THIERRY, Jacques Nicolas Augustin, French historian: b. Blois, 10 May 1795; d. Paris, 22 May 1856. He was educated in the Normal School at Paris in 1811, and in 1813 became teacher in a provincial school. The following year he quit this occupation and returned to Paris, where he embraced the socialistic views of Saint Simon, and became his secretary and his coadjutor in literary work, and in 1816 published a treatise of his own, Des nations et de leurs rapports mutuels.' Perceiving the theoretical vagaries of his master, he separated from him in 1817, and became one of the conductors of the journal Le Censeur Européen. Shortly afterward he became a contributor to the Courrier Français, in which, in 1820, he published 10 letters on the history of France, which attracted attention. His celebrated work on the Norman conquest of England, 'Histoire de la conquête de l'Angleterre par les Normands,' was published in 1825, and by the interest of the narrative, brilliance of style and novel mode of treating the subject, attained great success both in France and in England. From his close application to work M. Thierry became in the following year almost entirely blind, and at the same time was attacked by a nervous disorder, but still pursued his literary labors. An enlarged edition of the letters formerly written by him for the Courrier appeared in 1827, under the title of 'Lettres sur l'histoire de la France. In 1830 he was elected a member of the Academy of Inscriptions and in 1834 published 'Dix ans d'Etudes historiques. About this time he was entrusted by Guizot, then Minister of Public Instruction, with the editing of the 'Recueil des monuments inédits de l'histoire du tiers-etat,' for the collection of documents relative to the history of France. To this publication he prefixed an 'Essai sur l'histoire de la formation du tiers-etat, separately published in 1853. In 1840 he published 'Récits des temps métrovingiens,' which gained for him the Gobert prize of the Academy of Inscriptions. There exist translations of his chief works in English. There is a complete edition of his works (10 vols., 1856-60). Consult Valentin, 'Augustin Thierry (Paris 1895).

THIERS, te-ar, Louis Adolphe, French statesman and historian: b. Marseilles, 15 April 1797; d. Saint Germain, Paris, 3 Sept. 1877. He studied law at Aix, and was admitted to the bar there in 1818. Desirous of a larger theatre for his ambition he went to Paris in 1821, and having got an appointment on the staff of the Constitutionnel, then the leading Parisian journal, he soon attracted attention by his articles in that paper. Journalism soon ceased, however, to supply sufficient stimulus to his active intellect, and he undertook his 'Histoire de la Révolution française,' having as colleague Felix Bodin, whose name appeared with his in the first two volumes. The work was completed in 10 volumes in 1827. On the formation of the Polignac Cabinet, Thiers founded with Armand Carrel and Mignet, the National, whose first number appeared on 1 Jan. 1830. The new democratic organ exercised a decisive influence on public opinion, and the famous ordinances, the signal for the revolution of July, were now issued. Upon this Thiers counseled the issuing by the journalists of a revolutionary manifesto.

It was signed by 43 names. To escape arrest Thiers fled, on the night of the 28th, to the neighborhood of Saint Denis, accompanied by Mignet and Armand Carrel. Louis-Philippe, becoming king of the French, Thiers was soon made councillor of state and attached to the department of finance. He was elected deputy for Aix, and after the death of Casimir Périer became Minister of the Interior in the Cabinet of Soult, October 1832. He next filled the offices of Minister of Commerce and Minister of Public Works and again became Minister of the Interior, but in consequence of differences with Soult and Gérard gave in his demission 11 Nov. 1834, but soon resumed office under Mortier. He again retired in February 1836, but a few days after returned to power as foreign minister and president of the council. These offices, after many vicissitudes, he again held in March 1840. Taking a strong interest in the Eastern question he declared in favor of Mehemet Ali of Egypt against Turkey; but neither the king nor the chambers wished to resort to extremities, and the policy of Thiers having received a grave check he retired from the Cabinet 29 Oct. 1840. He now devoted himself to historical pursuits, and his 'Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire,' begun in 1845, was completed in 1862, in 20 volumes. The revolution of February, 1848, found him prepared to accept the republic; and he was a member, first of the Constituent and then of the National Assembly. After the coup d'état of 1851 he was banished from France, but returned in August, 1852. After an absence of 12 years from public life he was chosen in the elections of 1863 deputy for the department of the Seine, and relected in 1869. In this position he regained much of his early popularity. He combated energetically the project of war against Prussia, because France was unprepared, and after the disaster of Sedan visited the courts of London, Vienna, Saint Petersburg and Florence to seek assistance against Prussia, but all that he could obtain was a promise that the four great powers would support the proposal of an armistice. Thiers accordingly proceeded to the headquarters of the king of Prussia at Versailles to open negotiations for peace. But he was unsuccessful, and Prussia proceeded to a war à outrance. On 17 Feb. 1871 he was elected chief of the executive power of the republic, and on the 21st opened negotiations with Bismarck, which resulted in the peace with Germany. On 31 August the title of president was bestowed upon him and his term of office fixed at three years. He resigned 24 May 1873, whereupon Marshal MacMahon was appointed president. When MacMahon began to put himself in opposition to the republic, Thiers acted in complete harmony with the republican chiefs of the two chambers, notably with M. Gambetta, to whom, on 3 Sept. 1877, he gave a meeting at Paris to read to him, and to several other politicians, a manifesto which he had just completed. But that very day he was attacked with congestion of the brain and died at night. Thiers was par excellence the representative of his country; a witty writer; and an accomplished debater. He was also genial, unselfish, large-hearted; and to establish the glory of France was the main secret of his measures and counsels.

