﻿KAKKIXO. 



NANTES. 



miMLrkabIa of whidi are Um choroli of St.-Epare already 

 ■MOtieoad, Uie oatliMln), and the churah of the Cordelitn. 



Tb* eatliedral, a modent ilraataM in the new toim, bai a hand- 

 ■ooM fiifade riebly deeontod witk loulptaraa and open (tone work, 

 and flaoked with two loftj towen capped witb domri and Untenu 

 S56 fwt hi^ Tbe interior preatnta baodKome proportiona and i« 

 neatly deoonted ; the space botweao nare and choir is ooverod with a 

 dome of cut itone 130 feet in diameter, painted in imitation of tbe 

 open sky. Tbe eboir, which in shut off by an iron srrern, is pared 

 with black and white marble, and contains a beautiful high altar, 

 constructed of many coloured marbles, and a great number of carved 

 stalla The gataa of tha town are imposing stmotures of their kind ; 

 most of them are adorned with grncrful and appropriate bas-reliefA 

 Tbe prindpal are St John's, Stanislas, Notre-Dame, and St. Catherine's 

 gates. A little way outside St. John's Gate is the cross which marks 

 the q>ot whereon tbe body of Charles the Rash was found sfter the 

 battle mentioned below. The central house of the order of Sisters 

 Hospitalien^ who devote themselves to tend the sick poor, is at 

 Nancy ; they have bousea in many other departments of France, and 

 in parts of Qermany. The city possssss i an institution for deaf-mutes 

 froia the departments of Meurthe, Moselle, Meuse, Ardennes, and 

 Toagec The little church of Bon-Seooura, in the suburb of St-Pierre, 

 built by Bend II. to commemorate bia victory over Charles the Rash, 

 the last duke of Boui^gogne, Jan. fith, 1476, is adorned by the monu- 

 ments of Stanislas Lecsinsky and bia wife. 



In tha old town is the ancient gothic cattle, the former residence 

 of the dukea of liorraine ; and adjacent to it is tbe small church of 

 tha Cordeliers, built in tbe Renaiaanco style of architecture. This 

 chnrch was the burial-place of the ducal family. The tomb of Ren^ IL 

 and some others are in the church itself; others are in the ducal 

 chapel attached to the choir. At the commencement of the first 

 French revolution the tombs in this beautiful church were demolished, 

 tha remains of the princes of Lorraine, which were deposited in 

 la a ii a n eoffins in the vaults, were dragged out and interred in the 

 eamatery of the town. After the reetoration, Louis XVIII. had the 

 remains replaced in their original resting jjaoe. The Emperor of 

 Auttria still maintains a chaplain to say mass in the cliurch of the 

 Cordeliers for the souls of his ancestor*, tbe dukes of Lorraine. 

 The other important structures are — the university buildings, in 

 which is the public library of 23,000 volumes ; the college buildings; 

 the infantry and cavalry barracks ; the theological college ; five 

 hospitals, one of which is for foundlings; and the public baths. 

 Nanc7 ia connected by a branch horn the Paris-Strasbourg railway 

 with kets, Forbach, and Mannheim on the Rhine ; from Metz this line 

 is continued northward down the valley of tbe Moselle to ThionvilI& 



The inhabitants manufacture hosiery, embroidered muslin, cotton- 

 yam, woollen-cloth, calico, lace, oil, chemical products, liqueurs, and 

 Uather. Trade is carrie<i on in the various articles just named, and 

 in com, wine, brandy, bides, wool, and iron. There are two yearly 

 fairs, one of which latts 20 days. 



Nancy is the seat of a bishop, whose see is the department of 

 Meurthe ; of a High Court, which has jurisdiction over tiie depart- 

 ments of Meurthe, Meuse and Vosges ; and of a imiversity-academy, 

 tha limits of wliidi comprise the departments of Meurthe, Meuse, 

 Moselle, and Vosges. It has tribunals of first instance and of com- 

 merce, a chamber of commerce, a college, a museum, a medical school, 

 a botaoio garden ; a scieutifio, literary, and artistic society ; and several 

 charitable institutions. 



