transferred to the Northumberland, and despatched to St. Helena as medical attendant. The personal ascendancy which Napoleon rarely failed to exercise over men, had made O'Meara half a Bonapartist when Sir Hudson Lowe became governor of St. Helena. The stringent measures and extraordinary vigilance adopted by Lowe gave offence to the surgeon, who after an unseemly contest with his superior officer quitted the island in April, 1818. He preferred charges at the admiralty of a malignant character against Sir Hudson, which being refuted, O'Meara was dismissed the service. In 1822 he published "A Voice from St. Helena, or Napoleon in Exile," which was greedily received by the liberal party. He died in 1836.—R. H.
* OMER PACHA (Michael Lattas), generalissimo of the Turkish army, was born in 1811 at Plaski in Austrian Croatia, and held a government situation; but, for some reason, made his escape into Bosnia, and entered as private tutor the family of a gentleman with whom, in 1833, he went to Constantinople. He had previously embraced the Mahometan faith, and taken the name of Omer. Khosrew Pacha, then seraskier, discerning his abilities, made him his own adjutant, and afterwards procured his appointment as writing-master to the future sultan, Abdul Medjid. Khosrew also obtained for his protegé a rich wife, and a commission as major (1834). He took an active part in reorganizing the Turkish army; served as colonel in 1839 against the Druses, then in Bulgaria, and in the Albanian insurrection of 1846. In 1848 he was appointed to the command of the army destined to co-operate with the Russian forces in Moldavia and Wallachia, and it was the courage he displayed in protecting the Hungarian refugees which first drew public attention to him. In 1851 he was sent to quell an insurrection of the christians in Bosnia, and on the breaking out of the war with Russia, he was appointed, with the rank of field-marshal, to the command of the army. The successes which he gained at Olteniza (4th November 1853), and the capture of Kalafat, which cut off the communication of the Russians with the Greek subjects of the Porte, were perhaps over-rated at the time, but are nevertheless important military achievements. The military credit of the defence of Silistria belongs to another, but the tactics of Omer Pacha were eminently successful, and it is an open question whether his reputation would have suffered had he not been relieved by the diplomatic action of Austria from further duty in this quarter. The Turkish army was next despatched to Eupatoria, in order to threaten the rear of the Russian troops then pouring into Sebastopol, and in a brilliant engagement repulsed the attack of the Russians at that place. When removed to the camp before Sebastopol the Turkish troops had no opportunity of distinguishing themselves. In October, 1855, Omer Pacha was despatched with thirty-five thousand men to the relief of Kars, but, by a series of unaccountable delays he failed to reach the besieged city in time, and immediately after its fall he retreated to Redout Kale. The peace of Paris prevented any further display of his powers, but he remained generalissimo of the Turkish army. He was appointed governor-general of Bagdad, and subsequently to a special command in Syria. At present (June, 1862) he is in command of the troops sent to quell the insurrection in Montenegro. Omer Pacha is described as of winning manners and military address; he speaks most European languages, and has received military decorations from England, Russia, and France.—F. M. W.
OMMEGANCK, Balthasar Paul, a distinguished Belgian landscape painter, was born at Antwerp in 1755, resided there all his life, and there died in 1826. He was a scholar of H. Antonissen. He painted best pastoral scenes with cattle or sheep, as the Valley of the Walloon Maas. All his pictures exhibit close regard to the peculiarities of the season of the year and the hour of the day; his drawing is good, and his management of aerial perspective excellent; and his groups of animals are introduced and painted with great skill. On the other hand his execution is not pleasing, and his colour is not very satisfactory. Several of his best pictures are in the great private collections of England.—J. T—e.
ONATAS, the son of Micon, a celebrated Greek sculptor and painter of Ægina, the contemporary of Polygnotus at Athens, about 460 b.c., more distinguished as a sculptor or statuary than as a painter. His father, Micon, was probably the distinguished painter of that name, who painted in the Pœcile at Athens. Onatas was the author of a bronze group of Homeric heroes, which was dedicated by the Achæans, and placed near the great temple of Jupiter at Olympia. Pausanias mentions several others of his works; among them is a beautiful colossal image of Apollo at Pergamos. Of the paintings of Onatas is mentioned only the "First Expedition of the Argives against Thebes," in a temple of Minerva at Platæa. Onatas was the best Greek sculptor anterior to Phidias, according to the testimony of Pausanias; some of his works, probably those with which he was most satisfied, were inscribed with his name, birth-place, and parentage. The Greeks did not always allow this privilege of publishing their names to their artists.—R. N. W.
