T II i: 





THE 



an import of coal are carried on. St. Peter's church 

 uts of a nave with two aisle*, chancel, and tower : the. last 

 rebuilt A.D. 17H9. The antient part M built chiefly of flint, 

 whence it hu obtained the name of -the black church.' 

 St. Cuthbert's churvh in of ordinary stnu-turc: it hat an 



lower. Both thee churches are in Norl'oi 

 Mar) 1 '* it on the Suffolk Mtlr of the river, and U meanly 

 There K g-houses for Wealeyans, Inde- 



pendents, and Quaker*; ami a Human Catholic chapel. 

 Considerable remain* of the Cluniac priory, especially the 

 antient gateway, "till exist on the north-west wde of t he- 

 town. There are also Rome considerable remains of th. 

 nunnery, comprehending the chapel and the ruins of some 

 other parts, at what is called Thetford-place Farm, on the 

 Suffolk side of the river, south of the town; and some 

 her religious structures of the middle ages. The 

 grammar-school is an antient building. 



The boroueh. as we have seen, in as old as the time of 

 Edward the Confessor : under the Muntaipa] K.-i .rm Act 

 it has four aldermen and twelve councillors, but is not to 

 haw- a commission of the peace, except on petition and 

 (punt. It tir>t sent members to parliament in the time of 

 Edward VI., and still returns two: the borough limits 

 were not altered by the Boundary Act. There were 158 

 voters in 1835-6, and m) in MM* 



The livings of St. Mary and St. Peter are rectories, of the 

 clear yearly value of 031, and 65/. respectively ; that of St. 

 Cuthberi is a perpi-tuHl curacy, of the clear yearly x aim- of 

 fWl/. : all are in the rural deanery of Thetford, and the 

 archdeaconry and diocese of Norwich. There wen- in the 

 borough Ut 1883, thirteen day-schools. with from :r>7 to 

 387 scholars, namely. 121 boys, 69 to 79 girls, and 1CS chil- 

 dren of sex not stated : and three Sunday-schools, with U'.CJ 

 scholars, namely, 180 boys and 213 girls! 



Hlomefield's Eftrtoryq/ .\>,rfi,/ft ; Martin's History of 

 Thftfnnl : I'urUamfntary Papert.) 



THETIS, Mr. Sowerby's name for a genus of fossil 

 -h.-lls, said to resemble Martra, but not to have the inter- 

 nal ligament. It is described as having several small 

 acuminated teeth, but no lateral teeth ; so that it in some 

 degree resembles Tallinn without the posterior plication. 



THK'VKNOT. MELCHI8KDKC, is -aid by all his bio- 

 graphers to have died at the age of 71 ; and as his death 

 happened in 1(>!)2. this places his birth in the year KJ21. 

 An entry in the printed catalogue of TheVenot's library 

 informs us that he was uncle of the traveller Jean The- 

 venot, but beyond this we know nothing of his family or 

 circumstances. It is probable however, from the respect- 

 able missions to which he was appointed at an early age, 

 from the large library he collected, and from his being 

 <> devote himself to literary pursuits while apparently 

 in the receipt of no pension, that his family was wealthy 

 and v 



M veral countries 



rope, but the earliest incidents of his life concerning 

 which we have positive and authentic accounts are those 

 mentioned in the brief autobiographical sketch prefixed to 

 the printed catalogue of his library. He tells us that on his 

 return from travelling in 1(547, he was nominated resident 

 at Genoa, but that the troubles of the Fronde interfering 

 to prevent his taking possession of the post, he continued 

 to follow the court till 1652. He was then sent to Rome. 

 where he continued nearly three yean; and being there 

 at the commencement of the conclave which elected 

 indi-r VII., the royal instructions respecting the part 

 France intended to take on that occasion were addressed 

 to him till the time of M. de Lionne's arrival. Thevcimt 

 alludes in mysterious phrase to a delicate and dangerous 

 commission with which he was intrusted after the termi- 

 nation of the conclave, which he says he discharged to the 

 perfect satisfaction of Mazarin and the other mii: 

 He attended Mazarin during the campaign in Flanders, 



On his return to Paris, Thevenot devoted himself en- 

 tirely to study. Fremcle, a mathematician, and Stenon, a 

 naturalist, resided with him ; and in the house adjoining ln- 

 own he entertained a person to conduct chenu> 

 menU. The meetings of scientific men which h:t<! 

