NOR 
N O R 
drinking, and averfion from riot and violence. In their 
marriages, they have no ceremony ; the women have no 
choice, being betrothed by their parents in childhood. 
Polygamy is allowed, and wives are made to fubmit to 
the hard eft labour. The men are jealous, and divorces 
are very common. Many of thefe people boil their food 
in veiTels of birch-bark, by calling in hot ftones ; and, for 
want of wood, they often eat their meat and fifh raw. Filh 
and game are plentiful, and fupply the chief part of their 
food ; and, when thefe fail, a black hard mofs collefted 
from the rocks is a fubftitute ; this is boiled, and affords 
confiderable nourifhment. Their principal difeafes are 
the fcurvy, confumption, and flux. They are very much 
under the influence of fuperftition. When any of their 
principal Indians die, they believe that they are conjured 
to death. The dead are left on the ground till they are 
devoured by fowls and beafts. The aged are treated with 
negleft, and fed with the meaneft food. A cuftom pre¬ 
vails among them of exchanging a night’s lodging with each 
other’s wives. This is coniidered as a pledge of friendfhip 
between tw'o families ; and, when either of the men dies, 
the other coniiders himfeif bound to fupport the family 
deprived of a hufband and father. Two or three fillers 
are often wives to the fame hufband. Of religion, in 
principle and praftice, they feem to be lamentably defti- 
tute; though their conjurers pretend to converfe with 
fpirits. The prefent evil alone dillurbs their minds, and 
they feem to have no idea of futurity. 
NORTHERN LI'GHTS. See Aurora Borealis, 
vol. ii. 
NOR'THERNLY, adv. Towards the north.— In fum- 
mer it [the fun] came more novthernhj, and nearer us. 
Hakeivitl on Providence. 
NOR'TIIEW, a river of England, in the county of 
Devon, which runs into the Taw at Barnllaple. 
NOR'THFIELD, a townlhip of North America, in 
Orange-county, Vermont, between twenty and thirty 
miles weft of Newbury ; containing 20+ inhabitants.—A 
pleafanjt poll-town in the north of Hamplhire-county, 
Maffachufetts, on theeaft fide of Connefticut-river: thirty 
miles north of Northampton, containing 1047 inhabit¬ 
ants ; incorporated in 1673, repeatedly dellroyed by the 
Indians, and rebuilt in 1713.—A fmall town in Rock- 
ingham-county, New Hampshire, on the eaft fide of Mer- 
rimack-river ; incorporated in 1780, and containing 925 
inhabitants.—A towmlbip in Richmond-county, Staten- 
illand, New York; containing 1387 inhabitants. 
NORTHFLEE'T, a village and parilh in the county of 
Kent, lituated near the banks of the Thames, about tw’o 
miles from Gravefend, and twenty north-eaft of London. 
It was anciently the property of the fee of Canterbury, 
but was alienated by archbilhop Cranmer, in exchange for 
other lands, with Henry VIII. it has fince had leveral in¬ 
termediate poffeffors, but was finally granted by the crown 
to the late earl of Belborough, about the year 1758, at the 
annual rent of 6s. 8d. Of this nobleman it was purchafed 
by the late John Calcraft, efq. The north-well part of 
this parifli is a low marlh, which was formerly covered by 
the Thames; and is now croffed by a high caufeway and 
bridge, with flood-gates to prevent the tides flowing be¬ 
yond it. The village is irregularly built round Northfleet 
Green, and on the fides of the high road. The parilh- 
church, which is one of the largeft in the diocefe, confills 
of a nave, aifles, and chancel, with a low tower, erefted 
at the beginning of the laft century, within the fite of the 
foundation-walls of the ancient ftrufture, but by no means 
correfpondent with the reft of the building. The nave is 
feparated from the aifles by oftagonal maflive columns, 
lpreading off into pointed arches, without the interven¬ 
tion of capitals. The church contains feveral monuments 
of the fourteenth century ; and on the north wall is one 
of alabafter, to the memory of Dr. Brown, eminent for 
his knowledge in natural hillory, and phyfician to king 
Charles II. In the return made to parliament, purfuant 
to the population-aft of 1811, Northfleet was Hated to 
Vol. XVII. No. 1173. 
