CHESTER
650
CHEVREUL
from the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield, and
that of Riclimond, from York, were combined to
form the new see, and the abbey church, now the
cathedral, was to be served by a dean and six pre-
bends, the complaisant ex-abbot becoming the first
dean. At first, the diocese was annexed to the Prov-
ince of Canterbury, but by another Act of Parliament
it was soon transferred to that of York. The first
bishop was the Provincial of the Carmelites, John
Bird, a doctor of divinity who had attracted the
king's attention by his sermons preached against the
pope's supremacy. Having already been rewarded
by t he Bishopric of Bangor, he was now translated
to Chester. On the accession of Mary he was de-
prived as being a married man, and died Vicar of
Dunmow in 1556. The diocese being now canonic-
ally recognized by the pope, George Cotys, Master of
Balliol and Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, in
which university he had been a distinguished lecturer
in theology, w-as appointed bishop by the Holy See.
In 1556 he was succeeded by Cuthbert Scott, a very
learned theologian and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge
University. On the accession of Elizabeth he was
one of the four Catholic bishops chosen to defend
Catholic doctrine at the conference at Westminster,
and immediately after this he was sent to the Tower.
Being released on bail, he contrived to escape to the
Continent. He died at Louvain, 9 Oct., 1564. The
arms of the see were: gules, three mitres with their
labels, or.
Lysons, Cheshire (1S10); Hemingway, History of Chester (Chester. 1831); Obmerod, History of Cheshire (1882); Morris, < I, !, r during thi l'lanlatj' tut and Tudor Periods (privately printed, 1S9J); Chester Architectural and Archtrological Society Journal; IIiatt, Chester: The Cathedral and See (London, 1905).
Edwin Burton. Chester Plays. See Miracle Plays.
Cheverus, Jean-Louis Lefebvre, de, first Bishop of Boston, U. S. A., Bishop of Montauban; Arch- bishop of Bordeaux, France, and Cardinal, b. at Mayenne, France, 28 January, 1768; d. at Bordeaux, 19 July, 1836. Ordained priest by dispensation when not yet twenty-three, he was appointed assist- ant to an uncle, whom he shortly succeeded as pastor of Mayenne, receiving faculties, also, to act as vicar- general. Refusal to take the oath imposed by the Revolution cost him his parish, and very nearly his life. He escaped from Paris to London, in disguise. Preferred aid on his arrival, he replied: "The little I have will suffice until I learn something of the lan- guage. Once acquainted with that, I can earn my living by manual labour, if necessary". In three montlis he knew English enough to teach, and within a year gathered a congregation. A letter from a former professor, the Rev. Francis A. Matignon, then pastor at Boston, told him of the hard conditions and crying needs of Catholic work there, urging, also, his peculiar fitness for bringing it to success, if he would only come there. The call was heeded. Arriving in Boston, 3 October, 1796, he wrote Bishop Carroll: '" Send me where you think I am most needed, without making yourself anxious about the means of my sup- port. I am willing to work with my hands, if need
His work in New England, covering twenty-seven years, included every form of missionary activity. lie lived among the Indians, mastering their dialect : trudged on foot long distances, attending scattered Catholics; nursed the sick anil buried (lie dead during two yellow-fever epidemics; collected funds and built a church in Boston; was business-man, adviser, peacemaker, servant, doctor for his flock, failing t hem
in no form of helpfulness. This disinterested devo- tion to humble duties joined with extraordinary tact gradually won the respect of the prejudiced Puritans. Closer acquaintance, revealing Cheverus's brilliant
talents, wide learning, innate refinement, transparent
holiness, and Christ-like charity, deepened respect
into confidence, veneration, and love. Ministers in-
vited him to their pulpits. The legislature sought
and acted on his counsels. At a state banquet to Presi-
dent John Adams (whose name had headed a list of
Protestant contributors to the Catholic Church build-
ing fund), he was placed next the guest of honour.
Named first Bishop of Boston, 8 April, 1808, he was
not consecrated owing to the non-arrival of the Bulls
until 1 November, 1810.
Philadelphia sought him as pastor, France as a bishop, Baltimore as coadjutor; "I pray, I suppli- cate, I entreat with heartfelt earnestness", he be- sought the pope, "that I may never be transferred; that I may be permitted to consecrate all my cares to my small but beloved flock". He had conquered prejudice, but his delicate constitution could not withstand a harsh climate. Impending loss of health was made the valid excuse of his recall to France, and he was transferred to the See of Montauban, 15 January, 1823. His departure struck Catholics with consternation. Non-Catholics formally protested. "What will become of the American church?" cried Archbishop Marechal. "You were, next to God, my greatest dependence". Montauban was a Huguenot stronghold, but shortly after his arrival there a resi- dent wrote: "There are no longer Protestants at Montauban; we are all bishop's people ". On 30 July. 1826, he was elevated to the Archbishopric of Bor- deaux; Charles X made him a peer; and on 1 February, 1835, he was created cardinal. In Massachusetts his career became an apologia for Catholicity. Dr. Chan- ning, the eminent Unitarian divine, asked: "Who among our religious teachers would solicit a compari- son between liimself and the devoted Cheverus? . . . How can we shut our hearts against this proof of the Catholic religion to form good and great men? . . . It is time that greater justice were done to tins ancient and widespread community". (See Boston, Archdiocese op.)
Hamon, Vie du Cardinal Cheverus (Paris, 1837, 1883), tl Stewart (Boston, 1S:!9>: Shea, Life and Times of Archbishop Carroll (New York. 1SSS); Leahy, Archdiocese of Boston in History of the Catholic Church in the New England States (Bos- ton, 1S89).
Joseph V. Tracy.
Chevreul, Michel-Eugene, chemist, physicist, ami philosopher, b. at Angers, France, 31 August, 17S6; d. at Paris, 9 April, 1889. His father was a physician, who had liimself been an investigator and had reached the age of ninety -one years. Educated in his native town at the Ecole Centrale, formerly the university, Chevreul went to Paris at the age of seventeen and obtained a place in the laboratory of Vauquelin, a chemical-manufacturer. Subsequently he became chief of this laboratory. At the age of twenty he began contributing to scientific literature, and at twenty-six had attained the rank of professor at the Lycee Charlemagne. Later he became director of the Gobelins, member of the Academy of Sciences, and was admitted to the Legion of Honour, in which he won every promotion until he ultimately received the Grand Cross. His centennial jubilee in 1886 was a very remarkable demonstration which the Government directed, ami in which Chevreul partici- pated with bodily ami mental vigour. His funeral, which took place two years and seven months later, was made the occasion of paying great honour to his memory.
Although he is renowned for the extensive range of his work. Chevreul's fame rests chiefly upon two particular and important lines of investigation which he entered upon and followed up with great success: namely, in chemistry. "The Constitution of the Fats", and in physics, "The Harmony of Colours". The former is set "forth in his " Kecherches chimiques
