castle of Santa Margaretha. Of these, Citta Nuova, Barmola, and Cottonera, contain in all about 23,000 inhabitants; Citta Vittoriosa about 4000, and Senylea between 4000 and 5000.

Malta abounds in churches; and its capital contains no fewer than twenty, exclusive of the cathedral. The other public buildings are the residence of the grand master, now occupied by the governor of the island; the house in which the knights of the seven different nations composing the order of Malta had their respective halls of meeting; next to these come the townhouse, the Castellanea, where the courts of justice are held, the arsenal, and a building situated in Citta Vittoriosa, formerly occupied by the Inquisition. The Jesuits' college, formerly taught by that order, is still a seminary, and serves for the education of Catholic clergy; but part of the building is converted to very different purposes; an exchange and small theatre. La Valetta contains two libraries; that of the knights, an old collection, comprising 40,000 volumes, chiefly of Greek, Latin, French, and Italian works; the other a subscription library for later publications, established by the English in Malta, and as yet on a very limited scale.

The hospital of St. John formerly received between 400 and 500 patients, without distinction of religion or nation; and it was a fact, unexampled in any institution of the kind, that every article of food was served on silver. The French, when pressed in 1800, by the hardships of blockade, seized on these, and the building was afterwards given by the British government to the medical department of the civil staff. It now forms a medical depôt for the British garrisons in Sicily and the Ionian isles. La Valetta contains also three hospitals, one for foundlings, another for orphans, and a third called the Mad

dalena.

On the south side of Citta Nuova is one of the finest bays in the world. The entrance is hardly a quarter of a mile wide, and is commanded on each side by very strong batteries. It is also fronted by a quadruple battery, the tiers of which rise one above the other, the lowest being on a level with the water. In the centre is a small island, on which are a lazaretto and a castle. The trade of La Valetta is considerable, partly as an entrepôt for intercourse with the Barbary ports, partly as an intermediate station for the Ionian isles and the Levant. Since 1817 it has been, like Gibraltar, entitled to carry on mercantile intercourse with the East Indies.

VALETTE (Peter de), the brave grand master of Malta, who defended it against the whole power of the Turks for four months.

VALETUDINAʼRIAN, adj. & Fr. valetuVALETU DINARY, adj. [n. s. dinaire; Latin valetudo. Weakly; sickly; infirm of health. This both adjectives signify, and the noun substantive corresponds.

Physic, by purging noxious humours, prevents sickness in the healthy, or recourse thereof in the valetudinary.

Browne.

or from the hills to the vales, is a great benefit to the valetudinarian, feeble part of mankind. Derham.

VALHALLA (scandin, i. e. the hall of those who died by violence), in the mythology of the ancient Saxons, Scandinavians, Danes, Swedes, &c., the paradise of Odin, where, after death, the souls of warriors were believed to be feasted by Odin, seated on a throne, and served by the Valkyriæ, &c.

VALIANT, adj. VALIANTLY, adv. VALIANTNESS, n. s. VAL'LIANCE.

Fr. vaillant. Stout; personally puissant ;

Sbrave: applied both to

persons and actions: the adverb and noun substantives corresponding.

Only be thou valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles. 1 Samuel, xviii. 17. With stiff force he shook his mortal lance, To let him weet his doughty valiance. Spenser. Achimetes, having won the top of the walls, by the valiantness of the defendants was forced to retire. Knolles.

It was the duty of a good soldier valiantly to withstand his enemies, and not to be troubled with any evil hap.

me.

Id.

Thy valiantness was mine; thou suck'dst it from Shakspeare. Hale, a very valiant fencer, undertook to teach that science in a book, and was laughed at.

'Tis expectation makes a blessing dear. Pope.

VALKI, a considerable town of European Russia, situated on the river Mscha, in the southern province or government called Slobodsk Ukraine. It is the chief place of a circle, has five churches, and about 9300 inhabitants. Twenty-seven miles west by south of Charkov.

VALLA (George), M. D., born at Placentia, was professor of belles lettres at Venice, where he died in 1460. He wrote De Expetendis et Fugiendis rebus, 2 vols. folio.

