History.—Leipzig owes its origin to a Slav settlement between the Elster and the Pleisse, which was in existence before the year 1000, and its name to the Slav wordlipa, a lime tree. There was also a German settlement near this spot, probably round a castle erected early in the 10th century by the German king, Henry the Fowler. The district was part of the mark of Merseburg, and the bishops of Merseburg were the lords of extensive areas around the settlements. In the 11th century Leipzig is mentioned as a fortified place and in the 12th it came into the possession of the margrave of Meissen, being granted some municipal privileges by the margrave, Otto the Rich, before 1190. Its favourable situation in the midst of a plain intersected by the principal highways of central Europe, together with the fostering care of its rulers, now began the work of raising Leipzig to the position of a very important commercial town. Its earliest trade was in the salt produced at Halle, and its enterprising inhabitants constructed roads and bridges to lighten the journey of the traders and travellers whose way led to the town. Soon Leipzig was largely used as a depot by the merchants of Nuremberg, who carried on a considerable trade with Poland. Powers of self-government were acquired by the council (Rat) of the town, the importance of which was enhanced during the 15th century by several grants of privileges from the emperors. When Saxony was divided in 1485 Leipzig fell to the Albertine, or ducal branch of the family, whose head Duke George gave new rights to the burghers. This duke, however, at whose instigation the famous discussion between Luther and Johann von Eck took place in the Pleissenburg of Leipzig, inflicted some injury upon thetown’s trade and also upon its university by the harsh treatment which he meted out to the adherents of the new doctrines; but under the rule of his successor, Henry, Leipzig accepted the teaching of the reformers. In 1547 during the war of the league of Schmalkalden the town was besieged by the elector of Saxony, John Frederick I. It was not captured, although its suburbs were destroyed. These and the Pleissenburg were rebuilt by the elector Maurice, who also strengthened the fortifications. Under the elector Augustus I. emigrants from the Netherlands were encouraged to settle in Leipzig and its trade with Hamburg and with England was greatly extended.During the Thirty Years’ War Leipzig suffered six sieges and on four occasions was occupied by hostile troops, being retained by the Swedes as security for the payment of an indemnity from 1648 to 1650. After 1650 its fortifications were strengthened; its finances were put on a better footing; and its trade, especially with England, began again to prosper; important steps being taken with regard to its organization. Towards the end of the 17th century the publishing trade began to increase very rapidly, partly because the severity of the censorship at Frankfort-on-the-Main caused many booksellers to remove to Leipzig. During the Seven Years’ War Frederick the Great exacted a heavy contribution from Leipzig, but this did not seriously interfere with its prosperity. In 1784 the fortifications were pulled down. The wars in the first decade of the 19th century were not on the whole unfavourable to the commerce of Leipzig, but in 1813 and 1814, owing to the presence of enormous armies in the neighbourhood, it suffered greatly. Another revival, however, set in after the peace of 1815, and this was aided by the accession of Saxony to the German Zollverein in 1834, and by the opening of the first railway a little later. In 1831 the town was provided with a new constitution, and in 1837 a scheme for the reform of the university was completed. A riot in 1845, the revolutionary movement of 1848 and the Prussian occupation of 1866 were merely passing shadows. In 1879 Leipzig acquired a new importance by becoming the seat of the supreme court of the German empire.The immediate neighbourhood of Leipzig has been the scene of several battles, two of which are of more than ordinary importance. These are the battles of Breitenfeld, fought on the 17th of September 1631, between the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus and the imperialists, and the great battle of Leipzig, known in Germany as the Völkerschlacht, fought in October 1813 between Napoleon and the allied forces of Russia, Prussia and Austria.Towards the middle of the 18th century Leipzig was the seat of the most influential body of literary men in Germany, over whom Johann Christoph Gottsched, like his contemporary, Samuel Johnson, in England, exercised a kind of literary dictatorship. Then, if ever, Leipzig deserved the epithet of a “Paris in miniature” (Klein Paris) assigned to it by Goethe in hisFaust. The young Lessing produced his first play in the Leipzig theatre, and the university counts Goethe, Klopstock, Jean Paul Richter, Fichte and Schelling among its alumni. Schiller and Gellert also resided for a time in Leipzig, and Sebastian Bach and Mendelssohn filled musical posts here. Among the celebrated natives of the town are the philosopher Leibnitz and the composer Wagner.Authorities.—For the history of Leipzig see E. Hasse,Die Stadt Leipzig und ihre Umgebung, geographisch und statistisch beschrieben(Leipzig, 1878); K. Grosse,Geschichte der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1897-1898); Rachel,Verwaltungsorganisation und Ämterwesen der Stadt Leipzig bis 1627(Leipzig, 1902); G. Wustmann,Aus Leipzigs Vergangenheit(Leipzig, 1898);Bilderbuch aus der Geschichte der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1897);Leipzig durch drei Jahrhunderte, Atlas zur Geschichte des Leipziger Stadtbildes(Leipzig, 1891);Quellen zur Geschichte Leipzigs(Leipzig, 1889-1895); andGeschichte der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1905); F. Seifert,Die Reformation in Leipzig(Leipzig, 1883); G. Buchwald,Reformationsgeschichte der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1900); Geffcken and Tykocinski,Stiftungsbuch der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1905); theUrkundenbuch der Stadt Leipzig, edited by C. F. Posern-Klett and Förstemann (Leipzig, 1870-1895); and theSchriften des Vereins für die Geschichte Leipzigs(Leipzig, 1872-1904). For other aspects of the town’s life see Hirschfeld,Leipzigs Grossindustrie und Grosshandel(Leipzig, 1887); Hassert,Die geographische Lage und Entwickelung Leipzigs(Leipzig, 1899); Helm,Heimatkunde von Leipzig(Leipzig, 1903); E. Friedberg,Die Universität Leipzig in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart(Leipzig, 1897); F. Zarncke,Die Statutenbücher der Universität Leipzig(Leipzig, 1861); E. Hasse,Geschichte der Leipziger Messen(Leipzig, 1885); Tille,Die Anfänge der hohen Landstrasse(Gotha, 1906); Biedermann,Geschichte der Leipziger Kramerinnung(Leipzig, 1881); and Moltke,Die Leipziger Kramerinnung im 15 und 16 Jahrhundert(Leipzig, 1901).
