LOTTERY. 468 LOTUS. transmission through the mails of lottery adver- tisements, or of registered letters addressed to lotteries or their agents, is prohibited. Lotteries of one kind or another, generally managed on State account, still exist in most of the countries of Europe, and yield a very considerable revenue. They are generally admitted to exercise a very baneful influence, encouraging recklessness and unthrift.'espeoially in the lower classes of society. For a discussion of the various principles upon which lotteries are organized, consult Palgrave. "Lotteries," in Dictioiiiiiy of Political Economy (London. 180G) ; for a good discussion of the social and economic effects of the lottery, Lasson, Lotterie iind Voll;sicirlfichaft (Berlin, 1894). An excellent account of English lotteries will be found in Ashton, Bistort/ of English Lotteries (London, 189.3). The best short history of lot- teries in America is Spofi'ord's "Lotteries in American History." in Ainnial Report of the Aviericon Historical Association (Washington, 1892). LOTTI, Irtt'tf., Antonio (c.l6G7-1740). An Italian composer, born probably in Venice. His father had been Court kapellmeister at Hanover, and the boy early began to study music. He com- pleted his musical education under Legrenzi. and by his seventeenth year had produced an opera, II Giustino. In 1687 he became a chorister at Saint Mark's, in 1690 assistant organist, in 1704 chief organist, and in 1736 he obtained the much-coveted ])ost of maestro. On the invita- tion of the Elector of Saxony, Lotti spent two years (1717-19) at Dresden. At first almost entirely an operatic composer, his later years were devoted to sacred music, his choral com- positions being unusually impressive. He af- fected the severe contrapuntal style, but softened it by a more modern use of harmonic devices; while in his church music he avoided orchestral accompaniments in order to retain unhampered the original melodies. In addition to being a skillful composer, Lotti was a popular an I capable teacher. He composed twenty operas, which were, however, of but e])hemeral interest. His most famous works were his misereres, masses, and motets. He died in Venice. LOTTO (It., lot). A game of chance, played on boards divided into 27 squares arranged in three horizontal rows. Five squares in each horizontal row are marked with numbers be- tween 1 and 90, four squares being left blank. The first vertical row contains units, the second tens, etc. The game may be played by an in- definite number of persons, each of whom is pro- vided with a board, on which he covers the space marked with the numlier corresponding to that of a counter drawn from a bag and called out hy a dealer. The winner is the player wlio first covers all the five numbers on any horizontal row. LOTTO, lot'tn. Lorenzo (c.1480-c. 1.5561. An Italian painter, horn in Venice. He studied in Venice under (Giovanni Bellini, and sometimes imitated his manner, but also that of Palma. <3iorgione, and Titian. He lived many years at Bergamo, then went to Recanati, and lastly to Loreto, where he died. Toward 1.548 his powers had decidedly declined, but before that date he produced a number of notable pictures, among them: "Virgin and Saints" (Borghese Gallery. l?ome) ; "The Three Ages of Man" (Pitti Palace, Florence), which is often attributed to Giorgione; "Saint .Jerome," in the Louvre, Paris; "Virgin with Saints," at Bergamo (1621) ; and some por- traits at the Brera Gallery, Milan. His last works are so like Titian's that it has been difli- cult to tell them apart in many eases. Lotto seemed to have the faculty of assimilating the style of each painter he imitated, without en- tirely losing his native power. LOTUS (Lat. lotus, from Gk. wr6s, a nftme given to .several dill'erent plants). The name given by the Greeks to a number of different plants whose fruit was used for food. One of the most notable of these is the Zi:ii!'lnis Lotus. a native of the north of Africa and the south of Europe, belonging to the natural order Rliam- nacea;. (See Jujlbe. ) The fruit of the Diospy- ros lotus, or date plum, was sometimes called the lotus. The name lotus was also given to several beautiful species of water-lily (q.v.), especially to the blue water-lily ( .Vi/ )»/;/«(•« ca- pensis), the EgA'ptian water-lily ( .,//»i/*/Kra Lo- tus), and to the nelumbo {yelnnilid siirriosa) (q.v.), which grow in stagnant and slowly run- ning water in the south of Asia and north of Africa. The Ni/mphwa Lotus grows in the Nile and adjacent rivulets, and has a large white flower. The root is eaten by the people who live near Lake Menzaleh. It was the favorite flower of ancient Egypt, and is still often seen made into wreaths or garlands, placed on the fore- EOYPTIAX LOTCS. heads of women or held in their hands, and smelled for its fragrance. It frequently appears in the hieroglyphs, where it represents the up- per country or Southern Egypt, and entered largely into works of art. In mythology, it was the special emblem of Nefer Atum, the son of Ptah and Bast ; the god Harpocrates is seated upon it ; and there was a mystical lotus of the sun. In the mytholog;*- of the Hindus and Chi- nese the Xehnnbo Lotus plays a distinguished
