Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/428

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408 VOLTURNO VORARLBERG Peruzzi in Siena, and Perino del VagainRome. He assisted the last in various works, and suc- ceeded him as superintendent of those for the Vatican. He was a friend and follower of Michel Angelo, under whose influence he execu- ted his fresco of the " Descent from the Cross" in the church of Trinita de' Monti, a classical work which ranked next to Raphael's " Trans- figuration" and Domenichino's "St. Jerome." Among the finest of his other works is the " Massacre of the Innocents" in Florence. On the death of Paul III. in 1549 he lost his office, and turned his attention to sculpture. At the request of Paul IV. he covered with garments Borne of the nude figures of Michel Angelo's " Last Judgment," and was nicknamed " maker of breeches " (brachettone). VOLTDRXO (anc. Vulturnus), a river of S. Italy, in Campania, which rises near Monte Meta, midway between GaC-ta and Naples, flows 8. E. and W., and falls into the gulf of Gacta, an arm of the Mediterranean, after a course of 90 m. At the beginning of October, 1860, an im- portant victory over the troops of the king of Naples was achieved by Garibaldi on the banks of the Volturno. VOLUNTEER, one who engages in any service of his own accord, particularly one who in time of war offers his services to his country and becomes subject to military discipline and service. The term is also applied to those who offer in a forlorn hope, as it is called, to storm a work, or engage in any enterprise of peculiar danger. In Great Britain the volunteer corps is a reserve force of the army, available for home defence in case of invasion. In 1803, under fear of a French invasion, there were 400,000 volunteers. In 1859, when France menaced England, the corps rose from 15,000 to 150,000 men. The present system began in 1857 with one corps in London and one in Devonshire. In 1871, 211,000 volunteers cost the state 495,225, of which 142,612 was for instruction, arms, accoutrements, and camp equipage. The estimates of 1875-'6 appropri- ate 437,248 for a force of 1,407 officers and 161,150 men. The capitation grant of volun- teers is 20 shillings, of officers and sergeant instructors 30 shillings. In the United States there were 70,000 volunteers for the Mexican war (1846-'7), and in the civil war (1861-'5), out of over two million soldiers, all but about 50,000 were volunteers. YOUJSIA, an E. county of Florida, bordering on the Atlantic, and bounded W. by the St. John's river ; area, 2,196 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,723, of whom 328 were colored. The surface is generally level, and in some parts flat and swampy. The chief productions in 1870 were 14,220 bushels of Indian corn, 3,093 of peas and beans, 15,417 of sweet potatoes, and 134 bales of cotton. There were 186 horses, 3,102 milch cows, 7,228 other cattle, 107 sheep, and 4,014 swine. Capital, Enterprise. VOMITING, the act of rejecting the contents of the stomach, due in great part to the con- traction of the abdominal muscles, assisted by the active cooperation of the muscular walls of the organ; the diaphragm remains fixed, affording a lirm surface against which the stomach is pressed by the abdominal muscles. Relaxation of the sphincter at the cardiac ori- fice of the stomach is necessary, as its contrac- tion will resist the power of all the expulsor muscles combined, explaining the violent and vain efforts to vomit which all must have seen or experienced ; the act is preceded by a deep inspiration, the glottis being spasmodically closed during the paroxysm. It may be pro- duced by irritating substances applied to the raucous membrane of the stomach, the im- pression being conveyed by the pneumogastric nerves and the motor nerves of expiration, as with common emetics ; by irritations in other parts of the body, transmitted by reflex nervous action, as in strangulated hernia, the passage of calculi, and during gestation ; and by impres- sions received through the sensorial centres, whether emotional or sensational, as from tick- ling the fauces, disgusting sights or odors, and in sea sickness ; even the recollection of these sensations may cause vomiting in very impres- sionable persons. It is a common symptom of many diseases of the stomach and intestines, and arises from sympathy in affections of many other organs ; it is sometimes nervous or spas- modic. Vomiting usually acts as its own rem- edy, the expulsion of the irritating contents of the stomach, when complete, being as a general rule sufficient to relieve the system from any further disturbance. When due to other causes, as for example sea sickness, early pregnancy, &c., it is also for the most part temporary, and subsides spontaneously after a certain period. When long continued and obstinate, or unu- sually violent, it may require the use of special remedies, such as bits of ice held in the mouth and slowly swallowed, small doses of chloro- form or hydrocyanic acid, or the application of sinapisms or blisters to the epigastrium. VOXDEL, Joost van den, a Dutch poet, born in Cologne, Nov. 17, 1587, died in 1679. His parents were Anabaptists, and in his childhood settled in Amsterdam. He joined the Armin- ians, and finally the Roman Catholics. He was the most celebrated Dutch poet and dramatist of the 17th century. His works include metri- cal translations of the Psalms, of Virgil, and of Ovid, and satires and tragedies, forming 21 volumes in the best edition (Amsterdam, 1820). His most celebrated plays are Gijdbrecht van Amstel, Lucifer, and Palamedes. The last, al- luding to Barneveldt and his murder, though not published till 1625, after the death of Prince Maurice, was adjudged treasonable and libellous. Vondel's life was written by Cam- per (1818) and Zeeman (1831). VORARLBERG, the westernmost district of the Austrian empire, officially united with Ty- rol, bounded N. and N. E. by Bavaria, E. by Tyrol, S. by the Swiss canton of Grisons, W. by the principality of Liechtenstein and the