L E sr 
L E S 527 
mountains, in whofe bofoms mines and quarries of mar¬ 
ble might be worked ; but its foil is ungrateful, and its 
inhabitants are under the neceffity of feeking fuccours 
abroad bj- navigation and traffic. Lat. 37. 12. N. ion. 26. 
35- E. 
LERO'NA, a town of Italy, in the Orvietan : feven 
miles north-weft of Orvieto. 
LERRADIL'LA, a town of Spain, in the province of 
Leon : twelve miles fouth-eaft of Ciudad Rodrigo. 
LERS, a river of France, which runs into the Garonne 
near Touloufe. 
LERS, a river of France, which runs into the Rhone 
near Beaucaire. 
LER'WICK, a fea-port town, fituated in a pariftt of 
the fame name, on the eaft fide of the Mainland of the 
Shetland Ifles. It is diftinguifhed as the feat of the courts 
held by the flieriff-depute of the ftewartry, and as the 
general rendezvous of all the veflels employed in the 
whale-fifliery. The harbour is one of the fafeft and largeft 
in Great Britain. It is formed by the illand of Brelfay, 
and is particularly commodious from the circumftance of 
having two entries, one from the fouth, and another from 
the north. On the outfide of the north entrance is a funk 
rock, which is called the Unicorn. It derived its name 
from the Unicorn man-of-war, which was fent in purfuit 
of the earl of Bothwell, when that nobleman fled to Shet¬ 
land. As this velfel appeared at the mouth of the fouth 
entry, before her approach was difcovered by the earl, he 
with difficulty efcaped by the north paflage. The Uni¬ 
corn eagerly purfued ; but, having no pilot on-board, ffie 
llruck upon this rock, and was wrecked. The town of 
Lerwick is about half a mile in length, and is irregularly 
built, but contains feveral excellent houfes. Near the 
north end is a fmall fortification, called Fort Charlotte. 
It is ufuaily garrifoned by a party of invalids, and ferves 
to protefl the north entry of the harbour. About a mile 
and a half from the town are the remains of two ancient 
Danirti caftles. The parilh extends about fix miles ..long 
the coaft, but at no point is more than one in breadth. 
The furface of the ground is for the mod part rocky and 
mountainous. Immediately upon the fhore, however, 
there are many very fine arable fields, the foil of which, 
though light and fandy, poflefles confiderable fertility. 
Provifions of every kind, the finer vegetables and fruit 
excepted, are very abundant here, and extremely reafona- 
ble. The price of a good fowl was, in the year 1780, 
threepence, of a dozen of new-laid eggs one penny; and 
as much excellent fiffi, cod, haddock, halibut, mackerel, 
See. could be bought for one fliilling, as would coft at 
leaft ten pounds at Billingfgate. Potatoes, turnips, &c. 
are not common : wheat-flour is alfo a rare article, but 
the inhabitants in general prefer bread made of oatmeal. 
The town confifts of about 200 houfes, of one, or at moft 
of two, ftories, which form a narrow crooked lane on the 
iea-fide, badly paved with flat ftones. All the houfes are 
built of quarry-ftone : thofe of the rich are roomy, ftrong, 
convenient, and well furnifliedj thole of the poor are 
fmall, and very fmoky, for want of a proper arrangement 
of the chimneys. Though the place lies in 6o° north la¬ 
titude, the winters are not fevere; they are, however, wet 
and ftormy. The harbour is very capacious and fafe, and 
the anchoring-ground good. Phil. Mag. July 1799. 
LE'RY, a river of Wales, in the county of Cardigan, 
which runs into the Iriffi Sea five miles north of Aberyft- 
with. 
LES, a river of France, which runs into the Mediter¬ 
ranean in lat. 43. 31. N. Ion. 4. E. 
LE'SA, a river of Naples, which runs into the Nero 
five miles weft of Cerenza. 
LESA'RA, a fmall ifland in the Baltic, eaft of Aland. 
Lat. 60.18. N. Ion. 20. 19. E. 
LES'BIAN, adj. [from Lefbos."] Belonging to Lefbos. 
LES'BIAN, f. A native of Lefbos, an inhabitant of 
Lefbos. 
