ORLEANS
1395
OSAGE
came the headquarters of the army of the Loire, until its defeat on Dec. 3-5, 1870. See Life of Joan of Arc by Michelet. Population 72,096.
Orleans, Duke of, the title which has been used by three different French dynasties. It was first granted in 1302 by Charles VI to his brother Louis, who afterward was regent. His grandson became king as Louis XII in 1498, and the dukedom was merged with the crown. In 1626 Louis XIII made his brother Jean Baptiste Gaston, duke of Orleans and Chartres, who died childless. The title was granted by Louis XIV to his brother Philippe, whose son Philippe and grandson Louis Philippe Joseph (Egalite) bore the title. Louis Philippe, son of Egalite, was duke of Orleans during his exile, until he became king, when his son Ferdinand succeeded to the title. The Comte de Paris, the late head of the Bourbon house of France, has not used the title, which is assumed by his son, the present claimant to the throne of France, Louis Philippe Robert, who resides at Brussels. In French politics the adherents of the princes of the Orleans family are called Orleanists.
Orleans, Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of, best known as Egalite, was born at Paris, April 13, 1747. His hostility to the court, especially to the queen, made him take part against the king, while lavishing his wealth in scattering liberal books and papers throughout the country. He led the 47 nobles, who in June, 1789, joined the deputies of the third estate and helped to change the states-general into a national assembly. In September, 1792, when all titles were swept away, he asked for a new name, and took the name of Egalite (equal). He voted for the death of the king. His eldest son, afterward King Louis Philippe, was on the staff of Dumquriez, and went with him into the Austrian camp, and at once, with the other Bourbons left in France, Egalite was imprisoned and by the Jacobins, when they gained power in the convention, he was convicted of conspiracy on slight evidence, dying on the guillotine at Paris, Nov. 6, 1793.
Or'nithol'ogy. See BIRDS.
Orontes (6-ron'tez), the ancient name of a river in Syria. It rises near Baalbek, and flows north between Lebanon and Anti-Libanus, as far as the city of Antioch, and then flows westward to the Mediterranean. It is 247 miles long, and in the lower part its rocky banks, 300 feet high, are covered with climbing vines, myrtles, laurels, figs and sycamores.
Orpheus (dr'je-us}, a Greek hero, thought to be the son of Apollo and Calliope (kal-ll'o-pe), one of the muses. His home was in Thracia, where many different places claim to be his birthplace. Orpheus, by his music on the lyre, given him by Apollo, moved men and beasts, trees and rocks. On his travels with the Argonauts, his music rocked
monsters to sleep and stopped falling cliffs. When Eurydice his wife died, Orpheus followed her to the lower regions, and his "golden tones" prevailed with Pluto, who allowed him to take her back, provided he did not look around while they ascended; but, looking back, he lost her forever. According to some traditions, he was killed by a thunderbolt of Zeus for revealing the divine mysteries, and by others he was torn in pieces by the Msenades, and buried at the foot of Mt. Olympus, where a nightingale sings over his grave.
Orsini (dr-se'ne), Felice, an Italian conspirator, was born in December, 1819, at Meldola. He studied at Bologna. As the son of a conspirator he was early admitted into secret societies, and was sent to the galleys for life in 1844. Pius IX, by an amnesty, restored him to liberty, but he was soon imprisoned for taking part in political plots. During the Revolution of 1848 he took part in the defense of Rome and Venice, and was active at Genoa and in the duchy of Modena. After its suppression he lived for some years in England, where he was intimate with Maz-zini. In 1854, while stirring up insurrection in Milan, Trieste and Vienna, he was arrested and sent to the fortress of Mantua, whence he escaped in 1856 and fled to England. There he supported himself by lecturing and wrote Austrian Dungeons in Italy. He at last planned the assassination of Napoleon III, the great obstacle, he thought, in the way of Italian independence. With three associates he stood near the opera-house in Paris on the evening of Jan. 14, 1858, and when the emperor's carriage drove up, threw three bombs under it, which exploded, killing 10 persons and wounding 146, but not injuring the emperor or empress. He and Pieri were guillotined, March 13, 1858, the others being sentenced to penal servitude. See Memoirs and Adventures by himself.
Or'tolan, a class of birds belonging to the finch family. It is about six inches long, with head, neck and breast of a yellowish gray, with brown wings. It builds its nest of dry grass on the ground in open fields, though sometimes under low bushes. They are found in summer as far north as the Arctic circle, and in winter as far south as Abyssinia and India. They are caught in large numbers in nets when on their journeys, and fattened in dark rooms, as their flesh is considered a great delicacy. In Japan they are pickled with spice and vinegar. The Romans gave large sums for them, and they are still highly prized in Italy.
O'sage Orange or Bow Wood, a tree, native of North America, somewhat like the mulberry. It was found growing in the country of the Osage Indians, which, with its yellow globes of fruit, gave it its name. It is also called mock orange. It grows from 20 to 60 feet high, and is a very valuable
