RIDD 



rifled projectile, however, tends to 

 rise much more sharply after a 

 ricochet, and so loses much of its 

 chance of hitting an object. The 

 term is also used in musketry. 

 Pron. Rik-o-shay. 



Ridd, JOHN. Hero of R. D. 

 Blackmore's novel Lorna Doone. 

 A farmer of Exmoor, he inherited 

 a feud with the lawless Doones (q.v. ), 

 but after many difficulties he suc- 

 ceeded in marrying Lorna. He is 

 represented as a man of immense 

 strength and size, a noted wrestler, 

 but gentle, even simple in 

 manners. The name was borrowed 

 from real life, for stories of Devon 

 and Somerset tell of a real John 

 Ridd, famous for his feats of 

 strength. See Lorna Doone 



Riddell, GEORGE ALLARDICE 

 RIDDELL, IST BARON (b. 1865). 

 British newspaper proprietor. He 

 was born May 

 25, 1865, son of 

 James Riddell, 

 of Duns, co. 

 Berwick. After 

 studying the 

 law, he prac- 

 tised for a time 

 as a solicitor. 

 He then en- 

 tered the 1st Baron RiddeU, 

 journalist ic British newspaper 

 and publishing proprietor 



world, and be- ify*t* 



came a director of several com- 

 panies, including The News of 

 the World, Ltd., and The Western 

 Mail, Ltd. He acted as liaison 

 officer between the British Govern- 

 ment and the Press during the 

 Peace Conference at Versailles, 

 1919-20. Knighted in 1909, and 

 made a baronet in 1918 for his war 

 services, he was raised to the peer- 

 age in 1920 as Baron Riddell of 

 Walton Heath. 



Riddell, CHARLOTTE ELIZA LAW- 

 SON (1832-1906). British novelist. 

 Born Sept, 30, 1832, daughter of 

 James Cowan, 

 of Carrie k- 

 fergus, she 

 married J. H. 

 Riddell (d. 

 1880) in 1857, 

 and wrote 

 many novels 

 and short 

 stories, the 

 scenes of many 

 of which were 

 laid in London, including The Rul- 

 ing Passion, 1858; George Geith 

 of Fen Court, 1865, dramatised in 

 1883; Far Above Rubies, 1867; 

 Austin Friars, 1870; A Struggle 

 for Fame, 1883 ; A Silent Tragedy, 

 1893; Footfall of Fate, 1900. She 

 was part proprietor and editor of 

 The St. James's Magazine. She 

 died at Hounslow, Sept. 24, 1906. 



Charlotte Riddell, 

 British novelist 



6613 



Riddle. Puzzling or enig- 

 matical question. The most famous 

 riddle is that supposed to have been 

 propounded by the Sphinx : " What 

 animal is that which goes on four 

 feet in the niorning, on two at 

 noon, and on three in the even- 

 ing ? " The answer, discovered by 

 Oedipus, was " man, for when an 

 infant he creeps on all fours, when 

 he has attained maturity goes on 

 two feet, and when old uses a 

 staff." Frequently the answer to 

 a riddle embodies a pun, as in 

 Rowley's Puniana, 1867. See also 

 Devinettes Populaires de la France, 

 E. Rolland, 1877; Proverbes et 

 Devinettes, J. J. Blade, 1879; 

 The Hundred Riddles of the Fairy 

 Bellaria, C. G. Leland, 1892. 



Rideau. Lake, river, and canal 

 of Ontario, Canada. The lake is 

 42 m. S.W. of Ottawa, and dis- 

 charges into the river which joins 

 the Ottawa river at Ottawa. The 

 canal, built 1826-34 for military 

 purposes, connects Ottawa with 

 Kingston, on Lake Ontario, by 

 means of the river and lake, and by 

 connexions with Mud Lake and 

 the Cataraqui river. The canal is 

 126 m. long, and 4J ft. deep in the 

 navigable channel. See Ottawa. 



