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 remaiued 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 mediaval 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,

COUP

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 lieu tenant, 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'œil, 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

ness of ceremonial which had existed under the old régime. The precedence of diplomatic agents and others at court is determined partly by the relative rank of states, important republics, as the United States and Switzerland, receiving the same honors as kingdoms; and partly by the degree of relationship to the sovereign, since nearly all the European dynasties are united to each other by family ties.

COURT, in law, an institution having a twofold object, viz.: the conservation of public order by the suppression of violence and crime, and the adjudication of disputes on civil matters between the individuals constituting a community. The first of these is most prominent in a rude state of society; the latter, in an advanced stage of civilization. In the earlier and ruder condition, the laws have principal reference to protection from personal violence, and the judicial function is chiefly exercised in rendering speedy justice to the offenders. Another peculiar distinction is also observable in the administration of laws at the different periods above referred to. In the earlier, it is vested in the executive, which at that time is usually the sole constituent of the government, and this continues to be the characteristic of every nation whose advance beyond semi-barbarism is arrested, or whenever from a state of partial civilization it returns again to its original rude condition. Such was the primitive administration of laws in the states of Greece; the king or chief of a people was not merely a military leader, but also a judge; and this is now the case in oriental autocracies, with only the modification that where the territorial jurisdiction is large, as in Turkey or Persia, the laws are administered by deputies, but who, in like manner as the sovereign of a small state, each within his respective district, perform the functions of executive and judicial officers. A third circumstance may be observed, viz.: that in the earlier period a large discretion is exercised in judicial proceedings. The laws being few, cases will occur that are not provided for; and again, personal security being the chief object had in view, summary justice is naturally preferred to the more tardy form of proceeding which would be involved by a regard to the rules of evidence which in a more advanced stage of society are deemed essential; indeed, these rules are an after growth, and require a long experience and an intellectual habit to develop. The Roman consuls were at first executive and judicial magistrates. The progress of the people in civilization was indicated by their demand of some check upon the arbitrary judgment of the consuls in their judicial capacity, which led to the compilation of the laws of the 12 tables; a still further advance was shown in the separation of the judicial from the consular office, and the appointment of the prætor. But although the Roman mind was eminently legal, it did not during the existence of the republic attain to a clear idea of the importance of a su

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pervisory power for the correction of the errors of inferior tribunals. The assemblies of the people, both the centuriata and tributa, had indeed a judicial power, but it was exercised in the hearing of cases in the first instance, and those chiefly of persons charged with capital offences. But in civil causes (judicia privata) there was not properly an appeal from the judgment of the prætor, or of the judges (or more properly juries) appointed by him. The nearest approach to it was the power exercised by the prætor in certain cases of setting aside the sentence of the judices for fraud, and so the assistance of the tribunes was sometimes invoked against the corrupt conduct of the prætor himself. Under the imperial government an appeal was allowed from all inferior judges to the emperor, which was in fact usually heard by a court composed of the chief officers of state and distinguished jurists. Even this court was not, however, strictly subject to the rules which are in modern times deemed essential to an appellate court. It not only decided cases brought before it by appeal from the final judgments of inferior tribunals, but would take original jurisdiction in many cases while they were pending before a subordinate court, and not merely made decisions (decreta) in such cases, but also gave opinions (rescripta) to magistrates or private persons upon questions proposed by them.

In the constitution of judicial tribunals under modern European governments there has been a great advance beyond the Roman in all of the particulars which we have named above as appertaining to the administration of law. The separation of the judicial from executive functions has become gradually recognized as a political principle. In England it was asserted at an early period for the protection of personal freedom against royal power, but it was imperfectly carried into effect until within the last 2 centuries, when the tenure of judicial office was made independent of the pleasure of the king. The clause of Magna Charta, Communia placita non sequentur curiam nostram, sed teneantur in aliquo loco, though seemingly intended for the mere convenience of suitors, by prescribing a certain place for the trial of their causes, instead of compelling them to travel about with their witnesses wherever the aula regis held by the king in person might be, in reality had the effect of breaking up that court, and ultimately of establishing the several courts of common pleas, king's bench, and exchequer, presided over by justices appointed for that purpose. The king's bench alone, which retained jurisdiction of criminal cases, continued for some time afterward to be migratory, whence the common form of process returnable to that court was ubicumque fuerimus; and this prevailed after the court became fixed like the others at Westminster, and its itinerancy was but a mere legal fiction. But the judges of all these courts were appointed by the king, and could be removed by him at will; and this power of removal continued until by statute 13 William III.

