ORLEANS 



4414 



ORLEANS 



inhabited, the total number of the group being 



:i. exclusive of a number of rocky 



5, The principal islands are Pomona, or 



uland, Hoy, North and South Ronahlsav. 



Flotay. Hurray. Ronsay. Shapinsay, Stronsay. 



.v and Saiulay. The total aiva is 



375 square miles. Pomona and Hoy are hilly; 



the remainder of the islands lie somewhat low, 



with a LI t on account of the lack of 



trees. The islands are in constant communi- 



:i by steamer with the mainland. 



The climate is mild, owing to warm ocean 

 current-, the soil fertile, producing barley, oats, 

 turnips and potatoes. Live stock, sea food, 

 poultry and eggs are exported. The only im- 

 portant towns on the islands are Kirkwall, the 

 capital, and Stromness, on the island of Po- 

 mona. The islands are visited by thousands of 

 tourists, the nightless summer being one of the 

 chief attractions. During the long days of 

 summer the sun rises so early and sets so late 

 that darkness is unknown. The winter day-, 

 however, are correspondingly short and dark. 



The Orkney Islands were finally acquired by 

 Scotland in 1590. They were previously held 

 I'urity for the dowry of Margaret, daughter 

 of the King of Denmark, when she married 

 King James III of Scotland. The dowry was 

 not paid, so the islands were released instead. 

 The inhabitants are chiefly of Scandinavian 

 and Scotch descent, and the total population 

 numbers 28,700. Gaelic is spoken, but all the 

 islanders understand and speak English (see 

 GAEL). 



ORLEANS, ohrlaahN', the name of two 

 branches of a royal French family. These 

 branches were known as the House of Valois- 

 Orleans and the House of Bourbon-Orleans (see 

 BOURBON). The first member of the Valois- 

 Orleans branch to ascend the throne was Louis 

 XII, grandson of the first Duke of Orleans. 

 This branch of the family occupied the throne 

 until the death of Henry III, in 1589. In that 

 year the Bourbon line became the ruling house. 

 Besides those members of the family who be- 

 came kings, there were several dukes of Or- 

 leans who were prominent in the history of 

 France. 



Philippe (1640-1701), founder of the Orleans- 

 Bourbon branch of the family, was the only 

 brother of the "Grand Monarch," Louis XIV. 

 He was created Duke of Orleans in 1661, the 

 same year in which he was married to Henri- 

 etta Anna of England, a sister of Charles II. 

 After her death he married Elizabeth of the 

 Palatinate. 



Philippe (1674-1723), Duke of Orleans, was 

 the son of the foregoing. Before Louis XV 

 reached his majority the duke acted as regent 

 of I-Yanee. In this rapacity he permitted his 

 extravagant and dissolute habits to overshadow 

 his really brilliant talent for statecraft, and by 

 recklessly introducing a large amount of paper 

 currency nearly brought the country to a con- 

 dition of bankruptcy (see LAW. JOHN). Dur- 

 ing his regency the affairs of state were largely 

 in the hands of the Prime Minister, Dubois. 



Louis Philippe Joseph (1747-1793), the fifth 

 Duke of Orleans, is known usually as Philippe 

 Kgalito ("Philip Equality"). This name he as- 

 sumed in 1792, 

 during the French 

 Revolution, to 

 signify that he was 

 on the side of the 

 people and op- 

 posed to the court 

 party. Though 

 he voted for 'the 

 death of Louis 

 XVI, he was not 

 trusted by the 

 Revolutionary 

 party, and in 1793 LOUIS PHILIPPE 



was arrested with the other members of the 

 Bourbon family, and beheaded. The Louis 

 Philippe (which see) who became king of 

 France in 1830 was his son. 



ORLEANS, a city of France whose name at 

 once recalls memories of Joan of Arc, the 

 "Maid of Orleans," the young peasant girl who 

 in 1429 led the French against the English and 

 compelled them to raise the siege of this city 

 (see JOAN OF ARC). In the middle of the lead- 

 ing square stands an equestrian statue, erected 

 in her honor. It is thirty feet high and rests 

 on a pedestal surrounded by bas-reliefs repre- 

 senting the leading episodes in the life of the 

 famous maid. Her house has been turned into 

 a museum for relics of her period. Among the 

 other features of interest in the city is the 

 Cathedral of Sainte Croix, which was destroyed 

 by the Huguenots in 1567 and rebuilt by Henry 

 IV and his three successors. 



The city is the capital of the Department of 

 Loiret, situated on the right bank of the Loire, 

 seventy-five miles southwest of Paris. Manu- 

 factures and trade have declined greatly, al- 

 though confectionery, pottery and woolen goods 

 are still made. The city's chief interests now 

 lie in its historical associations. Orleans was 

 built on the site of an ancient Gallic town 



