1739 he served in Corsica, where he was wounded, and he greatly distinguished himself at the siege of Prague in 1743. In the following year he was appointed staff-major; was present at the sieges of Menin, Ypres, Furnes, and Tournay, and at the battle of Fontenoy; covered with fifteen hundred men the siege of Oudendarde; and when the place was taken was appointed governor as the reward of his services. He displayed great courage and energy at the siege of Brussels under Marshal Saxe, was raised to the rank of brigadier, and served at the sieges of Antwerp and Namur, and at the battle of Rocoux. After various other services, he was nominated lieutenant-general in 1747. He was soon after appointed to the command of Göttingen, and by his energy and activity compelled Prince Ferdinand of Prussia to raise the siege of that town, with the loss of three thousand men. He served in the campaigns in Germany in 1761-62. In 1769 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces sent to Corsica, and in three months completed the reduction of that island, an achievement which displayed military science of a high order. The count was subsequently employed in Provence and Alsace, and was successively commander of the army stationed on the coasts of Brittany and Normandy, and of the county of Burgundy. In 1783 the rank of marshal of France was conferred upon him as a reward for the ability and courage which he had displayed during sixty years' service, in nineteen sieges and fourteen battles. Marshal de Vaux died in 1788.—J. T.
VAUX, Thomas, Lord, an English poet, and eldest son of Nicholas, first Lord Vaux, was born in 1510. He attended Wolsey in 1527 in his embassy to the Emperor Charles V., and was raised to the peerage in 1530. In 1532 he accompanied Henry VIII. to France, and previously, it is said, had the custody of Queen Catherine. In 1533 he was made a knight of the bath, and afterwards captain of the island of Jersey, which he surrendered in 1536. His poems, which were for some time attributed to his father, are chiefly to be found in the Paradyse of Daintye Devyces, which was reprinted long after in the Bibliographer. "The Assault of Cupid," and the "Dyttye, or sonnet made by the Lord Vaux in tyme of the noble Queene Marye," &c., were reprinted by Dr. Percy and Mr. Ellis. Some of his poems are highly esteemed. Lord Vaux died soon after the accession of Mary.—F.
VECCHIA, Pietro, the nickname of Pietro Mattoni, a scholar of Alessandro Varotari, who was born at Venice in 1605. He was an imitator of Giorgione, and had great facility in imitating the older masters, and in restoring old pictures, whence his name of Vecchia or Delia Vecchia. Pietro had great technical skill, but he had nothing else. Zanetti says that his imitations of Giorgione now pass as the original works of that great master. He died in 1678.—R. N. W.
VECELLI. See Titian.
* VECHTE, Antoine, a distinguished French designer and sculptor in metal, was born at Vire-sous-Bil (Côte d'Or) about 1820. His designs and works in the precious metals early attracted attention at the exhibitions. In 1847 he was awarded a medal of the third class, sculpture, and in the following year one of the first class, receiving at the same time the decoration of the legion of honour. To M. Vechte is due the credit, if not of having revived the almost forgotten art of repoussé in goldsmiths' work, at least of having first shown its great artistic capabilities. To the English public he was first formally introduced at the Great Exhibition of 1851, where the Titan vase, and other things by him, attracted much attention. Since then his works have been in as great request here as in France. The International Exhibition of 1862 contained a magnificent collection of his recent productions. Among them were his Milton vase of silver repoussé, belonging to the French government; the great shield in silver and iron, damaskened with gold—the subjects dedicated to Shakspeare, Milton, and Newton; the Centaur and Lapithæ, and the Marine vases, the property of her majesty; the Titan vase; the Ellesmere vase; and the large and costly vase candelabrum, made for the marquis of Breadalbane. All these were of oxidized silver repoussé, and their boldness of relief, accuracy of outline, modelling, surface, and finish, served no less to illustrate M. Vechte's ingenuity and dexterity in manipulation than his artistic power and feeling, the design being often of the most elaborate character, and seemingly made to court the difficulties arising from the material.—J. T—e.
