O U D 
65 
O U D 
reckoned 360 Britilh miles in length from eaft to weft, 
and in breadth from 150 to 180 ; and their area is about 
one-third part of that of the Bengal provinces; being 
to each other in the proportion of 53 to 162. Generally 
fpeaking, the whole territory is one continued plain ; and 
is a continuation of that extenfive level valley through 
which the Ganges and its branches take their courfe. It 
is, moreover, the central part of the ancient kingdom or 
empire of the Prafii. Lucknow, fituated on the river 
Goomty, and about 650 miles from Calcutta, is its prefent 
capital ; having fuperfeded Fyzabad, a.city on theGogra, 
near the ancient city of Aiud/i, which feems to have given 
name to the province. The city of Aiudh or Oude, the 
author of the Ayeen Akberry fays, was in his time the 
largeft city in Hindooftan ; he mentions it as a place of 
peculiar faniftity : Ferilhta boafts of its exifting two thou- 
fand years before the Chriftian era. See the article Hin- 
doostan, vol. x. p. 2. The nabob of Oude is in alliance 
with the Britilh power : and a. brigade of the Bengal 
army is conftantly Rationed on his weftern frontier ; thus 
anfw’ering the purpofes of covering Oude as well as Ben¬ 
gal, and of keeping the weftern ftates in awe. The 
whole expenfe of it is paid by the nabob of Oude, by a 
ftipulated fum, under the name of a fubfidy, amounting 
annually to 420,000k provided the Sicca rupee be valued 
at 2s. i|d. The late nabob of Oude, Sujah Dowlah, pof- 
felled, at the time when he firft became an ally of the Eaft 
India company, the whole foubah of Oude, and the 
greateft part of Allahabad ; to which, in 1774, were added 
the eaftern parts of Delhi and Agra, till that time pof- 
fefi'ed by a tribe of Afghan Rohillas, and by the Jats. 
The zemindary of Benares, which includes alfo the cir- 
cars of Gazypour and Chunar, conftituted a part of the 
dominions of Oude until the year 1775, when its tribute 
or quit-rent of 24 lacks (iince increafed to 40) was 
transferred to the Englifh. This zemindary, which was 
lately in the hands of Chut Sing, occupies the principal 
part of the fpace between Bahar and Oude, fo that only 
a (mail part of the territory of the latter touches Bahar 
on the north-weft. The revenues of Oude under Au- 
rungzebe amounted to 8o£ lacks of rupees ; but they 
have more lately been reckoned in the grofs amount at 
about 2,500,000k lterling; of which the new acquifitions 
of Rohilcund, Corah, and other parts of the Dooab, are 
more than one million. The military eftabliftiment, in¬ 
cluding the troops employed in the colleftion of the re¬ 
venues, is from 50 to 60,000 men 5 but few of them de- 
ferve the name of regular troops. 
The province of Oude is watered not only by the 
Ganges, but by the Jumnah, Agra, Goomty, and feveral 
fmaller ftreams; thefe flowthrough moft of the principal 
towns, and are navigable for boats in all feafons of the 
year. They prefent ftrong barriers' againft the neigh¬ 
bouring powers. Oude has feven circars, viz. Bahraitch, 
Canoge, Goorackpour,Kairabad, Lucknow, Manickpour, 
and Oude Proper. 
OUDE, a circar of Hindooftan, in the foubah of Oude, 
bounded on the north by Bahraitch, on the eaft by Goo- 
rackpour, on the fouth by Jionpour and Manicpour, and 
on the weft by Lucknow ; about forty-five miles long, 
and fixteen broad. Fyzabad is the capital. 
OUDENAR'DE, a town of the kingdom of the Ne¬ 
therlands, in the province of Eaft Flanders, on the Scheldt, 
between Ghent and Tournay, about fifteen miles from 
the former and twenty from the latter. This city appears 
to have had its origin in very diftant times ; fome fay, 
as far back as the year 411, from a caftle built here by the 
Goths. But we may with more probability date its rife 
from a caftle built by count Baldwin of Lifle in 1053. 
