Astor place riots, growing out of the rivalry of the actors Macready and Forrest; several lives lost..10 May, 1849 Taylor's machine-shop fire; 63 lives lost... .4 Feb. 1850 Great Crystal Palace Exhibition; opened ..14 July, 1853 Harper & Brothers' publishing house burned; 33 steampresses and thousands of tons of books destroyed; loss, $1,250,000; although 600 operatives were in the building, no lives were lost... .10 Dec. Burning of ship Great Republic and other ships. .24 Dec. 20 firemen killed at 221 Broadway.. Financial panic and bread riot... Crystal Palace burned; loss $2,000,000 Fire at the City Hall.. Great fire in Elm street; 50 lives lost. New Zealand colonists in England justify the conduct of the governor.. .22 Nov. The Maoris defeated, 29 Dec. 1860; 23 Jan., 24 Feb., 16-18 March, 1861 19 March, ..June, ...June, .25 April, 1854 1857 .5 Oct. 1858 ..17 Aug. ........2 Feb. 1860 Draft riot; mob in possession of the city.. 13 to 17 July, 1863 [Many buildings, including the Colored Orphan Asylum, were destroyed, and the number of persons killed during the riots is estimated at 1000. The city paid $1,500,000 indemnity for damage done.] Attempt to burn the city by firing the principal hotels simultaneously; supposed to have been the work of conspirators in sympathy with the rebellion..25 Nov. 1864 Bonded warehouses in South street burned; loss $2,000,000.... .16-18 April, 1865 Cholera caused 5071 deaths in 1849, 374 in 1855, and 1212 in... 1866 Barnum's Museum burned, 13 July, 1865; again 2 March, 1868 Black-Friday panic; gold rises to 162}.. 24 Sept. 1869 Orange riot, between Catholic and Protestant Irish; 62 persons killed. ......12 July, 1871 Overthrow of the Gould-Fisk directory of the Erie R. R., Exposure of the Tweed ring " frauds.. Citizens' committee of 70 to obtain redress, appointed March, ...Oct. .19 Sept. 1873 ...19 Nov. .....4 Dec. 1875 destroyed, 66 66 Epizootic catarrh prevails.. Great financial panic... Tweed sentenced to imprisonment.. Tweed escapes... Great fire, with loss of life; 30 buildings Tweed arrested at Vigo... Hell Gate reefs blown up. Brooklyn theatre burned; 300 lives lost.. Burning of Greenfield's candy works; 50 or 60 lives lost, Elevated railroads in operation... Tweed dies in jail....... O. B. Potter's newspaper building burned; 6 (See under United States.) 66 8 Feb. 1876 .8 Sept. 66 .24 Sept. .5 Dec. 66 20 Dec. 1877 .1877-8 12 April, 1878 lives lost, 31 Jan. 1882 New Zealand (in the Pacific Ocean), discovered by Tasman in 1642. The country remained unknown, and was supposed to be part of a southern continent, till 1769-70, when it was circumnavigated by capt. Cook. In 1773 he planted several spots of ground on this island with European garden-seeds, and in 1777 he found some fine potatoes. European population in 1860, 84,294; Dec. 1865, 190,607; 1874, 310,895; natives, 46,016. Value of imports in 1859, 1,551,0304; 1874, 6,464,6877.; 1876, 6,905,1717. Exports, 1859, 551,484.; in 1874, 5,610,371.; in 1876, 4,533,3591. The right of Great Britain to New Zealand recognized at the peace in.. The war ends; surrender of natives. A native sovereignty proclaimed; 5000 British soldiers in the island.. Loyalty of the natives increasing. 66 ...July, May, 1862 The Maori chiefs sign a poetical address of condolence to the queen on the death of the prince consort; received, Nov. Natives attack a military escort and kill 8 persons, Waikato tribe driven from a fort.. 4 May, 1863 .17 July, ....Aug. ....Sept. 66 66 64 War spreads; natives construct rifle-pits. Proposed confiscation of Waikato lands. Gen. Cameron severely defeats the Maoris at Rangariri, 20 Nov. Continued success of gen. Cameron; capitulation of the Maori king. .9 Dec. British attack on Galepa (the gate pah) repulsed with loss of officers and men .29 April, 1864 Loan of 1,000,000l. to New Zealand; guaranteed by par liament.. Several tribes submit.. 66 ..July, .Aug. 66 Maori prisoners escape and form the nucleus of a new insurrection... ....Sept. Sir George Grey issues proposals of peace, 25 Oct.; the Aborigines Protection Society send religious, moral, and political advice to the Maoris (considered injudicious).. Nov. Change of ministry and policy; seat of government to The Maoris treacherously kill the envoys of peace; res- Governor announces cessation of the war.. Murderers of Mr. Volkner executed. Death of William Thompson, the Maori chief....28 Dec. Sir George F. Bowen appointed to succeed sir George Grey; gazetted. 