part of the ground inclosed by them is now unoccupied. 27 miles S. S. W. of Mazagan.

VALENÇA, a small town and fortress of the north of Portugal, in the province of Entre Douro e Minho, on the Minho, almost within cannon shot of the fortress of Tuy in Spain. It contains only 1000 inhabitants, but is very old, being supposed to have been founded by the soldiers of Viriatus. 56 miles N. of Oporto, and 72 W. N. W. of Braganza.

VALENÇA DO DOURO, a small town of the north of Portugal, in the province of Beira, 9 miles W. of St Joao de Pesqueira.

VALENÇAY, a small town in the central part of France, department of the Indre, with 2300 inhabitants. It has a fine castle, where Ferdinand VII. of Spain resided from 1808 to 1813. 27 miles N. N. W. of Chateauroux.

VALENCE, a town in the south-east of France, the capital of the department of the Drome, agreeably situated on the declivity of a small hill, on the left bank of the Rhone. It is surrounded with walls, which give it at a distance rather a gloomy and monastic appearance. In the interior it is old, ill built, and irregular, with narrow, winding, and dirty streets. The cathedral is a building of considerable antiquity, but neither it nor the episcopal palace have any claim to attention in point of architecture. The case is otherwise with the Gothic façade of an old castle at this place, which is said to be one of the finest specimens of that style in France. It is ornamented with sculptures, and with a number of busts and statues. In another part of the town, in front of a place d'armes planted with trees, stands the citadel, in which pope Pius VI. after being driven from Rome by the French government, died in 1799. In antiquities Valence possesses little remarkable, except some inscriptions and a military column. Like most other provincial towns of France, it has a public walk and a library. Its population amounts to 8000; its manufactures comprise silk, cotton, and leather, but each on a small scale. Olives grow in the neighbourhood, and the town contains a number of oil mills. Valence was occupied by the royalists in April 1815, after the return of Bonaparte from Elba, but soon relinquished by them. 42 miles S. W. of Grenoble, and 55 S. by E. of Lyons. Long. 4. 59. E. Lat. 44. 55. N.

VALENCE, a petty town in the south-west of France, department of the Gers, on the small river Blaise, with 1200 inhabitants. 6 miles S. of Condom.

the Lot and Garonne, with 2200 inhabitants. It has some manufactures of linen, and is 14 miles S. E. of Agen.

VALENCE EN ALBIGEOIS, a petty place in the south-west of France, department of the Tarn. Population 800. 14 miles N. E. of Albi.

VALENCIA, a large province in the east of Spain, extending in an oblong form from north to south, with the sea on one side, and the Castilian provinces on the other. It lies between Lat. 37. 52. and 40. 50. N. and is in length no less than 250 miles, but its breadth seldom exceeds 50. Its area is about 8000 square miles: its population, though not exactly ascertained, is stated by Antillon and others at nearly 1,200,000.

Valencia contains in some parts a number of mountains, but in others its surface is composed of plains and fertile vallies. The plain adjacent to the capital is above 80 miles in length; and those to the southward, which adjoin the towns of Alicant and Orihuela, if inferior in extent, ma challenge a comparison in beauty and fertility. This province is watered by three great rivers, the Xucar, the Segura, and the Guadalaviar; also by the Murviedro, the Palencia, the Mejares, and others of less size, all flowing from the mountains of the interior to the Mediterranean. The temperature of the province is mild, the thermometer in winter varying from 40° to 60°, in summer from 70° to 80°. The air is pure and dry; but this on the whole favoured climate is not without its drawbacks: they consist in the frequency of thunder storms, in the oppressive heat of the solano or African wind, and the occasional occurrence of earthquakes.

In minerals, with the exception of iron, this province is not particularly rich. In vegetable products the case is otherwise, and more justice is done to the fertility of the soil by the industry of the peasantry, than in other parts of Spain. Irrigation is here, as in the south of France, an indispensable requisite to productiveness. The fields are divided into tracks supplied with water, and eminences which do not admit of irrigation, and are planted with vines, olives, figs, and whatever requires comparatively little humidity. Maize and wheat are likewise raised in quantities sufficient for the consumption of the province; but the chief export is of wine, silk, olive oil, and raisins. The white wine of Alicant is in high repute. Flax, hemp, and rice, are likewise reared here; yet, notwithstanding all these products, the peasantry live in general in great poverty. In manufactures the Valencians have made very little progress, being content to import their linens, their hardware, and their finer woollens, from the north of

Europe; the farther imports are groceries and salt fish for consumption during lent. Their coast is unfortunately unprovided with good road-steads, and is dangerous during the prevalence of easterly winds.

