VAN DALE, ANTON". 



VANDEB MEEB, JAN. 



270 



The expedition sailed from Falmouth on the 1st of April 1791. 

 The close of that year and the beginning of 1792 were occupied in 

 an examination of the Sandwich Islands. On the 16th of March the 

 vessels sailed for the coast of America, which they struck in 39 27' 

 N. lat. They ran down the coast, examining it minutely, to Nootka, 

 where the frank and honourable conduct of Quadra, the Spanish com- 

 mander, rendered the diplomatic part of Vancouver's commission 

 easy and agreeable. From Nootka the expedition returned south- 

 ward to San Francisco de Monterez, examining more in detail the 

 various inlets along the coast. When the season during which the 

 operations of the survey could be carried on with safety terminated, 

 Vancouver returned to the Sandwich Islands. On the 29th of April 

 he was again off the coast of America, near Cape Mendocino. He 

 landed at Rocky Point (41 2' N. lat.), discovered and taken possession 

 of by the Spaniards in 1775. Thence he ran along the shore to 

 Nootka, where the coast survey was resumed. Vancouver returned 

 on the approach of winter to Owhyhee, aud in 1794 again returned to 

 the American coast, which he surveyed as far north as Cook's Inlet. 

 Having concluded this operation, he, in compliance with his instruc- 

 tions, sailed along the coast of South America, visiting the principal 

 Spanish settlements, and doubling Capo Horn, brought the Discovery 

 into the Shannon on the 13th of September 1795. During the whole 

 of these operations the most cordial assistance and frank communi- 

 cations were interchanged by Vancouver and the Spanish officers 

 engaged in a simultaneous survey of the coast. 



In 1794 Vancouver had without solicitation been promoted to the 

 rank of post-captain. He was paid off at the conclusion of his voyage, 

 aud from that time to his death, which took place in May 1798, he 

 was incessantly busied preparing his journals for publication. Before 

 his death, all the charts were completed, and the narrative printed 

 and corrected as far as the 408th page of the third volume. The 

 little that remained to be told was prepared for the press by his 

 brother John. Of all the pupils of Cook, George Vancouver ap- 

 proached nearest to his master in accuracy and persevering energy. 

 With the exception of sixteen months, and the two years during which 

 he was busy preparing his journals for the press, he was engaged in 

 active service till his death. The greater part of his survey of the 

 north-west coast of America was performed in boats. The arduous 

 service undermined his constitution, and on his return to England it 

 was apparent that his death must be a premature one. The same 

 exact enforcement of discipline, and the same incessant care of the 

 health and comfort of his crew, which characterised Cook, were also 

 found in Vancouver. 



(Cook, Second and Third Voyages ; Vancouver, Voyage of Discovery 

 to the North Pacific Ocean and round the World ; Humboldt, Essai 

 Politique sur la Nouvelle Espagne ; Biographic Universelle.) 



VAN DALE, ANTON, a learned Dutchman, was born on the 8th 

 of November 1638. He was the son of a merchant, and, in com- 

 pliance with the wish of his parents, he engaged in mercantile occu- 

 pations up to the thirtieth year of his age. But the desire of 

 knowledge which he had felt ever since his childhood induced him to 

 abandon commerce and devote himself to the study of theology and 

 medicine. After the completion of his studies he took his degree of 

 doctor of medicine : but, besides his medical practice, he officiated for 

 several years as a preacher among the Mennonites, until he was 

 appointed physician to the hospital at Haarlem, where he remained 

 until his death, on the 28th of November 1708. 



Notwithstanding his medical practice, Van Dale never abandoned 

 his theological studies, and he also devoted a great deal of his leisure 

 to the study of Greek and Roman antiquities. His works, which are 

 all of a theological and antiquarian nature, show great learning and 

 critical skill, but they are deficient in method and arrangement. They 

 are all written in Latin, but the language is bad, and his works have 

 ceased to be of much use. The following were at the time regarded 

 as the most important: 1, ' Dissertationes II. de Oraculis,' 4to, 1700; 



2, ' De Origine et Progressu Idololatrise et Superstitionum,' 4to, 1696; 



3, ' Dissertatio super Aristea de Septuaginta Interpretibus,' 4to, 1705. 

 Several other dissertations, as ' Super Sanchuniathone,' and nine 

 ' Dissertationes Antiquitatibus et Marmoribus cum Romanis turn 

 Grsecis inservientes,' were published after his death (4to, 1712 and 

 1743). 



VANDELLI, DOMINIC, an Italian physician, who paid much 

 attention to the study of natural history. His earliest contribution to 

 natural history was a dissertation on some insects and marine zoo- 

 phytes, accompanied with drawings. This was published at Padua, 

 where he probably graduated, with the title ' Dissertationes de Aponi- 

 thermis, de nonnullis Insectis terrestribus, et Zoophytis marinis,' 4to, 

 1758. In 1761 he published an account of some of the Conferva) 

 found in the hot-springs of Padua. He visited South America, and 

 remained in Brazil some time, and on his return was appointed super- 

 intendent of the botanic garden at Lisbon. In 1768 he published an 

 account of the dragon-tree, and in 1771 a small work entitled 'Fasci- 

 culus Plantarum,' which he dedicated to Sir Joseph Banks. It was 

 accompanied with four engravings of figures of plants. He also 

 wrote against Haller, maintaining, in opposition to that distinguished 

 anatomist, that the tendons and fibrous membranes generally possessed 

 sensibility. This is said to have displeased Haller very much, who 

 speaks of Vandelli's labours very disparagingly. He also wrote some 



small papers on the actions of medicine and other subjects. He visited 

 England at a very advanced ago, in the year 1815, and died shortly 

 after his return. He was a correspondent of Linnaeus; and, at the 

 suggestion of Browne, Linnams named a genus of Scrophulariaceous 

 plants, in honour of him, Vandellia. The species of this genus are 

 West Indian plants, and one of them, the V. pratentis, is known in 

 Cayenne by the name of Wild Basil, and is esteemed a powerful 

 vulnerary. 



