Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/317

* NATIONAL NICKNAMES. 275 NATRON. ]istuic, and i'uiis was called LiiU'tia, or 'ilud- laiid.' Its streets were so quaggy that the French ( Durt, with a point to its pleasantry, called its inhabitants 'frogs,' since they, like the reptiles, lived in mud. For the French-Canadian we have Jean Bai'Tiste, and. the French peasant is fa- cetiously called .jACHiiES Boniiomme. Deutscii- i.i! iliciiEL is the facetious nickname applied to ihe (icnnan people, and intended particularly to satirize the weaknesses and foibles of the national character, especially their proverbial lethargy, heaviness, and credulity. The name Jliehael is used in German to designate any simple, uncul- tured countryman, and it has probably gained this sigiiilicance by confusion of the Hebrew word with the old German niichel-gross. Sawxev is the sport- ive designation sometimes applied by the English tu the Scotch, and is probably a corruption of Sandy, the abbreviation of Alexander. .Sawney has a humor of his own, strong, and irrepressible, that will break out in spite of worldly thrift, kirk-session, cutty-stool, and lectures. It was lirst gi'en to the Scotch by Coleridge. Taffy, the Aelshman, is a corruption of David, one of the most common of Welsh names. Colin Tam- my is the reproachful, contemptuous nickname
 * _ I ven to the Sw'iss in ancient times, and supposed

lu imitate the sound of their guns. PAonv, from Patrick, refers to the Irish. .Joiix Ciiixaman is the popular nickname for the Chinese. The first 1' cord of this use was in A Letter to the Com- mit lee of Management of Drurtj Lane Theatre, London, in ISl'J. The Russian nickname, Ivan IvANOVlTcu, denotes the typical muzhik. NATIONAL EEPtTBLICAN PARTY. See AlllG P.VRTY. NATIONAL STANDARDS AND EM- BLEMS. See Stanuakd and yuiionul Coats of Arms (willi Plates), under Her.videy. NATIONAL UNION. A fraternal beneficial ii'iety organized for purposes of mutual help ad improvement, and incorporated in IS81 under the laws of Ohio. The number of members at the close of ]y02 was CO.OOO; the number of coun- cils 8.50. The insurance in force amounted to $140,000,000, and the death benefits paid since the date of organization to over .$15,000,000. NATIONAL WORKSHOPS, or Atelier,s Xationaux, a'tf-lyfi na'syu'nu'. A plan of giving l>ublic employment attempted in France in 1848. The Provisional Government organized on the overthrow of Louis Philippe by the February Eevolution passed a decree (February 25th) li. fended by its socialist members — Louis Blanc. and a few others — declaring the 'right to work' and j)leilging the Government to guarantee employnunt for idle workmen. A few days later 'national workshops' were established. As a matter of fact there were no workshops opened : the work ]n-ovidcd was in the o|ien air. and consiste<l largely in planting trees, digging, and constructing roads — works for which few of the applicants were adapted. Their num- ber, however, increased from day to day and at one time reached I.'W.OOO. No work could he found for many of llie applicants; these received 30 cents a day, while those actually employed were paid 40 cents, although the work they per- formed was scarcely worth the additional 10 cents, t'nder these circumstanci's niany workers who were in private employ demanded higher wages or were content to give up their places and remain idle so long as they might receive .'iO cents per day for doing nothiig. Several at- tempts were nuule to bring the scheme within the range of practical feasibility; but political disturbances and persimal jealousies made it im- possible to carry them out. After four mouths* trial and a total expenditure of 14,000,000 francs, the system was abandoned when (leneral Cavai- gnac became Chief of the E.'cecutive. The national workshops are .sometimes erro- neously confounded with the ateliers sociaux in Louis Blanc's plan of labor organization. NATIVE (from Lat. nativus, natal, inborn, from nasei, to be born ; connected with Gk. 7/7- Ko-Oai, gujncsthai, Skt. jan, AS. cennun, archaic Kng. /,(■», to beget). . term applied in chemis- try and niineralogT,' to elements, especially the metals, when found in nature in a chemically free state. NATIVE BEAR. The Australian koala (q.v. ). NATIVE COMPANION. An Australian Balearic crane (q.v.j. NATIVITY (Lat. nativitas, birth, from nativus, natal, inborn). The. A frecpient theme of painters. The most celebrated representation of the subject is the famous picture by Correg- gio known as "La Notte" (the night), in the Dresden gallery. The whole picture is illumi- nated by the light proceeding from the body of the beautiful child. Above is a group of angels, while day is just brealdng in the sky. NATORP, na'tOrp, Paul Gekhard (1854—). A German philosopher of the Xeo-Kantian type. He was born at Diis.seldorf ; .studied in Berlin, Bonn, and Strassburg; and in 1885 l)ecanie pro- fessor at ilarburg. His works include: Des- cnrtes's Erkenntnisstheorie (1882) ; an edition of Democritus's Ethics (1893); Religion innerlialb der Grenzen dcr Eumanitiit (1804) ; I'latos Slant (1805); tSocialpadagogik (1808); and Plalos Idcenlehre (1903). NA'TROLITE (from Eng. natron, from Ar. natnln, nitrfin, native carbonate of soda, from Gk. vlrpov, nitron, Xlrpov, litron, natron, of Se- mitic origin (cf. Heb. neter, from nutar, to loose) -|- Gk. i8os, lithos. stone). A mineral sodium- aluminum silicate of the zeolite group. It crys- tallizes in the orthorhombic system, has a vitre- ous, sometimes pearly, lustre, is transparent or translucent, and ranges in color from white or colorless to gray, yellow, and red. Natrolite is found in cavities in basalt and other igneous rocks, at various localities in Bohemia, the Tyrol, Ireland, and Scotland, in Nova Scotia, in the Lake Superior region, and at Bergen Hill, N. J. It is capable of receiving a high polish, and has been used as a gem for rings and other orna- ments, especially in the form of the letter N in initial jewelry. NA'TRON. . hydrous sodium carbonate that crystallizes in the monoclinic system, and is found in nature only in solution, as in the Soda Lakes of Eg>pt. Of similar character is the Tronn, an impure hydrogen sodium carbonate, which occurs as thin cni.sts along the margin of lakes in Egypt. Siberia, Tibet, and on the br)r- ders of the Black and Caspian seas. These min- erals form the source of the soda salts of the an- cient Egj'ptians; and were used by them in their