pnugues/EB7 huggingface dataset:
VEGETIUS RENATUS, Publius, is sometimes confounded with the writer noticed in the preceding article. He is the author of a work on the veterinary art; “Artis Veterinariae, Sive Mulo-medicinae, libri IV.” Basil. 1528, 4to. This is the editio princeps; and it was followed by the edition of Sambucus, Basil. 1574, 4to. Vegetius was inserted by Gesner among the “Scriptores Rei Rusticae veteres Latini.” Lipsiae, 1735, 2 tom. 4to. There is a separate edition, of which the title bears, “curante Jo. Maithia Gesnero.” Mannhemii, 1781, 8vo. But it merely contains a reprint of Gesner’s text, without his annotations. Of this work an English version was published “by the author of the translation of Columella.” Lond. 1748, 8vo.
VEGLIA, an island in the Adriatic part of the Austrian province of Trieste, in the bay of Quarnaro. It is, including the small island Plaunich, about ninety square miles in extent, and contains a city, three market towns, and four teen villages, with 10,414 inhabitants. The island is mountainous and rocky, and on the north and east sides very barren, but in the other parts has a fertile soil, yielding abundance of fruit and of wine, but not sufficient corn. Some good oil is made, and the fishing is an important source of wealth. The capital, of the same name, is the seat of a bishop, who has a palace and a cathedral. The export of wine is the chief trade. The harbour is both small and shallow. The inhabitants do not exceed 1400. Lat. 45. 3. 20. Long. 14. 32. 40.
VEII, a city of ancient Etruria, and long the powerful rival of Rome; distant about 100 stadia, or twelve miles, to the north-west, and situated on a high and steep rock. It was taken after a siege of ten years by Camillus, six years before the taking of Rome by the Gauls. The spot on which it stood lies near Isola in St Peter’s patrimony.
VELARIUS, an officer in the court of the Roman emperors, being a kind of usher, whose post was behind the curtain in the prince’s apartment, as that of the chancellor’s was at the entry of the ballustrade, and that of the ostiarii at the door. The velarii had a superior of the same denomination, who commanded them.
VELE RETE, a cluster of rocks in the eastern seas, to the south of the island of Formosa. Long. 121. 30. E. Lat. 21. 55. N.
VELITES, in the Roman army, a kind of ancient soldiery, who were armed lightly with a javelin, a casque, cuirass, and shield.
VELLETRI, a city of Italy, in the papal territory, and the district of Tivoli. It stands on the declivity of the Albanian hills, has decayed walls and dilapidated towers, but is the seat of a bishop. It is ill built, but has a fine market place, a cathedral, with several other churches, nine monasteries, and two nunneries. Here is a fine museum belonging to the family of Borgia. The inhabitants are 9740, chiefly employed in agriculture and in making oil. Lat. 41.41.16. Long. 12. 39. 25. E.
VELLORE, a celebrated town and fortress of the south of India, province of the Carnatic, formerly the capital of a small district of the same name. It was once a port of great importance, as it commanded the main road leading to the Upper Carnatic, from the valley of Peniambady, which is the most direct route to and from the Mysore. It is strongly fortified, the walls being built of very large stones, with bastions and round towers at short distances. A fausse bras lines the wall between them, and, with its embattled rampart and small overhanging square towel’s, produces a very handsome effect. The whole fort is surrounded by a deep and wide ditch, cut chiefly out of the solid rock, except atone entrance, where there was a causeway. Besides the usual defence, the ditch contains curiosities of rather an extraordinary character, namely, alligators of a very large size. The fortress, though strong, is commanded by the surrounding hills. It was first taken by the Mahometans in 1646, and afterwards by Sevajee in 1677. Subsequently it came into the possession of the nabob of Arcot.∙ and in 1782 was besieged by the whole [7:21:590] army of Hyder, when it was relieved by Sir Eyre Coote. After the capture of Seringapatam in 1799. It was fixed upon as the state-prison of Tippoo’s family, consisting, besides his brother, of twelve sons and eight daughters, with a numerous progeny, and an innumerable crowd of women. On the 10th July 1806, a serious mutiny took place among the garrison, principally composed of native troops, who endeavoured to murder all the Europeans they could find. The ostensible cause of the mutiny was a change of dress; but it was strongly suspected that it was instigated by the sons of Tippoo, who were in consequence removed to Bengal, where they remain under a liberal restraint. Since the conquest of Mysore, this fortress has lost much of its consequence, and its fortifications will probably be allowed to fall to decay. The district is included in the collectorship of Arcot. Travelling distance from Madras 88 miles west by south; from Seringapatam 202 miles. Long. 79∙ 13. E. Lat. 12. 55. N.
