ROCROI 86 RODGERS ROCROI, or ROCROY, a small forti- fied town of France, department of Ar- dennes, near the Belgian frontier; cele- brated for the victory gained (1643) by the Duke d'Enghien (afterward the great Conde) over the Spaniards. ROD, called also a pole, or perch, a measure of length, equivalent to 5% yards, or 16 % feet. The square rod, called generally a rood, is employed in estimating masonry work, and contains 16^X16%, or 272% square feet. ROD, EDOUARD (rod), a French novelist and critic; born in Nyon, in 1857. He published many works of criti- cism and erudition, among them being: "A propos de 'L'Assommoir' " (1879); "The Germans at Paris" (1880) ; and "Wagner and the German Esthetic" (1886). But he is better known as a novelist, and has published: "The Fall of Miss Topsy" (1882) ; "The Deathward Career" (1885) ; "The Meaning of Life" (1889); "Stendhal" (1891); "The Sacri- ficed One" (1892) ; "In the Middle of the Road" (1900) ; etc. He lectured in New York before the French Society. He died Jan. 29, 1910. RODENTIA, or RODENTS, an order of mammiferous quadrupeds occupying in many respects an intermediate place be- tween the purely carnivorous and purely herbivorous mammalia, and so forming the connecting link between them. The or- der embraces rats and mice, hares, rabbits, guinea pigs, and other well-known ani- mals. These animals have two great in- cisor teeth in each jaw, separated from the molar by a wide space, with which they could hardly seize a living prey or rend flesh, but could reduce them by gnawing, whence the term rodents, or gnawers, applied to this order. The char- acteristic of this order is that the lower jaw has no horizontal movement except from behind forward, and vice versa, con- venient for the action of gnawing; the molars of the Rodentia, consequently, have flat crowns, the enameled eminences of which are always transversal, so as to be in opposition to the horizontal move- ments of the jaw, and to be better adapted for trituration. The hinder parts of the body of the rodents in general exceed their anterior. Some of them enjoy a certain dex- terity, using their forefeet for carrying their food to their mouth; while others again (the squirrels) climb trees with facility. Rodents are most abundant in temperate regions. In North America there are 371 species, 19 genera; 81 spe- cies, 16 genera in Europe and the N. of Asia; in Africa, 53 species, 16 genera; in India and its islands, 58 species, 10 genera; in South America and West In- dia Islands, 89 species, 25 genera. RODERIC, "the last of the Goths," whose tragic death, coincident with the downfall of the Visigothic monarchy in Spain, has inspired poets and romancers (Scott, Southey, Geibel, Dahn) to throw round him a halo of glory. According to the commonly accepted legend he was the son of a noble who was blinded by King Witiza. A conspiracy having been formed against the hated Witiza by the clergy and the nobles of Roman blood, Roderic was elevated to the throne (710). The sons of Witiza, however, bided their time, meanwhile submitting to the usur- per. At length certain malcontent nobles were engaged in a plot to dethrone Roderic by Count Julian, the governor of Ceuta (in north Africa), whose daughter had been outraged by the Visigothic king. Julian brought over with him a Moorish chief named Tarik at the head of 12,000 men. Roderic met the invading army on the banks of the Guadalete, near Xeres de la Frontera, on July 26, 711. The battle raged six days; but the sons of Witiza, who commanded the wings of the Christian army, deserted during the con- test, and the rout of the Visigoths was complete. Roderic either died on the field or was drowned in the Guadalete while attempting to swim his horse across. A third version, however, relates that he escaped and passed the rest of his life as a pious hermit. By this victory the Arabs became masters of southern Spain. RODGERS, CHRISTOPHER RAY- MOND PERRY, an American naval offi- cer; born in Brooklyn, N. Y., Nov. 14, 1819. In 1833 he entered the United States navy as a midshipman; was in active service during the Seminole and Mexican Wars; and in 1861 became com- mander. In that year, in the "Wabash" of Admiral Dupont's squadron, he was fleet-captain at the battle of Port Royal. He commanded, in 1862, an expedition to St. Augustine and up the St. Mary's river. In the attack on the defenses of Charleston, April 7, 1863, he was fleet- captain on the "New Ironsides." He was appointed superintendent of the United States Naval Academy 1874-78, and 1881, and in the year 1874 was promoted rear-admiral. He was retired in 1881; and died in Washington, D. C, Jan. 8, 1892. RODGERS, JOHN, an American naval officer; born in Harford co., Md., July 11, 1771; son of a Scotch colonel of militia. He was a captain in the mer- chant service by 1789, and in 1798 entered the navy as lieutenant, becoming captain the year after. In 1805 he extorted from
