N

Niel, Adolphe, French marshal, born at Muret; entered the Engineers 1825, served in the Algerine War in 1835, before Rome in 1849, at Bomarsund in 1854, at Sebastopol in 1856, as well as at Magenta and Solferino, and finally became Minister of War (1802-1869).

Niepee, Joseph Nicéphore, French chemist, born at Châlons-sur-Saône; inventor of photography, the method of effecting which he achieved after long brooding in 1824, and afterwards communicated to Daguerre, with whom he entered into partnership, and who made it known after his death (1765-1833).

Niflheim or Misthome, in the Norse mythology the primeval northern region of cold and darkness, in contrast with Muspelheim, or Brighthome, the primeval southern region of warmth and light, the two poles, as it were, of the Norse world.

Niger, a great river of Western Africa, whose head-waters rise amid the Kong Mountains behind Sierra Leone; flowing NE. as far as Timbuctoo (2 m. from the river), it there bends gradually southward, receives from the E. its great affluent the Benuë, and about 100 m. from the coast begins to form a wide forest and jungle-covered delta (larger than that of the Nile), and finally flows into the Gulf of Guinea by 22 mouths after a course of some 2600 m. Forms, with the Benuë, an invaluable highway into the heart of the country; its upper and middle parts, under the names Joliba, &c., are within the French sphere, and the lower portion below Say is under English authority.

Nightingale, Florence, a famous philanthropic nurse, born at Florence, of wealthy English parentage; at the age of 22 entered the institution of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserswerth to be trained as a nurse, and afterwards studied the methods of nursing and hospital management with the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, Paris; after thoroughly reorganising Harley Street Hospital, London, she in 1854 volunteered to organise a staff of nurses to tend the wounded soldiers in the Crimea; arriving at Scutari on the eve of Inkermann she, during the terrible winter of 1854-55, ministered with unwearied devotion to the suffering soldiers; on her return in 1856 she, with public support, established a training college for nurses at St. Thomas's and at King's College Hospital; she is author of "Notes on Nursing," "Notes on Hospitals," &c.; b. in 1820.

Nihilism, the principles of a movement on the part of the educated classes in Russia which repudiates the existing creed and organisation of society, and insists on a root and branch wholesale abolition of them and a reconstruction of them on communistic principles, and for the purely secular and everyday ends of common life, subordinating everything in the first place to the feeding, clothing, and lodging of human beings in a manner worthy of their rank in the scale of being. The term Nihilism is also applied to those philosophical systems which sweep the course clear of all incredibilities and irrationalities, but leave us bare of all our inherited spiritual possessions.

Nijni-Novgorod (73), capital of a Russian government of the same name, situated at the confluence of the Oka with the Volga, 274 m. E. of Moscow, is the seat of Peter-Paul's Fair, the greatest in the world, which lasts from July to September, attracting merchants from Asia and Europe, and during which the population of the town swells to six or seven times its normal dimensions; as much as £20,000,000 worth of goods are said to be sold during the fair.

Nile, the longest river of Africa, and one of the most noted in the world's history; the Shimiyu, Isanga, and other streams which flow into Victoria Nyanza from the S. are regarded as its ultimate head-waters; from Victoria Nyanza, the Victoria Nile or Somerset River holds a north-westerly course to Albert Nyanza, whence it issues under the name of the Bahr-el-Jebel, swelled by the waters of the Semliki from Albert Edward Nyanza; about 650 m. N. it is joined by the Bahr-el-Ghazal from the W., and bending to the E., now under the name White Nile, receives on that side the Sobat, and as a sluggish navigable stream flows past Fashoda on to Khartoum, where it is met by the Bahr-al-Azrak or Blue Nile; 200 m. lower it receives the Atbara or Black Nile. Through Egypt the river's course is confined to a valley some 10 m. broad, which owes its great fertility to the alluvial deposits left by the river during it annual overflow (July to October, caused by seasonal rains in Abyssinia, &c.). From Khartoum to Assouan occur the cataracts; below this the stream is navigable. A few miles N. of Cairo begins the delta which lies within the Rosetta and Damietta—two main branches of the divided river—and is some 150 m. broad at its base. From Victoria Nyanza to the coast the river measures about 3400 m.

