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cording to Strabo, the Museum was a large structure surrounded by a corridor, and the famous Library of Alexandria was attached to it.

2. A hill in Athens, Greece, south-west of the Acropolis.

3. A well-known edifice on Tremont Street, Boston, Mass., used for theatrical purposes, and containing a museum of curiosities and antiquities.

Tickets to the Museum, — said the landlady. There is them that's glad enough to go to the Museum, when tickets is given 'em; but some of 'em ha'n't had a ticket

sence Cenderilla was played. Holmes.

4. See BRITISH MUSEUM, INDIA MUSEUM, SLOANE MUSEUM, SOANE MUSEUM, etc.

Music Hall. A plain edifice in Boston, Mass., containing a noble hall, used for concerts and other

purposes, and the largest organ in America.

Music Master. A picture by Jan Steen (1626-1679), the Dutch genre painter. In the National Gallery, London.

Musidora. An admired picture by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788). In the National Gallery, London. "His [Gainsborough's] Musidora has such delicate feet and so intelligent a head that she is no simple girl bathing, but a lady."

Taine, Trans. Myrtle Grove. A mansion near Youghall, Ireland, near Cork, once the home of Sir Walter Raleigh. It derives its name from the luxuriant growth of the myrtles by which it is nearly covered, and some of which are nearly 30 feet high.

N.

Nag's Head. A former tavern in | Nashville, The. A noted priva

London.

Namur, Siege of. See SIEGE OF NAMUR.

Nando's. A coffee-house in Fleet Street, London, formerly much frequented by professional loungers. It is no longer a coffeehouse.

"The lawyers discussed law or literature; criticised the last new play, or retailed the freshest Westminster Hall bite' at Nando's or the Grecian, both close on the purlieus of the Temple. Here the young bloods of the Inns-of-Court paraded their Indian gowns and lace caps of a morning; and swaggered in their lace coats and Mechlin ruffles at night, after the theatre." "National Review. Napoleon at Fontainebleau. A

picture by Paul Delaroche (17971856), the eminent French historical painter.

Napoleon at St. Helena. An admired picture by Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846).

Narcissus. An ancient marble statue supposed to be the copy of a work by Praxiteles, the Greek sculptor (b. 392? B.C.). It is in the Museum at Naples, Italy. [Called also Pan, and Bacchus.] Narcissus and Echo. A picture by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), the English landscape-painter, and regarded one of his best works.

Narragansett Fort. A ruined Indian fortress near Kingston, R.I., the scene of one of the most desperate conflicts between the early colonists of New England and the Indian tribes during

King Philip's War." The fort, of which a few remains still ex*t, was taken by the Massachuand Connecticut men in De1675.

teer of the Confederate navy in the war of the Rebellion. She was one of the most active and formidable vessels afloat, but was finally destroyed by the Montauk, under command of Capt. Worden.

Nassau, John, Duke of, and his Family. A family picture by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), and one of his grandest compositions. Now at Panshanger.

National Academy of Design. A fine building on Fourth Avenue, New York, devoted to the exhibition of works of American art.

National Cemetery. A national burying-ground in Arlington, Va., containing the bodies of 16,000 soldiers, who fell in the war of the Rebellion.

National Gallery. A collection of paintings and works of art in London. It originated under the auspices of the British government, and was founded in 1824. The building of the National Gallery was erected 183238.

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"It possesses windows without glass, a cupola without size, a portico without height, pepper-boxes without pepper, and the finest site in Europe, without any thing to show upon it.'

All the Year Round.

National Gallery of Statuary. A semicircular chamber in the Capitol at Washington, formerly the hall of the House of Representatives, in which that body sat for 32 years. In 1864 the room was set apart as a hall of statuary. It contains statues of some of the most eminent men of the republic, and of the colonial period, contributed by the different States.

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rial structure in Edinburgh, Scotland, begun in 1822, in honor of those British soldiers who fell in the Napoleonic wars. It was designed to be a copy of the Parthenon at Athens, but for want of funds the building is still in an unfinished state.

National Monument. An imposing memorial structure of granite, erected on Cemetery Hill, Gettysburg, Penn., in honor of the Union soldiers who gave their lives for their country at this place in the great battle of July 3, 1863. It stands in the centre of the enclosure, which contains the bodies of some 3,500 soldiers, representing eighteen Northern States. The monument bears upon its base the famous words of President Lincoln, delivered at the consecration of the cemetery in November, 1863.

