VANCOUVER'S ISLAND

On his return he surveyed most of the W. coast of South America from the island of Chiloe, visiting the chief Spanish settlements, and reached England in Oct. 1795. His arduous labors undermined his constitution; and he spent the remainder of his life in preparing an account of his expedition, which at the time of his death he had nearly finished. It was published (3 vols. 4to., London, 1798) with the atlas of the N. W. coast surveys.

VANCOUVER'S ISLAND, or QUADRA AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND, an island belonging to Great Britain, off the N. W. coast of North America, between lat. 48° 20′ and 51° N., and long. 123° and 128° W.; length from N. W. to S. E. 300 m.; greatest breadth 75 m.; area, 14,000 sq. m.; native pop. 11,463. It lies S. W. of British Columbia, from which it is separated by Queen Charlotte's sound and the gulf of Georgia. The strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget's sound lie between it and Washington territory. The S. W. coast, washed by the Pacific ocean, is indented with several bays and sounds, the largest of which are Nootka and Nittinat sounds and Clyoquot bay. It is inhabited mainly by 10 or 12 Indian tribes, of which the Nootka, Quaquidto, and Kawitchin are the principal. The town of Victoria, on the site of the Hudson's bay company's fort Victoria, on Royal bay near the S. E. extremity of the island, is the residence of the British governor, and a place of growing importance. The climate is milder than that of the mainland, the mean temperature of winter being 32° and of summer 63°. Frosts are of short duration and not severe; but there are long and violent storms and heavy falls of rain during the winter. In the summer dense and long continued fogs temper the heat, which would otherwise be excessive. The soil is rich and well adapted to cereals. Coal is found in the northern part, of good quality and very near the surface. The possession of Vancouver's island was secured to Great Britain by the Oregon treaty (1846), and it was consigned by charter to the Hudson's bay company, the British government reserving the right of repurchasing it on the expiration of the company's charter in 1859. It has become a possession of considerable importance since the discovery of gold in the neighboring colony of British Columbia.

VANDALS, an ancient confederacy of barbarous nations of Germanic, and specifically of Suevic race, though some writers are inclined to identify their nationality with that of the Slavic Wends, Vends, or Vindes. They first appear on the northern coasts of Germany, whence they migrated in a S. E. direction, settling for a time in the Riesengebirge, which from them received the name of Vandal mountains, and subsequently in Pannonia and Dacia. At the beginning of the 5th century they turned W., swept across Germany, traversed the Rhine, the Rhône, and the Pyrénées, and conquered the Alani in Spain, founding a powerful kingdom, to which the modern Andalusia

owes its name. Finally, under their ablest monarch, Genseric, they crossed over into Africa with a formidable fleet (A. D. 429), and on the ruins of the Roman dominions in that country established a Vandal empire, which became the terror of all the surrounding countries. In 455 they sacked Rome. (See GENSERIC.) Having adopted the Arian creed, they persecuted the orthodox Christians. For more than a century they maintained their power in Africa, until it was overthrown and utterly destroyed by the fleet and army of the emperor Justinian under Belisarius, who after a series of victories succeeded in making their last and gallant king Gelimer his captive (A. D. 535).

VANDAMME, DOMINIQUE JOSEPH, a French general, born in Cassel, department of Nord, Nov. 5, 1771, died there, July 15, 1830. Hé entered a colonial regiment while very young, returned to France at the outbreak of the revolution, raised a free company, and at the age of 22 was a brigadier-general in the army of the north. He made the campaign of 1795 under Jourdan, was transferred the next year to the army of the Rhine, became general of division in 1799, and served with distinction during all the wars of the empire up to the Russian expedition, in which, having fallen into disgrace on account of a quarrel with Jerome Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, he had no share. In the summer of 1813 his corps formed the southern angle of Napoleon's masterly defended position in Saxony; but advancing too far from its centre, Dresden, a few days after the emperor's victory at that place, he was surrounded at Kulm by Prussian, Austrian, and Russian divisions under Kleist of Nollendorf, Ostermann, and others, and after a bloody fight was compelled to surrender with more than 10,000 troops. He was for some time confined at Viatka, Russia, and returned to France in 1814, but was ordered to quit Paris within 24 hours and retire to Cassel. On the first news of Napoleon's return from Elba he offered his services to Louis XVIII., but they were refused. He then went over to the emperor, who made him a peer of France and commandant of the 2d division. He obtained a signal success at Wavres after the battle of Ligny, and was in pursuit of the enemy when he heard of the emperor's defeat at Waterloo. Obliged to quit France by the ordinance of Jan. 1816, he withdrew to the United States, but returned in 1824 to Cassel.