VELLUM, a town in the Southern Carnatic, seven miles south-west from Tanjore. Long. 79. 7. E. Lat. 10. 40. N.
VELLUM, is a kind of parchment, that is finer, evener, and more white than the common parchment. The word is formed from the French velin, of the Latin vitulinus, “belonging to a calf.”
VELOCITY, in Mechanics, swiftness; that affection of motion whereby a moveable is disposed to run over a certain space in a certain time. It is also called celerity, and is always proportional to the space moved.
VELVET, a rich kind of stuff, all silk, covered on the outside with a close, short, fine, soft shag, the other side being a very strong close tissue. The nap or shag, called also the velveting, of this stuff, is formed of part of the threads of the warp, which the workman puts on a long narrow-channelled ruler or needle, which he afterwards cuts, by drawing a sharp steel tool along the channel of the needle to the ends of the warp.
VENCATIGHERRY, a town in the province of the Carnatic, eighty-two miles north-west from Madras. Long. 79. 32. E. , Lat. 13. 56. N.
VENDOLA, the most eastern of the Admiralty Islands, about three miles in circuit, covered with cocoa trees, and very populous. It is so surrounded by rocks, that it is almost inaccessible to boats. Long 148. 9∙ E. Lat. 2. 14. S.
VENDOME, an arrondissement of France, in the department of the Loire and Cher. It is 655½ square miles in extent, comprehends eight cantons divided into 110 communes, and in 1836 contained 77,760 inhabitants. The capital, a city of the same name, stands on two islands in the river Loire. In 1836 it contained 8206 inhabitants, employed in making gloves, hosiery, cotton goods, paper, and the several kinds of leather. Lat. 47. 47. 19. Long. 1. 1. 38. E.
VENEERING, Vaneering, or Fineering, a kind of marquetry, or inlaying, by which several thin slices or leaves of fine wood, of different kinds, are applied and fastened on [7:21:591]a ground of some common wood. There are two kinds of inlaying; the one, which is the more ordinary, goes no farther than the making of compartments of different woods; the other requires much more art, and represents flowers, birds, and the like figures. The first kind is what we properly call veneering; the latter we have already described under Marquetry.

The wood intended for veneering is first sawed out into slices or leaves, about a line thick. In order to saw them, the blocks or planks are placed upright in a kind of vice or sawing press, the description of which may be seen under the article just referred to. These slices are afterwards cut into slips, and fashioned divers ways, according to the design proposed; then the joints being carefully adjusted, and the pieces brought down to their proper thickness, with several planes for the purpose, they are glued down on a ground or block of dry wood, with good strong English glue. The pieces being thus joined and glued, the work, if small, is put in a press; if large. It is laid on the bench, covered with a board, and pressed down with poles, or pieces of wood, one end of which reaches to the ceiling of the room, and the other bears on the boards. When the glue is quite dry, they take it out of the press and finish it; first with little planes, then with divers scrapers, some of which resemble rasps, which take off dents left by the planes. When sufficiently scraped, the work is polished with the skin of a sea-dog, wax, and a brush and polisher of shave-grass.
VENIAMBADY, a small village of Hindustan, in the Barramahal province, fortified with a mud wall, 120 miles west-south-west from Madras. Long. 78∙ 42. E. Lat. 12. 42. N. It stands on the banks of the Palar, and contains two temples of note, the one dedicated to Mahadeva or Siva, and the other to Vishnu.
VENLOO, a city of the Netherlands, in the province of Limburg and circle of Roermund. It is situated on the right bank of the Meuse, over which is a flying bridge. It is strongly fortified, and is protected by Fort St. Michael on the opposite side of the river. It contains 5740 inhabitants. Its chief trade is by the river, but it has manufactories of needles. Lat. 51. 22. 17. Long. 5. 4. 26. E.
VENTILATOR, a machine by which the noxious air of any close place may be discharged, and replaced by fresh.
