Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/182

Rh 164 y E R V E R ornaments of the Vercelli school of painting, which flour ished in the 15th and 16th centuries, and to which belonged also Giovenoni, Defendente Ferrari, Lanini, and, one may almost add, Bazzi, who was a native of the town. Of the two hospitals of Vercelli one has a museum and bota nical gardens ; the town also has a lyceum, a gymnasium, a technical school, and a seminary. The leading industry is silk-spinning; and there is an active trade in the products of the surrounding district (silk, hemp, flax, and rice). The population in 1881 was 20,165 (commune, 21,169). Verccllsc was originally the chief city of the Libici, and afterwards became a Roman municipium. In the neighbourhood (near Rotto on the Sesia) are the Raudii Campi where Hannibal won his first victory on Italian soil (218 B.C.), and where in 101 B.C. Marius and Catulus routed the Cimbri. From about 1228 till 1372 Vercelli was the seat of a university (see UNIVERSITIES). VERB ISLANDS, CAPE. See CAPE VERB ISLANDS. VERDUN, a town of France, chef -lieu of an arrondisse- ment in the department of Meuse, an episcopal see, and a first-class fortress, is situated on the Meuse, 174 miles cast-north-east of Paris by the railway to Metz, at the junction of the line from Lerouville to Sedan by the Meuse. The enceinte is pierced by four gates; that to the north-east consists of two crenellated towers, and is an interesting specimen of the military architecture of the 15th century. On the left bank of the river is the citadel, on the site of the old abbey of St Vannes (10th century), the remaining buildings of which are used as barracks. On all sides the approaches to the place are guarded by an important line of defensive works, including five redoubts and six forts. From afar can be seen the square towers of the cathedral, the exterior of which still recalls the original building of the llth century. It was burnt in 1047, and reconsecrated in 1147 by Pope Eugenius III. Some interesting buttresses of the 12th century and a crypt of the llth are worthy of notice. The three naves of the interior have Gothic vaults, sepa rated by modern arches. The town -hall (17th century) contains a library (22,500 volumes) and a museum of art, archaeology, and natural history. One of the public squares has a statue of General Chevert, a native of Verdun. The town is famous for its confectionery, sugar-plums, and liqueurs. In 1881 the population was 15,682 (commune 16,053), and in 1886 17,282 (commune 17,755). Verdun (Vcrodunum), an important town at the time of the Roman conquest, was made a part of Belgica Priina. It was de stroyed during the period of the barbarian invasions, and did not recover till towards the end of the 5th century. Clovis seized the town in 502, and it afterwards belonged to the kingdom of Austrasia. In 843 the famous treaty was signed here by the sons of Louis the Pious (see FRANCE, vol. ix. p. 534, and GERMANY, vol. x. p. 480). In the 10th century Verdun was definitively conquered by Germany and put under the temporal authority of its bishops. In the 1 1th century the burghers of the now free and imperial town began a struggle with their bishops, which ended in their obtaining cer tain rights in the 12th century. In 1553 Henry II. of France took possession of Verdun, which finally became French by the treaty of Westphalia. In 1792, after some hours of bombardment, the citizens opened their gates to the Prussians, a weakness which the Revolutionary Government punished by the execution of some young girls who had offered flowers to the king of Prussia. In 1870 the Prussians, unable to seize the town by a coup de main, invested and bombarded it three different times, till it capitulated in the beginning of November. VERGILIUS. See VIRGIL. VERGNIAUD, PIERRE VICTURNIEN (1753-1793), French orator and Revolutionist, was born on 31st May 1753 at Limoges. He was the son of a merchant of that town, who lost the greater part of his means by specula tion. The boy was early sent to the college of the Jesuit: at Limoges, and soon achieved distinction. Turgot was then interidant of Limousin. In his presence young Vergniaud on one occasion recited some verses of his own composition. Turgot was struck with the talent they displayed, and by virtue of his patronage A r ergniaud, having gone to Paris, was admitted to the College of Plessis. It is impossible to read the speeches of Vergniaud without being convinced of the solidity of his education, and in particular of the wide range of his knowledge of the classics, and of his acquaintance familiar and sym pathetic with ancient philosophy and history. Duputy, president of the parlement of Bordeaux, with whom Vergniaud became acquainted, conceived the greatest admiration and affection for him and appointed him his secretary. Vergniaud was thereafter called to the bar (1782). The influence of Duputy gained for him the beginnings of a practice ; but Vergniaud, though capable of extraordinary efforts, too often relapsed into reverie, and was indisposed for study and sustained exertion, even in a cause which he approved. This weakness appears equally in his political and in his professional life : he would refuse practice if his purse were moderately well filled ; he would sit for weeks in the assembly in listless- ness and silence, while the policy he had shaped was being gradually undermined, and then rise, brilliant as ever, but too late to avert the calamities which he foresaw. In 1789 Vergniaud was elected a member of the general council of the department of the Gironde. Being deeply stirred by the best ideas of the Revolutionary epoch, he found a more congenial sphere for the display of his great powers in his new position. About this period he was charged with the defence of a member of the national guard of Brives, which was accused of provoking disorders in the department of La Correze. Abandoning all reserve, Vergniaud delivered one of the great orations of his life, depicting the misfortunes of the peasantry in language of such combined dignity, pathos, and power that his fame as an orator spread far and wide. By the self-denying ordinance of the constituent assembly France was deprived of the whole talent and experience of its members in that new body the legislative assembly for which they were declared ineligible ; and the election of new men was proceeded with. Vergniaud was chosen a representative of the Gironde in August 1791, and he forth with proceeded to Paris. The legislative assembly met on 1st October. For a time, according to his habit, he re frained from speaking ; but on 25th October he ascended the tribune, and he had not spoken long before the whole assembly felt that a new power had arisen which might control even the destinies of France. This judgment was re-echoed outside, and he was almost immediately elected president of the assembly for the usual brief term. Be tween the outbreak of the Revolution and his election to the legislative assembly the political views of Vergniaud had undergone a decided change. At first he had lauded a constitutional monarchy ; but the flight of Louis filled him with distrust of the sovereign, and his views in favour of a republic were rapidly developed. The sentiments and passions which his eloquence aroused were, however, watch fully utilized by a more extreme party. It happened thus even with his first assembly speech, on the emigres. His proposal was mainly that a treble annual contribution should be levied on their property ; but the assembly con fiscated their goods and decreed their deaths. One great blot on his reputation is that step by step he was led on to palliate violence and crime, to the excesses of which his eyes were only opened by the massacres of September, and which ultimately overwhelmed the party of Girondists which he led. The disgrace to his name is indelible that on 19th March 1792, when the perpetrators of the mas sacre of Avignon had been introduced to the assembly by Collot d Herbois, Vergniaud spoke indulgently of their crimes and lent the authority of his voice to their amnesty. In language, sometimes turgid, but nearly always of pure and powerful eloquence, he worked at the theme of the