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316 condition of Roman Catholic nations. He is the am linr of " Religion and Science : their Union His- tnneally Considered" (New York, 1879), and is preparing for the press a work entitled ' God Knowable and Known."

RONCKENDORFF, William, naval officer, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 9 Nov., 1812; d. in New York, 27 Nov., 1891. He entered the navy, became passed midshipman, 23 June, 1838, was commissioned lieutenant, 28 June, 1843, and in June, 1845, was bearer of despatches to the commander-in-chief of the Pacific squadron, with which he served during the Mexican war. He was in the &ldquo;Savannah&rdquo; at the capture and occupation of Monterey and points on the coast of California, and returned to New York in September, 1847. He commanded the steamer &ldquo;M. W. Chapin&rdquo; in the Paraguay expedition of 1859 and on coast survey duty in 1860, was commissioned commander, 29 June, 1861, and had charge of the steamer &ldquo;Water Witch&rdquo; from 1 March till 12 Oct., 1861, in the Gulf squadron. On 27 Dec., 1861, he took command of the steamer &ldquo;San Jacinto,&rdquo; with which he was present in Hampton Roads to fight the &ldquo;Merrimac,&rdquo; and participated in the attack on Sewell's Point, 15 May, 1862, and in the capture of Norfolk on 18 May. He was in the &ldquo;Ticonderoga,&rdquo; searching for privateers in 1863, and in February, 1864, he commanded the monitor &ldquo;Monadnock&rdquo; in operations in James river until the evacuation of Richmond, when he cruised to Havana in search of the &ldquo;Stonewall.&rdquo; In July, 1865, he was transferred to the monitor &ldquo;Tonawanda.&rdquo; He was commissioned captain, 27 Sept., 1866, and was at Philadelphia until 1 Oct., 1870, when he took charge of the iron-clads at New Orleans until 8 April, 1872. He commanded the steamer &ldquo;Canandaigua,&rdquo; of the North Atlantic squadron, in 1872-'3, was promoted to commodore, 12 Sept., 1874, and was placed on the retired list on 9 Nov., 1874, by reason of his age.

RONDE, Lambertius de, clergyman, b. in Hol- land in the 18th century. He was pastor of Dutch Reformed churches in Surinam, British Guiana, in 1746. New York and Harlem in 1751-'84, and Schaghticoke in 1784-'95. In 1749 he proposed to the classis to publish a book of first truths in Ne- gro-English and Dutch. The classis requested him to transmit it to them for approval, and in 1751 complained that he had been installed over the church ot New York without their knowledge, and that he had signed the letter of the coetus without any explanation of his new relationships. He became a member of the conference party after the disruption in 1755, and was never absent from their meetings. Though he was one of the committee that procured Dr. Laidlie to preach in English, he afterward turned against him, and was the leading spirit in the " Dutch party " in the famous lawsuit that grew out of this matter. Many were determined not to submit to the inno- vation of English preaching. The " Dutch party " lost the suit and paid 300 costs. During the Revolution, De Ronde preached in Schaghticoke, N. Y., and in 1780 represented the churches of Red Hook and Saugerties in the classis of Kingston. His publications are "De gekruisige Christus, als het voornaemste toeleg van Gods getrouwe Kruis- gesanten, in hunne prediking," or "The Christ Crucified as the Principal Subject of God's Faith- ful Servants of the Cross in their Sermons" (New Y 7 ork, 1751); " De ware gedaclmiss." an ac- count of the death of the Rev. Gualterus Du Bois (New York, 1751) ; " A System containing the Prin- ciples of the Christian Religion Suitable tn the Heidelberg Catechism " (1763). This is the first book published in the English language by a mem- ber of the Reformed Dutch church in America. It was prepared before the call of Laidlie, to meet the growing necessity for instruction in English, and De Ronde offered to preach in English if the con- sif-t'iry thought him qualified. He also published " True Spiritual Religion " (New York, 1767), and numerous " Letters to Holland."

RONDEAU, Jose (von-do '), Argentine soldier, b. in Buenos Ayres in 1773; d. there in 1834. He was educated in Montevideo, entered the military service in 1793, and when Montevideo was captured by the British, 7 Feb., 1807, he was taken prisoner and sent to England, but he was liberated in July of that year. Going to Spain, he served in the peninsula against the French invasion, but in August. 1810. he returned to Buenos Ayres, and joined the patriots soon afterward. He succeeded in April, 1811, to the command of the Argentine forces that were operating against Montevideo, gained the victory of Las Piedras, 18 May. 1^11. and in June began the siege of that city, which was raised on 23 Oct. of that year by a treaty with the Spanish general Elio. After the hostilities against Montevideo had begun again. Rondeau, in command of the vanguard, gained, on 31 Dec., 1812, the victory of Cerrito, and in January, 1813. super- seded Sarratea in the command of the Argentine forces, and began the second siege of Montevideo, but in 1814 he was superseded by Alvear, and pro- moted to the command in upper Peru. In Decem- ber of that year he refused obedience to Alvear, who intended to deprive him of his command, and when that general was removed, 15 April, 1815, Rondeau was chosen supreme director ; but he re- mained in command of the army, routing Gen. Pezuela at Puesto del Marquez, 14 April, 1815, and occupying Potosi, but suffering defeat at Sipe-Sipe, 28 Nov., 1815. On 10 June, 1819, he was elected director of the republic, but was deprived of office, 12 Feb., 1820, when the supreme power was vested in a commission of the municipal body, and the separation of the different provinces was virtually consummated. Rondeau retired to private life, but took part in the campaign for the liberation of Uruguay, and on 17 Sept., 1828. was elected pro- visional president, resigning on 25 April, 182!>.

RONDTHALER, Edward, clergyman, b. in York, Pa., 6 Sept., 1817; d. in Nazareth, Pa.. 5 March, 1855. He was graduated at the Moravian theological seminary, and from 1841 till 18.":; was in the active ministry. In 1853-'4 he was president of Nazareth Hall. He was the author of a " Life of John Heckewelder " (Philadelphia, 1847).

'''ROOD. Ogden Nicholas''', physicist. b. in Danbury, Conn., 3 Feb., 1831. He was graduated at Princeton in 1852, and then studied at the Sheffield scientific school of Yale, and at the universities of Munich and Berlin, making a specialty of science. In 1858, soon after his return, he was chosen professor of chemistry and physics at Troy university, where he remained for nearly five years. He was called in 1863 to the chair of physics in Columbia, and has since delivered lectures there and in the School of mines of that institution. His original investigations have been numerous, and include special studies of questions in mechanics, optics, acoustics, and electricity. Prof. Rood was one of the first to apply photography to the microscope, and to take binocular pictures with that instrument. His studies of the nature of the electric spark and of the duration of the flashes are particularly interesting, involving the determination of much more minute intervals of time than any that eiv ever measured before. In 1880 he de-