Lalande, Joséph
Jérôme
Lefrançais de
(lä-länd').
(lä-länd').
Warner - World's Best Literature - v29 - BIographical Dictionary
His plays were all written in
verse and followed strictly the rules of the
classic drama, but inclined to be somewhat tedi-
ous in their moralizing. (Works, 5 vols. , 1762. )
Lachmann, Karl (lacb'män). A noted Ger-
man philologist and critic; born at Brunswick,
March 4, 1793; died at Berlin, March 13, 1851.
With Jakob Grimm he was the founder of the
Old-German philology, and was distinguished
for the keenness of his critical method. Among
the most important of his works were his treat-
ment of the Nibelungen (1836), arguing that it
is composed of twenty old folk-songs; Views
on Homer's Iliad (1847), aiming to show it to
be made up of single songs; and his editions
of the Nibelungenlied (1826); Walther von der
Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Proper-
tius, Catullus, Tibullus, Lucretius, etc. He was
professor at Konigsberg (1818) and Berlin
(1825).
Laclos, Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos
de (lä-klö'). A French novelist; born at Ami-
ens, 1741; died at Taranto, Italy, 1803. He
is best known by his Dangerous Connections)
(4 vols. , 1782). He wrote also a satire against
Madame Dubarry, CA Letter to Marget. His
life was spared by Robespierre, for the reason,
so it was said, that he composed R. 's speeches
for him.
La Condamine, Charles Marie de (lä kon".
dä-mēn'). A French scientist ; born in Paris,
Jan. 28, 1701 ; died there, Feb. 4, 1774. He is
best known as having with Bouger and Godin
measured an arc of the meridian on the plain
of Quito, South America. The expedition lasted
nine years (1735-44). On his way home he
descended the Amazon, being the first scientist
to do so, and the first man to publish accurate
maps of the river. He is said to have intro-
duced the knowledge of india-rubber into Eu-
rope. He wrote : Journal of an Expedition to
the Equator by Order of the King' (1751);
(Abridged Account of a Journey Made in the
Interior of South America) (1745); (Ilistory of
Small-Pox Inoculation (1773); etc.
Lacordaire, Jean Baptiste Henri Domi-
nique (lä-kor-dãr'). A noted French pulpit or-
ator and journalist; born at Recey-sur-Ource,
May 12, 1802; died at Sorèze, Nov. 22, 1861.
He became famous as a preacher at Votre
Dame, speaking from the pulpit on the ques-
tions of the day, and was a member of the Na-
tional Assembly. With Lamennais, he founded
the democratic journal L'Avenir (The Future :
1830), which was condemned by the Pope.
Among his works were : Philosophical Con.
## p. 320 (#336) ############################################
320
LACRETELLE
LA FARGE
siderations on the System of Lamennais) (1834);
(Life of St. Dominic) (1840); Detached Ser-
mons and Funeral Orations) (1844-47), the
most impressive of which was the oration
preached over the remains of Gen. Drouot;
and a voluminous correspondence.
Lacretelle, Henri de (lä-kret-el'). A French
poet and prose-writer, son of Jean; born Aug.
21, 1815. He was a member of the national
legislature. He wrote Lamartine and his
Friends' (1878).
Lacretelle, Jean Charles Dominique de, the
Younger. A noted French historian and jour-
nalist, brother of Pierre Louis; born at Metz,
Sept. 3, 1766; died at Bel-Air, near Macon,
March 26, 1855. He was editor of the Journal
des Débats, censor of the press, president of
the French Academy, and professor of history
at the University of Paris. He wrote a num-
ber of histories of France at different periods,
among which may be named: (Compendium of
the History of the French Revolution) (6 vols. ,
1801-6); (History of France during the Eigh-
teenth Century) (6 vols. , 1808). He wrote also
interesting memoirs of his own time: (Ten
Years of Trials during the Revolution (1842);
(Philosophic and Literary Last Will and Testa-
ment) (2 vols. , 1840).
Lacretelle, Pierre Louis. A French legal and
miscellaneous writer; born at Metz, 1751; died
Sept. 5, 1824. Besides several legal works, etc. ,
he wrote Portraits and Pictures) (2 vols. , 1817),
containing masterly descriptions of Napoleon I. ,
Mirabeau, and Lafayette. He edited the Mer-
cure de France and the Minerve Française.
((Works, 6 vols. , 1823-24. )
Lacroix, Jules (lä-krwä'). A French poet,
dramatist, and novelist, brother of Paul ; born
in Paris, May 7, 1809; died Nov. 10, 1887. He
wrote numerous romances; a volume of poetry,
Les Pervenches) (The Periwinkles : 1838); sev-
eral dramas; and (The Year of Infamy) (1872),
a collection of patriotic poems.
Lacroix, Paul. A French novelist and his-
torian; born at Paris, Feb. 27, 1806; died there,
Oct. 16, 1884. Under the pseudonym “P. L.
Jacob, Bibliophile,” he edited with valuable
commentaries the works of Rabelais and other
great 16th-century authors. Among his works
are: Dissertations on Some Curious Points of
the History of France) (3 vols. , 1838); "The
16th Century in France) (2 vols. , 1838); (His-
tory . . . of Napoleon III. (4 vols. , 1853); sev-
eral historical novels; numerous works of great
value on such subjects as (Historic Costumes
of France) (10 vols. , 1852); (Manners, Costumes,
etc. , of the Middle Ages) (1870); (The 18th
Century: Institutions, Usages, and Costumes)
(1879); (The Directorate and the Empire, etc.
(1883); these works on costumes, usages, etc. ,
are illustrated with most elaborate and accurate
designs executed by the foremost artists.
Lactantius Firmianus (lak-tan'shi-us fer-
mi-ā-nus), Lucius Cælius or Cæcilius. An
eminent Christian author of the fourth century,
A. D. A pupil of the rhetorician Arnobius, he
became a teacher of rhetoric in Nicomedia,
and afterwards tutor to Crispus, son of Con-
stantine the Great. His principal work, (The
Divine Institutes,' a production of a polem-
ical character, earned for him the title of the
(Christian Cicero. ”
Lacy, John. An English dramatist and
comedian ; born near Doncaster, before 1620;
died in London, Sept. 17, 1681. His best play
is (The Old Troop,' of which Scott makes use
in Woodstock. '
Ladd, George Trumbull. An American
educator and philosophical writer; born at
Painesville, O. , 1842. He was educated at
Western Reserve College and Andover Theo-
lo Seminary. He was pastor of Spring
Street Congregational Church, Milwaukee, Wis. ,
from 1871 to 1879; and professor of philosophy
at Bowdoin College from 1879 to 1881, when
he assumed the chair of philosophy at Yale.
His works include: Principles of Church Pol-
ity) (1881); Doctrine of Sacred Scripture)
(1883); Elements of Physiological Psychology)
(1887).
La Dixmerie, Nicolas Bricaire de (lä dēz-
mārē'). A French man of letters; born 1730;
died 1791. His works are able and powerful,
but not agreeable. They include: "Philosoph-
ical and Moral Tales) (1765), and (Eulogy of
Voltaire) (1779).
Laet, Jan Jakob de (lät). [Johan Alfried. ”]
A Flemish poet, novelist, and journalist; born
at Antwerp, Dec. 13, 1815; died there, April 22,
1891. He was a physician. After championing
Flemish rights and language in several journals,
some of them founded for the purpose by him-
self, he deserted journalism for business, but
engaged afterward in politics. Among his best-
known works were the romance (The House
of Wesenbeke) (1842); the village tale (The
Player) (1846); Poems) (1848; 2d ed. 1883).
La Fare, Charles Auguste, Marquis de (lä
fär). A French poet; born at Castle Valgorge,
Vivarais, 1644; died in Paris, 1712. A friend of
Marshal Turenne, he distinguished himself in
the campaigns of 1667 and 1674; but left the
army afterward and devoted himself to a life
of pleasure, the delights of which he celebrated
in verse.
