or western ocean. The church is an ancient edifice. Here are several meeting-houses for dissenters; and also a free school. Population 2779. 13 miles N. E. of Stafford, and 136 N. W. of London.

UVA, a lake of Asiatic Russia, in the government of Tobolsk, about 28 miles in circumference, 68 miles S. E. of Tobolsk. UWCHLAND, a township of the United States, in Chester county, Pennsylvania. Population 1178.

UXBRIDGE, a township and chapelry of England, in the parish of Hillingdon, Middlesex. The town consists of one street, nearly a mile in length. The river Coln runs in two streams at the west end, having a new brick bridge over the main branch. That part of the town called Hillingdonend, and which is not in the liberties of the township, still remains unpaved, but the rest is paved and lighted by virtue of an act of parliament. The church or chapel of ease is a good building, and was erected in the reign of Henry VI.; near it is a very commodious market-house. The church-yard lies at some distance from the church. In a parallel line with the river, running from south to north, passes the Grand Junction canal, from the Thames at New Brentford, crossing the Coln several times from Cowley to Rickmansworth. Near the canal is an ancient building, called the treaty-house, from its being the place where the commissioners of Charles 1. and the parliament met in 1844. It is now the crown inn. In the vicinity anciently called Heiling Down, from whence the parish derived the name of Hillingdon, are the remains of a camp, supposed to have been thrown up by the Britons, against their invaders, the Romans. In the neighbourhood are many corn-mills, giving a great supply of flour to the metropolis, both by land and water carriage. The town is governed by two bailiffs, two constables, and four headboroughs. Uxbridge is noted for the whiteness of its bread, and gives title of earl to the family of Page. Market on Thursday. Fairs 25th March, 31st July, 29th September, and 11th October, for corn, cattle, provision, &c.; and the two latter are statute fairs. 15 miles from London.

UXBRIDGE, a post township of the United States, in Worcester county, Massachusetts. It borders on Rhode island, and is watered by Blackstone, Mumford, and West rivers. It is a pleasant and consider able agricultural town, and contains valuable mills, and some manufacturing establishments. 18 miles S. S. E. of Worcester, and 40 S. W. of Boston. Population 1404.

UXIXAR, or UXIJAR, a small inland town in the south of Spain, in Granada, among the mountains of Alpujarras, 14 miles E. S. E. of Granada.

UXMORE, a hamlet of England, in Oxfordshire, N. W. of Henley-upon-Thames. Uxo, a town of the east of Spain, in Valencia, with 2800 inhabitants. 32 miles N. by E. of Valencia.

UXUMI, or OOSUMI, a town of Ximo, in Japan. Long. 133. E. Lat. 32. N.

UYA, a small pasture island in Shetland, which covers a safe harbour of the same name on the north coast of the Mainland.

It is esteemed very valuable for pasture.

UYA, a small island in Shetland, about a square mile in extent, lying on the south coast of the island of Unst, between which is the safe and commodious harbour called Uya sound. It is uninhabited, but affords good pasture for sheep and black cattle.

UZEL, a small town in the north-west of France, in Brittany, department of the Cotes du Nord. It stands near the small river Oust, and has 1700 inhabitants, employed partly in the manufacture of linen. 9 miles N. W. of Loudeac, and 18 S. E. of St Brieux.

UZERCHE, a small town in the interior of France, department of the Correze, situated on the river Vezere, and on the declivity of a hill. It contains 2400 inhabitants, and has glass-works. 15 miles N. W. of Tulle, and 20 N. of Brives.

UZES, a town in the south-east of France, the capital of an arrondissement in the department of the Gard. It is situated on the river Eugenne, with an old castle, a cathedral, and 6400 inhabitants. It has a variety of manufactures, each on a small scale, viz. silk, woollens, leather, and starch. It has also a noted mineral spring. 12 miles N. of Nimes, and 20 W. of Avignon.

UZESTE, a small town in the south-west of France, department of the Gironde, with 1000 inhabitants.

UZLIEKS, a numerous race of Tartars, who have now conquered and occupied the greater part of Independent Tartary. See Tartary, Independent.

UZNACH, a small town in the north-east of Switzerland, the chief place of a district in the canton of St Gall, not far from the eastern extremity of the lake of Zurich. The town is tolerably built; the inhabitants are for the most part Catholics; and the adjacent country is laid out chiefly in wood land and pasturage. 23 miles S. E. of Zurich.

