The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 330

Ok.u.mA, COUNT, a j.a.panese, rose into office from the part he took in the j.a.panese Revolution of 1868, held in succession but resigned the offices of Minister of Finance and of Foreign Affairs, organised the Progressive Party in 1881, and entered office again in 1896; organised in 1898 the first government for a time in j.a.pan on a party basis agreeably to his idea.

OLAF, ST., a Norwegian king; wrested the throne from Eric, and set himself to propagate Christianity by fire and sword, excited disaffection among his people, who rebelled and overpowered him with the a.s.sistance of c.n.u.t of Denmark, so that he fled to his brother-in-law, Jaroslav of Russia; by his help he tried to recover the throne, put was defeated and slain, his body being buried in Trondhjem; he was canonised in 1164, and is patron saint of Norway.

OLAuS, the name of three early kings of Sweden and of five of Norway, who figured more or less in the history of their respective countries.

OLBERS, HEINRICH, German astronomer, born near Bremen; discovered five of the comets and the two planetoids Pallas and Vesta (1758-1840).

OLD BAILEY, a Court or Sessions house adjoining NEWGATE (q. v.), in London, for the trial of offences committed within a certain radius round the city, and practically presided over by the Recorder and the Common Serjeant of London, though theoretically by the Lord Mayor, Lord Chancellor, and others.

OLD CATHOLICS, a section of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany and Switzerland that first announced itself in Munich on the declaration in 1870 of the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope, the prime movers in the formation of the protestation against which were Dr. Dollinger and Professor Friedrich, backed by 44 professors of the university; the movement thus begun has not extended itself to any considerable extent.

OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN, a name given to Ha.s.san ben Sabbah, the founder in the 11th century and his successors of a formidable Mohammedan dynasty in Syria, whose residence was in the mountain fastnesses of the country, and whose following was known by the name of a.s.sa.s.sINS (q. v.).

OLD MAN OF THE SEA, a monster Sindbad the Sailor encountered on his fifth voyage, who fastened on his back and so clung to him that he could not shake him off till he made him drunk.

OLD MORTALITY, a character in Scott's novel of the name, the original of which was one Robert Paterson, who, as related of him, went about the country visiting the churchyards, and renewing the moss-covered tombs of the COVENANTERS (q. v.).

OLD NOLL, an epithet applied by his Royalist contemporaries to Oliver Cromwell.

OLDBUCK, JONATHAN, the antiquary in Scott's novel of the name, devoted to the study and collection of old coins, a man with an irritable temper, due to disappointment in a love affair.

OLDBURY (20), a busy manufacturing town in Worcesters.h.i.+re, 3 m. E.

of Dudley, has chemical, iron, and steel works, and factories of various kinds.

OLDCASTLE, SIR JOHN, Lord Cobham, distinguished himself in arms under Henry IV. in 1411, embraced Lollardism, which he could not be prevailed on to renounce, though remonstrated with by Henry V.; was tried for heresies and committed to the Tower, but escaped to Wales; charged with abetting insurrection on religious grounds, and convicted, his body was hung in chains as a traitor, and in this att.i.tude, as a heretic, burned to death in 1417; he was a zealous disciple of Wiclif, and did much to disseminate his principles.

OLDENBURG (355), a German grand-duchy, embracing these three territories: 1, Oldenburg proper, the largest, is let into Hanover with its northern limit on the North Sea; it is a tract of moorland, sand-down, and fen, watered by the Weser, Hunte and tributaries of the Ems; here is the capital, Oldenburg (22), on the Hunte, 30 m. NW. of Bremen, in the midst of meadows, where a famous breed of horses is raised. 2, Lubeck, lying in Holstein, N. of but not including the city of Lubeck. 3, Birkenfeldt, lying among the Hundsruck Mountains, in the S. of Rhenish Prussia; independent since 1180, Danish 1667-1773, Oldenburg acquired Lubeck in 1803, and Birkenfeldt in 1815, when it was raised to the rank of grand-duchy.

OLDHAM (184), on the Medlock, 7 m. NE. of Manchester, is the largest of the cotton manufacturing towns round that centre; it has 300 cotton mills, and manufactures besides silks, velvets, hats, and machinery; there is a lyceum, and a school of science and art.

OLDYS, WILLIAM, bibliographer, was a man of dissolute life, the illegitimate son of a chancellor of Lincoln; he was librarian to the Earl of Oxford for 10 years, and afterwards received the appointment of Norroy king-of-arms; besides many bibliographical and literary articles, he wrote a "Life of Raleigh" and "The Harleian Miscellany" (1696-1761).

OLeRON (17), an island of France, in the Bay of Biscay, at the mouth of the Charente, 11 m. long and from 3 to 7 broad, is separated from the mainland by a shallow, narrow channel.

OLGA, ST., a Scandinavian pagan prince, converted to Christianity and baptized as Helena; laboured for the propagation of the Christian faith among his subjects, was canonised after in 905, and is one of the saints of the Russian Church. Festival, July 21.

OLIFAUNT, NIGEL, the hero in Scott's "Fortunes of Nigel."

