Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/270

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250 VALMORE VALPARAISO their gray habit for a brown one, and in 1662, on their union with the Silvestrines, adopted a black dress. The present buildings were erected in 1637. The abbey was wealthy. It was suppressed in 1863; the monastery and church are now occupied by the royal school of forestry, opened in 1869. VALMORE, Marceline Felicite Josephe Desbordes, a French authoress, born in Douai about 1787, died in Paris, July 7, 1859. She was the daugh- ter of M. Desbordes, a poor artist, and spent a part of her early life with her mother in Gua- deloupe. On her return to France she ap- peared on the stage as a singer, and in 1817 she married the tragedian Valmore. Her works include Recueil de poesies (3 vols., 1829) ; Les veillees des Antilles (2 vols., 1830); Uatelier (Pun peintre (2 vols., 1833) ; and Le salon de Lady Betty (2 vols., 1836). See Sainte-Beuve, Madame Desbordes- Valmore, sa vie et sa corres- pondance (Paris, 1870; English translation by Harriet W. Preston, Boston, 1872). VALOIS, House of, a younger branch of the Oapetian dynasty, so called from the territory of Valois in lie de France, which occupied the throne of France 261 years, from the ac- cession of Philip VI. in 1328 to the death of Henry III. in 1589 and the accession of Henry IV., the first of the Bourbons. (See PHILIP VI., and FRANCE.) VALONIA. See OAK, vol. xii., p. 558. VALPARAISO. I. A W. central and the small- est province of Chili, bounded N. by Acon- cagua, E. and S. by Santiago, and W. by the Pacific; area, including the islands of Juan Fer- nandez, which belong to it, 1,670 sq. m. ; pop. in 1875,176,682. The sur- face is mountainous, and the soil, where not irri- gated, is poor, excepting in some of the valleys, which are very fertile and produce excellent crops of the cereals, grasses, and fruits. Wine and brandy are made in considerable quantities. Mines of copper and sil- ver are worked, but agri- culture is the principal industry. It is divided into the departments of Valparaiso, Quillota, Li- mache, and Casablanca, named after their chief towns. The department of Valparaiso is divi- ded into 24 subdelegations, of which the citv comprises 20, the rural suburbs three, and the islands of Juan Fernandez one. II. A citv capital of the province, on a bay of the same name, in lat. 33 1' 56" S., Ion. 71 41' 45" W 70 m. N. W. of Santiago ; pop. about 110,00o! Back of the city is a high chain of hills, which nearly surround the bay, opening only toward the north. The older part of the city, called the port, extends along the shore at the base of the hills. It contains the principal public and commercial buildings. Beyond it is San Juan de Dios, which extends to the plaza de la Victoria, and beyond that is the Ahnendral, the most thickly populated quarter, where most of the retail business is done. Still further on is El Baron, on a hill of the same name, and next is La Cabriteria, on the road leading to Quillota. The other principal quarters, named from the hills on which they are situated, are Cordillera, Santo Domingo, San Francisco, Car- retas, Artilleria, Toro, Arrayan, Alegre, and Concepcion. The last two contain the resi- dences of most of the foreign merchants. The streets are generally narrow and irregular, ex- cepting in the newer parts, where they are broad and laid out at right angles to each other. There are six plazas. Among the principal buildings are the government palace, the cus- tom house and government warehouses, the post office, built in 1869, the exchange, the city hall, and two theatres, one of which, the Vic- toria, will seat 2,000 persons, and is remark- able for its interior decorations. Besides three parish churches, there are several others, of which the Franciscan, a Gothic edifice, is the finest; several chapels and oratorios, and three Protestant churches. Among the charitable institutions is the English, French, and United States hospital, attended by resident physi- cians. The city is lighted with gas, and has lines of horse cars and steam fire engines. Of Valparaiso. the inhabitants of Valparaiso about 75,000 are natives, 15,000 Germans, 6,500 British, 8,750 French, 1,500 Italians, 250 Americans, and the remainder mostly natives of other South Amer- ican states. The bay is well sheltered except- ing on the north, is capacious, and has plenty of water. It is defended by a chain of 15 forts, mostly built since 1866, mounting in the aggre- gate 142 guns. Its position gives it great com-