UZWEIL, or UPPER UZWEIL, a large village in the north-east of Switzerland, in the canton of St Gall and the Lower Toggenburg, 13 miles W. of St Gall, on the road to Zurich.

The west point is in Long. 13. 37. W. Lat. 18. 4. N.

VACHE ET LE TORREAU, or Cow AND BULL ROCKS, on the south coast of Newfoundland island, are about a mile southeast of Cape St Mary, which is the point between the deep bay of Placentia on the west, and St Mary's bay on the east. They are fair above water; but there are others near them which lurk under water.

VACHER (RUISSEAU), a small river of Lower Canada, which, after a winding course of nearly 20 miles, falls into the Assumption, which carries it southward to the great river St Lawrence.

VACHERY, a hamlet of England, in the parish of Crauley, county of Surrey.

VADAMIA, a village of Irak Arabi, on the Euphrates, 105 miles N. N. W. of Bassora.

VADILKORA, or VADI AL KORA, a town of Hedsjas, in Arabia, 56 miles N. of Medina.

VADKERT, a small town in the west of Hungary, on the river Lokos, 35 miles N. of Pest.

VADO, a small town in the north-west of Italy, in the duchy of Genoa, situated on the sea coast, with a small harbour, and a citadel built on a rock. Population about 2000. 6 miles S. W. of Savona, and 27 W. by S. of Genoa.

VADUTZ, a petty town of the south-west of Germany, in the principality of Lichtenstein. It contains only 600 inhabitants; and its district, though termed a county, contains only 700 more. 39 miles S. E. of Constance, and 6 N. of Meyenfeld.

VAE'S ISLAND, ANTHONY, & Small island on the east coast of Brazil, in South America. It lies to the southward of the sandy Receif, and opposite to it, which is joined to the continent by a bridge.

VAELS, a manufacturing place of the Netherlands, in the province of Limburg, with 2500 inhabitants, employed chiefly in the manufacture of woollens and needles. This petty town contains chapels not only for Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists, but for Mennonites and Jews. 3 miles W. of Aix la Chapelle, and 17 E. by S. of Maestricht.

VAGAIE, a river of Tobolsk, in Asiatic Russia, which, after a course of upwards of 100 miles, falls into the Irtysch.

VAGIOW, a town on the west coast of the island of Celebes.

VAGLIANO, a small town in the north of Italy, in the grand duchy of Tuscany, province of Florence, on the river Chiana.

VAGLIO, a small town in the south of the kingdom of Naples, in the Basilicata. VAGNEY, a small town in the north-east of France, department of the Vosges, on

the small river Vagney, with 1800 inhabitants. 6 miles E, of Remiremont, and 17 S. E. of Epinal.

VAGUARE, a river of New Granada, in the province of Neiva, which runs east, and enters the Magdalena.

VAIGATZ, an island, or assemblage of islands, in the north of European Russia, in the Frozen ocean, between Nova Zembla and the Continent. The land is low, rocky, and incapable of cultivation, equally from the soil and climate, so that it is only visited occasionally by the hunters of the bear and other animals of a cold climate. These hunters come from the adjacent parts of Russia on the main land.

VAIGATZ, a strait of European Russia, between the government of Archangel and the island of Vaigatz, and between the Frozen ocean and the gulf of Cara. This remote passage was discovered by the Dutch in 1594, and carefully explored by the Russians between 1735 and 1739.

VAIHINGEN, a small town of the west of Germany, in Wirtemberg, on the river Enz, 11 miles N. W. of Stutgard. Population 2700.

VAIHINGEN, another large village of Wirtemberg, near Esslingen. Population 1200.

VAILA, a small island of Shetland, lying at the entrance of a creek, on the west coast of the Mainland, called from it Vaila sound. It is about a mile long, and as much broad, and lies in the parish of Walls and Sandness. Near its middle stands the house of Melbie, the residence of the proprietor of the island.

VAILLAC, a small inland town in the south of France, department of the Lot. It has 2000 inhabitants, and is 16 miles N. of Cahors.

VAILLY, a small town in the north-east of France, department of the Aisne, with 1300 inhabitants. 9 miles N. of Soissons, and 12 S. by W. of Laon.

