Uffizi. [The Offices.] A public edifice in Florence, Italy, erected by Cosmo de' Medici (1389-1464), and containing one of the richest and most celebrated collections of art in the world. It is connected by a covered passage with the Pitti Palace on the other side of the Arno. See TRIBUNE.

and The

"Perhaps it is the picturesque variety of the Uffizi - the combination of painting, sculpture, gems, bronzes that makes the charm. Tribune, too, is the richest room in all the world, a heart that draws all hearts to it." Hawthorne.

"I paid another visit to the Uffizi Gallery this morning, and found that the Venus is one of the things the charm of which does not diminish on better acquaintance." Hawthorne.

The Transfiguration, the Last Judg ment, the Communion of St. Jerome, and what are as transcendent as these, are on the walls of the Vatican, the Uffizi, or the Louvre, where every footman may see them. Emerson.

Ugbrooke House. A noble mansion, the seat of Lord Clifford, near Chudleigh, England. Ugolino's Tower. See TORRE DELLA FAME.

Ulm Minster. At Ulm in Würtemberg. One of the finest Gothic cathedrals in Germany, begun in 1377. Its tower is over 300 feet in height.

Ultima Thule. [The most remote Thule.] A name applied by the Latin poets, on account of its distance from Rome, to the island of Thule, the situation and existence of which are involved in the greatest obscurity. The first mention of such a northern island is by a traveller from Massilia (Marseilles) in the fourth century B.C., who claimed to have arrived at a spot, some six days' journey from Britain, where nature had put a bar to all further

progress, since there was no longer either water or land or air, but a mixture of all the elements, through which no passage could be made. According to Strabo and Pliny, this island reached to the Polar Circle, within a day's journey of an ever-frozen sea. Many articles have been written upon the subject of this semi-fabulous island. The south-west coast of Norway has been fixed upon by some as its probable location. Maltebrun thinks that Jutland was meant. Others, and the majority, give the preference to the Shetland Isles. The phrase ultima Thule is now commonly and poetically applied to the extreme limit of any journey, undertaking, or pursuit. A little volume by Longfellow has recently appeared under the title of "Ultima Thule."

This [the Rock of Abooseer] is the Ultima Thule of Egyptian travellers, Murray's Handbook. Ulysses and Nausicaa. A picture by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). In the Pitti Palace, Florence, Italy.

Ulysses deriding Polyphemus. A picture by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), the English landscape-painter, and regarded one of his best works. In the National Gallery, London.

"Ulysses is on the poop [of a gilded galley] with hands uplifted, shouting derisively to the blinded giant, while his companions, thickly clustered on mast and yard, unfurl in haste the vast sails, and one by one the red oars are thrust forth from the vessel's burnished sides, ready to sweep away from the inhospitable shore, and out of the reach of the missiles the monster may hurl after them." Redgrave. Ulysses, Return of. A picture by Francesco Primaticcio (1490–1570), the pupil of Raphael. Now at Castle Howard, England.

Undercliff. A romantic spot and natural curiosity on the Isle of Wight, near Ventnor.

"A strip of land some six miles long by a half mile wide, which ap pears to have slipped down toward the sea, exhibiting a jumble of rocks, overturned and broken mounds of earth, deep hollows, and numerous springs, forming falls of water, collecting into pools, and hurrying toward the sea." M. Simond. The moonbeam sleeps on Undercliff, The sea is lulled and calm, The honey-bee has left the rose, The lily lies in balm.

Allan Cunningham.

Undine. An admired picture by Thomas Buchanan Read (18221872).

Union Club. A club in London composed chiefly of politicians, merchants, professional men, and, according to James Smith, of "gentlemen at large." The club-house, Trafalgar Square, was built in 1824. The Union Club has always been noted for its cuisine. Also an association in Boston, Mass., having a house on Park Street.

Union College (University). An old and well-endowed institution at Schenectady, N. Y. It was founded in 1795 by a union of several religious denominations, from which circumstance it derives its name.

Union League House. A noble building, with a fine interior, on Broad Street, Philadelphia, Penn., occupied by the Union League, an organization formed in 1862 for patriotic purposes. It has a large number of members. Union Square. A well-known public park in the city of New York, surrounded with fine hotels and shops, with statues of Washington and of Lincoln.

United Service Club. This club in London was formed in 1816, and is one of the oldest of the modern clubs. It was a favorite resort of the Duke of Wellington. The present building, in "Pall Mall, was built in 1826. The United Service Club is for officers

of rank not lower than major in the army and commander in the navy; and the club-house is considered one of the best-managed and most commodious in London. See JUNIOR UNITED SERVICE CLUB.