19 Nov. 1867 Act relating to the government of New Zealand passed in the British parliament.. Gen. Samuel Evans (an eminent colonist, 1838-9) dies, 23 Sept. 1868 66 Te Kooti, a chief, and about 150 Maori convicts, escape from Chatham island to the mainland, 4 July; they repulse troops sent against them, 7 Sept.; massacre the whites at Poverty bay. .10 Nov. Te Kooti and the rebels defeated by col. Whitmore; 130 Maoris killed. ...5 Jan. 1869 ...12 Feb. Massacre of settlers at Taranaki Change of ministry; hon. Mr. Fox's proposal to pay for British troops declined by the home government. Sept. Te Kooti, thrice defeated by the colonists and friendly natives, a fugitive... ..Oct. 66 Despatch from earl Granville, insisting on the withdrawal of the British troops (18th regiment) causes much dissatisfaction ..7 Oct. Friendly interview between Mr. McLean and the Maori king's minister... .8 Nov. Increased demand for the New Zealand fibrous plant, Phormium tenax. 66 Departure of the last British troops 66 1857 .1860-70 ..22 Jan. 1870 Te Kooti, refusing to surrender at discretion, 24 Jan., narrowly escapes.. ....5 Feb. 66 The duke of Edinburgh, in the Galatea, at Wellington, 27 Aug. Increase of prosperity reported; loan of 4,000,000l. proposed. Political union of the islands effected. Murder of Mr. Todd, surveyor, by Maoris.. Aug. .Aug. .......28 Dec. 66 Te Kooti's party attacked and dispersed; his speedy capture anticipated ..31 July. .Oct Sir George Grey, too energetic liberal premier, compelled to resign; succeeded by hon. Jobn Hall... Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon appointed governor........ 1880 Ney's Execution. Ney, duke of Elchingen, prince of the Moskwa, and one of the most valiant of the marshals of France, was shot as a traitor, 7 Dec. 1815. On 7 Dec. 1853, his statue was erected on the spot where he fell. After the abdication of Napoleon I., 5 April, 1814, Ney took the oath of allegiance to the king, Louis XVIII. On Napoleon's return to France from Elba, he marched against him; but his troops deserting, he regarded the cause of the Bourbons as lost, and opened the invader's way to Paris, March, 1815. Ney led the attack of the French at Waterloo, where he fought in the midst of the slain, his clothes pierced with bullet-holes, five horses having been shot under him; night and defeat obliged him to flee. Though included in the decree of 24 July, 1815, which guaranteed the safety of all Frenchmen, he was sought out, and on 5 Aug. taken at the castle of a friend at Urillac, and brought to trial before the Chamber of Peers, 4 Dec. The 12th article of the capitulation of Paris, fixing a general amnesty, was quoted in his fa vor in vain. Nezib (Syria). Here Ibrahim and the Egyptians defeated the Turks, 24 June, 1839. Niagara (North America). At the head of this river, on the western shore, is Fort Erie, which was taken by the English, 24 July, 1759. It was abandoned in the war with the United States, 27 May, 1813, but was retaken 19 Dec. following. A suspension-bridge of a single span of 820 feet over the Niagara, connecting the railways of Canada and New York, was opened in March, 1855. It is elevated 18 feet on the Canadian and 28 feet on the American side. About 18 miles below Fort Erie are the remarkable falls. The river is here 740 yards wide; the half-mile immediately above the cataracts is a rapid, in which the water falls 58 feet; it is then thrown, with astonishing grandeur, down a stupendous precipice of 150 feet perpendicular, in three distinct and collateral sheets; and, in a rapid that extends to the distance of nine miles below, falls nearly as much more. The river then flows in a deep channel till it enters lake Ontario at Fort Niagara. The falls visited by the prince of Wales, Sept. 1860. Niagara, FORT; taken from the French by the English, 1759; garrisoned by Americans, 1812; bombarded from Fort George, 21 Nov. 1812; surprised and captured by a British force, 19 Dec. 1813. Nibelungenôt, or NIBELUNGEN - LIED, a popular German epic of the twelfth century, composed of various ancient mythical poems, termed sagas, which, according to the poet William Morris, should be to our race what Homer was to the Greeks. The first critical edition, by K. Lachmann, appeared 1826 and 1846. The best translation in modern German, by Simrock, 1827; a useful edition, with translation and glossary, by L. Braunfels, 1846; in English, by W. N. Lettsom, 2d ed. 1874. Richard Wagner's musical dramas, "The Ring of the Nibelungen," are based on this poem: the persons include the great Northern gods and goddesses, the giants, the dwarfs, and the daughters of the Rhine (see under Music). Nicæa, see Nice. Nicaragua, a state in Central America (which see). The present constitution was established 19 Aug. 1858. At the commencement of 1855 it was greatly disturbed By the by two political parties-that of the president, Chamorro, who held Grenada, the capital, and that of the democratic chief, Castellon, who held Leon. The latter invited Walker, the filibuster, to his assistance, who in a short time became sole dictator of the state.