LEMAY 



3377 



LEMMING 



tobacco, leather, machinery and railway cars. 

 Population of city and suburbs, 1911, 69,400. 



LEMAY, lema', LEON PAMPHILE (1837- 

 ), a French-Canadian librarian and poet, 

 best known for his translation of Longfellow's 

 Evangeline into French verse. Lemay was 

 born at Lotbiniere, Que., and received his 

 schooling at the Quebec Seminary and the 

 University of Ottawa. At first he studied 

 theology, but soon abandoned it for the law, 

 and in 1865 was called to the bar. Two years 

 later; in 1867, he was appointed librarian to 

 the Quebec legislature, a position he held for 

 twenty-five years. His first volume of poems, 

 which appeared in 1865, was called Essais 

 Poetiques (Poetical Essays). It was followed 

 in 1870 by the translation of Evangeline and 

 by numerous other works, including Poemes 

 Couronnes (Crowned Poems) ; Les Vengeances; 

 Fables Canadiennes; Rouge et Bleu; and a 

 volume of sonnets, Les Goutellettes. 



LEMBERG, lem'berK, a city of Austria- 

 Hungary, and capital of the crpwnland of 

 Galicia, is situated on the River Peltew, 365 

 miles northeast of Vienna. It is fourth in 

 population among the cities of Austria, being 

 exceeded only by Vienna, Prague and Trieste. 

 The place is defended by a citadel, around 

 which the modern town has grown up; most 

 of the prominent buildings are found in the 

 suburban districts. There are many imposing 

 Greek and Roman Catholic cathedrals, and 

 the city also possesses the third largest uni- 

 versity in Austria. In the Ossolinski National 

 Institute are valuable collections of Polish his- 

 torical and literary relics, besides a library of 

 over 180,000 volumes. There are manufactures 

 of farm machinery, boilers, musical instru- 

 ments, candles, flour and other commodities, 

 and in time of peace the city enjoys a consid- 

 erable trade in agricultural products. 



Lemberg was founded in the thirteenth cen- 

 tury, and has had a varied history, having 

 suffered many times from siege and bombard- 

 ment. Early in the War of the Nations 

 (which see) the Russians began an offensive 

 movement in Galicia, resulting in the capture 

 of Lemberg, which they held until June, 1915. 

 Its recapture by the Austro-German forces, 

 during the spectacular drive against Warsaw, 

 meant the loss of an important base of supplies 

 for the left wing of the Russian army. Popu- 

 lation, 1914, 212,000. 



LEMIEUX, lemye', RODOLPHE (1866- ), 

 a Canadian statesman, one of the leading 

 members of the Liberal party, and author of 

 212 



the Lemieux Act of 1907, which was aimed to 

 help in the elimination of strikes and lock- 

 outs by providing government conciliation. 

 Lemieux was born at Montreal, Que., attended 

 Laval University, and was called to the bar 

 in 1891. He was elected to the House of Com- 

 mons as a Liberal in 1896, and has served 

 since without interruption. He entered the 

 Laurier Ministry in 1904 as Solicitor-General, 

 was Postmaster-General from 1906 to 1911 and 

 during four months in 1911 was Minister of 

 Marine and Fisheries. Lemieux was successful 

 on several difficult diplomatic missions, notably 

 one to Japan in 1907, when he succeeded in 

 inducing the Japanese government to restrict 

 emigration to Canada. He also maintained 

 his standing at the bar and was professor of the 

 history of law at Laval University. 



LEMMING, lem'ing, a small animal related 

 to the field mouse, of a clumsy form, large head 

 and short, thick legs. Its length is about six 

 inches, of which nearly an inch is included in 

 the little, stubby tail. . Lemmings live in shal- 

 low burrows dug 

 in the dry parts 

 of swampy 

 ground, under 

 stones or in the 

 peaty soil. The 

 European 1 e m - 

 ming is the best- 

 known species ; 

 other varieties are 

 found in the northern parts of both hemi- 

 spheres. The lemming sits very quietly near its 

 burrow most of the day, and is active during 

 the night. If molested it sets up a loud squeak- 

 ing and grunting, much like a guinea pig. If 

 cornered, it bites viciously, springing at the 

 intruder with short leaps. 



The lemming lives on buds of the dwarf 

 birch, roots, grass and reindeer-moss. In the 

 winter it lives on what it can find under the 

 snow. Like other fur-bearing animals which 

 live in cold countries, it turns white in winter. 

 In Europe it migrates occasionally in immense 

 troops, often numbering hundreds of thousands, 

 devouring every green thing in its course and 

 doing as much damage as the migratory locust. 

 It advances stubbornly in one direction, cross- 

 ing mountains, swimming rivers and permit- 

 ting nothing but an impenetrable barrier to 

 alter its course. Thousands die from hunger, 

 disease, fatigue and accidents, and many are 

 killed by beasts and birds of prey that follow 

 them. They move steadily on until they reach 



THE LEMMING 



