Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/572

LEFT NIMEGUEN 468 NIOBT (who died in 1882), and in 1887 Count de Miranda, when she retired. NIMEGUEN (Dutch Nijmegen), a town in Holland; province of Guelder- land; on the Waal river; 73 miles E. of Rotterdam. It is built on the slope of the Hoenderberg, "Hill of the Huns," on which the Romans formed the permanent camp of Noviomagum; and some of its streets are steep and narrow, but others are broad and handsome. On a neighbor- ing height stood till 1796 a castle, said to have been founded by Cassar and in- habited by Charlemagne; and toward the brow of this height there still stands a little sixteen-sided Romanesque bap- tistery of the 12th or 13th century. Nimeguen retains its Renaissance town hall (1554), adorned with medallions of German emperors, and the fine Gothic church of St. Stephen (dating from 1272). The manufactures include to- bacco, eau de Cologne, metal goods, beer, etc. It is an important trading center for cattle and grain. Nimeguen is cele- brated in history for its great peace con- gress, which on Aug. 12, 1678, concluded a treaty between France and Holland, on Dec. 13, between Prance and Spain, and on Feb. 5, 1679, between Austria and France. Pop. about 60,000. NIMES, or NISMES (nenj), a city of southern France, capital of the depart- ment of Card, 62 miles N. W. of Mar- seilles; is an episcopal see; and consists of an old central quarter surrounded by handsome boulevards, beyond which are the modern quarters. Its maniifactures are chiefly of silk and cotton goods; it has a considerable commerce especially in wine and brandy; and it is the great entrepot of southern France for raw silk. Nimes is chiefly remarkable for its Roman remains, including an ancient temple, with 30 beautiful Corinthian colunms, now serving as a museum and known as the Maison Carree; the amphi- theater, a circus capable of seating 20,- 000 persons; the temple of Diana; the ancient Tour Magne, on a hill outside of the city, supposed to have been a mausoleum; and a Roman gateway. Nimes (ancient Nemausus) is supposed to have been built by a Greek colony, and was afterward for about 500 years in the possession of the Romans. In the 16th century it became a stronghold of Calvinism, and suffered much during the civil wars, as also by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and during the Revolution; but latterly it has become a busy manufacturing center. It is the birthplace of Daudet and Guizot. Pop. about 80,000. NINE PINS, a game with nine pins or pieces of wood set on end, at which a ball is rolled for throwing them down. NINEVEH, or NINTJS, an ancient and famous city; capital of the great As- syrian empire; said in Scripture to have been founded by Ninus or Nimrud. It was situated on the E. bank of the Tigris, opposite to the present Mosul. Accord- ing to classic writers the city was of vast extent, 480 stadia, or more than 60 miles in circumference. Its walls were 100 feet high, and furnished with 1,500 towers, each 200 feet in height. After haAang been for many centuries the seat of empire, it was taken, after a siege of several years, and destroyed by the united armies of the Medes, under Cyaxares, and the Babylonians, under Nabopolas- sar, about 625 B. c. When Herodotus, not quite 200 years afterward, and Xenophon visited the spot there remained only ruins. In recent times much excavation work has been done. NING-PO, a treaty-port of China ; province of Che-keang; stands in a fertile plain; 16 miles from the mouth of the Takia (Ning-po) river, and about 100 miles S. of Shanghai. It is surrounded by a wall 25 feet high and 16 feet thick, and contains numerous temples, colleges, etc., chief among them the temple o2 the Queen of Heaven, founded in the 12th century, but the present building, elabo- rately and richly ornamented, dates from 1680. The inhabitants make sedge hats and mats, grow cotton, catch cuttle fish, and carry on an active trade, especially in the export of silk goods, raw cotton, and green tea. Pop. about 670,000. NIOBE, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Tantalus and wife of Am- phion. King of Thebes, to whom she bore six sons and six daughters. Proud of her children, she despised Leto or Latona, who had only two children, Apollo and Artemis; whereupon Latona, enraged at her presumption, moved her children to destroy all the children of Niobe with their arrows. Niobe was changed into stone on Mount Sipylus, in Lydia. Such is the Homeric legend, which, however, was afterward much varied and enlarged. Only fragments exist of the tragedies of ^schylus and Sophocles on this theme, which was a favorite subject of ancient art. A noble group representing Niobe and her children was discovered at Rome in 1583, and is now in the Uflizi Palace at Florence. It is a Roman copy of a Greek work. NIORT, the capital of the French de- partment of Deux- Sevres; on the Sevre- Niortaise river; 43 miles N. E. of La