Page:LA2-NSRW-4-0113.jpg



REYNOLDS

1605

RHEIMS

the course of which he told the lion that old Reynard his father, in connection with Isen-grim the wolf and Bruin the bear, had formed a conspiracy to kill the lion and make Bruin king in his place; but he (Reynard) had stolen their treasure and hidden, it, as he could not bear to see the noble lion killed and the wicked bear made king in his place. After hearing the story, the lion pardoned Reynard and put the wolf and the bear in prison. But when the lion asked Reynard to show him where the treasure was, he excused himself because he was under an oath to make a pilgrimage to Rome. The lion then let him go; and Reynard immediately set out on his pilgrimage, taking with him Cuwaert the hare and Belin the ram. On his way he passed his own house, and induced Cuwaert to go with him, and there killed him. Putting the hare's head in a satchel, he gave it to the ram, telling him to carry it back to the lion, as it contained valua,ble letters. When the lion saw the hare's head he was very angry, and at once released the wolf and bear from prison and declared the fox an outlaw. Another version of the fable adds an account of a fight between the wolf and the fox, in which the latter by his trickery won the victory, and finally returned to his own home, honored with the favor and protection of the lion.

Reyn'olds, John Fulton, an American soldier and major-general of volunteers, was born at Lancaster, Pa.? Sept. 20, 1820. He graduated at West Point in 1841 and got a lieutenancy in 1846, after which he served in the Mexican War, was engaged against the Rogue River Indians in the Utah expedition and in 1859 became commandant of West Point. In 1861 he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and took part in the campaigns of the army of the Potomac. After serving with distinction in the Peninsular campaign and saving the Union army at the second battle of Bull Run from a disastrous rout, he gained the rank of major-general and succeeded Hooker in the command of the First Army Corps. On the first day at Gettysburg he was struck by a rifle ball, which unhappily ended his promising career, July i, 1863.

Re>nolds, Sir Joshua, a highly distinguished English portrait-painter, was born near Plymouth, July 16, 1723. His father designed him for the medical profession, but, as he early manifested a desire to be a painter, he was placed at 17 under the instruction of Thomas Hudson, the principal portrait-painter of the day. In 1746 he went to London, and set up a studio there; but, being invited to accompany Commodore Keppel on a cruise to the Mediterreanan in 1749, he made his way to Rome, and remained about three years in Italy, studying the works of Raphael and Michael Angelo and visiting the chief art-collections. On

returning to London in 1752, his works attracted great attention. When the Royal Academy was instituted in 1769, he was elected its first president. He was knighted by George III. When Ramsay died in 1784, he succeeded him as painter to the king. He died in London, Feb. 23, 1792, and, after lying in state at the Royal Academy, was interred in the crypt of St. Paul's. Reynold's fame lies in the superior beauty and excellence of his portraits. He was at home alike in portraying the strength of manhood and the grace of womanhood; and his pictures of children have especial tenderness and beauty. He was a man of fine and varied culture, and lived in friendly intercourse with Johnson, Burke, Goldsmith and other literary men of his day. He was also distinguished for an amiable disposition and the most pleasing manners, fully justifying the eulogium of Goldsmith:

Still born to improve us in every part, His pencil our faces, his manners our heart.

Rhad'aman'thus, in Greek mythology, a son of Zeus and Europa; one of the three judges of the dead on their descent into the nether world. The other two were JEacus and Minos (brother of Rhadamanthus), king and lawgiver of Crete. Before these three, according to the fable, all the dead appeared when they reached the lower world, to give account of their stewardship and receive the reward of their deeds.

Rhea (re'a) or Nan'du, the ostrich of the New World. The rheas are running birds, living in herds on the grassy plains of South America and feeding on grasses, seeds of herbs and some varieties of berries. Their wings are better developed than in other running birds, but do not suffice for flight. The larger varieties reach a height of about six feet. The female lays from ten to twenty-three eggs in a depression in the ground made by the male. Their feathers are of coarser quality than those of the African ostrich, and are used mainly for rugs, dusters and brooms. There are three species. The more common one is brownish-gray above and nearly white on the belly. It ranges from southern Brazil to the Straits of Magellan. Another smaller form, with some feathers having white tips, inhabits Patagonia; and a third, dark-colored form lives in northeastern Brazil.

Rheiins (remz) or Reims, a city in the French department of Marne, about 100 miles from Paris by rail. Clovis was baptized within its walls. In the 8th century it became the seat of an archbishop, and from 1179, when Philip Augustus was solemnly crowned here, it became the place for the coronation of the kings of Prance. Joan of Arc, after her great victories, brought the dauphin here to be crowned, and the only sovereigns down to 1825 w^0 were not crowned here were Henry IV, Napoleon I and Louis XVIII. In 1793 the cathedral