* united efforts of the confederated states the filibusters were all expelled in May, 1857. On 1 May, 1858, Nicaragua and Costa Rica appealed to the great European powers for protection. Nicaragua railway, a transit route between the Pacific and Atlantic, proposed, and company formed Nov. 1866. President T. Martinez elected 1859 and 1863; Fernando Guzman elected 1 March, 1867; Vicente Quadra elected 1 Feb. 1871; Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, 1 Feb. 1875; Joaquin Zavala, 1 March, 1879. Population estimated at 300,000. Louis Napoleon, afterwards emperor, proposed the making a ship canal by the lake Nicaragua from the Atlantic to the Pacific, between 1842 and 1844; the government of Nicaragua proposed it in 1846; col. Childs made a survey in 1851; a company was chartered for 85 years, and conventions were signed, but the capitalists declined their support. The scheme was revived in Feb. 1875 (see Panama and Loans). Nice, or NICEA, a town in Bithynia, Asia Minor, N.W. Antigonus gave it the name Antigoneia, which Lysimachus changed to Nicæa, the name of his wife. It became the residence of the kings of Bithynia about 208 B.C. At the battle of Nice, A.D. 194, the emperor Severus defeated his rival, Pescennius Niger, who was again defeated at Issus, and soon after taken prisoner and put to death. The first general council was held here 19 June-25 Aug. 325, which adopted the NICENE CREED and condemned the Arians. It was attended by 318 bishops from divers parts, who settled both the doctrine of the Trinity and the time for observing Easter. addition was made to the creed, 381, was rejected, 431 (when it was decreed unlawful to make further addiWhen the Crusaders took tions), but accepted, 451. Constantinople, and established a Latin empire there in 1204, the Greek emperors removed to Nice, and reigned there till 1261, when they returned to Constantinople, see Eastern Empire. Nice was taken by the Ottoman Turks in 1330. An Nice (N. Italy) was the seat of a colony from Massilia, now Marseilles, and formed part of the Roman empire. In the middle ages it was subject to Genoa, and On *William Walker was born in Tennessee, in the United States, where he became successively doctor, lawyer, and journalist, and afterwards gold-seeker in California, whence he was invited to Nicaragua by Castellon, with the promise of 52,000 acres of land, on condition of bringing with him a band of adventurers to sustain the revolutionary cause. Walker accepted the terms, and on 28 July landed at Realejo with 68 men. He increased his forces at Leon, and soon after attacked the town of Rivas, where he was repulsed with loss. He then joined col. Kinney, who had occupied and governed Grey Town, 6 Sept. On 13 Oct. Walker captured Grenada by surprise when in a defenceless state, shot Mayorga, one of the ministers, and established a rule of terror. By intervention of the American consul he made peace with the general of the state army. Corral, but shot him on 7 Nov., on finding him corresponding with fugitives at Costa Rica. Walker at first was only general in chief; but on Rivas, whom he had made president, deserting him, he became sole dictator. 14 May, 1856, his envoy Vijil was recognized by the president of the United States, whence also he obtained reinforcements during his retention of power. Costa Rica declared war against him, 28 Feb. 1856; the other states of Central America soon followed the example, and a sanguinary struggle ensued, lasting till May, 1857. On 25 Nov. 1856, Walker totally burned Grenada, being unable to defend it, and removed the seat of government to Rivas. This place he surrendered to gen. Mora on 1 May, 1857, on the intervention of capt. Davis, of the St. Mary's, U. S. Himself, his staff, and 260 men were conveyed in that vessel to New Orleans, where they were received with great enthusiasm. On 25 Nov. 1857, he again invaded Nicaragua, landing at Punta Arenas with 400 men; but on 8 Dec. was compelled to surrender