'OMAR KHAYYAM CLUB 



5844 



OMENTUM 



Omar Khayyam Club. Eng- 

 lish club. It was founded, out of 

 enthusiasm for Edward Fitz- 

 Gerald's translation or paraphrase 

 of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, 

 in 1892, when three friends, 

 Frederic Hudson, George Whale, 

 and Clement King Shorter two of 

 them lawyers and the third a 

 journalist brought it into exis- 

 tence at Pagani's Restaurant, Lon- 

 don. Among the first members 

 were Edward Clodd, Justin Huntly 

 M'Carthy, Sir Henry Norman, Sir 

 William Watson, and Arthur 

 Hacker, who designed the first 

 menu card. During the interven- 

 ing years the club has entertained 

 many statesmen, ambassadors, and 

 men of letters at its board. 



Ombre. Card game somewhat 

 resembling the solo call hi solo 

 whist, very popular at the end of 

 the 18th century. It is of Spanish 

 origin, the name Ombre signifying 

 the Man. Ombre is played by 

 three persons with a pack of 40 

 cards, the 8, 9, and 10 of each suit 

 being thrown out. The peculiarity 

 of the game is that the same cards 

 have different values when forming 

 the trump suit ; and that certain 

 black cards are trumps even when 

 the trump suit is a red one, thus : 

 When not trumps. Red suits : 

 King, queen, knave, ace, 2, 3, 4, 

 5, 6, and 7. Black suits : King, 

 queen, knave, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. 

 When trumps. Red suits : Ace of 

 spades (called spadille, always the 

 highest trump card whatever the 

 suit), 7 (of hearts or diamonds, 

 called manille), ace of clubs (basto), 

 ace (of either red suit, whichever 

 is* trumps, termed ponto). king, 

 queen, knave, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of 

 the trump suit. Black suits : Ace 

 of spades (spadille), 2 (of clubs or 

 spades, whichever is trumps, 

 manille), ace of clubs (basto), king, 

 queen, knave, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 of 

 the trump suit. There is no ponto 

 in black trumps. 



The cards are thrown round, 

 the first black ace to - fall indicating 

 the dealer. .After being reunited 

 and shuffled, they are dealt from 

 right to left, nine cards to each 

 player, given three at a time, the 

 remainder forming the stock or 

 talon. The player on the dealer's 

 right is the ombre, who plays 

 against the combined efforts of the 

 other two, as in three-handed solo. 

 The ombre has the naming of the 

 , trump suit and also the privilege 

 of changing any of his cards for 

 those in the talon. If he is satisfied 

 with his cards, and thinks he can 

 make the majority of the tricks, 

 he says " I play." The player on 

 his right has the chance of calling 

 over him and becoming the ombre 

 if he decides to play from his origi- 



nal hand (termed sans prendre) ; 

 or should he pass, the third can do 

 so. If the ombre discards, the other 

 players have the same privilege. 

 Play is from right to left, and tricks 

 are made as in a solo call. The 

 ombre must make more tricks 

 than either of his opponents, other- 

 wise he loses (termed codille), and 

 pays the one who has made more 

 tricks than he. Should the ombre 

 win, he receives from the other 

 players ; if he makes all the nine 

 tricks, he scores a vole, and is paid 

 a larger stake. If all the players 

 are dissatisfied with their hands, 

 they pass, and the cards are thrown 

 in for a fresh deal. See Solo Whist. 



Omdurman. City of the Anglo- 

 Egyptian Sudan. Situated on the 

 left bank of the Nile, facing Khar- 

 tum, and stretching for 7 m. along 

 the river, it is 

 the headquarters 

 of thechief native 

 traders of the 

 Sudan, and an 

 important native 

 mart. As the 

 resting place for 

 pilgrims from the 

 Western Sudan 

 on their way to 

 Mecca it was 

 venerated by the 

 Mahomedan 

 tribes of North- 

 Central Africa. 



During the regime of the Mahdi 

 (q.v.) it became the capital of his 

 empire and the chief rallying place 

 for his forces. The ruins of his 

 tomb are in the centre of the citv. 

 Pop. 70,000. 



Omdurman, BATTLE OF. Fought 

 between the British and Egyptians 

 and the forces of the Khalifa, Sept. 

 2, 1898. After his victory at the 

 Atbara, Kitchener prepared for a 

 further advance along the Nile, and 

 in Aug., his force having been 

 strengthened, he set out for Khar- 

 tum. His own army, consisting 

 of two British and four Egyptian 

 brigades with attendant artillery 

 and cavalry, marched along the 

 west bank of the river ; on the 

 east marched a body of Arab irre- 

 gulars, and in the Nile itself were 

 the gunboats. Altogether he had 

 26,000 men. 



On Sept. 1 the gunboats were 

 able to shell Omdurman, and that 

 night Kitchener's force encamped 

 in a zareba with the Nile behind 

 them, about 4 m. from Omdur- 

 man. In the early morning the 

 battle began with a dervish attack, 

 easily repulsed. The British, 

 anxious to seize Omdurman before 

 the enemy could return to it, began 

 to march, forward, but danger 

 threatened them fr6m forces hid- 



and left. One body was charged 

 by the 21st Lancers, who lost 

 heavily in the engagement, while 

 the brigade under Hector Mac- 

 donald, that was in the rear, was 

 assailed from both sides, one attack 

 being delivered by 15,000 picked 

 men. For a moment or two the 

 danger was real, but the other 

 brigades were able to assist and the 

 enemy was beaten off. Omdur- 

 man was soon entered. The 

 British and Egyptians lost about 

 500 ; the dervish loss was esti- 

 mated at 10,000, in addition to 

 5,000 prisoners. See Atbara ; 

 Egypt ; Kitchener ; consult also 

 The River War, 2 vols., W. L. S. 

 Churchill, 1899 ; Famous Modern 

 Battles, A. W. Atteridge, 1911. 



Omelette. Dish made with eggs 

 beaten up, seasoned with salt and 



Omdurman, Sudan. 



House of the Khalifa Abdullah 

 el Taashi 



pepper, or sugar in the case of a 

 sweet omelette, and mixed with 

 herbs, chopped kidneys, bacon, 

 tomatoes, cheese, etc. A piece of 

 butter is put in the pan, and when 

 melted the mixture is added, 

 stirred with a fork, cooked quickly, 

 and served very hot. The French 

 word omelette, is a corruption 

 of la lamelle, from Lat. lamella, 

 little plate. 



Omen (Early Lat. osmen, pro- 

 bably from audire, to hear). 

 Phenomenon observed as a means 

 of divination (q.v.). The practice 

 of observing omens is very widely 

 spread, and was elaborated into 

 systems by the Babylonians, 

 Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. 

 Among the omens observed by the 

 Romans were lightning, the flight 

 and feeding of birds, and the meet- 

 ing with various animals. Omens 

 were interpreted by the augurs 

 and haruspices, and were especi- 

 ally looked for at sacrifices, e.g. by 

 inspection of the entrails of the 

 victim, and from chance utter- 

 ances of the bystanders, who were 

 enjoined to speak no ill-omened 

 words. Words of ill-omen might 

 be countered by a ready retort. 

 See Augur ; Shamanism. 



Omen turn. Fold of the perito- 

 neum which connects the stomach 



den in and behind the hills to right with another of the internal organs 



