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* NASR ED-DIN. 253 NAST. thou^'lits of furtlior coiiqiii"it he may have enter- tained l)y defiiiiiiy the boundaries between Persia and Af^lianistan. The SSliali made three tours of Euidpe, in 1873, 187S, and 1880. Xasr cd-Din intnidiieed many reforms into his kingdom, and liis long reign of forty-eight years has but one serious blot on it, the persecution of the Babis. He was assassinated in 1896, and was succeeded by liis son, Muzatl'ar-ed-Din. NASS, niis (properly Xasqa, corruptly XiSH- GAH ) . A group of tribes related to the Chime- syan, but speaking a distinct language, re- siding on the Nass River and the adjacent ter- ritory in Xorthwestern British Columbia. They are a maritime people, and their culture is that of tile other peoples of the Xorthwest coast. Their population is 800, in seven villages. Mor- ally and intellcetnaUy the Xass are steadily im- ]iroving, but in numbers they are barely holding their own. About one-half are reported as Chris- tianized. NASSAU, Gcr. pron. niis'sou. Formerly a German duehy. now a part of the Prussian Prov- ince of Hesse-X'assau (q.v. ). The districts now known by the name of X'assau were anciently occupied by the Alemanni (q.v.). They subse- quently became a part of the Frankish realm. After the partition of the Caroliugian Empire in the Treaty of Verdun ( 84.3 ) the present Xassau was a part of the Kingdom of Germany and was included in the Duchy of Franconia. About 1100 the Count of Laurenbnrg built the Castle of Xas- sau. from which his descendant Walrani I. took the title of Count of X'assau about 11(10. In the midille of the thirteenth century Walram's two grandsons. Walram II. and Otho, became the founders of two separate lines, ruling respectively in the southern and the northern parts of the country. The descendants of Walram II. con- tinued to rule in X'assau until 1866. His son Adolphus was King of Germany from 1292 to 1298. His later descendants established several separate lines, but by the successive extinction of other branches the Xassau-Weilburg family was left as the sole representative in 1816. In 1806 the territories of the line of Xassau-Usingen had been erected into a duchv. In 18.3.5 Xassau joined the ZoUverein. Duke Adolphus of X'assau ( 18.39- 66) had many difficulties with his stibjeets, who chafed under his conservative tendencies. He' sided with Austria against Prussia in 1866, with the result that Prussia took possession of Xassau. (See fiERMANY.) In 1S90 the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg passed to the Duke of Xassau. The younger line of Xassau was foimded by Otho I. (died about 1292), who in the division with his brother received the northern part of the country. From this line have sprung the Stadt- holders and royal sovereigns of Holland. This junior branch of the House of Xassau acquired possession in 1544 of the Principality of Orange in the person of William the Silent, the great leader of the Dutch in their struggle for inde- pendence, who assumed the title of Prince of Orange. With the death of William III. of Eng- land and Holland in 1702 Orange passed out of the House of Xas.sau. but the princely title de- rived from the little State was retained bv his successors, and the ri'igning dynasty in the Netherlands is still styled the House (if Orange. Consult Schliephake. f.'eschichte von Nassau (7 vols., Wiesbaden, 1864). NASSAU, nas'sft. The capital of the Bahama IshnuK. situated near the eastern end of the isl- and of Xew Providence (Map: West Indies, J 2). Owing to its salubrious climate, X'assau is a winter resort for invalids, chiefly from the United States. The town is well laid out, has handsome public buildings, a cathedral, and the only good harbor in the Bahamas. The people are engaged in agriculture, and carry on consid- erable trade in cotton, fruit, sponges, and salt. Population, 11,000, chiefly negroes. Founded by the English in the seventeenth century, Xassau was destroyed by the French and Spaniards in 1703, but was rebuilt fifteen years later. In 1740 it was made a fortified port, open to free trade. NASSAU, niis'sou, .Joan ^Iaubitz van. Count of Xassau-Siegen (1604-79). A Dutch soldier and governor. He early distinguished himself in the service of Holland at the sieges of Breda (1625) and Maastricht (1632). From 1636 to 1042 he was Governor of the Dutch possessions in Brazil. Under his rule the colony was notably prosperous. He defeated the Spanish and Portu- guese fleets in 1640, and continued to attack these ])owers with varying success, imtil his return to Holland. In 1047 he was made tJovernor of Cleves, and as .mbassador from Brandenburg ar- ranged the treaty of 1661 with England. Placed at the head of the army of the X'etherlands. he repulsed the Bishop of Miinster (1665). In 1671 he became field-marshal, took an active part in the war against Louis XIV. in the Spanish Xeth- erlands, and was made Governor of Utrecht (1674). NASSE, nas'se, Erwin (1829-90). A German economist, one of the most prominent representa- tives of the 'Socialism of the Chair.' He was born and educated at Bonn, and became professor there in 1800, From 1869 to 1879 he was a member of the Prussian Lower House, and in 1889 was appointed to the House of Peers. One of the founders of the Verein fiir Socialpolitik, he was its president from its institution until his death. His writings, which were marked by unusiutl clarity of style, include: Ucber das prciis- siscJie ^iteiiersi/steni (1861); Die preussische Bank (ISOO); Ueier die mittelaltrrlichc Feld- gemeinscliaft in England (1869; trans, by Ouvry. 1871); and Agrarische Zustdnde in England (1884), NAS'SICK. A town of India. See Xasik. NAST, THOMA.S (1840-1902). An American illustrator. He was born at Landatv, Bavaria. His parents emigrated to America in 1846, and when only fourteen years of age he was employed as a dratightsman on Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. He went to England in 1800 and then traveled to Italy to follow Garibaldi, mak- ing sketches of the war. which appeared in the New York Illustrated News, the Illustrated Lon- don News, and Le Monde Illustre. Returning to America, he formed a connection with Harper's Weekh/, which was continued for many years. In 1862 his drawings of scenes from the Ameri- caji Civil War, published in Harper's periodi- cals, attracted wide attention. His caricatures of public men were pointed and severe, and he in his drawings did as much probably as any verbal vituperation of the newspapers to break up the corrtipt Tweed 'ring.' He st.arted the publication of Nast's Illustrated Almanac in