LEDYARD LEE. 



417 



to the hardships and perils of his daring enterprise. 

 They gained the confidence of the great navigator, 

 who immediately took him into his service, and 

 promoted him to he a corporal of marines." He 

 embarked accordingly, and performed the whole 

 voyage, of which he published an interesting account 

 some time afterwards at Hartford, in Connecti- 

 cut. In this volume, he ascribes the murder of cap- 

 tain Cook, in a great degree, to his rashness and 

 injustice towards the natives of Owhyhee. For two 

 years after the return of the expedition to England, 

 Ledyard remained in the British navy ; but nothing 

 further is known of him, in that situation, than that 

 he refused to serve against his country. In 1782, he 

 made his way home, and took lodgings at Southold, 

 with his mother, who kept a boarding house, and by 

 whom he was not recognised, after an absence of 

 eight years. We find him soon afterwards at L'Orient, 

 whither lie had gone in order to carry into effect his 

 plan of a voyage to the Pacific ocean. At L'Orient, 

 the principal merchants of the place actually furnished 

 him a vessel of 500 tons ; but when he was on the 

 point of setting out, the voyage was entirely aban- 

 doned by its patrons, in consequence of some misun- 

 derstanding with the government. He then went to 

 Paris, where he concerted a scheme with the famous 

 Paul Jones for accomplishing his object, which was 

 also frustrated, and, after making other anxious and 

 fruitless efforts, he gave up altogether the idea of 

 reaching the North-west Coast by sea, and applied to 

 the empress Catharine of Russia, through the medium 

 of Mr Jefferson, then American minister in Paris, for 

 permission to pass through her dominions, having 

 come to the resolution of travelling by land through 

 the northern regions of Europe and Asia, crossing 

 over Bearing's straits to the American continent, and 

 pursuing his route down the coast, and to the interior. 

 After waiting, however, for an answer from the 

 czarina for more than five months, he accepted an 

 invitation from London to embark in a British ship, 

 which was in readiness to sail for the Pacific ocean, 

 and of which the owners undertook to have him set 

 on shore on the North-west coast. After forming 

 his plan, which was warmly entered into by Sir 

 Joseph Banks and other distinguished men of science, 

 and which was to land at Nootka sound, thence strike 

 directly into the interior, and pursue his course to 

 Virginia, he embarked with no other equipment than 

 two dogs, an Indian pipe, and a hatchet. He now 

 thought himself secure of his object ; but the vessel 

 was not out of sight of land before it was brought 

 back by an order from the government, and the 

 voyage was finally relinquished. Bearing up with 

 wonderful fortitude against these reverses, he next 

 determined to make the tour of the globe, from 

 London east, on foot, and proceeded to St Petersburg 

 in the prosecution of this design, through the most 

 unfrequented parts of Finland. In that city his let- 

 ters procured him eminent acquaintances, among 

 whom Professor Pallas and count de Se'gur proved 

 his chief patrons. After waiting there nearly three 

 months, he obtained his passport for the prosecution 

 of his journey to Siberia. On his arrival at Yakutsk, 

 he was prevented, by the Russian commandant at 

 the place, from proceeding any further ; and at 

 Irkutsk, whither he had returned, he was arrested as 

 a French spy, by an order from the empress, hurried 

 into a kibitka with two guards, conducted with all 

 speed to Moscow, and thence to the frontiers of 

 Poland, whre he was released, with an intimation, 

 that if he returned again to the dominions of the 

 empress, he should be hanged. After an absence of 

 fifteen months, he once more appeared in the British 

 metropolis, to use his own words, " disappointed, 

 ragged, penny less, but with a whole heart." He was 



now thirty-seven years of age. Scarcely had he 

 taken lodgings in London, when Sir Joseph Banks 

 proposed to him, on behalf of the African association, 

 an expedition into the interior of Africa. He accor- 

 dingly sought an immediate interview with the secre- 

 tary of the association, to whom Sir Joseph gave him a 

 letter ; and, on being asked by him when he would 

 set out, he answered, To morrow morning. The 

 route traced for him, by the association, was, from 

 Alexandria to Grand Cairo, from Cairo to Sennaar, 

 and thence westward, in the latitude and supposed 

 direction of the Niger. He reached Cairo, whence 

 he was on the point of proceeding on his journey after 

 three months of vexatious delay, when exposure to 

 the heat of the sun, and to other deleterious influ- 

 ences of the climate, at the most unfavourable season 

 of the year, brought on a bilious attack, which proved 

 fatal towards the end of November, 1788. Zeal, 

 activity, courage, honour and intelligence distinguish- 

 ed his short but remarkable career. See Sparks's 

 Life of Ledyard, Cambridge, New England, 1828. 



LEE ; an epithet to distinguish that half of the 

 horizon to which the wind is directed from the other 

 part whence it arises, which latter is called to wind- 

 ward. 



LEE, ANN. See Shakers. 



LEE, ARTHUR, a distinguished American revolu- 

 tionary patriot, was born in Westmoreland county, 

 Virginia, December 20, 1740. He was the youngest 

 of five brothers, all of whom became eminent. He 

 was sent to the school at Eton, in England, and upon 

 the completion of his course there, entered the uni- 

 versity of Edinburgh, where he commenced the study 

 of medicine, and took his degree of M. D. with great 

 distinction, winning a medal for the best botanical 

 treatise, which was published by order of the univer- 

 sity. Having travelled through Holland, Germany, 

 Italy, and France, doctor Lee returned to Virginia, 

 and commenced the practice of his profession at 

 Williamsburgh, then the metropolis. His success 

 was great ; but the bent of his mind to politics deter- 

 mined him, before long, to return to England, and, 

 study law, in order that he might acquire familiarity 

 with the science of politics and government, and fit 

 himself for taking a part in public affairs, which were 

 then beginning to wear a highly interesting and 

 serious aspect. Before his return, he had heard the 

 parliamentary debate on the stamp act, and when the 

 duty bill was passed, he wrote a series of anonymous 

 papers in relation to it. In 1776, he went again to 

 London, which city he found the stronghold of pop- 

 ular opposition, and the society of the supporters of 

 the bill of rights the most active in conducting it. 

 Of this society he became a member, with the design 

 of connecting the grievances of the two nations, and 

 purchased the freedom of the city, which qualified 

 him to vote in municipal affairs. The complaints of 

 America were introduced into the famous Middlesex 

 petition by Mr Lee, associated with Wilkes ; and he 

 also successfully proposed a resolution, that the 

 members of the club would support no candidate fot 

 parliament who would not pledge himself to promote 

 the granting of the power of self-taxation to America. 

 TJie celebrated Junius was an adviser of this body, 

 and with him Mr Lee had an amicable discussion on 

 some points of American policy, about which they 

 happened to differ. His political publications at this 

 period in which he adopted the signature of Junius 

 Americanus were numerous, and procured for him 

 the acquaintance of Burke, doctor Price, and others 

 of the popular leaders. In 1770, he was admitted to 

 the bar, and began the practice of his new profession, 

 under the most favourable auspices ; and such success 

 attended his exertions as to enable him to lay the 

 foundations of an ample fortune. In the same year 

 2o 