VANDERBERG, a S. W. co. of Indiana, bounded S. by the Ohio river; area, 216 sq. m.; pop. in 1860, 20,554. The surface is generally undulating and the soil very fertile. The productions in 1850 were 408,075 bushels of Indian corn, 19,079 of wheat, 36,719 of oats, and 2,337 tons of hay. There were 20 churches, 6 newspaper offices, and 1,280 pupils attending public schools. Bituminous coal is found in abundance. The county is intersected by the Wabash and Erie canal and the Evansville and Illinois railroad. Capital, Evansville.

VAN DER HEYDEN, JAN, a Dutch painter,

born in Gorkum in 1637, died in 1712. As a painter of old buildings, churches, palaces, &c., he held a unique position among artists of the time. His pictures are admirable for finish and tone, having, according to Sir Joshua Reynolds, "the effect of nature seen in a camera obscura," and were frequently embellished with figures by Adrian Vandervelde and Lingelbach. He published in 1690 a work on fire engines, and in the latter part of his life held the position of director of the fire engines of Amsterdam. VANDERLYN, JOHN, an American painter, born in Kingston, Ulster co., N. Y., in 1776, died there, Sept. 23, 1852. Removing to New York at the age of 16, he received instructions in painting from Gilbert Stuart, and in 1796 was enabled through the assistance of Aaron Burr to visit Paris for the purpose of instruction. He returned to America after an absence of 5 years, but in 1803 revisited Europe, where he remained until 1815. During this period he executed many excellent copies from the old masters, and some original works of great merit, including the "Murder of Jane McCrea by the Indians;" "Ariadne," a picture very celebrated in its time, and which was the first successful representation of a mythological subject by an American painter; and "Marius Sitting among the Ruins of Carthage," which received the gold medal at the Paris exhibition of 1808, and was favorably noticed by the emperor Napoleon. After his second return to America, Vanderlyn painted portraits of Madison, Monroe, Clinton, Calhoun, and many other distinguished men, but relinquished the legitimate practice of his art to superintend the exhibition of panoramic views in a building called the rotunda, erected by him in the city hall park of New York. The enterprise proved unsuccessful in a pecuniary point of view, and the artist never afterward painted with his early vigor. Among his remaining pictures are a portrait of Washington for the hall of representatives at Washington, and the "Landing of Columbus," painted for one of the compartments of the rotunda in the national capitol. His last work was a portrait of President Taylor, exhibited in 1851.

VAN DER MEER, JAN, the elder, a Dutch painter, born probably in Haarlem in 1627, died there in 1691. He was educated in Italy, but passed the greater part of his life in his native city, where he was greatly esteemed as a painter of landscapes, sea pieces, and battles. He designed with grace, and was distinguished by a sunny brilliancy of coloring not unlike that of Claude Lorraine.-JAN, the younger, son of the preceding, born in Haarlem in 1655, died in 1688. He was the scholar of Nikolaas Berghem, and became a successful follower of the style of that master. His works are highly finished, and the figures, whether of men or animals, are painted with great spirit and fidelity. They are seldom to be met with out of Holland, and command very high prices. He executed a few good etchings.

