I EE LEEDS. 



of emit UM to the people of British America. In 

 Ik* faflowtaf Tear, be was unanimously elected, by 

 in* people of W'esunorrland county, to the assembly 

 ; s;iuia, by which he was sent to the -rroiul con- 

 ntm At this period, hostilities were in full opera- 

 Son between the two countries, and one of the first 

 els of the new congress was to invest George 

 Washington with the command of its armies. His 

 foamhiinn and instructions were furnished by Mr 

 Lee, as chairman of the committee appointed for that 

 purpose. The oilier committees on which he served 

 in Uiis session, were those named to prepare muni- 

 tions of war, to encourage the manufacture of salt- 

 petre and arms, and to devise a plan for the more 

 rapid diffusion of intelligence throughout the colonies. 

 The second address of congress to the people of 

 Great Britain a composition unsurpassed by any 

 of the state papers of the time was written by 

 him this -t^Mon. But the most important of his 

 services, in this second congressional term, was his 

 motion, June 7, 1776, "that these united colonies, 

 are, and of right ought to be, free and independent 

 states ; that they are absolved from all allegiance 

 to the British crown ; and that all political con- 

 nexion between them and the state of Great Britain 

 N. :.ml ought to be, totally dissolved." His speech 

 mi introducing this bold measure, was one of the 

 most brilliant displays of eloquence ever heard on 

 the floor. After a protracted debate, it was deter- 

 mined, June 10, to postpone the consideration of this 

 resolution until the first Monday of the ensuing 

 month of July ; but a committee was ordered to 

 be immediately appointed to prepare a declaration 

 of independence. Of this committee he would 

 have been the chairman, according to parliamen- 

 tary regulations with regard to the original mover 

 of an approved resolution ; but he was obliged, 

 on the same day (the 10th), to leave congress, 

 and hasten to Virginia, in consequence of the dan- 

 gerous illness of some of the members of his family. 

 Mr Jefferson was substituted for him, and drew up 

 the declaration. In August following, Mr Lee 

 i etumed to his seat in congress, which he continued 

 to occupy until June, 1777, pursuing, with unabated 

 ardour, the path which was to lead to the freedom 

 and happiness of his country. In that month, he 

 solicited leave of absence, and returned to Virginia. 

 This step was taken on account of the delicate state 

 of his health, and also for the purpose of clearing his 

 reputation from certain stains which malice or over- 

 heated zeal had thrown upon it, which he effectually 

 did, by demanding an inquiry into the allegations 

 against him, from the assembly of his native state. 

 The result of this inquiry was a most honourable 

 acquittal, accompanied by a vote of thanks to him 

 for the fidelity and zeal of his patriotic services, 

 which the speaker of the house, the venerable 

 George Wythe, in communicating it to him, prefaced 

 by a warm and flattering eulogy. In August, 1778, 

 lie was apain elected to congress, but was forced, by 

 his declining health, to withdraw, in a great degree, 

 from the arduous labours to which he had hitherto 

 devoted himself. In 1780, he retired from his seat, 

 and declined returning to it until 1784. In the 

 interval, lie served in the assembly of Virginia, 

 and, at the head of the militia of his county, pro- 

 tected it from the incursions of the enemy. In 

 1784, he was chosen president of congress by a 

 manimous vote, but retired at the end of the year, 

 and, in 1786, was re-elected to the Virginian assem- 

 bly. In the convention which adopted the present 

 ition of the United States, Mr Lee joined in 

 the vote of congress which submitted the plan they 

 proposrt to conventions of the people of the states 

 HP was, however, hostile to it himself, thinking that 



it had too great a tendency to consolidation. When 

 it was ailojiii-ii. lie and Mr Grayson were chosen the 

 first senators from Virginia under it, and, in that 

 capacity, he moved and carried several amend- 

 ments. In 1792, his health forced him to retire 

 from public life, when he was again honoured by 

 the Virginia legislature with a vote of thanks. He 

 died June 19, 1794. 



LEECH (hirudo, Lin.); a genus of molluscous 

 animals, which have an oblong body, a mouth sur- 

 rounded by a lip, and a disk at the posterior 

 extremity, by both of which they can affix them- 

 selves to bodies. In the mouth are three small 

 jaws, tongues, or plaits of skin, by which they are 

 enabled to extract the blood of other animals, 

 that forming their principal nourishment. Leeches 

 are hermaphrodites, and some species are vivi- 

 parous. They occur in ponds and streams, in 

 almost all countries. They derive their principal 

 interest from the use made of them as a remedial 

 agent. There are several of the species which 

 are capable of being thus used, though it is com- 

 monly supposed that only two sorts are proper. 

 The employment of leeches in France may be 

 judged of from the circumstance, that the hos- 

 pitals of Paris require an annual supply of several 

 hundred thousands. The American species does 

 not draw as much blood as the British, which are 

 calculated, on an average, to detract one ounce 

 each, whilst the majority of the American do not 

 take more than from two to three drachms each. 

 The leech, when forcibly pulled away whilst buck- 

 ing, is very apt to leave the teetli, or plaits of 

 skin, spoken of above, in the wound, occasioning 

 pain and inflammation of the part ; the leech is also 

 rendered incapable of again biting. The most 

 certain method inducing these animals to bite, is to 

 cleanse the skin thoroughly : the leeches should be 

 exposed to the air for a short time previous to their 

 application, as by this means they will bite more 

 freely If they are voracious, they may be applied 

 to the part by being held lightly in the fingers, or 

 they may be placed in a cup which is to be inverted 

 over the part from which the blood is to be drawn. 

 They should not be disturbed whilst sucking, nor 

 the patient be exposed to too great warmth, or 

 they will fall off; this they should always be per- 

 mitted to do of their own accord. They are made 

 to disgorge, by putting them in a weak solution 

 of common salt ; and, if they have not been injured, 

 they may be used five or six times. They are taken 

 either by hand or by means of a gauze net. In 

 keeping them, great care should be taken to renew 

 the water frequently, and not to place too many in the 

 same reservoir, and to remove speedily all that may 

 die. Notwithstanding every precaution that can he 

 taken, they will sometimes perish in great numbers, 

 apparently from an epidemic disease. It appears 

 that, in such cases, the use of charcoal is the 

 preventive: for this purpose, the bottom of the 

 reservoir is to be strewed with small pieces of this 

 substance, kept down by moss. (See Derheim's 

 Hist. nat. et med. des Sangsues ; North Am. Med. 

 and Surg. Jour., 1826, &c.) In 1821, France is 

 said to have exported 1,500,000, and in 1829, 

 33,650,000. 



LEEDS ; a large trading and manufacturing town 

 of England, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 189 

 miles distant from London. It is situated on the 

 Aire, which is navigable from the Humber up to 

 the town, whence the Leeds and Liverpool canal 

 proceeds on the other hand to the west, so that it 

 is equally open to the eastern and western seas. 

 Along the river, the town extends about two miles 

 from east to west. The houses, mostly of brick, 



