pnugues/EB7 huggingface dataset:
VITRY-LE-FRANCAIS, or Vitry-sur-Marne, an arrondissement in the department of Marne, which extends over 608½ square miles, and is divided into five cantons, and 133 communes, which in 1836 contained 50,527 inhabitants. The city stands near the junction of the rivers Orne and Marne. It is strongly fortified, tolerably well built, and had a population in 1836 of 6822. Lat. 48. 40. Long. 4. 33. east.
VIVIPAROUS, an epithet applied to such animals as bring forth their young alive and perfect, in contradistinction to those that lay eggs, which are called oviparous animals.
VIZAGAPATAM, a considerable town and district of Hindustan, in the province of the Northern Circars. The district, principally situated between the 17th and 19th degrees of north latitude, is mountainous, and many of the hills are wild and destitute of vegetation. The principal trading towns of the district are, Vizagapatam and Bimlipatam. A considerable trade is carried on with Calcutta, Ceylon, the Maldavie islands, &c., from which are imported pepper, wheat, wine, cocoa nuts, coir, and cowries. The exports consist of wax, salt, rice, and indigo. A considerable quantity of cloth is manufactured in the adjacent country. Vizagapatam is the capital of the district. A river from the north, and turning short eastward to the sea, forms an [7:21:662]arm of land one mile and a half in length, and 600 yards in breadth, nearly in the middle of which the town and fort are situated. The town is inconsiderable, the Europeans generally residing in Watloor, a village to the south of the harbour. At Semachellum, near to this village, is a Hindu temple of great sanctity. It was here that the British had a factory in 1689, when during a rupture with Auren-zebe, our countrymen and all their warehouses were seized, and all the residents put to death. In 1757 it was taken by Μ. Bussy. It was acquired by the British in 1765, with all the rest of the province, under the administration of Lord Clive; and it now forms one of the five districts into which the Northern Circars were divided in 1803, when the Bengal residence and judicial system were introduced. Travelling distance from Madras 483 miles; from Nagpoor 394; from Hydrabad 355, and from Calcutta 557 miles. Long. 83. 28. E. Lat. 17. 42. N.
VIZIADROOG, a commodious sea-port of Hindustan, province of Bejapore, situated south by east from Bombay. The mouth of the river on which it is situated is half a mile broad, without a bar: it is said to be navigable twenty-five miles for vessels of 200 tons burden; and near the mouth ships of 700 tons may anchor in safety. It possesses an excellent wet-dock 355 feet in length, and the spring-tides rise nine feet. The town is situated on a tract of table land, and is defended by a fort. It was taken by the British from the Mahrattas in 1818.
VIZIANAGUR, a town of Hindustan, in the Northern Circars, thirty-seven miles west from Gunjam. Long. 84. 45. E. Lat. 19. 21. N.
VIZIERABAD, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Lahore, situated on the eastern bank of the Chinaub or Acesines river. It belongs to the Seiks. Long. 73. 57. E. Lat. 32. 23. N.
VIZZINI, a city of the kingdom of Naples, in the island of Sicily, and province of Noto, 97 miles from Palermo. It stands on a volcanic mountain, near the source of the river Dirello, and was the Bedenum of Ptolemy. It is a very healthy spot, and contains 9100 inhabitants, and is one of the cities which sends a member to the Sicilian parliament.
VLISSINGEN, a maritime town of Holland, in the province of Zealand, called by the English Flushing. It is situated at the mouth of the West Scheldt, on the south side of the island of Walcheren, and thus in some measure commands the entrance to that river, and the access to Antwerp. In 1809 it suffered much during the siege by the British army, but has been more than restored to its former condition. The fortifications are now strong, and its trade, especially that of ship-building, is flourishing. The town contains 8020 inhabitants. It was the birth-place of the celebrated Admiral De Ruyter. Lat. 51.26. 37. Long. 3.28. 16. east.
VOCABULARY denotes the collection of the words of a language, with their significations, otherwise called a dictionary, lexico, or nomenclature. A vocabulary is properly a smaller kind of dictionary, which does not enter so minutely into the origin and different acceptations of words.
VOCAL, something that relates to the voice or speech. Thus vocal music is that set to words, especially verses, and to be performed by the voice; in contradistinction to instrumental music, composed only for instruments, without singing.
VOCALIZE, to, (Ital, vocalizzare,) a technical term in music, signifying to sing exercises upon the vowel A only. The practice of vocalizing follows the study of the solfeggio in learning to sing. See Solγa, &c.
VOCATIVE, the fifth state or case of nouns. See Grammar.
VOGEL, a small island in the Eastern seas. Long. 130. 46. E. Lat. 5. 12. S. There is also a cluster of small islands, under this designation, near the West coast of Siam. Long. 98. 55. E. Lat. 7. 38. N.
VOGHERA, a province of the kingdom of Sardinia, in the principality of Piedmont, containing two cities [7:21:663]and 139 towns and villages, with 114,400 inhabitants. The capital is a city of the same name on the river Stoffora. It is fortified, is well built, and contains seven religious houses for monks and nuns. The inhabitants, 12,047 in number, carry on considerable trade in wine, corn, and other agricultural productions. Lat. 46. 1. Long. 8. 39∙ east.
VOICE, a sound produced in the throat and mouth of an animal, by peculiar organs.

