T R I 



T R 1 



two Hermefes ; the former having reigned about the time 

 of the Deluge. They are both of them reprefented as au- 

 thors of many of the arts and inftitutions of the Egyptians. 

 See Hermes. 



TRISMIS, or Trosmis, in Ancient Geography, a 

 town of Lower Moefia, near the Danube. Ptol. This 

 place is marked in Ant. Itin. on the route from Viminacium 

 to Nicomedia, between Biroen and Arrubium. 



TRISMOS, ifia-fj.ii, or Tfoiuo;, a convulfion of the muf- 

 cles of the temples, caufing the teeth to gnafh. 



TRISOLYMPIONICA, Tfio-o\v;*mo»ix»i.-, compounded 

 of Tpsii, three, 0>it//^7nx, Olympic games, and nxu, v'lflory, 

 among the Ancients, a perfon who had thrice borne away 

 the prize at the Olympic games. 



The trifolympionica, or trifolympionics, had great pri- 

 vileges and honours allowed them. Statues were erefted to 

 them, of the kind called iconkit, which were modelled to the 

 fize and form of their perfons. 



They were alfo exempted from all taxes and incumbrances, 

 and could never be marked with infamy. 



TRISPAST, Trispaston, compounded of Tpn,-, three, 

 and a-TroM, I dra'W, in Mechanics, a machine with three pullies, 

 or an aflemblage of three pullies, for raifing great weights. 



The trifpafton is a fpecies of polyfpafton. 



TRISPERMUM, in Pharmacy, the name of a cata- 

 plafm, or poultice, confiiling of three ingredients ; thefe are 

 cummin and opium feed, and bay-berries. 



TRISSA, in Ichthyology, a name ufed by fome authors 

 for the fifli more commonly known by the name of alaufa, 

 and called in Eng]i{h {had, or the mother of herrings. 

 TRISSACRAMENTARIANS. See Trisacra- 



MF.NTARIANS. 



TRISSANTON Bay, in Geography. See Southamp- 

 ton. 



TRISSARRI, a town of France, in the department of 

 the Lower Pyrenees ; 9 miles S.W. of St. Palais. 



TRISSILD, a town of Norway, in the diocefe of Ag- 

 s;erhuus ; 65 miles N. of Kongfwinger. 



TRISSINO, GlANGlORGIo, in Biography, an Italian 

 poet, was defcended fi-om a noble hneage, and born in 1478 

 at Vicenza. In his youthful fludies he was induftrious and 

 ardent. Befides the Latin and Greek languages, the latter 

 of which he acquired under Demetrius Chalcondylas, he 

 became a proficient in mathematics, phyfics, architefturc, 

 and other fine arts. He was employed in polls of truft and 

 honour by the popes Leo X. and Clement VIL, and he 

 alfo received many tokens of diftinftion trom the Venetian 

 republic and his native city. He was twice married ; and 

 with both his wives he lived happily at Vicenza. But a 

 lavv-fuit, in which he engaged with the fon of his firft wife, 

 obliged him to retire to Murano, near Venice, and having 

 loft his caufe and a great part of his property, he went to 

 Rome, where he died in 1550. Ambitious of being a poet, 

 he cultivated an imitation of the ancients ; and his tragedy of 

 " Sofonifba," formed after the laws and manners of their 

 drama, and the firft in which verfe without rhyme was em- 

 ployed, has been confidered as the firft Itahan work of that 

 clafs. This tragedy, framed by the author in 15 15, was not 

 printed till the year 1524. His next produftion was a 

 comedy, intitled " Similimi," which was well received. 

 But his great work, in which he was engaged for twenty 

 years, was his epic poem, intitled " Italia Liberata de' 

 Goti," the fubjeft of which was the deliverance of Italy 

 from the Goths in the reign of the emperor Juftinian. His 

 model in the compofition of this work was Homer, whom he 

 fervilely imitated, infomuch that, according to Voltaire, 

 " he took everything from him but his genius." The fuccefs 



of this poem by no means corrcfponded to his expeftations. 

