Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/199

* VIOLONCELLO. 155 VIPER. century. Up to the eighteenth century its quality was little known, but since the time ot Haydn the instrument has steadily gained in favor. It soon superseded the lioln da yuinba. The musical literature for the violoncello is exceedingly meagre. VIONVILLE, vyuN'vel', Battle of. The most desperately contested battle of the Franeo-Uer- nian War, fought on the plateau of Vionville. some 12 miles west of Metz, between a French army of about 130.000 men luider Marshal Ha- zaine and a German force of (iT.OOO men under Prince Frederick Charles, August Iti, 1870; also known as the battle of JMars-la-Tour. Tlie battle was one of tlie series of contlicts that i)revent,ed the n'treat of the French Army on Chalons, be- ing preceded by the battle of Coloml)ey-Nouilly on the 14th and succeeded bv that of Cravelotte (q.v.), on the IGth. The battle began at 10 in the morning with an attack bj- the Third Prus- sian Corps on the French under Frossard at Vionville. It lasted for nearly twelve hours and was marked by splendid cavalry charges on the part of the Germans and desperate lighting on both sides. Bazaine overestimated the strength of the enemy and held himself on the defensive until the Germans had been reenforeed in suHi- cient strength to repel all attempts on the part ■of the French to break through tlieir lines. The Germans lost 711 officers and 15.07'J men; the French loss was given at 879 officers and 1,12S men. VIOTTI, ve-6t'te, Giovanni B.^ttista (17.53- 1824). An Italian violin-player, born at Fon- tanetto, in Piedmont, and chietly educated under Pugnani at Turin. After holding for a short time the appointment of first violinist in the royal chapel at Turin, he relinquished that office (1780) in order to travel in Europe with Pu- gnani. In Berlin, Saint Petersburg, Paris, and London his playing created a furore. He first visited London in 1782. An attempt to fotmd an Italian o])era was frustrated by the Revolution of 1701, and Viotti again went to London as a soloist. A groundless charge raised against him of l)eing a revolutionary agent drove him from England; but after living for a time in retirement at Ham- luirg he returned to London, where he became manager of the Italian opera, and in 1795 director of the Opera Concerts. Ill success caused him to return to Paris, where lie was director of the o])era (1819-22). His composi- tions include violin concerts and quartets for violin, tenor, and violoncello, violin duets and solos, and a few pianoforte compositions. His playing was characterized by a vigor and bril- liane.v previousl.v unknown. His compositions are valuable and still in general use. Consult Baillot, yotice sur Viotti (Paris, 182.'j). VIPER (Lat. vipera, viper, adder, serpent, for ''riviimra, fem. sg. of vivipaj'us, bearing liv- ing young, from vivus, alive -|- pareic, to bear, ]>roduce). A venomous snake of the subfamily Vipcrina;. (See Viperid.^;.) Nine genera and about 40 species are recognized by Gadow, all denizens of the Old World, and many known b.v other names and elsewhere described. ( See AnoER: Asp; Death- Aoder ; Piff-Adder; Tree- Viper: and Rattlesnake.) The real vipers of the genus Vipera are European and Asiatic, and are typically represented by the Vol. X.,— ll" common 'adder,' 'viper,' or 'kreuzotter' {Vipera berus), whose range e.tends from Great Britain (except Ireland) to Saghalien Island, and which is the only serpent in England c.ee|)t the water- sniike (q.v.). it rarely exceeds two feet long, and is very variable — gray, yellowish, olive, brown, red, or black, marked along the back with a zigzag band, most distinct, of course, in the lighter specimens. The head is ilat and tri- angular, the neck .small, the body comparativel.v thick, and the tail short and pointed. Vipers prefer heaths, moors, and stony places, where the}- can retreat to thickets and rocky crevices. They are fond of suiuiing themselves on w-arm days, but do their hunting at niglit, when, they are very likely to creep near cani])- lires, as do other nocturnal venomous serpents. They gather into tangled masses when nuiting in the spring, and the young are born in the fol- lowing July or August. They hibernate during cold weather in holes, where several will en- twine themselves into a ball, varying the degree ami length of their dormanc,y with the ))lace and climate. Their bite is not as a rule fatal to a healthy man, but is followed by great depression and nervousness, and the wound is long and troublesome in healing. The Mediterranean countries, along both shores, have another species ( Ii/k'to aapin), the asp (q.v.). From Italj' to Armenia occurs the 'sand-viper' (Vipera aiinnudi/tes), which bears a lleshy 'horn' upon its nose; and a third species {Vipera latastei) inhabits Spain and Portugal. It was probably of the first of these southern species that ancient writers told their tales, such as that wiien vipers entwined together they pro- duced the oi-iim anguiiiiim, and similar state- ments. A medicinal value was long attributed to the flesh, and other old superstitions cluster about the animal. The African vipers are such dreadful snakes as the death-adder, puff-adder, and saw-vipers (qq.v. ). One, especially characteristic of the I'g.vptian deserts, but known from Algeria to Palestine, is the 'horned viper' {Crraslcs cttrnu- ttis), which burrows in the sand during the day, leaving onl.v its nostrils and eyes exposed, but goes abroad at night in search of the small animals upon which it lives, and then is most likel,v to approach Bedouin cam])-fires. It is a yellowish, faintly spotted snake, about two and a half feet long; and above each eye stands a large, horny, spike-like scale. It is more vicious and aggressive than most vipers, and is greatly feared, for its bite is usually fatal. Another species (Cerastes vipera) is hornless. The largest, most ornate and deadly viper is that scourge of India, Ceylon, Burma, and Siani, Russell's viper (Vipera or Diihoin IfasselH), called 'tic-polonga' in Ceylon, 'bora' around Cal- cutta, 'jessur,' and sometimes 'carpet-snake' or 'chain-viper,' by Anglo-Indians. Its colors and markings are shown on the Plate of Foreign Venomous Serpents under Snake. It reaches a length of five feet, and its poison is swift and sure in its fatal eft'ects. Fortunately, the snake is slug- gish, and not easily provoked; and its loud hisses when disturbed serve to warn men away, so that fewer human lives are lost by it than by cobras. For an explanation of the poison-apparatus, ef- fects of poison, and bibliography, see Sn.ke.