VANDER HELST, BARTHOLOMEW, a celebrated Dutch portrait- 

 painter, was born at Haarlem in 1613, or, according to the 'Museo 

 Florentine,' in 1601. He was one of the best portrait-painters of his 

 time, and had by some been compared with Vandyck. He excelled 

 equally in the head and figure and in the accessories, which he painted 

 with the fidelity of representation almost peculiar to the painters of 

 his nation : he also coloured richly and drew well. He painted like- 

 wise small historical pieces, and had great skill in landscape-painting. 



In the town-house of Amsterdam there is a large picture by Van- 

 der Heist, containing twenty-four full-length portraits of officers of 

 the train-band of that place, which Sir Joshua Reynolds pronounced 

 the finest picture in the town-house, and one of the best pictures 

 of portraits in the world. He says, " This is perhaps the first picture 

 of portraits in the world, comprehending more of those qualities 

 which make a perfect portrait than any other I have ever seen : they 

 are correctly drawn, both heads and figures, and well coloured ; and 

 have great variety of action, characters, and countenances, and those 

 so lively, and truly expressing what they are about, that the spectator 

 has nothing to wish for." This picture is dated 1648. There are two 

 portraits by him a male and a female in the National Gallery. 

 Vander Heist was still living in 1668 : Pilkington and some others 

 mention 1670 as the date of his death; Houbraken gives no date, and 

 Nagler says the date of his death is unknown. Vander Heist left a 

 son, according to Houbraken, who painted battle-pieces and landscapes, 

 but he was very inferior to his father. 



VANDER HEYDEN, JAN, a celebrated Dutch architectural 

 painter, was born at Gorcum in 1637. He learnt originally of an 

 obscure painter on glass, and commenced early without other instruc- 

 tion to paint pictures of old buildings, churches, palaces, and other 

 architectural views. He is unrivalled for the representation of modern 

 architecture : his pictures are remarkable for their elaborate finish and 

 the beautiful arrangement of their masses of light and shade ; and yet, 

 through their admirable perspective and harmony of colouring they 

 have all the softness and truth of nature, and in this respect are supe- 

 rior to the works of Canaletto. 



Sir Joshua Reynolds says that the works of Vander Heyden have 

 " the effect of nature seen in a camera-obscura," There are several of 

 his works in this country. In the collection of Sir Robert Peel there 

 is a very small view, on wood, of a street in Cologne, with figures by 

 A. Vandervelde, which was purchased for 415 guineas. There is also 

 in the collection of Lord Ashburnham a small town view, on wood, 

 with twenty figures by A. Vandervelde, which was sold for 600. It 

 was taken by the French, and was placed for some time in the Louvre, 

 but was sent back to Holland at the general restoration of the works 

 of art carried off by the French to their rightful owners. There is 

 likewise in the Bridgewater Gallery an excellent specimen of the works 

 of Vander Heyden. A. Vandervelde painted figures in many of Vander 

 Heyden's pictures, and after that painter's death he was assisted by 

 Lingelbach. One of his best pictures is a view of the town-house of 

 Amsterdam : it is now in the Louvre. He painted also views of the 

 Royal Exchange of London, and of the London Monument. 



Vander Heyden was a mechanic as well as a painter, and he is said 

 by some Dutch writers to have been the inventor of fire-engines. This 

 is however not sufficiently attested ; yet he is known to have been a 

 great improver of those machines, both in their efficiency and porta- 

 bility. He published in 1690 a book in folio upon the subject, with 

 illustrations drawn and etched by himself; and he was appointed by 

 the authorities of Amsterdam to the office of director of the fire- 

 engines of that city, with an annual salary. This appointment inter- 

 fered with Vauder Heyden's time for painting : he executed several 

 good pictures after it notwithstanding. 



VANDER MEER, JAN. There were apparently three Dutch 

 painters of this name, but the accounts of them do not agree : some 

 writers relate of only two artists what others relate of three. 



JAN VANDER MEER, the old, was born at Rotterdam in 1627. He 

 painted in various styles, but excelled chiefly, according to D'Argen- 

 ville, in small landscapes with figures, and in sea-pieces, in which he 

 displayed a perfect knowledge of the construction of ships. This 

 account has however been questioned, for Vander Meer painted his- 

 torical pieces and portraits, and is said also to have painted some 

 battle-pieces; and it is not probable that the same painter should 

 practise in so many different lines. According to Houbraken, he visited 

 Italy and spent some years in Rome. In 1664 he was dean of the 

 guild of painters in Amsterdam, and was at one time in affluent cir- 

 cumstances : he purchased a picture of De Heem for 2000 florins, 

 which eventually proved of great service to him. In 1672, when 

 nearly all his property was either destroyed or stolen by the French at 

 Utrecht, he presented this picture to the Prince of Orange, who gave 

 him a situation under the government, and in 1674 created him a 

 counsellor. The landscapes and other small pieces attributed to this 



