SYLLABLES, Derivation of, &c., 24. SYMMES, JOHN, an American sea-captain, who entertained a fanciful theory that the earth was a hollow sphere, which might be entered by sailing to a point on the North Pole.

SYNONYME (written also syn'onym, and so pronounced) is from the Greek words syn, with, and ōn'éma, a name. A noun, or other word, having the same signification as another, is its synonyme. SYRACUSE (now Syragosa) was anciently the chief city of Sicily, and one of the most magnificent cities in the world. SYSTEM (Gr. syn, with, and istēmai, I stand) is, in astronomy, an hypothesis of a certain order and arrangement of the celestial bodies, by which their apparent motions are explained.

TABBY, a term formerly applied to certain figured silks, on which an irregular pattern had been stamped with an irregular surface, so as to give rise to the appearance called watered. A tabby-cat is a cat of diversified color.

TABLE-LAND, elevated flat land, with steep acclivities on every side.

TAD MOR, subsequently called Palmyra, which see.

TALENTS. In our use of the word "talents" (says Trench), as when we say "a man of talents" (not of "talent" for that, as we shall see presently, is nonsense), there is a clear recognition of the responsibilities which go along with the possession of intellectual gifts and endowments, whatsoever they may be. We draw, beyond a doubt, the word from the parable in Scripture in which various talents, more and fewer, are committed to the several servants by their lord, that they may trade with them in his absence, and give account of their employment at his return. Men may choose to forget the ends for which their talents were given them; they may turn them to selfish ends; they may glorify themselves in them, instead of glorifying the Giver, they may practically deny that they were given at all; yet in this word, till they can rid their vocabulary of it, abides a continual memento that they were so given, or rather lent, and that each man shall have to render an account of their use.

TALFOURD, THOMAS NOON, an English author and judge, b. 1795, d. 1854. He is most favorably known as the author of the tragedy of "Ion." Extract from his address before the Manchester Ly-ce'um, p. 314.

TAM'ERLANE, called also Timour, one of the most celebrated of Asiatic conquerors, was born about forty miles from Samarcand' in Central Asia, in the year 1335. He conquered the Turkish Sultan Bajazet in 1402, and the want of shipping alone prevented him from crossing into Europe. Civilization looked with terror to his advance. He died in 1405. See p. 254. VARPAULIN (tar-po'lin), a piece of canvas

covered with tar to render it water proof.

TAYLOR, HENRY, an English dramatic and ethical writer, b. about 1799. Quoted 384.

TAYLOR, JANE, the daughter of an artist in London, was born in 1783, died 1823 She wrote much and well for the young. The Scholar's Pilgrimage, 61. Contrasted Soliloquies, 80.

Abuse of the Imagination, 369. TEACHERS, THEIR CALLING, 186. TELEGRAPH (tel'e-graf). This word is from the Greek tele, afar off, and grapho, I write; and applies to a machine for communicating intelligence from a distance, either by signals or by electro-magnetism. See pp. 376, 378.

TEL'ESCOPE (Greek tele, afar off, skopeo, I look at), an optical instrument for view ing distant objects.

TEMPE (Tem'-pe), a beautiful and cele brated valley of Thessaly, on the river Peneus, in the northern part of ancient Greece. It had Mount Olympus on the north, and was much celebrated by the poets. Its woods have now disappeared, and there are cotton-works established on its site.

TENNYSON, ALFRED, poet laureate of Eng land, was born about 1809. Quoted, p. 258.

TERRA'QUEOUS (Lat. terra, earth, and aqua, water), consisting of land and water, as the earth.

TERSE (Lat. tersus, rubbed off). A terse style, or diction, is that in which there are no more words than are necessary to express the thought.

TES'TER, the top covering of a bed. TEUTONIC, pertaining to the Teutons, a people of Germany. By the "Teutonic stock of languages," the root of all the present German idioms is meant.

THAMES (pronounced těmz), a river of England, on which London is situated. THE TWO PALACES, 219.

Discontented Miller, 222.
Two Roads, 92.

Present Time, 93.

Blind Street-Fiddler, 93. 66 Wind and Rain, 208. "Village Preacher, 218.

THEBES, an ancient city of Upper Egypt, on both sides of the Nile, about two hundred and sixty miles south of Cairo. Thebes is famous as "the city of a hundred gates." Its present ruins extend about eight miles along the Nile; and yet its glory belongs to a period prior to the commencement of authentic history. Thebes was also the name of a city in Greece, the capital of Boeotia.