The Duke of Orleans wrote the music
for his opera of Panthée. )
La Farge, John (lä färj). An American
artist of the first rank; born in New York city,
1835. He studied under Couture in Paris; be-
came a National Academician in 1869; and a
member of the Society of American Artists in
1877. He has executed remarkable paintings,
altar pieces, and decorations of interiors -
notably of Trinity Church, Boston; and de-
signed stained-glass windows for churches and
many other buildings, in the new American
manner, which is a revival of the art of mak-
ing colored glass (instead of painting glass),
of which he was the originator, in association
with Louis Tiffany. He has published a vol-
## p. 321 (#337) ############################################
LA FARINA - LAING
321
ume of (Lectures on Art,' and (An Artist's
Letters from Japan.
La Farina, Giuseppe (lä fä-rē'nä). An Ital-
ian statesman and historian; born at Messina,
July 20, 1815; died at Florence, Sept. 5, 1863. A
democratic leader, favoring Italian unity and in-
dependence, he lived part of his life as a polit-
ical refugee; but played an important part in the
movements of his time. His principal work
was History of Italy Narrated to the Italian
People) (10 vols. , 1846).
La Fayette, Marie Madeleine Pioche de la
Vergne, Comtesse de (lä-fi-et' or laf-ā-et'). A
distinguished French novelist; born at Paris,
1634; died there, May 25, 1693. All her life
she was in the foremost literary circles, after
marriage her house being a noted rendezvous
of wits and scholars, including Mme. de Sé-
vigné, Lafontaine, and La Rochefoucauld. Her
first novel was (The Princess de Montpensier)
(1660); ten years later appeared her second,
(Zaïde,' which among her works ranks next
after “The Princess of Cleves) (4 vols. , 1678),
her most celebrated work, and one of the
classics of French literature. She wrote also
a (History of Henrietta of England) (1720),
and Memoirs of the Court of France for the
Years 1688 and 1689) (1731). *
Lafontaine, August Heinrich Julius (lä-fon-
tān'). A German novelist; born at Brunswick,
Oct. 5, 1758; died at Halle, April 20, 1831. He
wrote more than 150 novels, and founded a
school which in its day was regarded with
high favor at the court of Prussia for its tone
of illiberal moralizing sentimentality. Among
his novels may be named: Picture of the
Human Heart) (1792); ( Descriptions of the Life
of Man (1811); “The Parsonage on the Lake
Side) (1816).
La Fontaine, Jean de. A celebrated French
fabulist and poet; born at Château-Thierry, in
Champagne, July 8, 1621 ; died in Paris, April
13, 1695. His first work was an adaptation of
Terence's 'Eunuch) (1654). His poem (Adonis )
was published in 1658. His principal works
are (Stories and Novels) (5 books, 1665-95),
and the (Fables) (12 books, 1668-95), - both in
verse. The (Stories) are mostly versions of
stories like Boccaccio's and Margaret of Na-
varre's, and almost unrivaled in variety and
vividness; but their licentiousness caused the
suppression of one book in 1675 by the public
censor. In this respect the "Fables) are with-
out blemish, while as works of literary art they
stand in the foremost rank. He wrote some
dramas, of little worth ; also a version in prose
and verse of “The Loves of Psyche) (1669). *
Lafuente, Modesto (lä-fwen'tā). A Spanish
historian; born at Rabanel de los Caballeros,
1806; died there, Oct. 25, 1866. Under the
pseudonymFray Gerundio » he published a
'series of satirical sketches which had wide
circulation; but his principal work is a (General
History of Spain) (30 vols. , 1850–66). It is
written without partisanship, and is the fruit of
laborious research; the style is excellent.
Lagarde, Paul Anton de (lä-gärd'). A dis-
tinguished German Orientalist; born at Berlin,
Nov. 2, 1827; died at Göttingen, Dec. 22, 1891.
He became professor of Oriental languages at
Göttingen, 1869. Of his very numerous writings
the majority relate to the books of the Hebrew
Scriptures; but he edited and commented on
versions of those books and of the books of
the New Testament in Greek, Armenian, Ara-
bic, Syriac, Coptic, etc.
Lagrange, Joseph Louis (lä-gränzh'). A
great French mathematician; born at Turin,
Jan. 25, 1736; died at Paris, April 10, 1813.
While still a youth he solved for Euler the
(isoperimetrical problem"); when Euler died,
he succeeded him as director of the Berlin
Academy (1766), and held that office till 1787.
In the mean time he contributed to the Pro-
ceedings of the Academy a long series of
memoirs, and wrote his greatest work, “Analyt-
ical Mechanics. After the death of Frederick
the Great he removed to Paris; there he was
lodged in the Louvre, and a pension was set-
tled on him equal to that granted by Frederick.
He remained in France during the Revolution,
safeguarded by the respect felt for his learn-
ing and his virtues even by the judges of the
revolutionary tribunals.
La Guéronnière, Louis Étienne Arthur
Dubreuil Hélion, Vicomte de (lä gār-on-yır').
A French publicist; born at Limoges, 1816;
died at Paris, Dec. 23, 1875. He became a
zealous partisan of Louis Napoleon after the
Coup d'État of 1851, being then chief editor of
the Pays. In a celebrated pamphlet, Napoleon
III. and Italy, he first heralded the approach-
ing war against Austria in Lombardy (1859).
In another pamphlet, France, Rome, and Italy)
(1861), he brought again to the front the ques-
tion of the Pope's temporal power. Hardly
less celebrated than these were his pamphlets
Napoleon III. and England) (1858); (The
Pope and the Congress) (1859).
La Harpe, Jean François de (lä ärp). A
French literary critic and poet; born at Paris,
Nov. 20, 1739; died there, Feb. II, 1803. After
publishing several volumes of mediocre verse,
he first came into public notice through his
tragedy (Warwick ) (1763), and then added
largely to his, fame by a number of elegant
and spirited Éloges) on great French worthies.
He was professor of literature in the Lycée,
1786-98, and his lectures were attended by all
the fashionables of Paris; the lectures were
collected and published in a series of volumes,
_Lycée, or Course of Literature (1799-1805).
Among his numerous works Sainte-Beuve as-
signs the first rank to (Cazotte's Prophecy. '
Laing, Malcolm (lāng). A Scotch lawyer and
historian ; born on the Island of Mainland,
Orkneys, in 1762; died in the Orkneys, Novem-
ber 1818. He was a lawyer by profession, and
later a member of Parliament, but devoted him-
self principally to historical investigation. He
wrote a continuation of Henry's (A History of
Great Britain) (1785), and History of Scot-
a
21
## p. 322 (#338) ############################################
322
LAING - LAMBERT
ist;
:
land) (2 vols. , 1800), which may be regarded as
supplementary to Dr. Robertson's History. In
the preliminary dissertation he presents an
elaborate argument to prove Queen Mary's par-
ticipation in the murder of Darnley.
Laing, Samuel. An English statesman and
philosophical writer; born at Edinburgh in 1810.
He has been prominently identified with rail-
way legislation in England, was for many years
prominent in Parliament, and from 1801 to 1863
held the office of finance minister to India.
Of his works, Modern Science and Modern
Thought) (1886), and (A Modern Zoroastrian)
(1887), have occasioned some discussion. His
other publications of a miscellaneous character
include : (India and China' (1863); (A Sport-
ing Quixote ; or the Life and Adventures of
the Hon. Augustus Fitzmuddle) (1886); (The
Antiquity of Man (1890); (Human Origins)
(1892).
Laistner, Ludwig (list'ner). A German
poet; born at Esslingen, Nov. 3, 1845. Among
his works are : (Barbarossa's Marriage-Broker)
(1875), an epic poem ; (Cloud-Myths) (1879),
relating to German mythology; (The Sphinx's
Riddle: Elements of a History of Mythology)
(2 vols. , 1889); (Germanic Names of Peoples)
(1892).