History.—Leipzig owes its origin to a Slav settlement between the Elster and the Pleisse, which was in existence before the year 1000, and its name to the Slav wordlipa, a lime tree. There was also a German settlement near this spot, probably round a castle erected early in the 10th century by the German king, Henry the Fowler. The district was part of the mark of Merseburg, and the bishops of Merseburg were the lords of extensive areas around the settlements. In the 11th century Leipzig is mentioned as a fortified place and in the 12th it came into the possession of the margrave of Meissen, being granted some municipal privileges by the margrave, Otto the Rich, before 1190. Its favourable situation in the midst of a plain intersected by the principal highways of central Europe, together with the fostering care of its rulers, now began the work of raising Leipzig to the position of a very important commercial town. Its earliest trade was in the salt produced at Halle, and its enterprising inhabitants constructed roads and bridges to lighten the journey of the traders and travellers whose way led to the town. Soon Leipzig was largely used as a depot by the merchants of Nuremberg, who carried on a considerable trade with Poland. Powers of self-government were acquired by the council (Rat) of the town, the importance of which was enhanced during the 15th century by several grants of privileges from the emperors. When Saxony was divided in 1485 Leipzig fell to the Albertine, or ducal branch of the family, whose head Duke George gave new rights to the burghers. This duke, however, at whose instigation the famous discussion between Luther and Johann von Eck took place in the Pleissenburg of Leipzig, inflicted some injury upon thetown’s trade and also upon its university by the harsh treatment which he meted out to the adherents of the new doctrines; but under the rule of his successor, Henry, Leipzig accepted the teaching of the reformers. In 1547 during the war of the league of Schmalkalden the town was besieged by the elector of Saxony, John Frederick I. It was not captured, although its suburbs were destroyed. These and the Pleissenburg were rebuilt by the elector Maurice, who also strengthened the fortifications. Under the elector Augustus I. emigrants from the Netherlands were encouraged to settle in Leipzig and its trade with Hamburg and with England was greatly extended.
During the Thirty Years’ War Leipzig suffered six sieges and on four occasions was occupied by hostile troops, being retained by the Swedes as security for the payment of an indemnity from 1648 to 1650. After 1650 its fortifications were strengthened; its finances were put on a better footing; and its trade, especially with England, began again to prosper; important steps being taken with regard to its organization. Towards the end of the 17th century the publishing trade began to increase very rapidly, partly because the severity of the censorship at Frankfort-on-the-Main caused many booksellers to remove to Leipzig. During the Seven Years’ War Frederick the Great exacted a heavy contribution from Leipzig, but this did not seriously interfere with its prosperity. In 1784 the fortifications were pulled down. The wars in the first decade of the 19th century were not on the whole unfavourable to the commerce of Leipzig, but in 1813 and 1814, owing to the presence of enormous armies in the neighbourhood, it suffered greatly. Another revival, however, set in after the peace of 1815, and this was aided by the accession of Saxony to the German Zollverein in 1834, and by the opening of the first railway a little later. In 1831 the town was provided with a new constitution, and in 1837 a scheme for the reform of the university was completed. A riot in 1845, the revolutionary movement of 1848 and the Prussian occupation of 1866 were merely passing shadows. In 1879 Leipzig acquired a new importance by becoming the seat of the supreme court of the German empire.
The immediate neighbourhood of Leipzig has been the scene of several battles, two of which are of more than ordinary importance. These are the battles of Breitenfeld, fought on the 17th of September 1631, between the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus and the imperialists, and the great battle of Leipzig, known in Germany as the Völkerschlacht, fought in October 1813 between Napoleon and the allied forces of Russia, Prussia and Austria.
Towards the middle of the 18th century Leipzig was the seat of the most influential body of literary men in Germany, over whom Johann Christoph Gottsched, like his contemporary, Samuel Johnson, in England, exercised a kind of literary dictatorship. Then, if ever, Leipzig deserved the epithet of a “Paris in miniature” (Klein Paris) assigned to it by Goethe in hisFaust. The young Lessing produced his first play in the Leipzig theatre, and the university counts Goethe, Klopstock, Jean Paul Richter, Fichte and Schelling among its alumni. Schiller and Gellert also resided for a time in Leipzig, and Sebastian Bach and Mendelssohn filled musical posts here. Among the celebrated natives of the town are the philosopher Leibnitz and the composer Wagner.
Authorities.—For the history of Leipzig see E. Hasse,Die Stadt Leipzig und ihre Umgebung, geographisch und statistisch beschrieben(Leipzig, 1878); K. Grosse,Geschichte der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1897-1898); Rachel,Verwaltungsorganisation und Ämterwesen der Stadt Leipzig bis 1627(Leipzig, 1902); G. Wustmann,Aus Leipzigs Vergangenheit(Leipzig, 1898);Bilderbuch aus der Geschichte der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1897);Leipzig durch drei Jahrhunderte, Atlas zur Geschichte des Leipziger Stadtbildes(Leipzig, 1891);Quellen zur Geschichte Leipzigs(Leipzig, 1889-1895); andGeschichte der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1905); F. Seifert,Die Reformation in Leipzig(Leipzig, 1883); G. Buchwald,Reformationsgeschichte der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1900); Geffcken and Tykocinski,Stiftungsbuch der Stadt Leipzig(Leipzig, 1905); theUrkundenbuch der Stadt Leipzig, edited by C. F. Posern-Klett and Förstemann (Leipzig, 1870-1895); and theSchriften des Vereins für die Geschichte Leipzigs(Leipzig, 1872-1904). For other aspects of the town’s life see Hirschfeld,Leipzigs Grossindustrie und Grosshandel(Leipzig, 1887); Hassert,Die geographische Lage und Entwickelung Leipzigs(Leipzig, 1899); Helm,Heimatkunde von Leipzig(Leipzig, 1903); E. Friedberg,Die Universität Leipzig in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart(Leipzig, 1897); F. Zarncke,Die Statutenbücher der Universität Leipzig(Leipzig, 1861); E. Hasse,Geschichte der Leipziger Messen(Leipzig, 1885); Tille,Die Anfänge der hohen Landstrasse(Gotha, 1906); Biedermann,Geschichte der Leipziger Kramerinnung(Leipzig, 1881); and Moltke,Die Leipziger Kramerinnung im 15 und 16 Jahrhundert(Leipzig, 1901).
LEIRIA,an episcopal city and the capital of the district of Leiria, formerly included in Estremadura, Portugal; on the river Liz and on the Lisbon-Figueria da Foz railway. Pop. (1900) 4459. The principal buildings of Leiria are the ruined citadel, which dates from 1135, and the cathedral, a small Renaissance building erected in 1571 but modernized in the 18th century. The main square of the city is named after the poet Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, who was born here about 1500. Between Leiria and the Atlantic there are extensive pine woods known as the Pinhal de Leiria, which were planted by King Diniz (1279-1325) with trees imported from the Landes in France, in order to give firmness to the sandy soil. In the neighbourhood there are glass and iron foundries, oil wells and mineral springs. Leiria, the Roman Calippo, was taken from the Moors in 1135 by Alphonso I. (Affonso Henriques). King Diniz made it his capital. In 1466 the first Portuguese printing-press was established here; in 1545 the city was made an episcopal see. The administrative district of Leiria coincides with the north and north-west of the ancient province of Estremadura (q.v.); pop. (1900) 238,755; area 1317 sq. m.