 held in the house* of Pere Mervenne and Montmort were 

 transferred to TMvenot's mansion. The expenses thus 

 incurred proved too heavy for In- means, and lie proposed 

 to Colbert the establishment of a public and permanent 

 of scientific men under the patronage of 



the king. The suggestion accorded with the mini- 

 inclinations, and a grand academy was project cd, intended 

 to embrace every branch of knowledge. The 1 

 library was to be the pla 



were to assemble there on d Tlmrsd:. 



every week ; the amateurs of the i - on the 



Tuesdays and Fridays : the mat' tural 



philosophers on the Wednesdays and Saturdays; and ge- 

 neral assemblies of all the three clam - M on 

 the first Thursday of every month. 'Hie historical 

 was allowed to drop, it being feared that its inquiries 

 might occasion dangerous discussions : the Academic Fran- 

 caise, instituted by Richelieu, remonstrat. the 

 foundation of another literary academy; anil th 

 of Colbert's plan that was realised was the ' Academic dcs 

 Science*,' which commenced operations in the month of 

 June, 1066. Thevenot did not become a member of the 

 Academy till 1685. 



He had in the mean time however been diligently pro- 

 secuting his favourite studies. 'Each of our cum] 

 he says, 'had his task and occupation : mine was to collect 

 and publish in French whatever useful arts we:. 

 among other nations. About this time I invented an air- 

 lev el, of which I caused the description to be printed, and 

 it is now acknowledged to be the most accurate that ha- 

 yet been tried. To render geography more perfect. I col- 

 lected and published three large volumes of a collection 

 of voyages, upon which I had been working for some time. 

 I had the honour to present them to the King, who exa- 

 mined them for nearly half an hour, and. 

 veral finest ions, commanded me to continue the 

 M. Colbert informed me that he had his majc-ty's orders 

 to furnish me with everything necessary to carry 01.' 

 design." This distribution of tasks took place about 

 before the Academy had received its definitive constitu- 

 tion. The first volume of The'venot's Voyages was pulv- 

 lishcd at Paris, in Hi(i2. The author's preface announces 

 a translation of the Voyages nnd Travels published b\ 

 Hakluyt and Purchas. with the addition of some \ 

 lations from the Oriental languages. The second volume 

 appeared in HXH : tl intimate*, that for tl:- 



of the numerous trading companies that have of late been 

 formed in the kingdom, he has added an account of the 

 present state of the Indies, noting the principal 

 mercial establishments and places of resort of the Hutch 

 and Portuguese; a report from one of tl T the 



Dutch Fast India. Company to the < M ex- 



tract of a letter from the governor-general of tin- 

 India Company of France. The third volume 

 lished in 1066, and the fourth in 1072. In the pref:i 

 the fourth volume The'venot informs the reader ilia- 

 constant discovery of travels which had escaped )r, 

 search has obliged him to abandon the attempt to cl 

 the voyages inserted in his collection, so that all rcl- 

 to one quarter of the world should appear together. 'I 

 four volumes were in folio ; and during the remainder of 

 his life TheVcnot published in the same form a number 

 of separate accounts of voyages, which, together with - 

 left half printed at his death, were bulky enough to form a 

 fifth volume. The edition of his collection printed after his 

 death at Paris, in 1696, professes to contain all these mis- 

 cellanea, but a complete copy is rarely to be met with. 

 In 1683 Thevr-not published a small book in 12mo., en- 

 titled Recueil de Voyages de M. Th6venot.' It contains 

 A Discourse on the Art of Navigation, with some Problems 

 which may supply in part the deficiencies of this useful 

 art." Among these problems he has inserted an account 

 of the level above alluded to. The same volume contains 

 an account of the museum of Swammerdam, with .some 

 memoirs by that naturalist, said on the special title-page 

 to be ' Extracted, together with the travels which precede 

 it, from the Transactions of the Society which met at the 

 house of M. The'venot.' It will be advisable to conclude 

 the narrative of The'vcnot's life before attempting to pro- 

 nounce judgment on the merits of his publications. 



Colbert died in 1(>H3. and I... ceding to the 



office of superintendent of buildings, succeeded likewise to 



the management of the royal library, which was regarded 



U r to that minister'.- department. Louvois aj)- 



1 his son, afterwards known a- the Abln' Lonvois, 



who was then only nine \. . litnanan. It was 



necessary to find juvenile an officer: the 



Abb* Vares was first appointed, but he dying in Septcm- 



