VACUNA VALENCIA. 



773 



and a dark-brown scab forms, which remains for 

 about a fortnight, and, on disappearing, leaves a 

 depression. The spot continues distinguishable 

 through life, either by the circumstance of the de- 

 pression, or of its colour being somewhat lighter 

 than that of the neighbouring parts. 



VACUNA; among the ancient Romans, the 

 goddess of leisure and repose. It is said that she 

 was worshipped even by the Sabines. The peasants 

 sacrificed to her when the season of field labour 

 was finished. 



VACUUM, in physics; a space devoid of all 

 matter. Whether there be any such thing in na- 

 ture as an absolute vacuum, or whether the uni- 

 verse be completely full, is a question that has 

 given rise to disputes among philosophers in all 

 ages. The ancients distinguished a vacuum coacer- 

 vatum and a vacuum interspersum, or dissemination. 

 By the former they understood a place destitute of 

 matter, such as would exist if God were to annihi- 

 late all the air and other bodies within the walls of 

 a chamber. By the latter they designated the 

 space supposed to be naturally interspersed in and 

 among bodies, in the pores of the same body, and 

 in the interstices between different bodies. 



VADEMECUM ; a word compounded of three 

 Latin words, signifying Go with me. The title was 

 h'rst given to an ascetic work Vademecum piorum 

 Christianorum (Cologne, 1790). It is now some- 

 times given to manuals, and to works of entertain- 

 ment. It is also used to denote a favourite author, 

 whom a person constantly carries with him. 

 VAILLANT, LE. See Levaillant. 

 VALAIS (in German, Wallis), one of the twenty- 

 two cantons of the Helvetic confederacy, borders 

 on the Pays de Vaud, Berne, Uri, and Tessin, and 

 the Sardinian territories. (See Switzerland.} It 

 was formerly more populous than it is at present. 

 It consists of sixteen small valleys and a large one, 

 which extends from east to west, and is traversed 

 by the Rhone, and bordered on the north and on 

 the south by the loftiest summits of Switzerland. 

 (See Alps.} Over the Bernard and Simplon lead 

 two roads to Italy. In the northern chain, which 

 separates Valais from Berne, are the most cele- 

 brated of the Bernese Alps, the Finsteraarhorn, 

 Jungfrau, Shreckhorn, &c. The climate and pro- 

 ductions are very various: the mountains are al- 

 most perpetually covered with snow and ice, while 

 the valleys enjoy a warm climate and a fruitful soil, 

 produce corn, wine and fruits, and furnish good 

 pasturage. The breeding of cattle is the chief oc- 

 cupation of the inhabitants, who are also supported 

 in part by the travel, particularly over the Simplon. 

 There are here mineral springs ; and iron, copper, 

 lead, marble and coal are found in the mountains. 

 The inhabitants are Catholics : those of Upper Va- 

 lais speak German, and those of Lower Valais, 

 French. They are accused of indolence and want 

 of cleanliness : the goitre is common among them. 

 In the middle ages, the country belonged to the 

 kingdom of Burgundy, and, in 1032, was annexed 

 to the German empire. Upper Valais afterwards 

 rendered itself independent, conquered (1475) 

 Lower Valais, which had been ceded to Savoy, and 

 entered into a league with Berne, and, in 1529, with 

 the Swiss confederacy. In 1810, it was annexed 

 to France, under the title of the department of the 

 Simplon, and, in 1815, was constituted the twenty- 

 first canton of the confederacy. 



VALCKENAER, Louis CASPAR, a celebrated 

 Dutch philologist and critic, born at Leuwarden, in 



Friesland, studied ancient literature, philosophy 

 and theology at Franeker, where, in 1741, he was 

 appointed professor of the Greek language, and 

 afterwards held the same post at Leyden, till his 

 death, in 1785. He was distinguished for his pro- 

 found and extensive learning ; and his commentaries 

 on several Greek authors are highly esteemed, par- 

 ticularly those on Theocritus, the Phcenissae (1755), 

 and the Hippolytus (1768) of Euripides, and on 

 Callimachus (1799). His Opera Philologica were 

 published at Leipsic in 1808 (2 vols.). His Dia- 

 tribe in Euripidis perditorum Dramatum Reliquias 

 was republished at Leipsic in 1824. 



VALCKENAER, JAN or JOHN, son of the pre- 

 ceding, after completing his studies at Leyden, 

 was appointed professor of law at Franeker. His 

 literary reputation, and, particularly, his zealous 

 attachment to the anti-Orange party, procured him, 

 in 1787, the chair of jurisprudence at Leyden; but 

 the return of the stadtholder obliged him to quit 

 Holland the same year. Valckenaer then went to 

 France, and, in 1793, was one of the deputies, to 

 obtain from the convention the aid of French arms 

 for the Dutch patriots. In 1795, he returned to 

 Holland, and was appointed professor of public law, 

 and, in 1796, was sent ambassador to Spain, and, 

 at a later period, was employed on several important 

 missions to other countries. When Louis Bona- 

 parte, in 1810, made the last effort to prevent the 

 union of Holland with France, Valckenaer was sent 

 to Napoleon on the subject ; after which he retired 

 to private life, devoting himself, till his death, in 

 1821, to study. Among his works are his treatise 

 De Peculio quasi castrensi veteribus Jurisconsultis 

 incognito, and some legal opinions on political 

 affairs. 



VAL D'ARNO ; the valley of the Arno, which 

 runs by Florence. See Arno. 



VAL DI DEMONA. See Demona. 

 VALDIVIA ; a city and strong fortress of Chile, 

 on the river of its name, three leagues from the sea. 

 It was founded in the year 1551, by the conqueror 

 Pedro de Valdivia, who gave it his name, and ob- 

 tained immense sums of gold from its vicinity. In 

 1590, it was taken and plundered by the Araucani- 

 ans, the native inhabitants of the country. It was 

 again rebuilt and fortified by the Spaniards. The 

 harbour is situated in a beautiful bay formed by the 

 river, and is the safest, the strongest from its na- 

 tural position, and the most capacious, of any of 

 the ports in the South sea. The town contains a 

 college, built by the Jesuits, several convents, a 

 parochial church, and a public hospital, It is one 

 hundred and eight-three miles south of Conception. 

 VALENCIA ; a city of Spain, capital of the pro- 

 vince of the same name, on the Guadilaviar, twa 

 miles from the sea; one hundred and seventy miles 

 south-east of Madrid; Ion. 23' W.; lat. 39 29' 

 N. ; population, about 80,000 in the city, and 

 20,000 in the villages and environs. It is situated 

 in a fertile tract of country, and has a mild and 

 pleasant climate. It contains a cathedral, seventy- 

 four churches, forty convents, sixteen hospitals, 

 two public libraries, an academy of painting, a col- 

 lege, a custom-house, and a university. The Ata- 

 meda is a delightful walk, bordered with orange, 

 pomegranate and palm trees, and the air is per- 

 fumed with the mulberry, lemon and orange trees 

 of the environs. The streets are narrow, winding, 

 and crossed by a multiplicity of lanes. Many of the 

 buildings are without chimneys. The university was 

 founded in 1470, and has fifty-eight professors and 