LEISLER, JACOB(c.1635-1691), American political agitator, was born probably at Frankfort-on-Main, Germany, about 1635. He went to New Netherland (New York) in 1660, married a wealthy widow, engaged in trade, and soon accumulated a fortune. The English Revolution of 1688 divided the people of New York into two well-defined factions. In general the small shop-keepers, small farmers, sailors, poor traders and artisans were arrayed against the patroons, rich fur-traders, merchants, lawyers and crown officers. The former were led by Leisler, the latter by Peter Schuyler (1657-1724), Nicholas Bayard (c.1644-1707), Stephen van Cortlandt (1643-1700), William Nicolls (1657-1723) and other representatives of the aristocratic Hudson Valley families. The “Leislerians” pretended greater loyalty to the Protestant succession. When news of the imprisonment of Gov. Andros in Massachusetts was received, they took possession on the 31st of May 1689 of Fort James (at the southern end of Manhattan Island), renamed it Fort William and announced their determination to hold it until the arrival of a governor commissioned by the new sovereigns. The aristocrats also favoured the Revolution, but preferred to continue the government under authority from James II. rather than risk the danger of an interregnum. Lieutenant-Governor Francis Nicholson sailed for England on the 24th of June, a committee of safety was organized by the popular party, and Leisler was appointed commander-in-chief. Under authority of a letter from the home government addressed to Nicholson, “or in his absence, to such as for the time being takes care for preserving the peace and administering the laws in His Majesty’s province of New York,” he assumed the title of lieutenant-governor in December 1689, appointed a council and took charge of the government of the entire province. He summoned the first Intercolonial Congress in America, which met in New York on the 1st of May 1690 to plan concerted action against the French and Indians. Colonel Henry Sloughter was commissioned governor of the province on the 2nd of September 1689 but did not reach New York until the 19th of March 1691. In the meantime Major Richard Ingoldsby and two companies of soldiers had landed (January 28, 1691) and demanded possession of the fort. Leisler refused to surrender it, and after some controversy an attack was made on the 17th of March in which two soldiers were killed and several wounded. When Sloughter arrived two days later Leisler hastened to give over to him the fort and other evidences of authority. He and his son-in-law, Jacob Milborne, were charged with treason for refusing to submit to Ingoldsby, were convicted, and on the 16th of May 1691 were executed. There has been much controversy among historians with regard both to the facts and to the significance of Leisler’s brief career as ruler in New York.
See J. R. Brodhead,History of the State of New York(vol. 2, New York, 1871). For the documents connected with the controversy see E. B. O’Callaghan,Documentary History of the State of New York(vol. 2, Albany, 1850).
See J. R. Brodhead,History of the State of New York(vol. 2, New York, 1871). For the documents connected with the controversy see E. B. O’Callaghan,Documentary History of the State of New York(vol. 2, Albany, 1850).
LEISNIG,a town in the kingdom of Saxony, prettily situated on the Freiberger Mulde, 7 m. S. of Grimma by the railway from Leipzig to Dresden via Döbeln. Pop. (1905) 8147. On a high rock above the town lies the old castle of Mildenstein, now utilized as administrative offices. The industries include the manufacture of cloth, furniture, boots, buttons, cigars, beer, machinery and chemicals. Leisnig is a place of considerableantiquity. About 1080 it passed into the possession of the counts of Groitzsch, but was purchased in 1157 by the emperor Frederick I., who committed it to the charge of counts. It fell to Meissen in 1365, and later to Saxony.
LEITH,a municipal and police burgh, and seaport, county of Midlothian, Scotland. Pop. (1901) 77,439. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, 1½ m. N.N.E. of Edinburgh, of which it is the port and with which it is connected by Leith Walk, practically a continuous street. It has stations on the North British and Caledonian railways, and a branch line (N.B.R.) to Portobello. Lying at the mouth of the Water of Leith, which is crossed by several bridges and divides it into the parishes of North and South Leith, it stretches for 3¼ m. along the shore of the Firth from Seafield in the east to near Granton in the west. There is tramway communication with Edinburgh and Newhaven.
The town is a thriving centre of trade and commerce. St Mary’s in Kirkgate, the parish church of South Leith, was founded in 1483, and was originally cruciform but, as restored in 1852, consists of an aisled nave and north-western tower. Here David Lindsay (1531-1613), its minister, James VI.’s chaplain and afterwards bishop of Ross, preached before the king the thanksgiving sermon on the Gowrie conspiracy (1600). John Logan, the hymn-writer and reputed author of “The Ode to the Cuckoo,” was minister for thirteen years; and in its graveyard lies the Rev. John Home, author ofDouglas, a native of Leith. Near it in Constitution Street is St James’s Episcopal church (1862-1869), in the Early English style by Sir Gilbert Scott, with an apsidal chancel and a spire 160 ft. high. The parish church of North Leith, in Madeira Street, with a spire 158 ft. high, is one of the best livings in the Established Church of Scotland. St Thomas’s, at the head of Shirra Brae, in the Gothic style, was built in 1843 by Sir John Gladstone of Fasque, who—prior to his removal to Liverpool, where his son, W. E. Gladstone, was born—had been a merchant in Leith. The public buildings are wholly modern, the principal being of classic design. They include the custom house (1812) in the Grecian style; Trinity House (1817), also Grecian, containing Sir Henry Raeburn’s portrait of Admiral Lord Duncan, David Scott’s “Vasco da Gama Rounding the Cape” and other paintings; the markets (1818); the town hall (1828), with an Ionic façade on Constitution Street and a Doric porch on Charlotte Street; the corn exchange (1862) in the Roman style; the assembly rooms; exchange buildings; the public institute (1867) and Victoria public baths (1899). Trinity House was founded in 1555 as a home for old and disabled sailors, but on the decline of its revenues it became the licensing authority for pilots, its humane office being partly fulfilled by the sailors’ home, established about 1840 in a building adjoining the Signal Tower, and rehoused in a handsome structure in the Scottish Baronial style in 1883-1884. Other charitable institutions include the hospital, John Watt’s hospital and the smallpox hospital. The high school, built in 1806, for many years a familiar object on the west margin of the Links, gave way to the academy, a handsome and commodious structure, to which are drafted senior pupils from the numerous board schools for free education in the higher branches. Here also is accommodated the technical college. Secondary instruction is given also in Craighall Road school. A bronze statue of Robert Burns was unveiled in 1898. Leith Links, one of the homes of golf in Scotland, is a popular resort, on Lochend Road are situated Hawkhill recreation grounds, and Lochend Loch is used for skating and curling. There are small links at Newhaven, and in Trinity are Starbank Park and Cargilfield playing ground. The east pier (1177 yds. long) and the west pier (1041 yds.) are favourite promenades. The waterway between them is the entrance to the harbour. Leith cemetery is situated at Seafield and the Eastern cemetery in Easter Road.