Voices are either articulate or inarticulate. Articulate voices are those whereof several conspire together to form some assemblage or little system of sounds; such are the voices expressing the letters of an alphabet, numbers of which joined together form words. Inarticulate voices are such as are not organized, or assembled into words; such as the barking of dogs, the braying of asses, the hissing of serpents, the singing of birds, &c.

For a description of the organs of the voice, see Ανατομυ and Physiology. Voice, in Grammar, a circumstance in verbs, by which they come to be considered as either active or passive, i.e. either expressing an action impressed on another subject, as I beat; or receiving it from another, as I am beaten. See Grammar .
VOIGHTLAND, a province or circle of the kingdom of Saxony, which was diminished by the peace of 1814. It is bounded on the north-east by Erzgeberge, on the southeast by Bohemia, on the south-west by Bavaria, and on the north-west by Reus. The province is divided into three bailiwicks, comprehending eighteen cities or towns and 294 villages, with 102,890 inhabitants. It is 303 square miles in extent, and occupies the side or the top of a mountainous range. It is a raw and cold district and mostly a stoney soil, and on the higher parts no other corn than oats will ripen. It yields abundance of potatoes, which form the chief sustenance, much fruit, and in some portion tolerable pasture. The woods are extensive and furnish charcoal and some pitch. The chief occupation is in the muslin manufacture, which employs more than 25,000 persons. There are mines of iron and of copper, and the converting those metals into domestic articles affords considerable employment. The capital of the province is the city of Plauen on the river E1ster.
VOIRON, a city of France in the department of Lozere and arrondissement of Grenoble. It stands on the river Morges, and is remarkable as the central point for the extensive trade in hempen cloth which is made in the surrounding district. There is also a fabric of sword blades highly esteemed, and there are several paper mills. The inhabitants amount to 6700.
VOLCONDA, a town and fortress of the South of India, province of the Carnatic. The port is situated on a rock 200 feet high, and a mile in circumference at the bottom. It was taken by the Mahratta chief, Sevagee, in 1677; and during the Carnatic wars of the last century, was a strong post. Long. 79∙5. E. Lat. 11. 10. N.
VOLERY, a bird-cage of such a size that the birds have room in it to fly up and down.
VOLGA, the largest river in Europe, derives its origin from two small lakes in the forest of Volkonski about 80 miles from Tver, a town in Russia. It is navigable a few miles above that town. This noble river waters some of the finest provinces in the Russian empire, and at last falls into the Caspian sea, by several mouths, below Astracan. The Volga is subject to annual inundations. In the year 1774, the inundations exceeded the lowest water mark by nearly 40 feet, since which period they have been rather on the decline; for in 1775, they rose only to 39 feet 2 inches above that mark; in 1782, they rose to 26 feet; in 1785, to 25 feet 2 inches; and in the year 1791, their r>eight was the same. Pallas is of opinion that this phenomenon may have originated from the diminished quantity of snow and rain which had fallen in the higher countries; from the greater evaporation of the Caspian sea, and the gradual extension of the different mouths of the river, or perhaps from the joint operation of all these causes.
VOLHYNIA, or Wolhynia, a government, or stad-holderate, of the Russian empire, extending in north latitude from 49’ 28' to 52° 3', and in east longitude from 23° 30' to 29° 14'. It is bounded on the north-west by Grodno, on the north by Minsh, on the east by Kieu, on the south by the Austrian kingdom of Gallicia, and on the west by the kingdom of Poland. This province belonged to Poland till the great dismemberment of that kingdom by Russia, Austria, and Prussia, when it was transferred to the first of those powers. It extends over 30,660 square miles, divided into twelve circles, and containing 139 cities and towns, and 2591 villages, with 1,394,600 inhabitants. The nobility and traders are for the most part of the Polish nation, but many of the peasants are of a Russian origin, and there are also many Jews. The major part of the population adheres to the Greek church, at whose head is a bishop of that sect. The Catholics are next in number, and mostly Poles, who have a bishop at Luzk as head of their church, and they still have many monasteries. The Jews have their own synagogues and their separate schools.

