LEWIS 385 the outbreak of the revolution he was elected to the continental congress, and in May, 1775, he took his seat in that body as one of the delegates from New York. He signed the Declaration of Independence, and with the ex- ception of one short interval continued to be a member of congress until April, 1779. His residence on Long Island, whither at the time of his first election to congress he had removed his effects, was wantonly plundered by the British troops, and so greatly was his property reduced by the war that he died a poor man. LEWIS, Sir George Cornewall, an English states- man, born in Radnorshire, Wales, Oct. 21, 1806, died April 13, 1863. His father, Sir THOMAS FRANKLAND LEWIS (1780-1855), officiated suc- cessively as joint secretary of the treasury, vice president of the board of trade, treasurer of the navy, and in other public capacities, and was created a baronet in 1846. Sir George was educated at Eton, and at Christchurch, Oxford, where he distinguished himself by classical attainments, and in 1831 was called to the bar, but never practised. After holding various appointments under the crown, he suc- ceeded his father in 1839 as a poor-law com- missioner, an office which he filled till 1847, when he entered parliament as member for Herefordshire, and became secretary to the Indian board of control. In 1848 he became, under-secretary of the home department, in 1850 financial secretary of the treasury, and in 1852 retired from office on the dissolution of the Russell cabinet. In 1854 he succeeded Prof. Empson as editor of the " Edinburgh Review," but resigned that post in 1855, when he was returned to parliament from Radnor; and on the resignation of Mr. Gladstone he was appointed, in March, 1855, chancellor of the exchequer in the Palmerston ministry. He held office till February, 1858, when on the formation of the Derby ministry he retired. In June, 1859, he returned to office as home secretary in the cabinet of Lord Palmerston, and in July, 1861, was transferred to the war department, succeeding Lord Herbert. In the intervals of his political and official duties he wrote a number of elaborate historical and philosophical treatises, including " The Use and Abuse of Political Terms" (1835); "Origin and Formation of the Romance Languages " (1835 ; 2d ed., 1862) ; " Remarks on Local Dis- turbances in Ireland" (1836); "Essay on the Government of Dependencies " (1841) ; "In- fluence of Authority in Matters of Opinion " (1849) ;" Methods of Observation and Reason- ing in Politics" (2 vols., 1852); "An Inquiry into the Credibility of the Early Roman His- tory" (2 vols., 1855); "Foreign Jurisdiction and the Extradition of Criminals" (1859); "Historical Survey of the Astronomy of the Ancients" (1862); "Dialogue on the Best Form of Government" (1863) ; and "Essays on the Administrations of 1783 to 1830" (1864, edited by Sir E. Head). A volume of his " Letters to Various Friends " was published in 1870. He also published translations of Bockh's "Public Economy of Athens" (1828; 2d ed., 1842), and Miiller's "Account of the Doric Race " (2 vols., 1830). He married in 1844 Lady Maria Theresa (Villiers), widow of Thomas Henry Lister, Esq., and sister to the earl of Clarendon. She wrote " The Lives of the Friends and Contemporaries of Lord Chan- cellor Clarendon" (3 vols., 1852), and other biographical works, and died in 1865. LEWIS, John Frederick, an English painter, born in London, July 14, 1805. He early at- tracted attention by representations of wild animals both in water colors and oils, and be- tween 1830 and 1850 made long and repeated visits to Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. His Spanish scenes, representing bull fights, peasants dancing, or episodes in the Carlist war, have been admired, as also the scenes from Italian life, such as " Roman Peas- ants at a Shrine," and " The Pope Blessing the People." In the exhibition of the water-color society for 1850 appeared his "Harem;" in 1852, "An Arab Scribe, a Scene in Cairo;" in 1854, " A Halt in the Desert" and "Bedou- ins and their Camels;" in 1855, "The Well in the Desert;" and in 1856, "A Frank in the Desert of Mount Sinai," " Street Scene in Cairo," &c. In 1855 he made his first appear- ance for many years as a painter in oils in a portrait of an Armenian lady. Among his works are a series of 60 copies in water colors of the masterpieces of the Venetian and Span- ish schools, which belong to the Scottish acad- emy. He has occasionally practised engraving both on metal and stone, and has published two volumes of sketches from Spanish sub- jects. In 1855 he was elected president of the society of painters in water colors. He resigned in 1858; and in 1859 he was elected associate, and in 1865 member of the royal academy. LEWIS, Matthew Gregory, an English author, born in London, July 9, 1775, died at sea, while returning from Jamaica, May 14, 1818. He was educated at Christchurch, Oxford, and lived for some time in Germany, where he be- came imbued with the mysterious and tragic spirit which characterizes his writings. When but 16 years old he wrote " The East Indian, a Comedy." In 1795 appeared his romance "The Monk," the outline of which is taken from a story of the Santon Barsisa in the " Guardian." This at once became popular, and though he had obtained a seat in parlia- ment, the society for the suppression of vice took steps to prosecute the author ; but Lewis pledged himself to recall the printed copies and suppress the objectionable passages in fu- ture editions. In 1796 appeared " Village Vir- tues, a Drama," and in 1797 his "Castle Spec- tre" was acted for 60 nights. In 1798 he visited Edinburgh, and made the acquaintance of Sir Walter Scott, who contributed several ballads to the "Tales of Wonder" published by Lewis in 1801. On the death of his father he became possessed of considerable wealth,
