Naundorff Claimant.
A claim was brought before the French courts in 1874 by the son of a clock-maker of Delft, named Naundorff. The claimant, who called himself Adalbert de Bourbon, demanded to be recognized as the grandson of Louis XVI, on the ground that his father, Naundorff, was in reality the Dauphin, who had been imprisoned in the Temple, and of whose escape he told a marvellous story. The courts dismissed his claim.
Navigation Act.
An Act passed in 1651, under the Commonwealth, prohibiting the importation of goods into England except in British ships, or in ships belonging to the country of origin of the goods. The Act was renewed in 1672, and, with the modifications then introduced, continued in force till the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, when the English Government agreed to suspend its operation so far as concerned vessels of the United States.
Neck Verse.
A verse of the Psalms, read by condemned criminals who claimed “benefit of clergy,” as a test of their clerkship. It was so called because those who succeeded in reading it in clerkly fashion were handed over to the ecclesiastical authorities, and saved their necks.
Negus.
The title of the King of Abyssinia or Ethiopia.
Nemours, Edict of.
An edict issued by Henri III in 1785, withdrawing all the privileges accorded to the Huguenots by previous edicts, and giving them six months to conform to the Roman Catholic Church or to leave the realm.