in building, a member of a lodging, or piece of an apartment, ordinarily intended for sleeping in; and called by the Latins cubiculum. The word comes from the Latin camera; and that, according to Nicod, from the Greek καμάρα, vault or curve; the term chamber being originally confined to places arched over.

A compleat apartment is to consist of a hall, antichamber, chamber, and cabinet.

Privy-Chamber. Gentlemen of the privy-chamber, are servants of the king, who are to wait and attend on him and the queen at court, in their diversions, &c. Their number is forty-eight under the lord-chamberlain, twelve of whom are in quarterly waiting, and two of these lie in the privy-chamber.

In the absence of the lord-chamberlain, or vice-chamberlain, they execute the king's orders: at coronations, two of them perforate the dukes of Aquitain and Normandy; and fix of them, appointed by the lord-chamberlain, attend ambassadors from crowned heads to their audiences, and in public entries. The gentlemen of the privy-chamber were instituted by Henry VII. Chamber, in policy, the place where certain assemblies are held, also the assemblies themselves. Of these some are established for the administration of justice, others for commercial affairs.

Of the first kind are, 1. Star-chamber, so called, because the roof was painted with stars; the authority, power and jurisdiction of which are absolutely abolished by the statute 17, Car. I. 2. Imperial chamber of Spire, the supreme court of judiciary in the empire, erected by Maximilian I. This chamber has a right of judging by appeal; and is the last resort of all civil affairs of the states and subjects of the empire, in the same manner as the aulic council of Vienna. Nevertheless it is restrained in several cases: it takes no notice of matrimonial causes, these being left to the pope; nor of criminal causes, which either belong to particular princes or towns in their respective territories, or are cognizable by all the states of the empire in a diet. By the treaty of Osnaburg, in 1648, fifty delegates were appointed for this chamber, whereof twenty-four were to be Protestants, and twenty-six Catholics; besides five presidents, two of them Protestants, and the rest Catholics. 3. Chamber of accounts, a sovereign court in France, where accounts are rendered of all the king's revenues, inventories, and avowels thereof registered; oaths of fidelity taken, and other things relating to the finances transacted. There are nine in France, that of Paris is the chief; it registers proclamations, treaties of peace, naturalizations, titles of nobility, &c. All the members wear long black gowns of velvet, of satin, or damask, according to their places. 4. Ecclesiastical chambers in France, which judge by appeal of differences about collecting the tythes. 5. Chamber of audience, or grand chamber, a jurisdiction in each parliament of France, the counsellors of which are called jugeurs, or judges, as those of the chamber of inquests are called rapporteurs, reporters of processes by writing. 6. Chamber of the edict, or miaparty, a court established by virtue of the edict of pacification in favour of those of the reformed religion. This chamber is now supprest. 7. Apostolical chamber of Rome, that wherein affairs relating to the revenues of the church and the pope are transacted. This council consists of the cardinal-camerlingo, the governor of the rota, a treasurer, an auditor, a president, one advocate-general, a solicitor-general, a commissary, and 12 clerks. 8. Chamber of London, an apartment in Guildhall, where the city-money is deposited.

Of the last four are, 1. The chambers of commerce. 2. The chambers of assurance. And, 3. The royal or syndical chamber of bookellers in France.

The chamber of commerce is an assembly of merchants and traders, where the affairs relating to trade are treated of. There are several established in most of the chief cities of France; and in our own country, we have lately seen chambers of this kind erected for carrying on the British herring-fishery. Chamber of assurance in France, denotes a society of merchants and others for carrying on the business of insuring; but in Holland, it signifies a court of justice, where causes relating to insurances are tried. Chamber of bookellers in Paris, an assembly consisting of a syndic and assistants, elected by four delegates from the principalities, and twelve from the bookellers, to visit the books imported from abroad, and to search the houses of sellers of marbled paper, printellers, and dealers in printed paper for hangings, who are prohibited from keeping any letters proper for printing books. In the visitation of books, which ought to be performed by three persons at least from among the syndic and assistants, all libels against the honour of God and the welfare of the state, and all books printed either within or without the kingdom in breach of their regulations and privileges, are swept, even with the merchandises that may happen to be in the bales with such libels or other prohibited books. The days appointed for this chamber to meet, are Tuesdays and Fridays, at two o'clock in the afternoon.

military affairs. 1. Powder-chamber, or bomb-chamber; a place sunk under ground for holding the powder, or bombs, where they may be out of danger, and secured from the rain. 2. Chamber of a mine; the place, most commonly of a cubic form, where the powder is confined. 3. Chamber of a mortar; that part of the chafe, much narrower than the rest of the cylinder, where the powder lies. It is of different forms; sometimes like a reversed cone; sometimes globular, with a neck for its communication with the cylinder, whence it is called a bottleneck chamber; but most commonly cylindrical, that being the form which is found by experience to carry the ball to the greatest distance.