OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Van Leemput, Remigius

​VAN LEEMPUT, REMIGIUS (1609?–1675), painter, born at Antwerp about 1609, was received into the guild of St. Luke there in 1628–9. He came to England in Charles I's reign, and among other works for that king he made a small copy in oils of the famous painting by Holbein at Whitehall of Henry VII, Henry VIII, and their queens, which was afterwards destroyed by fire; Van Leemput's copy is now at Hampton Court. He was one of the purchasers at the sale of King Charles's collection, and among his purchases was the great picture of Charles I on horseback, by Van Dyck (now at Windsor), which was recovered from him with some difficulty at the Restoration. M. Remy or Remée, as he was usually called by his contemporaries, was a well-known and skilful copyist of pictures. He copied many portraits by Van Dyck, and told Sir Peter Lely that he could copy his portraits better than Lely could himself. He copied Raphael's ‘Galatea’ for the Earl of Pomfret at Easton Neston. Van Leemput died in 1675, and on 9 Nov. was buried in St. Paul's, Covent Garden, where a son of his, Charles Van Leemput, had been interred on 19 Sept. 1651. His daughter also practised painting, and married Thomas Streater, a nephew of Robert Streater [q. v.] Van Leemput had a well-chosen collection of pictures and ​other works of art, which were advertised for sale at Somerset House on 14 May 1677 (London Gazette).
L. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Van Lemens, Balthasar

​VAN LEMENS, BALTHASAR (1637–1704), painter, born at Antwerp in 1637, came over to England, and had some slight success in painting small pieces of history. Meeting, however, with misfortunes, he was reduced to working for other people, drawing and making sketches to assist the work of both painters and engravers. Among the latter he was chiefly employed by Paul Van Somer [q. v.], the mezzotint-engraver. He also copied portraits by Van Dyck and others. He had a brother who practised in Brussels, and painted Balthasar's portrait. Van Lemens died in Westminster in 1704.
L. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Van Nost, John

​VAN NOST, JOHN (d. 1780), sculptor, son of a maker of leaden figures for gardens (Redgrave, Dict. of British Artists), was born in Piccadilly, London, early in the eighteenth century. About 1750 he went to Dublin, and worked there for many years as a sculptor. Among his works were a statue of Lord William Blakeney, erected in Sackville Street, but now removed; the equestrian statue of George II, now in Stephen's Green, and some minor sculpture. Redgrave erroneously says that Van Nost executed the statue of King William in College Green. He also did much of the sculpture in Dublin Castle, besides half-length statues of Thomas Prior [q. v.] and Samuel Madden [q. v.], copies of which were engraved by Charles Spooner [q. v.] He executed the statue of ‘Mr. Lawton, ex-mayor of Cork,’ in that city. He appears to have revisited England during 1780, but he died in Mecklenburgh Street, Dublin, at the end of September 1780.
[Pasquin's Artists of Ireland; Whitelaw and Walsh's Hist. of Dublin, vol. ii.; Gilbert's Hist. of Dublin; Dublin Directories, 1750–80.]
D. J. O'D.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Van Rymsdyk, Jan

​VAN RYMSDYK, JAN (fl. 1767–1778), painter and engraver, was a native of Holland, and at first practised as a portrait-painter. In 1767 he executed a mezzotint engraving of ‘Frederick Henry and Emilia Van Solms, Prince and Princess of Orange,’ from a painting by Jordaens at Devonshire House. Afterwards he settled at Bristol. His skill as a draughtsman and engraver brought him into the service of William Hunter (1718–1783) [q. v.], for whom he executed some of the admirable engravings which illustrate Hunter's ‘Anatomia Humani Gravidi Uteri,’ published in 1774. In 1778, in conjunction with his son Andrew, he published a series of plates from antiquities and curiosities in the British Museum, entitled ‘Museum Britannicum;’ a second and revised edition of this work was published in 1791.
His son, Andrew Van Rymsdyk (d. 1780), gained a medal at the Society of Arts in 1767, and in 1778 exhibited two enamels at the Royal Academy. He assisted his father in his works, and died at Bath in 1780. The name is sometimes anglicised erroneously as ‘Remsdyke.’
[Edwards's Anecdotes of Painters; Graves's Dictionary of Arts, 1760–1892; Lowndes's Bibliographer's Manual.]
L. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Villiers, François Huet

