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NAnfel»TA, mVER. 



VATAL. 



in 



BMr the ooMt of tha Mrditpmnmo, in 43* IR' 8* N. UL, 8* 0' 8S* 

 E. lon^., S4 miles aW. fVom Motitpellier, nn<i had 11,855 inbtbiUnta 

 in Ui<> cnmniime a*, tbr crn<us of 1851. NarlioDiie ia one of the oldest 

 citiM iif France. It is the .Warbo-Martitu of the Romaua, who planted 

 here tlicir first colony wi-irt of the Alpf in B.c. 112. The city became 

 the capital of Koman Gaul until the riro of Vienna on the RhAne ; 

 and on the death of Conntantinc it again became the capital of Oallia 

 Karbonentia In the reign of Antonino* it was destroyed by 6re, but 

 was soon aft«r rebuilt. In a.n. 414 Nnrbonne witnessed the marriage of 

 Plaeidia, sitter of the emperor Honorius, to Ataulphnu, brothrr-in- 

 !aw of Alarte. In iS'i it was ceded to the Visigoths as the price of 

 their alliance with Rome. During the Roman domination Narbonne 

 had a eapitol, many temples, and other public buildings, and it wda 

 oelebnrted for its schools. Aflrr the capture of Toulouse by Clovis, 

 Narimnne became the capital of the Visigoths, who held it till the 

 death of king Roderic in Spain. The Visigothic kingn< made the Roman 

 Capitol their palace. The Burgundiones pillaged the city in 508 ; in 

 031 it was taken by the Pranks ; and in 719 by the Saracens, who 

 planted a Mussulman colony in the city. The Saracens held the city 

 against Charles Hsrtel, who laid siege to it from 783 to 787. Again 

 for five yean after 750 did Saracen skill defend the town against the 

 assanlts of Pepin and bis Franks till betrayed by the Christian 

 portion of the inhabitants, who maaiscred the Saracen garrison and 

 opened the pates to the Pranks. In 869 the Northmen plundered 

 the town, and the Saracens nnsnooessfully besieged it in 1018. In 

 the 11th and 12th centuries the city, which retained still the form and 

 spirit of its Roman municipal inxtitutions, flourished by its manu- 

 factures and wealth, and was dixtinguiehed by the spirit of liberty 

 that animated its inhabitants. It afterwards fell into comparatire 

 obscurity. But in vain is any monument of its ancient splendonr 

 sought for. Time, ignorance, and war have swept away every trace 

 of its Roman structures, with the exception of a few fragments of 

 capitals and marble slabs with inscriptions. 



The town is situated upon the Uobine Canal, a branch of the Canal- 

 du-Midi, by which a portion of the waters of the Aude flow into the 

 Maditcrraoean. It is surrounded by an old wall pierced by four gates, 

 and defended by several bastions and towers. The canal divides it 

 into two iNurts, between which there is communication by three briiiges. 

 Along the bank of the canal is a public walk planted with trees. The 

 cathedral of St.-Just, founded in 1272, and finished only recently, is 

 ■ baadsoDM gothio ohnrch ; it has a splendid nave and choir, which 

 are richly ornamented with good sculptures, aud contain several marble 

 monnments. Philippe III. of France was buried in the choir, but his 

 monument has now disappeared. The other principal structures 

 of Narbonne are — the church of St.-Paul, the archbinhop's palace, 

 the barracks, and three hospitals. The city has tribunals of first 

 instanoe and of commerce, a custom-house, an ecclesiastical college, a 

 theatre, and a school of hydrography. The cliicf industrial products 

 at« — brandy, rerdigris, bricks, tiles, pottery, linen, leather, and paper. 

 The inhaliitants trade in com, vrine, brandy, oil, salt, soda, wax, and 

 excellent honey. [Aude.] Narbonne baa given title to an archbishop 

 rince 419; the see however is now united to that of Toulouse, the 

 prelate being styled Archbishop of Toulouse and Narbonne. The 

 ehnrch of Narbonne has seen two of its prelates raised to the Papal 

 chair, Cleineot IV. and Clement VII. The archbishop of Narbonne 

 was styled Primate, and was ex-ofScio president of the states of 

 Langnedoc, which held their sessions at Uontpellier down to the time 

 of the first French revolution. The projected railway from Bordeaux 

 to Cctte is to pass through Narbonne. 



