Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/74

64 S AV O T H who had received Deira, and of Osric, who had been ! chosen to Bcrnicia, Oswald was called to the throne of the united kingdoms, and established his claim to it by his great victory over Ceadwalla at Heavenfield near Hexham in 635. His beneficent reign, which was chiefly devoted to the establishment of Christianity throughout his dominions, was brought to an end by his defeat and death on August 5, 642 (see NORTHUMBERLAND). The cross erected by Oswald on the scene of his victory in 635 was afterwards the scene or the instrument of many miracles, and gradually his name found a place in the calendar, August 5th being the day sacred to his memory. A German " Spielmannsgedicht " of the 12th or 13th century takes its name from St Oswald, but the narrative has no relation to anything recorded about the hero in authentic history (see monographs by Zingerle, 1856 ; Strobl, 1870; and Edzardi, 1876). Oswald, bishop of Winchester, who died February 29, 992, is also commemorated as a saint (October 15). OSWALDTWISTLE, a township of Lancashire, Eng land, is situated on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the East Lancashire Railway, 3|- miles east-south-east of Black burn and 2-4 north of Manchester. It possesses cotton- mills, printworks, bleachworks, and chemical works, and in the neighbourhood there are collieries, stone quarries, and potteries. The population of the township and urban sanitary district (area 4883 acres) in 1871 was 10,283, and in 1881 it was 12,206. OSWEGO, a city and port of entry of the United States, capital of Oswego county, New York, stretches between 2 and 3 miles along the south-east shore of Lake Ontario, on the low bluffs and hilly ground near the mouth of the Oswego river, which divides it into two nearly equal portions, and is spanned by three iron drawbridges. By the Delaware, Lacka wanna, and Western Railroad it is 305 miles from New York, and by the New York, Ontario, and Western Railway 326 miles. The Oswego Canal connects at Syracuse with the Erie Canal. The situation of the j city is a beautiful and healthful one : most of the streets j are 100 feet wide, and there are two finely-shaded public parks, one on each side of the river. Among the more conspicuous buildings are the conjunct custom-house, post- office, and United States court-house, erected in 1858 at a cost of $120,000, the city-hall, the county court-house, ! the State armoury, the church of the Evangelists, the large Roman Catholic church in Mohawk Street, the public library (10,000 volumes), the normal and training schools, i the city almshouse (2 miles outside the city limits), and } the orphan asylum. Falling 34 feet in its passage through the city, Oswego river furnishes a good supply of water- ! power, rendered available by a canal on each side. Besides the Oswego starch factory (founded in 1848, and now probably the largest in the world, occupying 10 acres of , ground, partly with fireproof buildings seven stories high, and producing 35 tons of starch daily), the manufactories ( of Oswego comprise flour-mills, large iron-works (making steam-engines, steam-shovels, dredges, itc.), knitting works, i .--hade-cloth factories, railway carriage works and repair shops, box factories, planing-mills, and a large number of : subsidiary establishments. In the extent of its trade l Oswego is the principal United States port on Lake Ontario, importing vast quantities of grain and timber, and exporting coal, flour, and salt. The annual duties on | imports average over -SI, 000,000. The inner harbour, formed by the river mouth being enclosed by jettie: has j about 3 miles of wharfage, and a depth at low water of | from 9 to 1 3 feet ; and the outer harbour, formed by the construction since 1871 of a breakwater 5700 feet long, has about 4 miles of wharfage, and a depth of 20 feet. Fort Ontario, rebuilt by the United States Government in ; 1839, guards the entrance to the harbour ; it is a place of some strength. The population of Oswego was 12,205 in 1850, 20,910 in 1870, and 21,112 in 1880. Oswego was visited by Champlain in 1615, by the Jesuits Le Mayne in 1654, and by other early explorers. In 1722 the English established a trading post here, and in 1727 Governor William Burnet (son