The four strings are tuned thus:-E, A, d, g; and all are an octave deeper than the corresponding ones of the violoncello. (q. v.) As there is necessarily much difficulty in managing this instrument, composers ought not to load it with passages which can be but imperfectly executed.

VIOTTI, Giovanni Battista, the first violinist of his age, was a Piedmontese, born near Crescentino, in 1755, studied under Pugnani, and, in his twenty-first year, was made first violinist at the royal chapel in Turin. He afterwards visited Berlin and Paris. On the breaking out of the revolution, he took refuge in England, and, from the year 1794 till 1798, had a share in the management of the king's theatre, himself leading in the orchestra. Having received an order from the alien office to quit the country, he retired to Holland, and thence to Hamburg. In 1801, he returned to London, engaged in the wine trade, and lost the whole of his property. After the restoration of the Bourbons, Louis XVIII invited him to preside over the académie royale de musique at Paris, which situation he accepted, but did not retain it long, owing to his increasing age and bodily infirmities. In 1822, he settled finally in London, and there remained till his death in the spring of 1824. He was the author of a great variety of music for the violin; but the only two vocal compositions are the polaccas Che Gioja, and Consola, Amato Bene, both masterpieces in their way.

VIPER. (See Serpent.)

VIRGIL. Publius Virgilius Maro, the most distinguished epic, didactic and pastoral poet of ancient Rome, was born at Andes (now Petiola), a little village near Mantua, in the year 70 B. C. His father possessed a small estate there, which he cultivated himself. Virgil travelled to Cremona, Milan and Naples for the purpose of improvement, and studied the Epicurean philosophy under a certain Syro. Varus, to whom the sixth eclogue is addressed, was probably his fellow pupil. It has been generally supposed that the poems which bear the inscription Catalecta Virgilii, were composed by him at an early age; but modern criticism has shown that some of them are evidently not his, and that others are of uncertain date. If we are to suppose that Virgil describes himself under the character of Tityrus in his first eclogue, he was thirty years of age when he went to Rome for the first time, to obtain the restoration of his farm, which had been taken possession of by the soldiers of Octavius and An

tony, after the close of the war against the republicans. He was here presented, by Pollio or some other friend, to Augustus, and gained the favor of Mæcenas, through whose intercession he obtained the restitution of his property. But on his attempting to take possession of it, the new occupants resisted him, and threatened his life; and it was not until after a second journey to Rome, and repeated efforts, that he finally succeeded in his object. About this time, he wrote several eclogues, the tenth and last of which is ascribed to the thirty-third or thirty-fourth year of his age. His Georgics (poem on agriculture), which he undertook at the suggestion of Mæcenas, are said, by grammarians, to have been begun in his thirtyfourth year. He is said to have spent seven years upon this work, which was principally composed at Naples; but these accounts of him are not well authenticated. It is certain that the Æneid is his last work. Virgil was now in high favor with Augustus, with whom he kept up a familiar correspondence. After completing the plan of his great epic, he retired to Greece, with the design of accomplishing it there at his leisure. But Augustus having arrived at Athens, on his return from the East, Virgil determined to accompany him home. At Megara, however, he fell sick; and, his disease becoming aggravated on the journey, he died at Brundusium, or, according to some, at Tarentum, in the fifty-second year of his age, B. C. 19. His body was carried to Naples, in compliance with his directions, and there interred in the Puteolan way. (See Naples.) According to wellauthenticated accounts, the poet, on his death-bed, ordered the Æneid to be burnt, as an unfinished and defective work; but it was preserved by his friends, in disobedience to his wishes. This circumstance is characteristic of the modesty of Virgil. He was likewise of a mild and gentle disposition, without pretensions in his manners, and constant in his friendship. As a poet, the first place must be assigned to him among the many distinguished authors of his age. If he had not the inventive talent in its highest degree-for in his Eclogues he imitated Theocritus, in his Georgics, Hesiod, and in his Æneid, Homer-yet he deserves our admiration for his command of language, which he displays in all gradations, from the simplest and sweetest strains of the pastoral, to the most splendid and lofty descriptions of the epic; for the beauty of his versification, in which, particularly in georgic

