Vienne (HAUTE an interior department)
HAUTE, an interior department of France, S. E. of Vienne; bounded on the W. by departments of Vienne, Charente, and Dordogne; area, 2,119 square miles; pop. about 385,000. It is watered by the Vienne and tributaries. The surface is for the most part level, though not fertile, but is -VIEUXTEMPS traversed by ranges of low hills, including the Monts du Limousin. There is much cattle breeding. Kaolin is the chief mineral product, and much porcelain is made.
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Vienne (One of the most ancient towns)
one of the most ancient towns of France, in the department of Isère; on the Rhone, 19 miles S. of Lyons. The river Gère passes through the town, and here joins the Rhone, after having supplied motive power to a number of mills and factories. Vienne was the chief town of the Allobroges, is mentioned by Cæsar, and by Martial; in the time of the Roman emperors it was the rival of Lyons. Besides numerous water conduits, etc., of Roman construction, there are a Corinthian temple of Augustus and Livia, remains of theater and a a pyramid, called The Eagle, 72 feet high; and the museum containing many relics of Roman antiquity. The cathedral of St. Maurice, partly Romanesque, partly Gothic, was built in 1107-1251; St. Peter's dates from the 6th century. The town was prominent under the Burgundian princes, and its archbishop disputed with his neighbor of Lyons the primacy of Gaul. In 1312 a council was held dependent of Austria, and largely hos- here, in which Pope Clement V. pronounced the suppression of the order of the Templars. There are manufactures of woolens, silk, paper, leather, and iron goods, and trade in grain and wine. Pop. about 25,000.
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Vigil
in ecclesiastical and Church history, originally the watch kept on the night before a feast (from the 11th or 12th century) the day and night preceding a feast. The practice of spending the night in public prayer, which is probably older than Christianity, prevailed in the early Church, and down to the 14th century was the usual prelude to the greater festivals. But there were many objections to the cusfrom about that date was tom, which, fro gradually discontinued. In the Roman Church the Midnight Mass before the feast of Christmas is the only relic of the old custom. Broadly speaking, the vigils of the Roman Church have been transferred to the English Prayer Book. Theoretically, all vigils are fast - days, but in the Roman Church the customs of different countries vary slightly. Also the devotional exercises or services appropriate to the vigil or eve of a festival.
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Vigilance Committee
in the United States , an organization of citizens to put down lawlessness. A vigilance committee differs entirely from a mob. In case crime becomes rampant and it is impossible to control the criminal class by ordinary process of law, an orderly assemblage of citizens and the formal selection of a public committee to enforce the law are considered a legitimate procedure. In the early days of San Francisco , for instance, thugs, thieves, gamblers, and other disreputable people, attracted by the mining camps, filled up the city and overrode the law. The police were terrorized. Citizens were shot down in the streets. No one's life or property was safe. Crime ran riot. In this emergency the bolder citizens convened and organized a committee known as the vigilantes. This committee went after the lawless element and made short, sharp work of the desperadoes. Murderers and other desperate characters were haled out of the saloons and resorts and were hung to the nearest tree or lamppost. Those who were not caught fled. Within a few days order was restored and the city resumed its usual aspect.
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Vignaud
(JEAN) HENRY, an American diplomatist; born in New Or- Ame leans, Nov. 27, 1830; engaged in teaching and newspaper work till the outbreak of the Civil War, then became a captain in the 6th Louisiana Regiment; was taken prisoner at New Orleans in 1862. After his release, as secretary of the Confederate Diplomatic Commission, he went to Paris in 1863. He was connected with the Alabama Claims Commission in 1872, and in the following year was a United States delegate to the International Metric Conference. He was made second secretary to the American legation in Paris in 1875 and first secretary in 1882, serving until 1909. He published several books on Columbus and on early voyages to America.
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Vigo
a seaport town of Spain, in the province of Pontevedra. It is inclosed by a wall and trench, and has an excellent harbor with deep anchorage close in-shore. It was captured by the English in 1719. It has a lazaretto, a fortress, an export trade in wine, bacon and maize, and a prosperous pilchard fishery. It is a port of call of several steamship lines. Pop. about 45,000.
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Vijayanagar
a ruined city 8 miles in circuit, in Madras province, British India; about 40 miles to the N. W. of Bellary, in a plain encumbered with granite rocks, many of which have been rudely sculptured into a variety of forms. After having been for two centuries the metropolis of a powerful Hindu kingdom, Vijayanagar was sacked and ruined by the Mohammedans of the Deccan in 1565. At that date it is described as 24 miles round. The ruins of the ancient city, the building of which was begun in 1336, now cover 9 square miles. The modern village on its site is called Hampi.
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Viking
a rover or sea robber belonging to one of the bands of Northmen who scoured the European seas during the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries. This word has been frequently confounded with sea-king, a term which is applied to a man of royal race, who took by right the title of king when he assumed the command of men, although only of a ship's crew; whereas the former term is applicable to any member of the rover bands.
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Vikings
. See Norsemen
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Vila, The
Vili were nymphs who frequented the forests that clothe the bases of the Eastern Alps. They have been seen traversing glades, mounted on stags; or driving from peak to peak on chariots of cloud. Serbian ballads tell how Marko the great hero of ancient Serbia, was joined in bond of "brotherhood" with a Vila, who showed to him the secrets of the future. At that period Serbia was a mighty nation, extending from the Alps to the Black Sea , from the Danube to the Adriatic-before her freedom was lost at the battle of Varna.
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