[Talus], a man of brass, the work of Hephæstos, given to Minos to guard the island of Crete; he walked round the island thrice a day, and if he saw any stranger approaching he made himself red-hot and embraced him.
[Tamatave], the chief town of Madagascar, on a bay on the E. coast.
[Tamerlane] or Timur, a great Asiatic conqueror, born at Hesh, near Samarcand; the son of a Mongol chief, raised himself by military conquest to the throne of Samarcand (1369), and having firmly established his rule over Turkestan, inspired by lust of conquest began the wonderful series of military invasions which enabled him to build up an empire that at the time of his death extended from the Ganges to the Grecian Archipelago; died whilst leading an expedition against China; was a typical Asiatic despot, merciless in the conduct of war, but in peace-time a patron of science and art, and solicitous for his subjects' welfare (1336-1405).
[Tamesis], the Latin name for the Thames, and so named by Cesar in his "Gallic War."
[Tamil], a branch of the Dravidian language, spoken in the S. of India and among the coolies of Ceylon.
[Tammany Society], a powerful political organisation of New York City, whose ostensible objects, on its formation in 1805, were charity and reform of the franchise; its growth was rapid, and from the first it exercised, under a central committee and chairman, known as the "Boss," remarkable political influence on the Democratic side. Since the gigantic frauds practised in 1870-1871 on the municipal revenues by the then "Boss," William M. Tweed, and his "ring," the society has remained under public suspicion as "a party machine" not too scrupulous about its ways and means. The name is derived from a celebrated Indian chief who lived in Penn's day, and who has become the centre of a cycle of legendary tales.
[Tammerfors] (20), an important manufacturing city of Finland, situated on a rapid stream, which drives its cotton, linen, and woollen factories, 50 m. NW. of Tavastehuus.
[Tammuz], a god mentioned in Ezekiel, generally identified with the [Greek Adonis] (q. v.), the memory of whose fall was annually celebrated with expressions first of mourning and then of joy all over Asia Minor. Adonis appears to have been a symbol of the sun, departing in winter and returning as youthful as ever in spring, and the worship of him a combined expression of gloom, connected with the presence of winter, and of joy, associated with the approach of summer.
[Tampico] (5), a port of Mexico, on the Panuco, 9 m. from its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico; the harbour accommodation has been improved, and trade is growing.
[Tamworth] (7), an old English town on the Stafford and Warwickshire border, 7 m. SE. of Lichfield; its history goes back to the time of the Danes, by whom it was destroyed in 911; an old castle, and the church of St. Edith, are interesting buildings; has prosperous manufactures of elastic, paper, &c.; has a bronze statue of Sir Robert Peel, who represented the borough in Parliament.