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rying Elizabeth, the granddaughter of the sameWilliam earl of Pembroke. This edifiee stands onan eminence called Iwyn-y-Ciros, or Cherry Hill.The castle was garrisoned by the king’s forces fromthe commencement of the civil wars, and commandedby the brave marquis of Worcester, whose devotedattachment to his unfortunate king will immortalisethe name of Ragland as long as the records of historyshall last.
The gateway of this castle, a view of which isgiven in the above engraving, is remarkably hand-some, and the towers flanking it are in tolerablepreservation: ivy grows in great luxuriance overmany parts of its ruins, and the quantity of woodwhich surrounds the whole pile renders the effect ofthe building much finer than if it was less sheltered.The following description of this picturesque ruin isfrom the pen of the Poet Churchyard:—
A famous castle fine,
That Ragland hight, stands moted almost round :
Made of freestone, upright as straight as line,
Whose workmanship, in beautie doth abound,
The curious knots, wrought all with edged toole,
'1 he stately tower that looks o’er pond and poole;
The fountaine trim that runs both day and night,
Doth yield in shewe a rare and noble sight.
Ragusa. A district of Austrian Dalmatia. It hasan area of about 700 square miles, and a populationof 02,000 persons. The capital of this district bearsthe same name Its situation on a peninsula juttinginto the sea is favourable for commerce, and it enjoysa very considerable amount of trade. The inhabit-ants amount to nearly 12,000 persons, and it is 280miles from the city of Rome and ninety-four S.E. ofSpalatro. Lon. 18° 1P 56" E„ lat. 42° 36' 30" N.
Rahyadergwy. A secluded village in Radnor-shire, South Wales, which derives its name and cele-brity from the beauty of the surrounding scenery.It stands on the banks of the Wye, at a part wherethe stream is broken into a succession of picturesquecataracts by the rougli and rocky bed over which itflows. Originally these cataracts were more strikingthan they are at present, as the channel of the riverwas considerably widened in 1780, when the bridge(which forms so prominent a feature in the annexedsketch) was built.
In the immediate neighbourhood of this villagemay still be traced the foundations of an ancientcastle, which was erected by a native prince to stopthe incursions of the Normans. In Speed’s descrip-tion of Radnorshire, he says, “ The fourth place for
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account is Itoihader Gowy, who, besides the greatfall of the Wye with a continual noise, hath her mar-kets there kept on a sabbath, which I then observedand here note as an ofi'ence.” The markets are no»held on a Wednesday.
Rajah. The hereditary princes of the Hindooswho, before the subjugation of the country bv theMoguls,governed the various countries of Ilindoostanas they still continue to do in some instances, thoudithey are generally dependent on the Europeans,They belong to the caste of Cshatriyas, or Cliehtcree,In the East-Indian islands, especially in the interiorof them, where the arms of foreign conquerors havenever penetrated, there are yet many independentrajahs.—Rajah is the prefix to many geographicalnames in the East Indies.
Rajamundry. An Indian district in the provinceof the Northern Circars, situated about the seven-teenth degree of north latitude. To the north it isbounded by Ciracole; to the south by Ellore; onthe east it has the bay of Bengal; and on the westthe province of Hyderabad. Part of this districtlies to the south, but tbe greater portion to the northof the Godavery, which separates it from Ellore. Thisriver divides itself into two great branches thirty-firemiles from the sea, within which it forms the islandof Nagur, a triangular space comprehending 500square miles, but of very great value in proportion toits extent. The island of Nagur is inclosed by thetwo greater branches of the Godavery, and inter-sected by five lesser ones, which render it very pro-ductive ; it being the receptacle of ail the slimymud carried down by one of the greatest riversin the Deccan. The forests of Rajamundry, fromthe commencement of the hills along the banks o(the Godavery’ to Pooloonshah, on the frontiers ofCommamet, produce abundance of teak trees; thisbeing the only country on the east side of the bay ofBengal which furnisiies this valuable species oftimber.
Rajasthan, or The Central and WestersRajvoot States, extends from 22° to SO 0 north lati-tude, and from 69° to 78° east longitude, comprising350,000 square miles. It consists of seven states,belonging to the British dominions. This countrywas, comparatively, but little known to Europeans,until the publication of a valuable work on it bycolonel Tod, who had been for a long time in autho-rity there. The work is of much interest to thegeographer, the historian, the lover of poetry, and thelinguist, and brings to light curious traces of institu-tions similar to those of Europe. Were other remotecountries of the East explored in the same spirit,many more such analogies would probably be found.
Rajemal. A considerable district in the pro-vince of Bengal, India. It is bounded on the northi by’ Perneah, and Dinagepoor, on the south by Rau-jeshy’, on the east by Perneah and Raujeshy, and onthe west by Mougltir. This district was formerlycalled Acber Nugger from its capital, and Cankjoledescribes it as being the chief military station ontin: Ganges. The soil in the vicinity of the capitalis said to contain a mixture of granite rocks,which is not found lower down the river. Theplains in the neighbourhood are cultivated with wheatand barley, and the villages abound with mango treesof a good quality, planted in regular squares. TheIndian corn, kelai, and mustard, make part of ttlfcrops, as well as the more common articles oi nee,
RAGUSA