Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/298

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278 VAUCLUSE tor of silk manufactures, and in consequence of his improvements in machinery he was attacked by the workmen of Lyons ; he retal- iated by constructing an automaton ass weav- ing flowered silks. He bequeathed his collec- tion to the queen, who gave it to the academy of sciences ; it was scattered in consequence of a contest with the mercantile authorities for the possession of the manufacturing ma- chinery, and Vaucanson's most celebrated au- tomatons are now in Germany. VAUCLUSE, a S. E. department of France, in Provence, embracing the ancient Comtat-Ve- naissin and the principality of Orange, and bor- dering on Dr6me, Basses-Alpes, Bouches-du- Kh6ne, Gard, and Ardeche; area, 1,370 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 263,451. The E. part is traversed by several offshoots of the Alps, the highest point reaching about 6,500 ft. ; but in the west the surface is undulating, and there are con- siderable plains. The principal rivers are the Rhone, which flows on the W. boundary, and its affluents the Durance and Eygues. Iron ore, coal, and potters' clay are found, and there are mineral springs. Some 70,000 acres are occupied by vineyards, which yield a strong red wine of fair quality. The truffles produced are valued at about 4,000,000 francs annually. Silkworms, cattle, and sheep are largely reared. Silks, velvet, woollen cloths, linen, paper, iron, and perfumery are manufactured. It is divi- ded into the arrondissements of Apt, Avignon, Carpentras, and Orange. Capital, Avignon. The name Vaucluse (" enclosed valley ") is derived from the fountain of Vancluse, the source of the river Sorgue, in a cavern near Avignon. The valley of the upper Sorguo has been immortalized by Petrarch. VAIID, or Pays de Vand (Ger. Waadt or Waadt- land), a S. W. canton of Switzerland, bounded N. by the canton and lake of Neufchatel, E. by Fribourg, S. by the canton and lake of Ge- neva, and W. by Franco, from which it is sep- arated by the Jura range ; area, 1,244 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 231,700, all Protestants except 17,592 Catholics and about 400 Jews. Capi- tal, Lausanne. The highest Alpine points in the canton are in the S. E. part, and are con- nected by the Jorat, stretching N. of the lake of Geneva, with the Jura range in the west. The valleys of the latter are remarkable for rich pasture lands and for groves of walnuts. To the abundance of valleys (caulx) is ascribed the origin of the name of the canton. The largest is that of Broyo. Northern Vaud is drained by tributaries of the Aar and the lake of JSeufchatel, and southern Vaud belongs to the basin of the Rhone, its drainage flowing to that river and to the lake of Geneva The latter lake is partly within the canton, and its K shore is the warmest and most delightful portion. Among the other lakes is Lake Joux, about 3,300 ft. above the sea level and at the foot of some of the loftiest summits of the ?ESl ^, nt Ten(Ire 8 - E - of the lake being 5,500 ft. high. Southern Vaud is remarkably VAUDREUIL fertile, and produces excellent wine and fruit, which are largely exported. Large tracts of forest yield a great variety of trees. The salt mines at Bex are next to those of Basel the largest in Switzerland. Watches, musical box- es, tobacco, cigars, and carved wood are man- ufactured. The great concourse of visitors at Lausanne, Bex, Vevay, and other celebrated places, contributes greatly to the prosperity of the canton. Vaud forms part of la tiuisse ro- mande orfranfaise, and French, in a more or less correct form, is generally spoken. The canton is divided into 19 districts, comprising, besides the original territory between the lakes of Geneva and Neufchatel conquered in 1536 by Bern from Savoy, the district of Bex and Aigle, S. E. of the lake of Geneva, and others on the lake of Neufchatel, all of which were under Bernese authority till 1798, when with French aid they formed the republic of Le- man ; and by Napoleon's act of mediation (Feb. 19, 1803), the canton became part of the Hel- vetic confederation under its present name. The constitution of May 25, 1881, was revised in July, 1845, and time adopted in August, after the overthrow in February of the local government, which had favored the Jesuits and the Sonderbund. The grand council i.s the supreme cantonal authority, and acts in conjunction with a council of state chosen by itself ; but all laws initiated by the grand council, or proposed by it at the demand of at least 8,000 citizens, must be ratified by a popu- lar vote. Another revision of the constitution in 1861 made it still more democratic. VACDEVILLE. See DRAMA, vol. vi., p. 244. YAIDOIS. See WALDENSES.

( DKKI'll., a S. W. county of Quebec, Can- 

ada, on the S. bank of the Ottawa river, at its entrance into the St. Lawrence; area, 182 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 11,003, of whom 9,392 were of French, 570 of Irish, 5H5 of English, and 402 of Scotch origin. It includes Isle Perrot in the St. Lawrence, and is traversed by the Grand Trunk railway. Capital, Vaudreuil. VAUDREUIL, a French Canadian family with several conspicuous members. I. Philippe de RlfUd, marquis de, born in France about 1641, died in Quebec, Oct. 10, 1725. He joined the king's musketeers, and in 1676 rose to the rank of brigadier. He came to America in 1687, served in Denonville's expedition against the Senecas and elsewhere, and obtained promo- tion. He was also in Frontenac's expedition against Onondaga in 1696, and was sent to ravage Oneida. In 1698 he became governor of Montreal, and in 1703 governor general of Canada. He warred against the Foxes, won the Iroquois to neutrality, baffled English in- fluence in the west, and endeavored to save Acadia; and when Quebec was menaced by Sir Hovenden Walker's fleet he made vigorous preparations to repel him, and, aided by a storm which wrecked a part of the fleet, he was suc- cessful. II. Pierre de Rigand, marquis de, fifth son of the preceding, born in Quebec, Nov. 22,