TELFORD. 110 TELLUS, ready when he died suddenly at Abingdon street, Westminster. His life, entitled The Life of- Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer, written by him- self, was published in 1838. In America Telford is now chieily known as a famous road-builder, and particularly for introducing the system of road improvement that bears his name. See Road. TELL, William. The hero of a Swiss legend, which in its main features is common to all Ar- yan peoples. It is found in the Icelandic Thi- dreksaga, in Saxo Grammatieus, in old English ballads, in Persian poetry, and ehsewhere. These all tell of a master marksman and of a tyrant who compels him to pit faith in his skill against his natural instinct as a father. The Swiss leg- end, narrated with much circumstance, is that a mythical Austrian bailifl', Gessler, demanded homage to the cap of Austria in the market place at Altorf. Tell refused this homage, was con- demned to death, but permitted to ransom him- self by shooting an apple from the head of his son. On signifying his intent to have killed Gess- ler if he had killed his .son Tell was fettered and carried to the bailiff's boat. A storm arose and Tell was released that he might save the boat. This he did, then leaped ashore, and killed Gess- ler. The story then speaks of a revolt in which Tell takes part and by which the Forest Cantons gain independence. The date is 1307. The old- est chroniclers know nothing of the tale. It appears timidly, late in tlje fifteenth century, in Das weisse Bueh, and more boldly in Tschudi's Chronicon (c. 15.50). The numerous Tell monu- ments are all relatively modern. The most famous version of the story is Schiller's drama ^^^ilhelm Tell (1804). The Swiss had many folk-plays on the subject. Consult Rothe, Die aramatisehcn Quellen des Schillerschen Tell, in Forschung zur deutschen Philologie (1894) ; and for historical criticism of the saga, consult Roch- holz. Tell und Gessler (Heilbronu, 1877). TEL'LER, Henry Moobe (1830—). An American politician and Cabinet officer, born at Granger, N. Y. He was educated at Alfred Uni- versity, was admitted to the bar in 1856, and began* practice at Binghamton, N. Y.. but in 1858 removed to Illinois, and in 1861 to Colorado. He was a Republican member of the United States Senate from 1876 until April 17. 1882, when he entered the Cabinet of President Arthur as Secre- tary of the Interior. At the close of Arthur's adiiiinistration, he again entered the Senate and was reelected in 1891 as a Republican, but. being a strong advocate of free silver, left the Repub- lican national convention in 1896 after it had adopted a gold standard plank and supported W. ,T. Bryan for the Presidency. In the same year he was returned to the Senate as an inde- pendent Silver Republican, and in 1903 was re- elected as the regular Democratic nominee. TELLEZ, tel'yath, Gabriel (e.1571-1648). A Spanish dramatist. It is probable that he early became a member of the Order of La Merced at Toledo. He was well known as a comic play- wright before 1610, and had become the superior of a monastery of his Order at Trujillo by 1619. At his death he was prior of the monastery at Soria. The most important compositions of Tellez are the dramas which he produced under the pseudonym of Tirso de Molina. His best tales are contained in the collection entitled Cigarrales de Toledo. A second collec- tion is the Deleitar aproveclmndo (1635), which in addition to some pious stories lias a few re- ligious dramas or autos. About eighty plays are known to be extant. The Burlador de Se- ^'illa, the first work of great merit to bring Don Juan on the boards, has long been attributed to Tellez, yet some competent critics contest his authorship of it. Tellez was one of the best dramatists of the period of the greatest glory of the Spanish theatre ; he is surpassed only by Lope and Calderon. Consult his Teatro escogido, ed. by Hartzenbusch (12 vols., 1839-42); his Comedias escogidas, also ed. by Hartzenbusch, in the Biblioteca de autores espanoles, vol. v. (3d ed., 1885). TEL'LICHEE'RI, or TEL'LICHER'RY. A seaport in the District of Malabar, Madras, In- dia, 90 miles south by east of Mangalore, on the Arabian Sea (Map: India, C 6). Population, in 1901, 27,883. TELLURITE. A mineral tellurium dioxide crystallized in the orthorhombic system. It has a sub-adamantine lustre, and is of a yellowish- wliite or yellow color. It occurs as an incrus- tation with native tellurium in Transylvania and at various localities in Boulder County, Colo. TELLtJRITJM: (Neo-Lat., from Lat. tellus, earth). A non-metallic element discovered by Reichenstein in 1782. This element is found na- tive in small quantities at various localities in Hungary, Transylvania, Virgina. and California. It is also found as tellurium dioxide or tellurite, as silver and gold telluride or si/lranite, as bis- muth telluride or tctradymitc, and in the form of other mineralSj of more complex composition. It may be prepared by cautiously heating tetra- dymite with potassium carbonate and charcoal in a covered crucible, extracting the resulting po- tassium telluride (K.Te) with water free from air, and then passing a current of air through the solution, the metal being thus deposited in the form of a powder. Tellurium (svmbol, Te; atomic weight, 127.49) is a white, shining, crystalline, brittle solid that has a specific gravitv of 6.24, and melts at about 452° C. (about 846° F.). Like selenium, which it greatly resembles, it ex- ists in amorphous and crystalline modifications, the conversion of the former into the latter being accompanied by the absorption of heat. There is also an increase of electric conductivity under the influence of light, though not so marked an increase as in the case of selenium. Tellurium comljines with oxygen to form a mon- oxide (TeO), a dioxide (TeO„), and a trioxide (TeO,). the last two of which combine with water to form tellurous and telluric acids (ILTeO, and H.TeOj respectively), which in turn yield series of salts called respectively tellurites and telluratcK. See Periodic Law. TELTLitrS (Lat.. earth), more commonly Tellus Mater. The Roman goddess of the field. She was invoked to protect and develop the seed. Her chief festival was the Fordieidia. celebrated on April 15th, when pregnant cows were sacri- ficed to her. On other occasions connected with seed-time and harvest she was worsliiped jointl.y with Ceres. In later times the goddess is more commonly called Terra Mater. See also G.IA.