to capt. Paulding, U. S., and was conveyed to New York. He escaped punishment by nolle prosequi (2 June, 1858); but capt. Paulding was tried for exceeding orders, and blamed yet excused by president Buchanan. On 5 Aug. 1860, Walker landed near Truxillo, Hondu ras, and took the fort on the 6th. On the 7th he proclaimed that he made war on the government, not on the people of HonduOn being summoned to surrender his booty by capt. ras. Salmon, R. N., of the Icarus, he refused and fled. He was pur sued, caught, given up to the Honduras government, tried, aud shot (12 Sept.). His followers were dismissed. suffered from the frequent wars, being taken and retaken by the imperialists and French. It was taken by the Austrians under Melas, 1800; seized and annexed to France, 1792; restored to Sardinia in 1814. Nice was again annexed to France in virtue of the treaty of 24 March, 1860, the people having voted nearly unanimously for this change by universal suffrage. The French troops entered 1 April, and definite possession was taken 14 June following. Garibaldi, a native, vehemently protested against this annexation. Population of the province in 1857, 256,593. Fire at the opera-house, and panic, about 160 killed, 23 March, 1881 Nicias, PEACE OF, between Athens and Sparta for 50 years, 421 B.C., negotiated by that unfortunate Athenian general, who, with his colleague Demosthenes, was put to death after the disastrous termination of the expedition against Syracuse, 413 B.C. Nihilism, a popular name for the school of philosophy which believes nothing without physical evidence, renounces all forms of divine revelation, and gives nothing in their place. Nihilists, ultra-reformers in Russia said to propose the destruction of all government and to begin society afresh. They became known and spread in 1872; their alleged leader, Zychareff. The government began to suppress them, Sept. 1875. One of the leaders, Michael Bakounin, died at Lugano, 1 July, 1876. They evidently possess wealth. For recent events, see Russia, 1877– 81. "The Nihilists ask concessions, which are the commonplaces of every free community."-Times, 16 April, 1881. Nika Contests, see Circus. Nikolsburg (Moravia). Here were signed, 26 July, 1866, the preliminaries of a peace between Austria and Prussia. Nickel, a white, ductile, malleable, magnetic metal, Niksich, a strong Turkish fortress in Montenegro, employed in the manufacture of German silver. Cron-many times besieged, having been left by the Turks stadt, in 1751, discovered nickel in the mineral copper- with insufficient garrison, it was captured by Montenickel. negrins, 7, 8 Sept. 1877, causing great rejoicings. Nil Darpan, see India, June, 1861. Nicobar Isles, Indian ocean, S. of Bay of Bengal, given up by Denmark and occupied by Great Britain to suppress piracy; announced June, 1869. Nicolaitanes, a sect mentioned in Rev. ii. 6, 15, said to have sprung from Nicolas, one of the first seven deacons (Acts vi.), and to have advocated a community of wives, and to have denied the divinity of Christ. Nicomedia, the metropolis of Bithynia, Asia Minor, N.W., founded by king Nicomedes I., 264 B.C., on the remains of Astacus; destroyed by an earthquake, A.D. 115; and restored by the emperor Adrian, 124. The Roman emperors frequently resided here during their eastern wars. Here Diocletian resigned the purple, 305; and Constantine died at his villa in its neighborhood, 337. It surrendered to the Seljukian Turks, 1078; and to Orchan and the Ottoman Turks in 1338. Nicopolis, on the Danube, Bulgaria, founded by Trajan. Here was fought a battle between the allied Christian powers under Sigismund, king of Hungary, afterwards emperor, and the Turks under Bajazet; said to have been the first battle between the Turks and Christians; the latter were defeated, losing 20,000 slain, and as many wounded and prisoners, 28 Sept. 1396. Nicopolis was taken by the Russians after a severe conflict (2 pachas, about 6000 men, 2 monitors, and 40 guns were captured), 15, 16 July, 1877. Niello-work, believed to have been produced by rubbing a mixture of silver, lead, copper, sulphur, and borax into engravings on silver, etc., an art known to the ancients, was practised in the middle ages, and said to have given to Maso Finiguerra the idea of engraving upon copper, about 1460. recrossed with the remains of his army, 28 Dec. Near it the Poles defeated the Russians, 27 May, 1831. Niger Expedition, see Africa, 1841. Nightingale Fund. On 21 Oct. 1854, Miss Florence Nightingale left