. In 1748 _Clarissa Harlow_, his
masterpiece, was _pub._, and in 1753 _Sir Charles Grandison_, in which
the author embodies his ideal of a Christian gentleman. All these surfer
from an elaboration of detail which often becomes tedious; but in deep
acquaintance with the motives of conduct, and especially of the workings
of the female heart, they are almost unrivalled; their pathos also is
genuine and deep. R. had an unusual faculty as the platonic friend and
counsellor of women, and was the centre of an admiring circle of the sex,
who ministered to a vanity which became somewhat excessive. R. has also
the distinction of evoking the genius of Fielding, whose first novel,
_Joseph Andrews_, was begun as a skit or parody upon _Pamela_. R. is
described as "a stout, rosy, vain, prosy little man." _Life_ by Sir W.
Scott in Ballantyne's _Novelists Library_. _Works_ with preface by L.
Stephen (12 vols., 1883), etc.

RITCHIE, LEITCH (1800?-1865).--Novelist, _b._ at Greenock and in business
as a clerk in Glasgow, but about 1820 adopted literature as his
profession. He wrote several novels of which the best known is _Wearyfoot
Common_; others were _The Robber of the Rhine_ and _The Magician_. In his
later years he ed. _Chambers's Journal_.

RITSON, JOSEPH (1752-1803).--Antiquary and critic, _b._ at
Stockton-on-Tees, settled in London as a conveyancer, at the same time
devoting himself to the study of ancient English poetry. By his diligence
as a collector and acuteness as a critic he rendered essential service to
the preservation and appreciation of our ancient poetry. His chief works
are _A Collection of English Songs_ (1783), _Ancient Songs from Henry
III. to the Revolution_ (1790), _A Collection of Scottish Songs_ (1794),
and _A Collection of all the Ancient Poems, etc., relating to Robin Hood_
(1795). Of a jealous and quarrelsome temper, R. was continually in
controversy with his fellow-collectors and critics, including Johnson,
Warton, and Percy. His acuteness enabled him to detect the Ireland
forgeries. He _d._ insane.

ROBERTSON, FREDERICK WILLIAM (1816-1853).--Divine, _s._ of Captain
Frederick R., of the Royal Artillery, was _b._ in London, and _ed._ at
Edin. and Oxf. After holding various curacies he became in 1847 incumbent
of Trinity Chapel, Brighton, where his preaching, though it brought him
under the suspicion both of the High and Evangelical parties in the
Church, had an extraordinary influence. Always of deli