Lalande, Joséph Jérôme Lefrançais de
(lä-länd'). An eminent French astronomer;
born at Bourg-en-Bresse, July II, 1732; died at
Paris, April 4, 1807. Among his voluminous
works are: (A Treatise on Astronomy) (1764);
(French History of the Heavens) (1801), in
which are determined the places of 50,000 stars ;
(Astronomy for Ladies) (1785).
La Mara (lä mär'ä), pseudonym of Marie
Lipsius. A noted German writer on music;
born at Leipsic, Dec. 30, 1837. Her interesting
work, “Studies of Musicians' Heads) (5 vols. ,
1868-82), has had a wide circulation. She is
author also of Musical Thoughts) (1873), a
collection of sayings of eminent musicians ;
(Letters of Musicians) (1886); "Classicism and
Romanticism in the World of Music) (1892).
Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de
Monet, Chevalier de (lä-märk'). A celebrated
French naturalist; born at Barentin, Aug. 1,
1744; died at Paris, Dec. 18, 1829. He directed
his studies first to meteorology, but soon turned
mainly to botany: his (French Flora) (3 vols. ,
1778) became the basis of De Candolle's more
celebrated work. He wrote also an "Encyclo-
pædic Tableau of Botany) (3 vols. , 1791-1823)
and a Natural History of Plants) (15 vols. ,
1802). His most celebrated work, History of
the Invertebrates,' appeared in 1815-22 in seven
volumes. His theoretical views are expounded
in his (Zoological Philosophy) (2 vols. , 1809):
there he attacks the doctrine of the immuta-
bility of species, and lays the scientific founda-
tions of what later was called the development
theory of the origin of species.
Lamartine, Alphonse Marie Louis de (lä-
mär-tēn'). A celebrated French poet; born at
Milly, near Macon, Oct. 21, 1790; died at Passy,
March 1, 1869. His first volume of poems,
(Poetical Meditations) (1820), was in effect a
new departure in French lyrism, expressing
sympathy with nature and with religious senti-
ment which accorded with the then new reac-
tion against materialism. Then followed : 'New
Poetical Meditations) (1823); (Poetic and
Religious Harmonies) (1830); Recollections,
Impressions, and Reflections) (4 vols. , 1835);
(Jocelyn) (1836), an idyllic epos in which he
reaches the summit of his poetic inspiration ;
(The Fall of an Angel (1838), an imitation
of Byron ; (History of the Girondins) (8 vols. ,
1847); 'Confidences) (1849); New Confidences)
(1851); (History of the Restoration (8 vols. ,
1852). *
Lamb, Charles. A celebrated English essay-
born in London, Feb. 10, 1775; died at Ed.
monton, Dec. 27, 1834. His (Essays of Elia)
were originally contributed to the London Mag.
azine, beginning 1820; they were collected and
published in a volume in 1823, received with
universal public favor, and have a high place
among English classics. Last Essays of Elia)
were published in 1833. Lamb's cheerful phi-
losophy of life, his genuine and spontaneous
humor, and the easy grace of his style, are as
grateful to readers of to-day as to those of
two generations ago. He twice attempted dra.
matic composition, but without success. With
his sister Mary Lamb (1765-1847) he wrote
(Tales from the Plays of Shakespeare (1807),
intended for youthful readers, with whom it
has ever since been a favorite work. *
Lamb, Martha Joanna Reade Nash. An
American historian; born in Plainfield, Mass. ,
Aug. 13, 1829; died in New York city, Jan. 2,
1893. The best known of her works is the (His-
tory of the City of New York) (2 vols. , 1877-81).
She also wrote (The Homes of America (1879);
(Wall Street in History) (1883). For years she
was editor of the Magazine of American His-
tory. Mrs. Lamb was a member of many
learned societies in this country and Europe.
Lambecius, called Peter Lambeck (läm-bē'
shös). A German scholar (1628-80). He was
teacher of history in the high-school of his
native city, Hamburg, from 1652 to 1600, when
he became its rector. He then became super-
intendent of the Imperial Library, Vienna. His
principal writings are: Introduction to Literary
History! (1659), the first methodical work of
the kind; Notes on the Imperial Library) (8
vols. , 1665-79), a work of great value for early
German language and literature.
Lamber, Juliette (län-bā') — Madame Adam
(ä-don). A French miscellaneous writer; born
at Verberie, 1836. Her writings are mainly
on political, social, and literary topics. She
founded the Nouvelle Revue. Her works in-
clude: (The Siege of Paris ); (Garibaldi); (A
Peasant Woman's Narratives); (In the Alps);
(Laïde); (The Hungarian Country); etc.
Lambert, Johann Heinrich (läm'bert). A
distinguished German philosopher and scientist;
:
## p. 323 (#339) ############################################
LAMENNAIS - LANCASTER
323
His prose
born at Mühlhausen, Alsace, Aug. 26, 1728 ;
died at Berlin, Sept. 25, 1777. He was entirely
self-educated. At 16 he calculated the period
of the comet of 1744, according to the Lam-
bertine theorem. ” He became tutor in the
household of a nobleman in 1748, and in
1759 was appointed professor in the Munich
Academy. He was called to Berlin (1764) by
Frederick the Great. His masterpiece in phi-
losophy is the New Organon, or Thoughts
upon the Research of Truth) (2 vols. , 1764);
in physics he laid the foundations of photome-
try, pyrometry, and hygrometry; in his (Cos-
mological Letters) (1761), he sets forth the
views still held by astronomers regarding the
nature of the fixed stars; not less important
are his researches in pure mathematics.
Lamennais, Hugues Félicité Robert de (lä-
men-ā'). A French ecclesiastic, polemical, and
political writer; born at St. Malo, June 19,
1782; died at Paris, Feb. 27, 1854. He was or-
dained priest in 1817. The same year appeared
the first volume of his Essay upon Indiffer-
ence in the Matter of Religion) (4 vols. , 1807-
20), a work of profound learning and of strict
orthodoxy. He developed his views further in
Religion Considered in its Relation to the
Civil and Political Order) (1825), and Pro-
gress of the Revolution and of the War against
the Church) (1829). By degrees he became the
critic of Church policy, and his journal L'Ave-
nir (The Future) was condemned by the Pope.
Lamennais bowed to Rome's decree ; but after
a year was published his (Words of a Be-
liever) (1834), in which he repudiates all au-
thority of popes and bishops. The little volume
is written in archaic style, imitating the lan-
guage of the Hebrew sacred books; it had an
enormous circulation among the masses of the
people in every country of Europe. It was
followed by “The Book of the People) (1837),
and “The Past and the Future of the People)
(1842), in the same
Ile wrote also:
(Sketch of a Philosophy) (3 vols. , 1841); Re-
ligion'; and translated the Gospels, accom-
panying the text with notes. *
La Mettrie, Julien Offray de (lä-met-re').
A French philosopher; born at St. Malo, Dec.
25, 1709; died at Berlin, Nov. II, 1751. A
fever while he was army surgeon led him to
study the question of the parallel decline of
mental force and bodily strength: his con-
clusions, those of materialism and atheism,
he states in (The Natural History of the
Soul) (1745). Next he attacked the medical
profession in 'The Politics of Dr. Machiavel)
(1746). · Both works were burnt by the com-
mon hangman. In numerous other works, as
(Charlatans Unmasked) (1747), « The Machine-
Man (1748), “The Plant-Man) (1748), The
Metaphysic Venus, or Essay on the Origin
of the Soul) ( 1752 ), he provoked the en-
mity of the clergy and of medical men. Fred-
erick the Great had an edition of La Mettrie's
" Philosophical Works' published (1751) at the
cost of the royal privy purse.
Lami'i (lä-me-e'). A notable Turkish poet
and prose-writer; died about 1530.
works are chiefly translations from Jami.
