ROCHELLE ROCKINGHAM. 



887 



after a short harangue : " Allans chercher I'enne- 

 ti ; sije recule, tuez rnoi ; si j avarice, suivez titoi ; 

 sije tneurs, vengez moi." " Let us seek the foe ; 

 if 1 retreat, kill me ; if I advance, follow me ; if I 

 die, avenge me." After gaining sixteen victories 

 in ten months, he fell,at the age of twenty-two years, 

 March 4, 1794, in a single combat with one of the 

 republican soldiers. Marie Louise, marchioness de 

 la Rochejaquelein, wife of his elder brother, who 

 fell in Vendee in 1815, has written Memoirs of the 

 War in the Vendee. 



ROCHELLE, LA; a commercial city of France, 

 in the department of the Lower Charente, on the 

 Atlantic ocean, 100 miles north-west of Bordeaux ; 

 lat. 46 9' N.; Ion. 1 9' VV.; population 17,500. 

 It is well built, and strongly fortified (by Vauban), 

 and contains many handsome squares and fountains. 

 The harbour is safe and commodious, but is acces- 

 sible for large vessels only at high water. The 

 Place d'armes, or du chateau, is one of the finest in 

 France. Glass, stone- ware, and refined sugar, are 

 the principal articles manufactured, and it has a 

 considerable commerce. Rochelle is chiefly re- 

 markable as the stronghold of the French Protes- 

 tants (see Huguenots) in the times of the house of 

 Valois, and of the first Bourbons. In 1627, it was 

 beseiged by Richelieu, and was reduced by famine 

 after a heroic defence, in which 1 5,000 of the be- 

 seiged perished. A great number of the inhabi- 

 tants fled to North America. 



ROCHELLE SALT. See Tartaric Acid. 



ROCHESTER, an ancient city of England, in the 

 county of Kent, is situated 29 miles E. S. E. from 

 London, on the east bank of the Medway, at a bend 

 of the river, where it falls into the Thames. A con- 

 tinuous row of buildings connects it with Chatham, 

 and by a bridge over the Medway, erected towards 

 the end of the fourteenth century, it communicates 

 with the town of Stroud. The city within the walls 

 consists chiefly of a spacious street, intersected by 

 several others, and extending from the bridge on 

 the west to an elevated range of houses on the east, 

 connecting Rochester with Chatham. The houses 

 in general have an antiquated appearance, and 

 among them are several timber and brick buildings: 

 the streets are well paved and are lighted with gas. 

 On the south side the city is strongly fortified, the 

 works having been chiefly erected since 1802. Fort 

 Pitt, which extends from St Margaret's parish into 

 that of Chatham, is now used as a military hospital; 

 and Fort Clarence, westward of St Margaret's 

 cliurch, is become a lunatic asylum for soldiers. 

 These fortresses, in connection with Chatham Lines 

 form a series of defensive works, commanding the 

 Medway from Gillingham Fort to Rochester bridge. 

 The trade of this place principally depends on its 

 vicinity to the dock yard and victualling office, at 

 Chatham, and on the occasional residence here of 

 persons connected with the army and navy. Ship 

 building is carried on here to a small extent ; and 

 the oyster-fishery is a source of considerable profit ; 

 great quantities of oysters being sent to London, 

 Holland, and Germany. From the returns to par- 

 liament of the number of ships belonging to each of 

 the British ports in 1829, it appears that there were 

 belonging to Rochester, 255 ships, the burden of 

 which in all was 10,816 tons. The average num- 

 ber of vessels entering this port annually has been 

 estimated at 320 foreign, and 120 British. The 

 weekly markets are well supplied with fish and 

 provisions in general: there is a corn market re- 

 cently established ; and a cattle market is held 

 monthly on Wednesdays. The principal public 

 buildings and establishments of Rochester are the 

 Castle, the Cathedral, the Town-hall, and the 



Churches. The castle was erected after the Nor- 

 man conquest by Bishop Gundulpli, and its ruins 

 form one of the most interesting and entire exam- 

 ples of a Norman fortress existing in the kingdom. 

 The cathedral church was also erected by Bishop 

 Gundulph about 1080, and is a fine cruciform edi- 

 fice of Norman architecture. It is dedicated to St 

 Andrew. The town-hall is a handsome brick edi- 

 fice, built in 1687 ; it is supported by Doric columns, 

 and it contains a hall, the ceiling of which is orna- 

 mented with trophies and armorial bearings ; and 

 here are portraits of William III. and Queen Anne, 

 by Kneller, with those of Sir Cloudesley Shovel, Sir 

 Joseph Williamson,' and other public benefactors 

 of the city. Population of Rochester, in 1831, 

 9,891; in 1841, 11,949 



ROCHESTER, a rising town of America, in the 

 western part of New York, situated on both sides 

 of Genesee river, lat. 43 15' N. long. 77 51' W. 

 Its population, which in 1815, was only 331, had 

 amounted in 1832 to 12,000. Its position and na- 

 tural advantages make it the commercial emporium 

 of Western New York. 



ROCHESTER, JOHN WILMOT, earl of, a witty 

 and profligate nobleman of the court of Charles II., 

 was born in 1648, and, on the death of his father, 

 succeeded him in his titles and estates, the latter of 

 which his extravagance soon dissipated. Having 

 gone through the usual course of academical study 

 at Oxford, he made a tour through France and 

 Italy, and then served in the fleet under Lord Sand- 

 wich. On his return to England, he rushed into 

 the full vortex of dissipation, and became the per- 

 sonal friend and favourite of his sovereign, who is 

 said to have encouraged and shared many of his ex- 

 ploits. The levity of his disposition frequently 

 brought him into disgrace, and he was more than 

 once forbidden the royal presence ; his companion- 

 able qualities, however, which made him necessary 

 to the amusement of his master, prevented his occa- 

 sional exile from being ever of long continuance. 

 H is coutitution at length gave way under such ex- 

 cesses ; and at the age of thirty, he was visited with 

 all the debility of old age. He lingered for some 

 time in this condition, and died, professing great 

 penitence for his misspent life, July 26, 1680. His 

 poetical works, some of which are of the most dis- 

 gusting description, have been frequently printed. 

 A few of his poems are of a better description, es- 

 pecially his poem on Nothing, and his lampoon upon 

 Sir Carr Scroope, which exhibit some vigour, with 

 careless versification. His satire on Man is little 

 more than a translation from Boileau. See his Life 

 by Bishop Burnet, and Johnson's Lives of the Poets, 



ROCK SALT. See Salt. 



ROCKET (eruca sativa, or the brassica eruca of 

 Linnaeus) ; a cruciferous plant, allied to the turnip 

 and cabbage, growing wild in many parts of Europe. 

 It has a strong disagreeable odour, an acrid and 

 pungent taste, but is, notwithstanding, much es- 

 teemed by some, and especially by the Italians, 

 who use it in their salads. Its medicinal proper- 

 perties are antiscorbutic, and very stimulant. The 

 stem is about a foot and a half high, rough, with 

 soft hairs, and bearing long pinnated leaves : the 

 flowers are whitish or pale yellow, with violet veins, 

 and are disposed in racemes. The term rocket is 

 is also applied to the different species of hesperis 

 cruciferous plants with purple flowers, often culti- 

 vated for ornament in gardens. 



ROCKET, SKV. A well-known fire- work. 



ROCKETS, CONGREVE. See Congreve, Sir 

 William. 



ROCKINGHAM, CHARLES WATSON WENT- 

 WORTH, marquis of, a British statesman, born in 



