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Rh 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