The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 319

NACHTIGAL, GUSTAV, German traveller and explorer; visited (1869-1874), the first European to do so, at the instance of Prussia, by way of Tripoli, the heart of Africa, and returned by way of Cairo, and wrote an account of his journey, "Sahara and Sudan"; in 1884 annexed to Germany territory in West Africa; died on his return journey, and was buried at Cape Palmas (1834-1885).

NADIR, name given to the part of the heavens directly under our feet, as zenith to that directly over our head.

NADIR SHAH, king of Persia, born in Khora.s.san of low origin; began his career as a brigand; set himself at the head of 3000 brigands to deliver Persia from the yoke of the Afghans, and expelled them, rising by degrees to the sovereignty of Persia himself; made war on the Afghans, invaded Hindustan, and took and plundered Delhi, restoring its former dominion to the Persian monarchy; became subject to suspicion of plots against him, had recourse to violence, and was a.s.sa.s.sinated (1688-1747).

NaeVIUS, CNEIUS, one of the earliest Roman poets, born in Campania; wrote dramas, and an epic poem on the first Punic War, in which he had served; satirised the aristocracy, and was obliged to leave Rome, where he had spent thirty years of his life; died at Utica (265-204 B.C.).

NAGARI, the name given to the characters In Sanskrit and Hindi alphabets.

NaGAS, in the Hindu mythology "deified serpents," sons of Kadru, a personification of darkness, are represented as more or less invested with a human form, and endowed with knowledge, strength, and beauty; live in the depths of the ocean, and their capital city exposes to the vision a display of the most dazzling riches. They are not always represented as harmful; though armed with poison they possess the elixir of strength and immortality, and form the supports of the universe. They are a reflection of the belief that the deadly powers as well as the regenerative centre in one and the same deity, in his wisdom killing that he may make alive.

Also the name of a race of aborigines in North-East India.

NAGASAKI (61), one of the six treaty ports of j.a.pan, on the NW. of the island Kius.h.i.+u; has a beautiful and extensive harbour, within which lies the island of Des.h.i.+ma; manufactures "egg-sh.e.l.l" china, exports coal, tea, &c., and possesses an excellent dockyard; American and English missions are carried on.

NAGPUR or NAGPORE (117), capital of the Central Provinces of British India, and of a district and division of the same name; an important railway terminus, 450 m. NE. of Bombay; is noted for the manufacture of fine cloth, and carries on a brisk trade in wheat, salt, spices, &c.

NAHUM, one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament; appears to have been a contemporary of Isaiah, and to have prophesied after the destruction of Samaria and the defeat of Sennacherib before Jerusalem in the reign of Hezekiah. His mission as a prophet was to console the people in the presence of the formidable power of a.s.syria, and to predict its downfall, and especially that of its capital city Nineveh, an event which happened under Cyaxares the Mede 603 B.C. His thought is forcible, his expression clear, and his diction pure, all three worthy of the cla.s.sical age of Hebrew literature.

NAIADS, nymphs of the fresh-water fountains and streams, and as such endowed with prophetic power, and a.s.sociated with other deities in the sphere of nature gifted with the same power; are represented as lovely maidens in a nude or semi-nude state.

NAIRN (4), chief town of its county, prettily situated at the entrance of the Nairn into the Moray Firth, 16 m. NE. of Inverness; is frequented by summer visitors, and has a harbour and golf links.

NAIRNE, BARONESS, Scottish poetess, born at Gask, Perths.h.i.+re, third daughter of Laurence Oliphant of that Ilk, of Jacobite proclivities; known for her beauty as the Flower of Strathearn; was married to the sixth Lord Nairne, whom she survived; wrote 78 songs, the most famous among them being "The Land o' the Leal," "The Laird o' c.o.c.kpen," "Bonnie Charlie's noo awa," "Caller Herrin'," and "The Auld Hoose"; died at Gask (1766-1845).

NAIRNs.h.i.+RE (9), a northern county of Scotland, fronts the Moray Firth, wedged in between Elgin on the N. and Inverness on the W. and S.; the surface rugged and mountainous in the S. and E., slopes towards the Firth, and is traversed by the rivers Nairn and Findhorn; Loch Loy is the largest of several small lochs; scarcely one-fifth of the soil is devoted to the raising of cereals, but more attention is given to stock-raising; Cawdor and Auldearn are places in it of historic and antiquarian interest.

NAIRS, Hindus of high caste, claiming to rank next the Brahmans, who lived on the Malabar coast of India; among them polyandry prevailed, and the royal power descended through the female line.

NAMAQUAS, a pastoral people of South Africa; one of the princ.i.p.al branches of the Hottentot race, and inhabiting Great Namaqualand.

