nterus a continuation of that of the vagina, For the latter stretches beyond the former, and, being joined to the cervix, is reflected over the os uteri, which, by this mode of union, is suspended with protuberant lips in the vagina, and permitted to change its position in various ways and directions. When therefore these parts are distended and unfolded at the time of labour, they are continued into each other, and there is no part which can properly be considered as the precise beginning of the uterus or termination of the vagina,

The diseases of the vagina are, first, such an abbreviation and contraction as render it unfit for the uses for which it was designed: secondly, a cohesion of the sides in consequence of preceding ulceration: thirdly, cicatrices after an ulceration of the parts: fourthly, excres cences: fifthly, fluor albus. This abbreviation and contraction of the vagina, which usually accompany each other, are produced by original defective formation, and they are seldom discovered before the time of marriage, the consunmation of which they sometimes prevent. The curative intentions are to relax the parts by the use of emollient applications, and to dilate them to their proper size by sponge or other tents, or, which are more effectual, by bougies gradually enlarged.

Another kind of constriction of the external parts sometimes occurs, and which seems to be a mere spasm, By the violence or long continuance of a labour, by the morbid state of the constitution, or by the negligent and improper use of instruments, an inflammation of the external parts or vagina is sometimes produced in such a degree as to endanger a mortification. By careful management this consequence is usually prevented, but in some cases, when the constitution of the patient was prone to disease, the external parts have sloughed away, and in others equal injury has been done to the vagina. But the effect of the inflammation is usually confined to the internal or villous coat, which is sometimes cast off wholly or partially. An ulcerated surface being thus left, when the disposition to heal has taken place, cicatrices have been formed of different kinds, according to the depth and extent of the ulceration; and there being no counteraction to the contractile state of the parts, the dimensions of the vagina become much reduced, or, if the ulceration should not be healed, and the contractibility of the parts continue to operate, the ulcerated surfaces being brought together may cohere, and the canal of the vagina be perfectly closed.

Cicatrices in the vagina very seldom become an impediment to the connexion between the sexes; when they do, the same kind of assistance is required as was recommended in the natural contraction or abbreviation of the part; they always give way to the pressure of the head of the child in the time of labour, though in many cases with great difficulty. Sometimes the appearances may mislead the judgment: Dr. Denman was called to a woman in labour, who was thought to have become pregnant;

the hymen remained unbroken; but, on making very particular inquiry, he discovered that this was her second labour, and that the part which from its form and situation was supposed to be the hymen, with a small aperture, was a cicatrice, or unnatural contraction of the entrance into the vagina, consequent to an ulceration of the part after her former labour. Fungous excrescences arising from any part of the vagina or uterus have been distin guished, though not very properly, by the general term polypus. See POLYPUS. NERVES. The outer

VAGINA OF THE covering of the nerves. By some it is said to be a production of the pia inater only, and by others of the dura mater, because it agrees with it in tenacity, colour, and texture.

VAGINA OF THE TENDONS. A loose mem branous sheath formed of cellular membrane, investing the tendons, and containing an unctuous juice, which is secreted by the vessels of its internal surface. Ganglions are nothing more than an accumulation of this juice.

VAGINALES. The name of the twentyseventh order in Linnéus's Fragments of a Natural Method in his Philosophia Botanica.

VAGINALIS. Sheathbill. In zoology, a genus of the class aves, order grallæ. Bill strong, thick, conic-convex, compressed; the upper mandible covered above with a moveable horny sheath; nostrils small, placed before the sheath; tongue above round, beneath flattened, pointed at the tip; face naked, papillous; wings with an obtuse excrescence under the flexure; legs strong, four-toed, naked a little above the knees; toes rough beneath; claws grooved; one species only, V. alba, white sheath bill, which inhabits New Zealand and the South Sea Islands; from fifteen to eighteen inches long: feeds on shell-fishes and carcasses.

VAGINANT LEAF, in botany. A sheathing leaf. See SHEATHING. VAGINATE STEM, in botany. A sheathed stem. See SHEATHEd.

VAGINOPE'NNOUS. a. (vagina and penna, Latin.) Sheath-winged; having the wings covered with hard cases.

VA'GOUS. a. (vagus, Lat. vague, French.) Wandering; unsettled: not in use (Ayliffe). VA'GRANCY. s. (from vagrant.) A state of wandering; unsettled condition. VA'GRANT. a. Wandering; unsettled; vagabond; unfixed in place (Prior).