Nilsson, Christine, an operatic singer, born in Sweden, daughter of a peasant, and one of the foremost sopranos of her day; distinguished for her dramatic talent no less than by her powers as a vocalist (1843-1882).

Nimeguen (34), an interesting old Dutch town in Guelderland, on the Waal, 73 m. E. of Rotterdam; has a fine 13th-century Gothic church and other notable buildings; its prosperous manufactures include tobacco, perfume, beer, &c.; here, in 1678-79, France effected famous peace treaties with Holland, Spain, and Austria.

Nîmes or Nismes (68), capital of the department of Gard, S. of France, lies surrounded by the Cévennes in the fertile valley of the Vistre, 31 m. E. of Montpellier; has unique Roman remains, including an imposing amphitheatre, now used as a bull-arena, the noble Corinthian "Maison Carrée," a mausoleum, baths, &c.; textiles (silk, cotton, &c.), wines, and brandy are the chief articles of manufacture; it declared for the Reformation in 1559, and suffered cruelly on the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

Nimrod, an early king of Assyria or Babylonia, characterised in Scripture (Gen. x. 9) as "a mighty hunter before the Lord"; a name now applied to a distinguished hunter.

Nineveh, an exceeding great city, capital of ancient Assyria, which stood on the left bank of the Tigris, opposite the modern town of Mosul, said to have been included within a wall 60 m. long, 100 ft. high, the breadth of three chariots in width, and defended by 1500 towers each 200 ft. in height.

Ninian St., early apostle of Christianity to the southern Picts of Scotland, born on the shores of the Solway, of noble descent; went to Rome, was consecrated by the Pope, visited St. Martin at Tours on his way back; had founded a church at Whithorn, Wigtownshire, which he dedicated to the latter on his return, where he died, "perfect in life and full of years," in 432.

Ninus, a legendary king of Assyria, a celebrated conqueror, to whom tradition assigns the founding of Nineveh.

Niobe, in the Greek mythology the daughter of Tantalus, and wife of Amphion, king of Thebes, to whom she bore six sons and six daughters, in her pride of whom she rated herself above Leto, who had given birth to only two children, Apollo and Artemis, whereupon they, indignant at this insult to their mother, gave themselves for nine days to the slaughter of Niobe's offspring, and on the tenth the gods buried them; Niobe, in her grief, retired to Mount Sipylos, in Lydia, where her body became cold and rigid as stone, but not her tears, which, ever as the summer months returned, burst forth anew.

Nirvâna, the name given to the consummation of bliss in the Hindu, but especially the Buddhist, religions, synonymous with extinction, which in the Hindu creed means the extinction of individuality by absorption in the Divine Being, and in Buddhism, not, as some presume, the extinction of existence, but the extinction of agitation of mind through the crucifixion of all passion and desire, the attainment of self-centred, self-sufficient quiescence of being, or rest and peace of soul.

Nisus, a Trojan youth who accompanied Æneas into Italy, and whose friendship for Euryulus is so pathetically immortalised by Virgil in the ninth book of the "Æneid."

Nithsdale, William Maxwell, Earl of, a noted Catholic, who took part in the Jacobite rising of 1715, was captured at Preston, found guilty of treason, and sentenced to death; the night before the day appointed for his execution (24th February 1786) he effected an escape from the Tower by exchanging clothes with his daring and devoted countess, who had been admitted to his room; he fled to Rome, where he lived in happiness with his wife until her death (1676-1744).

Nitrogen, a gaseous element which constitutes one-fourth in volume of the atmosphere, is the basis of nitric acid, and is an essential constituent of proteids, alkaloids, and albuminoids.

Nitzsch, Karl Ludwig, German theologian, born at Borna; became professor at Bonn, Saxony, in 1822, whence in 1847 he was removed to succeed Marheineke at Berlin; was of the Schleiermacher school of theologians, and author, among other works, of a "System der Christlichen Lehre" and "Practische Theologie," the former an able work, but most vilely translated into English, and the latter in evidence of the importance the author attached to the ethical element in the Christian religion (1787-1860).

