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VIENNA,—VINCENT, ST.

917

its kind. The Olympic theatre is a beautiful build- iing, in the erection of which Palladio not only imi- !tated, but surpassed the ancients, although it is builtonlv of wood. The triumphal arches deserve parti-cular attention. One of these is at the entrance ofthe Campu3 Martius, a beautiful promenade ; and theother at the gate Del Monte, forms the entrance to a stair-wavof 195 marble steps, leading.to the celebrated Servitemonastery, called Madonna di Monte Berico, situatedupon a hill, which commands a most delightful view.

A part of the inhabitants subsist by silk manufactures,the province producing much of the raw material;and several other manufactures are carried on here.Vicenza contains rather more than 30,000 inhabitants,and is thirty-five miles N.W. of Venice.

Vienna. The capital of the Austrian monarchy,and one of the oldest cities of Germany. It origi-nated, like many others, from a Roman standingcamp, established in order to command the Danube.

It was called Vindebona. In the fifth century,Christianity penetrated to the shores of the Danube,and carried civilisation with it. In 791, Austria, andtherefore Vienna, came into the possession of Charle-magne, after the conquest of the Huns. He was inthe habit of securing his frontiers by erecting margra-viates ; and Austria became one of them. The cityrose in importance chiefly from the time when it be-came the permanent residence of the German empe-rors. It shows in every part the traces of gradualincrease. The city proper is small; but the thirty-four suburbs, which have been, since 1703, surroundedby a wall, make the whole place both large andstrong. The origin of the name is uncertain. Theclimate is very changeable, and winds frequent: theyoften make the ground very dry; and, as this con-tains much gravel, the dust is very annoying. Dis-eases of the chest, especially of the lungs, are fre-quent, and probably originate from the prevailing dryand sharp air, and the irregular lives of the inhabi-tants, who are more devoted to pleasure than thepeople of any other city in Europe. The streets aregenerally not wide. The palaces are numerous, but,with few exceptions, not in good taste. Even themost recent structures show no improvement in thisrespect, and there is a remarkable difference, in thisparticular, between Vienna and Berlin. Much hasbeen done, of late, for the convenience and embellish-ment of the city. The imperial castle attracts attentionmore by its 'extent and antiquity than by its beautyor symmetry. Among the fourteen principal churches,that of St. Stephen is the most ancient, largest, andmost magnificent. Monuments of princes, generals,and bishops, interesting pictures, and thirty-eightaltars, adorn its interior. Its steeple is one of theloftiest in Europe ; 700 steps lead up to its summit,and it offers a beautiful prospect of the environs,which are fertile and picturesque. The church ofthe Augustines has been, since 1630, the church ofthe court: it contains a mausoleum, the work ofCanova, erected in 1805 by Albert, duke of Saxe-Teschen, to the memory of his wife. The vault inthe church of the Capuchins, at St. Mary, where theimperial family are buried, is historically interesting.Since the time of Matthias, the remains of all themembers of the imperial family have been placedhere; and therefore Joseph II., to show the foolish-ness of some noblemen who lived in retirement toavoid mixing with people below them, said, “ If I•hould choose to live like you, with my equals only,

j I should be obliged to live in the vaults of St. Mary.”! Many baths and mineral springs are to be found inthe environs. The most agreeable and most fre-quented place of recreation is the well-known Prater,near the Leopoldstadt. It is a wood, with beautifulviews of the neighbouring mountains, many restaura-teurs, and spectacles of various sorts, &e. Personsof all classes are seen here—the emperor and themeanest of Ris subjects. The train of carriages isoften immense, and unequalled by any thing similarin any other place.

The celebrated congress of Vienna was a meetingof the European powers, from November 1, 1814, toJune 1815, to settle the state of affairs after the over-throw of Napoleon. The emperors of Austria andRussia, the kings of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria, Wiir-temberg, many grand dukes, sovereign dukes, &c.,were personally present, as well as many of the first Eu-ropean politicians and ministers. The settlement of thegreat variety of interests would have been still moredifficult than it was, had not one purpose united all,which was to deprive France of its power of makingconquests for the future. Dissensions were severaltimes on the point of breaking out; but Napoleon’sreturn from Elba re-united the discordant pow ers, andsuddenly induced Austria, Great Britain, Prussia,Russia, France, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden, to signthe act of the congress, consisting of 121 articles, onJune 9, 1815. In these articles, the principles oflegitimacy' was, in general, adopted as the basis forthe restoration of the European political system.

Vienna contains 300,000 inhabitants, and is 630miles E. of Paris. Lon. 16° 22' E., lat. 48° 12' N.

Vimeira. A town of Portuguese Estremadura,three miles from Torres Vedras, and twenty-eightnorth-west of Lisbon. It is remarkable for the battlebetween the British and French, which took place onthe 21 st of August, 1801, in which the French, undergeneral Junot.were defeated by the British forces, underthe command of sir Arthur Wellesley', now duke ofWellington. This battle was followed by the celebratedconvention of Cintra, by the articles of which theFrench forces were to be transported to their owncountry, with their arms and property'.

Vincennes. A town of France, in the departmentof the Seine. It is remarkable for its castle, sinceused as a state prison. It is still of considerablestrength. It was here that the unfortunate duked’Enghien was shot on the 21st of March, 1804.Adjoining to the castle is a fine park and forest. Ithas a population of 2600 persons.

Vincent, St. An island in the West Indies, aboutforty miles in length and ten in breadth. This island wasonly inhabited by native Caribbs, till, in the latter partof the seventeenth century, a ship from Guinea, with acargo of slaves, was either wrecked or run ashoreupon the island of St. Vincent, into the woods andmountains of which great numbers of the negroesescaped, whom the Indians suffered to remain. Partlyby the accession of runaway slaves from Barbadoes,and partly by the children they had by the Indianwomen, the Africans were so much strengthened, that,about the beginning of the eighteenth century', theyconstrained the Indians to retire into the north-westpart of the island. The Indians applied to the Frenchfor assistance, and the consequence was a long w arbetween them and the negroes. In 1763, the islandbeing ceded to the British, the first measure of theEnglish government was to dispose of the lands,