LESBO'NAX, a Greek philofopher, who flourifhed in 
the firft century of the Chriftian era, was a native of Mi- 
tylene. He had been a difciple of Timocrates ; but cor¬ 
related what was moft auftere and forbidding in the prin¬ 
ciples and manners of his mafter. He taught phiiefophy 
in his native city, with great applaufe, and to a crowded 
fchool. So fenfible were the magiftrates of Mitylene of 
his merits, and of the utility of his labours, that they 
caufed a medal to be ftruck in his honour. This piece 
efcaped the refearches of antiquaries till towards the mid¬ 
dle of the eighteenth century, when one was difcovered in 
the fouth of France, of which an engraving was publifhed 
in 1744, by M. Cary, of the Academy of Marfeilles, ac¬ 
companied with a learned difiertation on Lefbonax. He 
is of opinion, that the rhetorician of the lame name, who 
is fpoken of by ancient writers, was no other than our 
philofopher. Suidas informs us that he was the author of 
many books of philofophy ; and Photius fays, that he had 
read fixteen orations written by Lefbonax. Two of thefe, 
or at leaft two orations aferibed to Lefbonax, have reached 
modern times, and were firft publillied by Aldus, in his 
edition of the Ancient Orators printed in 1513. Henry 
Stephens afterwards publilhed them in 1575, with the ora¬ 
tions of iEfchines, Lylias, and others, in folio. In 1619, 
Janus Gruter publifhed an edition of them in Greek and 
Latin, at Hanover, in 8vo. together with the orations of 
Dinarchus, Lycurgus, Herodes, and Demades. Lefbonax 
is alfo faid to have been the author of a treatife de Figuris 
Grammaticis, publifhed with Ammonius at Leyden, in 
1739, 4to. Our philofopher had a foil, named Potamon,, 
who was an eminent rhetorician at Rome, under the reign 
of the emperor Tiberius. Fabricii Bibl. Grac. vol. iv. 
LES'BOS, a large ifland in the Aigean fea, on the coaft 
of Aitolia, about 168 miles in circumference. It has been 
feverally called Palafgia, from the Pelafgi by whom it was 
firft peopled ; Macaria, from Macareus who fettled in it; 
and Lejbos, from the fon-in-law and fucceftor of Macareus 
who bore that name. The wine produced here was great¬ 
ly efteemed by the ancients, and is ftill in repute among 
the moderns. The Lefbians were fo debauched and dif- 
fipated, that the epithet of Lejbian was often ufed to fignify 
debauchery and extravagance. Euftathius, in his com¬ 
mentary on the third book of the Odyftey,, fays, that this 
ifland contained five towns, viz. Lefbos, Antifla or Ilia, 
Pyrrha, Methymna, and Mitylene, whence the ifland has 
been lince called Mitylene, now Metilin. This laft town 
was the capital. 
Lefbos, originally governed by rulers chofen among its 
own inhabitants, became afterwards fubject to the domi¬ 
nion of foreign tyrants. It fucceffively palled under the 
domination of the Periians, and then under that of the 
Greeks, till its liberty was reftored by Alexander the 
Great. This liberty it preferved till the time of Pompey, 
who reduced it to the date of a Roman province5 con¬ 
tinuing, however, for fome time to Mitylene its ancient 
privileges. The Crufaders next eftablilhed themfelves for 
a certain period ; and the Genoefe were mafters of it when 
the empire of the Eaft fell into the hands of the Turks. 
It was on this occafion that Mahomet II. ten years after 
the capture of Conftantinople, equipped a confiderable 
fleet in order to fubdue it. Mitylene, Methymna, and 
moft of the places of this ifland, had been well fortified j 
the knights of Rhodes fuccoured it j and the inhabitants, 
who knew the cruelties committed by the Turks at the 
capture of Conftantinople, were all difpofed to defend 
their lives. The Ottoman forces, although very confi¬ 
derable, would undoubtedly have mifearried againft 
thoufands of heroes, if thefe heroes had not been betrayed 
by the treachery of Lucco Gattilufio, who thought of ob¬ 
taining the fovereignty of the ifland by delivering it up 
to Mahomet. Accordingly, he perfuaded hiscouiin Gat- 
tilufio to fign a fhameful capitulation. However, as a re- 
compence for the treachery of the one and for the weak- 
nefs of the other, Mahomet caufed both to be cruelly put 
to death a fiiort time after. 
Lefbos has given birth to feveral perfons of diftinction 5; 
& among; 
