opposition to the measures of that statesman. He refused to serve under Napoleon I., and in 1817 declined the governorship of La Desirade. He published "Essai de conciliation de l'Amerique, et de la necessite de l'union de cette partie du monde avec l'Europe" (Paris, 1817): "Nouveau systeme de colonisation de Saint Domingue, combinee avec la creation d'une compagnie de commerce pour re- tablir les relations de la France avec cette ile " (1817); "Considerations generates sur le regime colonial des Europeens dans les deux Indes" (1818) ; and " Memoires pour servir a l'histoire de Saint Domingue" (2 vols., 1819).
LE CARON, Joseph, French missionary, b. in
France ; d. there, 29 March, 1632. He became a
member of the Franciscan order, and in 1615, with
three others, followed Champlain to Canada, where
they built a rude monastery on St. Charles river,
near Quebec. Le Caron set out in the autumn of
1615 with some French traders for the Huron
country, and, after enduring many hardships,
reached Lake Huron, being the first white man to
enter it. He landed at what is now Simcoe coun-
ty. Ontario, and chanted the first Te Deum and
said the first mass in the country of the Hurons
on 12 Aug., 1615. His missionary labors were not
successful, and, after wintering with the Indians.
he set out with Champlain in the spring of 1616
for Quebec, and embarked for France. On his re-
turn, in March, 1617, he celebrated the first Chris-
tian marriage in Canada. In 1623 the French col-
ony feared that the Hurons would abandon their
alliance and join the Iroquois, and Le Caron was
sent to the Huron country again, but with no suc-
cess. When Quebec was taken, in July, 1629. by
the English, Le Caron was led prisoner to Eng-
land, but afterward released. He endeavored to
return to Canada when it was restored to France,
but every obstacle was thrown in his way by the
commercial company that ruled the colony, and
he is said to have died broken-hearted at his fail-
ure. Le Caron was the founder of the Huron
mission, and left Huron vocabularies that were
found useful by his successors in Canada.
LECHFORD, Thomas, author, b. in London
about 1590; d. there, probably, in 1644. He emi-
grated to Boston in 1638, and was the first to prac-
tise law in New England, but returned to England
in 1641. much dissatisfied with his experience. He |
published " Plaine Dealing, or Newes from New i
England" (London, 1642), and "New England's
Advice to Old England " (1644). A new edition of
" Plaine Dealing," with notes by J. Hammond !
Trumbull, has been published (New York. 1867). I
Although written »in a spirit of hostility to New
England, it contains much valuable information.
LE CLEAR, Thomas, artist, b. in Owego, N. Y.,
17 March, 1818; d. in Rutherford Park, N. J., 26
Nov., 1882. He began to follow art professionally
before he had had any instruction, and his later
advantages in that direction were confined to simple
observation of the works of other artists. He went
to London, Canada, with his father in 1832, and
after painting portraits for a time there, and in
Elmira and Rochester, he made his way to New
York city and opened a studio in 1839. In 1844-'60
he resided in Buffalo, but afterward returned to
New York. In 1863 he was elected a National
academician. Among his compositions are “The
Reprimand”; “Marble-Players”; and “Itinerants”
(1862). Of his numerous portraits, one of the
best is that of George Bancroft, at the Century
club. New York; other excellent portraits are those
of William Cullen Bryant, Bayard Taylor, President
Fillmore, and Edwin Booth as Hamlet.
LECLERC, Victor Emmanuel (h h-clairk ), French soldier, b. in Pontoise, 17 March, 1779; d. in Tortugas. 2 Dec, 1802. He enlisted in the army as a private in 1790. became a captain in 1793, and in 1796 a major-general. He served in Italy under Bonaparte, did good service at the battles of Roveredo and Rivoli, and married, in Milan in 1797, Pauline Bonaparte, sister of the future emperor. Through his timely arrival with his grenadiers, Bonaparte was enahled successfully to cany out his coup d'etat in 1799, and Leclerc was rewarded with the commission of lieutenant-general. In 1801 Leclerc defeated the Prince of Brazil at Badajoz, and in December following he was appointed commander-in-chief of the expedition to Santo Domingo, which was then in possession of the negro insurgents under Toussaint l'Ouverture. An army of 33.000 veterans was assembled at Rochefort, and a fleet of eighty sail under Villaret Joyeuse (q. v.) transported the troops and co-operated in the campaign. Madame Leclerc accompanied her husband to participate in his triumph, and several poets were in the retinue of the general to celebrate his victories. On 28 Jan.. 1802, the fleet anchored in the Bay of Samana. Three divisions were immediately sent to different parts of the island, while Leclerc himself set sail for Cape Francais, where he arrived on 3 Feb. Henry Christophe. then in command at Le Cap. tried to negotiate with the French while awaiting instructions from Toussaint l'Ouverture; but Leclerc refused, and on 6 Feb. landed his' forces, whereupon Christophe set fire to the town and withdrew with his troops to the mountains. Leclerc afterward entered into negotiations with Toussaint. and through the sons of the latter, whom he had brought from France, tried to win him to the French cause. Failing in this attempt, he issued proclamations to the inhabitants, endeavoring to enlist them against Toussaint, and. joined by a considerable number of negroes, opened the campaign, which lasted three months and devastated the country. Leclerc was besieged at Cape Francais so closely that a large