VENTIVALUM, a town in the Southern Carnatic, forty miles west-north-west from Pondicherry. Long. 79. 25. E. Lat. 12. 10. N.
VENTRICLE properly denotes any little cavity; but is more particularly used by physicians and anatomists for the stomach and certain cavities of the heart and brain.
VENTRILOQUISM, an art by which some individuals can so modify their voice, as to make it appear to proceed from any distance, and in any direction.
VENUS, in Pagan worship, the goddess of love and beauty. Cicero mentions other two deities of this name, Venus, styled Urania and Coelestis, and the Venus Pandemos or Popularis, the wife of Vulcan, and the goddess of wanton and effeminate love. To the first the Pagans ascribed no attributes but such as were agreeable to the strictest chastity and virtue; and of this deity they admitted no corporeal resemblance, she being only represented by the form of a globe, ending conically. Her sacrifices were termed nephalia, on account of their sobriety. To her honey and wine were offered, and no animal except the heifer; and on her altars the wood of figs, vines, or mulberries, was not suffered to be burnt. The Romans dedicated a temple to this goddess, to whom they gave the name of Verticodia; because she turned the hearts of lewd women, and inspired them with modesty and virtue.

But the most famous of these goddesses is the wife of Vulcan; who is represented as springing from the froth of the sea. As soon as she was formed, she was laid in a beautiful shell embellished with pearl, and wafted by gentle zephyrs to the isle of Cythera, whence she sailed to Cyprus. At her landing, flowers rose beneath her feet; she was received by the Hours, who braided her hair with golden fillets; and then wafted her to heaven, where her charms appeared so attractive, that most of the gods desired her in marriage; but Vulcan, by the advice of Jupiter, gained possession by putting poppies into her nectar. As Venus was the goddess of love and pleasure, the poets have been lavish in the description of her beauties; and the painters and statuaries have endeavoured to give her the most lovely form. Sometimes she is represented clothed in purple, glittering with gems, her head crowned with roses, and drawn in an ivory car by swans, doves, or sparrows; at others she stands attended by the Graces; but in all positions, her son Cupid is her inseparable companion. She was honoured as the mother of Hymenaeus, Cupid, Aeneas, and the Graces, and was passionately fond of Adonis and Anchises. This goddess was principally worshipped at Paphos in Cyprus; and the sacrifices offered to her were white goats and swine, with libations of wine, milk, and honey. Her victims were crowned with flowers, or wreaths of myrtle.
VERA CRUZ, one of the nineteen states which compose the republic of Mexico also the capital city of that state. See Mexico
VERAMALLY, a town in the Southern Carnatic, twenty-three miles south-west from Trinchinopoly. Long. 78. 35. E. Lat. 10. 26. N.
VERCELLI, a province of the kingdom of Sardinia, in the principality of Piedmont. A part of it is mountainous, but the other portions are fertile, especially in the valleys, where much rice is produced. It contains three cities, and seventy-three towns and villages, with 99,600 inhabitants. The capital is a city of the same name. It is [7:21:599]situated on the canal of Santhia, not far from the river Lesia. It is the seat of a bishop, with a cathedral of modern style; and contains nine parish churches, ten monasteries, and seven nunneries, some of the first remarkable for their architecture. There is also an episcopal seminary, and a grammar school. It contains a population of 16,500 persons, who are chiefly occupied in raising silk, and in cultivating rice and other grain. Among the inhabitants are many noble families, who, though poor, still retain magnificent palaces. Lat. 46. 20. Long. 7. 43. E.
VERCHAIRALSK, a small town of Asiatic Russia, in the province of Onfa on the Oural, 120 miles S.E. of Onfa.
VERCHATURIA, a town on the western frontier of Siberia, where is established the custom-house of Siberia, which levies a duty of 10 per cent. on all goods passing through it. This town is situated near extensive mines, and contains 450 houses, four churches, and two convents. It is 120 miles north of Catherinenburg. Long. 60. 14. E. Lat. 53. 45. N.
VERCHOLENSK, a small town of Asiatic Russia, in the government of Irkoutsk, on the Lena, 120 miles north of Irkoutsk.
