734 



VEUE-VERPLANCK 



1844. In the succeeding rears lie produced a series 

 of operas in the same style : / /'. (linrninii 



(TArco, Alzirn, Attitit, Mudieth. 1 Mnxiinilirri. ././- 

 tiilem, 11 Corsaro, l*i battaijlin <li Jsyniiiio (inter- 

 dicted at Home after its first representation in lsl\). 

 Ltiim Miller, f\tiffi>lin. The MaebfA on its repre- 

 sentation at Florence in 1S47 was received with such 

 CMtliiiM.L-iu that it led to his being called to I/oiidon, 

 where lie presented his Miisiuulirri. ot'wliieli (lie prin- 

 cipal role was written for Jenny hind. This year also 

 his Jerutalem was performed with great sue- 

 Paris. IV-eper yet in iinpivssivciuss and showing 

 greater power in characterization are his 



(1851), ll Trocatore, his </. (Is.VJ), /,< Tra- 



tiattt (185;?), 1 Vespri Siciliiini, (I8f>5) <SYmcie 



negro (1857). His other works of this class are Alordii 

 (1857), l'it Ixillo in Miuu-ltmi (similar to Auber's 

 Matked Halt). /xz form drl Destino (brought out at 

 St. Petersburg in IM',:J and held by some to be his high- 

 est achievement). HOII Curios (1866), A'nln (IS71). 

 and Mmiti-iiDiii (1878). His last work, Otrlln, founded 

 on Shakespeare's tragedy, \yas produced at La Scala, 

 Milan, in February, 18S7, with great enthusiasm. Be- 

 sides operas Verdi wrote a series of church and cham- 

 ber pieces, the best knownof which probably are linman- 

 zim, a hyuin for the second London Kxliibilion in 

 ind a Requiem Max* lor the funeral of Alcs~an- 

 dro Manzoni in 1874. In place of the amorous, sen- 

 timental, and brilliant music of Bellini, Rossini, r.nd 

 others, Verdi has sought to substitute work of a man- 

 lier type, characterized by energy and grandeur. Dur- 

 ing the Austrian rule in Italy lie responded to the '.s- 

 pi rat ions of his com patriots after liberty and gave musi- 

 cal expression to them, so that his name (" Vim 

 \'rrilt"') became their rallying-cry. In his later years 

 he has lived with his second wife, Giuseppina Strep- 

 poni, a noted singer, in Genoa, and at his villa near Bus- 

 seto, where he occupies himself with agriculture. In 

 1859 he was elected a member of the national assem- 

 bly of Parma; in 1861 he became a member of the 

 Italian chamber of deputies ; in 1874 he was named by 

 Victor Knimanuel a member of the senate. In 1859 

 he was chosen a corresponding member of the Paris 

 Academy of Fine Arts, and in J864 succeeded Meyer- 

 beer ns associate. 



VK11K. AIMIIEY r>E. Sec DE VERB. 



VKROENNES, CIIAIU.KS GH \VIEK. COMTTE DF. 

 (1717-17*7), a French statesnian. born at Dijon, Dec. 28. 

 1717, being son of the president of the parliament of 

 Dijon. lie early entered the French diplomatic ser- 

 vice, and in 1740 accompanied the diplomat, M de 

 Chavigny, as a member of his staff to the court of 

 Lisbon. In 1750 he was appointed minister at the 

 court of the Elector of Troves, and, from 17.05 to 17C8, 

 was ambassador to the court of the Sublime Porte. In 

 1771 he wa> sent to Sweden and had no small share in 

 the revolution that occurred under (Iiistavus III. 

 When Louis XVI. came to the French throne in 1774, 

 he immediately recalled Vcrgcnnes from service abroad 

 ami made him his minister of foreign affairs, which 

 office he filled with all the tact and ability of a skilled 

 diplomatist, having ever before his eyes ns his supreme 

 object the interests of his king and country- Among 

 the leading acts of his ministry were the treaty ot 

 Solcurc. concluded with the Swiss in 1777, the treaty 

 of Tesclien with the Emperor Joseph II. in 177'.), and 

 the treaty of commerce negotiated with England in 

 1783. But still more important in Americans was the 

 steady and efficient support lent by him to the United 

 States in their struggle for independence. When dis- 

 UtanbcAB their arms iii 177f>:ind Commissioners were 

 w nt to various countries in Europe to seek foreign rec- 

 ognition and aid, he granted, in December, a courteous 

 audience to Franklin, Deane, and Lee, and counselled 

 the king to grant them money from the royal ex- 

 chcqucrand permit them to purchase military supplies. 