THE-OD'OLITE, a surveyor's compass, fur nished with a small telescope for the more accurate measurement of angles.

fessor of Divinity in King's College, Lon don.

template), spec'ulative, not practical. Theory is a doctrine or scheme of things, without reference to practice. THER-MOP'Y-LE, a narrow defile in Greece, celebrated for a desperate resistance against the Persian army, made by three hundred Spartans, under Le-on'idas. THIBET OF TIBET, a country of Asia, the most lofty part of the continent. The Himalaya Mountains, the highest in the world, rise here. The name given to the region by the natives means "the northeru land of snow."

THOMSON, JAMES, one of the most eminent of British poets, was born in Scotland in 1700, died 1748. His "Seasons" and "Castle of Indolence" justify his claim to the celebrity which he enjoyed while in this world.

Extracts from "The Seasons," 177, 298, 337.

Extracts from "Castle of Indolence," 114, 128.

THOUGHTS TO DWELL ON, 84. THRALDOM (thrawl'dum), a Saxon word, meaning a state of bondage.

THURSDAY. This day derives its name from Thor, the old Scandinavian god of thunder.

TIDE, to work in or out of a river by favor of the tide..

TITILLATION (Lat. titillo, I tickle), a tickling, or being tickled.

TITUS VESPANIA'NUS, a Roman emperor, b. A. D. 40. He took Jerusalem (A. D. 70) after a terrible siege.

To. The pronunciation of this word, whether to or too, depends much on its application and emphasis. In such phrases as go to, heave to, where to is used adverbially, it is pronounced too. TOBACCO, A PAPER OF, 353.

TOBIN, JOHN, author of "The Honey-Moon," t. in England 1770, d. 1804. Quoted, 385.

TOULON (Too-long), a seaport of France. TOUR (toor), a journey in a circuit. TOWARD or TOWARDS; pronounced tō'ardz; sometimes tōwrdz, as if in one syllable. As used p. 295, line 8, it is in two syllables, and an adverb meaning near at hand.

TRADE-WINDS. Explained, p. 209. TRADITION (Lat. trado, I give up, deliver down), doctrines or facts transmitted by word of mouth from age to age. TRAGEDY. The word is said by late German critics to be derived from tragos, an old Greek word, signifying melancholy. In tragic compositions, the diction must be elevated and the ca-tas'trophe melancholy.

TRANSPORT (Lat. trans, over, and porto, I

carry), the being carried beyond one's self; rapture, ecstasy. TRANSVERSE (Lat. trans, over, and versus, turned), lying in a cross direction.

Shortsightedness of Man, 113.

On the Study of Words, 119. TRITON, in mythology, a fabled sea demi god, supposed to be the trumpeter of Nep tune.

TRIUMVIRATE (Lat. tres, three, vir, a mar a union of three men.

TROPE (Gr. trepo, I turn), in Rhetoric, a word or expression turned from its pri mary and proper meaning.

TROYES (pronounced trwa, the a as in water), an old city of France.

TUBER, in Botany, a kind of fleshly stem, formed under ground, and filled with starch.

TUESDAY, the third day of the week; named after Tuisco, the Saxon god of war.

TULLY, the Anglicized name for Tullius, belonging to Cicero, whose entire name was Marcus Tullius Cicero.

TUMBLER, a clown; one who plays tricks of tumbling.

TU'MULT (Lat. tumeo, I swell), a noisy rising; a commotion.

TURNING THE Grindstone, 103. TY'RO (Lat. tiro, a raw soldier), a beginner in learning.

TYR'RHENE SEA, the ancient name of that portion of the Mediterranean south-west from Tuscany.

ULYS'SES, one of the principal Greek heroes in the Trojan war, celebrated by Homer. He is also the hero of the Od'yssey,Odysseus being merely another name for the hero. The story, p. 100, is told by Homer.

UM'PIRE. This word, according to Brande, appears to be derived from the Fr. impair, uneven in number; an umpire being a third party, to whom a dispute is referred.

U'SURY, the taking of interest for money from the Lat. word usu'ra, which is from utor, I use.

