KINGSLEY, HENRY (1830-1876).—Novelist, brother of the above,ed.at King's Coll., London, and Oxf., which he left without graduating, and betook himself to the Australian gold-diggings, being afterwards in the mounted police. On his return in 1858 he devoted himself industriously to literature, and wrote a number of novels of much more than average merit, includingGeoffreyHamlyn(1859),The Hillyars and the Burtons(1865),Ravenshoe(1861), andAustin Elliot(1863). Of theseRavenshoeis generally regarded as the best. In 1869 he went to Edinburgh to ed. theDaily Review, but he soon gave this up, and became war correspondent for his paper during the Franco-German War.
KINGSLEY, MARY HENRIETTA (1862-1900).—Traveller,dau.of George Henry K. (himself a traveller, and author ofSouth Sea Bubbles, a very successful book), and niece ofCharles K.(q.v.). She travelled in West Africa, where she made valuable observations and collections. HerTravels in West Africais one of the most original and stimulating books of its class. Miss K. had a singular power of viewing the religious rites of savage peoples from their point of view. She was about to undertake another journey, but stopped to nurse Boer prisoners, andd.of fever.
KINGSTON, WILLIAM HENRY GILES (1814-1880).—Writer of tales for boys,b.in London, but spent much of his youth in Oporto, where hisf.was a merchant. His first book,The Circassian Chief, appeared in 1844. His first book for boys,Peter the Whaler, waspub.in 1851, and had such success that he retired from business and devoted himself entirely to the production of this kind of literature, in which his popularity was deservedly great; and during 30 years he wrote upwards of 130 tales, includingThe Three Midshipmen(1862),The Three Lieutenants(1874),The Three Commanders(1875),The Three Admirals(1877),Digby Heathcote, etc. He also conducted various papers, includingThe Colonist, andColonial Magazine and East India Review. He was also interested in emigration, volunteering, and various philanthropic schemes. For services in negotiating a commercial treaty with Portugal he received a Portuguese knighthood, and for his literary labours a Government pension.
KIRKLAND, JOSEPH (1830-1894).—Novelist,b.in New York State, was a lawyer in Chicago, then served in the war. He is remembered as the author of two very vivid and life-like novels of pioneer life in the Far West,Illinois ZuryandThe McVeys. Other works areThe Captain of Company K.andThe Story of Chicago.
KITTO, JOHN (1804-1854).—Biblical scholar,s.of a Cornish stonemason, wasb.at Plymouth. At the age of 12 a fall led to his becoming totally deaf. From poverty and hardship he was rescued by friends, to whom his mental powers had become known, and the means of education were placed within his reach. By these he profited so remarkably that he became a valuable contributor to Biblical scholarship. He travelled much in the East in the pursuit of his favourite studies. Among his works areScripture Lands,Daily Bible Illustrations, andThe Lost Sensesin 2 vols., one dealing with Deafness and the other with Blindness. He also ed.The Pictorial Bible,The Journal of Sacred Literature,The Cyclopædia of Bible Literature, and contributed to various periodicals. He received a pension of £100 from Government. In 1844 the Univ. of Giessen conferred upon him the degree of D.D.
KNIGHT, CHARLES (1791-1873).—Publisher and writer,b.at Windsor, where hisf.. was a bookseller. After serving his apprenticeshipwith him he went to London, and in 1823 started business as a publisher, and co-operated effectively with Brougham and others in connection with The Society for Diffusing Useful Knowledge. He was publisher for the Society, and issuedThe Penny Magazine,Penny Cyclopædia,Pictorial History of England, etc. He ed. with successThe Pictorial Shakespeare, and was the author of a vol. of essays,Once upon a Time, an autobiography,Passages from a Working Life(1863), aHistory of the Thirty Years' Peace, which was completed by Miss Harriet Martineau, and various other works.
KNIGHT, HENRY GALLY (1786-1846).—A country gentleman of Yorkshire,ed.at Eton and Camb., was the author of several Oriental tales,Ilderim, a Syrian Tale(1816),Phrosyne, a Grecian Tale, andAlashtar, an Arabian Tale(1817). He was also an authority on architecture, and wrote various works on the subject, includingThe Ecclesiastical Architecture of Italy, andThe Normans in Sicily, which brought him more reputation than his novels.
