MUSICAL INSTITUTIONS. The Ancient Academy of Music was instituted in 1710. It originated with numerous eminent performers and gentlemen to promote the study of vocal harmony. The Madrigal Society was established in 1741, and other musical societies followed. The Royal Society of Music arose from the principal nobility and gentry uniting to promote the performance of operas composed by Handel, 1785. Royal Academy of Music established 1822.

MUSKETS. They were first used at the siege of Arras in 1414. The Spanish historians state that Spain was the first power that armed the foot-soldier with these weapons. They were used at the siege of Rhegen in 1521. Introduced generally into the English army, and bows and arrows laid aside, 12 Henry VIII. 1521.Carte. It was the duke of Alva who first brought the musket into use in the Low Countries, 1569.-Branstone.

MUSLIN. A fine cloth, made wholly of cotton. According to some, it is so called as not being bare, but having a downy nap on its surface resembling moss, which the French call mousse. According to others, it was first brought from Mousol, in India, whence the name. Muslins were first worn in England in 1670.-Anderson. They were manufactured in great perfection in England in 1778.

MUTE. A prisoner is said to stand mute when, being arraigned for treason or felony, he either makes no answer, or answers foreign to the purpose. Anciently, a mute was taken back to prison, placed in a dark dungeon, naked, on his back, on the bare ground, and a great weight of iron placed upon his body; in this situation he was fed with three morsels of bad bread one day, and three draughts of stagnant water the next, and so on alternately until he died. For a very memorable instance of this punishment in A.D. 1605, see article Pressing to Death. By statute 12 George III. judgment is awarded against mutes, in the same manner as if they were convicted or confessed. A man refusing to plead was condemned and executed at the Old Bailey on a charge of murder, 1778. Another on a charge of burglary, at Wells, 1792. At Shrewsbury a man tried and convicted notwithstanding, Aug. 21, 1801.-Phillips.

MUTINIES IN THE BRITISH FLEET. The memorable mutiny throughout the fleet at Portsmouth for an advance of wages, April 15, 1797. It subsided on a promise from the Admiralty, which, not being quickly fulfilled, occasioned a second mutiny on board the London man-of-war, admiral Colpoys, who, with his captain, was put into confinement for ordering the marines to fire, whereby some lives were lost. The mutiny subsided May 10, 1797, when the act passed to raise their wages, and the king pardoned the mutineers. A more considerable one at the Nore, which blocked up the trade of the Thames, subsided June 10, 1797, when the principal mutineers were put in irons, and several executed. Mutiny of the Danae frigate; the crew carried the ship into Brest harbour, March 27, 1800. Mutiny on board admiral Mitchell's fleet at Bantry Bay, December 1801, and January following: see Bantry Bay. Mutiny at Malta, began April 4, 1807, and ended on the 12th, when the mutineers blew themselves up, by setting fire to a large magazine, consisting of between 400 and 500 barrels of gunpowder. Mutiny Act, a statute for the discipline, regulation, and payment of the army, &c., was passed 2 William III. 1689, and has been renewed annually ever since.

MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY, April 28, 1789. For particulars see Bounty. MYCALE, BATTLE OF, fought September 22, 479 B.C., between the Greeks and Persians; being the identical day on which Mardonius was defeated and slain at Platea. The Persians consisted of about 100,000 men, who had just returned from an unsuccessful expedition of Xerxes in Greece. They were completely defeated, some thousands of them slaughtered, their camp burnt, and the Greeks triumphantly embarked their troops and sailed back to Samos with an immense booty. MYCENÆ. A division of the kingdom of the Argives. It stood about fifty stadia from Argos, and flourished till the invasion of the Heraclidæ. Perseus removes from Argos to Mycenæ, and reigns, 1313 B.C. Mycena destroyed by the Argives, 568 B.C.

enterprises, with a view to get rid of him; but the hero surmounts all difficulties.] Egysthus assassinates Atreus . 1201 Agamemnon succeeds to the throne.. 1201

MYSTERIES. They originated in Egypt, the land of idolatry, and were an institution of the priesthood to extend their own influence; so that all maxims in morality, tenets in theology, and dogmas in philosophy, were wrapt up in a veil of allegory and mystery. From the Egyptian mysteries of Isis and Osiris sprung those of Bacchus and Ceres among the Greeks. The Eleusinian mysteries were introduced at Athens by Eumolpus, 1356 B.C. The laws were-1. To honour parents; 2. To honour the gods with the fruits of the earth; 3. Not to treat brutes with cruelty. Cicero makes the civilisation of mankind one of the beneficial effects of the Eleusinian mysteries. They were abolished by the emperor Theodosius A.D. 389. MYTHOLOGY. Fable usurped the place of historical truth as soon as the authentic tradition concerning the Creation had been lost or adulterated; and persons who had rendered themselves renowned as kings or leaders in this life, and whose achievements had dazzled the benighted understanding of men living in a state of nature, were supposed to be more than mortal, and therefore after death the multitude were easily taught to reverence them with divine honours. The Egyptians and Babylonians, after forgetting the invisible and true God, worshipped positive objects, as the sun and moon; and then transferred their adoration to the operations of nature and the passions of their own minds, which they embodied under symbolical representations, and ultimately worshipped the symbols themselves. Thoth is supposed to have introduced mythology among the Egyptians, 1521 B.C.; and Cadmus, the worship of the Egyptian and Phoenician deities, among the Greeks, 1493 B.C.

