RUT 



It U T 



leat themlelves on the ground in a circular form, having 

 their feet turned towards the fire. Each of them is pro- 

 vided with a baking-board about two feet fquare, which 

 they hold on their knees. The perfon who toails the cake, 

 which is done on an i'-on-plate, fufpended over the fire, 

 is called the queen or bride, and the others her maidens. 

 She neareft the fire on the eaft is named the todler, and her 

 companion on the left-hand the hodler. The remainder 

 have arbitrary names given them by the bride. The bufinefs 

 is commenced by the todler, who takes a ball of the dough, 

 forms it into a fmall cake, and then calls it on the bake- 

 board of the hodler, who beats it out a little thinner, and 

 then throws it on the board of her next neighbour, and 

 thus it goes round from eaft to welt till it comes to the 

 toalter, by which time it is as thin and fmooth as a (heet 

 of paper. The firft cake eaft on the girdle is ufually 

 named as a gift to fome well-known cuckold, from a luper- 

 Ititious notion that thereby the relt will efcape that mif- 

 chance. As the whole operation is performed by the hand, 

 considerable noife is made ; but as the bakers generally 

 beat time to fome air fung by one or more of the company, 

 it is far from being difagreeable. Great dexterity is re- 

 quifite in the performance of this cultom, particularly in 

 throwing the cakes from one board to another, without 

 ruffling or breaking them ; and as the toafting requires 

 great (kill, the molt experienced perfon is always chofen 

 for that part of the work. One cake is fent round in 

 quick fucceffion after another, fo that none of the indi- 

 viduals engaged are fuffered to be idle. The whole is a 

 fcene of activity, mirth, and divcrfion. There being no 

 account, even by tradition, of the origin of this cultom, 

 it is prefumed to be very ancient, and probably took its 

 rife in the days of paganifm, as it is fraught with feveral 

 of the facred rites peculiar to heathen worfhip ; fuch as the 

 leavened dough, the mixing with fugar and fpices, the 

 confecrated ground, &c. ; but the particular deity for whofe 

 honour thefe cakes ware fir il made, is a point of difficult 

 folution. According to the population cenfus of 1811, 

 the borough and parifh of Rutherglen contain 756 houfes, 

 and 3529 inhabitants. The Hiltory of Glafgow and its 

 Suburbs, by James Denholm, 1 vol. i2mo. Glalgow, 1798. 

 Beauties of Scotland, vol. iii. 8vo. Lond. 1806. 

 RUTHIN. SeeRm iiivN-. 



RUTHSBOROUGH, a village in queen Anne'scounty, 

 Maryland, on Tuckahoe creek ; 6 miles S.E. of Cen- 

 terville. 



RUTHWELL, a market-town and parifh in the county 

 of Dumfries, Scotland, is fituated on the northern bank of 

 the Solvvay frith. The town, which Hands on the high 

 road from Port-Patrick to Carhfle, was formerly a long 

 flraggling place, but has of late years been much improved, 

 and alinoll entirely rebuilt, chiefly at the expence of the 

 earl of Mansfield, who is proprietor of the greater part of 

 the parifh. It is a burgh of barony, and has the privileges 

 of a weekly market, and feveral annual fairs. The parilh 

 extends about fix miles along the (hore of the Solway frith, 

 and is nearly three miles in breadth. In virtue of an ancient 

 charter from one of the kings of Scotland, all the inhabitants 

 were entitled to manufacture fait duty free ; confequently a 

 large quantity of that article was formerly made here ; and 

 the trade is Hill followed by many perfons, though the ex- 

 emption from duty has been difcontinued finee the union. 

 About forty years ago a Angular road was difcovered 

 leading through a deep morafs. It was formed of ilrong 

 oak planks, eight feet in length, fattened down by Itakes 

 <lriven through the boards into the earth. At the time it 



was thrown open, it lay fix feet beneath the furface of the 

 earth. 



The church of Ruthwell, one of the oldeft ecclefiaftical 

 buildings in Scotland, was formerly remarkable for an 

 ancient obekfk which fto< within its walls, and fra ments 

 ot which are ltill vifible in the church-yard. This monu- 

 ment was demolifhed by order of the General Aflembly in 

 1644, under pretence of its being an obje£t of fuperltition 

 among the vulgar. When entire, according to Pennant, 

 it meafured about twenty feet high, exclufive-of pedeltal 

 and capital, and was of a fquare form, but the fides were 

 of unequal breadth. Two of thefe were ornamented 

 with foliage and figures of animals, and had Runic in- 

 Icriptions round the margin. On one of the broader fides 

 was a very rude figure of our Saviour, and beneath were 

 two other figures, one bearded, and the other not, defigned 

 to reprefent feme of the apoltles. The oppofite fide alfo 

 difplayed a figure of the Saviour, with Mary Magdalen 

 walhing his feet. Thefe fculptures, fays the author above- 

 mentioned, were probably " the work of different times 

 and nations ; the firft, that of Chrillian Saxons, the other 

 of the Danes, who either found thofe fides plain, or, 

 defacing the ancient carving, replaced it with fome of their 

 own." In the cemetery is a monument to the memory 

 of Mr. Gawiri Young, the Scottifh vicar of Bray, who 

 was ordained miniiter of this parifh in 1617, and maintained 

 his poit for fifty-four years, notwithftanding the many 

 changes from Prefbyterianifm to Epifcopacy, and from 

 Epifcopacy to Prefbyterianifm, which occurred during that 

 revolutionary periods Thaiinfcription has, among others, 

 thefe words : 



" Far from our own ; amidft our own we ly ; 

 Of our dear bairns thirty and one us by." 



Within this parifh Hands Comlorgan caftle, an ancient man- 

 fion, belonging to the earl of Mansfield. It is furrounded 

 by cxtenfive parks and plantations, and commands a fine 

 view of the Solway frith, and of the adjacent country. 

 There are likewife fome remains of an ancient caftle at 

 Cockpool. 



According to the population cenfus of 181 1, Ruthwell 

 parifh contained 231 houfes, and 1184 inhabitants. Pen- 

 nant's Tour in Scotland, vol. i. 4to. Lond. 1776. Car- 

 lillc's Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, 4to. 1813. 



RUTICILLA, in Ornithology, a fpecies of Mufcicapa ; 

 which fee. 



Ruticilla, the Red-Start; which fee. See alfo Mo- 

 TACILLA Phanieurus. 



RUTIDEA, in Botany, a genus fo named by Decan- 

 dolle, from p'i/?»f> puJtJos, a wrinkle, alluding to the rugged- 

 nefs of its feeds. Annales du Mufce d'Hilt. Nat. v. 9. 2 19. 

 De Theis. 



RUTIGLIANO, in Geography, a town of Naples, in the 

 province of Bari ; 8 miles S. W. of Monopoli. 



R UTILE, in Mineralogy, Titane Ruthile of Brongniart, 

 an oxyd of titanium : it is of a dark blue-red colour, in- 

 clining to brown, with a degree of metallic fplendour : the 

 longitudinal fracture is foliated ; the crofs fracture con- 

 choidal and unequal. It is opaque or (lightly tranflucent, 

 and fometimes fufficiently hard to (cratch quartz. The 

 fpecilic gravity is from 4.18 to 4.24. Rntile is infufible by 

 the blowpipe, but witli the addition of borax it melts into a 

 yellow glafs. It is found c rvllallj/eJ : the primitive form 

 of the cryltals is a right-angled piilm. Sometimes two 

 cryltals are united by their extremities, forming a kind of 

 twin-cryftal. It alfo occurs in extremely minute capillary 



cryltals, 



