Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/293

* NARWHAL. 251 NASH. two in the upper jaw. supposed to be canines, (iiie and occasionally botli of which (in the male) develop into spirally twisted straight tusks, passinj; tlirough the upper lip. and projecting like horns in front. Wlien, as usually, only one is so produced, it is always the left one. Only one species is known (Munudon monoceros), of Arctic seas, where narwhals are often seen in {.•reat numbers among the ice-fields, and in the creeks and bays, always active and playful. A mature narwhal is generally about 15 feet in length, besides the tusk, which is from 6 to 10 feet long. The tusk is hollow nearly to the jioinf, and is spirally grooved. Its use is rather conjectured than known: it is pr(>l)ably a weapon of defense, but it may also be used for breaking thin ice in order to breathe, and for killing fish. The remains of skates and other llatlish have l«en found in the stomach of a narwhal, and it i^ not easy to imagine how a toothless animal, with rather small lips, could capture and swal- low such prey unless the formidable tusk were first employed. Cejihalopod mollusks, however, are believed to constitute a principal part of the food. The narwhal is pursued by the Eski- mos for food, and for the sake of its blubber, with which the whole body is invested to the thickness of about three inches, weighing nearly half a ton and yielding a large amount of e.xcellent oil. The tusks are also valuable, as they are denser, harder, and whiter than ivory. The kings of Denmark have long possessed a magnificent throne of this material, preserved in the Castle of Rosenberg. Great medicinal virtues were formerly ascribed to the tusks. The animal has been called the 'sea-unicorn.' NASALS (from Lat. nasus, nose; connected with Skt. nOsa, OChurch Slav, nosu, Lith. «osis, OPrus. 110Z1J, OHG. nasa, Ger. .A((.se, AS. nosu, Eng. nose). A name given to sounds, as m, n, whose quality is afl'ected by the deflection of the breath from the oral to the nasal passages. The voice is made to pass through the nose by lowering the soft palate and sometimes by clos- ing the oral passage. NAS'BY, PETROLEtM V(esuvius). The pseu- donym of the American humorist David Ross Locke ( q.v. ). NASCENT STATE (from Lat. nasccns, pres. part, of nasci. to 1)C born), status nascendi. The state in which a chemical element exists at the instant of its liberation from a compound. The reacting capacity of an clement in the nascent state is far greater than in the ordinaiy state, i.e. some time after it has been liberated. For example, in the gaseous state hydrogen has no action upon ordinary aldehyde; but when sodium amalgam is brought in contact with an aqueous solution of aldehyde, the latter combines directly with the nascent hydrogen, yielding ordinary alcohol. According to most authors, nascent hydrogen is made up of single atoms, while gaseous hydrogen is made up of molecules, each of which consists of two atoms. Others believe that nascent hydrogen is nothing but highly compressed gaseous hydrogen: for. as a matter of fact, it has been shown that highly compressed hydrogen is capable of acting in many respects like nascent hydrogen, and it can also be shown that hydrogen is chemically liberated with considerable pressure. Similar remarks ap- ply also to other elements in the nascent state. Vol. XIV.— n. NASCIMENTO, niis'se-man'to, Maxoel do { lT34-lSlil|. A Portuguese poet and a secular priest. He was summoned to appear before the Inquisition because of certain heterodox practices. He fled to Holland and then to Krance, where he spent the rest of his life. hile still in Portugal Xascimento formed with some seceders from the Arcadia a counter poetical academy (the (Jrupo da Ribriru das -Vaos), whose members observed the Arcadian system of taking ])seudonyms, so that he is kimwii as Xiccno and Filinto IJhjsio. At Paris (1817- 10) and at Lisbon (IS30-1) there a])peared two separate editions of his Obras comjilelus, neither of which is really complete. Consult Pereira da Silva, Filinto Elysio e sua epoca (Rio, 1891). NASCOPI, na-sko'pe. The most northeasterly tribe of the AlgoiKiuian stock (q.v. ), occupying the interior highland region of Quebec and Lab- rador, northwaril almost to Ungava Bay. They are closely allied by intermarriage with the Montagnais (q.v. ), and trade at the same stations along the Saint Lawrence. They depend entirely upon hunting and fishing for subsistence, and are still but little changed from their primitive condition. They are supposed to number alto- gether about 3200 souls. NASEBY, naz'bl. A parish of Northampton- shire, England, 12 miles east by north of Rugby. Population, under 7.50. It gives its name to the decisive action of the Civil War between Cliarles I. and the Parliamentary army under Fairfax and Cromwell, which took ])laee here, .June 14, 1645. It resulted in the total defeat of the Royalists, the King being compelled to flee, after losing his cannon and baggage, and nearly 5000 of his army as prisoners. NASH, Abxer (171G-8G). An American offi- cial, brother of G!en. Francis Nash (q.v.). He was born in Prince Edward County, Va., but removed to North Carolina, was admitted to the bar, and gained a large practice. He repre- sented Newbern in the First Provincial Con- gress in 1774, and the next year was a member of the Provincial Council. He was a member of the body which framed the State Constitution in 1776, and Avas the Speaker of the first House of Commons the next year. In 17S0 he was elected the second Governor of the State. His adminis- tration was stormy, as the Legislature gave most of his powers to a board of war. and he served but one year. In 1782 and 1785 he represented Jones County in the Legislature, and was elected bv that bodv a delegate to the Continental Con- gress in 1782-84 and 1785-86. NASH, Fraxcis (1720-77). An American soldier, born in Prince Edward County, Va. At an early age he removed to Orange County. N. C. In 1771 he served as a captain under Governor Tryon in the campaign against the Regulators. He was a member of the Assembly in 1771. and from 1773 to 1775. He was also a mem- ber of the Provincial Congress of 1775, and by it was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the First North Carolina Regiment in September, and promoted to be colonel. April 22, 1776. This regi- ment became a part of the Continental line, and in February. 1777. he was made brigadier-general. At Germantown his brigade, which was intended to form part of the reserve, participated in some of the hottest fighting of the day. General Nash