_Maud_, I. xvi. 1 (1855).
_Oreäd._ Echo is so called.
=Ore´ades= (4 _syl._) or =O´reads= (3 _syl._), mountain-nymphs.
Ye Cambrian [_Welsh_] shepherds then, whom these our mountains please,
And ye our fellow-nymphs, ye light Oreädês.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, ix. (1612).
=Orel´io=, the favorite horse of King Roderick, the last of the Goths.
’Twas Orelio
On which he rode, Roderick’s own battle-horse,
Who from his master’s hand had wont to feed,
And with a glad docility obey
His voice familiar.
Southey, _Roderick, etc._, xxv. (1814).
=Ores´tes= (3 _syl._), son of Agamemnon, betrothed to Hermi´onê (4
_syl._), daughter of Menela´us (4 _syl._), king of Sparta. At the
downfall of Troy Menelāus promised Hermionê in marriage to Pyrrhus, king
of Epīrus, but Pyrrhus fell in love with Androm´achê, the widow of
Hector, and his captive. An embassy, led by Orestês, was sent to Epirus
to demand that the son of Andromachê should be put to death, lest, as he
grew up, he might seek to avenge his father’s death. Pyrrhus refused to
comply. In this embassage Orestês met Hermionê again, and found her
pride and jealousy aroused to fury by the slight offered her. She goaded
Orestês to avenge her insults, and the ambassadors fell on Pyrrhus and
murdered him. Hermionê, when she saw the dead body of the king borne
along, stabbed herself, and Orestês went raving mad.--Ambrose Philips,
_The Distressed Mother_ (1712).
=Orfeo and Heuro´dis=, the tale of Orpheus and Eurydĭcê, with the Gothic
machinery of elves and fairies.
⁂ Glück has an opera called _Orfeo_; the libretto, by Calzabigi, based
on a dramatic piece by Poliziano (1764).
=Orgari´ta=, “the orphan of the Frozen Sea,” heroine of a drama. (See
MARTHA.)--Stirling, _The Orphan of the Frozen Sea_ (1856).
=Or´gilus=, the betrothed lover of Penthe´a, by the consent of her father;
but, at the death of her father, her brother, Ith´oclês, compelled her
to marry Bass´anês, whom she hated. Ithoclês was about to marry the
princess of Sparta, but a little before the event was to take place
Penthea starved herself to death, and Orgilus was condemned to death for
murdering Ithoclês.--John Ford, _The Broken Heart_ (1633).
=Orgoglio= [_Or.gole´.yo_], a hideous giant, as tall as three men, son of
Earth and Wind. Finding the Red Cross Knight at the fountain of Idleness
he beats him with a club, and makes him his slave. Una informs Arthur of
it, and Arthur liberates the knight and slays the giant (_Rev._ xiii. 5,
7, with _Dan._ vii. 21, 22).--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, i. (1590).
⁂ Arthur first cut off Orgoglio’s _left arm_, _i. e._ Bohemia was cut
off first from the Church of Rome; then he cut off the giant’s _right
leg_, _i. e._ England.
=Orgon=, brother-in-law of Tartuffe (2 _syl._). His credulity and faith in
Tartuffe, like that of his mother, can scarcely be shaken even by the
evidence of his senses. He hopes against hope, and fights every inch of
ground in defence of the religious hypocrite.--Molière, _Tartuffe_
(1664).
=Oria´na=, daughter of Lisuarte, king of England, and spouse of Am´adis of
Gaul (bk. ii. 6). The general plot of this series of romances bears on
this marriage, and tells of the thousand and one obstacles from rivals,
giants, sorcerers and so on, which had to be overcome before the
consummation could be effected. It is in this unity of plot that the
Amadis series differs from its predecessors--the Arthurian romances, and
those of the paladins of Charlemagne, which are detached adventures,
each complete in itself, and not bearing to any common focus.--_Amadis
de Gaul_ (fourteenth century).
⁂ Queen Elizabeth is called “the peerless Oriana,” especially in the
madrigals entitled _The Triumphs of Oriana_ (1601). Ben Jonson applies
the name to the queen of James I. (_Oriens Anna_).
_Oriana_, the nursling of a lioness, with whom Esplandian fell in love,
and for whom he underwent all his perils and exploits. She was the
gentlest, fairest, and most faithful of her sex.--Lobeira, _Amadis de
Gaul_ (fourteenth century).
_Orian´a_, the fair, brilliant, and witty “chaser” of the “wild goose”
Mirabel, to whom she is betrothed, and whose wife she ultimately
becomes.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Wild-Goose Chase_ (1652).
_Oriana_, the ward of old Mirabel, and bound by contract to her
guardian’s son whom she loves; but young Mirabel shilly-shallies, till
he gets into trouble with Lamorce (3 _syl._), and is in danger of being
murdered, when Oriana, dressed as a page, rescues him. He then declared
that his “inconstancy has had a lesson,” and he marries the lady.--G.
Farquhar, _The Inconstant_ (1702).
_Oriana_, in Tennyson’s ballad so called, “stood on the castle wall,” to
see her spouse, a Norland chief, fight. A foeman went between “the
chief, and the wall,” and discharged an arrow, which, glancing aside,
pierced the lady’s heart and killed her. The ballad is the lamentation
of the spouse on the death of his bride (1830).
=O´riande= (3 _syl._), a fay who lived at Rosefleur, and was brought up by
Maugis d’Aygremont. When her _protégé_ grew up, she loved him, “d’un si
grand amour, qu’elle doute fort qu’il ne se departe d’avecques
elle.”--_Romance de Maujis d’Aygremont et de Vivian son Frère._
=O´riel=, a fairy, whose empire lay along the banks of the Thames, when
King Oberon held his court in Kensington Gardens.--Tickell, _Kensington
Gardens_ (1686-1740).
=Orient= (_The_). In _The New Priest of Conception Bay_, Fanny Dare sings
to little Mary Barré how the good ship _Orient_ was wrecked.
“Woe for the brave ship Orient!
Woe for the old ship Orient!
For in the broad, broad light
With the land in sight,--
Where the waters bubbled white,--
One great, sharp shriek!--one shudder of affright!
And----
down went the brave old ship, the Orient!”
