Chapter Nina-Thoma to No One of N by Brewer's Readers Handbook

Nina-Thoma to No One

Nina-Thoma, daughter of Tor-Thoma (chief of one of the Scandinavian islands). She eloped with Uthal (son of Larthmor a petty king of Berrathon, a neighbouring island); but Uthal soon tired of her, and, having fixed his affections on another, confined her in a desert island. Uthal, who had also dethroned his father, was slain in single combat by Ossian, who had come to restore the deposed monarch to his throne. When Nina-Thoma heard of her husband’s death, she languished and died, “for, though most cruelly entreated, her love for Uthal was not abated.”—Ossian: Berrathon.

Nine. “It is by nines that Eastern presents are given, when they would extend their magnificence to the highest degree.” Thus, when Dakianos wished to ingratiate himself with the shah—

He caused himself to be preceded by nine superb camels. The first was loaded with nine suits of gold adorned with jewels; the second bore nine sabres, the hilts and scabbards of which were adorned with diamonds; upon the third camel were nine suits of armour; the fourth had nine suits of horse furniture; the fifth had nine cases full of sapphires; the sixth had nine cases full of rubies; the seventh nine cases full of emeralds; the eighth had nine cases full of amethysts; and the ninth had nine cases full of diamonds.—Comte de Caylus: Oriental Tales (“Dakianos and the Seven Sleepers,” 1743).

Nine Gods (The) of the Etruscans: Juno, Minerva, and Tinia (the three chief). The other six were Vulcan, Mars, Saturn, Herculês, Summanus, and Vedius. (See Novensiles, p. 763.)

Lars Porsena of Clusium,
By the nine gods he swore
That the great house of Tarquin
Should suffer wrong no more.
By the nine gods he swore it,
And named a trysting day …
To summon his array.
   —Macaulay: Lays of Ancient Rome (“Horatius,” i., 1842).

Nine Orders of Angles (The): (1) Seraphim, (2) Cherubim (in the first circle); (3) Thrones, (4) Dominions (in the second circle); (5) Virtues, (6) Powers, (7) Principalities, (8) Archangels, (9) Angels (in the third circle).

In heaven above
The effulgent bands in triple circles move.
   —Tasso: Jerusalem Delivered, xi. 13 (1575).

Novem vero angelorum ordines dicimus; … scimus (1) Angelos, (2) Archangelos, (3) Virtutes, (4) Potestates, (5) Principatus, (6) Dominationes, (7) Thronos, (8) Cherubim, (9) Seraphim.—Gregory: Homily, 34 (A.D. 381).

Nine Planets (The): Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, the Planetoids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

According to the Ptolemaic sys tem, there are only seven planets, or, more strictly speaking, “planetary heavens,” viz. the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Beyond these were three other spheres, that of the fixed stars, the primum mobile, and the empyrean. This is the system Dantê follows in his Paradise.

Nine Worthies (The). Three were pagans: Hector, Alexander, and Julius Cæsar. Three were Jews: Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabæus. Three were Christians: Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon.

Nine Worthies (privy councillors to William III.). Four were Whigs: Devonshire, Dorset, Monmouth, and Edward Russell. Five were Tories: Caermarthen, Pembroke, Nottingham, Marlborough, and Lowther.

Nine Worthies of London (The): sir William Walworth, sir Henry Pritchard, sir William Sevenoke, sir Thomas White, sir John Bonham, Christopher Croker, sir John Hawkwood, sir Hugh Caverley, and sir Henry Maleverer.

(The chronicles of these nine worthies are written in prose and verse by Richard Johnson (1592), author of The Seven Champions of Christendom.)

Nineteenth Century (The), a monthly periodical started in 1877.