Part 24

=Rosary.= A string of beads, and also the prayers said in connection therewith, so called because the Virgin appeared in a vision to St Dominic, who instituted this Catholic devotion, holding out to him a garland of red and white roses. The ancient rosaries, or “pater-nosters” as they were called, bore an impression of a rose on each bead.

=Rose.= An inn and tavern sign which, as a painted device, red or white, displayed a partisanship for the Lancastrians or the Yorkists. After the union of the two royal houses nothing was easier to quench the former partiality for either the red or white rose than to exhibit in place of the coloured design the name of “The Rose,” as a general compliment to the Crown.

=Rose and Crown.= This inn and tavern sign symbolised the cessation of the Wars of the Roses by the marriage of Henry VII. to Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV.

=Rosebery Avenue.= After Lord Rosebery, the erstwhile leader of the Liberal party in our time.

=Rosoman Street.= Perpetuates the memory of Mr Rosoman, who converted Sadler’s Musick House into a regular theatre in 1765.

=Rosslyn Hill Park.= From Rosslyn House, the residence of Alexander Wedderburn, Earl of Rosslyn, and Lord Chancellor of England.

=Rotherhithe.= Properly _Roth-hithe_, the Anglo-Saxon for “red haven.” See “Rutland.”

=Rotten Row.= This name is a survival of the days when French was the language of the Court. Properly _route du roi_, it is literally “route of the King,” and meant the King’s drive across the park.

=Rouge et Noir.= French for “red and black,” the alternate colour of the diamonds that distinguish the spaces on the gaming-table.

=Roughriders.= The name borne by expert horsemen in Natal, who dispense with saddles.

=Roulette.= Expresses the French for “a little wheel.”

=Roumania.= As its name implies, this was anciently a Roman province.

=Roumelia.= A Turkish corruption of Roumania, “the country of the Romans.”

=Roundheads.= The Parliamentary soldiers under Cromwell, so called from the custom of the Puritans of cropping the hair close to the head, as opposed to that of the Cavaliers, who wore it long.

=Rouser.= An Americanism for what we in this country style a “Pick-me-up.”

=Rout.= A fashionable assembly, so called from the German _rotte_ and Celtic “rhauter,” a crowd. The name is now never heard, but what are called “Rout Seats,” generally requisitioned for such gatherings, are still let out on hire.

=Rowton Houses.= The name given to large blocks of tenements exclusively designed for the accommodation of unmarried clerks and others employed in the city. The foundation of the late Lord Rowton.

=Roxburgh.= From the Celtic _ross_, a headland, the castle on the promontory.

=Roxburghe.= A superior style of bookbinding, so called from that uniformly adopted by the Roxburghe Club, a society established for printing rare books, and named after John, Duke of Roxburghe, a famous collector of works of art and literature.

=Royalists.= The adherents of Charles I. in the Civil War.

=Royal Maunds.= The name given to doles of money corresponding to the years of life attained by the reigning monarch to the poor on “Maundy Thursday.” This custom has been in vogue ever since the time of Edward III.

=Royal Oak.= An inn sign which had its origin during the Restoration period, in compliment to Charles II. See “Oak Apple Day.”

=Royal Oak Day.= Another name for “Oak Apple Day.”

=Rufus.= The surname of William II. on account of his florid complexion; _rufus_ is the Latin for “ruddy.”

=Rugby.= A corruption of the Saxon _Rothby_, “red village,” in allusion to its soil.

=Rum.= A West Indian word for spirit distilled from cane juice.

=Run.= An Americanism used as a verb for “finance,” whether in relation to a person or a business enterprise. “Who’s running him?” means who is it that keeps him going, or on his feet?

=Run Amuck.= To run foul of a person or thing. The phrase is derived from the Malays, who, while under the influence of opium, rush through the streets with drawn daggers, crying: _Amog! amog!_ (“Kill! kill!”), and threaten the lives of everyone they encounter.

=Running Footman.= A tavern sign in Mayfair, reminiscent of the days when running footmen, carrying a short staff of office, preceded the carriages of the wealthy. The object of this custom was to give timely notice of the impending arrival of their masters. The tavern in question, situated in Hayes’ Mews, was formerly the regular resort of running footmen and sedan chairmen.

