W

Waal, a S. branch of the Rhine, in Holland.

Wace, Anglo-Norman poet, born in Guernsey; author of two metrical chronicles, "Geste des Brétons" and "Roman de Rou," the latter recording the fortunes of the dukes of Normandy down to 1106 (1120-1183).

Wace, Henry, Principal of King's College, London; has lectured ably on Christian apologetics, and written valuable works in defence of Christianity; b. 1836.

Wade, George, English general; commanded in Scotland during the rebellion of 1715, has the credit of the construction in 1725-35 of the military roads into the Highlands, to frustrate any further attempts at rebellion in the north (1668-1748).

Wadman, Widow, a lady in "Tristram Shandy" who pays court to Uncle Toby.

Wady, an Arabic name for the channel of a stream which is flooded in rainy weather and at other seasons dry.

Wagner, Wilhelm Richard, the great musical composer, born at Leipzig; showed early a faculty for music, and began the enthusiastic study of it under Beethoven; in 1835 became conductor of the orchestra of the theatre of Magdeburg, and held the same post afterwards at Riga and Königsberg; his principal works were "Rienzi" (1840), "The Flying Dutchman" (1843), "Tannhäuser" (1845), "Lohengrin" (1850), "Tristan and Isolde" (1859), "The Mastersingers of Nürnberg" (1859-60), and the "Ring of the Nibelungen," the composition of which occupied 25 years; this last was performed in 1876 at Bayreuth in a theatre erected for the purpose in presence of the emperor of Germany and the principal musical artists of the world; "Parsifal" was his last work; his musical ideas were revolutionary, and it was some time before his works made their way in England (1813-1883).

Wagram, a village, 10 m. NE. of Vienna, where Napoleon gained a great victory over the Austrians under the Archduke Charles, on July 5 and 6, 1809.

Wahabis, a Mohammedan sect which arose among the Nedj tribe in Central Arabia, whose aims were puritanic and the restoration of Islamism to its primitive simplicity in creed, worship, and conduct; in creed they were substantially the same as the Sunnites (q. v.).

Waikato, the largest river in New Zealand, in the North Island, the outlet of the waters of Lake Taupo, the largest lake; has a course of 170 m.

Wakefield (37), a borough of Yorkshire, 9 m. S. of Leeds; has large woollen and other manufactures.

Walcheren, an island in the province of Zeeland, in the delta formed by the Maas and Scheldt; was the destination of an unfortunate expedition sent to the help of the Austrians against Napoleon in Antwerp, in which 7000 of the army composing it died of marsh fever, from which 10,000 were sent home sick and the rest recalled.

Waldeck-Pyrmont (57), two high-lying territories in North Germany forming one principality and subject to imperial authority; consists of hill and valley.

Waldenses, a Christian community founded in 1170 in the south of France, on the model of the primitive Church, by Peter Walden, a rich citizen of Lyons, and who were driven by persecution from country to country until they settled in Piedmont under the name of the Vaudois (q. v.), where they still exist.

Wales (1,519), one of three divisions of Great Britain; is 135 m. in length and from 37 to 95 m. in breadth, and bounded on the NW. and S. by the sea; it is divided into 12 counties, of which 6 form North Wales and 6 South Wales; is a mountainous country, intersected by beautiful valleys, which are traversed by a number of streams; it is largely agricultural; has mines of coal and iron, lead and copper, as well as large slate-quarries, which are extensively wrought; the Church of England is the church established, but the majority of the people are Nonconformists; it is represented in Parliament by 30 members; the natives are Celts, and the native language Celtic, which is still the language of a goodly number of the people.

Wales, Prince of, title borne by eldest son of the English monarch; first conferred in 1301 on eldest son of Edward I. after subjugation of Wales (1282); since 1901 borne by Prince George, formerly Duke of York; entered the navy in 1877, and attained the post of commander in 1890; became heir of the throne on death of his brother, Duke of Clarence (1892); married Princess Mary of Teck (1893), and has by this marriage four sons and a daughter; b. 1865.