 Of his other works, and his wWmfical but ineffeftual pro- 

 jeft of introducing certain Greek letters into the ItaUan 

 alphabet, we need take no notice. Gen. Biog. 



TRISTAN d'Acunha, in Geography, the largeft of 

 three iflands in the South Atlantic ocean, about 1500 

 miles from any land either to the weft or north, very lofty, 

 and about 15 miles in circumference. A part of the ifland, 

 fir Erafmus Gower obferves, (quoting the author of the Au- 

 thentic Account of the Embafly to China,) towards the 

 north rifes perpendicularly from the fea to a height ap- 

 parently of 1000 feet, or more. A level then commences, 

 forming what among feamen is termed table land, and ex- 

 tending towards the centre of the iiland ; from whence a 

 conical mountain rifes, not unlike in appearance to the Peak 

 of Teneriffe, as feen from the bay of Santa Cruz. Boats 

 were fent to found and examine the (hore for a convenient 

 place to land and water. In confequence of their report 

 the Lion ftood in, and came to anchor in the evening on 

 the north fide, in 30 fathoms water, one mile from the 

 Ihore ; the bottom black fand with dime ; a fmall rock of 

 the weft point bearing fouth-weft by fouth, juft open with 

 the weftern extremity of the ifland ; a cafcade or fall of 

 water emptying itfelf upon the beacii fouth by eaft. All 

 the (hore from the fouthern point to the eaftern extremity 

 appears to be clear of danger, and fteep, except the weft 

 point, where there are breakers about two cables' length, or 

 near 500 yards, from the (hore. The (hip, when anchored, 

 was over(hadowed by the dark mafs of that portion of the 

 ifland, whofe fides feem to rife like a mofs-grown wall im- 

 mediately from the ocean. On the right the elevation was 

 lefs rapid, and between the rifing part and the fea was a 

 flat of fome extent, covered with fedge-grafs, interfperfed 

 with fmall (hrubs, which being perfedtly green, looked from 

 the (hip like a pleafant meadow, watered by a ftream that 

 fell afterwards from its banks upon the beach. The officers 

 wlio went a{hore reported, that tlie caflis might be filled 

 with frefh water by means of a long hofe, without moving 

 them from the boats. The landing-place thereabouts was 

 alfo defcribed as being fafe and fuperior to any other that 

 had been examined. From the plain the land rofe gradually 

 towards the central mountain, in ridges covered with trees 

 of a moderate fize and height. The coaft abounded with 

 fea-hons and feals, penguins and albatroiTes : one of the 

 latter was brought on board, his wings meafured ten feet 

 from tip to tip ; but others are faid to have been found 

 much larger. The coaft was covered with a broad fea- 

 weed feveral fathoms long, and defervedly by naturalifts 

 termed gigantic fucus. Some good fi(h was caught with 

 the hook and hne. The accident of a fudden guft, by 

 which the anclior was in a few hours driven from its hold, 

 and the fliip forced out to fea, prevented the ifland from being 

 explored as was intended. It is probable, that if the Lion 

 had anchored in twenty inftead of thirty fathoms water, the 

 anchor would have held firmly. Some advantage was ob- 

 tained, however, from coming to this place. The juft 

 pofition of thofe iflands in refpeft to their longitude was 

 afcertained, by the means of feveral time-pieces, to be about 

 two degrees more eaftwardly than generally laid down in 

 charts. Thefe iflands are certainly worthy of a more par- 

 ticular enquiry ; for they are not fifty leagues from the 

 general track of vedels bound to China, and to the coaft of 

 Coromandel by the outer paffage. In war-time, an excel- 

 lent rendezvous might be fettled there for (hips that 

 wanted no other fupply than that of water. When cir- 

 cumftances require particular difpatch, it is prafticable to 

 come from England to Triftan d'Acunha without flopping 