The town was extended and fortified under the reign of 
Philip of Alface, who built towers and made a bridge 
over the Scheldt, w’hich divides the place into two jurif- 
diftions. It was afterwards fo well fortified by Francis 
la Noue, a French Calvinift, that it obtained the name 
of “ Little Rochelle." Here are two parilh-churches, 
Vol. XVIII. No. 1224. 
five gates; and many good buildings. The town-houfe 
is a remarkable gothic edifice : here is alfo a college. In 
this place was born Margaret of Parma, governefs of the 
Low Countries, natural daughter of Charles V. Its popu¬ 
lation is 5000.. Under the walls was fought, July 11, 1708, 
the. famous “battle of Oudenarde, wherein the allies, 
under the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene, ob¬ 
tained a fplendid victory over the French commanded by 
the dukes of Burgundy and Vendqme. See the article 
England, vol. vi. p. 706, 7. It fell into the hands of the 
French republicans on the 3d of July, 1794; and after¬ 
wards formed part of the “ department of the Scheldt.” 
By the treaty of Vienna, June 1815, it was afligned to the 
newly-created kingdom of the Netherlands. Gtographie 
du Royaume des Pays Bus; Bruft’els, 1819. 
OUDENAR'DE (Robert Van), a painter and engraver, 
was born in the year 1663 at Ghent ; but his biographer 
is of opinion that the family was originally of the place 
which is the fubjeft of the preceding article, and took 
their name from thence. Oudenarde applied liimfelf to 
the ftudy of art at a very early period of life, under the 
dire£tion of Van Cleef, and other Flemifli mafters. He 
afterwards travelled to Rome for improvement, and was 
received into the academy of Carlo Maratti. At this pe¬ 
riod he is fpoken of with praife as a painter; but we (hall 
here confider him only as an engraver. His early pro- 
grefs in the latter art was interrupted by an aft of pro- 
feflional indiferetion, which is thus related by Strutt. 
“ He frequently ufed to amufe himfelf at his leilure with 
the point ; and being pleafed, as it fliould feem, with a 
Iketch of his mafter reprefenting the Marriage of the Vir¬ 
gin, he etched a plate from it, of which Carlo Maratti 
knew nothing, until, the impreflions being circulated 
about, he accidentally faw one of them in aprint-fhop, 
and by enquiry foon difeovered its author. Oudenarde 
felt feverely the effefts of his refentment, which he car¬ 
ried to fuch a height, that he forbade him to approach his 
fchool, declaring he would never fee his face again.” 
Maratti, however, though warm in his refentment, was 
not implacable ; and it feems not improbable that the 
affiduity of Oudenarde was quickened by this occurrence ; 
for he foon made fo great progrefs in engraving, that 
Maratti was extremely pleafed, and many of his beft pic¬ 
tures w'ere, at his own inftance, put into the hands of 
Oudenarde to engrave. 
As to the merits of Oudenarde, Strutt judicioufly ob- 
ferves, “ the plates wdiich were done by this artift en¬ 
tirely with the graver, are not equal to thofe where he 
alfo ufed the point; they are cold and deftitute of effeft, 
and often, from his great folicitude to avoid an outline, 
his draperies appear heavy, and want fharpnefs in the 
folds. The fame heavinefs appears alfo in his heads and 
other extremities, and all the naked parts of the figure in 
general ; as I think will readily be allowed, on examina¬ 
tion of that which reprefents the Afiumption of the 
Virgin, from Carlo Maratti, a middling-fized , upright 
plate; which, if compared with the flight etching of Ha- 
gar and Iflimael, from the fame mafter, I think the fpi- 
rit of the latter will w'ell repay the want of that neatnefs 
which is found in the former. Oudenarde certainly pof- 
fefled great knowledge of the human figure, and his 
drawing is feldom incorreft.” 
During his ftay in Italy, cardinal Barbarigo, with be¬ 
coming regard for the fame of his anceftry, engaged our 
artift to engrave the portraits of the diftinguiftied men of 
that family, with emblematical accompaniments. The 
work confifts of a hundred and fixty-five plates, and for 
fome years remained imperfeft on account of the death 
of the cardinal; but at length the five plates which were 
wanting to its completion, were engraved at the expenfe 
of one of his defendants ; and the Work appeared at Pa¬ 
dua, in large folio, accompanied by Latin poetry, in the 
year 1762. After refiding feventeen years in Italy, Oude¬ 
narde returned to his native city, where he died in 1743, 
being fourfeore years of age. 
S OU'DENBORG, 
