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one " who was a man of wit and of honour." He died 

 of a quinfey, at his houfe in Whitehall, in the year 1726. 

 Biog. Dram. Walpole's Anecdotes. Burney's Hift. 



Muiic. 



VAN-CAMPENS, in Geography, a town of the ftate 

 of New Jerfey ; 32 miles N.W. of Morriftown. 



VAN-CHEAU, an illand in the Eaft Indian-fea. N. 

 lat. 18'' 50'. E. long. 110° 40'. 



VANCOUVER'S Fort, a fort of Kentucky, at the 

 union of the two branches of Sandy river. 



VANDABANDA, in Ancient Geography, a country of 

 Afia, in Soo-diana, between mounts Caucafus and Imaus. 

 Ptolemy. 



VANDALE, Antony, in Biography, was born in 

 Holland in 1638, and though he manifefted an inclination 

 for ftudy in his youth, his parents placed hirn in the de- 

 partment of commerce. At the age of 30, however, he 

 refumed his literary purfuits, and graduated as a phyfician ; 

 and he was alfo for fome time a preacher among the Men- 

 nonites. His attachment to ftudy prevailed at length over 

 every other occupation, and his hterary charafter was efta- 

 blifhed by many valuable works. Of thefe the moft noted 

 was " Diflertationes duss de Oraculis Ethnicorum," firft 

 printed in 1683, i2mo., and afterviiards in 1700, 4to. His 

 opinion was, that the heathen oracles were mere impoftures, 

 and that they did not ceafe at the coming of Chrift ; which 

 at the time was a bold aflertion, as it contradifted the fenti- 

 ments of fome of the fathers. Fontenelle abridged thefe 

 ditfertations in his " Hiftoire des Oracles." ( See the article 

 Oracle.) In i6g6 he publjfhed a work, " On the Origin 

 and Progrefs of Idolatry," which contained " A Diflerta- 

 tion on true and falfe Prophecy ;" " A Differtation on the 

 Narrative of Arifteas on the Seventy Interpreters ;" " The 

 Hiftory of Baptifms, Jewifli and Chriftian ;" " A Differta- 

 tion on Sanchoniatho ;" and " Diflertations on fome an- 

 cient Marbles." Some of thefe have been publiflied fepa- 

 rately. lu all his writings, Vandale manifeiied fohd erudi- 

 tion, united with fagacity and a fpirit of free inquiry ; but 

 he wants method, and his ftyle is obfcure. He was allowed, 

 even by thofe who differed from him in opinion, to be a man 

 of great probity, of an agreeable difpofition, and entertain- 

 ing converfation. His lot was that, which has not been 

 uncommon with perfons of literature, namely, indigence ; 

 for he fold his books before his death, which happened at 

 Haerlem in 1708. Moreri. Le Clerc. 



VANDALS, in Ancient Geography, a people of no very 

 high antiquity, who were originally a Gothic nation. (See 

 Goths.) PUny and ProcopLus concur in this account of 

 their origin ; and the latter writer, more efpecially, affirms in 

 exprefs terms, that the Goths and Vandals, though diftin- 

 guifhed by name, were the fame people, agreeing in their 

 manners, and fpeaking the fame language. They were called 

 Vandals, from the Gothic word " Vandelen," which fignifies 

 to " wander," becaufe they often changed their fituation, 

 migrating from one country to another. They are fuppofed 

 to have come originally out of Scandinavia, with the other 

 Goths, under the command of king Eric, and to have fettled 

 in the countries now known by the names of Mecklenburg 

 and Brandenburg. When Berig, king of the Goths, feveral 

 ages afterwards, brought with him a colony of Goths from 

 Scandinavia, and fettled in Pomerania, he fubdued the Van- 

 dals, who inhabited thofe countries, and incorporated them 

 with the new fettlers. In the reign of Auguftus, fome of the 

 Vandals, being ftraightened in their own country for want of 

 room, took up their abode on the banks of the Rhine ; but 

 were driven from thence by Tiberius and Drufus, and com- 

 pelled to return home. Their country being overftocked 



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with inhabitants, they foon afterwards purfued an eafterr 

 route, and driving out the Sclavi, who occupied the terri- 

 tory that lay between the Bofphorus Cimmerius and the 

 Tanais, and taking poffeflion of their country, affumed th? 