OLIPHANT, LAURENCE, religious enthusiast and mystic, born in Perths.h.i.+re; spent his boyhood in Ceylon, where his father was chief-justice; early conceived a fondness for adventure, accompanied Lord Elgin to Was.h.i.+ngton as his secretary, and afterwards to China and j.a.pan; became M.P. for the Stirling Burghs, mingled much in London society, contributed to _Blackwood_, and wrote "Piccadilly," p.r.o.nounced by Mrs.

Oliphant "one of the most brilliant satires on society ever published"; parliamentary people and parliamentary life being nowise to his liking he soon threw both up for life in a community with Harris at Lake Erie, U.S., whence, after two years' probation, he returned to resume life in the wide world; while in France during the Franco-German War, he married one Alice l'Estrange, an alliance which grew into one of the most intimate character; with her he went to Palestine, pitched his tent under the shadow of Mount Carmel, and wrote two mystical books under her inspiration, which abode with him after she was dead; after her decease he married a Miss Owen, that she might help him in his work, but all she had opportunity to do was to minister to him on his deathbed (1829-1888).

OLIPHANT, MRS. MARGARET (_nee_ Wilson), auth.o.r.ess, born at Wallyford, near Musselburgh, a lady of varied abilities and accomplishments, and distinguished in various departments of literature, began her literary career as a novelist and a contributor to _Blackwood_, with which she kept up a lifelong connection; her first work which attracted attention was "Pa.s.sages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland,"

and her first success as a novelist was the "Chronicles of Carlingford"; she wrote on history, biography, and criticism, the "Makers of Florence, of Venice, of Modern Rome," "Lives of Dante, Cervantes, and Edward Irving," among other works, and was engaged on a narrative of the publis.h.i.+ng-house of Blackwood when she died; she might have distinguished herself more had she kept within a more limited range; her last days were days of sorrow under heavy bereavement (1828-1897).

OLIVAREZ, COUNT D', a Spanish statesman, born at Rome, where his father was amba.s.sador; was the confidant and minister of Philip IV., and the political adversary of Richelieu; was one of the ablest statesmen Spain ever had, but was unfortunate in his conduct of foreign affairs (1587-1645).

OLIVER, a favourite paladin of Charlemagne's, who, along with Roland, rode by his side, and whose name, along with Roland's, has pa.s.sed into the phrase, a "Roland for an Oliver," meaning one good masterstroke for another, such as both these knights never failed to deliver.

OLIVES, MOUNT OF, or MOUNT OLIVET, a ridge with three summits, stretching N. and S., E. of Jerusalem, in height 150 ft. above the city, 400 ft. above the intervening valley of Kedron, and 2682 ft. above the sea-level; so called as at one time studded with olive-trees; is celebrated as the scene of some of the most sacred events in the life of Christ.

OLLIVIER, eMILE, French statesman, born at Ma.r.s.eilles; bred for the bar, and eminent at it; became Prime Minister under Louis Napoleon in 1870; precipitated "with a light heart" the country into a war with Germany, to his own overthrow; retired thereafter to Italy, but returned in 1872, and devoted himself to literature; died at Geneva (1825-1876).

OLMuTZ (20), a strongly fortified city in Moravia, and an important centre of trade, and the former capital of the country; suffered severely in the Thirty and the Seven Years' Wars.

OLYMPIA, a plain in a valley in Elis, on the Peloponnesus, traversed by the river Alpheus, and in which the Olympic Games were celebrated every fifth year in honour of Zeus, and adorned with temples (one to Zeus and another to Hera), statues, and public buildings.

OLYMPIAD, a name given to the period of four years between one celebration of the Olympic Games and another, the first recorded dating from July 776 B.C.

OLYMPIAS, the wife of Philip II. of Macedonia, and mother of Alexander the Great; divorced by Philip, who married another, she fled to Epirus, and instigated the a.s.sa.s.sination of Philip and the execution of her rival; returned to Macedonia on the accession of her son, who always treated her with respect, but allowed her no part in public affairs; on his death she dethroned his successor, but driven to bay in her defence afterwards, she was compelled to surrender the power she had a.s.sumed, and was put to death 316 B.C.

OLYMPIC GAMES, were originally open only to compet.i.tors of pure h.e.l.lenic descent, and the reward of the victors was but a wreath of wild olive, though to this their fellow-citizens added more substantial honours; they consisted of foot and chariot races, and feats of strength as well as dexterity. See OLYMPIA.

OLYMPUS, a mountain range in Greece, between Thessaly and Macedonia, the highest peak of which is 9750 ft.; the summit of it was the fabled abode of the Greek G.o.ds; it is clothed with forests of pine and other trees.

OLNEY, a little town in Buckinghams.h.i.+re, a.s.sociated with the life of Cowper, and where he wrote, along with John Newton, the "Olney Hymns."

OM, a mystic word among the Hindus and Buddhists; presumed to be latent with some magic virtue, and used on solemn occasions as a sort of spiritual charm efficacious with the upper powers, and potent to draw down divine a.s.sistance in an hour of need.