VAN DER MEULEN. See MEULEN. VANDERVELDE. I. ADRIAN, a Dutch painter, born in Amsterdam in 1639, died there in 1672. He excelled in figures, whether of men or animals, and was frequently employed by Ruysdael, Hobbima, Van der Heyden, and others of his contemporaries, to embellish their pictures with accessories of this character. His landscapes are faithful transcripts of natural scenes, and bring very high prices. He executed a few historical pieces of merit. II. WILLEM, the elder, a Dutch painter, born in Leyden in 1610, died in London in 1693. In early life he followed the sea, whence he acquired that technical acquaintance with shipping and knowledge of marine phenomena which made him one of the most accomplished artists of his time in this branch of the art. It is not known where he received his instructions in painting, but before the period of middle life he had become so distinguished by his drawings of sea fights, that the states of Holland provided him with a small vessel for the purpose of following the Dutch fleets, and illustrating their manoeuvres. He was accordingly present at the celebrated encounters between the English and Dutch in 1665 and 1666. In 1675 he was invited by Charles II. to England, and received the appointment of painter of sea fights to the king, with a pension of £100, which was continued by James II. In this capacity he was present at several sea fights. His designs were generally executed with a pen upon prepared paper or whitened canvas, and many were colored in oils by his son. III. WILLEM, the younger, son of the preceding, born in Amsterdam in 1633, died in London, April 6, 1707. He inherited his father's taste for marine paintings, and executed an infinite variety of sea pieces, calms, and storms. Of his storm pieces, which were unrivalled until the appearance of Turner, the Bridgewater collection contains a well known specimen, "The Rising of the Gale," in competition with which Turner painted his "Gale at Sea" in the same gallery. Vandervelde's pictures are owned chiefly in England, where he passed the greater part of his life, and bring large prices.

VAN DER WERF, ADRIAN, a Dutch painter, born in Kralinger Ambacht, near Rotterdam, in 1659, died in 1722. At the age of 17 he established himself at Rotterdam as a painter of portraits and history, and almost immediately rose into great reputation. In 1696 he entered the service of the elector palatine, in which he continued until the death of the latter in 1716, devoting 9 months in the year to his patron, and receiving high prices for the pictures painted during the remaining 3 months. The greater part of the pictures painted by him for the elector, and which formed part of the collection at Düsseldorf, are now in the Pinakothek at Munich.

VAN DER WEYDE, ROGER, a Flemish painter, born in Brussels in the latter part of the 15th century, died in 1529. He was very

celebrated in his time, having been one of the first to introduce a more graceful style of designing than prevailed in the Flemish provinces, but no picture that can be certainly attributed to him is now extant. Roger Van der Weyde is often confounded with Roger of Bruges, who flourished about half a century earlier.

VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. See TASMANIA. VANDYKE, or VAN DYCK, SIR ANTONY, a Flemish painter, born in Antwerp, March 22, 1599, died in London, Dec. 9, 1641. His parents, who were persons in comfortable circumstances, with some knowledge of art, gave him his first instructions, and at 16 years of age he was placed under Rubens, with whom he made such rapid progress as, according to the common account, to excite the jealousy of his master. The often repeated story that Vandyke first revealed his talent to the latter by the manner in which he repainted a portion of Rubens's "Descent from the Cross," which, while still wet, had been accidentally damaged by a fellow pupil, has no foundation in fact, as the picture was painted and put up in the cathedral at Antwerp several years before Vandyke entered the studio of Rubens. There is probably no reason to suppose that the relations between master and pupil were otherwise than friendly; and when Vandyke went to Italy in 1619, by the advice of Rubens, they parted with expressions of mutual esteem. Influenced by his training in the school of Rubens, he repaired first to Venice, whence, after a careful study of the great colorists, he went to Genoa and Rome. In both cities he received abundant commissions for portraits, and in the latter produced a fine head of Cardinal Bentivoglio, esteemed one of his masterpieces, beside many altar pieces. In 1626 he returned to Antwerp with a high reputation, and soon after executed for the church of the Augustines there a celebrated picture representing St. Augustine in ecstasy supported by angels. For the next 5 years he was busily employed by ecclesiastical establishments and private patrons in the Netherlands; and to this period may be ascribed numerous cifixions" and "Pietas," impressed with that character of profound sorrow for which the artist has always been distinguished. Preëminent among them is the "Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves," in the church of the Recollects at Mechlin, which Reynolds pronounced not only the best of Vandyke's historical works, but "one of the finest pictures in the world." The close imitation of Rubens which at first characterized his works was now, under the influence of his studies in Italy, replaced by a peculiar style in which gracefulness of contour, softness of coloring, and an expression of a deeper and more touching emotion are the distinguishing traits. "In the hands of Vandyke," says Kugler, "this rather sentimental manner has been brought to the highest perfection, and imbued with the deepest pathos; but he does not always observe the proper limits, and sometimes borders upon the artificial and

