Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/256

Rh 234 V I L V I N pitch, and potash arc exported. The manufactures have only begun to develop of late. In 1884 there were 300 establishments employing 3020 men, and giving an annual output valued at 885,100 (as against 200,000 in 1860). An active trade in timber, corn, and flax (exported) and in manufactured goods (imported) is carried on. Vilna is divided into seven districts, the chief towns of which (with their populations in 1883) are Vilna (see below), Vileika (3905), Disna (8030), Lidy or Lida (7940), Oshmiany (4470), Svienciany (8510), and Troki (2440). VILNA, or WILXO, capital of the above government, is situated 436 miles to the south-west of St Petersburg, at the junction of the Vilia Avith the Vileika, and at the intersection of two great railway lines, one from St Peters burg to Warsaw, the other from Libau to the mouth of the Don. It is an old town, rich in historical associa tions. Its imperial palace, and the cathedral of St Stanislaus, containing the silver sarcophagus of St Casimir, are fine buildings. The (Greek) cathedral of the Holy Virgin contains the remains of Prince Olgerd (bap tized in 1377) and his family. The museum of antiquities has valuable historical collections of the region. The ancient castle of the Jagellones is now a mass of ruins. The old university, founded in 1576, was restored by Alexander I., but has been closed since 1832 for political reasons ; the only departments which remain in activity are the astronomical observatory and a medical academy. The scientific societies of Vilna, especially the medical and archaeological, are well known. In spite of the war of 1812, and the Polish risings of 1831 and 1863, the popu lation has of late increased rapidly. In 1883 it numbered 93,760. The inhabitants are chiefly Roman Catholics in religion and Poles by nationality. The Jews are steadily increasing in numbers and now make more than one-third of the population. The town has an important trade in timber (with Prussia), as also in corn. History. The territory of Vilna has certainly been occupied by the Lithuanians since the 10th century, and probably much earlier ; their chief fortified town, A ilna, is first mentioned in 1128. A temple to the god Perkunas stood on one of its hills till 1387, when it was destroyed by Jagello, after his baptism. After 1323, when Gedimin abandoned Troki, Vilna became the capital of Lithuania. The formerly independent principalities of Minsk and Lidy, as well as the territory of Disna, which belonged to the Polotsk principality, were annexed by the Lithuanian princes, and from that time Vilna, which was fortified by a stone wall, became the chief city of the Lithuanian empire. It was united with Poland when its prince Casimir was elected (1444) to the Polish throne. In 1519 it had a printing-office, and fifty years later the Jesuits founded there a college, which became later on a university. But the plague of 1588, a fire in 1610, and still more the Avars between Russia and Poland, Avhich began in the 17th century, checked its further growth. The Russians took Vilna in 1655, and in the following year it was ceded to Russia. The SAvedes captured it in 1702 and in 1706. The Russians again took possession of it in 1788 ; and it Avas finally annexed to Russia in 1795, after the partition of Poland. Its Polish inhabitants took an active part in the risings of 1831 and 1863, for Avhich they were severely punished by the Russian Government. VINCENNES, a town of France, in the department of Seine, 4 miles east of Paris, Avith which it is connected by a railway and two trannvays. The castle, formerly a royal residence, was begun by Louis VII. in 1164, and rebuilt by Philip Augustus, Philip of Valois, and Charles V. Catherine de Medici added tAvo pavilions, finished in 1614, Avhich Louis XIV. connected by two covered galleries, one of which has been destroyed and the other hidden by casemates. Napoleon altered the castle into a vast maga zine of war materials. Louis XVIII. added an armoury ; and under Louis Philippe numerous casemates and a new fort on the east side were constructed. The population of Vincennes, 20,530 in 1881, Avas 22,237 in 1886. The old castle is a rectangle of 1253 feet by 735. The enclosing wall was originally flanked by nine towers, which Avere cut down to its level between 1808 and 1811, and now