Nancy existed in the lltb century, and perhaps much earlier. 

 From the 13th century it became the capital of Lorraine, whose dukes 

 had here a vast foitifierl palace. The town was enlarged and the 

 palaoa rebuilt by Duke Kerry IIL ; it was further enlan^ed by the 

 dukea Jean and Charles II. The suburbs were demolished on the 

 approach of the Burgondiana under Charles tbe Rash, and tha 

 ramparts erected on their sites, which enabled the brave Lorrainers 

 to resist bia furious assaults. Charies had taken the town in 1476, 

 but it was retaken by tbe nobles of Lorraine the following year. 

 Cbarlea than baaiagad tha city, and it was suffering terribly from famine, 

 when it was relieved by Rend II. ; in the battle that took place under 

 ih» wallaCbarlaa loat his Ufa. The French occupied Nancy from 1688 to 

 »atre^ of Vineaanes (1661), aooording to which tha fortifications 

 ware ordered to be demolished. This was executed in part, but 

 Louis XIV., having again taken the town in 1670, rebuUt the defences. 

 Tbaaa were finally destroyed after tha treaty of Ryswyk, with the 

 MMapUoB of tha citadel and the gatea. Nancy is indebted for ite 

 AM baMtie* as a city to Stanislas Leosinski, ex-king of I'obmd and 

 *"" o' tTTT"''' *•" "^^ " '"» rasidmioa. [LoBRAnrB.] 



NANKINO, a town in China, tha capital of the province of 

 KiMig-aa, on tbe south bank of tha rivar YangWkiang, near 82' N. 

 lat, 118" E. lonfc and about 120 miles (him Uia mouth of the rivar. 

 This town was tbe aapiUI of tha empire to tha sod of tbe 18tb cen- 

 tury, ao<l at that time the largest town on ths globe. The Jesuits, 

 when surveying the town for the purpose of making a plan of it, 

 found that the cinoit of the exterior walls was 87 Usa, or nearly 

 SO milaa; sad this spaa* with the deecripUon given by Sir J. F. 

 Davis (' Sketobas of CUaa'), who says that ths walls are 20 milaa in 

 circuit, and that tha area raminded him of Roma, though tha walls 

 are higher, as tha prsMOt town ooaapia* laa* than half tha andan* 



site, the remainder being either waste or laid out in gardens, witb tha 

 remaiua of paved roads and scattered cultivation ; but Nanking baa 

 no aotiquitiea. Chinese arohitaoture, except their walls, is not vary 

 enduring, and the Tartars destroyed palacea, temples, and sepulchrea. 

 The town bcf^an to decrease when Kublai-khan remoreii the Imperial 

 reaidence to Peking, and still more rapidly when the six great tribunals, 

 which for some time were kept at Peking and Nanking, were attached 

 to the court at Peking. When this took place the name of tbe town 

 Nanking (tha Southern Court) was changed into that of Kianuiug-foo, 

 aa it is now always called in public documents, though the people 

 continue to call it Nauking. 



Tha present towli, which is about 3 or 4 miles trom tbe river, oon- 

 aists of four prindpal streets, running parallel to one another, and 

 intersected at right angles by smaller ones. Through one of the 

 larger streets a narrow channel flows, which is crossed at intervals 

 by bridges of a single arch. Tbe streets are not spacious, but have 

 the appearance of unusual oleanlineas. The population, which is said 

 to have been once four millions, was lately estimated at 30U,U00. It 

 WRS the residence of the first viceroy of the empire, was celebrated as 

 a principal i<cat of Chinese learning, furaishing more members to the 

 imperial college at Peking than any other city ; it carried on a con- 

 siderable traile, by means of the canal which connects it witb the 

 river, with the ports of Su-tchrou-foo and Shang-hai ; it was Cuuod for 

 its manufactures of crape, books, and paper, and it exported much tea 

 and silk. But in tbe civil war, which broke out in 1851, the rebels 

 advanced to Nauking, and in March 1852 captured it. This has inter- 

 rupted tbe trade, but as little opposition was made, the town probably 

 suffered but little. 