KNOLLES, RICHARD (1550?-1610).—Historian,b.at Coldashby, Northamptonshire, anded.at Oxf.,pub.in 1603The History of the Turks, which went through many ed. Its principal value now is as a piece of fine English of its time, for which it is ranked high by Hallam. K. was master of a school at Sandwich. The History was continued by Sir Paul Rycaut (1628-1700).
KNOWLES, HERBERT (1798-1817).—Poet, author of the well-knownStanzas written in Richmond Churchyard, which gave promise of future excellence. But hed.a few weeks after he had been enabled, through the help of Southey to whom he had sent some of his poems, to go to Camb.
KNOWLES, JAMES SHERIDAN (1784-1862).—Dramatist,s.of James K., schoolmaster and lexicographer, wasb.at Cork. He was the author of a ballad,The Welsh Harper, which had great popularity, and gained for him the notice of Hazlitt and others. For some years he studied medicine, which, however, he abandoned for literature, and produced several plays, includingCaius Gracchus(1815),Virginius(1820),The Hunchback(1832), andThe Love Chase(1837), in some of which he acted. He gave up the stage in 1843, became a preacher in connection with the Baptist communion, and enjoyed great popularity. Hepub.two polemical works,The Rock of Rome, andThe Idol demolished by its own Priests.
KNOX, JOHN (1505?-1572).—Reformer and historian, wasb.near Haddington, anded.at the Grammar School there and at Glasgow. He is believed to have had some connection with the family of K. of Ranfurly in Renfrewshire. The year of his birth was long believed to be 1505, but of late some writers have found reason to hold that he was reallyb.some years later, 1510 or even 1513. At Glasgow he was the pupil ofJohn Major(q.v.), and became distinguished as a disputant. He is believed to have been ordained a priest about 1530, after which he went to St. Andrews and taught. About this time, however, there is a gap of 12 years or more, during which almost nothing is known of his life. About 1545 he cameunder the influence of George Wishart, who was burned as a heretic at St. Andrews in the following year, and embraced the Reformation principles, of which he became a champion on the Continent, in England, and finally and especially in Scotland. He joined the reforming party in St. Andrews in 1547, and was, much against his will, elected their minister. The next year he was made prisoner, sent to France, and condemned to the galleys, where he remained for nearly two years. For the next five years he was in England, chiefly at Newcastle and Berwick, where he was zealously engaged in propagating and defending the reformed doctrines. On the accession of Mary in 1553 K. escaped to the Continent, where he remained—at Dieppe, Frankfort on the Maine, and Geneva—until 1559. During this period, in addition to his pastoral and ecclesiastical activities, he wrote copiously, the best known of his works of that time being hisFirst Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment [government] of Women. The first, it proved also the last, as he never produced the other two which he promised or threatened. He finally returned to Scotland in 1559, and was at once the chief actor and the chief narrator of the crowded and pregnant events which culminated in the abdication of Queen Mary and the establishment of Protestantism in Scotland. As minister of the High Church of Edin. K. was at the centre of events, which he probably did more to mould than any other man. As Carlyle says, "He is the one Scotchman to whom, of all others, his country and the world owe a debt." Here, after his long battle with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places, his triumphs, and disappointments, after growing weakness and becoming "weary of the world," hed.on November 24, 1572. His place in literature he has by virtue of hisHistorie of the Reformation in Scotland. It extends from 1558-67. Its language is much more English than that spoken and written in Scotland at the time. It is of the highest historical value, and in style terse, vigorous, with flashes of a quiet, somewhat saturnine humour, and of vivid description—the writing of a great man of action dealing with the events in which he had been the leading actor. His own figure and that of the Queen are those round which the drama turns. The leading features of his character were courage and intense earnestness. "Here," said the Regent Morton, "lies a man who never feared the face of man." And with all his sternness there was in him a vein of cordial friendliness and humour. He has been accused of intolerance, and of harshness in his dealings with the Queen. But as Carlyle has said, as regards the second accusation, "They are not so coarse, these speeches; they seem to me about as fine as the circumstances would permit. It was unfortunately not possible to be polite with the Queen of Scotland unless one proved untrue to the nation."
Livesby M'Crie (1812), and Prof. Hume Brown (1895).Worksed. by D. Laing.
KNOX, VICESIMUS (1752-1821).—Essayist, etc.,ed.at Oxf., took orders, and became Head Master of Tunbridge School. Hepub.Essays Moral and Literary(1778), and compiled the formerly well-knownElegant Extracts, often reprinted.