England with a staff of thirty-seven nurses, and arrived at Scutari 5 Nov. She rendered invaluable services to the army, and returned to London 8 Sept. 1856. In honor of this, a meeting was held at Willis's Rooms on 29 Nov. 1855 to raise funds to es Nile (Egypt). This great river rises in the Mounin a known course of 1250 miles receives no tributary tains of the Moon, in about ten degrees of N. lat., and streams. The travels of Bruce were undertaken to discover the source of the Nile. He set out from England in June, 1768; on 14 Nov. 1770 discovered the source of the Blue Nile; and returned home in 1773. This river overflows regularly every year, from about 15 June to 17 Sept., when, having given fertility to the land, it begins to decrease. It must rise 16 cubits to insure that fertility. The first Nilometer (a pillar) was set up by Solyman the Caliph, 715. In 1829, the inundations of the Nile rose to 26 instead of 22, by which 30,000 people were drowned and immense property lost. Mr. Petherick set out early in 1861 to explore the country at the source of the Nile. For recent discoveries, see Africa, 1863. A bridge over the Nile (above 1300 feet) at Cairo was completed by a French company, Aug. 1872. Nile, BATTLE OF THE (or Aboukir), 1 Aug. 1798, near Rosetta, between the French fleet under Brueys, and the British under sir Horatio Nelson. Nine of the French line-of-battle ships were taken, two were burned, and two escaped. The French ship L'Orient, with Brueys and 1000 men on board, blew up, and only 70 or 80 escaped. Nelson's exclamation upon commencing the battle was "Victory or Westminster Abbey !" Nimeguen (Holland). Here was signed the treaty of peace between France and the United Provinces, 1678. The French were successful against the British under the duke of York, before Nimeguen, 28 Oct. 1794, were defeated by them, 3 Nov.; but gained the place, 8 Nov. Nineteenth Century, a magazine open to writers of totally different opinions; first appeared March, 1877; editor, James Knowles. Ninety-six, SIEGE OF. In May, 1781, gen. Greene commenced the siege of Fort Ninety-six, in Abbeville District, South Carolina, with less than a thousand regulars, and a few raw militia. The garrison was commanded by lieut.-col. Cruger, a New York loyalist. The siege continued from 22 May until 18 June, when an unsuccessful attempt was made to take the works by storm. The siege was raised on the following evening, and the Americans retreated beyond the Saluda River. Greene lost 150 men during the siege. tablish an institution for the training of nurses and Assyria), founded by Ashur about 2245 B.C. Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire (see Ninus other hospital attendants. Madame Jenny Lind-Gold-reigned in Assyria, and named this city Nineveh, 2069 schmidt sang at Exeter Hall on 11 March, 1856, and gave the proceeds (1872.) to the fund. The subscriptions closed 24 April, 1857, amounting to 44,039. The queen gave Miss Nightingale a valuable jewel. Nigritia, see Soudun. (about 862 B.C.), which was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, B.C.-Abbé Lenglet. Jonah preached against Nineveh 606 B.C. The discoveries of Layard and others since 1839, in the neighborhood of Mosul, at Koyunjik, the site of the ancient Nineveh, and other places, have in a Nizam, see Hyderabad. manner disinterred and repeopled a city which for cen- | in 1847, is produced by adding glycerine (in successive turies had ceased to figure on the page of history. Botta small quantities) to a mixture of one part of nitric acid commenced his explorations at Khorsabad in 1843, and and two parts of sulphuric acid. Alfred Nobel, a Swede, published his great work, "Monuments de Ninive," first attempted its application as an explosive agent in 1849-50. In 1848 Mr. Layard published his "Nineveh 1864. It has caused several most disastrous accidents, and its Remains," and in 1853 his "Discoveries," in his with great loss of life. In attempting to bury some second visit in 1849-50. Mr. Hormusd Rassam, in 1854, nitro-glycerine in the town moor at Newcastle-ondiscovered an ancient palace. Mr. George Smith de- Tyne, 17 Dec. 1867, an explosion took place, and seven scribed his excavations and their results in 1873-4, in persons lost their lives, including Mr. Mawson, the "Assyrian Discoveries," 1875. He died at Aleppo, 19 sheriff, and Mr. Bryson, town surveyor; see Dynamite. Aug. 1876; see Assyria. Mr. Rassam, appointed his Mr. Alfred Nobel's nitro-glycerine manufactory, near successor, among