1074
VIEIL-CASTEL— VIGFUSSON.
defeated on an important clause in June, 1866, ministers resigned. Lord Derby formed his third ad- ministration, and during the session of 1867 carried a Reform Bill, thereby settling a question which had long been a stumbling-block impeding the progress of legislation. The Conservatives being placed in a minority at the general election of 1868, Mr. Disraeli resigned office, and was succeeded as Prime Minister by Mr. Gladstone. The chief events of Mr. Gladstone's administration were the disestablishment of the Irish Church, the passing of the Irish Land Act and the Elementary Education Act, the abolition of pur- chase in the army, the negotiation of the Treaty of Washington respect- ing the Alabama Claims, and the passing of the Ballot Act. At the general election of Feb., 1874, the Conservatives again came into power, and a new administration was formed by Mr. Disraeli, after- wards Lord Beaconsfield. By virtue of the power conferred by an Act of Parliament passed in the previous session Her Majesty was, on Jan. 1, 1877, proclaimed Empress of India, by the Governor-General, at the camp of Delhi, before an impe- rial assemblage of all the governors, lieutenant - governors, heads of Government, princes, chiefs, and nobles of India. On the defeat of the Conservatives at the general election of 1 1880, Mr. Gladstone formed another Liberal administra- tion, which has continued in office to the present time. In April, 1882, an attempt on the Queen's life was made at "Windsor by one Roderick Maclean, who after trial waa ordered to be confined during Her Majesty's pleasure. ** The Early Days of His Royal Highness the Pnnce Consort," compiled under the direction of Her Majesty, by Lieut.-Gen. the Hon. C. Grey, was published in July, 1867, and was followed, in 1869, by " Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands ; " and in 1874, by the first volume of Mr.
(now Sir) Theodore Martin's " Life of H.R.H. the Prince Conaort," of which the fifth and concluding volume appeared in 1880.
VIEIL-CASTEL (Comte db), Louis, statesman and author, born in France, Oct. 14, 1800, entered the Foreign Office at Paris in 1818, was an attache at the French em- bassy in Spain in 1821, became Secretary of Legation, and acted in the same capacity at Vienna in 1828. After holding some other appointments, he retired in 1853. He was promoted Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour in 1849, held several foreign orders, has con- tributed to the Revue des Deuz Mondes, and written "Histoire de la Restauration," commenced in 1860, for which the grand prix Gobert of 10,000 francs was awarded to him in 1 867 . The fifteenth volume was published in 1873, in which year its author was elected a member of the French Academy. The twentieth and concluding volume appeared in 1878.
VIGFUSSON, GuDBRAND, was bom in the west of Iceland, Broad- firth, his parents being Vigfus Gislason, and Halldora Gisladottir, who were both of Icelandic or Norse blood time out of mind. He fre- quented the schools at Bessastad and Reykiavik, which he left at the age of twenty (1850) for the Uni- versity at Copenhagen, His first literary essay was "Timatal," or an Essay on the Chronology of the Icelandic Sagas, written in Ice- landic, 1854-55. It was followed by ** Biskupasogor," or the Lives of the Old Bishops of Iceland, 1056-1331, edited from ancient MSS., in one large volume, Copenhagen, 1858, in Icelandic ; ** Fomsogor," collection of Sagas, published at Leipzig in I860; " Eyrbyggia Saga," Leipzig, 1864, in German ; " Flatey- b6k," or Lives of Kings, 3 vols., Christiana, i860, et seq., in Danish ; and several essays in Icelandic. In the autumn of 1864 Mr. Vig- j fusson came to England, and for
