the madrigal. The popular songs of the Russians, which are preserved among the common people, belong to the time of Peter the Great and the empress Elizabeth, who herself wrote verse. The lyric department has been particularly successful. We must likewise mention the philosophic odes and epistles of the prince Ivan Michailowitsch Dolgorucki (who died in the year 1823), under the title of the Existence of my Heart. Poetical tales, for which the old traditions furnish many materials, have been written by Sumarokoff, Kriloff, Batjuschkoff, Dmitrieff, and Shukoffskij. The Russian theatre was first established in 1758. In this year, there was a private theatre erected at Yaroslav, which was soon transferred to the royal residence, and, in consequence of the predilection of Catharine II for the drama, soon won the favor of the people. Sumarokoff wrote the first regular tragedy, and was succeeded by Kniäshjnin. The most distinguished dramatic writer, Wladimir Oseroff, has had the honor of having his works often translated. His Edipus (Petersburg, 1805), his Dmitrij the Donian, his Fingal, and the Rosloff of Kniäshjnin, are considered the most important specimens of tragic literature. Kniäshjnin has also accomplished much in comedy. The genius of the Russians, so sensible to the ridiculous, and so capable of imitation, would lead us to expect a rich harvest in comedy, if the readiness with which they adopt every thing foreign did not check the productiveness of native talent. The opera in a court, which, like the Russian, delights in splendor, must naturally excite a lively interest. The first, written by Sumarokoff, was performed at St. Petersburg in 1764; and, since that time, there have continually been authors in this department of the drama. In didactic poetry, Keraskoff's Fruits of the Sciences formerly were in much repute. At the present time, the fables of Dmitrieff, Chemnitzer, and Kriloff, have gained many admirers. Of Kriloff's Russian Fables (St. Petersburg, 1826), a part has been published in the Russian language at Paris, with a French translation, by count Orloff. The minor species of poetry find a ready admission into the twenty-one Russian literary journals (which were in circulation in 1824, throughout the capital), and are very acceptable to the literary public, which is yet small. See N. von Gretsch's Manual of the Russian Literature, or a Collection of Specimens from poetical and prose Writers (St. Petersburg, 1821, in 4 vols.), and Borg's Poetical Productions of the Russians (Ri

ga, 1823, in 2 vols.), both in German; also Bowring's Specimens of the Russian Poets (2d edition, London, 1821), and Dupré de St. Maure's Anthologie Russe (Paris, 1823). A. Oldekop's St. Petersburg Journal is likewise to be recommended to all friends of literature, on account of the collections therein published. Among the periodicals, those which make us acquainted with the internal condition of the empire-as Bulgarin's Northern Archives; the Siberian Herald of Sspaszkij; the Son of the Country, by Gretsch; and the Promoter of Knowledge-are worthy of notice.IV. Prose. Russian prose is undoubtedly inferior to the poetry of the same language. In pulpit oratory, in which its first progress was made, a bombastic rhetoric has prevailed, which is often accompanied with little intrinsic merit, as the homilies of Feofan Prokopowitsch (who died in 1736), of Gedeon, Platon, Anastasij, Georgij, Protoiereni Lewanda, Michajl the metropolitan, Filaret, and others, abundantly prove. Lately, a hypocritical rather than pious tone has passed from these homilies into political writings. The secular discourses, to which, for example, Lomonosoff owes his celebrity, are partly composed in a panegyrical style, which leads us to doubt the genuineness of the feeling which is displayed. Lomonosoff's discourse, however, on the character of Peter the Great, delivered April 26, 1755, is often mentioned as a masterpiece of eulogy. Karamsin's oration, delivered at the assembly of the Russian academy, December 5, 1818, corresponds more to the present taste. Nicholas Karamsin's name inust likewise be mentioned with distinction in almost every department of description. He has given to Russia a work which may be honorably compared with the historical writings of any nation. A great number of the most distinguished literati and statesmen of Russia, have preferred, in their works, to use foreign languages rather than their own. Russia has not yet produced romances, combining originality with beauty of description, which may be worthy of being translated into foreign languages. Karamsin, Shukoffskij, and Benizkij, are the best models for the novelist. The Russian accounts of voyages and travels deserve the attention of foreigners. Since the first voyages of the Russians round the world, in the ships Nadeschda and Neva, under the command of captain Krusenstern, the American company or individuals have annually sent ships to the north-west coast of America; and Golownin's Voyages (1807-1814);

