French conjurors and sorcerers, out of fear of
him, 'by magic verses have contrived his end?'" The notion of killing by
incantation was at one time very common.

Irishmen ... will not stick to affirme that they can rime either
man or beast to death.--Reg. Scot, _Discoverie of Witchcraft_
(1564).

=Ribbon.= The _yellow_ ribbon, in France, indicates that the wearer has
won a _m['e]daille militaire_ (instituted by Napoleon III.) as a minor
decoration of the Legion of Honor.

The _red_ ribbon marks a _chevalier_ of the Legion of Honor. A _rosette_
indicates a higher grade than that of _chevalier_.

=Ribemont= (3 _syl._), the bravest and noblest of the French host in the
battle of Poitiers. He alone dares confess that the English are a brave
people. In the battle he is slain by Lord Audley.--Shirley, _Edward the
Black Prince_ (1640).

_Ribemont_ (_Count_), in _The Siege of Calais_, by Colman.

=Riccar'do=, commander of Plymouth fortress, a Puritan to whom Lord Walton
has promised his daughter, Elvira, in marriage. Riccardo learns that the
lady is in love with Arthur Talbot, and when Arthur is taken prisoner by
Cromwell's soldiers, Riccardo promises to use his efforts to obtain his
pardon. This, however, is not needful, for Cromwell, feeling quite
secure of his position, orders all the captives of war to be released.
Riccardo is the Italian form of Sir Richard Forth.--Bellini, _I
Puritani_ (opera, 1834).

=Ricciardetto=, son of Aymon, and brother of Bradamante.--Ariosto,
_Orlando Furioso_ (1516).

=Rice.= _Eating rice with a bodkin._ Amin[^e], the beautiful wife of Sidi
Nouman, ate rice with a bodkin, but she was a ghoul. (See AMINE.)

=Richard=, a fine, honest lad, by trade a smith. He marries, on New Year's
Day, Meg, the daughter of Toby Veck.--C. Dickens, _The Chimes_ (1844).

_Richard_ (_Squire_), eldest son of Sir Francis Wronghead, of Bumper
Hall. A country bumpkin, wholly ignorant of the world and of
literature.--Vanbrugh and Cibber, _The Provoked Husband_ (1727).

Robert Wetherilt [1708-1745] came to Drury Lane a boy, where he
showed his rising genius in the part of "Squire
Richard."--Chetwood, _History of the Stage_.

_Richard_ (_Prince_), eldest son of King Henry II.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Betrothed_ (time, Henry II.).

_Richard_ "Coeur de Lion," introduced in two novels by Sir W. Scott
(_The Talisman_ and _Ivanhoe_). In the latter he first appears as "The
Blac