NARKNTA, RIVKR. [BoraiA.] 



NARNI. [Spoi-Ito E-RiBTi.l 



NARIIAUANSET BAY. [Rhode IsuiirD.] 



MARRAINOUNOE. [Dacca.] 



NARVA. [PmiBSBDRu, St.] 



NASEBY. [NoRTHAMI'TONgBIRI.] 



NASSAU, a small Oerman duchy, is comprised between 49° 55' 

 an.1 60' 80' N. Ut, 7' 81' and 8° 45' E. long., and is bounded by 

 the PmsaianRhenisli provinces and by the different states of Hesse. 

 The duchy is diviilcd into 11 circles, llie country is generally 

 Boantainous or hilly, and there is no part that can be called plain. 

 The Waaterwald in the north and the "{'aunns Mountains in the south 

 •over itaariy the whole snrface. The monntains follow the Rhine 

 and the L4kbn in their whole course through the duchy, and form 

 dalightfnl valleys, which are among the most romantic parts of 

 Oerroany ; the most picturesque is the Rheingau from Biberiofa to 

 LorehauMB, oalafanted for iu fine wines. Of the rivers the chief is 

 tb« Hhioe, whieh bounds the duchy on the south and west, and at 

 Lahaataia raoeivas the Uhn, whieh is navigable 14 leagues from iU 

 Juarti o u with tha Rhine to Weilborg. The Main forms the boundary 

 to tha south-east. Th're are several smaller rivers and mountain 

 •treams, such as the Eintw, Asr, Hiejr, \Vie<ll.ncli, Wcilbnch, and Niestcr. 

 Tbera sre tio oaoals and no lakes. Un tlio other hand the country 

 has nainarow Spas and uloaral sprinn, which are among the most 

 •slabrslad la Uannany; as Km*, Wiesbaden, Langensohwalbaofa, 

 Vied-^-Selters, Paohlagsn, and Qeilaoau. The natural productions 

 are various and valuables But ttia boast of Nassau is its wine, of 

 which tlist prodnoe<l about Uoohbsim is well known by the name of 

 • hock ; ■ there are likewise the wines of Marcobninn, Asmann*hauson, 



Rildesheim, and JohannUbetg. The vineyard of Johannisberg was 

 originsUy formed by the monks of the monastery of St John, the site 

 of which is now oooupied by the castle of Johannisberg, the property 

 of Prince Mettemieh, and well known to all tourists on the right bank 

 of the Rhine. The breeding of cattle is a chief source of wealth. 

 The minerals ara silver, lead, iron, copper, marble, freestone, limestone, 

 slate, fullers' earth ; and potters', pipe, and porcelain clay. There are 

 also some salt^prings. The forests, which abound in game, xiipply 

 quantities of timber and fire-wood. The smelting and mautifitcturing 

 of metals are carried on to a considerable extent ; there are also papei^ 

 milN, tanneries, distilleries, toliacco, vinegar, and potash-works, and 

 some woollen, leath'-r, and linen manufactures, but on a small scale. 

 The trade is almost wholly limited to the exportation of th<) pr^uoe 

 of the country. The area of the duchy is 268 square miles. The 

 mjpuUtion in 1852 amounted to 429,341, of whom 224,103 were 

 Protestants, 197,892 Catholic^ 6741 Jews, aud the rest Hennonites, 

 Lutherans, and Qerm&n Catholics. 



The duke was formerly an absolute sovereign, but in 1817 a 

 representative constitution was introduced. Otho, brother of king 

 Conrad L, in the 1 0th century, is considered as the founder of the 

 Nassau family, which after the death of Ueniy II. was divided into 

 two branches, of which his sons, Wabram and Otho, were the beads: 

 The dukes of Nassau are descended from the elder, aud the house of 

 Orange-Nassau (Dutch royal family) from the younger branch. The 

 duke is assisted in the administration by a ministry of state. 

 The people elect deputies who discuss the budget The supreme 

 court of appeal is at Wiesbaden, the Catholics of the duchy are 

 subject to the Bishop of Limburg, the Protestants to the Bishop of 

 Wiesbaden. The revenue amounts to about 4 millions of florins 

 annually. The expenses in 1854 were estimated at 3,989,203 florins. 