Nixie, in German folk-lore a water-sprite of a mischievous disposition, believed to have been suggested to the imagination by the reflection of the stars in the water.

Nizam, the name given to a viceroy or administrator of justice in the Mogul Empire of India.

Nizam's Dominions, The, or Hyderabad (11,537), in the heart of the Deccan, situated between the Central Provinces and the Presidency of Madras; it is highly fertile, and the largest of the native States in India. See Hyderabad.

Noah, the patriarch of Scripture antiquity who, by the command of God, constructed an ark for the preservation of the human race and the dry-land animals during the prevalence of the deluge that would otherwise have swept all these forms of life away.

Noailles, the name of an old French family, several members of which distinguished themselves in the service of both Church and State: Anne Jules N., marshal of France, celebrated for his cruelties against the Huguenots (1650-1708); Louis Antoine de, his brother, archbishop of Paris, who was made cardinal (1651-1729); Louis Marie, Vicomte de, deputy to the States-General, who took part for a time in the Revolution (1756-1804).

Noakes, John O', a fictitious name for a litigious person, used by lawyers in actions of ejectment.

Noble, a gold coin first minted by Edward III., formerly current in the country; worth 6s. 8d., and ultimately 10s., when the value of the gold increased.

Nocturne, picture of a night scene; also a musical piece appropriate to the night.

Nodes, name given to the two points in the orbit of a planet where it crosses or intersects the ecliptic, called ascending when it goes N., and descending when it goes S.

Nodier, Charles, able French littérateur, born at Besançon; a man of great literary activity and some considerable literary influence; author of charming stories and fairy tales; "did everything well," says Professor Saintsbury, "but perhaps nothing supremely well" (1780-1844).

Nollekens, Joseph, sculptor, born in London, son of an Antwerp painter; studied in Rome; his forte lay in busts, of which he modelled a great many, including busts of Garrick, Sterne, Dr. Johnson, Pitt, and Fox, and realised thereby a large fortune; he was a man of no education; his principal work is "Venus with the Sandal" (1737-1813).

Nominalism, the name given to the theory of those among the Scholastics who maintained that general notions, which we denote by general terms, are only names, empty conceptions without reality, that there was no such thing as pure thought, only conception and sensuous perception, whereas realists, after Plato, held by the objective reality of universals. And, indeed, it is not as modern philosophy affirms, in the particular or the individual, in which alone, according to the Nominalists, reality resides, but in the universal, in regard to which the particular is nothing if it does not refer.

Nonconformists, a name originally applied to the clergy of the Established Church of England, some two thousand, who in 1662 resigned their livings rather than submit to the terms of the Act of Uniformity passed on the 24th of August that year, and now applied to the whole Dissenting body in England.

Nones, in the Roman calendar the ninth day before the Ides (q. v.), being the 7th of March, May, July, and October, and the 5th of the rest.

Nonjurors, a name given to that section of the Episcopal party in England who, having sworn fealty to James II., refused to take the oath of allegiance to William III., six of whom among the bishops for their obstinacy were deprived of their sees.

No-Popery Riots, name given principally to riots in London in June 1780, due to the zeal of Lord George Gordon (q. v.), ending in the death of near 300 persons.

Nordenskiöld, Erik, a Swedish naturalist, born in Helsingfors; after several successive voyages and explorations in the Arctic Sea, in which he paid frequent visits to Spitzbergen, where he measured an arc of the meridian, in 1878-79 discovered the North-East Passage by traversing, along the N. shores of Europe and Asia, the whole Arctic Sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific; has written accounts of his expeditions; b. 1832.

Nordkyn (i. e. north chin), the most northerly point in Norway, and of the continent of Europe generally.

Nore, Mutiny at the, a mutiny in the fleet stationed at the Nore, an anchorage off Sheerness, in the Thames, which broke out on May 20, 1797, and was not suppressed till June 15, for which the ringleaders were tried and hanged.

