TRAGEDY 



5857 



TRAJAN 



hornlike in texture. Tragacanth is used as a 

 soothing remedy for sore throat, and is also 

 employed to impart firmness to lozenges and 

 pills. 



TRAGEDY, traj'edi, a form of the drama 

 which calls for a serious theme, dignified treat- 

 ment and usually a disastrous ending. The 

 word tragedy means goat songs, and was ap- 

 plied to the chants used by the men clothed 

 in goatskins who represented the satyrs in the 

 festivals of Bacchus. From the chants tragedy 

 took its rise, and it was developed by the Greeks 

 to a very high point. Aeschylus, Sophocles and 

 Euripides had each a great part in this devel- 

 opment. The Greeks took their tragedies as 

 seriously as their religion; Aristotle gave as 

 the reason for the existence of tragedy the 

 "purification of the passions through the arous- 

 ing of fear and pity." 



One of the greatest names in the history of 

 tragedy is that of Shakespeare, whose Hamlet, 

 Lear, Othello, Julius Caesar and Macbeth have 

 place among the few tragedies which are of 

 very first rank; for since tragedy at its best is 

 the highest form of poetry, it could scarcely 

 be hoped that great examples should be nu- 

 merous. Tragi-comedy is serious drama in 

 which the outcome is happy, Schiller's Wilhelm 

 Tell furnishing, perhaps, the best example of 

 this form. Though the great tragedies of the 

 past, presented by great actors, always find a 

 ready hearing to-day, the large majority of 

 theatergoers prefer lighter plays, and the come- 

 dies produced far outnumber the tragedies. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes : 

 Aeschylus Euripides 



Drama Sophocles 



TRAG'OPAN, a handsome bird of- the 

 pheasant family, found in the region of the 

 Himalayas, dwelling in forests high up on the 

 mountain slopes. It is noted for its bright, 

 variegated plumage, and for two fleshy pro- 

 tuberances which hang behind the eyes. In 

 the breeding season the male woos his mate by 

 proudly erecting and distending these protu- 

 berances until they have the appearance of 

 horns. The bird also possesses two large wat- 

 tles which hang at the sides of the lower jaw, 

 and these are likewise displayed conspicuously 

 in the wooing antics. Tragopans feed on in- 

 sects, leaves, fruits and seeds, and they nest 

 in trees. The eggs, which are white, slightly 

 speckled with dull lilac, resemble those of the 

 common fowl. The birds are shy and are usu- 

 ally taken by snaring, being slowly driven to- 

 367 



ward nooses placed in openings near the point 

 of two converging lines of hedge. 



THE TRAGOPAN 

 About one-tenth actual size. 



TRAIL, trayl, a town in the extreme south- 

 ern part of British Columbia, about ten miles 

 north of the United States boundary. It is on 

 a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and 

 is forty-six miles southwest of Nelson. Ross- 

 land is thirteen miles west of Trail by railway. 

 Both Trail and Rossland are in the heart of a 

 rich mining district, Trail being noted chiefly 

 for its great smelter, employing over 700 men 

 in treating silver, lead, copper and other ores. 

 Trail had the first lead-pipe factory in Canada. 

 The town has a large trade with the surround- 

 ing district. Population in 1916, about 2,000. 



TRAILING ARBUTUS. See ARBUTUS. 



TRAILL, trayl, CATHERINE PARR (1802-1899), 

 a Canadian novelist, known for her vivid 

 sketches of pioneer life in Canada. Mrs. Traill 

 was born in London, England. She was the 

 third of the literary Strickland sisters, the two 

 elder, Agnes (1796-1874) and Elizabeth (1794- 

 1875), being known for their historical writings 

 for children. In 1832, after her marriage to 

 Lieutenant Thomas Traill, the youngest of the 

 three emigrated with her husband to Canada 

 and settled in the backwoods of Ontario. The 

 pioneer's trials she portrayed in . many novels 

 and sketches, among which the following may 

 be mentioned: Backwoods of Canada; Cana- 

 dian Crusoes; Rambles in the Canadian For- 

 est; Pearls and Pebbles, or, Notes of an Old 

 Naturalist; and Studies in Plant Life in Canada. 



TRA'JAN (MARCUS ULPIUS TRAIANUS) (51- 

 117), a Roman emperor, one of the most im- 

 portant military leaders in the history of the 

 empire. He was born in Spain, of a Roman 