those of lieutenant von Kotzebue, at the expense of the count Románzoff; those of lieutenant Lasareff; those of Bellingshausen and Wassiljeff; those of lieutenant Wrangel; Murawieff's travels; Broneffski's researches in Tauria, &c.-have produced very important results in a scientific point of view. Many of them exhibit traces of the improving state of the language, in passages containing much beauty of description. The Russian academicians and literati (Frähn, Krug, Schmidt, &c.) have distinguished themselves in Oriental literature. Frähn, at the expense of count Románzoff, superintended the collection of extracts for Hammer's work, Sur les Origines Russes, extraits de Manuscrits Orientaux, and likewise the printing of Abulghasi's Historia Mongolorum et Tatarorum (Kasan, 1825). Wolkoff has been laboring upon a dictionary of the Tartar language. Senkoffski has published the text and translation of the Derbent Nameh, and the French-Arabic lexicon of Berggren. He likewise published, in the Polish language, a Collection of ancient Accounts, in the Turkish Histories, relative to the History of Poland (Warsaw, 1824). Professor Boldyreff has likewise published, at Moscow, a Manual of the Arabic Language (1824), and a Persian Chrestomathy (in 2 vols., 1826). In 1825, eighteen journals were published in St. Petersburg, and seven in Moscow, and six almanacs. Bestucheff's and Rylejeff's Polestar, a souvenir for 1824, and the Flowers of the North, for the following years, have met with decided approbation. In 1826, there appeared at St. Petersburg only six gazettes and fifteen periodicals. To promote the knowledge of Russian literature, Von Köppen published, in 1825 and 1826, at St. Petersburg, a bibliographical paper. The society of the friends of Russian literature, established in St. Petersburg in 1816, the founders of which are N. Glinka and N. J. Gretsch, have conducted the publication of a collection of the most distinguished native productions and translations (now consisting of 16 vols.). See the Survey of the most modern Russian Literature, in the 7th volume of the Annals of Literature (Jahrbücher der Literatur), published at Vienna.

Russia, Black; formerly a subdivision of Lithuania, now forming the Russian governments of Minsk and Grodno.

Russia, Great; former name of a province comprising a large part of European Russia, extending from the Frozen ocean to about the middle of the course of the Don; now divided into nineteen governments.

Russia, Little; name of that part of Russia lying south of Great Russia; now forming the governments of Tchernigov, Cherson, Kiev, Ekaterinoslav,and Poltava.

Russia, Red; formerly an independent duchy, which belonged to Poland after 1396, and formed the palatinates of Chelm, Belcz and Lemberg. It now belongs chiefly to Austria, but partly to Russia.

Russia, White, was a part of Lithuania, which now forms the Russian governments of Smolensk, Mohilev, Vitepsk, and a small part of Minsk.

RUSSIA LEATHER is prepared in Russia, chiefly from cow-hides, and is highly esteemed for its flexibility, durability, and impenetrability by water. The red leather is much used in foreign countries for book-binding, and, although it is imitated in some places, the Russian is distinguished by its peculiar odor. The best is made in Astrachan, and it forms an important article of export.

RUSSIAN HUNTING MUSIC, or HORN MUSIC. This consists of horns, of which each produces but one tone. Twenty, thirty, or even forty performers, have each a horn. These horns vary like the pipes of an organ. One of them sounds only every C, another every D, &c., throughout the tune. The performers are, for the most part, serfs, and so well skilled, that every one sounds his note with the greatest accuracy, whenever it is necessary; and the tones of the different instruments sound as if they proceeded from a single instrument. The Russians have carried this music to such a pitch of excellence as to execute pieces of Pleyel, Haydn and Mozart, and likewise to mark the distinctions between piano and crescendo, with the greatest effect. This music is heard at a great distance, and sounds, when far off, like a harmonicon. was invented by Narischkin. In 1763, these instruments were used, with great success, at a festival in Moscow; and they afterwards received great improvements.