VAISON, a small town in the south-east of France, department of the Vaucluse, situated on an eminence near the small river Auveze. It has a castle, a population of 2200, and was the birth-place of the Roman historian Trogus Pompeias. It still exhibits several Roman ruins. 9 miles E. by N. of Orange, and 25 N. E. of Avignon.

VAJASD, a small town of Transylvania, in the county of Lower Weissenburg, near the Marosch.

VAJDA-HUNYAD. See Eisenmarkt.

VAKE, a small river of England, in the county of Cornwall, which falls into Falmouth harbour.

VAKUP, or AKHISSAR, a fort or castle in the north-west of European Turkey, in Bosnia, situated on the eastern side of the

Travnik.

VAL D' AMOUR. See Dole.

VAL DE BAGNES, or BAGNERTHAL, a village and valley near the south-west corner of Switzerland, in the Valais. This valley produces more corn than is wanted for its inhabitants, which in Switzerland is a rare case. The mineral springs, from which it derived its name, have been destroyed by repeated avalanches. The village of Bagues is 13 miles S. S. W. of Sion. VAL CARLOS, a valley in the north-east of Spain, in Navarre, among the Pyrennees, remarkable as the spot where the rear guard of Charlemagne was defeated by the inhabitants of Navarre, in 778.

VAL DI DEMONA, VAL DI NOTO, &c. See Demona, Noto, &c.

VAL D'ISERE, a village in Savoy, county of Tarantaise, near the source of the river Isere.

VAL-OMBROSA, a celebrated monastery in the north of Italy, in Tuscany, situated among the Appennines. It is remarkable for its secluded situation, for its coolness in the heat of summer, and for the wild and romantic scenery that surrounds it. 20 miles E. of Florence.

VAL DE PENNAS, a town of the south of Spain, in the province of La Mancha. It contains about 8000 inhabitants, who manufacture woollen stuffs and soap; but their principal employment is agriculture. In the neighbourhood is produced the best red wine in the kingdom, which is commonly drunk at the king's table. The environs produce very good saffron; and the bread made here is of particular excellence. 90 miles S. S. E. of Toledo, and 113 S. of Madrid. Long. 3. 24. 1. W. Lat. 38. 45. 5. N.

VAL SUGANA, a large and fruitful valley, in the south of Tyrol, on the borders of the Venetian territory. The chief place is the small town of Levico, and at the southern extremity stands the fortress of Kosel. The valley is traversed by the Brenta, and by the great road from Trent to Venice. See Borgo di Val Sugana.

VALAIS, a canton in the south of Switzerland, bounded by the cantons of Uri, Bern, and Friburg, and in another direction by Savoy and the lake of Geneva. It lies in the direction of north-east and southwest, and is of an oblong form, its length being about 100 miles, and its medium breadth from 25 to 30. Its extent, greater than the average of our counties, is computed at 1850 square miles, but its thinly scattered population does not exceed 14,000. It is the largest valley in Switzerland, watered in its whole extent by the Rhone, and bordered on the north, as on the south,

country exhibits a greater diversity in its productions, the low ground being hot, the ascent of the mountains temperate, and the high ground approaching to the climate of Norway and Iceland. Hence, harvest in the valley is finished by the end of May, while in other districts its activity is greatest in September and October. The scenery exhibits a contrast equally striking: the vales remind the traveller of those of Tuscany, while the mountains are covered with forests, rocks, precipices, and glaciers.

The religion of the inhabitants of the Valais is the Catholic; the language of the mountainous parts is German; that of the low ground a dialect of French, the inhabitants being a mixed race, descended from the aborigines of France and Italy. Their manners are those of a simple, ill educated people; they are superstitious, strangers to activity, and to the arts of manufacture. The rearing of cattle is the only employment of consequence; their traffic is confined to the sale of cattle, and of a little corn and wine. As to its history, this petty community was formerly an independent republic in alliance with Switzerland; it formed, under Bonaparte, adepartment of the French empire; and was declared one of the cantons of Switzerland by the congress of Vienna. The capital is the small town of Sion.

VALBERT, a large village of Prussian Westphalia, in the county of Mark. Population 1500. 20 miles S. E. of Arensburg, and 36 E. of Cologne.

VALCARES, a considerable lake in the south-east of France, department of the Mouths of the Rhone, arrondissement of Tarascon, near the sea.

