Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/490

 470 RUNNELS RUPPELL officers, and ten years later had not only re- duced every sirdar in the Punjaub to subjec- tion, but was master of the Afghan city of Peshawer, and had assumed the title of mafia- rajah (king of kings). By the employment of two skilful French officers, Allard and Ven- tura, in 1822, he brought his troops to a still higher degree of efficiency, forming a disci- plined army of 80,000 men, with 300 guns. He now crossed the Indus and took the prov- ince of Peshawer lying along its W. bank. His conquests in Afghanistan occupied him for sev- eral years. In 1838 he entered into negotia- tions with the British for a closer alliance, but died before they wjpre concluded. He was re- markable for his success in harmonizing the interests of the various Sikh states, no less than for his military achievements ; and for fidelity to treaty engagements his name is con- spicuous among native princes of India. RUNNELS, a W. county of Texas, intersected by the N. fork of the Colorado river; area, 750 sq. m. ; returned as having no population in 1870. The soil in the valleys of the streams is good. The county is adapted to stock rais- ing, but-is subject to Indian incursions. Rl'N.VERS. See ORTHOPTERA. RFNNYMEDE, Knnnlmrdf, or Rinnemede, a nar- row slip of meadow land on the right bank of the Thames near Egham, in the N. W. part of the county of Surrey, England, about 20 m. W. S. W. of London, memorable as the place where in 1215 King John was compelled by his barons to sign the Magna Charta. The Eg- hain races now take place upon this meadow. RUPERT, Prince (Prince Robert of Bavaria), a royalist general of horse during the Eng- lish civil war, born in Prague, Dec. 17, 1619, died at Spring Gardens, London, Nov. 29, 1682. His mother Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of James I. of England, and the wife of Frederick V., elector palatine, who on the outbreak of the thirty years' war was elected by the insurgents king of Bohemia, and in con- sequence was deprived of his estates. When only 13 years old Rupert took part in the siege of Rheinberg, and at 18 commanded a regiment of cavalry in active service. At the beginning of the civil war in England he was placed at the head of a regiment of horse. He took Hereford, Lichfield, and Cirencester, and bore a prominent part in the battles of Edgehill and Chalgrove field. His daring and vigor had more than compensated for his want of prudence and military sagacity, and he was created duke of Cumberland. With Prince Maurice he carried Bristol by assault on July 25, 1643. Afterward he scattered the parlia- mentary forces at Newark, and gained dis- tinction in the north of England, especially by the relief of Latham house, held by the countess of Derby against a detachment of Fairfax's army. The loss of the battle of Marston Moor was due to his rashness and his want of concert with the duke of Newcastle ; yet he was promoted from the generalship of the horse to the command of all the forces, and took the city of Leicester. In the battle of Naseby, June 14, 1645, Prince Rupert com- manded the left wing, and pursued the portion of the parliamentary army opposed to him a great distance, returning to find his own side defeated. Subsequently he took command of Bristol. The city was invested by Fairfax and Cromwell on Aug. 22, and was surrendered at the first attack (Sept. 11), the prince march- ing out with a convoy of two regiments of horse, and proceeding to Oxford. The same day a royal proclamation was issued revo- king and annulling all military authority {riven to "our nephew Prince Rupert;" but in 1648 he obtained the command of that portion of the fleet which adhered to the royal cause, and with it went to the coast of Ireland to assist Lord Ormond. Anchoring in the har- bor of Kinsale, he was there blockaded by Blake with the parliamentary fleet until Oc- tober, 1649, when he forced his way out with the loss of a few ships. Blake pursued him to Malaga, and in January, 1651, attacked his squadron, and destroyed all but two ships, with which the prince escaped to the West In- dies. There he remained some time, support- ing himself by the piratical capture of Span- ish and English merchantmen, and then return- ed to France, selling his ships to the French government in behalf of Charles II. After the restoration he was made privy councillor. Under the duke of York he held a command in the fleet, and was present at the naval battle of Lowestoft (1655). In 1666, in con- junction with Lord Albemarle, he held com- mand of the fleet which acted against the Dutch with various success. He was a pro- moter of the Hudson Bay company, and its first governor in 1670. During the latter years of his life he was governor of Windsor castle, and spent a large portion of his time in paint- ing and engraving, and in mechanical and chemical experiments. The invention of the mezzotint has been ascribed to him, but it was made some years earlier. He improved the mechanical mode of the art, and described it in a communication to the royal society in 1662, and some of his engravings are still in existence. He is believed to have been the inventor of pinchbeck or prince's metal, and of the glass bubbles called " Rupert's drops." (See ANNEALING.) He was buried in Henry VII.'s chapel, Westminster. See Leben des Primen Ruprecht von der Pfah, Anfiihrer der Cavaliere Karl's I. von England, by Tres- kow (2d ed., Berlin, 1857), and Pfalzgraf Ru- pert der Cavalier, by Spruner (Munich, 1854). RIPERPS DROPS. See ANNEALING. RUPERTS LAND. See NORTHWEST TERRI- TORIES. RUPHIA, a river of Greece. See ALPHEUS. RBPPELL, Wilheim Peter Ednard Simon, a Ger- man traveller, born in Frankfort, Nov. 20, 1796. He early visited Italy and Egypt, and subsequently explored northern Africa, and