Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/184

Rh 166 V E R V E R the fourth day of trial it became evident that the demean our of the prisoners was touching the hearts of the people and making them relent. Then suddenly came the order from the alarmed committee of safety to bring the pro ceedings to an end. Gensonne demanded to be heard in defence of the prisoners. This was refused ; a verdict of guilty followed, and a sentence of death. Valaze stabbed himself to the heart and fell dead among his comrades. They were conducted to the conciergerie, which they entered singing the Marseillaise. Early on the following morning, 31st October 1793, they were conveyed to the scaffold, again singing on the way the national chant, and keeping up the strain till one by one they were guillotined. Yergniaud was executed last. (T. s.) VERKHNE- URALSK, a district-town of Orenburg, Russia, at the eastern base of the Ural Mountains and on the upper Ural river, 380 miles north-east of Orenburg, is rapidly becoming an important centre of trade with the Bashkirs and Kirghiz in honey, wax, wool, hides, horses, and sheep. The population (10,354 in 1882) has doubled within the last twenty-five years. VERMIGLI, PIETEO MARTIRE (1500-1562), commonly known as PETER MARTYR, a Reforming theologian of the 1 6th century, came of a good Tuscan family, and was born at Florence on 8th September 1500. In 1516 he entered the house of the Augustinian canons regular at Fiesole, and from 1519 onwards studied at Padua, where he heard lectures on the Aristotelian philosophy and taught himself some Greek. In his twenty-sixth year he was sent out as a preacher, in which capacity he visited various Italian cities, among them Bologna, where a Jewish physician gave him lessons in Hebrew. While prior of St Peter ad Aram in Naples he was introduced to Juan de Valdes s circle, and also became intimate with Bernardino Ochino. At Lucca, whither he had gone to be prior of San Frediano, the &quot; evangelical &quot; tone of his preaching attracted the atten tion of the Inquisition, and he was compelled to quit Italy (1542). After short halts at Zurich and Basel he settled in Strasburg as professor of Old Testament exegesis, and in 1547 he removed to England, mainly at Cranmer s in stance. During the next six years he taught exegesis as a professor in Oxford, conducted public disputations, took part in the adjustment of the Book of Common Prayer, and was generally active in the theological discussions of the time. The accession of Queen Mary in 1553 obliged him to leave England, and he resumed his former duties at Stra^ uurg. From 1555 till his death in the autumn of 1562 he taught in Zurich. He took a prominent part in the abortive conference of Poissy in 1561. His Oxford lectures on 1st Corinthians were published at Zurich in 1551 and those on the Romans in 1558. In 1559 appeared his Dc- fcnsio doctrinse veteris et apostolicsz de S. Eucliaristise sacramtnto, and also his Defensio ad R. Smythsei duos libellos de coslibatu sacerdo- tum et votis monasticis. The Dialogic de utraque Christi natura dates from 1561 ; and after his death a number of his commentaries on books of the Old Testament were published by his friends. In 1575 Robert Masson, a French preacher in London, published a folio volume of loci communes from Martyr s writings, digested according to the method of Calvin s theological system. This is a work of great value to students of the Reformation theology. A number of interesting letters by Martyr to prominent theologians are also extant. Sec Schlosser s Leben des Th. lieza u. des P. M. Vermigli (Heidelberg, 1807) and C. Schmid s Leben der Vateru. Begriinder der reformirten Kirche, vol. vii. (Elber- feld, 1858). VERMILION is a brilliant scarlet pigment composed of the sulphide of mercury, HgS. To a small extent it is obtained direct from pure and bright-coloured portions of the native ore CINNABAR (q.v.) ; but it is chiefly an artificial preparation. The process of manufacture, as conducted principally in Holland, consists in making an intimate mixture of mercury with about one-sixth of its weight of sulphur, and these under the influence of a gentle heat combine to form the black sulphide of mercury called sethiop s mineral. In successive portions pieces of this compound are thrown into tall earthen pots the lower parts of which are kept at a red heat, and the mass sublimes, depositing a coating of artificial cinnabar on the iron covers and over the upper part of the pots themselves. At the end of the subliming process, the pots are broken, the de posit of cinnabar is scraped off, ground in a mill, levigated, and when dry it is ready for use as vermilion. The pig ment is also prepared by the wet method (see MERCURY, vol. xvi. p. 34), and it is said that Chinese vermilion owes its superiority to being made in this way. In addition to its brilliance, vermilion is a pigment of great intensity and durability, remaining unaffected by acid fumes. Being costly, it is much subject to adulteration ; but the fraudu lent additions may easily be detected by volatilization, which in the case of pure vermilion leaves no residue. For antimony vermilion, see PIGMENTS, vol. xix. p. 87. VERMONT, one of the New England States of the Plate V. American Union, lies between 42 44 and 45 43&quot; N. lat. and 71 38 and 73 25 W. long. It is bounded on the N. by the Canadian province of Quebec, on the E. by New Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Con necticut river, on the S. by Massachusetts, and on the W. by New York, from which it is separated for more than 100 miles by Lake Champlain. The Canadian boundary is 90 miles long ; but from this the width of Vermont con tinually grows less towards the southern border, where it is 41 miles. The length is 158 miles. The boundary be tween Vermont and New York passes through the western side of Lake Champlain, so that three-fourths of the lake and most of its islands belong to the former. The area of the State is 10,212 square miles. The surface is greatly diversified, so that the scenery is Physical everywhere attractive and often grand. The Green Moun- features. tains, following a south-westerly trend, divide the State into nearly equal portions. Near Canada there are two ranges, the western being the larger ; but near the forty- fourth parallel they unite and continue through western New England as a single range. The highest mountain is Mansfield (4430 feet), and there are five others over 4000 feet and twelve over 3500 feet. Except upon the loftiest summits, the whole range is densely covered with forests of spruce (Abies nigra), mingled with which are other ever green and deciduous trees. 1 Many of the streams flowing west unite to form five rivers which enter Lake Champlain. Eleven smaller rivers flow into the Connecticut, which drains about one-third of the area of Vermont. Three streams run north and enter Lake Memphremagog, about one-fifth of which is within the State, and two flow south to join the Hudson river. Most of the larger streams pass through wide, fertile valleys. Small lakes and ponds are abundant. The rocks of Vermont are largely metamorphic. Their Geology, age has long been disputed among geologists ; it appears now, however, to be clearly established that most of them are Palaeozoic, although there are a few small areas which may prove to be Archaean. Along Lake Champlain there are many outcrops of unaltered fossiliferous strata, which, from the Lower Cambrian through the Hudson River or Cincinnati formations, lie in a regular conformable series, and upon these rest Quaternary deposits. The strata have a northerly strike and a dip 5-90 E. They form frequent headlands and cliffs upon the shore of Lake Champlain, where they can be most easily studied. The Cambrian beds, nowhere more than a few miles broad, extend from Canada southwards for about 90 miles, having a total thick ness of probably not less than 10,000 feet. They consist of limestone, sandstone, shale, slate, quartzite, and conglo- 1 Hence the old French name Verd Mont.