Part 12

=Nama=, a daughter of man, beloved by the angel Zaraph. Her wish was to love intensely and to love holily, but as she fixed her love on a seraph, and not on God, she was doomed to abide on earth, “unchanged in heart and frame,” so long as the earth endureth; but at the great consummation both Nama and her seraph will be received into those courts of love, where “love never dieth.”--Moore, _Loves of the Angels_, ii. (1822).

=Namby= (_Major_), a retired officer, living in the suburbs of London. He had been twice married; his first wife had four children, and his second wife three. Major Namby, though he lived in a row, always transacted his domestic affairs by bawling out his orders from the front garden, to the annoyance of his neighbors. He used to stalk half-way down the garden path, with his head high in the air, his chest stuck out, and flourishing his military cane. Suddenly he would stop, stamp with one foot, knock up the hinder brim of his hat, begin to scratch the nape of his neck, wait a moment, then wheel round, look at the first-floor window, and roar out, “Matilda!” (the name of his wife) “don’t do so-and-so;” or “Matilda! do so-and-so.” Then he would bellow to the servants to buy this, or not to let the children eat that, and so on.--Wilkie Collins, _Pray Employ Major Namby_ (a sketch).

=Names of Terror.= The following amongst others, have been employed as bogie-names to frighten children with:--

ATTILA was a bogie-name to the Romans.

BO or BOH, son of Odin, was a fierce Gothic captain. His name was used by his soldiers when they would fight or surprise the enemy.--Sir William Temple.

⁂ Warton tells us that the Dutch scared their children with the name of Boh.

BONAPARTE, at the close of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries, was a name of terror in Europe.

CORVI´NUS (_Mathias_), the Hungarian, was a scare-name to the Turks.

LILIS or LILITH was a bogie-name used by the ancient Jews to unruly children. The rabbinical writers tell us that Lilith was Adam’s wife before the creation of Eve. She refused to submit to him, and became a horrible night-spectre, especially hostile to young children.

LUNSFORD, a name employed to frighten children in England. Sir Thomas Lunsford, governor of the Tower, was a man of most vindictive temper, and the dread of everyone.

Made children with your tones to run for’t, As bad as Bloody-bones or Lunsford.

S. Butler, _Hudibras_, iii. 2, line 1112, (1678).

NARSES (2 _syl._) was the name used by Assyrian mothers to scare their children with.

The name of Narses was the formidable sound with which the Assyrian mothers were accustomed to terrify their infants.--Gibbon, _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, viii. 219 (1776-88).

RAWHEAD and BLOODY-BONES were at one time bogie-names to children.

Servants awe children and keep them in subjection by telling them of Rawhead and Bloody-bones.--Locke.

RICHARD I., “Cœur de Lion.” This name, says Camden (_Remains_), was employed by the Saracens as a “name of dread and terror.”

His tremendous name was employed by the Syrian mothers to silence their infants; and if a horse suddenly started from the way, his rider was wont to exclaim, “Dost thou think King Richard is in the bush?”--Gibbon, _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, xi. 146 (1776-88).

SEBASTIAN (_Don_), a name of terror once used by the Moors.

Nor shall Sebastian’s formidable name Be longer used to still the crying babe.

Dryden, _Don Sebastian_ (1690).

TALBOT (_John_), a name used in France _in terrorem_ to unruly children.

They in France to feare their young children crye, “The Talbot commeth!”--Hall, _Chronicles_ (1545).

Here (said they) is the terror of the French, The scarecrow that affrights our children so.

Shakespeare, 1 _Henry VI._ act.[TN-27] i. sc. 4 (1589).

Is this the Talbot so much feared abroad, That with his name the mothers still their babes?

Shakespeare, 1 _Henry VI._ act iv. sc. 5 (1589).

TAMERLANE, a name used by the Persians _in terrorem_.

TARQUIN, a name of terror in Roman nurseries.

The nurse to still her child, will tell my story, And fright her crying babe with Tarquin’s name.

Shakespeare, _Rape of Lucrece_ (1594).

(See also NAKED BEAR.)

=Namo=, duke of Bavaria, and one of Charlemagne’s twelve paladins.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).