=Rupert’s Land.= After Prince Rupert, one of the founders of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

=Rupert Street.= After Prince Rupert, who introduced his invention of “Prince Rupert’s Drops,” or glass bubblers, into England.

=Russell Square.= After Lord William Russell, the patriot, whose wife, Rachel, was the daughter of Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, Marquis of Tavistock, Duke of Bedford, the ancestor of the present great ground landlord. The several streets of the same name are included in the estate.

=Russell Street.= In Bermondsey, after Richard Russell, a noted benefactor to the parochial charities during his life, and after his death in 1784. For other streets so denominated on the Bedford estate see “Russell Square.”

=Russia.= The country of the _Russ_, the tribe that first overran it.

=Rutland.= A corruption of the Anglo-Saxon _Rothland_, “red land,” so called on account of the colour of its soil.

=Rutland Gate.= After the town mansion of the Dukes of Rutland.

=Rye Lane.= Leads to “Peckham Rye.”

=Ryot.= A Hindoo peasant or cultivator of the soil, so called from the Arabic _raaya_, to pasture.

S

=Sabbatarians.= The followers of Brabourne, a Baptist minister, who held that the real Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, as enunciated in the Book of Genesis. This sect arose in 1628. Also known as “Seventh Day Baptists.”

=Sabeans.= The first idolaters, worshippers of the sun, moon, and stars as the visible representations of the Deity; so called after Sabi, the son of Seth.

=Sack.= A dry wine of great repute in Elizabethan times, so called from the French _sec_, dry.

=Sackville Street.= Built upon in 1679--that is, twenty years after “Air Street”--this thoroughfare was named in honour of Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset, one of the favourites of Charles II.

=Sacramentarians.= The designation of the Calvinists, or those who denied the Real Presence in the Eucharist.

=Sacrilege.= Literally the act of despoiling that which is sacred.

=Sadler’s Wells Theatre.= Originally a “Musick House” in connection with a Spa opened by Mr Sadler, who, after digging for gravel in his garden in 1683, discovered an ancient “holy well” that had been stopped up since the Reformation.

=Saffron Hill.= From the saffron which grew abundantly in the grounds attached to Ely House, the town mansion of the bishops of Ely.

=Sahara.= Expresses the Arabic for “desert.”

=Sailor King.= William IV., who, having been bred to the sea in his youth, worked up his way from a midshipman to the position of Lord High Admiral. In his case promotion was no doubt easy.

=St Albans.= The scene of the martyrdom of St Alban, A.D. 297, in honour of whom Offa, King of Mercia, founded a Benedictine abbey.

=St Andrew Undershaft.= The Church of St Andrew in Leadenhall Street, so called from the tall shaft or Maypole which, bedecked with garlands on high festivals, stood within a few yards of its door. Since this shaft towered high above the steeple the church was said to be “under the shaft.” After the Reformation the shaft was taken down and kept in an adjacent alley, now called “Shaft Alley.” Thirty-two years later the popular voice declared it to be a relic of superstition, whereupon it was “raised off the hooks,” sawn into pieces, and burnt.

=St Andrews.= After St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, whose bones are enshrined in the Cathedral.

=St Andrew’s Hill.= From the church of St Andrew, at its south-western extremity.

=St Bees.= From an ancient nunnery founded in the seventh century by an Irish saint named Bega. Partly destroyed by the time of Henry I., it was then reconstituted as a priory by Randulp, Earl of Cumberland. This village is known chiefly on account of its college, the foundation of Dr Law, Bishop of Chester in 1806.

=St Bride Street.= From the neighbouring parish church of St Bride or Bridget.

=St Clement Danes.= Dedicated to St Clement, this parish church received the bones of Harold I. and many of his countrymen during the Danish occupation of England.

=St David’s Day.= The birthday (1st March) of St David, the patron saint of Wales, who when archbishop advised his countrymen to wear a leek in their caps, to distinguish them from their foes. In consequence of the precaution they won a decisive victory over the Saxons on this day, and the leek became the national emblem.