Robert Lowell, _The New Priest of Conception Bay_ (1858).
=Oriflamme=, the banner of St. Denis. When the counts of Vexin became
possessed of the abbey, the banner passed into their hands, and when, in
1082, Philippe I. united Vexin to the crown, the oriflamme or sacred
banner belonged to the king. In 1119 it was first used as a national
banner. It consists of a crimson silk flag, mounted on a gilt staff (_un
glaive tout doré où est attaché une banière vermeille_). The loose end
is cut into three wavy vandykes, to represent tongues of flame, and a
silk tassel is hung at each cleft. In war the display of this standard
indicates that no quarter will be given. The English standard of no
quarter was the “burning dragon.”
Raoul de Presle says it was used in the time of Charlemagne, being the
gift of the patriarch of Jerusalem. We are told that all infidels were
blinded who looked upon it. Froissart says it was displayed at the
battle of Rosbecq, in the reign of Charles VI., and “no sooner was it
unfurled than the fog cleared away, and the sun shone on the French
alone.”
I have not reared the Oriflamme of death.
... me it behooves
To spare the fallen foe.
Southey, _Joan of Arc_, viii. 621, etc. (1837).
=Origilla=, the lady-love of Gryphon, brother of Aquilant; but the
faithless fair one took up with Martāno, a most impudent boaster and a
coward. Being at Damascus during a tournament in which Gryphon was the
victor, Martano stole the armor of Gryphon, arrayed himself in it, took
the prizes, and then decamped with the lady. Aquilant happened to see
them, bound them, and took them back to Damascus, where Martano was
hanged, and the lady kept in bondage for the judgment of
Lucīna.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
=Orillo=, a magician and robber, who lived at the mouth of the Nile. He
was the son of an imp and fairy. When any one of his limbs was lopped
off, he had the power of restoring it; and when his head was cut off, he
could take it up and replace it. When Astolpho encountered this
magician, he was informed that his life lay in one particular hair; so
instead of seeking to maim his adversary, Astolpho cut off the magic
hair, and the magician fell lifeless at his feet.--Ariosto, _Orlando
Furioso_ (1516).
=Orinda=, “the incomparable,” Mrs. Katherine Philipps, who lived in the
reign of Charles II., and died of small-pox.
⁂ Her praises were sung by Cowley, Dryden, and others.
We allowed you beauty, and we did submit ...
Ah, cruel sex, will you depose us too in wit?
Orinda does in that too reign.
Cowley, _On Orinda’s Poems_ (1647).
=Ori´on=, a giant of great beauty, and a famous hunter, who cleared the
island of Chios of wild beasts. While in the island, Orion fell in love
with Merŏpê, daughter of king Œnop´ion; but one day, in a drunken fit,
having offered her violence, the king put out the giant’s eyes, and
drove him from the island. Orion was told if he would travel eastward,
and expose his sockets to the rising sun, he would recover his sight.
Guided by the sound of a Cyclop’s hammer, he reached Lemnos, where
Vulcan gave him a guide to the abode of the sun. In due time, his sight
returned to him, and at death he was made a constellation. The lion’s
skin was an emblem of the wild beasts which he slew in Chios, and the
club was the instrument he employed for the purpose.
He [_Orion_]
Reeled as of yore beside the sea,
When, blinded by Œnopion,
He sought the blacksmith at his forge,
And, climbing up the mountain gorge,
Fixed his blank eyes upon the sun.
Longfellow, _The Occultation of Orion_.
_Orion and the Blacksmith._ The reference is to the blacksmith mentioned
in the preceding article, whom Orion took on his back to act as guide
to the place where the rising sun might be best seen.
_Orion’s Dogs_ were Arctophŏnus (“the bear-killer”) and Ptoophăgos (“the
glutton of Ptoon,” in Bœōtia).
_Orion’s Wife_, Sidê.
_Orion._ After Orion has set in the west, _Aurīga_ (the Charioteer) and
_Gem´ini_ (Castor and Pollux) are still visible. Hence Tennyson says:
... the Charioteer
And starry Gemini hang like glorious crowns
Over Orion’s grave low down in the west.
_Maud_, III. vi. 1 (1855).
_Orion_, a seraph, the guardian angel of Simon Peter.--Klopstock, _The
Messiah_, iii. (1748).
=Orith´yia= or =Orith´ya=, daughter of Erectheus, carried off by Boreas to
Thrace.
Such, dalliance as alone the North wind hath with her,
Orithya not enjoyed, from Thrace when he her took,
And in his saily plumes the trembling virgin shook.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, x. (1612).
Phineas Fletcher calls the word “Orithy´a.”
None knew mild zephyr’s from cold Eurus’ mouth,
Nor Orithya’s lover’s violence [_North wind_].
_Purple Island_, i. (1633).
=Orlando=, the younger son of Sir Rowland de Bois [_Bwor_]. At the death
of his father, he was left under the care of his elder brother, Oliver,
who was charged to treat him well; but Oliver hated him, wholly neglected
his education, and even tried by many indirect means to kill him. At
length, Orlando fled to the forest of Arden´, where he met Rosalind and
Celia in disguise. They had met before at a wrestling match, when
Orlando and Rosalind fell in love with each other. The acquaintance was
renewed in the forest, and ere many days had passed the two ladies
resumed their proper characters, and both were married, Rosalind to
Orlando, and Celia to Oliver, the elder brother.--Shakespeare, _As You
Like It_ (1598).
_Orlando_ (in French ROLAND, _q.v._), one of the paladins of
Charlemagne, whose nephew he was. Orlando was confiding and loyal, of
great stature, and possessed unusual strength. He accompanied his uncle
into Spain, but on his return was waylaid in the valley of Roncesvallês
(in the Pyrenees) by the traitor Ganelon, and perished with all his
army, A.D. 778. His adventures are related in Turpin’s _Chronique;_ in
the _Chanson de Roland_, attributed to Théroulde. He is the hero of
Bojardo’s epic, _Orlando Innamorato_; and of Ariosto’s continuation
called _Orlando Furioso_ (“Orlando mad”). Robert Greene, in 1594,
produced a drama which he called _The History of Orlando_. Rhode’s farce
of _Bombastês Furioso_ (1790) is a burlesque of Ariosto’s _Orlando
Furioso_.
