The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 424

the first great book," he announces, "in prose or verse, of the 18th century, and in more ways than one the herald and champion at once of its special achievements in literature."

TALENT, a weight, coin, or sum of money among the ancients, of variable value among different nations and at different periods; the Attic weight being equal to about 57 lbs. troy, and the money to 243, 15s.; among the Romans the great talent was worth 99, and the little worth 75.

TALFOURD, SIR THOMAS NOON, lawyer and dramatist, born at Doxey, near Stafford; was called to the bar in 1821, and practised with notable success, becoming in 1849 a justice of Common Pleas and a knight; was for some years a member of Parliament; author of four tragedies, of which "Ion" is the best known; was the intimate friend and literary executor of Charles Lamb (1795-1854).

TALISMAN, a magical figure of an astrological nature carved on a stone or piece of metal under certain superst.i.tious observances, to which certain wonderful effects are ascribed; is of the nature of a charm to avert evil.

TALLARD, COMTE DE, marshal of France; served in the War of the Spanish Succession; was taken prisoner by Marlborough at Hochstadt, on which occasion he said to the duke, "Your Grace has beaten the finest troops in Europe," when the duke replied, "You will except, I hope, those who defeated them" (1652-1728).

TALLEMANT DES ReAUX, GeDeON, French writer, native of La Roch.e.l.le; author of a voluminous collection of gossipy biographies, or anecdotes rather, "Historiettes," filling five volumes, which throw a flood of light on the manners and customs of 17th-century life in France, though allowance must be made for exaggerations (1619-1692).

TALLEYRAND DE PeRIGORD, CHARLES MAURICE, PRINCE OF BENEVENTO, French statesman and diplomatist, born in Paris, of an ill.u.s.trious family; rendered lame by an accident, was cut off from a military career; was educated for the Church, and made bishop of Autun; chosen deputy of the clergy of his diocese to the States-General in 1789, threw himself with zeal into the popular side, officiated in his pontifical robes at the feast of the Federation in the Champs de Mars, and was the first to take the oath on that side, but on being excommunicated by the Pope resigned his bishopric, and embarked on a statesman's career; sent on a mission to England in 1792, remained two years as an _emigre_, and had to deport himself to the United States, where he employed himself in commercial transactions; recalled in 1796, was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs; supported Bonaparte in his ambitious schemes, and on the latter becoming Emperor, was made Grand Chamberlain and Duke of Benevento, while he retained the portfolio of Foreign Affairs; in a fit of irritation Napoleon one day discharged him, and he refused to accept office again when twice over recalled; he attached himself to the Bourbons on their return, and becoming Foreign Minister to Louis XVIII., was made a peer, and sent amba.s.sador to the Congress of Vienna; went into opposition till the fall of Charles X., and attached himself to Louis Philippe in 1830; Carlyle in his "Revolution" p.r.o.nounced him "a man living in falsehood and on falsehood, yet, as the specialty of him, not what you can call a false man ... an enigma possible only in an age of paper and the burning of paper," in an age in which the false was the only real (1754-1838).

TALLIEN, JEAN LAMBERT, a notable French Revolutionist, born in Paris; a lawyer's clerk; threw in his lot with the Revolution, and became prominent as the editor of a Jacobin journal, _L'Ami des Citoyens_; took an active part in the sanguinary proceedings during the ascendency of Robespierre, notably terrorising the disaffected of Bordeaux by a merciless use of the guillotine; recalled to Paris, and became President of the Convention, but fearing Robespierre, headed the attack which brought the Dictator to the block; enjoyed, with his celebrated wife, Madame de Fontenay, considerable influence; accompanied Napoleon to Egypt; was captured by the English, and for a season lionised by the Whigs; his political influence at an end, he was glad to accept the post of consul at Alicante, and subsequently died in poverty (1769-1820).

