Part 436

RULE, in a general sense, government, sway, empire. In a more confined one, canon, precept, direction. Hence rules and regulations for the government of the army.

To RULE. To govern, to command.

RULE, RULER, an instrument by which lines are drawn.

RULES and Articles. Under this term may be considered the military code or laws of the United States, and the regulations issued by the War Office.

RULES and Regulations. See REGULATIONS.

RUMB de vent, Fr. Point of the compass.

RUMB or Rum, Fr. The hold of a ship.

RUMOR, a desultory, loose report of what may, or may not be.

To spread false RUMORS, to circulate things without the foundation of reality. Reports, &c. are sometimes circulated by means of spies, deserters, &c. for the purpose of covering some particular design, or intended operation. Rumors of this kind should be cautiously listened to by the commanding officer of the army through which they are spread. It sometimes happens that individuals, through wantonness, or from some other motive, create alarms among their own people, by anticipating some looked for or dreaded event. This offence is not only punishable by the civil law, but, being contrary to good order and discipline, is rigidly so in every army. A singular circumstance of this kind occurred at Colchester, England, in 1797. During the alarm which universally prevailed at that time, especially along the coast of Essex, a serjeant belonging to a militia regiment, unwittingly, for it is not supposed he did it wilfully, said in the hearing of some soldiers, that the French would dine at Ipswich on the Sunday following! This expression soon spread among the inhabitants of the place, and a formal complaint was made to the general of the district. The offender having originally belonged to the line, and bearing the best of characters, was so far considered, as not to be tried by a general court-martial; but, for the sake of example, he was ordered to be escorted to the church nearest to the coast, and on a Sunday to appear in the porch, and there ask pardon of the inhabitants for the alarm he had created.

To RUN the gantlope, (that is the gauntlet) to undergo a punishment which has been allotted for considerable offences in some foreign countries. When a soldier is sentenced to run the gantlope, the regiment is drawn out in two ranks facing each other: each soldier, having a switch in each hand, lashes the criminal as he runs along naked from the waist upwards. While he runs, the drums beat at each end of the ranks. Sometimes he runs 3, 5, or 7 times, according to the nature of the offence. The major is on horseback, and takes care that each soldier strikes the culprit.

RUNNING-fire. See FIRE.

RUPEE, a silver coin which varies in its value according to the part of India in which it is current. Rupees struck by the English, are generally worth half a dollar.

RUPTURE, a disease which disqualifies a man from being admitted as a soldier; but as some men are capable of producing and reducing a rupture with great ease, they should not be discharged in slight cases, as by the use of a truss they may be enabled to do duty for a long time.

RUPTURE. This word also signifies the commencement of hostilities between any two or more powers.

RUSE, Fr. Cunning, trick, ingenuity. It is applied to military matters, and signifies stratagem.

RUSER, Fr. To make use of stratagems: Il est permis de Ruser à la guerre; it is lawful to make use of stratagems in war.

RUSES de guerre, Fr. Stratagems of war. See STRATAGEMS.

RUSSOOT, Ind. A tribe of Hindoos, whose particular duty is the care of horses.

RUSSUMDAR, Ind. A person deriving a particular perquisite.

RUSTRE, Fr. A lance so called, which was formerly used in tournaments.

RUTTIER. A direction of the road or course at sea.

RYET or Ryot, Ind. The general name given in India to cultivators of the ground.

RYET or Ryot Lands, Ind. Lands farmed out and cultivated by a tenant.

SABLE, Fr. Sand.

SABLONIERE ou SABLIERE. Any spot from which sand is drawn. It likewise means a sand-pit.

SABORD, Fr. a port-hole.

SABRE, (Sabre, Fr.) a kind of sword, or scimetar, with a very broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and of a shape falcated, or curved, but sharp at the point. It is generally worn by heavy cavalry and dragoons. The grenadiers, belonging to the whole of the French infantry, are likewise armed with sabres. The blade is not so long as that of a small sword, but it is nearly twice as broad. French hussars wear the curved sabres somewhat longer than those of the grenadiers. The broad straight sword is best adapted for infantry of every kind.

SABRE-Tasche. From the German sabel, sabre, and tasche, pocket. An appointment or part of accoutrement of hussars, which consists of a pocket which is suspended from the sword-belt on the left side, by three slings to correspond with the belt. It is usually of an oblong shape, scolloped at the bottom, with a device in the centre, and a broad lace round the edge. The color of it always corresponds with that of the uniform.