Rathbone Place. After Captain Rathbone, its builder, in 1718.
Rat Hole. A printers’ term for a non-society house. Since rats are known to desert a sinking ship, so a journeyman who refuses to take advantage of a trades union is stigmatised as a “Rat,” because he forsakes the general cause of his craft. Hence also the term “Rattening,” by which is meant the taking away of or destroying a workman’s tools consequent upon his desertion of the union or accepting work in a house opposed to its principles.
Rationalism. The kind of religion (if it deserved such a name) set up during the French Revolution, when Reason took the place of Faith. The worship of the “Goddess of Reason,” in the person of an actress installed in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, was a fitting illustration of the unreasoning tenet that public worship was opposed to the natural instincts of mankind.
Rattening. See “[Rat Hole].”
Ray Street. After the victim of an old-time Clerkenwell sensation, Miss Ray, who, on becoming the mistress of Lord Sandwich, was shot by her jilted lover, Hackman.
Ready. Short for ready money, cash always on hand, in readiness for emergencies.
Rechabites. The name borne by total abstainers in the United States, after the followers of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, who lived in tents and abstained from the use of wine.
Reckon without your Host. When putting up at an inn the cost is often greater than the traveller anticipates; therefore it is always wise to be well prepared with funds, lest, when the host presents his bill, discomfiture may arise.
Recluse. From the Latin reclusus, shut up; one who voluntarily cuts himself off from communion with his fellow-men, a solitary.
Rector. A clergyman who enjoys a living in his own right, as distinguished from a “Vicar,” who holds the appointment at the pleasure of the Lord of the Manor. The former also receives the tithes direct, whereas the latter passes them on to a layman, a college, or a chapter, by whom he is paid a proportion thereout as a stipend.