R I T 
perhaps, a milder and more constant lustre over his character, 
than the vivid flashes of science and the fine energies of 
intellect. Here he felt content, nor seemed to wish for more. 
In his intercourses of friendship, sincerity and simplicity 
went hand in hand. A stranger to the too common arrogance 
of high pretensions, he met every man on the ground of 
friendly reciprocity. Feeling a superior attachment to those 
who propagated science, he did not conceal the estimation in 
which he held them. He was among the first to welcome to 
America the persecuted Priestley, and formed with him an 
intimacy which only required time to be cemented into a 
lasting friendship.” After a very severe illness of a few days 
continuance, he died on the 1 Oth of July 1796, about the age 
of 64. He had the degree of LL. D. conferred upon him. 
To the “ Transactions” of the American Philosophical 
Society, he contributed several excellent papers, chiefly on 
astronomical subjects. Gentleman's Magaz. Sept. 1796. 
Monthly Magaz. Oct. 1796. 
RITTERA, [so named by Schreber, in honour of Ritter, 
a physician in Silesia,] in botany, a genus of the class po- 
lyandria, order monogynia, natural order of leguminosoe. 
Generic Character.—Calyx: perianth four-leaved; leaflets 
ovate, rounded, concave, deciduous. Corolla: petal one, 
wide, roundish, upright, fringed, lateral, with a very short 
claw. Stamina: filaments many, longer than the corolla, 
inserted into the receptacle, of which some opposite to the 
petal are shorter and barren. Anthers oblong, incumbent. 
Pistil: germ pedicelled, oblong, compressed, curved inwards. 
Style short. Stigma blunt. Pericarp : legume oblong, ven- 
tricose, compressed, one-celled, two-valved. Seeds three or 
four, compressed, angular. It is referred by Aublet to order 
monoecia, of class polygamia. Essential Character .— 
Calyx four-leaved. Petal one, lateral. Legume one-celled, 
two-valved. 
1. Rittera simplex.-—Leaves simple, petal roundish, obo- 
vate, larger than the calyx, many-stamened.—Native of the 
Caribbee islands.—2. Rittera grandiflora.—Leaves simple, 
oblong-ovate, peduncles subtriflorous, petal roundish kidney- 
form, very large, legumes oblong.—Native of Trinidad.—3. 
Rittera dodecandra.—Leaves simple, petal oblong, the 
length of the calyx, flowers twelve-stamened. 
4. Rittera triphylla,—This is a middle-sized tree, with a 
trunk from seven to eight feet in height, and seven or eight 
inches in diameter, with a smooth, thin, gray bark, and a 
yellowish, hard, compact wood. It divides at top into 
twisted branches that extend themselves on all sides. Leaves 
alternate, composed of three sessile leaflets, which are entire, 
smooth, thin but firm, ovate, acuminate; the middle leaflet 
much larger than those on the sides. Stipules two, small, 
deciduous at the base of the midrib, Flowers axillary, in 
corymbs. Corolla yellow. Stamens twenty-five or twenty- 
six, six or seven of which are shorter and abortive. Seeds 
from one to four, of a disagreeable taste, and very acrid, in¬ 
flaming and swelling the lips of those who bite them,— 
Native of tHe forests of Guiana, near the source of the 
creek of the Galibis; flowering and fruiting in the month of 
May. The French call it Bois dard or Bois a fleche, be¬ 
cause the natives arm their arrows at the point with a piece 
of the wood cut very sharp. 
5. Rittera pinnata.—Leaves pinnate. 
RXTTERSHUYS (Conrad), a learned jurist and philologist, 
was bom at Brunswick in 1560. After having made a great 
progress in the learned languages, he went to Helmstadt for the 
study of theology, but his inclination led him to prefer juris¬ 
prudence. He removed to Altdorff for the further pursuit of 
this study, and thence accompanied Gifanius, one of his pre¬ 
ceptors, to Ingoldstadt. At the same time he continued to 
pay attention to classical literature, which was always his 
favourite recreation. He took the degree of doctor of law at 
Basil in 1591, and was soon after nominated professor in that 
science at Altdorff, where he died in 1613. This learned 
man was the author of several works in his own profession, 
and gave editions with notes of various antient writers. Of the 
former, the principal was Jus Justineaneum, sive Novel- 
R I T 119 
larum methodica explicatio,” 1616, 4to. His philological 
labours were notes on “ Petronius" and “ Phaedrus;” com¬ 
mentaries on “ Salvianus;” on “ Oppian de Venatione et 
Piscatione,” with a Latin version; “ Guntheri Ligurinusj” 
“ Sacrarum Lectionum, Lib. VIII.” He is much esteemed as 
a critic. Moreri. 
