success at Drury Lane in 1745. About this time he was raised to comparative opulence by his appointment, through the influence of Lyttelton, to the office of surveyor-general of the Leeward islands, the duties of which were discharged by a deputy, while the clear emoluments amounted to £300 a year; and the latter part of his life was passed in ease and tranquillity at an elegant retreat at Kew Lane. In 1748 appeared the "Castle of Indolence," a poem in the Spenserian stanza, on which he had labored for many years, and which is esteemed the most finished and poetical of his larger works. He died soon after of a fever resulting from exposure in the night air. His posthumous play of "Coriolanus" was subsequently performed at Covent Garden, and the profits, after the discharge of his debts, were remitted to his sisters.-Thomson was a man of gross appearance and exceedingly indolent disposition, and was unwavering in his attachment to his friends. Lord Lyttelton has pronounced the best eulogy upon him in his prologue to "Coriolanus," in which it is said that his works contained "no line which, dying, he could wish to blot." The "Seasons" have preserved their popularity to the present time, and are frequently republished.

THOMSON, THOMAS, a British chemist, born in Crieff, Perthshire, April 12, 1773, died July 2, 1852. He was educated at the university of St. Andrew's and at Edinburgh, and in 1796 became connected with the "Encyclopædia Britannica," and the chemical articles furnished by him to that work were the basis of his "System of Chemistry" (4 vols. 8vo., 1802). He began to lecture on chemistry at Edinburgh in 1800, was the first to suggest the use of chemical symbols, and was one of the first to elucidate the atomic theory of Dalton. In 1810 he published the "Elements of Chemistry" (8vo.); in 1812, the "History of the Royal Society of London" (4to.); and in 1818, "Travels in Sweden," which country he had visited in the previous year. In 1813 he went to London and commenced the "Annals of Philosophy," which he continued to edit until 1822. In 1817 he was chosen lecturer at the university of Glasgow, and in 1818 was made professor of chemistry, which position he held until his death. In 1825 he published "An Attempt to Establish the First Principles of Chemistry by Experiment" (2 vols.), which was followed by "The History of Chemistry" (2 vols., 1830-'31), "Outlines of Mineralogy and Geology" (2 vols., 1836), and "Brewing and Distillation" (1849). -His son, of the same name, is a distinguished botanist, now superintendent of the East India company's botanic gardens at Calcutta, and has published an account of his travels in Thibet.

THOR, in Scandinavian mythology, the first born of Odin and Frigga, the bravest and boldest of all the gods. He directed the winds and the seasons, and was the Jupiter of the Scandinavians. In the Eddas he appears as the champion of gods and men, destroying monsters and VOL. XV.-29

giants with his bolts of thunder. A terrible club or hammer was hurled at his victim, and the blow having been dealt, the weapon returned to his hand. His waist was bound with a girdle which for ever renewed the strength he spent in battle. Thursday is named for him. THORAX, the anatomical name of the bony framework formed by the breast bone, ribs, and spine, which contains and protects the lungs, heart, and great vessels, and including a cavity separated from the abdomen by the diaphragm; the cavity is lined by serous membrane, and its movements are the chief agents in the process of respiration; a thorax as thus defined exists in its perfect form only in mammalia. The movements of the thorax (see RESPIRATION) are rendered more easy and extensive by the cartilages which connect the ribs in front with the sternum. The bony thorax protects not only the lungs and heart, but extends down so as to cover the liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, duodenum, and part of the colon. Covered with the muscles and with the upper extremities attached, it forms a cone with the apex downward; in the skeleton the apex is upward; the back and shoulders may be very broad without indicating a wide and capacious thorax, the diameter of the lower part of the neck corresponding better with that of the apex of the thorax; Freeman, the American giant, measured 26 inches from tip to tip of the shoulders, but only 6 inches across the lower part of his neck. The human thorax is flattened antero-posteriorly, while that of the lower mammals is flattened from side to side. In the foetus the thoracic is much smaller than the abdominal cavity, from the inactivity of the lungs; at birth it suddenly enlarges, increases perceptibly to puberty, and even grows larger in adult age to its full development; as age advances it tends to collapse and the bony framework to become a rigid cage from ossification of the costal cartilages, the apex comes forward, and the round back of the old man appears. The thorax may be distorted by curvature of the spine from disease, occupation, improper attitudes, and neglect of physical education, especially in female youth; it may also be deformed by pleurisy, emphysema, phthisis, and various articles of dress, particularly corsets; these last act chiefly on the 5th to the 10th ribs, pressing them forward and inward, their longer cartilages allowing them to yield readily, carrying with them out of place the organs of the chest and abdomen. At the Hôtel Dieu at Paris a girl of 18 lately presented herself to M. Breschet, with a soft, elastic tumor in the neck, extending from the collar bone to Adam's apple (thyroid cartilage), which proved. to be a portion of the lungs forced out of the chest into the neck by the compression of corsets. The old-fashioned busk of steel, whalebone, or wood caused much deformity of the chest, by inward depression of the breast bone. Instead of 8 or 9 inches, the antero-posterior diameter of the thorax in a tightly laced woman