other valuable discoveries at Balawât, Stockholm, blown up-15 persons killed, many injured nine miles N.E. of Nimroud, and at Koyunjik, etc., found 10 June, 1868. An act prohibiting its importation for a bronze monument with inscriptions recording the names, a time, and regulating its transmission, was passed in title, genealogy, and exploits of king Assur-nazir-pal 1869; see Explosives. (B.C. 885-860), builder of the palaces and temples of Kalakh, the capital of the middle Assyrian empire. Nobility. The Goths, after they had seized a part The forms, features, costume, religion, modes of warfare, and of Europe, rewarded their heroes with titles of honor to ceremonial customs of its inhabitants stand before us as distinct as those of a living people; and by help of the sculpt distinguish them from the common people. The right ures and their cuneiform inscriptions, the researches of the of peerage seems to have been at first territorial. Patlearned have increased the knowledge of Assyrian history. ents to persons having no estate were first granted by Among the sculptures that enrich the British Museum may Philip the Fair of France, 1095. George Neville, duke be mentioned the winged bull and lion, and numerous hunting and battle pieces; and the bass-relief of the eagle-headed of Bedford (son of John, marquess of Montague), enhuman figure, presumed to be a representation of the As-nobled in 1470, was degraded from the peerage by parsyrian god Nisroch (from Nisr, an eagle or hawk), whom liament, on account of his utter want of property, 19 Sennacherib was in the act of worshipping when he was asEdw. IV., 1478. Noblemen's privileges were restrained sassinated by his two sons, about 710 B.C. (2 Kings xix. 37). in June, 1773; see Lords, and the various orders of the Niobium, a rare metal, discovered by Hatchett in nobility. columbite, a black earth, and named columbium, 1801. It was pronounced to be identical with tantalum by Wol-In 1845 a statistical writer said that there were 500,000 nobles laston; but was rediscovered by H. Rose in 1846, and named niobium. Nirvana, see Buddhism. mer. in Russia, 239,000 in Austria; in Spain (in 1780), 470,000; in France (before 1790), 360,000 (of whom 4120 were of the ancienne noblesse); in the United Kingdom, 1631 with transmissible titles (dukes to baronets). hereditary nobility could not exist in a free state; that the titles of dukes, counts, marquises, knights, barons, excellencies, abbots, and others be abolished; that all citizens take their family names; liveries and armorial Nobility OF FRANCE preceded that of England. Nisbet, or NESBIT (Northumberland). Here a bat-On 18 June, 1790, the National Assembly decreed that tle was fought between the English and Scotch armies, the latter greatly disproportioned in strength to the forSeveral thousands of the Scots were slain upon the field and in the pursuit, 7 May, 1402. Nisi Prius ("unless before"), words in a writ sum-bearings also to be abolished. The records of the nobilmoning a person to be tried at Westminster, unless the judges should come to hold their assizes in the place where he is. Judges sit in Middlesex by virtue of 18 Eliz. c. 12 (1576). ity, 600 volumes, were burned at the foot of the statue of Louis XIV., 25 June, 1792. A new nobility was created by the emperor Napoleon I., 1808. The hereditary peerage was abolished 27 Dec. 1831; reinstituted by Na Noble, an English gold coin (value 6s. 8d.), first struck in the reign of Edward III., 1343 or 1344, said to have derived its name from the excellence of the metal of which it was composed. Nismes (Nimes), S. France, was the flourishing Ro-poleon III., 1852. man colony Nemausus. Its noble amphitheatre was injured by the English in 1417. The inhabitants embraced Protestantism, and suffered much persecution in consequence; and Nismes has frequently been the scene of religious and political contests. The treaty termed the Pacification of Nismes (14 July, 1629) gave religious toleration for a time to the Huguenots. Nitre, see Saltpetre. Nitric Acid, a compound of nitrogen and oxygen, formerly called aqua fortis, first obtained in a separate state by Raymond Lully, an alchemist, about 1287; but we are indebted to Cavendish, Priestley, and Lavoisier for our present knowledge of its properties. H. Cavendish demonstrated the nature of this acid in 1785. Ni Nocturne, a name given by John Field (who died 1837) to a new and very pleasing musical composition. He was followed very successfully by Chopin, who died 1849. The