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Value. The rate of worth or amount or price of a commodity.

Venditioni Exponas. A writ directed to the sheriff, commanding him to sell goods which he has taken possession of under a writ of fieri facias, and which remain in his hands unsold.

Vendor and Vendee. A vendor is the person who sells, and a vendee the person who buys, anything. Venue. The county at which an action at law is intended to be tried.

Verdict. A verdict is the unanimous judgment or opinion of the jury on the issue of fact submitted to them.

Vend. To sell; to transfer for a pecuniary consider

ation.

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Voucher. A receipt or discharge.

Void. Having no binding force or effect.

Voidable. That which has some force or effect, but which, in consequence of some inherent quality, may be annulled or avoided.

Waifs. Stolen goods which the thief has thrown away or left behind him.

Ward. An infant under the guidance and protection of a guardian.

Warrant. An authority or precept from a justice, commanding the apprehension of an offender, or a search to be made for stolen goods.

Warrant of Attorney. An authority given by anyone to an attorney at law, to appear and plead for him;

or to suffer judgment to pass against him, by confessing the action.

Warranty. As applied to goods and chattels, may be either expressed or implied; the implied warranty only extends to the title of the vendor. If that proves deticient, the purchaser may demand satisfaction from the seller. Watercourse, Right of. A right to an uninterrupted flow of water.

Way, Right of. The right of going over another man's ground.

Wages. Compensation for services. Waiver. The relinquishment or refusal to accept of a right.

Wares. Goods; merchandise; commodities.

Wash Trades. Pretended trading. Trades made on an open market by parties between whom there is a Done with a view to influence prices and considered a tacit or private understanding that they shall be void. reprehensible practice.

Watered Stock. An increase in capitalization without a corresponding increase in assets.

Wharfinger. The owner or keeper of a wharf. Will. A will is the legal written declaration of a man's intentions of what he wills to be performed after his death with reference to the disposition of his property. It must be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by two witnesses, who must not only be present and see the testator sign, but must themselves subscribe the will as witnesses in the presence of the testator and of each other. Without these formalities the will is invalid. A codicil is a kind of addendum or supplement to a will. Its execution and attestation must be at tended with the same formalities as the will itself.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA,

[graphic][subsumed][merged small]

Book VII.

Religion, Education, Fine Arts.

Religion, Education, Fine Arts.

European Cathedrals. Among the most noted and magnificent cathedrals in Europe are St. Peter's, in Rome; the cathedral of Cologne, and that of Milan; St. Mark's, in Venice; Westminster and Salisbury, in England; Rouen and Notre Dame, in France; Seville and Strasburg, in Spain and Germany, respectively. St. Paul's, in London, though architecturally much inferior to the others, is yet so noted as to deserve a brief description. It is built in the form of a cross, 514 feet long and 287 feet wide. The cost of the whole building, which is of Portland stone, was nearly $4,000,000, being the proceeds of a tax on the coal brought into the port of London during its erection. The edifice was built under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, was thirtyfive years in course of erection, and was commenced and finished under the same bishop, the same architect, and the same mason. The great bell of this cathedral is only tolled on the occasion of a death in the royal family. St. Peter's, at Rome, was commenced about the year 1503 by Julius II. under the direction of Bramante, but the present form of the basilica is due almost entirely to Michael Angelo. The interior is 613 feet in length, the height of the nave 152 1-2 feet; the length of the transepts is 446 1-2 feet; the interior diameter of the dome is 139 feet, the exterior 195 1-2 feet. The colonnades around the piazza inclose a space 787 feet in diameter, and are connected with the façade by two galleries 296 feet in length. The façade is 379 feet long, and 148 1-2 feet high, and contains five doors, which admit to the grand entrance, which occupies the whole width of the church, 468 feet long, 66 feet high, and 50 feet wide. The height from the pavement to the top of the cross is 476 feet. The Cologne cathedral is one of the noblest specimens of Gothic architecture in Europe. It is said to have had its origin in an erection by Archbishop Hildebold, during the reign of Charlemagne, in 814. Frederic the Redbearded bestowed upon it, in 1162, the bones of the three holy kings, which he took from Milan, and this gift contributed greatly to the increase of its importance. The bones are retained as precious relics to this day, but the old structure was burned in 1248. According to some accounts the present cathedral was begun in the same year, but others fix the date of its commencement in 1270-'75. To whom the design of this noble building is to be ascribed is uncertain. The work was carried on, sometimes more actively, sometimes more

slowly, till the era of the Reformation, when it was suspended; and during the subsequent centuries not only was nothing done to advance it, but what had been already executed, was not kept in repair. In the beginning of the present century, however, attention was directed to its unrivaled beauties, and the neces-· sary funds to repair and complete it according to the original designs were raised. The body of the church measures 500 feet in length, and 230 feet in breadth; the towers are above 500 feet high. Since 1823 $4,500,000 have been expended on the building; the total cost of the whole is estimated at $10,000,000. The cathedral at Milan is also of Gothic architecture, but the façade is marred by classic doors and windows, and the altars within are in the same style. The edifice is nearly 500 feet long, and 250 feet wide through the transepts, and the height of the nave is about 150 feet. The central spire is more than 350 feet high. The throng of statues (some 4,500 in all) and the many pinnacles are marked features of the exterior.

The celebrated church of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, was originally built by the Emperor Constantine in 325-326, and is so called as being dedicated, not, as commonly supposed, to a saint of that name, but to Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom); that is, to the Eternal Wisdom of God, or the Logos, the second person of the Trinity. The church was twice destroyed and rebuilt, the present edifice having been built by the Emperor Justinian about 532. It may be described as a square of 241 feet, forming interiorly a Greek cross, and surrounded in the interior by a woman's choir or gallery, supported by magnificent pillars, for the most part borrowed from ancient buildings. In the center rises a dome, which is supported by two great semidomes, the whole presenting a series of unexampled beauty. The height of the dome is 175 feet. The building is approached by a double porch, which is about 100 feet in depth. The whole of the interior was richly decorated with sculptured marble and mosaics. The building occupied seven years in its erection, and the history of the work and of the details of its material and construction is full of marvels. Ten thousand workmen are said to have been employed upon it. The materials were supplied from every part of the empire, and comprised remains of almost every celebrated temple of the ancient paganism. The sedilia of the priests and those of the patri

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