The face of the country is a high level plain, which extends northward from the Carpathian mountains. At the north there are few or no hills, but many morasses, and the elevated land between them is covered with woods of excellent timber. The southern part is undulating, and has many spurs projecting from the Carpathians, though few of them exceed 400 feet in height. Their summits are mostly covered with trees.

The soil is either a loam or clay, occasionally sandy, but generally mixed with marl, and covered with a thick coating of vegetable mould. Although in the north there are large tracts of moors and marshes, yet, by draining, they are converted into profitable meadows and corn fields. Although the process of cultivation is little better conducted than in Poland, yet there are fewer unproductive seasons, and none in which a surplus of corn is not produced. Flax, hemp, rape, and tobacco are cultivated; and some oil is made from the seed, but merely for home consumption. Hops, saffron, mustard, and capsicum are grown, but on a limited scale. The converting the forests into timber and charcoal affords considerable occupation to the labouring classes. The manufactures are solely for domestic use, and consist of linen and woollen cloth, the spinning of which is performed by hand by the females; and families buy the yarn and have weavers who go from house to execute their part of the work. Though Volhynia is nearly equal in extent to Ireland and has a better soil, yet, from want of that stimulus which access to good markets gives. It is enabled to support, and that in a wretched manner, scarcely one-fifth of the same number of human beings. The little trade that exists is in the hands of the Jews, who, by legal means, or by smuggling, send into the Austrian and Prussian territory, corn, brandy, live cattle, especially horses, and some salted meat, and also honey and bees’ wax.
VOLITION, an act of willing. See Metaphysics.
VOLONES, slaves who, in the Punic war, voluntarily offered their services to the state, which is the reason of the appellation; upon which they were admitted to citizenship, as none but freemen could be soldiers.
VOLTERRA, a city of Italy in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the capital of a circle called a vicarate, of the same name, and the seat of a bishop. It stands on a hill, and is surrounded with walls of Etruscan construction. It has a cathedral and several churches, and contains 6200 inhabitants. Volterra is celebrated for its salt springs, from which culinary salt is manufactured. Near the city are quarries of marble and of alabaster, and some mines of fossil coal.
VOLUME, a book or writing of a just bulk to be bound by itself. The name is derived from the Latin volvere, “to roll up the ancient manner of making up a book being in rolls of bark or parchment. See Bibliography.
VOLUNTARY, in Music, means properly an extempore composition played upon the organ, or some other instrument. In Great Britain, from want of thorough musical education, there are very few performers who can safely attempt any thing of this kind. In Germany there are many.
VOLUTE, in Architecture, a kind of spiral scroll used in Ionic and Composite capitals, whereof it makes the principal characteristic and ornament.
VOMITING, a retrograde spasmodic motion of the muscular fibres of the oesophagus, stomach, and intestines, attended with strong convulsions of the muscles of the abdomen and diaphragm; which when gentle create a nausea, when violent a vomiting.
