which produces a diminutive fruit, bearing some resemblance to a currant. But the productions which give the greatest importance to Norfolk Island are the pines and the flax plant; the former rising to a size and perfection unknown in other places, and promising the most valuable supply of masts and spars for our navy in the East Indies; the latter not less estimable for making sail-cloth, cordage, and even the finest manufactures, growing in great plenty, and with such luxuriance as to attain the height of eight feet. The pines measure frequently 160 or 180 feet in height, and are sometimes nine or ten feet in diameter at the bottom of the trunk. They rise to about eighty feet without a branch: the wood is said to be of the best quality, almost as light as that of the best Norway masts; and the turpentine obtained from it is remarkable for purity and whiteness. The fern tree is found also of a great height, measuring from seventy to eighty feet, and affords excellent food for sheep and other small cattle. A plant producing pepper, and supposed to be the true oriental pepper, has been discovered in the island, growing in great plenty; and specimens have been sent to England, to ascertain this important point.'

The settlers here are chiefly composed of soldiers, to each of whom an allotment of thirty acres of land was originally granted, and to a non-commissioned officer fifty; and of the better behaved convicts whose term of servitude is expired, and who receive twenty-five acres. Part of the crew of the Sirius, shipwrecked on the island, preferring to become settlers on it, also received each an allotment of land. Several marines who went out upon the first establishment had the same indulgence. Many of the smaller plantations are fenced round with sugar-canes. The policy of the government at one time was chiefly directed to promote the cultivation of this plant; and a cow, equivalent in this part of the world to £30, was promised to the first settler who should produce 500 lbs. of sugar from the native cane. This island, moreover, produces an article which is much wanted at Port Jackson, i. e. limestone. From Port Jackson the vessels not unfrequently return thither with this as their ballast. But a great obstacle to the colonisation of this island is the difficulty of approaching it, owing to the heavy mountainous sea which constantly beats on its shores. It has not unfrequently happened that ships from Port Jackson have been beating off and on, unable to advance, and unwilling to return, upwards of a month. The want of any harbour or roadstead is much against it; and in consequence of this disadvantage, and the inefficacy of all attempts o remedy it, its inhabitants expect to be called on to abandon the island. This resolution was

in fact partly carried into effect in 1805, the convicts and the greater part of the military being removed to Port Dalrymple, or the river Derwent. The population never exceeded 1000. NORHAM, a town of Durham, insulated in Northumberland, on the Tweed, near the mouth of the Till. The castle was anciently erected on a steep rock, moated round for security against the incursions of the Scots. It is of great antiquity, having been built in 830 by Egfrid,

bishop of Lindisfarn, and called Ubbanford. In 1121 it was rebuilt by Hugh Pewsey, bishop of Durham. In 1213 it was besieged by Alexander II. king of Scots. In 1290 Edward I. held the convention in it, to settle the dispute between Bruce and Baliol. In 1322 it was taken by the Scots, but retaken by Edward in ten days. In 1327 it was again taken by the Scots, by storm, and great part of the town and castle destroyed. It was repaired by bishop Fox, but attacked by the Scots before the battle of Flodden, and partly destroyed. The castle has been a formidable structure; a great part of it is in ruins; the site, with its demesnes, consisted of 1030 acres. It is six miles south-west of Berwick, and 330 north of London.

NORIA, an hydraulic machine much used in Spain. It consists of a vertical wheel of twenty feet diameter, on the circumference of which are fixed a number of little boxes or square buckets, for raising the water out of the well, communicating with the canal below, and emptying it into a reservoir above, placed by the side of the wheel. The buckets have a lateral orifice to receive and to discharge the water. The axis of this wheel is embraced by four small beams, crossing each other at right angles, tapering at the extremities, and forming eight little arms. This wheel is near the centre of the horse walk, contiguous to the vertical axis, into the top of which the horse-beam is fixed; but near the bottom it is embraced by four little beams, forming eight arms similar to those above described, on the axis of the water-wheel. As the mule which they use goes round, these horizontal arms, supplying the place of cogs, take hold, each in succession, of those arms which are fixed on the axis of the water-wheel, and keep it in rotation. From the reservoir the water is conveyed by channels to every part of the garden; these have divisions and subdivisions, or beds, some large, others very small, separated from each other by little channels, into which a boy with his shovel or hoe directs the water, first into the most distant trenches, and successively to all the rest, till all the beds and trenches have been either covered or filled with water.

