This is strange. I can't start xemacs-21.2 from within an Xvnc session:
*** Error in XEmacs initialization
(error "can't convert xemacs.frame.emacs.reverseVideo:  to a Boolean")
*** Backtrace
  really-early-error-handler((error "can't convert
xemacs.frame.emacs.reverseVideo:  to a Boolean"))
  x-get-resource("reverseVideo" "ReverseVideo" boolean #<x-frame
"emacs" 0x2663>)
  # bind (frame)
  x-init-frame-faces(#<x-frame "emacs" 0x2663>)
  # bind (frame)
  init-frame-faces(#<x-frame "emacs" 0x2663>)
  # (unwind-protect ...)
  # bind (frame-being-created)
  make-frame(nil #<x-device on "mharnois.workgroup.net:2.0" 0x2338>)
  frame-initialize()
  # bind (debugger debug-on-error command-line-args-left)
  command-line()
  # (unwind-protect ...)
  normal-top-level()
  # (condition-case ... . error)
  # (catch top-level ...)
*** Killing XEmacs
Works fine on my local xserver. And Bill's gtk-xemacs doesn't show the
same problem.
-- 
Michael D. Harnois, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Washburn, IA 
mdharnois(a)home.com                      aa0bt(a)aa0bt.ampr.org 
 EDUCATION, n. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from 
 the foolish their lack of understanding. -- Ambrose Bierce