Part 22
=Rascal.= From the French _racaille_, “the scum of the people.”
=Ratcliff Highway.= Originally a manor belonging to the parish of Stepney, this highway for sailors ashore, where they found lodgings and entertainment of a low class in days prior to the provision of “Seamen’s Homes,” received its name from the multitudes of water rats that congregated on the Thames wall by night. On account of the evil reputation which this neighbourhood bore in former days, its name was changed to “St George’s in the East.”
=Rathbone Place.= After Captain Rathbone, its builder, in 1718.
=Rat Hole.= A printers’ term for a non-society house. Since rats are known to desert a sinking ship, so a journeyman who refuses to take advantage of a trades union is stigmatised as a “Rat,” because he forsakes the general cause of his craft. Hence also the term “Rattening,” by which is meant the taking away of or destroying a workman’s tools consequent upon his desertion of the union or accepting work in a house opposed to its principles.
=Rationalism.= The kind of religion (if it deserved such a name) set up during the French Revolution, when Reason took the place of Faith. The worship of the “Goddess of Reason,” in the person of an actress installed in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, was a fitting illustration of the unreasoning tenet that public worship was opposed to the natural instincts of mankind.
=Rattening.= See “Rat Hole.”
=Ray Street.= After the victim of an old-time Clerkenwell sensation, Miss Ray, who, on becoming the mistress of Lord Sandwich, was shot by her jilted lover, Hackman.
=Ready.= Short for ready money, cash always on hand, in readiness for emergencies.
=Rechabites.= The name borne by total abstainers in the United States, after the followers of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, who lived in tents and abstained from the use of wine.
=Reckon without your Host.= When putting up at an inn the cost is often greater than the traveller anticipates; therefore it is always wise to be well prepared with funds, lest, when the host presents his bill, discomfiture may arise.
=Recluse.= From the Latin _reclusus_, shut up; one who voluntarily cuts himself off from communion with his fellow-men, a solitary.
=Rector.= A clergyman who enjoys a living in his own right, as distinguished from a “Vicar,” who holds the appointment at the pleasure of the Lord of the Manor. The former also receives the tithes direct, whereas the latter passes them on to a layman, a college, or a chapter, by whom he is paid a proportion thereout as a stipend.
=Red Cent.= An Americanism for a copper coin.
=Redcross Street.= From the red stone cross anciently set up by the Knights Hospitallers to define the limits of the land belonging to them in the direction adjacent to that of the Knights Templars, indicated by a white cross of stone in what is now “Whitecross Street.”
=Red Dragon.= An inn sign, complimenting Henry VII., whose device it was.
=Redemptorists.= Also called “Redemptorist Fathers.” See “Liguorians.”
=Red Eye.= The Far West term for fiery new whisky, which is well calculated to make the eyes of the toper look red.
=Red-hot Time.= An Americanism for a jolly time, because the proceedings were conducted with the utmost warmth.
=Red-Letter Day.= A phrase used to express a pleasurable event in one’s past life. This had its origin in the old calendars and almanacks, in which high Church festivals were printed in red ink, and all the other days in black.
=Red Lion Court.= After an ancient tavern, “The Red Lion.”
=Red Lion Square.= After a famous old coaching-house, “The Red Lion.”
=Red Republicans.= The extreme Republican party of the French Revolution, which adopted the red cap, the Roman symbol of Liberty. The lower orders of the people, to whom the cap meant everything, were likewise only too ready to follow the behest of their leaders, and steep their hands in the blood of the aristocrats.
=Red Skins.= The name first given by the white settlers to the Indians of North America.
=Red Rose.= An inn sign, in compliment to the Lancastrians during the Wars of the Roses.
=Red Sea.= Three reasons are assigned for the name of this sea: the red sandstone which forms its bottom, the red rocks which in some parts border its shores, and the colouring imparted to its waters by coral reefs, animaculæ, and sea-weed.
=Red Tape.= That leisurely officialism which refers a matter from one department to another, until at length the highest authority is reached to take it in hand. The term has been derived from the red tape with which all legal and official documents are tied together.
=Reel.= A whirling dance by a single person, peculiar to the Scots, so called in allusion to the winding of cotton on a reel.
=Reformed Presbytery.= See “Macmillanites.”
=Reform School.= An Americanism for an institution for the reformation of juvenile offenders.
=Refresher.= The legal term for an extra fee paid to a barrister by a client while the latter’s case is pending, in order to refresh the former’s memory concerning the interests at stake.
