they were, the rustics benefited materially by the outburst. "The landlords ceased the practice of demanding base services; they let their lands to leasehold tenants, and accepted money payments in lieu of labour; they ceased to recall the emancipated labourer into serfdom, or to oppose his assertion of right in the courts of the manor and the county." It must be remembered, too, that emancipation had long been common, that the law was now making for freedom, throwing the burden of proof on the claimant lord, and construing doubtful points in favour of the claimed-ruling, for instance, that no bastard could be a villein. These causes affected mainly the "villeins regardent," as those whose bondage was dependent on land and disabled them only towards their lords, were called. It is suspected that there were also in England "villeins in gross," whose villenage was personal and absolute, whose services at least could be sold in open market, and who had not a trace of political status; but this is still a disputed point. "We may conjecture that the villein regardent had fallen into villenage by occupying some of the demesne of the lord on servile conditions, and that the villein in gross was a chattel of the lord whom he paid or maintained by a similar allotment of land." But even the more debased form slowly gave way before continuous charters of enfranchisement; by this process the last isolated bondmen and their families were, in Elizabeth's reign, quietly absorbed in the general mass of free citizens. Stubbs, Const. Hist.; Hallam, Middle Ages; Rogers, Six Centuries of Work and Wages; Seebohm, The English Village Community. [J. R.] Villiers, ELIZABETH (d. 1720), was one of the ladies-in-waiting to Princess (afterwards Queen) Mary at the time of her marriage with William of Orange. She became the prince's mistress, for although "destitute of personal attractions and disfigured by a hideous squint," she was a woman of considerable talents, and "to the end of her life great politicians sought her advice." In 1693 William employed her in vain to try and induce the Duke of Shrewsbury to accept office. She married George Hamilton, afterwards Earl of Orkney. William bestowed on her a grant of part of the old crown property in Ireland (estimated at £24,000, though really only about £4,000 a year), and this grant became very unpopular when grossly exaggerated in value by the commission sent to inquire into the Irish forfeitures (1699). It was against Lady Orkney, Woodstock, and Keppel that the Resumption Bill of 1700 was chiefly directed. Macaulay, Hist. of Eng. Vimiera, THE BATTLE OF (Aug. 21, 1808), during the Peninsular War, was brought Vin on by an offensive movement of the French army under Junot, four days after the combat of Rorica. The village of Vimiera stands in a small plain at the foot of hills, near the river Maceira, and about nine miles from Torres Vedras. Sir Arthur Wellesley's object was to keep near the coast, in order to protect the landing of British troops; but although holding the road to Torres Vedras, he had been forestalled at that place by Junot, who had collected there the scattered troops of Laborde and Loison. Wellesley accordingly took up a defensive position, occupying two ridges and some high ground between them. On the high ground to the south of the village, Wellesley placed Fane and Anstruther with some infantry and six guns, while the bulk of the troops occupied the range west of the Maceira. On the heights to the east and north few troops were posted owing to a want of water. to attack these heights, so thinly defended, Junot's plan was and so to outflank the British left; bui Wellesley, to meet this, withdrew large bodies from the right. The French attack on the centre, which was intended to be supported by the troops who were told off to outflank and destroy the English left, met with some little success at first, but was checked at the summit of the plateau by the 50th, who drove them back over the edge, and a cavalry charge completed their rout In the meantime the French troops on the right, having too late extricated themselves from the ravines which had intercepted their progress, attacked Ferguson on the extreme left, but were vigorously repulsed. The pursuit, which would have destroyed the French army, routed as it was, was arrested by Burrard, who had arrived, and now took up the command. Napier, Peninsular War. Vincent, HENRY, was one of the chief leaders and orators of the Chartists. He was arrested and imprisoned at Newport for the violence of his language. A most determined attack was made on the prison to release him, but it was repelled by the energy of the mayor, Mr. Phillips, and the troops stationed at Newport (1839). Vinegar Hill, The Battle of (1798), during the Irish Rebellion, was fought near Enniscorthy, in Wexford. The Irish rebels, headed by Father Murphy, assembled here. tablished a camp, and committed fearful cruelties in the neighbourhood. From May 29 till the time when the camp was stormed, the massacre of Protestants was a matter of almost daily occurrence. On June 26, the British troops, under the command of General Lake, advanced from five sides to attack the rebels, the road to Wexford being, however, perhaps intentionally, left open. The camp was taken without much fighting, only 