VADUTZ (pronounced Vah-dootz'), a town o Germany on the Rhine. In the German phrase (p. 181, last line but 2), a is pro nounced like a in father; e like e in pen, ie like ee in meet; au like ou in house. VAG'ABOND (Lat. vagor, I wander), a va grant; one having no certain dwelling. VALENCE (pronounced va-langse', the a as in father), a town of France on the Rhone. VALISE. Pronounced va-lees'. VANE, SIR HENRY, the younger, an English statesman, b. 1612. He was the fourth governor of the colony of Massachusetts in 1636; returning to England, he opposed the royal government, and afterwards the sovereignty of Cromwell; and, through the perfidy of King Charles II., was finally beheaded for high treason in 1662, meeting his fate with Christian heroism and composure. Mention of, p. 283. VENICE, a town of Italy, built on 135 islandr joined together by 450 bridges, at the head

of the Gulf of Venice; once a rich and Powerful city, but which lost its commerce in 1498, through the Portuguese discovery of the way by sea to the E. Indies. VENTILATION (Lat. ventus, wind, whence ventilatio). See Remarks on, 362. VENUS DE MEDICI (pronounced Venus deh Mede-che, the ch as in chill), a celebrated ancient statue of Venus, which receives its name from having been placed in the gallery of the Medici family at Florence, after its discovery at Tivoli, Italy, in 1695. It is of pure white marble, four feet eleven inches in height. The sculptor's name is unknown, but he is supposed to have flourished before the Christian era.

VERDICT (Lat. rerum, true, dictum, saying), true declaration.

VERSE. The Latin verb verto, I turn, and its derivative versus, gave origin to this word. The Roman farmers described the swinging round of the plough at the end of a furrow for the purpose of commencing a new one by the word versus, a turning. Then the furrow itself, or the line of earth ploughed up, was called versus. Subsequently, a written line, whether in prose or verse, received this name. Then it was confined to a line of poetry; and modern usage has enlarged the meaning of the word so that it may apply to a stanza or to several lines of a poem or hymn.

VERTICAL (Lat. vertex, the top), placed or being in the zenith, or perpendicularly

over the head.

VER TI-GO (Lat. verto, I turn), giddiness, or swimming of the head.

VESUVIUS, MOUNT, a volcano near Naples, in Italy, is three thousand nine hundred and thirty-two feet high. See Volcano. VIA (Lat. a way), via Liverpool, by the way of Liverpool.

VILLICLE (Lat. villus, hair), in anatomy, one of the minute fibrils of those internal surfaces, which, minutely examined, look like the pile or nap of velvet.

VINCENNES (pronounced vang-sĕnz), a town of France, about three miles east of Paris. VIOLET. Some philologists derive this word from the Latin via, because of the violet's flourishing by the way-side; whence an English poet has called it way-ling, the postfix ling in Saxon meaning offspring. VIRGIL. Publius Virgilius Maro, the most distinguished epic poet of ancient Rome, was b. near Mantua, 70 B. C., and d. 19 B. C. His supposed tomb is still shown at Naples.

VIRGINIUS, a centurion (military officer commanding a hundred men) of ancient Rome, whose daughter Virginia being claimed as a slave by Appius Claudius, the father, to save her from dishor or, 8.abbed her with a knife snatched from a butcher's stall.

VISTA. Buena Vista (pronounced boo-e'navis'ta), a town of Mexico, thirty-two miles south of Tampico, was the scene of an ac tion, on the 22d and 23d Feb., 1847, ia

which a Mexican army were repulsed by a greatly inferior American force, under Gen. Taylor. The Spanish words Buena Vista signify good view.

VIZIER (viz yer), a Turkish minister of state. VOLCA'NO, a mountain having an internal fire, and at times emitting fire, smoke, and lava. The word is derived from Vulcan, the Roman name of the imaginary god who presided over the forge and the working of metals.

VOLITION (Lat. volo, I will), the act of willing; power of willing. VOLTA'IC. The Voltaic Pile or Battery was discovered by Volta, a native of Pavia, in Italy, about the year 1801. By its means the phenomena resulting from the accumulation of the electric fluid, and from the evolution of electricity by chemical action, were manifested in a novel and surprising manner.

VOLUNTEER (Lat. volun'tas, will), one who enters into military or other service of his own free will; a voluntary fighter VoWEL SOUNDS. See pp. 16, 17.

WAIN'SCOT, in architecture, the framed lin ing in panels wherewith a wall is faced the timber lining or covering of a room. WALLENSTEIN (pronounced in German Vol lenstin), Duke of Friedland, a celebrated German general, b. in Bohemia 1583 ; assassinated 1634. On the incidents of his career Schiller has founded a noble drama, an extract from which see on p. 343.

WAR, Barbarism of, 303. See also pp. 271, 326, 343, 410.