society; but that association failing for want of funds, the work was left in manuscript, and was not printed until 1828 at Copenhagen. Thorlaksson wrote numerous other poems, but his fame rests on this version. Shortly before his death he received a pension of $30 a year from the king of Denmark. His collected poems fill about 1,100 pages in the Islenzk Ljódabok Jons Thorlakssonar Prests ad Bagisa (2 vols., Copenhagen, 1842-'3).

THORN (cratagus, Linn.), the common name of spiny shrubs or bushes, having conspicuous foliage, showy flowers, and beautiful fruits. Several different species are to be found throughout all the northern portions of the globe. The most common thorn of Europe and of England is the sharp-thorned hawthorn (C. oxycantha, Linn.), which has deeply lobed and somewhat shining leaves, small, fragrant flowers, and small, shining haws or fruits, and is esteemed among the best hedge plants of Great Britain. There are several distinct varieties, much prized as ornamental shrubs. When planted in rich soils they attain a considerable height, and are handsome and graceful, especially if spared the pruning knife. The double white, the scarlet-flowered, and the double scarlet-flowered are indeed exquisitely beautiful, tree-like plants. Loudon gives 30 varieties, all of which are remarkable, and cultivated by amateurs. The Glastonbury thorn (C. o. præcox) leaves out as early as January or February, and has been known to flower at Christmas, giving rise to a legend of its having sprung from the staff of Joseph of Arimathæa. The common or sharp-thorned hawthorn of Europe was well known to the Greeks of ancient times as the pyracantha, although it is doubtful whether they or the Romans employed it in any useful way. It has fallen into disrepute in the United States as a hedge plant, being liable to the attack of insects, and in midsummer despoiled of the beauty of its foliage by the red spider.-What are termed oriental thorns are very similar in having deeply cut leaves, but so covered with hairs as to cause them to assume a dull gray or hoary aspect; their flowers however are large and fragrant, and their fruits likewise large and succulent. In expression and shape they are described by writers as less elegant than the hawthorns, being formal and rounded; but the fragrance of blossom and the size and beauty of fruit compensate in a great degree. The sweet-scented (C. odoratissima, Bot. Reg.) with its red, the tansy-leaved (C. tanacetifolia) with its yellow, the eastern (C. orientalis) with its purple, and the C. aronia with its light orange-colored fruits, are all highly recommended. To this group of thorns belongs the azarole, with globose, scarlet haws, found wild in small woods and rough places in the south of France and in Italy. Its flowers are borne in corymbs toward the extremities of the branches; they are middle-sized, and are succeeded by round, somewhat oval fruits,

