is
the case in S. Clemente, S. Lorenzo and S. Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. In
England the choir seems almost universally to have assembled at the
eastern part of the church to recite the breviary services, whereas on
the continent it was moved from one place to another according to
convenience. In Spanish churches it occupies the nave of the church, and
in the church of the Escorial in Spain was at the west end above the
entrance vestibule. (R. P. S.)

CHOISEUL, CESAR, DUC DE (1602-1675), French marshal and diplomatist,
generally known for the best part of his life as the marshal du
Plessis-Praslin, came of the old French family of Choiseul, which arose
in the valley of the Upper Marne in the 10th century and divided into
many branches, three of the names of which, Hostel, Praslin and du
Plessis, were borne, at one time or another, by the subject of this
article. Entering the army at the age of fourteen as proprietary colonel
of an infantry regiment, he shared in almost all the exploits of the
French arms during the reign of Louis XIII. He took part in the siege of
La Rochelle, assisted to defend the island of Re against the attacks of
the English under the duke of Buckingham, and accompanied the French
forces to Italy in 1629. In 1630 he was appointed ambassador at the
court of the duke of Savoy, and was engaged in diplomatic and
administrative work in Italy until 1635, when war was declared between
France and Spain. In the war that followed Plessis-Praslin distinguished
himself in various battles and sieges in Italy, including the action
called the "Route de Quiers" and the celebrated four-cornered operations
round Turin. In 1640 he was made governor of Turin, and in 1642
lieutenant-general, and after further service in Italy he was made a
marshal of France (1645) and appointed second in command in Catalonia.
During the first War of the Fronde, which broke out in 1649, he assisted
Conde in the brief siege of Paris; and in the second war, remaining
loyal to the queen regent and the court party, he won his greatest
triumph in defeating Turenne and the allied Spaniards and rebels at
Rethel (or Blanc-Champ) in 1650. He then held high office at the court
of Louis XIV., became minister of state in 1652, and in November 1665
was created duc de Choiseul. He was concerned in some of the
negotiations between Louis and Charles II. of England which led to the
treaty of Dover, and died in Paris on the 23rd of December 1675