Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/138

 130 NANCY Great excitement was caused by the arrest, and he was taken to Cawnpore for identification ; the result of such inquiry is not yet known (January, 1875). NANCY, a city of France, capital of the de- partment of Meurthe-et-Moselle on the left bank of the river Meurthe, 1TO m. E. of Paris ; pop. in 1872, 52,978. It stands in a beautiful and fertile plain, and consists of an old and a new town. The many fine edifices, squares, and promenades render Nancy one of the hand- somest of French cities. It is the seat of a bishop, and has faculties of law, medicine, sciences and literature, a lyceum, a school of forestry, 8 Catholic churches, 6 religious com- munities of men and 15 of women, and a num her of learned societies. The chief edifices are the cathedral, a handsome modern structure, with two towers more than 250 ft. high ; the church of St. Epvre, which contains several fine paintings, and a fresco attributed to Leo- nardo da Vinci ; the church of the Cordeliers, in which is the mausoleum of the dukes of Lorraine ; an ancient Gothic castle, which was nearly destroyed by fire on the withdrawal of the German troops in July, 1871 ; the museum, with pictures by Isabey, a native of Nancy, and other works of art; and hospitals. Ho- siery, muslin, cotton yarn, woollen cloth, cal- ico, lace, &c., are manufactured. There are three fairs yearly, one of which lasts 20 days. Nancy was the capital of the duchy of Lor- raine from the 13th century till its absorption by France; and under its walls Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, was defeated and slain, Jan. 5, 1477, by Rene II., duke of Lorraine. NANDOU. See OSTRICH. NANKING, or Nankin (i. e., the " southern capital," in distinction from Peking, the " north- ern capital "), called also KIANGNING-FU, a city of China, the chief town of the province of Kiangsu, and the residence of the governor general of the three provinces of Kiangsu, Nganhwui, and Kiangsi, about 3 m. S. of the Yangtse-kiang river, about 200 m. from its mouth, 560 m. S. by E. of Peking, and on the grand canal connecting Canton and Peking, in lat. 32 2' N., Ion. 118 49' E. ; pop. estima- ted before the Taiping rebellion at 400,000 or more, but now probably much less. The river opposite the city is 1% m. broad and 25 fathoms deep, with a rocky bottom, and a current of from 3 to 5 m. an hour. The region about the city is very marshy, and the excessive moisture makes it unhealthy for Europeans and natives of other provinces. The remains of ancient walls have been traced for a circuit of about 35 m. The modern walls are about 40 ft. high and 18 m. in circumference, and enclose a space of which not more than one eighth is occupied by the town. On the W. side they are strengthened by a deep ditch from the river. The great extent of the walls makes them difficult to defend, and the city is over- looked by the hills on the east. The eastern part of the city is irregular and thinly inhabit- NANKING ed, but in other parts the houses are so closely packed that one looking from a high building over the tent-like roofs of the temples can scarcely trace the streets. The Mantchoo and Chinese parts are separated by a cross wall. The principal streets are of moderate width, and were formerly lined with handsome shops. Most of the buildings of former note have been destroyed. There is a curious square tower 50 ft. high, on the top of which is a finely sculptured figure of a turtle, carved from a single block of marble. Not far from the walls is an ancient cemetery, which travellers have called the tombs of the kings, approached Porcelain Tower (destroyed by the Taipings). by an avenue of colossal figures. At some dis- tance from these statues are rude colossi of horses, elephants, and other animals, without regular arrangement, and perhaps removed from their original places. The celebrated porcelain tower was destroyed by the rebels. It was built in 1413-'32, and was of an octagonal form, 260 ft. high, in nine stories, each adorned with a cornice and gallery, and covered with a roof of green tiles, with a bell suspended at each corner, which sounded when moved by the wind. On the top was a pinnacle in the shape of a pineapple, surmounted by a gilded ball. A spiral staircase led to the summit. Before the accession of the Mongol dynasty the court sometimes resided at Nanking. The first