LE STTETTB. 160 LETTER. the musical dircctorsliip of Notre Dame. He iiiau^airatetl r:i«lical lefornus, using a lar^e or- clieslra, and even pieludin},' a mass with an overture. His methods, although popular, aroused bitter opposition, and in 1788 he retired for four years to the country, where he devoted liimself to composition. In" 17!)3 he produced in Paris an opera. La Cavenie. followed the next year by Paul et Virginie and TiUmaque. He was ap- pointed inspector at the Conservatory (17!)5), but in 1802 lost his position owing to a bitter altercation over the rejection, by the Grand Opera, of two of his operas. In 1804 he obtained the highest musical honor in France, being chosen I'aisiello's successor as maitre de chapelle to Napoleon. His two rejected operas, Les Bardes and La Mort d'Adam, were now produced; he succeeded Grftry at the Institut (1813) ; became superintendent land composer of the chapel of King Louis XVI 1 1., and in 1818 professor of composition at the Conservatory. He died in Paris. Le Sueur was a brilliant teacher, and twelve of his pupils won the Prix dc Rome. As a composer he ranked high, his principal charac- teristics being a grand simplicity — a quality be- queathed to his pupil Gounod — and the marvelous harmonic skill which his pupil and admirer Berlioz carried to its ultimate excellence. His hobby was ancient Greek music, and he wrote oiice sur la mvlopre, la rhythmopce et les grands caracteres dc la mtisique ancienne (Paris, 1793). With the exception of the operas already mentioned, his compositions were almost wholly sacred, and include the oratorios Deborah, liac'nel, Ruth et Aodmi, Huth et Boaz; three Te Deums; Stabat Mater; masses, etc. Consult: Stephen de la Sladeleine. Biographie de J. F. Le Sueur (Paris, 1841); Fouquf. Le Sueur comme predecesseur de Berlioz (Paris, 1882). LESZCZYNSKI, lesh-chiin'skf, Stanislas. See STANisL.h I. Leszczyxski. L'ETAT CEST MOI, ia't4' sk mwU (Fr., I am the State! . An expression put into the mouth of Louis XIV., and intended to epitomize that monarch's svstem of absolutism. Various origins are assigned for the phrase. Louis is said to have uttered it in the Parliament of Paris, in 1655, in response to a statement of the president, when he was asked to convoke the States-General, or to a judge who used the words 'King and State.' LETCH'ER. John (1813-84). An American politician. (Jovernor of Virginia during the Civil War. He was born in Lexington, Va.; received a universitv education, and began the practice of law in 1839. In 1850 he was elected a dele- gate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention, and afterwards sat in Congress during the stormy times preceding the outbreak of the Civil War. He was elected Governor of Virginia in 1859, and opposed the secession ordinance, but, seeing the hopelessness of maintaining that attitude, turned over the State militia and munitions of war to the Confederate leaders. LETHE, le'the (Lat.. from Gk. An9v). The stream of oblivion in the lower world, from which, according to the ancient Greek belief, the souls of the departed drank, to lose all recollec- tion of earthly existence, before passing into the Elysian Fields. LETH'BBIBGE. A town of South Alberta, Northwest Territories, Canada, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and on the Belly River, 107 miles southeast of Calgary. It has important coal-mining industries, which supply the country between Winnipeg and Lake Superior. Popula- tion, in 1891, 2200; in 1901, 2279. LETBONNE, le-tron', Jean Antoine (1787- 1848). A French archieologist and historian. He was born and was educated in Paris; traveled in Italy, Switzerland, and Holland (1810-12); and for his Essai sur la topographie de Syracuse ( 1813) and Recherches sur Ics fragments d'Hiron d'Alexandrie (written in 1816 and printed 1851), was elected to the Academy of Inscriptions. He became professor of history and archaeology in the College de France in 1831, head of the Royal Library in the same year, and in 1840 in.spector-general of the archives of France. His most important work was Recueil des inscrip- tiuns grecqnes et latines de I'Egypte (1842-48, completed by Brunet de Presle). His other works on archteology, especially inscriptions and numismatics, include: La peinture murale chez les Orecs et les Romains (1835-37); Considera- tions sur revaluation des monnaies grecques et romaines (1817) ; and Fragments de Scymnus de Chio et du faux Dicfarque (1840) ; and, on his- tory, Mat&riaux pour servir a I'histoire du christianisme (1833). LETTE, le'te, Wilhelm Adolf (1799-1868). A Prussian politician and economic reformer, born in Kienitz. and educated at the Universities of Heidelberg, Giittingen. and Berlin. Participa- tion in 'demagogic' disturbances resulted in his imprisonment and exclusion from State cm- ploy; but neither was of long duration. In 1840 he was made director of the Prussian agricultural bureau on Frankfort-on-the-Ordcr. and three years later received the appointment of counselor to the Ministry of Interior for agricultural mat- ters. In 1845' he became president of the Court of Errors for agricultural affairs. His interest in the welfare of the people was shown by his es- tablishing many associations; for example, the Centralverein ftir das Wohl der arbeitenden Clas- sen, and the Berliner Bandicerkcrverein. In 1851 he was a member of the first Prussian Chamber, and a year afterwards took a seat in the other House, which he kept until his death. His more important writings are: Die Landeskulturgesetz- gebung des preussischen Staats (with Rijnne, 1853-54) ; and Die Verteilung des Grundeigcntums im Zusammenhang mit der Geschichte, der Ge- setzgebung iind den Volkszustiinden (1858). LETTEB (OF., Fr. lettre. from Lat. littera, litera, letter). An authoritative writing em- powering the person to whom it is issued to exercise a certain office, perform a duty, or do any other act which, but for such authorization, could not have been lawfully performed. They are issued for many purposes and under a great variety of circumstances. Letter of attorney, or power' of attorney, is a writing or deed authoriz- ing an agent, (whether he is a certificated attor- ney or not) to do any lawful act in the stead of "the party executing'it. Letter of excvlpation. in Scotch "criminal law, is a warrant obtained by a prisoner to summon witnesses on his behalf at his trial. Letter missive, in England, is an order from the Lord Chancellor to a peer request- ing the latter to enter an appearance to a bill filed in chancery against such peer; in Scotland the word means any written agreement or memo-