=Regent Diamond.= See “Pitt Diamond.”
=Regent’s Park.= Part of the general scheme of John Nash, the royal architect, when he projected the building of Regent Street, was to provide a magnificent palace for his patron, the Prince Regent, in the park named after him. This was not realised, and the site of the intended palace was appropriated to the Zoological Gardens.
=Regent Street.= In honour of the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV.
=Regiomontanus.= The name assumed by Johann Müller, a celebrated German mathematician of the fifteenth century, being a Latinised rendering of “Konigsberg,” his native place.
=Regius Professor.= The professorial chair in various departments of learning at Oxford and Cambridge Universities founded by Henry VIII.
=Regular Brick.= See “He’s a Brick.”
=Regular Clergy.= Those who in the Catholic Church are attached to monasteries and friaries, living by rule; in contradistinction to the “Secular Clergy,” who are appointed to parochial work by a bishop, and move among the people.
=Regular Zantippe.= See “Zantippe.”
=Rehan.= See “Ada Rehan.”
=Rendezvous.= Literally an individual haunt or resort, and in no sense a place of public meeting. The word is French for “betake yourself.”
=Republican Marriage.= The name given by the Red Republicans during the French Revolution to their atrocious procedure, instigated by Jean Baptiste Carrier, of tying a young man and woman together and drowning them.
=Resurrection Men.= Body snatchers, who “resurrected,” as the Americans say, bodies from the graves in order to sell them to the medical faculty for dissection. Since the general institution of public hospitals, the last refuge of so many “unknowns,” whose dead bodies are never claimed, the demand for subjects snatched from the grave has entirely ceased.
=Revolver.= The modern type of pistol, in which the breach which contains the cartridges revolves. In the earlier stage of this invention it was the barrel that revolved.
=Rheims.= The capital of the _Remi_, a Gallic people referred to by Cæsar.
=Rhine.= From the Celtic _rhe_, “rapid.” This name was given by the Swiss to rivers generally.
=Rhinoceros.= Greek for “nose-horned.”
=Rhode Island.= A corruption of “rood,” red, the name given to it by the Dutch settlers on account of its reddish appearance.
=Rhodes.= From the Greek _rhodon_, a rose; expresses “the isle of roses.”
=Rhododendron.= From the two Greek words _rhodon_, rose, and _dendron_, tree.
=Rhody.= The American designation of Rhode Island on account of its limited area; also called “Little Rhody.”
=Rhone.= Derived from the same root as “Rhine.”
=Ribbonmen.= The name borne by the members of a Catholic political association in Ireland early in the last century on account of the distinctive badge or ribbon worn in the button-hole. The Ribbonmen were violently opposed to the “Orangemen.”
=Ribston Pippins.= The name given to a fine species of Normandy apple grown at Ribstone, Yorkshire, from pips originally planted on his estate by Sir Henry Goodriche.
=Richmond.= When Edward I. built himself a sumptuous palace on the south bank of the Thames he gave it the name of _Sheen_, the Saxon for “resplendent.” This being consumed by fire in 1479, Henry VI., rebuilt it, and then called it Richmond, after the beautiful seat in Yorkshire whence he took the title of his earldom. _Richmond_ signifies a rich prospect from the hill occupied by its ancient castle.
=Riding.= A Danish division of the county of Yorkshire corresponding to the Lincolnshire _Trithing_, of which it is a corruption, signifying a third part.
=Riff-raff.= Expresses the Anglo-Saxon, from the Danish _rip-raps_, for “sweepings”; hence the scum of society.
=Right off the Reel.= To do a thing without stopping until it is finished. The allusion is to unwinding the entire length of cotton off a reel or bobbin.
=Right Foot Foremost.= A phrase derived from the old Roman superstition that if a visitor crossed the threshold with the left foot foremost he would be certain to bring ill luck upon the household.
=Rile.= A provincial corruption of “Rail,” to anger or tease.
=Ring.= A professional term for a charmed circle--_e.g._ “The Dramatic Ring.”
=Ring him up.= A telephone phrase, really borrowed from the theatrical profession, in which the prompter’s “Ring up” and “Ring down”--_i.e._ the curtain--have obtained favour since the “Palmy Days of the Drama.”
=Rink.= An American variant of “Ring.” In the sense of a skating rink the term has become popular in England.
=Rio de Janeiro.= This city takes its name from the river discovered by Alfonso de Sousa on the Feast of St Januarius, on which it stands.
