Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/84

* BESUSCITATION. 68 RETAINING WALLS. RESUSCITATION (Lat. resuscitaiio, from rrdtiscit<in; to raise ujjain, revive, from re-, back again, anew + suscilare, to raise, from sus-, sub; up, under + citare, to call, rouse). The revival of the apparently dead. The apparently (lead to whom ellorts to restore are of use are those asphy.xiated by drowning, by breathing illuminating gas, or" by suffocation, and those sull'ering from syncope or the effects of electric- ity. In syncope." or fainting, the head and heart should be placed on a low level, vhile the lower extremities are elevated. If this manipulation is not rapidly successful, respiration may be excited by sprinkling the face suddenly with water and applying to the nostrils some pungent volatile substance such as spirits of camphor or weak anuiionia. Victims of electric shock may sometimes be resuscitated by the use of artificial respiration by means of Gibbons's instrument. This consists of two bellows so arranged that one pumps air into the lungs through a nostril while the other exhausts the lungs of respired air. In the case of asphyxiation from inhaling either illuminating gas or carbonic dioxide, artificial respiration should be employed together with administratitm of oxygen through the nostril. Apparently drowned persons may often be re- suscitated by syphoning the water out of the stomach and then using artificial respiration and keeping the body warm by means of artificial heat. See' Hall, Makshall; Respiration, Ar- tificial. RESZKE, resh'ke, Edouard de (1850—). A Polish opera singer, brother of .Jean de Reszke, born at Warsaw. After studying with his brother, he received instruction from Ciaffei, Steller, Coletti, and Sbriglia. Originally he had studied scientific farming in Silesia, and had devoted himself to the care of the family estates. It was at the suggestion of Jean, then in the first flush of his success, that he took up the study of music. He made his first public ap- pearance in 1876 at the Itallens in Paris, as the King in Verdi's A'ida, which was so suc- cessful that Jlassenet intrusted to him the creation of Le rot de Lahore at La Scala in ]Milan. From 1880 to 1884 he sang with the Royal Italian Opera Company in London, where he became famous as one of the greatest dra- matic bassos of his time. BESZKE, Jean de (1853—). A Polish dra- matic tenor, born at Warsaw. Through the inlluence of his father, a prominent State oHicial, and his mother, who was possessed of remarkable musical talent, he saw much of the world's great artists, the family salon possessing an attraction for the most celebrated musicians of the day. When but twelve years of age, De Reszke was singing in the Cathedral, where the quality of his voice aroused the interest of the city. Afterwards he took up the profession of law. and obtained his degree and license. But the attraction of music proved too strong, and he began to study for the stage under Ciaffei and Cotogni. In 1874 he made his debut at Venice, as Alfonso in La Favorita, under the name of De Reschi. Soon afterwards he appeared in London in the same role, where the critics com- plained that his voice lacked the deep quality and resonance of a barytone. He attained con- siderable celebrity, however, but his physical strength began to suffer from the wear and tear of singing parts too low for him, and acting upon the advice of Sbriglia, he retired from the stage, and prepared himself in a tenor repertoire. On the completion of two years of study he made his second debut before the public, in 1S70, this time in the tenor role of Robert le Diable, at Jladrid. His success was instantaneous, and his career a continuous artistic triumph. His repertoire includes Faust, Lohengrin, L'Afri- caine, Aida, Le C'id (written for him by Masse- net), Les Huguenots, Elaine, Romeo and Juliet, and Tristan. He is conceded to be one of the most artistic singers and actors known to the operatic stage. Since 1801 both De Reszkes have, with short interruptions, been favorite members of the Metropolitan Opera House Com- pany in New York. RETAINER (from Lat. retinere, to retain, hold back, from re-, back again, anew + tenere, to hold ). The employment of an attorney, coun- selor, or other legal practitioner, to prosecute or defend an action, or represent a person, in his professional capacity. It is not necessary that a retainer be in writing; a mere verbal request is sufficient. Upon being retained an attorney has full powers incidental to professional repre- sentation. The term is also applied to a fee paid to a legal practitioner for his services, usu- ally in advance, and constituting only a part of his whole fee. See Attorney; Counselor. The act of an executor, to whom the estate is in debt, in retaining in his hands a sufficient amount to satisfy his claim, is also technically known as retainer. RETAINER. See Lr-ert, RETAINING WALLS. Walls built to retain earth or other incoherent substances in posi- tions and forms which, without such artificial aid, the}' could not maintain. Most earths, if left to themselves, w-ill not stand with vertical sides, but will fall or slide down until they assume a certain slope. The angle which this slope makes with the horizontal is called the 'angle of repose,' and it varies according to the nature of D''" '" ~ B DIAGRAM OF RETAININ'O WALL. the material, the amount of water it contains, etc. The same earth will have different angles of repose under different conditions. In the accompanying figure, E represents a section of a mass of earth which it is desired to retain by the wall ABDC. If the line BG represent the angle of repose, then it is evident that the duty of the retaining wall is to keep in position the wedge-shaped mass of earth ABG. Tliis mass tends to destroy the retaining wall. ( 1 ) by over- turning it by rotation along the front edge D; (2) by the crushing of the stone along the front edge; and (Z) by sliding the wall forward on its base, DB, or along some horizontal plane above the base. In designing a retaining wall the engineer .seeks to fix its dimensions so that it is safe against destruction by any or all of these