T H O 



391 



T H O 



a very large descriptive catalogue of the treasures deposited 

 in his museum. 



The ' Ducatus ' is the principal literary work for which we 

 are indebted to him. As a kind of supplement to it, he 

 published, in 1724. a history of the Church of Leeds, under 

 the title ' Vicaria Leodiensis,' which, like his former work, 

 has many things not strictly belonging to his subject, bill 

 in themselves valuable. A new edition of the 'Ducatus,' 

 containing also all the matter of the 'Vicaria' which pro- 

 perly belonged to Leeds, was published by Thomas Dun- 

 ham Whitaker, LL.D., in 1816. 



The writings of bishop Nicolson, bishop Gibson, Oba- 

 diah Walker, Calamy, Strype, Hearne, and many other 

 persons, show how willing Ihoresby was to give assistance 

 to any of his literary friends in their various publications. 



Thoresby kept during the greater part of his life an exact 

 diary of each day's occurrences. Large extracts from the 

 portions which remain of it were published in two octavo 

 volumes in 1830, and two more volumes were published 

 at the same time of selections from the letters of his various 

 friends : these were published under the care of Mr. 

 Hunter. They exhibit the peculiar features of a somewhat 

 remarkable character, and the particular incidents of his 

 life. A large account of him may be found in the ' Bio- 

 graphia Britannica,' and another prefixed to Dr. Whitaker' s 

 edition of his topographical work. 



THORITE, a mineral in which thorina was discovered 

 to exist by Berzelius. It occurs massive and compact. 

 Fracture uneven, very brittle, and full of cracks. Hardness 

 about 5-0. Lustre resinous: vitreous; opaque. Colour 

 black. Specific gravity 4'63 to 4- Ml. 



Before the blow-pipe, gives off water, and becomes yel- 

 low, but does not fuse. 



It is found in syenite, in Norway. It contains nearly 58 

 per cent, of thorina, mixed with thirteen metallic and 

 other bodies. 



THO'RIUM, or THORI'NUM, a metallic body dis- 

 covered by Berzelius in an earth to which he had given 

 the name of thurinn. When this was converted into 

 chloride of thorium, and treated with potassium, after 

 washing the mass a heavy metallic powder was left of a 

 deep leaden-grey colour, which, when pressed in an agate 

 mortar, acquired an iron-grejttint and a metallic lustre. It 

 i^ not. oxidized by water, either hot or cold, but when 

 heated in the air it burns brilliantly, and is converted into 

 oxide of thorium, or thorina. which is perfectly whn< 

 devoid of any trace of fusion. Thorium is scarcely at all 

 acted upon by nitric acid, and slowly by the sulphuric; 

 but hydrocloric acid dissolves it readily with the evolution 

 of hydrogen gas. 



ii'.iijL'i-n i' ml Thorium combine to form oxide of thorium, 

 or thorina, by heating the metal in the air, or by decom- 

 posing the chloride by means of an alkali. When it has 

 been strongly heated, its density is il-402, and it is then in- 

 soluble in any acid but the sulphuric, and in that with 

 difficulty. It is precipitated in the state of hydrate from 

 hitioiis by the alkalis, and in this state it is readily 

 soluble in acids, and is converted into carbonate by ex- 

 posure to the air. The alkaline carbonates dissolve the 

 hydrate, carbonate, and subsalts of thorma; thorina is 

 precipitated from solution by the ferrocyanide of potas- 

 sium. Thorina probably consists of 



One equivalent of oxygen ... 8 

 One equivalent of thorium . . .0(1 



Equivalent, . . (is 



Besides combining readily with oxygen, as already men- 

 tioned, thorium unites energetically with chlorine, sulphur, 

 and phosphorus ; but the compounds which they form 

 have not been minutely examined. 



THORX. [CRAT.KOUS.] 



THORN-APPLK. [DATURA.] 



THORX in Polish, Tnruiiini is a celebrated fortress in 



the government of Marienwerder, in the province of 



ia. It is .situated in 53 N. lat. and 30 25' E. long., 



on the right bank of the Vistula, over which there is a 



bridge, which is the only standing bridge over the Vistula 



in its whole course. (The others are floating bridges.; It 



ita .>f H..,, |, ;u ts, the German and the Polish bridge, 



which are separated by an island called the Mazarkiimpe. 



The German part, from the town to the island, is 1246 feet 



long ; the Poluh part is 927 feet long. The whole distance 



from Thorn to the opposite bank of the Vistula (including 

 296 feet for the island) is 2409 feet: the breadth of the 

 carriage-way is 18 feet ; it is 17 feet above the river at its 

 ordinary level. 



