The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Raab (20), a town in Hungary, 67 m. NW. of Buda Pesth, manufactures tobacco and cutlery.

Raasay, one of the Inner Hebrides, belonging to Inverness-shire, lies between Skye and Ross-shire; bare on the W., picturesque on the E.; has interesting ruins of Brochel Castle.

Rabant de St. Étienne, a moderate French Revolutionary; member of the Constituent Assembly; one of the Girondists; opposed the extreme party, and concealed himself between two walls he had built in his brother's house; was discovered, and doomed to the guillotine, as were also those who protected him (1743-1793).

Rabat (26), known also as New Sallee, a declining port in Morocco, finely situated on elevated ground overlooking the mouth of the Bu-Ragrag River, 115 m. SE. of Fez; is surrounded by walls, and has a commanding citadel, a noted tower, interesting ruins, etc.; manufactures carpets, mats, etc., and exports olive-oil, grain, wool, etc.

Rabbi (lit. my master), an appellation of honor applied to a teacher of the Law among the Jews, in frequent use among them in the days of Christ, who was frequently saluted by this title.

Rabbism, the name applied in modern times to the principles and methods of the Jewish Rabbis, particularly in the interpretation of the Jewish Scriptures.

Rabelais, François, great French humorist, born at Chinon, the son of a poor apothecary; was sent to a convent at nine; became a Franciscan monk; read and studied a great deal, but, sick of convent life, ran away at forty years of age; went to Montpellier, and studied medicine, and for a time practiced it, particularly at Lyons; here he commenced the series of writings that have immortalized his name, his "Gargantua" and "Pantagruel," which he finished as curé of Meudon, forming a succession of satires in a vein of riotous mirth on monks, priests, pedants, and all the incarnate solecisms of the time, yet with all their licentiousness revealing a heart in love with mankind, and a passionate desire for the establishment of truth and justice among men (1495-1553).

Races of Mankind. These have been divided into five, the Caucasian (q.v.) or Indo-European, the Mongolian or Yellow, the Negro or Black, the Malayan or Tawny, and the India or Copper-colored.

Rachel, Eliza, a great French tragédienne, born in Switzerland, of Jewish parents; made her début in Paris in 1838, and soon became famous as the interpreter of the principal characters in the masterpieces of Racine and Corneille, her crowning triumph being the representation, in 1843, of Phèdre in the tragedy of Racine; she made a great impression wherever she appeared, realized a large fortune, and died of decline (1821-1858).

Racine (21), a flourishing city of Wisconsin, U.S.A., capital of Racine County, at the entrance of Root River into Lake Michigan, 62 m. N. of Chicago; has an Episcopal university: trades in lumber, flax, and the products of various factories.