RUFFHEAD (Dr. Owen), was the son of a baker in Piccadilly, who educated him for the law. He entered in the Middle Temple; and, while he was waiting for opportunities to distinguish himself in his profession, he wrote a variety of pamphlets on temporary politics; and was afterwards distinguished by his accurate edition of The Statutes at Large, in 4to. He now obtained good business, though more as a chamber counsellor in framing bills for parliament than as a pleader; but his close application to study, with the variety of works he engaged in as an author, impaired his constitution. He died in 1769, aged forty-six. Some time before his death bishop Warburton engaged him to write his long promised Life of Alexander Pope; which, however, when executed, was very far from giving general satisfaction.

RUFFIAN, n. s. & v. n. Teut. ruffian Ital. ruffiano; Fr. ruffien, a bawd. Perhaps, says Dr. Johnson, it may be best derived from the old Teutonic word which we now write rough. A brutal, boisterous fellow; a cutthroat; a robber: to play the ruffian.

Have you a ruffian that will swear? drink? dance? Revel the night? rob? murder? Shakspeare.

A fuller blast ne'er shook our battlements; If it hath ruffianed so upon the sea, What ribs of oak when mountains melt on them, Can hold the mortise ? Id. Othello.

Sir Ralph Vane's bold answers, termed rude and ruffian-like, falling into ears apt to take offence, furthered his condemnation. Hayward.

The boasted ancestors of these great men, Whose virtues you admire, were all such ruffians; This dread of nations, this almighty Rome, That comprehends in her wide empire's bounds All under heaven, was founded on a rape.

Addison's Cato.

Experienced age May timely intercept the ruffian rage; Convene the tribes. Pope's Odyssey. RUFINUS, a celebrated Italian, born about the middle of the fourth century at Concordia. He applied himself to the belles lettres, and studied eloquence at Aquileia. He then devoted himself to theology. St. Jerome happening to pass through Aquileia, Rufinus formed an intimate friendship with him; but was soon deprived of his company, as he continued his travels through France and Germany, and then

set out for the east. Rufinus resolved to follow him; embarked for Egypt; and, having visited the hermits in the deserts, repaired to Alexandria to hear the renowned Didymus. The Arians, who ruled in the reign of Valens, perloaded him with chains, and, finally, banished secuted Rufinus: threw him into a dungeon, him to the deserts of Palestine. From this exile he was relieved by St. Melania, who employed her wealth in ransoming those confessors who had been imprisoned or banished. He went next to Jerusalem; and having built a monastery on Mount Olivet he there assembled a great number of hermits. He converted many to the Christian faith, and persuaded above 400 hermits who had joined in the schism of Antioch to return to the Catholic church. Rufinus, having published a translation of the principles of Origen, was summoned to appear before pope Anastasius, at Rome. But he sent an apology work, in which he attempted to prove that cerfor not appearing, with a vindication of his tain errors, of which Origen had been accused, were consistent with the opinions of the ortho dox. St. Jerome attacked Rufinus's translation.

Rufinus composed an elegant reply, in which he said that, being only the translator of Origen, he

was not bound to sanction his errors. In 407

he returned to Rome; but in 408, that city being threatened by Alaric, he retired to Sicily, where he died in 410. His works are, 1. A Translation of Josephus. 2. A Translation of several works of Origen. 3. A Latin Version of Ten Discourses of Gregory Nazianzen, and Eight of Basil. 4. A Translation of the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, which engaged him nearly ten years. He made many additions to the

work, and continued the history from the twentieth year of Constantine to the death of Theodosius the Great. 5. A Vindication of Origen. 7. Commentaries on the prophets Hosea, Joel, 6. Two Apologies, addressed to St. Jerome.

and Amos. 8. Lives of the Hermits. 9. An Explanation of the Creed.

RUFUS, the surname of William II. king of England. See ENGLAND.

RUG, n. s. Swed. rugget, rough. A rough, nappy, woollen cloth: a rough dog.

Mongrels, spaniels, curs, Shoughes, water rugs, and demy wolves are cleped All by the name of dogs. Shakspeare. Macbeth. January must be expressed with a horrid and fearful aspect, clad in Irish rug or coarse freeze.

Peacham on Drawing. The vungus resembleth a goat, but greater and more profitable; of the fleece whereof they make rugi, coverings, and stuffs.

A rug was o'er his shoulders thrown; A rug; for nightgown he had none.

Heylin.

Swift.

RUGBY, a market town and parish of Warwickshire, eighty-five miles from London, is pleasantly situated near the Avon. Rugby is chiefly remarkable for its celebrated grammarschool, founded in 1567. The church is a commodious structure, and there are places of worship for dissenters. Market on Saturday; there are also some annual fairs.

