R U Y 
retreat, exclaiming how wretched he was that not one bullet 
of so many thousands would free him from the disgrace. 
He gained, however, additional glory by the good order in 
which he drew off his shattered ships, and in no action were 
his skill and courage more distinguished. 
The year 1667 was memorable for the disgrace which the 
reign of Charles II. incurred by the triumphant entrance of 
the Dutch into the Thames. Negotiations for peace had been 
carrying on at Breda, which De Witte had protracted, while 
he hastened the naval preparations. The Dutch fleet ap¬ 
peared in the Thames under the command of De Ruyter, 
which threw the English into the utmost consternation. A 
chain was thrown across the Medway, and some new forti¬ 
fications were added to Sheerness and Upnore castle : but 
these preparations were unequal to the urgency of the case. 
Sheemess was soon taken, though defended with the utmost 
valour by Sir Edward Sprague. Having the advantage of a 
springtide and an easterly wind, the Dutch, with six men of 
waT and five fire-ships, pressed on, broke through the 
chain, and burnt several English men of war in their course: 
among these was the Royal Oak, the commander of which, 
captain Douglas, perished in the flames, though he might 
readily have escaped. “ Never was it known,” said he, “that 
a Douglas left his post without orders.” The peace which 
soon after followed gave some repose to De Ruyter, till the 
alliance between Charles II. and Lewis XIV. for the ruin of 
the Dutch republic, again called him to the defence of his 
country. With a fleet of 91 sail, in June, 1672, De Ruyter 
attacked the combined fleets of 130 sail, commanded by the 
duke of York, lord Sandwich, and count d’Estrees, in Sole- 
bay ; and after an engagement, which he represented as the 
most obstinate that he ever witnessed, night parted the adver¬ 
saries, each cl aiming'the victory. Lord Sandwich and count 
d’Estrees lost their lives, and the other losses were nearly 
equal, but De Ruyter kept the sea, and safely convoyed home 
a large fleet of merchantmen. The French kept aloof, and 
suffered very little. 
De Ruyter was now doomed to suffer danger from a differ¬ 
ent cause. During the popular fury against the opposers of 
the house of Orange, which proved fatal to the De Wittes, 
De Ruyter, as one of the party, notwithstanding the great 
services which he had rendered his country, was attacked in the 
streets of Amsterdam with all sorts of weapons, but escaped 
without much injury. WhenWilliam was raised to thestadt- 
holdership, the services of this great admiral were too impor¬ 
tant to be slighted through party disputes, and in 1673 he 
was sent to sea with a strong fleet, in quest of the combined 
English and French, who were on the Dutch coast, under the 
command of prince Rupert. An indecisive engagement 
ensued on the 7th of June, in which De Ruyter disengaged 
Trompfrom the French squadron which had surrounded him. 
The battle was partially renewed on the 14th, and in August, 
a more severe engagement took place, in which an English 
and two Dutch admirals were killed, and both parties claimed 
the victory. De Ruyter, however, received the thanks of the 
statdholder for his good conduct on this occasion. Peace 
between England and the Dutch soon after followed, and 
never since have the two nations contested the empire of the 
ocean with such mighty force, and so determined a spirit. 
France, at this time, was rising fast to be a maritime power, 
and Holland, in alliance with Spain, had to contend with 
her for the superiorty. De Ruyter, in 1674, made a fruitless 
expedition to the French Caribee islands. In the beginning 
of 1676 he was sent with a fleet to Sicily, which had been 
encouraged by the French to revolt from the Spaniards. He 
fell in with the French fleet under the duke de Vironne, and 
an action ensued, which lasted the whole day, with no de¬ 
cisive advantage to either side. De Ruyter repaired to Leg¬ 
horn to refit, and then, forming a junction with the Spanish 
fleet, they proceeded towards Messina. The French came 
out to meet them, led on by the celebrated Du Quesne, and a 
second battle took place on the 21st of April. The Spaniards 
kept at a cautious distance, but De Ruyter like himself, rushed 
to the centre, broke the French line, and was in the act of 
chasing, when a cannon shot wounded him in the left heel 
Vol. XXII. No. 1518. 
R Y B 501 
and right leg. A fever supervened, which within a week put 
an end to his life in the port of Syracuse, at the age of 69, 
deeply regretted by his country and admired by all Europe. 