Besides the works already named Thiers was the author of 'Histoire de la loi) (1826, English trans. 1859); 'De la propriété (1848); 'L'Homme et la matière' (1875). Consult Atkinson, F. M., Memoirs of M. Thiers' (New York 1916); Belot, C., Le pouvoir exécutif sous le gouvernement de M. Thiers' (Bijon 1908); Le Goff, François, The Life of Louis Adolphe Thiers' (New York 1879); Hanotaux, G., Le gouvernment de M. Thiers' (Paris 1903); Marcère, E. de, 'L'Assemblée nationale de 1871' (ib. 1904); Simon, P. F., Adolphe Thiers: chef du pouvoir exécutif et président de la République Française (Paris 1911); Zevort, Edgar, Thiers' (ib. 1892); Mazade, 'M. Thiers: cinquante années d'histoire contemporaine (1884); Simon, Thiers, Guizot, Rémusat (1885); Rémusat, P. L. E. de, ‘A. Thiers' English trans. 1892).

THIEVES' ISLANDS. See LADRONES.

THILLY, Frank, American writer and educator: b. Cincinnati, Ohio, 1865. He was educated in the Ohio University where he graduated in 1887, and completed his studies in Berlin and Heidelberg. For several years he devoted himself to teaching philosophy in Missouri University (1893-1904); psychology at Princeton (1904-06); philosophy at Cornell from 1906 on, finally becoming dean of the College of Arts. He edited the International Journal of Ethics (1909) and was president of the American Philosophical Society (1912). He is the author of Leibnitz' Controversy with Locke' (1891); Introduction to Ethics' (1900); The Proceeds of Inductive Inference (1904); A History of Philosophy) (1914). He also has translated Weber's History of Philosophy) (1896); 'Poulsen's Introduction to Philosophy) (1885) and 'A System of Ethics (1899).

THIMBLE, a small metallic sheath or cap used to protect the end of the finger in sewing. Seamstresses use a thimble having a rounded end. Those used by tailors are open at the end. In the manufacture of thimbles coin silver is mostly used, generally silver dollars, which are melted and cast into solid ingots. These are rolled into the required thickness, and cut by a stamp into discs of any required size. A solid metal bar the size of the inside of the intended thimble, moved by powerful machinery up and down in a bottomless mold of the size of the outside of the thimble, bends the circular discs into the thimble shape as fast as they can be placed under the descending bar. The work of brightening, polishing and decorating is done. on a lathe. Thimbles are said to have been found at Herculaneum, and were used by the Chinese at a very early period. Their invention in Europe is traditionally ascribed to Nicholas van Benschoten, of Amsterdam, in the 17th century. In mechanics, the name thimble is applied to various fixtures, such as a tubular lining through which a bolt passes, etc.

THIMBLE-EYE, a fish, the chub-mackerel (q.v.).

