222 
V A L 
V A L 
VALDAI, Mountains of, an elevated tract of country 
in the central part of European Russia, lying between Mos¬ 
cow, Toropez, Smolensk, and Tula. 
VALDAI, a small town in the north of European Russia, 
in the government of Novgorod; 170 miles south-south-east 
of Petersburg. 
VALDEMORO, a small town of the interior of Spain, in 
New Castile; 13 miles south of Madrid. 
VALDERAGUAY, a river of the north of Spain, in the 
province of Toro, which joins the Douro. 
VALDERIF.S, a small town in the south-west of France, 
department of the Tarn; 6 miles north-north east of Albi. 
VALDIVIA, a province of Chili, separated from all the 
others possessed by the Spaniards, being situated in the midst 
of the country occupied by the Araucanians, which compre¬ 
hends a track of about 70 leagues in length. 
VALDIVIA, the capital of the above province, a cele¬ 
brated city, and strong fortress, situated on the southern 
shore of the river of its name, at three leagues distance from 
the sea; 183 miles south from La Conception. Lat. 40. 5. 
S. long. 80. 5. W. 
VALDIVIA, a river of Chili, on which the aforesaid 
place is situated. It has its rise eastward in the Andes, aud 
it runs into the Pacific ocean. 
VALE, s. [yal, Fr.; va/lis, Latin.] A low ground; a val¬ 
ley; a place between two hills.—A wideopen space between 
hills is called a vale. If it be of smaller dimensions, we 
call it a valley. But when the space is contracted to a 
chasm, we call it a glen. Gilpin .—[From avail , profit.] 
Money given to servants. 
Since our knights and senators account 
To what their sordid, begging vails amount; 
Judge what a wretched share the poor attends, 
Whose whole subsistence on those alms depends. Dryden. 
VALE OF WHITE HORSE, a fertile track of land in 
England, in the county of Berks, extending from Farring- 
don to Abingdon, so called from the representation of a 
horse, cut on the side of a hill, and occupying nearly an 
acre. The chalky soil, which is thus laid bare, is of a bright 
white, and forms so striking a contrast to the slrong green 
turf of the hill, that the figure may be sometimes seen at the 
distance of twelve miles. 
VALEDIA, a small sea-port of the province of Duquella, 
in Morocco. The coast is very rocky, and though it has a 
spacious natural harbour, capable of containing a thousand 
vessels, it is little frequented, on account of its difficult and 
dangerous entrance ; 27 miles south-south-west of Mazagan. 
VALEDI'CTION, s. [ valedico , Latin.] A farewell.—A 
valediction forbidding to weep. Donne .—Letters were 
read, together with a form of valediction and farewell. 
Hales. 
VALEDI'CTORY, adj. [from valedico Latin.] Bidding 
farewell.—The shore was thronged with crowds of people, 
that followed him to the water’s edge,—studious to pay to 
their popular chief governor every valedictory honour that 
their zeal and attention could devise. Cumberland. 
VALENCA, a small town and fortress of the north of 
Portugal, in the province of Entre Douro e Minho, on the 
Minho, almost within cannon shot of the fortress of Tuy in 
Spain. It is very old, being supposed to have been founded 
by the soldiers of Viriatus; 56 miles north of Oporto, and 
72 west-north-west of Braganza. 
VALENCA DO DOURO, a small town of the north of 
Portugal, in the province of Beira; 9 miles west of St. Joao 
de Pesqueira. 
VALENCAY, a small town in the central part of France, 
department of the Indre, with 2300 inhabitants. It has a 
fine castle, where Ferdinand VII. of Spain resided from 1808 
to 1813; 27 miles north-north-west of Chateauroux. 
VALENCE, a town in the south-east of France, the 
capital of the department of the Drome, agreeably situated 
on the declivity of a small hill, on the left bank of the 
department of the Rhone. Population 8000. Olives grow 
in the neighbourhood, and the town contains a number' of 
oil mills. Valence was occupied by the royalists in April 
1815, after the return of Buonaparte from Elba, but soon re¬ 
linquished by them; 42 miles south-west of Grenoble, and 
55 south-by-east of Lyons. Lat. 44. 55. N. long. 4. 59. E. 
