﻿1C81 



OKEHAMPTON. 



OLDENBURG. 



1032 



8tai hold the property, rebuilt the chateau and improved the grounds 

 ■with atlmirable taste. Jean Jacques Kousseau died in the chateau of 

 Ermenouville July 2, 1773, and w.i3 buried in the lle-des-Peupliers, 

 in one of the pieces of water iu the park, whence they were removed 

 by decree of the National Convention to the Pantheon Oct. 11, 1794. 

 Pont-St-Mojcence, 7 miles N.E. from Creil, on the St.-Quentin railroad, 

 is a well-built market-town, with clean well-paved streets and 2455 

 inhabitants. It stands on the Oi^e, which is here crossed by a fine 



stone bridge. . . . , , , 



The department forms the see of the Bishop of Beauvais : is included 

 in the jurisdiction of the High Court of Amiens, within the limits of 

 the University-Academy of Paris, and belongs to the lat Military 

 DivisioD, of which Paris is head-quartern It returns 3 membors to 

 the LegiaUtive Assembly of the French empire. 



(Dictiontiaire de la France; Anmuiire pour VAn 1853.) 

 OKKHAMPTON, or OAKHAMPTON, Devonshire, a market-town, 

 municipal borough, and the seat of a Poor-Law Union, in the parish 

 of Okeliampton, is situated at the junction of the East and West 

 Okement rivers, in 50° 44' N. lat., 4° 1' W. long., distant 22 miles W. 

 from Exeter, and 195 miles W.S.W. from London. The population of 

 the parish of Okehampton was 2165 in 1851 ; that of the borou-h 

 was 1555. The borough is governed by a mayor, justice, and burgesses. 

 The living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Totnes and diocese of 

 Eseter. Okehampton Poor-Law Union contains 28 parishes and 

 townships, with an area of 126,797 acres, and a popuUtion in 1851 of 

 20,401. 



The town of Okehampton consists of several streets irregularly laid 

 out. In the market-place is an old chapel of ease, which was origi- 

 nally founded as a chanliy. The tower, of granite, is of perpendicular 

 cliaracter. The pariah church, which is situated on high ground, was 

 rebuilt within the last twelve years. The Wesleyan Methodists and 

 Independents have places of worship. There are National and Infant 

 schools ; a literary society, with a library ; and a branch savings bank. 

 The market-day is Saturday ; cattle-fairs are held in March, May, July, 

 and August Okehampton formerly sent members to parliament, but 

 wu disfranchised by the Reform Act In the river Okement small 

 trout of excellent quality are taken. Okehampton Castle, formerly 

 belonging to the Courtcnays, is now a ruin. 



OKHOTSK, a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk, 

 which Bcparatea the peninsula of Kamtchatka from the continent of 

 Alia, is situated in 58° 40' N. lat, 143° 18' E. long. The town is built 

 CD a hill on the right b.mk of the Ocbota, and about 3 miles from its 

 mouth. It is small, consisting only of a few hundred houses, and the 

 inhabitants, formerly about 2000, are now estimated at only 800. It 

 WM formerly, and perhaps still is, the port by which the Russian 

 American Company brought their furs from America ; they were then 

 transported by laud through Yakutsk to Irkutek, and thence to Kiachta, 

 to be exchanged for articles of Chinese production. The houses are 

 built of wood ; but there is a government-house, an hospital, and large 

 storehouses in the town. The neighbouring country is barren, yielding 

 nothing but furs. The mouth of the Ochota has only 9 feet of water, 

 and is only accessible from June to September, being blocked up with 

 ice and snow the remainder of the year. The Russian government 

 lome years ago resolved to select some other site with a better harbour 

 whereon to build a new town ; and the mouth of the river Uda, in the 

 Sea of OkhoUk (55° N. lat, 136° E. long.), was favourably mentioned 

 as having a fine harbour sheltered by the Shantar Isknds. The 

 nature of the country or district of Siberia named Okhotsk, after the 

 town, is described in Altai Mountains, Kamtcuatka, and Siberia. 



