VENUS ANADYOMENE. Venus of Quinipily. A singular | Venus Rising from the Sea. See granite statue in the garden of a ruined château near Baud in the Department of Morbihan, France. Its origin is wrapped in obscurity. It is thought by some to be a statue of Isis. The name Venus is given to it from an inscription on the pedestal in 1689. It was worshipped as late as the seventeenth century, and is an object of superstitious veneration by the peasantry. Venus of the Capitol. A celebrat- Venus, Toilet of. See TOILET OF Venus Victrix. [Venus Victorious.] An admired statue by Antonio Canova (1757-1822). In the Villa Borghese, Rome. It represents the Princess Pauline Borghese, sister of Napoleon I. Vergine, Colonna della. See CoLONNA DELLA VERGINE. Verhelst Family. A picture by Gonzales Coques (1618-1684), and his masterpiece. In the Queen's collection, Buckingham Palace, London. Verlorenes Loch. [The Lost Gulf.] A celebrated gallery or tunnel in the so-called Via Mala, among the Swiss Alps. See VIA MALA. Venus, Townley. See TowNLEY Vermont, The. An old line-ofVENUS. "If we heard it said of a modern artist that he had even equalled the works of the Greek masters, the Venus of Milo would rise before us in her divine smiling beauty, in derision of all other statues we might try and place beside her." Grimm, Trans. Yon bare-footed girl filling her pitcher at the fountain would have been a Venus of Milo in a higher social sphere. Bayard Taylor. Surprised the senses of Olympian Jove. O Goddess of that Grecian isle An exile from thy native place, battle ship, now used as a receiv- Vermont, University of. See UNI- Vernia, La. A celebrated Fran ciscan convent, near Bibieno, Italy, established by St. Francis of Assisi in the early part of the thirteenth century, and held in veneration on account of his residence in it. "This singular convent, which stands on the cliffs of a lofty Apennine, was built by St. Francis himself, and is celebrated for the miracle which the motto records. Here reigns all the terrible of nature, a rocky mountain, a ruin of the elements, broken, sawn, and piled in sublime confusion, — precipices crowned with old, gloomy, visionary woods, black chasms in the rock, where curiosity shudders to look down, haunted caverns, sanctified by miraculous crosses,-long excavated stairs that restore you to daylight." Forsyth. On the rude rock 'twixt Tiber and the From Christ did he receive the final Which during two whole years his members bore. Dante, Paradiso, Longfellow's Trans Vernon Gallery. A collection of paintings of the English school, consisting of 162 pictures presented to the nation by Mr. Robert Vernon (d. 1849), and now deposited in the South Kensington Museum, London. Vernon, Mount. See MOUNT VER NON. Verona Amphitheatre. See ARE NA. Veronica, The. [The True Image.] A famous Catholic relic preserved in St. Peter's Church, Rome, said to be the impress of the countenance of the Saviour upon the handkerchief of Santa Veronica, with which he wiped his brow on the way to Calvary. [Sometimes called also Volto Santo, or Santo Volto (Holy Face).] "Properly speaking, the Veronica (vera icon) is the true likeness of Our Lord; and the same name has been given to the holy woman who obtained it, because the name of this holy woman was uncertain. According to some, she was a pious Jewess, called Seraphia; according to others, she was Berenice, niece of Herod. It is impossible to decide between the different traditions, some of which make her a virgin, and others the wife of Zaccheus. When she saw Our Lord pass, bearing his cross, covered with blood, spittle, sweat, and dust, she ran to meet him, and, presenting her kerchief, tried to wipe his adorable face. Our Lord, leaving for an instant the burden of the cross to Simon the Cyrenian, took the kerchief, applied it to his face, and gave it back to the pious woman, marked with the exact imprint of his august countenance." Collin de Plancy. Longfellow, from whose notes on Dante this extract is taken, says: "Of the Veronica there are four copies in existence, each claiming to be the origi. nal; one at Rome, another at Paris, a third at Laon, and a fourth at Xaen in Andalusia.' "There is nothing regarded with so much reverence as this: the people prostrate themselves on the earth before it, most of them with tears rolling down their cheeks, and all uttering cries of commiseration." Montaigne, Trans. "In St. Peter's at Rome, one of the chapels under the dome is dedicated to St. Veronica. An ancient image of our Saviour, painted on linen, and styled the Vera Icon (whence it is supposed that the name of Veronica