reader's knowledge of the world, past and present, and of the condition of his fellow men wherever fate has placed them. iv. As regards the classics, it ought to be confined to such works as are most generally read and understood by those who wish to retain, and perhaps extend, their knowledge of Greek and Latin, and to those editions which give the most correct text, and the most useful and condensed notes. French literature constitutes so general and necessary an accomplishment in modern education, that a judicious French scholar should be required to point out the best authors in that language, on the subjects of morals, history, biography, belles lettres, and the best voyages, travels, and poetry. With respect to books in the German, Italian, Spanish, &c., the selection in these branches must entirely depend upon the proficiency acquired in the language, and the taste of the proprietor. v. It is very desirable, and perhaps indispensable, to have in a library one or two of the best Universal Histories. If it were possible to give such a combined and contemporaneous view of the events and state of the principal nations in different periods as would enable us to compare them with ease, clearness, and accuracy, Universal Histories would be the most instructive and interesting works. But it seems not possible to secure this advantage, except at the expense of great bulk and frequent repetitions, and attended with an intermingling and entanglement of the histories of the various nations, which bewilders and perplexes the reader. There is more of the good and less of the bad qualities of a universal history, when it confines itself to a general and philosophical view of such events as have been most influential in the progress of nations; and as these are, of course, not voluminous, they ought to find a preference in a general library. In selecting historical works on Greece and Rome, such of the original writers as are level to the knowledge of a common classical scholar ought to be admitted; but these only. Editions with a correct text, and such notes as explain real difficulties, or illustrate passages actually needing illustration, should exclusively be pointed out and recommended. Great care, judgment, and taste, are requisite in selecting books on the antiquities of Greece, Rome, &c. ; there are very few, indeed, which are not either so voluminous that none but the professed antiquary ought to possess them; or which, even if in a moderate compass, do not weary and perplex, without satisfying the reader, by their minute attention to trifles. Such are our ideas of the nature of a library of this kind. A list of books it is impossible to attempt in our limited space. USHANT, an island on the north-west coast of France, about ten miles in circuit, having but one town or village, St. Michael. A naval engagement took place near this on the 27th of July 1778, between the English and French, in which both claimed the victory. The force was great (fully thirty sail of the line) on both sides, and the indecisive result of the action caused much discontent in England; but the fact was, that the French evaded a close action. The centre of the island is in Long. 5° 3′ 6" W., lat. 48° 28′ 8′′ N. USH'ER. n. s. & v. a. Fr. huissier (huis, a door). One whose business is to introduce strangers, or walk before a person of rank; an under teacher: to introduce; bring in; forerun. The wife of Antony Should have an army for an usher, and Shakspeare. To the' ocean isles; and, in the ascending scale USHER OF THE BLACK ROD, the eldest of the gentleman ushers or daily waiters at court, whose duty is to bear the rod before the king, at the feast of St. George and other solemnities. An officer of the house of lords also bears this title. USHER (James), archbishop of Armagh, one of the most illustrious prelates in the seventeenth century. He was born in Dublin in 1580. Dublin college being finished, in 1593, he was one of the three first students admitted into it. He was ordained priest in 1601, and soon after was appointed to preach constantly before the court at Christ-church Dublin, In 1603 he was sent over to England with Dr. Luke Chaloner, to purchase books for the library of Dublin. In 1607 he took the degree of B. D., and soon after was made chancellor of St. Patrick's cathedral. Being chosen professor of divinity, he took Bellarmine's controversies for the subject of his lectures. In 1612 he took the degree of D. D. At the end of 1620 he was made bishop of Meath, and in 1625 archbishop of Armagh. In 1640 he came over to England with his family, with an intention to return to Ireland; but was prevented by the rebellion which broke out there in 1641; and in that rebellion he was plundered of every thing except his library, which was in England, and some furniture in his house