V I R 



known by the general name of Florida ; afterwards Virginia 

 became the common name for the whole of North America. 

 In 1586, a colony of more than one hundred p'.'opl^; was lla- 

 tioned at Roanoke, under the dircftion of captain Ralph 

 Lane ; which colony endured extreme hardfhips, and mull 

 have perifhed, if fir Francis Drake had not fortunately re- 

 turned to Virginia, and carried them to England. In 1587, 

 fir Walter fent another company to Virginia, under governor 

 White, with a charter and twelve afliftants ; and in July this 

 colony arrived at Roanoke, where 1 1 5 people were left at 

 the old fettlement. In 1590, governor ^Vhite came over 

 again to Virginia, with fupplies and recruits foi his colony ; 

 but not a man was to be found, all having pcriftied citlier by 

 famine, or mafTacred by the Indians. Some further unfuc- 

 cefsful attempts were made for fettling tliis province. At 

 length, in 1606, James I., by patent, divided Virginia into 

 two colonies. The firft, under the name of South Virginia, 

 was granted to the London company ; the northern, called 

 the fecond colony, and known by the general name of North 

 Virginia, was granted to the Plymouth company ; and each 

 of thefe colonics had a council of thirteen men to govern 

 them. The Plymouth colony broke up, after enduring many 

 liarddiips, in 1608. In 1610, the South Virginia or Lon- 

 don company fealed a patent to lord De la War, or De- 

 laware, conilituting him governor and captain-general of 

 South Virginia, and he foon after embarked for America 

 with 150 men, in three (hips. From this time we may date 

 the elfeftual fettlement of Virginia. By a marriage in 

 April, 16 1 3, of Mr, John Rolfe, a worthy young gentle- 

 man, with Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, a fa- 

 mous Indian chief, the conneftion, equally agreeable to the 

 Enghfli and the Indians, laid the foundation of a friendly and 

 advantageous commerce between them. The defcendants of 

 Pocahontas became the heads of fome of the moll refpedlable 

 families in Virginia. Her brother-in-law, Tomocomo, ac- 

 companied her to England, and on his return, being aflced 

 by Powhatan how many people there were in England, re- 

 phed, " count tlie liars in the fliy, the leaves on the trees, 

 and the fands on the fta-fliore ; for fuch is the number of the 

 people in England." The government of Virginia was fet- 

 tled in confequence of a charter obtained in 1609, on the 

 24th of July, 1 62 I ; but dillcnfions afterwards occurred be- 

 tween the company to which the charter was granted and the 

 king : infomuch that, partly by law, and partly by force, 

 the company was oufted of all its riglits, witliout retribu- 

 tion, after having expended 100,000/. ineilablifhing the co- 

 lony. King James fnfpended their powers by proclamation, 

 July 15, 1624, and Charlts I. took the government into his 

 own hands. But this ftate of things did not continue for 

 ajiy long time ; for the northern parts of the country were 

 granted away from the original proprietors to the lords Bal- 

 timore and Fairfax, the full of thefe obtaining the rights of 

 feparate jurifdiclion and government. In 1650, the parlia- 

 ment, conceiving itfelf as occupying the place and powers 

 of the depofed King, began to alfunie and exercife a right 

 over the colonies, by paffmg an aft for prohibiting their 

 trade with foreign nations. This colony, having maintained 

 itsoppofition to Cromwell and the parliament, was induced, 

 in 1651, to lay down its arms, on condition of previoufly 

 fecuring their moll effential rights by a folemn convention. 

 This convention, as the colony imagined, enfnred the an- 

 cient limits of the coinitry, its free trade, its exemption 

 from taxation, except by its own affembly, and exclnfion 

 of military forces. But this convention was violated in 

 every particular by fubfcquent kings and parliaments, until 

 at la(l relillance on the jiart of this and of the other colonics 

 terminated in an appeal to arms ; and this appeal being 



V I R 



crowned with fuccefs, they ilTued a declaration of their 

 independence, in July 1776, and the fubfequent ellablilh- 

 ment of their " federal conllitution," to which Virginia ac- 

 ce(!ed after confiderable oppofition. See Ameuua and 

 U.VITED States. 