400 out of 16,00) being killed. Thirteen guns, however, were taken, and the rest of the rebels fled in disorder to Wexford. Virgil, POLYDORE (b. 1470? d. 1555 ?), was born at Urbino. Being sent by Alexander VI. to England for the purpose of collecting Peter's Pence, he so favourably impressed Henry VII. as to make that king desirous of keeping him in his realm. Being appointed Archdeacon of Wells, he was induced by Fox, Bishop of Winchester, to undertake to compile a history of England This work was completed after several years' labour, and was published at Basle in 1534. It consists of twenty-six books, and extends to the end of Henry VII.'s reign. Though of contemporary authority only for the latter years of Henry VII., Polydore's production merits great praise as being the first English history which is critically compiled from the annals of the older chronicles. About 1550 Polydore Virgil went abroad again, still, however, enjoying the revenues of his English preferments, and is generally said to have died at Urbino about the year 1555. Virgin Isles, THE, are a collection of islands in the West Indies (belonging to the Leeward group, and owned partly by Denmark, partly by Spain, and partly by Great Britain. They were discovered by Columbus (1493), and visited by Drake in 1580 and by the Earl of Cumberland in 1596. Tortola, and some other of the Virgin Islands, were in 1666 acquired by the English after they had driven out the Dutch buccaneers, who had held them since about the year 1648, and were in the course of the same reign annexed to the Leeward Islands. Viscount is a title of nobility between those of earl and baron. As an hereditary honour it was introduced into England in Edward II.'s reign from France, Henry de Beaumont being the first man created Viscount. The title has never been used to any great extent in England, though in latter times it has been the custom to confer it on prominent cabinet ministers when they are raised to the peerage. It must be remembered that the Latin word vice-comes is always used to translate the English sheriff; in this sense the word seems to have been brought into England from Normandy at the time of the Conquest, and was used by the invaders for the English shire-reeve because the Norman vice-comes was the nearest equivalent. Visitation, THE COMMITTEE OF, appointed by the Scottish Parliament, consisted of Presbyterian clergymen, who were to purify the Church by visitation. The result was the expulsion of many Episcopalian clergy on charges of immorality, which were often the result of malice. Vittoria, THE BATTLE OF (June 21, 1813), was the first great battle of Wellington's campaign of that year in the Peninsular War. Vittoria stands on a small eminence with the Zadora flowing through the plain on its northern side. In the Vittoria basin Joseph had collected all the baggage, camp-followers, and plunder of the last campaigns. On the 19th the allies came up, and encountered the French in some partial skirmishes. Joseph's plan was to hold the bridges over the Zadora, and Wellington determined to deliver three attacks on the French position, which was very widely extended. Hill, on the right, was to force the bridge of the narrow pass called La Puebla, and drive in the French left. Wellington himself was to carry the three chief bridges in the centre, while on the extreme left Graham was to turn the French right, and so enclose the whole army in the Vittoria basin between the Zadora and the Puebla range. On the morning of the 21st Hill seized the village of La Puebla, and while some of his men were detached to seize the heights, he himself pushed on through the pass, and carried the village of Subigana. In the centre, and on the left, Kemp and Graham succeeded in driving back the enemy, and before long all the English troops were across the Zadora. The Frenc began to retreat, but were hotly assailed on all sides, especially by Wellington from the hill of Aimez, which he had seized by a sudden rush. They nevertheless kept up a running fight for five miles, until after being driven from each successive position, they finally gave themselves up to a headlong flight, leaving women and children, baggage, and artillery behind them as spoil for the pursuing troops. Napier, Peninsular War. Vixen, SEIZURE OF THE. In 1837 Mr. Bell, an English merchant, infringed the Russian blockade of the coast of Circassia, but at the express advice and instigation of Mr. Urquhart, the English minister at Constantinople, who, it was believed, acted with the express cognisance of Lord Palmerston (q.v.). Great excitement was created; a large party in the country urgently demanded war to avenge this insult to the British flag. A select committee on the subject was moved for in the House of Commons, and it was refused by only a small majority. Annual Register, 1857. Volunteer Convention, Dublin (1783). In accordance with the resolutions passed at the Dungannon Convention [VOLUNTEERS, THE IRISH], 300 members assembled in the Rotunda on Nov. 10, 1783, and under the presidency of Lord Charlemont, passed a Reform Bill excluding all Catholics. Hood brought it before Parliament on Nov. 29, but was beaten by two to one. On Dec. 1 the Convention adjourned sine die, and thus came to an end. THE, at they were, the rustics benefited