TALLIS, THOMAS, "the father of English cathedral music," born in the reign of Henry VIII., lived well into the reign of Elizabeth; was an organist, and probably "a gentleman of the Chapel Royal"; composed various anthems, hymns, Te Deums, etc., including "The Song of the Forty Parts" (c. 1515-1585).

TALLY, a notched stick used in commercial and Exchequer transactions when writing was yet a rare accomplishment; the marks, of varying breadth, indicated sums paid by a purchaser; the stick was split longitudinally, and one-half retained by the seller and one by the buyer as a receipt. As a means of receipt for sums paid into the Exchequer, the tally was in common use until 1782, and was not entirely abolished till 1812. Tally System, a mode of credit-dealing by which a merchant provides a customer with goods, and receives in return weekly or monthly payments to account.

TALMA, FRANcOIS JOSEPH, a famous French tragedian, born in Paris, where in 1787 he made his _debut_; from the first his great gifts were apparent, and during the Revolution he was the foremost actor at the Theatre de la Republique, and subsequently enjoyed the favour of Napoleon; his n.o.ble carriage and matchless elocution enabled him to play with great dignity such characters as Oth.e.l.lo, Nero, Orestes, Leicester, etc.; introduced, like Kemble in England, a greater regard for historical accuracy in scenery and dress (1763-1826).

TALMUD, a huge limbo, in chaotic arrangement, consisting of the Mishna, or text, and Gemara, or commentary, of Rabbinical speculations, subtleties, fancies, and traditions connected with the Hebrew Bible, and claiming to possess co-ordinate rank with it as expository of its meaning and application, the whole collection dating from a period subsequent to the Captivity and the close of the canon of Scripture. There are two Talmuds, one named the Talmud of Jerusalem, and the other the Talmud of Babylon, the former, the earlier of the two, belonging in its present form to the close of the 4th century, and the latter to at least a century later. See HAGGADAH and HALACHA.

TALUS, a man of bra.s.s, the work of Hephaestos, given to Minos to guard the island of Crete; he walked round the island thrice a day, and if he saw any stranger approaching he made himself red-hot and embraced him.

TAMATAVE, the chief town of Madagascar, on a bay on the E. coast.

TAMERLANE or TIMUR, a great Asiatic conqueror, born at Hesh, near Samarcand; the son of a Mongol chief, raised himself by military conquest to the throne of Samarcand (1369), and having firmly established his rule over Turkestan, inspired by l.u.s.t of conquest began the wonderful series of military invasions which enabled him to build up an empire that at the time of his death extended from the Ganges to the Grecian Archipelago; died whilst leading an expedition against China; was a typical Asiatic despot, merciless in the conduct of war, but in peace-time a patron of science and art, and solicitous for his subjects'

welfare (1336-1405).

TAMESIS, the Latin name for the Thames, and so named by Cesar in his "Gallic War."

TAMIL, a branch of the Dravidian language, spoken in the S. of India and among the coolies of Ceylon.

TAMMANY SOCIETY, a powerful political organisation of New York City, whose ostensible objects, on its formation in 1805, were charity and reform of the franchise; its growth was rapid, and from the first it exercised, under a central committee and chairman, known as the "Boss,"

remarkable political influence on the Democratic side. Since the gigantic frauds practised in 1870-1871 on the munic.i.p.al revenues by the then "Boss," William M. Tweed, and his "ring," the society has remained under public suspicion as "a party machine" not too scrupulous about its ways and means. The name is derived from a celebrated Indian chief who lived in Penn's day, and who has become the centre of a cycle of legendary tales.

TAMMERFORS (20), an important manufacturing city of Finland, situated on a rapid stream, which drives its cotton, linen, and woollen factories, 50 m. NW. of Tavastehuus.

TAMMUZ, a G.o.d mentioned in Ezekiel, generally identified with the GREEK ADONIS (q. v.), the memory of whose fall was annually celebrated with expressions first of mourning and then of joy all over Asia Minor. Adonis appears to have been a symbol of the sun, departing in winter and returning as youthful as ever in spring, and the wors.h.i.+p of him a combined expression of gloom, connected with the presence of winter, and of joy, a.s.sociated with the approach of summer.