=Rio de la Plata.= Spanish for “river of silver.”
=Rio Grande.= Spanish for “great river.”
=Rip.= A corruption of “Rep.” See “Old Rep.”
=Ritualists.= The extreme High Church party, who for many years past have revived the ancient ritual to such a degree that they may be said to be Roman Catholics in everything save in name.
=Riviera.= Literally “coast,” “sea-shore.”
=Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.= An expression derived from the following circumstance:--By Royal Letters Patent, dated 17th December 1540, the abbey church of St Peter, Westminster, was constituted a cathedral, with a resident bishop. Ten years afterwards this order was revoked, the diocese of Westminster being united to that of St Paul’s Cathedral, and its revenues were granted towards the repairs of the city fane; hence what was taken away from St Peter’s went to benefit St Paul’s.
=Robert.= The generic name for a policeman, after Sir Robert Peel, who introduced the modern constabulary system.
=Robert Street.= In the Adelphi, after the Christian name of one of the three brothers Adam, its builders. In Camden Town, after one of the family names of the Marquis of Camden, the ground landlord.
=Robert the Devil.= The surname of the first Duke of Normandy, the father of William the Conqueror, merited by his outrageous cruelty and daring in war.
=Robin Hood.= The proper name of this renowned leader of the Sherwood Foresters was Robert Fitzooth. The first he euphonised into _Robin_ and the second into _Hood_, leaving out the _Fitz_, which is Norman for “son,” altogether, since having been declared an outlaw, he was not unwilling to renounce his claims to Norman descent. Whether or not he was really Earl of Huntingdon, as some historians assert, cannot be proved.
=Robinson.= The French popular name for an umbrella, in allusion to Robinson Crusoe.
=Rob Roy.= The popular name of the Scottish outlaw Robert Macgregor, meaning simply “Robert the Red” on account of his beard.
=Rochester.= From _Hrofoceaster_, after Hrop, a Saxon chieftain, who built a castle on the site of a _castra_, or Roman encampment.
=Rochester Row.= A name which recalls the fact that, prior to the time of George III., the Deanery of Westminster was included in the Bishopric of Rochester.
=Rock Day.= Another ancient name for “Distaffs’ Day,” 7th January, the word _rock_ being the Anglo-Saxon for a distaff.
=Rogation Days.= So called from the Latin _rogare_, to beseech, and also from the Greek _litaneia_, supplication. These being the three days preceding the Feast of the Ascension, the Litany of the Saints is chanted by way of preparation and supplication for the joyful event.
=Rogation Sunday.= That which ushers in the “Rogation Days.”
=Roger de Coverley.= The correct description of this surname is Roger de Cowley, or Roger of Cowley, near Oxford. The dance of this name was invented by an ancestor of the country squire, Sir Roger de Coverley, mentioned by Addison in _The Spectator_.
=Rogues’ Gallery.= The name given to the collection of criminals’ photographs in the State Prison of New York.
=Roland for an Oliver.= See “Gave him a Roland for an Oliver.”
=Roll Call.= The list of names called out in the army. The term “Roll” is a survival of those far-off days when not only a list, but writing of all kinds, was set forth on one long roll of paper. We still speak of a “Burgess Roll,” while to belong to any society is said to be “enrolled” among its members; hence also the phrase “Roll of Honour.”
=Rolls Chapel.= This ancient edifice, now incorporated in the New Record Office, was built by Henry III. for a number of Jewish rabbis who, had been converted to Christianity. Into it Edward III. caused all the accumulated rolls or records to be stored, and there they remained in the custody of the Master of the Rolls, until in more modern days they were overhauled and catalogued.
=Roman Catholic Church.= The ancient original fold of “The Holy Catholic Church,” which acknowledges the authority of the Pope of Rome. The recognised head of the English Catholic Church is the King, represented by the Archbishop of Canterbury, just as that of “The Greek Catholic Church” in Russia is the Czar, represented by the Metropolitan of St Petersburg.
=Rome.= After Romulus, its mythical founder.
=Romeo Coates.= Robert Coates was a fashionable amateur actor during the early part of the last century; surnamed Romeo Coates on account of his very many appearances in the character of the ill-fated hero in _Romeo and Juliet_.
=Romford.= The ford over the Bourne, anciently called the Rom, this being the Roman highway between London and Colchester.
=Romney Street.= After Charles Marsham, Earl of Romney, the owner of the estate.