The oldest industry is shipbuilding, which dates from 1313. Here in 1511 James IV. built the “St Michael,” “ane verrie monstruous great ship, whilk tuik sae meikle timber that schee waisted all the woodis in Fyfe, except Falkland wood, besides the timber that cam out of Norroway.” Other important industries are engineering, sugar-refining (established 1757), meat-preserving, flour-milling, sailcloth-making, soap-boiling, rope and twine-making, tanning, chemical manures-making, wood-sawing, hosiery, biscuit-baking, brewing, distilling and lime-juice making. Of the old trade of glass-making, which began in 1682, scarcely a trace survives. As a distributing centre, Leith occupies a prominent place. It is the headquarters of the whisky business in Great Britain, and stores also large quantities of wine from Spain, Portugal and France. This pre-eminence is due to its excellent dock and harbour accommodation and capacious warehouses. The two old docks (1801-1807) cover 10½ acres; Victoria Dock (1852) 5 acres; Albert Dock (1863-1869) 10¾ acres; Edinburgh Dock (1874-1881) 162⁄3acres; and the New Dock (1892-1901) 60 acres. There are several dry docks, of which the Prince of Wales Graving Dock (1858), the largest, measures 370 ft. by 60 ft. Space can always be had for more dock room by reclaiming the east sands, where in the 17th and 18th centuries Leith Races were held, the theme of a humorous descriptive poem by Robert Fergusson. Apart from coasting trade there are constant sailings to the leading European ports, the United States and the British colonies. In 1908 the tonnage of ships entering the harbour was (including coastwise trade) 1,975,457; that of ships clearing the harbour 1,993,227. The number of vessels registered at the port was 213 (net tonnage 146,799). The value of imports was £12,883,890, of exports £5,377,188. In summer there are frequent excursions to the Bass Rock and the Isle of May, North Berwick, Elie, Aberdour, Alloa and Stirling. Leith Fort, built in North Leith in 1779 for the defence of the harbour, is now the headquarters of the Royal Artillery in Scotland. Leith is the head of a fishery district. The town, which is governed by a provost, bailies and council, unites with Musselburgh and Portobello to send one member to parliament.
Leith figures as Inverleith in the foundation charter of Holyrood Abbey (1128). In 1329 Robert I. granted the harbour to the magistrates of Edinburgh, who did not always use their power wisely. They forbade, for example, the building of streets wide enough to admit a cart, a regulation that accounted for the number of narrow wynds and alleys in the town. Had the overlords been more considerate incorporation with Edinburgh would not have been so bitterly resisted. Several of the quaint bits of ancient Leith yet remain, and the appearance of the shore as it was in the 17th and 18th centuries, and even at a later date, was picturesque in the extreme. During the centuries of strife between Scotland and England its situation exposed the port to attack both by sea and land. At least twice (in 1313 and 1410) its shipping was burned by the English, who also sacked the town in 1544—when the 1st earl of Hertford destroyed the first wooden pier—and 1547. In the troublous times that followed the death of James V., Leith became the stronghold of the Roman Catholic and French party from 1548 to 1560, Mary of Guise, queen regent, not deeming herself secure in Edinburgh. In 1549 the town was walled and fortified by Montalembert, sicur d’Essé, the commander of the French troops, and endured an ineffectual siege in 1560 by the Scots and their English allies. A house in Coalhill is thought to be the “handsome and spacious edifice” erected for her privy council by Mary of Guise. D’Essé’s wall, pierced by six gates, was partly dismantled on the death of the queen regent, but although rebuilt in 1571, not a trace of it exists. The old tolbooth, in which William Maitland of Lethington, Queen Mary’s secretary, poisoned himself in 1573, to avoid execution for adhering to Mary’s cause, was demolished in 1819. Charles I. is said to have received the first tidings of the Irish rebellion while playing golf on the links in 1641. Cromwell in his Scottish campaign built the Citadel in 1650 and the mounds on the links, known as “Giant’s Brae” and “Lady Fife’s Brae,” were thrown up by the Protector as batteries. In 1698 the sailing of the first Darien expedition created great excitement. In 1715 William Mackintosh of Borlum (1662-1743) and his force of Jacobite Highlanders captured the Citadel, of which only the name of Citadel Street and the archway in Couper Street have preserved the memory.A mile S.E. of the links lies the ancient village ofRestalrig, the home of the Logans, from whom the superiority of Leith was purchased in 1553 by the queen regent. Sir Robert Logan (d. 1606) was alleged to have been one of the Gowrie conspirators and to have arranged to imprison the king in Fast Castle. This charge, however, was not made until three years after his death, when his bones were exhumed for trial. He was then found guilty of high treason and sentence of forfeiture pronounced; but there is reason to suspect that the whole case was trumped up. The old church escaped demolition at the Reformation and even the fine eastwindow was saved. In the vaults repose Sir Robert and other Logans, besides several of the lords Balmerino, and Lord Brougham’s father lies in the kirkyard. The well of St Triduana, which was reputed to possess wonderful curative powers, vanished when the North British railway was constructed.
Leith figures as Inverleith in the foundation charter of Holyrood Abbey (1128). In 1329 Robert I. granted the harbour to the magistrates of Edinburgh, who did not always use their power wisely. They forbade, for example, the building of streets wide enough to admit a cart, a regulation that accounted for the number of narrow wynds and alleys in the town. Had the overlords been more considerate incorporation with Edinburgh would not have been so bitterly resisted. Several of the quaint bits of ancient Leith yet remain, and the appearance of the shore as it was in the 17th and 18th centuries, and even at a later date, was picturesque in the extreme. During the centuries of strife between Scotland and England its situation exposed the port to attack both by sea and land. At least twice (in 1313 and 1410) its shipping was burned by the English, who also sacked the town in 1544—when the 1st earl of Hertford destroyed the first wooden pier—and 1547. In the troublous times that followed the death of James V., Leith became the stronghold of the Roman Catholic and French party from 1548 to 1560, Mary of Guise, queen regent, not deeming herself secure in Edinburgh. In 1549 the town was walled and fortified by Montalembert, sicur d’Essé, the commander of the French troops, and endured an ineffectual siege in 1560 by the Scots and their English allies. A house in Coalhill is thought to be the “handsome and spacious edifice” erected for her privy council by Mary of Guise. D’Essé’s wall, pierced by six gates, was partly dismantled on the death of the queen regent, but although rebuilt in 1571, not a trace of it exists. The old tolbooth, in which William Maitland of Lethington, Queen Mary’s secretary, poisoned himself in 1573, to avoid execution for adhering to Mary’s cause, was demolished in 1819. Charles I. is said to have received the first tidings of the Irish rebellion while playing golf on the links in 1641. Cromwell in his Scottish campaign built the Citadel in 1650 and the mounds on the links, known as “Giant’s Brae” and “Lady Fife’s Brae,” were thrown up by the Protector as batteries. In 1698 the sailing of the first Darien expedition created great excitement. In 1715 William Mackintosh of Borlum (1662-1743) and his force of Jacobite Highlanders captured the Citadel, of which only the name of Citadel Street and the archway in Couper Street have preserved the memory.
