Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/721

* EACCOON. 633 KACHEL. terity. The raccoon, indeed, is as clever with its paws as a monkey. A very singular practice of the raccoon is that of washing everything it eats before putting it into its mouth. Should there be no water at hand, the animal will go tlirough the motions of washing it, rubbing tlie morsel between its hands until it considers it perfectly clean. It is indeed fond of water in every way, and is a good swimmer. The hunting of raccoons, which usually is done with dogs, is one of the favorite American sports, especially in the Southern States. This chase is more a matter of sport than profit, although the fur of the raccoon has a considerable value, espe- cially for the making of robes and drivers' over- coats. The hair also is e.tensively used in Europe, in the manufacture of hats. South America has a similar species of raccoon {Pro- cyon cancrirorus), locally called the 'crab-eater,' which is found in all parts of that conti- nent east of the Andes. It takes its name from its great fondness for the land-crabs which abound in South America, and upon which it mainly exists. Consult: Audubon and Bachman, Quadrupeds of Sorth America (New York, 18.51) ; ilerriam, ilainmals of the Adiroyidacks (Xew York, 1893) ; Robinson. In Xew England Fields and Woods (Boston, 1896) ; Ingersoll, Wild Xeighbor^ (New- York, 1897); Stone and Cram, American Ani- mals (New Y'ork, 1902). See Plate of ilixoR C.^EXIVORES. BACCOON DOG. A small, short-eared wild dog (Canis proci/onoides) of Japan and the Chi- nese coast, which has a curious resemblance in form and color to the raccoon. It haunts the banks of rivers and the seacoast, and feeds at night mainly on fsh in winter, and on mice in summer. It lives in burrows, and is said to hibernate, but this assertion needs confirmation. It is not shy, is easily trapped, and its fur and flesli are highly esteemed, especially in Japan. RACCOON OYSTER. A name given to oys ters which grow above low water mark, where they become stunted by daily exposure to the air. RACCOON PERCH. See Perch. RACE, Cape. See Cape Eace. RACE-HORSE. See Steamer Duck. RA'CHEL (Heb. i?aftc/, ewe). A daughter of Laban, the favorite wife of Jacob (Gen. xxxix. 6 sqq., 30), mother of .Joseph (ib. x.xx. 22 sqq.) and Benjamin (ib. xxxv. 16 sqq.). Jacob served Laban seven years for her, and then, receiving Leah in her stead, was obliged to serve seven years more for Eachel. As Rachel was barren, she gave her husband Bilhah, a servant, for cou- ■cubine, and thus became the putative mother of Dan and Naphtali (ib. xxx. 1-8). Through 'man- drakes' obtained from Reuben her womb was finally opened (ib. xxx. 14 sqq.). She died in Canaan after giving birth to Benjamin (ib. xxxv. 18). Her tomb is said to have been at Zelzah in the border of Benjamin not far from the sacred tree of Tabor, in the neighborhood of Bethel (I. Sam. X. 2), between Bethel and iligdol Eder, which, according to Micah iv. 8, seems to have been .Jerusalem (Gen. xxxv. 16), not far from Ramah (.Jer. xxxi. 1.5), and 'in the way to Ephrath which is Bethlehem' (Gen. xlviii. 7). There must have been a tomb of Rachel in Beth- lehem to account for the reference of this pas- sage to the massacre of infants in Matthew ii. 18. Yhether the other passages all refer to the same place or to different tombs cannot easily be de- termined. Originally the totem of an impor- tant clan (Rachel-ewe), the divine ancestress may have been worshiped at more than one tomb, both within the territory of the tribes Joseph and Benjamin and at Bethlehem, which once seems to have belonged to Benjamin (Bene Yamin — 'Sons of the South'). The Rachel clan itself was probably absorbed in .Joseph and Ben- jamin, though families in Dan and Naphtali may have claimed the same descent. There is a Kub- het 'Ahd el-'Aziz north of Jerusalem also called Ktibbct Rachil (tomb of Rachel) ; the structure at Bethlehem called Kubliet Rachil dates from the twelfth century a.d., but may be on the site of an earlier tomb. RACHEL, ra'shel', JIi-le. (1821-58). A cele- l)rated French tragic actress, whose real name was Elisabeth Rachel-Fflix. She was born of Jewish parents at an inn in the Swiss village of Mumpf. Her father was a peddler. The family settled for a time at Lyons, where she and her elder sister Sarah used to sing in the streets and cafes. In 1830 they came to Paris. There her singing attracted the attention of Choron, an eminent teacher of music, and he took her as a pupil. Her voice after all proved not very prom- ising, but her dramatic gifts were evident, and slie began studying under Saint-Aulaire, the actor. Later she was a pupil in the Conserva- toire. In 1837 she secured a position at the G_^Tunase and made a debut which excited no great attention. A few critics, however, per- ceived her genius, among them Jules Janin, and Mile. Mars (q.v. ) likewise foresaw her future greatness. On June 12, 1838, she made her ap- pearance upon the stage bf the Comedie Fran- caise, as Camille in Corneille's tragedy of Horace. In this role and in a series of other impersona- tions from the classic repertory she achieved great success, and popular admiration of her perform- ances grew to such enthusiasm that for years she was without a rival in the great tragic rOles of Corneille, Racine, and Voltaire. It was in Racine's Phidre that the zenith of her artistic career was reached ( 1843 ). Another of her tri- umphs was in Adrienne Lecouvretir, which was written for her by Scribe and Legouve. but in other modern roles she was less fortunate. Her relations with her colleagues at the ThC-atre Fran- cais were by no means always pleasant. Her caprices were without number. In her tours abroad she met with great success, especially in England in 1841 and later, and in Russia in 1852. Her health and popularity in Paris were both failing when in 1855, the year of Adelaide Ristori's first Parisian appearance, Rachel un- dertook a tour to America with her brother Raphael as manager. She was warmly greeted, though the returns were disappointing, and she soon went back to France in utter physical pros- tration. A visit to Egypt failed to restore her, and she died of consumption at Canet, near Tou- lon, January 3. 1858. Of the details of her private life, which was not exemplary, little need be said. She was constant to her family and helped her sisters who went upon the stage. As an artist, within the limits prescribed by her genius, she was perhaps never equaled. "She does not act — she suffers,"