NORICI, an ancient nation of Illyricum, who inhabited Noricum, and were governed by kings who made many incursions upon the Romans; but at last in the reign of Augustus, joining the Pannonii, were conquered by Tiberius.—Dio Paterculus.

NORICUM, a Roman province, described by Ptolemy and Tacitus, situated between the Danube on the north, and thus separated from ancient Germany; the Alpes Norica on the south; the river Enus, on the west, separates it from Vindelica; and Mons Cetius, on the east, divides it from Pannonia. It was anciently a kingdom under its own kings.-Cæsar, Velleius, Suetonius. Tacitus reckons it among those provinces which were governed by procu rators; officers. sent by the emperors to receive and dispose of the public revenue. It was divided into two provinces about the time of Dioclesian and Constantine. How far each of these extended in breadth does not appear; all the account we have being from Sextus Rufus,

and the Notitia Imperii Occidentalis. This country was anciently famous for its iron and steel (Horace), as that part of it now called Stiria still is.

NORIS (Henry), cardinal, a celebrated Augustine monk, born at Verona in 1631. His father instructed him in grammar, and procured an able professor of Verona, called Massoleim, to be his preceptor. At fifteen he was admitted in the Jesuit's college at Rimini, where he studied philosophy; after which he applied himself to the writings of St. Augustine: and, taking the habit in the convent of Rimini, he soon distinguished himself by his erudition; insomuch that, as soon as he was out of his noviciate, the general of the order sent for him to Rome to give him an opportunity of improving himself. He spent whole days and nights in the library of the Angeliques of St. Augustine; and regularly studied fourteen hours a-day till he became a cardinal. Thus he became qualified to instruct others; and on this errand he was sent first to Pezaro, and thence to Perousa, where he took his degree of D. D.; after which, proceeding to Padua, he applied himself to finish his History of Pelagianism. He had begun it at Rome in 1657, and the book was printed at Florence in 1673. In 1674 the great duke of Tuscany invited him to that city, made him his chaplain, and professor of ecclesiastical history in the university of Pisa. In his history he defended the condemnation pronounced, in the eighth general council, against Origen and Mopsuesta, the first authors of the Pelagian errors: he also added an Account of the Schism of Acquileia, and a Vindication of the books written by St. Augustine against the Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians. The work had procured him a great reputation, but met with several antagonists, to whom he published answers: the dispute grew warm, and was

carried before the inquisition. There the history was examined with the utmost rigor, and the author dismissed without censure. It was reprinted twice afterwards, and the author honored by pope Clement X. with the title of qualificator of the holy office. Notwithstanding this, the Pelagian history was accused afresh before the inquisition in 1776; but it came out again with the same success. Mr. Noris was now suffered to remain in peace for sixteen years, and taught ecclesiastical history at Pisa, till he was called to Rome by Innocent XII., who made him under-librarian of the Vatican in 1792. This post being a step to a cardinal's hat, his accusers published several new pieces against him. The pope appointed some learned divines, who had taken neither side, to re-examine Noris's books, and make their report; which was so advantageous to the author that the pope made him counsellor of the inquisition. Yet one of his adversaries attacked him afresh under the title of a Scrupulous Doctor of the Sorbonne. Noris, in a work which appeared in 1695, under the title of An Historical Dissertation concerning one of the Trinity that suffered in the Flesh, answered all accusations so much to the satisfaction of the pope that he honored him with the purple in 1695. After this he was employed in the most important affairs, and, on the death of cardinal Cassanati, was made chief library-keeper of the Vatican in 1700; and in 1702 nominated, among others, to reform the calendar; but he died in Rome in 1704 of a dropsy. He was one of the most learned men in the seventeenth century, and was a member of the academy; whence he assumed the name of Eucrates Agoretico. His works are numerous, and were published at Verona in 1729 and 1730, in 5 vols. folio..