KNOX, WILLIAM (1789-1825).—Poet,s.of a farmer in Roxburghshire, wrote several books of poetry,The Lonely Hearth,Songs of Israel,Harp of Zion, etc., which gained him the friendship of Scott. He fell into dissipated habits, was latterly a journalist in Edin., andd.at 36.
KYD, THOMAS (1558-1595).—Dramatist,s.of a London scrivener,ed.at Merchant Taylor's School, appears to have led the life of hardship so common with the dramatists of his time, was for a short time imprisoned for "treasonable and Atheistic views," and made translations from the French and Italian. His drama,The Spanish Tragedy(1594), had extraordinary popularity, and was translated into Dutch and German. Some of the scenes are believed to have been contributed by another hand, probably by Ben Jonson. He also produced a play on the story of Hamlet, not now in existence, and he may have written the first draft ofTitus Andronicus. Other plays which have been attributed to him areThe First Part of Jeronimo(1605),Cornelia(1594),The Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune, andThe Tragedye of Solyman and Perseda(1599). But, although one of the best known dramatists in his day, very little is now certain either as to his personal history or his works.
LAIDLAW, WILLIAM (1780-1845).—Poet,s.of a border farmer, became steward and amanuensis to Sir W. Scott, and was the author of the beautiful and well-known ballad,Lucy's Flittin'.
LAING, DAVID (1793-1878).—Antiquary,s.of a bookseller in Edin., with whom he was in partnership until his appointment, in 1837, as librarian of the Signet Library. He ed. many of the publications of the Bannatyne Club, of which he was sec. (1823-61). He was also Honorary Prof. of Antiquities to the Royal Scottish Academy. Among the more important works which he ed. wereBaillie's Letters and Journals(1841-2),John Knox's Works(1846-64), and the poems of Sir D. Lyndsay, Dunbar, and Henryson.
LAING, MALCOLM (1762-1818).—Was a country gentleman in Orkney. He completed Henry'sHistory of Great Britain, and wrote aHistory of Scotland from the Union of the Crowns to the Union of the Kingdoms(1802). He was an assailant of the authenticity of the Ossianic poems, and wrote a dissertation on the Participation of Mary Queen of Scots in the Murder of Darnley. He did much to improve the agriculture of Orkney.
LAMB, LADY CAROLINE (1785-1828).—Novelist,dau.of 3rd Earl of Bessborough,m.the Hon. William Lamb, afterwards Lord Melbourne and Prime Minister. She wrote three novels, which, though of little literary value, attracted much attention. The first of these,Glenarvon(1816), contained a caricature portrait of Lord Byron, with whom the authoress had shortly before been infatuated. It was followed byGraham Hamilton(1822), andAda Reis(1823). Happening to meet the hearse conveying the remains of Byron, she became unconscious, and fell into mental alienation, from which she never recovered.
LAMB, CHARLES (1775-1834).—Essayist and poet, wasb.in London, hisf.being confidential clerk to Samuel Salt, one of the benchers of the Inner Temple. After being at a school in the neighbourhood, he was sent by the influence of Mr. Salt to Christ's Hospital, where he remained from 1782-89, and where he formed a lifelong friendship with Coleridge. He was then for a year or two in the South Sea House, where his elder brother John was a clerk. Thence he was in 1792 transferred to the India House, where he remained until 1825, when he retired with a pension of two-thirds of his salary. Mr. Saltd.in 1792, and the family, consisting of thef., mother, Charles, and his sister Mary, ten years his senior, lived together in somewhat straitened circumstances. John, comparatively well off, leaving them pretty much to their own resources. In 1796 the tragedy of L.'s life occurred. His sister Mary, in a sudden fit of insanity, killed her mother with a table-knife. Thenceforward, giving up a marriage to which he was looking forward, he devoted himself to the care of his unfortunate sister, who became, except when separated from him by periods of aberration, his lifelong and affectionate companion—the "Cousin Bridget" of his essays. His first literary appearance was a contribution of four sonnets to Coleridge'sPoems on Various Subjects(1796). Two years later hepub., along with his friend Charles Lloyd,Blank Verse, the little vol. includingThe Old Familiar