Reval
or REVEL, a Russian seaport; capital of the Republic of Esthonia (q. v.); on a small bay on the S. side of the Gulf of Finland, opposite Helsingfors (52 miles distant), and 232 miles W. S. W. of St. Petersburg. It is divided into the (old) upper and (new) lower towns. The former contains the cathedral, the castle, governor's residence, and the houses of the (German) nobility. The new town extends outside the city wall. There are several mediæval guild houses, in some of which are preserved valuable archives, and an important museum of antiquities. Prio to the World War, Reval exported cereal. (chiefly oats), spirits, flax, and other commodities. There was little industry, brandy, vinegar, and wool being manufactured to a small extent. Pop. (1910) 98,995. More than one-half were Es thonians, and nearly one-fourth of German descent. Reval was founded by Waldemar II. of Denmark in 1219, and became a flourishing Hanse town. It was long held (from 1346) by the Livonian Knights, was made over to Sweden in 1561, and was besieged by Peter the Great and annexed to the Russian Ru empire in 1710. In 1713 a naval harbor was founded. In the course of the World War Reval was bombarded by the Germans on different occasions. REVEILLÉ, the signal given in garrisons at break of day, by beat of drum or sound of bugle, for the soldiers to rise and the sentinels to forbear chal- REVELATION lenging until the retreat is sounded in the evening.