=St Ethelburga’s.= This, one of the most ancient churches in the city, was dedicated to St Ethelburga, the daughter of King Ethelbert, and a paragon of all the Christian virtues.

=St Ethelreda’s.= This beautiful city church in Ely Place, after having gone through many vicissitudes since the Reformation, is now once more a Roman Catholic place of worship. St Ethelreda was the daughter of Ethelred, King of the East Angles; her name is often corrupted into St Audrey. See “Tawdry.”

=St George and Dragon.= An inn sign after the patron saint of England.

=St George’s Hall.= This place of entertainment, now occupied by Messrs Maskelyne & Devant, was opened in 1867 as St George’s Opera House, so called on account of its location in the parish of St George, Hanover Square.

=St George’s in the East.= The modern designation of “Ratcliff Highway,” from the parish church dedicated to St George, patron saint of England.

=St George’s Square.= After the neighbouring church, dedicated to St George.

=St Grouse’s Day.= The jocular term for the twelfth of August, when grouse shooting begins.

=St Helena.= This island was discovered on the Feast of St Helena, 1502.

=St Helen’s Place.= From the adjacent church of St Helen’s, dedicated to St Helena, the mother of Constantine. Thirty years later in 1180, William Fitzwilliam, a wealthy goldsmith, founded a priory of nuns in connection therewith.

=St James’s Palace.= Stands on the site of an ancient hospital for lepers dedicated to St James the Less, Bishop of Jerusalem. The original palace was built by Holbein for Henry VIII.

=St James’s Square.= Like the street of the same name, after St James’s Palace.

=St John’s Gate.= The last vestige of the ancient priory of St John of Jerusalem, the English seat of the Knights Hospitallers. The gateway now forms the headquarters of the St John’s Ambulance Association. Here William Cave, the printer, projected and published _The Gentleman’s Magazine_.

=St John’s Wood.= From the ancient “Abbey of the Holy Virgins of St John the Baptist,” which nestled among the now vanished woods in this neighbourhood.

=St Katherine Coleman.= Dedicated to St Katherine, this city church received its second name on account of its location in the garden of one Coleman, the builder of the street called after him.

=St Katherine Cree.= Originally a chapel dedicated to St Katherine in the parish of Holy Trinity (in the Minories). This on the abolition of the neighbouring benefices of Christ Church, St Mary Magdalen, and St Michael was made into a separate parish of Christ Church, and, while retaining the old name, came to be known as “St Katherine Christi,” of which “Cree” is a corruption.

=St Katherine’s Docks.= From an ancient hospital of St Katherine, displaced when these docks were constructed in 1828.

=St Kitt’s Island.= Discovered by Columbus, it was named by him after St Christopher, his patron saint.

=St Lawrence.= The gulf of this name was first entered, and the navigation of the great river embarked upon, on the Feast of St Lawrence, 1500.

=St Lawrence Jewry.= The church dedicated to St Lawrence in the Jewry. See “Old Jewry.”

=St Leger Stakes.= See “Doncaster St Leger.”

=St Lubbock.= The popular nickname of Lord Avebury, formerly Sir John Lubbock, to whom our countrymen are indebted for the introduction of legalised Bank Holidays.

=St Margaret Pattens.= This church received its name from the gilt spots, or _patines_, with which its roof was anciently decorated. A _paten_ is the circular gold dish which covers the chalice at the altar.

=St Martin’s Lane.= From the parish church of St Martin in the Fields.

=St Martin’s-le-Grand.= The official designation of the buildings collectively comprised in the headquarters of the General Post Office. This is because the original edifice occupies the site of an ancient college church dedicated to St Martin-le-Grand, the foundation of Within, King of Kent in 750, and invested with the privilege of sanctuary under a charter of William the Conqueror.

=St Mary-Axe.= From a vanished church of St Mary that stood opposite to a shop which had an axe for its sign. Originally “St Mary-by-the-Axe.”

=St Mary-le-Bow.= See “Bow Church.”

=St Mary Woolnoth.= Dedicated to the Virgin; this church was so called because it stood _nough_, or nigh, to the ancient wool beam or staple.

