patriotic poems, of which the poem celebrating the victory of Ituzaingo, 20 Feb., 1827, is the most famous. — Another brother of Florencio, Rufliio, b. in Buenos Ayres in 1801 ; d. in Quebrachito, 28 Nov., 1840, was banished from Buenos Ayres to- gether with his brothers, and in 1840 followed Gen. Juan Lavalle in his invasion of the Argentine, and fell in the battle of Quebrachito. — Rufino's son, Pedro, b. in Montevideo in 1834, took an active part in the politics of his country, and, after the death of Gen. Venancio Flores, was considered the leader of his party. He was deputy and senator, and as president of the latter body took charge of the executive, 14 Jan.. 1875, at Dr. Ellauri's fall. He was then elected constitutional president, but his government was overthrown, 10 March, 1876, and Col. Lorenzo Latorre was his successor.
VARELA Y MORALES, Felix (vah-ray'-lah),
Cuban author, b. in Havana in 1788; d. in St. Au-
gustine, Fla., in 1853. He studied in his native
city, was graduated in theology in 1810, and be-
came a priest in 1811. He was appointed pro-
fessor of philosophy in San Carlos seminary, Ha-
vana, and afterward of political economy, dividing
his time between the duties of the ministry and his
labors as a teacher. He discarded completely the
old scholastic philosophy and manner of teaching,
and introduced the reforms that have changed the
science of education in the 19th century. In 1821
he was elected representative for the western prov-
ince of Cuba to the Spanish cortes. where he de-
manded political autonomy for Cuba. In 1823. with
the end of the liberal regime and the return of ab-
solute government, the cortes was forcibly dis-
solved ; sixty-five of its members were condemned
to death, and Varela, to save his life, took refuge
with others at Gibraltar. Thence he sailed for
New York in December, 1823, where he fixed his
residence after visiting the principal cities of the
Union. He devoted his time to literary, scientific,
and educational pursuits and to the duties of his
ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. In 1845 he
was appointed vicar-general for New York, and
edited a religious magazine with Dr. Constantine
Pise. His health obliged him to go to St. Augus-
tine, Fla., in 1849, where he resided from 1852 un-
til his death. Varela's works include " Institu-
tions Phiiosophiae Eclecticae " (2 vols., Havana,
1812-'13); "£tica"(2vols.,1814); " Miscelanea filo-
sofiea " (1818) ; " Lecciones de Filosofia " (1819-'20) ;
" Observaciones sobre la Constitucion de la Mo-
narquia Espaiiola " (1821) ; " Manual de Practica
Parlamentaria " (New York, 1826) ; " Maximas
Morales y Sociales" (1830); "Cartas a Elpidio
sobre la Impiedad, el Fanatismo " (1835) ; and nu-
merous philosophical and religious pamphlets.
Most of these works, especially " Lecciones de Filo-
sofia," have gone through many editions in Cuba,
Spain, and the United States. His biography has
been written several times, and an exhaustive
" Life of Varela " has appeared in Spanish, by
Jose Ignacio Rodriguez (New York, 1876).
VARELA Y LLLOA, José (vah-ray'-lah-ee-ool-
yo'-ah), Spanish naval officer, b. in Santiago de
Galicia, 14 Aug., 1748 ; d. in Havana, Cuba, 23
July, 1794. He entered the navy in 1759, and
afterward became well known in learned circles
throughout Europe for his scientific acquirements.
In 1776 he was employed in assisting to measure
geometrically the peak of Teneriffe and in deter-
mining the true position of islands and ports on
the American and African coasts, among others
the island of Santa Catharina in Brazil and the
harbors on the Rio de la Plata. After discharging
various important commissions, he was selected by
the Spanish government to fix the boundaries of
the Spanish and Portuguese possessions in America.
He gave proof of his abilities as a statesman and
philosopher by his exhaustive reports on the pro-
ductions of the Spanish-American colonies, their
situation, relation to neighboring countries, and
the advantages that the Spanish government could
derive from them. On his return to Spain he was
promoted to the rank of rear-admiral. In 1794 he
sailed for South America in command of a squad-
ron, and having put in at Havana, on 16 April, was
attacked there by the illness of which he died.
VARGAS, Jose Maria, Venezuelan president,
b. in La Guaira, 2 March, 1786 ; d. in New York
city, 13 July, 1854. He studied in the University
of Caracas, where he was graduated in 1806 in
philosophy and in 1808 in medicine, and in 1809
he translated Rousseau's " Contrat social," which
he circulated privately among his friends for fear
of the authorities. Early in 1810 he began the
practice of his profession in Cumana, which prov-
ince sent him as representative to congress, and
he arrived in La Guaira just before the earth-
quake of 26 March, 1812, which destroyed nearly
the whole city and killed 4,000 persons. He was
the only surviving physician, and his self-sacrifice
in saving lives and attending the wounded was ac-
knowledged by the municipality and the national
executive. After the capitulation of Miranda in
the same year, Vargas was thrown by order of
Monte verde into the dungeons of La Guaira ; but
in 1813 he received permission to emigrate. He
continued his studies in the University of Edin-
burgh, was received as a member of the Royal col-
lege of surgeons of London, and travelled for some
time through England and France. Afterward he
practised his profession for several years in Porto
Rico ; but he returned in 1825 to Caracas, where in
1826, by order of Bolivar, he reorganized the uni-
versity and in 1827 was elected its rector. He
founded the chairs of anatomy, chemistry, and sur-
gery, and, besides teaching these branches for some
time in the university, gave private instruction to
the best students at night in his home. In 1830 he
was elected by Caracas to the constituent congress
of Venezuela and opposed strenuously and with
eloquence the proscription of Bolivar and the an-
nexation of the province of Casanare to Venezuela.
He was elected a member of the government coun-
cil, and in 1834 to the presidency of the republic,
which he was forced by public clamor to accept
after repeated declinations. On 9 Feb., 1835, he
took charge of the executive, and during his term
he gave his salary as president to hospitals, schools,
and other beneficent objects. When a mutiny of
the military party, which hated the first civilian
president, began in Caracas, 8 July, 1835. Vargas
with the vice-president was exiled to St. Thomas ;
but before leaving he had time to convoke the
council and issue a decree appointing Gen. Paez,
who was then living in retirement, commander-in-
chief for the re-establishment of order. The latter
subdued the revolution in a fortnight and recalled
Vargas, who administered the executive with strict
impartiality ; but. weary of political strife, he re-
peatedly handed in his resignation, which was at
last reluctantly accepted by congress, 24 April,
1836. He returned, notwithstanding his shattered
health, to his functions in the university and as
director of public instruction, from 1838 till 1846
was a member of the senate and almost continu-
ously its president, and in 1847 was appointed to
the government council, but resigned in 1849. His
anxiety, caused by the uninterrupted internal strife
in his country, injured his health, and in 1853 he
