Part 54 (1/2)

? This tragedy is an English adaptation of Voltaire's _Zare_ (1733).

=Osmand=, a necromancer, who, by enchantment, raised up an army to resist the Christians. Six of the champions were enchanted by Osmand, but St.

George restored them. Osmand tore off his hair, in which lay his spirit of enchantment, bit his tongue in two, disembowelled himself, cut off his arms, and died.--R. Johnson, _Seven Champions of Christendom_, i. 19 (1617).

=Osmond=, an old Varangian guard.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).

_Osmond_ (_Gilbert_), the incarnation of polished selfishness. He deserts one woman, who has sacrificed everything for him, and marries Isabel Archer for her money; eyes his only child as he might a pretty puppet, and sends her back to her convent upon finding that she will not increase his social consequence by marrying an English n.o.bleman.--Henry James, Jr., _Portrait of a Lady_ (1881).

=Osmyn=, _alias_ ALPHONSO, son of Anselmo, king of Valentia, and husband of Alme'ria, daughter of Manuel, king of Grana'da. Supposed to have been lost at sea, but in reality cast on the African coast, and tended by Queen Zara, who falls in love with him. Both are taken captive by Manuel, and brought to Granada. Here Manuel falls in love with Zara, but Zara retains her pa.s.sionate love for Alphonso. Alphonso makes his escape, returns at the head of an army to Granada, finds both the king and Zara dead, but Almeria, being still alive, becomes his acknowledged bride.--W. Congreve, _The Mourning Bride_ (1697).

=Osric=, a court fop, contemptible for his affectation and finical dandyism. He is made umpire by King Claudius, when Laertes and Hamlet ”play” with rapiers in ”friendly” combat.--Shakespeare, _Hamlet_ (1596).

=Osse'o=, son of the Evening Star, whose wife was O'weenee. In the Northland there were once ten sisters of surpa.s.sing beauty; nine married beautiful young husbands, but the youngest, named Oweenee, fixed her affections on Osseo, who was ”old, poor and ugly,” but ”most beautiful within.” All being invited to a feast, the nine set upon their youngest sister, taunting her for having married Osseo; but forthwith Osseo leaped into a fallen oak, and was transformed into a most handsome young man, his wife to a very old woman, ”wrinkled and ugly,” but his love changed not. Soon another change occurred; Oweenee resumed her former beauty, and all the sisters and their husbands were changed to birds, who were kept in cages about Osseo's wigwam. In due time a son was born, and one day he shot an arrow at one of the caged birds, and forthwith the nine, with their husbands, were changed to pygmies.

From the story of Osseo Let [_us_] learn the fate of jesters.

Longfellow, _Hiawatha_, xii. (1855).

=Ossian=, the warrior-bard. He was son of Fingal (king of Morven) and his first wife, Ros-crana (daughter of Cormac, king of Ireland).

His wife was Evir-Allen, daughter of Branno (a native of Ireland); and his son was Oscar.

=Oswald=, steward to Goneril, daughter of King Lear.--Shakespeare, _King Lear_ (1605).

_Oswald_, the cup-bearer to Cedric, the Saxon, of Rotherwood.--Sir W.

Scott, _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).

_Oswald_ (_Prince_), being jealous of Gondibert, his rival for the love of Rhodalind (the heiress of Aribert, king of Lombardy), headed a faction against him. A battle was imminent, but it was determined to decide the quarrel by four combatants on each side. In this combat Oswald was slain by Grondibert.[TN-54]--Sir W. Davenant, _Gondibert_, i.

(died 1668).

=Othel'lo=, the Moor, commander of the Venetian army. Iago was his ensign or ancient. Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio, the senator, fell in love with the Moor, and he married her; but Iago, by his artful villainy, insinuated to him such a tissue of circ.u.mstantial evidence of Desdemona's love for Ca.s.sio, that Oth.e.l.lo's jealousy being aroused, he smothered her with a pillow, and then killed himself.--Shakespeare, _Oth.e.l.lo_ (1611).

? The story of this tragedy is taken from the novelletti of Giovanni Giraldi Cinthio (died 1573).

Addison says of Thomas Betterton (1635-1710): ”The wonderful agony which he appeared in when he examined the circ.u.mstance of the handkerchief in the part of 'Oth.e.l.lo,' and the mixture of love that intruded on his mind at the innocent answers of 'Desdemona,' ... were the perfection of acting.” Donaldson, in his _Recollections_, says that Spranger Barry (1719-1777) was the beau-ideal of an ”Oth.e.l.lo;” and C. Leslie, in his _Autobiography_, says the same of Edmund Kean (1787-1833).

=Otho=, the lord at whose board Count Lara was recognized by Sir Ezzelin.