It

RUST is the oxide of a metal, and is composed of oxygen combined with a metal. (See Oxygen.)

RUSTY GRACKLE. (See Blackbird.) RUTA BAGA, or SWEDISH TURNIP. (See Turnip.)

RUTLEDGE, John, an eminent revolutionary patriot of South Carolina, early manifested his zeal in the cause of American liberty. He was a member of the first congress of 1774, where he was distinguished for his Demosthenian eloquence. When the temporary constitu

tion of South Carolina was established, in March, 1776, he was appointed its president, and commander-in-chief. He continued to occupy the station until the adoption of the new constitution in 1778, which he opposed on the ground of its being too democratic, annihilating as it did the council, and reducing the legislative authority from three to two branches. In 1779, however, he was chosen governor, with authority to do whatever the public safety required, and soon took the field at the head of the militia. During the siege of Charleston, he left the city, at the request of governor Lincoln, that the executive authority might be preserved, though the capital should fall. In January, 1782, he called a general assembly, and addressed them in a speech, in which he depicted the perfidy, rapine and cruelty, which had stained the British arms. He died January 23, 1800. He was a man of eminent talents, patriotism, energy and firmness. To his government during the most calamitous scenes of the war, within the state of South Carolina, is to be attributed, in a great degree, the successful termination to which it was brought. He early perceived the superior merit of general Greene, and seconded his views with all the influence of the civil authority: his discernment was likewise manifested by his judicious promotion of Sumter, Marion and Pickens. It should also be mentioned to his honor, that, though invested with dictatorial powers, he never gave occasion for complaint.

RUTLEDGE, Edward, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born of a respectable family at Charleston, South Carolina, in November, 1749. After a proper education, he was placed in the office of his elder brother, to prepare himself for the practice of the law. În 1769, he was sent to England to complete his legal studies, where he was entered at the Temple. On his return home, in 1773, Mr. Rutledge commenced the practice of his profession, and was rising to eminence as a lawyer, when he was elected to a seat in the first continental congress, assembled at Philadelphia, in 1774. His having been chosen at his age to so dignified a post, shows the high esteem with which he was thus early regarded by his countrymen. Owing to the strict secrecy which was preserved concerning the transactions of the congress at that time, nothing is known of his course in this new situation. He continued a member till 1777, and took an active part in the debates preceding the declaration of independence. When

that decisive measure was adopted, and the political horizon of the country had become darkened by the misfortune of our army on Long Island, with other embarrassing circumstances, the British renewed their negotiations for a reconciliation. Doctor Franklin, John Adams and Mr. Rutledge, were deputed by congress to confer with lord Howe on the subject. This conference accordingly took place, but resulted in nothing of importance to either party. Mr. Rutledge used afterwards to relate an anecdote of doctor Franklin, to this effect:-When the commissioners took leave of lord Howe, his lordship had them conveyed to New York in his own barge. As they approached the wharf, the doctor began to jingle some gold and silver coin in his breeches pocket. Upon their arrival at the wharf, he offered a handful of the money to the sailors who had rowed the boat; but the commanding officer not permitting them to receive it, he replaced it in his pocket, and afterwards explained this conduct to his associates by saying, "As these people are under the impression that we have not a farthing of hard money in the country, I thought I would convince them of their mistake. I knew, at the same time, that I risked nothing by an offer which their regulations and discipline would not permit them to accept." In 1779, Mr. Rutledge was again appointed to congress; but indisposition obliged him to return home before he had taken his seat. native state had now become the theatre of war, the scantiness of its population offering a comparatively easy conquest to the British arms. Mr. Rutledge commanded a company in a battalion of artillery, and was engaged in dislodging a party of regular troops from Port Royal island. Notwithstanding their superior discipline and their advantages of position, the British were compelled to retreat. Whilst Charleston was closely beleaguered, Mr. Rutledge endeavored to elude the vigilance of the enemy, in order to accelerate the advance of troops to its relief. In this attempt, he was taken prisoner, and sent to St. Augustine, where he remained near twelve months before he was exchanged. He afterwards resided some time in the vicinity of Philadelphia, but, as soon as possible, proceeded to the south, and, on the reestablishment of civil government in Carolina, after the successes of the Americans there, in 1782, was one of the representatives who were convened at the village of Jacksonborough. Though he assented, as a member of this assembly,

