COR. sexfid and persistent: and there is one triquetrous seed. There are five species, viz. 1. R. Arabicum, the currant rhubarb of Mount Libanus, has a thick fleshy root, very broad leaves, full of granulated protuberances, and with equal foot-stalks, and upright firm stems three or four feet high, terminated by spikes of flowers, surrounded by a purple pulp. 2. R. compactum, the Tartarian rhubarb, with a large, fleshy, branched root, yellow within; crowned by very large, heart-shaped, somewhat lobated, sharply indented, smooth leaves, and an upright large stem, five or six feet high, garnished with leaves singly, and branching above; having all the branches terminated by nodding panicles of white flowers. This has been supposed to be the true rhubarb; which, however, though of superior quality to some sorts, is accounted inferior to the rheum palmatum. 3. R. palmatum, palmated-leaved true Chinese rhubarb, has a thick fleshy root, yellow within; crowned with very large palmated leaves,. being deeply divided into accumulated segments, expanded like an open hand; upright stems, five or six feet high or more, terminated by large spikes or flowers. This is the true foreign rhubarb, the purgative quality of which is well known. 4. R. rhaponticum, common rhubarb, has a large, thick, fleshy, branching, deeply-striking root, yellowish within; crowned by very large, roundish, heart-shaped smooth leaves, on thick, slightly furrowed foot-stalks; and an upright strong stem, two or three feet high, adorned with leaves singly, and terminated by thick close spikes of white flowers. It grows in Thrace and Scythia, but has been long in the English gardens. Its root affords a gentle cathartic. It is, however, of inferior quality to the Chinese. The young stalks of this plant, in spring, are cut and peeled, and used for tarts. 5. R. undulatum, the undulated, or wavedleaved Chinese rhubarb, has a thick, branchy deep-striking root, yellow within; crowned with large, oblong, undulate, somewhat hairy leaves, having equal foot-stalks, and an upright firm step, four feet high; garnished with leaves singly, and terminated by long loose spikes of white flowers. All these plants are perennial in root, and the leaves and stalks are annual. The roots being thick, fleshy, and generally divided, strike deep into the ground; are of a brownish color without, and yellow within: the leaves rise in the spring, generally come up in a large head folded together, gradually expanding themselves, having thick foot-stalks; and grow from one to two feet high, or more, in length and breadth, spreadng all around; amidst them rise the flower stems, which are garnished at each joint by one leaf, and are of strong and expeditious growth, attaining their full height in June, when they flower; and are succeeded by large triangular seeds, ripening in August. Some plants of each sort merit culture in gardens for variety; they afford a contrast by their luxuriant foliage, spikes, and flowers: and, as medical plants, they demand culture both for private and public use. They are propagated by seeds sown in autumn, soon after they are ripe, or early in spring, in an open bed of deep light earth. Those for medical Pale in her anger, washes all the air, Shakspeare. The throtling quinsey, 'tis my star appoints, And rheumatisms I send to rack the joints. Dryden. Rheumatism is a distemper affecting chiefly the membrana communis musculorum, which it makes rigid and unfit for motion; and it seems to be occa sioned almost by the same causes, as the mucilaginous glands in the joints are rendered stiff and gritty in the gout. Quincy. The blood taken away looked very sizy or rheumatic. Floyer. RHEUMATISM. See MEDICINE, Index. RHEXIA, in botany, a genus of the monogynia order, and octandria class of plants; natural order seventeenth, calycanthymæ: CAL. quadrifid with four petals inserted into it; anthere declining: CAPS. quadrilocular, within the belly of the calyx. Species seven, natives of America and the West Indies. RHIANUS, an ancient Greek historian and poet of Thrace, originally a slave; who flourished about A. A. C. 200. He wrote an account of the war between Sparta and Messenia, which lasted twenty years; and a history of the princi pal events and revolutions in Thessaly. Of this work only a few verses are extant. RHIGAS, or RIGAS (M.), a modern Greek patriotic author, was born in 1753, at Velestini, a town of Thessaly. He studied in the colleges of his country, and was early distinguished for his acquirements. Early in life he was sent to Bucharest, and resided there till 1790, partly engaged in commercial pursuits. He first conceived the project of a secret society, in opposition to the Turks, and associated among the discontented chiefs. He now went to Vienna, where he met with a number of rich Greek merchants; and, extending his correspondence to other parts of Europe, commenced a Greek journal, translated the Travels of Anacharsis the younger, and other French works; and composed