The Séance Cabinet
The encyclopaedia's séance pages catalogue every rap, trumpet and cabinet trick the Victorian parlor produced — Spence documents them all with a folklorist's straight face. Now hold a séance of your own: write a message, copy the link, and when your sitter opens it the cabinet goes dark and your words come through the veil, letter by letter. The message to send through the veil Sign it (optional — spirits are often anonymous) Prepare the séance The Omen of the Day Consulting the entries… The omen is drawn each day from a real entry of the 1920 encyclopaedia — the same for every visitor, as omens should be.
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Theatep
or THEATRE } (1863-1865); "White House Stories" (1880-1885); "Marvels of the New West" (1887); "Life of Garfield"; "Men Who Win"; "Women Who Win"; "From the Tannery to the White House"; "In the Meshes"; "Ethics of Success"; etc. He died in Franklin, Mass., April 7, 1898. THAYER, WILLIAM ROSCOE, an American author; born in Boston, Mass., Jan. 16, 1859; studied in Europe, and was graduated at Harvard University in 1881; became editor of the "Harvard Graduates' Magazine" (1892-1915). His publications include "Confessions of Hermes" (1884); "The Best Elizabethan Plays" (1890); "The Dawn of Italian Independence" (1893); "Poems, New and Old" (1894); "History and Customs of Harvard University" (1898); "Throne- Makers" (1899); "Short History of Ven ice" (1903); "Life and Times of Cavour" (1911); "Life "Life and Letters of John Hay" (1915); "Germany Against Civilization" (1916); "Letters of John Holmes" (1917); "Theodore Roosevelt" (1919). He is an overseer of Harvard, vice-president American Historical Assoc., member Academy of Arts and Letters, etc.
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Theban Legion
according to tradition, a body composed of Christians, who submitted to martyrdom rather than attack their brethren during the persecution of the Emperor Maximin, or sacrifice to the gods, about A. D. 286. Their leader, Maurice, was canonized.
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Thebes
a city of Greece. It was situated on a plateau in Boeotia, north of Athens. It was surrounded by a wall having seven strongly fortified gates. According to tradition, it was founded by Phoenicians under Cadmus, the same who sowed dragon's teeth and raised men, and who first brought the alphabet to Greece. Thebes was the reputed birthplace of Bacchus and Hercules. At certain periods, the Thebans played an important part in the history of Greece. During the Persian wars the city fell into disrepute by making its peace with the Persian monarchs. In the Peloponnesian War Thebes sided with the Spartans against Athens. The most celebrated Theban was Epaminondas, under whose leadership the city acquired a supremacy over Athens and Sparta, which came to an end, however, with the battle of Mantinea, 362 B. C. Philip and his son Alexander reduced the city to utter subjection, destroying its walls and illtreating the inhabitants. The Thebans appeared for the last time in history during the war between the Romans and Mithridates. The city chose the losing side of the controversy and was destroyed by the Romans. The ancient site is now occupied by a village of possibly 3,000 inhabitants. See Oedipus ; Epaminondas ; Pindar
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Thebes
It was here that the use of letters was first introduced from Phoenicia into western Europe. It was the reputed birthplace of the two great divinities Dionysus ( Bacchus ) and Hercules . It was also the native city of the seer Tiresias , as well as of the great musician Amphion . It was the scene of the tragic fate of Oedipus , and of the war of the Seven against Thebes. 2026 Editor's Note: The city's mythological legacy, particularly the story of Oedipus , was famously utilized by Sigmund Freud to define the Oedipus complex, a foundational concept in modern psychoanalysis. Thebes also serves as the primary setting for Sophocles's three Theban plays, which include Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. (Ed: BR 2026-07-19)
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Thecla (Entomology the hairstreak)
in entomology, the hairstreak; a genus of Lycænidæ. Fore wings wholly dark brown, or with a large blotch of some other color, or with pale markings near the hinder margin; hind wings with a transverse pale line below, which is entire, interrupted, or nearly obsolete. Larvæ feeding on trees, shrubs, or papilionaceous plants. Common in all temperate regions. T. rubi, the green hairstreak, has the under side of the wings green; the rest have not this character. T. betulæ, the brown hairstreak, has the under side of the hind wings with two slender white streaks. T. pruni, the dark hairstreak, has an orange band with a row of black spots; T. album, the black hairstreak, a black line; and T. quercus, the purple hairstreak, has two small orange spots instead of the band. The first of the five is the most common.
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Thecla (Virgin saint of the early)
a virgin saint of the early Church; a member of a noble family of Iconium in Lycaonia, where she was converted by the preaching of St. Paul, and having devoted herself to a life of virginity, suffered a series of persecutions from her intended bridegroom, as well as from her parents. She is said to have died at the age of 90 in Seleucia. The apocryphal "Acts of Paul and Thecla" were edited by Tischendorf.
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Thecodontia
in paleontology, an order of Reptilia founded by Owen. Vertebral bodies biconcave; ribs of trunk long and bent, the anterior ones with a with a third trochanter; teeth with the with trenchant and finely-serrate margins, implanted in distinct sockets. Two genera, Thecodontosaurus and Palæosaurus, from the Trias, near Bristol. Huxley regards them as Dinosaurian.
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Thecosmilia
in palæontology, a genus of Actinozoa. One species from the Rhætic or Lower Lias; from the Jurassie rocks of Great Britain, and others from the Cretaceous and Tertiary.
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Thecosomata
in zoölogy, a section of Pteropoda. Animal with external shell; head indistinct; foot and tentacles rudimentary, combined with the fins; mouth situated in a cavity formed by the union of the locomotive organs; respiratory organ contained within a mantle cavity. There are two families: Hyaleidæ and Limacinidæ.
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Theine
in chemistry, formula C8H10N4O2, an organic base, occurring in tea leaves, in Paraguay tea, guarana, and in small quantities in cocoa seeds. It is also formed synthetically from theobromine by union with methyl, yielding methyl-theobromine, or theine. To prepare it from tea the leaves are extracted with hot water, the solution precipitated with lead acetate, and the filtrate freed from lead by sulphydric acid. On evaporation of the solution and allowing it to stand for some time, the theine crystallizes out. Purified by animal charcoal it forms tufts of white silky needles, slightly soluble in cold water and alcohol, melting at 225°, and subliming unchanged at a higher temperature. Tea leaves contain from 2 to 4 per cent. of theine, to which the stimulating effect of tea is partly ascribed. At the present day caffeine is the preferred term.
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