of Bishop Unmet) erected Fort Oswego. A body of about 700 men, left here by Governor Shirley, constructed in 1755-56 two other forts Fort Ontario on the east and Oswego New Fort on the west side of the river. In 1756 the place was bombarded and captured by Montcalm ; but between 1757 and 1759 new works were constructed by the English, who kept possession till Oswego was transferred to the United States by the Jay treaty in 1796. In 1814 Sir James Yeo took the fortress after a bombardment of three hours. The little hamlet of Oswego, commenced by Xeil M Mullen, rapidly increased after the intro duction of steam navigation cm the lake (1816) and the construction of the Welland and the Oswego Canal (1828). In 1828 it was incorporated as a village, in 1848 as a city. OSWESTRY, a market-town and municipal borough in Shropshire, England, on the borders of Wales, on two railway lines and near the Shropshire Canal, 18 miles north west of Shrewsbury and 16 north from Welshpool. It is a well-built town with wide and regular streets, although some of the old wooden houses still remain. There are still some traces of the ancient castle erected in the reign of Stephen. The church of St Oswald, originally conventual, has been very much altered, the original structure having been more than once damaged, and the tower taken down by the Royalists in 1644. It was restored in 1872 at a cost of ,10,000. For the free grammar school, founded in the reign of Henry IV., a new building was erected in 1810, which was enlarged in 1863 and 1878. Among the other public buildings are the public hall, the Victoria Rooms, the guildhall, the general market-hall, the literary institute, the union workhouse, and the cottage hospital. The town possesses locomotive repairing works, steam- engine, threshing machine, and agricultural implement works, steam printing works, corn mills, malting works, breweries, and a leather factory. In the vicinity are coal mines and limestone quarries. The population of the municipal borough (area 1888 acres) in 1871 was 7306, and in 1881 it was 7847. Oswestry was called by the Britons Tre r Cadeiriau, the town of chairs or seats commanding an extensive view, in reference to the eminences in the neighbourhood. It existed in the 4th century, and, having been given in the 5th century by Cunedda "VVledig, prince of North Wales, to his son Oswael, it received the name of Osweiling and subsequently Maserfield. After a battle in 642 between Oswald the Christian king of Northumbria, and Penda the pagan king of Mercia, in which the former was slain, the name was changed to Oswaldstre (Welsh, Crocs Oswallt), which was gradually corrupted into Oswestry. On the spot where Oswald was slain a monastery was afterwards erected, and near its site there is a spring still called Oswald s well. In 777 Oswestry was disjoined from Powis and added to Mercia. It stands between Ofl a s and Wat s dykes. About a mile from the town is an old British earthwork, known as Old Port, a corruption of Old Fort (Welsh, H(n Dinas and sometimes called Old Oswestry, from a tradition that Oswestry originally occupied its site. Oswestry is not mentioned in Domesday. The castle is said to have been built about 1149 by Madoc, the ruler of Powis Yadog. It was burned in 1216 and in 1233. Edward I. began in 1277 to surround the town with walls, which were about one mile in circumference and had four gates. During invasions of the Welsh the town was burned in 1400 and 1403 ; it also suffered severely from a similar cause in 1542, 1544, and 1567, and in 1559 it was devastated by the plague. Oswestry was garrisoned for the Royali>ts, but surrendered 22.1 June 1644, and a few years afterwards the castle was demolished. The town obtained the grant of a fair from Henry III. It received its first charter from William Fitz- Alan in the reign of Henry II., and a royal charter from Kichard II. Its present charter was granted by Charles II. Sen Price, History of Oiwettry, 1815; enthrall, Hittory of Otwettry and TOJIO graphy of the lioroiiijh, 185-5; Pennant, Tour ; Ej ton, Antiquities of Shropshire. OTAGO. See NEW ZEALAND. OTAHEITE, or TAHITI. See SOCIETY ISLANDS. OTHO, MARCUS SALVIUS, Roman emperor from January 15 to April 15, 69 A.D., was born April 28, 32 A.D. He belonged to an ancient and noble Etruscan