LEDYARD. 4S? 
journey. Diftrefled by poverty, covered with rags, in- 
fefted with the ufual accompaniments of fuch clothing, 
harafled with continual hardthips, exhaufted by difeafe, 
•without friends, without credit, unknown, and reduced 
to the moll wretched Hate, he found his wav to Konigf- 
berg. In this hour of deep diftrefs, he refolved once 
more to have recourfe to his former benefactor, and for¬ 
tunately found a perfon who was willing to take his draft 
for five guineas on the prefident of the Royal Society. 
With this affiftance he arrived in England, and imme¬ 
diately waited on fir Jofepli Banks. Sir Jofeph, knowing 
his difpofition, and conceiving, as we may well imagine, 
that he would be gratified by the information, told him, 
that he could recommend him, as he believed, to an ad¬ 
venture alnioft as perilous as that from which he had juft 
returned; and then communicated to him the willies of 
the Afi'ociation for difcovering the Inland Countries of 
Africa. Mr. Ledyard replied, that he had always deter¬ 
mined to traverfe the continent of Africa, as loon as he 
had explored the interior of North America; and, with a 
letter of introduction from fir Jofeph Banks, he waited on 
Henry Beaufoy, efq. an a Clive member of the fore-men¬ 
tioned afl'ociation. Mr. Beaufoy fpread before him a map of 
Africa,and, tracing a line from Cairo to Sennar, and thence 
weft ward in the latitude and fuppofed direction of the 
Niger, informed him that this was the route by which he 
was anxious that Africa might, if poffible, be explored. 
Mr. Ledyard expreffed great pleafure in the hope of be¬ 
ing employed in this adventure. Being alked when he 
would fet out? “To-morrow morning” was his anfwer. 
The committee of the fociety alligned to him, at his own 
defire, as an enterpriie of obvious peril and of difficult 
fuccels, the tafk of traverfing from eaft to weft, in the la¬ 
titude attributed to the Niger, the widelt part of the con¬ 
tinent of Africa. On the 30th of June, 1788, Mr. Led¬ 
yard left London ; and, after a journey of thirty-fix days, 
feven of which were confumed at Paris, and two at Mar- 
feilles, he arrived at the city of Alexandria. On the 14th 
of Auguft, at midnight, he left Alexandria, and, failing 
up the Nile, arrived at Cairo on the 19th. From Cairo 
he communicated to the committee of the fociety all tlje 
information which he was able to colled during his flay 
there ; and they were thus fufficiently apprized of the ar¬ 
dent fpirit of inquiry, the unwearied attention, the perle- 
vering refearch,_and the laborious, indefatigable, anxious, 
zeal, with which he purfued the objeCt of his million. 
The next difpatch which they were led to expeCt, was to 
be dated at Sennar 5 the terms of his paflage had been fet¬ 
tled, and the day of his departure was appointed. The 
committee, however, after having expeCled with impa¬ 
tience the defcription of his journey, received with great 
concern and grievous difappointment, by letters from 
Egypt, the melancholy tidings of his death. By a bilious 
complaint, occafioned probably by vexatious delay at Cairo, 
and by too free an ule of the acid of vitriol and tartar 
emetic, the termination of his life was haftened. He was 
decently interred in the neighbourhood of fuch of the En- 
glifh as had ended their days in the capital of Egypt. 
Mr. Ledyard, as to his perfon, fcarcely exceeded the 
middle fize ; but he manifefted very remarkable aflivity 
and ftrength; and, as to his manners, though they were 
unpolilhed, they were neither uncivil nor unpleafing. 
“ Little attentive to difference of rank,” fays his biogra¬ 
pher, “ he feemed to conlider all men as his equals, and 
as fuch he refpefled them. His genius, though unculti¬ 
vated and irregular, was original and comprehenfive. 