RUGEN, an island of the Baltic, separated from Pomerania by the strait of Gellen. Its shape is so very irregular that no determinate

Created in his image, there to dwell,
And worship him; and in reward to rule
Over his works.

Milton's Paradise Lost.

He laid this rule before him, which proved of great use; never to trouble himself with the foresight of future events. Fell.

We profess to have embraced a religion which contains the most exact rules for the government of our lives. Tillotson.

Know'st with an equal hand to hold the scale; See'st where the reasons pinch, and where they fail, And where exceptions o'er the general rule prevail. Dryden.

Rome! 'tis thine alone with awful sway,
To rule mankind, and make the world obey,
Disposing peace and war thy own majestic way.

Id.

There being no law of nature, nor positive law of God, that determines which is the positive heir, the right of succession, and consequently of bearing rule,

could not have been determined.

Locke.

South's Sermons. This makes them apprehensive of every tendency to endanger that form of rule established by the law of their country.

The pompous mansion was designed To please the mighty rulers of mankind; Inferior temples use on either hand.

Addison.

Id.

Had he done it with the pope's license, his adversaries must have been silent; for that's a ruled case with the schoolmen. Atterbury.

Seven years the traitor rich Mycena swayed; And his stern rule the groaning land obeyed. Pope. Instruct me whence this uproar ;

And wherefore Vanoe, the sworn friend to Rome, Should spurn against our rule and stir

The tributary provinces to war? A. Philips's Briton. A rule that relates even to the smallest part of our life is of great benefit to us, merely as it is a rule.

Law.

It was not easy to determine by what rule of distinction the words of this dictionary were to be chosen. Johnson. Plan of Dictionary.

B. I grant that men continuing what they are, Fierce, avaricious, proud, there must be war; And never meant the rule should be applied To him that fights with justice on his side. Cowper.

RULE, in a monastic sense, a system of laws or regulations, whereby religious houses are go verned, and which the religious make a vow at their entrance to observe. Such are the rules of the Augustins, Benedictins, Carthusians, Franciscans, &c.

RULES OF COURT, in law, are certain orders made from time to time in the courts of law, which attorneys are bound to observe, in order to avoid confusion; and both the plaintiff and defendant are at their peril also bound to pay obedience to rules made in court relating to the cause depending between them. It is to be observed that no court will make a rule for any thing that may be done in the ordinary course; and that if a rule be made, grounded upon an affidavit, the other side may move the court against it, in order to vacate the same, and thereupon shall bring into court a copy of the affidavit and rule. On the breach and contempt of a rule of court an attachment lies; but it is not granted for disobedience to a rule, when the party has not been personally served; nor for disobeying a rule made by a judge in his chamber, which is not of force to ground a motion upon, unless the same be entered.

RUM, n.s. From the liquor; often vulgarly called kill-devil. A country parson. A cant word, worthy the dean of St. Patrick's.

I'm grown a mere mopus; no company comes, But a rabble of tenants and rusty dull rums. Swift.

RUM, a species of vinous spirit,__distilled from sugar-canes. Rum, according to Dr. Shaw, differs from simple sugar spirit, in that it contains more of the natural flavor or essential oil

of the sugar-cane; a great deal of raw juice and parts of the cane itself being fermented in the liquor or solution of which the rum is prepared. The unctuous or oily flavor of rum is often supposed to proceed from the large quantity of fat used in boiling the sugar; which fat, indeed, if coarse, will usually give a stinking flavor to the spirit in our distillations of the sugar liquor or is nothing of kin to the flavor of the rum, which wash, from our refining sugar-houses; but this is really the effect of the natural flavor of the cane. The method of making rum is this :-When a sufficient stock of the materials is gathered together, they add water to them, and ferment them in the common method, though the fermentation is always carried on very slowly at first; because, at the beginning of the season for making rum in the islands, they want yeast or some other ferment to make it work; but by degrees, after this, they procure a sufficient quantity of the ferment, which rises up as a head to the liquor in the operation; and thus they are able afterwards to ferment and make their rum with a great deal of expedition, and in large quantities. When the wash is fully fermented, or to a due degree of acidity, the distillation is carried on in the common way, and the spirit is

