RAPPAHANNOCK 433 RASP Waterloo Rapp again submitted to Louis. Re-created a peer of France (1819), he held various offices about the court, and died in Baden, Nov. 18, 1821. RAPPAHANNOCK, a river of Vir- ginia, rising in the Blue Ridge of the Allegheny Mountains, receiving the Rapidan (above this point it is some- times called the North Fork), and flow- ing about 125 miles S. E. to Chesapeake Bay. It is tidal and navigable to Fred- ericksburg. The Rappahannock and the Rapidan were the scenes of some of the most sanguinary battles of the Civil War, at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the Wilderness. RAPPEE, a strong kind of snuff of either a black or brown color; it is made from the darker and ranker kinds of tobacco leaves. RARATONGA, or RAROTONGA, an island in the South Pacific Ocean, be- longing to Great Britain, of the group of Hervey Islands; 53 miles in circum- ference. It consists of a mass of moun- tains, becomes visible at a grreat distance, and has a very romantic appearance. The inhabitants have been converted to Christianity. Pop. about 3,000. RAREFACTION, in physics, the act of rendering more rare, i. e., less dense. Used specially of the diminution in the density of the air in the receiver of an air pump, or at great altitudes. It is produced by the increase in the size of the spaces between the particles of air or other gases, so that the same number of particles occupies a larger space than before rarefaction began. Called also dilatation. RARITAN, a river of New Jersey, formed by two branches which unitedly flow S. E., and fall into Raritan Bay near Perth Amboy. It is navigable as far as New Brunswick. RASH, an eruption or efflorescence on the skin, consisting of red patches, dif- fused irregularly over the body. RASHI (from the initials of Rabbi Shelomo Izaaki, often erroneously called Jarchi), the greatest Jewish commenta- tor and exegete; born in Troyes, France, about 1040. Philology, philosophy, med- icine, astronomy, civil and ecclesiastical law, and exegesis were the chief branches of his learning; and to a rare proficiency in them he united a complete mastery over the whole range of Scrip- ture and the Talmudical sources. In or- der further to perfect himself for his gigantic task he traveled for seven years, visiting the schools of Italy, Greece, (Ger- many, Palestine, Egypt. His chief work is his "Commentary" on the whole of the Old Testament. This "Commentary"— entirely translated into Latin by Breit- haupt, was the first book ever printed in Hebrew (Reggio, 1474). Of his num- erous other works may be mentioned his "Commentary on the Babylonian Tal- mud"; a "Commentary to the Pirke Aboth"; the "Pardes, Treating of Laws and Ceremonies"; a "Commentary on Midrash Rabbah"; a "Book of Medi- cine"; and a "Poem on the Unity of God." He died July 13, 1105. RASK, RASMUS CHRISTIAN, a Danish philologist; born in Brandekilde, Denmark, Nov. 22, 1787. After he had studied at the University of Copenhagen, he journeyed through Sweden, Russia, and Iceland to increase his knowledge of Northern languages, with the result that he published "An Introduction to the Knowledge of the Icelandic or Old Norse Tongue" (1811) ; an edition of Haldor- sen's "Icelandic Dictionary" (1817) ; and an "Anglo-Saxon Grammar" (1817). In 1817-1822 he made, at the expense of the government, a second journey to Russia, Persia, and India. He then re- turned to Copenhagen in 1822, was ap- pointed Professor of Literary History and subsequently Professor of Oriental Languages and librarian to the univer- sity. During this period he published a "Spanish Grammar," a work on the Fri- sian language, and a treatise on the Zen- davesta, in which he showed that the language was closely akin to Sanskrit. He died in Copenhagen, Nov. 14, 1832. RASKOLNIKS, the collective name given to the adherents of the dissenting sects in Russia, which have originated by secession from the State Church. The great majority of these sects date originally from the middle of the 17th century, when the liturgical books, etc., were revised under the patriarch Nikon. The Raskolniks clung fanatically to the old and corrupted texts, and regarded the czar and the patriarch as the representa- tives of Antichrist, called themselves Staro-obryadtsy (old ritualists) or Staro-vertsy (followers of the old faith). They have split up into a large number of sects, which may be grouped generally in two classes; those who have a priest- hood, and those who have none. The tendency of the Raskolniks is commu- nistic. They include about one-third of the merchant class, and nearly all the Cos- sacks, but none of the noble or cultivated class. Their numbers are variously es- timated at from 3,000,000 to 11,000,000. RASP, a coarse file having, instead of chisel-cut teeth, its surface dotted with separate protruding teeth, formed by the indentations of a pointed punch. It is used almost exclusively on comparatively.