N.

NAAS, BATTLE OF, in Ireland. A desperate engagement between a body of the king's forces, consisting of the Ancient Britons and the Armagh Militia. The insurgents, who had just commenced the memorable Rebellion, were 3000 strong, and were defeated with the loss of 300 killed, May 24, 1798.-Sir Richard Musgrave. NABONASSER, ERA OF. This era received its name from the celebrated prince of Babylon, and began Feb. 26, 747 B.C. To find the Julian year on which the year of Nabonasser begins, subtract the year, if before Christ, from 747; if after Christ, add to it 748.

NAMES. Originally every person had but one name. Plato recommended it to parents to give happy names to their children; and the Pythagoreans taught that the minds, actions, and successes of men were according to their names, genius, and fate. The popes change their names at their exaltation to the pontificate, "a custom introduced by pope Sergius, whose name till then was Swine-snout, A.D. 687."-Platina. Onuphrius refers it to John XII., 956; and gives as a reason, that it was done in imitation of Sts. Peter and Paul, who were first called Simon and Saul. In France it was usual to change the name given at baptism, as was done in the case of two sons of Henry II. of France. They were christened Alexander and Hercules; but at their confirmation, these names were changed to Henry and Francis. It is usual for the religious at their entrance into monasteries to assume new names, to show they are about to lead a new life, and have renounced the world, their family, and themselves.-See Sirnames.

NAMUR. Ceded to the house of Austria by the peace of Utrecht. It was garrisoned by the Dutch as a barrier town of the United Provinces in 1715. Namur was taken by the French in 1746, but was restored in 1748. In 1781, the emperor Joseph expelled the Dutch garrison. In 1792, it was again taken by the French, who were compelled to evacuate it the following year; but they regained possession of it in 1794. The French, however, delivered it up to the Allies in 1814.

BB

NANTES, EDICT OF. This was a celebrated edict, permitting to the Protestants the free exercise of their religion, published by Henry IV. of France in 1598. The impolitic and unjust revocation of this edict by Louis XIV. was declared Oct. 24, 1685, and obliged the Protestants to shelter themselves in England, Holland, and different parts of Germany, where they established various manufactures to the prejudice of their own country.-See Pacification.

NAPIER'S BONES. The name given to certain pieces of ivory, &c., containing the products of any two single numbers, so contrived, that multiplication and division of large numbers may easily be performed by them, invented by the famous lord Napier, baron of Merchiston, who also invented logarithms, about A.D. 1617. NAPLES. The continental division of the kingdom of the two Sicilies. Naples was a part of the Roman territory at a very early period. In the fifth century it became a prey to the Goths, and afterwards to the Lombards; and the Saracens, Normans, and French, also successively had possession of this country.

800

The Goths having become masters of
Naples and of Sicily, are expelled by
Belisarius, general of the Eastern em-
pire.
A.D. 537
The Lombards next get possession of
Naples, and are dispossessed by Char-
lemagne
Charles of Anjou, brother of St. Louis,
king of France, obtains the crown from
the pope to the exclusion of the
rightful heir, Conradin, who is be-
headed, aged sixteen years
The French becoming hated by the Si-
cilians, a general massacre of the in-
vaders takes place, one Frenchman
only escaping.-See Sicilian Vespers
March 30, 1282
. 1282
1303

Peter of Arragon reigns

1266

The two crowns disjoined
Charles Durazzo, becoming king of Hun-
gary, is murdered there by order of the
queen regent, in her presence

. 1386

July 13, 1799 It is again taken by the French, April 7, 1801 Dreadful earthquake felt throughout the kingdom, and thousands perish July 26, 1805 Treaty offensive and defensive between France and Naples . Oct. 8, 1805 Ferdinand is again driven from Naples, and Joseph Buonaparte is crowned king Feb. 6, 1806 Joseph abdicates for the crown of Spain

The crown is transferred to Joachim
Murat
Naples is surrendered to a British fleet,
and Ferdinand re-enters
Execution of Joachim Murat
Revolutionary movement,

general Pepe

Suppression of the Carbonari

headed by

July 15, 1820 Sept. 16, 1820

1647

Reign of Francis I.

