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.’athedral i% now at Irishtown, in the county of
Kilkenny.
Ossuna, a town of Spain, in Andalusia. It
was formerly strong, but less by its ramparts than
by a fountain in the middle of the town, which
furnished the inhabitants with water, while the
country for 8 m. round was totally deprived of
that neccessary article. 50 m. E. N. E. of Seville.
Long. 5. 8. W., lat. 37. 22. N.
Ostalric, a town of Spain, in Catalonia. It had
a strong castle, taken by the French and demol-
ished in 1(395. It is seated on the Tordera, 28 m.
N. E. of Barcelona.
Osteal, a fortified sea-port of the Netherlands,
in W. Flanders, seated among a number of canals,
and almost surrounded by two of the largest of
them, into which ships of great burden may enter
with the tide. It is famous for the long siege it
sustained from the Spaniards, from July 1601 to
September 1604, when it capitualated on honora-
ble terms. On the death of Charles II., of Spain,
the French seized Ostend; but in 1706, after the
battle of Ramillies, it was retaken by the allies.
It was again taken by the French in 1745, but
restored in 1748. In the war of 1756 the French
garrisoned this town for the empress queen, Vlaria
Theresa. In 1792 it was once more captured bv
the French; evacuated in 1793; and repossessed
in 1794. In 1798 a body of British troops landed
here, and destroyed the works of the Bruges Ca-
nal ; but, the wind shifting before thev cou'd re-
embark, they were compelled to surrender to the
French. 10 m. AV. of Bruges and 22 N. E. of
Dunkirk. Long. 2. 56. E., lat. 51. 14. N.
Osterhofen, a town of Bavaria, seated on the
Danube, 20 m. W. N. AV. of Passau.
Osterode, a town of Hanover, with a manufac-
ture of woolen stuffs; also a magazine for corn,
which is delivered out to the miners of Harz For-
est at a fixed price. It is seated on the Saale, 18
m. N. N. E. of Gottingen.
Osterode, a town of Prussia, with a castle, situ-
ate on the Dribentz, 46 m. S. E. of Marienburg.
Ostersund, a town of Sw;eden seated on the E.
side of the lake Storsio, 76 m. N. AV. of Sunds-
wald. Long. 16. 10. E., lat. 63. 10. N.
Osterwick., a town of Prussian Saxony, in the
government of Magdeburg, with good woolen
manufactures; situate on the Use, 17 m. W. by
N. of Halberstadt.
Ostia, a decayed sea-pert of Italy, in the papal
states, and a bishop's see. In the neighbourhood
are extensive sak-works. It stands near the
eastern miuth of the Tiber, 12 m. 8. AV. of
Rome.
Ostig'i:. a town of Austrian Italy, in the pro-
vince of Mixtui, seated cn the Po, 15 m. S. E. of
Mantua.
OstinF.zjsrz. a town of Westphalia, situate on
the A'.st. ~ in. W :f Lipstadt. x
Ostrog. a *qxe2x80x94~ of Russian Poland, in Volhynia,
near the river H >r.in 31 m. N. N. AV. of Constan-
tinow.
Ostcole.ka. m tvinin cf Poland, where the Rus-
sians were repu’srC hy the French in 1306: seat-
ed on the Nirew. -is* in. X f of Warsaw.
Ostroeizza, a town or Austrian Dalmatia, with
the ruins of a cusle. formerly fortified. 14 m. N
of Scardona.
Ostrovno, a village of Russian Lithuania, where
the French defeated a bodv of Rusaacs in 1812.
17 m. W. of A'itepsk.
Ostuni, a town of Naples, in Tern dxe2x80x98Otranto,
seated on a mountain, near the gulf of A'enice,
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16 m. W. N. W. of Brindisi, and 50 S E. of
Bari.
Oswald, St., a village in Northumberland, Eng
on the Piet’s wall, 4 m. N. of Hexham. Here
Oswald defeated Codwall, a British usurper, who
was killed on the first onset; and here he set up
the first cross in the kingdom of Northumberland.
Oswegatchie, a river of New York flowing into
the St. Lawrence; also a township in St. Law-
rence Co. Pop. 3,934.
Oswego, a river of New York, forming the out-
let of several small lakes, and flowing into Lake
Ontario. It has several canals which assist its
navigation.
Oswego, a county of New York. Pop. 27,104
Oswego, the capital of the above county, stands
at the mouth of Oswego river. Pop. 2,703.
Oswestry, a town in Shropshire, Eng. It had a
wall and a castle, long since demolished. Of late
years the town has been much extended and im-
proved. It has a flourishing cotton manufactory,
and a good trade. 179 m. N. W. of London.
Oszmiana, a town of Russian Lithuania, in the
government of Wilna, 32 m. S. E. of Wilna.
Otuha, one of the Society Islands, in the S.
Pacific. It lies X. of Ulitea ; and is divided from
it by a strait, which, in the narrowest part, is not
more than 2 m. broad. This island is smaller and
more barren than Ulitea, but has two good har-
bours.
Otahetie, or Tahiti, an island in the S. Pacific,
discovered in 1767 by captain AA’allis, who cailed
it George the Third’s Island. Captain Cook, who
came hither in 1763 to observe the transit of A’enus,
sailed round the whole island in a boat, and staid
three months : it was visited twice afterwards by
that celebrated navigator. It consists of two pen
insulas, about 30 leagues in circumference. Great
part of it is covered with woods, consisting partly
of bread-fruit trees, palms, cocoa-nut trees, plan-
tians, bananas, mulberries, sugar-canes, and others
peculiar to the climate, particularly a kind of pine-
apple and the dragontree. The birds most com-
mon are two sorts of parroquets, one of a beautiful
sapphirine blue, another of a greenish color, with
a few red spots; a king-fisher, of a dark green,
with a collar of the same hue round its white
throat; a large cuckoo, several sorts of pigeons
or doves ; and a bluish heron. The only quadru-
peds found on the island were hogs, dogs, and
rats. The inhabitants have mild features, and a
pleasing countenance. They are about the ordi-
nary size of Europeans, of a pale mahogany brown,
with fine black hair and eyes. Their provisions
are chiefly fish, pork, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, and
bananas; and they employ sea-water as a sauce
both to fish and pork. Nothing can exceed their
agility in swimming, diving, and climbing trees ;
and they arc praised for their gentleness, good
nature, and hospitality. Previously to the intro-
duction of European habits, the men wore a piece
of cloth round their middle, and another wrapped
ahout the head, like a turban; the women had a
piece of cloth, with a hole in the middle, through
which they passed their heads, so that one part of
the garment hung down behind and the other be-
fore to the knees, a fine white cloth, like muslin,
passing over this in various elegant turns round
the body. Tattooing was common among both
sexes. Their houses had seldom any walls, but
consisted only of a roof, thatched with the long
prickly leaves of the palm tree, and supported by
a few pillars made of the bread-fruit tree.xe2x80x94The
native cloth is made of the fibrous bark of the
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