THIMBLE RIG, or SHELL-GAME, a sleight-of-hand or gambling trick, performed by means of three thimbles and a pea or three nut shells and a small wooden tube or box. The pea being placed on a table and covered

with one of the thimbles, the performer proceeds to shift the thimbles, covering the pea now with one, now with another, and offers to bet any bystander that no one can tell under which thimble the pea is. The person betting is seldom allowed to win, the pea being abstracted by sleight-of-hand. In the United States the trick is commonly known as the shell-game and is frequently played at racetrack meetings, rural fairs and other gatherings.

THIONVILLE, tē-ôn-vēl, or DIEDENHOFEN, de'den-hō-fěn, Lorraine, an important railway centre, 18 miles north of Metz. It stands in a level plain on the Moselle River. Its manufactures comprise gloves, thread and nets; and there are sawmills and tanneries. Thionville is the seat of the Lorraine iron industry. There is some trade in corn, hemp, flax, fruit, vegetables, grain, wine and wood. An important fair is held annually. In the Franco-German War of 1870-71 Thionville was invested after the battle of Gravelotte, and after the fall of Metz it was besieged with vigor. On 25 Nov. 1870, it was occupied by the Germans. It suffered severely by the siege. It was restored to France under the terms of the armistice of 11 Nov. 1918 and confirmed by the Treaty of Paris of 1919. Pop. 14,184.

THIRD CENTURY. The central interest of this period lies in the fact that the Roman Empire at the climax of its power and extent, just when presumably it ought to be consolidating itself for a still greater future, began slowly but surely to crumble under the attacks of the barbarians. Toward the end of the century the Goths in Dacia gave the first hints of that power to defeat Roman armies which portended so clearly the fall of the empire. In the last decade the Saracens, a predatory Arab tribe, who are usually supposed to come into history much later than this, began to make themselves felt. Inspired by Mohammed and unified by religious fanaticism in the 7th century they were to prove more fatal to the empire than even the Goths. The success of the barbarians was favored by the disorder consequent on elections of emperors by the Prætorian guards. Septimius Severus (emperor 193-211) halted the barbarians for a while but Rome's decline and fall was inevitable. Severus reigned with vigor as became "the soldiers' emperor," defeating his competitors Niger and Albinus, but cruelly putting to death large numbers of the adherents of his rivals, thus further demoralizing the time. His reign came in the midst of a financial crisis for the empire during which the government resorted to debasement of the coinage to bolster up its credit. Severus was the first of Rome's rulers to lay the foundation of a great private fortune. As emperor he was an extremely hard worker, always at work by dawn, and devoted long hours every day to the duties of his position. On his return to Rome in 202 he was greeted with a popular reception but refused a triumph and in spite of his fortune always lived very modestly. Like Marcus Aurelius he attempted to found a dynasty and when he died at York (Britain), he bequeathed the empire to his two sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla, having killed his brother, gave a frightful example of imperial misrule. Undoubtedly insane,- nothing else could account

for his utter cruelty,- Gibbon terms him "a common enemy of mankind." During their father's lifetime the two sons had used the family fortune in racing and gaming, caring only to associate with gladiators and chariot drivers from the circus. To distract them Septimius planned the conquest of Caledonia and it was this that brought him to Britain, where he erected the wall known by his name between the Forth and the Clyde. After Caracalla had expended the family fortune he went to the greatest length of cruelty and injustice to secure more. One good result of his desire for money was the granting of Roman citizenship to all the provinces so as to secure the right to levy direct taxes and imposts on inheritances (215). In imitation of his father Caracalla visited the various provinces of the empire, but instead of benefiting from his stay, each in turn became the scene of his rapine and cruelties. Having heard that the citizens of Alexandria disapproved his mode of life he ordered a general massacre of the inhabitants. He was finally put to death by his soldiers in the East and was followed by a series of emperors in rapid succession, most of whom met violent deaths. Macrinus, who succeeded Caracalla, was put to death within a year by the soldiers. A feminine intrigue then seated Heliogabalus, an Oriental priest, on the throne. He was worse, if possible, than Caracalla and his name has become a byword for utter viciousness. After four years he was succeeded by Alexander Severus, who meant well and accomplished much, but the rule of Rome was now become a difficult task. He tried the expedient of paying an annual tribute to the Goths to keep them from molesting the empire. This token of weakness had, as might have been expected, exactly the opposite effect. Severus was murdered by a mutiny in the army (235) and was succeeded by Maximinus who bravely led his army against the Dacians and defeated them, but was assassinated by his own people near Aquilia the next year. Balbinus and Gordian reigned very briefly, though Gordian defeated the Persians under Sapor before meeting death from Philip the Arabian who succeeded him in 244.