Faces, and others of his best known poems, and his romance,Rosamund Gray, followed in the same year. He then turned to the drama, and producedJohn Woodvil, a tragedy, andMr. H., a farce, both failures, for although the first had some echo of the Elizabethan music, it had no dramatic force. Meantime the brother and sister were leading a life clouded by poverty and by the anxieties arising from the condition of the latter, and they moved about from one lodging to another. L.'s literary ventures so far had not yielded much either in money or fame, but in 1807 he was asked byW. Godwin(q.v.) to assist him in his "Juvenile Library," and to this he, with the assistance of his sister, contributed the now famousTales from Shakespeare, Charles doing the tragedies and Mary the comedies. In 1808 they wrote, again for children,The Adventures of Ulysses, a version of theOdyssey, Mrs. Leicester's School, andPoetry for Children(1809). About the same time he was commissioned by Longman to ed. selections from the Elizabethan dramatists. To the selections were added criticisms, which at once brought him the reputation of being one of the most subtle and penetrating critics who had ever touched the subject. Three years later his extraordinary power in this department was farther exhibited in a series of papers on Hogarth and Shakespeare, which appeared in Hunt'sReflector. In 1818 his scattered contributions in prose and verse werecoll.asThe Works of Charles Lamb, and the favour with which they were received led to his being asked to contribute to theLondon Magazinethe essays on which his fame chiefly rests. The name "Elia" under which they were written was that of a fellow-clerk in the India House. They appeared from 1820-25. The first series was printed in 1823, the second,The Last Essays of Elia, in 1833. In 1823 the L.'s had left London and taken a cottage at Islington, and had practically adopted Emma Isola, a young orphan, whosepresence brightened their lives until her marriage in 1833 to E. Moxon, the publisher. In 1825 L. retired, and lived at Enfield and Edmonton. But his health was impaired, and his sister's attacks of mental alienation were ever becoming more frequent and of longer duration. During one of his walks he fell, slightly hurting his face. The wound developed into erysipelas, and hed.on December 29, 1834. His sister survived until 1847.
The place of L. as an essayist and critic is the very highest. His only rival in the former department is Addison, but in depth and tenderness of feeling, and richness of fancy L. is the superior. In the realms of criticism there can be no comparison between the two. L. is here at once profound and subtle, and his work led as much as any other influence to the revival of interest in and appreciation of our older poetry. His own writings, which are self-revealing in a quite unusual and always charming way, and the recollections of his friends, have made the personality of Lamb more familiar to us than any other in our literature, except that of Johnson. His weaknesses, his oddities, his charm, his humour, his stutter, are all as familiar to his readers as if they had known him, and the tragedy and noble self-sacrifice of his life add a feeling of reverence for a character we already love.
Life and Letters and Final Memorials by Talfourd, also Memoir by B.W. Proctor and A. Ainger prefixed to ed. ofWorks(1883-88). Life, Works, and Letters of Charles and Mary Lamb, in 9 vols., E.V. Lucas, and 12 vols. ed. W. Macdonald.
LANDON, LETITIA ELIZABETH (1802-1838).—Poetess,dau.of an army agent, wasb.in London. She was a prolific and, in her day, remarkably popular writer, but she wrote far too easily and far too much for permanent fame. Many of her poems appeared in theLiterary Gazette, and similar publications, but shepub.separatelyThe Fate of Adelaide(1821),The Improvisatrice(1824),The Troubadour(1825),The Venetian Bracelet(1829), etc. She also wrote a few novels, of whichEthel Churchillwas the best, and a tragedyCastruccio Castracani(1837). Shem.a Mr. Maclean, Governor of one of the West African Colonies, where, shortly after her arrival, she was found dead from the effects of an overdose of poison, which it was supposed she had taken as a relief from spasms to which she was subject. She was best known by her initials, L.E.L., under which she was accustomed to write.
