L E 
of the funeral procefiion of the lady Coningfby, which, 
after reciting every particular relating to her funeral, 
concluded in thefe words: “And then, the next morn¬ 
ing, hunting, hawking, and good chear, and lb to conti¬ 
nue two or three dayes; and l'uch is the end of all flelh.” 
Hampton Court is now the property of George Capel Co¬ 
ningfby, earl of Effex, lineally defeended from the above 
lady Coningfby. His lord (hip-has made great improvements 
in and about the houle. Here is a line park, eight miles 
in compafs, with about twelve hundred head of deer, and 
a broad pool three quarters of a mile long, between two 
great woods. The dam which forms it, and is made over 
a valley, colt 8ool. and was finiffied in a fortnight by two 
hundred hands. A new river is cut quite through the 
park, the channel of which, for a long way together, is 
hewn out of the rock. This enriches vaft tracks of land, 
which before were barren. Here are alio gardens, canals, 
and plantations of timber; which, with warrens, decoys, 
fheep-walks, paftures for cattle, &c. fupply the houfe with 
all conveniences and neceffaries; and there is a llore of 
water on all lides of it, for the fountains, bafons, and canals. 
At Sutton-VValleys, on the Lug, between Hampton and 
Hereford, there was a palace of king Offa. 
LE'OMINSTER, a poll-town of America, in Worcef- 
ter county and (late of Mafl’achufetts; forty-fix miles 
weft of Bofton. It has a printing office and leveralmeat 
buildings. This townlhip was taken from Lancafter, in¬ 
corporated in 1740, and contains i486 inhabitants. On 
the ftreams that pafs through this town are feveral mills 
of different kinds. About 200,000 bricks are annually 
made here. The manufacture of combs is alfo carried on 
in great perfection and with coniiderable profit. 
LE'ON, in ancient geography, a promontory of Greece, 
in the ille of Euboea.— A promontory of the ille of Crete. 
•—A river of Phoenicia. Ptolemy. 
LE'ON, in modern geography, a province of Spain, 
called a kingdom, fituated towards the north-well, and in- 
clofed between Eftramadura, Old Caltile, Galicia, and 
Portugal. Its form is a kind of irregular long rectangu¬ 
lar figure. Its mean length from north to fouth is elti- 
mated at about fifty-two leagues, and its mean breadth 
from eaft to weft about thirty. This is the country 
which was formerly inhabited by the Vettones, mentioned 
by Strabo. It is bounded on the eaft by Old Caltile; on 
the fouth-eaft and louth by Eftramadura; on the weft by 
the provinces of Beira, Tra-los-Montcs in Portugal, and 
Galicia ; and on the north by the Afturias. Its capital 
has given name to the country, which was for a long time 
a feparate monarchy; but its crown was united with that 
of Caltile in 1069, yet without lofing the title of king¬ 
dom. Its territory is mountainous; neverthelefs it con¬ 
tains many beautiful fields, good paftures, and large fer¬ 
tile valleys, which produce a great quantity of grain, as 
wheat, barley, &c. wine, and excellent flax, both in fmall 
quantities, vegetables, and good fruits. Its mountains 
are covered v.'ith different kinds of trees, and they afford 
iron and copper mines, mineral waters, &c. The mules 
bred in this country are of a fuperior kind; and it fur- 
niffies a good number of (heep. The river Duero almoft 
bifefls the country. The kingdom of Leon contains fix 
biffioprics, viz. thofe of Leon, Salamanca, Palencia, Za¬ 
mora, Aftorga, and Ciudad Rodrigo ; fix cathedral chap¬ 
ters, nine collegiate chapters, 2460 parillffis, as well rec¬ 
tories as vicarages ; 196 convents, 23 hofpitals, five aly- 
lums, two military governments, four intendencies of 
provinces, a celebrated univerfity, four fuperior colleges, 
25 colleges of all daffies, fix cities, 339 towns or boroughs, 
2005 villages or fettlements, of which 76, formerly inha¬ 
bited, are now deferted. Its mountains that are particu¬ 
larly diltinguifhed are thofe that form part of the Sierras 
of Pico and Occa, formerly mount Idubeda: the former 
extends from the eaft of the fouthern point of the king¬ 
dom of Leon to the weft of the louthern point of Old 
Caltile; the latter comes from the north-by-eaft point of 
Old Caltile, and extends a little way into the kingdom of 
O N. 495 
Leon, at the fouth point of the eaft. Amongft its rivers, 
which are numerous, we may reckon the Sil, the Buroia, 
the Sabor, the Baeza, the Arago, the Xero, the Pifuerga, 
the Alagon, the Agueda, the Cea, the Exla, the Tuerta, 
the Obrega, and the Bernefga, almoft all of which rife in 
Leon or near its confines ; 'the Duero, the Carrion, the 
Erefma, Rio de Salamanca or Torme, &c. The principal 
towns of Leon are, on the north of the Duero, Leon, 
Altorga, Zamora, Toro, Palencia, Medinadel-Rio-Seco, 
Tor-de-Sillas, Villa Pando, Duenas, Marlilla, Villa Franca, 
and Benevente; and on the fouth of the Duero, Sala¬ 
manca, Ciudad Rodrigo, Alva-da-Tormes, Pena-Arande, 
Pena-de-Frania, Carpio, Medina-del-Campo, and Ledefma, 
near Los Banos. 
