VARNA 167 VARRO the dilated vessels may become thickened or may become thin ; that they be length- ened so that the veins become tortuous; and that the dilation may be unequal, giving rise to the formation of pouches; and that, in consequence of the enlarged caliber of the vessels, the valves only act imperfectly, and gradually undergo degeneration. VARNA, a fortified town of Bulgaria (of which it is the chief port), on the Black Sea, and the capital of a district of the same name (area, 2,554 square miles; pop. about 350,000). It has a good harbor, and a large trade in grain. It is the see of a Greek archbishop. It was taken by the Russians in 1828, but restored to Turkey a year later by the peace of Adrianople. The Crimean ex- pedition sailed from Varna in 1854. It was bombarded by the Russian fleet in 1915. Pop. about 45,000. VARNHAGEN, FRANCISCO ADOL- PHO DE, VISCOUNT OF PORTO SEGURO (varn-a'gen), a Brazilian dip- lomatist and historian ; born in Sao Joao de Ypanema, Sao Paulo, Feb. 17, 1816. His youth was passed in Portugal; on his return to Brazil in 1841, he was ap- pointed to diplomatic posts in Lisbon, Paraguay, Peru, Vienna, and other places. He was indisputably the first of Brazilian historians, his works being distinguished by profound research and lucid style. Chief among them are: "General History of Brazil" (2 vols. 1854-1857); "History of the Struggles with the Dutch in Brazil" (2d ed. 1874) ; "Anthology of Brazilian Poetry" (1850- 1853); biographical studies; monographs on Amerigo Vespucci; etc. He died in Vienna, Austria, June 29, 1878. VARNHAGEN VON ENSE, KARL AUGUST (varn-ha'gen f on en'se) , a dis- tinguished Prussian diplomatist, re- garded as one of the best of German prose writers; born in Diisseldorf, Feb. 21, 1785. In 1814 he married Rahel Levin, an accomplished Jewess, and be- came conspicuous in Berlin society. His numerous works consist mainly of bio- graphical studies — including two memo- rials of his wife, who died in 1833 — tales, criticisms, and poems. Of his "Diaries" several volumes have appeared. He died in Berlin, Oct. 10, 1858. VARNHAGEN VON ENSE, MA- DAME (Rachel Antonie Friederike Levin), the wife of Karl August Varn- hagen von Ense, a woman of great in- tellectual abilities and wide intellectual sympathies, who might almost be called the foster mother of German genius, a Jewess by birth, sister of the poet Lud- wig Levin (afterward Robert-Tarnow) ; bom in Berlin, Prussia, May 19, 1771. The first half of her life was spent in various towns of Germany, in Paris, and in Prague. Her first love having been killed in battle against Napoleon's army, Rahel became a Christian and married (in 1814) Varnhagen von Ense. Her house in Berlin was a gathering place for men of genius — philosophers, poets, artists, and writers. Her husband published a collection of her writings and letters as "Rahel" (1833), and three years later another collection; still later her cor- respondence with Veit (1861) and with Varnhagen (1875). She died in Berlin, March 7, 1833. VARNISH, a thin, resinous fluid, which, when spread over the surface of wood, metal, glass, or other solid sub- stances forms a shining coating, imper- vious to air and moisture. The great number of varnishes consist of some resinous material, dissolved in linseed oil, alcohol, or some liquid hydrocarbon such as turpentine and benzole. Those made by dissolving a resin in a non- volatile drying oil, like that from linseed, are called oil varnishes; and those pre- pared by using volatile solvents (alcohol, benzole, etc.) for the resins are called spirit varnishes. In the case of the latter the solvent becomes dissipated as the varnish dries, so that when any sur- face is coated with a varnish of this kind only a film or coating of resin re- mains, which is apt to crack and peel off; but means are taken either in the prej)aration of the varnish or in the laymg of it on to counteract this tend- ency. With an oil varnish, on the con- trary, the oil remains as part of the coating, giving it toughness, while the resin gives it hardness. VARNISH TREE, the name given to various trees which furnish varnish. They are chiefly natives of the hotter parts of the Eastern Hemisphere and the varnish tree of each country or large province is, as a rule, different from that of others. In Tenasserim, Pegu, etc., the varnish tree is Melanorrhcea usitatissima, sometimes specifically called the Black, or Martabam varnish; that of Japan is Rhus vernicifera and Stagmaria vernicifiua; that of Sylhet, Semecarpus anacardmm. The varnish tree of the countries bordering on the Mediter- ranean is Rhus coriaria. It is a tree the leaves of which are divided into five to seven pairs of hairy leaflets with a terminal one. It is 15 to 20 feet high. VARRO, CAIUS TERENTIUS, the Roman commander who was defeated at Cannae by Hannibal in 216 b. c.