 In December. 1777, he encouraged Louis to recognize 

 the independence of the States and to enter into a 



'tn-aty with them (signed February, 1778), through 



which they stcuitd t) u . cooperation of French land- 

 forces and war ships, as well as ait! in money and muni- 

 tions. Jjatcr he openly and in defiance of England 

 presented Franklin ami bis as>oeia(es at the court of 

 Versailles, shortly alter \vhieh M. Gerard was sent as 

 minister plenipotentiary to the I'nited States, while 

 l>r. Franklin wa* received in the same charaeter at the 

 l-'ieiich court. When John Adams arrived in Europe. 

 I in July, 17SI, asking a seat in the congress of minis- 

 ; tcrs about to be held at Vienna to treat ol peace between 

 Givat_ Britain and all her enemies, Vergeiines baited 

 on this being conceded him, and on the British refusal 

 to recognize Adams he was instrumental in having the 

 congress abandoned. Finally Comtc de V< 

 nes was a party to the treaty of peaec signed at 1'aris, 

 Sept 3, 1783, by which American independence was 

 definitively recognized, thouuh iii arranging the terms 

 he showed himself fiillv as favorable to Spain as to the 

 United States. He died a) Versailles, 1-eb. 1 3. 17>7. 

 VE11XE. Jt i.r.s. French author, was born at 

 Nantes, Feb. 8, 1S14. He received his literary 

 education in his native city, had some experience as a 

 sailor, and afterwards studied law in Paris. In 1S.YS 

 ho made bis debut in lid Tat me with a versified comedy, 

 I.n l'iii//in Ji'<iiii/>t/i-s. and followed it up with a 

 comedy in three acts, Oiize Jours <lf tiilqr, and several 

 comic operas. In 18fi3 appeared his (.'ing Sininim's 

 en Ballon, a romance in which he weaves the results 

 of modern scientific research into a fantastically imag- 

 inative narrative, indulging, at the same time, in 

 adventurous flights of fancy into the region of the 

 possible future of science, especially as relating to 

 geography and astronomy. The immediate success of 

 this production encouraged its author to work this 

 vein and he gave forth an astonishing number of 

 works in which plausible science and romantic exploits 

 were grotesquely blended. Among them are Let 

 Adri'iitnrt'x <ln Capitaine Holler; l.< \'<i>/(irffiiu Centre 

 </- In Ti-rrr ; De In Trrre d la Lime ; Leg Enfant* du 

 Ciiiiifniiif (Irnnt; Vinrjt, MUle Lieux tons let Merit; 

 I'ne Vi/lf. Flnltanti- ; 1*. Tour du Monde en niuitre- 

 vinfft Jo uni: Le I'ai/t des Fotimires ; Le Dorteiir 

 Oxj Michel Stroffoff; Hector Servadac ; Les linles 

 Nntrcs ; fit Cnpilnhie.de. Qiiinze Ans ; Lex Cinq Cent 

 Millinnx de la Begum; Les Trllinlntinns <!' iin ('Ilium's 

 en Chine. Most of these have been translated into 

 English and widely popularized in dran.atic versions, 

 to which they readily lend themselves. But Verne has 

 not confined himself to romantic fiction. He has 

 compiled and edited Geographic lllitstrfe de la 

 France, and Jlistoire ginerale des Brands Voyaget et 

 mil \'oy<igeurs, the latter being also translated 

 into English. 



VKBPLANCK, GUUAN CROMMELIN Q786- 

 1870), schohir and statesman, was born in New York, 

 Aug. 6, 1780, of mingled Dutch and Connecticut stock. 

 His lather, Daniel C. Verplanck (17C.1-1834), was a 

 member of Congress, 18ii3-'.i ; his mother's father was 

 Dr. W. S. Johnson, President of Columbia College. 

 Graduating there in 1801, he Mndied law and trav- 

 elled in Europe for several years. Returning, ho 

 engaged in State politics, was a candidate of the Mal- 

 contents forthe Li'^'islatiin'. ami entered that body in 

 ISJi). His anniversary discourse before the New \ ork 

 Historical Society in 1818 on Kurty J:'HI-<>J><>HI I 

 of Aiin-rii-ii attracted much attention. Some satires 

 on DeWitl Clinton were i-reditc-d to Verplanck. Though 

 a layman he was professor of Christian evidences in the 

 i'al General Seminary, and in 1 MM published Es- 

 tfiyion the }'iiriiii<s Kn'tli-nce* '/ /'irmln/ l!ili(/!<t, ill 

 which he laid chief stress on internal or moral evi- 

 tii ii'-e. i.iihcr than the external or historic. His Doctrine, 

 of Contract* (18'_'5) was praised by Wheaton. From 

 1825 to 1833 Verplanck was in Congress, where he 

 worked for the extension of copyright, and Poe says 

 that " While in Congress he was noted as the most 

 industrious man in that assembly, and acted as a 



