17 



REHOBOAM. 



REID, DR. THOMAS. 



which became serviceable to him on that occasion, was one which his 

 love for good fare had excited, and his wealth had enabled him to 

 gratify, the skilful preparation of comestibles according to the most 

 improved principles of Parisian cookery. His culinary abilities secured 

 for him the good will of his master and the favour of the ladies of his 

 household. During his captivity he was taken to Constantinople, 

 where he remained two years. On his return to Algiers he was ran- 

 somed for a considerable sum by the French consul ; a ransom which 

 came most opportunely, as he was about to suffer the last penalty for 

 an intrigue in which he had been detected. He took with him to 

 France the chain he had worn as a captive, which he carefully pre- 

 served. His love of travelling however had not been abated Joy his 

 unlucky adventures, and, on the 26th of April 1681, he set out from 

 Paris on a journey over the north of Europe. On arriving at Stockholm, 

 he was induced by the King of Sweden to visit Lapland. He journeyed 

 thither by way of Tornea, ascended the river of that name, and 

 reached the borders of the Frozen Ocean. On his return from Lapland 

 he made a short sojourn at the court of Sweden, and, after having 

 travelled over Poland, Hungary, and Germany, returned to Paris on 

 the 4th of December 1683, where, satiated with the wandering life he 

 had led, he determined upon settling. Having purchased some lucra- 

 tive situations under government, he there devoted a part of his time 

 to literary pursuits, but spent the greater part of it in the society of 

 his friends, and in the enjoyment of the capital; the summer he was 

 in the habit of passing on an estate which he had purchased near Paris. 

 His devotion to gaiety and pleasure, as it was the means of lessening 

 his utility and reputation as a writer, was likewise the cause of his 

 untimely death, which occurred on the 5th of September 1710. 



As a dramatic writer, the reputation of Regnard stands deservedly 

 high ; in comedy he is generally considered second only to Moliere ; and 

 Voltaire has remarked that "no one can appreciate that great dramatist 

 who feels no pleasure in reading Regnard." His finest and most perfect 

 production is the comedy of 'le Joueur,' written in 1696. Himself a 

 gambler, he has given a dark but faithful colouring to the portraiture 

 of a vice which had embittered his life, and he has translated his own 

 sad sentiments on the subject into the language of the most beautiful 

 and energetic poetry. His next best piece is ' le Le"gataire Universel,' 

 in five acts, in which the humour and the versification are alike deserv- 

 ing of admiration. Had Regnard produced many comedies of similar 

 merit to the two which we have mentioned, he would have relieved 

 French literature of the reproach which has often been made to it of 

 having had no worthy successor to Moliere. The fault into which he 

 has fallen is that, like Piron, Cresset, and Marivaux, he has rather 

 delineated an exaggerated representation of some particular vice or 

 folly, than, like his great original, human nature in its every-day pro- 

 portions. This fault however is still more conspicuous in the French 

 dramatists who succeeded him, whose portraits are, in most instances, 

 only coarsely drawn caricatures of nature. 



The other dramatic writings of Regnard, in five acts, are, 1, ' Le 

 Distrait,' which appeared in 1697, and is taken from one of the cha- 

 racters of La Bruyere. This piece failed on its first representation, 

 but was afterwards, in 1731, reproduced on the French stage with 

 considerable success. 2, 'De"mocrite' (1700). 3, 'Les Me"nechmes' 

 (1705) , a comedy dedicated by the author to Boileau on a reconciliation 

 with him which his friends had effected; between these two poets there 

 had been a long literary warfare [BOILEAU]. His shorter pieces are 

 mostly in prose ; the principal of them are 1, ' Le Divorce,' in three 

 acts (1688). 2, 'La Descente de Mezetin aux Enfers' (1689). 3, 

 ' L'Homme a bonnes Fortunes ' (1690) ; Regnard has also written a 

 criticism on this comedy in a small piece of one act which was repre- 

 sented in the same year. 4, 'Les Filles Errantes' (1690). 5, 'La 

 Coquette' (1691); all in three acts. 6, 'Les Chinois' (1692), four acts, 

 and several one-act pieces, such as ' La SeVdnade,' ' La Foire de St. 

 Germain,' &c. He also wrote an opera entitled ' Le Carnaval de Venice' 

 (1699), the music of which is by Cainpra, and a tragedy called 'Sapor,' 

 which has not been represented. His other writings are some Epistles 

 and two Satires, one of them directed against Boileau, another against 

 husbands, which have been much admired, besides several shorter 

 poems. In prose he has composed a relation of his various travels, 

 and the ' Proven9ale ' already alluded to. 



REHOBOAM, the son of Solomon, by Naamah, an Ammonitess, 

 succeeded his father in B.C. 990, when he was forty-one years of age. 

 The oppressive taxation levied by Solomon to carry on his magnificent 

 buildings had occasioned much dissatisfaction among the people, and 

 when the tribes had assembled at Sheehein, having first sent for Jero- 

 boam who had been banished to Egypt, they wished to place some 

 restrictions on Ilehoboam's power. To this he refused to consent, and 

 replied to their representations with threats of increased severity. 

 The consequence was that ten tribes abandoned him, and formed a 

 new kingdom under Jeroboam [JEROBOAM], while he remained for the 

 rest of his life king of Judah only. In the first years of his reign he 

 adhered to the worship of his predecessors, and evinced his obedience 

 to the divine command by disbanding, at the message of Shemaiah 

 the prophet, an army which he had assembled in order to subdue 

 Jeroboam. He fortified and garrisoned the cities of Judah and Ben- 

 jamin, and for three years his reign was prosperous and peaceful. 