=St Michael’s Mount.= Anciently the seat of a religious house, to the monks of which, as tradition states, St Michael once appeared on the crag, where in later years a castle was built, the exact spot being indicated by a stone lantern, since known as “St Michael’s Chair.”

=St Olave’s.= A corruption of “St Olafs,” this church having been dedicated to Olaf, King of Norway, who Christianised his country, and at the invitation of Ethelred came over to England to render aid in the work of expelling the Danes.

=St Pancras.= This parish takes its name from the ancient church in Old St Pancras Road dedicated to the boy saint who was martyred by Diocletian. A representation of this youth being attacked by wild dogs may be seen on the stone bridge over the Regent’s Canal, which serves as a boundary mark to the parish.

=St Partridge’s Day.= A popular nickname for “Partridge Day.”

=St Paul of the Cross.= See “Passionists.”

=St Petersburg.= Founded by Peter the Great, and dedicated to St Peter, whose church is situated within the citadel.

=St Sepulchre’s.= The foundation of this church was the outcome of the Crusades, in honour of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. Appropriately enough, the bell of the modern edifice gave warning to the unhappy inmates of the condemned cell in Newgate Prison over the way of their approaching last hour.

=St Sophia.= This beautiful mosque at Constantinople, although originally a Christian cathedral, so far from having been dedicated to any St Sophia, was called _Hagia Sopia_, “Holy Wisdom”--_i.e._ the eternal wisdom of _God_ manifested in the Second Person of the Trinity.

=St Stephen’s.= The House of Commons bears this name because, in the absence of a separate building, its members held their sittings in the Chapel of St Stephen’s, Westminster Abbey, until that edifice was burned down, 16th October 1834.

=St Swithin’s Day.= The day of the attempted reinterment (15th July) of the body of St Swithin, preceptor of King Ethelwulf and Bishop of Rochester, whose death took place 2nd July 862. Not regarding himself worthy to be “laid” within the sacred edifice, he requested that he might be buried just outside the door in the churchyard, so that the faithful would walk over his grave. Although they acceded to this last wish, the monks decided afterwards to lay him inside the church; but their design was frustrated for forty successive days by a pouring rain, until at last they desisted from the attempt. This circumstance gave rise to the saying that “If it rains on St Swithin’s day it will rain for forty days.”

=St Valentine’s Day.= The connection between St Valentine and the poetical epistles that were formerly interchanged between young lovers on the 14th of February is somewhat remote. On this day the good Christian Bishop was beheaded at Rome in the year 278. Long before this, however, Roman youths and maidens had followed the custom of selecting a lover for the year by shaking up the names of their favourites, written on separate tablets, in a box. This arose out of the old notion that birds begin to pair on the 14th of February. The martyrdom of Bishop Valentine on this day therefore actuated the Christians to style their selected lover their Valentine, and the presents they exchanged in modern times bore the same name.

=Salic Law.= The ancient Frankish law by which females were excluded from the throne. This was originally confined to what were called “Salic Lands,” either, as some say, from the _salle_, or hall of the owner, or, according to others, from the Salian Franks, those bordering on the Sale or Yssel River; the enactment eventually applied to the heritage of the Frankish kingdom.

=Salisbury Square.= This, like the street and court of the same name, marks the site of the town mansion and grounds of the bishops of Salisbury.

=Salop.= See “Shropshire.”

=Salt Lake City.= The hot-bed of the Mormons, founded on the borders of the Great Salt Lake, so called on account of the saline character of its waters.

=Salutation.= An inn sign in honour of the Salutation of the Virgin.

=Salviati.= See “Del Salviati.”

=Salzburg.= The fortified town on the Salza River.

=Samaria.= After Shemer, the owner of the hill which, as we are told in 1 Kings xvi. 24, Omri bought for two talents of silver, “and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.”

=Sambo.= The generic name of a North American Negro; derived from the native _Zambo_, the offspring of a black and a Mulatto.

=Sanci Diamond.= One of the great gems of the world, weighing 106 carats, originally the property of a French nobleman of this name, and purchased in 1835 by the Czar of Russia for half-a-million roubles.

=Sandbaggers.= A modern street terror in American cities while the police are looking the other way, so called because they stun their victims with elongated bags of hard, wet sand, and then rob them at leisure.