National Portrait Gallery. An interesting gallery in the South Kensington Museum, London, founded in 1858.

National Road.

An ancient national highway, established by Thomas Jefferson, and once a great thoroughfare. It extended from Baltimore, Md., through Frederick, Cumberland, and Wheeling, to Columbus, 0. Sometimes called the old Cumberland Road.

Nativity, The. [Ital. Il Presepio, Fr. La Nativité.] A very common subject of representation by the great mediæval painters, exhibiting, under various aspects and circumstances, the birth of Christ. Of the numerous pictures treating of this subject, the following may be mentioned as among the more noted.

But for the occasion and the appellation it would be quite impossible to distinguish the loves that sport round Venus and Adonis from the Cherubim, so called, that hover above a Nativity, or a Riposo.

Mrs. Jameson. Nativity, The. A celebrated picture by Correggio. See NOTTE, LA.

Nativity, The. An admired picture by Mariotto Albertinelli (1474-1515). In the Pitti Gallery, Florence, Italy.

Nativity, The. A well-known picture by Giulio Romano (14921546), which formerly belonged to Charles I. of England. Now in the Louvre, Paris.

Nativity, The. A picture by Albert Dürer (1471-1528), the German painter and engraver, erroneously ascribed to Herri de Bles. It is in the collection of the Marquis of Exeter at Burleigh House, England.

Nativity, The. An altar-piece with wings, executed by Hugo van der Goes (d. 1482), the Flemish painter, for the church of the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova at Florence, Italy, where it is still preserved.

Nativity, The. A small triptych altar-piece, representing the Nativity, a Dead Christ in the lap of the Virgin, and Christ appearing to his mother after the Resurrection, by Roger van der Weyden, (d. 1464). It was presented by Pope Martin V. to the King of Spain, afterwards was brought to France, and is now in the Berlin Museum.

Nativity, The. A wall-painting by Nabor Martin (1404-1453), a Flemish painter. In the "Grande Boucherie" at Ghent, Belgium.

Nativity, The. A picture by Gheerardt David (1484-1523), a Flemish painter. Now in the National Gallery at Madrid, Spain.

Nativity, Cave of the. See CAVE OF THE NATIVITY.

Nativity, Church of the.

This

splendid basilica at Bethlehem, the oldest specimen of Christian architecture in the world, was built by the Empress Helena in 327 A.D. In consequence of its being used by all sects alike, the church is now in a state of neglect. Connected with it is a chamber which was formerly the study of Jerome. In the church is an altar reputed to be upon the

spot where were buried the 20,000 children massacred by order of Herod. There is also here a low vault known as the Chapel of the Nativity, within which is a marble slab bearing the inscription, "Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est" ("Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary "). Here is also the small chapel of the Præsepium, or " Manger," the manger being represented by a marble trough. Attached to the church are large convents belonging to Roman Catholics, the Greek Church, and the Armenians.

demon. The picture has undergone such injuries and repairs as to make any critical estimate difficult.

"Christ walking on the Sea' is a familiar and picturesque subject, not to be mistaken. The most ancient and most celebrated representation is Giotto's mosaic (A.D. 1298), now placed in the portico of St. Peter's over the arch opposite to the principal door. The sentiment in the composition of this subject is, generally, Lord, help me; or I perish. St. Peter is sinking, and Christ is stretching out his hand to save him. It is considered as a type of the Church in danger, assailed by enemies, and saved by the miraculous interposition of the Redeemer; and in this sense must the frequent representations in churches be understood." Mrs. Jameson.

Natural Bridge. 1. A remarkable natural curiosity near the James River in Virginia, about 125 miles west of Richmond. It is an arch Navona, Piazza. See PIAZZA Namore than 200 feet in height spanning Cedar Creek.

This scene [the passage of the Potomac through the valley of the Blue Ridge] is worth a journey across the Atlantic; yet here, as in the neighborhood of the Natural Bridge, are people who have passed their lives within a dozen miles, and have never been to survey these monuments of a war between rivers and mountains. which must have shaken the earth itself to its centre. Thomas Jefferson.

2. A curiosity of nature in Walker County, Ala., considered by many as remarkable as the celebrated bridge in Virginia.

Naval Academy. See UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY.

Naval Club. See ROYAL NAVAL CLUB.

