the chief port.

ROUMELIA, a former name for a district which embraced ancient Thrace
and a portion of Macedonia; the territory known as East Roumelia was
incorporated with Bulgaria in 1885.

ROUND TABLE, THE, the name given to the knighthood of King Arthur: a
larger, from including as many as 150 knights; and a smaller, from
including only 12 of the highest order.

ROUND TOWERS, ancient towers, found chiefly in Ireland, of a tall,
round, more or less tapering structure, divided into storeys, and with a
conical top, erected in the neighbourhood of some church or monastery,
and presumably of Christian origin, and probably used as strongholds in
times of danger; of these there are 118 in Ireland, and three in
Scotland--at Abernethy, Brechin, and Eglishay (Orkney).

ROUNDHEADS, the name of contempt given by the Cavaliers to the
Puritans or Parliamentary party during the Civil War, on account of their
wearing their hair close crept.

ROUS, FRANCIS, provost of Eton, born in Cornwall; sat in the
Westminster Assembly, and was the author of the metrical version of the
Psalms, as used in Presbyterian churches (1579-1659).

ROUSSEAU, JEAN BAPTISTE, French lyric poet, born in Paris, the son
of a shoemaker; gave offence by certain lampoons ascribed to him which to
the last he protested were forgeries, and was banished; his satires were
certainly superior to his lyrics, which were cold and formal; died at
Brussels in exile (1670-1741).

ROUSSEAU, JEAN JACQUES, a celebrated French philosopher, and one or
the great prose writers of French literature, born in Geneva, the son of
a watchmaker and dancing-master; was apprenticed to an engraver, whose
inhuman treatment drove him at the age of 16 into running away; for three
years led a vagrant life, acting as footman, lackey, secretary, &c.;
during this period was converted to Catholicism largely through the
efforts of Madame de Warens, a spritely married lady living apart from
her husband; in 1731 he took up residence in his patroness's house, where
he lived for nine years a life of ease and sentiment in the ambiguous
capacity of general factotum, and subsequently of lover; supplanted in
the affections of his mistress, he took himself off, and landed in Paris
in 1741; supported himself by music-copying, an occupation which was his
steadiest means of livelihood throughout his troubled career; formed a
_liaison_ with an illiterate dull servant-girl by whom he had five