OKHBIDA, a town of Albaui.1, in European Turkey, situated on 

 the north-eaateni shore of the Lake of Okbri<la, in about 41° 3' N. lat, 

 21° 5' E. long., is the see of a Greek bishop, and has about 6000 

 inhabitants. It is built on or near the site of the ancient Lychuidus, 

 which in ancient times gave its name to the lake. The town lies at 

 the foot of an emiiu-nc, the sumiiiit of which is crowned by a castle, 

 in which the Turkish governor of the surrounding province resides. 

 Silver-ore and sulphur are procured from mines near the town. Tlie 

 ijike of Okhrida i» about 18 miles long, and w 8 miles across in the 

 widest part It is in the valley watered by the Black Drin, which 

 flows through the lake. It abounds with fish. The pashalic or dis- 

 trict of Okhrida is mountainous and well wooded ; it is watered by 

 the Black Drin and the Scombi. It is tolerably productive in corn, 

 maize, rice, tobacco, cotton, hemp, fruit, and wine. Cattle and bees 

 are reared, and game is tolerably abundant The inhabitants are 

 reputed to make the best soldiers among the Albanians. 

 OLD MELDRUM. [ABKBDr-EJisniBE.] 



OLDBUKY, Worcestershire, a town in the pariah of Hales Owen, 

 is situated near the junction of Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Worces- 

 tershire, in 62° 30' N. lat, 2* W. long., distant 29 miles N.N.E. from 

 Worcester, and 120 miles N.W. from London. The population of the 

 town of Oldbury is given in the Returns of the Census of 1851 as 

 6114, but this does not include the whole of the town. The entire 

 popiUation in 1851 was 11,641. 



The town of Oldbury has very much increased of late years, owing 

 to the extension of the iron trade. The parochial chapel of Christ- 

 ohurch is a commodious brick edifice with a square tower. There are 

 chapels for Wesleyan, Primitive, and New Connexion Methodists, 

 Baptists, Independents, Cliristian Brethren, Roman Catholics, and 



Unitarians ; and National, Free, and other schools. Besides numerous 

 ii-on- and coal-mines in the vicinity, there are manufactures of iron 

 and steel, of locomotive engines, malt-mills, edge-tools, hollow iron 

 ware, bricks, earthen draining tubes, and of alkali. Boat-building is 

 carried on, and there are corn-mills and breweries. Oldbury is nearly 

 surrounded by the Birmingham Canal ; the river Tame runs through 

 the town, turning several milb in its course ; and the Stour Valley 

 railway passes close to it A customary market is held weekly ou 

 Saturday. A county court is held in the town. 

 OLDBURY-ON-SEVERN. [GLonoEsiEKSHiBE.] 

 OLDCASTLE, county Heath, Ireland, a market-town and the seat 

 of a Poor-Law Union, is situated on the Dublin, Trim, and Euniskilleu 

 road, in 53° 46' N. lat, 7° 7' W. long , 24 miles N.W. from Trim, 5^ 

 miles N.W. from Dublin. The population iu 1S51 was 1072. Old- 

 castle Poor-Law Union comprises 15 electoral divisions, with an area 

 of 85,912 acres, and a population in 1841 of 41,305 ; in 1851 of 29,232. 

 The town contains a parish church, chapels for Roman Catholics and 

 Methodists, a National school, and a Free school — a handsome edifice, 

 capable of accommodating 1000 children, and supported by an endow- 

 ment of 750/., bequeathed by Lawrence Gibson, Esq. In the town 

 are a neat market-place and court-house, and a dispensary and Union 

 workhouse. Near the town are extensive corn-mills. The market is on 

 Monday, for yams and provisions. Petty sessions are held monthly. 