LANDOR, WALTER SAVAGE (1775-1864).—Poet and miscellaneous author,s.of a physician, wasb.at Ipsley Court, Warwick, the property of his mother, anded.at Rugby and Oxf., where he earned the nickname of "the mad Jacobin," and whence he was rusticated. His whole long life thereafter was a series of quarrels, extravagances, and escapades of various kinds, the result of his violent prejudices, love of paradox, and ungovernable temper. He quarrelled with hisf., his wife, most of his relations, and nearly all his friends, ran through a large fortune, and ended his days in Italy supported by a pension granted by his brothers. Yet he was not devoid of strong affections and generosity. His earliest publication wasPoems(1795);Gebir(1798), an epic, hadlittle success, but won for him the friendship of Southey. In 1808 he went to Spain to take part in the war against Napoleon, and saw some service. His first work to attract attention was his powerful tragedy ofDon Julian(1811). About the same time hem.Miss Julia Thuillier—mainly, as would appear, on account of her "wonderful golden hair"—and purchased the estate of Llantony Abbey, Monmouthshire, whence, after various quarrels with the local authorities, he went to France. After a residence of a year there, he went in 1815 to Italy, where he lived until 1818 at Como, which, having insulted the authorities in a Latin poem, he had to leave. At Florence, which was his residence for some years, he commenced his famousImaginary Conversations, of which the first two vols. appeared 1824, the third 1828, fourth and fifth 1829. Other works wereThe Examination of W. Shakespeare touching Deer-stealing(1834),Pericles and Aspasia(1836),Pentameron(1837),Hellenics(1847), andPoemata et Inscriptiones(1847). He quarrelled finally with his wife in 1835, and returned to England, which, however, he had to leave in 1858 on account of an action for libel arising out of a book,Dry Sticks Fagoted. He went to Italy, where he remained, chiefly at Florence, until his death. L. holds one of the highest places among the writers of English prose. His thoughts are striking and brilliant, and his style rich and dignified.
Worksed. C.G. Crump, 10 vols.
LANE, EDWARD WILLIAM (1801-1876).—Arabic scholar,s.of a prebendary of Hereford, where he wasb., began life as an engraver, but going to Egypt in search of health, devoted himself to the study of Oriental languages and manners, and adopted the dress and habits of the Egyptian man of learning. Hepub.Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians(1836), which remains a standard authority, and a translation ofThe Thousand and One Nights(1838-40) (Arabian Nights). What was intended to be the great work of his life, hisArabic Lexicon, was left unfinished at his death, but was completed by his nephew, Prof. S.L. Poole. L. was regarded as the chief European Orientalist of his day.
LANGHORNE, JOHN (1735-1779).—Poet,s.of a clergyman, wasb.at Kirkby Stephen; having taken orders, he was for two years a curate in London, and from 1776 Rector of Blagdon, Somerset, and Prebendary of Wells. He is chiefly remembered as being the translator, jointly with his brother, Rev. William L., ofPlutarch's Lives, but in his day he had some reputation as a poet, his chief work in poetry beingStudley ParkandFables of Flora. In hisCountry Justice(1774-77) he dimly foreshadows Crabbe, as in his descriptive poems he dimly foreshadows Wordsworth. He was twice married, and both of his wivesd.in giving birth to a first child.
LANGLAND, WILLIAM (OR WILLIAM of LANGLEY) (1330?-1400?).—Poet. Little can be gleaned as to his personal history, and of that little part is contradictory. In a note of the 15th century written on one MS. he is said to have beenb.in Oxfordshire, thes.of a freeman named Stacy de Rokayle, while Bale, writing in the 16th century, makes his name Robert (certainly an error), and sayshe wasb.at Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire. From his great poem,Piers the Plowman, it is to be gathered that he was bred to the Church, and was at one time an inmate of the monastery at Great Malvern. Hem., however, and had adau., which, of course, precluded him from going on to the priesthood. It has further been inferred from his poem that his f., with the help of friends, sent him to school, but that on the death of these friends the process of education came to an end, and he went to London, living in a little house in Cornhill and, as he says, not onlyinbutonLondon, supporting himself by singingrequiemsfor the dead. "The tools I labour with ... [are]Paternoster, and my primerPlacebo, andDirige, and myPsalter, and my seven Psalms." References to legal terms suggest that he may have copied for lawyers. In later life he appears to have lived in Cornwall with his wife anddau.Poor himself, he was ever a sympathiser with the poor and oppressed. His poem appears to have been the great interest of his life, and almost to the end he was altering and adding to, without, however, improving it. The full title of the poem isThe Vision of Piers Plowman. Three distinct versions of it exist, the firstc.1362, the secondc.1377, and the third 1393 or 1398. It has been described as "a vision of Christ seen through the clouds of humanity." It is divided into nine dreams, and is in the unrhymed, alliterative, first English manner. In the allegory appear such personifications as Meed (worldly success), Falsehood, Repentance, Hope, etc. Piers Plowman, first introduced as the type of the poor and simple, becomes gradually transformed into the Christ. Further on appear Do-well, Do-bet, Do-best. In this poem, and its additions, L. was able to express all that he had to say of the abuses of the time, and their remedy. He himself stands out as a sad, earnest, and clear-sighted onlooker in a time of oppression and unrest. It is thought that he may have been the author of a poem,Richard the Redeless: if so he was, at the time of writing, living in Bristol, and making a last remonstrance to the misguided King, news of whose death may have reached him while at the work, as it stops in the middle of a paragraph. He is not much of an artist, being intent rather on delivering his message than that it should be in a perfect dress. Prof. Manley, in theCambridge History of English Literature, advances the theory thatThe Visionis not the work of one, but of several writers, W.L. being therefore a dramatic, not a personal name. It is supported on such grounds as differences in metre, diction, sentence structure, and the diversity of view on social and ecclesiastic matters expressed in different parts of the poem.