is derived), is regarded by the people as the veritable napkin of St. Veronica, and is exhibited among the relics of the Church.' Mrs. Jameson. "To-day we gazed on the Veronica, the holy impression left by our Saviour's face on the cloth Sta. Veronica presented to him to wipe his brow, bowed under the weight of the cross. We had looked forward to this sight for days, for seven thousand years of indulgence from penance are attached to it. But when the moment came we could see nothing but a black board hung with a cloth, before which another white cloth was held. In a few minutes this was withdrawn, and the great moment was over, the glimpse of the sacred thing on which hung the fate of seven thousand years." E. R. Charles, Schönberg-Cotta "The strangest thing about the incident that has made her name so famous is, that, when she wiped the perspiration away, the print of the Savfour's face remained upon the handkerchief, a perfect portrait, and so remains unto this day. We knew this, because we saw this handkerchief in a cathedral in Paris, in another in Spain, and in two others in Italy. In the Milan cathedral it costs five francs to see it, and at St. Peter's at Rome it is almost impossible to see it at any price. No tradition is so amply verified as this of St. Veronica and her handkerchief." Mark Twain. As he who peradventure from Croatia But says in thought, the while it is displayed, My Lord, Christ Jesus, God of very Now was your semblance made like Dante, Paradiso. Trans. of Longfellow. 1644, 11 April. St. Veronica's handkerchief [with the impression of our Saviour's face] was exposed, and the next day the speare with a world of ceremonie. John Evelyn. Veronica, St. See St. VERONICA. Verplanck House. An old colonial mansion near Fishkill, N.Y., for a time the headquarters of Baron Steuben, in the Revolutionary War. Here in 1783 the Society of the Cincinnati was instituted. Versailles. A magnificent palace in the city of the same name, 10 miles from Paris. It was built by Louis XIV. in 1661. It became a royal residence in 1681. It was attacked by the mob at the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789. The palace is now used as an historical museum, and its immense galleries are adorned with paintings and statues arranged in chronological order. A grand park is connected with the palace. 4"Before us lies the palace dedicated to all the glories of France. Honored pile! Time was when tall musketeers and gilded body-guards allowed none to pass the gate. Fifty years ago, ten thousand drunken women from Paris broke through the charm; and now a tattered commissioner will conduct you through it for a penny, and lead you up to the sacred entrance of the palace. Let them disguise the place, however, as they will, and plas ter the walls with bad pictures as they please, it will be hard to think of any family but one, as one traverses this vast, gloomy edifice. It has not been humbled to the ground, as a certain palace of Babel was of yore; but it is a monument of fallen pride, not less awful, and would afford matter for a whole library of sermons. The cheap defence of nations expended a thousand millions in the erection of this magnificent dwelling-place. Armies were employed, in the intervals of their warlike labors, to level hills or pile them up; to turn rivers, and to build aqueducts, and transplant woods, and construct smooth terraces and long canals. A vast garden grew up in a wilderness, and a stupendous palace in the garden, and a stately city round the palace; the city was peopled with parasites who daily came to do worship before the creator of these wonders, the Great King. 'Dieu seul est grand,' said courtly Massillon; but next to him, as the prelate thought, was certainly Louis, his vice-gerent here upon earth, -God's lieutenant, governor of the world, before whom courtiers used to fall upon their knees, and shade their eyes, as if the light of his countenance, like the sun, which shone supreme in heaven, the type of him, was too dazzling to bear." Thackeray. "Versailles is the most complete type of the classic style. That palace was the seat and tomb of the old dynasty of French monarchs, and has held a great place in the history of France. Louis XIII. built at Versailles a sort of feudal château, flanked by four large pavilions at the angles, encircled by ditches with drawbridges. Louis XIV. continued his father's labors, but in his additions the feudal character is no longer seen. The mod. est hunting rendezvous of Louis XIII. presents towards the town a façade in stone and brick, the arrangement of which forms an agreeable