RUBINSTEIN 



5100 



RUBY 



legions in Gaul, a decree was passed by the 

 Senate ordering him to disband his army. In 

 defiance of this command he led a band of 

 veterans across the boundary between Nearer 

 Gaul and Italy the Rubicon River and 

 marched into Rome. This was virtually a 

 declaration of war against the nepublic, and was 

 his first step toward gaining supreme power. 

 Because of this event the Rubicon has a per- 

 manent place in history, and the expression 

 ''to cross the Rubicon" has come to mean the 

 first dt ep in a hazardous enterprise, 



from which there is no turning back. The an- 

 cient river was about twenty miles long and 

 emptied into the Adriatic. It is not known 

 definitely with which stream it is identical, but 

 best authority favors the Fiumicino. 



RUBINSTEIN, roo'binstine, ANTON GRIG- 

 OHOVKH (1829-1894), a pianist and composer, 

 was born at Wechwotynecz, Russia. His family 

 was Jewish, but each member had been bap- 

 tized in the Greek Catholic Church in 1830, 

 when Czar Nicholas had threatened expulsion 

 of all orthodox Hebrews. His mother, and a 

 Russian teacher, named Alexander Villoing, gave 

 him practically all the musical training he ever 

 received, although for a short time in 1840 he 

 attended the Paris Conservatory. It was soon 

 discovered that his musical intuition and tech- 

 nique were so great that the various teachers 

 he met could add little to his knowledge of 

 the art. Liszt and Chopin became his close 

 friends and genuine admirers, and under their 

 advice he received some instruction in com- 

 position from great teachers in Berlin. 



When Rubinstein was but sixteen years old 

 he began to teach in Vienna, and two years 

 later went to Saint Petersburg (now Petro- 

 grad), where, in spite of his Jewish blood, his 

 playing aroused extraordinary enthusiasm. 

 The Grand Duchess Helen became his patron, 

 supplied him with money and gave him fre- 

 quent opportunities to be heard in public. 

 There, in 1851, his first opera, Dimitri Donskoi, 

 was presented successfully. He was later ad- 

 vised by Helen to make a concert tour of the 

 larger European cities, and in 1857 played in 

 Hamburg, Leipzig, London and other musical 

 centers. His appearances in London were in 

 the nature of triumphs, for few pianists had 

 ever been able to stir all classes of citizens as 

 he did. 



In 1858 he was appointed director of the 

 Royal Russian Musical Society and four years 

 later founded the famous Conservatory of 

 Saint Petersburg, His frequent concert tours 



throughout Europe made him by far the most 

 famous pianist of his day. and when, in 1872 

 and 1873, he appeared in America his reception 

 was most unusual. Crowds followed him about 

 the streets of the larger cities, the throngs at 

 the theater doors fought for places in line, and 

 audiences often arose and cheered when he 

 had finished the playing of a composition. In 

 1889 the Russian government made him a no- 

 bleman, with the honorary title of Imperial 

 State Councilor. He died in Saint Petersburg 

 on November 20, 1894. His compositions are 

 exceedingly harmonious, and are notable for 

 the completeness of the melody in each. 

 Among his most popular works are the Ocean 

 Symphony, the Dramatic Symphony, The 

 Demon and The Maccabees, and the piano 

 compositions Melody in F and Kaminoi Os- 

 trow. A great oratorio was Christus. 



Consult MacArthur's Life of Rubinstein. 



RUBLE, or ROUBLE, roo'b'l, the Russian 

 monetary unit, equivalent to 51% cents in 

 United States and Canadian money. It is di- 

 vided into 100 kopecks, each having a value 

 of about % cent. Since the seventeenth cen- 



tury the silver ruble has been the standard in 

 Russia, but its value has been fluctuating, and 

 it is only since 1897 that it has remained fixed 

 at its present value. The 15-ruble and the 7 1 /- 

 ruble pieces, known respectively as the im- 

 perial and the half-imperial, are issued in gold, 

 while the half and quarter rubles are of silver. 

 For the most part, however, little coin cir- 

 culates in Russia, its place being taken by 

 paper money. 



RUBY, roo'bi, a transparent variety of co- 

 rundum, and the costliest of all precious stones. 

 It occurs in various shades of red, from deep 

 scarlet to pale rose, but the most valuable 

 ruby is that having the color of a pigeon's 

 blood. True, or Oriental, rubies are found 

 chiefly in Burma, Ceylon and Siam, but genu- 

 ine stones of small size occur in Macon County, 

 North Carolina, in stream gravels. Pigeon- 

 blood stones come principally from Burma, 



