Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/163

* VIEILLE. 125 VIENNA. was awarded (1889) by the Academy of Sciences the Lecoiiite prize of 50,000 francs. VIEIRA, v6-a'ra, Antonio (1008-9.7). A Portuguese preacher and missionary, born at Lisbon. He was taken to Brazil iu 1615, was educated in the Jesuit schools of Baliia, and was ordained in 10.35. He returned to Lisbon in 1041, and rose to the post of Court preacher. He was sent by his Order to Brazil in lfi52 as director of the northern missions. There he was imprisoned by the colonists in 1661 and sent back to Portugal. On the charge of teaching doctrines condemned by the Church in 1665, he suffered imprisonment by the hujuisition for two years more, but was relcas<'<l finally without any demand upon him to retract. In 1681 he re- turned to Brazil, and died there as provincial of his Order. His sermons (1679-99) are consid- ered examples of the best Portuguese prose. Among his other writings may be named: Dis- curso sobre el coineta que apareci6 en Uah'ia en 25 de Octubre dc IGd'i, and Inquisic-idn en Portu- gal con sus prisioneros. VIELE, ve'le, Egbert Ludovickus ( 1825- 1902). An American soldier and civil engineer, born at Waterford, N. Y. He graduated at West Point in 1847 ; served under General Scott in Mexico; and became a first lieutenant in 1850, but resigned in 1853. From 1854 until 1857 he was topographical engineer of New Jersey; in 1857- 58 he was chief engineer of Central Park, New York, and later became chief engineer of Prospect Park, Brooklyn. He reentered the army on the outbreak of the Civil War; became a brigadier- general of volunteers in August, 1861 ; com- manded the land forces in the capture of Fort Pulaski; was enigaged in the advance on Norfolk, Va., and was military governor of that place from August, 1862, until October, 1863, when he re- signed from active service. In 1883 he became commissioner of parks for New York City, and in the following year was made president of the department. In the same year he was elected to Congress as a Democrat, but two years later was defeated in a contest for reelection. He published : Handbook for Active .S'cri'tce ( 1861 ) ; Topographi- cal Atlas of the City of Xew Yorlc (1865) ; and Report of the Board of Visitors to the United States Military Academy at West Point (1886). VIELE-GRIFPIN, ve'e-la' gre'fiiN'. Francis (1864 — ). A French poet of American birth. He was born at Norfolk, Va., but was educated for the most part in France. He there allied himself with the group of literary men who were known, first among themselves and later to a wider circle, as Symbolists. His publications in- clude Cueille d'Arril (1886) made up of verses which appeared in Lxiti-ce ; Les Cygnes (1887) ; Anoo'iis (1888): Joiex (1889); Entretiens poli- tiques et litteraires (1890-92) ; with Paul Adam and Bernard Lazare. Siranhildc (1893) ; Poemes et poesies (1895) ; Phocas la jardiniere (1898) ; and La Ugende ailee de Wieland (1900). Con- sult: Thompson, French Portraits (Boston, 1900) ; and Beres and Lgautaud, Poctcs d'au- jourdhui (Paris, 1900). VIEN, ve'aN', Jo.seph Marie, Count (1716- 1809). A French painter. He was born in Montpellier, and studied under Natoire. in Paris. In 1873 he won the Prix de Rome, and after his return to Paris he became the head of an influ- ential school, in which were trained the principal leaders of Classicism in France. In 1775 he was made director of the French Academy at Rome, and in 1789 Court painter to the King. Na- poleon made him Senator and count of the Em- pire. Ili.s art represents the pcrio<l of transition from the Rococo to Classicism. His masterpiece, "Saint Denis Preaching to the Gauls," is in the Louvre, which also contains "Doedalus and Icarus," and other works. VIENNA, ve-en'na. The capital of .ustria- Hungary, situated on the right bank of the Dan- ube and intersected by an arm of the river called the Danube Canal, into which the small river Wien here empties: latitude 48° 12' N., longi- tude 16° 23' E. (Map: Austria, E 2). It has a temperate climate, the mean annual temperature being 48.8° F. The annual rainfall is 23.42 inches; the altitude, from 500 to 655 feet. The last northeastern outliers of the Alps (Wiener Wald) here reach the Danube plain. Vienna, as enlarged by the incorporation of, the sid)urbs in 1891, is distinguished by an unusually large acreage of forests and meadows within its con- fines, the extent of the total area being very much greater than that of Berlin. Description. Vienna is notable for the mag- nificent Ringstrasse (q.v.) lined with imposing Renaissance structures and beautiful i)ublic parks and .squares, and for its general air of gayety, due to its genial, music-loving popula- tion. In modern architectural development, both in extent and in artistic value, perhaps no city is its equal. The traditional Vienna baroque style, with its open-air embellishments in relief and in color, give everywhere a lively and varied aspect. The modern improvements of every kind, especially in fine new streets, are remarkable. This modernization of the city has been con- tinuous since 1858. The old inner city, which still has many Durchhaiiser, or short-cut passages through the courts of houses, is encircled by the Ringstrasse, marking the site of the interior forti- fications finally demolished in 1857. The -south- west section of the inner city is occupied liv the Imperial Hofburg, and by the Volksgarteii and the Hofgarten, with the extensive square lying be- tween. The 'Burg,' or Imperial residence, is a vast, confused, and generally somewhat uninter- esting edifice, which has been the official home of the Hapsburgs since they originally obtained possession of the city. In the spacious inner court, the Franzensplatz, stands an elaborate monument to Francis II. Through a portal on the east may be entered the Josefsplatz. with the equestrian bronze statue of Joseph II. Here rises the splendid Imperial library, dating from 1722, crowned by a great frescoed dome, and a long, handsomely embellished gallery, with stat- ues. The library contains over 900,000 volumes. There is also an immense and invaluable collec- tion of engravings ( over 300,000 ). In the Outer Burgplatz, which separates the Burg from the Ringstrasse, are two fine equestrian statues by Fernkorn. one to Archduke Charles, the other to Prince Eugene of Savoy. Here on the Ringstrasse is the Burgthor, with five passages, formed by Doric columns. Two immense wings by Semper connect this gate with the old palace.' The at- tractive and popular Volksgarten dates from 1822 and contains the notable modern Grillparzer monument (1889), of elaborate design.