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summer, the Thames-head is so dry, as to appear nothing 
but a large dell, interspersed with stones and weeds. From 
Somerford the stream winds to Cricklade, where it unites 
with many other rivulets. Approaching' Kemsford, it again 
enters its native county, dividing it from Berks, at Inglesham. 
It widens considerably in its way to Lechlade; and being 
there joined by the Lech and Coin, at the distance of 138 
miles from London, it becomes navigable for vessels of 90 
tons. After this junction the stream bears the classic name 
of the Isis. At Ensham, in its course north-east to Oxford, 
is the first bridge of stone, a handsome one of three arches. 
After receiving the Windrush and the Evenlode, the river 
passes by the ruins of Godstow nunnery, and reaches Oxford, 
turning round the city towards the north-east. It is here 
joined by the Charwell, which, flowing from the north by 
Banbury, and passing on the eastern side of Oxford, through 
the magnificent bridge of Magdalen, almost along with the 
Isis, insulates the city and university of Oxford. After its 
junction with the Charwell, it proceeds to Abingdon, and 
thence to Dorchester, where it receives the Thame. Con¬ 
tinuing its course south-east by Wallingford to Reading, 
and forming a boundary to the counties of Berks, Bucks, 
Surrey, Middlesex, Essex, and Kent, it washes the towns 
of Henley, Marlow, Maidenhead, Windsor, Eton, Egham, 
Staines, Laleham, Chertsey, Weybridge, Shepperton, Wal¬ 
ton, Sunbury, East and West Moulsey, Hampton, Thames- 
Ditton, Kingston, Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond, 
Isleworth, Brentford, Kew, Mortlake, Barnes, Chiswick, 
Hammersmith, Putney, Fulham, Wandsworth, Battersea, 
Chelsea, and Lambeth. Then, on the north bank of the 
river are Westminster and London; and, on the opposite 
side, Southwark; forming together one continued city, ex¬ 
tending to Limehouse and Deptford; and hence the river 
proceeds to Greenwich, Erith, Greenhithe, Gray’s-Thur- 
rock, Gravesend, and Leigh, into the ocean. It receives, in 
its course from Dorchester, the rivers Kennet, Loddon, Coin, 
Wey, Mole, Wandle, Lea, Roding, Darent, and Medway. 
The tide flows up the Thames as high as Richmond, which, 
following the winding of the river, is 70 miles from the ocean; 
a greater distance than the tide is carried by any other river in 
Europe. The water is esteemed extremely wholesome, and fit 
for use in long voyages, in which it will work itself perfectly 
fine. 
-THAMES, a river of New Zealand. 
THAMES, a river of the United States, in Connecticut, 
which is formed by the Shetucket and Yantic, at Norwich, 
and flows south into Long Island sound, 2 miles below New 
London. It is navigable through its whole course. 
THAMES, formerly called Riverie a la Franche, a 
river of Upper Canada, which rises in the interior, and after 
pursuing a serpentine course, in a direction nearly south¬ 
west, discharges itself into Lake St. Claire. 
THAMESBRUCK, or Thomasbruck, a small town of 
Prussian Saxony, in the government of Erfurt, on the Un¬ 
strut ; 11 miles east-south-east of Muhlhausen. 
THAMMUZ, in Mythology, is a name under which the 
Phoenicians worshipped Adonis or Osiris. 
THAMMUZ, in Chronology, a name given by the Jews 
to the tenth month of the civil year, containing twenty-nine 
days, and answering to our June. 
THAMYRIS, in Mythology, called by Homer K(0ao«mj?, 
one who plays on the cithara, was the son of Philammon. 
Plutarch, in his Dialogue on Music, tells us that Thamyris 
was born in Thrace, the country of Orpheus, and had the 
sweetest and most sonorous voice of any bard of his time. 
Homer, in his catalogue of ships, where he speaks of the 
cities under the dominion of Nestor, mentions Dorion as 
the place where Thamyris contended with the Muses, whom 
he had the arrogance to challenge to a trial of skill in poetry 
and music. The conditions and consequences of this con¬ 
tention are fully described by the poet. 