In 248 Philip was succeeded by Decius who bitterly persecuted the Christians and was slain by the Goths who invaded the empire the following year. The Huns on the Caspian Sea come into history at this time as a new set of enemies for the empire. Emperors continued to succeed each other nearly every year - Gallus (251), Emilianus (253), Valerian (254) who five years later was defeated, made prisoner and flayed alive by the Persians. Then came Gallienus and the era of the Thirty Tyrants, none of whom deserve particular mention.

The most interesting character of the 3d century is Zenobia, queen of Palmyra (died 274). Her husband, Odeanthus, had set himself up as ruler of Palmyra during the weakness of the empire in the time of the Thirty Tyrants, and she survived to continue his rule. Zenobia claimed to be a descendant from Cleopatra and her beauty was such that, if tradition be true, she far outrivaled the Egyptian queen. For a time during the disturbed state of the Roman Empire, she exercised sway over a large territory, boldly proclaimed

herself Queen of the East and bade defiance to Rome. The ruins of Palmyra were among the first to be excavated and studied in modern times and this gave the town a special interest. The Arabs had for long told wonderful tales of a ruined city in the Syrian Desert, but their description was of remains so extensive and magnificent that it seemed that there must be Oriental exaggeration in their accounts. At the end of the 17th century, European travelers reached the site of Palmyra, however, and found that the Arabian stories minimized rather than exaggerated the truth. There was, for instance, a colonnade stretching almost a mile in length and many of the marble columns constituting it are still standing amid the sand of the desert.

Palmyra, as the inscribed monuments show, came into prominence about the beginning of the 2d century. Adrian took the city under his protection and on the occasion of his visit the name was changed to Adrianopolis. It was extremely prosperous a century later, its position between Parthia and Rome enabling it to trade with both. Under Caracalla, Palmyra received the jus italicum and became a Roman colony. After this, it was known as an important military post on the eastern confines. When the emperors in the 3d century led armies to the eastern frontiers, Palmyra was a favorite stopping place. Some of the citizens received even the honors of Roman senatorship and one of them, in the disturbed times after the middle of the 3d century, made himself ruler of the city and came to be recognized even by the Romans as having a certain independence. Odeanthus made himself extremely useful in the wars against the Persians and the Syrians and was rewarded by a tacit recognition at least of his domination over all the country from Armenia to Arabia. When absent on his expeditions, his wife, Zenobia, administered the government of Palmyra very successfully. Indeed, Aurelian, in one of his letters, ascribes to her the chief part in all her husband's successful career. She was an Arabian of dark beauty, black flashing eyes, pearly teeth and a strength which enabled her to accomplish. marvels of physical endurance. She was as famous, however, for her intellectual talents as for her beauty. She knew a number of Eastern languages as well as Latin and Greek. Longinus, the famous Greek rhetorician whose Essay on the Sublime is so well known, had been her tutor in Greek. He had been invited to the court and remained faithful to her even in her misfortunes, suffering death for his fidelity.

Odeanthus was assassinated probably at the instigation of the Roman Emperor Gallienus, and Rome proceeded to subdue the Palmyrenes who had ventured defiantly to style their ruler "King of Kings and Restorer of the State." Zenobia, nothing daunted, and used to administrative emergency, took up the unequal contest with the Roman Empire. She held Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor as far as Ancyra. Other portions of the East were about to join her when the Roman army under Aurelian made its appearance and prevented further defections. In two great battles that were fought, Romans in Zenobia's forces bore the brunt of the losses. Summoned to surrender after the second defeat, she made light

of her losses, saying that so far all who had fallen were Romans. Finally, she had to withdraw within the walls of Palmyra and Aurelian, in spite of the handicap of the desert, succeeded in maintaining the siege of the city. Finding further resistance hopeless, Zenobia attempted to escape, hoping to find a refuge in Persia, but betrayed by the influence of Roman gold she was captured. Then Palmyra capitulated. All the treasures of the city were seized but the inhabitants were spared. Zenobia was taken to Rome to grace the conqueror's triumph but after this, instead of being put to death, she was given a villa outside of the city of Rome where she lived peacefully, with her children till her death, making many friends among the Roman nobility of the time. It is probably to her taste that is due the construction of the beautiful architectural monuments of Palmyra which have made the city the subject of so much of interest, while her own life tinged it with romance.