NORMANDY, in Latin Normania, called by the French La Normandie, a late extensive and ancient duchy of France, which on account of its intimate connexion with English history, and the great influence it has had on the affairs of this country, cannot fail, it is presumed, to be of deep interest to the English reader. This celebrated district is also well deserving our attention as being the most picturesque, most fertile, and most commercial in France: it is from Normandy that the government derives the greatest portion of its revenue, and of late years its contributions have been incredibly large. Of great men, the principal glory of a nation, it has been unusually prolific; few other countries can boast of having produced so illustrious a phalanx, no less renowned in arts than in arms. Its towns and ports are numerous and important, and its antiquities, to the natives of this country in particular, with which Normandy was formerly so closely connected, highly interesting. It gave kings to England above seven centuries and a half ago, and the descendants of the conqueror may even now be said to occupy the British throne; an VOL. XV.

evident proof that the means adopted to retain possession of the dominions he had acquired by the sword, and to transmit them securely to his posterity, were characterised by no small degree of political wisdom. After Normandy had once again become united to France, in 1204, it gave the title of duke to the eldest son of the French monarchs, but in 1349 prince Charles, son of John, duke of Normandy, and grandson of Philip de Valois, having become possessed of Dauphiny, acquired the title of Dauphin, which the heir to the crown has ever since continued to bear.

Its ancient designations and boundaries may be thus exhibited :-When Cæsar had finally reduced Gaul to the condition of a Roman province, in the year 55 B. C., he divided it into three parts, naming them after the three principal nations by whom they were inhabited, viz. Gallia Belgica, Aquitania, and Gallia Propria or Celtica. A new division was made by Augustus, B. C. 27, which extended the northern boundary of Aquitania to the river Loire. Ptolemy, who flourished a century and a half later than Augus

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tus, divides it into four parts, viz. Gallia Belgica, Narbonensis, Aquitania, and Gallia Lugdunensis, the latter being so named from Lugdunum, its capital; this division was also sometimes called Celtica, from Celta, the general appellation of its inhabitants. The Gauls were denominated Galli, Celtiberi, and Celtoscythæ: by the Greeks, who named this country Galatia, they were called Galatæ. They styled themselves Celta, which term appears to have been applied more particularly to the natives of Gallia Lugdunensis. This division was bounded on the east by the Rhone, west by the ocean, on the north by Gallia Belgica, south by Aquitania; it was subdivided into prima, secunda, tertia, quarta. In Lugdunensis secunda was comprised the principal part of the tract of country subsequently called Normandy, which, after the conquest of Gaul by the Franks, formed part of the ancient kingdom of Neustria, under the Merovingian and Carolingian kings. When the dominions of Louis le Debonnaire were divided among his children, it fell to the lot of Charles the Bald, king of western France, and in the reign of Charles the Simple, his grandson, was conquered by the Normans.

From the commencement of the ninth century this part of France, in common with most of its other provinces (especially such as bordered on the sea, or were intersected by large rivers), was continually devastated by the ancient Scandinavians, who inhabited those countries in which are now comprised the kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and the adjacent country of Lapland. They were known by the significant appellation of Northmen or Normans, the word Normann or Nordlander signifying in German a man of the north; but, by the early Anglo-Saxon chroniclers, they are generally termed Danes, and not unfrequently the epithet heathen or robber is unsparingly applied. These devastions, which were extended to almost the whole of Europe, continued to afflict France until the commencement of the tenth century, at which period a band of these formidable conquerors had not only overrun and taken possession of the fairest and most valuable part of Neustria, but even menaced with subjugation the whole kingdom. In this extremity Charles IV., surnamed the Simple, tenth king of France of the Carolingian race, by the advice of his most prudent counsellors, determined on sacrificing part of his dominions in order to preserve the rest. He commissioned Francon, archbishop of Rouen, to negociate with duke Hrolfr or Rollo, their leader; and a treaty was shortly afterwards concluded, anno 912, in which it was stipulated that the largest portion of Neustria should be ceded to him. This, it is true, was to be held as a fief dependent on the crown of France, but it was dependent only by an empty and useless form of homage, and the country, thus acquired by the arms of the victorious Normans, received from its conquerors the name of Normandy, which it preserved until the French Revolution (and may be said to have retained to this day), when France was divided into departments. But it is under its late appellation that it must be spoken of; and, by treating of it as one grand

whole, its component parts will be described without entering too much into detail.