=Namou´na=, an enchantress. Though first of created beings, she is still as young and beautiful as ever.--_Persian Mythology._

=Namous=, the envoy of Mahomet in paradise.

=Nancy=, eldest daughter of an English country family, in straitened circumstances. Nancy is a romp and untamed, but sound-hearted, and loves her brothers and sister tenderly. To advance their interests she marries Sir Roger Tempest, who is much her senior. In time, and after many misunderstandings, she learns to love him, and “they live happily together ever after.”--Rhoda Broughton, _Nancy_.

_Nancy_, servant to Mrs. Pattypan. A pretty little flirt, who coquets with Tim Tartlet and young Whimsey, and helps Charlotte Whimsey in her “love affairs.”--James Cobb, _The First Floor_ (1756-1818).

_Nancy_, a poor misguided girl, who really loves the villain Bill Sykes (1 _syl._). In spite of her surroundings, she has still some good feelings, and tries to prevent a burglary planned by Fagin and his associates. Bill Sykes, in a fit of passion, strikes her twice upon the face with the butt-end of a pistol, and she falls dead at his feet.--C. Dickens, _Oliver Twist_ (1837).

_Nancy_, the sailor’s fancy. At half-past four he parted from her; at eight next morn he bade her adieu. Next day a storm arose, and when it lulled the enemy appeared; but when the fight was hottest, the jolly tar “put up a prayer for Nancy.” Dibdin, _Sea Songs_ (“’Twas post meridian half-past four,” 1790).

_Nancy_ (_Miss_), Mrs. Anna Oldfield, a celebrated actress, buried in Westminster Abbey. She died in 1730, and lay in state, attended by two noblemen. Mrs. Oldfield was buried in a “very fine Brussels lace head-dress, a new pair of kid gloves, and a robe with lace ruffles and a lace collar.” (See NARCISSA.)

=Nancy Dawson=, a famous actress, who took London by storm. Her father was a poster in Clare Market (1728-1767).

Her easy mien, her shape so neat, She foots, she trips, she looks so sweet; I die for Nancy Dawson.

=Nancy of the Vale=, a village maiden, who preferred Strephon to the gay lordlings who sought her hand in marriage.--Shenstone, _A Ballad_ (1554).

=Nannic=, deformed brother of Guenn, and her darling. He is versed in all manner of auguries and much feared and consulted by the peasants on this account.--Blanche Willis Howard, _Guenn_.

=Nannie=, Miss Fleming, daughter of a farmer in the parish of Tarbolton, in Ayrshire. Immortalized by R. Burns.

_Nannie (Little)._

“This world, whose brightest day Seems to us so dreary, Nannie found all bright and gay, Love-alight and cheery, Stayed a little while to play And went home unweary.”

Elizabeth Akers Allen, _Poems_ (1866).

=Nan´tolet=, father of Rosalura and Lillia-Bianca.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Wild-Goose Chase_ (1652).

=Napoleon I.=, called by the Germans “Kaiser Kläs” (_q.v._).

“M” is curiously coupled with the history of Napoleon I. and III. (See M.)

The following is a curious play on the word Napoleon.

Napoleôn apoleôn poleôn oleôn leôn eôn ôn _Napoleon_ _Apollyon_ _cities_ _destroying_ _a lion_ _going_} _being._ _about_}

That is:

Napoleon Apollyon is [_being_] a lion going about destroying cities.

_Chauvinism_, Napoleon idolatry. Chauvvin[TN-28] is a blind idolater of Napoleon I., in Scribe’s drama entitled _Soldat Laboureur_.

=Napoleon III.= _His nicknames._

ARENENBERG (_Comte d’_). So he called himself after his escape from the fortress of Ham.

BADINGUET, the name of the man he shot in his Boulogne escapade.

BOUSTRAPA, a compound of Bou[logne], Stra[sbourg] and Pa[ris], the places of his noted escapades.

GROSBEC. So called from the rather unusual size of his nose.

MAN OF DECEMBER. So called because December was his month of glory. Thus, he was elected president December 11, 1848; made his _coup d’état_ December 2, 1851; and was created emperor December 2, 1852.

