in art, that they have overpowered canonical prejudices against the purpose they embody. Lesueur, however, was an innovator, and his treatment of the subject was violently attacked, as being opposed to the spirit of prayer in which divine service should be solemnized. He justified his views, and defended his exercise of them, in two pamphlets; but general opinion against him was so strong, that the chapter of the cathedral reduced the instrumental accompaniments to what they had been before Lesueur's appointment, and made his composition of the opera of "Telemaque" (which was not then performed) a pretext for declaring him unfit for the direction of church music. He consequently resigned his appointment in 1788, and went to reside with a friend in the country. Upon the death of this patron, in 1792, Lesueur returned to Paris with the compositions he had produced during his retirement; and in 1793 he made his first public essay as a dramatic composer, in an opera called "La Caverne," at the Opéra Comique. In 1794 he brought out "Paul et Virginie" at the same theatre, as also in 1796, "Telemaque," which, though written eight years before, was now first represented. On the establishment of the Conservatoire in 1795, Lesueur was associated with Méhul, Langlé, Gossec, and Catel, in the arrangement of the course of instruction to be adopted in that institution. In 1802 Lesueur had two operas on the list of works accepted for production at the Académie, the composition of which, however, was not completed. Catel's opera of Semiramis was consequently chosen for performance, which Lesueur regarded as an act of injustice to himself. He accordingly published a pamphlet complaining of the preference shown to Catel, in which he made a violent attack upon all the professors engaged in the Conservatoire, of whom Catel was one. This opened a public discussion, the result of which was, that Lesueur was compelled to resign his lucrative appointment in the Conservatoire, and he was reduced thus to a state of indigence. He was relieved from this position on the retirement of his friend Paisiello from the office of maitre de chapel to the first consul, in 1804, upon whose recommendation Lesueur wa engaged as his successor. His new appointment secured him not only money, but influence; and accordingly his opera of "Les Bardes"—one of those respecting which his dispute had arisen—was produced at the Académie in July, 1804, with great splendour, and with remarkable success. He wrote the mass for the coronation of the emperor, and several other pieces of church music, in which he adhered to his views of this class of composition; and in 1809 he brought out his last opera, "La Mort d'Adam," which had been set aside with "Les Bardes" in 1802. Lesueur also wrote for the stage two occasional triumphal pieces, which well supplied the requirement of the moment, and three operas which were never produced. On the Bourbon restoration in 1814, he was appointed, together with Cherubini and Martini, superintendent of the music and composer to the king's chapel, and he held this office until the revolution of 1830. On the reorganization of the Conservatoire in 1817, he was restored to his original professorship. The works he subsequently produced in public were all for the church; the last of these that was printed being a mass, which appeared in 1831. He was elected in 1813 to the musical membership of the Institute, made vacant by Grétry's death; he was created a member of the legion of honour by Napoleon; and he received countless honorary distinctions from important musical societies in and out of France.—G. A. M.
LETHIÈRE, Guillaume-Guillon, an eminent French historical painter, was born at St. Anne, Guadeloupe, in 1760, but sent while quite young to study in the École des beaux-arts, Paris, where he carried off the first prize, and with it admission as a student to the academy at Rome. An ardent admirer and follower of David, he painted and sent to Paris a large picture of "Junius Brutus Condemning his Son," which was greatly applauded, and ordered to be placed in the Luxembourg. In 1792 he returned to Paris, and painted the "Death of Cæsar," and other classical subjects of a republican bearing, he having by this time become a strong politician. A friend of Lucien Bonaparte, and one of the most popular painters of the day, he was created knight of the legion of honour by Napoleon I., and made director of the Academy at Rome. On the Restoration he was disgraced. He came to London in 1816, and exhibited, with great applause, his pictures of "Junius Brutus," "Homer Reciting his Poetry," and some smaller works. In 1818 he was elected a member of the Institute, and in 1819 appointed professor of painting. He died April 21st, 1832. He painted a large number of classical works in the manner of David, some scriptural pieces, and some from French history.—J. T—e.