perspective. The buildings were commenced a little after the death of Mazarin, in 1661, under the direction of Levan, and were continued by Mansart from 1670 to 1684. They were severely criticised by court retainers. Saint-Simon declared that the place chosen was unpleasant, sad, without view, without wood, without water, without land, because the ground was sandy and marshy." To this com plaint the finished structures are a victorious answer, opening as they do upon beautiful gardens, with a thousand fine views and vistas, and numberless sheets of water. It is only fair to say that the architects themselves experi enced a hundred difficulties in carrying out this undertaking. The chief diffi culty was to obtain funds. 90,000,000 of franes (which at the present day would be worth 400,000,000) were sunk at Versailles under Louis XIV., and Mirabeau valued the total expense at 1,200,000,000. There is no doubt that these enormous expenses affected the economy of the public finances, and largely contributed to the embarrassments which resulted in the fall of the monarchy. The façade overlooking the garden was a repetition of the arrangements common to all the great buildings of the reigns of Louis XIV. and Louis XV. Seen at sunset from near the Swiss lake, the profile of the façade produces a grand impression of nobleness and simplicity. The interior arrangement is imperfect; the vestibules are ill-placed; and the stairs do not correspond with the richness and grandeur of the apartments. But these defects are more than compensated for by the splendid pictures of Lebrun, Audran, Coypel, Jouvenet, Lafosse, and Lemoyne. Ancient statues, the rarest marbles, fine specimens of the goldsmith's art, jewels, and curiosities of every description, were formerly lavished on these empty saloons. We may still judge of the former splendor of Versailles by the famous Mirror Gallery. It is 228 feet long by 33. Its 17 great crosses correspond with the mirrors, which reflect the gardens and the lakes." Lefevre, Trans. Donald. He [Admiral Torrington) had long been in the habit of exacting the most abject homage from those who were under his command. His flagship was a little Ver sailles. Macaulay. Versailles! Up the chestnut alleys, Walter Thornbury. I do not think that on this earth, Véry's. A noted restaurant in I had eaten for a week at Very's before I discovered that since Pelham's day that gentleman's reputation has gone down. He is a subject for history at present. N. P. Willis. We are not prepared to say what sums were expended upon the painting of Very's .. or of other places of public resort in Thackeray. the capital. Vespasian, Temple of. See TEMPLE OF VESPASIAN. Vesta, Temple of. See TEMPLE OF VESTA. Via Appia. [Appian Way.] One of the great avenues leading from ancient Rome, and the principal line of communication with Southern Italy, Greece, and the East. It was begun by Appius Claudius Cæcus, the Censor, B.C. 312, from whom it derived its name. Under Pope Pius IX. this ancient road was laid open in the most interesting part of its extent. The Appian Way is about 11 Roman miles in length, and is remarkable for the number and magnificence of the tombs which lined it, and for the solid and durable construction of its pavement, which is now exposed for parts of its extent. "The Via Appia is a magnifi cent promenade amongst ruinous tombs, the massive remains of which extend for many miles over the Roman Campagna. The powerful families of ancient Rome loved to build monuments to their dead by the side of the public road, probably to exhibit at once their affection for their relations and their own power and affluence." Frederika Bremer. "The best known of the Roman roads, the Appian Way,. ... forms the most travelled route between Rome and Naples. . . . Such roads could not have been constructed unless the very workmen who wrought upon them had been impressed with the idea of the eternal duration of Rome." Hillard. "Even the Pyramids form hardly a stranger spectacle, or a more alien from human sympathies, than the tombs of the Appian Way, with their gigantic height, breadth, and solidity, defying time and the elements, and far too mighty to be demolished by ordinary earthquakes." Hawthorne. Then you must build up or uncover the massive tombs, now broken or choked with sand, so as to restore the aspect of vast streets of tombs like those on the Appian Way, out of which the Great Pyramid would rise like a cathedral above smaller churches. A. P. Stanley. "Is there time," I asked, "In these last days of railroads, to stop short Divergent paths to one imperial sway. Aubrey de