Thorn is divided into the old and the new town. There 

 are two Lutheran and three Roman Catholic churches, two 

 monks' convents and one of Benedictine nuns, a celebrated 

 Lutheran gymnasium, a Roman Catholic school (formerly 

 a Jesuits' college), four elementary schools, one girls' 

 school, four hospitals, an infirmary, and a house of correc- 

 tion. The most considerable buildings are the cathedral, 

 built in the Gothic style ; St. John's church, containing the 

 monument of Copernicus, who was born here in 1473 ; 

 the town-house, built in 16Q2, on the model of that, at 

 Amsterdam (the doors, inlaid with ebony and ivory, the 

 marbleHables, and the paintings on the walls are memo- 

 rials of former splendour) ; the well-known leaning tower, 

 like that at Pisa ; and the house in which Copernicus was 

 born. 



Thorn is indebted for its foundation to Herman Balk, 

 master of the Teutonic order, who immediately on his 

 arrival, in 1231, fortified the antient castle of furno, at 

 Old Thorn, about five miles from the present town. In 

 the following year he founded the town, but, finding the 

 situation inconvenient, pulled it down in 1235, and chose 

 another site eight miles farther up the Vistula. At the 

 commencement of the fourteenth century Thorn joined 

 the Hanseatic League, and during the dominion of the 

 Order became rich and flourishing through its extensive 

 commerce. It afterwards joined ' The Union of the Prus- 

 -1:111 'ities,' and with it threw otf the authority of the 

 Knights: it took an active part in the sanguinary war 

 arising from this step, which ended with the peace con- 

 cluded in its walls in 14(iO, by which West Prussia was 

 annexed to Poland. Commerce continued to flourish 

 under the Polish government, but the city suffered severely, 

 partly from the internal troubles of the kingdom, partly by 

 flie wars with Sweden, during which it was twice plun- 

 dered by the Swedes (1655, 1703). Charles XII. entirely 

 destroyed the fortifications. The Reformation was favour- 

 ably received at an early period, but led to very harsh 

 measures on the part of the Roman Catholics, and to in- 

 ternal troubles. These dissensions continued from the 

 time of Sigismund I. ('1506-1548), through the sixteenth 

 and seventeenth centuries: and at the beginning of the 

 eighteenth century occasioned what is called the ' Thorn 

 Tnigedy,' a persecution excited by the Jesuits, which 

 ended, on the 7th December, 1724, with the execution of 

 the burgomaster John Ressner and eleven of the principal 

 citizens. 



When West Prussia was separated from Poland in 1772, 

 Thorn and Danzig remained under the Polish govern- 

 ment, but their prosperity declined in consequence of the 

 many obstructions to their commerce caused by the 

 regulations of Prussia for the navigation of the Vistula. 

 Alter its union with Prussia, on the second partition of 

 Poland, in 17'J3, its commerce and prosperity revived 

 Since 180!) it has been again converted into a fortress. It 

 is also important as a commercial port for the exportation 

 of the produce of the country, corn, timber, linen, raw 

 lides ; especially however corn. The population, in- 

 cluding the garrison, is nearly 12,000 inhabitants. 



(A. E. Pri-uss, J!r\i-'/i/-fi/ii/iiff rim 1'ri-iiaxi'H ; Brockhaus, 



iiri'i-xiilinns Lexicon, 7th edit.; Hassel ; Cannabich ; 

 Hursclielmauii. 



Tl K )RN BURY. [GLOUCESTERSHIRE.] 



TMORNE. [YORKSHIRK.] 



THORX EY. [CAMBRIDGESHIRE.] 



THORNHILL, SIR JAMES, an eminent painter (Juring 



he reigns of Queen Anne and George I., and, says Wal- 



x>]e, 'a man of much note in his time, who snivelled 



^errio, and was the rival of Laguerre in the decorations of 



our palaces and public buildings,' was descended of a very 



antient family in Dorsetshire, and was born at. Weymoutli 



u 107(i. Through^ the extravagance of his father, who 



lisposed of the family estate, Thornhill was compelled to 



support himself by his own exertions. He adopted the 



mil'ession of a painter, and, by the liberality of an uncle, 



)r. Sydenhiim. the eminent physician, he was enabled to 



his studies in London,' where lie placed himself 



a painter, whose name is not known, with whom 



iowever he did not remain long. Thornhill appears to 



