The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 378

ROBERT I. See BRUCE.

ROBERT II., king of Scotland from 1371 to 1390, son of Walter Stewart and Marjory, only daughter of Robert the Bruce; succeeded David II., and became the founder of the Stuart dynasty; was a peaceable man, but his n.o.bles were turbulent, and provoked invasions on the part of England by their forays on the Borders (1316-1390).

ROBERT III., king of Scotland from 1390 to 1406, son of Robert II.; was a quite incompetent ruler, and during his reign the barons acquired an ascendency and displayed a disloyalty which greatly diminished the power of the Crown both in his and succeeding reigns; the government fell largely into the hands of the king's brother, the turbulent and ambitious Robert, Duke of Albany; an invasion (1400) by Henry IV. of England and a retaliatory expedition under Archibald Douglas, which ended in the crus.h.i.+ng defeat of Homildon Hill (1402), are the chief events of the reign (1340-1406).

ROBERT THE DEVIL, the hero of an old French romance identified with Robert, first Duke of Normandy, who, after a career of cruelty and crime, repented and became a Christian, but had to expiate his guilt by wandering as a ghost over the earth till the day of judgment; he is the subject of an opera composed by Meyerbeer.

ROBERTS, DAVID, painter, born in Edinburgh; began as a house-painter; became a scene-painter; studied artistic drawing, and devoted himself to architectural painting, his first pictures being of Rouen and Amiens cathedrals; visiting Spain he published a collection of Spanish sketches, and after a tour in the East published in 1842 a magnificently-ill.u.s.trated volume ent.i.tled the "Holy Land, Syria, Idumaea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia;" a great number of his pictures are ecclesiastical interiors (1796-1864).

ROBERTS, LORD, born at Cawnpore, educated in England; entered the Bengal Artillery in 1851; served throughout the Indian Mutiny, commanded in the Afghan War, and achieved a brilliant series of successes, which were rewarded with honours on his return to England; was made commander-in-chief of the Madras army in 1881, commander-in-chief in India in 1885, and commander of the forces in Ireland in 1895; _b_. 1832.

ROBERTSON, FREDERICK WILLIAM, distinguished preacher, born in London; a graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford, entered the Church in 1840, was curate first at Winchester, next at Cheltenham, and finally settled in Brighton; is known far and wide by his printed sermons for his insight into, and his earnestness in behalf of, Christian truth (1816-1853).

ROBERTSON, JOSEPH, antiquary, born and educated at Aberdeen; apprenticed to a lawyer, but soon took to journalism, and became editor of the _Aberdeen Const.i.tutional_, and afterwards of the _Glasgow Const.i.tutional_; in 1849 was editor of the _Edinburgh Evening Courant_, and four years later received the post of curator of the historical department of the Edinburgh Register House; author of various historical, antiquarian, and topographical works (1810-1866).

ROBERTSON, THOMAS WILLIAM, a popular dramatist, the son of an actor, born at Newark-on-Trent; brought up amongst actors, he naturally took to the stage, but without success; always ready with his pen, he at last made his mark with "David Garrick," and followed it up with the equally successful "Ours," "Caste," "School," &c. (1829-1871).

ROBERTSON, WILLIAM, historian, born in Borthwick, Midlothian; was educated in Edinburgh; entered the Church; became minister of Gladsmuir; distinguished himself in the General a.s.sembly of the Church; became leader of the Moderate party; one of the ministers of Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh, and Princ.i.p.al of the University, having previously written his "History of Scotland," which brought him other honours, and which was followed by a "History of Charles V." and a "History of America," all of which contributed to awaken an interest in historical studies; he was what is called a "Moderate" to the backbone, and his cronies were men more of a sceptical than a religious turn of mind, David Hume being one of the number; while his history of Scotland, however well it may be written, as Carlyle testifies, is no history of Scotland at all (1721-1793)

ROBESPIERRE, MAXIMILIEN, leader of the Jacobins in the French Revolution, born in Arras, of Irish origin; bred to the bar; became an advocate and a judge; he resigned because he could not brook to sentence a man to death; inspired by the gospel of Rousseau, became a red-hot Republican and an "INCORRUPTIBLE" (q. v.); carried things with a high hand; was opposed by the Girondists, and accused, but threw back the charge on them; carried the mob along with him, and with them at his back procured sentence of death against the king; head of the Committee of Public Safety, he laid violent hands first on the queen and then on all who opposed or dissented from the extreme course he was pursuing; had the wors.h.i.+p of reason established in June 1794, and was at the end of the month following beheaded by the guillotine, amid the curses of women and men (1758-1794).

ROBIN HOOD, a famous outlaw who, with his companions, held court in Sherwood Forest, Nottingham, and whose exploits form the subject of many an old English ballad and tale. He was a robber, but it was the rich he plundered and not the poor, and he was as zealous in the protection of the weak as any Knight of the Round Table; he was an expert in the use of the bow and the QUARTER-STAFF (q. v.), and he and his men led a merry life together.

ROBINS, BENJAMIN, father of the modern science of artillery, born, the son of a Quaker, at Bath; established himself in London as a teacher of mathematics, as also his reputation by several mathematical treatises; turned his attention to the theoretical study of artillery and fortification; upheld Newton's principle of ultimate ratios against Berkeley, and in 1742 published his celebrated work, the "New Principles of Gunnery," which revolutionised the art of gunnery; was appointed engineer-in-general to the East India Company (1749), and planned the defences of Madras (1707-1751).

