Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/71

VENABLE and its principal in 1881. In 1882 lie founded and directed the Afternoon Scliool of popular scienee and histury. He was ijnilcssor of ICnj;lisli literature at the lluf,dies lliuli Sehool from ISS!l to 18»r> and in the Walnut liill llifjli Seliool in Cineinuati after that time. Hi' published: .1 Uistory of the United states (1872); June on the Miami, and Other I'oems (1872); Footprints of the Pioneers (1888); Uef/inniiigs of Literary (Julturc in the Ohio Valley ( 18!)1 ); The lAist 'b'li(]ht (1894); Hanta Clans and the Ulaek Cat (1808); Dream of Empire; or, the House of Blennerhas.set (lOni); and Tom Tad (1902).

VENATION (from Lat. vena, leaf). The arranfjcment of veins in foliape leaves. The venation is very important in determining the general contour and margin of the leaf, and it is so consistently developed in dill'erent groups that it furnishes important characters in classification. See Le.f.

VENDEE, viiN'da'. A western department of France, forming a part of the former Province of Poitou, and lying on the Bay of Biscay between the departments of Loire-Infericure and Charente-Inferieure (Map: France, E 5). Area, 2588 square miles. The surface is low and marshy along the coast, becoming hilly and wooded in the east. The department is essentially agricultural, though considerable quantities of coal and salt are produced. Nearly, the whole area is arable, though mueli is in pasture land, and large numbers of cattle are raised. The wheat crop amounts to over .$7,000,000 annually, and the production of oats, potatoes, and beets as well as of wine is al.so considerable. Population, in 1896, 441,735; in 1901, 441,311. Cajiital, La Rocbe-sur-Yon. During the French Revolution the Vendee and the neighboring regions (Poitou. Anjou, Brittany) were the scene of a great Royalist uprising of the peasants, who were actuated in part by religious motives. The immediate cause of the insurrection, which broke out in March, 1793, was the proposed le'y of 300,000 men by the Revolutionary Government. The war was characterized by frightful massacres; villages were ravaged and burned, and prisoners tortured and killed. The officers sent by the Convention were wholly incompetent and there was a lack of unity of action and definite plans, with the result that the Vendeans under Cathelineau, Larocliejacqiielein, and Charette de la Contrie (qq.v. ) were at first almost universally successful. In the fall of 1793, however, a more vigorous campaign was inaugurated on the part of the Government. The Vendeans sufi'ered a great defeat at Le Mans on December 12th at the hands of Westermann and Marceau, and a few days later sustained another blow at Savenay. The backbone of the insurrection was broken. Frightful atrocities were perpetrated at Nantes by the orders of Carrier, the Deputy of the Convention (see NoYADE.s), and Turreau with his 'infernal columns' laid waste the rebellious districts. Charette and other Vendean leaders made terms with the Convention in 1795. The war was, however, soon renewed, but order was finally restored by Hoche in 1796, although the complete pacification of the region was not eflfected until several years later. (See Chouans. ) In 1815, during the Hundred Days, there was a Vendean insurrection against Napoleon, and in 1832 an abortive attempt was made to excite a rising in faviu- of the Duchess of Berry.

VENDEMIAIRE, viiN'da'myar' (Fr., from Lat. viiKlriiiia, vintage, from vinum, wine + demere, to remove, from de, down, away + emere, to take, buy). Th(, first month in the French Revolutionary calendar. It ran from September 22d to Octol)er 21st in the years I.-IU. and V.VII.; from September 23d to October 22d in the years IV., Vlll.-Xl., XIII., and XIV.; and from September 24th to October 23d in the year XII. Memorable in the history of the Revolution is the thirteenth VendOmiaire of the year IV. (October 5, 1795), when the Paris sections, instigated by Royalist reactionaries, rose against the National Convention, but were beaten by a military force under Barras and Napoleon.

VENDET'TA (It., feud, vengeance). A family feud, having for its object the execution of blood revenge for an injury by the nearest of kin. This practice has continued in the island of Corsica down to recent times. Not only do the next of kin of the dead or injured man assume responsibility for inflicting punishment, but if the offender escapes, his nearest relatives are held responsible for his aggression. In some cases families have been in a state of siege for long periods of years. The vendetta is held by the Corsican to be one of the most positive of family obligations. Sometimes the feuds are harmonized by mediators (parolanti) and an oath is taken to forego the vengeance. This oath, like the original obligation to take revenge, is regarded as especially sacred. Private wars for blood revenge have characterized barbarism and the early stages of civilization among many peoples, but, owing to the isolation of Corsica and its peculiarly primitive social conditions, the practice has survived there in its completeness. An exactly analogous custom is found among the mountaineers of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee and western Virginia, descendants of the old Scotch-Irish stock, who have reverted to many of the primitive customs of their ancestry, under the influence of isolation and pioneer conditions. In Montenegro and among the Albanians, Bedouins, Druses, and many less civilized peoples the same custom is found in a greater or lesser degree. The vendetta seems to have its origin in the idea of clan or tribal res])onsibility and patriarchal rule, preceding the development of the State and of a system of public justice.

VENDOME, vaN'dftm', The capital of the arrondissement of Vendome, in the Department of Loir-et-Cher, France, on the right bank of the Loir, 20 miles northwest of Blois (Map: France, H 4). The town is attractive for its charming specimens of architecture.' The Church of the Trinity (I2th-I5th century) has a remarkable transition belfry and a fine flamboyant facade. The ruins of the Renaissance alibey (1030) to which it belonged lie near. La Madeleine has a stained glass window (1529) and a handsome spire. On the left bank of the Loir are the ruins of the eleventh-century castle of the counts of Vendome. There are a H8tel de Ville, a museum, a library, a lyceum with a flamboyant chapel (1623-39), and a bronze statue of the poet Ronsard. The manufactures are gloves, cotton goods, leather, and cheese. Population, in 1901, 9457. Christianity was intro-