poetry, he is unrivalled; and for the taste and skill with which he manages all the materials of poetry. These qualities have always procured him numerous and zealous admirers; and he has found many imitators, both in ancient and modern times. The popular traditions of the middle ages in Italy, represented him as a magician; and his verses were referred to as of prophetic power, in the well-known sortes Virgiliana. Of the editions of Virgil, the most complete is that of Burmann (Amsterdam, 1746, 4 vols. 4to.); the most esteemed for its commentaries and critical apparatus, that of Heyne (8 vols., 8vo., 1793). The most celebrated of the ancient commentators is Servius (A.D. 400), whose commentaries have been published separately, and in the principal editions of the works of Virgil. Of his English translators, the most popular are Dryden, Pitt, Warton and Sotheby, to which is to be added the recent version of John Ring (in 2 vols., 8vo.). The Bucolics and Georgics have been published separately by professor Martyn, of Cambridge, with an English version in prose, and valuable notes illustrative of the botany, &c. Voss has translated the Georgics into German hexameters, and Delille the Æneid and the Georgics into

French verse.

VIRGIL, Polydore, a historical writer of the sixteenth century, was born at Urbino, in Italy. One of his first productions was a collection of Latin poems, which was followed, in 1499, by his work De Rerum Inventoribus, which has been often republished. Pope Alexander VI sent him to England, as collector of the tribute called Peter's pence; and he was the last person who held that office in that country previously to the reformation under Henry VIII. That prince bestowed on him the archdeaconry of Wells, and several other benefices in the church; and, at the request of Henry, he composed a general History of England, from the earliest ages to his own time. This work, which is written in Latin, considered as the production of a foreigner, is highly creditable to his talents; but his reputation has suffered in some degree from the charge of having destroyed memoirs and records which he made use of in his undertaking. The History of Polydore has passed through several editions. He quitted England in the reign of Edward VI, and, going to Italy, died at Urbino in 1555. Besides the works noticed, he was the author of a treatise on Prodigies.

VIRGIN ISLANDS; a cluster of islands

in the West Indies, situated to the east of Porto Rico. They are upwards of twenty in number, but for the most part desert and barren, and extend sixty miles in length, and upwards of thirty-six in breadth; but they are every way dangerous to navigators, though there is a basin in the midst of them of eighteen or twenty miles in length, and nine or twelve in breadth, in which ships may anchor, and be sheltered and landlocked from all winds, and called the bay of Sir Francis Drake, from his having passed through it to St. Domingo. The English and Danes divide most of them; but the Spaniards claim those near Porto Rico. Virgin Gorda, Tortola, &c., belong to the English. The Danes possess the islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix, &c.

VIRGIN MARY. The belief in a god, appearing in a human form, and born of a virgin, is common to several religions of Asia. That Christ was born of a virgin appears from the Old and New Tes tament; and it was early maintained by theologians, that, in order to become the Savior of the world, he must have been born of a virgin, as he would otherwise have had the stain of original sin. Justin Martyr treats of this necessity (Dialog. i, Tryphone i, 100). In the fourth century A.D., the doctrine was started, that Mary not only had conceived the Savior in a state of virginity, but had also retained this virgin state during and after his birth, as she had given birth to him utero clauso. Jovianus and others opposed this opinion. In the fifth century, this dispute was renewed in the struggle with Eutyches. At length, the continued virginity of Mary, the mother of God, became a doctrine of the orthodox church. Protestants believe in the virginity of Mary, as respects the conception of Christ, because it is explicitly stated in the Bible; but it is not thought irreconcilable with the New Tes tament, to suppose that, after the birth of Christ, she had several children by Joseph, who are meant by the brothers of Jesus, mentioned in the New Testament. Some critics, however, understand by this phrase merely relatives of Christ. The belief in the virgin Mary, the mother of God, exercised a most important influence during the middle ages. The traces of her worship, of the legends connected with her, and of the deep impression which her idea had made on the minds of men, are visible every where, and particularly in the productions of the fine arts. The adoration of a virgin comported well with the romantic exaltation of

