RIGHT WHALE 



6622 



RIGSDAG 



acceptance of Louis X\1, Oct. 5, 

 1789. Founded on principles of 

 political and social liberty, and pre- 

 scribing the relations of individuals 

 to the law and constitution, the de- 

 claration embodied the spirit of the 

 Revolution and finally abolished 

 feudalism and the old social con- 

 ditions. As the charter of the 

 people's liberty, it has been the 

 basis of almost all subsequent 

 European constitutions. The chief 

 articles declare that all men are 

 born and remain equal in rights ; 

 that social distinctions can only be 

 tolerated as far as they are for the 

 public good ; that every citizen 

 has a right to participate person- 

 ally or by his representative in the 

 making of laws ; that public bur- 

 dens should be borne by the whole 

 community in proportion to indi- 

 vidual abilities ; that none should 

 be imprisoned except in execution 

 of the law, and that freedom of 

 religion, of speech, and of the press 

 are fundamental rights of the 

 citizen. See French Revolution. 



Right Whale (Balaena). Genus 

 of whales, of which the Greenland 

 whale B. mysticetux is the best 

 known. They are characterised 

 by their very large head and the 

 absence of the back fin. The 

 mouth is arched and contains Jong 

 plates of whalebone. Of this group, 

 the Greenland whale is not known 

 with any certainty to have occurred 

 in the British seas; but the South- 

 ern right whale was formerly com- 

 mon in the N. Sea. See Whale. 



Rigi. Mountain mass of central 

 Switzerland. It rises between the 

 lakes of Lucerne, Zug, and Lowerz, 

 and is mostly in the canton of 

 Schwyz. It is 35 m. in circuit and 

 has an alt. of 5,906 ft. Abrupt to 

 the N., it slopes, with broad 

 terraces, to the S., affording fine 

 pasturage, while, lower down, fig 

 and almond trees flourish. It is 

 ascended by two mountain rlys., 

 one from Vitznau on Lake Lucerne, 

 and another from Goldau (q.v.); 

 there are foot and bridle paths 

 from these places, 

 as also from Weg- 

 gis and K ii s s- 

 nacht (q.v.). The 

 summit com- 

 mands a mag- 

 nificent pano- 

 rama, embracing 

 the 125 m. range 

 of the snow-clad 

 Alps, the Jura, the 

 Vosges, the Black 

 Forest, and parts 

 of Wiirttemberg 

 and Bavaria. Over 

 20 hotels have 

 been erected 

 among the various 

 peaks, those at 



Rigi-Kaltbad and Rigi-Scheidegg 

 having English church services. 

 See Alps ; Pilatus. 



Rigid. In aeronautics, an ab- 

 brcv. for rigid airship. See Airship. 



Rigidity (Lat. rigidua, stiff). 

 Property of a body by which it 

 resists change of form, the oppo- 

 site of flexibility or elasticity. It is 

 a property which very clearly dis- 

 tinguishes solids from fluids, for 

 while the latter have rigidity in 

 reference to volume, that is, they 

 resist increase or diminution of 

 volume, they have none in regard 

 to form. Nevertheless, a fluid in a 

 state of rapid motion may acquire 

 an apparent or temporary rigidity, 

 as a jet of water issuing at a high 

 pressure from the nozzle of a fire 

 hydrant. While all solids have 

 rigidity there is no known ma- 

 terial which completely resists a 

 change of form under stress. This 

 deformation is proportional to the 

 stress, while the ratio between the 

 stress and the deformation is called 

 the modulus of rigidity. (Sec- 

 Matter : Materials, Strength of. 



and is present over the whole body 

 in from 12 to 18 hours. It passes 

 off in the same order, and has gener- 

 ally disappeared in 36 hours after 

 death. Exceptionally, it may come 

 on very quickly after death, or may 

 be delayed for several days. The 

 limbs stiffen in the attitude in 

 which they were at death. The 

 contraction can be overcome by 

 forcibly bending the joint, and 

 when overcome it does not recur. 

 Before the onset of rigor mortis, 

 the reaction of the muscles is alka- 

 line, but during the period of 

 rigidity it is acid, owing to the 

 formation of sarcolactic acid. 

 After the rigidity has passed off, 

 the reaction is again alkaline. The 

 onset of rigor mortis is hastened by 

 exhaustion of the muscles before 

 death, as in hunted animals, or 

 soldiers killed at the end of a long 

 march, and also by the exhaustion 

 produced by lingering illness ; it 

 is delayed where the muscular 

 tone was good before death, and in 

 persons in sound health who die 

 suddenly. 



Right Whale. 



The Greenland whale, one of the largest sea mammals, spouting 



Rigor (Lat.). Severe fit of shiv- 

 ering occurring at the commence- 

 ment or during the course of cer- 

 tain diseases, e.g. pneumonia, 

 typhoid fever, and various forms 

 of blood poisoning. 



Rigor Mortis. Stiffening of the 

 muscles which occurs after death. 

 It commences usually in the neck, 

 jaw, and face, in about six hours, 



Rigi. Summit of the Swiss mountain which commands 

 one of the finest Alpine views, and Rigi-Kulm Hotel 



The rigidity also occurs more 

 quickly in young children and old 

 people than in adults and the 

 middle-aged. A warm temperature 

 hastens the onset of rigor mortis, 

 and a cold temperature delays it. 

 Instantaneous rigidity or cada- 

 veric spasm is a condition which 

 sometimes immediately follows 

 death, and in which the muscles 

 are firmly contracted in the atti- 

 tude they were in at the moment of 

 death. It is seen in cases where 

 death was preceded by great ner- 

 vous tension or excitement. Sol- 

 diers killed in battle have been 

 found still holding their weapons, 

 as in life. The hands of a drowned 

 person may be firmly closed round 

 objects he has grasped, and a pistol 

 or razor may be held in the hand of 

 a suicide. See Death ; Drowning. 



Rigsdag. Scandinavian word 

 for a national legislature, the 

 equivalent of diet and the German 

 Reichstag. The Danish Rigsdag 

 consists of two houses, the Lands- 

 ting or senate, and the elected 

 Folketing. See Denmark. 



