Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/363

 RIPPLE GRASS RITTENHOUSE 347 and on Nov. 14 of the same year he inherited his uncle's title of earl de Grey. He was un- der secretary of state for war from June, 1859, to February, 1861, and again from July, 1861, to April, 1863, and secretary ' thenceforward till February, 1866 ; and he was connected with the India board from February to July, 1861, and from February to June, 1866. At the close of 1868 he became president of the council. In 1871 he went to Washington as .chairman of the high joint commission which concluded the treaty of Washington in regard to the Alabama claims, and was for his ser- vices made marquis, June 23. In 1872 he was elected for the third time grand master of the freemasons in England, which post he resigned in 1874 on joining the Roman Catholic church. RIPPLE GRASS. See PLANTAIN. RISTORI, Adelaide, marchioness del Grille, an Italian actress, born at Cividale in Friuli in 1821. Her parents were comedians, and brought her up for the stage. Previous to her marriage in 1847 with the marquis Capran- ica del Grillo she excelled chiefly in comedy. Subsequently she became celebrated in tragedy, especially as Myrrha, Francesca da Rimini, Pia dei Tolomei, Mary Stuart, and Queen Eliza- beth. She first appeared in Paris in 1855, and in 1867 and 1875 she visited the United States. RITCHIE, a N. W. county of West Virginia, intersected by Hughes river, a branch of the Little Kanawha ; area, about 450 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 9,055, of whom 63 were colored. It has a hilly surface, covered with forests, and the soil is fertile near the streams. It is trav- ersed by the Parkersburg division of the Bal- timore and Ohio railroad. The chief produc- tions in 1870 were 25,510 bushels of wheat, 35,635 of rye, 146,235 of Indian corn, 40,033 of oats, 4,732' tons of hay, 9,907 Ibs. of to- bacco, 26,828 of wool, 116,094 of butter, and 29,257 gallons of sorghum molasses. There were 1,970 horses, 5,334 cattle, 11,607 sheep, and 4,617 swine. Capital, Harrisville. RITCHIE, Anna Cora Mowatt. See MOWATT. RITCHIE, Thomas, an American journalist, born at Tappahannock, Va., Nov. 5, 1778, died in Richmond, July 12, 1854. After teaching four years at Frederick sburg, he removed to Richmond in 1803, and in 1804 became edi- tor of the Richmond "Examiner," the name of which he changed to " Enquirer." He con- tinued its editor and proprietor for 40 years, exercising an unsurpassed influence over the politics of Virginia and the Union. In 1845 he relinquished the "Enquirer" to his sons, and removed to Washington, where he edited for four years the " Union," a journal estab- lished as the organ of President Folk's admin- istration. He subsequently returned to Rich- mond, and spent his latter years in retirement. RITES, Congregation of, the name of a com- mittee of cardinals in the Roman Catholic church, established by Sixtus V., and original- ly composed of six cardinals, with a number of secretaries and consultors. The number of members depends on the will of the reigning pope. In 1875 it comprised 17 cardinals, 25 consultors, and 11 officials, including secreta- ry, promoters of the faith, and assessors, be- sides the papal masters of ceremonies. The matters exclusively within its cognizance are the liturgy, the rites of the administration of the sacraments, the rubrics of the missal and breviary, the ceremonial of the church in all public functions, and the proceedings in the beatification and canonization of saints. The congregation meets once a month at the resi- dence of the prefect, who is always the senior cardinal of the board. RITSON, Joseph, an English antiquary, born in Stockton, Oct. 2, 1752, died Sept. 23, 1803. He was a lawyer, but devoted himself chiefly to literary pursuits. His numerous writings are marked by great accuracy, honesty, and learning, and by their abusive spirit. His harshness led to controversies, in which he seems to have been constantly engaged until his death. An " Essay upon Abstinence from Animal Food as a Moral Duty" was fiercely attacked by the " Edinburgh Review " (April, 1803), in an article written by Sydney Smith and Lord Brougham. Ritson's chief works are : " Remarks Critical and Illustrative on the Text of the last Edition of Shakspeare" (1783), an attack upon Johnson and Steevens; "A Select Collection' of English Songs" (3 vols. 8vo, 1783; 2d ed., 1813); "Ancient Songs from the time of King Henry III. to the Revolution" (1790; 2d ed., 1829); "The English Anthology" (3 vols., l793-'4) ; "A Collection of Scottish Songs, with the Ori- ginal Music" (2 vols., 1794; new ed., 18mo, 1866) ; " Robin Hood, a Collection of all the Ancient Poems, Songs, and Ballads now ex- tant relating to that Outlaw " (2 vols., 1795 ; 3d ed., 1858); "Ancient English Metrical Ro- mances, with Dissertation and Glossary " (3 vols., 1802); " Bibliographia Poetica," an ac- count of English poets from the 12th to the 16th century, never completed, but forming a treasury from which many others have drawn. See "Letters of Joseph Ritson, Esq., with a Memoir," by Sir Harris Nicolas (2 vols., 1833). RrTTEJfHOUSE, DaTid, an American mathema- tician, born at Germantown, Pa. (near which his great-grandfather, William Rittinghuysen, a Hollander, had established about 1690 the first paper mill in America), April 8, 1732, died in Philadelphia, June 26, 1796. During his youth he came into possession of the tools and mathematical books of a deceased uncle, made clocks without any instruction, and followed the occupation of clock making. He was com- missioned by the proprietary government in 1763 to determine the initial portion of the boundary line since known as Mason and Dix- on's ; and although his instruments were all of his own construction, the official surveyors adopted his measurements. He was subse- quently employed in determining the boun- daries between New York, New Jersey, and