VORALBERG, a circle of the Austrian province of Tyrol, which touches on the lake of Constance. This locality renders it of some importance to the imperial dominions. It extends over 1628 square miles, and comprehends three cities, seven market towns, and 412 villages, with 79,600 inhabitants. It is a mountainous and highly picturesque district, yielding little besides Alpine pasture for cattle. The capital is the city of Bregentz, built on a hill overlooking the lake of Constance.
VORSTIUS, Conrad, born at Cologne on the 19th of July 1569, was the son of a dyer who had secretly adopted the Protestant faith. Having received a good preliminary education, he in 1587 entered the College of St Lawrence at Cologne. After lecturing at Geneva, he was appointed professor of theology at Steinfurt, where he continued till 1610, when he succeeded Arminius in the professorship of theology at Leyden. Here he composed his “Tractatus Theologicus de Deo, sive de Natura et Attributis Dei.” This brought on him the accusation of heresy, and engaged both individuals and universities in the controversy. James the First drew up a large catalogue of the heresies which it contained, and caused the work to be [7:21:703]burned in London. He moreover informed the States that if they did not dismiss Vorstius, none of his subjects would be permitted to visit Leyden; and such was the odium raised against him from other quarters, that he was ultimately dismissed from his office, and banished, by the States of Holland, from their territory. After spending two years in concealment, frequently changing his abode for fear of his life, he received an asylum from the duke of Holstein, who had assigned to the dispersed followers of Arminius a piece of ground for building a town. He died shortly after at Toningen, on the 29th of September 1622, at the age of fifty-three.
VOSGES, a department in the north-east of France, formed out of the southern part of the ancient province of Lorraine, and extending in north latitude from 48° 31' to 49° 7', and in east longitude, from 5° 30' to 6° 12'. It is bounded on the north by the departments of the Meuse and the Meurthe, on the east by those of the Upper and of the Lower Rhine, on the south by that of the Upper Saone, and on the west by the Upper Marne. It contains 2288 square miles, and returns three members to the Chamber of Representatives. Vosges is divided into five arrondissements, thirty cantons, and 547 communes, and in 1836 had a population of 411,034 souls. They all adhere to the Catholic church, are of German origin, and though active and careful, are for the most part excessively poor. The surface of the department is for the most part mountainous and woody. The Vosges mountains, which are a prolongation of the Jura, stretch in a direction from east to west from Beford to Langres, and in the north join the Hundsruck. In these are vallies of greater or less extent, and capable of cultivation. The highest point of the mountains is the Bolch, whose summit rises to the height of 4320 feet. Considerably more than one-third of the land is covered with woods. The soil in the eastern part is a mixture of sand and stones, and is very unproductive. In the western parts it is calcareous, and covered with a heavy clay, and though difficult to work, is the most productive division; but the whole does not grow sufficient corn for the consumption. As the mountains are covered with snow during the greater part of the year, the climate is raw and cold, but is not deemed unhealthy. The mountains are the sources of several streams. The chief of them is the Moselle, which takes a northerly direction, and soon enters Meurthe, and finally falls into the Rhine. The other rivers are the Meuse, the Meurthe, the Saone, the Breusch, and the Ma-bon; and there is a great number of smaller streams.

