VANEVAPOUR BATH. 



783 



cused only for transactions that occurred after the 

 king's death, he was found guilty, notwithstanding 

 a defence of great vigour and ability, in which he 

 pleaded that, if complying with the existing govern- 

 ment was a crime, all the nation had been equally 

 criminal. He further observed, that he had, in 

 every change, adhered to the commons as the root 

 of all lawful authority. His trial took place in 

 June, 1662 ; and on the 14th of the same month, 

 he was beheaded on Tower hill, when he behaved 

 with great composure and resolution. He began 

 to address the people at the scaffold in justification 

 of his conduct, but was interrupted by drums and 

 trumpets. Sir Henry Vane mingled much fanatical 

 speculation with an extraordinary degree of acute- 

 ness and general good sense. His enemies scarcely 

 charged him with mercenary views, and his friends 

 regarded him as a mistaken lover of his country. 

 Mackintosh declared him to be one of the most 

 profound minds, not inferior perhaps to Bacon. 

 Sagacious and acute as a statesman, and possessed 

 of almost all the knowledge of his age, he fell a 

 victim to a miserable sophism, and to royal perfidy. 

 The beautiful sonnet addressed to him by his fellow 

 sufferer Milton, is familiar to all. His theological 

 writings display an astonishing power, but are in a 

 high degree mystical, and often unintelligible. 

 Among them are the Retired Man's Meditations 

 (1655); the Face of the Times (1662); and his 

 Meditations on Life, Government, Friendship, Ene- 

 mies, Death ( 1662). It must not be forgotten that 

 his history has been written by his enemies. 



VANE, OE WEATHERCOCK ; a plate placed 

 on a spindle at the top of a spire, showing, by the 

 way in which it turns, the direction of the wind. 

 In ships, a piece of bunting serves the same pur- 

 pose Dogvane ; a small, light vane, formed of 

 thin slips of cork, stuck round with feathers, and 

 strung upon a piece of twine. It is usually fastened 

 to the top of a half-pike, and placed on the weather 

 side of the quarter deck, in order to show the 

 helmsman the direction of the wind, particularly 

 in a dark night, or when the wind is weak. 



VANGUARD; that part of the army which 

 precedes the main body on the march, as a security 

 against surprise. The strength of the vanguard is 

 in proportion to the strength of the main body ; 

 and in a large army, it may be composed of differ- 

 ent sorts of troops. The distance of the vanguard 

 from the main body depends partly on the vicinity 

 of the enemy, and partly on the nature of the 

 country. This rule is always to be observed : 

 The vanguard must remove all little obstructions 

 to the march of the main body, and keep in check 

 the forces of the enemy till the main body is in 

 readiness to meet them. Hence it is the chief duty 

 of the vanguard to discover the enemy in season, 

 and detect them under every concealment. As 

 great activity, both bodily and mental, is requisite 

 for service in the vanguard, it is customary to 

 choose for this purpose the most active troops in 

 the army, and to give them an experienced leader. 

 This captain must know how to conduct skirmishes, 

 and to direct all his movements conformably to the 

 object of the advancing army. The vanguard are 

 often employed in improving the roads, where they 

 are impassable, in procuring provisions, in spread- 

 ing reports, &c. ; and it is always their duty to col- 

 lect authentic information. 



VANINI, LUCILIO, or, as he afterwards styled 

 himself, Julius Ccesar, a learned Italian of the 

 school of Pomponatius, was born at Tauresano, in 



the kingdom of Naples, in 1585, and early devoted 

 himself with ardour to letters, studying philosophy, 

 theology, law and astrology at Rome and Padua. 

 I He took orders, and began to preach, but soon 

 , abandoned his clerical duties for study. He may 

 be considered in some sort as a polyhistor ; at least 

 he made pretensions to that character. Having 

 travelled in Germany, Bohemia and the Netherlands, 

 he resided some time at Geneva and Lyons, where 

 he occupied himself with instruction, but was fin- 

 ally obliged to flee to England, and in that country 

 was thrown into prison. Wherever he had appeared, 

 he had become obnoxious to suspicions, on account 

 of his peculiar religious views. Returning to 

 Lyons, after his release from prison, he published 

 his Amphitheatrum jEterna Providentice (1615), 

 which appears to have been directed against Cardan 

 and others of his way of thinking, but which drew 

 upon Vanini himself' the suspicion of atheistical 

 notions, and compelled him to quit Lyons. Retir- 

 ing to Paris, he here published his De admirandis 

 Naturae, Regin<E, Deceque Mortalium Arcanis (1616), 

 in sixteen dialogues, which is more of a physical 

 than a theological treatise. Although published 

 with the permission of the theological faculty of 

 Sorbonne, it subjected Vanini anew to the charge 

 of atheism. In 1617, he went to Toulouse, where 

 he was accused of atheism and sorcery, and con- 

 demned to the flames. He was drawn to the place 

 of execution, and, after his tongue had been torn 

 out, was strangled and burnt, at the age of thirty- 

 four years. His death has given Vanini more 

 celebrity than his writings would have procured 

 him. His punishment was entirely undeserved, as 

 there is no ground for the accusation brought 

 against him ; but he appears to have created ene- 

 mies by his imprudent conduct, his vanity, and his 

 satirical spirit. Voltaire and Bayle have defended 

 him ; and a German work, Vanini's Life and Fate, 

 Spirit, Character and Opinions (Leipsic, 1800), 

 contains an account of what has been written for 

 and against him. 



VANLOO ; the name of a distinguished family 

 of artists, which originated in Ecluse, in Flanders. 

 T wo members of this family have contributed most 

 to its fame. They were the sons of Louis Vanloo, 

 known as a fresco painter. 



The eldest of the two, John Baptist, born at 

 Aix, in 1684, a portrait and historical painter, lived 

 in France, Italy and England. He died in 1745. 

 His historical paintings are chiefly in Paris, Toulon, 

 Turin, Rome and London. 



The second, Charles Andrew,w&s born at Nizza, 

 in 1705, painted landscapes and historical subjects, 

 became, in 1735, a member of the academy of arts 

 in Paris, and died in 1765. His pictures have 

 mostly remained in France. 



John Baptist had four sons, who all became skil- 

 ful artists, though the two youngest, Claudius and 

 Francis, died young; the eldest, Charles Andrew 

 Philip, became painter to the court of Berlin, and 

 Louis Michael to the king of Spain. 



VANNUCCHI; the proper name of Andrea del 

 Sarto. See Sarto. 



VANUCCI. See Perugino. 



VAPOUR. See Evaporation. 



VAPOUR BATH. The vapour or steam bath 

 may be regarded as a modification of the hot bath ; 

 but its effects are much less violent. The most 

 usual mode of employing it is to expose the naked 

 body in a room, into which the steam of hot water 

 may be admitted. This room is generally heated 