This insurrection subsides, and Masa-
niello is murdered

And of Ferdinand II.

Attempt of the duke of Guise to possess
the crown

1647

to the sulphur monopoly, (which is afterwards amicably adjusted) Mar. 15, 1840

NARVA, BATTLE OF, in which Peter the Great of Russia was totally defeated by the renowned Charles XII. of Sweden, then in his nineteenth year. The army of Peter is said to have amounted to 100,000 men, while the Swedish army did not much exceed 20,000, fought Nov. 30, 1700.

NASEBY, BATTLE OF, between Charles I. and the parliament army under Fairfax and Cromwell. The main body of the royal army was commanded by lord Astley; prince Rupert led the right wing, sir Marmaduke Langdale the left, and the king himself headed the body of reserve. The victory was with the parliament forces, and was decisive of the fate of the unfortunate Charles, who was obliged to abandon the field to his enemies, losing all his cannon and baggage, and 5000 of his army were made prisoners, June 14, 1645.

NATIONAL DEBT. The first mention of parliamentary security for a debt of the

nation, occurs in the reign of Henry VI. The present national debt commenced in the reign of William III. It had amounted, in the year 1697, to about five millions sterling, and the debt was then thought to be of alarming magnitude.

amounted to

to

In 1817. When the English and Irish
exchequers were consoli-
dated

865,000,000

848,282,477

years' war, it amounted to 139,000,000 In 1786. Three years after the American war, it amounted to 268,000,000 In 1830. Total amount of the funded In 1798. The civil and foreign war, it and unfunded debt 840,184,022 462,000,000 In 1840. Total amount of ditto 789,578,720 NATIVITY. There are two festivals, both in the Roman and Greek churches, under this name. The first is the Nativity of the Redeemer, which is also observed by the Protestants, generally on the 25th day of December, and is of very long standing in the church; the other of the Virgin Mary, not observed by the Protestants at all. Pope Sergius I. about 690, is the first who placed the Nativity, kept in memory of the blessed Virgin, among the festivals; but it was not generally received in France and Germany till about 1000, and the Greeks and eastern Christians did not observe it till some time in the twelfth century; but they now do it with great solemnity. NATURALIZATION. It is defined to be "the making a foreigner or alien a denizen or freeman of any kingdom or city, and so becoming, as it were, both a subject and a native of a king or country, that by nature he did not belong to." The first act of naturalization passed in 1437; and various similar enactments were made in most of the reigns from that time, several of them special acts relating to individuals. An act for the naturalization of the Jews passed in 1753, but it was repealed in the following year, on the petition of all the cities in England. The act for the naturalization of prince Albert passed 3 Victoria, Feb. 7, 1840.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF FRANCE. Upon the proposition of the abbé Siéyès, the states of France constituted themselves into the National Assembly, June 16, 1789. On the 20th, the hall of this new assembly was shut by order of the king; upon which the deputies of the Tiers Etat repaired to the Jeu de Paume, or Tennis-court, and swore not to dissolve until they had digested a constitution for France. On the 22nd they met at the church of St. Louis. This assembly dissolved itself, Sept. 21, 1792.-See next article.

NATIONAL CONVENTION OF FRANCE. Constituted in the hall of the Tuileries, Sept. 17, and formally opened, Sept. 21, 1792, when M. Grégoire, at the head of the National Assembly, repaired thither and announced that that assembly had ceased its functions. It was then decreed, "That the citizens named by the French people to form the National Convention, being met to the number of 371, after having verified their powers, declare, that the National Convention is constituted." This convention continued until a new constitution was organised, and the Executive Directory was installed at the Little Luxembourg, Nov. 1, 1795.-See Directory. NATIONAL GALLERY. The foundation of this great institution was the purchase, by the British government, for the public service, of the Angerstein collection of pictures, whose number did not much exceed forty. They were purchased of Mr. Angerstein's executors, in Jan. 1822; and the first exhibition of them took place in Pall Mall, in May 1824. Sir G. Beaumont, Mr. Holwell Carr, and many other gentlemen, as well as the British Institution, contributed many fine pictures; and the collection has been augmented by numerous later gifts, and recent purchases. The present grand edifice in Trafalgar-square was designed by Mr. Wilkins, and was completed and opened in 1837.

NAVAL BATTLES. The Argonautic expedition undertaken by Jason is the first upon record, 1263 B.C.-Du Fresnoy. The first sea-fight on record is that between the Corinthians and Corcyreans, 664 B.C.-Blair. The following are among the most celebrated naval engagements to be found on the page of history, and the glorious achievements of England infinitely surpass those of any other country.