"Cru

says

theatrical." Accordingly in portraits he won his greatest reputation, and it was in consequence of his skill in this department of the art that Charles I. invited him in 1632 to England. Within a year or two after his arrival he was knighted and appointed painter to his majesty, with a pension of £200 for life. "He always," a contemporary writer, "went magnificently dressed, had a numerous and gallant equipage, and kept so good a table in his apartment, that few princes were more visited or better served." Excessive application (it is said that he frequently painted a portrait in a day) and a too lavish indulgence in dissipation, together with the anxieties caused by a search for the philosopher's stone, to which in his latter years he surrendered much of his time, rapidly undermined his health; and with the desire of repairing his shattered fortunes, as also of doing something in England worthy of his fame, he proposed to the king to paint the walls of the banqueting room at Whitehall. The price demanded was beyond the capacity of the royal treasury; and while negotiations were in progress for the execution of the work at a less sum, the death of the painter took place. The number of works of all classes attributed to him is enormous, in view of his short life, and of the circumstances under which the last 10 years of it were passed. The best of his portraits are in England, prominent specimens being his several portraits of Charles I., those of the earls of Strafford and Pembroke, and many others in the collections at Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, Blenheim, Althorp, and other famous seats. There are also many in the galleries of Paris, Berlin, and Vienna. A series of 100 small portraits in chiaroscuro of the most eminent of his contemporaries, from which etchings have been made, was executed by him in Antwerp, and is very celebrated. As a portrait painter he ranks next to Titian, and by some is accounted equal to that master.

VANE, CHARLES WILLIAM STEWART. See LONDONDERRY, Marquis of.

VANE, SIR HENRY, an English statesman, governor of the colony of Massachusetts, born in 1612, executed on Tower Hill, London, June 14, 1662. He was the son of Sir Henry Vane the elder, who filled some of the highest state offices during the reigns of James I. and Charles I. He was educated at Westminster school, and in his early youth was, according to his own account, much addicted to pleasure; but from his 15th year his views assumed a strongly religious cast. At the age of 16 he was entered at Magdalen college, Oxford, but before the time of matriculation arrived he had become so far alienated from the church of England that he refused to take the oath of allegiance, visited Holland and France, and passed some time at Geneva. His conduct was highly displeasing to his father, who was at that time comptroller of the household and member of the privy council. Bishop Laud was desired to expostulate with young Vane,

but his interference only confirmed him in his course. Disturbed by the displeasure of his father, he formed the resolution of joining the infant colony of Puritans in Massachusetts. Reaching Boston in 1635, he was everywhere welcomed with enthusiasm, and in 1636 was elected governor. The choice was unfortunate, more especially as a bitter religious controversy sprang up during his term of office. Vane, who was one of the few men of the time who really understood and believed in the principles of civil and religious liberty, and had a horror of all forms of bigotry, had no sympathy with the attacks of the clergy on Mrs. Hutchinson, with many of whose opinions he entirely agreed. A strong opposition under the lead of Winthrop was organized against him, and on the day of the annual election in 1637 he was defeated. But he had gained the affections of the people of Boston, and was instantly chosen by them one of their representatives to the general court. The majority of that body declared the election of Vane and his associates void, whereupon the inhabitants of Boston returned them a second time on the next day. In order to put down the Hutchinsonian heresy, a law was passed by the general court that no strangers should be received within the jurisdiction of the colony except such as should be allowed by some of the magistrates. This created such public discontent that Governor Winthrop felt obliged to put forward a "Defence," to which Vane immediately replied in a pamphlet entitled "A Brief Answer to a certain Declaration, made of the Intent and Equity of the Order of Court, that none should be received to inhabit within this jurisdiction but such as should be allowed by some of the magistrates." In Aug. 1637, Vane returned to England. There, in consequence of his peculiar opinions, he found himself in an embarrassing situation, and for some time did not take part in active life. In 1640 he was elected a member of parliament from Kingstonupon-Hull, and received in conjunction with Sir William Russell the office of treasurer of the navy. In June of this year he was also knighted. After the dissolution of parliament he was immediately reelected from the same place to the long parliament. Before this assembly met, Vane, in looking over the papers of his father's cabinet, found in them some notes which made so strong an impression on him that they were communicated by him to Pym, and were the chief evidence upon which the latter relied in moving his impeachment of the earl of Strafford. The disclosure of this fact brought on a collision between the father and son, and it was some years before a reconciliation was effected. The younger Vane was a zealous opponent of the royalist party, and after war had broken out between the king and parliament, he gave up to the latter the fees of his office of treasurer of the navy, which amounted to £30,000 a year, as he deemed such a revenue too great for a subject. In June, 1643, he was