Walfish Bay, a dependency of Cape Colony, in the middle of the coast-line of German South-West Africa.

Walker, George, defender of Londonderry against the army of James II., born in co. Tyrone, of English parents; was in holy orders, and by his sermons encouraged the town's-people during the siege, which lasted 105 days; he afterwards fought in command of his Derry men at the battle of the Boyne, where he lost his life.

Wallace, Alfred Russel, English naturalist, born at Usk, in Monmouthshire; was devoted to the study of natural history, in the interest of which he spent four years (1848-52) in the valley of the Amazon, and eight years after (1854-62) in the East India Archipelago, from the latter of which expedition especially he returned with thousands of specimens of natural objects, particularly insects and birds, and during his absence he wrought out a theory in the main coincident with Darwin's natural selection in corroboration thereof; he has since devoted much of his time to the study of spiritualism, and in spite of himself has come to be convinced of its claims to scientific regard; he has written on his travels, "Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection," "Miracles and Modern Spiritualism," &c.; b. 1823.

Wallace, Sir William, the champion of Scottish independence, born in Renfrewshire, second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie; was early seized with a desire to free his country from foreign oppressors, and ere long began to figure as chief of a band of outlaws combined to defy the authority of Edward I., who had declared himself Lord of Scotland, till at length the sense of the oppression became wide-spread, and he was appointed to lead in a general revolt, while many of the nobles held aloof or succumbed to the usurper; he drove the English from one stronghold after another, finishing with the battle of Stirling, and was installed thereafter guardian of the kingdom; such a reverse was more than the "proud usurper" could brook; he accordingly mustered a large army, and at Falkirk literally crushed Wallace and his followers with an overwhelming force, the craven nobles still standing aloof, one of them in the end proving traitor, and handing Wallace over to the enemy, who carried him off to London, and had him hanged, beheaded, and quartered.

Wallace Collection, a collection of works of art bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace, and now being housed in Hertford House, Manchester Square, London.

Wallenstein, general of the Imperial army in the Thirty Years' War, born in Bohemia, of a Protestant family, but on the death of his parents was, in his childhood, adopted and educated by the Jesuits, and bred up in the Catholic faith; bent on a military life, he served first in one campaign and then another; rose in imperial favour, and became a prince of the empire, but the jealousy of the nobles procured his disgrace, till the success of Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War and the death of Tully led to his recall, when he was placed at the head of the imperial army as commander-in-chief; drove the Saxons out of Bohemia, and marched against the Swedes, but was defeated, and fell again into disfavour; was deprived of his command, charged with treason, and afterwards murdered in the castle of Egra; he was a remarkable man, great in war and great in statesmanship, but of unbounded ambition; is the subject of a drama by Schiller, in three parts (1583-1634).

Waller, Edmund, poet, born in Hertfordshire to great wealth, and educated at Eton and Cambridge; early gave evidence of his genius for poetry, which, however, was limited in practice to the production of merely occasional pieces; he was in great favour at court; was a member of the Long Parliament; leant to the Royalist side, though he wrote a panegyric on Cromwell, which, too, is considered his best poem; he revived, or rather "remodelled," the heroic couplet form of verse, which continued in vogue for over a hundred years after (1605-1687).

Walloons, name given to the descendants of the ancient Belgæ, a race of a mixed Celtic and Romanic stock, inhabiting Belgium chiefly, and speaking a language called Walloon, a kind of Old French; in Belgium they number to-day two and a quarter millions.

Walpole, Horace, Earl of Orford, born in London, educated at Eton and Cambridge; travelled on the Continent with Gray, the poet, who had been a school-fellow, but quarrelled with him, and came home alone; entered Parliament in 1741, and continued a member till 1768, but took little part in the debates; succeeded to the earldom in 1791; his tastes were literary; wrote "Anecdotes of Painting in England," and inaugurated a new era in novel-writing with his "Castle of Otranto," but it is by his "Letters" he will live in English literature, which, "malicious, light as froth, but amusing, retail," as Stopford Brooke remarks, "with liveliness all the gossip of the time"; he is characterised by Carlyle as "one of the clearest-sighted men of his century; a determined despiser and merciless dissector of cant" (1717-1797).

