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NARRAGANSET. 249 NARVA. were assigned a tniut of Uiml near Charlestown, on the soutliwestein const of Kluide 1-lanil, where they have gradually decreased by emigration and decay, until they are now reduced to a mongrel remnant of mixed Indian, negro, and Portuguese blood. NARRAGANSETT BAY. An inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, extending into Rhode Island uMap: Rhode Island, C 3). It is 28 miles long, from 3 to 12 miles broad, and receives the waters of several small rivers, the principal one being the Providence. It contains a number of islands of which Rhode Island, Prudence, and Conanicut are the largest. At the head of the bay lies the city of Providence, and Newport is situated at its entrance. NARRAGANSETT PIER. A not«d water- ing place in Washington County, R. I., nine miles from Kingston Station, where a branch line con- nects with the New York, New Haven and Hart- ford Railroad (Jlap: Rhode Island, C 4). It is deliglitfuUy situated near the mouth of Narra- gansett Bay, and has a fine beach and splendid drives. Among other attractions of the resort are its scenery, Narragan.sett Heights in particu- lar commanding an extended view, and the beau- til'ully colored rocks in the vicinity, which are picturesque also in form. There are a nuanber of handsome summer residences and many Ixitels. Population (Narragansett District), in 1890, I40S; in 1000. 1523. The first settler came to this neighborhood about 1675, and in 1815 the pier from which the place takes its name was built. It was not until after 1876, when a rail- road was completed to this point, that 'The Pier' became a favorite summer resort. Near by in December, 1075. General Winslow. at the liead of 1000 colonists, defeated the Narraganset In- dians, of whom 300 were killed and about 600 captured, while the whites lost 80 killed and 150 woiniiled. NARRENSCHIFF, nilr'ren-shlf. Das (C4er., The Ship of Fools). The most celebrated work of Sebastian Brant (q.v.). NARSES, niir'ses ( ?-568 ) . A celebrated eu- nuch statesman and general of the Byzantine Empire. He was an Armenian by birth, and was probably sold as a slave in childhood. He rose by successive steps to the post of grand cham- berlain to the Emperor Justinian. In o^2 he. aided in suppressing the 'Nika' rebellion. In ■"i.'is he was sent to Italy to act in concert with Belisarius (q.v.) in the war against the Goths. After gaining some successes. Narses came into conflict with Belisarius and was recalled to Constantinople in 539. After Belisaritis had been recalled, Narses was ap- pointed to the chief command in Italy. Near Tagina in 552. after a desperate engagement, the Goths were totally defeated, and their King, Tofila, slain. In the following year Teja (q.v.) was defeated near Sorrento. Narses took posses- sion of Rome, and completely extinguished the Gothic power in Italy. He was appointed ex- arch of Italy in 553. He fixed his court at Ravenna, and continued till the death of Justinian in 565 to administer the aflfairs of Italy with vigor and ability. The only blot on the character of his administration is the avarice with which he is charged by his contemporaries. His exactions pressed heavily on the exhausted resources of the population, though their sever- ity may be in some degree palliated by the splenilor and utility of the public works on which he partly expended the public resources. The Romans, on the accession of Justin, eom- jjlained of the exactions of Narses, and that Emperor is said to have deprived him of his oflice. He is accused of secretlj' intriguing with Alboin, King of the Lombards, to incite a new invasion of Italy, at the same time submis- sively ofl'ering his services to the Emperor for the purpose of repelling the invasion. This ac- C(mnt. however, seems improbable; and as Narses died at Rome in 508, Just on the eve of the Lom- bard invasion, no light is thrown upon this story by the actual events of the war. Consult : Bury, Later Roman Empire, vol. i. (London and New York, 1889) ; Hodgkin, Ilalii and Her Invaders, vols. iv. and v. (Oxford, 1885 and 1895); Gib- bon, Decline and Fall, edited by Bury (London, 1896-1900). See Goths; Justinian. NAR'THEX (Lat.. from Gk. mpdTjt narihex, casket, a sort of tall, hollow-stalked, pithy, umbel- liferous plant). A part of Early Christian and media>val churches, situated at the o2jposite end from the altar and choir, and either just inside or outside the entrance and facade. It had in most cases the same width as the entire church (nave and aisles), but was usually rather short. The term is used especially of Byzantine archi- tecture, the corresponding part in the West being usually called portico or porch. There were two main divisions: (1) the inner narthex, which was an integral portion of the interior, within the main facade, and (2) the outer narthex. a closed porch attached to the outside of the facade, or with a separate fagade. NARUSZEWICZ, nii'roo-sha'vlch, Adam Stanisl.w (1733-90.) A Polish historian and poet, born at Pinsk, Lithuania. He joined the Jesuits in 1748. and was sent by them to France to complete his education. On his return lie became professor of Latin at the Vilna Academy. A second journey through France, Germany, and Italy secured for him the directorship of the Collegium Nobilium at Warsaw. Prince Czar- toryski introduced him to King Stanislas Augus- tus, and the two became inseparable. After the suppression of the .Jesuit Order, he became ' bishop, first, of Smolensk, and then of Lutsk. He died at Janow. Galicia. His chief work, the Historji of the Polish Kation ( 1780-86. new ed., 1859-60), was the first scientific treatise of its kind. It is the result of .a critical collation of original documents in the Polish archives, and deals with the period previous to 1386. A demo- crat in his ideals, he aimed in his history to warn his countrymen against their narrow- minded egotism and the lawlessness and arbi- trariness of the nobility. He also wrote a Life of Chodkiewic:: (q.v. )( new ed.. Warsaw, 1805), and a Hixtorif of the Crimea (1787). The Idi/lls (highly sentimental) and l^atires are the best known of his poetic productions, collected as Lyrica (Warsaw, 1778, and repeatedly). NARVA, niir'va. A town in the Government of Saint Petersburg. Russia, situated on the river Narova, about 100 miles west-southwest of Saint Petersburg (iMap: Russia, C 3). The cathedral (formerly a Lutheran church) contains a fine collection of crosses and crucifixes. The town has a seventeenth-century town hall, an old castle, two gjmnasia, a theatre, and a num-