O'NEILL (Miss), a celebrated actress, was born about 1791. the daughter of the manager of the theatre at Drogheda. With such parentage she was early on the boards; and at the age of twelve, being seen by the manager of the Belfast theatre, she received an engagement there, and presently made her appearance on the Dublin stage. Her fame as Juliet procured her a London engagement, and she made her first and a very successful appearance in the metropolis on the 6th of October, 1814. Her Juliet and Belvidera were among her most triumphant performances; she did not succeed in comedy. Her beauty is celebrated in theatrical annals, and she won the admiration of Mrs Siddons, of whom she was a contemporary without being a rival; for sadness rather than grandeur was her histrionic forte. After a brief but brilliant theatrical career, at the close of which she was earning, it is said, £12,000 a year (with which she bestowed ample aid upon the family), she retired into private life, and married W. Becher, Esq., M.P.—F. E.
ONKELOS, one of the Targumists or Chaldee paraphrasts, is thought to have lived a short time before the birth of Christ, and to have been a pupil of Hillel, grandfather of the Gamaliel at whose feet Paul was brought up. According to this account he resided at Jerusalem, and translated the Pentateuch into Chaldee for the use of the Palestinian Jews. Some Jewish writings identify him with Aquila, the translator of the Old Testament into Greek, who was a proselyte to Judaism. But it is doubtful whether the two were identical; or whether they were not confounded by tradition. Eichhorn and Bertholdt hold that Onkelos was a native of Babylon, rather than Palestine. Their arguments are not sufficient to set aside the view we have given. The writers of the Babylonian Talmud sometimes refer to him; not, however, at length, nor with perfect consistency. In the Jerusalem Talmud he is not mentioned. Chaldee appears in its purest state in Onkelos' version of the Pentateuch, which is the best and most literal of all the Targums. The work has been often printed separately, as well as in the Rabbinic Bibles.—S. D.
ONSLOW, George, a celebrated musical amateur and composer, was by birth a Frenchman, born at Claremont in Auvergne in 1784, but of an English and noble family. His father, the Hon. Edward Onslow, son of George, Lord (afterwards earl of) Onslow, settled abroad, where he married a French lady; and the first fruits of this union having when very young displayed a decided genius for music, he received instructions at Hamburg from Dussek, and afterwards in London from J. B. Cramer. His knowledge of the theory of music he gained from M. Reicha, professor at the Conservatoire royal. He commenced his career as a composer, by music for the pianoforte; and two duets, among other works, are undeniable evidence of the highest talent. His fifteen quartets and ten quintets, for stringed instruments, are further proofs of his genius and knowledge. Many of the latter being written for two violins, tenor, violoncello, and double bass, are in frequent requisition when it is desirable to employ the last-named instrument. He also wrote two operas—"L'Alcalde della Vega," produced at Paris in 1824, and "Le Colporteur," performed at the same city in 1827—with the most unequivocal success. Mr. Onslow married a wealthy lady of Rouen, which city he adopted as his place of fixed residence; and though an artist in the strict sense of the word, yet he never made his talent his calling. He died at Rouen in October, 1853.—E. F. R.
OORT, Adam van. See Noort.
OOST, Jacob van, the elder, was born at Bruges about 1600, and was the most distinguished master of that city of his time. He was taught painting by his brother Frans, who died in 1625, and was admitted a master painter in 1621; he then studied several years in Italy, and in 1633 served as dean of the corporation of painters of Bruges. He held various important offices connected with his art till the year 1662, and died in 1671. Van Oost was at first an imitator of Rubens and of Vandyck, but in Italy became a follower of the school of the Carracci; and though he generally adhered to the Flemish taste