The king of Spain had, only a few days previously to this, 
conferred upon him the title of duke, with a pension. His 
remains were magnificently interred at Amsterdam at the 
public expense, and a superb monument was erected to his 
memory. 
RUYTON, a parish of England, in Salop ; 10 miles 
north-west of Shrewsbury. Population 758. 
RYACOTTA, a town and celebrated fortress of the south 
of India, district of Baramaul. The fort is situated on a 
rock, and is very strongly fortified. It was taken by the 
British in 1791, and afterwards ceded by Tippoo Sultan to 
the British. The air is very salubrious, and the country 
in the vicinity fertile. Lat. 12. 33. N. long. 78. 17. E. 
RYADER, a river of Wales, in Denbigh and Montgo- 
meryshires, which falls into the Tanot, near L'.anyader. 
RYAGUDD, a town of Hindostan, province of Orissa, 
belonging to an independent Hindoo chieftain. Lat. 19. 
1. N. long. 83. 27. E. 
RYAL, a hamlet of England, in Northumberland; 14 
miles from Newcastle. 
RYAN, Loch, a considerable bay of Scotland, in Wig- 
tonshire, which extends in a south-east direction from the 
Atlantic, forming, by its approximation to the bay of Luce, 
the peninsula called the Rinns of Galloway. It extends 
about 10 miles in length, and is about two miles in breadth 
at its entrance, and continues of the same breadth for about 
three miles: it then spreads out in a circular form about four 
miles in breadth. The whole bay affords excellent anchor¬ 
age, particularly opposite to the village of Cairn at Port- 
more, the Wig, the bay of Soleburn, the bay of Dalmen- 
nock, and the harbour of Stranraer. 
RYANIA [so named by Vahl, in honour of John Ryan, 
M.D. F.R.S. who collected plants at Santa Cruz, Montserrat], 
in Botany, a genus of the class polyandria, order monogynhu 
—Generic Character. Calyx: perianth inferior, permanent, 
five-leaved; leaflets lanceolate, attenuated, spreading, very 
finely nerved, coloured. Corolla none.—Nectary between 
the germ and stamens, pitcher-shaped, very villose, the 
height of the germ. Stamina : filaments numerous (sixty), 
in a double row, a little shorter than the calyx, awl-shaped, 
having a few hairs scattered at the base; in other parts smooth. 
Anthers erect, awl-shaped, three times shorter than the fila¬ 
ments, torulose, mucronate, smooth, after the pollen is dis¬ 
charged, waved about the edge. Pistil: germ ovate, very 
villose. Style smooth, the length of the stamens. Stigmas 
four, convex. Pericarp: berry suberous, elliptic-spheroid, 
brown, scrobicular. Receptacles five, formed out of the 
sides of the berry, suberous, oblong, attenuated both ways, 
having minute tubercles scattered over them in transverse 
rows. Seeds abundant, ovate, subglobular, having a few 
minute hairs scattered over them, brown, arilled. Aril in¬ 
complete, covering the base and belly of the seed, membra¬ 
naceous, three-winged, the wings doubled .—Essential Cha¬ 
racter. Calyx five-leaved, permanent, coloured. Corolla 
none. Stigmas four. Berry suberous, one-celled, many- 
seeded. 
Ryania speciosa.—This is a tree with handsome flowers, 
and round ash-coloured boughs, covered with a very fine 
nap towards the end. Leaves alternate, a span long, ellip¬ 
tic, acuminate, smooth on both sides, obliquely nerved, 
quite entire: the midrib underneath mealy; the nerves raised, 
and between these frequent, simple, transverse veins. Petiole 
very short, channelled above. Stipules awl-shaped, hoary, 
a little longer than the petiole, deciduous. Peduncles axil¬ 
lary, very short, one-flowered. Calycine leaflets an inch 
and half long. Berry double the size of a walnut. Seeds a 
little bigger than Coriander. It was found in the Island of 
Trinidad. 
RYARSH, a parish of England, in Kent; 51 miles west- 
north-west of Maidstone. 
RYBENSK, a small town of the interior of European 
Russia, on the Wolga. Population 2200. It has a con- 
6 M siderable 
