Recamier

3940

Recife

tempt to retire him before his term ex-
pires. A specified number of them—usually
not less than one-fourth—sign a petition for
a recall election, and present it to a clerk or
secretary of state, who immediately issues an
election notice. The petitioners present the
name o: some person whom they ask the
officer's constituents to choose as his succes-
sor. Other bodies of petitioners may present
other names. The officer sought to be re-
called is himself a candidate, unless he de-
clines. If he gets more votes than any of his
competitors, he stands vindicated and retains
his office. Thirty or forty cities have used
the recall against their executives and coun-
cilmen. Los Angeles, Seattle, Tacoma, and
Wichita afford the most prominent cases,

Recamier, Madame (nee Jeanne Fran-
Soise Julie Adelaide Bernard) (1777-
1849), French political and social leader, was
born in Lyons. She grew up a girl of re-
markable grace and beauty, and at fifteen
was married to M, Jacques Recamier, a rich
banker about thrice her own age. Her salon
was soon filled with the brightest wits of
the literary and political circles of the day.
For Madame de Stael sne had a warm affec-
tion that survived the exile required by the
jealousy of Napoleon. Soon after this her hus-
band was completely rtrined, and Madame
Re'camier visited Madame de Stael at Copoet
in Switzerland (1806). Here she met Prince
August of Prussia, who alone of all her num-
erous admirers is supposed to have touched
her heart. Indeed, a marriage was arranged,
provided M. Recamier would consent to a
divorce. The good man did not refuse, but his
kindness was too much for the generous heart
of Madame Recamier, who declared she
could not leave him in his adversity. The
distinguished friend of her later years was
N£. de Chateaubriand. She wrote charming
Souvenirs et Correspondence (1559.)

Recapitulation, in embryology, or Von
Baer's Law, a biological doctrine which ex-
presses the view that the development of the
individual is a repetition in brief of the his-
tory of the race.

Receipt is a formal acknowledgment in
writing of the payment or delivery of money
or goods, granted by the party receiving the
same.

Receiver, a person or corporation appoint-
ed by a court to take possession of property
which is involved in litigation, either as the
subject matter or incidentally, and to pre-

serve, manage, and dispose of it for the bene-
fit of those entitled thereto. The most fre-
quent cases in which receivers are appointed
are: (i) where members of a co-partnership
disagree and a dissolution is necessary; (2)
where the stockholders of a corporation dis-
agree, or where the majority are wasting its
assets or otherwise abusing their power; (3)
where a lien on property is being foreclosed,
and justice requires that the accruing rents
and profits shall be applied on the indebted-
ness thus secured.

Receiving Stolen Goods, the offence ot
accepting possession of stolen goods, with the
dishonest intention of depriving the rightful
owner of his property. In most of the Uni-
ted States it is a felony, classed under the
head of larceny, and punishable with aboi t
the same degree of severity.

Recent, or Post-Glacial, a geological
epoch which extends from the close of the
Ice Age (or Pleistocene) to the present day.
It is also called the Human, as the imple-
ments and weapons of man are its most char-
acteristic and important fossils. It is now in-
cluded by many geologists in the Pleistocene
epoch. The principal sources of our knowl-
edge of the epoch are the peat bogs, which
have accumulated in swamps, the calcareous
formations and red earth of caves, the silt cf
fresh-water lakes, the gravel terraces of exist-
ing rivers, and the finer alluvial deposits,
such as brick earth and sand.

Rechabites, Independent Order of. A
beneficial and fraternal order founded in
England in 1835 and in the United States in
1842, for the purpose of encouraging total
abstinence through moral suasion.

Recidivist, an habitual criminal, one who
is apparently incapable of reformation, and
who makes crime a profession.

Recife, or Pernambuco, city, capital of
the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The city,
called the 'Venice of America/ is located at
the mouths of the River Beberibe and Capa-
beribe, and occupies the island of Antonio
Vaz, lying between them and the two farther
shores of both rivers, the three parts of the
city being connected by several artistic
bridges. It is the nearest South American
port to Europe. Recife's export trade is
largely in sugar, cotton, and alcohol. Recife
was founded in 1526 by the Portuguese. In
1630 the whole coast was seized by the
Dutch. Following the separation of Brazil
from Spain, the Portuguese, who had retired