Let no man despair of Governments who looks on these two sentries at the Horse Guards and our United - Service Clubs! Carlyle. United Service Museum. The museum of the United Service Institution, London, founded in 1830, containing models of ships and weapons, and specimens of naval and military uniforms. United States. A frigate of the United States navy, launched at Philadelphia in 1797. Before the war of 1812 she went by the nick、 name of the Old Wagon, on account of her poor sailing qualities; but these were subsequently so much improved that she was able to chase, overtake, and capture the British frigate Macedonian, which she brought into port as a prize in 1812.

United States Bank. An imposing marble structure on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, built in 1824 at a cost of half a million of dollars. It is now used as a custom-house.

"Looking out of my chamber window, before going to bed, I saw, on the opposite side of the way, a handsome building, of white marble, which had a mournful, ghost-like aspect, dreary to behold. I attributed this to the sombre influence of the night, and on rising in the morning looked out again, expecting to see its steps and portico thronged with groups of people passing in and out. The door was still tight shut, however; the same cold, cheerless air prevailed; and the building looked as if the marble statue of Don Guzman could alone have any business to transact within its gloomy walls. I hastened to inquire its name and purpose, and then my surprise vanished. It was the tomb of many fortunes; the Great Catacomb investment; the memorable United States Bank. The stoppage of this bank, with all its ruinous consequences, had cast (as I was told on every side) a gloom on Philadelphia, under the depressing effect of which it yet labored." Dickens (American Notes).

of

United States Military Academy. A national institution for the education of young men in academic and military studies, at West Point on the Hudson, N. Y. It opened in 1812. The buildings are fine structures of stone. A library, observatory, and museum are connected with the academy. Each congressional district is entitled to send annually one young man to this school. [Familiarly known as West Point.]

United States Naval Academy. A national school for the training of midshipmen, founded in 1845, situated in Annapolis, Md. During the war of the Rebellion, the school was transferred to Newport, R.I.

University Club. A London club, Suffolk Street, Pall Mall East, founded in 1824, chiefly composed of members of Parliament who have been educated at some university, several judges, and a number of clergymen.

stitution of learning in Burlington, Vt., founded in 1791. Unspunnen Castle. A ruined feudal mansion in Switzerland, near Interlaken, where Byron's Manfred is reputed to have lived. Unter den Linden. [Under the Lindens.] A noted street in Berlin, Prussia, extending from the royal palace to the Brandenburg gate. It is adorned with four rows of lime-trees, an equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, and many fine buildings. Urbino Palace. A grand and stately palace in Urbino, Italy, once the residence of the Dukes of Urbino, now unused and fallen into neglect, but still containing many interesting remains of art. Urdos. An extraordinary fortification in southern France, not far from Pau. It is excavated in a rock, rising in successive stages to a height of 500 feet. It was 10 years in constructing, and is capable of holding 3,000 men.

Uriel in the Sun. A picture by Washington Allston (1779-1843), the American painter. Now in possession of the Duke of Sutherland.

"I have never seen Uriel represented by name, or alone, in any sacred edifice. In the picture of Uriel painted by Allston, he is the Regent of the Sun,' described by Milton; not a sacred or scriptural personage.'

Mrs. Jameson.

Urquhart Castle. A ruined castle in Scotland, near Inverness. It is the property of the clan Grant. Urr, Moot of. See Moot of URR. Ursula, St. See ST. URSULA and EMBARKATION OF ST. URSULA.

Val d'Arno. [Vale of the Arno.] In Tuscany, Italy. It is renowned for its beauty and its poetic associations.

A dream alone to me is Arno's vale,
And the Alhambra's halls are but a trav-
eller's tale.
Whittier.

Val de Grace. 1. An extensive military hospital in Paris. Here was formerly a convent of Benedictine nuns.

2. A church in Paris, built in the Italian style. It was begun in 1645 for Anne of Austria. The dome forms a conspicuous object in views over Paris.

VAL D'EMO.

Val Tremola. [Ger. Trümmeln Thal, Trembling Valley.] A gully on the St. Gothard Pass in Switzerland, so called from the fears formerly excited by the terrors of the passage.

Vale of the Red Horse. A locality in Warwick county, England, near Edgehill, the scene of the battle between Charles I. and the Parliamentary forces. It is so called from the colossal figure of a horse cut on the side of the hill.