Virginia, a pod-town of the county of Cavan, Ireland, 

 fittiated on Lough Ramor ; 40^ miles N.W. from Dublin. 



VIRGINIAN Acacia, in Botany. See Robinia. 



Virginian Creeper. See Clematis. 



Vi\xc\mAS Guelthr-Rofe. See SpiRa:A Opulifolia. 



Virginian Pole. See Phytolacca Decandra. 



Virginian Silk. See Periploca. 



VIRGINIANA Bolus, is a pure earth, of a ccmipaft 

 texture, hard and heavy, of a pale red or rofe colour, va- 

 riegated with veins of deep red, and often with large fpots 

 and veins of bright yellow : it is of a glolTy furface, does 

 not colour the hands, adheres firmly to the tongue, melts 

 «nth difficulty in the mouth, is of a rough aftringent tafte, 

 leaves no grittinefs in the teeth, and is diffufiblc with diffi- 

 culty in water. It burns in the fire to an almoll llony 

 liardnefs, without any change of colour. It is the produft 

 of Pennfylvania, and moll p.irts of America. This kind of 

 bole has not yet been ufed iu mt-dicine. 



VIRGINIS, Spica. See Spica. 



VIRGINITY, ViRGiNiTAS, the tell or criterion of a 

 virgin ; or that which entitles her to the denomination. 



In the firll ages of th; Chrillian church, virginity grew 

 into great honour and elleem, infomucli that the women 

 were admitted to make folemn vows of it in public. Yet 

 was it held infamous among the Jews for a woman to die a 

 maid. 



The vellals among the ancients, and the nuns or religious 

 among the moderns, found guilty of a breach of the vow 

 of virginity, are allotted a fevere punifhment ; the firll to 

 be buried ahve, the latter to he immured. 



The phyficians, both ancient and modern, are exceedingly 

 divided upon the fubjeft of virginity, fome holding that 

 there are no certain marks or tuliimonies of it ; and others 

 that there are. Solomon fays exprefsly, tiiere are four things 

 too wonderful for him to know : " the way of an eagle in 

 the air ; of a ferpent on the rock ; of a Ihip in the midfl of 

 the fea ; and the way of a man in a maid ;" whicli our 

 tranflators have rendered, lefs jullly, the luay of a man luhh' 

 a maid. 



Yet Mofes eftablilhed a left, which was to be conclufive 

 among the Jews. The nuptial Iheets, it feems, were to be 

 viewed by the relations on both fides : and the maid's parents 

 were to preferve them as a token of her virginity, to be 

 produced, in cafe her hufband (hould ever reproach her on 

 that fcore. 



In cafe the token of virginity was not found on them, Ihe 

 was to be Honed to death at her father's door. 



This tell of virginity has oecafioni-d abundance of fpecu- 

 lation about the parts concerned ; but the iiiceft enquiries 

 cannot fettle any tiling certain about them. Dr. Drake 

 fays exprefsly, that, whatever might be expeftc-d ainong 

 the Jews, there is not the fame reafon to expcft tliofe tokens 

 of virginity in thefe countries ; for, befides that the He- 

 brews married extreiriL-Iy young, as is the cuflom in all the 

 Eallern countries, there are fcvcral circumllances whicli may 

 here frii Urate fuch expeftations, even in virgins not vituted 

 either by any male contaft, or any wantonncfs of their 

 own. 



In effeft, in thefe northern climates, the inclemency of the 

 air expofes the fex to Inch checks of perfpiration, as gives 

 a great turn to the courfe of the humours, .and drives fo 

 much humidity Uirough the parts, aa may extraordinarily 



fupple 