In respect to education, the Valencians form noexception to the general backwardness of the Spaniards. They are, however, very ingenious, and, like the French, have a great facility in acquiring a partial knowledge of a subject; they have also the less pleasant characteristic of the inhabitants of the south of France, we mean an irascibility prompting frequently to quarrels, sometimes to blood-shed. The language in the towns is that of Castile and the rest of Spain, but the peasantry have a dialect similar to the Provençal spoken in Catalonia, and affording a more sure indication of their national origin than any historical records.

This province, early invaded by the Carthaginians, was soon after conquered by the Romans, and at a subsequent date by the Goths, from whose hands it fell into those of the Moors. The latter established the kingdom of Valencia in 713, and retained it under several vicissitudes of fortune, until 1238, when it was definitively taken from them, and united to Arragon. It afterwards formed a component part of the Spanish monarchy, but continued to preserve its representative body and its privileges, till the early part of the 18th century, when having, in the war for the succession to the crown, taken part against the Bourbon dynasty, it was, on their establishment on the throne, deprived of its old constitution, and obliged to conform to the laws of Castile.

VALENCIA, a large city in the east of Spain, the capital of the province, formerly the kingdom, of Valencia. It is situated only two miles from the sea, in an open plain, on the banks of the Guadalaviar, a large river which flows from the mountains of Arragon, through a beautiful country called, in the vicinity of Valencia, La Huerta, or the Garden, from the richness of its soil, and the variety of its fruits. This fertility is the result of a warm climate, and of irrigation judiciously applied.

Valencia, formerly a place of strength, is still surrounded by a rampart, and made a considerable resistance to the French in the latter part of 1811. Its citadel is small and ill fortified, and does not even command the town. The population is about 80,000 in the city, and between 15,000 and 18,000 in the villages and environs. The interior, far from meriting the eulogium of Mariana, or the flattering epithet of Valencia la Bella, consists of narrow and winding streets, crossed by a multiplicity of lanes, in many of which there is no thoroughfare. This

is the characteristic of many towns in the south of Europe. The want of chimnies, another feature of a warm country, is found in many of the buildings of Valencia. Of the different public walks, the chief is that which extends along the banks of the river. Valencia is the see of an archbishop, a dígnity conferred on it in the time of the Goths, and revived in 1238, when the city was retaken by the Moors. It contains a number of churches and convents, with se→ veral hospitals, and is the residence of both a military and a civil officer of rank.

Few towns contain a greater number of public buildings, but they are less remarkable for elegance than for antiquity and profuse decoration. The ancient palace, called El Real, is now the residence of the captain-general. The cathedral is a large but irregular Gothic building. The other remarkable structures are a Moorish mosque; a church built for Christian worship in the time of the Goths; and several modern edifices, such as the college of Pio Quinto, the convent of the Carmelites, the lodge or place of meeting for the commercial court, the custom-house, the college of the pa triarch, &c. Among the antiquities are some Roman inscriptions, with fragments of statues, partly preserved in the archbishop's palace, partly deposited under the foundation of the bridge of Seranos.

The university of this city was founded in 1470, and is on an extensive scale, but the course of study is antiquated. The Valencians succeed better in the arts than in literature. They have an academy of painting, and reckon several eminent artists among their number. Here are two public libraries. Of manufactures, the only extensive one is of silk; but there are, on a small scale, fabrics of leather, woollens, cordage, and lace. The maritime trade of the place is carried on by lighters, which load and unload vessels at the vil lage of Grao, near the mouth of the river.

The temperature of Valencia is remarkably mild and pleasant, the intensity of the summer heat being lessened by the vicinity of the sea, and in some measure by the moisture of the adjacent plains. The spring is sometimes rainy, but the autumn is a very pleasant season, the trees and the fields not losing their verdure until December. As a resort for invalids from the north of Europe, Valencia has a claim to rank with Lisbon, Nice, Pisa, and other well frequented towns.

The Valencians are charged by their Spanish countrymen with habits of frivolity, with an undue predilection for dancing, music, and similar amusements. They have, in fact, the manners of a people little accustomed to exertion, and obtaining, like

the Neapolitans, at an easy rate, the means of subsistence, and seldom carrying their solicitude beyond the wants of the day. They are devoted adherents to the Catholic faith; and their city is said to exhibit as many religious processions as any town in Christendom.