VAGRANTS, in law, are divided into three classes: 1st. Idle and disorderly persons. These, as described by the vagrant act, consist of those who threaten to run away and leave their wives and children to the parish. All persons returning to a parish whence they have been legally removed, without bringing a certificate from the parish to which they belong. All who, not having wherewith to maintain themselves, refuse to work. All who beg alms from door to door, or in the streets and highways. Likewise those who, not using proper means to get employment, or possessing ability to work, refuse to do it; or spend money in alehouses, or in any improper manner; and by

not employing a proper proportion of their earnings towards the maintenance of their families, suffer them to become chargeable to the parish. The punishment for these offences is a commitment to the house of correction, and hard labour, for any definite time not exceed ing a month; the time must be set forth in the warrant of commitment, which must also shew the authority of the person committing. The commitment must be in execution, that is to say, for punishment; and being so, the justice must make a record of the conviction, and transmit the same to the sessions. Any person may apprehend and carry such persons before a magistrate; and if they resist or escape, the shall be punished as rogues and vagabonds: the reward for such apprehension is five shillings, to be paid by the overseer of the parish. 2. Rogues and vagabonds. No infant under the age of seven years can be called a rogue and vagabond, but shall be removed to its place of settlement, like other paupers.

The following is a list of those who are deemed rogues and vagabonds. All persons gathering alms under pretended losses; persons going about as collectors for prisons or hospitals; fencers; bearwards; common players not legally authorised; minstrels; jugglers; real or pretended gypsies; fortune-tellers; any persons using any subtle craft to impose upon any of his majesty's subjects, or playing at unlawful gaines, or any who have run away and left their wives and children a charge to the parish; all petty chapmen and pedlars not authorised by law; all persons not giving a good account of themselves; all beggars pretending to be soldiers or seamen, or pretending to go to work in harvest; or illegal dealers in lottery tickets and shares. And all other persons wandering abroad and begging, shall be deemed rogues and vagabonds: the reward for apprehending, such persons is 10s., to be paid by the high constable, on an order from the justice. There is a penalty of 10s. on a constable who refuses or neglects to apprehend them.

3. Incorrigible rogues, are all end-gatherers, offending against the stat. 13 Geo.; which is collecting, buying, receiving, or carrying, any ends of yarn, wefts, thrums, short yarn, or other refuse of cloth or woollen goods. All persons apprehended as rogues and vagabonds, and escaping, or refusing to go before a justice, or refusing to be conducted by the pass, or giving a false account of themselves on examination, after warning. All rogues or vagabonds escaping from the house of correction before the expiration of the time of their commitment; and all who have been punished as rogues and vagabonds, and repeat the offence.

There is by 17 Geo. II. c. 25, a privy search appointed; and the justices or two of them four times a year at least meet, and command the constables of every ward or parish, properly assisted, to make a general search in one night, and canse all vagrants that shall be found on such search to be brought before a justice; and two justices, in case such person is charg ed as a vagrant, or on suspicion of felony, may

examine him; and if he cannot shew some lawful way of getting his livelihood, or procure bail for his reappearance, may commit him for a certain time not exceeding six days; and if, after advertising his person, and any thing about him suspected to be stolen, no accusation is brought, he shall be discharged, or dealt with according to law. All rogues and vagabonds are examined upon oath as to their parish, and the written examination signed by them and the justice, and transmitted to the sessions.

The punishment is public whipping or confinement to the house of correction till the next sessions, or any less time; and if at the sessions the court adjudge such person a rogue and vagabond, or an incorrigible rogue, they may order such rogue or vagabond to the house of correction and hard labour for six months, or such incorrigible rogue for not less than six months or more than two years, and during his confinement to be whipped as they shall think fit. And if such rogue or vagabond is a male above 12 years old, the court may, after his confinement, send him to be employed in his majesty's service; and if such incorrigible rogue shall make his escape, or offend a second time, he shall be transported for seven years. After such whipping or confinement, the justice may, by a pass under his hand (of which a duplicate shall be filed at the next sessions), cause him to be conveyed to the place of his last legal residence, and if that cannot be found, to the place of his birth; and if they are under 14 years of age, and have parents living, then to the place of their abode; and the parish to which the vagrant shall be conveyed shall employ him in some work house till he gets some employment; and if he refuses to work, he shall be sent to the house of correction and hard labour.

The general tenor of the laws respesting va grants is extremely severe, and very justly so; and it is the duty of every justice of the peace to keep his district free from this class, as they are great burthens to the parish, and very difficult to be removed. For the best account of the vagrant act, vide Burn's Justice, vol. 4, article Vagrant.

VAGUE. a. (vague, French; vagus, Lat.) 1. Wandering; vagrant; vagabond (Hayw.), 2. Unsettled; undetermined (Locke)."

VAHLIA, in botany, a genus of the class pentandria, order digynia. Calyx five-leaved; corol five-petalled; capsule inferior, one-celled, many-seeded. One species, a herb of the Cape.

VAIL. s. (vaile, French.) 1. A curtain; a cover thrown over any thing to be concealed (Wisdom). 2. A part of female dress, by which the face is concealed. See VEIL. Money given to servants. See VALE.

3.

To VAIL. v. a. To cover. See VEIL. To VAIL. v. a. (avaler le bonet, French.) 1. To let fall; to suffer to descend (Carew). 2. To let fall in token of respect (Knolles). 3. To fall; to let sink in fear, or for any other interest (Shakspeare).

