(1865), Chandos (1866) and Under Two Flags (1867). The list of Ouida’s subsequent works is a very long one; but it is sufficient to say that, together with Moths (1880), those already named are not only the most characteristic, but also the best. In a less dramatic genre, her Bimbi: Stories for Children (1882) may also be mentioned; but it was by her more flamboyant stories, such as Under Two Flags and Moths, that her popular success was achieved. By purely literary critics and on grounds of morality or taste Ouida’s novels may be condemned. They are generally flashy, and frequently unwholesome. It is impossible, however, to dismiss books like Chandos and Under Two Flags merely on such grounds. The emphasis given by Ouida to motives of sensual passion was combined in her with an original gift for situation and plot, and also with genuine descriptive powers which, though disfigured by inaccurate observation, literary solecisms and tawdry extravagance, enabled her at her best to construct a picturesque and powerful story. The character of “Cigarette” in Under Two Flags is full of fine touches, and this is not an isolated instance. In 1874 Ouida made her home in Florence, and many of her later novels have an Italian setting. She contributed from time to time to the magazines, and wrote vigorously on behalf of anti-vivisection and on Italian politics; but her views on these subjects were marked by characteristic violence and lack of judgment. She had made a great deal of money by her earlier books, but had spent it without thought for the morrow; and though in 1907 she was awarded a Civil List pension, she died at Viareggio in poverty on the 25th of January 1908.
OUNCE, (1) (Through O. Fr. unce, modern once, from Lat. uncia, twelfth part, of weight, of a pound, of measure, of a foot, in which sense it gives the O.Eng. ynce, inch), a unit of weight, being the twelfth part of a pound troy, ＝480 grains; in avoirdupois = 437·5 grains, 116 of a pound. The fluid ounce is a measure of capacity; in the United Kingdom it is equivalent to an avoirdupois ounce of distilled water at 62° F.; in the United States of America it is the 128th part of the gallon, ＝14 gill, = 456·033 grains of distilled water at its maximum density (see Weights and Measures). (2) A name properly applied to the Felis uncia or snow leopard (q.v.). It appears to have been originally used of various species of lynx, and is still sometimes the name of the Canada lynx. The word appears in O. Fr. and Ital. as once and lonce, onza and lonza respectively, and it is usually explained as being due to the confusion of the l with the article, lonce and lonza being changed to l’once or l’onza, and the l’ subsequently dropped. If this be so the word is the same as “lynx,” from the popular Lat. luncia＝lyncia, Gr. λύγξ. On the other hand once and onza may be nasalized forms of yūz, the Persian name of the panther.
OUNDLE, a market-town in the Northern parliamentary division of Northamptonshire, England, 305 m. N.E. of Northampton by a branch of the London & North-Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 2404. It is picturesquely situated on an eminence, two sides of which are touched by the river Nene, which here makes a deep bend. The church of St Peter is a fine building with Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular porticos, with a western tower and lofty spire. Oundle School, one of the English public schools, was founded under the will of Sir William Laxton, Lord Mayor of London (d. 1556). There are about 200 boys. The school is divided into classical and modern sides, and has exhibitions to Oxford and Cambridge universities. A second-grade school was instituted out of the foundation in 1878. Oundle has a considerable agricultural trade.
Wilfrid, archbishop of York, is said to have been buried in 711 at a monastery in Oundle (Undele) which appears to have been destroyed shortly afterwards, and was certainly not in existence at the time of the Conquest. The manor, with a market and tolls, was among the possessions confirmed in 972 by King Edgar to the abbot of Peterborough, to whom it still belonged in 1086. The market was then worth 20s. yearly and is shown by the quo warranto rolls to have been held on Saturday, the day being changed to Thursday in 1835. After the Dissolution the market was granted with the manor to John, earl of Bedford, and still belongs to the lord of the manor. The abbot of Peterborough about the 13th century confirmed to his men of Oundle freedom from tallage, “saving to himself pleas of port man moot and all customs pertaining to the market,” and they agreed to pay 8 marks, 12s. 11d., yearly for their privileges. The town was evidently governed by bailiffs in 1401, when the “bailiffs and good men” received a grant of pontage for the repair of the bridge called “Assheconbrigge,” but the town was never incorporated and never sent members to parliament.
OURO PRETO (“Black Gold”), a city of the state of Minas Geraes, Brazil, 336 m. by rail N. by W. of Rio de Janeiro, and about 300 m. W. of Victoria, Espirito Santo, on the eastern slope of the Serra de Espinhaço and within the drainage basin of the Rio Doce. Pop. (1890) 17,860; (1900) 11,116. Ouro Preto is connected with Miguel Burnier, on the Central of Brazil railway, by a metre-gauge line 31 m. in length. The city is built upon the lower slope of the Serra do Ouro Preto, a spur of the Espinhaço, deeply cut by ravines and divided into a number of irregular hills, up which the narrow, crooked streets are built and upon which groups of low, old-fashioned houses form each a separate nucleus. From a mining settlement the city grew as the inequalities of the site permitted. R. F. Burton (Highlands of Brazil, London, 1869) says that its shape “is that of a huge serpent, whose biggest end is about the Praça. . . . The extremities stretch two good miles, with raised convolutions. . . . The ‘streeting’ of both upper and lower town is very tangled, and the old thoroughfares, mere ‘wynds’ . . . show how valuable once was building ground.” The rough streets are too steep and narrow for vehicles, and even riding on horseback is often difficult. Several rivulets follow the ravines and drain into the Ribeirao do Carmo, a sub-tributary of the Rio Doce. The climate is sub-tropical and humid, though the elevation (3700-3800 ft.) gives a temperate climate in winter. The days are usually hot and the nights cold, the variations in temperature being a fruitful cause of bronchial and pulmonary diseases. Ouro Preto has several historic buildings; they are of antiquated appearance and built of the simplest materials—broken stone and mortar, with an exterior covering of plaster. The more noteworthy are the old government house (now occupied by the school of mines), the legislative chambers, municipal hall and jail—all fronting on the Praça da Independencia—and elsewhere the old Casa dos Contos (afterwards the public treasury), a theatre (the oldest in Brazil, restored in 1861–1862) and a hospital. There are 15 churches in the city, some occupying the most conspicuous sites on the hills, all dating from the more prosperous days of the city’s history, but all devoid of architectural taste. Ouro Preto is the seat of the best mining school in Brazil.
The city dates from 1701, when a gold-mining settlement was established in its ravines by Antonio Dias of Taubaté. The circumstance that the gold turned black on exposure to the humid air (owing to the presence of silver) gave the name of Ouro Preto to the mountain spur and the settlement. In 1711 it became a city with the name of Villa Rica, a title justified by its size and wealth. At one period of its prosperity its population was estimated at 25,000 to 30,000. In 1720 Villa Rica became the capital of the newly created captaincy of Minas Geraes, and in 1823 the capital of the province of the same name under the empire of Dom Pedro I. When the empire was overthrown in 1889 and Minas Geraes was reorganized as a republican state, it was decided to remove the capital to a more favourable site and Bello Horizonte was chosen, but Ouro Preto remained the capital until 1898, when the new town (also called Cidade de Minas) became the seat of government. With the decay of her mining industries, Ouro Preto had become merely the political centre of the state. The removal of the capital was a serious blow, as the city has no industries to support its population and no trade of importance. The event most prominent in the history of the city was the conspiracy of 1789, in which several leading citizens were concerned, and for
