Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/186

LEUTZE. "Washington at the Battle of Monongahcla ;" "News from Lexington;" "Washington at Princeton;" "Lafayette in Prison at Olmütz visited by his Relatives" (1801); "Westward Ho;" portraits of Washington, Lincoln, Grant, and General Burnside; "Washington Crossing the Delaware" (1851-52), Metropolitan Museum, New York, and Kunsthalle, Bremen.

LEVAILLANT, If-vi'yaN', François (1753-1824). A Frcncli ornithologist and traveler, born at Paramaribo, Uutcli (luiana. From 1781 to 1785 he traveled in Scmth Africa, studying the natives and making collections of the bird.s and large mammals. His works include: Voyage dans rintcrieur de I'Afriguc (1790); Second voyage (1796); and Uistoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afriijue (1796-1812).

LEVANT (OF., Fr. lerani, ML. levanis, Orient, sunrise, from Lat. Icvare, to raise, from levis, light). The. A name employed throughout the whole of Europe to designate the eastern parts of the Mediterranean !Sea and adjacent countries. In a wider sense, it is applied vaguely to the regions eastward fniin Italy, as far as the Euphrates and the Xilc; but more generally is used in a more restricted sense, as including only the coasts of Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt.

LEVATII FA'CIAS (Lat., do thou cause to be levied), Wkit ok. In English law, an ancient writ of execution issued >ipon a judgment, by which the judgment creditor takes the real and personal estate, such as lands, houses, and fur- niture of his debtor to satisfy his debt. The mode by which this was done was by the sheriff drawing the rents and paying the creditor. The writ is now practically superseded by the writ of elf git (q.v. ) as regards real estate, and fieri facias (q.v.) as regards personal estate.

LEVASSETJK, Ic-vii'ser', Emile (1828—). A French political economist and statistician, born December 8, 1828. in Paris. After study- ing at the College Bourbon he became a pro- fessor in the Lyceum at Alenqon. He held this position for two years, and then went to Besan- Con. In 1850 he received an appointment at tlie Saint Louis Lyceum in Paris, and in 1872 became a professor in the Coll^ge de France. He had previously (1868) been elected a member of the Academy. He was active in promoting the inter- national congresses for the discussion of statis- tical and geographical topics, and wa.s one of the founders of tlie Kn'uch Society of Commercial Geography. His works include: Investigation sar le syst<}me de Law (1854) ; La question d'or (1858): L'histoire des classes ouvriires en France (1859); Prfcis dVconomie politique, La population franraise (1880-91) ; La France et ses colonies (189.3); L'enscignernent primaire dans les pays colonists (1897). He was a visitor to the United States on the occasion of the Colum- bian Exposition, and spent several months in the study of economic conditions in the United States. The fruits of his researches are em- bodied in his works L'ngriculture aux Flats- Vnis (1895) and //'ouvrier nm^ricoin (1898).

LEVEE (Pr. levfe, a raising, embankment, from lever, to raise, from Lat. lerare, to raise). The name applied to an embankment constructed along the margin of a river to restrain its waters within the natural channel during floods, and particularly the name given to the flood embankments of the Mississippi River. The so- called dikes of Holland and of various European rivers and the flood embankments of the rivers Danube, "istula, and Po are examples of levees according to the American usage of that term. The levees of the Jlississippi River aggregate over 1200 miles in lengtli, and arc strung along a stretch of about 1000 miles of river from Cairo to the Mexican Gulf. The construction and main tenance of these levees are in charge of commis- sions liiaintained by the various States bordering on the river, and of a similar organization main- tained by the United States Government and known as the Mississippi River Commission. The Mississippi River Commission did its first work of levee building in 1SS2, but the various State commissions had begun construction long before that time. The Government levees are built to standard forms and dimensions var3'ing with the height of the embankment required ; roughly described they are embankments of earth having a broad bottimi and narrower top and sloping sides. They are constructed by deposit- ing earth in two-foot layers on a foundation cleared of all roots and stumps, and thoroughly jdowed, and then sodding the top and sides with Bermuda grass at two-foot intervals. For a recent description of the Mississippi River levees, consult: Starling, "The Levees of the Mississippi River," Engineering Neies, vol. xxv. ; and Copee, "Standard Levee Sections," Trans- actions of the American Society of Civil Engi- nccr.s.vol.'xxxix. ( See Drain.^ge ; Embankment.) The article Misslssippi Ri-er contains a full ac- count of the history and construction of the various improvements on that river, including the .system of levees.

LEVEE. The state ceremonial of any sovereign receiving visits from those subjects whose position entitles them to that honor. By the usage of the Court of Great Britain, a levee difTers from a drawing-room in this respect, that gentlemen only arc present (excepting the chief ladies of the Court), while at a drawing-room both ladies and gentlemen appear. The name arises from the ceremonial attending the rising of the King of France under Louis XIV. and his successors. The grand lever was the more public, after the King had been shaved and invested with his wig; the petit lever, more intimate, was held immediately after he had been awakened and had said his prayers. Even to this a large number of privileged people were admitted, successively in five classes, comprising not only the royal family, but all kinds of officials, domestic, civil, and military. Und^r Louis XVI., whose tastes were simple and who rose at seven or eight o'clock, the ceremonial lever was usually postponed until half-past eleven, thus approximating more nearly to the modern levee. The term has also been ap- plied to any gathering of a number of persons at various hours, and in the United States is fre- quently used to designate the public receptions of the President.

LEVEL (OF. livel, lireau. Uveal, nirel, niveau, Fr. niveau, Sp. nivel, nirello. Port, livel, nivehlt. livello, from Lat. Uhelln, level, balance, diminu- tive of libra, balance, pound). A name especially used in ore-mining and referring to the horizontal excavations made at regular intervals from a shaft (q.v.). They are commonly 50 or 100 feet apart vertically, and in veins usually run parallel I