Part 35 (1/2)

”No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace Wrap my cold limbs and shade my lifeless face; One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead!

And, Betty, give this cheek a little red.”

Pope, _Moral Essays_, i. (1731).

=Narcisse=, an airy young Creole. He has boundless faith in himself, and a Micawberish confidence in the future. He would like to be called ”Papillon,” the b.u.t.terfly; ”'Cause tha.s.s my natu'e! I gatheth honey eve'y day fum eve'y opening floweh, as the bahd of Avon wemawked.”--George W. Cable, _Dr. Sevier_ (1883).

=Narcissus=, a flower. According to Grecian fable, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a fountain, and, having pined away because he could not kiss it, was changed into the flower which bears his name.--Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, iii. 346, etc.

Echo was in love with Narcissus, and died of grief because he would not return her love.

Narcissus fair, As o'er the fabled fountain hanging still.

Thomson, _Seasons_ (”Spring,” 1728).

? Gluck, in 1779, produced an opera called _Echo et Narcisse_.

=Narren-Schiff= (”_The s.h.i.+p of fools_”), a satirical poem, in German, by Brandt (1491), las.h.i.+ng the follies and vices of the period. Brandt makes knowledge of one's self the beginning of wisdom; maintains the equality of man; and speaks of life as a brief pa.s.sage only. The book at one time enjoyed unbounded popularity.

=Na.r.s.es= (2 _syl._), a Roman general against the Goths; the terror of children.

The name of Na.r.s.es was the formidable sound with which the a.s.syrian mothers were accustomed to terrify their infants.--Gibbon, _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, viii. 219 (1776-88).

_Na.r.s.es_, a domestic slave of Alexius Comnenus, emperor of Greece.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).

=Naso=, Ovid, the Roman poet, whose full name was Publius Ovidius Naso.

(_Naso_ means ”nose.”) Hence the pun of Holofernes:

And why Naso, but for smelling out the odoriferous flowers of fancy?--Shakespeare, _Love's Labor's Lost_, act iv. sc. 2 (1594).

=Nathan the Wise=, a prudent and wealthy old Jew who lives near Jerusalem in the time of Saladin. The play is a species of argument for religious toleration.--G. E. Lessing, _Nathan der Weise_ (1778).

=Nathaniel= (_Sir_), the grotesque curate of Holofernes.--Shakespeare, _Love's Labor's Lost_ (1594).

=Nathos=, one of the three sons of Usnoth, lord of Etha (in Argylls.h.i.+re), made commander of the Irish army at the death of Cuthullin. For a time he propped up the fortune of the youthful Cormac, but the rebel Cairbar increased in strength and found means to murder the young king. The army under Nathos then deserted to the usurper, and Nathos, with his two brothers, was obliged to quit Ireland. Dar'-Thula, the daughter of Colla, went with them to avoid Cairbar, who persisted in offering her his love. The wind drove the vessel back to Ulster, where Cairbar lay encamped, and the three young men, being overpowered, were slain. As for Dar-Thula, she was pierced with an arrow, and died also.--Ossian, _Dar-Thula_.

=Nation of Gentlemen.= The Scotch were so called by George IV., when he visited Scotland in 1822.

=Nation of Shopkeepers.= The English were so called by Napoleon I.