RETEEAT. 72 for the sake of pniyer, meditation, ami spiritual exercises. The practice is very ancient in the Clnirch, as a following of the practice of Christ himself. The stricter retreats, especially those which the clergy of most Roman Catholic dioceses make every year, involve the giving up of the whole time to spiritual exercises, and usually siK'nce is observed during theni : but in the case of those who cannot leave their employment, ser- vices in the early morning and evening are pro- vided; in tlu'ir ease the order of observances does not materiallv ditl'er from that of a mission (q.v.). BETRENCHMENT (from retrench, from OF. nircnclnr. irtrdiidwr, Fr. retrancher. to cut oil', from re-, back -f trcnicher, to cut, from Lat. truucare, to lop, from tiuiiniK, maimed). A defensive work in military fortification. It close- ly resembles the redoubt (q.v.) in construction and is usually built across the gorge of a redan or bastion, or from shoulder to shoulder, when it is apprehended that the salient angle may fall into the hands of the enemy. See FoKTiFic.iTioN ; Redan ; Reuouut. RETRIEVER. A dog used in hunting aquatii- liiriU. See Field Dog. RETROACTIVE (from Lat. retroactus, p.p. of rrlroar/i'rc, to turn back, from retro-, back + acjcre, to do, act, drive) or RETKOsrEcxn-E TjAWS. These terms are used interchangeably to denote statutes which apply to a state of facts which existed before their enactment. Retroactive laws that are of a criminal or penal nature are specifically known as ex-post-fucio Irws. and are expressly forbidden by the United States Con- stitution. The Constitution also proliibits laws impairing the obligations of contracts. With these exceptions Congress, or the legislatures of the various States, are free to enact retrospective statutes whenever they may deem it advisable to do so. Although retroactive laws are in dis- favor where they have the above effect, there are many which are necessary to remedy defects in the law theretofore existing. For example, statutes making valid deeds of married women executed within a certain time prior to their passage, or conveyances which did not bear a certain stamp required by law at the time of their execution, may have a most salutary ef- fect. See Ex-Post-Facto Laws ; Law : Statute ; Interpretation. RETROGRADE (OF. retrograde. Fr. rHro- grade, from Lat. retrogradi, to .eo backward, from retro-, back -f gradi, to walk). A term applied to the motion of the planets among the fixed stars when they appear to move in the reverse order of the signs of the zodiac (q.v.). All the planets move in the same direc- tion round the sun, and therefore apparent retrograde motions must be due to their motion relative to the earth. In the case of comets, however, we have instances of motion about the sun in the opposite direction to that of the planets, and in such orbits the motion (referred now to the sun, not to the earth) is said to be retrograde. In the case of the planets, let S be the sun, and let the two circles represent the orbits of two planets. First, let the planets be, at P and Q, toward the same side of the sun The planet nearer the sun has of course the greater velocity, and therefore, if p and q repre- RETZ. sent their positions after the lapse of a given time, Pp is greater than Q(/, and therefore the direction, of the line pq (in which one is seen from the other) has rotated in the opposite direction to that in w'hich either planet revolves about the sun. Hence, when a su]H'rior planet is in opj)Osition (i.e. if CJ H be Jupiter, and P the ' earth), it appears to move backward among the stars. When an inferior planet is be- tween the earth and sun (i.e. if Q be the earth, and P Venus), it appears to move backward also. If the jilan- ets be on opposite sides of the sun, as at P and R in the figure, let p and r be their posi- tions after a given time ; then pr has turned from the direction PR in the direction in which the planets revolve about the sun. Hence any planet, superior or inferior, appears to move directly when the sun is between it and the earth. Between these two opposite cases, there must, of course, be points at which the apparent motion is neither retrograde nor direct — then the planet is said to be stationary. This ease occurs whenever, for an instant, the lines PQ and pq are parallel; that is, when the two planets are moving with equal velocities trans- verse to the line joining them, these velocities being jinrallel, and toward the same side of the joining line. RETURNING BOARDS. In the United States, official bodies designated by law for can- vassing the results of popular elections. The general rule is that a returning board in can- vassing the returns sent to it acts in a ministerial capacity and must leave the correction of error or fraud to the courts unless the return be void on its face, in which case, of course, the returning board must reject it. The board for canvassing the returns of State elections usually consists of certain designated State officers in- cluding the Secretary of State and the Attorney- General. In some States the returns are can- vassed by the presiding officers of the Legislature in the jiresence of the two Houses. In the case of members of the Legislature the returns are usually sent to the Secretary of State, though sometimes to a returning board, but all contests are decided by the Houses themselves in pursuance of a constitutional privilege everywhere allowed. In the ca.se of local ofticers contested returns are settled by the courts acting as a canvassing au- thority, or in a quo warranto proceeding. In the case of Presidential electors Congress provided by the Act of 1887 that disputed returns in any State might be settled by such organs and accord- ing to such procedure as State law might pro- vide. If this be not done within six days of the meeting of the electors, the two Houses of Con- gress have the final determination of the elec- tion. RETZ, rets, Gilles de Laval, Seigneur de. See Bluebeard. RETZ, res. Jean Fran(J0is Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de (1614-79). A French politician and author, born at Montmirail. His early education was intrusted to Saint Vincent de Paul, and he