_Orlando’s Ivory Horn_, Olifant, once the property of Alexander the
Great. Its bray could be heard for twenty miles.
_Orlando’s Horse_, Brigliadoro (“golden bridal”).
_Orlando’s Sword_, Durinda´na or Durandana, which once belonged to
Hector, is “preserved at Rocamadour, in France; and his spear is still
shown in the cathedral of Pa´via, in Italy.”
Orlando was of middling stature, broad-shouldered, crooked-legged,
brown-visaged, red-bearded, and had much hair on his body. He
talked but little, and had a very surly aspect, although he was
perfectly good-humored.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. i. 1 (1615).
_Orlando’s Vulnerable Part._ Orlando was invulnerable except in the sole
of his foot, and even there nothing could wound him but the point of a
large pin; so that when Bernardo del Carpio assailed him at
Roncesvallês, he took him in his arms and squeezed him to death, in
imitation of Herculês, who squeezed to death the giant Antæ´us (3
_syl._).--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II. ii. 13 (1615).
=Orlando Furioso=, a continuation of Bojardo’s story, with the same hero.
Bojardo leaves Orlando in love with Angelica, whom he fetched from
Cathay and brought to Paris. Here, says Ariosto, Rinaldo falls in love
with her, and, to prevent mischief, the king placed the coquette under
the charge of Namus; but she contrived to escape her keeper, and fled to
the island of Ebūda, where Rogēro found her exposed to a sea-monster,
and liberated her. In the mean time, Orlando went in search of his lady,
was decoyed into the enchanted castle of Atlantês, but was liberated by
Angelica, who again succeeded in effecting her escape to Paris. Here she
arrived just after a great battle between the Christians and pagans,
and, finding Medōra, a Moor, wounded, took care of him, fell in love
with him, and eloped with him to Cathay. When Orlando found himself
jilted, he was driven mad with jealousy and rage, or rather his wits
were taken from him for three months by way of punishment, and deposited
in the moon. Astolpho went to the moon in Elijah’s chariot, and St. John
gave him “the lost wits” in an urn. On reaching France Astolpho bound
the madman, then, holding the urn to his nose, the wits returned to
their nidus, and the hero was himself again. After this, the siege was
continued, and the Christians were wholly successful. (See ORLANDO
INNAMORATO.)--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
⁂ This romance in verse extends to forty-six cantos. Hoole, in his
translation, has compressed the forty-six cantos into twenty-four books;
but Rose has retained the original number. The adventures of Orlando,
under the French form “Roland,” are related by Turpin in his
_Chronicle_, and by Théroulde in his _Chanson de Roland_.
⁂ The true hero of Ariosto’s romance is Rogēro, and not Orlando. It is
with Rogero’s victory over Rodomont that the poem ends. The concluding
lines are:
Then at full stretch he [_Rogero_] raised his arm above
The furious Rodomont, and the weapon drove
Thrice in his gaping throat--so ends the strife,
And leaves secure Rogero’s fame and life.
=Orlando Innamora´to=, or _Orlando in love_, in three books, by Count
Bojardo, of Scandiano, in Italy (1495). Bojardo supposes Charlemagne to
be warring against the Saracens in France, under the walls of Paris. He
represents the city to be besieged by two infidel hosts--one under
Agramantê, emperor of Africa, and the other under Gradasso, king of
Sirica´na. His hero is Orlando, whom he supposes (though married at the
time to Aldebella) to be in love with Angelica, a fascinating coquette
from Cathay, whom Orlando had brought to France. (See ORLANDO FURIOSO.)
⁂ Berni of Tuscany, in 1538, published a burlesque in verse on the same
subject.
=Orleans=, a most passionate innamorato, in love with Agripy´na.--Thomas
Dekker, _Old Fortunatus_ (1600).
Orleans talks “pure Biron and Romeo;” he is almost as poetical as
they, quite as philosophical, only a little madder.--C. Lamb.
(“Biron,” in Shakespeare’s _Love’s Labor’s Lost_; “Romeo,” in his _Romeo
and Juliet_.)
_Orleans_ (_Gaston, duke of_), brother of Louis XIII. He heads a
conspiracy to assassinate Richelieu and dethrone the king. If the plot
had been successful, Gaston was to have been made regent; but the
conspiracy was discovered, and the duke was thwarted in his ambitious
plans.--Lord Lytton, _Richelieu_ (1839).
_Orleans_ (_Louis, duc d’_), to whom the Princess Joan (daughter of
Louis XI.) is affianced.--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward
IV.).
=Orlick= (_Dolge_), usually called “Old Orlick,” though not above five and
twenty, journeyman to Joe Gargery, blacksmith. Obstinate, morose,
broad-shouldered, loose-limbed, swarthy, of great strength, never in a
hurry, and always slouching. Being jealous of Pip, he allured him to a
hut in the marshes, bound him to a ladder, and was about to kill him,
when, being alarmed by approaching steps, he fled. Subsequently, he
broke into Mr. Pumblechook’s house, was arrested, and confined in the
county jail. This surly, ill-conditioned brute was in love with Biddy,
but Biddy married Joe Gargery.--C. Dickens, _Great Expectations_ (1860).
=Orloff Diamond= (_The_), the third largest cut diamond in the world, set
in the top of the Russian sceptre. The weight of this magnificent
diamond is 194 carats, and its size is that of a pigeon’s egg. It was
once one of the eyes of the idol Sheringham, in the temple of Brahma;
came into the hands of the Shah Nadir; was stolen by a French grenadier
and sold to an English sea-captain for £2000; the captain sold it to a
Jew for £12,000; it next passed into the hands of Shafras; and in 1775,
Catherine II. of Russia gave for it £90,000. (See DIAMONDS.)
=Or´mandine= (3 _syl._), the necromancer who threw St. David into an
enchanted sleep for seven years, from which he was reclaimed by St.
George.--R. Johnson, _The Seven Champions of Christendom_, i. 9 (1617).
=Orme= (_Victor_), a poor gentleman in love with Elsie.--Wybert Reeve,
_Parted_.