Its late boundaries, thus understood, were on the east Picardy and the isle of France; west the sea and Britanny; on the north the channel; and south Perche, Maine, and part of Britanny. It was divided into Upper and Lower; Rouen being the capital of the former, which touched on Picardy; Caen of the latter, which was bounded by Britanny. These divisions, of very unequal dimensions, were separated by the Seine; Upper Normandy, which was seated on its right bank, not being more than one-third of the extent of Lower Normandy, so that the latter comprehended about three-fourths of the duchy. It extended from east to west, from Gisors to Cherbourg, about sixty leagues; from north to south, from Verneuil-sur l'Aure to the cities of Eu and Tréport, about thirty-two leagues, and was about 240 in circumference, one-half being sea-coast; the district called le Cotentin, in particular, projecting into the sea in the form of a peninsula. The cliffs are somewhat higher than those of the opposite English coast; on the shores of Upper Normandy they vary from 150 to upwards of 700 feet, rising to the greatest height in the neighbourhood of Fécamp. They present an almost unbroken barrier of pure white, being only intersected when necessary to afford an outlet to some river. Normandy contained seven duchies, Alençon, Aumale, Damville, Elbeuf, Etouteville, Harcourt, and Longueville.

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The duchy of Normandy is now divided into five departments, the late province of Perche being included. 1. Seine-inférieure, which derives its name from the river Seine, comprises the greatest part of Upper Normandy, a small part of it being included in the department of the Eure. Its superficies is about 699,895 hectares, or about 1,369,790 square acres; 174,848 acres of which are forest lands. Its length thirty-five leagues; breadth twenty. It is divided into five circles or communal districts, Rouen chief town, Le Havre, Neufchatel-en-Brai, Yvetot, Dieppe; fifty cantons, and 971 communes. Population about 656,000. Its contributions amounted, in the eleventh year of the republic, to 9,104,417 francs; the expenses to 570,526 francs. Eure, which derives its name from the river Eure, in Latin Ebura; it is south of the Seine-inférieure, and comprises 1,221,206 square acres; 192,531 acres being forest lands. Its length thirty leagues; breadth twenty-seven. It is divided into five circles: Evreux, chief town, Bernay, Les Andelys, Louviers, Pont-Audemer; thirty-five cantons, and 813 communes. Population about 416,000. Returns seven members to the chamber of deputies. Territorial revenue 29,741,000 francs. 3. La Manche or the channel to the west; contains 675,713 hectares, or 1,323,932 square acres, of which 48,400 acres are in forest land. Its length thirty-five leagues; breadth fourteen. It is divided into five circles: Coutances, chief town, Avranches, Mortain, St. Lo, Valognes; forty-eight cantons, and 669 communes. Population about 529,000. Its contributions amounted, in the year eleven, to 5,314,741 francs; its expenses to 370,1 12 francs. 4. Calvados, east of La Manche; this depart

ment derives its name from a ridge of rocks to the north of Bayeux, four or five leagues in extent; so called in consequence of the Spanish vessel, the Calvados, having been stranded on them. Its superficies is about 570,427 hectares, or 1,117,643 square acres, of which 72,470 acres are forest land. Its length thirty-two leagues; breadth thirty-two. It is divided into six circles, Caen chief town, Bayeux, Falais, Lisieux, Pontl'Evêque, Vire; fifty-six cantons, and 897 communes. Population about 493,000. Returns seven members to the chamber of deputies. Territorial revenue 35,503,000 francs. 5. L'Orne, south of Calvados, so called after the river Orne, in Latin Olina; it contains 1,264,255 square acres, of which 134,923 are forest land. Its length thirty-two leagues, breadth fifteen. It is divided into four circles, Alençon chief town, Argentan, Domfront, Mortagne; thirty-five cantons, and 627 communes. Population about 350,000. Its contributions amounted in the year 11 to 3,666,903 francs; its expenses to 535,186 franes.