serve as bastions. Vincennes is at once a barracks, a fortress, an arsenal, and a school of artillery, and is the scene of most new artillery experiments in France. The donjon is a square tower 170 feet high, with walls 10 feet thick. The chapel, begun by Charles V. in 1379, continued by Charles VI. and Francis I., and finished by Henry II. in 1552, has been recently restored. In the sacristy is the monument erected in 1816 to thp memory of the duke of Enghien, Avho Avas shot in the castle moat in 1804. Vincennes possesses a military hospital Avith 642 beds, and a statue of General Daumesnil, erected in 1873. The Avood of Vincennes contains various military establishments, an experimental farm, and the redoubts of Gravelle and La Faisanderie. In the latter is the normal school of military gymnastics. The Avood, which IIOAV belongs to Paris, Avas laid out during the second empire in imitation of the Bois de Boulogne. In the Lake of Gravelle the Avaters of the Marne are collected in a reservoir, holding up- Avards of 700,000 cubic feet. The Marne flows 130 feet below. On the south border of the Avood near Charenton is the asylum of Vincennes (500 beds), founded in 1855 for the benefit of conva lescents from the hospitals. VINCENNES, a city of the United States, the county seat of Knox county, Indiana, is situated on the east bank of the Wabash, Avhich is navigable to this point. It is the centre of a fertile agricultural district, Avith extensive under lying coal deposits, and is an important railroad centre, where seven railroads intersect. These railroads have their Avorkshops here, in which they employ a large number of men. Besides this there are flour-mills, a Avoollen mill, furniture and cigar factories, and machine-shops. The population in 1880 Avas 7680, an increase since 1870 of 42 per cent. Vincennes is the seat of a university, char tered in 1804. The site of the city Avas settled in 1702. In 1763 the British became its possessors, and it remained a British fort until captured by Colonel G. R. Clarke in 1779. From 1800 to 1813 it was the capital of Indiana Territory. VINCENT, or VINCENTIUS, ST, deacon and martyr, according to the Roman Breviary, Avas born of noble parents at Huesca (Osca) in Spain, and AA^as educated by Valerius, bishop of Zaragoza, who in due time ordained him to the diaconate. Under the persecution of Diocletian he Avas arrested and taken to Valencia. Having stood firm in his profession before Dacianus, the governor, he Avas subjected to excruciating tortures and throAvn into prison, where angels visited him, lighting up his dungeon vith celestial light, relieving his pains, loosing his bonds, and mingling their voices with his in psalms of praise. His warders, having seen these wonders through the chinks of the wall, forthwith became Christians. He Avas- afterwards brought out and laid upon a soft mattress that he might regain sufficient strength for HCAV torments ; but, Avhile Dacianus AA T as vainly meditating punishment, the saint gently breathed his last, as a crowd of bystanders, kissed his feet and treasured up his blood in napkins. The tyrant exposed the body to Avild beasts, but a raven miraculously descended and protected it ; it Avas then thrown into the sea, but could not be hid, and finally received decent burial. The date assigned to his martyr dom is 304 ; he is commemorated on 22d January, chiefly in Spain and the patriarchate of Lisbon. Prudentius (403) devotes a hymn to the details of his martyrdom ; Paulinus calls him the glory and ornament of Spain ; and in more than one of his discourses St Augustine has cele brated his praise. VINCENT, GEORGE (1796-1831?), English landscape and marine painter, was born at Nonvich in June 1796. He studied art under &quot;Old&quot; Crome, and at the age of fifteen began to contribute to the Norwich exhibition. From 1814 till 1823 he exhibited occasionally at the Royal Academy, and also in the Water-Colour Exhibition and the British Institution. In 1819 he removed from NorAvich to London, and he was a contributor to the Suf folk Street gallery from its foundation in 1824 till 1830. He possessed great artistic abilities ; but unfortunately he fell into dissipation, and his works became slight and hastily executed. Finally he dropped out of sight, and he is believed to have died about 1831. His most im portant Avork, a View of Greemvich Hospital, was shoAvn in