Не

WARD, WARDER. The primary meaning of the verb to ward is to look at or after, and consequentially, to defend, to protect. A ward of a lock is that which guards of secures it; in other words, that pan which corresponds to its proper key. WARE, WM., Vesuvius, by, 251. WASHINGTON, GEORGE, the "first in war, as well as "in peace," among the Ameri cans, was born Feb. 22, 1732, near the banks of the Potomac, in the county of Westmoreland, Va. That he was diligent and studious in his youth his writings in mature years abundantly testified. entered the military service of the colony in 1751; was in Braddock's expedition against Fort du Quesne (pronounced Kane) in 1755, and had two horses shot under him; was appointed commander-in-chief of the American army in 1775; was elected president of the Convention for forming the Constitution in 1787; was elected President of the United States in 1789, again in 1793, and died in 1799. "Great he was," says Lord Brougham, " preeminently great; a perfect, just man, with a thoroughly firm resolution, never to be misled by others, any more than to be by others overawed. To his latest breath did this great patriot maintain the noble character of a captain the patron of peace and a statesman the friend of justice. Dying, he bequeathed to his heire the

sword which he had worn in the war for liberty, and charged them Never to take it from the scabbard but in self-defence, or in defence of their country and her freedom.' Until time shall be no more, will a test of the progress which our race has made in wisdom and in virtue be derived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of Washington."

Eulogized by Webster, 147. The Youth of, by Everett, 249. Our Political System, by, 287. Religion Essential, by, 313. WATERLOO. The village of Waterloo, noted for the great battle fought on the 18th of June, 1815, between Napoleon and the allied forces, is in Belgium, about ten miles southward from Brussels. WATER, THE WORLD OF, 206. WATER-WRAITH (p. 276). Wraith is a Scottish word, signifying a spirit or appari

tion.

WAYLAND, REV. FRANCIS, President of Brown University, R. I., and distinguished as a theologian and a writer on Moral Science and Political Economy, was born in N. Y. March 11, 1796. His writings are much esteemed. Quoted, 288, 369. WEBER, CHARLES MARIA VON, an eminent musical composer, born in Holstein, a dependency of Denmark, in 1786; died 1826. He composed the celebrated opera of Der Freischutz (the Free-shooter). Mentioned p. 172.

WEBSTER, DANIEL, highly distinguished as a lawyer, orator, and statesman, was born in Salisbury, N. H., Jan. 18, 1782; died at his residence in Marshfield, Mass., Oct. 24th, 1852. His parents were poor; but he was enabled to enter Dartmouth College in 1797. He first practised law in his native state, and was in Congress in 1812. He removed to Boston in 1816, was sent to Congress from that city in 1822, and from that time up to the period of his death was in public life, distinguishing himself by many remarkable efforts of eloquence, which place him in the front rank of great orators, with Demosthenes, Chatham, Mirabeau, and Patrick Henry. On his death-bed, he prepared an inscription for his tomb stone, in which he says that his heart has always assured and reassured" him "that the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be a divine reality." Character of Washington, 147. Education in the United States, 184. On Early Rising, 226.

The American Union, 271.

Love of Home, 368.

country. (See Philology.) In England his innovations have not been generally adopted. In the United States some of the principal printing-offices have ad mitted them; so that considerable cou fusion in the spelling of various words exists in American publications. Of the propriety of several of his innovations there seems to be little question. That in regard to doubling the last consonant before ed or ing in words of more than one syllable, not accented on the last syllable, was recommended, though Lot always adopted, by Lowth, Walker, and Perry. The arbitrary deviations from the usual rule, in such words as travelled, travelling, worshipped, equalled, jew elled, libelled, modelled, &c., were reject ed by Webster, who spells these words traveled, traveling, worshiped, &c.; and public usage begins to favor this reform, not only in this country but in England. As a defining dictionary of the English language, Webster's is probably the best in existence.

WEDNESDAY (Wenz'da) is so named from the Scandinavian deity Woden. His functions corresponded to those of Mercury in the Greek and Roman mythology.

WEL'KIN, the visible regions of the air; the vault of heaven. It is from the Saxon welk, to roll.

WEST MINSTER, a city of England, now so united with London that they form one city, and, in ordinary speech, are men. tioned as one, though they have separate jurisdictions.

WHAT a Common Man may say, 293. WHALE, CAPTURE OF A, 400. WHEN I AM OLD, 238. WHEREFORE (composed of where and for). Both Walker and Webster pronounce this word hwür'-för. Sheridan pronounces it hwĕr-for.