Norfolk (455), an eastern maritime county of England, lies N. of Suffolk, and presents a long eastern and northern foreshore (90 m.) to the German Ocean; the Wash lies on the NW. border; light fertile soils, and an undulating, well-watered surface favour an extensive and highly developed agriculture, of which fruit-growing and market-gardening are special features; rabbits and game abound in the great woods and sand-dunes; the chief rivers are the Ouse, Bure, and Yare, and these and other streams form in their courses a remarkable series of inland lakes known as the Broads (q. v.); its antiquities of Roman and Saxon times are many and peculiarly interesting.

Norfolk Island, a small precipitous island in the Western Pacific, midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand, 400 m. NW. of the latter; its inhabitants, many of whom came from Pitcairn Island, and now less than 1000, govern themselves under the superintendence of New South Wales.

Norman, Henry, journalist and traveller, born at Leicester; travelled extensively in the East; has written on "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," and "Round the Near East"; has since 1892 been on the staff of the Daily Chronicle.

Norman Architecture, a massive architecture introduced into England, particularly in the construction of churches, abbeys, &c., by the Normans even before the Conquest, which was in vogue in the country till the end of Henry II.'s reign, and which is characterised by the prevalence of the rounded arch.

Normandy, an ancient province of France, fronting the English Channel, NE. of Brittany; received its name from the Northmen who, under Rollo, established themselves there in the 10th century; was for a long time an appanage of the English crown after the Norman Conquest; after being taken and retaken, was finally lost to England in 1450; it became practically a part of France when it was taken by Philip Augustus in 1204; it is now represented by the five departments Seine-Inférieure, Eure, Orne, Calvados, and Manche.

Nornas, in the Norse mythology the three Fates—the Past, the Present, and the Future; maidens or dames who water the roots of Iggdrasil (q. v.), the ash-tree of existence, and determine the destinies of both gods and men.

Norrköping (36) (north market), a town in Sweden, called the "Scandinavian Manchester," 113 m. SW. of Stockholm, with cotton and woollen factories worked by the water-power of the river Motala, that in falls and rapids rushes through the town.

Norroy King of Arms, a name given to the third king-of-arms, whose province is on the N. side of the Trent, the one on the S. side being called Clarencieux.

North, Christopher, a pseudonym of Prof. John Wilson in the "Noctes Ambrosianæ" in Blackwood's Magazine.

North, Frederick, Lord, English statesman; entered Parliament in 1754, became Tory leader in the House of Commons in 1767, and Prime Minister in 1770; was entirely subservient to the will of the king, George III., and was responsible in that relation for the loss of the American colonies; a coalition was effected in 1783 between him and Fox, to the disgrace of the latter, but it terminated in a few months; he died, Earl of Guildford, blind (1732-1792).

North Berwick. See Berwick, North.

North Cape, the most northerly point in Europe, in the island of Magerö, in 71° N. latitude.

North Carolina. See Carolina, North.

North Sea or German Ocean, between the E. coast of Britain and the Continent, spreads out into the Arctic Ocean, is shallow, is crossed by many sandbanks, and is subject to frequent violent storms; the Dogger Bank, between England and Denmark, 8 to 16 fathoms deep, is rich in fish, especially cod.

North-East and North-West Passages, the name given to the sea-routes through the Arctic Ocean, the former by the N. of Europe and Asia and the latter by the N. of North America, which the northern nations were ambitious to open up into the Pacific, the access to which by the Capes in the S. was in possession of the fleets of Spain and Portugal; the attempts to achieve it cost much money and much life, and realised no permanent material advantage.

North-West Passage. See North-East.

North-West Provinces (46,905), a province and lieutenant-governorship of British India, embraces the upper portion of the Ganges Valley and Doab, and reaches from Bengal to the Punjab, enclosing Oudh on all sides but the N.; area twice that of England, is the chief wheat province, and also raises opium, cotton, tea, and sugar; was separated from Bengal in 1835, and with it in 1877 was conjoined Oudh; Allahabad is the capital.

Northallerton (4), a market-town and capital of the North Riding of Yorkshire, 30 m. NW. of York; in the vicinity was fought the famous Battle of the Standard, in which David I. of Scotland was routed by the English, August 22, 1138.

Northampton (70), capital of Northamptonshire, on the Nen, 66 m. NW. of London; has two fine old Norman churches, is the centre of the boot and shoe manufacture, and is actively engaged in brewing, lace-making, &c.; in the outskirts is a popular racecourse; was the scene of Henry VI.'s defeat by the Yorkists on July 10, 1460.

