LAPLAND LAPWING. 



on the same occasion, was stript of his employments, 

 and had his name erased from the list of the Institute, 

 because he had the magnanimity to respect, in his 

 fallen fortunes, the man whom he had professed to 

 n-M'itniv and admire in the plenitude ot his power. 

 In 1816, Laplace was named a member of the French 

 Academy, an honour to which he was eminently 

 entitled by the admirable clearness, and purity, and 

 elegance of his style. He died in March, 1827, full 

 of years and glory. His principal works are his 

 Traitede Mecanique celeste (1799 1805, four vols., 

 4to) ; his Theorie dtt Mouvement des Planet cs ; Essai 

 sur les Probabilitcs ; and Theorie analytique des Pro- 

 bability s. 



LAPLAND ; the most northern country in Europe, 

 Ixnuuled north by the Arctic ocean, east by the White 

 sea, south by Sweden, and west by Norway and the 

 Atlantic. Its extreme breadth is estimated to be 

 500 miles, and its length, from cape Orlof, on the 

 White sea, to the entrance of Saltersfiord, on the At- 

 lantic, about 700. Lapland is divided into three parts, 

 called Russian, Swedish, and Danish, or Norwegian. 

 The part of Lapland lying along the northern shore 

 of the gulf of Bothnia, consists of an extensive plain, 

 abounding in immense forests of spruce and Scots 

 fir ; but at the distance of eighty miles from that in- 

 land sea, the ground becomes gradually elevated, and 

 is at last full of lofty mountains, which rise, between 

 the latitude of 67 and 68 30', to a height of from 

 5500 to 6200 feet, which, in this hyperborean region, 

 is 2700 feet above the line of perpetual congelation. 

 The principal rivers are the Torneo, the Kemi, the 

 Lulea, and Pitea. The Yana, the principal river in 

 the north-east, and the Alten, the principal in the 

 north-west, both run into the Northern ocean. In 

 lakes, Lapland, particularly its mountainous part, 

 abounds. In the maritime districts, there prevails an 

 approach to uniformity of temperature ; the winters 

 are not severe, but the summers are raw and foggy ; 

 while, in the interior, the winter is intensely cold, but 

 the heat of summer is steady and fructifying. The 

 mean annual temperature at the North Cape (lat. 71* 

 II' 30") is six degrees higher than at Enontekis, in 

 the interior (in lat. 68 30') ; yet, at the latter, the 

 thermometer rises, in July, to 64, while, at the Cape, 

 it seldom reaches 50. Lapland abounds in iron ; and 

 copper, lead, zinc and arsenic are not uncommon. 

 Barley, or big, is the most common grain. In the 

 low ground, ryeis likewise cultivated, and occasionally 

 oats. The berry-bearing plants also are numerous. 

 The most common animals are hares ; the others are 

 bears, martens, gluttons, beavers, otters, ermines, 

 squirrels, lemmings (or mountain rats), foxes, and 

 w olves. The domestic quadrupeds are oxen, cows, 

 dogs, sheep and goats. The reindeer is the most 

 valuable animal in Lapland. It serves as the princi- 

 pal beast of burden; its milk is highly valued, and its 

 flesh supplies the chief nourishment of the inhabitants. 

 The mountain Laplanders have no fixed habitation, 

 but wander about in quest of food for their flocks of 

 reindeer, and lodge in tents or huts, which are usually 

 fibout nine feet in height, and twelve in length. 

 Their diet is chiefly of animal food. During winter, 

 they carry on some traffic with the Swedes. This 

 takes place at Torneo, and other towns on the gulf 

 of Bothnia, and consists in exchanging skins, furs, 

 dried fish, venison, and gloves, for flannel, cloth, 

 hemp, copper, iron, and various utensils, but particu- 

 larly for spirituous liquors, meal, salt and tobacco. 