 The state debt in 1850 was 10,200,000 florins. The total military 

 force numbera 62S5 men. The circles of the duchy of Nassau, witU 

 the population iu 1852, are as follows : — Hachenburg, 38,895 ; Hnda- 

 mar, 64,871; Herbom, 47,077; Hochat, 49,879; Idstein, 40,466; 

 Longenschwalbach, 33,686 ; Limburg, 48,305 ; Nassau, 48,820 ; 

 Reichelsheim, 1678; Kudesheim, 87,365; and Wiesbaden, 88,909. 

 The TaunuB railway connects Wiesbaden with Frankfort 'Fhera are 

 many remains of ancient ramparts and hill forts in the country. 



The chief town, Wiabadkn, is situated in a small aud pleasant 

 valley on the southern declivity of Mount Taunus. In the imui -diate 

 vicinity of the town there are productive gardens and orchards, and 

 on every side neat farmhouses aud villages. Wiesbaden is an open 

 and constantly improving town, and has broad and well-paved streets. 

 This place owes its prosperity and its name, ' Baden,' to the celebrated 

 h'jt springs, which are 16 in number. The visitors to those springs 

 are very numerous. The chief buildings in Wiesbaden are— the 

 palace, tlie town-hall, the Kur-Saal, several splendid hotels, nearly 

 3U batkiug-houses, the barracks, sdiools, a theatre, ftc. The Kur- 

 Saal has bauquetiug-rooms, ball-rooms, assembly-rooms, and gaming- 

 rooms. It is the chief centre of attraction aud gaiety, and on Sundays 

 especially the rooms are very numerously attended. The town has 

 one Lutheran, cue Calvinist, and one Koman Catholic church. The 

 fixed population of WiestMulen is about 13,0OU; from Juno to 

 September the number of visitora to the springs and gaming-tables 

 doubles the numlwr of inhabitanta. 



NASSAU, or POQGY ISLANDS, THE, form a part of a chain of 

 islands which lie off the whole lengtli of the west coast of Sumatra, 

 at a distance of 60 or 80 miles. There are two islands which bear 

 tliis name : they lie between 2° 30' and 8" 16' S. lat, aud are separated 

 firom each other by a strait, which forms an excellent harbour for 

 ships of any size. It is surroonded by mouutaius, so that the water 

 Is literally as smooth as in a pond ; and there are 25 fathoms of water 

 close in-snore, and 45 fathoms in the mid-ohauneL 



The surface of the islands is rough and irreguUr, consisting of high 

 hills or mountains of sudden and st«cp ascents, 'rhe mountains are 

 covered to their summits with trees, many of which supply e.xcellent 

 timber. The sagotree grows in abuudance, and affuriis the chief 

 article of food to the inhabitants, who cultivate no rice. The cocoa- 

 nut tree and the bamboo also abound. The fruits conimou in the 

 islands of the Indian archipelago, such as mangosteena, plantains, Ac, 

 are numerous. The woods in their natural condition are imiwrvious 

 to man, and harbour various wild animals, as deer, hogs, and several 

 kinds of monkeys. Fowl and pigs ore raised, and fish are plentiful. 



The inhabitants of these islands are few in number : the population 

 amounted in 1792 to about 1400 individuals. In colour and stature 

 they rssemUa the Malays, but they speak a langiiage quite dillerent 

 from those used on the coast of Sumatra. 



NASSAU. [Babamas.] 



NATAL, a British colony on the south-east coast of Africa, is 

 bounded 8.W. by the river Umtaooune (about 80 miles W. from the 

 Umziiiculo, the previous boundary), N.E. by the river Tugaln, N.W. 

 by the Draclienlterg or Qunthlamba Mountiins, and S.E. by the Indian 

 Ocean. The colony lies between 29° 2U' and 80' 50' S. lat, 29' 40' 

 and 31° 25' K. long. The area is about 20,000 square miles. The 

 white population in 1850 was estimated at 16,000, the native popula- 

 tion at 100,000. 



The Draahenbei^ or Quathlamba Mountains form a broad range 

 which runs nearly parallel with the coast, at a distance varying' from 



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