It will be perceived, from the above statement, that ancient Normandy (including in the calculation the late province of Perche) comprised about 6,296,826 square acres, or 3,000,000 of hectares; the forests covering about 623,172 acres; and that the departments formed therefrom contain a population of about 2,500,000 souls. The perch, by which the measure of the acre is determined in France, varies in different districts; but the arpent of woodland is invariably the same, the perch being twenty-two feet in length. This arpent comprises 48,400 French square feet, equal to 6108 English square yards, or to one acre, one rood, one perch. A hectare contains two acres, one rood, 35.4 perches.

The general aspect of Normandy is very similar to some of the finest parts of England, and, although much more destitute of enclosures than the latter country, it is much less open than most other districts in France, particularly in the Pays-de-Caux. It is for the most part undulated, but the hills, though sometimes lofty, are seldom of sufficient altitude to impede the operations of agriculture. Lower Normandy, however, contains some large tracts of level land, especially the department of the Calvados; Caen, its chief town, being seated in the midst of a vast plain. The soil is in general rich, though often calcareous. The Pays-de-Caux may be called the most enchanting district in this ancient province: but, notwithstanding the brilliancy of its verdure, it occasionally suffers greatly from drought, so much so that, in the western part, it is necessary at times to irrigate the land by artificial means. The gardens of the small farmhouses and cottages are sometimes surrounded with hedges of quickset or elm; but more commonly with banks planted with rows of trees, seldom or never exceeding two in depth, and occasionally whole villages are thus encompassed: these enclosures are principally confined to its district. Few countries possess more natural beauties than Normandy; but artificial beauties, such as parks, plantations, and seats, are much less numerous than in England.

The climate of this province may be accounted

temperate, though inclined both to coldness and humidity. Although not so subject to rain as England, more falls here than in any other part of France, Picardy and Artois excepted. The winters are often intensely cold.

The roads are wide and straight, and generally pretty level; for, where the land is low, they are usually raised by artificial means; but they are badly repaired, so that in winter they are in some places scarcely passable; at least they would not be deemed so by the English traveller. They are in fact, in common with all those that were made by order of Louis XIV., or on the same model, about twice as wide as requisite, and their straightness renders travelling exceedingly tedious: the roads also throughout Normandy are almost invariably bordered with apple trees, which add, not a little, to the monotony of the scene. A new road has been cut from Rouen to Havre-de-Grace, which is constructed on a much better principle than the old ones, and, as its width is much less, it is with greater ease kept in repair. It skirts the Seine a great part of the way, consequently, is by no means so straight, and traverses one of the most superb tracts of country in Europe, passing by Ducler, Caudebec, Lillehonne, and Bolbec, at which latter town it falls into the old road, not having as yet been carried further. Although the roads throughout France are seldom good, unless where the soil is naturally hard, or materials for repairing them are easily to be obtained, the nation has little right to complain, as the expense for keeping the roads throughout the whole kingdom in repair, seldom exceeds £18,000 sterling per annum, two thirds of which sum have been expended in the metropolis of England in the course of one year, on Regent Street alone.

On its extensive coast there are several bays and ports; the most important in Upper Normandy are Havre-de-Grace, Dieppe, Fécamp Fréport, Saint-Valery, &c.; in Lower Normandy, those of Cherbourg, Granville, Honfleur, La Hogue, Portbail, &c.; and Rouen, Caudebec, aud Quillebœuf on the Seine. Napoleon it is well known made great improvements at Havrede-Grace, and Cherbourg; and these would have been extended to other ports if his brilliant reign had not been so abruptly terminated; at Caën, in particular, important alterations were projected. The entrance to some of the harbours on the channel, in consequence of the prevalence of north-westerly winds, is very liable to be choked up; but since the peace great care has been taken to keep them clear, by removing the shingles that are so constantly driven in. At Havre, now become the most important port in France, in consequence of the extensive commerce carried on with the United States of America, these efforts have been tolerably successful, but Dieppe is still entered with difficulty.

Normandy contained six episcopal cities under the see of Rouen; Avranches, Bayeux, Coutances, Evreux, Lisieux, and Séez; but they are now reduced to four, Avranches and Lisieux being merged in the more important bishoprics of Bayeux and Coutances, so that the five departments have each a see. In these seven dioceses there were eighty abbeys and 4289 parishes.