Rassam
HORMUZD, a Turkish Assyriologist; born in Mosul, Mesopotamia, in 1826. He gained the friendship of Layard, and assisted him in his excavations at Nineveh in 1845-1847 and 1849- 1851, and then succeeded him, till 1854 as British agent for conducting Assyrian explorations. His grandest success was the finding of the palace of Assurbani-Pal (Sardanapalus). After holding in the following years political offices at Aden and Muscat, he was sent (1864) by the British Government to Abyssinia, to demand the release of the Europeans kept in prison by King Theodore; but that potentate cast him also into prison and only released him with the rest of his captives after his army had been defeated by Sir R. Napier in 1868. From 1876 to 1882 Rassam was employed by the trustees of the British Museum in making explorations in Mesopotamia, and discovered Sepharvaim (Sippara) and Kuthah. He published "The British Mission to Theodore, King of Abyssinia" (1869). He died in 1910. carnivorous quadruped,
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Rasse
a closely allied to the civet, spread over a great extent of Asia, including Java, various parts of India, Singapore, Nepal, and other localities. Its perfume, which is secreted in a double pouch like that of the civet, is much valued by the Javanese.
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Rasselas
ras'e-las, a philosophical romance by Dr. Samuel Johnson. It was published in 1759, and is the most popular of Johnson's writings. Rasselas is a prince who lives in the "Happy Valley," where he awaits his succession to the crown of an imaginary land. The story teaches the folly of sacrificing present happiness for the uncertain promises of the future. See Johnson ; Samuel
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Rastatt
or RASTADT, a town and first-class fortress in Baden; on the with the 3 miles from its junction junction Murg, Murg, Rhine, and 15 miles S. W. of Carlsruhe. Steel wares, beer, and tobacco are manufactured. From 1725 to 1771 the town was the residence of the Margraves of Baden-Baden. The present fortifications were erected in 1840-1848 by Austrian engineers to protect the N. entrance to the Black Forest. Rastatt is memorable for two congresses-the first in 1714, when a treaty of peace, which brought the war of the Spanish Succession to a close, was signed between Marshal Villars and Prince Eugene; and the second in 1797-1799. On the breaking up of this latter congress without any definite result the three French plenipotentiaries set out for Strassburg; but they had scarcely got beyond the gates t they were attacked by of Rastatt when Austrian hussars, and two of the three slain, while the third was left for dead in a ditch. Their papers were carried off, but no further spoil was taken. It seems that the Archduke Charles gave orders to the hussars to drive the French representatives out of Rastatt and take away their papers; the killing was the work of the officers, misunderstanding their orders. The town played a prominent part in 1849 as the stronghold of the revolutionists in Baden. Pop. about 16,000.
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Rastrites
in palæontology, a genus of Graptolites or Rhabdophora. The polypary consists of a slender axial tube, having on one side a row of cellules, or hydrothecæ, separate and not overlapping. The typical species is R. peregrinus, which, with R. triangulatus, is found in the S. of Scotland. Etheridge makes a zone of R. peregrinus in the Upper Birkhill or Gray Shale group of the Lower Llandovery. Found also in Bohemia (where it is said to extend to the Upper Silurian), in Saxony, etc.
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Rat Snake
Ptyas mucosus, a powerful snake, attaining a length of seven feet and upward. Common in India and Ceylon, scarce in the Archipelago. It frequently enters houses in search of mice, rats, and young fowls. It is fierce, and always ready to bite.
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Rat-Bite Fever
an infection arising probably from a spirochete, present in the blood of about 3 per cent. of house rats , and consequently called spirochæta morsusmuris by Japanese specialists. The spirochetal theory is supported by the efficacy in the fever of salvarsan, which is known to have a remedial effect in spirochete cases.
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Ratchet Spring
The spring which actuates the ratchet.
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Ratchet Wheel
A wheel having sharp angular teeth into which the ratchet engages to prevent the arbor upon which it is mounted from turning backward.
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Ratchet Wrench
a wrench opermay be turned continuously without removal from the bolt or nut to which it is applied, by a backward and forward movement of the handle.
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Ratchment
in architecture, a kind of flying buttress which principals of a herse, and meets against ich springs from the the central or chief principal. species are usually distinguished, M.
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Ratel
the genus Mellivora. Two indica, the Indian, and M. ratel, the Cape ratel. The body is stout and heavily. built, legs short and strong, with long curved fossorial claws, tail short, earconches rudimentary. General coloration iron-gray on the upper, and black on the lower surface, reversing the general plan of coloration, which is generally lighter on the under surface. A marked white stripe divides the gray of the upper parts from the black in the Cape ratel, which is said to live principally on honey. Jerdon says that M. indica, which he calls the Indian badger, is found throughout India, living usually in pairs and eating rats, birds, frogs, white ants, and various insects; and in the N. of India, where it is accused of digging out dead bodies, it is popularly known as the grave-digger. It doubt less also, like its Cape congener, occasionally partakes of honey and is often very destructive to poultry. In confinement it is quiet, and will eat fruits, rice, etc.
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Rathenow
a town of Prussia, on the right bank of the Havel (here crossed by a stone bridge), 43 miles W. by N. of Berlin. Optical instruments, wooden wares, machinery, bricks and tiles, are made. Pop. about 25,000.
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Rathlin
a c crescent-shaped island off the coast of Antrim, 6½ miles N. of Ballycastle. Area, 3,398 acres. St. Colomba established a church here in the 6th century; and Bruce in 1306 took refuge in a castle, now a ruin.
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Ratibor
a town of Prussian Silesia; on the left bank of the Oder, 44 miles S. S. E. of Oppeln It is the chief town of the principality of Ratibor, which, a sovereign duchy from 1288 to 1532, has since 1742 been subject to Prussia. The town manufactures tobacco, shoes, paper, glass, sugar, furniture, etc., and has large ironworks. Pop. about 40,000.
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