Vere. Via Babuino. One of three streets diverging from the Piazza del Popolo in Rome. It extends to the Piazza di Spagna. Via Balbi. The principal street in Genoa, Italy, containing many fine palaces. Via de' Bardi. An ancient and historic street in Florence, Italy, which has of late in great part disappeared as a consequence of city improvements. The color of these objects was chiefly pale or sombre; the vellum bindings, with their deep-ridged backs, gave little relief to the marble livid with long burial, the dark bronzes wanted sunlight upon them to bring out their tinges of green, and the sun was not yet high enough to send gleams of brightness through the narrow windows that looked on the Via de' Bardi. George Eliot. Via Dolorosa. A narrow street about a mile in length, which pursues a winding or zigzag course through the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives to Golgotha, and which has borne its present name for the last few centuries. On this street the credulous may find the scenes of all the historical and legend ary events connected with the | Via Flaminia. [Flaminian Way.] Crucifixion. Here are situated the birthplace of the Virgin Mary, the house of St. Veronica, upon whose handkerchief or veil, used to wipe away his blood and sweat, the face of Jesus was miraculously impressed, and the church said to have been erected upon the spot where Mary swooned and fell at the time when her Son sank under the weight of the cross. "One cannot help wondering how the good old monks could manifest such childish simplicity in their inventions. A schoolboy in England would naturally ask how the present lane, with its sharp turns and numer ous windings, happens so exactly to correspond with the ancient one; or how arches, and walls, and staircases, and particular stones, and whole houses could remain intact, and be identified, after the total destruction of the city by the Romans, and the lapse of so many centuries. And yet so it is. Not a word is heard of the Via Dolorosa, and its eight stations, from monk or priest, traveller or pilgrim, previous to the fourteenth century. . There is something deeply interesting in it also to the artist and the historian; for here are the originals, if we may s0 call them, of some of the most celebrated works of European art, and here is the fountain-head of some of the most famous of European superstitions." Murray's Handbook. "The Procession to Calvary (Il Portamento del Croce) followed a path leading from the gate of Jerusa Iem to Mount Calvary, which has been kept in remembrance and sanctified as the Via Dolorosa." Mrs. Jameson. "Yonder steep, tortuous lane before us, flanked by ruined walls on either s'de, has borne, time out of mind, the title of Via Dolorosa; and tradition has fixed the spots where the Saviour rested, bearing his cross to Calvary." Thackeray. Via Felice. A well-known street in Rome, Italy, near the Piazza Barberini. Thence to Via Felix, a straite and noble streete but very precipitous, till we came to the Fountains of Lepidus, built at the abuttments of four stately wayes. John Evelyn, 1644. 'Twas in the Via Felice Half sunshine, half in shade. Julia Ward Howe. Formerly the chief northern road of Italy, so called from Caius Flaminius, by whom it was begun during his censorship in the third century B.C. It entered the city near the present Porta del Po polo. Via Mala. A celebrated Alpine gorge in the canton of the Grisons, Switzerland, in which the opposite walls of limestone rock rise in towering precipices on both sides, sometimes to the height of 1,500 feet. The road crosses the river Rhine three times, and the scenery is grand in the extreme. Via Mala Bergamesca. A remarkable gorge among the Italian Alps near Lovere. Via Nuova. [The New Street.] A well-known street in Genoa, Italy. Via Ripetta. One of three streets which diverge from the Piazza del Popolo in Rome. It leads somewhat in the direction of the Castle of St. Angelo and St. Peter's. [Sacred Way.] A Via Sacra. Ibam forte Via Sacrâ, sicut meus est mos, Along the Sacred Way Hither the triumph came, and, winding round With acciamation, and the martial clang Of instruments, and cars laden with spoil, Stopped at the sacred stair that then apSamuel Rogers. peared. Who would have thought that the saucy question, "Does your mother know you're out?" was the very same that Horace addressed to the bore who attacked him in the Via Sacra? Interpellandi locus hic erat: Est tibi mater? Cognati, queis te salvo est opus? Holmes. Victoires, Place des. See PLACE DES VICTOIRES. Victoria Bell. A large bell at Leeds, England, hung in the |