“ And Dorion, fam’d for Thamyris’ disgrace, 
Superior once of all the tuneful race, 
Till, vain of mortals’ empty praise, he strove 
To match the seed of cloud-compelling Jove ? 
Too daring bard! whose unsuccessful pride 
Th’ immortal Muses in their art defy’d : 
Th’ avenging Muses of the light of day 
Depriv’d his eyes, and snatch’d his voice away ; 
No more his heav’nly voice was heard to sing, 
His hand no more awak’d the silver string.” Iliad. 
THAN, conjunction, [than, Goth.; >5anne. Sax.] A 
particle placed in comparison after the comparative adjec¬ 
tive or adverb, noting a less degree of the quality compared 
in the word that follows than : as, Monarchy is better than 
anarchy. The hawk flies more swiftly than the pigeon. 
Were we not better to fall once with virtue, 
Than draw a wretched and dishonour’d breath ? B. Jonson. 
THANE, s. [Segn, Sax.; meaning originally a servant. 
The (Anglo-Saxon) nobles were called thanes or servants, 
for “ as it was honourable to be followed by a numerous train, 
so it was honourable in a secondary degree to be a follower 
of a man of consideration ; and this honour was the greater 
in proportion to the quality of the chief, and to the near¬ 
ness of the attendance upon his person.” Burke, Abridg. 
Eng. Hist.] An old title of honor, perhaps equivalent to 
baron. 
By Sinel’s death I know I’m thane of Glamis; 
But how of Cawdor? th ethane of Cawdor lives. Shakspeare. 
Skene makes thane to have been a dignity equal wijh that 
of the son of an earl: Camden will have it, that thanes were 
only dignified by the offices which they bore. 
There were two kinds or orders of thanes; the king's 
thanes, and the ordinary thanes. The first were those who 
attended our English-Saxon kings in their courts, and who 
held lands immediately of the king: whence, in Domesclay- 
book, they are promiscuously called thani, and servicntes 
regni. Soon after the Conquest this name was disused. 
THA'NELANDS, s. Such lands as were granted by 
charters of the Saxon kings to their thanes with all immuni¬ 
ties, except the threefold necessity of expedition, repair of 
castles, and mending of bridges. Corvcl. 
THA'NESHIP, s. [Sejen-j'etpe, Sax.] The office and 
dignity of a thane; the seigniory of a thane.—The thane- 
ship of Glamis was the ancient inheritance of Macbeth’s 
family. Stcevens. 
THANET, Isle of, a district of England, in the county 
of Kent, situated at the mouth of the Thames, and forming 
the north-eastern angle of the county. It is separated from 
the mainland by the river Stour on the south, which was at 
one time a wide estuary, and by a branch of it called the 
Nethergong on the west. It extends about nine miles from 
east to west, and eight from north to south. It contains 
within its limits 10 parishes, of which only seven of the 
churches now remain ; also the towns of Ramsgate, Margate, 
and Broadslairs, all noted for sea-bathing. The island is 
divided into the manors of Minster and Monkton, by St. 
Mildred’s Lynch, a narrow slip of land left unploughed, 
which extends across Thanet, from Westgate by Woodchurch 
and Cleve Court, and terminates at Sheriff's Court. The 
coast of this island terminating in a perpendicular cliff of 
chalk, the soil is dry, and the air remarkably pure and 
bracing. The name of Thanet is supposed by some to be 
derived from the British word Tene or Fire, on account of 
the beacons or fires which were here kept, to give notice 
of Danish or other pirates, from whose incursions the natives 
are said to have retired to the numerous caves that are still 
found along the sea-coast. Scarcely any ancient families are 
now resident in Thanet, most of their estates having been 
alienated from various causes, and their seats converted into 
farm-houses. Those of the inhabitants who reside near the 
sea, are chiefly employed in maritime operations, one princi¬ 
pal branch of which consists in going off to ships with pro¬ 
visions, and assisting them when in distress, on which latter 
occasion they frequently evince undaunted courage, and are 
the means of preserving many valuable lives. In Camden’s 
time, agricultural and sea-faring pursuits were united in the 
same persons, but are now, as in other places, generally 
separated. The chalk cliffs which surround the coast of the 
island. 