=Rood Lane.= From an ancient holy rood or cross, on which was a figure of the dying Saviour, that stood in this thoroughfare as a boundary mark of the landed property of the nuns of St Helen’s. See “Mincing Lane.”
=Rosary.= A string of beads, and also the prayers said in connection therewith, so called because the Virgin appeared in a vision to St Dominic, who instituted this Catholic devotion, holding out to him a garland of red and white roses. The ancient rosaries, or “pater-nosters” as they were called, bore an impression of a rose on each bead.
=Rose.= An inn and tavern sign which, as a painted device, red or white, displayed a partisanship for the Lancastrians or the Yorkists. After the union of the two royal houses nothing was easier to quench the former partiality for either the red or white rose than to exhibit in place of the coloured design the name of “The Rose,” as a general compliment to the Crown.
=Rose and Crown.= This inn and tavern sign symbolised the cessation of the Wars of the Roses by the marriage of Henry VII. to Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV.
=Rosebery Avenue.= After Lord Rosebery, the erstwhile leader of the Liberal party in our time.
=Rosoman Street.= Perpetuates the memory of Mr Rosoman, who converted Sadler’s Musick House into a regular theatre in 1765.
=Rosslyn Hill Park.= From Rosslyn House, the residence of Alexander Wedderburn, Earl of Rosslyn, and Lord Chancellor of England.
=Rotherhithe.= Properly _Roth-hithe_, the Anglo-Saxon for “red haven.” See “Rutland.”
=Rotten Row.= This name is a survival of the days when French was the language of the Court. Properly _route du roi_, it is literally “route of the King,” and meant the King’s drive across the park.
=Rouge et Noir.= French for “red and black,” the alternate colour of the diamonds that distinguish the spaces on the gaming-table.
=Roughriders.= The name borne by expert horsemen in Natal, who dispense with saddles.
=Roulette.= Expresses the French for “a little wheel.”
=Roumania.= As its name implies, this was anciently a Roman province.
=Roumelia.= A Turkish corruption of Roumania, “the country of the Romans.”
=Roundheads.= The Parliamentary soldiers under Cromwell, so called from the custom of the Puritans of cropping the hair close to the head, as opposed to that of the Cavaliers, who wore it long.
=Rouser.= An Americanism for what we in this country style a “Pick-me-up.”
=Rout.= A fashionable assembly, so called from the German _rotte_ and Celtic “rhauter,” a crowd. The name is now never heard, but what are called “Rout Seats,” generally requisitioned for such gatherings, are still let out on hire.
=Rowton Houses.= The name given to large blocks of tenements exclusively designed for the accommodation of unmarried clerks and others employed in the city. The foundation of the late Lord Rowton.
=Roxburgh.= From the Celtic _ross_, a headland, the castle on the promontory.
=Roxburghe.= A superior style of bookbinding, so called from that uniformly adopted by the Roxburghe Club, a society established for printing rare books, and named after John, Duke of Roxburghe, a famous collector of works of art and literature.
=Royalists.= The adherents of Charles I. in the Civil War.
=Royal Maunds.= The name given to doles of money corresponding to the years of life attained by the reigning monarch to the poor on “Maundy Thursday.” This custom has been in vogue ever since the time of Edward III.
=Royal Oak.= An inn sign which had its origin during the Restoration period, in compliment to Charles II. See “Oak Apple Day.”
=Royal Oak Day.= Another name for “Oak Apple Day.”
=Rufus.= The surname of William II. on account of his florid complexion; _rufus_ is the Latin for “ruddy.”
=Rugby.= A corruption of the Saxon _Rothby_, “red village,” in allusion to its soil.
=Rum.= A West Indian word for spirit distilled from cane juice.
=Run.= An Americanism used as a verb for “finance,” whether in relation to a person or a business enterprise. “Who’s running him?” means who is it that keeps him going, or on his feet?
=Run Amuck.= To run foul of a person or thing. The phrase is derived from the Malays, who, while under the influence of opium, rush through the streets with drawn daggers, crying: _Amog! amog!_ (“Kill! kill!”), and threaten the lives of everyone they encounter.
=Running Footman.= A tavern sign in Mayfair, reminiscent of the days when running footmen, carrying a short staff of office, preceded the carriages of the wealthy. The object of this custom was to give timely notice of the impending arrival of their masters. The tavern in question, situated in Hayes’ Mews, was formerly the regular resort of running footmen and sedan chairmen.