A mile S.E. of the links lies the ancient village ofRestalrig, the home of the Logans, from whom the superiority of Leith was purchased in 1553 by the queen regent. Sir Robert Logan (d. 1606) was alleged to have been one of the Gowrie conspirators and to have arranged to imprison the king in Fast Castle. This charge, however, was not made until three years after his death, when his bones were exhumed for trial. He was then found guilty of high treason and sentence of forfeiture pronounced; but there is reason to suspect that the whole case was trumped up. The old church escaped demolition at the Reformation and even the fine eastwindow was saved. In the vaults repose Sir Robert and other Logans, besides several of the lords Balmerino, and Lord Brougham’s father lies in the kirkyard. The well of St Triduana, which was reputed to possess wonderful curative powers, vanished when the North British railway was constructed.
LEITMERITZ(Czech,Litoměřice), a town and episcopal see of Bohemia, 45 m. N. of Prague by rail. Pop. (1900) 13,075, mostly German. It lies on the right bank of the Elbe, which becomes here navigable for steamers and is spanned by an iron bridge 1700 ft. in length. The fine cathedral, founded in 1057, was built in 1671 and contains some valuable paintings. The library of the episcopal palace, built between 1694 and 1701, possesses the oldest maps of Bohemia made in 1518 by Nicolaus Claudianus of Jung-Bunzlau. Of the other churches that of All Saints dates from the 13th century. The town-hall, with its remarkable bell tower, dates from the 15th century. Leitmeritz is situated in the midst of a very fertile country, called the “Bohemian Paradise,” which produces great quantities of corn, fruit, hops and wines. The beer brewed here enjoys a high reputation. On the opposite bank of the river, where the Eger discharges itself into the Elbe, lies Theresienstadt (pop. 7046), an important garrison town. It was formerly an important fortress, erected in 1780 by the emperor Joseph II. and named after his mother Maria Theresa, but the fortress was dismantled in 1882.
Leitmeritz was originally the castle of a royal count and is first mentioned, in 993, in the foundation charter of the convent of St Margaret near Prague. In 1248 it received a town charter, and was governed by the laws of Magdeburg until the time of Ferdinand I., having a special court of jurisdiction over all the royal towns where this law obtained. The town reached its highest degree of prosperity under Charles IV., who bestowed upon it large tracts of forest, agricultural land and vineyards. In the Hussite wars, after its capture by the utraquist, Leitmeritz remained true to “the Chalice,” shared also in the revolt against Ferdinand I., and suffered in consequence. It was still more unfortunate during the Thirty Years’ War, in the course of which most of the Protestant inhabitants left it; the property of the Bohemian refugees being given to German immigrants. The present bishopric was established in 1655.
Leitmeritz was originally the castle of a royal count and is first mentioned, in 993, in the foundation charter of the convent of St Margaret near Prague. In 1248 it received a town charter, and was governed by the laws of Magdeburg until the time of Ferdinand I., having a special court of jurisdiction over all the royal towns where this law obtained. The town reached its highest degree of prosperity under Charles IV., who bestowed upon it large tracts of forest, agricultural land and vineyards. In the Hussite wars, after its capture by the utraquist, Leitmeritz remained true to “the Chalice,” shared also in the revolt against Ferdinand I., and suffered in consequence. It was still more unfortunate during the Thirty Years’ War, in the course of which most of the Protestant inhabitants left it; the property of the Bohemian refugees being given to German immigrants. The present bishopric was established in 1655.
LEITNER, GOTTLIEB WILHELM(1840-1899), Anglo-Hungarian orientalist, was born at Budapest in 1840. He was the son of a physician, and was educated at Malta Protestant college. At the age of fifteen he acted as an interpreter in the Crimean War. He entered King’s College, London, in 1858, and in 1861 was appointed professor of Arabic and Mahommedan law. He became principal of the government college at Lahore in 1864, and there originated the term “Dardistan” for a portion of the mountains on the north-west frontier, which was subsequently recognized to be a purely artificial distinction. He collected much valuable information on Graeco-Buddhist art and the origins of Indian art. He spoke, read and wrote twenty-five languages. He founded an oriental institute at Woking, and for some years edited theAsiatic Quarterly Review. He died at Bonn in 1899.
See J. H. Stocqueler,Life and Labours of Dr Leitner(1875).
See J. H. Stocqueler,Life and Labours of Dr Leitner(1875).
LEITRIM,a county of Ireland in the province of Connaught, bounded N.W. by Donegal Bay, N.E. by Fermanagh, E. by Cavan, S.E. by Longford, S.W. by Roscommon and W. by Sligo. The area is 392,381 acres, or about 613 sq. m. The northern portion of the county consists of an elevated tableland, of which the highest summits belong to the Truskmore Hills, reaching 1712 ft.; with Benbo, 1365 ft. and Lackagh, 1446 ft. In the southern part the country is comparatively level, and is generally richly wooded. The county touches the south coast of Donegal Bay, but the coast-line is only about 3 m. The principal river is the Shannon, which, issuing from Lough Allen, forms the south-western boundary of the county with Roscommon. The Bonnet rises in the north-west and flows to Lough Gill, and the streams of Drones and Duff separate Leitrim from Donegal and Sligo. Besides Lough Allen, which has an area of 8900 acres, the other principal lakes in the county are Lough Macnean, Lough Scur, Lough Garadice and Lough Melvin. The scenery of the north is wild and attractive, while in the neighbourhood of the Shannon it is of great beauty. Lough Melvin and the coast rivers afford rod fishing, the lough being noted for its gillaroo trout.
