Tortoise. Among the Egyptians the tortoise was an emblem of darkness and of death. Fig. [129] is the remarkable device of Cosmo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, with the motto, “Hasten slowly,” i. e. have caution with energy.
Tortoise-shell is largely used for making combs, and for veneering on cabinet-work. When it is softened with hot water, it receives impressions which become permanent if it is suddenly cooled. The plates used are those found on the back of the sea-turtle (chelone imbricata). Five large plates are obtained from the middle of the carapace or upper buckler, and four large ones from the sides, called “blades,” and twenty-five smaller plates from the edges, called “feet or noses.” The belly shells are of a yellow colour, and are used for the purposes of horn.
Torus, R. Anything swelling like the strand of a rope. A bed covered with sheets or blankets (toralia).
Fig. 659. Torus moulding.
Torus, Arch. A convex moulding used in architectural decoration (Fig. [659]) at all periods and by all nations.
Touchstone is a kind of black jasper, known as Lydian stone, used for testing gold. This is done with touching-needles tipped with metal in various states of alloy, and the streaks that they make on the touchstone determine the fineness of the gold. In Architecture, certain black marbles were anciently so called, from their supposed identity with the lapis Lydius.
Tough, Turkish. A Turkish standard; a horse-tail attached to the upper part of a pike which ends in a crescent and ball.
Tourelle, Fr. A small tower on a castle, with a winding staircase.
Towers. (See Round Towers.)