V A M 



V A N 



nitnt of impiety and arrogance, perfonified in Beli, Sakra 

 apprized him of the deceit under which he was promifing 

 the univerfe away. But as the monarch had too much 

 pride to recant his royal word, tlic evil counfeUor affumed 

 the form of a mufquito ; and infinuating himfelf into the 

 fpout of the vefFel through which the ratifying ilream was 

 to pafs, arretted its paiTage ; when the dwarf, taking a 

 ttraw to clear it, thruft out the eye of the gnat, a defeft 

 ever after retained by Sakra in all fhapes. It is faid to in- 

 dicate the half enlightenment of evil counfellors : ftill, why 

 the one-eyed admirer of ill fhould be the thoufand-eyed 

 god, has not been explained. Nor will it, perhaps, be 

 deemed worth while to enter into any lengthened expla- 

 nation of the apparently ridiculous fables mentioned in this 

 article ; though we believe they might be explained from 

 a confideration that all Hindoo hiftory, religion, arts, and 

 fcience, are buried in a mafs of mythological legends. We 

 will juft mention, that the fabulous fource of the Ganges, 

 whether from the head of Siva, or from the foot of Vifhnu, 

 the latter being the principle of humidity, the former of 

 heat, is merely a phyfical difpute between what in Europe 

 would be called Neptunills and Vulcanifts, but what in India 

 affiimes the form of theological controverfy. Whether the 

 Ganges be of volcanic origin, or defcends from the eternal 

 fnows of Nepaul, is perhaps the point here difputed be- 

 tween the Saivas and Vaidinavas. ( See of this under the 

 articles Saiva and Siva. ) As to the mufquito, Indra 

 is the god of fliowers, regent of the firmament ; clofely 

 allied to Vifiinu, air being a form of humidity ; and the 

 mufquito partakes, like Vifhnu, of both its forms : it is 

 born, or repofes, like the god, in water, and lives in air. 

 But we (hall purfue thefe mythological allegories no farther. 



One of the eighteen facred poems, called Purana, is 

 named after this avatara, (fee Purana,) and details a 

 great mafs of poetical incident conncfted with it. The 

 reader may perhaps fmile in hearing that England is the 

 fuppofed theatre of fevcral of the incarnations of Viflinu, 

 and of this of Vamana among them. On this point, we 

 refer to the fecond article of the I ith volume of tiie 

 Aiiatic Refearches. 



VAMBA, in Geography, a river of Angola, which runs 

 into the Coanza, near Cabefo. 



VAMIGELA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Africa, 

 in Mauritania Caefarienfis. Ptol. 



VAM-KAOSE, in Geography, a fmall ifland in the Chi- 

 nefe archipelago, where the celebrated St. F. Xavier was 

 buried ; 62 miles S.W. of Macao. 



VAMPYRE, in Mythology, a name given to an imaginary 

 demon, which, it is pretended, fucks the blood of perfons dur- 

 ing the night, and thereby deftroys them. Thefe vampyres 

 were fuppofed to animate the bodies of dead perfons, which 

 when dug tip were found frefh, florid, and full of blood. 

 Thofe who were killed by vampyres were faid to become 

 vampyres themfelves : the way to deftroy them was to drive 

 a ftake through them, at which time they wotild give a hor- 

 rid groan ; and to burn the body to afhes. This fpecies of 

 fuperftition occafioned, fome years ago, great difturbances 

 in Hungary and other places. 