Among his poetical works are four epics
founded on Persian legend : (Vamik and Afra);
(Vis and Ramin); (Absál and Selman); and
the (Ferhádnâmeh. There is a translation in
German, by Pfizmaier, of one of the minor po-
ems,-- (The Glorification of the City of Bursa.
Lamington, Alexander Dundas Ross Wish-
ard Baillie Cochrane, Baron. An English
author and politician; born in November 1816;
died in London, Feb. 15, 1890. He was the
eldest son of Admiral Sir Thomas J. Cochrane,
and one of the leaders of the Young England
Party in Parliament. Exeter Hall or Church
Polemics) (1841); Morea,' a poem; (The State
of Greece) (1847); (Ernest Vane, a novel ;
(Florence the Beautiful) (1854); (Francis the
First, and Other Historic Studies) (1870); (The
Théâtre Français in the Reign of Louis XV. ?
(1879), constitute his chief works.
Lamon, Ward Hill. An American lawyer
and biographer. He was a law partner of
Abraham Lincoln in Illinois. His works are :
(Life of Abraham Lincoln, from his Birth to
his Inauguration as President' (1872); “Recol-
lections of Abraham Lincoln.
La Motte, Antoine Houdart de (lä-mot'). A
French poet; born at Paris, Jan. 17, 1672; died
there, Dec. 26, 1731. His first dramatic com-
position, Originals,' was a failure; but some
of his operas, his tragedy (Inès del Castro)
(1723), and his comedy (The Swell,' had great
success, The (Odes) and (Fables, like all his
lyric compositions, though they show consider-
able power of invention, still are artificial and
lack spontaneity.
La Motte-Fouqué. See Fouqué.
Lampman, Archibald. A Canadian poet ;
born at Morpeth, on Lake Erie, Nov. 17, 1861.
He is a graduate of Trinity College, Toronto
(1882), and since 1883 has held an appoint-
ment in the Post Office Department at Ottawa.
A constant contributor of verse to the literary
papers and magazines of the Dominion and
the United States, he has published two col-
lections of poems, (Among the Millet (1888),
and Lyrics of Earth' (1895), which reveal a
deep love of nature and outdoor life.
Mr.
Howells ranks him with the strongest of Ameri-
can singers.
Lamprecht the Priest (läm'precht). A Ger-
man poet of the first half of the twelfth cen-
tury. He wrote the (Song of Alexander, one
of the best poems of mediæval Germany: it
is an adaptation of a French poem by Alberic
of Besançon, of which only a fragment remains.
Lancaster, William Joseph Cosens. An
English civil engineer and author; born at
Weymouth in 1843. He entered the British
navy as a midshipman, but on account of de.
fective eyesight resigned and became a civil
engineer, in that capacity visiting different
parts of the world. Under the pseudonym of
tone.
## p. 324 (#340) ############################################
324
LANCIANI - LANE
«Harry Collingwood," he is known to juvenile
readers in England and America as the author
of the popular nautical romances: (The Secret
of the Sands (1878); Under the Meteor Flag)
(1884); (The Pirate Island (1884); “The Congo
Rovers) (1885), a story of the Slave Squadron;
(The Missing Merchantman (1888); “The
Cruise of the Esmeralda.
Lanciani, Rodolfo Amedeo (län-che-ä'nē).
An Italian archæologist; born in Rome, Jan. I,
1847. He has attained celebrity by investigat-
ing the ruins of classical Rome. Among his
works are: (Ancient Rome in the Light of
Recent Discoveries) (Boston: 1888); Pagan
and Christian Rome) (Boston : 1892); and “The
Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome) (Bos-
ton : 1897).
Land, Jan Pieter Nicolaas (länt). A Dutch
Orientalist and philosopher; born at Delft,
April 23, 1834. Among his works are : John,
Bishop of Ephesus, the First Syrian Church
Historian) (1856); (Syriac Anecdotes) (4 vols. ,
1862); “In Memory of Spinoza) (1877); (Jav-
anese Music) (1891); (Arnold Geulinex and his
Philosophy) (1895).
Lander, Richard and John. African ex-
plorers, natives of Cornwall. Richard was born
1804; died 1834. John was born 1807; died
1839. The elder brother accompanied Clapper-
ton on his expedition to the Niger, and after
Clapperton's death returned to England, where
he published his own and his master's Journals.
He was then commissioned by the British
government to determine the course of the
lower Niger, and on that expedition was ac-
companied by his brother (1830-31). A de-
tailed narrative of their explorations is given
in their (Journal of an Expedition to Explore
the Course and Termination of the Niger) (3
vols. , 1832).
Landesmann, Heinrich. See Lorm.
Landois, Hermann (länd-wä' or länt'ois). A
German zoologist; born at Münster, April 19,
1835. He is author of (Sound and Voice
Apparatus of Insects) (1867); (Text-Book of
Zoology) (1870); (Text-Book of Botany) (1872);
(Voices of Animals) (1875); (Text-Book of In-
struction in the Description of Nature); and
other works of a like character, which have
been frequently republished.
Landon, Charles Paul (län-dôn'). A French
painter and art critic; born at Monant, 1700;
died at Paris, March 5, 1826. His more notable
writings •are : (Annals of the Musée and of the
Modern School of Fine Arts) (29 vols. , 1801-17);
(Landscapes and Genre Paintings in the Musée
Napoléon) (4 vols. , 1805-8); (The Salons of
1808-24' (13 vols. ); (Selections of Paintings
and Statues in the most Celebrated Foreign
Museums and Cabinets) (12 vols. , 1821 sq. ).
Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (later Mrs. Mac-
lean). An English poet and novelist; born
in Chelsea, London, Aug. 14, 1802; died at
Cape Coast Castle, Africa, Oct. 15, 1838. She
was a poet of genuine feeling and descriptive
power, was at one time connected with the
London Literary Gazette, and published under
the pseudonym of “L. E. L. ” : (The Improvi-
satrice, and Other Poems) (1824); 'The Golden
Violet, etc. ,' all collected in 1841; and several
novels. In June 1838, she married Mr. George
Maclean, governor of Cape Coast Castle, and
a few months later died from an accidental
overdose of prussic acid, which she had been
in the habit of taking for the alleviation of
spasms. The theory of suicide is now gener-
ally discredited.
Landon, Melville De Lancey. [« Eli Per-
kins. " ] An American humorist; born in New
York State in 1839. Among his works are :
(The Franco-Prussian War in a Nutshell) (1871);
(Saratoga in 1901) (1872); “Eli Perkins's Wit,
Humor, and Pathos) (1883); (Fun and Fact';
Money.
Landor, Walter Savage. A distinguished
English poet and prose-writer; born at Ipsley
Court, Warwickshire, Jan. 30, 1775; died at
Florence, Sept. 17, 1864. He inherited a very
large fortune ; entered the military service of
Spain 1808, with a body of troops maintained
at his own expense; in 1815 he fixed his resi-
dence at Florence. His most celebrated work
is "Imaginary Conversations of Literary Men
and Statesmen) (Ist series, 3 vols. , 1824-28; 2d
series, 3 vols. , 1829). Among his other works
are: Poems) (1795); (Gebir' (1798); (Count
Julian; a Tragedy) (1812); (Heroic Idylls)
(1814 ani 1820), two volumes of Latin verse;
(Sati e upon Satirists and Admonition to De-
tractors ) (1836), an attack upon Wordsworth;
( The Pentameron,' conversations of Petrarch
and Boccaccio (1837); (Andrea of Hungary
and Giovanni of Naples) (1839); (Fra Rupert,
the Last Part of a Triology) (1840); 'The Hel-
lenics) (1847); Italics, verses (1848); "Popery,
British and Foreign) (1851); Letters of an
American, mainly on Russia and Revolution)
(1854); Letter to R. W. Emerson (1856), on
Emerson's (English Traits); (Antony and Oc-
tavius: Scenes for the Study) (1856); (Dry
Sticks Fagoted by W. S. Landor) (1858); 'Sa-
vonarola and the Prior of St. Mark) (1860);
(Heroic Idylls, with Additional Poems) (1863).
verse and followed strictly the rules of the
classic drama, but inclined to be somewhat tedi-
ous in their moralizing. (Works, 5 vols. , 1762. )
Lachmann, Karl (lacb'män). A noted Ger-
man philologist and critic; born at Brunswick,
March 4, 1793; died at Berlin, March 13, 1851.
