Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/759

NOSTRADAMUS. 647 NOTARY PUBLIC. (1524-29) Nostradamus went from one city to aiiolher giving liis aid to the stricken. After the pestilence had subsided he returned to Montpellier to finish his studies, lie traveled for a number of- years, and in 1544 settled at Salon. The next year a new epidemic of the pest swept over the country and he accepted the formal invitation of the authorities to visit Aix and Lyons, where he treated his patients with a .secret remedy which worked marvelous cures. This gave "him a great reputation, and a few years later his claim that he had the jiower of reading the future attracted widespread attention and became the subject of much controversy. In 1550 he began to write his famous Centuries, mystic prophe- cies in rh^nned quatrains, the first series of Avliich was pulilished at Lyons in 1555. Catharine de' Medici invited their author to Court, where he reached the height of his fame. Soon afterwards he returned to Salon. Besides his Centuries, Nostradamus wrote: Traiti des fardements (1552) ; Le remede tris utile conire lu peste et toutes fii-vres pestilentielles (15G1) ; and Opuscule de plusieurs exquises rceeptcs (1572) ; and from 1550 to his death published an Almunucli that had a wide circulation. Con- sult : Jaubert, lie de M. yostrndaiiius (Amster- dam, 1(550); Guynaud, Lu voiieurdanre des pro- plu'tirs de Xost/'adamus avec Vhisloire (Paris, 1093 1 : Lind Tiarcste, Nostradamus (ib., 1842). NOSTRILS (AS. nosiyrl,na;s]^yrl, from nosu, nusu, nose -- |) yrl, ^lyrel, hole, from }flircl, OUG. durihhil, durchij, perforated, from AS. urh, I ilIG. durnti, Ger. dwrc/i,- through) , Diseases of THE. Tliis classification is no longer used, and diseases formerl}' appearing under this head will be found under their respective titles. ( See Catarrh; Ozena ; ICpi.staxi.s ; Kiiixitis; Poly- pus; Nose.) Foreign bodies are often inserted into the nostrils by children, and become im- pacted. They may usually be extracted by a small scoop, a bent probe, or forceps. If they can- not be removed by these means, they must be ]uished back into the throat through the posterior nares. Cliildren are occasionally born with im- perforate nostrils. This congenital malforma- tion may, however, usually be remedied by sur- jjic-al means. NOSTRUM (Lat.,our own). A term applied to patent or quack medicines whose ingredients are ke)jt secret by the inventor for the |)urpose of controlling the manufacture of them: licnce the term has come to be used in a derogatory sense. NO'TA, Alberto, Baron (1775-1847). An Italian dramatist, born at Turin. He was edu- cated for the bar, practiced law, and finally ob- tained the position of secretary to the futiire King Charles Albert. He afterwards was ap- pointed administrator of the district of Bobbie (1820), and of San Remo (1823), and still later general intendant at C'asale and Cuneo. He -nTote comedies in imitation of ^Ioli(>re and Ooldoni. His thirty or more plays have little originality. The best of them are: La fern, Piroluzioni in aniorr, Tl hrnefaffore. La paec dmnestira. Tj'irrer/uieto. 11 prnqeftista. La rednra. in sotitudine. and L'amnr tiniidn. His works were verv popular, and went through ten editions between ISIfi and 1.120. NOTABLES (OF.. Fr. ■notahle. from Lat. notahiUs. noteworthy, from notare. tt) note, mark, from nota, mark, from noscere, to know; ulti- mately connected with Eng. know) . The name gien in France before the Revolution of 1789 to ))ersons of nolile birth, social distinction, or po- litical importance, who were summoned to meet in the Assembly of Notables. The States-Gen- eral (q.v.) was too great a check on the despot- ism of the monarchy, and beginning with Charles v., the French kings adopted the expedient of calling in their stead Assemblies of Notables, composed of those who were likely to be in favor of the projects of the Crown. Their whole pro- ceedings were guided by the King or his min- isters. They showed a particular readiness in granting subsidies, from which they themselves, as belonging to the privileged classes, were ex- empt. An Assembly of Notables, convened in Paris by Richelieu in 1020, and presided over by Ciaston d'Orleans, brother of Louis XII I., con- sisted of only 35 members. In 1878, when the state of the linanees threatened the country with bankruptcy, Louis XVI., at the instigation of Calonne (q.v.), had recourse to an Assembly of Notables, which assembled on Februarj' 22, 1787. In spite of their readiness to accept cer- tain reforms in the administrative and financial system, they showed themselves jealous of their ancient privileges and were inclined to shift the responsibility for the dillicult state of aliair.? on the Government. Some of the Notables even advocated the summoning of the States-General in the expectation, probably, that the latter would devise some way of relieving the dis-. tressed conditions of the country without inter- fering with the prerogatives of the privileged orders. On May 25th the Notables were dis- missed. Neeker, who was later placed at the head of afl'airs, assembled the Notables for the last time on November 0, 1788, to consult with them concerning the form in which the States- Cieneral should be convened. The Notables de- clared against every innovation which they had sanctioned the year previous, and were especial- ly opposed to the double representation of the Third Estate, This opposition compelled the Court to resort to half measures, which helped to prepare the way for the Revolution. The Notables were finally dissolved December 12, 1788. See France; French Revolution. NOTARY PUBLIC (Lat. Xotarius, one who writes, from iiola, mark). An oflicer duly au- thorized to attest or certify legal instruments, and to perform certain other olTicial acts, usual- ly of a ministerial character. The office is created by statute, and the functions of a notary public varj' in dillerent jurisdictions. Notaries were known in England before the Conquest, and in all the countries of Euro|>(^ at an even earlier time. They were appointed by the popes at Rome, and acted as oflieials in the ecclesiastical courts, in addition to exercising certain secular powers. In England the authority to appoint notaries was finally delegated by the Roman See to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and after the P>eformation a statute was enacted (25 Hen. VI1I..C. 21. § 4)con(lriiiing the right in the Arch- bishop as a high jirelate in the English Church. With the development of the commerce of Eng- land itnd the 'law merchant' the office of notary public increased in importance very rapidly. Notaries were employed to protest commercial paper, to witness certain papers under the mari- time law, and were gradually vested with the