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NINEVEH NIORT 459 from his eunuch the holy cup. He was at- tended by warriors bearing his arms, and by the priests or presiding divinities. His robes and those of his followers were adorned with groups of figures, animals, and flowers, all painted with brilliant colors. The stranger trod upon alabaster slabs, each bearing an in- scription recording the titles, genealogy, and achievements of the great king. Several door- ways, formed by gigantic winged lions or bulls, or by the figures of guardian deities, led into other apartments which again opened into more distant halls. On the walls of some were processions of colossal figures armed men and eunuchs following the king, warriors laden with spoil, leading prisoners, or bearing presents and offerings to the gods. On the walls of others were portrayed the winged priests, or presiding divinities standing before the sacred trees. These edifices were great national monuments, upon the walls of which were represented in sculpture or inscribed in alphabetical characters the chronicles of the empire. He who entered them might thus read the history and learn the glories and tri- umphs of the nation. They served at the same time to bring continually to the remembrance of those who assembled within them on fes- tive occasions, or for the celebration of reli- gious ceremonies, the deeds of their ancestors and the power and majesty of their gods." The palaces of Nineveh appear generally to have been destroyed by fire, which however could not injure the incombustible and mas- sive walls of 'the lower part of the first story. These with their sculptures were probably at once buried by the falling in of the upper stories and of the higher part of their own structure, and the ruins were in time wholly concealed by the accumulation of rubbish from the villages subsequently built on them and by the mould of decaying vegetation, through the course of 3,000 years. Vases, jars, bronzes, glass bottles, carved ivory and mother-of- pearl ornaments, engraved gems, bells, dishes, ear rings, arms, and working implements have been found among the ruins, generally of ele- gant form, and indicating knowledge of the arts and a refined taste. The latest explorer of Nineveh, George Smith of the British mu- seum, was probably the first visitor to the ruins who could read the inscriptions. His research- es resulted in the collection of nearly 3,000 tablets or fragments of tablets of inscriptions, including among the fragments those of the Chaldean account of the deluge deciphered by him in 1872 from broken tablets in the British museum. He describes the mounds as remain- ing nearly in the state they were left by Lay- ard. The history of Nineveh and its sover- eigns, as established by the latest researches, will be found in the article ASSYRIA. See Lay- ard, "Nineveh and its Remains," "Nineveh and Babylon," and "Monuments of Nineveh," first and second series (1849-'53); Botta, J/0- numentdeNinive(184Q-5Q); Fergusson, "Pal- aces of Nineveh and Persepolis Restored" (1851) ; Fresnel, Expedition scientifique en Hesopotamie (1858); George Smith, "Assy- rian Discoveries " (1875) ; and the articles AS- SYRIA and CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS, and the references there given. NINGPO, a city of China, in the province of Chekiang, on the Takia or Ningpo river, near its mouth in the harbor of Chusan, 100 m. S. of Shanghai ; lat. 29 51' N., Ion. 121 32' E. ; pop. in 1869 estimated at 500,000. It is sur- rounded by a dilapidated wall about 6 m. in circumference, 25 ft. high, and 15 ft. broad at the top, with five gates. The streets are long and broad, and the town is intersected by ca- nals and connected with its suburbs by a bridge of bo'ats. There are several temples, the most remarkable of which is a brick tower 160 ft. high, said to have been erected 1,100 years ago. There are government warehouses and public buildings. The houses are mostly one story high, but the shops are superior to those of Canton. In 1843 a missionary hospital was established at Ningpo, and all classes have re- sorted to it for surgical assistance. The ground in the neighborhood is flat and exceedingly fertile, but a range of barren hills runs along the seashore. The principal manufactures are silk, cotton, and woollen goods ; and there are very extensive salt works. Vessels of about 300 tons can come up to the town, while those of greater size load and unload at the mouth of the river. The foreign imports are small. Ningpo was taken by the British in 1841, and occupied for some months. It is one of the five ports opened to general inter- course by the treaty of Aug. 26, 1842. The Roman Catholics and several Protestant sects have flourishing missions here. In 1869 the various Protestant missions in Ningpo and Hangchow had 19' missionaries, 965 communi- cants, and 284 pupils. NINON DE L'ENCLOS. See L'ENCLOS. NIOBE, in Grecian mythology, a daughter of Tantalus, king of Lydia, by a nymph. She had six sons and six daughters, and boasting herself superior to Latona, who had borne only two children, Apollo and Diana, to avenge their mother, slew all the children of Niobe, who in her grief wept herself to stone. NIOBIUM. See COLUMBIUM. NIORT, a town of France, in Poitou, capital of the department of Deux-Sevres, on the S6vre Niortaise, and on the Orleans and La Rochelle railway, 212 m. S. W. of Paris; pop. in 1872, 21,344, among whom are about 6,000 Protestants. It is the seat of a tribunal of the first grade, of a court of assizes, a com- mercial court, and a conseil de prud'hommes. It has a lyceum, a public library of 30,000 volumes, a museum for antiquities, several learned societies, and public baths. What re- mains of the former castle is now used as a prison. The town carries on a brisk trade, es- pecially in cotton and woollen goods, leather, and gloves. It ia celebrated for its flowers