Walpole, Sir Robert, Earl of Orford, Whig statesman, born at Houghton, Norfolk, educated at Eton and Cambridge; entered Parliament in 1701, and became member for King's Lynn in 1702; was favoured by the Whig leaders, and promoted to office in the Cabinet; was accused of corruption by the opposite party when in power, and committed to the Tower; on his release after acquittal was re-elected for King's Lynn; in 1715 became First Lord of the Treasury, and in 1721 became Prime Minister, which he continued to be for twenty-one years, but not without opposition on account of his pacific policy; on being driven against his will into a war with Spain, which proved unsuccessful, he retired into private life; he stood high in repute for his financial policy; it was he who established the first Sinking Fund, and who succeeded as a financier in restoring confidence after the bursting of the South Sea Bubble (q. v.); it is to his policy in defeating the plans of the Jacobites that the Hanoverian dynasty in great part owe their permanent occupancy of the British throne; it was a favourite maxim of his. "Every man has his price," and he was mortified to find that Pitt could not be bought by any bribe of his (1677-1745).

Walpurgis Night, the eve of the 1st May, when the witches hold high revel and offer sacrifices to the devil their chief, the scene of their festival in Germany being the Brocken (q. v.). This annual festival was in the popular belief conceded to them in recompense for the loss they sustained when by St. Walpurga the Saxons were persuaded to renounce paganism with its rites for Christianity.

Walsingham, Sir Francis, English statesman, born at Chiselhurst; was ambassador at Paris, and was there during the St. Bartholomew massacre, and was afterwards appointed one of Queen Elizabeth's Secretaries of State; he was an insidious inquisitor, and had numerous spies in his pay, whom he employed to ferret out evidence to her ruin against Mary, Queen of Scots, and he had the audacity to sit as one of the Commissioners at her trial (1536-1590).

Walston, St., patron saint of husbandmen, of British birth; gave up wealth for agriculture, and died at the plough; is represented with a scythe in his hand and cattle near him.

Walter, John, London printer; the founder proper, though his father was the projector, of the Times newspaper, and forty years in the management of it, under which it became the "leading journal" of the day, a success due to his discernment and selection of the men with the ability to conduct it and contribute to it (1773-1847).

Walter the Penniless, a famous mob leader, adjutant of Peter the Hermit (q. v.) in the first Crusade.

Walton, Izaak, the angler, born in Stafford; settled as a linen-draper, first in Fleet Street and then in Chancery Lane, London; married a lady, a grand-niece of Cranmer, and on her death a sister of Bishop Ken, by whom he had several children; he associated with some of the best clergymen of the Church of England, among the number Dr. Donne, and was much beloved by them; on the death of his second wife he went to Winchester and stayed with his friend Dr. Morley, the bishop; his principal work was the "Complete Angler; or, the Contemplative Man's Recreation," which was extended by his friend Charles Cotton, and is a classic to this day; he wrote in addition Lives of Hooker, Dr. Donne, Bishop Sanderson, Sir Henry Wotton, and George Herbert, all done, like the "Angler," in a uniquely charming, simple style (1593-1683).

Wandering Jew. See Jew, Wandering.

Wapenshaw, originally gatherings of the people of a district in ancient times in Scotland, at which every man was bound to appear duly armed according to his rank, and make exhibition of his skill in the use of his weapons, against a time of war.

Warbeck, Perkin, an impostor who affected to be Richard, Duke of York, second son of Edward IV., alleged to have been murdered in the Tower, and laid claim to the crown of England in preference to Henry VII. In an attempt to make good this claim he was taken prisoner, and hanged at Tyburn in 1499.