which vary exceedingly in dimensions in different plants raised from seed; they are most generally of a yellowish red color. The ripened haws are mealy and somewhat acid; and in Italy and the Levant they are sometimes used as table fruits. Six distinct and permanent varieties are known in France: the hairy-leaved, the white Italian azarole, the double-flowered, the long whitish-yellow fruited, the yellowishwhite fruited, and the deep-red fruited.-The American thorns have less deeply cut leaves and smaller fruits than these last, and sharp spines or thorns. The cockspur thorn (C. crusgalli, Linn.) has deep green shining leaves and very strong and long spines, and this with its varieties has been usefully employed for hedges. The Washington thorn (C. cordata, Aiton) has a stem from 15 to 20 feet high, furnished with numerous, slender, dark purple branches armed with sharp slender spines, which are about 2 inches in length; it is a native of Virginia, according to Darlington, and has been recommended for making hedges. The white thorn or scarlet-fruited thorn (C. coccinea) has a stem of about 12 feet in height, and rugged spreading branches, which are armed with short spines, the color of the fruit giving to it the specific name. This species grows in some situations to the stature of small trees, and affords food for numerous kinds of birds. The black or pear thorn (C. tomentosa, Linn.) has several varieties, supposed by some to be distinct species; it is a tall shrub or low tree, usually with large, globular or pear-shaped, crimson or orange red, eatable berries or haws. According to Torrey and Gray, the number of American species is 17, of which several are to be found in the extreme southern states. There is scarcely any other hardy shrub affording so much interest to ornamental planting, or which would attract so many kinds of valuable and useful birds.

THORN APPLE. See DAtura.
THORNBACK. See RAY.

THORNHILL, SIR JAMES, an English painter, born in Weymouth in 1676, died in the vicinity of that town, May 4, 1734. He was descended from an ancient family of Derbyshire, and was compelled by the extravagance of his father to take up painting as a profession. Having settled in London, where he received liberal assistance from his maternal uncle, the celebrated Dr. Sydenham, he soon rose into considerable reputation, and during the last 30 years of his life was employed on the most important works of art undertaken in Great Britain. Among these were the 8 pictures in chiaroscuro illustrating the history of St. Paul on the inner dome of St. Paul's cathedral, London, and the decorations at Kensington palace, Blenheim, and Greenwich hospital, none of which have much to recommend them beside their vastness, although the composition is not inferior to that of contemporary works of the class. He also executed two sets of copies of the cartoons of Raphael at Hampton Court, one

of which is now in the possession of the royal academy. In 1724 he opened an academy for drawing at his house in Covent Garden, where Hogarth, who afterward effected a stolen union with his daughter, received his first and only regular instructions in art. Thornhill was knighted by George I.

THORNTON, BONNELL, an English author, born in London in 1724, died May 9, 1768. He was educated at Oxford, and began the study of medicine, but quitted it for literature, and in conjunction with George Colman the elder began a series of periodical essays, called "The Connoisseur," which lasted from Jan. 4, 1754, to Sept. 30, 1756. With Colman also he was one of the original proprietors of "The St. James's Chronicle." In 1762 he published "An Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, adapted to the antient British Music, viz., the Salt-box, the Jews-harp, the Marrow-bones and Cleavers, the Hum-strum or Hurdy-gurdy, &c., with an Introduction giving an Account of those truly British Instruments" (4to., London); the ode was set to music by Dr. Burney, and performed on the instruments named with great success. In conjunction with Colman and Richard Warner he published "The Comedies of Plautus, translated into familiar Blank Verse" (2 vols., 1767), of which he translated "Amphitryon," "The Braggart Captain," "The Treasure," "The Miser," and "The Shipwreck." In 1768 he published "The Battle of the Wigs, an additional Canto to Dr. Garth's Poem of the Dispensary" (4to.). THORNWELL, JAMES HENRY, D.D., an American clergyman, born in Marlborough district, S. C., in 1811. He was graduated at the South Carolina college in 1829, and soon after commenced the study of law, which he abandoned for theology, and commenced preaching as a Presbyterian minister to the Waxhaw church. In 1836 he was elected professor of logic and belles-lettres in the South Carolina college, but after two years resigned to become pastor of the Presbyterian church in Columbia, S. C. In 1840 he accepted the professorship of the evidences of Christianity and the chaplaincy of the college, which he held till May, 1852, when he took charge of the Glebe street church, Charleston. In December of the same year he was elected president of the college, and in 1856 resigned to take a professorship in the Presbyterian theological seminary at Columbia, where he still remains. Dr. Thornwell has published, beside numerous sermons and occasional pamphlets, essays, addresses, &c., "Arguments of Romanists Discussed and Refuted" (New York, 1845), and "Discourses on Truth" (New York, 1854). In the secession movement of 1860-'61 he wrote with zeal and ability in advocacy of the southern policy.

