LEWIS, MATTHEW GREGORY (1775-1818).--Novelist, _s._ of Matthew L., Deputy
Sec. in the War Office, was _ed._ at Westminster and Oxf. Thereafter he
went to Germany. From his childhood tales of witchcraft and the
supernatural had a powerful fascination for him, and in Germany he had
ample opportunities for pursuing his favourite study, with the result
that at the age of 20 he became the author of _The Monk_, a tale in which
the supernatural and the horrible predominate to an unprecedented
extent, and from which he is known as "Monk L." The same characteristic
appears in all his works, among which may be mentioned _Tales of Terror_
(1779), _Tales of Wonder_ (to which Sir W. Scott contributed), and
_Romantic Tales_ (1808). Though affected and extravagant in his manners,
L. was not wanting in kindly and generous feelings, and in fact an
illness contracted on a voyage to the West Indies to inquire into and
remedy some grievances of the slaves on his estates there was the cause
of his death.
LEYDEN, JOHN (1775-1811).--Poet and Orientalist, _b._ at Denholm,
Roxburghshire, gave early evidence of superior ability, and his _f.
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