NAMUR (31), capital of a province of the same name in Belgium, is situated at the junction of the Meuse and the Sambre, 35 m. SE. of Brussels. The town is strongly fortified, but only a few of its fine old buildings have escaped the ravages of war. The citadel still stands, the cathedral, and the Jesuit church of St. Loup. Cutlery, firearms, &c., are manufactured. THE PROVINCE (339) skirts the NE. border of France between Hainault and Luxembourg.

NANA SAHIB, a Hindu traitor, his real name Dundhu Panth, of Brahman descent, adopted son of the ex-Peshwa of the Mahrattas, whose pension from the British Government was not continued to Nana on his death, and which rendered the latter the deadly foe to British rule in India, and the instigator, on the outbreak of the Mutiny in 1857, of the ma.s.sacre of Cawnpore; he had on the outbreak of the Mutiny in question offered his services to a British general, and placed himself at the head of the mutineers; the miscreant escaped, and his fate was never known; _b_.

1820. See CAWNPORE.

NANCY (87), capital of the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, North-East France, is prettily situated amid woodland scenery on the river Meurthe, 220 m. E. of Paris; the new town is s.p.a.ciously laid out, while the old town, narrowed in its streets, has many interesting old buildings, e. g. the cathedral, the 16th-century palace; there is a university, and an active trade in embroidered cambric and muslin, besides cotton and woollen goods, &c.

NANKING (150), an ancient city, and up to the 15th century the capital of China, is situated on the Yangtse River, 130 m. from its mouth; between 1853 and 1864 its finest buildings were destroyed by the Taiping rebels; its manufactures of nankeen and satin and of its once famous pottery and artificial flowers have fallen off, but it still continues the chief seat of letters and learning in China.

NANNA, in the Norse mythology the wife of Balder, the sun-G.o.d; distinguished for her conjugal fidelity, threw herself on the funeral pyre of her husband, and descended to the shades along with him; when the pair were entreated to return, he sent his ring to Odin and she her thimble to Frigga.

NANSEN, FRIDTJOF, Arctic explorer, born at Froen, near Christiania, son of a Norwegian advocate; explored the seas in a scientific interest round Spitzbergen in 1882, and crossed Greenland in 1888, conceived the idea of reaching the Polar regions by following the Polar ocean currents; sailed in the _Fram_, a s.h.i.+p specially constructed for a Polar voyage, in 1893, and on his return wrote an account of his expedition in "Farthest North" in 1897; _b_. 1861.

NANTES (116), capital of the department of Loire-Inferieure, North-West France, on the Loire, 35 m. from the sea; its fine streets, handsome buildings, and historical a.s.sociations make it one of the most interesting cities in France; the cathedral and the ducal castle date from the 15th century; s.h.i.+pbuilding, sugar-refining, and hardware are the staple industries, while an active s.h.i.+pping trade is kept up with the colonies.

NANTES, EDICT OF, edict granted by Henry IV. 1598, allowing to Protestants religious liberty and political enfranchis.e.m.e.nt, and confirmed by Louis XIII. in 1614, but revoked, after frequent infringements, in the shape of dragonnades and otherwise, by Louis XIV., Oct. 23, 1685, at the instance of Madame Maintenon and Pere la Chaise.

NAPHTHA, a liquid hydro-carbon of an inflammable nature that exudes from the earth or is distilled from coal-tar, &c.

NAPIER, SIR CHARLES, the conqueror of Sinde, born at Westminster, descendant of Napier of Merchiston; entered the army, was present at Coruna, served in the Peninsular War, was in 1841 made commander-in-chief of the Bombay army, defeated the Sikhs at Meeanee in 1848 in a brilliant engagement; became governor of Sinde, returned to England, and was welcomed with enthusiasm; went to India again on the outbreak of a second Sikh War, to find it suppressed; quarrelled with the Governor-General and came home; was a brave, upright, and humane man, and a great favourite with the army (1782-1853).

NAPIER, SIR CHARLES, admiral, cousin of preceding, born near Falkirk; entered the navy as a volunteer in 1799, a.s.sisted in two naval engagements, and for a time served as a volunteer in the Peninsular army; joined the Portuguese navy, defeated the fleet of Dom Miguel, tried to reform the navy of Portugal but failed, a.s.sisted by land and sea in driving Mehemet Ali out of Syria, and held the command of the Baltic fleet during the Crimean War, but disappointed expectations and was deprived of command (1786-1860).

NAPIER, JOHN, laird of Merchiston, mathematician, born in Merchiston Castle, near Edinburgh; famed over the world as the inventor of logarithms; wrote a book on the Apocalypse, which contains some plain-spoken counsel to King James; believed in astrology, and was addicted to divination as well as mechanical invention (1550-1617).