VERD, CAPE, a promontory on the west coast of Africa, forty miles north-west of the mouth of the river Gambia, in 14° 45' north lat, and 14° 40' west long. The Cape Verd islands are situate about 400 miles west of the Cape; they consist of ten islands beside islets and rocks, and belong to Portugal. The principal is San Jago, the barren and melancholy appearance of which is in unison with the wretchedness of the inhabitants. The island of Mayo produces cattle and cotton; the island of Fuego (or Fire), so called from its active volcano, is abundant in fruits. Brava, or St. John’s, produces excellent wine and saltpetre. These four islands form a chain, running from east to west. The island Boa-Vista, which is fertile in cotton and indigo, forms, with the island Sel, or Do Sal, a line north and south. The four remaining islands form part of a chain in the direction of south-east to north-west, and succeed each other in the following order: St. Nicholas, one of the largest and best governed of the archipelago; Santa Lucia, high and wooded, with only brackish water; San Vincente, wooded and abounding in tortoises; and San Antonia, the mountains of which are said to equal the peak of Teneriffe in height. All these islands are subject to destructive droughts; but their natural produce might render them of considerable value under an intelligent government. Their population is reckoned at about 42,000.
VERDUN, a city of France, the capital of the arrondissement of the same name, in the department of the Meuse, and standing on that river. It is strongly fortified, and has a most powerful citadel, and is considered one of the most important defences on that side of the kingdom. In 1836 it contained 9978 inhabitants, exclusive of the military. It has woollen manufactories, and tanneries, and is celebrated for its liqueurs. Lat. 40. 9. Long. 5. 12. E.
VEREJA, a city of Russia, the capital of a circle of the same name, in the government of Moscow, 513 miles from Petersburg. It stands on the river Protwa, whose water can be used to fill the trenches that surround the walls. The town has considerable trade in corn, hemp, flax, honey, wax, tallow, and wool. It contains 760 houses, 6450 inhabitants, of whom 930 are registered as merchants.
VERGE, in Law, signifies the compass of the king’s court, which bounds the jurisdiction of the lord steward of the household. It is supposed to have been twelve miles round.
VERGERS, officers of the courts of queen’s bench and common pleas, whose business it is to carry white wands before the judges. There are also vergers of cathedrals, who carry a rod tipped with silver before the bishop, dean, &c.
VERMICELLI, a composition of flour, cheese, yolks of eggs, sugar, and saffron, reduced to a paste, and formed, in to long slender pieces like worms, by forcing it with a piston through a number of little holes.
VERMILION, a bright and beautiful red colour composed of quicksilver and sulphur, in great esteem among the ancients, under the name of minium.
VERNIER Scale, a scale excellently adapted for the graduation of mathematical instruments, thus called from its inventor Peter Vernier.
VERNON, a city of France, in the department of the Eure, and the arrondissement of Evreux. It stands in a fine valley situated on the banks of the Seine; and in 1836 it contained 710 houses, with 4485 inhabitants. They carry on considerable trade in corn and flour, and have some large tanneries. Near to it are some valuable stone quarries, which supply the builders of Havre. Lat. 49. 6. Long. 1. 22. E.
VERSAILLES, a city of France, the capital of an arrondissement of the same name, in the department of the Seine and Oise, which extends over 331 square miles, is divided into eight cantons, and those into 114 communes, containing, in 1836, 133,551 inhabitants. This city is extensive, is divided into the new and the old town, is splendidly built, and, by the magnificence of its appearance, must have been very appropriate for the circumstances of France, when its state of society was different from what now exists; when there were nobles to occupy the splendid mansions, and more than 80,000 inhabitants of all classes. The palace was built by Louis XIV, between the years 1673 and 1680. It is a most magnificent and extensive pile of building, decorated with the remains of that correct and chaste style of architecture which was the prevailing taste of the time in which it was erected. It is however in a dilapidated condition, and its noble apartments destitute of furniture, and almost of occupants. The gardens are in tolerable[7:21:605] preservation, and especially the water-works, the exhibition of which on Sundays and holidays, still draws to Versailles a large proportion of the more vulgar of the Parisians. In 1836, the inhabitants of Versailles amounted to 29,209, among whom are many English and other foreign families, drawn to it by the cheapness with which the ornamental parts of education can be obtained. Some manufactures have been introduced, especially for fire-arms of the most luxurious kind; besides which many watches are made, some cotton goods, and many smaller articles. It is the place where, in 1783, was signed the peace with England, by which the independence of America was established. Lat. 48. 48. 21. Long. 2. 1. 17. E.