None of tbe buildings of Nanking are distinguished by their archi- 

 tecture, except some of tbe gates, two temples noticed by Sir John 

 Davis, and tbe famoua Porcelain Tower, which is attached to one of 

 the pagodas, or temples. This building is octagonal, and of consider- 

 able height in proportion to its base, the height being mora than 

 200 feet, while each side of the base measures only 40 feet. It oonsists 

 of nine stories, all of equal height, except the ground-lloor, which is 

 somewhat higher than the rest. Each story consists of one saloon, 

 with painted ceilings; inside along the walls statues are placed. 

 Nearly the whole of tbe interior is gilded. The material of the wall 

 seems to be a bighly-polisbed stone ; but probably it is composed of 

 bricks made of a fine clay, susceptible of impressions, as tbe figures 

 show which appear on them. On the outer side of the wall they ara 

 white, and, according to Ellis, aro merely tbe white bricks frequently 

 used in China. At Uie termination of every story a roof, built in tha 

 Chinese fashion, projects some feet on the outside, and under it is a 

 passage round the tower. At the projecting comers of these roofs 

 small bells are fastened, which sound with the slightest breeze. On 

 the summit of the tower is an ornament in the form of the cone of a 

 fir-tree : it is said to be of gold, but probably is only gilt ; it rests 

 immediately upon a pinnacle, witb several rings round it. This tower 

 ia said to have been 19 years in building, and to have cost 400,000 

 taela 



NANT. [AVETHOX.] 



NAN-TCHANG-FOO. [Chika.] 



NANTES, a large sea-port town, the capital of the French depart- 

 ment of Loire-Iufdrieure, stands on the right bank and about 30 miles 

 from the mouth of the Loire, in 47° 13' 8" N.laL, 1° 82' 56" W. long., 

 at a distance of 270 miles by railway S.W. from Paris, and bad 91,303 

 inhabitants in the commune at the census of 1851. The ground on 

 which the cathedral stands is 62 feet above the sea-level, but some 

 parts of tbe town are only about 40 feet above that bne. 'The city ia 

 admirably situated for commerce, having communication with the 

 interior by railway, and by steam-boats up tbe Loire, which forms the 

 harbour of Nantes, and admits at high water large vessels up to tbe 

 quays which line its banks. Formerly only vessels of 200 tons could 

 make their way up to the city, whilst vessels of larger sise were 

 obliged to unload at Paimlxouf, but by means of steam-tugs and 

 dredgers large vessels are brought up to the quays. [LoiKK-lNrfcaiEURl.] 

 The Krdre, which enters the Loin from the north, and the Sivre- 

 Nantaisa, which empties its waters into the Loire just below the town, 

 are both navigable streams. Besides these fikcilities for trafTic, Nantes 

 has communication by canal with Brest. The town ia well-built, very 

 clean, and well laid-out, eepeoially in the mora modem part, which is 

 rcmai'kable for the regularity and elegance of its squares and public 

 places; tha Isle Feydeau (which is surrounded by fine quays, and 

 joined to the town by a handsome bridge), the Graslin quarter, and 

 the Plaoc-Royala, will bear comparison with the finest parts of Paris. 

 Indeed the quays, which extend 2 miles along ths Loire and along 

 both banks of the Erdra, tbe magnificent river covered with craft of 

 various sises, the islands, the meadows that stretch along the river 

 bonk opposite the town, the bridges aeroos the Krdre and the arms of 

 tha Loire, and the harbour of Lafoase, form a very striking picture. 

 Tha qoaya, planted with trees, and baoked by large warehousea and 

 other buildmgs, form very handsome promenades. But tha most 

 delightful of tbe public walks is that formed by tbe Cours St-Pierre 

 and St-Andn$, which run from the Loire to the Erdre, passing the 

 old castle of the dukes of Bretsgns : it is formed by four rows of trees, 

 separated by a wide oorriaga-way, and backed by lines of hand- 

 some houaaa ; ststuaa of tha Duobaas Anna, Du Quaaolio, and other 



