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VERNATION
2014
VERONA

court, of seven justices, who are appointed biennially. Vermont sends two members to the Federal House of Representatives. Consult Robinson's Vermont in the American Commonwealth Series and Gilman's Bibliography of Vermont.

Verna′tion, the arrangement of leaves in the bud, sometimes called præfoliation. Numerous names have been applied to various forms of vernation. Among the principal ones are imbricate, in which the edge of a leaf overlaps its neighbor; valvate, in which neighboring edges touch, but there is no overlapping; conduplicate, in which the leaves are folded lengthwise; convolute, in which the leaf is rolled from one margin; circinate (characteristic of ferns), in which the leaf is rolled from the apex downward.

Verne (vârn), Jules, a French writer, was born at Nantes, Feb. 8, 1814. He first wrote plays and opera pieces, and for some time was connected with a theater. His wild and improbable stories have most of them been translated into English. The first one to make him known, published in 1863, was Five Weeks in a Balloon. It was based on modern science and had an air of reality. His other writings, except an illustrated geography of France, are of the same character. His works include A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, From the Earth to the Moon and Around the World in Eighty Days. He died at Amiens on March 24, 1905.

Vernet (vâr′nắ′), Claude Joseph, an eminent French painter, was born at Avignon, Aug. 17, 1714. When on a voyage to Rome, in a terrible storm he was fastened to the mast, and the scene so impressed him that he became a painter of sea-views, being considered the first marine painter in Europe. His best-known work is a series of the seaports of France, executed by royal order. His works have been extensively engraved. He died in Paris, Dec. 3, 1789.

Vernet, Emile J. Horace, a French military painter, was born at Paris, June 30, 1789. His first military painting was the Capture of a Redoubt. His pictures of the life of Napoleon and the army, as The Dog of the Regiment, Soldier of Waterloo, Barrier of Clichy, were very popular, and engravings of them could be found in nearly every cottage in France. Louis Philippe sent him to represent the French government at Rome. He traveled extensively, wrote several works on art, and made hundreds of designs for illustrated books. His fame rests on his military pictures, as the battle-pictures of Jena, Wagram and Fontenoy and the Capture of the Imala. He died at Paris, Jan. 17, 1863.

Ver′non, Edward, an English admiral, was born at London, Nov. 12, 1684. He was at the taking of Gibraltar in 1704, and was made a rear-admiral when only 24. While a member of Parliament, he declared that Porto Bello could be taken with only six ships of war, and when put in command of six vessels and sent to the West Indies, he took the city in one day, with the loss of only seven men. The English people were wild over the victory; Vernon's birthday was celebrated in London with public illuminations; and 130 medals were struck in his honor. With a larger fleet he attacked Cartagena, but failed to take it. In the invasion of the Pretender, Vernon's fleet had command of the coasts of Kent and Sussex. On account of a quarrel with the officers of the admiralty, his name was struck from the list of English admirals. George Washington's older brother, Lawrence, was with Vernon on his expedition against Cartagena, and afterwards in his honor named the Washington home on the Potomac Mt. Vernon. Admiral Vernon died in Suffolk, Oct. 29, 1757.

Vero′na, a city of northern Italy, is situated at the foot of the Tyrolese Alps, on Adige River, 62 miles west of Venice. The fortifications, begun by the Romans and carried on by Charlemagne, were almost destroyed in 1801, but were rebuilt by the Austrians. The present fortifications are a circle of forts far outside the old city-walls. It is a city of palaces; the Scaligeri palace, built in 1370, and those of the Canossa and Pompeii families in the 16th century are among the finest. Among the many churches are the cathedral, consecrated by Urban I in 1187 and having Titian's Assumption on its walls; St. Anastasia, one of the finest Gothic churches in Italy; St. Zeno, rebuilt in the 12th century; and that of San Giorgio, with paintings by Paul Veronese. Among Roman antiquities is a ruined amphitheater, built of marble and seating 22,000 people, much like the Colosseum at Rome. There are some fine streets and squares, many art-collections, an academy of painting and sculpture, a theological seminary, a city library and beautiful bridges across the Adige. Its manufactures are of silk, linen and woolen goods, and it has a trade in sumac, grain and oil. The tomb of Romeo and Juliet has been destroyed, but another has been found to satisfy the curiosity of tourists. Verona was a Roman colony, its walls and gates having inscriptions dating from the 3d century. The ancient moat still remains as a canal around the old part of the city. It was taken by Constantine (312), Theodoric (489) and Charlemagne (774), and afterwards became a free city. For 100 years it was ruled by the Scala family. In the 15th century it was conquered by Venice. The French took the city in 1796, and ceded it to Austria in 1797. Since 1866 it has been a part of the kingdom of Italy. Population 74,271,