Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/482

 462 RUBLE RUDDER FISH August, 1840, with his teacher Villoing, to Paris, where Liszt heard him and prophe- sied for him a great career. Here he studied diligently for a year and a half, and then un- dertook his first artistic tour in England, Hol- land, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. After the close of this prosperous tour Rubinstein remained at home in Russia for a year, and then by the advice of Meyerbeer was placed under the instruction of the famous contra- puntist Dehn at Berlin. In 1846, left to his own resources, he went to Vienna, giving there for a year lessons upon the piano, at the close of which time ho undertook a concert tour in Hungary with the flutist Heindl, and then went to Berlin-, but on the breaking out of the revolutionary troubles of 184-8 retired to St. Petersburg. In 1849 he wrote his first opera, Dmitri Donaki, which was brought out in 1852. The grand duchesa Helen now pat- ronized the young composer, and at her insti- gation he wrote three one-act operas, " The Circassian," " The Siberian Hunters," and " Tom the Fool." Rubinstein founded and for nine years superintended the conserva- tory at St. Petersburg, and between 1850 and 1860 composed more than 50 works in va- rious forms, many of them of the largest di- mensions. Among these were his " Ocean Symphony " and three other symphonies, six string quartets, his trios in G minor and B flat major, his oratorio " Paradise Lost," and a great variety of pianoforte compositions, in- cluding his two concertos in F and G for piano and orchestra, and many songs. He found time also to give concerts in Germany, Paris, and London, everywhere exciting the liveli- est interest by his astonishing qualities as a pianist. In February, 1861, his German opera Die Kinder der Haide (" The Children of the Steppe ") was produced under his supervision at Vienna. Later he' composed another Ger- man opera entitled Feramors. He made his first appearance in America at New York on Sept. 23, 1872. During the succeeding winter and spring he gave concerts in all the larger cities of the United States as far west as the Mississippi, meeting everywhere with the same success that attended his concert tours in Eu- rope. Returning to Russia in 1873, he devo- ted himself anew to composition, producing on Jan. 25, 1875, at St. Petersburg, his fan- tastic opera " The Demon," founded on a legend by Lermontoff, and at Berlin, in April of the same year, another opera, Die Macca- bder. Since Liszt ceased to play in public, Rubinstein has had no superior as a pianist. RUBLE, a Russian silver coin and unit of ac- count. About the beginning of the 14th cen- tury the Russians began to use silver in bars for purposes of trade. The act of cutting off from a bar sufficient weight for a payment was called rubit, whence the name ruble. The ruble is divided in account into 100 copecks. The value has greatly varied at different times. By the circular of the secretary of the trea- sury of the United States dated Jan 1, 1875, the rating of foreign silver coins has been consid- erably reduced owing to the depreciation of the value of silver as compared with gold. In the article COINS the value of the silver ruble in 1872 is given at 79'4 cents; by the above named circular it is now fixed at 73'4 cents. Gold is coined in pieces of five rubles; frac- tions of the ruble are in silver. For the paper ruble see ASSIGNATIONS. 1M BY. See SAPPHIEB. Ki't'KKKT, Friedrfeh, a German poet, born in Schweinfurt, May 16, 1788, died near Co- burg, Jan. 31, 1866. He completed his studies at Jena, was a journalist at Stuttgart from 1815 to 1817, and was professor of oriental languages for 15 years at Erlangen, and for 8 years at Berlin. His works embrace various collections of lyrical, epic, and other poems ; Die Weisheit der Brahmanen, a didactic poem (6 vols., 1836-'9; 7th ed., 1870); and admira- ble translations from the Arabic and other oriental tongues, including Die Verwandlungen de Abu Seid von Sarug, oder die MaTcamen des Hariri (2 vols., 1826 ; 5th ed., 1875). Among his posthumous works is one on the Coptic language (1875). His life has been written by Fortlage (1867) and Beyer (1.868). His son HEiNnion, an eminent historian, born in Coburg, Jan. 14, 1823, died in Breslau, Sept. 11, 1875. REDDER FISH, one of the mackerel family, constituting the only described species of the genus palinurus (De Kay). It belongs to the division of the scomberoids in which the first dorsal is composed of isolated spines connected by a low membrane ; the gill covers are ser- rated and spiny ; there are one or more spines in front of the anal fin, which seems to remove it from the scomberoids with which in other respects it agrees ; the body is elevated, com- pressed, and oblong, and the tail without lat- eral keel; the profile is vertical ; the teeth are small, pointed, and nearly equal. The P. per- dformia (De Kay), the black pilot, or the rud- Rudder Fish (Palinurus perciformis). der fish of the fishermen of Martha's Vineyard, attains a length of from 9 to 12 in. ; it is oc- casionally seen on the coasts of Massachusetts and New York. The color is bluish white on the sides, with minute black dots, the lower parts lighter; top of head and back with black blotches; in the young the color is a bright bronzed black, with obscure reddish hues ; there are eight short spines in front of the fleshy rays of the dorsal ; a bony ridge is ob- served over the eyes, and there is a depres- sion between them.