RITTON, a hamlet of England, in Northumberland; 8 
miles north-west of Morpeth. 
RITTON-UPON-DUNSMORE, a village of England, 
near Stonely-Abbey, with a bridge over the Avon. 
RI'TUAL, adj. [rituel , Fr.] Solemnly ceremonious: 
done according to some religious institution. 
Instant I bade the priests prepare 
The ritual sacrifice, and solemn pray’r. Prior. 
RI'TUAL, s. A book in which the rites and observances 
of religion are set down.—An heathen ritual could not in¬ 
struct a man better than these several pieces of antiquity in 
the particular ceremonies, that attended different sacrifices. 
Addison. 
RI'TUALIST, s. One skilled in the ritual.—Of this there 
are two notable instances taken notice of by Cassalion, and 
several other ritualists. Bourne. 
RI'TUALLY, adv. With some particular ceremony.— 
In some parts of this kingdom is joined also the solemnity of 
drinking out of a cup, ritually composed, decked, and filled 
with country liquor. Seldtn. 
RITZEBUTTEL, a bailiwic belonging to the city of 
Hamburgh, and lying near the north sea, between the 
mouths of the Elbe and the Weser. Its area, without in¬ 
cluding the small island of Neuwerk at the mouth of the 
river, is 20 square miles, and its population 4000. It i^ 
very fertile, but is chiefly valuable to Hamburgh, from con¬ 
taining the harbour of Cuxhaven. 
RITZEBUTTEL, the chief place of the above bailiwic, 
is a neat small town, with 1500 inhabitants. Travellers 
from Hamburgh commonly remain here till they find an 
opportunity of embarking at Cuxhaven, a village too small 
to afford convenient lodgings; 54 miles west-north-west of 
Hamburgh, and 1 south of Cuxhaven. 
RITZLIHORN, a very lofty mountain of the Swiss can¬ 
ton of Berne, 10,500 feet in height. 
RIVA, a small town of Austrian Italy, on the lake of Como. 
It is here that the goods sent across the lake to Milan are 
embarked; 6 miles south of Chiavenna. 
RIVA, or Reiff, a town in the south of Tyrol, princi¬ 
pality of Trent, on the lake of Garda, with 3100 inhabitants. 
It has a good harbour, and a brisk carrying business on the 
lake. The manufacture of an apparently trifling article, 
Jews’ harps, is carried on here to a surprising extent. The 
environs are pleasant and fertile, producing olives, lemons, 
and oranges; 17 miles south-west of Trent. 
RIVA DI CHIERI, a town in the north-west of Italy, jn 
the Sardinian states, situated in a pleasant district. Popula¬ 
tion 2300; 10 miles east-by-south of Turin. 
RI'VAGE, s. [French.] A bank; a coast; the shore. 
Not in use. 
Think 
You stand upon the rivage, and behold 
A city on th’ inconstant billows dancing; 
For so appears this fleet. Shahspeare. 
Rivage, Rivagium, a toll anciently paid to the king on 
some rivers, for the passage of boats or vessels therein. 
RI'VAL, s. [rivalis, Lat. from rivus, a river; the word 
rivalis, in Latin, being originally applied, according to Sir 
T. Hammer, to proprietors of neighbouring lands parted only 
by a brook, which belonged equally to both; and so signi¬ 
fied partners, or those concerned in the same affair. Morin 
more fully illustrates this derivation from rivus: “ Rivalis 
designe proprement ceux qui ont droit d’usage dans un 
meme ruisseau; et comme cet usage est souvent pour eux 
un sujet de contestations, on a transports cette signijicar 
tion de rivalis a ceux (jui ont les memes prStentions d 
une chose." Diet. Etym. Fr. and Gr.]—One who is 
in 
