878 



RIGA RIO DE JANEIRO. 



workman ; ami their depth and width are not re- 

 gulated by any invariable rule. The period of their 

 invention cannot be precisely determined. In 1381, 

 tiie city of Augsburg promised, in the war of the 

 t". < imperial riues against the nobility in Franconia, 

 Suabia and Bavaria, to send thirty rifles (busses, 

 bachtfn] to the army. In 1498, fire-arms with 

 rifled barrels were used at a public shooting-match 



RIGA ; a fortified city in the Russian govern- 

 ment of the same name (see Livonia), lying on the 

 Duna, or Dwina, seven miles above its entrance 

 into the gulf of Riga ; lat. 56 57' N. ; Ion. 24 5' 

 K. The suburbs, which were almost entirely de- 

 stroyed in 1812 (see Rustian- German War) have 

 -.nice been rebuilt with broad, handsome streets, and 

 numerous public walks and squares. The city has 

 also received many additions and ornaments of 

 late. The population, which, in 1821, amounted to 

 41,500, was, in 1828, 55,547, principally Lutherans. 

 In 1829, 1403 vessels entered the port of Riga ; the 

 exports for the same year amounted to 47,888,000 

 roubles. The commerce is principally carried on by 

 British merchants. There are numerous public 

 institutions and buildings here, among the latter of 

 which are the magnificent town-house, an imperial 

 palace, the old castle, &c. The inhabitants are chiefly 

 Germans, or of German origin. Next to Petersburg, 

 Riga is the most important commercial place in the 

 empire, and has large naval establishments. Corn, 

 flax and hemp are the chief articles of export. 

 Riga was founded in 1200, by bishop Albert, and, 

 until the middle of the sixteenth century, belonged 

 to the Teutonic knights. In 1710, it was taken 

 possession of by Russia. 



RIGADOON ; a lively kind of dance, performed 

 in figure by a man and woman, and the tune of 

 which is always written in triple time. The rigadoon 

 was borrowed originally from Provence. The word 

 is formed from the French word rigaudon, signifying 

 the same thing. 



RIGGING; a general name given to all the 

 ropes employed to support the masts, and to extend 

 or reduce the sails, or arrange them to the disposi- 

 tion of the wind. Standing rigging is that which 

 is used to sustain the masts, and remains in a fixed 

 position ; as the shrouds, stays, and back-stays. 

 Running rigging is that which is fitted to arrange 

 the sails by passing through various blocks, in dif- 

 ferent places about the masts, yards, shrouds, &c., 

 as the braces, sheets, halliards, clew-lines, &c., &c. 



RIGH1, OR RIGI (Mons Regius, or Regina 

 niiDitium) ; an isolated mountain in the canton of 

 Schweitz, between the lakes of Zug, Lucerne and 

 Lowertz, 6000 feet high. The view from the sum- 

 mit is remarkably fine, and attracts great numbers 

 of travellers ; it embraces the whole of the north 

 and east of Switzerland, far into Swabia, the Jura, 

 the Alps to the Jungfrau, and fourteen lakes. 

 Fussli and Meyer published the finest views in the 

 Sketches on the Righi (Zurich, 1807). 



RIGHT AND LEFT BANK OF A RIVER. 

 Tliat bank which is on the right of a person looking 

 down the river is called the right bank : the other 

 the left. 



RIGHT, PETITION OF. See Petition of Right. 



RIGHTS, BILL or. See BUI of Rights. 



RIGHTS, DECLARATION OF. See Bill of Rights. 



RIMINI (Ariminum) ; a city in the States of the 

 Church, on the Marecchia, near its entrance into 

 the gulf of Venice ; lat. 44 C 4' N., Ion. 12 34' E. 

 There is a harbour at the mouth of the Marecchia, 

 which, however, is choked up by sand and stones, 

 brought down by the river. The sea has receded 

 more than two miles from the ancient light-house, 



which is now surrounded by gardens. The river is 

 crossed by a handsome marble bridge, of five arches, 

 built by Tiberius, at the point where the Flaminian 

 and -Kmiliaii ways met, and is the finest monument 

 of antiquity of the kind. Before one of the gates is 

 an ancient triumphal arch, erected in honour of 

 Augustus. The cathedral erected on the ruins of 

 the temple of Castor and Pollux is, like several of 

 the other churches, built of the marble taken from 

 the ruins of the old port. The church of S. Fran- 

 cesco, built in the midde of the fifteenth century, is 

 celebrated for its noble and splendid style of archi- 

 tecture. It was erected by Pandolfo Malatesta, 

 whose family governed Rimini for a long period, in 

 the middle ages, and adorned the city with many 

 public buildings. In the Piazza del Commune is a 

 handsome fountain, and a bronze statue of pope 

 Paul V.; in the market-place is shown a pedestal, 

 from which it is pretended that Caesar harangued 

 his troops before passing the Rubicon. Rimini 

 contains some other fine remains of antiquity. 

 March 25, 1831, it was occupied by Austrian 

 troops, after having been some time defended by 

 Italian patriots. 



RING. For the pope's ring, see Fisherman's 

 Ring ; for the bishop's, see Investiture, also Kiss ; 

 for Saturn's ring, see Planet and Saturn. See also 

 Fairy Circle. 



RIO BRAVO DEL NORTE. See Norte. 



RIO DE JANEIRO,OR S. SEBASTIANO (often 

 called simply Rio) ; capital city of Brazil, on the 

 western shore of the bay of the same name, which 

 makes up from the Atlantic ocean ; lat. 22 54' S. 

 Ion. 43 15' W. ; population in 1820, estimated at 

 135,000, and by Walsh, in 1830, at 150,000. Be- 

 fore the arrival of the Portuguese court, in 1808, 

 the population was about 50,000, and occupied only 

 that part of the city now called the old city. The 

 streets of the new city are broad and straight, and 

 the houses in both sections are mostly built in the 

 same style, of granite, and three stories high. 

 The public places are not remarkable for beauty, 

 but most of them have fountains supplied with 

 water by a very handsome aqueduct. The im- 

 perial palace, formerly the residence of the vice- 

 roys, is built in an ordinary style, and was en- 

 larged, after the arrival of the court, by connecting 

 it with the Carmelite monastery. The mint, the 

 custom-house, the arsenal, and the exchange, are 

 handsome buildings. The churches and convents 

 (five) present nothing deserving of notice. The 

 public gardens are prettily laid out, and enjoy a 

 fine prospect. Music is a favourite amusement of 

 the people, and is cultivated with success by all 

 classes. The manufacturing industry is inconsider- 

 able ; but Rio is the great mart of Brazilian com- 

 merce ; the harbour is one of the finest and safest 

 in the world. All the ports, between Bahia on the 

 north and Montevideo on the south, send their mer- 

 chandise to Rio for exportation or consumption. 

 The internal commerce with the inland provinces is 

 also extensive, particularly in mineral riches. Sugar, 

 coffee, cotton, tobacco, hides, tallow, furs, molasses, 

 indigo, fustic, cocoa-nuts, diamonds, topaz, and other 

 precious stones, are among the exports. (See Bra- 

 zil.) The climate is warm and humid ; and, on 

 account of the marshes which surround the city, 

 and the filth of the streets, the vultures be.ing the 

 only scavengers, the city is often an unhealthy resi- 

 dence for strangers ; but, by adopting the Brazilian 

 mode of living, avoiding exposure in the sun, night 

 dews, abstaining from spirituous liquors, and using 

 vegetable diet, the danger is averted. The popula- 

 tion consists of a singular mixture of colours and 

 nations ; about two thirds are negroes, mulattoes, 



