OLIGOCLASE 



OLIVE 



portion of the country, but eventually it dis 

 appeared, ninl its place waa taken by a series of 

 brackish- water lagoons and fresh-water lake*. The 

 deposit* accumulated in those lakes now form con- 

 siderable mountains at the bane "f the Aljis(Kigi, 

 KoMuerg). In central France, as in Germany, 

 lacustrine conditions were characteristic of the 

 ]>.-i i.id. one or mure great lakes having MCnpied a 

 considerable area in Auvergne. In southern 

 Europe the Mediterranean had withdrawn from 

 wide regions which were deeply Milnnerged by it in 

 Eocene times, but it still covered a more extensive 

 area than at present. The climate of the Oligocene 

 period was uniformly genial, but hardly HO tropical 

 a* that of the preceding period. See EOCENE 



BYVTEK. 



OliKorlase. See FELSPAR. 



Olillila. a city of Brazil, 4 miles NE. of Per- 

 nambueo. Pop. 8100. 



Oliplianl. LAruEXfK, traveller, novelist, and 

 mystic, was Ixirn in 1829, son of Sir Anthony 

 (lliphant. Chief justice of (Vylon. In early youth 

 lit- travelled with Jung liahadur to Ne|>al, and 

 after his i. -111111 was admitted a nieml>er of the 

 Scottish liar, ami later of the English bar at 

 Lincoln's Inn. His first work, A Journey to 

 J\/iiitw>u/ii (18.">2), was followed by The Russian 

 Snores of the Black Sea (1853), the fruit of hU 

 travels in Russia in 1852. He next became private 

 secretary to the Earl of Elgin, Governor -general of 

 ( .uiada, whom later he accompanied on his special 

 embassy to China, thus finding material for his 

 luniks Minnesota and the Far II V.v/ (1855) and A 

 .\nrriitire of the Enrl of Elgin's Mission to t'himi 

 and Japan in 1857-69 (I860). In 1861, while 

 acting as Charge <1 Allaire's in Japan, he was 

 severely wounded by assassins, and consequently 

 ie-igncd his post. From 1S(>5 to 1868 he sat in 

 parliament for the Stirling burghs. Haying become 

 profoundly intluenced bv certain peculiar religious 

 opinions, he renounced London society, joined 

 for a time the community of T. L Harris (q.v.) 

 in the United States, and finally settled at Haifa 

 (q.v.) in Palestine. He died at Twickenham, 

 2.'M December 1888. The religious opinions of his 

 later years he gave to the world in oywifmumata 

 ( 1886') and Scientific Religion (1888), as well as in 

 his novel MusMam (1886), while they already 

 formed the background of his earlier novel, Altiont 

 I', tn (ISH.'t). Oliphant, when he subjected his 

 intellect to occultism, brought a bright career to 

 an abrupt conclusion, ami Hung away a rare literary 

 endowment. His rimtdilty ( ;IS70) wits a book of 

 altogether exceptional promise, bright with wit, 

 delicate irony, and, almve all, individuality ; but 

 its promise was never fulfilled. 



Other books of Oliphant's were The Trantrancasian 

 Campaign tuutcr Omar I'asltn ( 1S.VI ) ; I'ntriol* and 

 filil.uniert (18IK)); The Land nf <;il,,,,l (1881); TraiU 

 and Traresties. Social and t'olitiml (IKK'.'I; The Lund 

 of Khemi ( 1882) ; Haifa ( 18S7) ; Bmi Kinmbs in a Life 

 of Adrentnre ( 1847 ). See hi* Lift- by Mm Oliphant. 



Olijiliant. Mi:s M\I:I;AUKT (nee WILSON), 

 one of tin- most distinguished of iiMHlern female 

 novelist*, was IMIIU in 1828 at Wallvford, near 

 Miisnellmrgh, Midlothian. In 1840 she pub- 

 lished li-r first work, Passages in the. Life of 

 Mrs Mini/mil MnH/tnitl, which instantly won 

 attention and approval. Its most distinctive 

 charm is the tanow humour anil insight which 



i late iU exquisite delineation of Scottish life and 

 character at once in their higher and lower levels. 

 This work was followed by C,il<<l, Field (1S.V)), 

 M,rl;l;,,,l 1H.V)), Adam Oraeme (1852), Hum/ 

 Muir ( 18.V1), Magdalen BiMtani(18M) l Lilliesleaf 



..'), and h 'rt (1852), The OvM //.// 



< 1834 ),iW( 1855), the last three of which origin- 



ally appeared in succession in Ular/.irood's Maga- 

 ;<<. '1'iioiigh these are of somewhat various merit, 

 in all of them the jteciiliar talent of the writer is 

 marked. They are rich in the minute ileiail which 

 is dear to the womanly mind ; have nice and subtle 

 insights into character, a flavour of quiet humour, 

 and frequent traits of delicacy and pathos in the 

 1 1 eat men t of the gentler emotions. It was, however, 

 by the Chronicles of Carlingfiird (first published 

 in li/ticktrttod's, 1861-64) that her leputation as a 

 novelist was first secured. In the first of them, 

 The Doctor's Family, the character of little Netty, 

 the heroine, vivifies the whole work, ami may rank 

 as an original creation. The next in the seiies. 