MAN OF SEDAN. So called because at Sedan he surrendered his sword to the king of Prussia (September, 1870).

RATIPOLE, same as the west of England RANTIPOLE, a harum-scarum, half idiot, half madcap.

THE LITTLE. Victor Hugo gave him this title; but the hatred of Hugo to Napoleon was monomania.

VERHUEL, the name of his supposed father.

_Number 2._ The second of the month was Louis Napoleon’s day. It was also one of the days of his uncle, the other being the fifteenth.

The _coup d’état_ was December 2; he was made emperor December 2, 1852; the Franco-Prussian war opened at Saarbrück, August 2, 1870; he surrendered his sword to William of Prussia, September 2, 1870.

Napoleon I. was crowned December 2, 1804; and the victory of Austerlitz was December 2, 1805.

_Numerical Curiosities._ 1. 1869, the last year of Napoleon’s glory; the next year was that of his downfall. As a matter of curiosity, it may be observed that if the day of his birth, or the day of the empress’s birth, or the date of the capitulation of Paris, be added to that of the coronation of Napoleon III., the result always points to 1869. Thus, he was crowned 1852; he was born 1808; the Empress Eugénie was born 1826: the capitulation of Paris was 1871. Whence:

1852 1852 1852 coronation 1 } 1 } 1 } 8 } birth of 8 } birth of 8 } capitulation 0 } Napoleon. 2 } Eugénie. 7 } of 8 } 6 } 1 } Paris. ____ ____ ____ 1869 1869 1869

2. 1870, the year of his downfall. By adding the numerical values of the birth date either of Napoleon or Eugénie to the date of the marriage, we get their fatal year of 1870. Thus, Napoleon was born 1808; Eugénie, 1826; married, 1853.

1853 1853 year of marriage. 1 } 1 } 8 } birth of 8 } birth of Eugénie. 0 } Napoleon. 2 } 8 } 6 } ____ ____ 1870 1870

2. _Empereur._ The votes for the president to be emperor were 7,119,791; those against him were 1,119,000. If now the numbers 711979r/[1][1][1][6] be written on a piece of paper, and held up to the light, the reverse side will show the word _empereur_. (The dash is the dividing mark, and forms the long stroke of the “p.”)

=Napoleon and Talleyrand.= Napoleon I. one day entered a roadside inn, and called for breakfast. There was nothing in the house but eggs and cider (which Napoleon detested). “What shall we do?” said the emperor to Talleyrand. In answer to this, the _grand chambellan_ improvised the rhymes following:--

Le bon roi Dagobert Aimait le bon vin au dessert. Le grand St. Eloi Lui dit, “O mon roi, Le droit réuni L’a bien renchéri.” “Eh bien!” lui dit le roi ...

But he could get no further. Whereupon Napoleon himself instantly capped the line thus:

“Je boirai du cidre avec toi.”

Chapus, _Dieppe, etc._ (1853).

Our royal master, Dagobert, Good wine loved at his dessert. But St. Eloi Once said, “Mon roi, We here prepare No dainty fare.” “Well,” cried the king, “so let it be, Cider to-day we’ll drink with thee.”

=Napoleon of the Drama.= Alfred Bunn, lessee of Drury Lane Theatre (1819-1826) was so called; and so was Robert William Elliston, his predecessor (1774-1826, died 1831).

=Napoleon of Mexico=, the emperor Augusto Iturbidê (1784-1824).

=Napoleon of Oratory=, W. E. Gladstone (1809- ).

=Napoleon of Peace=, Louis Philippe of France (1773, reigned 1830-1848, died 1850).

=Narcissa=, meant for Elizabeth Lee, the step-daughter of Dr. Young. In Night ii. the poet says she was clandestinely buried at Montpelier, because she was a Protestant.--Dr. Young, _Night Thoughts_ (1742-6).

_Narcissa_, Mrs. Oldfield, the actress, who insisted on being rouged and dressed in Brussels lace when she was “laid out.” (See NANCY.)

“Odious! In woolen? ’Twould a saint provoke!” Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke. “No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace Wrap my cold limbs and shade my lifeless face; One would not, sure, be frightful when one’s dead! And, Betty, give this cheek a little red.”

