R O S 
R 0 S 
390 
rison to the sword and set fire to the buildings. In the 
mountainous peninsula of Kintail, on the west coast, stand 
the ruins of the castle of Donan, which was built by Alex¬ 
ander III, of Scotland, to resist the depredations of the 
Danes. Colin Fitzgerald, ancestor to the late Earl of Sea- 
forth, was made constable of the castle, for his bravery at the 
battle of Largs, fought in 1263. In 1715 it was taken from 
the king’s forces by stratagem; but two years afterwards, 
having been attacked on the sea-side, by a line-of-battle 
ship, it was demolished. In the front of a clergyman’s house 
in Kintail stands Donan-Diarmed, or the fort of Diarmed. 
It is of a circular form, twenty feet in diameter, and of the 
same height. Diarmed’s tomb is on the north-east side of 
the fort. 
ROSS, a market-town and parish of England, in the 
county of Hereford, pleasantly situated on an eminence on 
the banks of the river Wye, in a fine healthy air. The streets 
are mostly on a slope, and are extremely rough and narrow. 
The church is a handsome building, having a tower and well- 
proportioned spire, rising from the west end. The views 
from the church-yard, and the contiguous prospect ground, 
are much celebrated. The market house is in a very decayed 
state, though erected so lately as the reign of Charles II. 
The bishops of Hereford had formerly a palace here, the site 
of which is still called the bishops’ court. There are in the 
town two charity schools and an alms-house. The man of 
Ross, celebrated by Pope, was John Kyrle, who resided 
here, and spent his income in acts of benevolence and utility. 
He died in 1724, at the age of 84. He formed the prospect 
ground, a kind of- pasture, and a fine broad causeway, ex¬ 
tending from thence to the southward. He also raised the 
church spire 100 feet in height, and inclosed a piece of 
ground with a wall, and sunk a reservoir in the centre of it, 
for the use of the inhabitants. Ross was formerly a place of 
more importance than at present. In Camden’s time, it was 
famous for its cyder, and for the manufacture of iron-wares. 
Its iron trade has declined, but it is still noted for its cyder. 
It was made a free borough by Henry III. It is governed by 
a serjeant and four constables, but their powers are very 
limited. Population 2261. Market on Thursday; 12 miles 
south-east of Hereford, and 115 west-by-north of London. 
Lat. 51. 54. N. long. 2. 35. W. 
ROSS, a sea-port town of Ireland, in the county of Cork, 
on a bay to which it gives name ; the see of a bishop, united 
to the see of Cork, in the year 1586. The harbour of Ross 
was formerly very famous; so that Ross Carbery became 
both a bishop’s see, and a celebrated university. But the 
port being gradually filled up with sand, the place sunk from 
its former grandeur, though it still retains the title of a 
bishopric. The cathedral is a small Gothic structure ; and 
the ruins of an old abbey still remain ; 25 miles south-west 
of Cork. The harbour, a little to the south, is in lat. 51. 
34. N. long. 8. 58. W. 
ROSS, the former name of the greater part of the island 
of Mull, in Scotland, which was named the parish of Ross ; 
but about 1720 it was divided into two parishes, viz. Torosay 
and Kilfinichen, and Kilviceuen. 
ROSS, a parish of England, East Riding of Yorkshire; 
5 miles from Partington. 
ROSS, a township of the United States, in Allegany 
county, Pennsylvania; Population 1327. 
ROSS, a county of the United States in Ohio, watered by 
the Scioto. Population, 15,514; chief town, Chilicothe. 
ROSS ISLAND, a peninsula of Ireland, on the south¬ 
west part of Killala bay. 
ROSS, New, a seaport town of Ireland, in the county of 
Wexford, pleasantly situated on a large stream formed by the 
junction of the Noreand the Barrow. The river is navigable up 
to the tow r n, and vessels of 400 tons burden can lie close to the 
quay. This ensures a considerable trade, and a great deal of 
butter and beef is exported. Here are the ru ns of some 
religious houses. It was formerly a place of great strength, 
being surrounded with high walls, towers, and bastions. It 
made, how ever, a feeble defence against Cromwell, though 
defended by a numerous garrison. In the year 1798, the old 
walls were destroyed. A battle was fought here in 1798, 
supposed to be the most bloody during the insurrection : the 
loss of the royal army, who were victorious, amounted to 230 
killed and wounded, of whom 90 fell on the field. The 
conquered lost nearly 2000. New Ross sends one member 
to the imperial parliament; 17 miles west of Wexford, and 
11 north-east of Waterford. LaL 52. 22. N. long. 6. 58. 