LANIER, SIDNEY (1842-1881).—Miscellaneous writer,s.of a lawyer of Huguenot descent, wasb.at Macon, Georgia. He had a varied career, having been successively soldier, shopman, teacher, lawyer, musician, and prof. His first literary venture was a novel,Tiger Lilies(1867). Thereafter he wrote mainly on literature, his works includingThe Science of English Verse(1881),The English Novel(1883), andShakespeare and his Forerunners(1902); also some poems which have been greatly admired, including "Corn," "The Marshes of Glynn," and "The Song of the Chattahoochee"; ed. of Froissart, and the WelshMabinogionfor children. He workedunder the shadow of serious lung trouble, which eventually brought about his death.
LARDNER, DIONYSIUS (1793-1859).—Scientific writer,s.of a solicitor in Dublin, andb.there, was intended for the law, but having no taste for it, he entered Trinity Coll., Dublin, and took orders, but devoted himself to literary and scientific pursuits, and became a contributor to theEdinburgh Review, and various Encyclopædias. In 1827 he was appointed Prof. of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in the Univ. of London (afterwards Univ. Coll.), and in 1829 began his great work,The Cabinet Cyclopædia, which was finished in 133 vols. 20 years later. In his literary undertakings, which included various other schemes of somewhat similar character, he was eminently successful, financially and otherwise. He lived in Paris from 1845 until his death.
LATIMER, HUGH (1485-1555).—Reformer and divine,s.of a Leicestershire yeoman, went to Camb. in 1500, and became Fellow of Clare Hall. Taking orders, he was at first a defender of the ancient faith, but convinced by the arguments of Bilney, embraced the reformed doctrines. He was called to appear before Wolsey, but dismissed on subscribing certain articles. His opposition to the Pope, and his support of the King's supremacy, brought him under the notice of Henry, and he was appointed chaplain to Anne Boleyn, and in 1535 Bishop of Worcester. For preaching in favour of the reformed doctrines he was twice imprisoned in the Tower, 1539 and 1546, and on the former occasion resigned his bishopric, which he declined to resume on the accession of Edward VI. On the accession of Mary he was with Ridley, Bishop of London, thrown into prison (1554), and on October 16, 1555, burned at Oxf. His words of encouragement to his fellow-martyr are well known, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as I trust shall never be put out." He holds his place in English literature by virtue of his sermons—especially that onThe Ploughers—which, like himself, are outspoken, homely, and popular, with frequent touches of kindly humour.
LAUDER, SIR THOMAS DICK (1784-1848).—Novelist and miscellaneous writer,s.of a Scottish baronet, wrote two novels,Lochandhu(1825), andThe Wolf of Badenoch(1827), but is best known for hisAccount of the Great Floods in Morayshire in 1829. He also wroteLegendary Tales of the Highlands, and contributed to scientific journals and magazines.
LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761).—Divine,s.of a grocer at Kingscliffe, Northamptonshire, wased.at Camb., and in 1727 became tutor to thef.of Edward Gibbon, the historian. About 1728 hepub.his best known book,A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, a work which has had a profound influence upon the religious life of England, largely owing to the impression which it produced upon such minds as those of Dr. Johnson, the Wesleys, and others. In 1737 he became a student of the works of Jacob Boehmen, the German mystic, and devoted himself largely to the exposition of his views.The theological position of L. was a complicated one, combining High Churchism, mysticism, and Puritanism: his writings are characterised by vigorous thought, keen logic, and a lucid and brilliant style, relieved by flashes of bright, and often sarcastic, humour. His work attacking Mandeville'sFable of the Bees(1723) is perhaps that in which these qualities are best displayed in combination. He retired in 1740 to Kingscliffe, where he had founded a school for 14 girls.
