The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 368

John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, in 1830, and dean of the diocese in 1840; declined a bishopric twice over; is widely known as the author of "Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character"; was a most genial, lovable man, a great lover of his country, and much esteemed in his day by all the citizens of Edinburgh (1793-1872).

RAMSBOTTOM (17), a busy manufacturing town in Lancas.h.i.+re, on the Irwell, 4 m. N. of Bury, engaged in cotton-weaving, calico-printing, rope-making, &c.

RAMSDEN, JESSE, mathematical instrument-maker and inventor, born in Yorks.h.i.+re; invented the theodolite for the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain (1735-1800).

RAMSEY, a beautifully situated, healthy watering-place, 14 m. NE. of Douglas, in the Isle of Man.

RAMSGATE (25), a popular watering-place in the Isle of Thanet, Kent, fronting the Downs, 72 m. E. by S. of London; has a famous harbour of refuge; to the W. lies Pegwell Bay with Ebbsfleet.

RAMUS, PETER, or PIERRE DE LA RAMeE, a French philosopher and humanist, son of poor parents; became a servant in the College of Navarre; devoted his leisure to study, and became a great scholar; attacked scholasticism in a work against Aristotle as the main pillar of the system, and was interdicted from teaching philosophy, but the judgment was reversed by Henry II., and he was made a royal professor; he turned Protestant in the end, and was ma.s.sacred on the eve of St.

Bartholomew (1515-1572).

RANAVALONA III., queen of Madagascar; was crowned in 1883, but her kingdom and capital were taken from her by the French in 1893, and she is now queen only in name; _b_. 1861.

RANCHING, a term of Spanish derivation applied to the business of rearing cattle, as carried on in the southern and western States of America; vast herds of cattle in a half-wild condition are raised on the wide stretches of prairie land, and are tended by "cowboys," whose free, adventurous life attracts men of all sorts and conditions.

RANDALL, JAMES RYDER, American journalist; author of "Maryland, my Maryland," "Stonewall Jackson," and other popular lyrics, which greatly heartened the Southern cause in the Civil War; born in Baltimore; engaged in teaching till he took to journalism; _b_. 1839.

RANDOLPH, JOHN, a noted eccentric American politician, born at Cawsons, Virginia; entered Congress in 1799, and held a commanding position there as leader of the Democratic party; was a witty, sarcastic speaker; sat in the Senate from 1825 to 1827, and in 1830 was Minister to Russia; liberated and provided for his slaves (1773-1833).

RANDOLPH, SIR THOMAS, English diplomatist, was sent on diplomatic missions by Queen Elizabeth, and particularly mixed up in Scotch intrigues, and had to flee from Scotland for his life; left Memoirs (1523-1590).

RANDOLPH, THOMAS, English poet, wrote odes and sundry dramas, of which the "Muses' Looking-Gla.s.s" and "Amyntas" are the best, though not absolutely good (1605-1634).

RANEE, name given to a Hindu princess or queen; a rajah's wife.

RANELAGH, a place of resort in grounds at Chelsea of people of fas.h.i.+on during the last half of the 18th century, with a promenade where music and dancing were the chief attractions.

RANGOON (180), capital and chief port of British Burmah, situated 20 m. inland from the Gulf of Martaban, on the Hlaing or Rangoon River, the eastmost of the delta streams of the Irrawaddy; British since 1852; a well-appointed city of modern appearance, strongly fortified; contains the famous Shway-Dagon paG.o.da erected in the 6th century B.C.; has extensive docks, and negotiates the vast bulk of Burmese exports and imports; the former include teak, gums, spices, and rice.

RANJIT SINGH, the maharajah of the Sikhs, after taking possession of Lah.o.r.e, became undisputed master of the Punjab, and imposed on his subjects the monarchical form of government, which was shattered to fragments after his death; he was the possessor of the Koh-i-Nur diamond (1797-1839).

RANJITSINHJI, Indian prince, born at Sarodar; studied at Cambridge; devoted himself to cricket, and became famous for his brilliant play; _b_. 1872.