With Jakob Grimm he was the founder of the
Old-German philology, and was distinguished
for the keenness of his critical method. Among
the most important of his works were his treat-
ment of the Nibelungen (1836), arguing that it
is composed of twenty old folk-songs; Views
on Homer's Iliad (1847), aiming to show it to
be made up of single songs; and his editions
of the Nibelungenlied (1826); Walther von der
Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Proper-
tius, Catullus, Tibullus, Lucretius, etc. He was
professor at Konigsberg (1818) and Berlin
(1825).
Laclos, Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos
de (lä-klö'). A French novelist; born at Ami-
ens, 1741; died at Taranto, Italy, 1803. He
is best known by his Dangerous Connections)
(4 vols. , 1782). He wrote also a satire against
Madame Dubarry, CA Letter to Marget. His
life was spared by Robespierre, for the reason,
so it was said, that he composed R. 's speeches
for him.
La Condamine, Charles Marie de (lä kon".
dä-mēn'). A French scientist ; born in Paris,
Jan. 28, 1701 ; died there, Feb. 4, 1774. He is
best known as having with Bouger and Godin
measured an arc of the meridian on the plain
of Quito, South America. The expedition lasted
nine years (1735-44). On his way home he
descended the Amazon, being the first scientist
to do so, and the first man to publish accurate
maps of the river. He is said to have intro-
duced the knowledge of india-rubber into Eu-
rope. He wrote : Journal of an Expedition to
the Equator by Order of the King' (1751);
(Abridged Account of a Journey Made in the
Interior of South America) (1745); (Ilistory of
Small-Pox Inoculation (1773); etc.
Lacordaire, Jean Baptiste Henri Domi-
nique (lä-kor-dãr'). A noted French pulpit or-
ator and journalist; born at Recey-sur-Ource,
May 12, 1802; died at Sorèze, Nov. 22, 1861.
He became famous as a preacher at Votre
Dame, speaking from the pulpit on the ques-
tions of the day, and was a member of the Na-
tional Assembly. With Lamennais, he founded
the democratic journal L'Avenir (The Future :
1830), which was condemned by the Pope.
Among his works were : Philosophical Con.
## p. 320 (#336) ############################################
320
LACRETELLE
LA FARGE
siderations on the System of Lamennais) (1834);
(Life of St. Dominic) (1840); Detached Ser-
mons and Funeral Orations) (1844-47), the
most impressive of which was the oration
preached over the remains of Gen. Drouot;
and a voluminous correspondence.
Lacretelle, Henri de (lä-kret-el'). A French
poet and prose-writer, son of Jean; born Aug.
21, 1815. He was a member of the national
legislature. He wrote Lamartine and his
Friends' (1878).
Lacretelle, Jean Charles Dominique de, the
Younger. A noted French historian and jour-
nalist, brother of Pierre Louis; born at Metz,
Sept. 3, 1766; died at Bel-Air, near Macon,
March 26, 1855. He was editor of the Journal
des Débats, censor of the press, president of
the French Academy, and professor of history
at the University of Paris. He wrote a num-
ber of histories of France at different periods,
among which may be named: (Compendium of
the History of the French Revolution) (6 vols. ,
1801-6); (History of France during the Eigh-
teenth Century) (6 vols. , 1808). He wrote also
interesting memoirs of his own time: (Ten
Years of Trials during the Revolution (1842);
(Philosophic and Literary Last Will and Testa-
ment) (2 vols. , 1840).
Lacretelle, Pierre Louis. A French legal and
miscellaneous writer; born at Metz, 1751; died
Sept. 5, 1824. Besides several legal works, etc. ,
he wrote Portraits and Pictures) (2 vols. , 1817),
containing masterly descriptions of Napoleon I. ,
Mirabeau, and Lafayette. He edited the Mer-
cure de France and the Minerve Française.
((Works, 6 vols. , 1823-24. )
Lacroix, Jules (lä-krwä'). A French poet,
dramatist, and novelist, brother of Paul ; born
in Paris, May 7, 1809; died Nov. 10, 1887. He
wrote numerous romances; a volume of poetry,
Les Pervenches) (The Periwinkles : 1838); sev-
eral dramas; and (The Year of Infamy) (1872),
a collection of patriotic poems.
Lacroix, Paul. A French novelist and his-
torian; born at Paris, Feb. 27, 1806; died there,
Oct. 16, 1884. Under the pseudonym “P. L.
Jacob, Bibliophile,” he edited with valuable
commentaries the works of Rabelais and other
great 16th-century authors. Among his works
are: Dissertations on Some Curious Points of
the History of France) (3 vols. , 1838); "The
16th Century in France) (2 vols. , 1838); (His-
tory . . . of Napoleon III. (4 vols. , 1853); sev-
eral historical novels; numerous works of great
value on such subjects as (Historic Costumes
of France) (10 vols. , 1852); (Manners, Costumes,
etc. , of the Middle Ages) (1870); (The 18th
Century: Institutions, Usages, and Costumes)
(1879); (The Directorate and the Empire, etc.
(1883); these works on costumes, usages, etc. ,
are illustrated with most elaborate and accurate
designs executed by the foremost artists.
Lactantius Firmianus (lak-tan'shi-us fer-
mi-ā-nus), Lucius Cælius or Cæcilius. An
eminent Christian author of the fourth century,
A. D. A pupil of the rhetorician Arnobius, he
became a teacher of rhetoric in Nicomedia,
and afterwards tutor to Crispus, son of Con-
stantine the Great. His principal work, (The
Divine Institutes,' a production of a polem-
ical character, earned for him the title of the
(Christian Cicero. ”
Lacy, John. An English dramatist and
comedian ; born near Doncaster, before 1620;
died in London, Sept. 17, 1681. His best play
is (The Old Troop,' of which Scott makes use
in Woodstock. '
Ladd, George Trumbull. An American
educator and philosophical writer; born at
Painesville, O. , 1842. He was educated at
Western Reserve College and Andover Theo-
lo Seminary. He was pastor of Spring
Street Congregational Church, Milwaukee, Wis. ,
from 1871 to 1879; and professor of philosophy
at Bowdoin College from 1879 to 1881, when
he assumed the chair of philosophy at Yale.
His works include: Principles of Church Pol-
ity) (1881); Doctrine of Sacred Scripture)
(1883); Elements of Physiological Psychology)
(1887).
La Dixmerie, Nicolas Bricaire de (lä dēz-
mārē'). A French man of letters; born 1730;
died 1791. His works are able and powerful,
but not agreeable. They include: "Philosoph-
ical and Moral Tales) (1765), and (Eulogy of
Voltaire) (1779).
Laet, Jan Jakob de (lät). [Johan Alfried. ”]
A Flemish poet, novelist, and journalist; born
at Antwerp, Dec. 13, 1815; died there, April 22,
1891. He was a physician. After championing
Flemish rights and language in several journals,
some of them founded for the purpose by him-
self, he deserted journalism for business, but
engaged afterward in politics. Among his best-
known works were the romance (The House
of Wesenbeke) (1842); the village tale (The
Player) (1846); Poems) (1848; 2d ed. 1883).
La Fare, Charles Auguste, Marquis de (lä
fär). A French poet; born at Castle Valgorge,
Vivarais, 1644; died in Paris, 1712. A friend of
Marshal Turenne, he distinguished himself in
the campaigns of 1667 and 1674; but left the
army afterward and devoted himself to a life
of pleasure, the delights of which he celebrated
in verse.
