the Tower and his estates confiscated. During
this confinement he composed his _History of the World_, which he brought
down to 130 B.C. It is one of the finest specimens of Elizabethan prose,
reflective in matter and dignified and grave in style. Released in 1615
he set out on his last voyage, again to Guiana, which, like the former,
proved a failure, and in which he lost his eldest _s._ He returned a
broken and dying man, but met with no pity from his ungenerous King who,
urged, it is believed, by the King of Spain, had him beheaded on Tower
Hill, October 29, 1618. R. is one of the most striking and brilliant
figures in an age crowded with great men. Of a noble presence, he was
possessed of a commanding intellect and a versatility which enabled him
to shine in every enterprise to which he set himself. In addition to his
great fragment the _History of the World_, he wrote _A Report of the
Truth of the Fight about the Azores_, and _The Discoverie of the Empire
of Guiana_, besides various poems chiefly of a philosophic cast, of which
perhaps the best known are _The Pilgrimage_, and that beginning "Go,
Soul, the Body's Guest."

The most recent _Lives_ are by Stebbing (1892), and Hume (1898). _Works_
(1829), with _Lives_ by Oldys and Birch.

RAMEE, LOUISE DE LA ("OUIDA") (1840?-1908).--Novelist, _b._ at Bury St.
Edmunds, _dau._ of an English _f._ and a French mother. For many years
she lived in London, but about 1874 she went to Italy, where she _d._ She
wrote over 40 novels, which had considerable popularity. Among the best
known of them are _Under Two Flags_, _Puck_, _Two Little Wooden Shoes_, _In
a Winter City_, _In Maremma_. She also wrote a book of stories for
children, _Bimbi_. Occasionally she shows considerable power, but on the
whole her writings have an unhealthy tone, want reality, and are not
likely to have any permanent place in literature.

RAMSAY, ALLAN (1686-1758).--Poet, _s._ of a mine-manager at Leadhills,
Dumfriesshire, who claimed kin with the Ramsays of Dalhousie. In his
infancy he lost his _f._, and his mother _m._ a small "laird," who gave
him the ordinary parish school education. In 1701 he came to Edinburgh as
apprentice to a wig-maker, took to writing poetry, became a member of the
"Easy Club," of which Pitcairn and Ruddiman, the grammarian, were
members, and of which he was made "laureate." The club _pub._ his poems
as they were thrown off, and their appearance soon began to be awaited
wit