Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/842

OBLIGATION. 716 O'BRIEN. ther, money paid or property transferred under the mistaken impression that a legal ol)lij;ation existed eoiild not be recovered if a natural obli- gation existed. In many cases, moreover, a nat- ural obligation was a siillicient basis for surety- ship w lor a new promise, and in a few cases sueli an oblifzation could be use<l as a .set-oil' against a legal obligation, ^lodern legislators do not regard the eouce])tion with favor, but the covirts have not been able to dispense with it. Consult the authorities referred to under Civil Law. OBLIQUE MOTION. See MoTlox. OBOE ( It. ijIj'jc. Iium Fr. htnilbois, Eng. haut- hoij. high wood, so called from the high notes of the instrument, from hunt, high + lioh. wood). The oldest and most important wood-wind instru- ment. It is of gieat antiquity and is traced in the sculpture of Egypt and Greece. The oboe is the most elaborate and diflicult of reed instru- ments. It is made of wood, generally of box, ebony, cocoa, or rosewood, and is constructed in three pieces, or joints, forming a continuous tapering tube, about 21 inches long, tlie bore of which is narrow at the small end, and widens into a Im'II shaped opening, one and one-half inches in diameter at the mouth. In the upper and mi<ldle piece there are holes, by stopping or opening which with the lingers the player forms the notes of the natural scale, the intermediate semitones being formed by the keys. The reed is fixed upon the end of a small brass ttibe which fits, socket-like, into the small end of the upper piece. The sound of the oboe is reedy and pene- trating, though mild, and from its great power in swelling or diminishing the sound, it is capable of every variety of expression. In the modern orchestra two oboes are employed, the trcblv ohiie. a non-transposing instrument, the music for which is written in the G clef, and the altooboc or ror nmiUiix (q.v.). a transposing in- strument. The i)rineipal solo compositimis for the oboe are: Handel's six concertos; Mozart's quin- tet for oboe and strings; Recthoven's trio for two treble oliocs and cor anglais; llummel's varia- tions, with orchestra; and Kalliwoda's concertino in F, with orchestra. The nboc d'amnrr. in use in the eighteenth century, became obsolete, hut was reconstructed by M. JIahillon, of Brussels, at the order of II. Gevaert, in order to perform correctly the works of Bach. See AIisical I'S- STRIMENTS. OBOK, A-bok'. A seaport of French Somali- land (q.v.), situated at the western end of the Gulf of .Aden (Map: .-frica, .13). It was ac- quired by France in lS.5.i, and with the sur- rounding ilistrict formed the colony of Ohok, which became the nucleus of the French posses- sions in Srim;ililand. Population, about 1000. OBOLELOiA (Neo-Lat., diminutive of Lat. obiiliis. Ironi Gk. li.ioXos. tthnlnn. sniall coiiii. . small fossil brachiopod of oval or roundi'd out- line eomnu>n in and very eharacleristie of Cam- brian rocks of North America and Kurope. OB'OLDS (Lat., from (Ik. ddoMt. obolos). The name of a Greek measure of weight anil a Greek coin. Si.x of these oboli made a drachma. See Drachma. OBRADOViC, AbrJi'dA-vIcli. DnsiTUliis (17-i'.ilsl 1 ). . Serviiin author, the father of modem Servian literature. lie was born nt Csfikovfir, Hungary, and at the age of fifteen entered the .Mouasti'ry of Oprovo in Syrmia. He afterwards traveled in the East and in' Italy ; and in ITS.'i he jjublished Zirof i/;n7,-?H("cHi7(j, or "Life and .dventures." partly autobiographic and ]):irt- Jy fantastic. This was the first book written in the popular speech (jf the Servians, and made it a literary language. In Belgrade, when- lie set- tled in ISO", lie was made Senator and Minister of Public Education. Besides many translations, especially of ^JCsop's Fables (1788), he wrote .S'orc/i ztlramigo razuma, or "Wise Counsel" (1784), and a work on morals, Sobranie nravoit- ritrlni/ch reit'ej (17!)3 and 1818). A complete edition of his works in ten volumes appeared at Belgrade (183;{-4.i). Consult Sevic, /;o.vi(/ici(.* Ohrndiirir (Xeusatz, 1SS9). OBRENOVITCH, fl-bren'.Vvich. A ruling family of .Srvia which attained power in 1S17, when Milosli Gbrciiovitch (q.v.) was chosen Prince by the nobility and the clergy, ^lilosh was coni|Mdled to abilicate in IS.'i'.l and was followed by his sons, ililan, who ruled only for a few weeks, and Jlichael Obrenovitch (q.v.), who in turn was deposed in 1842, the power jiassing to the rival house of Karageorgevitch. Alexander Karageorgevitch fell in 1S'>8 and was succeeded by the ol<l Prince Jlilosh, who died in 181)0 and made way a second time for his sou Michacd. The latter was assassinated in 181)8 and Milan 1. (q.v.). a grandson of .lefrem, the younger brother of Milosh Obrenovitch. was chosen Prince. He attained the kingly title in 1882, but in 1880 was forced to abdicate in favor of his .son, .lexander I. (q.v.), who was assassin- ated in 1003, leaving no heirs. Peter Karageorge- vitch was chosen King by the Sku|)tcliina. See Servia. O'BRI'EN, F1TZ.IAMES (1828-02). An Irish- .iiiiriran poet, story-teller, and journalist, born in l.imcrick. He was educated at the I'liivcrsity of Dublin, served for a time, as is su]iposeil. in the British .rniy. and squandered a considerable inheritance in London, editing a periodical in aid of the first World's Fair (18511. The luxt year he came to the United States. His most striking work appeared in the Atlantic Monlhlji — two short stories hardly surpassed for creative imagi- nation in .-Vmeriean literaturt. These are The Iliiimoiid Lens and The Wniidcrsmilh. He sup- plied the stage also with many ephemeral ilramas, and with one, ,1 (Icntlcman from IrcUind. that held the hoards for a generation. In the Civil War he served in the Seventh Begimcnt. w;is sevendy wounded, and after a lingi'ring illness died, ill Cumberland, Md. (.pril ti, 18021. He was a distinguislu'd figure in the Bohemian New York of his day, and witness to the impression that he made in that sprightly circle is preserved in a sheaf of personal reodlcctions prefixed to The I'orms and Slinirs iif l'it:iain<x O'liriin, edited by his friend William Winter (1881). O'Brien has never received full praise for his unique, if bizarre, talents, which are most clearly displayed ill his stories, but are also visible in a number of poems, such as "The Skaters" :iiid "The Wharf Hat." O'BRIEN. .Tfremiait (1744-1818). An . Ameri- can nail lot. horn probably nt Kittery. Maine. In 177.") the captain of the British armed vessel Miirqarrtta threatened to bonilmrd the town of Machias. where O'Brien thin lived, unless the