LAWRENCE, GEORGE ALFRED (1827-1876).—Novelist, was a barrister. He wrote several novels, of which one—Guy Livingstone(1857)—had great popularity. On the outbreak of the American Civil War he went to America with the intention of joining the Confederate Army, but was taken prisoner and only released on promising to return to England.
LAYAMON (fl.1200).—Metrical historian, thes.of Leovenath. All that is known of him is gathered from his own writings. He was a priest at Ernley (now Areley Regis), Worcestershire. In his day the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth and Wace, in French, were the favourite reading of the educated, and "it came to him in mind" that he would tell the story ofBrutin English verse. He set out in search of books and, founding his poem on the earlier writers, he added so much from his own knowledge of Welsh and West of England tradition that while Wace's poem consists of 15,000 lines, his extends to 32,000. Among the legends he gives are those ofLocrine,Arthur, andLear. The poem is in the old English unrhymed, alliterative verse, and "marks the revival of the English mind and spirit."
LAYARD, SIR AUSTIN HENRY (1817-1894).—Explorer of Nineveh,b.at Paris,s.of a Ceylon civilian. After spending some years in the office of a London solicitor, he set out in search of employment in Ceylon, but passing through Western Asia, became interested in the work of excavating the remains of ancient cities. Many of his finds—human-headed bulls, etc.—were sent to the British Museum. Two books—Nineveh and its Remains(1848-49), andThe Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon(1853)—brought him fame, and on his return home he received many honours, including the freedom of the City of London, the degree of D.C.L. from Oxf., and the Lord Rectorship of Aberdeen Univ. He entered Parliament, where he sat as a Liberal. He held the offices of Under-Foreign Sec. (1861-66), and Chief Commissioner of Works (1868-69), and was Ambassador to Spain 1869, and Constantinople 1877; and on his retirement in 1878 he was made G.C.B. He was a very successful excavator, and described his work brilliantly, but he was no great linguist, and most of the deciphering of the inscriptions was done by Sir H. Rawlinson. His last work wasEarly Adventures in Persia, etc., and he left an autobiography,pub.in 1903. He also wrote on Italian art.
LEAR, EDWARD (1812-1888).—Artist and miscellaneous author,b.in London, and settled in Rome as a landscape painter. He was an indefatigable traveller, and wrote accounts, finely illustrated, of his journeys in Italy, Greece, and Corsica. His bestknown works are, however, hisBook of Nonsense(1840) (full of wit andgoodsense),More Nonsense Rhymes(1871), andLaughable Lyrics(1876). L. had also a remarkable faculty for depicting birds.
LECKY, WILLIAM EDWARD HARTPOLE (1838-1903).—Historian, thes.of a landed gentleman of Carlow, wasb.near Dublin, anded.at Cheltenham and Trinity Coll., Dublin. Originally intended for the Church, he devoted himself to a literary career. His first work of importance wasLeaders of Public Opinion in Ireland(1861) (essays on Swift, Flood, Grattan, and O'Connell). The study of Buckle'sHistory of Civilisationto some extent determined the direction of his own writings, and resulted in the production of two important works,History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe(1865), andHistory of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne(1869), both remarkable for learning, clearness, and impartiality. Both, however, gave rise to considerable controversy and criticism. His principal work isThe History of England in the Eighteenth Century(1878-90). Characterised by the same sterling qualities as his preceding books, it deals with a subject more generally interesting, and has had a wide acceptance. His view of the American war, and the controversies which led to it, is more favourable to the English position than that of some earlier historians. Other works areDemocracy and Liberty(1896), andThe Map of Life(1899). Though of warm Irish sympathies, L. was strongly opposed to Home Rule. He sat in Parliament for his Univ. from 1895 until his death. He received many academical distinctions, and was a Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, and one of the original members of the Order of Merit.
LEE, NATHANIEL (1653?-1692).—Dramatist,s.of a clergyman at Hatfield, wased.at Westminster School and Camb. After leaving the Univ. he went to London, and joined the stage both as actor and author. He was taken up by Rochester and others of the same dissolute set, led a loose life, and drank himself into Bedlam, where he spent four years. After his recovery he lived mainly upon charity, and met his death from a fall under the effects of a carouse. His tragedies, which, with much bombast and frequent untrained flights of imagination, have occasional fire and tenderness, are generally based on classical subjects. The principal areThe Rival Queens,Theodosius, andMithridates. He also wrote a few comedies, and collaborated with Dryden in an adaptation ofŒdipus, and inThe Duke of Guise.