His

to the adoption of a bill of pains and penalties, he was inclined to excuse such as were compelled, by unavoidable circumstances, to keep aloof from the standard of freedom. This intemperate convention adjourned a little previous to the evacuation of Charleston by the British, in December, 1782, when Mr. Rutledge returned home, and, soon after, resumed the practice of his profession. He was a conspicuous member of the state legislature, in which body he was opposed to any further increase of African slavery in the Southern States, and, afterwards, an unwearied advocate of the federal constitution. Mr. Rutledge was subsequently elected colonel of an artillery regiment, and supplied the place of general C. C. Pinkney in the senate, upon that gentleman's leaving his seat. He quitted the profession of the law in the year 1798, when he was elected governor of the state; but lived to complete only half the term. His weak constitution had become considerably broken by hereditary gout, which did not, however, make him relax in the execution of his official duties. While attending a session of the legislature at Columbia, his sickness increased so much as to render him desirous of returning to Charleston; but, in compliance with the requisitions of the state constitution, he remained at the seat of government until the legislature had adjourned, and, while on his return home, encountered heavy rains and cold. Soon after his arrival at Charleston, he was confined to his bed, and expired, January 23, 1800. In person, Mr. Rutledge was above the middle height, and inclining to corpulency; he had a fair complexion, with a pleasing countenance. His manners were amiable and polished, and he was an orator of a superior stamp. His eloquence was various and beautiful, rather than vehement.

RUYSCH, Rachel, one of the most celebrated painters of fruit and flower pieces, was born at Amsterdam in 1664, and died in 1750. Her pictures are distinguished for truth and splendor of coloring, united with great finish.

RUYSDAEL, OF RUYSDAAL, James, one of the greatest landscape painters, was born, in 1635, at Harlem. His brother Solomon (born 1616, and known for the beauty of his representation of marbles, &c.) seems to have been his teacher. James died in his native city in 1681. His aim appears to have been a faithful, but poetical conception of gloomy, and sometimes wild, nature. Landscapes, with dark

clouds hanging over them, church-yards, or thick woods after a thunder-storm, cascades between thick foliage, lakes and rivulets surrounded by overhanging trees, &c., are his subjects, and are represented admirably. The figures in his paintings were executed by others.

RUYTER, Michael Fitz Adrian; a celebrated Dutch admiral, born at Flushing in 1607. He entered young into the naval service of his country, and rose from the situation of cabin-boy to that of captain, in 1635. He was sent, in 1641, to the assistance of the Portuguese, who had thrown off the yoke of Spain; on which occasion he was appointed rear-admiral; and, two years after, he was employed against the Barbary corsairs. In the war between the Dutch and English, which commenced in 1652, Ruyter repeatedly distinguished himself, especially in the terrible battle fought in February, 1653, near the mouth of the Channel, when Blake (q. v.) commanded the English, and Tromp (q. v.) and Ruyter the Dutch. He afterwards served against the Portuguese, the Swedes, and the Algerines, previously to the naval warfare between England and Holland, in the reign of Charles II. He commanded in the great battle fought in the Downs, in June, 1666, against prince Rupert (q. v.) and the duke of Albemarle (see Monk); and, in the following year, he insulted the English by his memorable expedition up the Thames, when he destroyed Upnor castle, and burnt some ships at Chatham. He was admiral of the Dutch fleet at the battle of Solebay in 1672, and signalized his skill and courage on several other occasions. He died in the port of Syracuse, April 29, 1676, in consequence of a wound received in an engagement with the French, a few days before, off Messina. His body was carried to Amsterdam, where the states-general erected a monument to his memory.