Pope, _Moral Essays_, i. (1731).

=Narcisse=, an airy young Creole. He has boundless faith in himself, and a Micawberish confidence in the future. He would like to be called “Papillon,” the butterfly; “’Cause thass my natu’e! I gatheth honey eve’y day fum eve’y opening floweh, as the bahd of Avon wemawked.”--George W. Cable, _Dr. Sevier_ (1883).

=Narcissus=, a flower. According to Grecian fable, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a fountain, and, having pined away because he could not kiss it, was changed into the flower which bears his name.--Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, iii. 346, etc.

Echo was in love with Narcissus, and died of grief because he would not return her love.

Narcissus fair, As o’er the fabled fountain hanging still.

Thomson, _Seasons_ (“Spring,” 1728).

⁂ Glück, in 1779, produced an opera called _Echo et Narcisse_.

=Narren-Schiff= (“_The ship of fools_”), a satirical poem, in German, by Brandt (1491), lashing the follies and vices of the period. Brandt makes knowledge of one’s self the beginning of wisdom; maintains the equality of man; and speaks of life as a brief passage only. The book at one time enjoyed unbounded popularity.

=Narses= (2 _syl._), a Roman general against the Goths; the terror of children.

The name of Narses was the formidable sound with which the Assyrian mothers were accustomed to terrify their infants.--Gibbon, _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, viii. 219 (1776-88).

_Narses_, a domestic slave of Alexius Comnēnus, emperor of Greece.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).

=Naso=, Ovid, the Roman poet, whose full name was Publius Ovidius Naso. (_Naso_ means “nose.”) Hence the pun of Holofernes:

And why Naso, but for smelling out the odoriferous flowers of fancy?--Shakespeare, _Love’s Labor’s Lost_, act iv. sc. 2 (1594).

=Nathan the Wise=, a prudent and wealthy old Jew who lives near Jerusalem in the time of Saladin. The play is a species of argument for religious toleration.--G. E. Lessing, _Nathan der Weise_ (1778).

=Nathaniel= (_Sir_), the grotesque curate of Holofernês.--Shakespeare, _Love’s Labor’s Lost_ (1594).

=Nathos=, one of the three sons of Usnoth, lord of Etha (in Argyllshire), made commander of the Irish army at the death of Cuthullin. For a time he propped up the fortune of the youthful Cormac, but the rebel Cairbar increased in strength and found means to murder the young king. The army under Nathos then deserted to the usurper, and Nathos, with his two brothers, was obliged to quit Ireland. Dar´-Thula, the daughter of Colla, went with them to avoid Cairbar, who persisted in offering her his love. The wind drove the vessel back to Ulster, where Cairbar lay encamped, and the three young men, being overpowered, were slain. As for Dar-Thula, she was pierced with an arrow, and died also.--Ossian, _Dar-Thula_.

=Nation of Gentlemen.= The Scotch were so called by George IV., when he visited Scotland in 1822.

=Nation of Shopkeepers.= The English were so called by Napoleon I.

=National Assembly.= (1) The French deputies which met in the year 1789. The states-general was convened, but the clergy and nobles refused to sit in the same chamber with the commons, so the commons or deputies of the _tiers état_ withdrew, constituted themselves into a deliberative body, and assumed the name of the _Assemblée Nationale_. (2) The democratic French parliament of 1848, consisting of 900 members elected by manhood suffrage, was so called also.

=National Convention=, the French parliament of 1792. It consisted of 721 members, but was reduced, first to 500, then to 300. It succeeded the National Assembly.

=Natty Bumpo=, called “Leather-stocking.” He appears in five of F. Cooper’s novels: (1) _The Deerslayer_; (2) _The Pathfinder_; (3) “Hawkeye” in _The Last of the Mohicans_; (4) “Natty Bumpo,” in _The Pioneer_; and (5) “The Trapper,” in _The Prairie_, in which he dies.

=Nausic´aa= (4 _syl._), daughter of Alcinous, king of the Phœa´cians, who conducted Ulysses to the court of her father when he was shipwrecked on the coast.