VEDELIUS, Nicholas, a learned protestant divine, was born in the Palatinate, but we know not in what year. He was for fourteen years pastor and professor of theology at Geneva. In 1630 he was invited to Deventer to teach theology and Hebrew. On his way thither he took the degree of doctor of divinity on the 24th June. In 1638 or 1639 he removed from Deventer to Franeker, where he died in 1642. Vedelius was a great opponent of the Arminians, who replied to his "De Arcanis Arminianismi," in a work entitled Vedelius Rhapsodus. Vedelius was author of a considerable number of other learned works, of which the following may be noticed—"Sancti Ignatii Antiocheni omnia quæ extant Græce et Latini, cum duodecim exercitationibus, apologia, et notis criticis;" "De Episcopatu Constantini Magni;" "Commentarius de tempore utriusque episcopatus S. Petri Antiocheni et Romani;" "Rationale Theologicum, seu de necessitate et vero usu principiorum Rationis et Philosophiæ in controversiis Theologicis;" "Remede contre d'Apostasie," translated into Latin by himself, and entitled "Panacea Apostasiæ;" "S. Hilaire, ou antidote contre la tristesse," which he also turned into Latin; "De Deo Synagogæ contra Gasp. Barlæum;" "Disputatio Theologica de Magistratu, adversus Bellarmini librum de Laicis;" "Opuscula Theologica."—R. M, A.
VEEN, Otho van, the master of Rubens, called also Otto and Octavius Vænius, was born at Leyden in 1558, was brought up at Liége, and was thence sent to Rome in 1575 to complete his education as a painter. He became the scholar of Federigo Zucchero in Italy, and when he returned to his own country, settled in Antwerp, where he was chosen a member of the guild of painters in 1594. Having been appointed master of the mint by Albert and Isabella, Van Veen removed in 1620 to Brussels, where he died in 1629. He was a poet and writer as well as a painter: his masterpiece is the "Calling of St. Matthew," in the gallery at Antwerp.—R. N. W.
VEGA CARPIO, Lope Felix de, was born at Madrid, 25th November, 1562. His father (himself a poet) died when he was very young, and Lope was probably brought up by his uncle, the inquisitor Don Miguel de Carpio. He was sent to the imperial college of Madrid, and in two years made extraordinary progress in every branch of learning except mathematics. We read of his composing verses at five years old, and bribing his school-fellows to write them down, before he was able to do so himself. It is conjectured by Schach that he accompanied an expedition against the Moors in 1573, and at the age of fifteen he was serving as a soldier against the Portuguese in Terceira. A little later he was attached in some capacity to the person of Gerónimo Manrique, bishop of Avila, by whom he was sent to the university of Alcála, and was near submitting himself to the irrevocable tonsure of the priesthood. Here, he tells us, he fell in love; but it is not easy to say how far the story which has come down to us in a poetical form relates his true history. From Alcala he came to Madrid, and attached himself to Antonio, duke of Alva (grandson of the famous duke of that name). At his suggestion Lope wrote a pastoral romance, "Arcadia," some of the incidents in which are taken from the life of the duke. About the year 1585 he married Isabella de Urbina, a lady of superior charms; such at least is the generally received date, although Schach supposes his marriage to have taken place some years later. His happiness was soon interrupted: a quarrel with a nobleman of no good repute led to a duel, in which the poet killed his adversary. He was imprisoned, and afterwards obliged to spend several years in exile at Valencia. Though his banishment was shared by his steadfast friend, Claudio Condé, and enlivened by the society of Caspar de Aguilar and Guillen de Castro, rising Valencian poets, it was distasteful to him; and as soon as he could safely return to Madrid he did so. Soon afterwards his wife died, and to console himself for her loss, or rather, it is said, for the failure of his suit to another lady whom he celebrates under the name of Phillis, he became a soldier, and embarked in the "invincible armada" which Philip II. had fitted out against England. During this expedition his brother, from whom he had long been separated, died in his arms; but amidst its disasters and sufferings he found time to write a portion of his poem, "Hermosura de Angelica," which was not published, however, till long afterwards. He returned in safety to Cadiz, and afterwards to Toledo and Madrid. He reached the Latter city probably about 1590, and seldom afterwards quitted it. He became secretary first to the marquis of Malpica, and subsequently to the marquis of Sarria, afterwards Count de Lemos. About 1597 he married Doña Juana de
