Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 15, NIC-PAR

° R L [ 465 ]
In 1801, according to^the returns made to Parlia- of the Virgin.
ment, the population of Orkney was 24,445, an^ that
of Shetland was 22,379> in 1811 the population of
both was 46,153. For a fuller account of Orkney, see
Barry’s History of the Orkney Islands, 4to. 1805.
ORLE, Ori.ET, or O7/0, in Architecture, a fillet un-
der the ovolo, or quarter round, of a capital. When
it is at the top or bottom of a shaft, it is called cincture.
Palladio uses the word orlo for the plenith of the basis
of the columns.
Orle, in Heraldry. See Heraldry.
ORLEANOIS, a province ol France, now forming
the three departments of Loiret, Loire et Cher, Eure et
Loire.
ORLEANS, the chief town of the department of
Loiret, and formerly the capital of the government of
Orleanois. It was anciently called Genabum, or €e-
nabum ; and afterwards denominated Aurdia, Aitrdice,
and Aurdianum, by tbe emperor Aurelian, who consi¬
derably enlarged it. In Julius Caesar’s time it was the
capital of the Carnutes. It stands about 20 leagues
south of Paris, on the northern bank of tbe Loire j a-
cross which Mr Wraxall says there is an elegant bridge
of nine arches, the entrance by which is exceedingly
noble and striking, the street which leads from it being
composed of most elegant modern buildings. In gene¬
ral, however, excepting this street, it is very meanly
built; the streets are narrow, and the inhabitants in
general poor. It is surrounded with walls, and forti¬
fied with 40 towers. The streets almost all terminate
at the quay for the convenience of trade. It is the
seat of several courts of justice, and in 1800 contained
36,000 inhabitants. It is a bishop’s see j and the
cathedral is a most superb Gothic structure, and had
the finest steeple in France till it was damaged in the
time of the civil wars. There were 22 parishes in it,
and a great number of churches. There are manufac¬
tures of cloths, serges, coverlets, printed calicoes, cot¬
ton thread, painted paper, refined sugar, &c. By the
canal of the Loire it carries on a considerable trade in
corn, wines, brandies, vinegar, timber, fire-wood, wools,
&c. The canal begins about two miles above the city j
is near 18 leagues in length; and terminates on the
Loing, which falls into the Seine. The environs of
Orleans, more especially in the province of Sologne, to
the south of the Loire, are very agreeable. It is in
general a level country, covered with corn and vines.
Jo the north of the city is a forest, the largest in the
whole kingdom. Before the revolution it belonged to
the duke of Orleans : to whom the timber felled in it,
one year with another, brought about 100,000 livres.
Louis XIV. gave the dukedom of Orleans to his own
brother Philip, who began and finished the canal ;
which, by the duties paid by vessels going up and down,
brought in, one year with another, 150,000 livres. The
bishop was suffragan to the archbishop of Paris, and had
a revenue of 24,000 livres, out of which his tax to Rome
was 2000 florins. A new bishop, it is said, on the first
day of his entering, had the privilege of releasing all the
prisoners in it, except those committed for treason. In
the street leading from the bridge stands the celebrated
monument where Charles VII. and Joan of Arc the
Maid of Orleans, are represented on their knees before
the body of our Saviour, who lies extended on the lap
VOL. XV. Part II.
O ft L
It was erected by order of that mo¬
narch in 1458, to perpetuate his victories over the
English, and their expulsion from his dominions. All
the figures are in iron. Tbe king appears bareheaded,
and by him lies his helmet surmounted with a crown.
Opposite to him is the Maid herself in the same atti¬
tude of grateful devotion to Pleaven. It is a most
precious and invaluable historical monument.
“ In the Hotel de Ville (says Wraxall) is a portrait
of the same immortal woman, which I studied long and
attentively. Though it was not done till 1581, which
was near 130 years after her decease, it is yet the
oldest and best picture of her now existing. The
painter seems undoubtedly to have drawn a flattering
resemblance of her, and to have given his heroine
imaginary charms. Her face, though long, is of ex¬
ceeding beauty, heightened by an expression of intel¬
ligence and grandeur rarely united. Her hair falls
loosely down her back, and she wears on her head a
sort of bonnet enriched with pearls, and shaded with
white plumes, tied under her chin with a string. About
her neck is a little collar, and lower down, upon her bo¬
som, a necklace composed of small links. Her dress,
which is that of a woman, I find it difficult exactly to
describe. It sits close to the body, and is cut or slashed
at the arms and elbows. Round her waist is an embroi- '
dered girdle, and in her right hand she holds the sword
with which she expelled tbe enemies of her sovereign
and her country* I am not surprised at the animated
and enthusiastic attachment which the French still che¬
rish for her memory. The critical and desperate emer¬
gency in which she appeared ; her sex, youth, and even
the obscurity of her birth ; the unparalleled success
which crowned her enterprise ; the cruel and detestable
sentence by which she was put to death ; the air of the
marvellous spread over the whole narration, increased
and strengthened by that veneration which time affixes
to every great event—all these united causes conspired
to place her above mortality. Rome and Athens would
undoubtedly have ranked her among their tutelary dei¬
ties, and have erected temples to her honour; nor can
I help being amazed, that amidst the almost infinite
number of modern saints who crowd and disgrace their
churches, no altar has yet been dedicated to the Maid
of Orleans.” See France, N° ioi. . .
The bridge was new built in the i8tb century, and
opened in 1760; and the French esteem it the finest in.
the world. E. Long. 1. 59. N. Lat. 47. 54.
Orleans, Hciv, the capital of the state of Louisi¬
ana in North America. It is situated on the left side
of the Mississippi river, 105 miles from its mouth.
This place was founded by the French in 1720; and
since it was ceded to the United States with the rest of.
Louisiana in 1803, its growth has been rapid beyond,
example. In 1817 it was estimated to contain 30,000
inhabitants, about one third only of whom speak Eng¬
lish. It is the great depot of trade for all the countries
watered by the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio, and
must in progress of time become one of the first trad¬
ing cities in the world. The exports in 1817 amount¬
ed to 9,024,812 dollars. The low situation of the
town exposes it sometimes to inundation, though it is
protected by an embankment ; and the extensive
marshes all round render it unhealthy. The streets
+ 3 N are
Orleaii ■,