THOROUGH BASE, the art by which harmony is superadded to any proposed base. The term is also used like counterpoint as sy nonymous with the science of harmony. (See MUSIC, and HARMONY.)

THOROUGHWORT. See BONESET.

THORPE, BENJAMIN, an English philologist, born about 1808. He devoted himself to the study of Anglo-Saxon, and translated the Anglo-Saxon grammar of Rask in opposition to Kemble, who followed the system of Grimm. He superintended a series of good editions of Anglo-Saxon works, of which the first was the metrical paraphrase of the Bible by Ceadmon, with a translation and notes, which appeared in 1832. He has published Analecta AngloSaxonica (1834), a selection of extracts from Anglo-Saxon literature with a vocabulary attached; "The Anglo-Saxon Version of the Story of Apollonius" (1834); Libri Psalmorum Versio Antiqua Latina, cum Paraphrasi AngloSaxonica (1835); the great collection entitled "Ancient Laws and Institutes of England, with a Compendious Glossary," &c. (1840); Codex Exoniensis (1842); "Northern Mythology" (3 vols., 1853), a critical collection of the legends of Scandinavia and northern Germany; and "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (2 vols. 8vo., 1861). He receives from government a pension of £150.

THORPE, THOMAS BANGS, an American author and artist, born in Westfield, Mass., March 1, 1815. He is the son of a clergyman, and passed his earlier years chiefly in the city of New York. At the age of 16 he painted a picture illustrative of Irving's "Bold Dragoon," which was exhibited at the American academy of fine arts, and was purchased by a member of the Irving family. After spending 3 years at the Wesleyan university, Middletown, Conn., he settled in 1836 in Louisiana, where he became connected with the press, but still found time to paint a few pictures, among which is a full-length portrait of Gen. Zachary Taylor, now in the representatives' hall of the capitol of Louisiana. Under the title of "Tom Owen the Bee-Hunter," he published a series of sketches of western and southern life, among the most prominent of which is his "Big Bar of Arkansas." During the Mexican war he was a bearer of despatches to Gen. Taylor, under whom he saw much of military life; and after the fall of Matamoras he published a volume entitled "Our Army on the Rio Grande" (12mo., Philadelphia, 1847), which was followed by "Our Army at Monterey" (12mo., 1848). He returned to New York in 1853, where he published a new collection of his sketches entitled "The Hive of the Bee-Hunter," and became a frequent contributor to "Harper's New Monthly Magazine." In 1860 he exhibited his large picture of "Niagara as It Is," in which for the first time the three falls were represented at one view on canvas; and he now (1862) divides his time equally between the pen and pencil.

THORWALDSEN, ALBERT BERTEL, a Danish sculptor, born near Copenhagen, Nov. 19, 1770, died there, March 25, 1844. He was the son of Gottskalk Thorwaldsen, a native of Iceland, and by profession a carver in wood, and at the age of 11 was admitted as a pupil in the free school of the academy of arts in Copenhagen. In a year or two he was enabled to

