much probability in the view that they were the progenitors of the Vlachs, or Roumanians south of the Danube, whose language is of Latin origin, and who at various periods formed an important factor in the countries to the northward of Greece. The first evidence of the development of this nationality is found in a curious story told by Theophanes at the end of the 6th century. At that time a khan of the Avars had overrun the Eastern empire and appeared before the walls of Constantinople; but two generals of the imperial forces, who had concealed themselves in the Balkan, succeeded in mustering a considerable body of troops, and were on their way to surprise the rear of the Avars when their project was brought to an end by the following occurrence. One of the beasts of burden happened to fall down in the line of march, on which some one close by called out to its driver, in the language of the country, "Torna, torna, fratre," that is, " Turn him round, brother." The driver did not hear this, but the other soldiers did; and, thinking the enemy were upon them, and that this was the sign for retreat, they took up the cry "Torna, torna," and the whole force fled precipitately. It seems probable that the men who used these words were Roumanian inhabitants of the Balkan. In the course of the Middle Ages the northern parts of Thrace and some other districts of that country were occupied by a Bulgarian popu lation; and in 1361 the Ottomans, who had previously established themselves in Europe, made themselves masters of Adrianople, which for a time became the Turkish capital. When Constanti nople fell in 1453, the whole country passed into the hands of the Turks, and in their possession it remained until 1878, when, in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of Berlin, the northern portion of it was placed under a separate administration, with the title of Eastern Roumelia; this province has now become, to all intents and purposes, a part of the principality of Bulgaria. The population of Thrace at the present day is composed of Turks, Greeks, and Bulgarians.(H. F. T.) ()
THRALE.See Piozzi.
THRASYBULUS, an Athenian who played a distinguished part in the latter years of the Peloponnesian War and in the restoration of the democracy at Athens. In 411 B.C., as an officer in the Athenian armament at Samos, he energetically opposed the oligarchical conspiracy of the Four Hundred, and was mainly instrumental in keeping the fleet and army loyal to the democracy and in procur ing the recall of the banished Alcibiades. At the battle of Cynnosema, in the same year, he commanded the right wing of the Athenian fleet, and to his valour and conduct the Athenian victory was largely due. He took an active part in the naval operations of the following years, being present at the victories of Cyzicus (410) and Arginusae (406). In 407 he commanded a squadron on the Thracian coast, where he reduced places which had gone over to the Lacedaemonians. "When the infamous Thirty Tyrants were at the height of their power in Athens, Thrasybulus, who as a democrat had been banished, marched from Thebes with about seventy men, with the connivance of Thebes, and established himself at Phyle, a strong place in the rear of Athens. There he repulsed an attack directed against him by the Thirty; his numbers increased, and, after surprising and routing a body of foot and horse, he seized Piraeus, the port of Athens, but, finding the circuit of the walls too great to be defended by his small force, he retired into the adjoining Munychia. Here he was attacked by the troops of the Thirty, but in the streetfighting the democrats had the best of it, and the Thirty were in consequence deposed and retired to Eleusis. Hostilities, however, continued until Pausanias, one of the kings of Sparta, intervened, and by force and craft effected a reconciliation. The democrats marched into Athens with all the pomp of war, and sacrificed to Athene on the Acropolis. This restoration of the democracy by Thrasy bulus ranked henceforward with the memorable deeds of Athenian history. To his counsels seems due in part the credit for the wise moderation with which the demo crats used their victory, and the inviolate good faith with which they observed the political amnesty. The grateful citizens rewarded their champion with an olive crown. In 395, when Thebes was threatened by Sparta, the Athenians, stimulated by Thrasybulus, repaid the friendly shelter which the Thebans had afforded them in exile by resolving to stand by Thebes against Sparta, and by actually sending a force under Thrasybulus to her aid. In 390, while the war known as the Corinthian was still dragging on, Thrasybulus was sent with a fleet to check the growing power of Sparta in the ^Egean. He substituted a democracy for an oligarchy at Byzantium, and won the friendship of Chalcedon; then, landing in Lesbos, he defeated a joint force of Lacedaemonians and Lesbians. In the following spring he prepared to assist Rhodes, which was threatened by the Lacedaemonians; but to recruit his forces he levied contributions from various cities. At Aspendus, in Pamphylia, an outrage committed by some of his men roused the anger of the people, who fell on him by night, and slew him in his tent. He was buried at Athens, in the Ceramicus, near the graves of Pericles and Phormio.
THREADWORMS.See Nematoidea.
THREE RIVERS, the third city of Quebec province, Canada, and capital of St Maurice county, is situated at the confluence of the rivers St Maurice and St Lawrence. The St Maurice flows in from the north, and, being divided at its mouth by two islands, the channels give the town its name. It is on the line of the Canadian Pacific Rail way, 78 miles south-west of Quebec, and 92 north-east of Montreal. Founded in 1634, Three Rivers is one of the oldest towns in Quebec. It is the centre of a large lumber trade, which is carried on by the St Maurice and its tributaries. Three leagues from the city are the St Maurice forges, where iron wares were formerly manu factured extensively. Other industries are furniture and cabinet making, boot and shoe making, and those carried on in the spool factories, brass and lead foundries, sawmills, and carriage factories. The city is the residence of the Roman Catholic bishop whose diocese bears the same name. The chief trade is in lumber, grain, cattle, &c., which find sale in South America, the West Indies, Great Britain, and the United States. The city sends one member to the Canadian House of Commons and one to the Legislative Assembly. The population of the city in 1881 was 8670 (males 4173, females 4497). The district of Three Rivers comprises the counties of St Maurice, Nicolet, Champlain, and Maskinonge".
THROAT DISEASES.These form a large and important class, and include some of the most serious and fatal of maladies (see Croup and Diphtheria). The present article will be devoted mainly to a general account of the more common diseases affecting the upper part of the respiratory passages, but certain morbid conditions of the back of the mouth and of the gullet will also be referred to. The diagnosis of not a few of these diseases has been greatly aided by the introduction into medical practice of the laryngoscope; but, while the use of this instrument is a part of the education of every well-equipped medical practitioner, the minute investigation and the treatment of the more occult and serious maladies affecting the throat are by general consent, and with much advantage, relegated to the specialist.
Laryngitis, or inflammation of the mucous membrane of the Larynx, may be either acute or chronic.
Acute laryngitis is usually produced by exposure to cold directly, or by a catarrh extending either from the nasal or from the bronchial mucous membrane into that of the larynx. It is an occasional accom paniment of certain of the infectious diseases in which the throat is liable to suffer, such as small-pox, measles, scarlet fever, and erysipelas. Excessive use of the voice, as in loud speaking or sing ing, sometimes gives rise to laryngitis. Further, the inhalation of irritating particles, vapours, &c., and the local effects of swallowing very hot fluids, are well-recognized causes. The chief changes in the larynx are great redness, with swelling of the parts, which affect the whole interior of the cavity, but are specially marked where the tissues are lax, such as the neighbourhood of the epiglottis and