Warburton, William, an English divine, born at Newark; was bishop of Gloucester; was author of the famous "Divine Legation of Moses," characterised by Gibbon as a "monument of the vigour and weakness of the human mind"; is a distracted waste of misapplied logic and learning; a singular friendship subsisted between the author and Pope (1698-1779).

Ward, Artemus, the pseudonym of C. F. Browne (q. v.).

Ward, Mrs. Humphry, English authoress, born at Hobart Town; is a niece of Matthew Arnold; translated Amiel's "Journal," a suggestive record, but is best known by her romance of "Robert Elsmere," published in 1888, a work which was a help to some weak people and an offence to others of the same class; b. 1851.

Ward, William George, English theologian; was a zealous promoter of the Tractarian Movement, and led the way in carrying out its principles to their logical issue by joining the Church of Rome; he was a broad-minded man withal, and won the regard of men of every school; became editor of the Dublin Review (1812-1882).

Warrington (55), a parliamentary borough in Lancashire, on the Mersey, 20 m. E. of Liverpool; an old town, but with few relics of its antiquity; manufactures iron-ware, glass, soap, &c.; sends one member to Parliament.

Wars of the Roses, name given to a civil war in England from 1452 to 1486, between the Houses of York and Lancaster, so called from the badge of the former being a white rose and that of the latter being a red; it terminated with the accession of Henry VII., who united in his person the rival claims.

Warsaw (465), formerly the capital of Poland, now of the province of Russian Poland; stands on the left bank of the Vistula, 700 m. SW. of St. Petersburg; is almost in the heart of Europe, and in a position with many natural advantages; is about as large as Birmingham, and the third largest city in the Russian empire; it has a university with 75 professors and 1000 students, and has a large trade and numerous manufactures.

Wartburg, an old grim castle overhanging Eisenach (q. v.), where Luther was confined by his friends when it was too hot for him outside, and where, not forgetful of what he owed his country, he kept translating the Bible into the German vernacular, and where they still show the oaken table at which he did it, and the oaken ink-holder which he threw at the devil's head, as well as the ink-spot it left on the wall.

Warton, Thomas, English poet, born at Basingstoke; was professor of Poetry at Oxford, and Poet-Laureate; wrote a "History of English Poetry" of great merit, and a few poetic pieces in faint echo of others by Pope and Swift for most part (1728-1790).

Warwick (11), the county town of Warwickshire, on the Avon, 21 m. SE. of Birmingham; it dates from Saxon times, and possesses a great baronial castle, the residence of the earls of Warwick, erected in 1394 on an eminence by the river grandly overlooking the town; it is the seat of several industries, and has a considerable trade in agricultural produce.

Warwick, Richard Neville, Earl of, eldest son of the Earl of Salisbury, the king-maker (q. v.); fought in the "Wars of the Roses," and was in the end defeated by Edward IV. and slain (1428-1471).

Warwickshire (805), central county of England; is traversed by the Avon, a tributary of the Severn; the north portion, which was at one time covered by the forest of Arden, is now, from its mineral wealth, one of the busiest industrial centres of England; it contains the birthplace of Shakespeare; Birmingham is the largest town.

Wash, The, an estuary of the E. coast of England, between the counties of Norfolk and Lincoln, too shallow for navigation.

Washington (278), capital of the United States, in the district of Columbia, on the left bank of the Potomac, 35 in. SW. of Baltimore; was founded in 1791, and made the seat of the Government in 1800; it is regularly laid out, possesses a number of noble buildings, many of them of marble, the chief being the Capitol, an imposing structure, where the Senate and Congress sit; near it, 1½ m. distant, is the White House, the residence of the President, standing in grounds beautifully laid out and adorned with fountains and shrubbery.

Washington (340), a NW. State of the American Union, twice the size of Ireland; lies N. of Oregon; is traversed by the Cascade Mountains, the highest 8138 ft., and has a rugged surface of hill and valley, but is a great wheat-growing and grazing territory, covered on the W. by forests of pine and cedar; Olympia is the capital. Washington is the name of hundreds of places in the States.

