Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/446

This page needs to be proofread.
LEFT
376
RIGHT

NAPOLEON III. 376 NARCISSUS ning of Dec. 2, 1851, the president de- clared Paris in a state of siege, a de- cree was issued dissolving the assembly, 180 of the members were placed under arrest, and the people who exhibited any disposition to take their part were shot down in the streets by the soldiers. Another decree was published at the same time ordering the re-establishment of universal suffrage, and the election of a president for 10 years. Napoleon was elected by an overwhelming majority. As soon as Louis Napoleon found him- self firmly seated he began to prepare for the restoration of the empire. In January, 1852, the National Guard was revived, a new constitution adopted, and new orders of nobility issued ; and at last, on Dec. 1, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed emperor under the title of Napoleon III. On Jan. 29, 1853, the new sovereign married Eugenie Marie de Montijo, Countess de Teba. In March, 1854, Na- poleon III., in conjunction with England, declared war in the interest of Turkey against Russia (see Crimean War). In April, 1859, war was declared between Austria and Sardinia, and Napoleon took up arms in favor of his Italian ally, Victor Emanuel. The allies defeated the Austrians at Montebello, Magenta, Marignano, and Solferino. In 1861 .France, England, and Spain agreed to dispatch a joint expedition to Mexico for the purpose of exacting redress of injuries, but the English and Spaniards soon vdthdrew. The French continued the quarrel, and an imperial form of government was initiated, Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, being placed at its head with the title of emperor. Napoleon, however, withdrew his army in 1867, and the unfortunate Maximilian, left to him- self, was captured and shot. On the conclusion of the Austro-Prussian war of 1866, Napoleon, jealous of the grow- ing power of Prussia, demanded a re- construction of frontier, which was peremptorily refused. The ill-feeling be- tween the two nations was increased by various causes, and in 1870, on the Spanish crown being offered to Leopold of Hohenzollern, Napoleon demanded that the King of Prussia should compel that prince to refuse it. Notwithstanding the subsequent renunciation of the crown by Leopold, war was declared by France, July 19. The war was a decisive one, and on July 28 Napoleon set out to take the chief command, and on Sept. 2, the army with which he was present was compelled to surrender at Sedan. One of the immediate consequences of this disaster was a revolution in Paris. The empress and her son secretly quitted the French capital and repaired to Eng- land, where they took up their residence at Camden House, Chislehurst. Here they were rejoined by the emperor (who had been kept a prisoner of war for a short time) in March, 1871, and here he remained till his death, Jan. 9, 1873. N.^OLEON, PRINCE (NAPOLEON EUGENE LOUIS JEAN JOSEPH BO- NAPARTE), Prince Imperial of France, son of Napoleon III.; born in Paris, France, March 16, 1856. He joined the British army in South Africa as a vol- unteer and was killed by the Zulus, June 2, 1879. NARA, a city of Japan, the capital of the prefecture of the same name. In the 8th century it was the capital of Japan. It has many interesting temples. There are manufactories of ink, fans, and toys. Pop. about 35,000. NARBONNE, a town of France; de- partment of Aude, on the La Robine branch of the Canal du Midi; 8 miles from the Mediterranean and 93 E. S. E. of Toulouse. The removal since 1865 of the fortifications has been an improve- ment, but the place remains dirty and unattractive, with only three noteworthy buildings. These are the Romanesque Church of St. Paul (1229) ; the quondam cathedral of St. Just (1272-1332), only the fine Gothic choir of which, 131 feet high, has been completed ; and the former archbishop's palace, now the city hall, in one of whose three old towers Louis XIII. in 1642 signed the order to arrest Cinq Mars, and in which are a good museum, a library, and a picture gallery. It has varied industries, including the production of leather, wines, and tools. Narbonne is the Narbo Martins of the Romans, their earliest colony (118 B. c.) beyond the Alps ; and was a place of great commercial importance. Under Til^rius it flourished greatly, its schools for a long time rivalling those of Rome. About 309 A. D. it became the capital of Gallia Norbonensis, and had its capitol, forum, theater, aqueducts, triumphal arches, etc. In 412 it was taken by the Visigoths, in 719 by the Saracens, from whom it was recovered by Pepin in 759, to fall just a century later to the arms of the North- men. During the 11th and 12th centuries it was a prosperous manufacturing city, but subsequently it deteriorated. Varro and Montfaucon were natives. Pop. about 28,000. NARCISSUS, in Greek mythology, the beautiful son of Cephisus and the nymph Liriope. The story of his metamorphosis into the flower so called (see Narcissus) is given only in the version adopted by