ing the solemn recital of divine office. During mass, and on occasions when services took place at the altar, his throne was ])laced against the north wall within the sanctuary. INIost of the English thrones are of wood, ricldy carved, while abroad they are frequently of stone. At St. Mark's, Venice, the Cathedral of Malta, and at the Cathedral of Verona the episcopal thrones are of marble. At Ravenna, Spalatro, and Torcello they are of alabaster; at St. Peter's, Rome, the tlirone is of bronze ; and at Ravenna, St. Maximian's throne is of ivory. In Portugal and Spain the episcopal throne is commonly that one which in England is occupied by the dean, the first on the decani side. See Bingham, Christ. Antiq. bk. ii, ch. ix, § 7; Lee, Gloss, of Liturrj. Ttnns, s. v. ; Walcott, Sacred Architol. s. v.
Thrupp, Fkancis Joseph, an English clergyman, was born in 1827, and educated at Winchester School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he olitained a fellowship. He took orders in the Church of England, travelled in the East, and became vicar of Rarrington, Cambridgeshire, wliere he died, Sept. 24, 1867. He was the author of A ncient Jerusalem : a New Investir/ation into the History, Topofjraphy, and Plan of the City, etc. (Camb. 1855, 8vo): — Introduction to the Study and Use of the Psalins (18G0, 2 vols. 8vo) : — The Sony of Sony s : a New Translation, Commentary, etc. (1862) : — and The Burden of Human Sin as Borne by Christ (three ser- mons). He also furnished articles for Smith's Z^/rf. of the Bible, and prepared part of the commentary on the Pentateuch for the Speaker's Commentary. See AUi- bone, Diet, of Brit, and Amer. Authors, s. v.
Thrym, in Norse mythology, was a giant king of great strength, who, being a born enemy of Thor, sought to deprive him of his weapons in order to make him less dreadful for the giants. He succeeded in robbing Thor of his frightful hammer, Mjiilnir, while Thor had fallen asleep. Loki discovered the thief and sought to nego- tiate with him. Thrym assured Loki that he did not intend to deliver up the hammer until the beautiful Freia was given him as his wife. When this was told secretly to Freia, the goddess of love, she became so angry that everything shook, and her golden necklace broke in twain. Then it seemed as if there were no remedy. Loki, however, who was ahvays ready with advice, proposed that Thor should dress himself as the bride. Although this plan seemed too womanish for the mighty Thor, he nevertheless decided to try it; and went veiled, laden with riches, and accompanied by Loki as his chambermaid, to Thrym. There the tre- mendous appetite of the bride caused great astonish- ment; but Loki knew how to excuse the goddess by the pretence of an eight days' fast, to which he said she had subjected herself from longing for Thrym. So, also, her flaming eyes were excused from having been awake eight days. Thrym's sister, more cautious than the fat giant, was suspicious of the matter, and would probably have detected the deception, as she had demand- ed to see the ring of Freia; but no sooner had Thrym brought him the hammer of Thor, to dedicate with it the bride, than Thor, seeing his Mjiilnir, grasped it, and de- stroyed all the giants. — Vollmer, Worleib. d. Mythol. s. v.
Thugs (Hindu, thuyna, "to deceive"), a religious fraternity in India, professedly in honor of the goddess Kali, wife of Siva, who were addicted to the committal of murders, and lived chiefly upon the plunder obtained from their victims. They were also called Phansiyai's, or " stranglers," from the Hindustani pA«?i.>!2, a "noose." The proceedings of the Thugs were generally these : banding together in gangs of from ten to flfty, and sometimes as high as three hundred, they assumed the appearance of ordinary traders ; travelling, if able, on horseback with tents and other comforts; if not able to travel in this manner, they assumed more humble characters. Each gang had its jemadar, or leader; its ffuru, or teacher; its solkas, or entrappers; its bhuttotes, or stranglers; and its laykaees, or grave-diggers.
THUGS
393
THUNDER
Their mode of procedure was generally as follows : Some of the gang were employed to collect information respecting the movements of persons of means; and when they fonnd one about to undertake a journey, en- deavored to insinuate themselves into his confidence. They then proposed to him to travel in their company, under the plea of safety or for the sake of society-, or else followed him, waiting for an opportunity to murder. This was generally accomplished by throwing a cloth around the neck of a victim, disabling him by strangula- tion, and then inflicting the fatal injury. After the mur- der was perpetrated, the body was mutilated and secretly buried, so as to make detection the more difficult. The mode of dividing the plimder seems to have been to appropriate one third to their goddess Kali, one third to the widows and orphans of the sect, and the remain- der to the partners in the assassination.
The Thugs had for their patron goddess Devi or Kali, in whose name they exercised their profession, and to whom they ascribed their origin. Formerl}' they be- lieved Kali assisted them by devouring the bodies of their victims; but through the curiosity of one of the l)rofession who pried into the proceedings of the god- dess, she became displeased, and condenmed them in future to bury their victims. She, however, presented her worshippers with one of her teeth for a pickaxe, a rib for a knife, and the hem of her lower garment for a noose. The pickaxe was regarded witli the highest rev- erence b}' the Thugs; it was made with the greatest care, consecrated b\' many and minutely regulated cer- emonies; intrusted to one selected for this dignity on account of his shrewdness, caution, and sobriety; and was submitted to special purifications each time after it had been used in the preparation of a grave.