made up proof: though sometimes it is raised to a much greater strength, nearly approaching to that of alcohol or spirit of wine; and it is then called double distilled rum. It might be easy to rectify the spirit, and bring it to much greater purity than we usually find it to be of; for it brings over in the distillation a very large quantity of the oil; and this often so disagreeable that the rum must be suffered to lie by a long time to mellow before it can be used; whereas, if well rectified, it would grow mellow much sooner, and would have a much less potent flavor. The best state to keep rum in, both for exportation and other uses, is that of alcohol or rectified spirit. In this form it might be transported in one-half the bulk it usually is, and might be let down to the common proof strength with water when necessary for the common use, of making punch, it would likewise serve much better in the state of alcohol; as the taste would be cleaner, and the strength might always be regulated to a much greater exactness than in the ordinary way. The only use to which it would not so well serve, in this state, would be the common practice of adulteration among our distillers; for, when they want to mix a large portion of cheaper spirit with the rum, their business is to have it of the proof strength, and as full of the flavoring oil as they can, that may drown the flavor of the spirits they mix with it, and extend its own. If the business of rectifying rum were more nicely managed, it seems a very practicable scheme to throw out so much of the oil as to have it in the fine light state of a clear spirit, but lightly impregnated with it: in this case it would very nearly resemble arrack, as is proved by the mixing a very small quantity of it with a tasteless spirit, in which case the whole bears a very near resemblance to arrack in flavor. Rum is usually very much adulterated in Britain: some are so barefaced as to do it with malt spirit; but, when it is done with molasses spirit, the tastes of both are so nearly allied that it is not easily discovered. The best method of judging of it is by setting fire to a little of it; and, when it has burnt away all the inflammable part, examining the phlegm both by the taste and smell.

RUM, an island of Scotland, one of the Hebrides, seven miles west of Eigg, and included in the county of Argyll. It is about eight miles long, and nearly as broad, containing a surface of above 22,000 square acres of hilly, rocky, and mountainous ground, chiefly fitted for pasture. Great numbers of small Shetland sheep are fed upon it, whose wool is remarkably fine. This island formerly abounded with wood and deer; but, the woods being destroyed, the deer have disappeared. The only harbour is Loch Serefort, which is spacious, and has good anchorage, from five to seven fathoms water.

RUM KEY, one of the Bahamas, situated about eight or nine leagues east from the north end of Long Island, and ten north from Great Harbour. It is under cultivation at present, and the acres of patented estates granted by the crown for this purpose, previously to May 1803, amounted to 11,738.

RUM RIVER, a river of North America, having

its source in Le Mille Lac, thirty-five miles south of Lower Red Cedar Lake, and falling into the Mississippi. It is about fifty yards wide at its mouth, and the small Indian canoes ascend quite to the lake.

RUM'BLE, v. n. Teut. rummelen; Belg. rommelen. To make a hoarse low noise.

At the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling children for feebleness. of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their Jeremiah xlvii. 3.

The trembling streams, which wont in channels clear To rumble gently down with murmur soft, And were by them right tuneful taught to bear A base's part amongst their consorts oft, Now forced to overflow with brackish tears, With troublous noise did dull their dainty ears. Spenser. Rumble thy belly full; spit fire, spout rain; Nor rain wind thunder are my daughters; tax not you, you elements, with unkindness.

I

Shakspeare

Our courtier thinks that he's preferred whom every When love so rumbles in his pate, no sleep comes in man envies ; Suckling.

his eyes.

Apollo starts, and all Parnassus shakes At the rude rumbling Baralipton makes.

Roscommon.

The fire she fanned, with greater fury burned Rumbling within. Dryden. On a sudden there was heard a most dreadful rumbling noise within the entrails of the machine, Addison. after which the mountain burst.

Several monarchs have acquainted me, how often they have been shook from their respective thrones by the rumbling of a wheel-barrow. Spectator.

RUMELIA, or ROMELIA, a province of European Turkey, containing all the north parts of Greece and the capital of the Ottoman empire, Constantinople. It is one of the best peopled parts of Turkey: but so deficient are the Turks in statistical information, even in immediate reference to their own country, that the distribution of the inhabitants over its widely extended surface, and the comparative population of the different provinces, cannot be stated with precision. See TURKEY, for the best accounts we are able to obtain.

RUMEX, dock, in botany, a genus of the trigynia order, and hexandria class of plants; natural order twelfth, holoraceæ: CAL. triphyllous; there are three connivent petals, and one quetrous seed. There are thirty-seven species, of which the most remarkable are these:

1. R. acutus, or sharp pointed dock (the oxylapathum of the shops). The roots of this are slender, and run straight down, sending out a few small fibres; the stalks rise about two feet high, garnished at bottom with leaves four inches long, and one and a half broad in the middle. They are rounded at their base, where they are slightly indented, but end in acute points. From the joints of the stalks come out alternately long foot-stalks, which sustain the spikes of flowers, which grow in small whorls round the stalks, at about an inch distant.

2. R. alpinus, monk's rhubarb, grows naturally on the Alps, but has long been cultivated in the gardens of this country. It has large