=Ormond= (_The duke of_), a privy councillor of Charles II.--Sir W. Scott,
_Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
=Ormston= (_Jock_), a sheriff’s officer at Fairport.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
=Ornithol´ogy= (_The Father of_), George Edwards (1693-1773).
=Oroma´zes= (4 _syl._), the principle of good in Persian mythology. Same
as Yezad (_q.v._).
=Oroonda´tes= (5 _syl._), only son of a Scythian king, whose love for
Statīra (widow of Alexander the Great) led him into numerous dangers and
difficulties, which, however, he surmounted.--La Calprenède, _Cassandra_
(a romance).
=Oroono´ko= (_Prince_), son and heir of the king of Angola, and general of
the forces. He was decoyed by Captain Driver aboard his ship; his suite
of twenty men were made drunk with rum; the ship weighed anchor; and the
prince, with all his men, were sold as slaves in one of the West Indian
Islands. Here Oroonoko met Imoin´da (3 _syl._), his wife, from whom he
had been separated, and whom he thought was dead. He headed a rising of
the slaves, and the lieutenant-governor tried to seduce Imoinda. The
result was that Imoinda killed herself, and Oroonoko (3 _syl._) slew
first the lieutenant-governor and then himself. Mrs. Aphra Behn became
acquainted with the prince at Surinam, and made the story of his life
the basis of a novel, which Thomas Southern dramatized (1696).
=Orozem´bo=, a brave and dauntless old Peruvian. When captured and brought
before the Spanish invaders, Orozembo openly defied them, and refused to
give any answer to their questions (act i. 1).--Sheridan, _Pizarro_
(altered from Kotzebue, 1799).
=Orpas=, once archbishop at Sev´ille. At the overthrow of the Gothic
kingdom in Spain, Orpas joined the Moors and turned Moslem. Of all the
renegades “the foulest and the falsest wretch was he that e’er renounced
his baptism.” He wished to marry Florinda, daughter of Count Julian, in
order to secure “her wide domains;” but Florinda loathed him. In the
Moorish council Orpas advised Abulcacem to cut off Count Julian, “whose
power but served him for fresh treachery; false to Roderick first, and
to the caliph now.” This advice was acted on; but, as the villain left
the tent, Abulcacem muttered to himself, “Look for a like reward
thyself; that restless head of wickedness in the grave will brood no
treason.”--Southey, _Roderick, etc._, xx., xxii. (1814).
=Orphan of China=, a drama by Murphy. Zaphimri, the sole survivor of the
royal race of China, was committed in infancy to Zamti, the mandarin,
that he might escape from the hand of Ti´murkan´, the Tartar conqueror.
Zamti brought up Zaphimri as his son, and sent Hamet, his real son, to
Corea, where he was placed under the charge of Morat. Twenty years
afterwards, Hamet led a band of insurgents against Timurkan, was seized,
and ordered to be put to death under the notion that he was “the orphan
of China.” Zaphimri, hearing thereof, went to the Tartar and declared
that he, not Hamet, was the real prince; whereupon Timurkan ordered
Zamti and his wife, Mandānê, with Hamet and Zaphimri, to be seized.
Zamti and Mandanê were ordered to the torture, to wring from them the
truth. In the interim, a party of insurgent Chinese rushed into the
palace, killed the king, and established “the orphan of China” on the
throne of his fathers (1759).
=Orphan of the Frozen Sea=, Martha, the daughter of Ralph de Lascours
(captain of the _Uran´ia_) and his wife, Louise. The crew having
rebelled, the three, with their servant, Bar´abas, were cast adrift in a
boat, which ran on an iceberg in the Frozen Sea. Ralph thought it was a
small island, but the iceberg broke up, both Ralph and his wife were
drowned, but Barabas and Martha escaped. Martha was taken by an Indian
tribe, which brought her up and named her Orgari´ta (“withered wheat”),
from her white complexion. In Mexico she met with her sister, Diana, and
her grandmother, Mde. de Theringe (2 _syl._), and probably married
Horace de Brienne.--E. Stirling, _Orphan of the Frozen Sea_ (1856).
=Orphan of the Temple=, Marie Thérèse Charlotte, duchess d’Angoulême,
daughter of Louis XVI.; so called from the Temple, where she was
imprisoned. She was called “The Modern Antig´onê” by her uncle, Louis
XVIII.
=Orphant Annie.= A bound girl, who is credited by _l’enfant terrible_ of
the household with the goblin-lore he lavishes upon a visitor, this
being the moral:
“You better mind yer parents and yer teachers fond and dear,
An’ churish ’em ’at loves you an’ dry the orphant’s tear,
An’ he’p the poor an’ needy ones ’at clusters all about,
Er the gobble-uns ’ll git you
Ef you
Don’t
Watch
Out!”
James Whitcomb Riley, _The Boss Girl and Other Sketches_ (1886).
=Orpheus.= (For a parallel fable, see WAINAMOINEN.)
=Orpheus and Eurydice= (4 _syl._), Glück’s best opera (_Orfeo_). Libretto
by Calzabigi, who also wrote for Glück the libretto of _Alceste_ (1767).
King produced an English version of _Orpheus and Eurydice_.
⁂ The tale is introduced by Pope in his _St. Cecilia’s Ode_.
Of Orpheus now no more let poets tell,
To bright Cecilia greater power is given;
His numbers raised a shade from hell,
Hers lift the soul to heaven.
Pope, _St. Cecilia’s Day_ (1709).
=Orpheus of Highwaymen=, John Gay, author of _The Beggar’s Opera_
(1688-1732).
=Orpheus of the Green Isle= (_The_), Furlough[TN-50] O’Carolan, poet and
musician (1670-1738).
=Or´raca= (_Queen_), wife of Affonso II. The legend says that five friars
of Morocco, went to her, and said, “Three things we prophesy to you: (1)
we five shall all suffer martyrdom; (2) our bodies will be brought to
Coimbra; and (3) which ever see our relics the first, you or the king,
will die the same day.” When their bodies were brought to Coimba,[TN-51]
the king told Queen Orraca she must join the procession with him. She
pleaded illness, but Affonso replied the relics would cure her; so they
started on their journey. As they were going, the queen told the king to
speed on before, as she could not travel so fast; so he speeded on with
his retinue, and started a boar on the road. “Follow him!” cried the
king, and they went after the boar and killed it. In the mean time, the
queen reached the procession, fully expecting her husband had joined it
long ago; but lo! she beheld him riding up with great speed. That night
the king was aroused at midnight with the intelligence that the queen
was dead.--Southey, _Queen Orraca_ (1838); Francisco Manoel da
Esperança, _Historia Sarafica_ (eightteenth[TN-52] century).