at Drogheda. The king, therefore, conferred on him the bishopric of Carlisle, to be held in commendam; the revenues of which were greatly lessened by the Scots and Irish armies quartering upon it: but, when all the lands belonging to the bishoprics in England were seized by the parliament, they voted him a pension of £400 per annum, though he never received it but once or twice. He afterwards removed to Oxford; and in 1643 was nominated one of the assembly of divines at Westminster, but refused to sit amongst them; which, together with some of his sermons at Oxford giving offence to the parliament, they ordered his study of books of considerable value to be seized; but by the care of Dr. Featley, one of the assembly, they were secured for the primate's use. The king's affairs declining, and Oxford being threatened with a siege, he left that city, and retired to Cardiff in Wales, to the house of Sir Timothy Tyrrel, who had married his only daughter, and was then governor and general of the ordnance. He was afterwards invited to London by the countess of Peterborough. In 1647 he was chosen preacher in Lincoln's Inn; and, during the treaty in the Isle of Wight, he was sent for by the king, who consulted him about the government of the church. The death of the king struck him with great horror. He died of a pleurisy in 1655; and was solemnly buried in Westminster in St. Erasmus's chapel. He published, 1. Brittanicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates. 2. Polycarpi et Ignatii Epistolæ, Græce et Latine, &c. 3. Annals of the Old and New Testament, in Latin. 4. De Græco Septuaginta interpretum Versione Syntagma; and many other books which are esteemed. A considerable number of his works still remain in MS. USK, a market-town in the hundred of the same name, near the centre of the county of Monmouthshire, and on the banks of the river Usk, seven miles from Caerleon, and 144 west by north of London. Its trade consists in a manufactory of Pontypool ware: the church, of Norman architecture, was originally built in the form of a cathedral. The river is remarkable for its salmon, and it has several very productive weirs in the neighbourhood. The town house is a modern building. Usk is supposed to be the Burrium of the Romans it is a borough, governed by a mayor, community, and burgesses, and, in conjunction with Newport and Monmouth, sends one member to parliament. Market on Friday. Fairs, Trinity Monday, and October 18th. USQUEBAUGH is a peculiar compounded liquor chiefly taken by way of dram. There are several different methods of making this liquor; but the following is esteemed one of the best:-To two gallons of brandy, or other spirits, put a pound of Spanish liquorice, half a pound of dried raisins, four ounces of currants, and three of sliced dates, the tops of baum, mint, savory, thyme, and the tops of the flowers of rosemary, of each two ounces; cinnamon and mace, well bruised, nutmegs, aniseeds, and coriander seeds, bruised likewise, of each four ounces; citron or lemon, and orange-peel, scraped, of each an ounce: let all these infuse forty-eight hours in a warm place, often shaking them together; then let them stand in a cool place for a week after which, the clear liquor is to be decanted off, and to it is to be put an equal quan tity of white port, and a gallon of canary; after which it is to be sweetened with a sufficient quantity of refined sugar. USU'RIOUS, adj. S USUFRUCT, in the civil law, is the use or enjoyment of any lands or tenements; or the right of receiving the fruits and profits of an inheritance or other thing. USURE', v. n. Lat. usura. To practise usury; U'SURER, n. s. take interest for money: the noun substantive and adjective correspond: but the verb is obsolete. If thou lend money to any that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, nor lay upon him usury. Is this the balsam that the usuring senate Pours into captains' wounds? Shakspeare. Timon. For every hour that thou wilt spare me now I will allow, Usurious god of love, twenty to thee, When with my brown my grey hairs equal be. Donne. There may be no commutative injustice, while each retains a mutual benefit; the usurer for his money, the borrower for his industry. Child. USURP', v. a. USURPINGLY, adv. Exodus xxii. 25. Fr. usurper; Lat. usurpo. To possess by force or intrusion; seize possess without right: the driess So ugly a darkness, as if it would prevent the night's coming, usurped the day's right. Sidney. Ever sithence he hath continued his first usurped power, and now exacteth upon all men what he list: so that now to subdue or expel an usurper, should be no unjust enterprize, but a restitution of antient right unto the crown. Spenser. Hooker. USTIUG, VOLIKI, or THE GREAT, a city of European Russia, in the government of Vologda, situated at the