​VILLIERS, FRANÇOIS HUET (1772?–1813), painter, son of Jean-Baptiste Huet, a French artist of repute, was born in Paris about 1772, and studied under his father. He exhibited portraits at the Paris salon in 1799, 1800, and 1801, and then settled in London. He was a versatile artist, drawing landscapes, animals, and architecture, but excelled in his portraits in miniature and oils. He was appointed miniature-painter to the Duke and Duchess of York, his portraits of whom were engraved, as were also those of Louis XVIII, the Duke and Duchess of Angoulême, the Duc d'Enghien, and Mrs. Quentin. Villiers painted many actresses and other ladies in mythological characters, and his ‘Hebe’ was very popular and frequently engraved. He exhibited largely at the Royal Academy and other exhibitions from 1803 until his death, and was one of the ‘Associated Artists in Watercolours’ from 1808 to 1812. He published two sets of etchings—‘Rudiments of Cattle,’ 1805, and ‘Rudiments and Characters of Trees,’ 1806—and made the drawings for some of the plates in Ackermann's ‘Westminster Abbey.’ Villiers died in Great Marlborough Street, London, on 27 July 1813, and was buried in St. Pancras churchyard.
F. M. O'D.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Villiers, Christopher

​VILLIERS, CHRISTOPHER, first Earl of Anglesey (1593?–1630), born probably in 1593, was the third son of Sir George Villiers of Brooksby, Leicestershire, by his second wife, Mary Beaumont, afterwards Countess of Buckingham in her own right. John Villiers, viscount Purbeck [q. v.], and George Villiers, first duke of Buckingham [q. v.], were brothers of the whole blood, and Sir Edward Villiers [q. v.] was his half-brother. Christopher, though ‘an unattractive and unintelligent’ youth, shared the good fortune of the family consequent upon the rise of his brother George. In February 1616–17 he was appointed gentleman of the bedchamber to James I, and on 7 March following was granted an annuity of two hundred pounds a year (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1611–18, pp. 432, 440). In the same year he became master of the robes, and in December Sir Robert Naunton [q. v.], who had no sons, was appointed secretary on condition that he made Villiers his heir; the latter consequently received lands worth 500l. a year. He was also promised 800l. ​a year out of the monopoly for gold and silver thread, but actually received only 150l. during the whole of its existence (Gardiner, iv. 13, 22). In addition to these sources he received considerable sums from the patent for ale-houses, and his malpractices in this connection formed the subject of charges against him in parliament, which were, however, abandoned (ib. iv. 116). The next step was to secure a suitable heiress as a wife; ineffectual suit was made first for the only daughter of Sir Sebastian Harvey, lord mayor of London, and then for Elizabeth Norris, daughter of the Earl of Berkshire. Villiers eventually married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Sheldon of Howley, Leicestershire. On 23 March 1622–3 he was created Baron Villiers of Daventry and Earl of Anglesey. His mediocre abilities prevented his employment in any important position, and he himself acknowledged to his brother the duke that ‘his want of preferment proceeded from his own unworthiness rather than from the duke's unwillingness’ (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1627–8, p. 327). On 6 Dec. 1628 he was appointed keeper of Hampton Court, and on 4 March 1628–9 of Bushey Park. He died on 3 April 1630 at Windsor, and was buried on the 12th in St. George's Chapel. An engraving after a portrait by Honthorst is given in Doyle's ‘Official Baronage.’
His only son, Charles Villiers (d. 1661), succeeded as second earl of Anglesey; married, on 25 April 1648, Mary, widow of his cousin, William Villiers, viscount Grandison, and mother of Barbara Villiers [q. v.], and died without issue, being buried at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on 4 Feb. 1660–1. His honours became extinct, and the estates passed to his sister Anne, widow of Thomas Savile, earl of Sussex [q. v.]
[Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1611–30, passim; Spedding's Bacon; Court and Times of James I; Court and Times of Charles I; Gardiner's Hist. vols. iii. and iv.; Burke's Extinct and G. E. C[okayne]'s Peerages.]
A. F. P.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Gleichen, Count