LEE, SOPHIA (1750-1824), LEE, HARRIET (1757-1851).—Novelists and dramatists,dau.of John L., an actor, were the authors of various dramatic pieces and novels. By far their most memorable work wasThe Canterbury Tales, 5 vols. (1797-1805) which, with the exception of two,The Young Lady'sandThe Clergyman's, were all by Harriet. The most powerful of them,Kruitzner, fell into the hands of Byron in his boyhood, and made so profound an impression upon him that, in 1821, he dramatised it under the title ofWerner, or the Inheritance. The authoress also adapted it for the stage asThe Three Strangers. The tales are in general remarkable for the ingenuity of their plots. Harriet lived to the age of 94,preserving to the last her vigour of mind and powers of conversation. Godwin made her an offer of marriage to which, however, his religious opinions presented an insuperable barrier. Sophia's chief work wasThe Chapter of Accidents, a comedy, which had a great run, the profits of which enabled the sisters to start a school at Bath, which proved very successful, and produced for them a competence on which they were able to retire in their later years.
LE FANU, JOSEPH SHERIDAN (1814-1873).—Novelist,s.of a Dean of the Episcopal Church of Ireland, and grand-nephew of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, wased.at Trinity Coll., Dublin, and became a contributor and ultimately proprietor of theDublin University Magazine, in which many of his novels made their first appearance. Called to the Bar in 1839, he did not practise, and was first brought into notice by two ballads,Phaudrig CroohooreandShamus O'Brien, which had extraordinary popularity. His novels, of which he wrote 12, includeThe Cock and Anchor(1845),Torlough O'Brien(1847),The House by the Churchyard(1863),Uncle Silas(perhaps the most popular) (1864),The Tenants of Malory(1867),In a Glass Darkly(1872), andWilling to Die(posthumously). They are generally distinguished by able construction, ingenuity of plot, and power in the presentation of the mysterious and supernatural. Among Irish novelists he is generally ranked next to Lever.
LEIGHTON, ROBERT (1611-1684).—Divine, was thes.of Alexander L., physician, and writer on theology, who, on account of his anti-prelatic books, was put in the pillory, fined, and had his nose slit and his ears cut off. Robert wased.at Edin., after which he resided for some time at Douay. Returning to Scotland he received Presbyterian ordination, and was admitted minister of Newbattle, near Edin. In 1653 he was appointed Principal and Prof. of Divinity in the Univ. of Edin., which offices he held until 1662 when, having separated himself from Presbyterianism, he was appointed Bishop of Dunblane, under the new Episcopal establishment. He repeatedly but unsuccessfully endeavoured to bring about an ecclesiastical union in Scotland on the basis of combining the best elements in each system. Discouraged by his lack of success in his well-meant efforts, he offered in 1665 to resign his see, but was persuaded by Charles II. to remain in it, and in 1669 was promoted to be Archbishop of Glasgow, from which position, wearied and disappointed, he finally retired in 1674, and lived with his widowed sister, Mrs. Lightmaker, at Broadhurst Manor, Sussex. On a visit to London he was seized with a fatal illness, andd.in the arms of his friend, Bishop Burnet, who says of him, "he had the greatest elevation of soul, the largest compass of knowledge, the most mortified and heavenly disposition that I ever saw in mortal." His sermons and commentaries, allpub.posthumously, maintain a high place among English religious classics, alike for thought and style. They consist of hisCommentary on St. Peter,Sermons, andSpiritual Exercises, Letters, etc.HisLectures and Addressesin Latin were alsopub.
LELAND, CHARLES GODFREY (1824-1903).—American humorist,b.at Philadelphia, wased.at Princeton, and in Europe. In his travels he made a study of the gipsies, on whom he wrote morethan one book. His fame rests chiefly on hisHans Breitmann Ballads(1871), written in thepatoisknown as Pennsylvania Dutch. Other books of his areMeister Karl's Sketch-book(1855),Legends of Birds(1864),Algonquin Legends(1884),Legends of Florence(1895), andFlaxius, or Leaves from the Life of an Immortal.