a treatise on military tactics, and another on natural philosophy; he likewise drew up a grand chart of all Greece, in twelve divisions, noting not only the present, but also the ancient names of all celebrated places. At length he was denounced by one of his associates to the Austrian government as a conspirator against the state; arrested at Trieste, and ordered to be delivered up to the Ottoman Porte: but he was, with his companions, drowned in the Danube, his conductors fearing the vengeance of Passwan Oglou. This took place in May 1798, when Rhigas was about five-and-forty years of age. RHINANTHUS, in botany, elephant's head, a genus of the angiospermia order, and didynamia class of plants; natural order fortieth, personatæ CAL. quadrifid, ventricose: CAPS. bilocular, obtuse, and compressed. Species ten, natives of the Cape, the Levant, and of Egypt. RHINE, one of the greatest rivers of Europe, and the next in rank after the Danube and the Wolga, has its source in the central and highest part of Switzerland, on the north-east of Mount St. Gothard. Striking off to the north-east, it first receives the two rivers called by the Germans the Middle and Hither Rhine. The united waters now pass the town of Coire or Chur, become navigable, and hold a northern course to the lake of Constance, which they traverse. Issuing hence with a copious stream the Rhine flows to the west, and receives the Aar, the Reuss, and the Limmat, whose waters combine all the chief streams of West and Central Switzerland. It now continues to flow to the west, until it reaches Bâle, when it takes a northern direction, and receives the Neckar and Maine on the side of Germany, and the Moselle from France. Entering the kingdom of the Netherlands, it turns suddenly to the west, and divides into two great branches, of which the southern takes the name of Waal, receives the Maese, and flows into the German Ocean by Dort, Rotterdam, and Williamstadt. The northern, or less considerable branch, divides first above, and afterwards below Arnheim and the name of Rhine is finally retained only by a small slow stream, which passes Utrecht and Leyden in its way to the sands near Catwyk, through which it reaches the sea. From its source to Mentz this great river is known as the Upper Rhine, and from Mentz to Holland as the Lower Rhine. Its course altogether is about 700 miles. Its waters are of a beautiful limpid green: its stream, rapid in the early part of its course, becomes afterwards deep and tranquil. In Switzeriand the scenery of its banks is often sublime; and below Schaffhausen it forms a cascade, which, though not the highest, is in mass of waters the largest in the southern part of Europe. From Bâle to Strasburg, and even to Germersheim, a number of islands appear in the river; but at Mentz the banks of the Rhine assume a most beautiful aspect. From that city to Cologne they penetrate the finest part of Germany: castles, towns, and villages embellish every part of the prospect; hills rise from the banks, covered with vineyards to their summits; while towers and forts, the remains of remote ages, are frequently reflected by the water. By the Rhine the timber of Suabia is conveyed to the Netherlands, and colonial produce transported from the coast to the interior of Germany and Switzerland, and the passage-boats up and down afford a very commodious conveyance. The navigation is sometimes difficult, but seldom hazardous. At Cologne vessels from 100 to 150 tons burden, generally drawn by horses, are seen; but they use their sails when the wind is favorable. A spirited beginning has also been made on this river in steam navigation. RHINE, THE CIRCLE OF, is a province of Bavaria, situated to the west of the river of this name, between Weissemburg on the south and Worms on the north. It consists of a tract of territory on the Upper Rhine, ceded by France in 1814, assigned by the congress of Vienna to Austria, and made over by the latter to Bavaria. Its form approaches to a square; the area being about 1800 square miles, intersected by branches of the Vosges mountains. The more favorable aspects exhibit vineyards, while the rugged summits are often romantically crowned with the ruins of castles. The province, contains mines of quicksilver, iron, and coal, a few hardware manufactures, extensive pastures, and in the valleys wheat, oats, and barley. It is divided into four districts, of which the chief towns are Frankenthal, Landau, Kaiserslautern, and Deux Ponts. The Rhine is its eastern boundary. Of the other rivers the chief are the Queich and Lauter. Population 308,000. The RHINE also gives name to a province of the grand duchy of Hesse, situated to the north of the Bavarian circle of the Rhine. Its area is about 1000 square miles. The valleys and small plains produce corn, flax tobacco, and vines; and the hills contain in certain parts mines of iron and salt; in others very good pasturage. The manufactures are of linen, cotton, and leather, which give rise to