 The Laplanders, or, as they call themselves Same, 

 (Laplander, or Lappe, being merely a nickname), are 

 a nation of Finnish extraction. The population is 

 estimated thus: 1900 in Swedish Lapland, nearly 

 in Norwegian, and 8800 in Russian. Besides 

 these, there are in the country several colonies of 



Swedes, Norwegians and Finns. The whole popula- 

 tion of the country, which is as large as France, cun- 

 not exceed 05,000. The height ot the Laplanders is 

 between four and five feet ; often less. They are of 

 a dark complexion, with black hair ; strong, hardy 

 and active. They are naturally gentle and mild ; have 

 no characteristic vices nor virtues. Generally speak- 

 ing, they have little excitability, but love their 

 country, and are happy in their way. They tan hides, 

 make twine of the sinews of the reindeer, weave 

 coverings for their tents, knit gloves, make wooden 

 utensils, canoes, sledges, and the necessary articles of 

 dress. The dress of both sexes is nearly the same ; 

 that of the women is almost solely distinguished by 

 their ornaments. Both sexes wear caps, coats, 

 trowsers and boots, either of leather or fur and coarse 

 cloth. In summer, they live in tents ; in winter, in 

 huts built of poles covered with birch twigs and 

 earth, having at the top a hole for the smoke. They 

 live on fish and the flesh of reindeer. According to 

 their food, the Laplanders are divided into Reindeer 

 Laplanders or Mountain Laplanders, and Fishing 

 Laplanders. The former wander from pasture to 

 pasture with their reindeer. A wealthy Laplander 

 possesses a thousand or more of these animals, which 

 are used to draw the sledges, and to carry loads. 

 The Fishing Laplanders, however, who possess few 

 or no reindeer, live almost entirely on fish. They kill 

 sables and birds, and catch the eider-duck, as do also 

 the Reindeer Laplanders, if, by disease or other mis- 

 fortunes, they lose their reindeer. The Laplanders 

 formerly worshipped fetiches. At present, they are 

 all baptized, but they have mixed their old supersti- 

 tions with Christianity, which has been forced upon 

 them ; and it is not uncommon for a Laplander to bo 

 baptized whenever he comes to a populous place 

 where there are missionaries. 



LAPO, ARNOLPH, a celebrated sculptor and archi- 

 tect, born at Florence, 1232, first introduced a better 

 taste into architecture by his great works, and very 

 happily united solidity and grace. He began the 

 building of the cathedral of Florence (to which Bru- 

 nelleschi afterwards added the admirable dome), the 

 strong walls of Florence, the convent at A ssisi, and 

 several churches and other edifices at Florence. He 

 died in 1300. 



LAPSE, in ecclesiastical law ; a slip or omission of 

 a patron to present a clerk to a benefice within six 

 months of its being void ; in which case, the benefice 

 is said to be in lapse, or lapsed, and the right of pre- 

 sentation devolves to the ordinary. 



LAPSED LEGACY is where the legatee dies be- 

 fore the testator, or where a legacy is given upon a 

 future contingency, and the legatee dies before the 

 contingency happens. 



LAPSIDED ; the state of a ship which is built in 

 such a manner as to have one side heavier than the 

 other, and, by consequence, to retain a constant heel 

 or inclination towards the heavier ; unless when she 

 is brought upright by placing a greater quantity of 

 the cargo or ballast on the oilier side. 



LAPWING (tringa vanellus, Lin.). This bird is 

 about the size of a pigeon, and belongs to the snipe 

 and plover tribe. It is found in Europe in large flocks, 

 except during the pairing season, when it separates 

 for the purposes of incubation. The female lays four 

 eggs, of a dirty olive, spotted with black : she makes 

 no nest, but deposits them upon a little dry grass, 

 rudely scraped together : the young birds run about 

 very soon after they are hatched. During this 

 period, the old ones are very assiduous in their at- 

 tention to their charge : on the approach of any 

 person to the place of their deposit, they flutter 

 round his head with great inquietude, and, if he 

 persists in advancing, they will endeavour to draw 



