Lorient took the place of Port Louis as the port of the Blavet. The latter stands on the site of an ancient hamlet which was fortified during the wars of the League and handed over by Philip Emmanuel, duke of Morcoeur, to the Spaniards. After the treaty of Vervins it was restored to France, and it received its name of Port Louis under Richelieu. Some Breton merchants trading with the Indies had established themselves first at Port Louis, but in 1628 they built their warehouses on the other bank. The Compagnie des Indes Orientales, created in 1664, took possession of these, giving them the name of l'Orient. In 1745 the Compagnie des Indes, then at the acme of its prosperity, owned thirty-five ships of the largest class and many others of considerable size. Its decadence dates from the English conquest of India, and in 1770 its property was ceded to the state. In 1782 the town was purchased by Louis XVI. from its owners, the Rohan-Guéméné family. In 1746 the English under Admiral Richard Lestock made an unsuccessful attack on Lorient. LORINER, or LORIMER (from O. Fr. _loremier_ or _lorenier_, a maker of _lorains_, bridles, from Lat. _lorum_, thong, bridle; the proper form is with the _n_; a similar change is found in Latimer for Latiner, the title of an old official of the royal household, the king's interpreter), one who makes bits and spurs and the metal mountings for saddles and bridles; the term is also applied to a worker in wrought iron and to a maker of small iron ware. The word is now rarely used except as the name of one of the London livery companies (see LIVERY COMPANY). LORIS, a name of uncertain origin applied to the Indo-Malay representatives of the lemurs, which, together with the African pottos, constitute the section _Nycticebinae_ of the family _Nycticebidae_ (see PRIMATES). From their extremely slow movements and lethargic habits in the daytime these weird little creatures are commonly called sloths by Anglo-Indians. Their soft fur, huge staring eyes, rudimentary tails and imperfectly developed index-fingers render lorises easy of recognition. The smallest is the slender loris (_Loris gracilis_) of the forests of Madras and Ceylon, a creature smaller than a squirrel. It is of such exceeding strangeness and beauty that it might have been thought it would be protected by the natives; but they hold it alive before a fire till its beautiful eyes burst in order to afford a supposed remedy for ophthalmia! The mainland and Cingalese animals form distinct races. Both in this species and the slow loris there is a pair of rudimentary abdominal teats in addition to the normal pectoral pair. The slow loris (_Nycticebus tardigradus_) is a heavier built and larger animal, ranging from eastern Bengal to Cochin China, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Java and Sumatra. There are several races, mostly grey in colour, but the Sumatran _N. t. hilleri_ is reddish. (R. L.*)