a brisk traffic. RHINE, LOWER, the Prussian grand duchy of, is composed of territories taken in 1814 from France and the grand duchy of Berg, and assigned by the congress of Vienna. Justice has been since administered by the laws of France; but the provincial administration is that of the Prussian dominions. This duchy is bounded on the north by the province of Cleves and Berg, on the east by Nassau and Hesse-Darmstadt, on the south by the French, on the west by the Dutch frontier. It lies between 6° 0′ and 8° 37' of E. long., and between 49° 20′ and 51° 8' N. lat., having an area of 5700 square miles, and 950,000 inhabitants, and is included in the same military division as Westphalia. It is divided into the governments of Aix-la-Chapelle, Coblentz, and Treves. The capital is Aix-la-Chapelle. This country is hilly, and the climate has sufficient warmth for vines in particular situations; but in the elevated tracts of the Hundsruck, the Eiffel, and Westerwald, the cold checks the growth of every thing but wood. The wine is best along the banks of the Rhine, Aar (or Ahr), and Moselle. On the whole, though it has extensive valleys, this duchy has no great extent of fertile soil. The lower ranks subsist, in a great measure, on potatoes. The other products are hops, tobacco, flax, potash, and in the hilly districts minerals. Grazing is followed more on the east than on the west of the Rhine. The manufactures of coarse woollens, leather, and tobacco, are chiefly confined to the districts around Aix-la-Chapelle and Neuwied. On the east of the Rhine mining, and the preparing of metals, afford employment. RHINE, CIRCLE OF THE LOWER, was one of the ten former circles of the German empire. Its figure was very irregular. The princes who chiefly had possessions here were the electors of Mentz, Treves, and Cologne, and the elector palatine. It is now divided among the states of Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, Prussia, and Hanover. RHINE, CIRCLE OF THE UPPER, another abolished division of the German empire. It was cut in two by the circle of the Lower Rhine, and like it was very irregular in its outline. The area of the two circles exceeded 20,000 square miles. The members of the imperial body who had possessions in the circle of the Upper were more numerous than those in the Lower Rhine. The western half, contiguous to Alsace, was repeatedly invaded by the French, and remained in their hands from 1794 to 1814. Since that period this circle has been divided between Bavaria, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, &c. RHINE, LOWER (Bas Rhin), a considerable department of France, consisting of the north part of Alsace, and forming an oblong track, extending from north to south. The eastern side is formed by the Rhine, the western by the Vosges Mountains, which are nearly parallel to the course of the river. The surface, about 1900 square miles, is diversified with hills, forests, and small valleys, all pretty well cultivated. On the mountains, and in the vicinity of the Rhine, the soil is bare and stony, and in some places marshy; but in general it is fertile, and the average produce of corn exceeds the consumption. The products are wheat, barley, oats, flax, hemp, tobacco, madder, and rapeseed. In the mountains are mines of iron, copper, coal, and salt. The pastures are extensive, and vines are cultivated in some parts. The chief manufactures are hardware and linen. Co'ton has been introduced since the close of the eighteenth century, and there are likewise fabrics of pottery, glass, china-ware, paper, &c. Situated to the east of the Vosges, the natural limit of France, this department is principally inhabited by Germans, and French is spoken only in the large towns. The Lutherans are computed at 160,000, the Calvinists at 25,000, and the rest, with the exception of the Jews, are Catholics. The department is divided into four arrondissements, viz. Strasburg the capital, Saverne, Bar, and Weissemburg. The treaty of Paris in 1815 curtailed it of Landau, and of a tract to the north of Weissemburg. Inhabitants 440,000. RHINE, UPPER (Haut Rhin), another department of the north-east of France, of an oblong form, the Rhine flowing along its eastern limit, and the long chain of the Vosges extending on its western side. Its extent is about 1700 square miles. It contains the southern division of Alsace, and has a stony soil on the mountains, but the plains and valleys are fertile. Its chief rivers, after the Rhine, are the Ill, the Laber, the Lauch, and the Largue. It has likewise several canals, and two lakes. Corn, hemp, flax, rape seed, wines, and tobacco, are raised in large quantities. Cherries are so abundant that the liquor called cherry water forms a considerable export. The mineral products are iron, coal, and, to a small extent, copper, lead, and antimony. Of coal, the quantity annually produced is about 1000 tons; of iron about 5000 tons. Linen, woollen, and latterly cottons, are the manufactures; and, on a small scale, paper, leather, and glass. The inhabitants (in number 320,000) are almost all of German descent. The Protestant part are computed at 57,000; the Jews at 10,000; the Baptists at 3000; Catholics at 250,000. The department is divided into the arrondissements of Colmar, Altkirch, Neufbrisach, and Befort. RHINOCEROS, n. s. Fr. rhinocerot; Gr. puy and repac. A beast of the East, armed with a horn on his nossel. Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The armed rhinoceros, or Hyrcanian tyger; Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble. Shakspeare. Macbeth. If you draw your beast in an emblem, shew a landscape of the country natural to the beast; as to the rhinoceros an East Indian landscape, the crocodile, an Egyptian. Peacham. RHINOCEROS, in zoology, a genus of quadrupeds belonging to the order of belluæ. The name is entirely Greek; but Aristotle takes no notice of them, nor any other Greek writer till Strabo, nor Roman till Pliny. It is probable they did not frequent that part of India into which Alexander had penetrated, since it was nearly 300 years after that Pompey first brought them to Europe. From this time till the days of Heliogabalus they were frequently exhibited in the Roman spectacles, and have often been transported into Europe in more modern times; but they were long very ill represented, and very imperfectly described, till some that arrived in London in 1739 and 1741 were inspected; by which the errors and caprices of former writers were detected. There are two species, viz. 1. R. bicornis, long known in Europe only by the double horns which were preserved in various cabinets. Dr. Sparman, in his voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, killed two of these animals, which he dissected and very minutely describes. The horns, he says, in the live animal are so mobile and loose, that, when it walks carelessly along, one may see them waggle about, and hear them clash and clatter against each other. In the Philosophical Transactions we have a description of the double-horned rhinoceros of Sumatra, by Mr. Bell, surgeon in the service of the East India Company at Bencoolen. It was a male; the height at the shoulder was four feet four inches; at the sacrum nearly the same: from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail eight feet five inches. From the appearance of its teeth and bones it was but young, and probably not near its full size. The shape was much like that of the hog. The general color was a brownish ash; under the belly, between the legs and folds of the skin, a dirty flesh-color. The head much resembles that of the single-horned rhinoceros; the eyes were small, of a brown color; the merbrana nictitans thick and strong: the skin sup rounding the eyes was wrinkled; the nostrils were wide; the upper lip was pointed, and hanging over the under. There were six molares, or grinders, on each side of the upper and lower jaw, becoming gradually larger backward, particularly in the upper; two teeth in the front of each jaw; the tongue was quite smooth; the ears were small and pointed, lined and edged with short black hair, and situated like those of the single-horned rhinoceros. The horns were black, the larger was placed immediately above the nose, pointing upwards, and was bent a little back; it was about nine inches long. The small horn was four inches long, of a pyramidal shape, flattened a little, and placed above the eyes, rather a little more forward, standing in a line with the larger horn immediately above it. They were both firmly attached to the skull, nor was there any appearance of joint or muscles to move them. The neck was thick and short, the skin on the under side thrown into folds, and these folds again wrinkled. The body was bulky and round, and from the shoulder ran a line, or fold, as in the single-horned rhinoceros, though it was but faintly marked. There were several other folds and wrinkles on the body and legs; and the whole gave rather the appearance of softness; the legs were thick, short, and remarkably strong; the feet armed with three distinct hoofs, of a blackish color, which surrounded half the foot, one in front, the others on each side. The soles of the feet were convex, of a light color, and the cuticle on them not thicker than that on the foot of a man who is used to walking; the testicles hardly appeared externally; the penis was bent backward and opened about eighteen inches below the anus. The whole skin of the animal is rough, and covered very thinly with short black hair. The animal had not that appearance of armor which is observed in the single-horned rhinoceros. 