Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/588

Rh 508 R I P R I S his project; but the event forced him at last to devote himself to that career of literary labour in which the real success of his life was achieved. He wrote for The Har- binger during the year of its continuance, but in 1849 he joined the staff of The Tribune, founded eight years before by Horace Greeley in New York, and in a short time became its literary editor. This position, which, through his steadiness, scholarly conservatism, and freedom from caprice as a critic, soon became one of great influence, he held until his death on July 4, 1880. During the greater part of the time of his connexion with The Tribune, Ripley was also the adviser of a leading publishing house, an occasional contributor to the magazines, and a co-operator in several literary undertakings. The chief of these, and the most lasting work that bears his name, was the American Cyclopaedia. Begun under the editorship of Ripley and Charles A. Dana in 1857, the first edition was finished in 1862, under the title of the New American Cyclopaedia distinguishing it from its only import- ant American predecessor in the field, the small Encyclopaedia Americana of many years before, which Dr Francis Lieber had edited, and which had been largely an adaptation of Brockhaus's Conversations- Lexikon. The new undertaking was upon a much larger scale, and enlisted a great number of well-known contribu- tors. It proved exceedingly popular; and its commercial success led the publishers to undertake a complete revision of it ten years later still under the same editors the result of which, with the dropping of the word " new " from the title, was the American Cyclopaedia now before the public. Ripley's Life, written by the Rev. 0. B. Frothingham, forms one of the volumes of the series American Men of Letters. (E. L. B.) RIPON, a cathedral city and borough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is situated at the confluence of the Ure with the Laver and the Skell, and on the Great Northern Railway, 22 miles north-west of York and 11 north of Harrogate. The Ure is crossed by a fine bridge of 9 arches. The streets are for the most part narrow and irregular, and, although most of the houses are compara- tively modern, some of them still retain the picturesque gables characteristic of earlier times. In the spacious market-place there is a modern cross, erected in 1781. The cathedral, although not ranking among those of the first class, is celebrated for its fine proportions, and is of great interest from the various styles of architecture which it includes. Its entire length from east to west is 266 feet, the length of the transepts 130 feet, and the width of the nave and aisles 87 feet. Besides a large square central tower, there are two western towers. The cathedral was founded on the ruins of St Wilfrid's abbey about 680 A.D. in the reign of Egfrid, but of this Saxon building nothing now remains except the crypt, called St Wilfrid's Needle. The present building was begun by Archbishop Roger (1154-81), and to this Transition period belong the tran- septs and portions of the choir. The western front and towers, fine specimens of Early English, were probably the work of Archbishop Gray (1215-55), and about the close of the century the eastern portion of the choir was rebuilt in the Decorated style. The nave and portions of the central tower were rebuilt towards the close of the 15th century in the Perpendicular style. The whole building underwent renovation under the direction of Sir G. G. Scott from 1862 to 1876 at a cost of 40,000. There are a number of monuments of historical and antiquarian interest. The bishop's palace, a modern building in the Tudor style, is situated in extensive grounds about a mile from the town. The principal secular buildings are the town-hall, the public rooms, and the mechanics' institution. There are several old charities, including the hospital of St John the Baptist founded by the archbishop of York in 1 109, the hospital of St Mary Magdalene for women founded by the archbishop of York in 1341, and the hospital of St Anne founded about the time of Edward IV. by an unknown benefactor. From an early period till the 16th century Ripon was celebrated for its manufactures of woollen cloth. After this industry declined the town became so well known for its spurs that " as true steel as Ripon rowels " became a current phrase; and both Ben Jonson and Davenant refer to Ripon spurs in their verses. This manufacture, with those of buttons and various kinds of hardware, continued to prosper till the beginning of the present century, when the rise of the mechanical industries in the large towns caused it to decline. The population of the borough (area 1580 acres) in 1871 was 6806, and in 1881 it was 7390. The city is first mentioned under the name of Inhrypum in con- nexion with the establishment of a monastery in 660 by Abbot Eata of Melrose. A few years after it was bestowed on St Wilfrid, who was elevated to the see of Northurnbria. After the division of the bishopric in 678, a see was erected at Ripon. The city suffered severely in connexion with the incursions of the Danes and the invasion of William the Conqueror, and was burnt by Robert Bnice in 1319 and 1323. During the Civil War it was for a time occu- pied by the Parliamentary forces, but it was retaken by the Royalists in 1643. It was first represented in parliament in the reign of Edward I. It lost one of its two members in 1868, and ceased to be separately represented in 1885. Surrounding the town is an extensive district called the liberty of Ripon, over which the arch- bishop of York at one time exercised special jurisdiction, not yet altogether annulled. RIPPERDA, JOHN WILLIAM, BARON (1680-1737), a political adventurer, was born of noble parents in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands, in 1680, and was educated in the college of the Jesuits at Cologne. Shortly after leaving the college he married a Protestant, and assumed the Protestant creed. In 1715 he was sent by the states on an embassy to Spain. Having gained the favour of Philip V., he resigned the office of Dutch ambassador, became a penitent convert to the Catholic faith, and took up his permanent residence in Madrid. He made use of every influence to advance himself to the first position at court, and if possible to supplant Alberoni, who, provoked by his intrigues, deprived him of his pension and estate. After the fall of Alberoni he suc- ceeded in ingratiating himself with the queen, Elizabeth of Parma. Returning from an embassy to Vienna in 1725, he pretended to the queen that he had effected her favourite scheme of betrothing her son Don Carlos to the eldest archduchess. His immediate elevation to a duke- dom and to the office of prime minister compelled him to persist in this imposture. Lie was backed up by lie; the nation was impoverished to furnish him with hush- money; and he continued to try every bungling shift until, in May 1726, he was deprived of his offices, and sent a prisoner to Segovia. Making his escape after two years' imprisonment, he went to England. His hopes of in- fluence there having been overthrown by the treaty of Seville in 1729, he finally collected his property and set sail for Holland, arriving at The Hague in November 1731. Thence he sailed to Morocco, where he was welcomed by the emperor Muley Abdallah, and, becoming a Moham- medan, was placed at the head of the administration of the country. But his royal patron was soon driven from the throne, and he himself was glad to escape with his head to Tetuan, where he could find no better employment for his restless spirit than that of asserting himself to be the last and greatest of the prophets. He died at Tetuan towards the end of 1737. SeeMafier, HistoriadelDuquede Riperdd (2ded., Madrid, 1796); Memoirs of the Duke de Ripperda (2d ed., London, 1740); Moore, Lives of Cardinal Alberoni, the Duke of Ripperda, and Marquis of Pombal (2d ed., London, 1814). RIPUARIAN LAW. See SALIC LAW. RIST, JOHANN (1607-1667), German hymn-writer, was born at Ottensen in Holstein on March 8, 1607, and edu- cated at Hamburg, Bremen, Leyden, Utrecht, and Leipsic. In 1635 he became a preacher at Wedel on the Elbe, and there he died on 31st August 1667 (see HYMNS, vol. xii. pp. 586-7).