RYE (secale cereale); a species of grain, generally considered, in temperate climates, next in value to wheat. It is a grass, from four to six feet high, with a fibrous annual root, producing one or several slender culms, which are provided at their articulations with linear and smooth leaves; the flowers are greenish, disposed in a terminal simple compressed spike, four or five inches in length. It is supposed to have been brought originally from the Levant, but has been cultivated in Europe from a very ancient period. Of all domestic plants, it has been the least altered by cultivation, and no permanent variety has been produced. It is

the only species of the genus. Rye succeeds better in cold climates than wheat, grows in a greater variety of soils, resists severe frosts better, and arrives at maturity sooner. All soils will produce rye, provided they are not too moist; and many barren lands, which are unsuitable for the cultivation of wheat, may be sown with this grain to advantage. The time of sowing is earlier than with any other grain. It does not require so much attention during its growth as wheat, and the ripening varies according as the season is more or less warm and favorable, from the first of July to the last of the month; but, in general, it precedes wheat by fif teen or twenty days. In some countries, it is customary to sow in March; but it rarely produces so well as when sown before the setting in of the winter. In many places, it is cultivated only for fodder, which is an excellent plan, as cattle are often in want of green food in the early spring. Rye is the principal sustenance in the greater part of the north of Europe, and, after wheat, nourishes the greatest portion of the population of that continent. Even in more than half of France, rye bread, either pure or mixed with wheat in equal proportions, is the only kind to be procured. Rye bread is not so nutritious as wheat, but has more flavor. The farina, or meal, differs from that of the latter in containing a much smaller proportion of gluten. In the north, the greater part of the ardent spirits is distilled from rye. The straw is long, flexible, and does not rot so easily as that of other grain: it is used by brickmakers and collar-manufacturers, and is considered an excellent material for the thatching of cottages and barns. Rye is but little cultivated in Great Britain. (For spurred rye, see Ergot.)

RYE HOUSE PLOT. (See Russell, Lord William, and Sidney, Algernon.)

RYMER, Thomas, a critic and antiquary, studied at Cambridge and at Gray's-inn. In 1678, he published Edgar, a Tragedy, and wrote a work entitled a View of the Tragedies of the last Age. Succeeding Shadwell, in 1692, as royal historiographer, he employed the opportunities afforded him by his office, to make a collection of public treaties, which he began to publish in 1704, under the title of Federa, Conventiones, et cujuscunque Generis Acta publica, inter Reges Angliæ et alios Principes (15 vols., folio, five more being added by Robert Sanderson). Rymer died in 1713.

RYSBRACH, John Michael, a statuary,

was the son of a painter of Antwerp, in which city he was born in 1694. He went to England early in life, and derived considerable reputation and profit from the exercise of his art, of which Westminster abbey, and other cathedral churches, contain specimens, among which may be mentioned the monuments of sir Isaac Newton and the duke of Marlborough ; while others, and especially busts, enrich the best private collections, the heads of English worthies at Stowe, and in the Hermitage at Richmond, being of the number. His death took place in 1770.

RYSWICK; a village and castle situated in South Holland, a league from the Hague, where the peace of Ryswick was concluded September 20 and October 30, 1697. Louis XIV had, in 1688, attacked the German empire in order to anticipate the league of Augsburg (the object of which was to set bounds to his conquests), and, at the same time, to frustrate the design of William III, the stadtholder of Holland, to place himself on the British throne. When William landed in England (November 8, 1688), Louis declared war against Holland. He had already conquered the provinces of the Rhine, when the emperor Leopold and the states-general concluded a league against France (Vienna, May 12, 1689), to which Great Britain, Spain and Savoy acceded. The war was carried on by France on land with great success. Marshal Luxembourg conquered the Spanish Netherlands, and Cattinat was victorious in Italy. But the landing of the French in Ireland, at the instigation of the deposed James II, proved unfortunate, and the French fleet under marshal Tourville, was totally defeated by the English and Dutch, under the command of admiral Russell, near La Hogue, May 29, 1692. Since that time, the British naval power has always maintained an ascendency over the French. In the mean time, the duke of Vendome conquered Catalonia, and, August 7, 1695, also Barcelona. This, and the wish of Louis to dissolve the great European league, before the Spanish throne should become vacant, hastened the conclusion of a peace. Savoy had already concluded a separate peace with France, at Turin, August 29, 1696, and connected herself with that power. Upon this, Sweden mediated the general peace at the congress held at Ryswick, from May 9, 1697, until September 20 of the same year, when England, Spain and Holland signed a treaty of peace with France. Louis XIV restored all his conquests in Catalonia