pularity.

RHYMER, THOMAS THE, (_see_ ERCILDOUN).

RICARDO, DAVID (1772-1823).--Political economist, _s._ of a Jewish
stockbroker, himself followed the same business, in which he acquired a
large fortune. On his marriage he conformed to Christianity. He was an
original and powerful writer on economic subjects, his chief work being
_The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation_ (1817). After retiring
from business he entered the House of Commons, where, owing to his
remarkable power of lucid exposition, combined with his reputation as a
highly successful man of business, he acquired great influence. The
writings of R. are among the classics of his subject.

RICE, JAMES (1844-1882).--Novelist, was _ed._ at Camb., and studied law,
from which he drifted into literature. He wrote a number of successful
novels in collaboration with W. Besant (_q.v._).

RICH, BARNABE (1540?-1620?).--Writer of romances, _b._ in Essex, saw
military service in the Low Countries. He began to write in 1574, and
took Lyly's _Euphues_ as his model. Among his numerous romances is _The
Strange and Wonderful Adventures of Simonides, a Gentleman Spaniard_ and
_Riche, his Farewell to the Military Profession_ (1581), which furnished
Shakespeare with the plot for _Twelfth Night_.

RICHARDSON, SAMUEL (1689-1761).--Novelist, _s._ of a joiner, was _b._ at
Derby. His _f._ had intended him for the Church, but means failed, and at
the age of 17 he went to London, and was apprenticed to a printer.
Careful and diligent, he prospered in business, became printer of the
Journals of the House of Commons, and in the year before his death
purchased the moiety of the patent of King's Printer. He was twice _m._,
and each of his wives brought him six children, of whom, however, only
four daughters were living at his death. R., who was the originator of
the modern novel, did not take seriously to literature until he was past
50 when, in 1740, _Pamela_ appeared. It originated in a proposal by two
printers that R. should write a collection of model letters for the use
of persons unaccustomed to correspondence, but it soon developed in his
hands into a novel in which the story is carried on in the form of a
correspondence. With faults and absurdities, it struck a true note of
sentiment, and exploded the prevalent idea that dukes and princesses were
the only suitable heroes and heroines (Pamela was a maid-servant), and it
won immediate and phenomenal popularity