing the head. The French court, as organized by Francis I., became a model of politeness and taste to all Europe. Affirming that "a court without ladies is a year without spring, and a spring without roses,' this monarch introduced more of elegance and freedom into society, and substituted the spirit of gallantry for that of courtesy. A distinction was made between the severe manners of the palace and the freer etiquette allowed in the field and in travelling. The French court obtained its highest prestige for wit and grace under Louis XIV. In England, the courts of Elizabeth and Queen Anne have been most illustrious for the learned and witty men that attended them, and that of Charles II. was most famous for its gayety. The court ton is any peculiarity of manner imitated from the personal habit of the sovereign. The Spanish language was spoken in the German imperial court till about the end of the 16th century, when it was succeeded by the Italian. Near the end of the 17th century the French had become the usual court language in all the countries on the continent, but about the beginning of the present century was partially succeeded by the German in most of the German courts. -The right of admittance or presentation at court belonged originally only to the nobility. It was extended also to the higher clergy, and to some distinguished persons, as great artists or scholars, whose accomplishments were regarded as giving them personal nobility. The reign of Frederic the Great and the period of the French revolution relaxed the conditions of presentation, though Napoleon in his new imperial court revived all the dignities and strict