This varied county has in general a floor of Carboniferous Limestone, which forms finely scarped hills as it reaches the sea in Donegal Bay. The underlying sandstone appears at Lough Melvin, and again on the margin of a Silurian area in the extreme south. The Upper Carboniferous series, dipping gently southward, form mountainous country round Lough Allen, where the name of Slieve Anierin records the abundance of clay-ironstone beneath the coal seams. The sandstones and shales of this series scarp boldly towards the valley of the Bonnet, across which rises, in picturesque contrast, the heather-clad ridge of ancient gneiss which forms, in Benbo, the north-east end of the Ox Mountains. The ironstone was smelted in the upland at Creevelea down to 1859, and the coal is worked in a few thin seams.
The climate is moist and unsuitable for grain crops. On the higher districts the soil is stiff and cold, and, though abounding in stones, retentive of moisture, but in the valleys there are some fertile districts. Lime, marl and similar manures are abundant, and on the coast seaweed is plentiful. The proportion of tillage to pasture is roughly as 1 to 3. Potatoes are grown, but oats, the principal grain crop, are scanty. The live stock consists chiefly of cattle, pigs and poultry. Coarse linens for domestic purposes are manufactured and coarse pottery is also made. The Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties railway, connecting Sligo with Enniskillen, crosses the northern part of the county, by way of Manor Hamilton; the Mullingar and Sligo line of the Midland Great Western touches the south-western boundary of the county, with a station at Carrick-on-Shannon; while connecting with this line at Dromod is the Cavan and Leitrim railway to Ballinamore and Arigna, and to Belturbet in county Cavan.
The population (78,618 in 1891; 69,343 in 1901) decreases owing to emigration, the decrease being one of the most serious shown by any Irish county. It includes nearly 90% of Roman Catholics. The only towns are Carrick-on-Shannon (pop. 1118) and Manor Hamilton (993). The county is divided into five baronies. It is within the Connaught circuit, and assizes are held at Carrick-on-Shannon, and quarter sessions at Ballinamore, Carrick-on-Shannon and Manor Hamilton. It is in the Protestant diocese of Kilmore, and the Roman Catholic dioceses of Ardagh and Kilmore. In the Irish House of Commons two members were returned for the county and two for the boroughs of Carrick-on-Shannon and Jamestown, but at the Union the boroughs were disfranchised. The county divisions are termed the North and South, each returning one member.
With the territory which afterwards became the county Cavan, Leitrim formed part of Brenny or Breffny, which was divided into two principalities, of which Leitrim, under the name of Hy Bruin-Brenny, formed the western. Being for a long time in the possession of the O’Rourkes, descendants of Roderick, king of Ireland, it was also called Brenny O’Rourke. This family long maintained its independence; even in 1579, when the other existing counties of Connaught were created, the creation of Leitrim was deferred, and did not take place until 1583. Large confiscations were made in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I., in the Cromwellian period, and after the Revolution of 1688.
There are “druidical” remains near Fenagh and at Letterfyan, and important monastic ruins at Creevelea near the Bonnet, with several antique monuments, and in the parish of Fenagh. There was a flourishing Franciscan friary at Jamestown. The abbeys of Mohill, Annaduff and Drumlease are converted into parish churches. Among the more notable old castles are Manor Hamilton Castle, originally very extensive, but now in ruins, and Castle John on an island in Lough Scur. There is a small village named Leitrim about 4 m. N. of Carrick-on-Shannon, which was once of enough importance to give its name to a barony and to the county, and is said to have been the seat of an early bishopric.
LEIXÕES,a seaport and harbour of refuge of northern Portugal; in 41° 9′ 10″ N., 8° 40′ 35″ W., 3 m. N. of the mouth of the Douro. Leixões is included in the parish of Matozinhos (pop. 1900, 7690) and constitutes the main port of the city ofOporto (q.v.), with which it is connected by an electric tramway. The harbour, of artificial construction, has an area of over 220 acres, and admits vessels of any size, the depth at the entrance being nearly 50 ft. The transference of cargo to and from ships lying in the Leixões basin is effected entirely by means of lighters from Oporto. In addition to wine, &c., from Oporto, large numbers of emigrants to South America are taken on board here. The trade of the port is mainly in British hands, and large numbers of British ships call at Leixões on the voyage between Lisbon and Liverpool, London or Southampton.
LEJEUNE, LOUIS FRANÇOIS,Baron(1776-1848), French general, painter, and lithographer, was born at Versailles. As aide-de-camp to General Berthier he took an active part in many of the Napoleonic campaigns, which he made the subjects of an important series of battle-pictures. The vogue he enjoyed is due to the truth and vigour of his work, which was generally executed from sketches and studies made on the battlefield. When his battle-pictures were shown at the Egyptian Hall in London, a rail had to be put up to protect them from the eager crowds of sightseers. Among his chief works are “The Entry of Charles X. into Paris, 6 June 1825” at Versailles; “Episode of the Prussian War, October 1807” at Douai Museum; “Marengo” (1801); “Lodi,” “Thabor,” “Aboukir” (1804); “The Pyramids” (1806); “Passage of the Rhine in 1795” (1824), and “Moskawa” (1812). The German campaign of 1806 brought him to Munich, where he visited the workshop of Senefelder, the inventor of lithography. Lejeune was so fascinated by the possibilities of the new method that he then and there made the drawing on stone of his famous “Cossack” (printed by C. and T. Senefelder, 1806). Whilst he was taking his dinner, and with his horses harnessed and waiting to take him back to Paris, one hundred proofs were printed, one of which he subsequently submitted to Napoleon. The introduction of lithography into France was greatly due to the efforts of Lejeune. Many of his battle-pictures were engraved by Coiny and Bovinet.
See Fournier-Sarlovèze,Le Général Lejeune(Paris,Libraire de l’art).
See Fournier-Sarlovèze,Le Général Lejeune(Paris,Libraire de l’art).
LEKAIN,the stage name of Henri Louis Cain (1728-1778), French actor, who was born in Paris on the 14th of April 1728, the son of a silversmith. He was educated at the Collège Mazarin, and joined an amateur company of players against which the Comédie Française obtained an injunction. Voltaire supported him for a time and enabled him to act in his private theatre and also before the duchess of Maine. Owing to the hostility of the actors it was only after a struggle of seventeen months that, by the command of Louis XV., he was received at the Comédie Française. His success was immediate. Among his best parts were Herod inMariamne, Nero inBritannicusand similar tragic rôles, in spite of the fact that he was short and stout, with irregular and rather common features. His name is connected with a number of important scenic reforms. It was he who had the benches removed on which privileged spectators formerly sat encumbering the stage, Count Lauragais paying for him an excessive indemnity demanded. Lekain also protested against the method of sing-song declamation prevalent, and endeavoured to correct the costuming of the plays, although unable to obtain the historic accuracy at which Talma aimed. He died in Paris on the 8th of February 1778.
