Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/178

VILLENA. 138 VILLIERS. lagoon. Silks, brandies, linen, flour, and soap are the chief industrial products. Population, in 1000, 14,028. VILLENA, Don Enkique de Aragon (1384- 1434). A Spanish author and scholar. He was connected by blood with the royal houses of Castile and Aragon. By Henry 111. of Castile he was made grand master of the Order of Cala- trava in 1404, but the appointment was annulled by the Pope three years afterwards. Villena was an enthusiastic student of the sciences, and because of his knowledge was suspected of sorcery. Among his works were Arte de Trovar, Libra de la ciencia alegre, and Doce trabajos de Hercules (original in Catalan). He also trans- lated Vergil's JEneid and other Latin classics, and Dante's Divine Comedy. VILLENEUVE, vel'nev', Pierre Charles Jean Bai'tiste Sylvesire de (1763-1806). A vice-admiral of France, born at Valensoles, in Provence. He entered the navy in his fif- teenth year. He became a rear-admiral in 1796 and commanded the rear division at the bat- tle of the Nile in 1798. In 1804 he was made vice-admiral, and in the following year was appointed to the command of the Toulon squadron. At the Azores he encountei'ed a Brit- ish squadron, under Sir Robert C'alder, and an indecisive battle ensued (July 22, 1805). The failure of Villeneuve's movement broke up Napoleon's plan for invading England, and the Admiral, blamed unjustly and about to be superseded, sailed out and engaged Nelson in the great sea fight of Trafalgar. ( See Trafalgar : Nelson.) Villeneuve's own vessel, the Bucen- taure, was completely dismasted; he was forced to strike his flag, was made prisoner, and wa.s conveyed to England, wlience he returned to France in April, 1806. Learning while at Rennes that he would be ill-received by the Emperor, he committed suicide. VILLENEUVE-SUU-LOT, sur-16'. The capi- tal of an arrondissement. Department of Lot- et-Garonne, France, in a charming valley, 22 miles by rail north-northeast of Agen. The river Lot is spanned by a remarkably bold thir- teenth-century bridge with a single arch. There are manufactures of paper, cloth, table-linen, and copper wares. Population, in 1901, 13,594. VILLEROI, vel'rwa'. Francols de Necf- viLLE, Duke de ( 1044-1730) . A ma'rshal of France. He was born at Lyons, was educate<l with .young Louis XIV., and always had the favor of that monarch. He was in 1693 given com- mand of the French army in the Low Countries, where he vainly attempted to relieve Nanmr. In the War of the Spanish Succession he was put in command of the Army of Italy in 1701, l)ut was repulsed by Prince Eugene at Cliiari, and in the following year was surprised at Cremona and was taken prisoner. In 1706 he was given command of the army oi>posing Marlborough; but he was utterly defeated at tlie battle of Ramillies. VILLERS, v*'lftr', CnARij;.s de ( 17fi5-lS15) . A French soldier and author, born in Boulay (Lorraine). In 1782 he entered the army as an artillery officer, but was compelled to emigrate in 1793. After serving a few months in the army of Condfi he lived in various flitics of Germany until 1797, when he settled in Liibeck. There he devoted himself to the study of German literature and philo.so- phy, with which he subsequently endeavored to familiarize his countrymen. To that end he pub- lished La philosophie de Kant ou principes fon- damentaux de la philosophie transcendent ale (1802). This was the first introduction of Frenchmen to the works of the German philoso- pher. It was followed by an Essai sur I'esprit et I'inflnence de la Reformation de Lulher (1804; 5th ed. 1851; German trans. 1805; abridged ed. 1836) ; and Cotip d'oeil sur les universites de I'Allemagne protestante (1808). His sympathy for Germany was not, however, confined to her literature. In 1806 he wrote Lettre a Madame la comtesse Fanny de Beau- harnais sur Lubeck, in which he related the out- rages committed by the French when they took that city. As a result, when the Han- seatic towns were incorporated in the French Empire, de Villers was exiled from Liibeck. He then secured a professorship at Gottingen, but was deprived of his post after the restoration of the Hanoverian dynasty by the French. VILLETTE, ve-let'. The last completed novel of Charlotte Bronte, finished at the close of 1852 and published in the ensuing spring. It is founded on the incidents of the author's life in a pensionnat at Brussels. The character of the diffident Paul Emanuel was undoubtedly sug- gested b}' her impressions of Thackeray in his capacity of lecturer. VILLEURBANNE, vel'ur'ban'. A French town in the Department of Rhone, three miles east of Lyons, on the Lyons-Saint-Genix Railway. Its manufactures include silks, hats, wax candles, chemical products, church bronzes, and liqueurs. Population, in 1901, 27,746. VILLIERS, vtl'erz. Ciiarle.s Peliiam (1802- 98). An English statesman, born in London. He graduated at Saint John's College, Cambridge, in 1824, and studied law at Lincoln's Inn. In 1833-52 he was examiner of witnesses in the Court of Chancery, and in the latter year he was made .Judge-Advocate-General. In 1834 he was returned to Parliament from Wolvcrlianipton, and he continued to represent that constituency down to its division in 1S85, after which he sat for South Wolverhampton. Throughout his Parlia- mentary career he was an ardent free-trader. In 1838 he introduced in Parliament the first of his famous annual motions for the repeal of the Corn Laws. This was before the formation of the Anti-Corn-Law Association (afterwards tran-^- formed into the Anti-Corn-Law League) and before either Cobden or Bright had become interested in the subjict. hence to Villiers belongs the honor of !)cing the pioneer in the movement. He coiitinued to be one of the leaders in the agitation until the repeal was elTccled in 181(i. With the accomplishment of that end his chief work was done. Some of his speeches, edited l)y a member of the Cobden Club, were publislied as Free-Trade Speeches of the liiyht lion. Charles J'rlham I'illicrs, M.l'. (1883)'. VILLIERS, Freheric (18.-)2— ). An English war artist ami correspondent, born in London. He was educated at Guines, Pas-de-Calais, France, and studied also in the South Kensing-