The end of the 3d century, after a long period of anarchy, was occupied by the firm reign of Diocletian, a self-made man, the son of poor parents, who owed his advance to his military genius. He reigned for some 21 years (284-305) and then (see FOURTH CENTURY) resigned and retired to a pleasant country estate not far from Dioclea, his birthplace in Asia Minor. When in the midst of the critical times for the empire which followed his abdication, Maximilian, one of his successors, urged him to take up the imperial mantle again, he replied: "If you could but see the cabbages which I raise in my garden with my own hands, you would no longer talk to me of abandoning this happy spot for the Empire." As might well be expected, the man who was capable of this could and did give the Roman Empire years of peace and prosperity, stained unfortunately by the persecution of the Christians, but that did not come until the beginning of the 4th century and under the influence of those who shared the empire with him.

While the 3d century produced no great authors a series of men wrote books that have attracted attention ever since. Plotinus (204270), the well-known Neoplatonic philosopher who studied at Alexandria and afterward taught philosophy in Rome, wrote his 'Enneads' about the middle of the century. He was an eclectic, borrowing from many sources, and is a Neo-Aristotelian as well as a Platonist and deserves the name of Neo-philosopher. His disciple Porphyry (233-305) wrote a life of Plotinus and also of Pythagoras, but is best known for his treatise "Against the Christians," which was answered by Eusebius at the beginning of the 4th century. It is known to us only from Jerome's commentary and other Christian criticisms. Longinus (210-273), the author of the essay On the Sublime' also belongs to this time and spent most of his mature life at the court of Zenobia in Palmyra. He was as we have said her chief counsellor and the instructor of her children but on the fall of Zenobia he was put to death as a traitor by the Emperor Aurelian. Jebb declared the essay On the Sublime' one of the best pieces of literary criticism in the Greek language. (See ON THE SUBLIME). Papinian, the greatest civil lawyer of antiquity, and Dio Cassius (155-230),

the Greek historian of Rome, both flourished during the first quarter of the century. Dio's whole work in 80 books was in existence in the 10th century, only some 25 books XXVI to LX now remain nearly complete with but fragments of the others.

PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF THE THIRD CENTURY. 208. Septimus Severus invades Caledonia after conquest and establishment of military government in Britain. 211. Septimus Severus builds wall across Britain to exclude the Northern Picts.

217. Assassination of Caracalla.

222. Heliogabalus slain. Alexander Severus reigns. 226. Parthian Empire dissolved. Sassanian Persian Empire founded.

230. Death of Dio Cassius, the Greek historian of Rome. 235. Alexander Severus slain. Maximinus, a herdsman, becomes emperor.

249. Goths invade the Roman Empire, defeat and kill the emperor Decius.

259. The Persians take Valerian prisoner and flay him alive. 261. The Persians capture Antioch.

268. Germans invade Italy. Claudius defeats the Goths. Persians invade Asia Minor. Odeanthus and Zenobia revolt.

270. Death of Plotinus, Neoplatonic philosopher, author of the Enneads.'

272. War with Zenobia, queen of the East.

273. Longinus, philosopher and counsellor to Zenobia put to death by Aurelian.

274. Aurelian subdues Zenobia; yields Daria to the Goths. 284. Diocletian and Maximinus joint emperors. The second Roman embassy reaches China.

287. The Celts or Franks settle on the left bank of the Rhine. 292. Galerius and Constantius_become coadjutors to Diocletian and Maximinus. The Roman empire divided into four parts.

297. Siege of Alexandria.

JAMES J. WALSH, Author of The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries.

THIRD ESTATE. See TIERS-ETAT.
THIRD ORDER. See TERTIARIES.
THIRD PARTIES.
VOTING.

