Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/472

* WECKEKLIN. 396 WEDGWOOD. mer, for solo, chorus, and orchestra (1860); L'Inde (1873) ; and La fete d' Alexandre, in the same year. His Histoire de I'itistnimcntation depuis le seizieme siecle jiisrju'a I'cpoquc ac- tuelle won the gold medal of the Academic in 1875. He has gained great renown as a composer of choral works. WECKHEKLIN, vek'her-len, Geokg Rudolph (15S4-lC.5:i 1 . A German poet. He was born at Stuttgart, studied jurisprudence at the Univer- sity of Tubingen, and entered the diplomatic ser- vice of Wiirttemberg. After serving as secretary to Duke .Tohn Frederick (1614-C.20) he re- moved to England, where he served (1624-41) as an Under-Secretary of State. At the outbreak of the Civil War he chose the side of Parliament and from 1644 to 1649 held the position of 'sec- retary for foreign tongues.' Upon his retirement he was succeeded by John Milton, and in 10.52 was appointed assistant to the latter, but continued in office only a few months and died in London the following year. Weckherlin's German poems are for the most part imitated from the works of the French Pleiade. especially from Rnnsard. or from English writers like Samuel Daniel. He ranks as foremost of the poets before Opitz who tried to introduce Renaissance forms and feel- ings into German verse. His lyrics are poetic in tone, though hard and unwieldy in form. His chief Enslish poems are "Triumphal Shows >Set Forth Lately at Stuttgart" (1616) and "Pane- gjricke to Lord Hay, Viscount of Doncaster" (1619). His collected poems were edited by H. Fischer (Stuttgart, 1893-95). Consult: Fi-scher, as above; Cong, XacJuicliten von dem Leben und den Hehriften R. Wecl.lierlins ( Ludwigsburg. 1S03) ; Hiipfner, WccLlinlins Odcn mid Oesiiniir (Berlin, 1865) ; and Bohm, Englands Einfluss auf Weckherlin (Gottingen, 1893). WED'DEBBtmN, J.oiES (1495?-1553). A Scottish poet. He was born in Dundee, studied at Saint Andrews Iniversity, and became a mercliant. He was active in the Scottish Refor- mation, and in 1539 tied to France to escape prosecution as a heretic, and died there. With his brothers. John ( 1.500 ?-56) and Robert (1510?-57 ?), he wrote a work entitled Ane Com- pendious liuike of (iodly and Spiritual! Sangs with Augmentation of sundrie gude and godlie BaUatcH not eonlenit in the first Editioun. which appeared in 1507. The first edition referred to is unknown and it is tliought that the poems may have originally appeared in broad sheets. The Complai/nt of Heoiland (1548), said to be the only classic work in old Scottish prose, has been attribitpd to one of the Wedderburns. The Compendious linok has been edited bv David Laing (Edinburgh, 1868), and by Mitchell (ib., 1897) : consult also the hitter's The Wedderhurns and Their Work (Lomlcm. 1807). WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES. The names given to the several anniversaries of a marriage are said to be of quite ancient origin, and arose from the gift which was regarded as the most suitable offering from the husband to the wife. The names commonly given to such anniversaries are for the first, paper; second, straw; third, candy; fourth, lealher; fifth, wooden; seventh, floral; tenth, tin: twelfth, linen; fifteenth, crys- tal; twentieth, china: twenty-fifth, silver; thir- tieth, pearl ; thirty-fifth, coral ; fortieth, emerald ; forty-fifth, ruby; fiftieth, gold; seventy-fifth, diamond. The diamond wedding, however, i» often celebrated at si.xty years of married life. The others that are most frequently celebrated are the paper, wooden, tin, crystal, silver, and golden. WEDGE (AS. icecg, OHG. loekki, weggi, Ger. Wecke, Week, wedge-shaped loaf; probably con- nected with Lith. vagis, wedge). The wedge is in principle a modification of the inclined plane. A force is applied by pressure, or more generally by percussion to the back, thus forcing the edge forward. The wedge is employed for such pur- poses as the splitting of wood, the fastening firm- ly of the handle of an axe, the raising of a ship in a dry dock, etc. The investigation on statical principles of the mechanical advantage of the wedge is extremely unsatisfactory, the enormous friction on the sides of the wedge being generally neglected; the theoretical result tlius incorrectly" arrived at is that the force applied at the back -^ the resistance = VI' width of back of wedge -r- length of side. In the application of the wedge to the splitting of wood in the direction of the fibres, the split generally extends some distance in advance of the edge of the wedge, and the action of the latter is then a combination of the action of the wedge with that of the lever; in fact, this compound action is found more or less in all applications of the wedge as a cutting or s[ilitting weapon, and tends further to complicate the statical investigation of its mechanical properties. The best and simplest illustrations of the single wedge are axes, nails, plugs, planes,, chisels, needles, and all sharp-pointed instru- ments. WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE. See Eagle. WEDG'WOOD, Hensleigh (1803-91). Aiv English philologist, grandson of .Josiah Wedg- wood. He was born at Gunville, in Dorset, and was educated at Rugby School and Cambridge University. He is best known for his work in philology. He was one of the original members of the English Philological Society, and, in spite- of his imperfect preparation, a scholar of wide learning and much natural balance. He pub- lished The Principles of Geometrical Demonstra- tion (1844) ; On the Development of the Under- standing (1848) ; A Dictionary of English Ety- mology (1857); and Contested Etymologies (1882). His dictionary, which attracted much attention when it was published, is not now valued. WEDGWOOD, .To.si. (17.30-1795). An Eng- lisli potter, born in Staffordshire. Owing to the- death of his father, who was a potter before him, his school career closed with his ninth year, and he worked at the potter's trade as apprentice to his brother until his association with Thomas Whieldon. of Fenton, a prominent jiotter. In 1759 he started works of his own in Biirslem, himself supplying the models and mixing the clay for his workmen. His interest turned espe- cially to the Greek or Etruscan vases, from which he copied his designs. (For his improve- ments in pottery, see WKUGWOon Ware.) In- partnership willi Thomas Bentley. of LiviTpool, he opened, in 1709. very extensive potteries at; Etruria (Staffordshire), a village he had built for his workmen. After the death of Bentley Wedgwood became sole owner of the establish-