term was adopted by Mr. Whistler, the artist, for his night pieces, in which he began with line, form, and color, 1877-8. "Nolumus Leges Angliæ Mutari," see Bastards and Merton. Nominalists (or CONCEPTUALISTS), a scholastic trous acid was discovered by Scheele about 1774. Ni-sect, opposed to the Realists, maintain that general ideas have no existence outside our minds, and only exist by trous gas was accidentally discovered by Dr. Hales. the names we give them. The founder of the sect, Jean Nitrons-oxide gas (laughing-gas) was discovered by Dr. Priestley in 1776. The use of this gas as an anesthetic Roscellin, a canon of Compiègne, was condemned by a began in America in 1864; at Paris, 1866; in London, vived in the twelfth century. Among the Nominalists are council at Soissons, 1092, but the controversy was re31 March, 1868, ingenious apparatus having been in- reckoned Abelard, St. Thomas Aquinas (partially), Ocvented for its application. cam, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Dugald Stewart. The Realists assert that general ideas are real things with positive existence. Nitrogen, or AZOTE (from the Greek a, no, and Law or L, I live), an irrespirable elementary gas, and an important element in food, discovered by Rutherford about 1772. Before 1777, Scheele separated the oxygen of the air from the nitrogen, and almost simultaneously with Lavoisier discovered that the atmosphere is a mixture of these two gases. Nitrogen combined with hydrogen forms the volatile alkali ammonia so freely given off by decomposing animal and vegetable bodies. Nitro-glycerine (also called NITROLEUM), an intensely explosive amber-like fluid, discovered by Sobrero Nonconformists. The Protestants in England are divided into conformists and nonconformists, or churchmen and dissenters. The first place of meeting of the latter in England was established at Wandsworth, near London, 20 Nov. 1572. The name of nonconformists was taken by the Puritans when the Act of Uniformity came into operation on 24 Aug. 1662 (termed "Black Bartholomew's day "), when 2000 ministers of the established religion resigned, not choosing to con It re form to the statute passed "for the uniformity of public | the seventh duke, acquired England, in 1066. prayers and administration of the sacraments; see Puri- mained a province of England till the reign of king tans and Dissenters. The laws against them were re- John, 1204, when it was reunited to France. It was relaxed by the Toleration act, 24 May, 1689.—The Non- conquered by Henry V., 1418, and held by England parconformist newspaper (edited by Mr. Edward Miall, since tially till 1450. The English still possess the islands M.P.) first appeared 14 April, 1841. He died 29 April, on the coast, of which Jersey and Guernsey are the prin1881. cipal. The nonconformists presented to Mr. Miall 10,000 guineas for his exertions on behalf of religious equality. ...18 July, 1873 Meeting of bishops and dissenting ministers at Lambeth palace to consider the alleged progress of irreligious thought.. ...24 July, 1876 Nones, in the Roman calendar, were the fifth day of each month, excepting March, May, July, and October, when the nones fell on the seventh day. Nonjurors considered James II. to have been unjustly deposed, and refused to swear allegiance to William III. in 1689. Among them were Sancroft, archbishop of Canterbury; Ken, bishop of Bath and Wells; and the bishops of Ely, Gloucester, Norwich, and Peterborough, and many of the clergy, who were deprived 1 Feb. 1691. Nonjurors were subjected to double taxation, and obliged to register their estates, May, 1723. They formed a separate communion, which existed till the beginning of the present century. Non Nobis, Domine! ("Not unto us, O Lord!" etc., Psa. cxv. 1), a musical canon, sung as a grace at public feasts, was composed by W. Dirde in 1618. Non-resistance Oath (containing a declaration that it is unlawful to take arms against the king upon any pretence whatever), enforced by the Corporation act, 1661, was repealed in 1719. Nootka Sound (Vancouver's Island), discovered by capt. Cook in 1778, and settled by the British in 1786, when a few British merchants in the East Indies formed a settlement to supply the Chinese market with furs; but the Spaniards, in 1789, captured two English vessels and took possession of the settlement. The British ministry demanded reparation, and the affair was amicably terminated by a convention, and a free commerce was confirmed to England in 1790. "No-popery Riots," see