Washington, George, one of the founders and first President of the United States, born at Bidges Creek, Westmoreland Co., Virginia, of a family from the North of England, who emigrated in the middle of the 17th century; commenced his public life in defending the colony against the encroachments of the French, and served as a captain in a campaign against them under General Braddock; In the contest between the colony and the mother-country he warmly espoused that of the colony, and was in 1775 appointed commander-in-chief; his first important operation in that capacity was to drive the English out of Boston, but the British rallying he was defeated at Brandywine and Germantown in 1777; next year, in alliance with the French, he drove the British out of Philadelphia, and in 1781 compelled Cornwallis to capitulate in an attack he made on Yorktown, and on the evacuation of New York by the British the independence of America was achieved, upon which he resigned the command; in 1789 he was elected to the Presidency of the Republic, and in 1793 was re-elected, at the end of which he retired into private life after paying a dignified farewell (1732-1799).

Waterbury (46), a city of Connecticut, U.S., 88 m. NE. of New York, with manufactures of metallic wares; world-famous for its cheap watches.

Waterford (21), a town in a county of the same name (98), in Munster, Ireland, at the junction of the Suir and the Barrow; has a splendid harbour formed by the estuary, and carries on an extensive export trade with England, particularly in bacon and butter, the chief industries of the county being cattle-breeding and dairy-farming.

Waterloo, a village 11 m. S. of Brussels, which gives name to a battle in which the French under Napoleon were defeated by an army under Wellington on June 18, 1815.

Watling Street, a great Roman road extending from Dover and terminating by two branches in the extreme N. of England after passing through London, the NE. branch, by York, and the NW. by or to Chester.

Watson, William, poet, born in Yorkshire; the first poem which procured him recognition was "Wordsworth's Grave," and his subsequent poems have confirmed the impression produced, in especial his "Lachrymæ Musarum," one of the finest tributes paid to the memory of Tennyson on the occasion of his death; among his later productions the most important is a volume entitled "Odes and other Poems," published in 1894; has also written an admirable volume of essays, "Excursions in Criticism"; b. 1858.

Watt, James, inventor of the modern steam-engine, born in Greenock, son of a merchant; began life as a mathematical-instrument maker, opened business in Glasgow under university patronage, and early began to experiment on the mechanical capabilities of steam; when in 1703, while engaged in repairing the model of a Newcomen's engine, he hit upon the idea which has immortalised his name. This was the idea of a separate condenser for the steam, and from that moment the power of steam in the civilisation of the world was assured; the advantages of the invention were soon put to the proof and established, and by a partnership on the part of Watts with Matthew Boulton (q. v.) Watt had the satisfaction of seeing his idea fairly launched and of reaping of the fruits. Prior to Watt's invention the steam-engine was of little other use than for pumping water (1736-1819).

Watteau, Antoine, celebrated French painter and engraver, born at Valenciennes; his pictures were numerous and the subjects almost limited to pseudo-pastoral rural groups; the tone of the colouring is pleasing, and the design graceful (1684-1721).

Watts, George Frederick, eminent English painter, born in London; is distinguished as a painter at once of historical subjects, ideal subjects, and portraits; did one of the frescoes in the Poets' Hall of the Houses of Parliament and the cartoon of "Caractacus led in Triumph through the Streets of Rome"; has, as a "poet-painter," by his "Love and Death," "Hope," and "Orpheus and Eurydice," achieved a world-wide fame; he was twice over offered a baronetcy, but on both occasions he declined; b. 1817.

Watts, Isaac, Nonconformist divine, born at Southampton, son of a schoolmaster; chose the ministry as his profession, was for a time pastor of a church in Mark Lane, but after a succession of attacks of illness he resigned and went on a visit to his friend Sir Thomas Abney, with whom he stayed for 36 years, at which time his friend died, and he resumed pastoral duties as often as his health permitted; he wrote several books, among which was a book on "Logic," long a university text-book, and a great number of hymns, many of them of wide fame and much cherished as helps to devotion (1674-1748).