=Orrock= (_Puggie_), a sheriff’s officer at Fairport.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Antiquary_ (time, George III.).
=Orsin=, one of the leaders of the rabble rout that attacked Hudibras at
the bear-baiting.--S. Butler, _Hudibras_ (1663).
=Orsi´ni= (_Maffio_), a young Italian nobleman, whose life was saved by
Genna´ro at the battle of Rim´ini. Orsini became the fast friend of
Gennaro, but both were poisoned by the Princess Neg´roni at a
banquet.--Donizetti, _Lucrezia di Borgia_ (opera, 1834).
=Orsi´no=, duke of Illyria, who sought the love of Olivia, a rich
countess; but Olivia gave no encouragement to his suit, and the duke
moped and pined, leaving manly sports for music and other effeminate
employments. Viola entered the duke’s service as a page, and soon
became a great favorite. When Olivia married Sebastian (Viola’s
brother), and the sex of Viola became known, the duke married her, and
made her duchess of Illyria.--Shakespeare, _Twelfth Night_ (1614).
=Orson=, twin brother of Valentine, and son of Bellisant. The
twin-brothers were born in a wood near Orleans, and Orson was carried
off by a bear, which suckled him with its cubs. When he grew up he
became the terror of France, and was called “The Wild Man of the
Forest.” Ultimately, he was reclaimed by his brother Valentine,
overthrew the Green Knight, and married Fezon, daughter of the duke of
Savary, in Aquitane.--_Valentine and Orson_ (fifteenth century).
=Orson and Ellen.= Young Orson was a comely young farmer from Taunton,
stout as an oak, and very fond of the lasses, but he hated matrimony,
and used to say, “the man who can buy milk is a fool to keep a cow.”
While still a lad, Orson made love to Ellen, a rustic maiden; but, in
the fickleness of youth, forsook her for a richer lass, and Ellen left
the village, wandered far away, and became waiting maid to old Boniface,
the innkeeper. One day Orson happened to stop at this very inn, and
Ellen waited on him. Five years had passed since they had seen each
other, and at first neither knew the other. When, however, the facts
were known, Orson made Ellen his wife, and their marriage feast was
given by Boniface himself.--Peter Pindar [Dr. Wolcot], _Orson and Ellen_
(1809).
=Ortel´lius= (_Abraham_), a Dutch geographer, who published in 1570, his
_Theatrum Orbis Terræ_, or _Universal Geography_ (1527-1598).
I more could tell to prove the place our own,
Than by his spacious maps are by Ortellius shown.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, vi. (1612).
=Ortheris=, cockney companion of Mulvaney. He suffers violently from
homesickness in India.--Rudyard Kipling, _Soldiers Three_.
=Orthodoxy.= When Lord Sandwich said, “he did not know the difference
between orthodoxy and heterodoxy,” Warburton, bishop of Gloucester,
replied, “Orthodoxy, my lord, is _my_ doxy, and heterodoxy is _another
man’s_ doxy.”
_Orthodoxy_ (_The Father of_), Athanasius (296-373).
=Orthrus=, the two-headed dog of Euryt´ion, the herdsman of Geryon´eo. It
was the progeny of Typha´on and Echidna.
With his two-headed dogge that Orthrus hight,
Orthrus begotten by great Typhaon
And foule Echidna in the house of Night.
Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, v., 10 (1596).
=Ortwine= (2 _syl._), knight of Metz, sister’s son of Sir Hagan of Trony,
a Burgundian.--_The Nibelungen Lied_ (eleventh century).
=Or´ville= (_Lord_), the amiable and devoted lover of Evelina, whom he
ultimately marries.--Miss Burney, _Evelina_ (1778).
=Osbaldistone= (_Mr._), a London merchant.
_Frank Osbaldistone_, his son, in love with Diana Vernon, whom he
marries.
_Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone_, of Osbaldistone Hall, uncle of Frank, his
heir.
_His Sons_ were: Percival, “the sot;” Thorncliffe, “the bully;” John,
“the gamekeeper;” Richard, “the horse-jockey:”[TN-53] Wilfred, “the
fool;” and Rashleigh, “the scholar,” a perfidious villain killed by Rob
Roy.--Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).
_Rob Roy Macgregor_ was dramatized by Pocock.
=Osborne= (_Mr._), a hard, money-loving, purse-proud, wealthy London
merchant, whose only gospel was that “according to Mammon.” He was a
widower, and his heart of hearts was to see his son, Captain George,
marry a rich mulatto. While his neighbor, Sedley, was prosperous, old
Sedley encouraged the love-making of George and Miss Sedley; but when
old Sedley failed, and George dared to marry the bankrupt’s daughter, to
whom he was engaged, the old merchant disinherited him. Captain George
fell on the field of Waterloo, but the heart of old Osborne would not
relent, and he allowed the widow to starve in abject poverty. He
adopted, however, the widow’s son George, and brought him up in absurd
luxury and indulgence. A more detestable cad than old Sedley cannot be
imagined.
_Maria_ and _Jane Osborne_, daughters of the merchant, and of the same
mould. Maria married Frederick Bullock, a banker’s son.
_Captain George Osborne_, son of the merchant; selfish, vain,
extravagant, and self-indulgent. He was engaged to Amelia Sedley, while
her father was in prosperity, and Captain Dobbin induced him to marry
her after the father was made a bankrupt. Happily, George fell on the
field of Waterloo, or one would never vouch for his conjugal
fidelity.--Thackeray, _Vanity Fair_ (1848).
=Oscar=, son of Ossian and grandson of Fingal. He was engaged to Malvi´na,
daughter of Toscar, but before the day of marriage arrived, he was
slain in Ulster, fighting against Cairbar, who had treacherously invited
him to a banquet and then slew him, A.D. 296. Oscar is represented as
most brave, warm-hearted, and impetuous, most submissive to his father,
tender to Malvina, and a universal favorite.