confluence of the Suchona and the Jug, which unite here and form the Dwina. It is an archbishop's see, and, though placed in a very inhospitable climate, contains nearly 12,000 inhabitants. It has two cathedrals, and a number of churches or chapels, but most of its houses are of wood. Its situation however renders it a mart of the trade between the frozen regions of the north and the more temperate provinces. Accordingly its merchants transact a good deal of business with Archangel, St. Petersburgh, Cazan, and even Siberia. The principal articles of traffic are corn and furs; but the fish of the northern ocean, and the silks and tea of China, also form a part of it. There is in this sequestered place a manufactory of enamel and bronzed silver. 210 miles N. N. W. of Viatka, and 440 east of St. Petersburgh. USTO'RIOUS, adj. Latin ustum. Having the paid for the use of money; interest. quality of burning. It greatly behoveth the church to have always most Shakspeare. The power of a burning glass is by an ustorious quality in the mirror or glass, arising from a certain unknown substantial form. Watts. Few usurpers to the shades descend Milton. Dryden. Addison's Cato. U'SURY, n. s. Fr. usuré; Lat. usura. Money The wished day is come at last, Spenser. Usury bringeth the treasure of a realm into few hands: for the usurer being at certainties, and others at uncertainties, at the end most of the money will be in the box. Bacon. Our angles are like money put to usury; they may thrive, though we sit still and do nothing. Walton's Angler. USURY is an unlawful contract upon the loan of money, to receive the same again with exorbitant increase. By 37 Hen. VIII. c. 9, the rate of interest was fixed at £10 per cent. per annum ; which the stat. 13 Eliz. c. 8 confirms, and ordains that all brokers shall be guilty of a præmunire that transact any contracts for more; and the securities themselves shall be void. The stat. 21 Jac. I. c. 17 reduced the interest to £8 per cent.; and it having been lowered in 1650, during the usurpation, to £6 per cent., the same reduction was reenacted after the restoration by stat 12 Car. II. c. 13, and lastly, the stat 12 Annæ, st, 2. c. 16, has reduced it to £5 per cent. Wherefore not only all contracts for taking more are in themselves totally void, but also the lender shall forfeit the money borrowed. Also if any scrivener or broker takes more than 5s. per cent. procuration-money, or more than 12d. for making a bond, he shall forfeit £20 with costs, and shall suffer imprisonment for half a year. Many efforts have been made in modern times to obtain a revision by parliament of our asury laws, but hitherto without avail. By 38 Geo. III. c. 93, reciting that by the laws in force all contracts and assurances whatsoever for payments of money, made for a usurious consideration, are utterly void; and also reciting that in the course of mercantile transactions negociable securities often pass into the hands of persons who have discounted the same, without any knowledge of the original considerations for which the same were given; and that the avoidance of such securities in the hands of such bona fide indorsees without notice is attended with great hardship and injustice it is enacted that no bill of exchange, or promissory note (drawn or made after the passing the act), shall, though it may have been given for a usurious consideration, or upon a usurious contract, be void in the hands of an indorsee for a valuable consideration, unless such indorsee had, at the time of discounting or paying such consideration for the same, actual notice that such bill or note had been originally given for a usurious consideration, or upon a usurious contract. It may be doubted whether this act received all the consideration due to the subject; and whether an exception ought not to have been made as to the first and immediate indorsees of the parties to the usury, which latter seem the principal persons benefited by the act. For a statement of the general arguments in the late discussions on this subject, see Evans's Collection of Statutes, part. III., Class v. note on the statute 37 Hen. VIII. c. 9. UTAWAS RIVER, a river of North America, which forms the boundary between Upper and Lower Canada, and makes part of that succession of lakes and rivers by which the fur traders of Canada penetrate into the interior. It has its source in the mountains, and, after a course of more than 400 miles, falls into the St. Lawrence in the vicinity of Montreal. It receives in its course the waters of the lake Timmiskamain. It is sometimes called Montreal River. UTENHOVIUS (Charles), a native of Ghent, who was an eminent and learned critic in the dead Languages. He published Poems in Greek and Latin, on various subjects; and died at Cologr in 1600. UTEN'SIL, n. s. Fr. utensile; low