was

sent to Scotland as one of the commissioners to negotiate an alliance, and by his persuasion the "Solemn League and Covenant" adopted. "There need no more be said of his ability," says the royalist historian, Clarendon, "than that he was chosen to cozen and deceive a whole nation, which excelled in craft and cunning, which he did with notable pregnancy and dexterity." During the progress of the war Vane was placed on all commissions empowered to treat with the king, and was also one of the parliament's committee which occasionally accompanied the army. When in 1648 the house of commons discussed the terms of settlement offered by the king, he led the minority which favored their rejection. But he bowed to the will of the majority, and not approving of the "purge" of the parliament which Cromwell effected, he retired to private life. He had no further share in the political movements of the times, until, in Feb. 1649, he was persuaded to become a member of the council of state, which was intrusted with the executive government of the nation. In this position he had almost the exclusive direction of the navy and the conduct of foreign wars. He was also at the head of a committee which reported a bill for parliamentary reform, and it was at this period that Milton wrote in his praise one of the finest of his sonnets. The forcible dissolution of the long parliament by Cromwell in April, 1653, brought him into open conflict with that leader. As the troops entered the house, Vane cried out: "This is not honest! yea, it is against morality and common honesty." Cromwell immediately turned upon him, crying out in a loud voice: "Sir Harry Vane! Sir Harry Vane! the Lord deliver me from Sir Harry Vane!" He now retired to his estate at Raby Castle, and employed himself in writing a theological work, of which the following is part of the title: "The Retired Man's Meditations, or the Mystery and Power of Godliness shining forth in the Living Word, to the Unmasking the Mystery of Iniquity in the most refined and purest Forms." He also published a political work in the form of a letter to one of the protector's council, and on the occasion of the fast declared by Cromwell in March, 1656, wrote a tract entitled A Healing Question propounded and resolved." This was adjudged seditious, and for it and his opposition to the course taken by the protector he was conveyed on Sept. 9 to Carisbrooke castle in the Isle of Wight; but as it was found that his resolution could not be shaken, he was speedily released from confinement. While in prison he published a political letter to Harrington, and a theological work entitled "Of the Love of God, and Union with God." Subsequently other means were employed to induce him to support the protector, but he was neither to be won nor intimidated. From first to last he remained an inflexible republican. After the death of Cromwell he was elected to the parliament of 1659, and was there the leader

