Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/464

 444 ROSSANO ROSSETTI indented with numerous bays and excellent harbors. There are several lakes, of which the largest is Loch Maree, 12 ra. long. The gen- eral surface is mountainous, some peaks reach- ing a height of 3,500 ft. and upward. The scenery is remarkably wild and romantic. The' fisheries employ upward of 20,000 hands. Im- proved breeds of cattle and sheep are exten- sively reared. Numerous plantations of trees have been formed within the present centu- ry, and parts formerly bare are now covered with extensive forests. These counties con- tain many remains of antiquity. The princi- pal towns are Tain, Dingwall, and Cromarty. ROSSANO (anc. Rotcianum), a town of S. Italy, about 3 m. from the gulf of Taranto, in the province and 28 m. N. E. of the city of Cosenza; pop. about 12,000. It is built upon a rocky hill at the foot of the Apennines, and surrounded by deep precipices. It is the seat of an archbishop, and has a lino cathedral, a castle, and a trade in oil, capers, and saffron. During the Gothic wars the ancient Roscianum was one of the strongest places in Bruttium. ROSSBACH, a village of Prussian Saxony, 17 m. 8. by W. of Halle, celebrated as the scene of the victory of Frederick the Great over the combined French and imperial army, com- manded by the prince do Soubise, Nov. 5, 1757. The army of Frederick numbered only half of that of his opponents, the French being officered by noblemen who regarded the expe- dition as a pleasure excursion. Emboldened by his having retired from before the duke do Broglie's camp at Muhlhausen, the French and imperial army left a strong position to at- tack Frederick without having made a recon- noissance; but they were themselves attacked by surprise, and, though but one wing of the Prussians was engaged, soon broke and fled in the utmost disorder, leaving their whole artil- lery and baggage and 7,000 prisoners in the hands of the victor. ROSSE, illi tm Parsons, earl of, a British as- tronomer, born in York, June 17, 1800, died at Parsonstown, Ireland, Oct. 31, 1867. He graduated at Magdalen college, Oxford, in 1822. From 1821 to 1884, under the title of Lord Oxmantown, he represented King's county, Ireland, in parliament. At the death of his father in 1841 he succeeded to the peerage, and in 1845 was elected one of the repre- sentative peers for Ireland. He voted with the liberal party. In 1826 he erected upon the grounds of his residence, Birr castle, near Parsonstown, an observatory for which in- struments were made under his special direc- tion. The most important was the enormous reflecting telescope, finished about 1844 at a cost of about $60,000 ; it has an aperture of 6 ft. and a focus of 53 ft., and is nov the most powerful reflector in the world as far as great space-penetrating capacity is concerned. It has been of especial use in resolving nebulas, for which it was in great measure designed. In 1843 Lord Rosse was made president of the British association. He was elected to the astronomical society in 1824, and to the royal society in 1831. From 1849 to 1854 he was president of the royal society. During the last six years of his life he was chancellor of Trinity college, Dublin. ROSSEL, Louis Nathaniel, a French soldier, born in St. Brieuc, department of C6tes-du-Nord, in 1844, shot at Satory, near Versailles, Nov. 28, 1871. He graduated at the school of engineers in Paris, and became first lieuten- ant in 1860. In 1870, while on the staff of the commander of the city of Metz, he con- spired against Bazaine, who had him arrested. He fell into the hands of the Germans, but escaped and was made colonel by Gambetta, took part in the campaign of the Loire, and next organized the camp of Nevers. He re- signed to join the commune, and was made chief engineer of a legion, but was arrested after the disastrous operations of April 2-3. He was released at the instance of Cluseret, who placed him at the head of his staff, and v/hom he succeeded on May 1 as delegate for war ; but in less than ten days he tendered his resignation in a letter in which he severely criticised the commune. Ho was again arrest- ed, and escaped only to be captured by the Versailles troops. After several trials he was ultimately executed despite the general sym- pathy expressed for him at home and abroad. A select edition of his writings (Papiers pos- thumes) was edited by Jules Amigue (Paris, 1871 ; English translation, London, 1872). His biography has been written by M. E. Gers- pach (Paris, 1873). ROSSETTI. I. Gabrielf, an Italian poet, born in the Abruzzi, March 1, 1783, died in Lon- don, April 26, 1854. He was director of the museum of Naples from 1814 to 1821, when he was exiled, and in 1824 he settled in Eng- land. He was professor of Italian literature at King's college, London, from 1831 to 1845, when he became blind and resigned his chair. He published Commento analitico sulla 1)1- vina Commedia (1826-'7); Sullo spirito anti- papale (1832) II mistero delV amor platoni- co svelato (1840); and La Beatrice del Dante. According to his theory, Dante and his con- temporaries adopted a peculiar idiom to veil their aversion for the papacy, and introduced a woman as the special object of their adora- tion to symbolize true Christianity. Rosset- ti's poetical works include Dio e Vuomo (1840), II veggente in tolitudine (1843), Poesie (1847), and L'Arpa evangelica (1852). II. Dante Gabriel, an English artist, son of the preceding, born in London in 1828. He studied at King's col- lege, London, and contributed designs to an illustrated edition of Tennyson's poems. In 1849 he exhibited " The Girlhood of the Vir- gin," a picture in the pre-Raphaelite style, of which he was one of the earliest promoters, and in 1858 at the Liverpool academy three water-color paintings entitled " A Christmas Carol," "The Wedding of St. George," and