RODOSTO (19), a Turkish town on the N. coast of the Sea of Marmora, 60 m.  W. of Constantinople; is the seat of an archbishop of the Greek Church, has many mosques; fruitful vineyards in the vicinity produce excellent wine.

RODRIGUEZ (2), an interesting volcanic island lying far out in the Indian Ocean, 380 m.  NE. of Mauritius, of which it is a dependency; agriculture is the chief employment; has a good climate, but is subject to severe hurricanes.

ROE, EDWARD PAYSON, American novelist, born in New Windsor, New York; studied for the ministry and served as a chaplain during the Civil War; settled down as a pastor of a Presbyterian church at Highland Fells; made his mark as a novelist in 1872 with “Barriers Burned Away”; took to literature and fruit-gardening, and won a wide popularity with such novels as “From Jest to Earnest,” “Near to Nature’s Heart,” &c. (1838-1888).

ROEBUCK, JOHN ARTHUR, English Radical politician, born at Madras; represented first Bath and then Sheffield in Parliament, contributed to the downfall of the Aberdeen Government, and played in general an independent part; his vigorous procedure as a politician earned for him the nickname of “Tear ’em” (1802-1879).

ROERMOND (12), an old Dutch town in Limburg, at the confluence of the Roer and the Meuse, 29 m.  N. by E. of Maestricht; has a splendid 13th-century cathedral; manufactures cottons, woollens, &c.

ROESKILDE, an interesting old Danish city, situated on a fjord, 20 m.  W. by S. of Copenhagen, dates back to the 10th century; has a fine 13th-century cathedral, the burying-place of most of the Danish kings.

ROGATION DAYS, the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday preceding Ascension Day, on which special litanies are sung or recited by the Roman Catholic clergy and people in public procession; has its origin in an old custom dating from the 6th century.  In England the practice ceased after the Reformation.

ROGER I., the youngest of the 12 sons of Tancred of Hauteville; conquered Sicily from the Saracens after a war of 30 years, and governed it under the title of count in part from 1071 and wholly from 1089 to 1101.

ROGER II., son and successor of the preceding, was crowned king of the two Sicilies by the Pope; waged war advantageously against the Emperor of the East and the Saracens of North Africa; ruled the country well and promoted industry (1097-1154).

ROGER OF WENDOVER, an early English chronicler, lived in the 13th century; was a monk of St. Albans and subsequently prior of Belvoir; wrote a history of the world down to Henry III.’s reign, the only valuable portion of it being that which deals with his own times.

ROGERS, HENRY, English essayist; contributed for years to the Edinburgh Review; author of the “Eclipse of Faith” (1806-1877).

ROGERS, JAMES E. THORWOLD, political economist, born in Hampshire; became professor of Political Economy at Oxford; author of a “History of Agriculture and Prices in England” and “Six Centuries of Work and Wages,” an abridgment of it (1823-1890).