Chapter Overreach to Ozair of O by Brewer's Readers Handbook

Oxford Blues (The), the Royal Horse Guards.

Oxford University Boat Crew. Colours: dark blue.

Oxford Sausage (The), a collection of scraps and anecdotes connected with Oxford, by J. Warton (1764).

Oxford University, said to have been founded by king Alfred, in 886.

…religious Alfred…
Renownèd Oxford built to Apollo’s learned brood;
And on the hallowed bank of Isis’ goodly flood,
Worthy the glorious arts, did gorgeous bowers provide.
   —Drayton: Polyolbion, xi. (1613).

Oyster. Pistol says, “The world’s mine oyster, which I with sword will open.” He alludes to the proverb, “The mayor of Northampton opens oysters with his dagger,” for, Northampton being some eighty miles from the sea, oysters were so stale before they reached the town (before railroads or even coaches were known), that the “mayor” would be loth to bring them near his nose.

Oysters. Those most esteemed by the Romans were the oysters of Cyzicum, in Bithynia, and of Lucrinum, in Apulia, upon the Adriatic Sea. The best in Britain used to be the oysters of Walfleet, near Colchester.

Think you our oysters here unworthy of your praise?
Pure Walfleet … as excellent as those …
The Cyzic shells, or those on the Lucrinian coast.
   —Drayton: Polyolbion, xix. (1622).

(The oysters most esteemed by Englishmen are the Whitstable, which fetch a fabulous price. Colchester oysters (natives) in 1878 were sold at 4s. a dozen. Stiffkey (called Stu-ky) oysters, were at one time very highly esteemed. Stiffkey is near Wells, in Norfolk.)

Ozair , a prophet. One day, riding on an ass by the ruins of Jerusalem, after its destruction by the Chaldeans, he doubted in his mind whether God could raise the city up again. Whereupon God caused him to die, and he remained dead a hundred years, but was then restored to life. He found the basket of figs and cruse of wine as fresh as when he died, but his ass was a mass of bones. While he still looked, the dry bones came together, received life, and the resuscitated ass began to bray; whereupon the prophet no longer doubted the power of God to raise up Jerusalem from its ruins.—Al Korân, ii. (Sale’s notes).

(This legend is based on Neh. ii. 12-20.)