Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/432

NAPIER 370 NAPLES taste; melts at 79 to a liquid as clear as water; boils at 216-220°, and burns, when inflamed, with a highly luminous but smoky flame. NAPIER, SIR CHARLES, an Eng- lish naval officer; born near Falkirk, Scotland, March 6, 1786. He entered the navy as midshipman in 1799, was pro- moted lieutenant in 1805, and sent to the West Indies, where he served in the operations against the French. He was promoted commander by Admiral Coch- rane in August, 1809, and in 1811 was employed in Portugal and along the coast of S. Italy. In 1833 he accepted the command of the Portuguese consti- tutional fleet, and effected the establish- SIR CHARLES NAPIER ment of Donna Maria on the throne. Re- turning to England, he was appointed in 1839 to the command of the "Power- ful." and performed some of his most gallant exploits, including the storming of Sidon and the capture of Acre. Hav- ing blockaded Alexandria, he concluded on his own responsibility a convention with Mehemet Ali. On his retura to England he was created K. C. B. In 1841 he was elected member for Mary- lebone. In 1847 he received the com- mand of the Channel fleet as rear- admiral: and in 1854, on the commence- ment of the Russian war, he was nom- inated to the command of the Baltic fleet, being now a rear-admiral. In this capacity he accomplished little beyond the capture of Bomarsund. He sat in Parliament as member for Southwark from 1855 till his death. He died Nov. 6. 1860. NAPIER, SIR CHARLES JAMES, a British military officer; bom in London, England, Aug. 10, 1782. He entered the army in 1794, and served in Ireland and Portugal, being present at Corunna, where he was wounded and taken prisoner in 1809. In 1811, when again at liberty, he returned to the Peninsula, and served through the war, being severely wounded in several battles. In 1812 he was made lieutenant-colonel, and in the following year served in the expedition to the Chesapeake. In 1837 he was made Major-General; in 1838 K. C. B. In 1841 he was appointed to the chief command in the presidency of Bombay, with the rank of Major-Gen- eral, and was shortly afterward called to Scinde, Here he gained the splendid victories of Meanee and Haidarabad, and was afterward made governor of Scinde, which he administered till 1847. In 1849 his services were again required, and he sailed once more for the East, as Commandei'-in-Chief of all the forces in India. Before he arrived Lord Gough had brought the Sikh war to a trium- phant termination, and no special work I'emained for Sir Charles Napier to per- form. Having returned to England, he died in Portsmouth, Aug. 29, 1853. NAPIER, ROBERT, LORD, an Eng- lish military officer; born in Ceylon, Dec. 6, 1810. He entered the Indian army in 1826, and served with distinc- tion in the campaigns of the Sutlej and the Punjab. In 1854, he was appointed Chief Engineer of Bengal, and planned the operations at the Siege of Lucknow in 1857. He also served with high credit as second in command in the war with China, receiving general rank, the Grand Cross of the Bath, and a military mem- bership of the Indian Council therefor. In 1865, Sir Robert was made Com- mander-in-Chief of the British army sent out to Abyssinia for the rescue of the English captives, held there by its semi-bai'barous ruler. King Theodore. After successfully accomplishing his mis- sion. Sir Robert was raised to the peer- age as Lord Napier, of Magdala, and also made a Knight Grand Cross of the Star of India. In 1869 he was appointed Com- mander-in-Chief of the British Indian army; and governor of Gibraltar in 1876. He died in London, England, Jan. 14, 1890. NAPLES (Italian, Napoli), a city in southern Italy, the largest in the king- dom, on the N. shore of the Bay of Naples, about 160 miles from Rome. Its site is magnificent, being on the side of a nearly semi-circular bay, partly along the shore, and partly climbing the ad-