ate virtue." Among its early
members Cogers Hall reckoned John Wilkes, one of its first presidents,
and Curran, who in 1773 writes to a friend that he spent a couple of
hours every night at the Hall. Later Dickens was a prominent member.

See Peter Rayleigh, _History of Ye Antient Society of Cogers_ (London,
1904).

COGHLAN, CHARLES FRANCIS (1841-1899), Irish actor, was born in Paris,
and was educated for the law. He made his first London appearance in
1860, and became the leading actor at the Prince of Wales's. He went to
America in 1876, where he remained for the rest of his life, playing
first in Augustin Daly's company and then in the Union Square stock
company, during the long run of _The Celebrated Case_. He also played
with his sister, and in support of Mrs Langtry and Mrs Fiske, and in
1898 produced a version of Dumas' _Kean_, called _The Royal Box_, in
which he successfully starred during the last years of his life. He died
in Galveston, Texas, on the 27th of November 1899.

His sister, the actress ROSE COGHLAN (1853- ), went to America in 1871,
was again in England from 1873 to 1877, playing with Barry Sullivan, and
then returned to America, where she became prominent as Countess Zicka
in _Diplomacy_, and Stephanie in _Forget-me-not_. She was at Wallack's
almost continuously until 1888, and subsequently appeared in melodrama
in parts like the title-role of _The Sporting Duchess_.

COGNAC, a town of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in
the department of Charente, on the left bank of the river Charente, 32
m. W. of Angouleme on the Ouest-Etat railway, between Angouleme and
Saintes. Pop. (1906) 18,389. The streets of the old town--which borders
the river--are narrow and tortuous, but the newer parts are well
provided with open spaces. The chief of these is the beautiful Parc
Francois 1er overlooking the Charente. In one of the squares there is a
statue of Francis I., who was born here. The chief building is a church
of the 12th century dedicated to St Leger, which preserves a fine
Romanesque facade and a tower of the 15th century. A castle of the 15th
and 16th centuries, once the residence of the counts of Angouleme, now a
storehouse for brandy, and a medieval gate stand in the older part of
the town. Cognac is the seat of a subprefect and has tribunals of first
instance and of commerce, a council of trade arbitrators, a chamber of
commerce, and consulates of the United State