LANCASHIRE (3,927), English county stretching from the Cumberland Mountains in the N. to the Mersey in the S. along the shores of the Irish Sea; is the wealthiest and most populous county, and the indentations of the coast-line adapt it to be the chief outlet westward for English trade, more than a third of England’s foreign commerce passing through its ports.  The country is mostly low, with spurs of the Yorkshire hills; it is rich in minerals, chiefly coal and iron; its industrial enterprise is enormous; nearly half of the cotton manufacture of the world is carried on in its towns, besides woollen and silk manufacture, the making of engineer’s tools, boots and shoes.  The soil is a fertile loam, under corn and green crops and old pasture.  Lancaster is the county town, but the largest towns are Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, and Blackburn.  The northern portion, detached by Morecambe Bay, is known as Furness, belongs really to the Lake District, and has Barrow-in-Furness, with its large shipbuilding concerns, for its chief town.  Lancashire has long been an influential political centre.

LANCASTER (31), picturesque town near the mouth of the Lune, 50 m.  NW. of Manchester, is the county town of Lancashire, and manufactures furniture, cotton, machinery, and railway plant; it was disfranchised in 1867 for corrupt practices.

LANCASTER, JOSEPH, educationist, born in Southwark, and founder of the Monitorial System; had a chequered career, died in poverty (1778-1838).

LANCELOT OF THE LAKE, one of the Knights of the Round Table, famous for his gallantry and his amours with Queen Guinevere; was called of the Lake because educated at the court of the LADY OF THE LAKE (q. v.); he turned hermit in the end, and died a holy man.

LAND LEAGUE, an organisation founded by DAVITT (q. v.) in Ireland in 1879 to deal with the land question, and suppressed in 1881 as illegal.

LANDAMAN, name given to the chief magistrate in certain Swiss cantons, also to the President of the Swiss Diet.

LANDER, RICHARD, African explorer, born in Truro, Cornwall; accompanied Clapperton as his servant; along with his brother John discovered the lower course of the Niger; on the third expedition was wounded in a conflict with the natives, and died at Fernando Po (1804-1834).

LANDES, sandy plains along the French coast between the Garonne and the Pyrenees, covered with heath and broom.

LANDGRABBER, name given in Ireland to one in the possession or occupancy of land from which another has been evicted.

LANDGRAVE, title given to certain counts of the old German empire who had the rank of princes.

LANDON, LETITIA ELIZABETH, known as L. E. L., authoress, born in Chelsea; a charming woman, who wrote well both in verse and prose; was Mrs. Hemans’s successor; having taken prussic acid by mistake had a tragic end (1802-1838).