VERSE, in Poetry, a line consisting of a number of long and short syllables, which run with an agreeable cadence.
VERSETZ, a city of Hungary, the capital of a circle of the same name in the province of Hither Theiss. It is the seat of a Greek bishop, and a place of great industry, having large silk mills, and an extensive trade in wine, corn, rice, silk, and other commodities. Here are extensive barracks for cavalry. It contains many churches, 2600 houses, and 16,200 inhabitants. Lat. 45. 4.6. Long. 21. 13. 40. E.
VERT, in Heraldry, the term for a green colour. It is called vert in the blazon of the coats of all under the degree of nobles; but in coats of nobility it is called emerald; and in those of kings venus . In engraving it is expressed by diagonals, or lines drawn athwart from right to left, from the dexter chief corner to the sinister base.
VERTEX denotes the crown of the head. Hence vertex is also used figuratively for the top of other things; thus we say, the vertex of a cone, pyramid, &c.

Vertex is also used in Astronomy for the point of the heaven directly over our heads, properly called the zenith.
VERTICILLUS, a mode of flowering, in which the flowers are produced in rings at each joint of the stem, with very short foot-stalks. The term is exemplified in mint, horehound, and other plants.
VERTICITY, is that property of the loadstone whereby it turns or directs itself to one particular point.
VERTUMNUS, in Mythology, a god who presided over gardens and orchards, honoured among the Etruscans, from whom the worship of this deity was transmitted to the Romans. Vertumnus had a temple near the market-place at Rome, being represented as one of the tutelary deities of the merchants. The commentators on Ovid say, that he was an ancient king of Hetruria, who, by his diligent and successful cultivation of fruit and gardens, obtained the honour of being ranked among the gods.
VERVEIERS, a circle of the province of Liege, in the Netherlands, containing six cantons, divided into twenty-nine communes. The capital is the city of the same name, finely situated on the river Besdre, partly in a valley, and partly on the declivity of some hills. It is well built, and a place of the most active industry in the kingdom. The chief trade is that of making fine woollen cloths, which are celebrated in every part of the continent, especially from the brilliant colours, to which the quality of the water is said greatly to contribute. There are also some chemical manufactures, producing aquafortis, vitriol, and soaps. The wealth and number of the inhabitants have rapidly increased since the peace of 1814. The population then was 9960, and in 1831 was 19,592.
VESALIUS, Andreas, a celebrated physician and anatomist, was born at Brussels in the year 1514. He studied physic at Paris under Sylvius, but applied himself chiefly to anatomy, which was then very little known, dissections being esteemed unlawful and impious; and it appears from his work “De Humani Corporis Fabrica,” that he perfected himself in this useful knowledge very early. About the year 1537, the republic of Venice made him professor in the university of Padua, where he taught anatomy for seven years. Charles V. called him to be his physician, as he was afterwards to Philip II., king of Spain. Vesalius was now at the height of his glory, when all of a sudden he formed the design of taking a journey to Palestine; concerning which journey we are told the following story. A young Spanish nobleman whom he had attended was supposed to be dead. Vesalius obtained leave to open him, in order to explore the true cause of his illness; but when he opened the breast, he perceived symptoms of life, and saw the heart beat. The parent, not satisfied with prosecuting him for murder, accused him of impiety to the inquisition, in hopes that tribunal would punish him with greater rigour; but the king interposing, saved him on condition of his making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was ship-wrecked on his return, and thrown upon the island of Zante, where he perished on the 15th of October 1564. He was the author of several works, the principal of which is entitled “De Humani Corporis Fabrica, libri vu.” Basil. 1543, fol. This first edition contains excellent wood-cuts.
VESOUL, a city of France, the capital of an arrondissement of the same name in the department of the Saone. It stands on the river Drugeon, is well built, and is surrounded with hills, whose sides are covered with vineyards yielding very good wine. Around it are some beautiful promenades. In 1836 it contained 5583 inhabitants. Lat. 47.37.50. Long. 7. 4. 31. E.
VESPER, a small island in the Pacific ocean, thirty-six miles in circumference, discovered by Roggewin in 1722.
VESPERS, in the church of Rome, denote the afternoon service; answering in some measure to the evening prayers of the church of England.