VALLA (Lawrence), a learned Italian, born at Placentia in 1415. He retrenched the Latin language from its Gothic barbarisms. He was apprehended and condemned to be burnt for heresy, but was saved by Alphonsus king of Naples; after which pope Nicholas V. called him to Rome, and gave him a pension. He died there in 1465. His works are, 1. On the Elegance of the Latin Language, folio; and at Cambridge, 8vo. 2. Life of Ferdinand V., king of Arragon,

4to. 3. Notes on the New Testament. 4. Treatise on Falsehood and Truth. 5. Fables. And, 6. Translations of Thucydides, Herodotus, and Homer's Iliad.

VALLADOLID, an inland province of Spain, forming part of the kingdom of Leon, and lying between 41° 10', and 42° 40′ of N. lat. It consists of several scattered tracts, the two largest of which lie in the west and south-east of Leon. The area of the whole is 3400 square miles; the population about 190,000. This province lies in general high, and is sandy and barren; yet there is no want of water, it being traversed by the Duero, which is joined by the Pisuerga, the Esla, the Arlançon, and other rivers. The climate is cold, moist, and uncomfortable. It is divided into twenty-two districts.

VALLADOLID, an ancient city in the interior of Spain, in Leon, situated on the banks of the Esgueva, which divides it into two, and of the larger stream of the Pisuerga. The former flows from the east, the latter from the north. Philip II. was a native of Valladolid, and made it the occasional residence of his court. The streets are dirty, and many of the houses in decay: there are, however, two squares, one of which, the Plaza Mayor, contains some good buildings. The cathedral has never been finished. The monastery of San Benito is a handsome building; and the church of St. Paul contains some good sculptures. The town has six gates, one large bridge, and a number of small ones; several churches and hospitals. Its population does not amount to 20,000. 100 miles N. N. W. of Madrid.

VALLADOLID, one of the twelve intendancies into which Mexico is divided. At the period of the Spanish conquest, this intendancy made a part of the kingdom of Mechoacan, which extended from the Rio de Zacatula to the Port de la Navidad, and from the mountains of Xala and Colima to the river of Lerma and the lake of Chapala. The capital of Mechoacan, which, like the republics of Tlaxcallan, Huexocingo, and Cholollan, was always independent of the Mexican empire, was Tzintzontzan, a town situated on the banks of a very romantic lake. The intendancy of Valladolid is bounded on the north by the Rio de Lerma, which, farther east, takes the name of the Rio Grande de Santiago. On the east and north-east it joins the intendancy of Mexico, on the north the intendancy of Guanaxuato, and on the west that of Guadalaxara.

VALLADOLID, or Mechoacan, an episcopal city of Mexico, capital of the intendancy of Valladolid. It is situated on a river well stored with fish, near the west side of a lake, about 120 miles west of Mexico. It is a large place, and enjoys a delicious climate. It contains 18,000 inhabitants.

VALLE (Peter Del La), a famous traveller,

born at Rome in 1586. He travelled into Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Persia, and India; and on his return published his voyages in fifty-four letters, at Rome, 1662, in 4 vols. He died in 1662. His work was translated into French, and published in 8 vols. 12mo.

VALLE DE MAIZE, EL, a town of Mexico, in the province of San Luis Potosi, situated

near the Panuco. The houses have an air of neatness, and are well constructed: it has a large square, with extensive and well built edifices, and some handsome churches. It is a place of important trade.

VALLEA, in botany, a genus of plants in the class of polyandria, and order of monogynia. VALLEY, n. s. French vallée; Latin vallis. A low ground; a hollow between hills. Live with me, and be my love; And we will all the pleasure prove That hills and vallies yield.

Sweet interchange of hill and valley.

Raleigh. Milton.

I have been ready to freeze on the top of a hill, and in an hour's time after have suffered as great inconvenience from the heat of the valley.

Browne's Travels.

Vallies are the intervals betwixt mountains.

Woodward.

VALLISNERI (Anthony), M. D., an eminent Italian botanist, born in Tuscany, in 1661. He studied under Malpighi, and became physician. He died in 1730: his works were printed at Venice, in 3 vols. 4to., 1733.