RANKE, LEOPOLD VON, distinguished German historian, born in Thuringia just 16 days after Thomas Carlyle; began life similarly as a teacher and devoted his leisure hours to the study of history and the publication of historical works; was in 1825 appointed professor of History at Berlin; was commissioned by the Prussian government to explore the historical archives of Vienna, Rome, and Venice, the fruit of which was seen in his subsequent historical labours, which bore not only upon the critical periods of German history, but those of Italy, France, and even England; of his numerous works, all founded on the impartial study of facts, it is enough to mention here his "History of the Popes in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries" and his "German History in the Times of the Reformation" (1795-1886).

RANKINE, W. J. MACQUORN, mathematician and physicist, born in Edinburgh; devoted himself to engineering, and held the chair of Engineering in Glasgow University; wrote extensively on mathematical and physical subjects, both theoretical and practical (1820-1872).

RANNOCH, an elevated, dreary moorland in NW. of Perths.h.i.+re, crossed by the West Highland Railway; Lochs Rannoch and Tummel lie to the E. and Loch Lydoch in the W.

RANTERS, a name given to the Primitive Methodists who seceded from the Wesleyan body on account of a deficiency of zeal.

RANZ DES VACHES, a simple melody, played on the horn by the Swiss Alpine herdsmen as they drive their cattle to or from the pasture, and which, when played in foreign lands, produces on a Swiss an almost irrepressible yearning for home.

RAPE OF THE LOCK, a dainty production of Pope's, p.r.o.nounced by Stopford Brooke to be "the most brilliant occasional poem in the language."

RAPHAEL, one of the seven archangels and the guardian of mankind, conducted Tobias to the country of the Medes and aided him in capturing the miraculous fish, an effigies of which, as also a pilgrim's staff, is an attribute of the archangel.

RAPHAEL, SANTI, celebrated painter, sculptor, and architect, born at Urbino, son of a painter; studied under Perugino for several years, visited Florence in 1504, and chiefly lived there till 1508, when he was called to Rome by Pope Julius II., where he spent the rest of his short life and founded a school, several of the members of which became eminent in art; he was one of the greatest of artists, and his works were numerous and varied, which included frescoes, cartoons, madonnas, portraits, easel pictures, drawings, &c., besides sculpture and architectural designs, and all within the brief period of 37 years; he had nearly finished "The Transfiguration" when he died of fever caught in the excavations of Rome; he was what might be called a learned artist, and his works were the fruits of the study of the masters that preceded him, particularly Perugino and the Florentines, and only in the end might his work be called his own; it is for this reason that modern Pre-Raphaelitism is so called, as presumed to be observant of the simple dictum of Ruskin, "Look at Nature with your own eyes, and paint only what yourselves see" (1483-1520). See PRE-RAPHAELITISM.

RAPIN DE THOYRAS, French historian, born at Castres; driven from France by the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, settled in Holland, came over to England with and served under the Prince of Orange, withdrew to Holland and wrote a "History of England," deservedly much in repute for long, if not still (1661-1725).

RAPP, GEORGE, German fanatic, born in Wurtemberg, emigrated to America, and founded a fraternity called Harmonites, who by tillage of land on the Ohio and otherwise ama.s.sed great wealth, to be kept in store for the service of Christ at His second coming (1770-1847).

RAPP, JEAN, French general, born at Colmar; served under Napoleon with distinction all through his wars, held Danzig for a whole year against a powerful Russian army, was kept prisoner by the Russians after surrender, returned to France, and submitted to Louis XVIII. after Waterloo (1772-1821).

RAPPAHANNOCK, a navigable river of Virginia State, rises in the Alleghanies, and after a course of 125 m. to the SE. discharges into Chesapeake Bay.

RAs.h.i.+, a Jewish scholar and exegete, born at Troyes; was an expert in all departments of Jewish lore as contained in both the Scriptures and the Talmud, and indulged much in the favourite Rabbinical allegorical style of interpretation (1040-1105).

RASK, RASMUS CHRISTIAN, Danish philologist, born near Odense; studied first the primitive languages of the North, chiefly Icelandic, and then those of the East, and published the results of his researches both by his writings and as professor of Oriental Languages and of Icelandic in the university of Copenhagen (1787-1832).

RASKOLINK (lit. a separatist), in Russia a sect, of which there are many varieties, of dissenters from the Greek Church.

RASPAIL, FRANcOIS VINCENT, French chemist, physiologist, and socialist; got into trouble both under Louis Philippe and Louis Napoleon for his political opinions (1794-1878).