​GLEICHEN, Count. [See Victor, 1833–1891.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Gordon, James Edward Henry

​GORDON, JAMES EDWARD HENRY (1852–1893), electrical engineer, son of James Alexander Gordon (1793–1872) [q. v.], was born at Barford, Surrey, on 26 June 1852. He was educated at a private school at Brighton, and afterwards at Eton. He studied physics, under Professor W. G. Adams, F.R.S., at King's College, London, and afterwards proceeded to Caius College, Cambridge, where he was admitted on 8 July 1871. He worked in the laboratory of Professor Clerk Maxwell, was a junior optime in the mathematical tripos, and graduated B.A. in 1875. After leaving Cambridge he carried on research work at a laboratory of his own at Dorking, and the results of his work were given in two papers presented to the Royal Society, and published in the 'Philosophical Transactions' (1877, p. 1, and 1879, p. 417). These researches dealt with the subjects of electro-magnetic rotation of polarised light, and the specific inductive capacity of dielectrics.
He occupied the post of assistant secretary to the British Association for two years from 1878, and during this period he published a treatise on electricity and magnetism, and also delivered a course of lectures at the Royal Institution on electrostatic induction.
He was a British delegate to the Paris exhibition of 1881, and shortly afterwards designed a dynamo which was exhibited at the works of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company. In 1883 he became manager of the electric lighting department of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, and was responsible for the design and equipment of the electric lighting plant at Paddington railway station.
In 1887 he took an active share in the formation of the Whitehall Electric Supply Company, which in the following year amalgamated with the Metropolitan Electric Supply Company, of which company he then became the engineer. This post he retained until 1889, when he set up in practice in partnership with Mr. W. J. Rivington as a consulting electrical engineer and contractor. His firm carried out the electric lighting installations at Carlow, Larne, Bray, Sydenham, and many other towns.
He became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers on 1 April 1890.
His career was cut short by a fatal fall from his horse at Croydon on 3 Feb. 1893.
His published works, in addition to the two papers in the 'Philosophical Transactions,' are: 1. ' Four Lectures on Static Electric Induction,' London, 1879. 2. 'A Physical Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism,' London, 2 vols. 1880; 2nd edit. 1883. 3. 'A Practical Treatise on Electric Lighting,' London, 1884. 4. 'Improvements in Electrical Distribution—Tomlinson's Patents,' London, 1890.
[Obituary notices in Proc. Inst. Civil Eng. vol. cxiii.; Electrician, 10 Feb. 1893; The Caian, ii. 3; Venn's Biogr. Hist. of Gonville and Caius Coll. ii. 398.]
T. H. B.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Grain, Richard Corney

​GRAIN, RICHARD CORNEY (1844–1895), public entertainer, youngest son of John Grain, was born on 26 Oct. 1844 at Teversham, Cambridgeshire, and received what he called 'an average middle-class education,' partly in Germany, whither he went when fourteen, became a student on 27 April 1863, and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple on 30 April 1866. For a short period he went on the western circuit. Having much musical and less histrionic proficiency, he sang and acted in private, and on 16 May 1870 joined what was known as the German Reed entertainment, then given at the Gallery of Illustration, appearing in a sketch of his own called 'The School-feast.'
With this company he remained till the close of his life, becoming in the end its principal support. He played or sang with it at St. George's Hall, to which it removed, and in the country, and wrote for it between fifty and sixty entertainments consisting of social sketches accompanied by songs and pianoforte music. He took part at times in the comediettas or other dramatic performances given by the company, but had, as he owned, little taste or capacity for acting. His comic sketches were fashionable, and were frequently given in private houses. He had a large frame with exceptionally large and expressive hands. His death on 16 March 1895, following as it did that, ten days earlier, of his associate, Alfred German Reed, broke up what had been for forty years a popular entertainment [see under Reed, Thomas German]. His last sketch was entitled 'Music à la Mode.' Grain was responsible for many songs. He wrote 'Corney Grain, by Himself,' which first appeared in 'Murray's Magazine,' and was issued separately in 1888.
[Personal recollections; Corney Grain, by Himself; Foster's Men at the Bar; The Theatre, April 1895; Hollingshead's Gaiety Chronicles; Scott and Howard's Blanchard.]
J. K.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Goward, Anne