VALLISNERIA, a genus of plants of the class of diœcia, and in the order of diandria; ranking in the natural method, under the first and very numerous order, palma.

VALOGNES, a town of Normandy, France, in the department of La Manche. It is situated in a valley on the small river Merderet, about eight miles from the sea. It has 7000 inhabitants, is tolerably built, and contains an hospital, with several churches. Several Roman relics have been found. Valognes had a castle demolished in 1789. Ten miles south east of Cherburg, and thirty-two north-west of St. Lo.

VALOIS, a small district and duchy in the north of France, now forming the eastern part of the department of the Oise. It gives name to the house of Valois, which possessed the throne of France previous to the Bourbons, during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth

VALPARAISO, a city and port of Chili, in Quillota, situated on a bay in the South Pacific Ocean. It was formerly a small village, with a few warehouses; but in process of time the excellence of the harbour drew many foreign

vessels to it. Its situation is convenient for the purposes of building, as it stands at the foot of a mountain, so near to its cliffs that many houses are erected in the breaches and on the acclivities. Valparaiso has a church, a convent of Franciscans, and one of Augustins, but very few monks. The ships from Peru all touch here, and take in wheat, tallow, Cordovan leather, cordage, and dried fruits; many of these vessels making three trips to Lima during the summer, which lasts from November until June.

VALSALVA (Anthony Marie), M. D., a physician, born at Imola, in Italy, in 1666. He became professor of anatomy at Bologna, and wrote a treatise on the Human Ear, in 4to. Dissertationes Anatomicæ, 2 vols. 4to. Ven. 1749. He died in 1723.

VALTELINE, a lordship of Austrian Italy, in the government of Milan, now forming part of the delegation or district of Sondrio. Its superficial extent is about 1270 square miles; its population about 81,000. It consists of a long valley, traversed by the Adda, extending from east to west, and surrounded by the Alps in all directions, except to the westward, where it opens to the lake of Como. The pastures are extensive, and silk is cultivated to a considerable amount. Their chief town is Sondrio.

VALVASOR, an ancient title of dignity among the Anglo-Saxons; the next below a thane or peer. They were called in Latin vice-domini, or vice-lords; and their ladies vidames. They are mentioned by the ancient English lawyers as viri magnæ dignitatis, gentlemen of high dignity. Sir Edward Coke speaks highly of them: yet they are now so totally out of use, that antiquarians are not agreed respecting their origin, their of fice, or the extent of their powers. VALUE, n. s., v. a., & v. n. VALUABLE, adj.

VALUATION, n. s.

VALUATOR,

VALUELESS, adj. VALUER, n. s.

Fr. value; Latin valor. Price; worth; high rate; just

price to value is to rate; appraise; reckon at; rate highly: also to be worth: valuable is precious; of great value; worthy valuation, the act of fixing value, or the value fixed valuator and valuer, he who fixes it: valueless, worthless.

:

VALVE, in hydraulics, pneumatics, &c., is a kind of lid or cover of a tube or vessel, so contrived as to open one way, but which, the more forcibly it is pressed the other way, the closer it shuts the aperture; so that it either admits the entrance of a fluid into the tube or vessel, and prevents its return; or admits its escape, and prevents its re-entrance.

VALVE, in anatomy, a thin membrane applied on several cavities and vessels of the body, to afford a passage to certain humors going one way, and prevent their reflux towards the place whence they came.

VALVERDA (John de), M. D., a Spanish physician, who attended cardinal Tolido, to Rome. He wrote a treatise on Anatomy, Ven. 1589 and a tract De Animi et Corporis Sanitate Tuenda, 1553.

VAMP, v. a. Supposed by Skinner to he derived from Fr. avant, betore; and to mean, laying on a new outside. To piece an old thing with some new part.

If you wish

To vamp a body with a dangerous physick,
That's sure of death without.

Shakspeare. Coriolanus. This opinion had been vamped up by Cardan. Bentley.

A counterfeit Resembling majesty; which, touched and tried, Proves valueless. Id. King John. The peace between the French and us not values The cost that did conclude it. Id. Henry VIII.