VALDAGNA, a small town of Austrian Italy, in the delegation of Vicenza, on the river Gua, with manufactures of woollens. 20 miles N. N. W. of Verona.

VALDAI, MOUNTAINS OF, an elevated track of country in the central part of European Russia, lying between Moscow, Toropez, Smolensk, and Tula. They are connected with the mountains of Olonetz, and were known to the older geographers by the name of Mons Alaunus, though in fact they are less a series of mountains than a table land of great extent, though of slight elevation; for none of them rises above the height of 1200 feet. Yet so level in general is European Russia, that many of the largest rivers of the empire have their rise here, such as the Don, the Wolga, the Dnieper, and the Oka.

VALDAI, a small town in the north of European Russia, in the government of Novgorod. It stands on a beautiful and romantic lake, surrounded by precipices

VALDERIES, a small town in the southwest of France, department of the Tarn, with 1400 inhabitants. 6 miles N. N. E. 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 comprehends a track of about 70 leagues in length. It lies upon the sea-coast, on both sides of the great river Valdivia, and on the south is bounded by the country of the Guinchi or Cunchi, who are in possession of its southern part. It is about twelve leagues long and six broad, and abounds with valuable timber, and with gold dust, esteemed the purest of any in Chili.

VALDIVIA, the capital of the above province, a celebrated city, and strong fortress, situated on the southern shore of the river of its name, at three leagues distance from the sea. This city was founded in the year 1551, by the conqueror Pedro de Valdivia, who gave it his name, and obtained immense sums of gold from its vicinity. Its wealth allured many inhabitants thither, and it became, even at its commencement, one of the most populous cities in the kingdom. It was twice besieged ineffectually by the Toqui Caupolican, but it was not so fortunate in resisting the talents and activity of the celebrated Paillamachu. In the year 1590 it was surprised at night by that general, with 4000 inen, who killed the greater part of the garrison, consisting of 800 soldiers, and, having burned the city, carried off a million in gold, and a valuable booty, consisting of the effects of the inhabitants, together with a great number of prisoners. The Spaniards, convinced of the importance of this situation, rebuilt it anew, and fortified it so strongly, that it resisted all the attempts of the Araucanians. It was, however, taken in the year 1640 by the Dutch, who, notwithstanding they were determined to keep it, were compelled to abandon it, being frustrated in their attempts to form an alliance with the Araucanians and the Cunchi, who even refused to supply them with provisions, of which they were in great want. The Spaniards, who had fitted out a considerable

VOL. VI. PART 15.

fleet to retake it, finding it on their arrival abandoned, repaired and fortified it in a better manner than before, adding four strong castles or forts upon both sides of the river towards the sea, to defend it from foreign invasion, and another on the north to protect it from the incursions of the Araucanians. These precautions have hi therto succeeded in securing it against external enemies, but it has suffered severely from fire, which has twice almost entirely destroyed it. The harbour is situated in a beautiful bay, formed by the river, and is the safest, the strongest from its natural position, and the most capacious of any of the ports in the South sea. The island of Manzera, situated just in the mouth of the river, forms two passages, bordered by steep mountains, and strongly fortified. The town contains a college built by the Jesuits, several convents, a parochial church, and a royal hospital. It was formerly governed by a military officer, nominated from Spain; but, along with the rest of the kingdom, it is now happily independent of the mother country. 183 miles S. from La Conception. Long. 80. 5. W. Lat. 40. 5. S.

VALDIVIA, a river of Chili, on which the aforesaid place is situated. It has its rise eastward in the Andes, and it runs into the Pacific ocean. Its stream is clear, and it is so deep, that ships of the greatest burden come close up to the city of Valdivia, and lie close to the quays. The fields and territories on the shores of this river are most fertile, and yield much wheat, pulse, and fruit, though the grapes here come to no perfection. The territory abounds in all kinds of cattle and birds, and in timber excellent for building ships; and not less so in mines of gold, of as rich quality as that of the mines of Carabaya in Peru, which is the best known.

VALE OF WHITE HORSE, a fertile track of land in England, in the county of Berks, extending from Farringdon 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 strong green turf of the hill, that the figure may be sometimes seen at the distance of twelve miles.

VALEDIA, a small seaport 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. Valedia, from the circuit of its. walls, appears anciently to have been a place of some importance; but the greater

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