2. R. unicornis, the length of which, says Buffon, from the extremity of the muzzle to the origin of the tail, is at least twelve feet, and the circumference of the body is nearly the same. Their food in a natural state is thistles and thorny shrubs, which they prefer to the soft pasture of meadows; but they are fond of the sugar cane, and eat grain of all kinds. The rhinoceros,' says Buffon, at the age of two years, is not taller than a young cow that has never produced. But his body is very long and very thick. His head is disproportionally large. From the ears to the horn there is a concavity, the two extremities of which, namely, the upper end of the muzzle. and the part near the ears, are consider ably raised. The horn is black, smooth at the top, but full of wrinkles directed backward at the base. The nostrils are situated very low, being not above an inch from the opening of the mouth. The under lip is pretty similar to that of the ox; but the upper lip has a greater resemblance to that of the horse, with this advantageous difference, that the rhinoceros can lengthen this lip, move it from side to side, roll it about a staff, and seize with it any object he wishes to carry to his mouth. The tongue of the young rhinoceros is soft, like that of a calf. His eyes, in figure, resemble those of the hog, but situated lower, or nearer the nostrils, than in any other quadruped. His ears are large, thin at the extremities, and contracted at their origin by a kind of angular rugosity. The neck is very short, and surrounded with two large folds of skin. The shoulders are very thick, and at their juncture there is another fold of skin, which descends upon the fore legs. The legs are round, thick, strong, and their joint bent backwards. This joint, which, when the animal lies, is covered with a remarkable fold of the skin, appears when he stands. The tail is thin, and proportionally short. It becomes a little thicker at the extremity, which is garnished with some short, thick, hard hairs. The female exactly resembles the male in figure and grossness of body. The skin is every where covered more or less with incrustations in the form of galls or tuberosities, which are pretty small on the top of the neck and back, but become larger on the sides. The largest are on the shoulders and crupper, are still pretty large on the thighs and legs, upon which they are spread all round, and even on the feet. But between the folds the skin is penetrable, delicate, and as soft to the touch as silk, while the external part of the fold is equally hard with the rest. This tender skin between the folds is of a light flesh color; and the skin of the belly is nearly of the same color and consistence. These galls or tuberosities should not be compared, as some authors have done, to scales. They are only simple indurations of the skin, without any regularity in their figure or symmetry in their respective positions. The flexibility of the skin in the folds enables the rhinoceros to move with facility his head, neck, and members. The whole body, except at the joints, is inflexible, and resembles a coat of mail. Dr. Parsons remarks that this animal listened with a deep and long continued attention to any kind of noise; and that, though he was sleeping or eating, he raised his head, and listened till the noise ceased. These animals never assemble or march together in troops like elephants. Being of a more solitary and savage disposition, they are more difficult to hunt and to overcome. They fever attack men, however, except when they are provoked, when they are very furious and formidable; but as they see only before them, and as they turn with great difficulty, they may be easily avoided. The skin of these animals is so extremely hard as to resist sabres, lances, javelins, and even musket balls, the only penetrable parts being the belly, the eyes, and about the ears. Hence the hunters generally attack them when they lie down to sleep. Their flesh is considered as excellent by the Indians and Africans, but especially by the Hottentots; and, if they were trained when young, they might be rendered domestic, in which case they would multiply more easily than the elephant. They inhabit Bengal, Siam, Cochin-China, the isles of Java and Sumatra, Congo, Ethiopia, and the country as low as the Cape. They love shady forests, the neighbourhood of rivers, and marshy places. They wallow in the mire like hogs, and thus give shelter in the folds of their skins to scorpions, centipedes, and other insects. Buffon and Edwards deny this; but it is generally thought to be true. They bring forth only one young at a time, about which they are very solici⚫ tous. Their skin, flesh, hoofs, teeth, and even dung, are used in India medicinally. The horn, especially that of a virgin rhinoceros, is considered as an antidote against poison. This species is supposed to be oryx or Indian ass of Aristotle; and the bos unicornis or fera mono ceros of Pliny. Many writers also consider it as the unicorn of scripture. RHIZOBALUS, in botany, a genus of the tetragynia order, and polyandria class of plants; natural order twenty-third, trihilatæ : CAL. monophyllous, fleshy, and downy: COR. consisting of five petals, which are round, concave, fleshy, and much larger than the calyx; the stamina are very numerous, filiform, and longer than