improve upon his father's carvings; at 17 he gained the silver medal of the academy; at 20 the small gold medal for a composition representing Heliodorus driven from the temple; and in 1793 the grand prize, which secured him a royal pension for a term of years, to enable him to study abroad. Various circumstances prevented his departure from Denmark until 1796, and for several years subsequent to his arrival in Rome, where he had determined to pursue his studies, his progress, owing in part to the troubled character of the times, in part to his own diffidence and distrust of his powers, received no adequate recognition. Depressed by his ill fortune, he was preparing in 1803 to return to Denmark, when his model of Jason bearing the golden fleece attracted the notice of Thomas Hope, who immediately offered him a liberal sum to complete the work in marble. From this time commissions poured rapidly in upon him, and in a few years he rose to the head of his profession in Europe, Canova being the only sculptor who disputed his preeminence. His earliest efforts reflected the severe idealism of the classic marbles which had been the chief objects of his study and admiration in Rome, and his Mars, Mercury, Ganymede, the Graces, Venus, Cupid and Psyche, Hector and Priam, the "Dance of the Muses on Mount Helicon," and other subjects of the pseudoclassical school, are among the most successful modern imitations of the antique. A larger and more important work than any of these was the magnificent bass-relief, 60 feet in length, representing the "Triumphal Entry of Alexander into Babylon," the plaster cast of which was completed in 1812 at the command of Napoleon, as a decoration for one of the large apartments of the Quirinal palace. Two copies in marble are in existence, one of which is now in the palace of Christiansborg, Copenhagen. As Thorwaldsen gained in confidence and executive power, however, he rose above the mere imitation of Greek sculpture, and found in works of an earnest, religious character and contemporary interest the true sphere for the exercise of his genius. In 1819 he yielded to the entreaties of his countrymen, who had endeavored in vain to prevail upon him to settle among them, and made a brief visit to Copenhagen. His progress thither through Italy and Germany was one continuous ovation, and upon arriving at his native city he was received with acclamations by a vast multitude, who escorted him in triumph to the apartments prepared for him in the royal palace of Charlottenborg. Returning to Rome in 1820, he commenced the great series of religious works which stamp him as one of the regenerators of sculpture. Preeminent among these was his celebrated colossal group of "Christ and the Twelve Apostles," which now stands in the cathedral church of Copenhagen. The figure of Christ may challenge comparison with any statue of ancient or contemporaneous art for dignity, simplicity, and deep feeling, and the

whole work is justly considered the sculptor's masterpiece. In the same church are his statues of the four great prophets and a number of exquisite bass-reliefs, and the exterior is adorned by his frieze of "Christ bearing the Cross," and by a numerous group in alto-rilievo representing the "Preaching of St. John," which fills the pediment. He also executed equestrian statues of Maximilian Frederic of Bavaria and Prince Poniatowski, a fine seated statue of Galileo, one of Copernicus in Warsaw, and one of Byron, now in Cambridge; a monument to Pius VII., numerous illustrations in bass-relief of abstract qualities and passages in sacred history, and a vast number of busts and miscellaneous works. His largest single work is the colossal lion near Lucerne in Switzerland, which commemorates the fidelity of the Swiss guards who fell in defending the Tuileries, Aug. 10, 1792; and among his statues in bronze are those of Schiller at Stuttgart and of Gutenberg at Mentz. In 1838 he returned to Denmark in a frigate placed by the government at his disposal, and was again received by the entire population of Copenhagen, from the king downward, with an affectionate ovation, and lodged in the royal palace. He made a brief visit to Rome in 1841 for the benefit of his health, and died suddenly, two years after his return to Copenhagen, of disease of the heart, just after he had taken his seat at the theatre. His remains, after lying in state for several days at the academy, were interred with extraordinary honors in the presence of an immense concourse of people. He was engaged until within a few hours of his death upon a statue of Luther, which was left unfinished. He was a man of much modesty, generosity, and amiability, and in his old age presented a truly patriarchal appearance with his white locks falling in masses over his shoulders. "His face," says his countryman Holberg, "had the plastic characteristics of one of his own admirable statues; when he moved in the midst of a crowd, it would separate as if it felt the presence of a superior being." Thorwaldsen has often been compared with his great contemporary Canova, whom he excelled in force of expression, in largeness of style, and in the power of his imagination, if inferior to him in the refinements of execution, and in the softness and beauty of his female forms; the difference of aim between the two being as marked as that which distinguished the sculptors of the Phidian era and of that in which Praxiteles flourished. As a sculptor of bass-relief the Danish artist surpassed any of his contemporaries; and some of his smaller works in this department, as the "Day" and "Night," now in the possession of the duke of Devonshire, and which were modelled in 1815 at a single sitting, display a fertile vein of poetic imagination and executive refinement. In other works of the class he neglected the execution for the purpose of attaining vigor and strength of character. His entire collection of works of art, and the bulk