The productions of the land are cattle, chiefly cows and swine, fruit, wax, honey, corn, wine, flax, and hemp; but the most important are from the forests, which supply by means of numerous saw-mills a vast quantity of wood, both for building and for fuel. There are quarries of marble, and mines yielding silver, lead, and copper in small portions; but the iron mines are the most important. Some small articles of manufacture are produced; but the poverty of the inhabitants is such, that they have little power of consuming luxuries of foreign growth, and have no other trade than that of selling the few low-priced commodities which their soil produces.
VOTIVE Medals, those on which are expressed the vows of the people for the emperors.
VOURLA, a sea port of Asia Minor, on the site of the ancient Clazomene, one of the twelve great cities of Ionia. It is built on two eminences; and one division is inhabited by Christians, who occupy about 500 houses, and possess two churches; the remainder of the town is inhabited by Turks. It is now of little importance. Vourla is twenty-five miles west of Smyrna.
VOW, a solemn religious promise or oath. The use of vows is found in most religions. They form a considerable part of the Pagan worship, being made either in consequence of some deliverance, under some pressing necessity, or for the success of some enterprize. Among the Jews, all vows were to be voluntary, and made by persons wholly in their own power; and if such person made a vow in any thing lawful and possible, he was obliged to fulfil it. If he appointed no particular time for accomplishing his vow, he was bound to do it instantly, lest by delay he should prove less able, or be unwilling to execute his promise. Among the papists, a person is constituted a religious by taking three vows, that of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Vows among the Romans, signified sacrifices, offerings, presents, and prayers made for the Caesars, and emperors, particularly for their prosperity and the continuance of their empire. These were at first made every five years, then every fifteen, and afterwards every twenty, and were called quinquennalia, decennalia, and vicennalia.
VOWEL, in Grammar, a letter which affords a complete sound of itself, or a letter so simple as only to need a bare opening of the mouth to make it heard and to form a distinct voice. The English vowels are six in number, viz., A, E, I, O, U, Y.
VUKOVAR, a market town, the capital of a district of the same name in the Sclavonian province of Hungary. It stands on the river Danube, and contains 700 houses, and 5820 inhabitants. Lat. 45. N. Long. 19. E.
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 Jupiter’s consent paid his addresses to her, but without success. He was however more fortunate in his suit to Venus; but after their marriage she chose Mars for her gallant, and Vulcan exposed them to the ridicule of the other gods, by taking them in a net.
VULCANO, one of the Lipari islands in the Mediterranean sea, to the south of the principal island. It is a lofty island about fifteen miles in circuit, and possesses two small ports on its northern coast, where Valcanello is joined to it by a low rock formed of its own lava. Long. 14. 55. 56. E. Lat. 38. 23. 19. N.
VULGATE, a very ancient Latin translation of the Bible, and the only one acknowledged by the church of Rome to be authentic.
W, or w, is the twenty-second letter of our alphabet; and is composed, as its name implies, of two v’s. It was not in use among the Hebrews, Greeks, or Romans, but chiefly among the northern nations, the Teutones, Saxons, Britons, &c. It is not employed by the French, Italians, Spaniards, or Portuguese, except in proper names, and other terms borrowed from languages in which it is originally used, and even then it is sounded like the single v. This letter is of an ambiguous nature; being a consonant at the beginning of words, and a vowel at the end. It may stand before all the vowels except u; as water, wedge, winter, wonder: it may also follow the vowels a, e, o, and unites with them into a kind of double vowel, or diphthong; as in saw, few, cow. It also goes before r, and follows s and th; as in wrath, swear, thwart: it goes before h also, though in reality it is sounded after it; as in when, what. In some words it is obscure, as in shadow, widow.
WAAG, a river of Hungary, which rises in the Carpathian Mountains, and falls into the Danube opposite to the island of Schut.
WAAL, a river of the Netherlands, being one of the branches of the Rhine. Running from east to west through Guelderland, passing by Nimeguen, Tiel, Bommel, and Gorcum, and uniting with the Maes, it falls into the German Sea below the Briel.
WADEY Abassi, a small river of Arabia, which falls into the Red Sea ten miles south-south-east of Hodeida.

Wadey el Arkik, a small river of Arabia, which waters the city of Medina.

Wadey el Kebir, a small river in Arabia, which in rainy seasons reaches the Red Sea near Mocha.

Wadey Elmahan, a small river of Arabia, which loses itself in the sands, unless in the wet season, when it reaches the Red Sea twenty-five miles south-south-east of Hodeida.

Wadey Faran, a small river of Arabia, which falls into the Red Sea twenty-five miles north-west of Tor.

Wadey Zebid, a river of Arabia, which passes by Zebid, and at a particular season overflows and fertilizes its banks. It finally loses itself in the sands.
WADJO, or Waju, a state or confederacy in the island of Celebes, situated to the north of the Buggess territories named Boni.
WAFERS, or Sealing Wafers, are made thus. Take very fine flour, mix it with glair of eggs, isinglass, and a little yeast; mingle the materials; beat them well together; spread the batter, being mode thin with gum-water, on even tin plates, and dry them in a stove; then cut them out for use. You may make them of what colour you please, by tinging the paste with Brazil or vermilion for red; indigo or verditer, &c., for blue; saffron, turmeric, or gamboge, &c., for yellow.
WAFTIB, a small low island in the Eastern Seas, on the west coast of the island of Waygiou, covered with trees.