COLFAX 53 Retue de Paris, one of which, Silvio Pellico, attracted much attention. She obtained the prize for poetry from the French institute in 1839 (also in 1843, 1852, and 1854), and was granted a pension by the government. In 1842 she became one of the circle frequenting the salon of Mme. R6camier, upon whose death her own salon became a resort of the literati of Paris. Her husband died in 1851, and she went to England, whence she returned in the following year. In 1859 she went to Italy, where she wrote Madeleine. George Sand having published a representation of her rela- tions with Alfred de Musset in a book entitled Elle et lui, Paul de Musset, his brother, an- swered it with Lui et elle. To this Mme. Colet while in Italy wrote a reply in a romance en- titled Lui, of which several editions were published. In 1864 she went again to Italy, where a strong prejudice was excited against her on account of the supposed irreligious ten- dencies of her writings, and her house at Ischia was surrounded by a mob who threatened her life. Among her volumes of poetry are Le marabout de Sidi Brahim, Reveil de la Po- logne, and Le poeme de la femme; and among her romances and prose works are Lajeunesse de Mirdbeau, Histoire d'un soldat, Folles et saintes, Deux femmes celebres (1846, repub- lished in 1854 under the title of Mme. Du- chdtelet), Deux mois dans les Pyrenees, and Vltalie des Italiem (4 vols., 1862-'4). She also published dramas entitled La jeunesse de Gcethe, Charlotte Corday, and Madame Ro- land, and various translations. Among her latest works are Les derniers marquis, Cour- tisanes de Capri, Journee d'une femme du monde, Satires du sidcle, and Les derniers dbles (1869). COLFAX. I. A N. E. county of Mississippi, formed since the census of 1870, bounded E. by the Tombigbee river, and S. partly by the Oktibbeha, which with its branches intersects the W. portion ; area, about 400 sq. m. The surface is level ; the soil fertile and well adapted to cotton. The Mobile and Ohio railroad passes through the county seat. Capital, West Point. IL An E. county of Nebraska, bounded S. by the Platte river, and watered by Shell and Maple creeks ; area, about 500 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,424. The Union Pacific railroad passes through it, and the Elkhorn Valley road will cross the N. E. corner. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 13,529 bushels of wheat, 27,164 of Indian corn, 15,017 of oats, 8,354 of potatoes, and 2,203 tons of hay. There were 231 horses, 351 milch cows, 423 other cattle, and 295 swine. Capital, Schuyler. III. A N. E. county of New Mexico, formed in 1869 from Mora co., bounded N, by Colora- do and W. by the Rio Grande; pop. in 1870, 1,992. In the western portion gold has been found, and in 1871 there were two quartz mills. The chief productions in 1870 were 5,491 bushels of wheat, 11,000 of Indian corn, 14,398 of oats, 836 tons of hay, and 13,500 Ibs. of wool. There were 56 horses, 355 milch cows, 1,726 other cattle, 9,300 sheep, and 427 swine. Capital, Elizabethtown. COLFAX, Sehnyler, 17th vice president of the United States, born in New York city, March 23, 1823. His grandfather, Capt. Colfax, was an officer of the revolutionary army and the commandant of Washington's body guard. His father died before Schuyler was born, and when he was ten years old his mother married again, and for the next three years he was em- ployed in his stepfather's store. In 1836 the family emigrated to Indiana, and settled in New Carlisle, St. Joseph co. During the five following years Schuyler was a clerk in a country store. In 1841 his stepfather, Mr. Matthews, was elected county auditor and re- moved to South Bend. Schuyler was ap- pointed his deputy and began to study law ; but after serving for two years as senate re- porter for the Indianapolis " State Journal," he established in 1845 a weekly paper at South Bend called the " St. Joseph Valley Register," of which he was both proprietor and editor. In politics it supported the whig party, and in 1848 Mr. Colfax was sent as a delegate to the whig national convention at Philadelphia, of which body he was elected secretary. In 1850 he was a member of the Indiana state consti- tutional convention, in which he spoke and voted against the clause prohibiting free col- ored persons from entering the state. In 1851 he was a candidate for congress, and was de- feated by a majority of only 216, though his district was strongly democratic. In 1852 he was a delegate to the whig national conven- tion at Baltimore, which appointed him its secretary. Two years later he was elected a representative in congress by the newly formed republican party, and was reflected for the six following terms. In 1856 he supported Mr. Fremont for president, and during the canvass a speech made by him in congress, on the ex- tension of slavery and the aggressions of the slave power, was circulated to the extent of more than half a million copies. In the 35th congress Mr. Colfax was made chairman of the committee on post offices and post roads, which place he continued to occupy until his election, Dec. 7, 1863, as speaker of the 38th congress. He was reflected speaker in 1865, and again in 1867. In 1865 he made a journey across the continent to the Pacific coast ; and in May, 1868, the republican national conven- tion at Chicago nominated him for vice presi- dent of the United States, with Gen. Grant as candidate for president. He received 522 votes of the 650 that were polled by the con- vention, and was elected in November; and on March 4, 1869, he was inaugurated vice presi- dent, and took his seat as president of the sen- ate. In 1870 he wrote a letter, which was published, declaring his purpose to withdraw from public life at the close of his term as vice president. He was subsequently led to change this determination, and in the republican na-