OLDENBURG, a grand-duchy in the north of Germany, consists of 

 three distinct portions. 1. The Duchy of Oldenburg, properly so 

 called, which lies between 52° 54' and 53° 44' N. lat., 7° 40' and 

 8° 45' E. long., contains 2033 square miles. It is bounded N. by the 

 North Sea ; E. by the Hanoverian province of Bremen, the territory 

 of the city of Bremen, and the Hanoveriim province of Hoya ; S. by 

 Osuabriick ; and W. by the Hanoverian province of Meppen and East 

 Friesland. 2. The Principality of Lubeck, which is surrounded by 

 the duchy of Holstein, ooutains 137 square miles. One large portion 

 is compact and uubrokeu ; the remainder is scattered on the banks of 

 the Schwartau and the Travc. 3. The Principality of Birkenfeld 

 (area, 194 square miles), which is noticed in a separate article. [Biii- 

 KENFELD.] These territories form the grandduchy of Oldenburg, and 

 together with the lordship of Kuiphausen, which has peculiar relations 

 with Oldenburg, have a total area of 2431 square miles, with a total 

 population of 285,149, according to the census of 1852. 



The duchy of Oldenburg proper is a part of the great plain of 

 Northern Germany, without mountains or hills, and without forests. 

 Heaths and moors alternate with cultivated spots. The most extensive 

 of the moors is the Great Saterland Moor, which is traversed by the 

 Soste and the Leda, or Saterems, and covers a large part of Oldenburg 

 and Hanover, extending from the Hunto to the Ems. The coasts are 

 low, and protected against the inroads of the sea partly by dunes and 

 partly by dykes, like those m Holland. The mouths of the Weser and 

 the Jahde are lined with dykes. The soil of the interior of the 

 country is poor, but there is rich marsh-land on the banks of tho 

 Weser and at the mouth of the Jahde. The principal rivers are the 

 Weser (which forms the boundary between Oldenburg and the pro- 

 vince of Bremen), the Jahde (which enters and gives name to the 

 large Bay of Jahde, an inlet of the North Sea), the Hunte (a feeder 

 of the Weser), and the Hase and the Leda, tributaries of the Ems. 

 There are no large lakes ; the most considerable, the Zwischenahner 

 Meer, is 6 miles iu circumference, and its banks are surrounded by 

 picturesque well-wooded eminences. 



Tho Bay of Jalidc is entered from the North Sea, to the south of 

 Wangeroog Island (which belongs to Oldenburg), by a strait about 

 4 miles wide, which separates the territory of Kniphausen on tho 

 west from a projection of the duchy to tho west of the mouth of tho 

 Weser. Inside this strait the bay widens out to about 12 miles from 

 east to west, and about 10 miles in its greatest length from north to 

 south. Tho depth of water in tho bay (it is said) is nowhere less than 

 6 fathoms, and the river Jahde itself is deep enough for the largest 

 merchant ship.'! to enter. Prussia, with the view of forming a uavnl 

 port and arsenal ou the North Sea, purchased tho sovereignty of the 

 bay and 5000 moi-gen (3154 acres) of land, near the mouth of the river 

 Jahde, in 1853, from tho grandduke of Oldenburg, and entered into 

 possession of the territory thus ceded in December 1854. 



Tho climate is damp and subject to frequent fogs. The natural 

 productions are com of all kinds, flax, hemp, some hops, culinary 

 vegetables, timber for building, and wood for fuel There are the 

 usual domestic animals, especially very good horses, poultry, game, 

 fish, and bees. Turf is dug for fuel ; pipe- and brick-clay are found, 

 and also building-stone. The prmoipnlity of Lubeck is flat, and 

 resembles Oldenburg in its soil and climate, but it contains some 

 beautiful lakes, especially those of Ploeu and Eutin. The Schwartau 

 and the Trave are the chjef rivers. 



The chief occupations of the inhabitants are agriculture and the 

 breeding of cattle. There are very few villages ; the farm-houses lie 

 quite isolated in the centre of the farms. There are no great manu- 

 factures ; but the people make considerable quantities of coarse linen, 

 worsted stockings, and thread. Oldenburg is extremely well situated 

 for commerce, but the trade is chiefly a coa-tiugtrade, which ia carried 

 on in vessels with one or two masts, from 20 to 40 tons burden, calcu- 

 lated for navigatmg the shallows ('veatten') that occur between the 

 Ems and the Eider. Ships are built at several places on the Weser 