_Oscar Roused from Sleep._ “Caolt took up a huge stone and hurled it on
the hero’s head. The hill for three miles round shook with the
reverberation of the blow, and the stone, rebounding, rolled out of
sight. Whereupon Oscar awoke, and told Caolt to reserve his blows for
his enemies.”
Gun thog Caoilte a chlach nach gàn,
Agus a n’ aighai’ chiean gun bhuail;
Tri mil an tulloch gun chri.
_Gaelic Romances._
=Oscar Dubourg.= Amiable, affectionate young fellow, betrothed to blind
Lucilla Finch. To cure the epilepsy attendant upon an injury to his
head, he takes nitrate of silver, concealing the discoloration of his
complexion caused by the drug from the knowledge of his betrothed, who
has a nervous horror of ugliness and deformity. When she regains her
sight, he leaves her because he dares not disclose the truth that she
has mistaken his brother for himself, and does not enter her presence
until her sight again leaves her.--Wilkie Collins, _Poor Miss Finch_.
=Os´ewald= (3 _syl._), the reeve, of “the carpenteres craft,” an old
man.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ (1388).
=Oseway= (_Dame_), the ewe, in the beast-epic of _Reynard the Fox_ (1498).
=O’Shanter= (_Tam_), a farmer, who, returning home from Ayr very late and
well-soaked with liquor, had to pass the kirk of Alloway. Seeing it was
illuminated, he peeped in, and saw there the witches and devils dancing,
while old Clootie was blowing the bagpipes. Tam got so excited that he
roared out to one of the dancers, “Weel done, Cutty Sark!” In a moment
all was dark. Tam now spurred his “grey mare Meg” to the top of her
speed, while all the fiends chased after him. The river Doon was near,
and Tam just reached the middle of the bridge when one of the witches,
whom he called Cutty Sark, reached him; but it was too late--he had
passed the _middle_ of the stream, and was out of the power of the crew.
Not so his mare’s tail--that had not yet passed the magic line, and
Cutty Sark, clinging thereto, dragged it off with an infernal
wrench.--R. Burns, _Tam O’Shanter_.
=Osi´ris=, judge of the dead, brother and husband of Isis. Osiris is
identical with Adonis and Thammuz. All three represent the sun, six
months above the equator, and six months below it. Adonis passed six
months with Aphrodītê in heaven, and six months with Persephŏnê in hell.
So Osiris in heaven was the beloved of Isis, but in the land of darkness
was embraced by Nepthys.
_Osiris_, the sun; Isis, the moon.
They [_the priests_] wore rich mitres shaped like the moon,
To show that Isis doth the moon portend,
Like as Osiris signifies the sun.
Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, v. 7 (1596).
=Osman=, sultan of the East, the great conqueror of the Christians, a man
of most magnanimous mind and of noble generosity. He loved Zara, a young
Christian captive, and was by her beloved with equal ardor and
sincerity. Zara was the daughter of Lusignan d’Outremer, a Christian
king of Jerusalem; she was taken prisoner by Osman’s father, with her
elder brother, Nerestan, then four years old. After twenty years’
captivity, Nerestan was sent to France for ransom, and on his return
presented himself before the sultan, who fancied he perceived a sort of
intimacy between the young man and Zara, which excited his suspicion and
jealousy. A letter, begging that Zara would meet him in a “secret
passage” of the seraglio, fell into the sultan’s hands, and confirmed
his suspicions. Zara went to the rendezvous, where Osman met her and
stabbed her to the heart. Nerestan was soon brought before him, and told
him he had murdered his sister, and all he wanted of her was to tell her
of the death of her father, and to bring her his dying benediction.
Stung with remorse, Osman liberated all his Christian captives, and then
stabbed himself.--Aaron Hill, _Zara_ (1735).
⁂ This tragedy is an English adaptation of Voltaire’s _Zaïre_ (1733).
=Osmand=, a necromancer, who, by enchantment, raised up an army to resist
the Christians. Six of the champions were enchanted by Osmand, but St.
George restored them. Osmand tore off his hair, in which lay his spirit
of enchantment, bit his tongue in two, disembowelled himself, cut off
his arms, and died.--R. Johnson, _Seven Champions of Christendom_, i. 19
(1617).
=Osmond=, an old Varangian guard.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_
(time, Rufus).
_Osmond_ (_Gilbert_), the incarnation of polished selfishness. He
deserts one woman, who has sacrificed everything for him, and marries
Isabel Archer for her money; eyes his only child as he might a pretty
puppet, and sends her back to her convent upon finding that she will not
increase his social consequence by marrying an English nobleman.--Henry
James, Jr., _Portrait of a Lady_ (1881).
=Osmyn=, _alias_ ALPHONSO, son of Anselmo, king of Valentia, and husband
of Alme´ria, daughter of Manuel, king of Grana´da. Supposed to have been
lost at sea, but in reality cast on the African coast, and tended by
Queen Zara, who falls in love with him. Both are taken captive by
Manuel, and brought to Granada. Here Manuel falls in love with Zara, but
Zara retains her passionate love for Alphonso. Alphonso makes his
escape, returns at the head of an army to Granada, finds both the king
and Zara dead, but Almeria, being still alive, becomes his acknowledged
bride.--W. Congreve, _The Mourning Bride_ (1697).
=Osric=, a court fop, contemptible for his affectation and finical
dandyism. He is made umpire by King Claudius, when Laertês and Hamlet
“play” with rapiers in “friendly” combat.--Shakespeare, _Hamlet_ (1596).
=Osse´o=, son of the Evening Star, whose wife was O´weenee. In the
Northland there were once ten sisters of surpassing beauty; nine married
beautiful young husbands, but the youngest, named Oweenee, fixed her
affections on Osseo, who was “old, poor and ugly,” but “most beautiful
within.” All being invited to a feast, the nine set upon their youngest
sister, taunting her for having married Osseo; but forthwith Osseo
leaped into a fallen oak, and was transformed into a most handsome young
man, his wife to a very old woman, “wrinkled and ugly,” but his love
changed not. Soon another change occurred; Oweenee resumed her former
beauty, and all the sisters and their husbands were changed to birds,
who were kept in cages about Osseo’s wigwam. In due time a son was born,
and one day he shot an arrow at one of the caged birds, and forthwith
the nine, with their husbands, were changed to pygmies.