TAMPICO (5), a port of Mexico, on the Panuco, 9 m. from its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico; the harbour accommodation has been improved, and trade is growing.

TAMWORTH (7), an old English town on the Stafford and Warwicks.h.i.+re border, 7 m. SE. of Lichfield; its history goes back to the time of the Danes, by whom it was destroyed in 911; an old castle, and the church of St. Edith, are interesting buildings; has prosperous manufactures of elastic, paper, &c.; has a bronze statue of Sir Robert Peel, who represented the borough in Parliament.

TANAS, the Latin name for the Don.

TANCRED, a famous crusader, hero of Ta.s.so's great poem; was the son of Palgrave Otho the Good, and of Emma, Robert Guiscard's sister; for great deeds done in the first crusade he was rewarded with the princ.i.p.ality of Tiberias; in the "Jerusalem Delivered" Ta.s.so, following the chroniclers, represents him as the very "flower and pattern of chivalry"; stands as the type of "a very gentle perfect knight"; died at Antioch of a wound received in battle (1078-1112).

TANDY, JAMES NAPPER, Irish patriot, born in Dublin, where he became a well-to-do merchant, and first secretary to the United Irishmen a.s.sociation; got into trouble through the treasonable schemes of the United Irishmen, and fled to America; subsequently served in the French army, took part in the abortive invasion of Ireland (1798); ultimately fell into the hands of the English Government, and was sentenced to death (1801), but was permitted to live an exile in France (1740-1803).

TANGANYIKA, a lake of East Central Africa, stretching between the Congo Free State (W.) and German East Africa (E.); discovered by Speke and Burton in 1858; more carefully explored by Livingstone and Stanley in 1871; the overflow is carried off by the Lukuga into the Upper Congo; is girt round by lofty mountains; length 420 m., breadth from 15 to 80 m.

TANGIER or TANGIERS (20), a seaport of Morocco, on a small bay of the Strait of Gibraltar; occupies a picturesque site on two hills, but within its old walls presents a dirty and crowded appearance; has a considerable s.h.i.+pping trade; was a British possession from 1662 to 1683, but was abandoned by them, and subsequently became infested by pirates.

TANIS, an ancient city of Egypt, whose ruins mark its site on the NE. of the Nile delta; once the commercial metropolis of Egypt, and a royal residence; fell into decay owing to the silting up of the Tanitic mouth of the Nile, and was destroyed in A.D. 174 for rebellion.

TANIST STONE, monolith erected by the Celts on a coronation, agreeably to an ancient custom (Judges ix. 6).

TANISTRY, a method of tenure which prevailed among the Gaelic Celts; according to this custom succession, whether in office or land, was determined by the family as a whole, who on the death of one holder elected another from its number; the practice was designed probably to prevent family estates falling into the hands of an incompetent or worthless heir.

TANJORE (54), capital of a district (2,130) of the same name, in Madras Province, India, situated in a fertile plain 180 m. SW. of Madras, and about 45 m. from the sea; surrounded by walls; contains a rajah's palace, a British residency, and manufactures silk, muslin, and cotton.

TANNAHILL, ROBERT, Scottish poet, born at Paisley; the son of a weaver, was bred to the hand-loom, and with the exception of a two years'

residence in Lancas.h.i.+re, pa.s.sed his life in his native town; an enthusiastic admirer of Burns, Fergusson, and Ramsay, he soon began to emulate them, and in 1807 published a volume of "Poems and Songs," which, containing such songs as "Gloomy Winter's noo Awa," "Jessie the Flower o'

Dunblane," "The Wood o' Craigielea," &c., proved an immediate success; disappointment at the rejection by Constable of his proffered MSS. of a new and enlarged edition of his works and a sense of failing health led to his committing suicide in a ca.n.a.l near Paisley; his songs are marked by tenderness and grace, but lack the force and pa.s.sion of Burns (1774-1810).