Gordon. The cry was revived against the Catholic Emancipation bill, 1829. Nordlingen (Bavaria). Here the Swedes under count Horn were defeated by the Austrians, 27 Aug. 1634; and the Austrians and allies by Turenne in 1645. Nore Mutiny, see Mutinies. Norfolk Island (Pacific ocean), discovered in 1774, by capt. Cook, who found it uninhabited, except by birds. The settlement was made by a detachment from Port Jackson under governor Phillip, in 1788, in Sydney bay, on the south side of the island. This was at one time the severest penal colony of Great Britain. The island was abandoned in 1809, but reoccupied as a penal settlement in 1825. The descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty were removed to it in June, 1856, from Pitcairn's Island (which see). Noricum, see Austria. Normal Schools (from norma, a rule). One for the instruction of teachers established at Paris by a law, 30 Oct. 1794, opened 20 Jan. 1795, under the direction of La Place, La Harpe, Hauy, and other eminent men, was soon closed. Another, established by Napoleon in 1808, was closed in 1822. The plan was revived in 1826, and has been developed in England and other countries. DUKES. 912. Rollo (or Raoul), baptized as Robert. 927. William I. Longsword. 943. Richard I. the Fearless. 996. Richard II. the Good. 1027. Richard III. 1028. Robert I. the Devil. 1035. William II. (I. of England). 1087. Robert II., Courthose (his son), after a contest despoiled by his brother. 1106. Henry I. (king of England). 1135. Stephen (king of England). 1144. Matilda and Geoffrey Plantagenet. 1151. Henry II. (king of England in 1154). 1189. Richard IV. (I. of England). 1199-1204. Arthur and John of England. North Administration, formed by lord North, Jan. 1770, who resigned March, 1782. (Lord North entered into a league with the Whigs, which led to the short-lived Coalition ministry, 1783. He succeeded to the earldom of Guildford in 1790, and died in 1792; see Coalition.) Frederick, lord North, first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. Earl Gower, lord president. Earl of Halifax, priry seal. Earl of Rochford, lord Weymouth (succeeded by lord SandSir Edward Hawke, admiralty. wich) and earl of Hillsborough, secretaries of state. Marquess of Granby, ordnance. Sir Gilbert Elliot, lord Hertford, duke of Ancaster, lord Carteret, etc. Northallerton (Yorkshire). Near here was fought the "battle of the Standard," where the English totally defeated the Scotch armies, 22 Aug. 1138. The archbishop of York brought forth a consecrated standard on a carriage at the moment when they were hotly pressed by the invaders, headed by king David. North America, see America, United States, Indians, Canada, etc. North American Review began at Boston, U.S., in 1815, as a rival of the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews. It was published at first every second month; in 1818, quarterly; in 1879, monthly, at New York. Northampton was burned by the Danes in 1010. Here Henry III. proposed to found a university in 1260, and held a parliament in 1269. On 10 July, 1460, a conflict took place between the duke of York and Henry VI. of England, in which the king was defeated, and made prisoner (the second time) after a sanguinary fight which took place in the meadows below the town. Northampton was ravaged by the plague in 1637. It was seized and fortified by the parliamentary forces in 1642. A fire nearly destroyed the town, 3 Sept. 1675. Riots here because Mr. C. Bradlaugh was not elected M.P., 6 Oct. 1874, were suppressed by the military. North Briton, a newspaper, first published 29 May, 1762, supported by John Wilkes, M.P. for Aylesbury, and a London alderman, and very bitter against the earl of Bute's administration, accusing him of unduly favoring the Scotch. and his house searched. 66 In No. 45 (termed "Wilkes's number'), the king was Normandy (N. France), part of Neustria, a kingdom founded by Clovis in 511 for his son Clotaire, which, after various changes, was united to France by Charles the Bald in 837. From the beginning of the ninth century it was continually devastated by the Scan-3001. damages granted to a printer for false imprison dinavians, termed Northmen or Normans, to purchase repose from whose irruptions Charles the Simple of France ceded the duchy to their leader Rollo, 905. Rollo, the first duke, held it as a fief of the crown of France, and several of his successors after him, until William, ment.. man... "General warrants" declared illegal by chief-justice LL |