Navicella, La. [The boat or barge.] A celebrated mosaic now in the vestibule of St. Peter's Church in Rome, executed by Giotto (1276-1336), with the help of his pupil Pietro Cavallini, and representing a ship (symbolizing the Church) with the disciples upon an agitated sea, and the Saviour raising Peter from the waves. On the shore opposite is a fisherman. Several figures of Fathers are seen in the sky manifesting sympathy with those in the ship. The winds are represented below on each side in the form of a

VONA.

Naworth Castle. The seat of the Earl of Carlisle, near Gilsland, Scotland.

Nazionale, Villa. See VILLA REALE. Necessidades.

A palace of vast size in Lisbon, Portugal, used for the meetings of the Cortes.

"Hence we were driven to the huge palace of Necessidades, which is but a wing of a building that no King of Portugal ought ever to be rich enough to complete, and which, if perfect, might outvie the Tower of Babel. The mines of Brazil must have been productive of gold and silver indeed when the founder imagined this enormous edifice. . . . Although the palace has not attained any thing like its full growth, yet what exists is quite big enough for the monarch of such a little country. . . . The Necessidades are only used for grand galas, receptions of ambassadors, and ceremonies of state. Of all the undignified objects in the world, a palace out at elbows is surely the meanest."

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I wish they would offer the Trafalgarsquare Pillar to the Egyptians; and that both of the huge, ugly monsters were lying in the dirt there [Egypt), side by side. Thackeray. Nelson's Pillar. A fine Ionic column in Sackville Street, Dublin, Ireland. It is 134 feet in height, and is surmounted by a statue of Lord Nelson, leaning upon the capstan of a ship. The pillar commands a fine view of the city.

Nepomuck. See ST. JOHN NEPO

MUCK and SHRINE OF ST. JOHN
NEPOMUCK.

Neptune, Temple of. See TEMPLE
OF NEPTUNE.

Nero's Golden House. See GOLD-
EN HOUSE.

Nesle, Tour de. See TOUR DE
NESLE.

Neutral Ground. 1. The name
given to a space near the north-
ern extremity of the isthmus
which connects the fortress of
Gibraltar with the mainland. It
is between the " Spanish lines"
and the English "Rock" of Gib-
raltar.

2. A name formerly applied to Westchester County, N. Y., which was for five years or more during the Revolutionary War the scene of constant skirmishing between the Loyalists and Queen's Ran

A walk in Broadway or Fifth Avenue will show you damsels and dames who will remind you of those you have met in Piccadilly or the Boulevards. . . in the Prater or Nevskoi Prospekt. Galaxy.

The days came and went; fashionable equipages forsook their summer ground of the Islands and crowded the Nevskoi Prospekt; the nights were cold and raw, the sun's lessening declination was visible from day to day, and still Winter delayed 'to make his appearance. Bayard Taylor. New Abbey. An interesting ruined monastery, founded in the thirteenth century, near Dumfries, Scotland. Its last abbot is said to have been the original of Sir Walter Scott's Abbot of St. Mary's.

New Forest. A large tract of woodland, the greater part of which belongs to the Crown, in the neighborhood of Southampton, England, about 50 miles in circumference, originally set apart by William the Conqueror, and of much historical in

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I have read somewhere that the lineal descendants of the man who carted off the body of William Rufus, with Walter Tyrrel's arrow sticking in it, have driven a cart (not absolutely the same one, I suppose) in the New Forest, from that day to this. Holmes.

idical tumulus on the banks of the Boyne, between Drogheda and Slane, Ireland. One or two others of a similar character are in the neighborhood. The interior was first explored in 1699. A long gallery opens into a wonderful cave or sacrificial chamber, where more than 2,000 years ago the Druids held their solemn meetings.

gers on the one side, and the pa- New Grange. A remarkable Drutriot soldiery of New York and New England on the other. Cooper's well-known "Spy" is a "Tale of the Neutral Ground." Nevskoi Prospekt. [The New Prospect.] The principal street and public promenade in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is four miles in length, nearly in a right line, and 150 feet in breadth, with a double carriage-way. The houses facing upon it are magnificent, and some of the finest churches in the city are here located. In winter the display of sledges and costumes which crowd this street affords one of the finest spectacles to be seen in Europe.

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"Of their Druidical character one can entertain the remotest doubt; they would carry conviction to the most sceptical, even if ample corroborative testimony did not exist." Mr. and Mrs. Hall.

New Hall. An historical mansion near Chelmsford, England, once

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