ROBINSON, EDWARD, Biblical scholar, born in Connecticut; author of "Biblical Researches in Palestine"; a professor in New York (1794-1863).

ROBINSON, HENRY CRABB, literary dilettante, born at Bury St.

Edmunds; lived some years at Weimar, and got acquainted with Goethe and his circle; called to the English bar, and on quitting practice at it with a pension, became acquainted with the literary notabilities in London, and left a diary full of interesting reminiscences (1775-1807).

ROBINSON, HERCULES GEORGE ROBERT, LORD ROSMEAD, born, son of an admiral, in 1824; withdrew from the army shortly after his first commission, and gave himself to Government Colonial service; received a knighthood, and held Governors.h.i.+p of Hong-Kong in 1859; was successively governor of Ceylon, New South Wales, New Zealand, Cape of Good Hope, &c.; created Lord Rosmead in 1896 (1824-1898).

ROBINSON, MARY, poetess, born at Leamington; author of various poetical works, a translation of Euripides' "Hippolytus," a Life of Emily Bronte, &c.; married in 1886 to M. Darmesteter, a noted French Orientalist; _b_. 1857.

ROBSON, FREDERICK (stage name of F. R. Brownhill), a noted comedian, born at Margate; took to the stage in 1844 after serving some time as an apprentice to a London engraver; his greatest triumphs were won after 1853 on the boards of the Olympic Theatre, London; he combined in a high degree all the gifts of a low comedian with a rare power of rising to the grave and the pathetic (1821-1864).

ROCHAMBEAU, COMTE DE, marshal of France, born at Vendome; commanded the troops sent out by France to a.s.sist the American colonies in their rebellion against the mother-country (1725-1807).

ROCHDALE (72), a flouris.h.i.+ng town and cotton centre in Lancas.h.i.+re, prettily situated on the Roche, 11 m. NE. Of Manchester; its woollen and cotton trade (flannels and calicoes) dates back to Elizabeth's time; has an interesting 12th century parish church.

ROCHE, ST., the Patron saint of the plague-stricken; being plague-smitten himself, and overtaken with it in a desert place, he was discovered by a dog, who brought him a supply of bread daily from his master's table till he recovered.

ROCHEFORT, COMTE DE, commonly known as Henri Rochefort, French journalist and violent revolutionary, who was deported for his share in the Commune in 1871, but escaped and was amnestied, and went back to Paris under eclipse; _b_. 1830.

ROCh.e.l.lE, LA (23), a fortified seaport of France, on an inlet of the Bay of Biscay, 95 m. NW. of Bordeaux; capital of the department of Charente-Inferieure; has a commodious harbour, noteworthy public buildings, a fine promenade and gardens; s.h.i.+pbuilding, gla.s.s-works, sugar-refineries, &c., are among its chief industries.

ROCHESTER, 1, an interesting old city (26), of Kent, 29 m. SE. of London, on the Medway, lying between and practically forming one town with Strood and Chatham; the seat of a bishop since 604; has a fine cathedral, which combines in its structure examples of Norman, Early English, and Decorated architecture; a hospital for lepers founded in 1078; a celebrated Charity House, and a strongly posted Norman castle. 2, Capital (163), of Monroe County, New York, on the Genesee River, near Lake Ontario, 67 m. NE. of Buffalo; is a s.p.a.cious and well-appointed city, with a university, theological seminary, &c.; has varied and flouris.h.i.+ng manufactures.

ROCHESTER, JOHN WILMOT, EARL OF, a witty profligate of the court of Charles II.; wrote poems, many of them licentious, among them, however, some exquisite songs; killed himself with his debauchery; died penitent; he was the author of the epitaph, accounted the best epigram in the English language, "Here lies our sovereign Lord the king," &c.

(1648-1680).

ROCHET, a linen vestment worn by bishops, abbots, and other dignitaries, in the form of a surplice, but shorter and open at the sides.

ROCK ISLAND (14), capital of Rock Island county, Illinois, on the Mississippi; a busy centre of railway and river traffic; derives its name from an island in the river, where there is an extensive Government a.r.s.enal; a fine bridge spans the river.

ROCK TEMPLES, temples hewn out of solid rock, found in Western India especially, such as those at ELLORA (q. v.) and ELEPHANTA (q. v.).

ROCKALL, a remarkable peak of granite rock, rising some 70 ft. above the sea-level from the bed of an extensive sandbank in the Atlantic, 184 m. W. of St. Kilda; a home and haunt for sea-birds.

ROCK-b.u.t.tER, a soft mineral substance found oozing from alum slates, and consisting of alum, alumina, and oxide of iron.

ROCKFORD (24), a busy manufacturing town, capital of Winnebago County, Illinois, on the Rock River, 86 m. NW. of Chicago.

ROCKHAMPTON (12), the chief port of Central Queensland, Australia, on the Fitzroy, 35 m. from its mouth; in the vicinity are rich gold-fields, also copper and silver; engaged in tanning, meat-preserving, &c.; is connected by a handsome bridge with its suburb North Rockhampton.