breadth, however, is not actually covered by mountains, but embraces many picturesque, salubrious and fertile valleys. The highest points of the Blue ridge are the peaks of Otter, which are seen at a great distance. One of them is remarkable for its symmetry, being coneshaped, and terminating in a limestone cube, whose upper surface is barely sufficient to contain a dozen persons. It has been supposed that these beautiful peaks are the highest in the state, computed from the base; but the White Top peak of the Iron mountain, near the North Carolina line, is now believed to be still more elevated. The different portions of the state are strikingly distinguished from each other in their appearance. The tidewater, or eastern section, is, in general, low, level, sandy and unproductive, and parts of it exhibit almost as desolate an aspect as the pine barrens of Jersey. Above the falls of the rivers, the outlines of the country are bolder and more picturesque, and the soil, if not generally productive, is in most cases capable of improvement. The alluvial lands, or river and creek bottoms of this section, are very fine; and those of the James river will compare with any in the world for fertility. The valley between the Blue ridge and Alleghany contains a considerable proportion of mountainous and sterile country; but no part of the commonwealth presents larger tracts of fertile and well-cultivated land. West of the Alleghany, a large part of the country must for ever continue in primitive forest. It is generally mountainous and broken, interspersed with fertile valleys, and occasionally presenting rich bodies of limestone land. Geology and Mineralogy. Tracing a line from the mouth of Potomac creek, by the Bowling Green, and forks of the Pamunkey, to Richmond, thence through Petersburg and Hicksford to the Roanoke near Weldon, we embrace, between it and the ocean, only tertiary and alluvial formations. These contain oxides of iron, shells and marl, bones of sharks, whales and other fish, carbonated wood, and the remains of vegetables. Thence to the Blue ridge, the formation may be regarded as essentially primitive, and presents most of the rocks of this denomination. Two belts of transition and secondary formation have, however, been found resting on the primitive rocks in this distance. One of these is the sandstone and coal formation of the counties of Goochland, Powhatan and Chesterfield, which is supposed to continue through

the state in a direction parallel to its mountains; the other, a narrow seam of limestone, which has been found at the base of the South-west mountain, at various points between the Potomac and James rivers, and which yields, in several places where it has been opened, very beautiful marble. In this primitive region, various ores and metals have been discovered; among them, iron ore in layers and masses, black-lead, copper ore and gold. A formation in which this last metal is frequently found, it is now well ascertained, extends from near Freder icksburg, on the Rappahannock, in a south-west direction, through this and the adjoining states. The dip of the rocks in this region is usually about forty-five degrees. West of the Blue ridge, the country may be considered as divided by a line sometimes corresponding with the Alleghany mountains, but in the northern part of the state passing east of them, and south of the head-waters of the Roanoke, stretching along the summits of the Brushy, Clinch and Garden mountains. East of this line, the primitive rocks appear only at the tops of high ridges and mountains, the intervals between, and slopes of the mountain being generally transition, but sometimes secondary formations. Among the rocks of this region are blue and gray limestone, slate, sandstone, conglomerate or pudding-stone, gypsum and buhr-stone. Iron ore, of the best quality, is extensively distributed in this portion of the state, and valuable lead mines are worked in Wythe county, near Austinville. The dip of the rocks in this district is generally less than in the primitive, but sometimes rises to forty-five degrees. West of the line above described lies the great secondary formation of the state. The stratification is more or less undulating, but in general nearly horizontal. This portion of the state abounds in mineral wealth. Bituminous coal and iron ore are found almost every where. Beds of limestone are extensively distributed, and the caverns which abound in them furnish large quantities of nitre; and the salt wells of the Great Kenawha and the Holston are rivalled only by those of Onondaga, in New York, in the strength of their brine. Whenever greater facility of access shall be given to this district of country, it may be confidently predicted that no part of the U. States will present larger rewards to enterprise and industry.