VALENCE, a city of France, in the department of Drome, with a bishop's see, a citadel, and a school of artillery. It is surrounded by good walls, and the greatest part of the public places, and many private houses, are adorned with fountains. Beside the handsome cathedral, there are many other churches, as well as late convents, that are worthy of notice. It is seated on the Rhone, 30 miles N. by E. of Viviers, and 335 S. by E. of Paris. Lon. 4. 52 E. Lat. 44. 56 N.

VALENCE, a town of France, in the department of Lot and Garonne, situate on the Garonne, 12 miles S.E. of Agen.

VALENCA D'ALCANTARA, a cousiderable town of Spain, in Estremadura, with an old castle. It is surrounded by walls after the antique manner, flanked by some small bastions, and a few towers; is very strong by situation, being built on a rock, near the river Savar, 20 miles S.W. of Alcantara, and 40 N. of Badajoz. Lon. 6. 30 W. Lat. 39. 26 N. VALENCEY, a town of France, in the department of Indre, with a castle, seated on the Nabon, 15 miles S. of Romorentin.

VALENCIA, a province of Spain, formerly a kingdom; bounded on the E. and S. by the Mediterranean, on the N.E. by Catalonia, on the N.W. by Arragon, and on the W. by New Castile and Murcia. It is 162 miles long and 62 broad, and is the most pleasant and populous country in Spain; for here they enjoy a perpetual spring. It is watered by a great number of streams, which render it fertile in all the necessaries of life, especially fruits and wine; and in the mountains are mines of gold, silver, and alum. The inhabitants are much more lively than in other parts of Spain; and the women are handsomer.

VALENCIA, a city of Spain, capital of a province of the same name, with an archbishop's see, and a university. The Moors were expelled from it, in the thirteenth century. It was taken by the earl of Peterborough in 1705, and lost again two years after. It contains 12,000 houses within the walls, beside those in the suburbs and pleasure gardens around it, which amount to the same number. The cathedral has a steeple 130 feet high, and one side of the choir is incrusted with alabaster, and adorned with fine paintings of scripture history; the high altar is covered with silver, and lighted with fourteen silver lamps. The palace of the viceroy, that of Ciuta, the monastery of St. Jerom, the exchange, and the arsenal, are all worthy of notice. Here are flourishing manufactures of cloth and silk, and several remains of antiquity. It is seated on the Guadalavia (over which are five bridges)

near the Mediterranean, 130 miles E.S.E. of Madrid. Lon. 0. 10 E. Lat. 39. 23 N.

VALENCIA (New), a town of Terra Firma, in the province of Caraccas, seated on the lake Tocarigua, 57 miles S.W. of Porto Cavallo. Lon. 65. 30 W. Lat. 9. 50 N.

VALENCIENNES, a city of France, in the department of the North. It contains about 20,000 souls, and the Scheldt divides it into two parts. It is a very important place: the citadel and fortifications were constructed by order of Lewis XIV., who took this town from the Spaniards; and it was confirmed to him by the treaty of Nimeguen, in 1678. In 1793, it was taken by the allies, after a severe siege; but it surrendered, without resistance, to the French, in 1794. Beside lace, this city is noted for manufactures of woollen stuffs and cambric. It is 28 miles S.E. of Lisle, and 120 N.N.E. of Paris. Lou. 3. 32 E. Lat. 50. 21 N.

VALENS (Flavius), a son of Gratian, born in Pannonia. His brother Valentinian took him as his colleague on the throne, and appointed him over the eastern parts of the Roman empire. The bold measures and threats of the rebel Procopius frightened Valens, and he would willingly have resigned to him all his pretensions to the empire. By his lenity he permitted some of the Goths to settle in the provinces of Thrace, and encouraged them to make depredations on his subjects, and to disturb their tranquillity. His eyes were opened too late; he attempted to repel them, but he failed in the attempt. A bloody battle was fought, in which the barbarians obtained some advantage, and Valens took shelter in a lonely house, which the Goths set on fire. Unable to make his escape, he was burnt alive in the fiftieth year of his age, after a reign of fifteen years, A. D. 378. Valens did not possess any of the great qualities which distinguish a great and powerful monarch.

VALENTINA, in botany, a genus of the class octandria, order monogynia. Calyx five-parted, coloured, spreading; corolless; capsule berried, four-seeded, pulpy. One species only, a branched shrub of Hispaniola, with alternate leaves, and terminal, umbelled, scarlet flowers.

VALENTINE'S DAY, in the calendar, the fourteenth of February.

VALENTINE, a sweetheart chosen on Valentine's day.

VALENTINIANS, in ecclesiastical history, an ancient and famous sect of Gnostics; thus called from their leader Valentinus, an Egyptian by birth, who was eminently distinguished by the extent of his fame, and the multitude of his followers. He lived in the days of Polycarp, went to Rome in the pontificate of Hyginus, flourished in the reign of Antoninus Pius, and continued to the time of Anicetus. Vide Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 11. His sect, which took its rise at Rome, grew up to maturity in the isle of Cyprus, and spread itself through Asia, Africa, and Europe, with amazing rapidity. His principles were much