Ridge. Elongated high land, 

 Usually a ridge has an almost level 

 skyline, from which the land slopes 

 on both sides. When one slope is 

 much steeper than the other, the 

 ridge forms a scarp ; when the slopes 

 are almost equally steep, it is a hog's 

 back. A ridge is, in general, due to 

 the exposure of a more resistant 

 stratum by the denudation of ad- 

 jacent softer rocks, and its direc- 

 tion follows the line of outcrop of 

 the hard rock. The Cbilterns, 

 Cotswolds, and N. and S. Downs 

 are ridges exposed by the denuda- 

 tion of clay beds. The term is also 

 applied to formations of similar 

 contour on the floor of the 

 Atlantic Ocean. See Atlantic 

 Ocean ; Mountain. 



Ridge, WILLUM PETT (b. 1864). 

 British novelist. Born near Canter- 

 bury, he was educated at the Birk- 

 beck Institute. 

 His work, 

 which is 

 c h a r a cterised 

 by a humorous 

 and sympa- 

 thetic under- 

 standing of the 

 lower and 

 lower-middle 

 class life of 

 London, in- 

 cludes M o r d 

 Em'ly, 1898; 'Erb, 1903; The 

 Wickhamses, 1906 ; Name of Gar- 

 land, 1907 ; Thanks to Sanderson, 

 1911 ; The Kennedy People, 1915 ; 

 and The Bustling Hours, 1919. 



Win. Pett Ridge, 

 British novelist 



Elliott Jk Fry 



RIDING 



Ridge way, SIR JOSEPH WEST (b. 

 1844). British administrator. En- 

 tering the army in 1861, he served 

 in the Afghan 

 War, 1879-80; 

 was appointed 

 political secre- 

 tary to Lord 

 Roberts and 

 was under- 

 secretary to 

 the govern- 



ment of India, 

 1880-84. Hav- 

 ing successfully 

 carried out a 



Sir William Ridge- 

 way, British 

 archaeologist 



Elliott <fc Fry 



Sir J. WestRidgeway, 

 British administrator 



Elliott & Fry 



special mission to Russia, 1886-87, 

 he became under-secretary for Ire- 

 land, 1887-93 ; was governor of the 

 Isle of Man, 1893-95 ; and governor 

 of Ceylon, 1896-1903. lie was 

 knighted in 1891. 



Ridge way, SIR WILLIAM (b. 

 1853). British archaeologist. Born 

 at Ballydermot, Ireland, Aug. 6, 

 1853,' he 

 studied in 

 Dublin and 

 Cambridg e, 

 and became 

 professor o f 

 archaeology at 

 Cambridge, 

 1892. He was 

 president of 

 the Royal An- 

 t h r o pological 

 Institute, 

 1908-10, and 

 of the Classical Association, 1914. 

 He was knighted, 1919. Among his 

 numerous works are The Early Age 

 of Greece, 1901 ; Who were the Ro- 

 mans ? , 1907 ; The Oldest Irish Epic, 

 1907 ; The Origin of Tragedy, 1910 ; 

 The Dramas and Dramatic Dances 

 of non-European Races, 1915. 



Riding. Term applied to horse- 

 manship, which may be broadly 

 denned as getting the best work 

 out of a horse for a given object, 

 with a minimum of distress to 

 horse and rider. Much has been 

 written about " hands," i.e. the 

 control of a horse by the rein, and 

 more about " seat." 



" Hands " cannot be acquired ; 

 the natural sensitiveness and re- 

 sponsiveness, together with the 

 capacity for understanding the 

 animal one is riding, are inborn. 

 In the " seat " it is usual to en- 

 deavour to combine elegance with 

 firmness. Cavalry and hack riders 

 have the leg slightly bent, many 

 cross-country riders prefer a 

 shorter stirrup, whereas the cow- 

 boy, who is as often in the saddle 

 as on foot, rides with an absolutely 

 straight leg. The cowboy, how- 

 ever, rides from his saddle, a mas- 

 sive and weighty article fashioned 

 to meet the necessities of his call- 

 ing. The Australian bushman, at 