Lat. utensile. An instrument for common use. Burn but his books; he has brave utensils, Which, when he has a house, he 'll deck withall. Shakspeare. UTERUS, in anatomy. See ANATOMY. UTICA, in ancient geography, a town of Africa Propria, on the Mediterranean; a Tyrian colony, and older than Carthage (Sil. Italicus); its name, according to Bochart, denoting old; reckoned second to it; but, after the destruction of Carthage, it became the capital and centre of all the Roman transactions in Africa, according to Strabo; who adds, that it stood on the same bay with Carthage, at one of the promontories called Apollonium, bounding the bay on the west side, the other to the east called Hermeia, being at Carthage. It became famous by the suicide of Cato, thence called. Uticensis. UTILITY, n. s. Fr. utilité; Lat. utilitas. Usefulness; profit; convenience. Applied only to things. Those things which have long gone together are confederate; whereas new things piece not so well; but though they help by their utility, yet they trouble by their inconformity. Bacon. of the cure of the gout, that might be made publick, as M. Zulichem desired me that I would give a relation a thing which might prove of common utility to so great numbers as were subject to that disease. Temple. ten. Extreme; placed at the extremity; in the UTMOST, adj. & n. s. Sax. urmare, from uzhighest degree: as a noun substantive the most that can be. Where he shall answer by a lawful form, I'll undertake to bring him, Shakspeare. Id. Even to the utmost as I please in words. -I have, to the utmost. Dryden. UTRECHT, one of the provinces of the Netherlands, bounded on the west by Holland, on the north by the Zuyder Zee, and on the east by Gelderland. The soil in some parts is sandy, and fit for little but raising wood; in general, however, it affords good pasture. The extent of the province is about 490 square miles; its population is about 110,000. It is traversed by branches of the Rhine. Its exports are confined to cattle, cheese, and corn; the latter in small quantity. It sends eight deputies to the representative body, and is divided into nine cantons. UTRECHT, a well known city of the Netherlands, capital of the preceding province, is situated on the Old Rhine, by which it is divided into two parts. It is healthy, and exempt from the disadvantages of damp, so common in Dutch towns. Nothing can surpass the beauty of the approaches; particularly that from Amsterdam, which consists of a broad avenue, bordered with rows of trees. Of a form nearly square, Utrecht is surrounded with an earthen mound and moat; and, exclusive of the suburbs, is about three miles in circuit. Its population is about 35,000. Of the public edifices, the most remarkable is the cathedral. A considerable part is now in ruins, but the tower, which still remains, is a very remarkable object. Its height is said to be 464 feet; and from its top may be seen, in a clear day, no less than fifty-one towns great and small. The townhouse is a good structure; other objects worthy of notice are the charitable establishments, hospitals, &c. The Mall, situated outside the walls, is upwards of a mile in length, and bordered with a triple row of trees. The ramparts likewise form an agreeable walk. The university of Utrecht is of considerable note, and was founded in 1630; it has professors in the classics, mathematics, medicine, divinity, and law. Attached are a library, an anatomical theatre, a botanical garden, a cabinet of natural history, and an observatory. The town likewise possesses a hall of paintings, schools for the fine arts, and several valuable private libraries. This is the first town in the Dutch provinces where the traveller coming from the westward perceives an uneven surface, and begins to exchange the monotony of Holland, for the diversified scenery of Gelderland. It was the birth place of Adrian VI.; and is memorable as the place where, in 1579, was concluded the union of the seven pope provinces, and in 1713 the well known treaty of peace between the allies and French. Eighteen miles S. S. E. of Amsterdam. UTRERA, a fortified town of Andalusia, Spain, situated on a steep eminence, of considerable height, at the foot of which flows a small river called the Carbonel. It is fourteen miles E. S. E. of Seville, and is considerably out of the right line from Cadiz to Seville; but as there is an immense tract of marshy land along the east bank of the Guadalquivir, called the Maresma, which is impassable for horses or carriages in rainy weather, the great road between these two cities passes through Utrera. Population 9000. UTRICULARIA, in botany, water milfoil, a genus of plants of the class of diandria, and order of monogynia; and in the natural system arranged under the twenty-fourth order, corydales. The calyx is ringent, with a nectarium