materially by the outburst. "The landlords ceased the practice of demanding base services; they let their lands to leasehold tenants, and accepted money payments in lieu of labour; they ceased to recall the emancipated labourer into serfdom, or to oppose his assertion of right in the courts of the manor and the county." It must be remembered, too, that emancipation had long been common, that the law was now making for freedom, throwing the burden of proof on the claimant lord, and construing doubtful points in favour of the claimed-ruling, for instance, that no bastard could be a villein. affected mainly the "villeins regardent," as These causes those whose bondage was dependent on land and disabled them only towards their lords, were called. It is suspected that there were also in England "villeins in gross," whose villenage was personal and absolute, whose services at least could be sold in open market, and who had not a trace of political status; but this is still a disputed point. conjecture that the villein regardent had "We may fallen into villenage by occupying some of the demesne of the lord on servile conditions, and that the villein in gross was a chattel of the lord whom he paid or maintained by a similar allotment of land." more debased form slowly gave way before But even the continuous charters of enfranchisement; by this process the last isolated bondmen and their families were, in Elizabeth's reign, quietly absorbed in the general mass of free citizens. Stubbs, Const. Hist.; Hallam, Middle Ages; Rogers, Six Centuries of Work and Wages; Seebohm, The English Village Community. [J. R.] Villiers, ELIZABETH (d. 1720), was one of the ladies-in-waiting to Princess (afterwards Queen) Mary at the time of her marriage with William of Orange. She became the prince's mistress, for although "destitute of personal attractions and disfigured by a hideous squint," she was a woman of considerable talents, and "to the end of her life great politicians sought her advice." William employed her in vain to try and induce In 1693 the Duke of Shrewsbury to accept office. She married George Hamilton, afterwards Earl of Orkney. William bestowed on her a grant of part of the old crown property in Ireland (estimated at £24,000, though really only about £4,000 a year), and this grant became very unpopular when grossly exaggerated in value by the commission sent to inquire into the Irish forfeitures (1699). It was against Lady Orkney, Woodstock, and Keppel that the Resumption Bill of 1700 was chiefly directed. Macaulay, Hist. of Eng. Vimiera, THE BATTLE OF (Aug. 21, 1808), during the Peninsular War, was brought Vin on by an offensive movement of the French army under Junot, four days after the combat of Rorica. The village of Vimiera stands in a small plain at the foot of hills, near the river Maceira, and about nine miles from Torres Vedras. Wellesley's object was to keep near the coast, Sir Arthur in order to protect the landing of British troops; but although holding the road to Torres Vedras, he had been forestalled at that place by Junot, who had collected there the scattered troops of Laborde and Loison. Wellesley accordingly took up a defensive position, occupying two ridges and some high ground between them. On the high ground to the south of the village, Wellesley placed Fane and Anstruther with some infantry and six guns, while the bulk of the troops occupied the range west of the Maceira. On the heights to the east and north few troops were posted owing to a want of water. Junot's plan was to attack these heights, so thinly defended, and so to outflank the British left; but Wellesley, to meet this, withdrew large bodies from the right. The French attack on the centre, which was intended to be supported by the troops who were told off to outflank and destroy the English left, met with some little success at first, but was checked at the summit of the plateau by the 50th, who drove them back over the edge, and a cavalry charge completed their rout In the meantime the French troops on the right, having too late extricated themselves from the ravines which had intercepted their progress, attacked Ferguson on the extreme left, but were vigorously repulsed. The pursuit, which would have destroyed the French army, routed as it was, was arrested by Burrard, who had arrived, and now took up the command. Napier, Peninsular War. Vincent, HENRY, was one of the chief leaders and orators of the Chartists. He was arrested and imprisoned at Newport for the violence of his language. A most determined attack was made on the prison to release him. but it was repelled by the energy of the mayor, Mr. Phillips, and the troops stationed at Newport (1839). Vinegar Hill, THE BATTLE of (1798), during the Irish Rebellion, was fought near Enniscorthy, in Wexford. headed by Father Murphy, assembled here, e The Irish rebels, tablished a camp, and committed fearful craelties in the neighbourhood. From May 29 till the time when the camp was stormed, the massacre of Protestants was a matter of almost daily occurrence. On June 26, the British troops, under the command of General Lake, advanced from five sides to attack the rebels. the road to Wexford being, however, perhaps intentionally, left open. The camp was taken without much fighting, only 400 out of 16,000 being