st books in English--on the Continent. Here was produced
the first book printed in England, _The Dictes and Sayings of the
Philosophers_ (1477). C. obtained Royal favour, printed from 80 to 100
separate works--many of them translations of his own--and _d._ almost
with pen in hand in 1491. His style is clear and idiomatic.

CENTLIVRE, MRS. SUSANNA (1667-1723).--Dramatist and actress, was the
_dau._ of a gentleman of the name of either Rawkins or Freeman, who
appears to have belonged either to Lincolnshire or Ireland, or was
perhaps connected with both, and who suffered at the hands of the
Stuarts. She _m._ at 16, lost her husband in a year, then _m._ an
officer, who fell in a duel in 18 months, and finally, in 1706, _m._
Joseph C., cook to Queen Anne, with whom she lived happily for the rest
of her days. She wrote 18 or 19 plays, well constructed and amusing,
among which may be mentioned _The Perjured Husband_ (1700), _The
Busybody_ (1709), _The Warder_ (1714), and _A Bold Stroke for a Wife_
(1717). She was a strong Whig, and sometimes made her plays the medium of
expressing her political opinions.

CHALKHILL, JOHN (_fl._ 1600).--Poet, mentioned by Izaak Walton as having
written a pastoral poem, _Thealma and Clearchus_. As nothing else is
known of him it has been held by some that the name was a _nom-de-plume_
of W. himself. It has been shown, however, that a gentleman of the name
existed during the reign of Elizabeth. W. says he was a friend of
Spenser, and that his life was "useful, quiet, and virtuous."

CHALMERS, GEORGE (1742-1825).--Antiquary, _b._ at Fochabers, Elginshire,
emigrated to America and practised law in Baltimore; but on the outbreak
of the Revolutionary War returned to Britain, and settled in London as a
clerk in the Board of Trade. He _pub._ in 1780 a _History of the United
Colonies_, and wrote lives of Sir David Lyndsay, De Foe, and Mary Queen
of Scots. His great work, however, is his _Caledonia_, of which 3 vols.
had been _pub._ at his death. It was to have been a complete _coll._ of
the topography and antiquities of Scotland; and, as it stands, is a
monument of industry and research, though not always trustworthy in
disputed points. Besides those mentioned, C. was the author of many other
works on political, historical, and literary subjects, and had projected
several which he was unable to carry out.

CHALMERS, THOMAS (1780-1847).--Divine, economist, and philanthropist,
_b._ at Anstruthe