The Duke of Orleans wrote the music
for his opera of Panthée. )
La Farge, John (lä färj). An American
artist of the first rank; born in New York city,
1835. He studied under Couture in Paris; be-
came a National Academician in 1869; and a
member of the Society of American Artists in
1877. He has executed remarkable paintings,
altar pieces, and decorations of interiors -
notably of Trinity Church, Boston; and de-
signed stained-glass windows for churches and
many other buildings, in the new American
manner, which is a revival of the art of mak-
ing colored glass (instead of painting glass),
of which he was the originator, in association
with Louis Tiffany. He has published a vol-
## p. 321 (#337) ############################################
LA FARINA - LAING
321
ume of (Lectures on Art,' and (An Artist's
Letters from Japan.
La Farina, Giuseppe (lä fä-rē'nä). An Ital-
ian statesman and historian; born at Messina,
July 20, 1815; died at Florence, Sept. 5, 1863. A
democratic leader, favoring Italian unity and in-
dependence, he lived part of his life as a polit-
ical refugee; but played an important part in the
movements of his time. His principal work
was History of Italy Narrated to the Italian
People) (10 vols. , 1846).
La Fayette, Marie Madeleine Pioche de la
Vergne, Comtesse de (lä-fi-et' or laf-ā-et'). A
distinguished French novelist; born at Paris,
1634; died there, May 25, 1693. All her life
she was in the foremost literary circles, after
marriage her house being a noted rendezvous
of wits and scholars, including Mme. de Sé-
vigné, Lafontaine, and La Rochefoucauld. Her
first novel was (The Princess de Montpensier)
(1660); ten years later appeared her second,
(Zaïde,' which among her works ranks next
after “The Princess of Cleves) (4 vols. , 1678),
her most celebrated work, and one of the
classics of French literature. She wrote also
a (History of Henrietta of England) (1720),
and Memoirs of the Court of France for the
Years 1688 and 1689) (1731). *
Lafontaine, August Heinrich Julius (lä-fon-
tān'). A German novelist; born at Brunswick,
Oct. 5, 1758; died at Halle, April 20, 1831. He
wrote more than 150 novels, and founded a
school which in its day was regarded with
high favor at the court of Prussia for its tone
of illiberal moralizing sentimentality. Among
his novels may be named: Picture of the
Human Heart) (1792); ( Descriptions of the Life
of Man (1811); “The Parsonage on the Lake
Side) (1816).
La Fontaine, Jean de. A celebrated French
fabulist and poet; born at Château-Thierry, in
Champagne, July 8, 1621 ; died in Paris, April
13, 1695. His first work was an adaptation of
Terence's 'Eunuch) (1654). His poem (Adonis )
was published in 1658. His principal works
are (Stories and Novels) (5 books, 1665-95),
and the (Fables) (12 books, 1668-95), - both in
verse. The (Stories) are mostly versions of
stories like Boccaccio's and Margaret of Na-
varre's, and almost unrivaled in variety and
vividness; but their licentiousness caused the
suppression of one book in 1675 by the public
censor. In this respect the "Fables) are with-
out blemish, while as works of literary art they
stand in the foremost rank. He wrote some
dramas, of little worth ; also a version in prose
and verse of “The Loves of Psyche) (1669). *
Lafuente, Modesto (lä-fwen'tā). A Spanish
historian; born at Rabanel de los Caballeros,
1806; died there, Oct. 25, 1866. Under the
pseudonymFray Gerundio » he published a
'series of satirical sketches which had wide
circulation; but his principal work is a (General
History of Spain) (30 vols. , 1850–66). It is
written without partisanship, and is the fruit of
laborious research; the style is excellent.
Lagarde, Paul Anton de (lä-gärd'). A dis-
tinguished German Orientalist; born at Berlin,
Nov. 2, 1827; died at Göttingen, Dec. 22, 1891.
He became professor of Oriental languages at
Göttingen, 1869. Of his very numerous writings
the majority relate to the books of the Hebrew
Scriptures; but he edited and commented on
versions of those books and of the books of
the New Testament in Greek, Armenian, Ara-
bic, Syriac, Coptic, etc.
Lagrange, Joseph Louis (lä-gränzh'). A
great French mathematician; born at Turin,
Jan. 25, 1736; died at Paris, April 10, 1813.
While still a youth he solved for Euler the
(isoperimetrical problem"); when Euler died,
he succeeded him as director of the Berlin
Academy (1766), and held that office till 1787.
In the mean time he contributed to the Pro-
ceedings of the Academy a long series of
memoirs, and wrote his greatest work, “Analyt-
ical Mechanics. After the death of Frederick
the Great he removed to Paris; there he was
lodged in the Louvre, and a pension was set-
tled on him equal to that granted by Frederick.
He remained in France during the Revolution,
safeguarded by the respect felt for his learn-
ing and his virtues even by the judges of the
revolutionary tribunals.
La Guéronnière, Louis Étienne Arthur
Dubreuil Hélion, Vicomte de (lä gār-on-yır').
A French publicist; born at Limoges, 1816;
died at Paris, Dec. 23, 1875. He became a
zealous partisan of Louis Napoleon after the
Coup d'État of 1851, being then chief editor of
the Pays. In a celebrated pamphlet, Napoleon
III. and Italy, he first heralded the approach-
ing war against Austria in Lombardy (1859).
In another pamphlet, France, Rome, and Italy)
(1861), he brought again to the front the ques-
tion of the Pope's temporal power. Hardly
less celebrated than these were his pamphlets
Napoleon III. and England) (1858); (The
Pope and the Congress) (1859).
La Harpe, Jean François de (lä ärp). A
French literary critic and poet; born at Paris,
Nov. 20, 1739; died there, Feb. II, 1803. After
publishing several volumes of mediocre verse,
he first came into public notice through his
tragedy (Warwick ) (1763), and then added
largely to his, fame by a number of elegant
and spirited Éloges) on great French worthies.
He was professor of literature in the Lycée,
1786-98, and his lectures were attended by all
the fashionables of Paris; the lectures were
collected and published in a series of volumes,
_Lycée, or Course of Literature (1799-1805).
Among his numerous works Sainte-Beuve as-
signs the first rank to (Cazotte's Prophecy. '
Laing, Malcolm (lāng). A Scotch lawyer and
historian ; born on the Island of Mainland,
Orkneys, in 1762; died in the Orkneys, Novem-
ber 1818. He was a lawyer by profession, and
later a member of Parliament, but devoted him-
self principally to historical investigation. He
wrote a continuation of Henry's (A History of
Great Britain) (1785), and History of Scot-
a
21
## p. 322 (#338) ############################################
322
LAING - LAMBERT
ist;
:
land) (2 vols. , 1800), which may be regarded as
supplementary to Dr. Robertson's History. In
the preliminary dissertation he presents an
elaborate argument to prove Queen Mary's par-
ticipation in the murder of Darnley.
Laing, Samuel. An English statesman and
philosophical writer; born at Edinburgh in 1810.
He has been prominently identified with rail-
way legislation in England, was for many years
prominent in Parliament, and from 1801 to 1863
held the office of finance minister to India.
Of his works, Modern Science and Modern
Thought) (1886), and (A Modern Zoroastrian)
(1887), have occasioned some discussion. His
other publications of a miscellaneous character
include : (India and China' (1863); (A Sport-
ing Quixote ; or the Life and Adventures of
the Hon. Augustus Fitzmuddle) (1886); (The
Antiquity of Man (1890); (Human Origins)
(1892).
Laistner, Ludwig (list'ner). A German
poet; born at Esslingen, Nov. 3, 1845. Among
his works are : (Barbarossa's Marriage-Broker)
(1875), an epic poem ; (Cloud-Myths) (1879),
relating to German mythology; (The Sphinx's
Riddle: Elements of a History of Mythology)
(2 vols. , 1889); (Germanic Names of Peoples)
(1892).
