Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/190

Rh 170 Y E B, V E R and on his return to England Queen Anne acknowledged his gallantry with the present of two hundred guineas. He next went to the West Indies as rear-admiral to Sir Charles Wager, a brave seaman, who afterwards rose to the highest position at the admiralty in the Whig ministry of Walpole, and was pitted against Vernon both in the House of Commons and at the polling-booth. In 1715, and again in 1726, Vernon assisted in the naval operations in the Baltic, supporting Sir John Norris in the first enter prise, and on the latter serving under his old chief, Sir Charles Wager. During the long supremacy of Walpole little opportunity arose for distinction in warfare, and Vernon s energies found relief in politics. At the general election of 1722 he was returned for both Dunwich in Suf folk and Penryn in Cornwall, but chose the latter constitu ency. In the succeeding parliament of 1727 he was again chosen member for Penryn ; but he failed to retain his seat after the dissolution in 1734. At this period the English people regarded the Spaniards as their legitimate enemies, and the ill-feeling of the two countries was fanned both in poetry and in prose. The political antagonists of Walpole charged him with pusillanimity to Spain. With Pulteney and most of his associates this battle-ground was selected rather from expediency than from principle ; but Vernon represented the natural instincts of the sea-captain, and with the sailor as with the soldier the motto was &quot;No peace with Spain.&quot; In debate he spoke often, and fre quently with effect, but his language always savoured of extravagance. He pledged himself in 1739 to capture Porto Bello with a squadron of but six ships, and the minister whom he had assailed with his invectives sent him, as vice-admiral of the blue and commander of the ileet in the West Indies, to the enterprise with the force which he had himself called sufficient. Vernon weighed anchor from Spithead on 23d July 1739 and arrived off Porto Bello on 20th November. Next day the combat began with a bombardment of an outlying fort which protected the mouth of the harbour, and on 22d November the castle and town surrendered with a loss on the English side of only seven men. The joy of the nation knew no bounds. Vernon s birthday was celebrated in 1740 in London with public illuminations, and 130 medals were struck in his honour. In February 1741 in a bye-election at Portsmouth Vernon was again sent to parliament. At the general election in the following May he was returned for Ipswich, Rochester, and Penryn, and all but succeeded in winning Westminster. 1 A larger squadron was placed under Vernon s command at the close of 1740, and with this force he resolved upon attacking Cartagena. After a fierce struggle the castle, which stood at the harbour s entrance, was gained ; but in the attack upon the city the troops and sailors failed to act in concert, and, with the numbers of his forces thinned by combat and by disease, the British admiral retired to Jamaica. The incidents of this disastrous attempt are described in Smollett s Roderick Random, chap, xxxi., &c. A similar enterprise in July 1741 against Santiago in Cuba met with a similar reverse, and Vernon attributed the defeat to the divided command of the British forces. He landed at Bristol, 6th January 1743, and on 24th January received the freedom of the city of London. When the country dreaded the march of Prince Charles to London, the fleet in the Downs was placed under the command of Vernon ; but his jealous disposition brooked no interference from the Admiralty, and on 1st January 1746 he struck his flag and handed over the command to another. His next act was to describe his grievances in a couple of angry pamphlets, revealing the communications of his official chiefs, and for this indis cretion he was struck off the list of flag officers (llth 1 Grego s Parliamentary Elections, London, 1886, pp. 95-106. April 1746). He continued to represent the borough of Ipswich until his death, but with this proceeding his public services practically ceased. He died suddenly at Nacton in Suffolk, 30th October 1757, and was buried in the church of the village. Vernon s gallantry was unquestioned ; but his valour not infre quently degenerated into foolhardiness, and he dwelt more often than is usual with British seamen on the merits of his own exploits. His politics were those of the Tory party, and his differences with the Whigs and with his colleagues in the services led to his pub lishing several pamphlets on his political conduct. A Memorial of Admiral Vernon from Contemporary Authorities was printed by W. F. Vernon for private circulation in 1861. VERONA, an important city of northern Italy, in the province of Venetia, situated (45 26 8&quot; N. lat. and 10 59 4&quot; E. long.) in a loop made by the winding of the Adige (ancient Athesis). It lies at the junction of the Adige valley railway and that from Mantua with the Milan, Vicenza, and Venice line, 25 miles north of Mantua and 30 south-south-west of Vicenza. Modern City. The basilica of S. Zeno (an early bishop Church of Verona who became its patron saint), which stands oi s - outside the ancient city, is one of the most interesting Zell - churches in Italy, but has been recently much injured by &quot;restoration.&quot; The church was remodelled in the 12th century, to which period most of the existing structure belongs, including the richly sculptured west front and the open &quot;confessio&quot; or crypt, which occupies the eastern half of the church, raising the choir high above the nave, a plan adopted in S. Miniato near Florence, the cathe dral of Parma, at Coire in Switzerland, and elsewhere. This arrangement was probably introduced by the northern invaders of Lombardy. The cloisters of S. Zeno, rebuilt in 1123, are an interesting example of brick and marble construction. Like many other churches in Verona, S. Zeno is mainly built of mixed brick and stone in alternate bands : four or five courses of fine red brick lie between bands of hard cream-coloured limestone or marble, 2 form ing broad stripes of red and white all over the wall. A similarly variegated effect in red and white is produced by building the arches of windows and doors with alternating voussoirs in brick and marble. 3 The cathedral, consecrated in 1187 by Pope Urban III., stands at the northern ex- Cathe- tremity of the ancient city, by the bank of the Adige ; dral. it is inferior in size and importance to S. Zeno, but has a fine 12th-century west front of equal interest, richly decorated with Lombardic sculpture. The rest of the exterior is built in bands of red and white, with slightly projecting pilasters along the walls ; it has a noble cloister, with two stories of arcading. Its baptistery, re built early in the 12th century, is a quite separate build ing, with nave and apse, forming a church dedicated to S. Giovanni in Fonte. Pope Lucius III., who held a council at Verona in 1184, is buried in the cathedral, under the pavement before the high altar. The Dominican church Church of S. Anastasia is a mine of wealth in early examples of of s - painting and sculpture, and one of the finest buildings in Italy of semi-Gothic style. It consists of a nave in six bays, aisles, transepts, each with two eastern chapels, and an apse, all vaulted with simple quadripartite brick groin ing. 4 It dates from the latter part of the 13th century, and is specially remarkable for its very beautiful and com plete scheme of coloured decoration, much of which is 2 The neighbourhood of Verona is especially rich in fine limestones and marbles of many different kinds, especially a close-grained cream- coloured marble and a rich mottled red marble, which are largely used, not only in Verona, but also in Venice and other cities of the province. The same quarry produces both kinds, and indeed the same block is sometimes half red and half white. 3 See Street, Brick and Marble Arch, in Italy, London, 1855, p. 75 sq. 4 This type of church was specially adopted by the Dominicans in Italy.