​GOWARD, ANNE (1806–1899), actress. [See Keeley.]
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Leopard's-bane, the German

Edition of 1802.
​LEOPARD's-BANE, the German, or Arnica montana, L. an exotic plant growing wild on the Alps, and on the high mountains of Germany.
This vegetable delights in a moist, shady situation: it may be propagated in autumn, when the stalks begin to decay, either by parting the roots, or by sowing the seeds, soon after they become ripe. It is a very hardy plant, and requires no other care than to be kept clear from weeds.
The German Leopard's-bane possesses an acrid, bitter taste; and, on bruising it, emits a pungent odour, which excites sneezing. Hence the country people, in some parts of Germany, employ it in snuff, and smoke it as a substitute for tobacco.
Various medicinal properties are attributed to this vegetable: it has been chiefly recommended in paralytic affections, and in cases of gutta serena. For the removal of such disorders, an infusion is to be made, of from one to four drams of the flowers, in a pint of boiling water; and the liquor to be taken in divided doses, in the course of the day. Although the use of this remedy is frequently attended with no sensible operation, yet sometimes it produces vomiting, sweating, or a copious discharge of ​urine; and, in some paralytic cases, the cure is said to be preceded by a peculiar prickling sensation, and by shooting pains in the affected parts. It has also of late been recommended as a very powerful antipasmodic; and it is said to have been successfully employed in agues, as well as in gangrenous affections; where it is asserted to be equally efficacious as the Peruvian bark, when administered in the form of an electuary with honey. But, as the alledged virtues of the German Leopard's-bane, have not hitherto been confirmed by the experience ot British practitioners, the real efficacy of this active plant remains to be ascertained by future observations. It, however, too large a dose of this medicine should have been swallowed by mistake, its most effectual antidote will be vinegar, which ought to be taken without delay, in copious draughts.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Leprosy

Edition of 1802.
​LEPROSY, or Lepra, a cutaneous disorder, in which the skin is rough, with white eschars resembling bran, though they are sometimes most beneath the surface, and accompanied with an intense itching.
This loathsome distemper, though at present very rare in Britain, is sometimes caused by the gout; melancholy; by touching the torpedo; but more frequently arises from the eating of impure flesh, especially that of swine which had been infected with the murrain.
Various remedies have been devised for the cure of the leprosy: among these, mercury, both internally and externally; sea-water; the cold bath, and the purging mineral waters, have been successfully employed. The expressed juice of the common fumitory (in doses from 20 to 60 drops, frequently repeated), has likewise been prescribed with advantage; and, according to Dr. Lettsom, a decoction of the inner bark of the elm has removed the complaint, even after antimonials and mercurials had failed. The diet of patients afflicted with this malignant eruption, ought to consist chiefly of milk, carefully avoiding whatever may irritate the system.—Their daily drink should be either whey or butter-milk.
The leprosy is not peculiar to man, but frequently appears among quadrupeds, especially hogs; when it is generally called the Murrain; under which article we shall point out a few of its appropriate remedies.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Letter