(1701) it was enacted that the commissions of the judges should be quamdiu se bene gesserint, instead of durante bene placito as formerly, and that they should be removable only upon an address of both houses of parliament. The chancellor alone, who presides over the department of equity, is subject to removal at the pleasure of the king, and his office is held entirely by a political tenure. There are 4 courts of original and general jurisdiction, viz.: the king's bench, common pleas, exchequer, and chancery. These may be considered the outgrowth of the common law, though according to a popular mode of expression chancery is distinguished from the other three, as if not of common law origin, but the equity administered in that court was chiefly indigenous. The ecclesiastical and admiralty courts, on the other hand, derive their mode of administering law from a foreign source, though the limit of their respective jurisdictions is prescribed by acts of parliament, or by long usage, which is supposed to be founded upon statute. The court of king's bench, in the distribution of judicial powers upon the breaking up of the ancient aula regis, retained, as we have mentioned, jurisdiction of criminal cases; but to this was added all that class of cases which, though in reality civil actions between private citizens, yet, as they involved an allegation of force (as in actions for trespass, where the act complained of was alleged to have been done vi et armis), were deemed quasi criminal. But nowithstand ing this narrow limit of its cognizance of civil cases, it remained in one sense the highest court in the realm. It has always been the representative of the king's prerogative, has exercised authority over all other common law courts so far as to restrain them within their proper jurisdiction by writ of prohibition, and has always exercised summary power, in all cases not otherwise provided for, to compel inferior courts and magistrates to do their duty. By a fiction of law it has also acquired jurisdiction over all civil cases except actions relating to real estate, and may in one form of action, viz., ejectment, even try titles to land; which fiction consists of an allegation in pleading that the defendant has been arrested upon process of that court for a trespass, whereupon the plaintiff complains against him for another and the real cause of action. The court of common pleas had originally exclusive jurisdiction of all merely civil actions not involving any criminal offence, and it still retains sole cognizance of actions relating to realty except ejectment, which, as before mentioned, may be also brought in the king's bench. The business of the court of exchequer was originally the collection of debts due to the crown, the proceeding for which was by bill, somewhat in the nature of a bill in chancery, whence this was called the equity side of the court; but jurisdiction was obtained of all personal actions by a fiction, viz., an allegation that the king's debtor hath suffered an injury whereby he is less able to pay his debt, quo minus sufficiens existit, whereupon he was allowed to implead in this

court the person charged with the wrong. This was called the common law side of the court. The old forms of process and proceeding peculiar to these courts have been recently abrogated, but the jurisdiction acquired by them remains. Substantially the same process and mode of pleading is now used in the three courts, by stat. 2 William IV., c. 39 (1832), and other acts, the provisions of all which are included in the more general revision by stat. 15 and 16 Vic., c. 76 (1852), and 17 and 18 Vic., c. 125 (1854). As to the nature and extent of the jurisdiction of the court of chancery, see article CHANCERY. From all these courts an appeal lies to the house of lords. There are, however, some intermediate appeals. From each of the three courts it has been long the practice to adjourn cases of great importance, before judgment, to the court of exchequer chamber, consisting of the barons of the exchequer, the chancellor, lord treasurer, and justices of the king's bench and common pleas. There is also an appeal, in certain cases after final judgment, to the same court (in which cases on appeal the judges of the court from which the appeal is taken do not sit), and from that court an appeal lies to the house of lords; and so in all other cases which are not reviewed in the court of exchequer chamber. Cases in chancery are usually heard in the first instance before the master of the rolls or a vice-chancellor, from whom an appeal lies to the chancellor (with whom two lords justices have been recently associated for the hearing of appeals), and from them to the house of lords. A writ of error, it is said, may also issue from the king's bench to the common pleas, but it seems to have been rarely used. The trial of all common law causes in the first instance is before itinerant or circuit judges, one of whom must be a justice of one of the superior courts of Westminster, which judges are sent annually into every county of the kingdom for the trial of civil and criminal cases which are to be brought before a jury. They were first appointed in the reign of Henry II., and were then called justices in eyre (justiciarii in itinere), but are now designated as justices of assize and nisi prius. Their commission also authorizes them to try all criminal cases, which part of their duties is expressed by the old law phrases of oyer and terminer (to hear and determine), and general gaol delivery; the former relating to cases upon which an indictment is found by a grand jury at the same circuit, the latter to indictments previously found upon which there had been an arrest and imprisonment of the parties indicted. The commissions of assize and nisi prius relate to civil causes. Assize in the old English law was the name applied to the trial of issues relating to the freehold, by a species of jury called recognitors, who were allowed to decide upon their own personal knowledge without the examination of witnesses; in modern law the term designates issues in actions relating to real estate. Nisi prius is a phrase in the writ issued to the sheriff for the summoning of a jury, by which he is