Watts, Theodore, critic, born at St. Ives, bosom friend of Swinburne, who pronounces him "the first critic of our time—perhaps the largest-minded and surest-sighted of any age"; his influence is great, and it has been exercised chiefly through contributions to the periodicals of the day; has assumed the surname of Dunton after his mother; b. 1836.

Waugh, Edwin, a Lancashire poet, born at Rochdale, bred a bookseller; wrote, among other productions, popular songs, full of original native humour, the first of them "Come Whoam to thy Childer and Me" (1817-1890).

Wayland, the smith, a Scandinavian Vulcan, of whom a number of legends were current; figures in Scott's "Kenilworth."

Waziris, a tribe of independent Afghans inhabiting the Suleiman Mountains, on the W. frontier of the Punjab.

Wealth, defined by Ruskin to be the possession of things in themselves valuable, that is, of things available for the support of life, or inherently possessed of life-giving power.

Weber, Karl Maria von, German composer, born near Lübeck, of a famed musical family; early gave proof of musical talent; studied at Vienna under Abbé Vogler, and at Dresden became founder and director of the German opera; his first great production was "Der Freischütz," which established his fame, and was succeeded by, among others, "Oberon," his masterpiece, first produced in London, where, shortly after the event, he died, broken in health; he wrote a number of pieces for the piano, deservedly popular (1786-1826).

Weber, Wilhelm Eduard, German physicist, born at Wittenberg; professor at Göttingen; distinguished for his contributions to electricity and magnetism, both scientific and practical (1801-1891).

Webster, Daniel, American statesman and orator, born at New Hampshire; bred to the bar, and practised in the provincial courts; by-and-by went to Boston, which was ever after his home; entered Congress in 1813, where, by his commanding presence and his animated oratory, he soon made his mark; was secretary for foreign affairs under President Harrison, and negotiated the Ashburton Treaty in settlement of the "boundary-line" question between England and the States; was much admired by Emerson, and was, when he visited England, commended by him to the regard of Carlyle as a man to "hear speak," as "with a cause he could strike a stroke like a smith"; Carlyle did not take to him; he was too political for his taste, though he recognised in him a "man—never have seen," he wrote Emerson, "so much silent Berserkir-rage in any other man" (1782-1852).

Webster, John, English dramatist of the 17th century; did a good deal as a dramatist in collaboration with others, but some four plays are exclusively his own work, the two best the "White Devil" and the "Duchess of Malfi."

Webster, Noah, lexicographer, born at Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.; bred to law; tried journalism; devoted 20 years to his "Dictionary of the English Language" (1758-1843).

Wedgwood, Josiah, celebrated English potter, born at Burslem, son of a potter; in 1759 started a pottery on artistic lines in his native place; devoted himself first to the study of the material of his art and then to its ornamentation, in which latter he had at length the good fortune to enlist Flaxman as a designer, and so a ware known by his name became famous for both its substantial and artistic excellence far and wide over the country and beyond; he was a man of varied culture and of princely generosity, having by his art amassed a large fortune (1730-1793).

Wednesbury (69), a town in Staffordshire, 8 m. NW. of Birmingham; iron-ware manufacture the chief industry; has an old church on the site of an old temple to Woden, whence the name, it is alleged.

Wednesday, fourth day of the week, Woden's Day, as Thursday is Thor's. It is called Midwoch, i. e. Midweek, by the Germans.

Week, division of time of seven days, supposed to have been suggested by the interval between the quarters of the moon.

Weeping Philosopher, a sobriquet given to Heraclitus (q. v.) from a melancholy disposition ascribed to him, in contrast with Democritus (q. v.), designated the laughing philosopher.

Wei-hai-wei, a city in a deep bay on the Shantung promontory, China, 40 m. E. of Chefoo, and nearly opposite Port Arthur, which is situated on the northern side of the entrance to the Gulf of Pechili; was leased to Great Britain in 1898, along with the islands in the bay and a belt of land along the coast; its harbour is well sheltered, and accommodates a large number of vessels.

