famous Italian violinist and composer, born at
Pirano, in Istria; got into trouble over his clandestine marriage with
the niece of the archbishop of Padua, and fled for sanctuary to a
monastery at Assisi; subsequently reunited to his wife established
himself in Padua as a teacher and composer; wrote a "Treatise on Music,"
and enjoyed a wide celebrity, and still ranks as one of the great
violinists of the past (1692-1770).

TARTUFFE, a knave, a creation of Moliere's, who makes a cloak of
religion to cover his knaveries, and the name of the play in which the
character appears, Moliere's greatest.

TASHKAND or TASHKENT (100), capital of Russian Turkestan, on
the Tchirshik, 300 m. NE. of Samarcand; an ancient place still surrounded
by its 12 m. circuit of wall, and fortified; Russian enterprise has done
much for it, introducing schools, &c.; carries on a brisk trade, and
manufactures silks, leather, porcelain ware, &c.

TASMAN SEA, the sea lying between the New Zealand group and the
islands of Australia and Tasmania.

TASMANIA (146), an island and colony of Britain, lying fully 100 m.
S. of Australia, from which it is separated by Bass Strait; about the
size of Scotland; the beauty of its mountain and lake scenery has won it
the name of "the Switzerland of the South"; extensive stretches of
tableland diversified by lakes--largest Great Lake, 90 m. in
circumference--occupy the centre; wide fertile valleys stretch down to
the coastal plains, often richly wooded with lofty eucalyptus and various
pine trees; rivers are numerous, and include the Derwent and Tamar, which
form excellent waterways into the interior; enjoys a genial and temperate
climate, more invigorating than that of Australia; sheep-farming and
latterly mining (coal in particular), and fruit-growing are the principal
industries; gold, silver, and tin are also wrought; the flora, as also
the fauna, is practically identical with that of Australia; has a long,
irregular coast-line, with many excellent harbours; chief exports are
wool, tin, fruit, timber, coal, and gold; was discovered in 1642 by
Tasman, a Dutchman, and first settled by Englishmen in 1803; the
aborigines are now completely extinct; was till 1852 a penal settlement,
and received representative government in 1855; is divided into 18
counties; government is conducted by a legislative council, a house of
assembly, and a crown-appointed governor; most of the colonists belong to
the Church of