of the republican party. When the long parliament was again summoned to assemble, Vane was appointed one of the committee of safety, and subsequently president of the council of state. The restoration of the king led to his disgrace and death. He had been placed in confinement at his own castle, and after the arrival of Charles was committed to the tower. He was one of the 20 excepted out of the act of general pardon and oblivion, and after an insurrection of the fifth monarchy men he was removed from one prison to another, and at last confined in a castle on one of the Scilly isles. Here he remained immured for two years, spending his time in the composition of works principally on theology, though some are of a political character. Meanwhile his fate was in suspense. In Aug. 1660, the lords and commons had unitedly petitioned that "if he were attainted, yet execution as to his life might be remitted." But the latter body, in July, 1661, ordered him to be proceeded against according to law. He was consequently removed to the tower of London, and on June 2, 1662, arraigned before the court of king's bench. On the trial he behaved with singular intrepidity, and it was found necessary for the judges to strain the law in order to convict him. He was brought in guilty, but according to the promise made by the king the sentence was to be remitted. The courageous bearing of the prisoner, however, had alarmed Charles. After the trial he wrote a letter to the chancellor, stating that if Vane had given new occasion to be hanged, he was certainly too dangerous a man to let live, if he could be honestly put out of the way. The sentence was not remitted, and Vane suffered the following week; but his punishment was changed, and instead of being hanged, he was permitted to be beheaded. His bearing at the place of execution was dignified and manly; and in order to prevent the condemned man from exciting sympathy, trumpeters were employed to drown his dying speech. He was a leader of the Independents, and was one of the lay members nominated by parliament to take part in the proceedings and discussions of the assembly of divines. His labors in behalf of New England were arduous and important. It was in great measure through his influence that the charter for the Rhode Island colony was procured, and Roger Williams declared that his name ought ever to be held in honored remembrance by her people. Vane's only son was knighted by Charles II. His life has been written by C. W. Upham, in Sparks's "American Biography."

VAN EFFEN, JUSTUS. See Effen.
VAN ERPEN, THOMAS. See ERPENIUS.
VAN EYCK. See EYCK.

VAN HELMONT. See HELMONT. VANILLA, a genus of endogenous plants of the natural order of orchidacea, so called from Span. vainilla, a little knife sheath, the fruit presenting that appearance. The species are found in tropical South America, the West

Indies, and Java, and are climbing plants with square stems extending themselves 20 or 30 feet in length, fixing themselves to the bark of trees, from which they partially derive nourishment by numerous rootlets. The leaves are fleshy, subcordate at base, and articulated with the stem; the perianth of the flower is composed of 6 parts, articulated with the ovary; the sepals and petals nearly equal, conformed and free at base; the labellum entire; the anthers terminal and opercular; pollen masses 2, bilobed and granulose; the fruit a fleshy siliquelike pod, dehiscing at the sides, and containing numerous globose seeds covered with a closely attached testa. The fragrant vanilla (V. planifolia, Andrews) has oblong, lanceolate, flat leaves, oblong, obtuse, flat sepals and petals, the labellum crisp, convex, the fruit fragrant. It is a native of Mexico, Guatemala, and the West Indies. The aromatic vanilla (V. aromatica, Plumier) has ovate oblong, acuminate, sessile leaves; campanulate perianth with 5 undulated acuminate laciniæ; the labellum acuminate, hood-shaped at base, with an elevated middle line; it is a native of Brazil. The largeflowered vanilla (V. grandiflora) has elongated, straight, smooth, oblong petals and sepals; it is a native of French Guiana. These species are the principal ones which produce the vanilla of commerce. The article was not known in Europe until after the discovery of America, when the Spaniards employed it to flavor chocolate after the manner of the Indians. plant which produced it was not known botanically until 1703, when it was described by Plumier; at the present time 4 sorts are commercially known, varying in price according to their qualities. The fruit is the only part used. Gathered when it is yellow, it is allowed to ferment for 2 or 3 days, then dried in the sun; when half dried, it is rubbed with oil of cocoa or of the ricinus, exposed again in the sun, oiled a second time, and collected into little bundles and wrapped in the leaves of the Indian reed to be ready for sale. Vanilla has aromatic and stimulant qualities, and contains much essential oil and benzoic acid. Beside its employment for flavoring and its use in confectionery, it is medically exhibited in the treatment of hysteria, rheumatism, and asthenic fevers; and a scentless-fruited species (V. claviculata) is employed by the negroes of the Antilles and Jamaica in treatment of syphilis and as a vulnerary.

The

VANINI, LUCILIO, an Italian philosopher, born at Taurisano in 1585, burned at the stake in Toulouse, Feb. 19, 1619. After studying at Rome and Padua, he entered holy orders, travelled in Germany and Holland, taught at Geneva, Paris, and Lyons, was obliged to flee to England, where he argued in favor of Roman Catholicism, and was imprisoned 49 days, and returned to Genoa, and thence to Lyons, where in 1615 he published his Amphitheatrum Æterno Providentia Divino-Magicum, ChristianoPhysicum, necnon Astrologo-Catholicum, a curi