=Sandhillers.= A name given in America to the descendants of the white labourers, who, ousted from their employment when slavery came in, sought the sand-hills amid the pine forests of Georgia and South Carolina.

=Sandow Girl.= A physical culture girl trained at the Academy of Eugene Sandow, or at home by means of appliances advertised in connection therewith. Also known as the “Symmetrion Girl” from the name on the familiar posters. The Sandow or Symmetrion Girls proved a great attraction in the Athletic Scene of _The Dairymaids_ at the Apollo Theatre.

=Sandwich.= The sand village.

=Sandwiches.= After John Montague, Earl of Sandwich, whose chief claim to celebrity lay in the fact that he was an inveterate gamester. It is on record that he often remained engrossed in play for thirty hours at a stretch without partaking of a meal. From time to time, however, he would ask the waiter to bring him a slice of meat between two pieces of bread, as a stay to the appetite. The waiter called this improvised meal a “Sandwich,” and by that name it has ever since been known.

=Sandwich Islands.= Named by Captain Cook in honour of Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, at the time when they were discovered by him.

=Sandy.= The nickname of a Scotsman, being short for Alexander, the most common Christian name to be met with in North Britain.

=San Francisco.= Dedicated to St Francis, this Spanish-American city really received its name from a coast settlement of missionaries styled “San Francisco de Costa Dolores” as far back as September 1776.

=Sankey’s Horse.= The regimental nickname of the 39th Foot. This was merited in India, when they were called upon to do temporary service on horseback under Colonel Sankey.

=Sansculottes.= The lowest orders of the people during the French Revolution. This, literally “without breeches,” was the scornful title at first bestowed by the aristocrats upon the Democratic party on account of their neglectful attire. A little while later the Red Republicans accepted it with pride as the password for patriotism.

=San Salvador.= This being the first land sighted in the New World by Columbus, he honoured it with the name of the “Holy Saviour,” as a perpetual expression of thanksgiving.

=Sans Souci.= This, the French for “free and easy,” or “without care,” was the name borne by a famous place of amusement originally built by Dibdin as a bijou theatre in Leicester Square.

=Santa Fe.= Spanish for “Holy Faith.”

=Santa Cruz.= Spanish for “Holy Cross.”

=Santiago.= From the cathedral (in the city of Spain so named) containing the bones of St Jago, or James the Less, the national patron saint.

=Saraband.= After Zarabanda, a celebrated dancer of Seville, who invented it.

=Saracens.= From the Arabic _sharkeyn_, “eastern people”; originally the designation of the Bedouins of Eastern Arabia. By the Crusaders it was applied to the Mohammedans generally. See “Moors.”

=Saracen’s Head.= An inn sign of the time of the Crusades. Lest it might be thought that this was complimentary to the enemies of Christianity, mention may be made of the fact that the head of the Saracen was represented as severed.

=Saragossa.= A corruption of the Roman name _Cæsarea Augusta_.

=Saratoga.= Indian for “miraculous waters from the rock,” touching the famous mineral springs.

=Saratoga Trunk.= The popular type of travelling trunk in the United States, so called because it was first used by visitors to Saratoga Springs.

=Sarcophagus.= A Greek compound of _sarkos_, flesh, and _phargo_, to eat. The term was originally applied to a receptacle for the dead, because the early examples were made out of a kind of limestone which was thought to possess the property of consuming a corpse in a very short time.

=Sardines.= From Sardinia, in the waters of which island the true species of this fish abound.

=Sardinia.= Called _Sandaliotis_ by the Greeks on account of its resemblance to a human footprint; this name was changed by the Romans to _Sardo_. At a later period the island was called _Sardonion_, from a poisonous herb, transplanted from Sardis in Asia Minor, which brought about a twitching of the muscles of the face resembling laughter; hence the phrase to “Smile sardonically.”

=Sardinia Street.= From the Sardinian Chapel built in 1648 in connection with the residence of the Sardinian Ambassador at the time when the island of Sardinia was nominally a kingdom, but really in the possession of Spain.

=Sardonic Smile.= See “Sardinia.”

=Sarsenet.= A fine silk originally of Saracenic manufacture.