Chapter Round as a Ball; to Royal Titles of R by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Rowley (Thomas). The fictitious priest of Bristol, said by Chatterton to have been the author of certain poems which he (Chatterton) published.

Rowned in the Ear Whispered in the ear. The old word rown, rowned (to whisper, to talk in private). Polonius says to the king in Hamlet- “Let his queen-mother all alone entreat him to show his grief- left her be rowned with him;” not blunt and loud, but in private converse. (See Round , To.)

Roxburghe Club for printing rare works or MSS., the copies being rigidly confined to members of the club. It was called after John, Duke of Roxburghe, a celebrated collector of ancient literature, who died 1812. Since the establishment of this club, others of a similar character have sprung up, as (1) the Camden, Cheetham, Percy, Shakespeare, Surtees, and Wharton, in England; (2) the Abbotsford, Bannatyne, Maitland, and Spalding, in Scotland; and (3) the Celtic Society of Ireland.

Roy (Le) [or la Reine] s'avisera. This is the royal veto, last put in force March 11, 1707, when Queen Anne refused her assent to a Scotch Militia Bill.
   During the agitation for Catholic emancipation, George III. threatened a veto, but the matter was not brought to the test.

Royal Arms worn by a subject. (See Lane .)

Royal Goats (The). The Royal Welsh Fusiliers, noted for their nanny-goat. This gallant regiment was at Blenheim, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Dettingen, Vittoria, Alma, Inkermann, and many another field.

Royal Merchant In the thirteenth century the Venetians were masters of the sea, and some of their wealthy merchants- as the Sanudos, the Justiniani, the Grimaldi, and others- erected principalities in divers places of the Archipelago, which their descendants enjoyed for many centuries. These self-created princes were called “royal merchants.” (Warburton.)

“Glancing an eye of pity on his losses,
That have of late so huddled on his back,
Enough to press a royal merchant down.”
Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice. iv. 1.

    Sir Thomas Gresham was called a “royal merchant.”

Royal Road to Learning Euclid, having opened a school of mathematics at Alexandria, was asked by King Ptolemy whether he could not explain his art to him in a more compendious manner. “Sir,” said the geometrician, “there is no royal road to learning.”

Royal Titles (1) Of England- Henry IV. was styled His Grace; Henry VI., His Excellent Grace; Edward IV., High and Mighty Prince; Henry VII., His Grace and His Majesty; Henry VIII., His Highness, then His Majesty. Subsequently kings were styled His Sacred Majesty. Our present style is Her Most Gracious Majesty.
   (2) Royal titles, their meaning: Abimelech (Father King). Autocrat (self-potentate, i.e. absolute). Caesar (in compliment to Julius Caesar). Calif (successor). Cham (chieftain). Czar (autocrat, a contraction of Samodersheta). Darius (holder of the empire). Duke (leader). Emperor (commander). Hospodar (Slavonic, master of the house). Kaiser (Caesar). Khan (provincial chief). Khedive (suzerain). King (father). Landgrave (land reeve). Maharajah (great sovereign). Margrave (border reeve). Nejus (lord protector). Nizam (ruler). Pharaoh (light of the world). Queen (mother). Rajah (prince or sovereign). Shah or Padishah (protector, sceptred protector). Sheik (elder). Sultan (ruler).