His eldest son published hisMémoires(1801) with his correspondence with Voltaire, Garrick and others. They were reprinted with a preface by Talma inMémoires sur l’art dramatique(1825).
His eldest son published hisMémoires(1801) with his correspondence with Voltaire, Garrick and others. They were reprinted with a preface by Talma inMémoires sur l’art dramatique(1825).
LELAND, CHARLES GODFREY(1824-1903), American author, son of a merchant, was born at Philadelphia on the 15th of August 1824, and graduated at Princeton in 1845. He afterwards studied at Heidelberg, Munich and Paris. He was in Paris during the revolution of 1848, and took an active part in it. He then returned to Philadelphia, and after being admitted to the bar in 1851, devoted himself to contributing to periodicals, editing various magazines and writing books. At the opening of the Civil War he started at Boston theContinental Magazine, which advocated emancipation. In 1868 he became known as the humorous author ofHans Breitmann’s Party and Ballads, which was followed by other volumes of the same kind, collected in 1871 with the title ofHans Breitmann’s Ballads. These dialect poems, burlesquing the German American, at once became popular. In 1869 he went to Europe, and till 1880 was occupied, chiefly in London, with literary work; after returning to Philadelphia for six years, he again made his home in Europe, generally at Florence, where he died on the 20th of March 1903. Though his humorous verses were most attractive to the public, Leland was a serious student of folk-lore, particularly of the gipsies, his writings on the latter (The English Gypsies and their Language, 1872;The Gypsies, 1882;Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune-telling..., 1891, &c.) being recognized as valuable contributions to the literature of the subject. He was president of the first European folk-lore congress, held in Paris in 1889.
His other publications includePoetry and Mystery of Dreams(1855),Meister Karl’s Sketch-book(1855),Pictures of Travel(1856),Sunshine in Thought(1862),Heine’s Book of Songs(1862),The Music Lesson of Confucius(1870),Egyptian Sketch-book(1873),Abraham Lincoln(1879),The Minor Arts(1880),Algonquin Legends of New England(1884),Songs of the Sea and Lays of the Land(1895),Hans Breitmann in Tyrol(1895),One Hundred Profitable Acts(1897),Unpublished Legends of Vergil(1899),Kuloskap the Master, and other Algonquin Poems(1903, with J. Dyneley Prince).
See hisMemoirs(2 vols., 1893), and E. R. Pennell,C. G. Leland(1906).
See hisMemoirs(2 vols., 1893), and E. R. Pennell,C. G. Leland(1906).
LELAND(LeylandorLaylonde),JOHN(c.1506-1552), English antiquary, was born in London on the 13th of September, probably in 1506. He owed his education at St Paul’s school under William Lilly, and at Christ’s College, Cambridge, to the kindness of a patron, Thomas Myles. He graduated at Cambridge in 1521, and subsequently studied at All Souls College, Oxford, and in Paris under François Dubois (Sylvius). On his return to England he took holy orders. He had been tutor to Lord Thomas Howard, son of the 3rd duke of Norfolk, and to Francis Hastings, afterwards earl of Huntingdon. Meanwhile his learning had recommended him to Henry VIII., who presented him to the rectory of Peuplingues in the marches of Calais in 1530. He was already librarian and chaplain to the king, and in 1533 he received a novel commission under the great seal as king’s antiquary, with power to search for records, manuscripts and relics of antiquity in all the cathedrals, colleges and religious houses of England. Probably from 1534, and definitely from 1536 onwards to 1542, he was engaged on an antiquarian tour through England and Wales. He sought to preserve the MSS. scattered at the dissolution of the monasteries, but his powers did not extend to the actual collection of MSS. Some valuable additions, however, he did procure for the king’s library, chiefly from the abbey of St Augustine at Canterbury. He had received a special dispensation permitting him to absent himself from his rectory of Peuplingues in 1536, and on his return from his itinerary he received the rectory of Haseley in Oxfordshire; his support of the church policy of Henry and Cranmer being further rewarded by a canonry and prebend of King’s College (now Christ Church), Oxford, and a prebend of Salisbury. In aStrena Henrico1(pr. 1546), addressed to Henry VIII. in 1545, he proposed to execute from the materials which he had collected in his journeys a topography of England, an account of the adjacent islands, an account of the British nobility, and a great history of the antiquities of the British Isles. He toiled over his papers at his house in the parish of St Michael le Querne, Cheapside, London, but he was not destined to complete these great undertakings, for he was certified insane in March 1550, and died on the 18th of April 1552.
Leland was an exact observer, and a diligent student of local chronicles. The bulk of his work remained in MS. at the time of his death, and various copies were made, one by John Stowe in 1576. After passing through various hands the greater part ofLeland’s MSS. were deposited by William Burton, the historian of Leicestershire, in the Bodleian at Oxford. They had in the meantime been freely used by other antiquaries, notably by John Bale, William Camden and Sir William Dugdale. The account of his journey in England and Wales in eight MS. quarto volumes received its nameThe Itinerary of John Lelandfrom Thomas Burton and was edited by Thomas Hearne (9 vols., Oxford, 1710-1712; other editions in 1745 and 1770). The scattered portions dealing with Wales were re-edited by Miss L. Toulmin Smith in 1907. His other most important work, theCollectanea, in four folio MS. volumes, was also published by Hearne (6 vols., Oxford, 1715). HisCommentarii de scriptoribus Britannicis, which had been used and distorted by his friend John Bale, was edited by Anthony Hall (2 vols., Oxford, 1709). Some of Leland’s MSS., which formerly belonged to Sir Robert Cotton, passed into the possession of the British Museum. He was a Latin poet of some merit, his most famous piece being theCygneo Cantio(1545) in honour of Henry VIII. Many of his minor works are included in Hearne’s editions of theItineraryand theCollectanea.For accounts of Leland see John Bale,Catalogus(1557); Anthony à Wood,Athenae Oxonienses; W. Huddesford,Lives of those eminent Antiquaries John Leland, Thomas Hearne and Anthony à Wood(Oxford, 1772). A life of Leland, attributed to Edward Burton (c.1750), from the library of Sir Thomas Phillipps, printed in 1896 contains a bibliography. See also the biography by Sidney Lee, in theDict. Nat. Biog.