NAPIER, SIR WILLIAM, brother of the conqueror of Sinde; entered the army at the age of 15, served all through the Peninsular War, and wrote, besides the "Conquest of Sinde," the "History of the Peninsular War," a celebrated work, written from intimate knowledge of the events and with matchless graphic power (1785-1860).

NAPIER OF MAGDALA, Lord, military engineer officer, born in Ceylon; distinguished himself at the sieges of Multan, Delhi, and Lucknow; commanded an expedition in Abyssinia, stormed and took Magdala in 1868, for which he was rewarded with high honours (1810-1890).

NAPLES (536), the largest and richest city of Italy; has a lovely situation within the bend of Naples Bay, spreading from the foresh.o.r.e back upon wooded hills and rising terraces, behind which lie the snow-clad Apennines; to the E. lies the old town with its historic Via di Roma and narrow crowded thoroughfares; the newer portion on the W. is more s.p.a.ciously laid out, and much has been done in recent years over the whole city to improve the sanitation and water supply; the national museum, rich in Pompeii relics, the university (4150 students), the national library (275,000 vols.), the archiepiscopal cathedral, and the four mediaeval gateways are the chief architectural features; large quant.i.ties of wine, olive-oil, chemicals, perfumery, &c., are exported, while woollen, silk, linen, glove, and other factories carry on a good home trade; Naples became incorporated in the kingdom of Italy in 1861 after the Bourbon dynasty had been swept away by Garibaldi.

NAPOLEON I., emperor of the French, born at Ajaccio, Corsica, the second son of Charles Bonaparte and Laet.i.tia Ramolino; trained at the military schools of Brienne and Paris; distinguished first as a captain of artillery at the siege of Toulon in 1793; elected general of brigade in the Italian campaign of 1794; he fell under suspicion, but was soon after invested with the supreme command of the army there and the conduct of the war, which was rendered memorable by the victories of Montenotte, Lodi, Rivoli, Arcole, &c.; on his return to Paris he was received with an enthusiasm which excited in him the ambition to render himself indispensable to the country; to utilise his services in their own interest the Directory determined to strike a blow at England, and Egypt being the point of attack selected, he sailed in command of an expedition for that destination in 1797, and conducted it with successes and reverses till, in 1799, the unpopularity and threatened fall of the Directory called him back; it was the occasion for a _coup d'etat_ which he had meditated, and which he accomplished on the henceforward celebrated 18th Brumaire (9th Nov. 1799), when a consuls.h.i.+p of three was established, himself First Consul, and eventually in 1802 Consul for life; his administration in this capacity, while disgraced by several despotic acts, was in the main of a nature for the public benefit, and distinguished by its regard for the interest of law and good order, but his personal ambition the while was not asleep, for, by a Concordat with the Pope he so attached the Catholic Church to the state as to secure the clerical support to his ambitious projects, and was able on the 18th May 1804, to get himself invested with the imperial dignity, only Carnot in the Tribunate and Gregoire in the Senate protesting against the step as a violation of liberty; Napoleon owed it to his victories in the field that he attained this elevation, and the sword must maintain what the sword had won; from this date accordingly began that long array of wars against the rest of Europe, distinguished by the victories of Austerlitz, and Jena, and Eylau, and Friedland, and Eckmuhl, and Wagram, and which contributed to inspire all the nations around with a sense of the terror of his name; but with the unfortunate expedition into Russia, in 1812, Napoleon's glory began to wane and the tide to turn; after the battles of Lutzen and Bautzen, he might perhaps have signed an honourable peace, but he declined the terms offered, and was defeated at Lutzen by the Allies, who invaded France, and entered Paris in 1814 in spite of all his efforts to keep them at bay, upon which he was compelled to abdicate at Fontainebleau and retire to Elba, 20th April 1814; it was in vain for him to return from his retreat and re-enter Paris on the 20th March following, for the Powers, with England and Prussia at their head, leagued against him and crushed him at Waterloo; by this defeat he had forfeited the throne, and was compelled to abdicate, but unable to escape from France, delivered himself up to Captain Maitland of the _Bellerophon_, and was s.h.i.+pped off to St. Helena, where, after some six years of misery, he died 5th May 1821, whence his body was disinterred and buried with great pomp under the dome of the church of St. Louis, 15th December 1840; "he believed," says Carlyle, "too much in the _dupeability_ of men, saw no fact deeper in man than hunger and thirst; he was mistaken; like a man that should build upon clouds, his house and he fell down a confused wreck, and departed out of the world"; the one article of his _faith_ being "the tools to him that can handle them"

(1769-1821).

NAPOLEON, LOUIS. See LOUIS NAPOLEON, also BONAPARTE.