I had never much hopes of your vampt play.

Swift.

VAN DIEMEN'S LAND, an island in the Southern Ocean, separated from New Holland by Bass's Straits. The country was first discovered by Tasman in 1633. In 1773 it was visited by captain Furneaux, and by captain Cook in 1777; since which period it has been visited by different navigators. Among others Bruny D'Entrecasteaux, the French rear-admiral, made the coast of Van Diemen's Land in 1792, and afterwards revisited it in 1793. This coast was afterwards visited by lieutenants Bass and Flinders, who made a more ample survey of it, and also of the coasts of New Holland. Since this period the several colonies have been sent from the original establishment made by the British at Port Jackson to this island. In 1804 Hobart's Town was founded, about nine miles up the Derwent; and another settlement, namely, Launceston, was founded about thirty miles from the mouth of Port Dalrymple, and 130 miles in a straight line from Hobart's Town. Swan River is a settlement of this island.

Van Diemen's Land, situated between 40° 42′ and 43° 43′ S. lat., and between 145° 31′ and 148° 22′ E. long., has not so repulsive appearance from the coast as New Holland. Many fine tracts are found on the borders of the sea, and the interior is almost invariably possessed of a soil admirably adapted to all the purposes of cultivation. This island abounds in streams: on the summits of many of the mountains there are large lakes, some of which are the sources of considerable rivers. Of these the Derwent, Huon, Tamar, and Swan rivers, rank in the first class. There is perhaps no island in the world of the same size which can boast of so many

fine harbours: the best are the Derwent, Port Davy, Macquarie harbour, Port Dalrymple, and Oyster Bay; the first is on its southern side, the second and third on its western, the fourth on its northern, and the fifth on its eastern; so that it has excellent harbours in every direction. Between the animals and vegetables found here and in New Holland there is almost a perfect resemblance.

The British colonies have of late received a great accession of settlers from Great Britain. According to the last accounts, they were gradually improving, and assuming more and more the appearance of a civilised community. From an account of a tour of inspection, by governor Macquarie, it appears that in July, 1821, the population of the island amounted to 6372, exclusive of the civil and military officers; and that it contained 28,838 head of horned cattle, 182,468 sheep, 421 horses, and 10,683 acres of land in cultivation.

VANAKEN (Joseph), a Flemish painter, born at Antwerp. He excelled in painting satin, velvet, lace, and embroidery. He died in 1749.

VANBRUGH (Sir John), a celebrated English dramatic writer and architect, descended of a family in Cheshire which came from France. He was born about the middle of the reign of Charles II., and received a liberal education. His first comedy, called the Relapse, or Virtue in Danger, was acted in 1697 with great applause; which gave him such encouragement that he wrote eleven more comedies. He was appointed Clarencieux king at arms, which he afterwards disposed of. In 1716 he was appointed surveyor of the works at Greenwich hospital; he was likewise made comptroller general of his majesty's works, and surveyor of all the gardens and waters. He was an able architect; but his performances in that way are esteemed heavy. Under his direction were raised Blenheim House in Oxfordshire, Claremont in Surrey, and his own house at Whitehall. He died of a quinsey in 1726.

VANCOUVER (Captain George), of the royal navy, wrote an account of a Voyage of Discovery into the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World, in 1790-1795. He died 10th of May, 1798.

VANDALE (Anthony), M. D., a learned physician, born in Holland, in 1638. He wrote A Treatise on Oracles, which was answered by several writers, and abridged by Fontenelle; also a work on the Origin of Idolatry; also a Dissertation on Aristeas, and the Septuagint Version, He died at Haerlem, in 1708.

VANDALS, a brave and numerous, but barbarous people of Europe, who, along with the Goths, Heruli, Suevi, Alani, and Burgundians, emigrated in large bodies from their respective native countries, and spreading fire, sword, and desolation, every where, overthrew the Roman empire, in the fifth century. They were several times, however, successfully opposed by Stilicho. See ROME. From the similarity of their name to that of the two countries above described, they seem to have originally come from Lower Saxony and Pomerania. Others make them a tribe of the Sarmatians, or Sclavonians.