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Edition of 1802.
​LETTER, in its primitive sense, denotes a character of which the alphabet is composed; but it is commonly used to signify a written address to an absent person. The term letter is often, though ironically, confounded with epistle, which more properly applies to scripture, or the writings of the ancients; but, according to its modern import, to a poetical, or other formal declaration.
A letter ought to consist of three parts; namely, the introduction, the subject on which it is written, and the conclusion. In familiar correspondence, the first may occasionally be omitted; more rarely the third; but by no means the second, as it is the most essential part of a letter.
If the nature and dignity of style be considered, a letter admits of every modification of language. Hence a confidential tone may prevail in friendly and facetious correspondence; a middle style, partaking of the serious and didactic, in letters on business, as well as in narratives of events, and ​philosophical disquisitions; lastly, a sublime style, when sacred duties are to be inculcated, or exalted ideas to be excited.
As a letter is intended to supply the place of verbal conversation, it follows, that the language of civilized life, or social intercourse, is the safest guide to epistolary composition. Let us therefore write as we would speak, if the person to whom the letter is to be directed, were actually present. Hence an easy, and simple arrangement of ideas will, in general, be the most suitable. But, as a letter is a more permanent declaration of sentiments than a verbal profession, the former consequently requires a greater choice of expression, prudence and reflection, than is generally bestowed on oral conversation; hence, it is not entitled to those concessions or indulgencies which are readily granted to the transitory words of the former. Thus, purity of diction, perspicuity and precision of ideas, together with a lively and unaffected mode of expressing them, are the principal requisites of a good letter.
One of the most necessary rules of letter-writing is conciseness. In addressing our superiors, we ought therefore to make use of no phrases or circumlocutions, which tend to confound rather than to explain the subject.—Diffuseness breeds ambiguity, and often represents a number of words without meaning. Hence a long letter may not unaptly be compared with a tedious person, who is constantly moving, as it were in a circle, but never arrives at the end of his journey.
A short and satisfactory treatise on the subject of writing letters, appears to us still wanting; though many useful remarks and rules are interspersed in the works of Ward, Johnson, Blair, and other didactic writers.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Lientery

Edition of 1802.
​LIENTERY, or Lienteria, is a species of diarrhœa, in which the food passes through the intestines, almost without having undergone any change: it is not attended with pain, but the patient is frequently affected with an intolerable hunger.
This disorder is occasioned by the relaxed state of the stomach, and is sometimes the consequence of dysentery, though it generally occurs during the earlier periods of life.
Considerable benefit may be derived by administering rhubarb, combined with magnesia; but, if the patient be an adult, it will be necessary to resort to stomachics and tonics, especially the Peruvian bark.
The lientery is seldom a very dangerous disease, unless the patient be of an advanced age; or the constitution be broken by excess, or acute diseases: in either case, the diet and treatment must be the same as in the Dysentery, to which we refer.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Lenitive Electuary

Edition of 1802.
​LENITIVE Electuary, a preparation kept in the apothecaries' shops, and consisting generally of two parts of pulverized senna; one part of coriander seeds in powder, incorporated with four parts of the pulp of tamarinds; a similar portion of prunes; and a sufficient quantity of simple syrup, so as to reduce the whole into an electuary.
It is chiefly employed as a gentle aperient in doses of one tea-spoonful, taken frequently in the course of the day; but, as it is apt to become mouldy, and to lose its efficacy, if kept too long, it ought to be newly prepared, and may be more advantageously employed as a vehicle for administering the more active medicines.—Nor should this compound be indiscriminately swallowed by the lower classes of people, who thus cloy their stomachs on every occasion, without knowing whether it be a proper medicine for their complaint.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Leopard's-bane, the Great

Edition of 1802.
​LEOPARD's-BANE, or Doronicum, L. a genus of plants comprising seven species; the principal of which is the only indigenous one, termed Pardalianches, Great Leopard's-bane, or Wolf's-bane, growing on the banks of rivers, and in the Lowlands of Scotland: it produces yellow flowers in the months of May and June.
This plant delights in a moist soil, and a shady situation: its spreading roots multiply so rapidly, and the seeds, if carelessly scattered about the land, produce plants so abundantly, as very soon to become a most troublesome weed.
The roots of the leopard's-bane were formerly employed in medicine, as alexipharmics and purifiers of the blood; but, on account of their violent operation, have been justly exploded.