VERTUMNUS 201 VESPUCCI VBRTUMNUS, a Roman deity who presided over crops and orchards. He is generally represented as a young man crowned with flowers, and holding in his right hand fruit, and a horn of plenty in his left. He was the husband of Pomona. VERVIERS, a town of Belgium; in the province of Liege, on the Vesdre, 14 miles E. S. E. of Liege. It is celebrated for its manufacture of broadcloth, which is the staple of the town. There are also cotton, leather and other manu- factures. The Germans first entered Belgium in 1914 through this city. Pop. about 50,000. VERY, JONES, an American poet; born in Salem, Mass., Aug 28, 1813; published some essays and poems in 1839, and was a contributor to the "Christian Register," a monthly religious magazine, and other journals. A com- plete edition of his "Essays and Poems," with a biographical note of the author, was published by James Freeman Clark, Boston, 1886. He died in Salem, May 8, 1880. VESALITIS, ANDREAS, a Belgian anatomist; father of modern anatomy; bom in Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 31, 1514. In 1544 he was appointed chief physician to the Emperor Charles V., and on his abdication in 1555 he was nominated to the same office by his son, Philip II. His opposition to the Galenic doctrines, his habit of dissecting human bodies, then considered impious, and the great reputa- tion he enjoyed at the Spanish court, raised him many enemies; and a rumor that he had opened the body of a young Spanish nobleman whose heart showed symptoms of vitality, having got abroad, he was publicly accused of murder. The charge was taken up by the clergy and the medical faculty, to whom he was obnoxious, and also by the relations of the deceased; and though he enjoyed the protection of the king, he was obliged to flee from the persecution by which he was assailed, and to travel into Palestine by way of expiation of his alleged guilt. On his return he was shipwrecked on the island of Zante, where he perished miser- ably of cold and hunger, Oct. 15, 1564. He was the author of numerous works, but that by which he is best known is entitled "The Structure of the Human Body." VESPASIAN, TITUS FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS, a Roman emperor; born of a poor family in the country of the Sabines a. d. 9. He served in the Roman armies, gradually rising to dis- tinction, and in 66 was charged by Nero with the conduct of the Jewish war. He was still engaged in it when Nero diedj and while the civil war was going on be- tween Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, A. d. 69. He re- turned to Italy, leaving the war to his son Titus, and applied himself to the re-establishment of order, and the im- provement of the administration. He contented himself with the outward life of a private citizen, and contributed the force of his own example toward the introduction of a simpler mode of life, VESPASIAN and purer morals. The Jewish war ended in 70, and the next year Vespa- sian and Titus had a joint triumph. Vespasian died, A. D. 79, leaving two sons, Titus and Domitianus, who both became emperors. VESPERS, so called from Vesper, the evening star, was also called hora lucerna ("lamp hour"). Originally, like that of all the canonical hours, of which at first it was the last, the serv- ice consisted of the singing of three psalms intermixed with some prayers. According to the account of all the serv- ices given in the Apostolic Constitu- tions, that for vespers opened with the 140th (141st) Psalm, which was fol- lowed by a prayer. A collect was next said by the bishop, and a benediction pronounced on the people, who were then dismissed. But different churches had different usages, and in some lessons were read, hjmins sung, and other prayers offered. VESPUCCI, AMERIGO, or AMERI- CUS VESPUCIUS, an Italian navigator,
