[Olifaunt, Nigel], the hero in Scott's "Fortunes of Nigel."
[Oliphant, Laurence], religious enthusiast and mystic, born in Perthshire; spent his boyhood in Ceylon, where his father was chief-justice; early conceived a fondness for adventure, accompanied Lord Elgin to Washington as his secretary, and afterwards to China and Japan; became M.P. for the Stirling Burghs, mingled much in London society, contributed to Blackwood, and wrote "Piccadilly," pronounced by Mrs. Oliphant "one of the most brilliant satires on society ever published"; parliamentary people and parliamentary life being nowise to his liking he soon threw both up for life in a community with Harris at Lake Erie, U.S., whence, after two years' probation, he returned to resume life in the wide world; while in France during the Franco-German War, he married one Alice l'Estrange, an alliance which grew into one of the most intimate character; with her he went to Palestine, pitched his tent under the shadow of Mount Carmel, and wrote two mystical books under her inspiration, which abode with him after she was dead; after her decease he married a Miss Owen, that she might help him in his work, but all she had opportunity to do was to minister to him on his deathbed (1829-1888).
[Oliphant, Mrs. Margaret] (née Wilson), authoress, born at Wallyford, near Musselburgh, a lady of varied abilities and accomplishments, and distinguished in various departments of literature, began her literary career as a novelist and a contributor to Blackwood, with which she kept up a lifelong connection; her first work which attracted attention was "Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland," and her first success as a novelist was the "Chronicles of Carlingford"; she wrote on history, biography, and criticism, the "Makers of Florence, of Venice, of Modern Rome," "Lives of Dante, Cervantes, and Edward Irving," among other works, and was engaged on a narrative of the publishing-house of Blackwood when she died; she might have distinguished herself more had she kept within a more limited range; her last days were days of sorrow under heavy bereavement (1828-1897).
[Olivarez, Count d'], a Spanish statesman, born at Rome, where his father was ambassador; was the confidant and minister of Philip IV., and the political adversary of Richelieu; was one of the ablest statesmen Spain ever had, but was unfortunate in his conduct of foreign affairs (1587-1645).
[Oliver], a favourite paladin of Charlemagne's, who, along with Roland, rode by his side, and whose name, along with Roland's, has passed into the phrase, a "Roland for an Oliver," meaning one good masterstroke for another, such as both these knights never failed to deliver.
[Olives, Mount of], or Mount Olivet, a ridge with three summits, stretching N. and S., E. of Jerusalem, in height 150 ft. above the city, 400 ft. above the intervening valley of Kedron, and 2682 ft. above the sea-level; so called as at one time studded with olive-trees; is celebrated as the scene of some of the most sacred events in the life of Christ.
[Ollivier, Émile], French statesman, born at Marseilles; bred for the bar, and eminent at it; became Prime Minister under Louis Napoleon in 1870; precipitated "with a light heart" the country into a war with Germany, to his own overthrow; retired thereafter to Italy, but returned in 1872, and devoted himself to literature; died at Geneva (1825-1876).
[Olmütz] (20), a strongly fortified city in Moravia, and an important centre of trade, and the former capital of the country; suffered severely in the Thirty and the Seven Years' Wars.
[Olympia], a plain in a valley in Elis, on the Peloponnesus, traversed by the river Alpheus, and in which the Olympic Games were celebrated every fifth year in honour of Zeus, and adorned with temples (one to Zeus and another to Hera), statues, and public buildings.
[Olympiad], a name given to the period of four years between one celebration of the Olympic Games and another, the first recorded dating from July 776 B.C.