Northamptonshire or Northants (302), a midland county of England, bordering upon nine others; has an undulating fertile surface, and is distinguished from the surrounding counties by extensive woods and plantations; is chiefly engaged in agriculture and stock-raising; the Nen and the Welland are the principal rivers; among its antiquities are Fotheringay Castle, where Mary Stuart was beheaded, and Burleigh House; the battles of Edgecote (1469) and Naseby (1645) were fought within its borders.

Northcote, James, English portrait-painter; studied under Sir Joshua Reynolds, whose Life he wrote as well as Titian's; wrote also "Fables" and "Conversations."

Northcote, Sir Stafford Henry. See Iddesleigh, Lord.

Northmen or Norsemen, the name given in the Middle Ages to the sea-roving, adventure-loving inhabitants of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; in their sea-rovings they were little better than pirates, but they had this excuse, their home was narrow and their lands barren, and it was a necessity for them to sally forth and see what they could plunder and carry away in richer lands; they were men of great daring, their early religion definable as the consecration of valour, and they were the terror of the quieter nations whose lands they invaded; at first their invasions were mere raids for plunder, but at length they were satisfied with no less than conquest and the permanent occupancy of the lands they subdued, settling some of them on the shores of England and France, and even in the S. of Italy; these invasions were common and frequent during the whole of the 9th and the early part of the 10th centuries.

Northumberland (506), the most northerly county of England, lies on the border of Scotland, from which it is separated by the Cheviots and the Tweed; its eastern shore, off which lie the Farne Islands, Lindisfarne, and Coquet Isle, N. of Durham, fronts the North Sea; is fifth in size of the English counties; in the N. the Cheviot slopes form excellent pasturage, but the Pennine Range towards the W. presents dreary and less valuable moorland; on the W. are arable lowlands; Tweed, Tyne, Till, Alne, Wansbeck, are the chief rivers. Its great coal-field in the S.E. is the most celebrated in the world, and is the county's greatest source of wealth, and includes upwards of 100 collieries; Newcastle, Alnwick (county town), Hexham, and North Shields are the principal towns. Within its borders were fought the battles of Otterburn, Homildon Hill, and Flodden.

Northumbria, one of the ancient English kingdoms; comprised the eastern half of the island from the Humber to the Firth of Forth, and was divided into the Northern Bernicia and the southern Deira; was founded in 547 by Ida the Angle.

Northwich (14), a town in Cheshire, with springs in and around of brine, from which salt has been procured for centuries.

Norton, Charles Edward, American littérateur, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts; has travelled a good deal in Europe; edited, with Lowell, the North American Review and the early Letters of Carlyle, as well as the "Reminiscences," which had been too carelessly edited by Froude; b. 1827.

Norton, Mrs., English novelist and poet, née Sheridan, granddaughter of Sheridan, authoress of "Stuart of Dunleath," "Lost and Saved," &c., described by Lockhart as "the Byron of poetesses," figures in Meredith's "Diana of the Crossways" (1808-1877).

Norway (2,000), a kingdom of North Europe, comprising the western side of the Scandinavian peninsula, and separated from Sweden on the E. by the Kjölen Mountains; the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans beat upon its long and serrated western seaboard, forcing a way up the many narrow and sinuous fiords; Sogne Fiord, the longest, runs into the heart of the country 100 m.; off the northern coast lie the Loffodens, while the Skerries skirt the E. The country forms a strip of irregular and mountainous coast-land 1160 m. long, which narrows down at its least breadth to 25 m.; 70 per cent, of the surface is uncultivable, and 24 per cent, is forest; the lakes number 30,000, of which Lake Wenner (2136 sq. m.) is the largest; immense glaciers are found in the great mountain barrier, and innumerable rivers run short and rapid courses to the Atlantic and to the Skager-Rak in the S.; the Glommen, flowing into Christiania Fiord, is the largest (400 m.). The climate of the W. coast districts is tempered by the Gulf Stream; inland there is a great decrease in the rainfall, but much intenser cold is experienced. The wealth of the country lies in its forests and fisheries, mines and shipping; only 2 per cent, of the land-surface is under cultivation, and 2.8 per cent is utilised for grazing; the copper, iron, and silver mines are declining. Christiania (the capital) is the centre of the industrial area; the shipping almost equals that of the United States, and ranks third in the world. The Norwegians are intensely democratic (titles and nobility were abolished in 1821), and although under a king, who also includes Sweden in his dominions, they enjoy democratic home rule, no members of the Storthing (Parliament) being paid. Education is free and compulsory, and the bulk of the people are Lutherans. The monetary unit is the Krone (= 1/1½). Norway, originally inhabited by Lapps and Gothic tribes, was first unified by Harold Haarfager (A.D. 863-930), and subsequently welded into a Christian kingdom by his descendant St. Olaf (1015). From 1536 it was held as a conquered province by Denmark up to 1814; in that year it was ceded to Sweden, and received national rights and a free constitution.