=Navigation= (_The Father of_), Don Henrique, duke of Viseo, the greatest man that Portugal has produced (1394-1460).

_Navigation_ (_The Father of British Inland_), Francis Egerton, duke of Bridgewater (1736-1803).

=Neæra=, a name used by Horace, Virgil, Tibullus, and Milton as a synonym of sweetheart.

To sport with Amaryllis in the shade, Or with the tangles of Neæra’s hair.

Milton, _Lycidas_ (1638).

=Neal´liny= (4 _syl._), a suttee, the young widow of Ar´valan, son of Keha´ma.--Southey, _Curse of Kehama_, i. 11 (1809).

=Nebuchadnezzar= [_Ne-boch-ad-ne-Tzar_], in Russian, means “there is no God but the Czar.”--M. D., _Notes and Queries_ (21st July, 1877).

=Neck.= Calig´ula, the Roman emperor used to say, “Oh that the Roman people had but one neck, that I might cut it off at a blow!”

I love the sex, and sometimes would reverse The tyrant’s wish, that, “mankind only had One neck, which he with one fell stroke might pierce.”

Byron, _Don Juan_, vi. 27 (1824).

=Neck or Nothing=, a farce by Garrick (1766). Mr. Stockwell promises to give his daughter in marriage to the son of Sir Harry Harlowe, of Dorsetshire, with a _dot_ of £10,000; but it so happens that the young man is privately married. The two servants of Mr. Belford and Sir Harry Harlowe try to get possession of the money, by passing off Martin (Belford’s servant) as Sir Harry’s son; but it so happens that Belford is in love with Miss Stockwell, and hearing of the plot through Jenny, the young lady’s-maid, arrests the two servants as vagabonds. Old Stockwell gladly consents to his marriage with Nancy, and thinks himself well out of the terrible scrape.

=Nectaba´nus=, the dwarf at the cell of the hermit of Engaddi. Sir W. Scott, _The Talisman_ (time, Richard I.).

=Nectar=, the beverage of the gods. It was white as cream, for when Hebê spilt some of it, the white arch of heaven, called the Milky Way, was made. The food of the gods was _ambrosia_.

=Ned= (_Lying_), “the chimney-sweeper of Savoy,” that is, the duke of Savoy, who joined the allied army against France in the war of the Spanish Succession.--Dr. Arbuthnot, _History of John Bull_ (1712).

=Negro´ni=, a princess, the friend of Lucrezia di Borgia. She invited the notables who had insulted the Borgia to a banquet, and killed them with poisoned wine.--Donizetti, _Lucrezia di Borgia_ (an opera, 1834).

=Ne´gus=, sovereign of Abyssinia. Erco´co, or Erquico, on the Red Sea, marks the north-east boundary of this empire.

The empire of Negus to his utmost port, Ercoco.

Milton, _Paradise Lost_, xi. 397 (1665).

=Nehemiah Holdenough=, a Presbyterian preacher.--Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_ (time, commonwealth).

=Neilson= (_Mr. Christopher_), a surgeon at Glasgow.--Sir W. Scott, _Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).

=Neim´heid= (2 _syl._) employed four architects to build him a palace in Ireland; and, that they might not build another like it or superior to it for some other monarch, had them all secretly murdered.--O’Halloran, _History of Ireland_.

⁂ A similar story is told of Nômanal-Aôuar, king of Hirah, who employed Senna´mar to build him a palace. When finished, he cast the architect headlong from the highest tower, to prevent his building another to rival it.--D’Herbelot, _Bibliothèque Oriental_[TN-29] (1697).

=Nekayah=, sister of Rasselas, prince of Abyssinia. She escapes with her brother from the “happy valley,” and wanders about with him to find what condition or rank of life is the most happy. After roaming for a time, and finding no condition of life free from its drawbacks, the brother and sister resolved to return to the “happy valley.”--Dr. Johnson, _Rasselas_ (1759).