Valencia is a place of antiquity, and was probably the Valentia Edetanorum of the Romans. On the invasion of the Goths, it fell, with the rest of the peninsula, into their hands, and continued so until 715, when it was occupied by the Moors. From these rude invaders it was taken by the Cid in 1094, and given to that warrior to govern as a dependency of the king of Castile. It was consequently called Valencia of the Cid, and devolved on his death to his widow Ximene, a heroine almost equally noted in Spanish history as her husband, and who sustained in it a long siege against the Moors in the year 1100. At last, however, it surrendered, and was occupied by the Moors until 1238, when it was finally retaken by the king of Arragon. In the war of the succession, the inhabitants adhered to the Austrian candidate for the crown, until the unfortunate battle of Almanza (in 1707) obliged them to submit to the Bourbons. A number of them were famished, the city was deprived of its privileges, and obliged to adopt the customs of Castile. In a much later contest, Valencia declared against the French, and baffled the first attempts made on it in 1808 by marshal Moncey; but in the end of 1811 it was attacked by Suchet, and, after a vigorous siege and bombardment, it surrendered in January 1812. 170 miles E. S. E. of Madrid. Long. 0. 23. 3. W. Lat. 39. 28. 45. N.

VALENCIA, a city of South America, in the government of the Caraccas, and province of Venezuela, situated half a league west of the lake of the same name, in a beautiful plain, where the air is pure, and the soil fertile. The houses are in general low and irregular, though some of the streets are broad and well built. The parish church, and a handsome square in which it stands, form the principal ornaments of the city. In 1804, a church was built in the east extremity of the town, the expence being defrayed by the liberality of the settlers from the Canaries, and the alms of the faithful. It was dedicated to Our Lady of La Candelaria. The Franciscans had a convent of eight monks here, about 50 years ago. The inhabitants were formerly noted for their indolence, but have lately become active and industrious, and the situation of the place is peculiarly favourable for trade, being separated from Puerto Cavello by only ten leagues of good

road. Every commodity landed at that port for the consumption of the provinces of the interior passes through Valencia, which necessarily causes much traffic. The adjacent country produces every sort of provision and fruits in great abundance, and the plains feed immense herds of cattle, with sheep, horses, and mules, so that its markets are well supplied. Valencia, with the towns of Victoria and Barquisimeto, suffered very much from the earthquake which overthrew Caraccas, La Guayra, Merida, and several villages, on the 26th of March 1812. Valencia remained firm to the cause of Ferdinand up to the year 1810, when it was compelled to submit to Miranda, and shortly after, in the same year, became the scat of the new congress of the United States of Venezuela. It was soon afterwards occupied by the royalist party; but in 1812 its possession was disputed by Miranda; and in 1813, it was entered by the independent general Bolivar, without any opposition. It has since fallen, of course, into the possession of the independent armies, along with the rest of the country. The popula tion of this city is said to be about 8000, mostly creoles of good families, with some Biscayans and Canarians. 115 miles S. E. of Coro, and 77 S. W. of Caraccas. Long. 68. 15. W. Lat. 10. 9. N.

VALENCIA, a beautiful lake of South America, in the government of Caraccas, and province of Venezuela, which stretches thirteen leagues and a half from east-northeast to west-south-west, and its greatest breadth is four. It has an oblong form. It lies at the distance of one league from Valencia, and is situated in a valley surrounded with mountains, excepting on the west, where it extends into the interior of the country. The waters of twenty rivers are discharged into it without any visible cutlet. It is six leagues from the sea, and the space which separates them is filled with inaccessible mountains. It is the more difficult to account for its having no visible passage for discharge, as it receives rivers on all sides, which proves it to be a perfect basin. This lake has been diminishing for twenty years; and its waters are still receding, leaving behind them a rich and productive soil, but at the same time an unhealthy air; and the cultivators are in some parts under the necessity, from the want of water, of drawing off the neighbouring streams to irrigate their plantations. The eastern part is appropriated to the culture of tobacco, which, during the prevalence of the mo ther country's dominion, was a royal monopoly. This trade employed 15,000 persons. This lake has about 27 islands scattered over its surface. The largest of them

is called Caratapona, and is highly fertile. It contains also a population sufficient to raise provisions, fruits, and vegetables, for the market; and has a spring of water far better than that of the lake, which is very heavy, and of a nauseous taste. The birds which constantly abide in the vicinity of the lake, afford continual delight by the diversity of their species, the vivid colours of their plumage, and the variety of their notes, of which some are exquisitely melodious. The abundance of aquatic game which the sportsman finds here, considerably enhances the delightfulness of the abode. The produce which grows on the borders of the lake is transported across its waters, or by the rivers which fall into it, in vessels of different dimensions. The navigation, however, is not very easy, owing to the numerous islands with which the lake is interspersed. There is much greater quantity than variety of fish in this lake. Upon its borders, many reptiles are to be seen, among which are two kinds of lizards, which the Spaniards use for food, and think it delicious.