 Salem Chitfirl, perhaps indicates a wider and more 

 vigorous grasp than is to be found in any other 

 of her works. Certain of the unlovelier features of 

 English dissent, as exhibited in a small provincial 

 community, are here graphically sketched, and skil- 

 fully adapted to the purposes of fiction. After more 

 than forty years of novel-writing Mrs Oliphant's 

 powers showed no decadence; she retained to the 

 last the art of interesting her readers ; there was 

 still the same fidelity to truth in the minor details 

 of her novels. A civil list pension of 100 was con- 

 ferred upon her in 1868. She resided at Windsor 

 for many years before her death, June 25, 1897. 



Her other works include Agnei ( 1866) ; Madonna Mary 

 (18GG); The Mmuter't Wife (18li!t); John and Three 

 j:,;,t/,er (1870); Squire Ardeu (1871); Omb-a ( 1872 ) ; 

 A Kate in June (1*>74); l'hu.be Junior (187fi); The 

 I'ri wrote Path (1S7.S): H'ithin t/,r Precinct* ( 187i) ; tie 

 that Will Not when He Jtfa(1880); In Trust (1- 

 The Ladies Lindores and It was a Lorer and hit Lais 

 i |ss:l) ; Hester, The Witanfs Son, and er Tom ( 1884) ; 

 .Miulam and Tvo Stories of the Sent and Unseen (ItW.I); 

 HoiueDindid a/,aintt Itself ( 1HS6); A Counlr.H >. 

 mm and The Sim of his f'atlier (18*7) : The ,S,c..)/./ .-..n 

 and Ji:i/cr ( IMS ) ; Xri'ihlonrs on tlie C/rttn, Lady Car, 

 and A I'oin- Gentleman (1889); The Uukc's DaiHjkbr 

 and Kii-tteen (1890). Her more important contrilm- 

 ti. us to fcnrnd literature have been Life of Kdmird 

 lrrni:i |]Mi-): lli'l'ii-ictil Skftclies of the Hi inn nf Hmnje 

 II. (1869); .sv t'nnicis of Aaiti (1871); Mtmnir nf the 

 ('Hiutt de Montiilnnl.irl (1.S7'.'); T/ie Makers of Florrnee 

 Is7i;); i>TCM(187H); T/ie Liti rnrii Hittnry ( Kmilund, 

 from 171K) ti> l.*J. r i ( 1882) ; A Liltli 1'il'iHui .- in the Unseen 

 (1882); 'Ihf Maters of Venire (1SSS); Dante and Cer- 

 rnntix in ' Foreign Clawiicii for Knglixh Readers :' M< nmir 

 of frind/xil TuUoeh (1888) ; J{,,unl tdimlmryh (18UII); 

 Life of Laurence <>/i/,h,,,:t (1891); The Reign of Queen 

 Anne (1894); Th, Mak.r* ../ M-li m Hume (1895); 

 Jeanne d'Arc (18;Ki); In-siileB a child's history of Scot- 

 land (18%), and a history of the publishing house of 

 Blackwood (1897). 



Olivarrz, CASPARO DE GUZMAN. ( m\r OF, 



Duke of San l.uc.-n. MM liin .lanuary II. l."iS7, at 

 Koine, where his father was ambassador. He liecame 

 the friend of Philip IV., his confidant in hi- amours, 

 and afterwards his prime- minister, in which capacity 

 he exercised almost unlimited power for twenty two 

 vears. Olivarey. showed ability for government ; 

 but his constant endeavour was to wring money 

 from tin- country that he might carry on wins 

 against Portugal', France, and the Netheihin.U. 

 His attempts to rob the people of their time 

 honoured privileges provoked insurrections in 

 Catalonia and Andalusia, and roused the Portu- 

 guese to shake off the Spanish yoke in Ui40. But 

 the continued ill-success of the arms of Spain at 

 length thoroughly roused the nation, and the- king 

 was obliged to dismiss his favourite ill 104.'!. He 

 was ordered to retire to Toro (/amora), and died 

 there. 22.1 duly 1G4.Y See He la ll.x-ca. Histuire 

 da Ministere du Cumtr-lini- d'Olivaret ( 1073). 



Olive (Olea), a genus of trees and shrubs of the 

 natural order Oleacen-, having opposite, evergreen, 

 leathery leaves, which are generally i nlire. smooth, 

 and minutely scaly. The general character of the 