Leland was an exact observer, and a diligent student of local chronicles. The bulk of his work remained in MS. at the time of his death, and various copies were made, one by John Stowe in 1576. After passing through various hands the greater part ofLeland’s MSS. were deposited by William Burton, the historian of Leicestershire, in the Bodleian at Oxford. They had in the meantime been freely used by other antiquaries, notably by John Bale, William Camden and Sir William Dugdale. The account of his journey in England and Wales in eight MS. quarto volumes received its nameThe Itinerary of John Lelandfrom Thomas Burton and was edited by Thomas Hearne (9 vols., Oxford, 1710-1712; other editions in 1745 and 1770). The scattered portions dealing with Wales were re-edited by Miss L. Toulmin Smith in 1907. His other most important work, theCollectanea, in four folio MS. volumes, was also published by Hearne (6 vols., Oxford, 1715). HisCommentarii de scriptoribus Britannicis, which had been used and distorted by his friend John Bale, was edited by Anthony Hall (2 vols., Oxford, 1709). Some of Leland’s MSS., which formerly belonged to Sir Robert Cotton, passed into the possession of the British Museum. He was a Latin poet of some merit, his most famous piece being theCygneo Cantio(1545) in honour of Henry VIII. Many of his minor works are included in Hearne’s editions of theItineraryand theCollectanea.
For accounts of Leland see John Bale,Catalogus(1557); Anthony à Wood,Athenae Oxonienses; W. Huddesford,Lives of those eminent Antiquaries John Leland, Thomas Hearne and Anthony à Wood(Oxford, 1772). A life of Leland, attributed to Edward Burton (c.1750), from the library of Sir Thomas Phillipps, printed in 1896 contains a bibliography. See also the biography by Sidney Lee, in theDict. Nat. Biog.
1Re-edited in 1549 by John Bale asThe laboryeuse Journey and Serche of J. Leylande for Englandes Antiquitees geven of him for a Neu Yeares Gifte, &c., modern edition by W. A. Copinger (Manchester, 1895).
1Re-edited in 1549 by John Bale asThe laboryeuse Journey and Serche of J. Leylande for Englandes Antiquitees geven of him for a Neu Yeares Gifte, &c., modern edition by W. A. Copinger (Manchester, 1895).
LELAND, JOHN(1691-1766), English Nonconformist divine, was born at Wigan, Lancashire, and educated in Dublin, where he made such progress that in 1716, without having attended any college or hall, he was appointed first assistant and afterwards sole pastor of a congregation of Presbyterians in New Row. This office he continued to fill until his death on the 16th of January 1766. He received the degree of D.D. from Aberdeen in 1739. His first publication wasA Defence of Christianity(1733), in reply to Matthew Tindal’sChristianity as old as the Creation; it was succeeded by hisDivine Authority of the Old and New Testaments asserted(1738), in answer toThe Moral Philosopherof Thomas Morgan; in 1741 he published two volumes, in the form of two letters, beingRemarks on[H. Dodwell’s]Christianity not founded on Argument; and in 1753Reflexions on the late Lord Bolingbroke’s Letters on the Study and Use of History. HisView of the Principal Deistical Writers that have appeared in Englandwas published in 1754-1756. This is the chief work of Leland—“most worthy, painstaking and commonplace of divines,” as Sir Leslie Stephen called him—and in spite of many defects and inconsistencies is indispensable to every student of the deistic movement of the 18th century.
HisDiscourses on various Subjects, with aLifeprefixed, was published posthumously (4 vols., 1768-1789).
HisDiscourses on various Subjects, with aLifeprefixed, was published posthumously (4 vols., 1768-1789).
LELAND STANFORD JR. UNIVERSITY,near Palo Alto, California, U.S.A., in the beautiful Santa Clara valley, was founded in 1885 by Leland Stanford1(1824-1893), and by his wife Jane Lathrop Stanford (1825-1905), as a memorial to their only child, Leland Stanford, Jr., who died in 1884 in his seventeenth year. The doors were opened in 1891 to 559 students. The university campus consists of Stanford’s former Palo Alto farm, which comprises about 9000 acres. From the campus there are charming views of San Francisco Bay, of the Coast Range, particularly of Mount Hamilton some 30 m. E. with the Lick Observatory on its summit, of mountain foothills, and of the magnificent redwood forests toward Santa Cruz.
The buildings, designed originally by H. H. Richardson and completed by his successors, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, are of soft buff sandstone in a style adapted from the old California mission (Moorish-Romanesque) architecture, being long and low with wide colonnades, open arches and red tiled roofs. An outer surrounds an inner quadrangle of buildings. The inner quadrangle, about a court which is 586 by 246 ft. and is faced by a continuous open arcade and adorned with large circular beds of tropical plants and flowers, consists of twelve one-storey buildings and a beautiful memorial church. Of the fourteen buildings of the outer quadrangle some are two storeys high. A magnificent memorial arch (100 ft. high), adorned with a frieze designed by John Evans, representing the “Progress of Civilization in America,” and forming the main gateway, was destroyed by the earthquake of 1906. Outside the quadrangles are other buildings—a museum of art and archaeology, based on collections made by Leland Stanford, Jr., chemical laboratories, engineering work-shops, dormitories, a mausoleum of the founders, &c. There is a fine arboretum (300 acres) and a cactus garden. The charming views, the grace and harmonious colours of the buildings, and the tropic vegetation make a campus of wonderful beauty. The students in 1907-1908 numbered 1738, of whom 126 were graduates, 99 special students, and 500 women.2The university library (with the library of the law department) contained in 1908 about 107,000 volumes. A marine biological laboratory, founded by Timothy Hopkins, is maintained at Pacific Grove on the Bay of Monterey. The university has an endowment from its founders estimated at $30,000,000, including three great estates with 85,000 acres of farm and vineyard lands, and several smaller tracts; but the endowment was very largely in interest-bearing securities, income from which was temporarily cut off in the early years of the university’s life by litigation. The founders wished the university “to qualify students for personal success and direct usefulness in life; to promote the public welfare by exercising an influence in behalf of humanity and civilization, teaching the blessings of liberty regulated by law, and inculcating love and reverence for the great principles of government as derived from the inalienable rights of man to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” There are no inflexible entrance requirements as to particular studies except English composition to ensure a degree of mental maturity, the minimum amount of preparation is fixed as that which should be given by four years in a secondary school, leaving to the applicants a wide choice of subjects (35 in 1906) ranging from ancient history to woodworking and machine shop. In the curriculum, liberty perhaps even greater than at Harvard is allowed as to “electives.” Work on some one major subject occupies about one-third of the undergraduate course; the remaining two-thirds (or more) is purely elective. The influence of sectarianism and politics is barred from the university by its charter, and by its private origin and private support. At the same time in its policy it is practically a state university of the most liberal type. Instruction is entirely free. The president of the university has the initiative in all appointments and in all matters of general policy. Within the university faculty power lies in an academic council, and, more particularly, in an advisory board of nine professors, elected by the academic council, to which all propositions of the president are submitted. The growth of the university has been steady, and its conduct careful. David Starr Jordan3was its first president.