T R I 



T R I 



moft of the houfes being clofe to the landing place, which 

 lies in the loweil part. Even the lower paits of the fort 

 were much incumbered with wood tiU within thefe few 

 years. The fort is ftrong, and commands the principal 

 bays, and particularly the entrance into the grand harbour, 

 or inner bay, which affords in all feafons and in every variety 

 of weather a fecure fhelter to (hips of all defcriptions, being 

 land-locked on all fides, and fufficiently deep and capacious 

 to receive the largeft velfel, or any number of veffels. The 

 whole navy of England might find accommodation in this 

 harbour. Its fituation is fuch, that in either monfoon, fhips 

 can arrive at or depart from it, and make their pafTage good 

 from or to any part of the eaftern world, and whole fleets 

 may remain within it, at every feafon of the year, in perfeft 

 fecurity. This harbour is overlooked by fort Oftenburg, 

 a ftrong fort Handing on a cliff, which projefts into the fea; 

 it was originally built by the Portuguefe out of the ruins of 

 fome celebrated pagodas which once ftood here. This fort 

 cannot be attacked by fea, unlefs the fort of Trincomalee 

 be firft taken, and the entrance of the harbour forced. In 

 the bay the (hores are fo bold, and the water fo deep clofe 

 up to them, that it is almoft poffible to ftep from the rocks 

 into the veflels that moor alongfide of them. At the ex- 

 tremity of the rock, on which the fort ftands, a ftrong bat- 

 tery is erefted, where the flag-ftaff of the fort is placed. 



This harbour, from its nature and fituation, is that which 

 ftamps Ceylon one of our moft valuable acquifitions in the 

 Eaft Indies. As foon as the violent monfoons commence, 

 every vefTel which is caught by them in any other part of 

 the bay of Bengal is obliged immediately to put to fea, to 

 prevent inevitable deftruftion. At thefe feafons Trinco- 

 malee and Bombay alone, of all the ports on the different 

 coafts of the peninfula of India, are capable of affording a 

 fafe retreat. The incalculable advantages to be derived 

 from fuch a harbour are increafed by its proximity and eafy 

 accefs to our fettlements in the bay of Bengal. A veffel 

 irom Madras may arrive here in two days, and can at any 

 time enter the harbour. Thefe circumftances point out 

 TiTTicomalee as an objeifl of particular attention to our go- 

 vernment, and of far more confequence to retain than the 

 whole of the reft of the ifland. It will, however, require 

 great encouragement and many improvements to render the 

 town populous or any wife equal to Columbo. For the 

 country around is not by any means fo fertile as to tempt 

 fettlers to refide there ; nor are the natural produftions cal- 

 culated to attraft commerce. The climate has alfo been 

 looked upon as the hotteft and moft unhealthy of the whole 

 ifland. But the woods and marfhes which rendered the cli- 

 mate infalubrious have been already in great meafure cleared 

 and drained, and the beneficial effefts of thefe improvements 

 were foon experienced. It is to be hoped that remedies 

 may in the fame manner be applied to the other defefts 

 under which Trincomalee at prefent labours : its trade is 

 nothing, as there are no valuable natural produftions to 

 nourifti it ; but, from its fituation, it is capable of becom- 

 ing the richeft emporium of the Eaft. The want of com- 

 merce, and the uncultivated ftate of the furrounding coun- 

 try, are defefts which flow mutually from each other ; and 

 the remov.al of one would foon, in a great meafure, do 

 away the other. 



The Malivagonga (which fee) falls into the magnificent 

 bay of Trincomalee. (Percival's Ceylon.) This harbour, 

 fays Barrow (Travels in Southern Africa, vol. ii.), is to a 

 maritime province a jewel of inettimable value ; it holds the 

 bay of Bengal at its mercy, and affords every facility of 

 overawing and controuling the navigation of the ftraits of 

 Sunda and Malacca. Our Afiatic poffeflions, commerce 



I? 



and marme, would confequently lie open to the depredations 

 of the mafters of Ceylon. Trincomalee was taken by the 

 Britifh troops in 1795 ' 7° ""iles N.E. of Candy. 