W. 
ROSS, Old, a town of Ireland, in the county of Wex¬ 
ford. In 1798, the church of this place was burned during 
the insurrection ; 3 miles east of New Ross. 
ROSSALL, a village of England, in Yorkshire, on the 
banks of the Derwent, north-west of Wilton. 
ROSSALL, Up and Down, two villages of England, in 
Salop, situated on the banks of the Severn, north-west of 
Shrewsbury. 
ROSSANO, a town of Italy, in the south of the kingdom 
of Naples, in Calabria Citra. It is situated on a rocky emi¬ 
nence, is the see of an archbishop, and contains a popula¬ 
tion of 7000. The environs are fertile, and produce abun¬ 
dance of olives, capers, and saffron. It is said, that so lately 
as the 16th century, the inhabitants of this town spoke the 
Greek language, and followed the rites of the Greek church; 
30 miles north-east of Cosenza, and 110 north-north-east of 
Reggio. Lat. 39. 38. N. long. 16. 44. E. 
ROSSBERG, a mountain of the interior of Switzerland, 
near the east bank of the lake of Zug, and not far from the 
great mountain of Rige. A dreadful calamity was occasioned 
by the fall of part of this mountain, in 1806. A long con¬ 
tinuance of heavy rain had loosened the rock, which is natu¬ 
rally of a crumbling quality, and an immense mass detached 
itself, covering with desolation the adjacent valley of Gol- 
dau. Part of it extended to the lake of Lowerz, which rose 
above its banks: a great number of cattle perished, and 
above 100 human lives were lost by this disaster. 
ROSSBODENSTOK, a great mountain among the Alps, 
in the south of the Swiss canton of Berne, 8735 feet in per¬ 
pendicular height. 
ROSSCHOKA, a river of Asiatic Russia, which falls into 
the Indigirka. Lat. 67. 50. N. long. 140. 14. E. 
ROSSDORF, a small town to the west of Germany, in 
Hesse-Darmstadt, with 1200 inhabitants. 
ROSSDORF, a small town of the interior of Germany, 
in the duchy of Saxe-Meinungen. Population 900; 10 
miles north-north-west of Meinungen. 
ROSSEL, a small town of East Prussia; 51 miles south- 
south-east of Konigsberg. Population 230Q. 
RO'SSEL, s. A true rossel or light land, whether white 
or black, is what they are usually planted in. Mortimer. 
RO'SSELLY, adj. In Essex, moory land is thought to 
be most proper: that which I have observed to be the best 
soil is a rossel?/ top, and a brick earthy bottom. Mortimer. 
ROSSENA, a small town of Italy, in the duchy of Parma; 
14 miles south-south-east of Parma. 
ROSSHAUPTEN, a large village of Bavaria, near Augs¬ 
burg, with 1000 inhabitants. 
ROSSI (Gian-Vittorio), (Latin, Janus Nicius Ery- 
threus,) an Italian man of letters, was bom of a good 
family at Rome, 1577. He was educated under the Jesuits 
of the Roman college, where he joined the studies of law 
and philosophy to that of polite literature, till being disap¬ 
pointed in his views with respect to the first of these pursuits, 
he limited his attention to the last. His first publication was 
a kind of satire on the corrupt manners of the Romans, en¬ 
titled, “ Eudemise, Lib. X.,” 8vo., which is rather declama¬ 
tory than philosophical. He also published two volumes of 
“ Epistles,” addressed to Cardinal Chigi, afterwards Alexan¬ 
der VI. His principal work is entitled “ Pinnotheca Imagi- 
num illustrium Virorum,” being eulogies or biographical 
accounts of many learned men his contemporaries. 
ROSSI (Girolamo), (Latin, Hieron. Rubeus,) a phy¬ 
sician and man of letters, was born of an ancient family at 
Ravenna, in 1539. His progress in literature was so rapid, 
that he was appointed at the age of 15 to compliment Cardi¬ 
nal Farnese, Archbishop of Ravenna, in a Latin oration, 
which 
