Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/247

N A R N A S 235 reached in the following month. Having built rude boats, the much reduced company sailed hence for Mexico on September 22, but the vessel which carried Narvaez was driven to sea in a storm and perished. His lieutenant, Cabeza de Vaca, with three others who ultimately reached land, made his way across Texas to the Gulf of California. NARVAEZ, RAMON MARIA (1800-1868), Spanish soldier and statesman, was born at Loja, Granada, on August 4, 1800, entered the army at an early age, and saw active service under Mina in Catalonia in 1822. In 1823 the French invasion caused him to retire into private life, whence he re-emerged in 1832, speedily attaining the rank of colonel. He achieved great popularity by his victory over Gomez, the Carlist general, near Arcos, in November 1836, and after clearing La Mancha of brigands by a vigorous policy of suppression in 1838 he was appointed captain-general of Old Castile, and commander- in-chief of the army of reserve. In 1840, for the part he had taken at Seville in the insurrection against Espartero, he was compelled to take refuge in France, where, in con junction with Maria Christina, he planned the expedition of 1843 which led to the overthrow of his adversary. In 1844 he became prime minister, and was created field- marshal and duke of Valencia, but his policy was too reactionary to be tolerated long, and he was compelled to quit office in February 1846. He now held the post of ambassador at Paris, until again called to preside over the council of ministers in 1847 ; but misunderstandings with Maria Christina led to his resignation in the f ollowing year. His ministry succeeded that of O Donnell for a short time in 1856-57, and he again returned to power for a few months in 1864-65. He once more replaced O Donnell in July 1866, and was still in office when he died at Madrid on April 23, 1868. NARWHAL, an animal of the order Cetacea (see MAM MALIA, vol. xv. p. 398), belonging to the genus Monodon, of which there is but one species known, M. monoceros of Linnaeus. It is included in the family Delpkinidae or Dolphins, and closely resembles the Beluga or White Whale in all points of its structure except its dentition, which presents most anomalous characters. In the adult there are but two teeth present, both in the upper jaw. They lie horizontally side by side, and in the female they remain throughout life concealed in cavities of the bone, so that this sex is practically toothless. In the male the right tooth usually remains similarly concealed and abor tive, but the left is immensely developed, attaining a length equal to more than half that of the entire animal. In a narwhal 12 feet long, from snout to end of tail, the exserted portion of the tusk may measure 6 or 7 and occa sionally 8 feet in length. It projects horizontally for wards from the head in the form of a cylindrical or slightly tapering, pointed tusk, composed of ivory, with a central cavity reaching almost to the apex, without enamel, and with the surface marked by spiral grooves and ridges, running in a sinistral direction. Occasionally both left and right tusks are developed, in which case the direction of the grooves is not reversed, but the same in both. No instance has ever been met with of the complete develop ment of the right tusk associated with a rudimentary con dition of the left. In very young animals several small additional teeth, irregular in number and position, are present, but these usually disappear soon after birth. The head is rather short and rounded ; the fore limbs or paddles are small and broad compared with those of most dolphins; and (as in Beluga) the median dorsal fin, found in nearly all other members of the group, is wanting or replaced by a low ridge. The general colour of the surface is dark grey above and white below, but variously marbled and spotted with different shades of grey. The narwhal is essentially an Arctic animal, frequenting the icy circumpolar seas, and but rarely seen south of 65 N. lat. Three instances have, however, been recorded of its occurrence on the British coasts, one in the Firth of Forth in 1648, one near Boston in Lincolnshire in 1800, while a third, which entangled itself among rocks in the Sound of Weesdale, Shetland, in September 1808, is described by Fleming in the Memoirs of the Wernerian Society, vol. i. Like most other cetaceans it is gregarious in its habits, being usually met with in " schools " or herds of fifteen or twenty individuals. Its food appears to be various species of cephalopods, small fishes, and crus taceans. The purpose served in the animal s economy by the wonderfully developed asymmetrical tusk or " horn," as it is commonly but erroneously called is not known. As it is present only in the male sex, no function essential to the wellbeing of the individual, such as the procuring of sustenance, can be assigned to it, but it must be looked upon as belonging to the same category of organs as the antlers of deer, and perhaps may be applied to similar pur poses. Very little is, however, known of the habits of narwhals. Scoresby describes them as " extremely play ful, frequently elevating their horns and crossing them with each other as in fencing." They have never been known to charge and pierce the bottom of ships with their weapons, as the swordfish, a totally different animal, often does. The name " Sea Unicorn," sometimes applied to the narwhal, refers to the resemblance of its tusk to the horn represented as projecting from the forehead of the fabled unicorn. The ivory of which the tusk is composed is of very good quality, but, owing to the central cavity, is only fitted for the manufacture of objects of small size. The entire tusks are sometimes used for decorative purposes, and are of considerable, though very fluctuating, commer cial value. (w. H. F.) NASH, RICHARD (1674-1761), better known as "Beau Nash," was born at Swansea, 18th October 1674. He was descended from an old family of good position, but his father from straitened means had become partner in a glass business. Young Nash was educated at Caermarthen grammar school and at Jesus College, Oxford. He obtained a commission in the army, which, however, he soon exchanged for the study of law at the Middle Temple. " Here," it is said, " he went to the very summit of second- class luxury," and among "wits and men of pleasure" he came to be accepted as an authority in regard to dress, manners, and style. When the members of the Inns of Court entertained William III. after his accession, Nash was chosen to conduct the pageant. This duty he per formed so much to the satisfaction of the king that he was offered knighthood, but he declined the honour, unless accompanied by a pension. As the king did not take the hint, Nash found it necessary to turn gamester. The pursuit of his calling led him in 1704 to Bath, where he had the good fortune almost immediately to succeed Captain Webster as master of the ceremonies. His quali fications for such a position were unique, and under his conventional authority reforms were introduced which rapidly secured to Bath a leading position as a fashionable svatering-place. He drew up a new code of rules for the regulation of balls and assemblies, abolished the habit of wearing swords in places of public amusement, induced gentlemen to adopt shoes and stockings in parades and assemblies instead of boots, reduced refractory chairmen to submission and civility, and introduced a tariff for lodgings. Through his exertions a handsome assembly- room was also erected, and the streets and public buildings were greatly improved. Nash adopted an outward state corresponding to his nominal dignity. He wore an immense white hat as a sign of office, and a dress adorned