NOYON—NUISANCE.

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church has always prescribed strict rules for the trialof novices, and the council of Trent charges thebishops to watch over the execution of these rules.The noviciate is generally very severe. The novicehas to learn the regulations of the order, and, gene-rally, to perform likewise many menial offices aboutthe "convent, and to give account of the most triflingactions to the master of the novices. All orders arenot equal in their severity. The object of this harshtreatment—viz., that the monastic vows, if taken atall, may be taken voluntarily—is frequently frus-trated by families compelling some of their membersto embrace the monastic life, however reluctant they'may be.

Noyon. An ancient town of France in the depart-ment of the Oise, and which is situated on the small !river Verse. It contains about six thousand inha- ’bitants, has manufactures of linen, hats, leather, and 1stockings, and a brisk trade in corn with Paris.Though not larger formerly than at present, thisplace was for a time the capital of Charlemagne.During the civil wars of the sixteenth century, itsuffered severely, and has been several times destroyedby fire. It was the birth-place of the celebratedreformer Calvin; also one of the new bishopricsestablished in 1817. It is twenty-five miles north-west of Soissons, and seventy north by east of Paris.

Nubia. An extensive country of Africa, borderingon the Red Sea to the east, Nigritia to the west,Abyssinia on the south, and Egypt on the north. Itlies between north latitude 13" and 24°, and eastlongitude 28° and 39°, containing a superficial areaof about 360,000 square miles, and divided into agreat number of kingdoms, of which the principal areSennaar and Dongola. It is intersected by the Nile, ,which here receives the Tacazze, and forms the cele- ibrated peninsula of Meroe. In the northern part ofthe country there are extensive deserts, in whichroam nomadic tribes, who lie in wait for the caravans.The valley of the Nile contains the largest part ofthe population, and is fertile, although the climate ingeneral is excessively hot, but in the eastern parts ismore moderate. Among the animals are elephants,horses, camels, civet-cats, giraffes, lions, tigers, hyaenas,hippopotamuses, crocodiles, ostriches. Senna leaves,ebony, sandal-wood, bamboo, gum, corn, tobacco,sugar, rice, tef (a kind of millet, used for makingbread), &c., are among the vegetable productions.Gold is found in mines, and in the river sands- The

Principal article of traffic is slaves, which are importedfrom the central parts of Africa to the number of

about 5000 annually, and exported chiefly to Arabiaand Egypt. Dates, gums, and ostrich feathers arealso exported. The population is small in proportionto the extent of the country, and is principally com-posed of tribes of Arabian descent. The Nubiansare perfectly black and have the thick lips, but notthe flat nose, nor the prominent jaws, of the negrorace. They are well made, and have a pleasingexpression of countenance, and are temperate, butnot very industrious. A sketch of one of thenatives of this country is given in the precedingengraving.

Only the northern part of the country and thecoast of Habesh, or New Arabia, is subject to theTurks. The separate kingdoms are governed byindependent chief's, called malek. Nubia is thenorthern part of the Ethiopia of the ancients, whoplaced in it the Nobates, the Blemmyes, the Troglo-dytes, and other tribes. Mohammed Ali sent anexpedition to Nubia under his son Ismael, in 1821,for the purpose of discovering gold mines, destroyingremnants of the mamelukes, and procuring a supplyof negroes. This force penetrated as far as ten degreesnorth, but was then forced to retreat. Caillaud, whoaccompanied the expedition, has written an accountof the country.

Nuestra SENORAand Senhora (Spanish and Por-tuguese for Our Lady). The beginning of numerousgeographical names; for instance, Nuestra Senora delos Remedios de Pueblo Nuevo.

Nuevo (Spanish for new). This word appears inmany geographical names.

Nuisance. Nuisances are either common, bywhich the public in general are incommoded, orprivate, and affecting particular individuals. Of theformer class are all obstructions of the public high-ways, as by putting up a gate across the road; placinga person in the streets of a thronged city to distributehandbills, whereby a crowd is collected; keeping astage-coach in the street an unreasonable time fortaking in and discharging passengers or freight;occupying a side of the street for loading and unload-ing wagons a great part of the day, though it be atthe warehouse of the person who employs the wag-ons, and though there be sufficient room for twowaggons to pass each other on the other side of thestreet; or occupying the street for the purpose ofsawing timber, though it is done that the timber maybe taken into an adjoining yard. But taking down abuilding, and putting up, instead of it, a higher one,whereby the street is darkened, is not a commonnuisance. Obstructing a navigable river, which isbut another highway, is a common nuisance, as bymooring a barge across it, erecting a bridge, or sinkingany obstruction in the channel. But w here a vesselwas sunk in a river bv accident, it was held, in onecase, that the owner did not, by neglecting to raiseand remove it, render himself liable to indictment fora common nuisance, though the navigation was insome degree obstructed. A neglect may be theoccasion of a nuisance of this description, as well asa positive act, as where a person neglected to clearthe channel of a river on his own grounds, and it wasthereby made to flow back. But such a neglectwould not, in all cases, be a nuisance, either commonor private, since it cannot, in general, be presumedto be the duty of all proprietors on the banks of ariver to keep the channel free through their lands.Tumults and annoying sounds are another species of