The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 133

c.o.c.kBURN, SIR ALEXANDER, Lord Chief-Justice of England from 1859; called to the bar in 1829; became Liberal member for Southampton in 1847, and Solicitor-General in 1850; was prosecutor in the Palmer case, judge in the Tichborne, and an arbitrator in the _Alabama_ (1802-1880).

c.o.c.kBURN, ALISON, author of "Flowers of the Forest"; in her day the leader of Edinburgh society; was acquainted with Burns, and recognised in his boyhood the genius of Scott (1713-1795).

c.o.c.kBURN, SIR GEORGE, an English admiral, born in London; rose by rapid stages to be captain of a frigate; took an active part in the expedition to the Scheldt, in the defence of Cadiz, and of the coast of Spain; was second in command of the expedition against the United States; returned to England in 1815, and was selected to convey Napoleon to St.

Helena (1771-1853).

c.o.c.kBURN, HENRY, LORD, an eminent Scotch judge, born in Edinburgh; called to the bar in 1800; one of the first contributors to the _Edinburgh Review_; was Solicitor-General for Scotland in 1830, and appointed a judge four years after; was a friend and colleague of Lord Jeffrey; wrote Jeffrey's Life, and left "Memorials of His Own Time" and "Journals"; he was a man of refined tastes, shrewd common-sense, quiet humour, and a great lover of his native city and its memories; described by Carlyle as "a bright, cheery-voiced, hazel-eyed man; a Scotch dialect with plenty of good logic in it, and of practical sagacity; a gentleman, and perfectly in the Scotch type, perhaps the very last of that peculiar species" (1779-1854).

c.o.c.kER, EDWARD, an arithmetician, and a schoolmaster by profession; wrote an arithmetic, published after his death, long the text-book on the subject, and a model of its kind; gave rise to the phrase "according to c.o.c.ker" (1631-1672).

c.o.c.kNEY, a word of uncertain derivation, but meaning one born and bred in London, and knowing little or nothing beyond it, and betraying his limits by his ideas, manners, and accent.

c.o.c.kNEY SCHOOL, a literary school, so called by Lockhart, as inspired with the idea that London is the centre of civilisation, and including Leigh Hunt, Hazlitt, and others.

c.o.c.kPIT OF EUROPE, Belgium, as the scene of so many battles between the Powers of Europe.

c.o.c.kTON, HENRY, a novelist, born in London, author of "Valentine Vox" (1807-1853).

COCLES, HORATIUS, a Roman who defended a bridge against the army of Porsenna till the bridge was cut down behind him, when he leapt into the river and swam across scatheless amid the darts of the enemy.

COCOS ISLANDS, a group of 20 small coral islands about 700 m. SW. of Sumatra.

COCYTUS, a dark river which environed Tartarus with bitter and muddy waters.

CODRINGTON, SIR EDWARD, a British admiral; entered the navy at 13; served under Howe at Brest, in the capacity of captain of the _Orion_ at Trafalgar, in the Walcheren expedition, in North America, and at Navarino in 1827, when the Turkish fleet was destroyed; served also in Parliament from 1832 to 1839, when he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth (1770-1851).

CODRINGTON, SIR WILLIAM JOHN, a British general; served in the Crimean war, and Commander-in-Chief after the death of General Simpson (1800-1884).

CODRUS, the last king of Athens; sacrificed his life to fulfil an oracle, which promised victory to the side whose king fell in an engagement between the Athenians and Dorians in 1132 B.C.

COEHOORN, BARON VAN, a Dutch military engineer; fortified Namur, and defended it against Vauban; was successful in besieging many towns during the war of the Spanish Succession; author of a treatise on fortification (1641-1704).

COELEBS (a bachelor), the t.i.tle of a novel by Hannah More.

COELE-SYRIA (the Howe of Syria), or EL BUKA'A, a valley between the Lebanons, about 100 m. long by 10 m. broad.

COELIAN, one of the seven hills of Rome, S. of the Capitoline.

COELLO, the name of two Spanish painters in the 16th and 17th centuries, whose works are in the Escurial.

COEUR, JACQUES, a rich merchant of Bourges, financier to Charles VII., for whom he provided the sinews of war against the English, but who banished him at the instigation of detractors; he was reinstated under Louis XI. (1400-1456).

COEUR DE LION (lion-hearted), a surname on account of their courage given to Richard I. of England (1151), Louis VIII. of France (1181), and Boselas I. of Poland (960).

COGITO, ERGO SUM, "I think, therefore I am." Descartes' principle of certainty, and on which, as on a stable basis, he reared his whole philosophy. See DESCARTES. "Alas, poor cogitator," Carlyle exclaims, "this takes us but a little way. Sure enough, I am; and lately was not; but Whence? How? Whereto?"

COGNAC (17), a French town in the dep. of Charente, birthplace of Francis I.; famous for its vines and the manufacture of brandy.

COGNIET, a French painter, author of "Tintoret painting his Dead Daughter" (1794-1880).

COILA, a poetic name for Kyle, the central district of Ayrs.h.i.+re.

COIMBATORE (46), a town of strategic importance in the Madras Presidency, 30 m. SW. of Madras, situated in a gorge of the Ghats, 1437 ft. above the sea-level, in a district (2,004) of the same name.

COIMBRA (14), a rainy town in Portugal, of historical interest, 110 m. NNE. of Lisbon, with a celebrated university, in which George Buchanan was a professor, where he was accused of heresy and thrown into prison, and where he translated the Psalms into Latin.

c.o.kE, coal with a residue of carbon and earthy matter after the volatile const.i.tuents are driven off by heat in closed s.p.a.ces.

c.o.kE, SIR EDWARD, Lord Chief-Justice of England, born at Milcham, Norfolk; being a learned lawyer, rose rapidly at the bar and in offices connected therewith; became Lord Chief-Justice in 1613; was deposed in 1617 for opposing the king's wishes; sat in his first and third Parliaments, and took a leading part in drawing up the Pet.i.tion of Rights; spent the last three years of his life in revising his works, his "Inst.i.tutes," known as "c.o.ke upon Littleton," and his valuable "Reports"

(1549-1634).

COLBERT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a French statesman, of Scotch descent, born in Rheims, the son of a clothier; introduced to Louis XIV. by Mazarin, then first minister; he was appointed Controller-General of the Finances after the fall of Fouquet, and by degrees made his influence felt in all the departments of State affairs; he favoured, by protectionist measures--free trade not yet being heard of--French industry and commerce; was to the French marine what Louvois was to the army, and encouraged both arts and letters; from 1671 his influence began to decline; he was held responsible for increased taxation due to Louis XIV.'s wars, while the jealousy of Louvois weakened his credit at Court; he became so unpopular that on his death his body was buried at night, but a grateful posterity has recognised his services, and done homage to his memory as one of the greatest ministers France ever had (1619-1683).

COLBURN, ZERAH, an American youth, with an astonis.h.i.+ng power of calculation, born in Vermont, and exhibited as such, a faculty which he lost when he grew up to manhood (1804-1840).