Mineral Waters. The hydro-sulphurous springs of Virginia have been long celebrated. In no part of the world, per

haps, are they surpassed for efficacy, in most of the cases which result from derangement of the liver, and want of function of this organ and the stomach. They are known by the appellation of the White, Salt and Red Sulphur springs, and are situated, the former in the county of Greenbrier, at the foot of the western slope of the Alleghany, and the two last in the county of Monroe. All of them, particularly the White Sulphur, act, when taken in doses of two or three glasses at a time, as an alterative, exercising on the system much of the salutary influence, without the evil effects, of mercury. Used in larger doses, they become actively diuretic and purgative. The White Sulphur is more remarkable for the former, the Salt Sulphur for the latter property. The Red Sulphur, besides the properties which it has in common with the other two, is remarkable for its action on the pulse, which it reduces considerably in a short time. It is this property which makes it so highly valuable in pulmonary affections. None of these waters, it is believed, have been accurately analyzed. The Sweet springs are situated on Pott's creek (a branch of James river), about twenty-two miles east of the Salt Sulphur, and seventeen miles south-east of the White Sulphur spring. They are of the class of waters called acidulous, and are valuable as a tonic in cases of debility, and in all the varieties of dyspepsia which are unaccompanied by inflammation. Their temperature is about seventy-three degrees. In the same range of mountains between which the Sweet springs are situated, and from thirty-five to forty miles north-north-east, are the thermal waters, known by the name of the Warm and Hot springs. The bath of the former has a temperature of about ninety-six degrees, the latter about one hundred and twelve degrees. If the hydro-sulphurous waters above described are valuable in hepatic affections and dyspepsia, the Warm and Hot baths are not less so in rheumatic and cutaneous cases. Doctor Bell, in describing these springs, observes: "All that has been performed by the Bristol, Buxton and Bath waters of England, may be safely claimed as of easy fulfilment by the use of the Virginia waters just enumerated. If to these springs, the Sweet, the Warm and the Hot, be added the White Sulphur, the Salt Sulphur and the Red Sulphur, we can safely challenge any district of country of the same extent in the world as that in which these springs are situated, to produce the same number and varie

ty, whether we have regard to their min eral impregnation or temperature; or the use of which shall be attended with more speedy, entire and permanent relief from a host of most distressing maladies." Besides the above mineral waters, there are others, of more or less value, in different parts of Virginia. The springs at Bath, in Berkeley county, have similar properties, with a temperature somewhat higher than the Sweet springs. In Bottetourt, Montgomery and Augusta, are also hydrosulphurous waters, similar in character to the Sulphur springs of Greenbrier and Monroe, but of less efficacy.

Scenery and Natural Curiosities. The scenery of Virginia is in general highly picturesque. Without possessing the combination of highland and water pros pect, which gives such a charm to the shores of the Hudson, or the soft lake scenery of the interior of New York, she, perhaps, surpasses even that picturesque state in the beauty of her valleys and the grandeur of her mountains. The James river valley offers, at many points in the bold outline of its hills, and its broad and fertile lowlands, images which remind the traveller of the rich scenery of the Loire and the Garonne; and the mountains of the state are strikingly distinguished, not only by an ever-varying succession of hill and vale, but by the beauty of their covering, their cheerful growth of oak, chestnut and lynn, contrasting advantageously with that of the mountainous districts of the Northern and Eastern States. The curiosities of Virginia form, to the traveller, objects of still more interest than its scenery. Among them may be enumerated the passage of the Potomac through the Blue ridge, so happily described by Mr. Jefferson, and that of the James river through the same mountain; the cliffs of New river, which present, for a distance of twenty miles, a succession of sublime scenery, rivalled, in our country, only by that of the Niagara, between the falls and Queenstown; the celebrated natural bridge, "the most sublime of nature's works;" the Warm and Hot springs, noticed under the preceding head; the Burning springs of Kenawha, and the extensive and beautiful caverns in the limestone districts of the state. Among these last is one of surpassing interest and beauty: it is denominated Weyer's cave, from its discoverer, and is situated in the county of Augusta, near the little village of Port Republic. The description given by Goldsmith of the grotto of Antiparos, seems almost literally to apply to this in