Lalande, Joséph Jérôme Lefrançais de
(lä-länd'). An eminent French astronomer;
born at Bourg-en-Bresse, July II, 1732; died at
Paris, April 4, 1807. Among his voluminous
works are: (A Treatise on Astronomy) (1764);
(French History of the Heavens) (1801), in
which are determined the places of 50,000 stars ;
(Astronomy for Ladies) (1785).
La Mara (lä mär'ä), pseudonym of Marie
Lipsius. A noted German writer on music;
born at Leipsic, Dec. 30, 1837. Her interesting
work, “Studies of Musicians' Heads) (5 vols. ,
1868-82), has had a wide circulation. She is
author also of Musical Thoughts) (1873), a
collection of sayings of eminent musicians ;
(Letters of Musicians) (1886); "Classicism and
Romanticism in the World of Music) (1892).
Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de
Monet, Chevalier de (lä-märk'). A celebrated
French naturalist; born at Barentin, Aug. 1,
1744; died at Paris, Dec. 18, 1829. He directed
his studies first to meteorology, but soon turned
mainly to botany: his (French Flora) (3 vols. ,
1778) became the basis of De Candolle's more
celebrated work. He wrote also an "Encyclo-
pædic Tableau of Botany) (3 vols. , 1791-1823)
and a Natural History of Plants) (15 vols. ,
1802). His most celebrated work, History of
the Invertebrates,' appeared in 1815-22 in seven
volumes. His theoretical views are expounded
in his (Zoological Philosophy) (2 vols. , 1809):
there he attacks the doctrine of the immuta-
bility of species, and lays the scientific founda-
tions of what later was called the development
theory of the origin of species.
Lamartine, Alphonse Marie Louis de (lä-
mär-tēn'). A celebrated French poet; born at
Milly, near Macon, Oct. 21, 1790; died at Passy,
March 1, 1869. His first volume of poems,
(Poetical Meditations) (1820), was in effect a
new departure in French lyrism, expressing
sympathy with nature and with religious senti-
ment which accorded with the then new reac-
tion against materialism. Then followed : 'New
Poetical Meditations) (1823); (Poetic and
Religious Harmonies) (1830); Recollections,
Impressions, and Reflections) (4 vols. , 1835);
(Jocelyn) (1836), an idyllic epos in which he
reaches the summit of his poetic inspiration ;
(The Fall of an Angel (1838), an imitation
of Byron ; (History of the Girondins) (8 vols. ,
1847); 'Confidences) (1849); New Confidences)
(1851); (History of the Restoration (8 vols. ,
1852). *
Lamb, Charles. A celebrated English essay-
born in London, Feb. 10, 1775; died at Ed.
monton, Dec. 27, 1834. His (Essays of Elia)
were originally contributed to the London Mag.
azine, beginning 1820; they were collected and
published in a volume in 1823, received with
universal public favor, and have a high place
among English classics. Last Essays of Elia)
were published in 1833. Lamb's cheerful phi-
losophy of life, his genuine and spontaneous
humor, and the easy grace of his style, are as
grateful to readers of to-day as to those of
two generations ago. He twice attempted dra.
matic composition, but without success. With
his sister Mary Lamb (1765-1847) he wrote
(Tales from the Plays of Shakespeare (1807),
intended for youthful readers, with whom it
has ever since been a favorite work. *
Lamb, Martha Joanna Reade Nash. An
American historian; born in Plainfield, Mass. ,
Aug. 13, 1829; died in New York city, Jan. 2,
1893. The best known of her works is the (His-
tory of the City of New York) (2 vols. , 1877-81).
She also wrote (The Homes of America (1879);
(Wall Street in History) (1883). For years she
was editor of the Magazine of American His-
tory. Mrs. Lamb was a member of many
learned societies in this country and Europe.
Lambecius, called Peter Lambeck (läm-bē'
shös). A German scholar (1628-80). He was
teacher of history in the high-school of his
native city, Hamburg, from 1652 to 1600, when
he became its rector. He then became super-
intendent of the Imperial Library, Vienna. His
principal writings are: Introduction to Literary
History! (1659), the first methodical work of
the kind; Notes on the Imperial Library) (8
vols. , 1665-79), a work of great value for early
German language and literature.
Lamber, Juliette (län-bā') — Madame Adam
(ä-don). A French miscellaneous writer; born
at Verberie, 1836. Her writings are mainly
on political, social, and literary topics. She
founded the Nouvelle Revue. Her works in-
clude: (The Siege of Paris ); (Garibaldi); (A
Peasant Woman's Narratives); (In the Alps);
(Laïde); (The Hungarian Country); etc.
Lambert, Johann Heinrich (läm'bert). A
distinguished German philosopher and scientist;
:
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LAMENNAIS - LANCASTER
323
His prose
born at Mühlhausen, Alsace, Aug. 26, 1728 ;
died at Berlin, Sept. 25, 1777. He was entirely
self-educated. At 16 he calculated the period
of the comet of 1744, according to the Lam-
bertine theorem. ” He became tutor in the
household of a nobleman in 1748, and in
1759 was appointed professor in the Munich
Academy. He was called to Berlin (1764) by
Frederick the Great. His masterpiece in phi-
losophy is the New Organon, or Thoughts
upon the Research of Truth) (2 vols. , 1764);
in physics he laid the foundations of photome-
try, pyrometry, and hygrometry; in his (Cos-
mological Letters) (1761), he sets forth the
views still held by astronomers regarding the
nature of the fixed stars; not less important
are his researches in pure mathematics.
Lamennais, Hugues Félicité Robert de (lä-
men-ā'). A French ecclesiastic, polemical, and
political writer; born at St. Malo, June 19,
1782; died at Paris, Feb. 27, 1854. He was or-
dained priest in 1817. The same year appeared
the first volume of his Essay upon Indiffer-
ence in the Matter of Religion) (4 vols. , 1807-
20), a work of profound learning and of strict
orthodoxy. He developed his views further in
Religion Considered in its Relation to the
Civil and Political Order) (1825), and Pro-
gress of the Revolution and of the War against
the Church) (1829). By degrees he became the
critic of Church policy, and his journal L'Ave-
nir (The Future) was condemned by the Pope.
Lamennais bowed to Rome's decree ; but after
a year was published his (Words of a Be-
liever) (1834), in which he repudiates all au-
thority of popes and bishops. The little volume
is written in archaic style, imitating the lan-
guage of the Hebrew sacred books; it had an
enormous circulation among the masses of the
people in every country of Europe. It was
followed by “The Book of the People) (1837),
and “The Past and the Future of the People)
(1842), in the same
Ile wrote also:
(Sketch of a Philosophy) (3 vols. , 1841); Re-
ligion'; and translated the Gospels, accom-
panying the text with notes. *
La Mettrie, Julien Offray de (lä-met-re').
A French philosopher; born at St. Malo, Dec.
25, 1709; died at Berlin, Nov. II, 1751. A
fever while he was army surgeon led him to
study the question of the parallel decline of
mental force and bodily strength: his con-
clusions, those of materialism and atheism,
he states in (The Natural History of the
Soul) (1745). Next he attacked the medical
profession in 'The Politics of Dr. Machiavel)
(1746). · Both works were burnt by the com-
mon hangman. In numerous other works, as
(Charlatans Unmasked) (1747), « The Machine-
Man (1748), “The Plant-Man) (1748), The
Metaphysic Venus, or Essay on the Origin
of the Soul) ( 1752 ), he provoked the en-
mity of the clergy and of medical men. Fred-
erick the Great had an edition of La Mettrie's
" Philosophical Works' published (1751) at the
cost of the royal privy purse.
Lami'i (lä-me-e'). A notable Turkish poet
and prose-writer; died about 1530.
works are chiefly translations from Jami.
Among his poetical works are four epics
founded on Persian legend : (Vamik and Afra);
(Vis and Ramin); (Absál and Selman); and
the (Ferhádnâmeh. There is a translation in
German, by Pfizmaier, of one of the minor po-
ems,-- (The Glorification of the City of Bursa.