TRINDELEN, a rock in the Scaggerac, at about equal 

 diftances between the coalf of North Jutland and the coaft 

 of Norway; 7 miles N.N.E. from the ifland of Leflbe. 

 N. lat. 67° 27'. E. long. 11° i'. 



TRINE, DlMEXSlox, or threefold dimenfion, includes 

 length, breadth, and thicknefs. 



The trine dimenfion is peculiar to bodies or folids. 

 Trine, in AJlrology, is the afpeft or fituation of one 

 ftar with regard to another, when they are diftant 120 

 degrees. 



It is alfo called trigon, and is ufually fignified by the 

 character -i. 



Trine, in Rural Economy, a term applied to the quan- 

 tities of fome forts of articles, as the fellies and fpokes of 

 wheels, which of the former is thirteen, and of the latter 

 twentv-five. 



TRINETRA, in Alythology, a name of the Hindoo 

 god Siva. It means with three eyes, fimilar to Trilokan f 

 which fee. 



TRING, in Geography, a fmall market-town in the 

 hundred of Dacorum, and countv of Hertford, England ; is 

 fituated within a (hort diftance of the Icknield way, 30 miles 

 W. by N. from the county -town, and 3 1 N.W. by W. 

 from London. T!ie manor was granted by William the 

 Conqueror to Robert, earl of Ewe, but it foon afterwards 

 reverted to the crown ; and in the year 1 14S was given by 

 king Stephen, with aU its appurtenances, to the abbey of. 

 Fevcrfham, which he had then founded. His grant was 

 confirmed to tlie monks by Succeeding fovereigns ; and 

 Edward II. gave them a charter for a weekly market, and 

 two annual fairs to be held at Tring. After the diffolution, 

 Henry VIII. granted the manor to the archbifhop of 

 Canterbury : it is now the property of fir Drummond 

 Smith, bart. The parilh church of Tring is a fpacious, 

 well-proportioned edifice, and confifts of a nave, fide aifles, 

 and chancel, with a m.atlive tower at the weft end : the walls 

 are fupported by ftrong buttreffes, and the whole is em- 

 battled. The nave is feparatcd from the aifles by fix 

 pointed arches, rifing from high cluftered columns. The 

 roof is of timber frame-work, witli ftrong beams going 

 acrofs : the fupporters on each fide are terminated by carved 

 figures. Mofi of the windows have obtufe pointed arches, 

 and are divided into three compartments by muUions. In 

 the interior are various monuments. Tring contains four 

 meeting-houfes for Diffenters of different denominations. 

 A Sunday fchool for about eighty boys and girls has been 

 eftablifhed by fubfcription. The market-houfe is a mean 

 edifice on wooden pillars, having a pillory and a cage 

 beneath. The market is held on Fridays ; principally for 

 the fale of corn, meat, and ftraw-plat : the manufafture of 

 the latter conflitutes the employment of moft of the females 

 in this part of the country. Five fairs are now held an- 

 nually. The population of Tring, as afcertained under the 

 aft of the year 18 11, was 1847, occupying 352 houfes. 



Tring park, the feat of fir Drummond Smith, bart. con- 

 fifts of Isetween three and four hundred acres, ranging on 

 the S.E. fide of the town. Tlie manfion is large and con- 

 venient, and the principal apartments are fpacious and neatly 

 fitted up. T-lie hall is ornamented with Corinthian pillars. 

 On the floor above the hall, and running acrofs the houfe, 

 is a gallery or ball-room, with a circular dome in the centre. 

 This houfe was erefted about the time of Charles II. by 

 Henry Guy, efq. 



At a fliort diftance N.E. from Tring, is Tring Grove, 



the 



