222  CHILDREN IN THE WOOD 
 
 
  Chif'finch (Master Thomas), alias Will 
Smith, a friend of Richard Ganlesse (2 syl.). 
The private emissary of Charles II. He 
was employed by the duke of Bucking- 
ham to carry off Alice Bridgenorth to 
Whitehall, but the captive escaped and 
married Julian Peveril. 
  Kate Chiffinch, mistress of Thomas Chif- 
finch.-Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak 
(time, Charles II.). 
 
  Chignon [Sh~n.y~ng], the French valet 
of Miss Alscrip "the heiress." A silly, af- 
fected, typical French valet-de-chambre.- 
General Burgoyne, The Heiress (1718). 
 
  Chi'lax, a merry old soldier, lieutenant 
to general Memnon, in Paphos.-Beaumont 
and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617). 
 
  Child (The), Bettina, daughter of Maxi- 
miliane Brentano.   So called from  the 
title of her book, Goethe's Correspondence 
with a Child. 
 
  Child of Nature (The), a play by Mrs. 
Inchbald. Amantis was the "child of Na- 
ture." She was the daughter of Alberto, 
banished "by an unjust sentence," and 
during his exile he left his daughter under 
the charge of the marquis Almanza. Aman- 
tis was" brought up in total ignorance of 
the world and the passion-principles which 
sway it, but felt grateful to her guardian, 
and soon discovered that what she called 
"gratitude" the world calls "love." Her 
father returned home rich, his sentence 
cancelled and his innocence allowed, just 
in time to give his daughter in marriage 
to his friend Almanza. 
 
   Childe Harold, a man sated with the 
world, who roams from place to place, to 
kill time and escape from himself. The 
"childe" is, in fact, lord Byron himself, 
who was only twenty-two when he began 
 
 
the poem, which was completed in seven 
years. In canto i. the "childe" visits Port- 
ugal and Spain (1809); in canto ii. Turkey 
in Europe (1810); in canto iii. Belgium 
and Switzerland (1816); and in canto iv. 
Venice, Rome, and Florence (1817). 
  (" Childe" is a title of honor, about tan- 
tamount to "lord," as childe Waters, childe 
Rolande, childe Tristram, childe Arthur, 
childe Childers, etc.) 
 
  Chil'ders (E. W. B.), one of the riders 
in Sleary's circus, noted for his vaulting 
and reckless riding in the character of the 
"Wild Huntsman of the Prairies." This 
compound of groom and -actor marries 
Josephine, Sleary's daughter. 
  Kidderminster Childers, son of the above, 
known in the profession as "Cupid." He 
is a diminutive boy, with an old face 
and facetious manner wholly beyond his 
years.-C. Dickens, Hard Times (1854). 
 
  Children (The Henneberg). It is said 
that the countess of Henneberg railed at 
a beggar for having twins, and the beggar, 
turning on the countess, who was forty- 
two years old, said, "May you have as 
many children as there are days in a year," 
and sure enough, on Good Friday, 1276, 
the countess brought forth 365 at one 
birth; all the males were christened John, 
and all the females Elizabeth. They were 
buried at a village near La Hague, and the 
jug is still shown in which they were bap- 
tized. 
 
  Children in the Wood, the little son 
(three years old) and younger daughter 
(Jane) left by a Norfolk gentleman on his 
death-bed to the care of his deceased wife's 
brother. The boy was to have £300 a year 
on coming of age, and the girl £500 as a 
wedding portion; but if the children died 
in their minority the money was to go to 
 
 
CHIFFINCH