Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 23.djvu/108

Rh over a brewer's stable. His first dramatic composition was a rhymed fairy tale or extravaganza, written in conjunction with Albert Smith and Charles Kenny, and performed in 1846. From this time he wrote for the stage continuously till the close of his life, his dramatic compositions or adaptations numbering in all over 100, amongst the best known of which are Still Water Runs Deep, Victims, the Contested Election, the Overland Route, the Ticket of Leave Man, Anne Boleyn, and Joan of Arc. He may perhaps be regarded as the first dramatist of his time, so far as general appreciation goes; and, if his chief concern was the construction of a popular acting play, his dramas possess at the same time considerable literary excellence, while the characters are clearly and consistently drawn, and the dialogue is natural, yet nervous and pointed. In his blank verse historical dramas, such as Anne Boleyn and Joan of Arc, he was not so successful. Taylor was also a very frequent contributor to the light magazine literature of the day. In 1872 he withdrew from public life, and, on the death of Shirley Brooks in 1873, he became editor of Punch, He occasionally appeared with success in amateur theatricals, more especially in the character of Adam in As You Like It and of Jasper in A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing. He had some talent for painting, and for many years was art critic to the Times. He died at Lavender Sweep, Wandsworth, 12th July 1880.

 TAYLOR, (1784–1850), president of the United States, was born in Orange county,, November 24, 1784. He entered the army as lieutenant in 1808, and rose to the rank of major in the war with Great Britain which followed. At the outbreak of the Mexican War he was in command of the American forces in and, and was directed to make the advance into the disputed territory which brought on the war. Beating the Mexicans in two battles, he followed them into Mexico, and there defeated Santa Anna in the crowning battle of his campaign, Buena Vista (1847). Dissatisfied with his treatment by the administration, he resigned and returned to the United States, where the Whig party nominated him and elected him president (1848). The struggle over the question of the admission of slavery to the territory taken from Mexico occupied his term of office, and he died at Washington, July 9, 1850.  TCHAD,, or,. See, , and.  TCHEREMISSES, or. See,, and , –.  TCHERKASY (Polish Czerkasy), a district town of Russia, in the government of Kieff, and 190 miles by rail to the south-east of Kieff, on the right bank of the Dnieper. It is poorly built, mostly of wood; the population has rapidly increased lately, and has doubled since 1846, reaching 15,740 in 1883. There are now two gymnasiums for boys and girls, and several lower schools. The inhabitants (Little Russian) are mostly employed in agriculture and gardening. There is a brisk export trade in corn, refined sugar, tobacco, salt, and timber; raw sugar and manufactured goods are imported, principally by Jewish merchants.

1em  TCHERNIGOFF, a government of Little Russia, on the left bank of the Dnieper, bounded by Moghileff and Smolensk on the N., Orel and Kursk on the E., Poltava on the S., and Kieff and Minsk on the W., has an area of 20,233 square miles. Its surface is an undulating plain, 650 to 750 feet high in the north, and from 370 to 600 feet in the south, deeply grooved by ravines and the valleys of the rivers. In the north, “beyond the Desna,” about one-third of the area is under wood (which is rapidly disappearing), and marshes occur along the courses of the rivers; while to the south of the Desna the soil is dry, sometimes sandy, and assumes the characters of a steppe-land as one proceeds southward. Chalk deposits prevail in the north, and Eocene in the south. The government is watered by the Dnieper (which forms its western boundary for 178 miles) and its tributaries the Soj and the Desna. The latter, which flows through Tchernigoff for nearly 350 miles, is navigable, and timber is brought down its tributaries. Corn, linseed, timber, brandy, hemp, and sugar are shipped on the Dnieper, Soj, and Desna, and salt imported. The climate is much colder in the woody tracts of the north than in the south; the average yearly temperature at the town of Tchernigoff is 44°·4 (January, 23°; July, 68°·5).

1em  TCHERNIGOFF, capital of the above government, stands on the right bank of the Desna, nearly half a mile from the river, 476 miles from Moscow. Far removed from the great channels of trade, its sole importance is as an administrative centre. Its houses are poorly built, and the streets are unpaved. The population (19,000 in 1885, one-third being Jews) is almost stationary. The ruins of its fortress, and the old cathedrals of Preobrazhenie and Borisoglebsk, founded in the and, bear witness to the former importance of the town. Numerous graves scattered about, and now partly explored, speak of the battles which caused its decay.

1em 