the corolla; the styli are four, filiform, and of the length of the stamina; the pericarp has four drupa, kidney-shaped, compressed with a fleshy substance inside, and in the middle a flat large nut containing a kidney-shaped kernel. Of this there is only one species. R. pekia. The nuts which are sold in the shops as American nuts are flat, tuberculated, and kidney-shaped, containing a kernel of the same shape, which is sweet and agreeable. RHIZOPHORA, the mangrove, or candle of the Indians, in botany, a genus of the monogynia order, and dodecandria class of plants; natural order twelfth, holoraceæ: CAL. quadripartite : COR. partite: SEED one very long, and carnous at the base. These plants are natives of the East and West Indies, and often grow forty or fifty feet high. They grow only in water, and on the banks of rivers, where the tide flows up twice a day. They preserve the verdure of their leaves throughout the year. From the lowest branches issue long roots, which hang down to the water, and penetrate into the earth. In this position they resemble so many arcades, from five to ten feet high, which serve to support the body of the tree, and even to advance it daily into the bed of the water. The most natural way of propagating these trees is to suffer the several slender small filaments which issue from the main branches, to take root in the earth. The most common method, however, is that of laying the small lower branches in baskets of mould or earth till they have taken root. The bark is very brown, smooth, pliant when green, and generally used in the West India Islands for tanning of leather. Below this bark lies a cuticle or skin, which is lighter, thinner, and more tender. The wood is nearly of the same color as the bark; hard, pliant, and very heavy. It is frequently used for fuel. The wood is compact; almost incorruptible; never splinters; is easily worked; and, were it not for its enormous weight, would be commodiously employed in almost all kinds of works. To the roots and branches of mangroves that are immersed in the water oysters frequently attach themselves. The red mangrove grows on the sea-shore, and at the mouth of large rivers; but does not advance, like the former, into the water. It generally rises to the height of twenty or thirty feet, with crooked, knotty branches, which proceed from all parts of the trunk. The bark is slender, of a brown color, and, when young, is smooth, and adheres very closely to the wood; but, when old, appears quite cracked, and is easily detached from it. Under this bark is a skin as thick as parchment, red, and adhering closely to the wood, from which it cannot be de tached, till the tree is felled and dry. The wood is hard, compact, heavy, of a deep red, with a very fine grain. The pith or heart of the wood being cut into small pieces, and boiled in water, imparts a very beautiful red to the liquid, which communicates the same color to wool and linen. From the fruit of this, tree, which when ripe is of a violet color, and resembles some grapes in taste, is prepared an agreeable liquor, much esteemed by the inhabitants of the Carribee Islands. This species is generally called rope mangrove, from the use to which the bark is applied by the inhabitants of the West Indies. This bark, which, by reason of the great abundance of sap, is easily detached when green, from the wood, is beaten or bruised betwixt two stones, until the hard and woody part is totally separated from that which is soft and tender. This last, which is the true cortical substance, is twisted into ropes. of all sizes, which are exceedingly strong, and not apt to rot in the water. RHODANUS, a river of Gallia Narbonensis, rising in the Rhætian Alps, and falling into the Mediterranean Sea, near Marseilles. It is now called RHONE, which see. RHODE ISLAND, or, more properly, RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS, one of the United States of North America, is bounded north and east by Massachusetts, south by the Atlantic, and west by Connecticut. Long. 71° 6 to 71° 52′ W., lat. 41° 17' to 41° 42′ N.; forty-nine miles long, and twenty-nine broad; containing 1580 square miles. The counties, mumber of towns, population, and chief towns, are exhibited in the following Table : The most considerable towns are Providence, Newport, Bristol, Warren, South Kingston, East Greenwich, Smithfield, and the villages of Pawtucket, and Pawtuxet. The harbours are Newport, Providence, Wickford, Pawtuxet, Bristol, and Warren. There are thirty-one banks in this state. There is a college at Providence, and a large Friends' boarding school recently established at the same place. There are seven academies in the state, at Bristol, Cumberland, East Greenwich, Newport, Smithfield, South Kingston, and Wickford. Public and private schools are sup ported in a greater or less degree, in various places. But public schools are not supported by law in Rhode Island, as in the other New England States. The number of congregations of |