resembling a spur; the corolla diphyllous and equal; the capsule unilocular. There are nine species; two of which are natives of Britain. They have been applied to no particular use. UTTER, adj. & v. a. UTTERANCE, n. S. UTTERER, UTTERLY, adv. Sax. utten. Outer; situate on the outside, or remote from the centre; extreme: to UTTERMOST, adj. & n. s. let out; disclose; declare; vend utterance is extremity; terms of extreme hostility (obsolete); expression, particularly sad expression: an utterer is a vender; discloser; divulger: utterly, fully; completely: uttermost, extreme; being in the highest degree: the highest degree. Shall not they teach thee and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? Job viii. 10. There needeth neither promise nor persuasion to make her do her uttermost for her father's service. Sid. Come, fate, into the list, And champion me to the utterance. Such mortal drugs, I have, but Mantua's law Is death to any he that utters them. Were it folly to be modest in uttering what is known to all the world? Raleigh. There is nowhere any nation so utterly lost to all things of law and morality, as not to believe the exist ence of God. Wilkins He was so utterly tired with an employment so contrary to his humour, that he did not consider the means that would lead him out of it. Clarendon. Pursue these sons of darkness; drive them out From all heaven's bounds into the utter deep. Milt. I meant my words should not reach your ears; but what I uttered was most true. Dryden. Many a man thinks admirably well who has a poor utterance; while others have a charming manner of speech, but their thoughts are trifling. Watts. UTTOXETER, a market-town in Totmonslow hundred, Staffordshire, situate on the river Dove, six miles from Abbot's-Bromley, and 135 northwest of London. The inhabitants are employed in trade and manufactures, principally in the various branches of ironmongery, the town being nearly surrounded with forges. It is situate on a rising ground, and has several good streets, with a large open market-place in the centre. It carries on a considerable traffic, communicating, by its navigation, with the Trent, Thames, Avon, &c., which also communicate with London, and the Eastern and Western Oceans. The town is remarkable for the longevity of its inhabitants. The church is an ancient edifice, and here are severa! meeting-houses for dissenters, and a free-school. The market on Wednesday is noted for its great supply of cheese, butter, hogs, corn, and all kinds of provisions. Fairs, May 6th, July 31st, and September 1st and 19th. Patrons the dean and canons of Windsor. UVARIA, in botany, a genus of plants in the class of polyandria, and order of polygynia; ranking according to the natural method in the fifty-second order, coadunatæ. UVE'OUS, adj. Lat. uva. The uveous coat, or iris, of the eye, has a musculous power, and can dilate and contract that round hole in it, called the pupil. Ray on the Creation. VUISTA, the name given by Buchanan to the isle of Unst. VULCAN, in Pagan worship, the god of subterraneous fire and metals, was the son of Jupiter and Juno; and was said to be so remarkably deformed, that his father threw him down from heaven to the isle of Lemnos, in which fall he broke his leg, and there he set up his forge, and taught men how to soften and polish brass and iron. Thence he removed to the Liparian isles, near Sicily, where, by the assistance of the Cyclops, he made Jupiter's thunderbolts, and armour for the other gods. Notwithstanding the deformity of his person, he had a passion for Minerva, and by Ju- Do you hear ought of a battle toward? Shakspeare. Those men, and their adherents, were then looked upon by the affrighted vulgar as greater protectors of their laws and liberties than myself. King Charles. He that believes himself incapable of pardon, goes on without thought of reforming; such an one we call vulgarly a desperate person. Hammond. The most considering and wisest men, in all ages and nations, have constantly differed from the vulgar in their thought. Wilkins. Is the grandesophos of Persius, and the sublimity of Juvenal, to be circumscribed with the meanness of words, and vulgarity of expression. Dryden. Men who have passed all their time in low and vulgar life, cannot have a suitable idea of the several beauties and blemishes in the actions of great men. Addison. The great events of Greek and Roman fable and history, which early education and the usual course of reading, have made familiar and interesting to all Europe, without being degraded by the vulgarism of ordinary life in any country. Reynolds. VULGATE, a very ancient Latin translation of the Bible, and the only one acknowledged by the church of Rome to be authentic. See BIBLE. VULNERABLE, adj. Fr. vulnerable; Latin vulnerabilis. Susceptive of wounds; liable to external injuries. Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests; I bear a charmed life. Shakspeare. Achilles, though dipt in Styx, yet having his heel untouched by that water, although he were fortified elsewhere, he was slain in that part, as only vulnerable in the inferior and brutal part. Browne. VULNERA'RY, adj. Fr. vulneraire; Lat. vulnerarius. Useful in the cure of wounds. Try whether the same effect will not ensue by common vulnerary plaisters. Browne. I kept the orifice open, and prescribed him vulneraries. Wiseman. VULNERATE, v. a. Lat. vulnero. To wound; to hurt. There is an intercourse between the magnetick unguent and the vulnerated body. Glanville. VULPENITE. Color grayish-white. Massive. Splendent. Fracture foliated. Fragments rhomboidal. In distinct granular concretions. Translucent on the edges. Soft. Brittle. Specific gravity 2-878. It melts easily before the blowpipe into a white opaque enamel. Its constituents are, sulphate of lime 92, silica 8. It occurs along with granular foliated limestone at Vulpino in Italy. VULTUR, in ornithology, a genus of birds belonging to the order accipitres. The beak is straight and crooked at the point; the head has no feathers; on the fore part being only naked skin; and the tongue is generally bifid. There are twenty one species. The most remarkable are these :~1. V. aura, the carrion vulture, according to Mr. Latham, is about the size of a turkey, though it varies in size in different parts. The bill is white, the end black; irides bluish saffron-color. The head, and part of the neck, are bare of feathers; and of a red, or rather rufous color. The sides of the head warted, not unlike that of a turkey. The whole plumage is brown black, with a purple and green gloss in different reflections; but in some birds, especially young ones, greatly verging to dirty brown. The feathers of the quills and tail are blacker than the rest of the body. The legs are flesh-color; the claws black. These birds are very common in the West Indies, and both in north and south America. It feeds on dead carcases, snakes &c., like most of this genus; which makes the smell of it very offensive. In general it is very tame in its wild state, but particularly so when trained up from being young. In the West Indies rooks in this country. They are reckoned a most they roost together at night, in vast numbers, like useful animal in the places where they resort; which secures their safety, added to a penalty for killing one, which is in force in Jamaica and other islands of the West Indies. 2. V. gryphus, the condor, which is not only the largest of this genus, but perhaps of all others which are able to fly. The accounts of authors in regard to its extent of wing are various, viz. from nine to eighteen feet from the tip of one wing to that of the other. One gives it strength sufficient another ventures to affirm, that it can lift an elephant to carry off sheep, and boys of ten years old; while from the ground high enough to kill it by the fall! M. de Salerne says that one of this kind was shot in France in 1719, whose extent of wing was eighteen feet. The following is the description of one in a museum in this country :-It has an extent of wing somewhat under eleven feet, the bill is strong, moderately hooked, and blunt at the tip, which is white, the rest of it a dusky color. On the top of the head runs a kind of carunculated substance, standing up like the comb of a cock. The head and neck are slightly covered with brown down, in some parts nearly bare, and here and there a carunculated part, as in the neck of a turkey. The lower part of the neck is surrounded with a ruff of a pure white and hairy kind of feathers. The upper parts of the body, wing, and garl, are black, except that the middle wing coverts have whitish ends, and the greater coverts half black, half white. The nine or ten first quills are black, the rest white, with the tips only black; and, when the wings are closed, producing the appearance of the bird having the back white. The under parts of the body are rather slightly covered with feathers; but those of the thighs are pretty long. The legs are stout and brown claws black and blunt. These birds are said to make their nest among the inaccessible rocks, and to lay two white eggs, larger than those of a turkey; they are very destructive to sheep, and will in troops often attempt calves; in which case, some of them first pick out the eyes, whilst others attack the poor animal on all sides, and soon tear him to pieces. This gives rise to the following stratagem, used by the peasants of Chili:-One of them wraps himself up in the hide of a fresh killed sheep or ox, and lies still on the ground; the condor, supposing it to be lawful prey, flies down to secure it, when the person concealed lays hold of |