Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/331

* ROSETTA STONE. 209 ROSMINI-SERBATI. aud Greek (London, 1S7I) ; Budge, .1 Ilistury of Egypt (New Voik, 1902). ROSETTI, losot'ti-, KoxsTANTiN- (181«-8u). A Rumanian poet and politic-inn, born at Buclia- rcst. He served in the arniv and Wius after- wards employed in the (JovernnuMit serviee, de- voting liimself at the same time to literary pursuits. Voltaire, Lamartinc, and IJyron were translated into Rumanian for the first time by him. He took a prominent part in radieal agitation, was a member of the Revolutionary Committee in 1848, and held several public offices. In ISoO his journal, I'runcul romtiii, was suppressed. He was ilinister of Edu- cation in IStiO, became president of the Chamber of Deputies in 1877, and was Minister of Interior in 1881-82. During liis last years he was ed- itor of Koiiiaiiiil. He published one volume of original verse, Ceasuri de multumire (1840). His collected works appeared at Bucharest in 188-). ROSE WATER. See Perfumert. ROSE WINDOW. A large circular window, usually with tracery and stained glasses, useci especially in Gothic churches over the portals. See Window. ROSEWOOD. The commerdal name of the wood of seeral trees, valued for beauty, and used for ornamental furniture. The principal species is thought to be a Brazilian Jlimosa. Several species of Dalbergia, of the natural order Leguminosse, are also believed to be rosewoods, but in general the botanist is still doubtful, al- though various kinds of rosewood, imported from South America, are much used for veneer- ing, in making furniture, musical instruments, etc. Rosewood has for a long time been second only to mahogany as a furniture-wood. It varies in color from reddish brown to purple or almost black, often beautifully marked with streaks of dark red. When l)eing sawn or cut it yields an agreeable smell of roses, hence its name. The name rosewood has been given also to kinds of timber grom in Jamaica, in Africa, and in Bur- ma. One valuable kind of rosewood is yielded by an East Indian tree, Dalbergia latifolia, also called blackwood. It is found chiefly in JIalabar. and grows to a height of about 50 feet. The in- creasing vahie of the wood has led to the formation of new plantations, under the care of the Govern- ment conservator of forests, in several parts of the lladras Presidency. The value of rosewood depends upon its coloring, the usual price being frcnii s.">u to $90 per ton, though e.ceptional spe- ciiiirii-, liave sold as high as $450 per ton. The principal supplies come from Brazil, the Canary Islands, East Indies, and Africa. In Australia the name rosewood is applied to the tinilier of Eremophila Mitchelli. Dysoxylum Fraseranum, and Acacia glaucescens, all of which are close- grained, dark-colored, and pleasantly scented. The genera Pterocarpus and Jlacluerium also supply rosewood. ROS'ICRU'CIANS (ML. Rosicrucunnifs, from Lat. ro.sa, rose -- crux, cross. Latinized from Ger. Rosenkreut.::, Rose-Cross, the name applied to the society either on account of the emldeni and pseu- donym adopted by Johann Valentin AndreiP. er- roneously regarded as the founder or restorer of the order, or because of the titles 'Brothers of the Rosy Cross,' 'Rosy Cross Knights,' and 'Rosy Cross Philosophers,' assumed by the society; Vol. -WII.— 20. .sometimes supposed to Im' a corruption of Hoiiri- crucian or Itoricrucinit, fruin Lat. rosciduK, dewy, from rtjn, dew -|- crux, ero.ss, since incdiiFVal alchemisl.s considered dew the most pow- erful .solvent of gold, and the cross the .synonym of light). The memliers of se- cret societies, professing to be philosophers, but in reality eharlatiins, who in the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries made them- selves conspicuous by claiming to l>e jiossessed of secrets of nature, including the power to traos- nuite the baser metals into gold ; to prolong life by the use of the elixir riUr; to have a knowl- edge of ])assing events in distant i)laces. and to discover hidden things by the application of the "abbala (i|.v.). Ro;-ierucianism stood in .some connection with freemasonry, and owed its vogue in the eighteenth century to the passion for secret associations and for a pseudo-science which had not yet freed itself from the absurdities of alchemy and found expression in such forms as mesmerism, etc. This was the age, too, of great impostors, who laid claim to su])ernatnral pow- ers, such as Cagliostro and the Count of Saint tiermain (qq.v. ). See Axdke.k, .Ioiia.nx Valkx- Tl.v. ROSIN (variant of resin. OF. resine, ¥r. resiiir, from l.at. rcsina, resin, probably from Gk. 'priTlvri, rhetiiiv, pine-resin), or Coi-OPiioNV. A well-known substance which remains Ix-hind when common turpentine is subjected to distilla- tion with water. It is hard and transparent, and has a faint odor like that of turpentine. It is soluble in alkaline hydroxide solutions as well as in alcohol, ether, and carbon disulphide. Its chief constituent is the anhydride of abietic acid. t'olophony is used mainly in making varnishes and rosin soap, and is one of the constituents of basilicon ointment and of adhesive plaster. See Resins. ROSINANTE, ro'sf-niin'ti. The lean, raw- boned sti'cd of Dcm Quixote. ROSIN WEED. See SlLPHlUM. ROSLAVL, r6s-liiv'ly'. A town in the Govern- ment of Smolensk, Russia, 7^5 miles southeast of Smolensk (Map: Russia, D 4). Its chief manu- factures are oil and tobacco. Population, in 1897, 17.848. ROSLIN, ruz'Un. ROSLYN, or ROSSLYN. A village of Kdinbiirghshirc. Scotland, over- looking the beautiful valley of the North Esk, 4ij miles southwest of Dalkeith. It is famous for its collegiate chapel, dating from 14.")0, and commemorated in Sir Walter Scott's ballad of Rosnhrlle. The chajiel is one of the n'ost profuse- ly decorated specimens of Gothic anhitecture ex- tant. It is now used as an Episcopal church. ROSMINI-SERBATI, rAs-me'nft sPr-bil't*, Antonio (1797-1855). An Italian philosopher and founder of a religious Order. He was born at Roveredo, near Trent, in Tyrol. He he- came a priest in 1821 and in 18'28 he founded a religious Order called the Insti- tute of Charity, whose members, known as Ros- minians, were to devote themselves espeeiall.v to preaching and education. During the troublous times in 1848 Rosniini was an a<lviser of Pope Pius IX. He was in sympathy with the national idea and looked forward with enthusiasm to a united Italy. He was influenced by IJioberti (q.v.), who" was at that time a member of the