ODE ODESSA land in the 18th century, and now having extensive lodges in Great Britain, Aus- tralia, Denmark, Switzerland, the United States, etc. Its organization is in lodges and encampments, grand lodges, grand encampments, and the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the World, and good moral character and belief in a Supreme Being are the requisite for membership. The first lodge in the United States was es- tablished in 1819; the grand lodges of the United States reported in 1914 a membership of 1,608,791. Pennsylvania, 137,751; New York, 126,294; Illinois, 105,062; Ohio, 87,788; Indiana, 87,044, etc. The Rebekah lodges admit to mem- bership female relatives of the male members. There is also an organization of colored Odd Fellows, entitled the "Grand United Order of Odd Fellows of America." Canada and the maritime provinces have a membership of 100,305. Aus- tralia, 45,300. The largest body is the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows with a membership throughout the British Em- pire of 950,000. In the east, including South America, 18 Grand Lodges have been started among 22 nationalities, provinces and territories. In Europe lodges were founded in Germany 1876, Denmark 1878, Netherlands 1877, Switz- erland 1871. In Cuba 1883, Mexico 1882. ODE, a poem of lyrical character, sup- posed to express the poet's feelings in the pressure of high excitement, and tak- ing an irregular form from the emotional fervency which seeks spontaneous rhythm for its varied utterance. The Greeks called every lyrical poem adapted to sing- ing — hence opposed to the elegiac poem ■ — an ode. The principal ancient writers were Pindar, Anacreon, Sappho, Alcaeus, among the Greeks, and Horace among the Romans. As employed by English writ- ers the ode takes either the Pindaric form of strophe, antistrophe, and epode irreg- ularly arranged and contrasted; or, the form of a regular series of regular stan- zas. The former style is found in Dry- den's "Ode for St. Cecelia's Day," while the latter is seen in Shelly's "Ode to a Skylark." The masters of English poesy who have carried the ode to its highest achievements are Milton, Dryden, Col- lins, Grey, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats, and Shelley. ODELL, BENJAMIN B., JR., an American public official; born in New- burgh, N. Y., 1854; studied in Bethany College, W. Va., and Columbia Univer- sity. Entered party politics and in 1884 became member of the New York State Republican Committee, and chairman of its Executive Committee in 1898. Was a member of the United States House of Repi'esentatives from 1895 to 1899 Was governor of New York from 190 x till 1904. He was head of the party machine till 1905, when he was defeated as state chairman by Timothy L. Wood- ruff. ODENBTJRG. See Oedenburg. ODENSE, a city of Denmark on the island of Funen, the capital of Oden- seamt. It is the third city in popula- tion in Denmark and is situated on the Odense River. It is a well built city with all modern municipal improvements. It contains the cathedral of St. Canute, erected in the thirteenth century. Other important buildings are a castle, a large city hall and a handsome post office. There are several private and tech- nical schools and two excellent libraries. The city is an important industrial and commercial center. There are manufac- tories of beer, liquors, glass, chemical products, machinery, textiles and sugar. Pop. about 45,000. ODENWALD, a forest and chain of mountains in Western Germany, be- tween the Neckar and the Main, in the territories of Hesse, Baden, and Bavaria. The Odenwald is about 50 miles in length, and presents charming scenery. ODEB, one of the principal rivers of Germany, rising in the Oderberg on the tableland of Moravia, 1,950 feet above the level of the sea, traversing Prussia, Silesia, Brandenburg, and Pomerania, then emptying into the Stettiner Haff, whence it passes into the Baltic by the triple arms of the Dievenow, Peene, and Swine, which enclose the islands of Wol- lin and Usedom. It has a course N. W. and N. of 550 miles, and a basin of 50,000 square miles. Canals connect the Oder with the Spree, the Havel, and the Elbe; the Warthe is the only tributary of im- portance for navigation. On the banks of the Oder are Ratibor, Breig, Breslau, Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Stettin, and Swinemiinde. ODESSA, a city and seaport of South Russia, on the N. W. coast of the Black Sea, half-way between the mouths of the Dniester and Bug. The harbor, which is artificial, is formed of two moles, and is capable of accommodating over 200 ves- sels. It is defended by two batteries to- ward the sea; and on the E. side is a citadel, which commands the town and port. The principal building is the ca- thedral of St. Nicholas. Facing the port is a large statue in bronze of the Duke de Richelieu. A great drawback is the scarcity of wood and water, and the in-