From the story of Osseo
Let [_us_] learn the fate of jesters.
Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, xii. (1855).
=Ossian=, the warrior-bard. He was son of Fingal (king of Morven) and his
first wife, Ros-crana (daughter of Cormac, king of Ireland).
His wife was Evir-Allen, daughter of Branno (a native of Ireland); and
his son was Oscar.
=Oswald=, steward to Goneril, daughter of King Lear.--Shakespeare, _King
Lear_ (1605).
_Oswald_, the cup-bearer to Cedric, the Saxon, of Rotherwood.--Sir W.
Scott, _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).
_Oswald_ (_Prince_), being jealous of Gondibert, his rival for the love
of Rhodalind (the heiress of Aribert, king of Lombardy), headed a
faction against him. A battle was imminent, but it was determined to
decide the quarrel by four combatants on each side. In this combat
Oswald was slain by Grondibert.[TN-54]--Sir W. Davenant, _Gondibert_, i.
(died 1668).
=Othel´lo=, the Moor, commander of the Venetian army. Iago was his ensign
or ancient. Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio, the senator, fell in
love with the Moor, and he married her; but Iago, by his artful
villainy, insinuated to him such a tissue of circumstantial evidence of
Desdemona’s love for Cassio, that Othello’s jealousy being aroused, he
smothered her with a pillow, and then killed himself.--Shakespeare,
_Othello_ (1611).
⁂ The story of this tragedy is taken from the novelletti of Giovanni
Giraldi Cinthio (died 1573).
Addison says of Thomas Betterton (1635-1710): “The wonderful agony which
he appeared in when he examined the circumstance of the handkerchief in
the part of ‘Othello,’ and the mixture of love that intruded on his mind
at the innocent answers of ‘Desdemona,’ ... were the perfection of
acting.” Donaldson, in his _Recollections_, says that Spranger Barry
(1719-1777) was the beau-ideal of an “Othello;” and C. Leslie, in his
_Autobiography_, says the same of Edmund Kean (1787-1833).
=Otho=, the lord at whose board Count Lara was recognized by Sir Ezzelin.
A duel was arranged for the next day, and the contending parties were to
meet in Lord Otho’s hall. When the time of meeting arrived, Lara
presented himself, but no Sir Ezzelin put in his appearance; whereupon
Otho, vouching for the knight’s honor, fought with the count, and was
wounded. On recovering from his wound, Lord Otho became the inveterate
enemy of Lara, and accused him openly of having made away with Sir
Ezzelin. Lara made himself very popular, and headed a rebellion; but
Lord Otho opposed the rebels, and shot him.--Byron, _Lara_ (1814).
=Otnit=, a legendary emperor of Lombardy, who gains the daughter of the
soldan for wife, by the help of Elberich, the dwarf.--_The Heldenbuch_
(twelfth century).
=Otranto= (_Tancred, prince of_), a crusader.
_Ernest of Otranto_, page of the prince of Otranto.--Sir W. Scott,
_Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).
_Otranto_ (_The Castle of_), a romance by Horace Walpole (1769).
=O’Trigger= (_Sir Lucius_), a fortune-hunting Irishman, ready to fight
every one, on any matter, at any time.--Sheridan, _The Rivals_ (1775).
=Otta´vio= (_Don_), the lover of Donna Anna, whom he was about to make his
wife, when Don Giovanni seduced her and killed her father (the
commandant of the city) in a duel.--Mozart, _Don Giovanni_ (opera,
1787).
=Otto=, duke of Normandy, the victim of Rollo, called “The Bloody
Brother.”--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Bloody Brother_ (1639).
=Ot´uel= (_Sir_), a haughty and presumptuous Saracen, miraculously
converted. He was a nephew of Ferragus or Ferracute, and married a
daughter of Charlemagne.
=Ouida=, an infantile corruption of Louisa. The full name is Louise de la
Ramée, authoress of _Under Two Flags_ (1867), and many other novels.
=Outalissi=, eagle of the Indian tribe of Onei´da, the death-enemies of
the Hurons. When the Hurons attacked the fort under the command of
Waldegrave (2 _syl._), a general massacre was made, in which Waldegrave
and his wife was[TN-55] slain. But Mrs. Waldegrave, before she died,
committed her boy, Henry, to the charge of Outalissi, and told him to
place the child in the hands of Albert of Wy´oming, her friend. This
Outalissi did. After a lapse of fifteen years, one Brandt, at the head
of a mixed army of British and Indians, attacked Oneida, and a general
massacre was made; but Outalissi, wounded, escaped to Wyoming, just in
time to give warning of the approach of Brandt. Scarcely was this done,
when Brandt arrived. Albert and his daughter, Gertrude, were both shot,
and the whole settlement was extirpated.--Campbell, _Gertrude of
Wyoming_ (1809).
=Outis= (Greek for “nobody”), a name assumed by Odysseus (_Ulysses_) in
the cave of Polypheme (3 _syl._). When the monster roared with pain from
the loss of his eye, his brother giants demanded who was hurting him.
“Outis” (_Nobody_), thundered out Polypheme, and his companions left
him.--Homer, _Odyssey_.
=Outram= (_Lance_), park-keeper to Sir Geoffrey Peveril.--Sir W. Scott,
_Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).
=Overdees= (_Rowley_), a highwayman.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time,
George II.).
=O´verdo= (_Justice_), in Ben Jonson’s _Bartholomew Fair_ (1614).
=Overdone= (_Mistress_), a bawd.--Shakespeare, _Measure for Measure_
(1603).
=Overreach= (_Sir Giles_), Wellborn’s uncle. An unscrupulous, hard-hearted
rascal, grasping and proud. He ruined the estates both of Wellborn and
Allworth, and by overreaching grew enormously rich. His ambition was to
see his daughter Margaret marry a peer; but the overreacher was
overreached. Thinking Wellborn was about to marry the rich dowager
Allworth, he not only paid all his debts, but supplied his present wants
most liberally, under the delusion “if she prove his, all that is her’s
is mine.” Having thus done, he finds that Lady Allworth does not marry
Wellborn, but Lord Lovell. In regard to Margaret, fancying she was sure
to marry Lord Lovell, he gives his full consent to her marriage; but
finds she returns from church not Lady Lovell, but Mrs.