=Nell=, the meek and obedient wife of Jobson; taught by the strap to know who was lord and master. Lady Loverule was the imperious, headstrong bride of Sir John Loverule. The two women by a magical hocus-pocus, were changed for a time, without any of the four knowing it. Lady Loverule was placed with Jobson, who soon brought down her turbulent temper with the strap, and when she was reduced to submission, the two women were restored again to their respective husbands.--C. Coffey, _The Devil to Pay_ (1731).

_Nell_ (_Little_), or NELLY TRENT, a sweet, innocent, loving child of 14 summers, brought up by her old miserly grandfather, who gambled away all his money. Her days were monotonous and without youthful companionship, her evenings gloomy and solitary; there were no child-sympathies in her dreary home, but dejection, despondence akin to madness, watchfulness, suspicion, and imbecility. The grandfather being wholly ruined by gaming, the two went forth as beggars, and ultimately settled down in a cottage adjoining a country churchyard. Here Nell died, and the old grandfather soon afterwards was found dead upon her grave.--C. Dickens, _The Old Curiosity Shop_ (1840).

=Nelly=, the servant-girl of Mrs. Dinmont.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time, George II.).

=Nelson’s Ship=, the _Victory_.

Now from the fleet of the foemen past Ahead of the _Victory_, A four-decked ship, with a flagless mast, An Anak of the sea. His gaze on the ship Lord Nelson cast: “Oh, oh! my old friend!” quoth he. “Since again we have met, we must all be glad To pay our respects to the _Trinidad_.” So, full on the bow of the giant foe, Our gallant _Victory_ runs; Thro’ the dark’ning smoke the thunder broke O’er her deck from a hundred guns.

Lord Lytton, _Ode_, iii. 9 (1839).

=Nem´ean Lion=, a lion of Argŏlis, slain by Herculês.

In this word Shakespeare has preserved the correct accent: “As hardy as the Nem´ean lion’s nerve” (_Hamlet_, act i. sc. 5); but Spenser incorrectly throws the accent on the second syllable, which is _e_ short: “Into the great Neme´an’s lion’s grove” (_Faëry Queen_, v. 1).

Ere Nemĕa’s beast resigned his shaggy spoils.

Statius, _The Thebaid_, i.

=Nem´esis=, the Greek personification of retribution, or that punishment for sin which sooner or later overtakes the offender.

... and some great Nemesis Break from a darkened future.

Tennyson, _The Princess_, (1847).

=Ne´mo=, the name by which Captain Hawdon was known at Krook’s. He had once won the love of the future Lady Dedlock, by whom he had a child called Esther Summerson; but he was compelled to copy law-writings for daily bread, and died a miserable death from an overdose of opium.--C. Dickens, _Bleak House_ (1852).

=Nepen´the= (3 _syl._) or NEPENTHES, a care-dispelling drug, which Polydamna, wife of Tho´nis, king of Egypt, gave to Helen (daughter of Jove and Leda). A drink containing this drug “changed grief to mirth, melancholy to joyfulness, and hatred to love.” The water of Ardenne had the opposite effects. Homer mentions the drug nepenthê in his _Odyssey_, iv. 228.

That nepenthês which the wife of Thone, In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena.

Milton, _Comus_, (1634).

Nepenthê is a drink of sovereign grace. Devisèd by the gods for to assuage Heart’s grief, and bitter gall away to chase Which stirs up anger and contentious rage; Instead thereof sweet peace and quietage It doth establish in the troubled mind ... And such as drink, eternal happiness do find.

Spencer, _Faëry Queen_, iv. 2 (1596).

=Nep´omuk= or =Nep´omuck= (_St. John_), canon of Prague. He was thrown from a bridge in 1381, and drowned by order of King Wenceslaus, because he refused to betray the secrets confided to him by the queen in the holy rite of confession. The spot whence he was cast into the Moldau is still marked by a cross with five stars on the parapet, indicative of the miraculous flames seen flickering over the dead body for three days. Nepomuk was canonized in 1729, and became the patron saint of bridges. His statue in stone usually occupies such a position on bridges as it does in Prague.

Like St. John Nep´omuck in stone, Looking down into the stream. Longfellow, _The Golden Legend_ (1851).

⁂ The word is often accented on the second syllable.

=Neptune= (_Old Father_), the ocean or sea-god.