When the Gothic king Roderic was defeated by the 
Moors in the battle of Xeres de la Frontera, the fugitives 
difperfed to Galicia, Afturias, Lower Bifcay, and the 
country at the foot of the Pyrenees; but their courage 
revived, and they rallied their forces under prince Pelagius, 
who, in 717, obtained a fignab victory over the Moors, 
and took poffellion of Oviedo, of which he was acknow¬ 
ledged king. Having regulated this little (fate, and 
gained netv fubjefts, he again attacked the Moors, and 
retook from them the town of Leon, and fome others. 
Thus was laid the foundation of this new kingdom, al¬ 
though Pelagius and his fucceffors only took the title of 
kings of Oviedo or the Afturias, till Ordagno II. who in 
915 affumed the title of king of Leon. The kingdom of 
Leon palled, in the year 1030, to Ferdinand, furnamed 
the Great, then king of Caftile, by his wife. See Cas¬ 
tile, vol. iii. p. 885. Thus the kingdoms of Caftile and 
Leon became united; and continued fo, under fucceffive 
kings, till, in the year 1479, Ferdinand V. furnamed the 
Catholic, fucceeded to the crown of Arragon alfo, upon, 
the death of his father John II. and thenceforth the 
kingdoms of Leon, Caftile, and Arragon, which compre¬ 
hended all Spain, except Granada, ((till held by the 
Moors,) became infeparably connected and united. See 
the article Spain. 
In the province of Leon there are 5598 fecular priefts, 
2064 monks, 1570 nuns, 31,540 nobles, 25,218 fervants,, 
and near 600,000 other inhabitants of all profeffions j 
which gives a total of about 665,000 perfons. The agri¬ 
culture of this country might be much improved, if the 
inhabitants availed themfelves of the water which their 
rivers fuppiy for the irrigation of the land. They are alfo 
negligent in the culture of fruit-trees ; and, though they 
have fine rich paftures, their flocks are removed from one 
part of the country to another. The commerce of this 
province confifts chiefly of importation; and it fcarcely 
furnilhes any thing to the neighbouring provinces. It 
fends to Galicia, part of the ferges and baize manufac¬ 
tured at Rio Seco ; but this is very trifling compared with 
the goods which it is obliged to import. It traffics 
in wines; fome of which, of an excellent kind, are 
found in the country towards the fouth-eaft. Palencia 
had formerly confiderable manufactories for cloth. Atr 
Zamora there is ltili a manufactory for hats; and they 
make fome lioufehold-cloths in the country. The Eng- 
li(h, by way of Portugal, carry away the madder of the 
environs of Ciudad Rodrigo and of Medina-del-Campo. . 
In the province of Leon there are four lprings of cold 
mineral waters : viz. at Amufco, about three leagues and- 
a half from Palencia; at Buron ; at Bavila-Fuente, four 
leagues eaft of Salamanca ; and at Altudillo, nine leagues 
from Palencia. There are alfo four.thermal fprings : viz. 
near Almeyda; at Ledefma, at Bonar or Bonab, fix 
leagues from Leon ; and at Barnos, near the frontiers of 
Eftramadura and Caftile. The inhabitants of this province 
are very grave, and addicted to taciturnity ; thofe who retain- 
remains of the national manners of Spain, and who live 
in the mountains in the Mauregatos, near Aftorga, wear 
pyramidal hats, a kind of ruff round the neck, a jacket 
or fhirt, a clofe coat,., wide breeches, and fpatterdafiies. 
The women of Mauregatos wear large ear-rings, .a kind 