Allworth.--Massinger, _A New Way to Pay Old Debts_ (1628).
⁂ The prototype of “Sir Giles Overreach” was Sir Giles Mompesson, a
usurer outlawed for his misdeeds.
=Overs= (_John_), a ferryman who used to ferry passengers from Southwark
to the City, and accumulated a considerable hoard of money by his
savings. On one occasion, to save the expenses of board, he simulated
death, expecting his servants would fast till he was buried; but they
broke into his larder and cellar and held riot. When the old miser could
bear it no longer he started up and belabored his servants right and
left; but one of them struck the old man with an oar and killed him.
_Mary Overs_, the beautiful daughter of the ferryman. Her lover,
hastening to town, was thrown from his horse, and died. She then became
a nun, and founded the church of St. Mary Overs on the site of her
father’s house.
=Overton= (_Colonel_), one of Cromwell’s officers.--Sir W. Scott,
_Woodstock_ (time, Commonwealth).
=Ovid= (_The French_), Du Bellay; also called “The Father of Grace and
Elegance” (1524-1560).
=Ovid and Corinna.= Ovid disguises, under the name of Corinna, the
daughter of Augustus, named Julia, noted for her beauty, talent and
licentiousness. Some say that Corinna was Livia, the wife of
Augustus.--_Amor._, i. 5.
So was her heavenly body comely raised
On two faire columnes; those that Ovid praised
In Julia’s borrowed name.
=O´wain= (_Sir_), the Irish knight of King Stephen’s court, who passed
through St. Patrick’s purgatory by way of penance.--Henry of Saltrey,
_The Descent of Owain_ (1153).
=O´weenee=, the youngest of ten sisters, all of surpassing beauty. She
married Osseo, who was “old, poor, and ugly,” but “most beautiful
within.” (See OSSEO.)--Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, xii. (1855).
=Owen= (_Sam_), groom of Darsie Latimer, _i.e._ Sir Arthur Darsie
Redgauntlet.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).
_Owen_, confidential clerk of Mr. Osbaldistone, senior.--Sir W. Scott,
_Rob Roy_ (time, George I.).
_Owen_ (_Sir_), passed in dream through St. Patrick’s purgatory. He
passed the convent gate, and the warden placed him in a coffin. When the
priests had sung over him the service of the dead, they placed the
coffin in a cave, and Sir Owen made his descent. He came first to an ice
desert, and received three warnings to retreat, but the warnings were
not heeded, and a mountain of ice fell on him. “Lord, Thou canst save!”
he cried, as the ice fell, and the solid mountain became like dust, and
did Sir Owen no harm. He next came to a lake of fire, and a demon pushed
him in. “Lord, Thou canst save!” he cried, and angels carried him to
paradise. He woke with ecstacy, and found himself lying before the
cavern’s mouth.--R. Southey, _St. Patrick’s Purgatory_ (from the
_Fabliaux_ of M. le Grand.[TN-56]
=Owen Meredith=, Robert Bulwer Lytton, afterwards Lord Lytton, son of the
poet and novelist (1831-1892).
=Owl= (_The_), sacred to Minerva, was the emblem of Athens.
Owls hoot in B♭ and G♭, or in F♯ and A♭.--Rev. G. White, _Natural
History of Selborne_, xlv. (1789).
=Owl a Baker’s Daughter= (_The_). Our Lord once went into a baker’s shop
to ask for bread. The mistress instantly put a cake in the oven for Him,
but the daughter, thinking it to be too large, reduced it to half the
size. The dough, howover,[TN-57] swelled to an enormous bulk, and the
daughter cried out, “Heugh! heugh! heugh!” and was transformed into an
owl.
Well, God ’ield you! They say the owl was a baker’s
daughter.--Shakespeare, _Hamlet_ (1596).
=Ox= (_The Dumb_), St. Thomas Aqui´nas; so named by his fellow-students on
account of his taciturnity (1224-1274).
An ox once spoke as learned men deliver.--Beaumont and Fletcher,
_Rule a Wife and Have a Wife_, iii. 1 (1640).
_Ox._ _The black ox hath trod on his foot_, he has married and is
hen-pecked; calamity has befallen him. The black ox was sacrificed to
the infernals, and was consequently held accursed. When Tusser says the
best way to thrive is to get married, the objector says:
Why, then, do folk this proverb put,
“The black ox near trod on thy foot,”
If that way were to thrive?
_Wiving and Thriving_, lvii. (1557).
The black oxe had not trode on his or her foote;
But ere his branch of blesse could reach any roote,
The flowers so faded that in fifteen weekes
A man might copy the change in the cheekes
Both of the poore wretch and his wife.
Heywood (1646).
=Oxford= (_John, earl of_), an exiled Lancastrian. He appears with his son
Arthur as a travelling merchant, under the name of Philipson.
⁂ _The son of the merchant Philipson_ is Sir Arthur de Vere.
_The countess of Oxford_, wife of the earl.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of
Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
_Oxford_ (_The young earl of_), in the court of Queen Elizabeth.--Sir W.
Scott, _Kenilworth_ (time, Elizabeth).
=Ozair= (2 _syl._), a prophet. One day, riding on an ass by the ruins of
Jerusalem, after its destruction by the Chaldeans, he doubted in his
mind whether God could raise the city up again. Whereupon God caused him
to die, and he remained dead a hundred years, but was then restored to
life. He found the basket of figs and cruse of wine as fresh as when he
died, but his ass was a mass of bones. While he still looked, the dry
bones came together, received life, and the resuscitated ass began to
bray. The prophet no longer doubted the power of God to raise up
Jerusalem from its ruins.--_Al Korân_, ii. (Sale’s notes).
⁂ This legend is based on _Neh._ ii. 12-20.
=P= Placenticus, the Dominican, wrote a poem of 253 Latin hexameters,
called _Pugna Porcorum_, every word of which begins with the letter _p_
(died 1548). It begins thus:
Plaudite, Porcelli, porcorum pigra propago
Progreditur ... etc.
There was one composed in honor of Charles le Chauve, every word of
which began with _c_.