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* VAUBAN. 27 VAUDREUIL. took part in 140 battles, including 53 sieges. Vauban wrote several treatises on technical sub- jects. The principal of these, in addition to the one previously mentioned, was /Jc I'uttaque et do la defense dcs places (173G). The (Euvres militaires dc Vuuhun, edited by fien. Latour Foissac, were published in 1790. Vauban was in- terested in economic subjects and advocated a single tax in Iiis Projet d'uno dime royale (1707). Con.sult: Micliel, Histoire de Vaubavi (Paris, 1879) ; Lloyd, 'fiiiban, Montalembert, Carnot : Enrjineer Htudics (London, 1887) ; Cadet, lioisguilbert, Vauban, Quesnay, Turgot (Rhcinis, 1809). VATJCLUSE, vu'kluz'. A southeastern de- partment of France, consisting of the Princi- pality of Orange, the County of Venaissin, and other parts of the former rrovince of Provence. It is bounded by the Rhone and the Durance, the latter separating it from the Department of Bouches-du-Rhune (Map: France, L 7). Area, 1381 square miles. The western i)art belongs to the Rhone Valley, wdiile the eastern part is tilled with the spurs of the Provencal Alps. The greater part of the department is under cultiva- tion, and large wheat crops are raised. Vinicul- ture is extensively carried on. Potatoes and mangold beets are also raised in large quantities, and the silk culture ]iroduces nearly 2,000,000 pounds of cocoons annually. The cliief manu- factures are paper, silk, alcohol, and chemicals, sulphur being the principal mineral product. Population, in 1890, 230,313; in 1901, 236,949. Capital, Avignon. VAtrCLTJSE, Fountain of. A noted spring in the south of France, in the department and near the village of the same name. It is a cir- cular pool, surrounded by lofty cliffs, which dis- charges from 117,000 to 350,000 gallons of water per minute. The waters flow through a ravine and shortly form twenty brooks. The Sorgue takes its rise in the fountain. Here Petrarch lived in a small house for a number of years, composing many of his finest poems to Laura, an<l writing or beginning most of his other works. VAITD, vo (Ger. Waadt). A canton of Swit- zerland. It is bounded by France and the Can- ton of Neuchatel on the north, the Canton of Fribourg on the east, and France on the south and west. The Jura Mountains are on the west, the Bernese Alps on the east, and Lake Geneva is on the south (Map: Switzerland, A 2). Area, 1244 square miles. The interior of Vaud con- sists chiefly of an elevated plateau. The can- ton has a considerable proportion of its area under cereals, but the domestic supply is still insufficient. Wines, chieHy white, are produced. Stock-raising is well developed. Vaud is a prominent industrial canton. Among its manu- factures are watches, musical instruments, cigars, and chocolate. It has many tourists' resorts and is noted for its numerous educational institu- tions, patronized to a large extent by foreigners. The legislative assembly is elected by the people in the proportion of one member for every 300 electors, and it chooses the executive council. The initiative and referendum are in force. Popu- lation, in 1900. 281,379, largely French-speaking Protestants. Cn|)ital, Lausanne (q.v.). The re- gion, after forming part of the Kingdom of YoL. XX.— 3. Aries, was annexed to Germany earl^- in the eleventh century. It was later nile<l by the House of Ziihriiigeii, after whose extinction it passed in the thirteenth century to the counts of Savoy. It was gradually acquired by F.ern during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, un- der whose rule it remained till 1798, when it be- came the Canton of Lenian in the Helvetic Re- public. In 1803 it entered the Confederation under its present name. VAUDEVILLE, vod'vil ; Fr. pron. vAd'vel'. Originally, a popular song with words relating to some story of the day; whence it has come to ■signify a species of drama in which dialogue is interspersed with songs of this description and with more or less of dancing and 'variety' acting. The name vaudeville is a corruption of' vau (i.e. val) dc vire, from leu Vaux de Tire, the name of two picturesque valleys in the Bocage of Xor- niandy. One Olivier Basscliu, a fuller in Vire, composed in the fifteenth century a numlicr of humorous and satirical drinking songs, which be- came very popular and with others of the sort be- came known all over France by the name of the place where they originated. Jean le Hou.x pub- lished many such in the sixteenth century. In Paris imux de vire were sung especially on the Pont Neuf, to airs which therefore -were called pouts neufs; and as the origin of the name for the songs was forgotten, it was related to the word viUe, and took its present form. As a kind of jiopular song, the vaudeville lasted through the eighteenth century. At the same time the dra- matic vaudeville came into existence, at first in the theatres of the public fairs and then in con- nection with the opera comique, and plays of this kind were composed by Le Sage and other well-known writers. In the nineteenth century Scribe, Desaugiers, and many others wrote vaude- villes, and several Parisian theatres have been largely devoted to their production. In other countries the vaudeville is more or less freely patterned after the French type. Consult : Gaste, Etude critique et historique sur Jean le Houx et le vau de vire a la fin du XVIeme sieele ( Paris, 1874) ; id., ed., Les vaux de vire de Jean le Houx (with introduction and notes, Paris, 1875); id., Olivier Bassclin et le vau de vire (Paris, 1887). VAXTDOIS. vo'dwa'. See Waldenses. VAUDREUIL, vo'dre'y', Loui.s Philippe de RiGAUD, Marquis of (1724-1802). A French naval commander, born at Rochefort, grandson of the following. He entered the n.ival service in 1740, in 1754 became captain, and in 1777 chief of squadron. In the following year he participated in the liattle off Ushant and in the early part of 1779 fought with distinction in Senegal. Later in the same year he took part in "the capture of Grenada and was present at the siege of Savan- nah, where he was wounded. He shared in the French victories oft' Dominica (April and May, 1780), commanded a squadron in the fight be- tween De Grasse and Graves in Chesapeake Bay (September 5, 1781), and participated in the siege of Yorktown. His failure to come to De Grasse's aid in the battle off Santo Domingo (April 12, 1782) possil)ly gave Rodney the vic- tory, but certainly saved Vaudreuil's own squad- ron. He sat in the States-General of 1789, showed himself an ardent Rovalist, and defended