See VOTE, VOTERS,

THIRD RAIL. See ELECTRICAL TERMS. THIRD-RAIL SYSTEM, in electric railway construction, a method of supplying trains on an electric railway with current sent through a conductor located on the track and termed a third rail. Being the first electric system for handling heavy traffic, it possesses unusual interest. In starting a train of five cars by electricity, from 500 to 1,200 amperes are required.

FIG. 1.- Diagram showing typical load carried at power house of Metropolitan Elevated Railway, Chicago, for 24 hours.

If such currents were passed through a trolley wheel, very excessive arcing would be caused, due to the fact that the wheel touches the

wire at only one point. The contact surface is not sufficient to carry this current, and burning of the wheel and trolley wire would result. With a sliding shoe, however, instead of a single point of contact, there is a surface about six inches long by two inches wide, and two of these in use at once under normal conditions. The third-rail system differs from the ordinary trolley road only in detail, the principle of operation being similar. These details, however, are such as to make possible the application of electric traction to heavier trains than has been found practicable with the overhead trolley, and the system has thus broadened the field for the application of electricity to railway work, so as to bring it into successful competition with steam for the heaviest classes of service. The reasons for its general adoption on elevated roads were on account of the advantages peculiar to electric traction itself, namely:

1. Reduction in cost of power for handling trains.
2. Increase in passenger handling capacity.

3. A service more attractive to the public generally.

The reduction in the cost of power is obtained largely from the generation of power in a single central steam plant, instead of a great number of smaller plants, as with the steam locomotive system. On this point of economy the fuel bill is one of the large items in the operation of a railroad. With steam locomotives, such as were formerly used on the Chicago elevated roads, the only fuel available cost in the neighborhood of $3.50 to $5.50 per ton, whereas, in the modern power house, designed for electric railway systems, coal ranging from $1.25 to $1.75 a ton was burned with entire success during the period of low prices for coal. When to this is added the enormous loss in radiation from a large number of steam locomotives, exposed as they are in running over the line of the road, and we compare this with the relatively small loss experienced with a well-constructed stationary boiler plant, it is not surprising that the cost for coal per car mile on the electric railways in Chicago is about onethird the cost per car mile with steam locomotives. The comparison is particularly favorable in Chicago on account of the ability to obtain a very cheap grade of coal directly from the Illinois and Indiana coal fields. In New York and other eastern cities, this difference is not so great, as coal delivered at those points is necessarily higher in price on account of larger freight charges. Besides the saving in the coal bill, there is a further gain by the use of large compound-condensing engine units. These large steam units having a comparatively steady load, develop power with a very much lower steam consumption than the small engines of a locomotive with their constant starting and stopping, and consequent cooling of cylinders, etc. Another item in which a considerable saving is made is in the cost of repairs and renewals to the motor equipment as compared with locomotives.

The second advantage-increase in capacity for handling passengers-is due, first, to the fact that with electric motors a much higher rate of acceleration can be obtained in starting trains, thereby increasing the average speed over a given line of road. The trains can also be handled with so much greater accuracy and precision that a much shorter interval is per

fectly safe, all of these directly contributing to the end of greater capacity.

The third item-service more attractive to the public generally - is proved by the facts of the absence of smoke and steam, and the great reduction in noise, these being especially important in systems passing through the heart of a large city, as is the case with elevated roads. In regard to the use of the third-rail system on interurban roads, the same general considerations apply as to the economy of operation, except that, trains being less frequent, the economy in the power generation is not so great an item. There is another field for the third-rail electric railway system, which has been developed by the New York, New Haven and Hartford steam road, and that is the use of light trains for suburban and interurban service on many of their branch lines.

One of the most difficult problems in equipping an electric railway system is the proportioning of the total capacity of a power house to the number of cars run, and the subdivision of this total capacity into proper-sized units. In order to determine these points, it is necessary to be able to estimate the maximum loads that will have to be carried during the rush hours and the minimum loads during midday and midnight. The maximum load does not always depend upon the total number of trains run, as on some lines more than half of these trains will be running light in one direction in order to carry the crowds back on their return or vice versa. In subdividing the total capacity of a power house, it is desirable to have a single unit which will carry the minimum light load with reasonable economy. The load on a power house operating in connection with an elevated railway system varies not only from a maximum during rush hours to a minimum during off hours, but also momentarily during the starting and stopping of trains, these fluctuations being most violent when the least number of