Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/372

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

356 ROBERT GUISCARD ROBERTSON apprehend a highwayman and prosecute him to conviction shall receive a reward of 40 from the public, to be paid to them by the sheriff, together with the horse, furniture, arms, money, and other goods taken upon the person of such robber, saving only the rights of any persons from whom the same may have been stolen.": Robbery has always been considered an aggravated crime, especially when commit- ted with dangerous or deadly weapons, and was formerly punished with great rigor and severity. Until comparatively recent times it was indeed punished with death, here as well as in England, even though the amount stolen would, if unaccompanied by violence, have constituted only petit larceny. This was the rule of the common law ; but the progress of civilization, restricting capital punishment to a few crimes, has modified the penalty for rob- bery, as a general thing, to imprisonment for life, or for a term of years, according to the par- ticular circumstances and degree of the crime. ROBERT GUISCARD. See GUISOARD. ROBERT I., king of Scotland. See BRUCE. ROBERT, Louis Leopold, a French painter, born in La Ohaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, May 13, 1794, died in Venice, March 20, 1835. At first he applied himself to engraving, and subse- quently to painting under the instruction of David and Gerard. In 1818 he went to Rome, where he pursued his art with singular enthu- siasm. He was a laborious painter, rejecting picture after picture which seemed to him un- equal to the subject, and occupying in some instances years upon a single work. His pro- ductions are few, but in the delineation of Ital- ian life are unrivalled in modern art. His masterpieces are the " Reapers," the " Nea- politan Improvisatore," the "Madonna dell' Arco," and the " Fishermen of the Adriatic." He conceived a romantic but hopeless passion for a beautiful woman of rank, under the in- fluence of which he committed suicide. See Leopold Robert, a vie, set auvres et sa corres- pondence, by Feuillet de Conches (Paris, 1862). ROBERT, Louis Valentin Ellas, a French sculptor, born in Etampes about 1818. He studied un- der David d' Angers, and has produced "France crowning Art and Industry," a colossal group on the palace in the Champs Elysees (1855), four caryatides for the opera at Philadelphia (1857), several for the new Paris opera opened in 1875, a bust of Houdon in the Louvre, a statue representing the drama, busts for the Chatelet theatre, and a bronze statue of Justice which decorates the fountain of St. Michel in Paris. ROBERT-FLEURY, Joseph Mrolas. a French painter, whose real name is Fleury, born in Cologne, Aug. 8, 1797. He studied under Ver- net and Gros, and exhibited his first piece in 1824. Among his works are: "Tasso in the Convent of St. Onofrio," " An Incident of the St. Bartholomew Massacre," "The Last Mo- ments of Montaigne," "The Entrance of Clo- vis into Tours," and "Jane Shore." One of his finest productions, " Charles V. at the Mon- astery of San Yuste," was again exhibited in 1867. He has been professor, and for five years director, of the school of fine arts in Paris, and in 1865-'6 of the French academy in Rome. His son Tony is a historical painter. ROBERTS, David, a British artist, born at Stockbridge, near Edinburgh, Oct. 24, 1796, died in London, Nov. 25, 1864. In early life he was a house painter, and upon removing to London in 1821 he devoted himself for several years to scene painting. In 1832-'3 he visited Spain, and upon his return published a vol- ume of lithographic copies of "Picturesque Sketches in Spain " (1837). In 1838-'9, during a tour through Syria and Egypt and other east- ern countries, he made a number of drawings, published as " The Holy Land, Syria, Idumroa, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia" (4 vols. fol., 1842- '8). In 1841 he was elected a royal academi- cian, and subsequently produced a number of views of celebrated places, with architectural and other accessories, including " Ruins of the Great Temple of Karnak," "Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives," " Rome," " Interior of the Cathedral at Burgos," "The Chancel of the Collegiate Church of St. Paul at Ant- werp," &c. His works also include such sub- jects as the " Destruction of Jerusalem," and the " Inauguration of the Exhibition of all Na- tions," painted for the queen. At his death he left in his studio 73 oil paintings and sketch- es and 800 water-color pieces, which were exhibited in 1865 and subsequently sold for 16,000. See "Life of David Roberts, R. A.," by James Ballantine, illustrated with sketches by the artist (4to, Edinburgh, 1866). ROBERTSON. I. A central county of Texas, bordered E. by the Navasoto river and W. by the Brazos, and drained by their branches; area, 840 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 9,990, of whom 4,530 were colored. It has a rolling surface, covered with forest and prairie, and a gener- ally fertile soil, with some very rich bottom lands. It is traversed by the Houston and Texas Central railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 140,083 bushels of Indian corn, 1,385 Ibs. of wool, and 4,833 bales of cotton. There were 897 horses, 1,854 milch cows, 8,648 other cattle, 5,156 sheep, and 7,817 swine. Cap- ital, Calvert. II. A N. county of Tennessee, bor- dering on Kentucky, and drained by tributaries of Cumberland river ; area, about 400 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 16,166, of whom 4,813 were col- ored. It has an uneven surface and a gener- ally fertile soil. The St. Louis and Southeast- ern railroad passes through it. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 161, 114 bushels of wheat, 559,020 of Indian corn, 149,019 of oats, 19,295 of Irish and 27,455 of sweet potatoes, 2,103,322 Ibs. of tobacco, 19,387 of wool, and 155,643 of butter. There were 3,908 horses, 2,461 mules and asses, 3,000 milch cows, 3,290 other cat- tle, 11,146 sheep, and 29,817 swine; 8 flour mills, 14 saw mills, and 12 distilleries. Capi- tal, Springfield. III. A N. E. county of Ken- tucky, bounded N. by Shannon creek and S. W.