Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/525

Rh R H E R H E 507 culties have been encountered in its working, some of which are not yet overcome. The fibre itself is very difficult of extraction owing to the large amount of adhesive matter in which it is embedded, and it is proportionately so expensive that it practically comes into competition only with silk and wool. Further, rhea is hard and in- elastic, and on the machinery adapted for spinning other textiles it can only be spun into a rough, harsh, and hairy yarn, while fabrics into which it is woven are rigid, and show permanent creases at every fold. In the form of cordage, moreover, it cuts and gives way at sharp knots and twists. Notwithstanding all disappoint- ments and drawbacks, the Indian Government considered the fibre of such importance that in 1869 two prizes of 5000 and 2000 and again in 1877 prizes of 5000 and 1000 were offered for machinery or processes by which the fibre could be prepared at such a cost per ton as would render its introduction into the market prac- ticable. Competitive trials were made at Saharanpur in 1872 and 1879, but no machine was found to satisfy the conditions of success, although in 1872 a reward of 1500 was granted to Mr John Greig, jun., of Edinburgh, and in 1879 500 and 100 respectively were paid to two of the competitors. The extraction of rhea continues to attract attention, and quite recently (1885) it has been announced that Prof. Fremy of Paris, assisted by M. Urbain, has success- fully overcome all difficulties. The raw material used by Prof. Fremy is obtained by a process devised by M. Fevier, which con- sists in submitting the newly cut stems to low-pressure steam for twenty minutes, after which the whole rind is separated in ribands from its woody core with the utmost ease. These ribands are then dried, and on them Prof. Fremy operates with alkaline solutions which are varied in strength according to the appearance of the material dealt with, a7id a pure fibre in fine working condition is thus obtained. Rhea has yet to establish its position among Euro- pean textiles, but in the East its value is well recognized. It is extensively used for cordage, fishing nets, &c. ; and it is very little affected by water. The Chinese prepare an exceedingly fine "grass cloth" from single filaments of rhea, knotted or gummed end to end in the way they employ the finest filaments of Manila hemp for making " Piria" gauze. RHEGIUM. See KEGGIO. RHEIMS, a city of France, chief town of an arrondisse- ment of the department of Marne, lies 81 miles east-north- east of Paris (99 miles by rail) on the right bank of the Vesle, a tributary of the Aisne, and on the canal which connects the Aisne with the Marne. To the south and west rise the " montagne de Rheims " and the vine-clad hills where the wine is grown which constitutes the chief object of the industry and commerce of the town. Rheims has been, since the last Franco-Prussian War, surrounded with detached forts that render it a great entrenched camp, and it still preserves eleven of the gates of its old enceinte, that of Paris, constructed on occasion of the coronation of Louis XVI., being specially noticeable. Beyond the boulevards the town spreads out in several suburbs the faubourgs of St Anne on the south, Vesle on the west, Laon on the north-west, and Ce'res on the north- east. The town is well planned and built, and its streets are traversed by tramways. The spinning and weaving of wool is carried on in seventy factories, employs 10,000 hands, and annually turns .3,500,000 worth of the raw material into flannels, merinoes, cloth, blankets, &c. Dyeing and " dressing " are carried on in the outskirts of the town. Fifty firms with 2000 workmen are employed in the champagne manufacture ; the cellars are vast excavations in the chalk rock. Rheims is also famous for its biscuits, ginger- bread, and dried pears. Machinery, chemical products, candles, soap, stained glass, common glass, and paper are also manufactured. In respect of population (93,683 in 1881) Rheims ranks as the eleventh city of France. The oldest monument in Rheims is the Mars Gate (so called from a temple to Mars in the neighbourhood), a triumphal arch 108 feet in length by 43 in height erected by the Remi in honour of Cfesar and Augustus when Agrippa made the great roads ter- minating at the town. In its vicinity a curious mosaic measuring 35 feet by 26, with thirty-five medallions representing animals and gladiators, was discovered in 1861. But by far the most interesting architectural feature of the town is the cathedral of Notre Dame, where the kings of France used to be crowned. It replaced an older church burned in 1211, which had been built on the site of the basilica where Clovis was baptized by St Remigius. The whole cathedral, with the exception of the fagadc, was com- pleted by 1231 ; but it has undergone numerous alterations. The present fa9ade was erected in the 14th century after 13th-century designs, the nave having in the meantime been lengthened so as to afford room for the vast crowds that attended the coronations. In 1481 a terrible fire destroyed the roof and also the spires, which have never been restored to their original state. In 1875 the National Assembly voted 80,000 for repairs of the facade and balustrades. This fagade is the finest portion of the building, and one of the most perfect masterpieces of the Middle Ages. The portals and the rose window are laden with statues and statuettes ; the "gallery of the kings " above has the baptism of Clovis in the centre, and also has statues of Charlemagne and his father Pippin the Short. The towers, 267 feet high, were originally designed to rise 394 feet ; that on the south contains two great bells, one of which, named by Cardinal de Lorraine in 1570, weighs more than 11 tons. The transepts are also decorated with sculptures, that on the north with statues of the principal bishops of Rheims, a representation of the last judgment, and a figure of Christ, while that on the south side has a beautiful rose window with the Plan of Rheims. prophets and apostles. Of the four towers which formerly flanked the transepts nothing remains above the height of the roof since the fire of 1481. Above the choir rises an elegant bell-tower in timber and lead, 59 feet high, reconstructed in the 15th century. The interior of the cathedral is 455 feet long, 9S| feet wide in the nave, and 125 feet high in the centre. It has a profusion of statues similar to those of the outside, and is further adorned with stained glass of the 13th century and with tapestries. The rose window over the main portal and the gallery beneath arc of rare magnificence. Forty pieces of tapestry bestowed in 1530 by Robert de Lenoncourt, and devoted to the history of the Virgin, are remarkable for the richness of colour and the variety of costume they display. Of six pieces presented by Cardinal do Lorraine in 1570, only three have been preserved ; one of them representing the coronation of Clovis and the battle of Soissons affords valuable evidence relating to the military costumes of the 16th century. Archbishop Henry of Lorraine also presented seventeen large pieces of tapestry representing the life of Christ, in 1633 ; they are called Pepersack's tapestries after the maker, a celebrated tapestry