Lamington, Alexander Dundas Ross Wish-
ard Baillie Cochrane, Baron. An English
author and politician; born in November 1816;
died in London, Feb. 15, 1890. He was the
eldest son of Admiral Sir Thomas J. Cochrane,
and one of the leaders of the Young England
Party in Parliament. Exeter Hall or Church
Polemics) (1841); Morea,' a poem; (The State
of Greece) (1847); (Ernest Vane, a novel ;
(Florence the Beautiful) (1854); (Francis the
First, and Other Historic Studies) (1870); (The
Théâtre Français in the Reign of Louis XV. ?
(1879), constitute his chief works.
Lamon, Ward Hill. An American lawyer
and biographer. He was a law partner of
Abraham Lincoln in Illinois. His works are :
(Life of Abraham Lincoln, from his Birth to
his Inauguration as President' (1872); “Recol-
lections of Abraham Lincoln.
La Motte, Antoine Houdart de (lä-mot'). A
French poet; born at Paris, Jan. 17, 1672; died
there, Dec. 26, 1731. His first dramatic com-
position, Originals,' was a failure; but some
of his operas, his tragedy (Inès del Castro)
(1723), and his comedy (The Swell,' had great
success, The (Odes) and (Fables, like all his
lyric compositions, though they show consider-
able power of invention, still are artificial and
lack spontaneity.
La Motte-Fouqué. See Fouqué.
Lampman, Archibald. A Canadian poet ;
born at Morpeth, on Lake Erie, Nov. 17, 1861.
He is a graduate of Trinity College, Toronto
(1882), and since 1883 has held an appoint-
ment in the Post Office Department at Ottawa.
A constant contributor of verse to the literary
papers and magazines of the Dominion and
the United States, he has published two col-
lections of poems, (Among the Millet (1888),
and Lyrics of Earth' (1895), which reveal a
deep love of nature and outdoor life.
Mr.
Howells ranks him with the strongest of Ameri-
can singers.
Lamprecht the Priest (läm'precht). A Ger-
man poet of the first half of the twelfth cen-
tury. He wrote the (Song of Alexander, one
of the best poems of mediæval Germany: it
is an adaptation of a French poem by Alberic
of Besançon, of which only a fragment remains.
Lancaster, William Joseph Cosens. An
English civil engineer and author; born at
Weymouth in 1843. He entered the British
navy as a midshipman, but on account of de.
fective eyesight resigned and became a civil
engineer, in that capacity visiting different
parts of the world. Under the pseudonym of
tone.
## p. 324 (#340) ############################################
324
LANCIANI - LANE
«Harry Collingwood," he is known to juvenile
readers in England and America as the author
of the popular nautical romances: (The Secret
of the Sands (1878); Under the Meteor Flag)
(1884); (The Pirate Island (1884); “The Congo
Rovers) (1885), a story of the Slave Squadron;
(The Missing Merchantman (1888); “The
Cruise of the Esmeralda.
Lanciani, Rodolfo Amedeo (län-che-ä'nē).
An Italian archæologist; born in Rome, Jan. I,
1847. He has attained celebrity by investigat-
ing the ruins of classical Rome. Among his
works are: (Ancient Rome in the Light of
Recent Discoveries) (Boston: 1888); Pagan
and Christian Rome) (Boston : 1892); and “The
Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome) (Bos-
ton : 1897).
Land, Jan Pieter Nicolaas (länt). A Dutch
Orientalist and philosopher; born at Delft,
April 23, 1834. Among his works are : John,
Bishop of Ephesus, the First Syrian Church
Historian) (1856); (Syriac Anecdotes) (4 vols. ,
1862); “In Memory of Spinoza) (1877); (Jav-
anese Music) (1891); (Arnold Geulinex and his
Philosophy) (1895).
Lander, Richard and John. African ex-
plorers, natives of Cornwall. Richard was born
1804; died 1834. John was born 1807; died
1839. The elder brother accompanied Clapper-
ton on his expedition to the Niger, and after
Clapperton's death returned to England, where
he published his own and his master's Journals.
He was then commissioned by the British
government to determine the course of the
lower Niger, and on that expedition was ac-
companied by his brother (1830-31). A de-
tailed narrative of their explorations is given
in their (Journal of an Expedition to Explore
the Course and Termination of the Niger) (3
vols. , 1832).
Landesmann, Heinrich. See Lorm.
Landois, Hermann (länd-wä' or länt'ois). A
German zoologist; born at Münster, April 19,
1835. He is author of (Sound and Voice
Apparatus of Insects) (1867); (Text-Book of
Zoology) (1870); (Text-Book of Botany) (1872);
(Voices of Animals) (1875); (Text-Book of In-
struction in the Description of Nature); and
other works of a like character, which have
been frequently republished.
Landon, Charles Paul (län-dôn'). A French
painter and art critic; born at Monant, 1700;
died at Paris, March 5, 1826. His more notable
writings •are : (Annals of the Musée and of the
Modern School of Fine Arts) (29 vols. , 1801-17);
(Landscapes and Genre Paintings in the Musée
Napoléon) (4 vols. , 1805-8); (The Salons of
1808-24' (13 vols. ); (Selections of Paintings
and Statues in the most Celebrated Foreign
Museums and Cabinets) (12 vols. , 1821 sq. ).
Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (later Mrs. Mac-
lean). An English poet and novelist; born
in Chelsea, London, Aug. 14, 1802; died at
Cape Coast Castle, Africa, Oct. 15, 1838. She
was a poet of genuine feeling and descriptive
power, was at one time connected with the
London Literary Gazette, and published under
the pseudonym of “L. E. L. ” : (The Improvi-
satrice, and Other Poems) (1824); 'The Golden
Violet, etc. ,' all collected in 1841; and several
novels. In June 1838, she married Mr. George
Maclean, governor of Cape Coast Castle, and
a few months later died from an accidental
overdose of prussic acid, which she had been
in the habit of taking for the alleviation of
spasms. The theory of suicide is now gener-
ally discredited.
Landon, Melville De Lancey. [« Eli Per-
kins. " ] An American humorist; born in New
York State in 1839. Among his works are :
(The Franco-Prussian War in a Nutshell) (1871);
(Saratoga in 1901) (1872); “Eli Perkins's Wit,
Humor, and Pathos) (1883); (Fun and Fact';
Money.
Landor, Walter Savage. A distinguished
English poet and prose-writer; born at Ipsley
Court, Warwickshire, Jan. 30, 1775; died at
Florence, Sept. 17, 1864. He inherited a very
large fortune ; entered the military service of
Spain 1808, with a body of troops maintained
at his own expense; in 1815 he fixed his resi-
dence at Florence. His most celebrated work
is "Imaginary Conversations of Literary Men
and Statesmen) (Ist series, 3 vols. , 1824-28; 2d
series, 3 vols. , 1829). Among his other works
are: Poems) (1795); (Gebir' (1798); (Count
Julian; a Tragedy) (1812); (Heroic Idylls)
(1814 ani 1820), two volumes of Latin verse;
(Sati e upon Satirists and Admonition to De-
tractors ) (1836), an attack upon Wordsworth;
( The Pentameron,' conversations of Petrarch
and Boccaccio (1837); (Andrea of Hungary
and Giovanni of Naples) (1839); (Fra Rupert,
the Last Part of a Triology) (1840); 'The Hel-
lenics) (1847); Italics, verses (1848); "Popery,
British and Foreign) (1851); Letters of an
American, mainly on Russia and Revolution)
(1854); Letter to R. W. Emerson (1856), on
Emerson's (English Traits); (Antony and Oc-
tavius: Scenes for the Study) (1856); (Dry
Sticks Fagoted by W. S. Landor) (1858); 'Sa-
vonarola and the Prior of St. Mark) (1860);
(Heroic Idylls, with Additional Poems) (1863).