Valentino, Il. A fine old palace in Turin, Italy.

Valérien, Mont. See MONT VALÉ

RIEN.

Valhalla. A celebrated Grecian temple or Hall of Fame, overlooking the Danube, near Regensburg, Bavaria, and deriving its name from the mythological palace of immortality, inhabited by the souls of heroes slain in battle. It was built by the king of Bavaria as a monument to the great men of Germany, and contains many statues of her heroes, statesmen, and poets, from the earliest

Blood.] A valley reputed to
have, in ancient times, separated
France from Bretagne.

When the Vale of Blood she neared,
All that ghastly band with speed
Following in pursuit appeared

Close behind her coal-black steed.
Anon, Tr. L. S. Costello.

Valley-farm, The. A picture by John Constable (1776-1837). In the National Gallery, London. Valley of Jehoshaphat. This valley of Jerusalem which is beneath the hill Mount Moriah, on which the ancient Jewish temple stood (now occupied by the Mosque of Omar), is about half a mile long, extending from the village of Siloam to the Garden of Gethsemane. Its sides are full of tombs, and the brook Kedron runs through it. The Jews believe that the Last Judginent will take place in this valley, according to the prediction found in Joel iii. 12, "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit, to judge all the heathen round

about.'

Vallombrosa. [The Shady Valley.] A famous convent and sanctuary near Florence, Italy. Its original

visible

The fresh well-water. Satisfied by this,
He sang of Adam's paradise, and smiled,
Remembering Vallombrosa. Therefore is
The place divine to English man and child,
And pilgrims leave their soul here in a
kiss.
E. B. Browning.

Not a grand nature. Not my chestnutwoods

Of Vallombrosa, cleaving by the spurs
To the precipices.
Mrs. Browning.

Valle Crucis Abbey.

A beautiful and picturesque ruined monastery, founded in 1200, near Llangollen, in Wales.

Vanity and Modesty. See MODESTY AND VANITY.

Varuna, The. An iron clad vessel of the United States navy, sunk April 24, 1862, after destroying five of the enemy's fleet in the battle on the Mississippi, below New Orleans.

Who has not heard of the dauntless Varuna?

Who has not heard of the deeds she has done?

Who shall not hear, while the brown

Mississippi

Rushes along from the snow to the sun? Crippled and leaking she entered the bat

tle,

Sinking and burning she fought through

the fray;

Crushed were her sides, and the waves ran across her,

Ere, like a death-wounded lion at bay, Sternly she closed in the last fatal grapple, Then in her triumph moved grandly G. H. Boker. Vase, Hall of the. See HALL OF THE VASE.

away.

Vassar College. A noted women's college situated in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. It was founded and endowed by Matthew Vassar, from whom it takes its name. It was organized in 1865.

Vatican, The. The ancient palace of the popes, and the most magnificent in the world, built upon one of the hills of Rome, on the right bank of the Tiber. It is rather a collection of separate buildings, constructed at various times, than one regular structure. Its extent is enormous. It has 8 grand staircases, 200 smaller staircases, 20 courts, and, it is said, 11,000 apartments of different sizes. Its riches in marbles, bronzes, and frescos, in ancient statues and gems, and in paintings, are unequalled in the world. It also possesses a library with a large and choice collection of manuscripts.

"The palace of the Vatican bears the same relation to other palaces that St. Peter's does to other churches. It is, indeed, not a palace, but a congress of palaces. One of the stories with which every traveller at Rome is amused is, that the Vatican with its gardens and St. Peter's occupy as much space as the city of Turin; and, as it has never been contradicted, it is probably true. The Vatican comprises a papal palace, a library, and a museum. As a museum of art, it is the first in the world. In sculpture it not only surpasses any other collection, but all other collections put together. The whole of Europe could furnish nothing to rival the Vatican. It also comprises the highest triumphs of painting, in the frescos of Raphael and Michael Angelo. He who has seen the Vatican has seen the utmost point reached by the human mind and hand in these two arts. The world is no more likely to witness any thing beyond what is here visible than to have a nobler epic than the Iliad, or a greater dramatist than Shakespeare."

Hillard.

The Vatican is great; yet poor to Chimborazo or the Peake of Teneriffe: its dome is but a foolish Big-endian or Little-endian chip of an egg-shell, compared with that star-fretted Dome where Arcturus and Carlyle. Orion glance for ever.

That Leicester shoe-shop, had men known it, was a holier place than any Vatican or Loretto-shrine.. Carlyle.