 appellation of the ancient inhabitants. Some of them, fe- 

 veral ages after, in the reign of Mauritius, which began 

 in 586, fettled in Dalmatia and lUyricum, to which they 

 gave the name of Sclavonia ; and others migrated to the 

 eaftern parts of Dacia beyond the Danube, a province 

 which comprehended the countries now denominated Tran- 

 fylvania, Moldavia, Walachia, and the eaftern parts of 

 Upper Hungary. From thofe who remained in Germany, 

 the prefent Poles and Bohemians are generally faid to have 

 derived their origin ; but the Vandals, who, under Gode- 

 gefilus, their king, entered Gaul, and afterwards fettled in 

 Spain and Africa, came, as Procopius fays, from Dacia 

 and the vicinity of the Palus Mseotis. As the Vandals 

 were a Gothic nation, they retained the cuftoms, manners, 

 religion, and form of government, that fublifted among the 

 Goths. The firft of their kings mentioned in hiftory is 

 Godegefilus, under whofe command they entered Gaul in 

 406. He was fucceeded by Gunderic, who paffed, in 409, 

 from Gaul into Spain, and fettled in Gahcia. His fuc- 

 ceffor, Genferic, abandoned Spain in 42S, and pafled with 

 his vaffals into Africa, wliich the Vandals poffeffed till the 

 year 533, when, under Gehmer, an end was put to their 

 dominion by Behfarius, and Africa was reunited to the em- 

 pire. Although the Vandals are faid to have been inferior 

 in power and courage to all the other barbarous nations, 

 they neverthelefs made themfelves mailers of the moft fertile 

 provinces of the empire. They became profelytes to Chrif- 

 tianity at the fame time with the Goths, embracing the 

 fentiments of Arius, in common with the other Goths, and 

 becoming irreconcileable enemies to the Catholic church. 

 Salvianus extols their continence and chaftity. 



It was about the year 1 66 that they began to be trouble- 

 fome to the Romans, in the reign of M. Anrehus and 

 Lucius Verus ; when forming an alliance with other bar- 

 barous nations, they invaded the empire, plundered feveral 

 cities, and, having put to flight the Roman armies, com- 

 mitted every where unparalleled ravages. Having taken pof- 

 feffion of Pannonia, they retained it till they were expelled 

 in the year 170, by M. Aurelius. They afterwards entered 

 into an alliance with the Romans ; and in 180, it was one of 

 the articles of peace concluded between the emperor Corn- 

 modus and the Alemans, that they fhould not make war 

 upon the Vandals. In the fecondyear of Aurehan's reign, 

 A.D. 271, the Vandals paffed the Danube, laying wafte 

 the neighbouring provinces ; but Aurelian compelled them 

 to retire with great precipitation, and having overtaken 

 them in their retreat, obhged them to fue for peace ; which 

 was granted, on condition of their delivering, as hoftages, 

 the fons of their two kings, and other perfons of diftinftion. 

 Two thoufand of their beft men were incorporated .imong 

 Aurehan's own troops. After his death, they entered Gaul ; 

 but they were defeated by Probus in feveral battles, and 

 obliged to withdraw themfelves at the approach of the Ro- 

 man army. Refenting the infults of the Roman foldiers, 

 they made an attempt to recrofs the Rhine, but fuftained a 

 great defeat ; and proving unfaithful to their engagements, 

 after having obtained peace, Probus marched againft them, 

 put many to the fword, took a great number of prifoners, 

 among whom was their king, and afterwards fent thegi into 

 Britain, where they are fuppofed to have fettled in the 

 neighbourhood of Cambridge, giving name, as it has been 

 faid, to the village of Vandalfburg. Probus allowed feveral 

 of them to fettle in Thrace, which was almoft depopulated. 



The 



