Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 08.djvu/173

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
LEFT
139
RIGHT

RUBUS 139 RUDOLF II. an ecclesiastical or episcopal injunction; also the rubric familiarly signifies the order of the liturgy in the Roman Catho- lic and Protestant Episcopal Churches. Hence, that which is definitely fixed or authoritatively established; as, the rubric of the planetary system. RUBUS, a genus of Potentillidse (Lind- ley) ; of Rubese (Sir Joseph Hooker) ; creeping herbs or sarmentose shrubs, al- most always prickly; flowers in panicles or solitary, white or red. Fruit of sev- eral single-seeded juicy drupes, in a pro- tuberant fleshy receptacle; known species about 100, chiefly from the north temper- ' ate zone. In North America the leaves of R. villosus are employed as an astrin- gent. The leaves of R. arcticus have been used as a substitute for tea. Several Himalayan species or sub-species have edible fruits. RUBY, a term applied popularly to two distinct minerals — the pyrope and the spinelle ruby, both of which are much valued as gems. The pyrope is a silicate of magnesia and alumina, with varying admixtures of iron, chromium, manganese, and lime. It occurs chiefly at Zoblitz, in Saxony; at Mittelgebirge, in Bohemia; and at Elie, in Scotland. The spinelle ruby and its varieties, the orange-red rubicelle, and the violet or brown alman- dine, are aluminates of magnesia, with different proportions of iron and chro- mium. They mostly occur in Ceylon at Ava and in other parts of the East In- dies. Rubies are wonderfully imitated. RUBY THROAT, the Trochilus colu- bris, a species of humming bird, so named from the brilliant ruby red color of its chin and throat. In summer it is found in all parts of North America up to lat. 57° North. RUDDER, primarily, an oar; specifi- cally the instrument by which a ship is steered, being that part of the helm which consists of a piece of timber which enters the water, and is attached to the stern- post by hinges, on which it turns. RUDDER FISH, Caranx Carangus; a fish allied to the mackerel, very common in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, so named from its habit of swimming around the sterns of ships, attracted, doubtless, by the refuse thrown overboard. The flesh is said to be coarse in flavor. RUDINI, ANTONIO STARRABBA, MARQUIS DI, an Italian statesman; , born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1839. He be- came prominent as mayor of Palermo, where he vigorously suppressed an insur- rection. Though an aristocrat, he sided with Garibaldi. In 1869 he was minister of the interior and member of the Cham- ber of Deputies, serving in the Parliament till called to succeed Crispi as premier, Feb. 7, 1891. During the Mafia dif- ficulty in New Orleans he recalled the Italian minister from Washington to en- force his demands on the United States Government. He succeeded Crispi in 1891, was succeeded by Giolitti in 1892, and was again made premier in 1896, when disasters to the Italian army in Abyssinia caused Crispi's fall. His third term of office closed June 29, 1898. He died Aug. 6, 1908. RUDOLF I., or RUDOLPH, founder of the former imperial dynasty of Aus- tria; born in Limburg castle in the Breis- gau, Germany, May 1, 1218. He became a warm partisan of Frederick II., dis- tinguished himself in arms, and spent much of the early years of his manhood in quarrels with the bishops of Basel and Strasburg. His possessions were greatly increased by inheritance and by his mar- riage, till he was the most powerful prince of Swabia. In 1273 the electors chose him to be German king; as, never having been crowned by the Pope, he was not entitled to be called kaiser or emperor. His accession was opposed by none; the Pope's consent was secured at the price of certain rights already parted with by Rudolf's predecessors. Ottocar of Bo- hemia, rebelling against him, was defeated and slain in 1278 at Marchfeld beside the Danube. Rudolf spent the greater part of his life that remained in suppressing the castles of the robber knights and put- ting an end to their lawless practices. He died in Spires, July 15, 1291, and was buried in the cathedral there. RUDOLF II., eldest son of the Em- peror Maximilian II. ; born in Vienna, July 18, 1552; he was educated at the Spanish court by the Jesuits; made King of Hun- gary in 1572, King of Bohemia, with the title King of the Romans, in 1575, and on the death of his father in 1576 succeeded to the imperial crown. Gloomy, taciturn, bigoted, indolent both in body and mind, he put himself in the hands of the Jesuits and low favorites and left the empire to govern itself. His attention was given to his curiosities, his stable, his alchemi- cal and magical studies; nevertheless his taste for astrology and the occult sciences, and his desire to discover the philosopher's stone, made him extend his patronage to Kepler and Tycho Brahe. The astrono- mical calculations begun by Tycho, and continued by Kepler, known as "The Ru- dolphine Tables," derive their name from this emperor. Meanwhile the Protestants were bitterly persecuted by the Jesuits throughout the empire ; the Turks invaded Hungary and defeated the Archduke Maximilian (1596) ; Transylvania and