LETI, Gregorio, historian, born in Milan, 29th May, 1630; died at Amsterdam on the 9th June, 1701. His early studies were carried on under the jesuits at Cosenza, but dissipated and extravagant habits unfitted him alike for employment in the magistracy and for the ecclesiastical state. In 1657 he adopted Calvinistic tenets; and in 1660 settled at Geneva, and there remained for about twenty years. Next, after a brief sojourn in Paris, he crossed the Channel, and was well received by Charles II. His "Teatro Britannico," a history of England, having given offence at court, he was ordered to quit the country, and made his final migration to Amsterdam. Of his works, nearly all historical, Argelati enumerates forty, amounting to little short of one hundred volumes; but grave doubts have been cast on their authenticity; by Tiraboschi especially they are branded as insincere, inexact, prolix, and diffuse.—C. G. R.
LETRONNE, Jean Antoine, an eminent French archæologist and critic, born at Paris, 2nd January, 1787; died there on the 14th December, 1848. His father, an artist, procured his admission to the studio of the painter David; and while there he made good use of his time, assiduously acquiring a knowledge of Latin and Greek, as well as of painting. His critical faculties were soon developed, and his practice was to purchase one of the worst editions of the classics—to go through it, marking his corrections, then to compare his corrections with the readings of the best editions. In this way he gained facility, and produced some useful works when he came to apply his sagacity to the received editions of Plutarch, Thucydides, Pausanias, &c. In 1815 he was chosen by the government to complete the translation of Strabo commenced by La Porte Du Theil. He was in favour both with the Academy and the government; and in 1819 was appointed inspector-general of the university; and in 1831 professor of history in the college of France. In 1840 he was appointed keeper of the archives of the kingdom. A large number of literary and honorary distinctions fell to his share. His researches on the chronology of Egypt exploded the vague speculations of those who had found in Egyptian monuments an evidence of extremely remote periods. His published works are—on the topography of Syracuse; on the early Irish work, De Mensura orbis Terræ; on the history of Egypt; on the Memnon statue; on the sculptured zodiacs, &c.—P. E. D.
LETTICE, John, an English clergyman, best known as a poet and miscellaneous writer, was born at Rushden in Northamptonshire in 1737. His father, who was a clergyman, sent him to Oakham school, and in 1756 he entered Sidney Sussex college, Cambridge, where he became a fellow, professor, and university preacher. In 1764 he gained the Seatonian prize for the best poem on the conversion of St. Paul, and he translated into English blank verse Isaac Hawkins Browne's Latin poem on the Immortality of the Soul, which he published with a commentary in 8vo, 1795. He went out with Sir Robert Gunning as secretary and chaplain to the English embassy at Copenhagen. He remained abroad for several years, and visited different parts of Europe. Afterwards he was rector of Peasemarsh, and prebendary of Chichester, and died in 1832. He also published "The Antiquities of Herculaneum;" two sermons; "Fables;" "Strictures on Education;" and "Miscellanies in prose and verse."—B. H. C.
LETTSOM, John Coakley, an eminent physician, born in 1744, in the island of Littlevan-dyke, near Tortola, West Indies. His father's family originated from the village of Ledsom in Cheshire, whilst by his mother he was descended from Sir Cæsar Coakley, an Irish baronet. At the age of six he was sent to England and placed under the care of a celebrated preacher of the Society of Friends. Subsequently he was apprenticed to Dr. Sutcliff. When his time was out, John Lettsom entered St. Thomas' hospital as dresser, where he distinguished himself by that diligence and steady conduct which were ever his great characteristics. After two years passed at the hospital, he returned to his native isle, and took possession of the small property left him by his father, immediately emancipating the negro slaves belonging to it. He settled at Tortola as a medical man, and was soon in extensive practice. This success encouraged him to visit the great European schools of Paris, Edinburgh, and Leyden, at which last university he took his degree of M D. After making this circuit he returned again to London, and
