Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/24

* LAUREATE. 12 1800) ; Hamilton, The J'ocis Laureate of England (ib., 1879) : and West, The Laureates of England (ib., 1895). LAXJKEL (from OF., Fr. laurier, Prov., Sp. laurel, from Lat. laurus, laurel), Laurus. A ge- nus of Lauracea-, which, as now restricted, con- tains only a few species, the principal ones being the noble laurel, victor's laurel {Laurus nohilis). and sweet bay {Laurus eanarinisis), natives of Asia -Minor, but widely diffused in the Mediter- ranean region, often bushes of 15 feet or less, bit sometimes trees of 30. or even GO feet high. The former has rather large, lanceolate, leathery, shin- ing leaves, reticulated with veins, and axillary clusters of yellowish white flowers of no beauty. The fruit is oval, bluish-black, and al)OUt lialf an inch long. The leaves and the fruit, which are bitter, astringent, and agreeably aromatic, were formerly much used in medicine as a stom- achic and stimulant; but are almost out of u.se. The leaves, however, are sometimes used in cook- erj' for flavoring. They contain a volatile oil {oil of sueet bay) and a bitter, gummy extractive. ]?y the ancient Greeks the laurel was called dapliiic, and was sacred to Apollo. Berry-bearing twigs I-ATTEENS. A LACKEL {Kalmia). of it were wound round the foreheads of victori- ous heroes and poets; and in later times the degree of doctor was conferred with this cere- mony, whence the term laureation. The noble laurel is common in shrublieries. but not nearly so common as the cherry-laurel (q.v.). Fossil forms of the genus T-aurus, and its close allies, Cinnamomum. Sassafras, and Benzoin, have been found abundantly in the Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks of North America and Europe, ■where they have been recognized b}' the fossil leaves, flowers, and fruits. It is of interest to note that the fossil species, which resemble closely those modern representatives that grow in warm climates, are found in large numbers in such high northern latitudes as Siberia, Greenland, and Vancouver Island. LAUREL FAMILY. Tropical shrubs or trees. See LAfBACE.K. LAU'REL HILL. A range in southwestern Pennsylvania, se|janiting the counties of Fayette and Vejtmoreland from Somerset (Map: Penn- sylvania, li ;i ). In the South the range extends over the border into West Virginia. It is a ridge of the Alleghany Mountains, and its average height is over 2000 feet ; it contains valuable de- posits i)f liitiijiiinou" coal. LAUREL-WATER. A flavoring for medi- cines, obtained by distilling a mixture of chop]>ed and bruised leaves of the cherry-laurel and water, after twenty-four hours' maceration. It is seldom prescribed medicinally in this country, but has been used as a sedative narcotic, in neuralgic pains, spasmodic cough, and palpitati(m of the iieart; in short, in all the cases in which hydro- cyanic acid (q.v. ) is applicable. Death has oc- curred, with all the symptoms of hydrocyanic- acid poisoning, from its incautious u.se as a flavoring ingredient in creams and puddings. LAUREMBERG, lou'rcm-bferK, Johans ( 151M)-l(').j.S ) . A German satirist. He was born and educated at Rostock, and, after travels in Holland. England. France, and Italy. and a course of medicine at Paris and at Rheims. became pro- fessor of poetry at Rostock in 1018. Five years afterwards he went to the Danish Academy of Soriie as professor of mathematics. He wrote, in Latin, a play. I'ompeius MngniiH: in Greek, an epithalamium, Kvirpn llXiowra; but found his proper place in the Low German dialect. His most famous work is his witty and realistic Veer olde bcronmede Hchertsgedichte. LAUTIENCE, RiCHAKD (17601838). A Church of England scholar. He was born at Bath in 1700; graduated at Corpus Christi Col- lege, Oxford, in 1782. He entered the ministry of the Church of England and delivered the Bampton lectures in 1804, after which he became rector of Mersham, Kent. In 1814 he was ap- pointed regius professor of Hebrew and canon of Christ Church, Oxford. In 1822 he became Arch- bishop of Cassel, and died in Dublin. December 28, 18.38. It was largely through his influence that Oriental studies, long neglected in England, were restored to their rightful place. It was also through his instrumentality that several inter- esting apocryplial works, often quoted by the Fathers, but supposed to be lost, were recovered from the Ethiopic manuscripts. Among these were the Ascension of the Prophet Isaiah (1819), and the Book of Enoch the Prophet (1821). He published a new version of First Esdras (1820), also from the Ethiopic; also Dissertations on the Logos of Saint John (1808), Critical Reflections Vpon Some Important Misrepresentations Con- tained in the Unitarian Version of the yew Testa- ment (1811), On the Existence of the Soul After Death (1834), and many occasional essays and sermons. LAU'RENS, Henry (1724-92). An American I>atriot of the Revolutionary ]}eriod, descended from a fan)ily of Huguenots who fled to America after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He was bom in Charleston, S. C, engaged in mer- cantile pursiits in Charleston and London, and later established at Charleston a prosperous busi- ness. He retired, however, in 1771 and traveled for some time in Europe. In the pre-Revolution- arv controversies between the American Colonies