Weimar (24), capital of the grand-duchy of Saxe-Weimar, in a valley on the left bank of the Ilm, 13 m. E. of Erfurt, and famous as for many years the residence of the great Goethe and the illustrious literary circle of which he was the centre, an association which constitutes the chief interest of the place.

Weingartner, Felix, composer and musical conductor, born at Zara, Dalmatia; has composed symphonic poems, operas, and songs; b. 1863.

Weismann, August, biologist, born at Frankfort-on-the-Main; studied medicine at Göttingen; devoted himself to the study of zoology, the first-fruit of which was a treatise on the "Development of Diptera," and at length to the variability in organisms on which the theory of descent, with modifications, is based, the fruit of which was a series of papers published in 1882 under the title of "Studies on the Theory of Descent"; but it is with the discussions on the question of heredity that his name is most intimately associated. The accepted theory on the subject assumes that characters acquired by the individual are transmitted to offspring, and this assumption, in his "Essays upon Heredity," he maintains to be wholly groundless, and denies that it has any foundation in fact; heredity, according to him, is due to the continuity of the germ-plasm, or the transmission from generation to generation of a substance of a uniform chemical and molecular composition; b. 1834.

Weiss, Bernhard, German theologian, born at Königsberg; became professor at Kiel and afterwards at Berlin; has written on the theology of the New Testament, an introduction to it, and a "Leben Jesu," all able works; b. 1827.

Weissenfels (23), a town of Prussian Saxony, 35 m. SW. of Leipzig, with an old castle of the Duke of Weissenfels and various manufactures.

Weissnichtwo (Know-not-where), in Carlyle's "Sartor," an imaginary European city, viewed as the focus, and as exhibiting the operation, of all the influences for good and evil of the time we live in, described in terms which characterised city life in the first quarter of the 19th century; so universal appeared the spiritual forces at work in society at that time that it was impossible to say where they were and where they were not, and hence the name of the city, Know-not-where.

Weizsächer, Karl, eminent German theologian; studied at Tübingen and Berlin; succeeded Baur (q. v.) as professor at Tübingen; was a New Testament critic, and the editor of a theological journal, and distinguished for his learning and lucid style; b. 1822.

Welldon, James Edward Cowell, bishop of Calcutta; educated at Eton and Cambridge; has held several appointments, both scholastic and clerical; has translated several of the works of Aristotle, and was Hulsean Lecturer at Cambridge in 1897; b. 1854.

Weller, Sam, Mr. Pickwick's servant, and an impersonation of the ready wit and best quality of London low life.

Wellesley, a small province, part of Penang Territory, in the Straits Settlements; of great fertility, and yields tropical products in immense quantities, such as spices, tea, coffee, sugar, cotton, and tobacco.

Wellesley, Richard Cowley, Marquis of, statesman and administrator, born in Dublin, eldest son of the Earl of Mornington, an Irish peer, and eldest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and his senior by nine years; educated at Eton and Cambridge, where he distinguished himself in classics; in 1781 succeeded his father in the Irish House of Peers; entered Parliament in 1784; was a supporter of Pitt, and in 1797 appointed Governor-General of India in succession to Cornwallis, and raised to the English peerage as Baron Wellesley; in this capacity he proved himself a great administrator, and by clearing out the French and crushing the power of Tippoo Saib, as well as increasing the revenue of the East India Company, laid the foundation of the British power in India, for which he was raised to the marquisate, and voted a pension of £5000; he afterwards became Foreign Secretary of State and Viceroy of Ireland (1760-1842).

Wellhausen, Julius, Old Testament scholar, born at Hameln; held the post of professor of Theology at Greifswald, but resigned the post from conscientious scruples and became professor of Oriental Languages at Marburg in 1885; is best known among us as a biblical critic on the lines of the so-called higher criticism, the criticism which seeks to arrange the different parts of the Bible in their proper historical connection and order; b. 1844.