Norwich, 1, an ancient cathedral city and capital of Norfolk (101), situated on the Wensum, immediately above its junction with the Yare, 114 m. NE. of London; its beautiful woodland surroundings have won it the name of "the city in an orchard"; chief of its many fine buildings is the cathedral, a handsome Norman structure, founded in 1096; of the old Norman castle only the keep now stands, crowning a central hill; its celebrated triennial musical festivals began in 1824; textile fabrics are still an important manufacture, but have been superseded in importance by mustard, starch, and iron-ware factories; has been a bishopric since 1094. 2, Capital of New London County (16), Connecticut, on the Thames River, 36 m. SE. of Hartford.

Norwood (24), a healthy southern suburban district of London, at one time the locality of a gypsy encampment.

Nostradamus, a celebrated astrologer, the assumed name of Michel de Notredame, born at St. Remi, Provence; was a medical man by profession, but gave himself to divination, uttered in rhymes in a series of published predictions called "Centuries" (1503-1566).

Notables, The, name given to certain actual or virtual rulers of the different districts of France, consisting of men of different ranks, summoned together in a time of civic perplexity and trouble to advise the king, and especially the convocation of them summoned at the instance of Controller Colonne, and that assembled at the Château of Versailles on 22nd February 1787 to the number of a "round gross," including seven princes of the blood, and who were "organed out" nine weeks after, their debates proving ineffectual, to be recalled on the 6th November the year following, to "vanish ineffectual again on 12th December, and return no more."

Notary Public, a professional person appointed to certify to a formality required by law as observed in his presence.

Notre Dame, celebrated metropolitan church of Paris, situated on the "Ile de la Cité"; it was begun to be erected in 1163 on the site of a prior Merovingian cathedral, which itself had superseded a pagan temple on the spot, and completed, at least the general ensemble of it, in 1230.

Nottingham (214), capital of Nottinghamshire, on the Trent, 126 m. NW. of London; is a spacious and well-built town, with an arboretum, castle (now an art gallery), two theatres, university college, free library, old grammar-school, racecourse, &c.; is the centre of lace-making and hosiery in England, and manufactures cottons, silks, bicycles, cigars, needles, beer, &c.; a fine granite and iron bridge spans the river.

Nottinghamshire (446), a north-midland county of England, lies wedged in between Lincoln (E.) and Derby (N.), and touches York on the N.; embraces the broad, level, and fruitful valley of the Trent, Sherwood Forest, and Wolds in the S.; excepting the Vale of Belvoir in the E., part of the Wolds and the Valley of the Trent, the land is not specially productive; coal and iron ore are found. The principal towns, Nottingham, Newark, Mansfield, &c., are busily engaged in the manufacture of all kinds of lace, hosiery, and various woollen goods; iron-founding and cotton mills are also numerous.

Noumena, the philosophical name for realities as distinct from phenomena, which are regarded as but the appearances of reality.

