e took a leading part in drawing up the republican constitution. But
the disputes which broke out among the members led him to resign the
presidency. He was soon after named member of the council of state and
president of the _comite du contentieux_. It was at this period that he
published two pamphlets--_Sur l'independance de l'Italie_. After the
_coup d'etat_ of December 2, 1851, Cormenin, who had undertaken the
defence of Prince Louis Napoleon after his attempt at Strassburg,
accepted a place in the new council of state of the empire. Four years
later, by imperial ordinance, he was made a member of the Institute. One
of the most characteristic works of Cormenin is the _Livre des
orateurs_, a series of brilliant studies of the principal parliamentary
orators of the restoration and the monarchy of July, the first edition
of which appeared in 1838, and the eighteenth in 1860. In 1846 he
published his _Entretiens de village_, which procured him the Montyon
prize, and of which six editions were called for the same year. His last
work was _Le Droit de tonnage en Algerie_ (1860). He died at Paris, on
the 6th of May 1868. Two volumes of his _Reliquiae_ were printed in
Paris in the same year.

CORMON, FERNAND (1845- ), French painter, was born in Paris. He became
a pupil of Cabanel, Fromentin and Portaels, and one of the leading
historical painters of modern France. At an early age he attracted
attention by the better class of sensationalism in his art, although for
a time his powerful brush dwelled with particular delight on scenes of
bloodshed, such as the "Murder in the Seraglio" (1868) and the "Death of
Ravara, Queen of Lanka" at the Toulouse Museum. The Luxembourg has his
"Cain flying before Jehovah's Curse"; and for the Mairie of the fourth
arrondissement of Paris he executed in grisaille a series of Panels:
"Birth," "Death," "Marriage," "War," &c. "A Chief's Funeral," and
pictures having the Stone Age for their subject, occupied him for
several years. He was appointed to the Legion of Honour in 1880.
Subsequently he also devoted himself to portraiture.

CORMONTAINGNE, LOUIS DE (c. 1697-1752), French military engineer, was
born at Strassburg. He was present as a volunteer at the sieges of
Freiburg and Landau in the later years of the War of the Spanish
Succession, and in 1715 he entered the engineers. After being stationed
for some years at Strassburg he became captain, and was put in charge
(at first in