VALENCE, a petty town in the south-west of France, 
department of the Gers, on the small river Blaise; 6 miles 
south of Condom. 
VALENCE D’AGENOIS, a small town in the south¬ 
west of France, department of the Lot and Garonne, with 
2200 inhabitants; 14 miles south-east of Agen. 
VALENCE EN ALBIGEOIS, a pretty place in the 
south-west of France; 14 miles north-east of Albi. 
VALENCIA, a large province in the east of Spain, ex¬ 
tending in an oblong form from north to south, with the sea 
on one side, and the Castilian provinces on the other. It 
lies between lat. 37. 52. and 40. 50. N., and its length no 
less than 250 miles, but its breadth seldom exceeds 50. Its 
area is about 8000 square miles: its population, though not 
exactly ascertained, is stated by Antillon and others, at 
nearly 1,200,000. 
Valencia contains in some parts a number of mountains, 
but in others, its surface is composed of plains and fertile 
vallies. The plain adjacent to the capital is above 80 miles 
in length ; and those to the. southward, which "adjoin the 
towns of Alicant and Orihuela, if inferior in extent, may 
challenge a comparison in beauty and fertility. This province 
is watered by three great rivers, the Xucar, the Segura, and 
the Guadalaviar: also by the Murviedro, the Palencia, the 
Mejares, and others of less size, all flowing from the moun¬ 
tains of the interior to the Mediterranean. The temperature 
of the province is mild, the theremometer in winter varying 
from 40° to 60°, in summer from 70° to 80°. The chief 
export is of wine, silk, olive oil, and raisins. The white 
wine of Alicant is in high repute. 
VALENCIA, a large city in the east of Spain, the capital 
of the province, formerly the kingdom, of Valencia. It is 
situated only two miles from the sea, in an open plain, on 
the banks of the Guadalaviar, a large river which flows from 
the mountains of Arragon, through a beautiful country called, 
in the vicinity of Valencia, La Huerta, or the Garden, from 
the richness of its soil, and the variety of its fruits. This 
fertility is the result of a warm climate, and of irrigation 
judiciously applied; 170 miles east-south-east of Madrid. 
Lat. 39. 28. 45. N. long. 0. 23. 3. W. 
VALENCIA, a city of South America, in the government 
of the Caraccas, and province of Venezuela, situated half a 
league west of the lake of the same name, in a beautiful plain, 
where the air is pure, and the soil fertile. The houses are 
in general low and irregular, though some of the streets are 
broad and well built; 115 miles south-east of Coro, and 
77 south-west of Caraccas. Lat. 10. 9. N. long. 68. 15. W. 
VALENCIA, a beautiful lake of South America, in the 
government of Caraccas, and province of Venezuela, which 
stretches thirteen leagues and a half from east-north¬ 
east to west-south-west, and its greatest breadth is four. It 
has an oblong form. There is much greater quantity than 
variety of fish in this lake. Upon its borders, many reptiles 
are to be seen, among which are two kinds of lizards, which 
the Spaniards use for food, and think it delicious. 
VALENCIA, a small town of the Caraccas, in the pro¬ 
vince of Maracaibo- 
VALENCIA, Punta de, a cape on the coast of Mexico, 
on the Spanish Main. Lat. 9. N. Ion. 18. 40. W. 
VALENCIA DE ALCANTARA, a small but strong 
town in the west of Spain, in the province of Estremadura, 
on the frontiers of Portugal; 25 miles south-west of Al¬ 
cantara. . „ 
VALENCIANA, a celebrated mine of Mexico, in the 
intendancy of Guanaxuato. In this mine the great vein 
is twenty-two feet in breadth ; and as the chasm is entirely 
dry, it is easier worked than almost any other American 
mine. The pits extend to the breadth of 4900 feet, and 
the lowest is 1640 feet in depth. 
VALENCIENNES, 