VALENCIA, a small town of the Caraccas, in the province of Maracaibo.

VALENCIA, PUNTA DE, a cape on the coast of Mexico, on the Spanish Main. Long. 18. 40. W. Lat. 9. N.

VALENCIA DE ALCANTARA, a small but strong town in the west of Spain, in the province of Estremadura, on the frontiers of Portugal. 25 miles S. W. of Alcantara.

VALENCIANA, a celebrated mine of Mexico, in the intendancy of Guanaxuato. In this mine the great vein is twenty-two feet in breadth; and as the chasm is entirely dry, it is easier worked than almost any other American mine. The pits extend to the breadth of 4900 feet, and the lowest is 1640 feet in depth. The undertaking employs upwards of 900 men in carrying the ores to the surface up the stairs on their backs, 1800 workmen in procuring and sorting the ore, with 400 women and children carrying the minerals to the sorters. The total expences of the materials, work men, overseers, &c. is above L.187,500 sterling per annum, and the net profit, during the same period, to the proprietors, after deductions of the king's fifth, and all expences, is from L.82,500 to L.123,759 per annum.

VALENCIENNES, a fortified town of French Flanders, situated on the Scheldt, which becomes here a navigable river, though small in its volume of water, and sluggish in its course. The form of the town is circular; its streets are narrow and crooked; its houses are in general ill built, many of them being of wood. There are, however, several objects deserving of attention,

such as the public square, the church of Notre Dame, the town-hall, the artilleryhouse. The chief manufactures are lace of great fineness; cambric, gauze, and linen stuffs. The population is about 17,000. This town belonged to the Netherlands until 1677, when it was taken by the French, and confirmed to them by treaty. In 1793, it formed one of the first objects of attack by the allies, after the defeat of Dumourier. The siege, conducted under the command of the duke of York, was long and obstinate, and part of the town was laid in ashes, before the capitulation. It was retaken by the French in 1794, escaped attack in the invasion by the allied powers in 1814 and 1815, and was definitively confirmed to France by the treaties of these years. 21 miles S. E. of Lille.

VALENSOLLES, a small town in the southeast of France, in Provence, department of the Lower Alps. Population 3400. It has several large tanneries. 14 miles S. E. of Forcalquier, and 23 S. W. of Digne.

VALENTANO, a small town in the central part of Italy, in the States of the Church, 14 miles S. W. of Orvieto.

VALENTIA, an island in the Atlantic, near the south-west coast of Ireland, about five miles in length, and two in breadth, with a village of the same name, separated from the county of Kerry, by a strait scarcely a mile wide. It lies to the south of Dingle bay. Long. 10. 11. W. Lat. 51. 52. N.

VALENTIA HARBOUR, a bay of Ireland, on the east side of Dingle bay, between the isle of Valentia and Dowlas Head.

VALENTIA ISLAND, an island off the coast of Abyssinia, about 25 miles long, and from 2 to 6 broad. It forms a bay, affording good anchorage for large vessels, and is situated a little to the south-east of Massuah. It is supposed to be the ancient Orine. The name is given from lord Valentia, supposed to be the first European by whom it was visited.

VALENTINE, a small town in the south of France, on the Garonne, with 1000 inhabitants, partly employed in the manufacture of woollens. 3 miles S. by W. of St Gaudens, and 55 S. W. of Toulouse.

VALENTINE, a cape or point of land on the east coast of the straits of Magellan, between the bay of Papagayos and the point of Boqueron.

VALENTINE'S BAY, a bay on the southeast coast of Terra del Fuego, to the west of Cape Success, on the south-west coast of Terra del Fuego, between two and three leagues from the shore.

VALENTINO, a royal but now decayed castle, situated on the banks of the Po, in the vicinity of Turin, and surrounded by a

number of villas, and by the botanical garden of the university of Turin.