Ardent in his wiffies, yet calm in his deliberations; dar¬ 
ing in his purpofes, but guarded in his meafures; impa¬ 
tient of controul, yet capable of flrong endurance; ad¬ 
venturous beyond the conception of ordinary men, yet 
wary and confiderate, and attentive to all precautions; he 
appeared to be formed by nature for achievements of har¬ 
dihood and peril. They who compare the extent of liis 
-pilgrimage through the vail regions of Tartary with the 
VOL XII. No. 842. 
fcantinefs of his funds, will naturally alk, by what means 
he obtained a fubfiftence on the road ? All that I have 
ever learned from him on the fubjefl was, that his fufter- 
ings were excefiive, and that more than once he owed his - 
life to the compafiionate temper of the women. This re¬ 
mark is ftrongly confirmed by the following extract from 
his account of his Siberian tour : “ I have always remark¬ 
ed, that women, in all countries, are civil, obliging, ten¬ 
der, and humane; that they are ever inclined to be gay 
and cheerful, timorous and modeft; and they do not he- 
fitate, like men, to perform a generous airiion. Not. 
haughty, not arrogant, not fupercilious; they are full ot 
courtefy, and fond of fociety; more liable, in general, to 
err than man; but in general, alfo, more virtuous, and 
performing more good actions than he. To a woman, 
whether civilized or favage, I never addrefi'ed myfelt in 
the language of decency and friendfhip, without receiv¬ 
ing a decent and friendly anfwer. With man it has of¬ 
ten been otherwife. In wandering over the barren plains 
of inhofpituble Denmark , through bonejl Sweden and frozen 
Lapland, rude and churlijh Finland, unprincipled RuJJia, and 
the wide-fpread regions of the wandering Tartar, if hun¬ 
gry, dry, cold, wet, or lick, the women have ever been 
friendly to me, and uniformly fo; and, to add to this vir¬ 
tue (fo worthy the appellation of benevolence), thefe ac¬ 
tions have been performed in fo free and fo kind a man¬ 
ner, that, if I was dry, I drank the fweeteft draught; and 
if hungry, I ate the coarfe morfel with a double relifh.” 
Similar to this was the experience of Mr. Park. Never- 
theiefs, though Mr. Ledyard found frequent relief and af- 
filtance from female attention and kindnefs, he feems on 
many occafions-to have endured the utmoft preffiure of 
diftrefs. “I am accuftomed,” faid he, in his laft conver- 
f'ation with the writer to whom we are indebted for this 
account of him, “ to hardffiips. I have known both hun¬ 
ger and nakednel's to the utmoft extremity of human {ut¬ 
tering. I have known what it is to have food given me 
as charity to a madman; and I have at times been obliged 
to ihelter rnyfelf under the miferies of that character to 
avoid a heavier calamity. My diltrefles have been greater 
than I ever owned, or ever will own, to any man. Such 
evils are terrible to bear ; but they never yet had power 
to turn me from my purpofe. If I live, I will faithfully 
perform, in its utmoft extent, my engagement to the fo¬ 
ciety ; and, if I peri.ffi in the attempt, my honour will (fill 
be lafe ; for death cancels all bonds.” Proceedings of the 
Af'ociation for promoting the Difcovery of the Interior Parts of 
Africa ; Lond. 1 790. 
LEE, f [lie, Fr.] Dregs; fediment; refufe: commonly 
lees: 
My cloaths, my fex, exchang’d for thee, 
I’ll mingle with the people’s wretched lee. Prior. 
[Sea-term; fuppofed by Skinner from I'cau, Fr.] It is ge¬ 
nerally that fide which is oppofite to the wind, as the lee- 
ffiore is that the wind blows on. To be under the lee of 
the Ihore, is to be clofe under the weather-ffiore. A lee. 
ward ffiip is one that is not faft by a wind, to make her 
way fo good as fhe might. To lay a (hip by the lee, is to 
bring her fo that all her fails may lie againft the mails 
and fhrowds flat, and the wind to comp right on her 
broadfide, fo that Ihe will snake little or no way.—The 
Hollanders were before Dunkiik with the wind at north- 
well, making a /ce-fhore in all weathers. Raleigh. 
Him, haply flumb’ring on the Norway foam, 
The pilot of fome fmall night-founder’d Ik iff. 
Deeming fome ifland, oft, as feamen tell, 
With fixed anchor in his fcaly rind. 
Moors by his fide under the lee, while night 
Invelts the fea. Milton. 
LEE, a rural village in Kent, fix miles fouth from Lon¬ 
don, on the fouth fide of Blackheath, and on the road to 
Maidltone. It contains Lee Place, the liandfome feat of the 
late lady Dacre, but now of Trevor Roper, efq. Here is 
5 T like wife 