221 
contain 372 houfes, occupied by 2031 perfons; of thefe 
a great number derive employment from the contiguous 
chalk-works, which extend from the northern fide of the 
village to the Thames; their width on an average being 
nearly a quarter of a mile. The chalk-pits are immenfe ; 
the cliffs where the chalk has been dug prefenting, in 
many places, a precipitous furface from 100 to 150 feet 
in perpendicular height. The chalk torms a confiderable 
branch of commerce; and along the fhore are feveral wharfs 
for the convenience of fhipping it off', both in its natural 
Hate and when burnt into lime, for which purpofe here 
are feveral large kilns. The flints alfo, which pervade 
the chalk in thin ftrata, are coilefted forfale; thefe form 
a material ingredient in the compofition of the Stafford- 
fliire ware ; and we are told that great quantities are ex¬ 
ported to China. Fairs are held here on the Tuefday in 
Ealler and Whitfun u'eeks, and every Tuefday between 
them, and.on the 24th of March. 
On an elevated fituation in the vicinity of Northfleet is 
Ingrefs, formerly called Inee-grice, the feat of Henry 
Roebuck, efq. It was the property of John Calcraft, efq. 
who died in 1772 ; this gentleman arranged in an elegant 
fummer-houfe, built in a hollow of the chalk-tcliffs, a va¬ 
luable colleftion of Roman altars, brought from Italy ; 
with ftatues and other fpecimens of Roman fculpture, 
placed in various parts of the garden. Beauties of Eng¬ 
land and Wales, vol. vii. Britijh DireElory. 
NORTHFO'RD, a town of Connecticut: ten miles 
eaft of Newhaven. 
NOR'THIAM, a village in Suffex ; with a fair on the 
17th of September. Near this place w'as a large ancient 
oak, under whole branches queen Elizabeth and herfuite 
once breakfafted ; it was blown down in Dec. 1816. 
NOR'THING, f. The difference of latitude which a 
fliip makes in failing towards the nortii pole. 
NOR'THORN, a town of Germany, in the county of 
Bentheim, on the Vechte : eight miles north of Bentheim, 
and twenty-four louth-eaft of Covorden. 
NOR'TFIORP, a town of North Wales, in the county 
of Flint, near which are large potteries of coarfe earthen¬ 
ware, fire-bricks, &c. eleven miles weft-north-weft of 
Chefter, and 193 north-weft of London. 
NOR'THOVER, a village in Somerfetftiire, which is 
divided from the town of Ilchefterby the ancient county- 
bridge over the river Ive-1. 
NORTHPO'RT, a townlhip of America, in Hancock- 
county, Maine; incorporated in 1796, and containing 
482 inhabitants. 
NORTHUMBERLAND, the moll northerly county 
of England, lies between lat. 54. 51. and 55. 48. N. and 
between Ion. 1. and 2. 27. W. It is bounded on the eaft 
by the German Ocean ; on the weft by Roxburghlhire and 
Cumberland; on the north by Berwicklhire; and on the 
fouth by the county of Durham. Including the detached 
portions of the latter county, called Northamfhire, Ifland- 
ihire, and Bedlingtonlhire, it extends fixty-four miles hi 
length, and in feme places forty-eight in breadth ; and 
compriles an area of 1980 Iquare miles, or 1,267,200 acres; 
of which 817,200 are level and fufceptible of cultivation, 
while the remaining 450,000 are of a' mountainous cha- 
rafter, and not adapted to agricultural purpofes. 
This county, previous to the Roman invafiOn, is con¬ 
jectured by Camden to have formed a part of that divifion 
of Britain which was occupied by the Ottadini, a tribe of 
the Meatae, who are mentioned by Dio Caffius as polfefs- 
ing the territories adjoining the Pifts Wall. After the 
armies of Rome had extended their conquefts to the Forth, 
Northumberland was included in the province ofValentia. 
Under the Saxon government it conftituted part of the 
extenfive and powerful kingdom of Northumbria, which 
is generally fuppofed to have reached from the north 
bank of the Humber to the Frith of Forth. This mo¬ 
narchy was begun by Ida, who arrived in Britain in the 
year 547, and, having conquered a confiderable extent of 
territory, affumed the purple under the title of king of 
3 L Bernicia j 