 He then probably induced by his mother resorted to practices oi 

 the rankest aud most disgusting idolatry. His punishment followed 



quickly. In the fifth year of his reign Judah was invaded by an 

 immense army commanded by Shishak, king of Egypt, or rather 

 of Thebes, whose image may be seen in the British Museum. The 

 fenced cities were taken with ease, and Jerusalem, itself opened its 

 gates to the conqueror. Rehoboam and his people repented, and at 

 bheir prayer Shemaiah announced that Shishak would withdraw, 

 which he did, but not until he had stripped the Temple of all its 

 golden ornaments and treasures, which were afterwards replaced by 

 brass ornaments by Rehoboam. He profited by the lesson, for 

 idolatry is not mentioned as occurring again during his r<-i^n ; and, 

 except a few skirmishes with Israel, he continued in peace till his 

 death in B.C. 973, when he was succeeded by his son Abijah. ABIJAH 

 bad no sooner began to reign than he was attacked by Jeroboam, 

 with an immense army, said to have numbered 800,000 men. After 

 an animated speech by Abijah, in which he declared his dependence 

 on the Lord, Jeroboam was defeated with the loss of 500,000 ; and 

 Abijah captured several of the cities of Israel, among them Bethel, 

 the city of the golden calf. But although on this occasion Abijah 

 appears in a favourable light, it is recorded that he " walked in all the 

 sins of his father." He died in B.C. 970, and was succeeded by his 

 son Asa. [AsA.] 



REICHA, ANTOINE-JOSEPH, a well-known composer, though 

 more esteemed as a writer on music, was born at Prague in 1770, but 

 educated at Bonn under his uncle, where he at first clandestinely 

 studied the art passionately loved by him, and which soon became hh 

 profession ; from which acknowledgment, made by himself, it is to be 

 presumed that he was originally intended for a different pursuit. He 

 early attempted musical composition, and when only seventeen years 

 of age conducted the performance of his first symphony. In 1791 he 

 went to Hamburg, and there remained five years, applying much to 

 the abstruse theory of music, for which study his knowledge of algebra, 

 a branch of mathematics wherein he was highly skilled, eminently 

 qualified him. At the same time he also devoted great attention to 

 the French language, in which he composed an opera, in two acts, 

 ' Obalda, ou les Frangais en Egypte,' but it was not represented. In 

 1798 he proceeded to Paris, and at the celebrated concert ' de Clery ' 

 produced with decided success a grand symphony. In 1802 he 

 removed to Vienna, where he resided six years, enjoying the friend- 

 ship of Haydn and Beethoven, and wrote many of his works, and 

 among them thirty-six fugues for the piano-forte, the whole edition of 

 which was sold in the first year. He returned to Paris in 1808, and 

 there remained till his decease, which took place in 1836. 



M. Reicha was a member of the Institute in both its forms, and a 

 leading professor of composition at the Ecole Royale de Musique. 

 Among his numerous works, those on which his future fame will rest 

 are, 'Cours de Composition, ou Traite complet et raisonne d'Harmonie 

 Pratique,' in 1 vol. fol ; and ' Traite de Melodie, Abstraction faite de 

 ses Rapports avec 1'Harmonie,' in 2 vols. 4to, 1814, both of which 

 ought to be carefully studied by every musician who wishes to under- 

 stand his art otherwise than empirically. His other works requiring 

 notice were ' Traite" de Haute Composition,' 4to, 1824; 'Petit Traite 

 d'Harmonie Pratique a deux Parties,' 4to; 'Art du Compositeur 

 Dramatique,' 4to, 1833; and many articles on music in TEncyclo- 

 pe"die des Gens du Monde.' 



REID, DR. THOMAS, was born April 26th, 1710, at Strachan in 

 Kincardineshire, about twenty miles from Aberdeen, of which parish 

 his father, the Rev. Lewis Reid, was minister for fifty years. He was 

 first sent to the parish school of Kincardine ; after two years he was 

 removed to Aberdeen ; and at the age of twelve or thirteen he entered 

 the Marischal College of Aberdeen. The principles of the philosophy 

 of which he afterwards became so able an advocate he imbibed here 

 under Dr. George Turnbull, author of ' The Principles of Moral 

 Philosophy.' He continued beyond the usual time at the university, 

 of which he had been appointed librarian. This office he resigned in 

 1736, and he then visited England in company with Dr. John Stewart, 

 afterwards professor of mathematics in the Marischal College. They 

 proceeded to London, Oxford, and Cambridge, aud were introduced 

 to several distinguished men. In 1737 Reid -returned to Scotland, and 

 was presented by King's Collrge, Aberdeen, to the living of New 

 Machar in Aberdeenshire. The parishioners being averse to the 

 system of patronage which led to this appointment, were at first 

 violently opposed to Reid ; but his unwearied attention to his duties 

 and the mildness of his temper soon overcame their opposition, and 

 converted their dislike into the highest esteem. It appears however 

 that he had been so little used to composition, and was naturally so 

 diffident, that for some time he delivered very few of his own sermons, 

 but used those of Archbishop Tillotson and Dr. Evans. In 1740 he 

 married Elizabeth, daughter of his uncle Dr. George Reid, a physician 

 in London. 



While he was minister of New Machar, he pursued a course of 

 intense study ; and in 1748 he inserted in the ' Transactions of the 

 Royal Society of London ' ' An Essay on Quantity, occasioned by a 

 treatise in which simple and compound ratios are applied to virtue and 

 merit.' In other words, it was an essay on the application of mathe- 

 matics to morals. Doctors Pitcairue and Cheyne had recently at- 

 tempted to apply mathematics to medicine, and Hutcheson to morals. 

 According to the latter, the good done by a man depends partly on 

 his benevolence and partly on his dispositions; the relations between 