VALENZA, a town in the north-west of Italy, in the province of Alessandria, situated on an eminence near the Po. It is surrounded with a wall, and defended by a castle, which formerly rendered it a place of strength; but its fortifications have been neglected, and it did not sustain a siege in the campaigns of 1796 or 1799. It contains several churches and other good buildings. Its population, employed partly in cultivating the vicinity, partly in manufacture, amount to 7000. 12 miles S. E. of Casale, and 40 E. by S. of Turin.

VALENZA, a small town in the northwest of Spain, in the province of Leon, with 3700 inhabitants. 18 miles S. S. W. of Leon.

VALERA DE ARIBA, and VALERA DE ABAJO, two small towns, or rather villages, in the east of Spain, in the province of Cuença, 133 miles E. S. E. of Madrid.

VALERIEN, a small town in the central part of France, department of the Yonne, with 900 inhabitants. 9 miles W. of Sens. VALERY, ST, a small seaport in the north of France, situated on the left bank of the Somme, near its mouth. It contains 3200 inhabitants, and carries on a considerable coasting and transit trade, serving as port to Amiens and Abbeville. Its harbour is tolerably capacious and safe; but the entrance is difficult, on account of sandbanks. It was here that, in 1066, William the Conqueror embarked for the conquest of England. 12 miles N. W. of Abbeville, and 50 N. W. of Amiens. Long. 1. 37. 31. E. Lat. 50. 11. 21. N.

VALERY EN CAUX, SF, a town in the north of France, department of the Lower Seine, situated on the shores of the Channel. It has a population of 5000, and a small but tolerably good harbour. It carries on a brisk traffic, and has considerable fisheries, particularly of herring. other branches of its industry are shipbuilding, and the manufacture of soda. 20 miles N. of Yvetot, and 33 N. by W. of Rouen. Long. 0. 40. E. Lat. 49. 52. N.

The

VALET, a small town in the west of France, department of the Loire Inferieure, containing, with its parish, about 3100 inhabitants. 6 miles N. of Clisson, and 14 8. E. of Nantes.

VALETTA, LA, the capital of the island of Malta, stands on the east side of the island, in Long. 14. 30. 45. E. Lat. 35. 53. 4. N. It consists of five parts, which are distinguished by particular names, and are often considered as separate towns: 1st, Citta Nuova, or La Valetta properly so called, built in 1566, and named after the celebrated grand master La Valetta, who

commanded the long siege against the Turks the year before. This quarter, though the last built, soon exceeded all the others in size, and gave name to the whole. It is situated on the side of a hill which runs out into the sea, forming a peninsula; and besides its own fortifications, is defended by the castles of St Elmo, Ricazoli, and Floriana. 2d, Citta Vittoriosa, situated on a small tongue of land between two harbours called Murza and Marza Murzet, with a fort at the extremity, which defends the entrance into both. 3d, Senylea, or the isle of St Michael, is also situated on a peninsula, and is separated from Citta Vittoriosa by a canal called Porto delle Galere. 4th, Barmola, a small place of about 700 houses, situated in front of Senylea, and surrounded by, 5th, Cottonera, which forms a kind of suburb to it. This last contains the castle of Santa Margaretha. Of these, Citta Nuova, Bariola, and Cottonera, contain in all about 23,000 inhabitants; Citta Vittoriosa about 4000, and Senylea between 4000 and 5000.

The situation of La Valetta is one of the finest in the world: the appearance of the town from the sea is beautiful, nor does the interior produce the disappointment so common in towns of the south of Europe. The streets are regular, and well paved with lava. The quays and other public places contain large, and in some respects elegant buildings. The great drawback on La Valetta, until of late, was the want of cleanliness in the streets, a want at no time excusable, as there is no deficiency of wa ter, and the sloping surface gives great facility in removing filth.

Malta abounds in churches; and its capital contains no less than twenty, great and small, exclusive of the cathedral. The other public buildings are the residence of the grand master, now occupied by his successor, the governor of the island; the house in which the knights of the seven different nations composing the order of Malta had their respective halls of meeting. Next to these come the town-house, the Castellanea, where the courts of justice are held, the arsenal, and a building situated in Citta Vittoriosa, formerly occupied by the Inquisition. The Jesuits' college, formerly taught by that order, is still a seminary, and serves for the education of Catholic clergy; but part of the building is converted to very different purposes; an exchange and small theatre. La Valetta contains two libraries; that of the knights, an old collection, comprising 40,000 volumes, chiefly of Greek, Latin, French, and Italian works; the other a subscription library for later pub lications, established by the English in Malta, and as yet on a very limited scale.