=Rupert’s Land.= After Prince Rupert, one of the founders of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
=Rupert Street.= After Prince Rupert, who introduced his invention of “Prince Rupert’s Drops,” or glass bubblers, into England.
=Russell Square.= After Lord William Russell, the patriot, whose wife, Rachel, was the daughter of Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, Marquis of Tavistock, Duke of Bedford, the ancestor of the present great ground landlord. The several streets of the same name are included in the estate.
=Russell Street.= In Bermondsey, after Richard Russell, a noted benefactor to the parochial charities during his life, and after his death in 1784. For other streets so denominated on the Bedford estate see “Russell Square.”
=Russia.= The country of the _Russ_, the tribe that first overran it.
=Rutland.= A corruption of the Anglo-Saxon _Rothland_, “red land,” so called on account of the colour of its soil.
=Rutland Gate.= After the town mansion of the Dukes of Rutland.
=Rye Lane.= Leads to “Peckham Rye.”
=Ryot.= A Hindoo peasant or cultivator of the soil, so called from the Arabic _raaya_, to pasture.
S
=Sabbatarians.= The followers of Brabourne, a Baptist minister, who held that the real Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, as enunciated in the Book of Genesis. This sect arose in 1628. Also known as “Seventh Day Baptists.”
=Sabeans.= The first idolaters, worshippers of the sun, moon, and stars as the visible representations of the Deity; so called after Sabi, the son of Seth.
=Sack.= A dry wine of great repute in Elizabethan times, so called from the French _sec_, dry.
=Sackville Street.= Built upon in 1679--that is, twenty years after “Air Street”--this thoroughfare was named in honour of Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset, one of the favourites of Charles II.
=Sacramentarians.= The designation of the Calvinists, or those who denied the Real Presence in the Eucharist.
=Sacrilege.= Literally the act of despoiling that which is sacred.
=Sadler’s Wells Theatre.= Originally a “Musick House” in connection with a Spa opened by Mr Sadler, who, after digging for gravel in his garden in 1683, discovered an ancient “holy well” that had been stopped up since the Reformation.
=Saffron Hill.= From the saffron which grew abundantly in the grounds attached to Ely House, the town mansion of the bishops of Ely.
=Sahara.= Expresses the Arabic for “desert.”
=Sailor King.= William IV., who, having been bred to the sea in his youth, worked up his way from a midshipman to the position of Lord High Admiral. In his case promotion was no doubt easy.
=St Albans.= The scene of the martyrdom of St Alban, A.D. 297, in honour of whom Offa, King of Mercia, founded a Benedictine abbey.
=St Andrew Undershaft.= The Church of St Andrew in Leadenhall Street, so called from the tall shaft or Maypole which, bedecked with garlands on high festivals, stood within a few yards of its door. Since this shaft towered high above the steeple the church was said to be “under the shaft.” After the Reformation the shaft was taken down and kept in an adjacent alley, now called “Shaft Alley.” Thirty-two years later the popular voice declared it to be a relic of superstition, whereupon it was “raised off the hooks,” sawn into pieces, and burnt.
=St Andrews.= After St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, whose bones are enshrined in the Cathedral.
=St Andrew’s Hill.= From the church of St Andrew, at its south-western extremity.
=St Bees.= From an ancient nunnery founded in the seventh century by an Irish saint named Bega. Partly destroyed by the time of Henry I., it was then reconstituted as a priory by Randulp, Earl of Cumberland. This village is known chiefly on account of its college, the foundation of Dr Law, Bishop of Chester in 1806.
=St Bride Street.= From the neighbouring parish church of St Bride or Bridget.
=St Clement Danes.= Dedicated to St Clement, this parish church received the bones of Harold I. and many of his countrymen during the Danish occupation of England.
=St David’s Day.= The birthday (1st March) of St David, the patron saint of Wales, who when archbishop advised his countrymen to wear a leek in their caps, to distinguish them from their foes. In consequence of the precaution they won a decisive victory over the Saxons on this day, and the leek became the national emblem.
=St Ethelburga’s.= This, one of the most ancient churches in the city, was dedicated to St Ethelburga, the daughter of King Ethelbert, and a paragon of all the Christian virtues.
=St Ethelreda’s.= This beautiful city church in Ely Place, after having gone through many vicissitudes since the Reformation, is now once more a Roman Catholic place of worship. St Ethelreda was the daughter of Ethelred, King of the East Angles; her name is often corrupted into St Audrey. See “Tawdry.”
=St George and Dragon.= An inn sign after the patron saint of England.