MG 



KACINC 



KADCUFFE 



content all that wa noble in the royalism of the 

 18th century, and in the spiritual aspirations out of 

 which grew a Mere AMMOBM and a Pacal : ami 

 it attains theOlympian height of distinct originality 

 as well in the l>alaiioiMl proportion mul harmony of 

 all its element* as in the grandeur and sublimity 

 of which it is capable of rising in a Phttlre, an 

 Either, and 'an Atlutlit. These high creations 

 transcend and crown with tin- glory of completion 

 his habitual temlcrnc-s and Ix-anty, hut into this 

 empyrean also the poet soars no less naturally on 

 the same strong anil steady wing. Voltaire, when 

 asked to write a commentary on Uacine, answered, 

 and with truth : ' 11 n'v a qu' & mettre au IMS de 

 toutes les pages beau, pathetique, harmoniciix, 

 admirable, sublime.' 



The first collected edition appeared 1675-76 ; the last 

 within his life-time in 1697. Uf more important editions 

 may be named the splendid folio of 1806, those of La 

 Harpe (with commentary, 1807), Geoffrey (1808), Aime 

 Martin ( 1820 ), A. France ( 5 vola. 1874 ), and especially the 

 splendid edition by Paul Hesnard in ' Les Grands cri- 

 vains de la France' (8 vols. 1865-73). The first volume 

 of the but contains a Life ; the eighth, a Lexique by 

 Marty-Laveaux. Of English translations are the 7>u- 

 trratd Mother, by Ambrose Philip* (1712), the Phadra 

 and ffippolyttu, by Kdmnnd Smith, brought out at the 

 llaymarket in 1707 ; and a complete metrical version by 

 K B. Boswell (voL i. 1889; voL ii. 1891). See vol. vi 

 of .Sainte-Beuve's Port Royal, and voL i. of P-trtraUt 

 Litttrairtt ; also Henry M. Trollope's Corniille and 

 Racine, in the series of ' Foreign Classics.' 



Raring. See ATHLETICS, HORSERACING, ROW- 

 ING, YACHT. 



Rack, an instrument of Torture (q.v.) used for 

 extracting confessions from actual or suspected 

 criminals, consisted of an oblong frame of wood, 

 with a windlass arrangement at each end, to which 

 the sufferer was bound by cords attached to his 

 arms and legs. The unfortunate being was thru 

 stretched or pulled till he made confession, or till 

 his limlis were dislocated. The rack was known 

 to the Romans in Cicero's time, and in the 1st and 

 2d centuries A.D. was applied to the early Chris- 

 tians. According to OoBfc it was introduced into 

 B&gtead by the Duke of Exeter, Constable of the 

 Tower in 1447, whence it came to lie called the 

 'Duke of Exeter's daughter.' Its use first be- 

 came common in tin- time of Henry VIII., but 

 could only take place by warrant of council, or 

 under the sign-manual. Under Elizabeth it was 

 in almost constant use. In 1028, on the murder 

 by Felton of the Duke of Buckingham, it being 

 proposed by Charles I. to put the assassin to the 

 rack, in order that he might discover his accom- 

 plices, the judges resisted the proceeding as con- 

 trary to the law of England. In various countries 

 of Europe the rack lias lieen much used l>oth In 

 the civil authorities in cases of traitors and con- 

 spirators, and by the Inquisition to extort a recan- 

 tation of heresy. It is no longer in use in any 

 part of the civilised world. 



Rackarook. See BLASTING. 



K.-K'kets (or RACtjl'ETS; M.E. raket ; Span. 

 nii/iirtii, 'racket,' ' hattle-dore ;' Arab. riuuU, 

 ' piilin of the hand '). No reference is made to the 

 game of racket* In-fore the early part of the l!tli 

 entiiry, and the game as then played dihVred 

 materially from that of the present day. I-'rom 

 DiekOM't account in I'irl.-irirk we should gather 

 that the racket court in which the insolvent 

 del. tors di-|Hirt<-,| themselves in the Fleet boasted 

 of more than one wall, hut the usual game was 

 played against a Mingle wall, the hall having to 

 relvound into a court marked out with paint. The 

 erection of the court* at Prince's Club in 1H.13 

 showed that thi> four-wall game was coming into 

 favour, and since covered courts have been adopted 



by the universities and public schools the old game 



has In-conic practically obsolete, When the site of 

 Prince's Club was invaded by the builder in 188G 

 the headquarters of rackets were transferred to 

 the Queen's Club, Kensington, where champion- 

 ship matches have been instituted, and where the 

 university and public school contests now take 

 place. 



The modern court is about 60 feet long by 30 feet 

 broad and 40 feet high. It is enclosed by four 

 walls, and covered by a roof with a double row of 

 skylights. The walls and floor are coated with 

 cement, usually coloured black, and marked out 

 by white lines as shown in the plan. A line n 

 from the ground painted across the front wall i- 

 calleil the 'service line.' Below this at 2 feet is th<- 

 'play line,' which is made of wood, so as to enable 

 the players to judge by the sound whether a ball is 

 'up or not. The racket has a small head with 

 tightly strung gut and a long handle. The avci 

 weight is 9 oz. The Imll is very hard, and alxiut. 

 11 inch in diameter. The server strikes the ball 

 alternately from the two serving boxes a and b in 

 such a manner that it flies direct from his racket t<> 



Plan of Racket Court. 



some part of the front wall almve the service line, 

 and rebounds into that quarter of the court opposite 

 to him viz. from a into A, from ft into B. If the 

 ball hits the wall below the play line, or goes 'out 

 of court,' the server's 'hand is out.' and his opponent 

 has the privilege of serving. If it strikes the wall 

 between the play line and the service line, or falls 

 on soiiii; part of the lloor other than that indicated, it 

 is a 'fault,' and the servee may refuse to take it. 

 Two faults put the hand out. The servee must 

 return the service above the play line. The game 

 consists of fifteen aces, and the server scores an ace 

 when the striker out fails to return his service or 

 any ball in the subsequent 'bully.' See Tennis, 

 Li i ir a Tennis, Hufhi'tx. mill Fives, in the 'Badmin- 

 ton ' scries, by J. M. Heathcote and others (1890). 



Ifai <></>. See RAKOCZV. 



Racoon. See RACCOON. 



Rnrooilda, the fur of the Coypu (q.v.). 



Rarow, a village in the south of the Polish 

 government of Radoni, was in the 16th century :i 

 centre of the Sorinians, who printed here their 

 Catechism (q.v.). Pop. 2109. 



RndclifTr. a town of south-east Lancashire, 



in the Irwell. 2J miles SSW. of Bury and 7 NN\V. 

 of Manchester. It has an ancient parish church 

 'icd IsT.S). a ruined tower, a market-hall 

 (I >-">_> i, a i-o operative hall (1878), cotton and 

 calico works, bleachfiplds, and coal-mining in the 

 neighbourhood. Pop. (1851) 5002; (1881) 16,207 ; 

 ( is'.ll ) 20,020. 



IC.-ulrlitlV. ANX, novelist, was born in London, 

 Ol h July 17<>4, of respectable tradespeople with 

 good connections. Her maiden name was Ward, 

 but in her twenty-third year, at Bath, she married 

 William Radclilfe, a graduate of Oxford and sonn 

 time student of law, who became proprietor and 

 editor of the weekly English Chronicle. She took 