Nova Scotia (450), a province of Canada, lies E. of New Brunswick, facing the Atlantic, which, with its extensions, Bay of Fundy and Gulf of St. Lawrence, all but surrounds it; consists of a peninsula (joined to New Brunswick by Chignecto Isthmus) and the island of Cape Breton, separated by the Gut of Canso; area equals two-thirds of Scotland, short rivers and lakes abound; all kinds of cereals (except wheat and root-crops) are grown in abundance, and much attention is given to the valuable crops of apples, pears, plums, and other fruits; gold, coal, iron, &c., are wrought extensively, manufactures are increasing; the fisheries (mackerel, cod, herring, salmon, &c.), and timber forests are the chief sources of wealth; the province is well opened up by railways, education is free, government is in the hands of a lieutenant-governor, an executive council (9), and a legislative assembly (38); Halifax (q. v.) is the capital; climate varies in temperature from 20° below zero to 98° in the shade, fogs prevail in the coast-land; was discovered in 1497 by Cabot, formed a portion of French Acadie, and finally became British in 1713.

Nova Zembla, a long and narrow island (sometimes classified as two islands) in the Arctic Ocean, between the Kara Sea and Barentz Sea, 600 m. by 60 m.; the Matochkin Shar, a narrow winding strait, cuts the island into two halves; belongs to Russia, but is not permanently inhabited; is visited by seamen and hunters.

Novalis, the nom de plume of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a German author, born at Wiederstädt, near Mansfeld, one of the most prominent representatives of the Romantic school of poets, author of two unfinished romances entitled "Heinrich von Ofterdingen" and "Lehrlinge zu Sais," together with "Geistliche Lieder" and "Hymnen an die Nacht"; was an ardent student of Jacob Boehme (q. v.), and wrote in a mystical vein, and was at heart a mystic of deep true feeling; pronounced by Carlyle "an anti-mechanist—a deep man, the most perfect of modern spirit seers"; regarded, he says, "religion as a social thing, and as impossible without a church" (1772-1801). See Carlyle's "Miscellanies."

Novatian, a priest of the Church in Rome, a convert from paganism, who in the third century took a severe view of the conduct of those who had lapsed under persecution, particularly the Decian, and insisted that the Church, having no power to absolve them, could not, even on penitence, readmit them, in which protest he was joined by a considerable party named after him Novatians, and who continued to trouble the Church for centuries after his death, assuming the name of Cathari or purists.

November, the eleventh month of the year, so called by the Romans, in whose calendar it was the ninth.

Novgorod (21), a noted Russian city, and capital of a government of the same name, is situated on the Volkhof, 110 m. SE. of St. Petersburg; is divided into two parts by the bridged river, contains the cathedral of St. Sophia (11th century); with its foundation in 864 by Rurik, a Scandinavian prince, Russian history begins; was by the 12th century a free State, but in 1471 was put down by the Muscovite Czar Ivan III.; the government of Novgorod (1,290) lies E. of St. Petersburg, embraces the Valdai plateau and hills, is chiefly forest land, and includes some 3000 lakes.

Nox, the Latin for "night," and the name of the "goddess of night." See Nyx.

Noyades, drownages superintended during the Reign of Terror at Nantes by the attorney Carrier, and effected by cramming some 90 priests in a flat-bottomed craft under hatches, and drowning them in mid-stream after scuttling the boat at a signal given, followed by another in which some 138 persons suffered like "sentence of deportation"; of these drownages there are said to have been no fewer first and last than 25.

Nubia, a large and ill-defined region of North-East Africa, lies between Egypt (N.) and Abyssinia (S.), and stretches from the Red Sea (E.) to the desert (W.); is divided into Lower and Upper Nubia, Dongola being the dividing point; Nubia has in recent times rather fallen under the wider designation of Egyptian Soudan; except by the banks of the Nile the country is bare and arid desert; climate is hot and dry, but quite healthy.

Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome and the successor of Romulus, its founder, born at Cures, in the Sabine country, and devoted himself to the establishment of religion and laws among his subjects and the training of them in the arts of peace, in which, according to the legend, he was assisted by a nymph Egeria (q. v.), who lived close by in a grotto, and to whom he had ever and anon recourse for consultation; he was long revered in the Roman memory as the organiser of the State and its civil and sacred institutions, and his reign was long and peaceful.

