Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/330

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WALTER. 274 WALTHER VON DER VOGELWEIDE. the American Revolution caused him in 1782 to fail. He succeeded in paying hi.s creditors, who thereupon made him a gift of money. With this sum Walter purchased the patents of a new printing process and established the printing of- fice in lilackfriars (17S4), which is still the seat of the Times. On .Januaiy 1, 1785. appeared the first issue of The Daily Universal Iie;iister, which on Januai-v 1, 1788, was changed to The Times, or Daily Universal Register, and on March 18th of that year became simply The Times. From the first "it showed that attention to Parliamentary debates and that independence of attitude which have always been its distinguishing characteris- tics. Indeed, Walter was twice imprisoned and five times fined for libel, in consequence of the freedom of his comments. See Times, The. WAIi'TER, jNIaster. The title character in Sheridan Knowles's comedy The Biinchback. Julia is his professed ward ; but he proves to be, in reality, her father, the Earl of Rochdale. The role was created at C'ovent Garden, April 5, 1832, by the author himself. WALTER, Thomas Ustick (1804-87). An American architect, born in I'hiladelpliia. He was the pupil of William Strickland in that city and of William Mason, the water-colorist. Estab- lishiue himself in Philadelphia in 1830. he con- structed during the following year the Phila- delphia County prison at Moyamensing. In 1833 his design for Girard College was accepted and five years later he was sent by the directors to Europe to study the best methods of fitting up the institution. During the next ten years he designed the breakwater at La Guayra, Venezue- la; Saint George's Hall, the Preston Retreat, the Philadelphia Savings Bank, the Chester County Bank, and several churches, all in Phila- delphia ; and the Biddle and Cowperthwaite man- sions on the Delaware. In 1848, when the en- largement of the Capitol at Washington was under discussion, he was commissioned by Presi- dent Fillmore to superintend the work. During the fourteen years that he remained in Wash- ington Walter completed as well the wings of the Patent Oflice, the enlargement of the Post Office, the hospital for the insane, and the Treasury building. He also built the marine barracks at Brooklvn and at Pensacola. After his return to Philadelphia in 1862 he did little professional work. The American Institute of Architects, which he had foiinded in 1837, and assisted to re- organize in 1857, elected him president in 1876. WALTHAM, wol'tham. A city in Middle- sex County. Mass., 10 miles west of Boston; on the Charles River, and on the Boston and Maine Railroad (Map: Massachusetts, E 3). It is situated on both banks of the river, and is well laid out. Among the institutions of the city are the Waltham Nurses' Train- ing School, the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Blinded, the Waltham New Church School. Notre Dame Normal Training School. Leland Home for Aged Women, and the Waltham Hos- pital. There is a piiblie library with 27.000 volumes. The city has also a public park. Pros- pect Hill. Waltham is chiefly an industrial city, and is especially noted for its watch-making interests, one of its watch factories, the American Waltham. being among the largest concerns of its kind in the world. Other important establishments are iron and brass foundries, and manufactories of watch tools, dials, cotton cloth, bicycles, etc. In the cen- sus year 1900 the invested capital in all in- dustries was $9,152,109, and the output was valued at $6,934,381. Under the charter of 1893 the go'ernment is vested in a mayor, chosen an- nually, and a unicameral council. The majority of the administrative officials are appointed by the mayor. The school board is chosen by popu- lar vote. The water-works are owned and oper- ated by the municipality. Population, in 1890, 18,707; in 1900, 23,481. Until separately in- corporated as a town in 1738, Waltham formed a part of Watertown. It was chartered as a city in 1884. Consult: Rutter, Historical Ail(lres.s (Waltham, 1877) ; and Hurd, History of Middle- sex County (Philadelphia, 1890). WALTHAM ABBEY, or Waltham Holy Crcss. A market town in the County of Esse.K, England, on the Lea, 12 miles north of London ( Map : London, A 8 ) . The town takes its name from the Abbey of the Holy Cross, founded by King Harold, who is buried there. The recon- structed Temple Bar, which from 1670 to 1880 stooil at the west end of Fleet Street. London, marks one of the entrances to Theobald's Park. The Government gunpowder and flour mills, op- erated by the water-power of the Lea, the cele- brated Government Enfield factory for rifles, etc., at Enfield Lock, and large cordite factories at Quinton Hill just outside the town, are the chief industrial establishments. Population, in 1901, 6547. Consult Stubbs. Foundation of Wal- tham Abbey (London, 1860). WALTHAMSTOW, wol'tham-stO. A town in Essex, England, 6 miles northeast of Saint Paul's London ( Map : London, C 8 ) . Its public works include electric lighting and septic sewage disposal plants. It maintains a free library and reading rooms, public baths, and recreation grounds. Population, in 1891, 46,346: in 1901, 95.125. WALTHER VON DER VOGELWEIDE, viil'ler ton der fo'gcl-vi'de (c.l 165-c.l2:iO ) . A Middle High German minnesinger. Under Rein- mar der Alte. Walther learned the art of Minne- song (see Minnesingers) at Vienna, where he seems to have remained till the confusion that followed the death of the German Em- peror Henry VI. in 1197 and of the .Austrian Duke Fi'cdcrick the Catholic, in 1198. made him a wandering singer. Walther became a partisan of Philip, Duke of Swabia, who had been chosen King in ilarch, 1198. After Philip's a.ssassination (1208) he was for a while in the service of the Landgrave Hermann of TIniringia, and he was influenced deeply by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. By his songs he continued to influence the art and politics of his time, till at length Frederick II., in recognition of his services to the German national cause, granted him an estate near Wiirzburg ( 1220) . It was for this Em]ioror's long postpuncd Crusade that Walther wrote (c.1227) his noble Krcux- lied. He died at Wfirzburg. where his grave is still shown. In his poetry Walther passed from a period of introspective analysis, through a jiro- test against the artistic conventions of traditional Minnesong to a virile criticism of literary senti- mentality and social degeneracy, so that his