Vampyre, in Zoology, the VefpertUlo vampyrus of Lin- 

 nasus, called alfo ternate, and by Buffon la roujelie and la 

 rougelte, is a fpecies of bat with large canine teeth, four 

 cutting-teeth above, and the fame below ; (harp black nofe ; 

 large naked ears ; tongue pointed, and terminated by (harp 

 aculeated papilla ; exterior toe detached from the membrane ; 

 the claw ftrong and hooked ; five toes on the hind-feet ; 

 talons very crooked, ftrong, and compreffed fideways ; no 

 tail ; the membrane divided behind quite to the rump ; va- 



II 



rying in colour, fome being entirely of a reddilh-brown, and 

 others du(ky ; and alfo in fize, fome having the extent from 

 tip to tip of the wings four feet, others five feet four inches ; 

 and others extending farther tlian a man can reach with his 

 extended arms. This animal inhabits Guinea, Madagafcar, 

 and all the iflands from thence to the remotell in the Indian 

 ocean. They are alfo found in New Holland, the Friendly 

 Iflands, the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia. They fly 

 in flocks, obfcuring the air with their numbers ; beginning 

 their flight from one neighbouring ifland to another, imme- 

 diately on fun-fet, and returning in clouds from the time it 

 is hght till fun-rife, and during the day lodging in hollow 

 trees : they live on fruit, and are fo fond of the juice of the 

 palm-tree, that they will intoxicate themfelves with it till 

 they drop on the ground. In New Caledonia, the natives 

 ufe their hair in ropes, and in the talTels of their clubs. The 

 Indians eat them, and declare their flefh to be very good. 

 The French who live in the Ifle de Bourbon, boil them in 

 their bouillon, to give it a relifh. While they are eating, 

 they make a great noife ; their fmell is rank ; and their bite, 

 refinance, and fiercenefs, very great when taken. The an- 

 cients had fome knowledge of thefe animals, and M. de Buf- 

 fon apprehends, that from the account of them the poets 

 formed their fiftions of harpies. Linnaeus calls this fpecies 

 vampyre, conjcfturing it to be the kind which draws blood 

 from people in their fleep. The bat is fo dexterous a bleeder, 

 as to infinuate its aculeated tongue into the vein without 

 being perceived, and then fuck the blood till it is fatiated ; all 

 the while fanning with its wings, or agitating the air fo as to 

 call the fufferer into a ftill founder (Icep. In certain parts of 

 America they have deftroyed all the great cattle introduced 

 there by the miffionaries. Pennant's Hift. Quadrupeds, 

 vol. ii. p. 548, &c. 



Vampvue is alfo a name given by M. de Buffon to the 

 •vefpertilio JpeHrum of Linnseus, or bat with a long nofe, 

 large teeth, long, broad, and upright ears ; with a long, 

 conic, eredl membrane at the end of the nofe, bending at 

 the end, and flexible ; hair on the body cinereous, and pretty 

 long ; wings full of ramified fibres ; a membrane extending 

 from one hind leg to the other ; no tail, but three tendons 

 extending from the rump, and terminating at the edge of 

 the membrane. This animal inhabits South America, lives 

 in the palm-trees, and grows very fat. Buffon fuppofes it 

 to be the fpecies that fucks human blood. Pennant. See 

 Andira. 



VAN, Vant, or Vaunt, (of the French aiian/, or avaani, 

 before, ) is a term ufed in corapofition with feveral words in 

 our language. As, 



V Ay-Couriers, are light armed foldiers, fent before ar- 

 mies to beat the road, upon the approach of an enemy. 



"W A^-Fojfe, a ditch dug without the counterfcarp, and 

 running all along the glacis ; ufually full of water. 



Van, Vant, or Vaunt-Corps. See Corps. 



Van, or Van-Guard. See Guard. 



VAN-Zajf. See Vaunt. 



Van, in /Igrieuhure, a name fometimes ufed to fignify an 

 implement or contrivance for winnowing, or cleaning corn 

 with. See Winnowing Machine. 



Van, in Sea Language, denotes the foremoft divifion of 

 any naval armament, or that part which ufually leads the 

 way to battle, or advances firft in the order of failing. See 

 Engagement and Fleet. 



Van, in Mining. To make a van, is to take a handful of 

 the ore or tin-ftuff, and bruife, wafli, and cleanfe it on a 

 (hovel ; then, by a peculiar motion of the (hovel, to (hake 

 and throw forth upon the point of it almoft all the ore that 

 is freed from wafte. This operation being repeated, the ore 