Numantia, an ancient Spanish town on a steep height on the Douro, celebrated for the heroic defence maintained by its inhabitants against the Romans, till from the thinning of its defenders by starvation and the sword it was taken and destroyed by Scipio Africanus in 134 B.C.

Numbers, Book of, the fourth book of the Pentateuch, and so called from the two numberings of the people, one at the beginning and the other at the close of the period it embraces; it embraces a period of 38 years, and continues the narrative from the departure of the camp of Israel out of the wilderness of Sinai to its arrival on the borders of Canaan, and relates an account of the preparations for the march, of the march itself, and of the preparations for the conquest.

Numidia (i. e. land of Nomads), ancient country in North Africa, nearly co-extensive with Algiers, the inhabitants of which were of the Berber race, were brave but treacherous, and excelled in horsemanship; sided at first with the Carthaginians in the Punic Wars (q. v.), and finally with Rome, till the country itself was reduced by Cæsar to a Roman province.

Numismatics, the name given to the study and science of coins and medals.

Numitor, a legendary king of Alba Longa, in Italy, and the grandfather of Romulus and Remus.

Nuneaton (12), a thriving market-town of Warwickshire, on the river Anker and the Coventry Canal, 22 m. E. of Birmingham; has a Gothic church; cotton, woollen, and worsted spinning is the chief industry; was the scene of George Eliot's education.

Nur ed-Din, Mahmoud, sultan of Syria, born at Damascus; the extension of his empire over Syria led to the Second Crusade, preached by St. Bernard; compelled the Crusaders to raise the siege of Damascus, which he made his capital; called to interfere in the affairs of Egypt, he conquered it, and made it his own, a sovereignty which Saladin (q. v.) disputed, and which Nur ed-Din was preparing to reassert when he died (1117-1178).

Nüremberg (143), an interesting old Bavarian town on the Pegnitz, 95 m. N. of Münich, is full of quaint and picturesque mediæval architecture in fine preservation; has valuable art collections, a fine library, and a museum; is noted for the production of watches, toys, wood, metal, bone carvings, beer, and chemicals, and exports large quantities of hops; was made a free imperial city in 1219, and retained independence up to 1806.

Nutation, name given to a slight oscillatory movement noticeable in the celestial pole of the earth, due to the latter not being a perfect sphere.

Nyanza, Albert. See Albert Nyanza.

Nyanza, Victoria, a large lake of Central Africa, in the Nile basin, at the sources of the river, and S. of the preceding, equal in extent to the area of Scotland, at an elevation of 3890 ft.; discovered by Captain Speke in 1858, and sailed round by Stanley in 1875.

Nyassa, Lake, lake in East Africa, feeds the Zambesi; is 350 m. long by 40 broad, at an elevation of 1570 ft., and was discovered by Livingstone in 1859; the waters are sweet, and abound with fish; the regions bordering it on the S. and W. are called Nyassaland.

Nyassaland, a region in Central Africa under British protection, lying round the shores of Lake Nyassa, the chief town of which is Blantyre; it is known also as the British Central Africa Protectorate, the administration being in the hands of a commissioner acting under the Foreign Office; the Europeans number some 300, and the natives 850,000, while the forces defending it consist of 200 Sikhs and 300 negroes; there are plantations of sugar, coffee, tobacco, &c., and almost the entire trade is with Britain.

Nyâya, the name of one of the six principal systems of Hindu philosophy, and devoted to the dialectics or metaphysics of philosophy.

Nymphs, in the Greek mythology maiden divinities of inferior rank, inhabiting mountains, groves, seas, fountains, rivers, valleys, grottoes, &c., under the several names of Oceanides (q. v.), Nereids (q. v.), Naiads (q. v.), Oreads (q. v.), Dryads (q. v.), &c.; they are distinguished by their grace and fascinating charms.

Nynee Tal, a place of resort in the summer season and a sanatorium in the North-West Provinces of India, 22 m. S. of Almora, 6521 ft. above sea-level.

Nyx (i. e. Night), in the Greek mythology the goddess of night, the daughter of Chaos (q. v.), and the sister of Erebos (q. v.), one of the very first of created beings, the terror of gods, and by Erebos became the mother of Æther, pure light, and Hemera, daylight, as well as other entities of note.