killed. Thirteen guns, however, were taken, and the rest of the rebels fled in disorder to Wexford. Virgil, POLYDORE (b. 1470 ? d. 1555 ?), was born at Urbino. Being sent by Alexander VI. to England for the purpose of collecting Peter's Pence, he 80 favourably impressed Henry VII. as to make that king desirous of keeping him in his realm. Being appointed Archdeacon of Wells, he was induced by Fox, Bishop of Winchester, to undertake to compile a history of England This work was completed after several years' labour, and was published at Basle in 1534. It consists of twenty-six books, and extends to the end of Henry VII.'s reign. Though of contemporary authority only for the latter years of Henry VII., Polydore's production merits great praise as being the first English history which is critically compiled from the annals of the older chronicles. About 1550 Polydore Virgil went abroad again, still, however, enjoying the revenues of his English preferments, and is generally said to have died at Urbino about the year 1555. Virgin Isles, THE, are a collection of islands in the West Indies (belonging to the Leeward group, and owned partly by Denmark, partly by Spain, and partly by Great Britain. They were discovered by Columbus (1493), and visited by Drake in 1580 and by the Earl of Cumberland in 1596. Tortola, and some other of the Virgin Islands, were in 1666 acquired by the English after they had driven out the Dutch buccaneers, who had held them since about the year 1648, and were in the course of the same reign annexed to the Leeward Islands. Viscount is a title of nobility between those of earl and baron. As an hereditary honour it was introduced into England in Edward II.'s reign from France, Henry de Beaumont being the first man created Viscount. The title has never been used to any great extent in England, though in latter times it has been the custom to confer it on prominent cabinet ministers when they are raised to the peerage. It must be remembered that the Latin word vice-comes is always used to translate the English sheriff; in this sense the word seems to have been brought into England from Normandy at the time of the Conquest, and was used by the invaders for the English shire-reeve because the Norman vice-comes was the nearest equivalent. Visitation, THE COMMITTEE OF, appointed by the Scottish Parliament, consisted of Presbyterian clergymen, who were to purify the Church by visitation. The result was the expulsion of many Episcopalian clergy on charges of immorality, which were often the result of malice. Vittoria, THE BATTLE OF (June 21, 1813), was the first great battle of Wellington's campaign of that year in the Peninsular War. Vittoria stands on a small eminence with the Zadora flowing through the plain on its northern side. In the Vittoria basin Joseph had collected all the baggage, camp-followers, and plunder of the last campaigns. On the 19th the allies came up, and encountered the French in some partial skirmishes. Joseph's plan was to hold the bridges over the Zadora, and Wellington determined to deliver three attacks on the French position, which was very widely extended. Hill, on the right, was to force the bridge of the narrow pass called La Puebla, and drive in the French left. Wellington himself was to carry the three chief bridges in the centre, while on the extreme left Graham was to turn the French right, and so enclose the whole army in the Vittoria basin between the Zadora and the Puebla range. On the morning of the 21st Hill seized the village of La Puebla, and while some of his men were detached to seize the heights, he himself pushed on through the pass, and carried the village of Subigana. In the centre, and on the left, Kemp and Graham succeeded in driving back the enemy, and before long all the English troops were across the Zadora. The Frenc. began to retreat, but were hotly assailed on all sides, especially by Wellington from the hill of Aimez, which he had seized by a sudden rush. They nevertheless kept up a running fight for five miles, until after being driven from each successive position, they finally gave themselves up to a headlong flight, leaving women and children, baggage, and artillery behind them as spoil for the pursuing troops. Napier, Peninsular War. Vixen, SEIZURE OF THE. In 1837 Mr. Bell, an English merchant, infringed the Russian blockade of the coast of Circassia, but at the express advice and instigation of Mr. Urquhart, the English minister at Constantinople, who, it was believed, acted with the express cognisance of Lord Palmerston (q.v.). Great excitement was created; a large party in the country urgently demanded war to avenge this insult to the British flag. A select committee on the subject was moved for in the House of Commons, and it was refused by only a small majority. Annual Register, 1857. Volunteer Convention, THE, at Dublin (1783). In accordance with the resolutions passed at the Dungannon Convention [VOLUNTEERS, THE IRISH], 300 members assembled in the Rotunda on Nov. 10, 1783, and under the presidency of Lord Charlemont, passed a Reform Bill excluding all Catholics. Hood brought it before Parliament on Nov. 29, but was beaten by two to one. On Dec. 1 the Convention adjourned sine die, and thus came to an end. they were, the rustics benefited materially by the outburst. "The