WHEWELL (pronounced Hu'el), WM., an eminent English theologian and writer Quoted, 407.

WHITTIER, JOHN G., an American poet and prose writer, born 1808. Quoted, 178, 297. WIFE. This familiar word is from "to weave;" wife and woof are of one origin. It is a title (says Trench) given to her who is engaged at the web and woc these having been the most ordinary branches of wifely employment when the language was forming. See Husband. WILD. See p. 125.

WILLIS, NATHANIEL P., a popular American poet and essayist, b. 1807.

The New Year, by, 434.

WILNA, the name of a city and river o West or Polish Russia. The city is twe hundred and fifty miles north-east of Warsaw, has considerable trade, and is noted for several remarkable churches, for its literary institutions and medical academy.

WILSON, JOHN, eminent as a poet and critic, was b. in Paisley, Scotland, in 1788.

He

edited Blackwood's Magazine, and was professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh. Died 1854.

The Ship, by, 228.

This Life and the Next, 314. Assurance of an Hereafter, 315. WIN CHELSEA, COUNTESS OF.

A Wished-for Retreat, by, 334. WIND AND RAIN, THE, 208.

WIND WARD, the point from which the wind

blows.

WIST R, POETRY OF, 90, 433. WINTHROP, JOHN, b. in England, in 1587; governor of Massachusetts in 1630; d. in

1649.

WINTHROP, ROBERT C., of the family of John, was born about 1808. Quoted pp. 275, 833.

WIRT, WM., an eloquent lawyer and graceful writer, was b. in Maryland, in 1772; d. 1835. Quoted, 288, 332, 431. WISE, a manner, mode, fashion. It is often compounded in such words as lengthwise, breadthwise, &c., incorrectly written lengthways, &c. WOLSEY, THOMAS, Cardinal, an eminent English prelate, was the son of a butcher, and was b. 1471; d. 1530. He rose to great power under Henry VIII.; but that treacherous king finally worked his ruin. See p. 421. WOMAN'S MISSION, 359. WORDS, THE STUDY OF, 119.

The Permanence of, 160. WORDSWORTH, WM., a great and good English poet, b. April 7th, 1770, d. 1850. His claims to a rank among the greatest poets of England were long contested, but at length very generally admitted by those whose verdict is fame. He had a lofty sense of the worth of his art, and, in him, poetry, which is but another name for the reverent study of nature, embraces all knowledge, all sanctity, all truth and is ever made subservient to the doctrines of Christian revelation. In 1843 he succeeded Southey as poet-laureate. Quoted, 898.

The Daffodils, by, 70.

The Blind Street-Fiddler, 93. Affectionate Remembrance, 102. Friendship, 113.

The Moral Law, 114.
Essential Knowledge, 177.
Address to Duty, 178.

Heroism of Grace Darling, 201.

The Old Man by the Brook, 257. WOUND. The preferred pronunciation of Walker and Worcester is oond, et Webster, wound, rhyming with sound. WRACK, Syno'ymous with wreck, and an ancient form of that word.

YANG-TSE-KIANG', a large river of China Its total course is about 2500 miles. Y-CLEPED (e-klept'), called, termed. It is the perfect participle of the Saxon word ge-clypian, to call.

YEA. Both Walker and Webster prefer t pronounce this word like the pronoun ye; Worcester, Sheridan, and others pronounce it yā.

YOUNG, EDWARD, author of "Night Thoughts," was b. in Hants, England, in 1681, d. 1755. It is impossible to open any page of his "Night Thoughts" without finding something grand, true, and striking.

Trust in God, 256.
Death, 309.

Defiance, from “Zanga,” 102.

ZEAL. The Greek is zelos, which is from zeo, I boil. ZENITH (from the Arabic). In Astronomy the top of the heaven, or vertical point the point directly overhead.

Zr'ON or SION, the name of one of the moun tains on which Jerusalem was built. It was sometimes called "the city of David ;" also "the holy hill." ZONE (Gr. zōnē, a girdle). In Geography the terrestrial zones are the five broad spaces or belts into which the surface of the earth is divided by the two tropics and the two polar circles.

ZSCHOKKE, HENRY, a prolific German writer, b. at Magdeburg, in Prussia, 1771, d. 1848. He commenced life as a strolling player, but afterwards studied divinity, and became a teacher of youth.

The Snow of Winter, by, 90. ZUTPHEN (Zoot'phen), a town of the Neth erlands, with a population of 11,000.