landlords ceased the practice of demanding base services; they let their lands to leasehold tenants, and accepted money payments in lieu of labour; they ceased to recall the emancipated labourer into serfdom, or to oppose his assertion of right in the courts of the manor and the county." It must be remembered, too, that emancipation had long been common, that the law was now making for freedom, throwing the burden of proof on the claimant lord, and construing doubtful points in favour of the claimed-ruling, for instance, that no bastard could be a villein. These causes affected mainly the "villeins regardent," as those whose bondage was dependent on land and disabled them only towards their lords, were called. It is suspected that there were also in England "villeins in gross," whose villenage was personal and absolute, whose services at least could be sold in open market, and who had not a trace of political status; but this is still a disputed point. "We may conjecture that the villein regardent had fallen into villenage by occupying some of the demesne of the lord on servile conditions, and that the villein in gross was a chattel of the lord whom he paid or maintained by a similar allotment of land." But even the more debased form slowly gave way before continuous charters of enfranchisement; by this process the last isolated bondmen and their families were, in Elizabeth's reign, quietly absorbed in the general mass of free citizens. Stubbs, Const. Hist.; Hallam, Middle Ages; Rogers, Six Centuries of Work and Wages; Seebohm, The English Village Community. [J. R.] Villiers, ELIZABETH (d. 1720), was one of the ladies-in-waiting to Princess (afterwards Queen) Mary at the time of her marriage with William of Orange. She became the prince's mistress, for although "destitute of personal attractions and disfigured by a hideous squint," she was a woman of considerable talents, and "to the end of her life great politicians sought her advice." In 1693 William employed her in vain to try and induce the Duke of Shrewsbury to accept office. She married George Hamilton, afterwards Earl of Orkney. William bestowed on her a grant of part of the old crown property in Ireland (estimated at £24,000, though really only about £4,000 a year), and this grant became very unpopular when grossly exaggerated in value by the commission sent to inquire into the Irish forfeitures (1699). It was against Lady Orkney, Woodstock, and Keppel that the Resumption Bill of 1700 was chiefly directed. Macaulay, Hist. of Eng. Vimiera, THE BATTLE OF (Aug. 21, 1808), during the Peninsular War, was brought Vin on by an offensive movement of the French army under Junot, four days after the combat of Rorica. The village of Vimiera stands in a small plain at the foot of hills, near the river Maceira, and about nine miles from Torres Vedras. Wellesley's object was to keep near the coast, Sir Arthur in order to protect the landing of British troops; but although holding the road to Torres Vedras, he had been forestalled at that place by Junot, who had collected there the scattered troops of Laborde and Loison, Wellesley accordingly took up a defensive position, occupying two ridges and some high ground between them. On the high ground to the south of the village, Wellesley placed Fane and Anstruther with some infantry and six guns, while the bulk of the troops occupied the range west of the Maceira. On the heights to the east and north few troops were posted owing to a want of water. Junot's plan was to attack these heights, so thinly defended, and so to outflank the British left; but Wellesley, to meet this, withdrew large bodies from the right. The French attack on the centre, which was intended to be supported by the troops who were told off to outflank and destroy the English left, met with some little success at first, but was checked at the summit of the plateau by the 50th, who drove them back over the edge, and a cavalry charge completed their rout In the meantime the French troops on the right, having too late extricated themselves from the ravines which had intercepted their progress, attacked Ferguson on the extreme left, but were vigorously repulsed. pursuit, which would have destroyed the French army, routed as it was, was arrested by Burrard, who had arrived, and now took up the command. Napier, Peninsular War. The Vincent, HENRY, was one of the chief leaders and orators of the Chartists. He was arrested and imprisoned at Newport for the violence of his language. A most determined attack was made on the prison to release him, but it was repelled by the energy of the mayor, Mr. Phillips, and the troops stationed at Newport (1839). Vinegar Hill, THE BATTLE of (1798), during the Irish Rebellion, was fought near Enniscorthy, in Wexford. headed by Father Murphy, assembled here, es The Irish rebels, tablished a camp, and committed fearful cruelties in the neighbourhood. From May 29 till the time when the camp was stormed, the massacre of Protestants was a matter of almost daily occurrence. On June 26, the British troops, under the command of General Lake, advanced from five sides to attack the rebels, the road to Wexford being, however, perhaps intentionally, left open. The camp was taken without much fighting, only 400 out of 16,00 being killed. Thirteen guns, however, were |