Leonato (lē-ō-nä´tō).—Governor of Missina in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. He prematurely accredited the accusations against his daughter, Hero.
Leonine (lē´ō-nīn).—In Shakespeare’s Pericles. Servant to Dionyza. The latter conspired with him to murder Marina, and was saved from the crime only by the intervention of pirates.
Léonore (lā-ō-nōr´).—In Molière’s L’ecole des Maris, sister of Isabelle, an orphan; brought up by Ariste according to his notions of training a girl to make him a good wife. He put her on her honor, tried to win her confidence and love, gave her all the liberty consistent with propriety and social etiquette, and found that she loved him, and made a fond and faithful wife.
Leviathan (lē-vi´a-than) (or, the Matter, Form, and Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiastical and Civil).—A work by Thomas Hobbes, published in 1651. In Leviathan, Hobbes’ peculiar theories in politics received their fullest and ablest expression. They found an illustrious opponent in Lord Clarendon, who, in 1676, published A Brief View and Survey of the Dangerous and Pernicious Errors to Church and State in Mr. Hobbes’ book Entitled Leviathan.
Little Dorrit.—The heroine and title of a novel by Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit was born and brought up in the Marshalsea prison, Bermondsey, where her father was confined for debt; and when about fourteen years of age she used to do needlework, to earn a subsistence for herself and her father. The child had a pale, transparent face; was quick in expression, though not beautiful in feature. Her eyes were a soft hazel, and her figure slight. The little dove of the prison was idolized by the prisoners, and when she walked out, every man in Bermondsey who passed her, touched or took off his hat out of respect to her good works and active benevolence. Her father, coming into a property, was set free at length, and Little Dorrit married Arthur Clennam, the marriage service being celebrated in the Marshalsea, by the prison chaplain.
Little John.—A big, stalwart fellow, named John Little, who encountered Robin Hood, and gave him a sound thrashing, after which he was rechristened, and Robin stood godfather. Little John is introduced by Sir Walter Scott in The Talisman.
Little Nell.—Old Curiosity Shop, Dickens. The prominent character of the story, pure and true, though living in the midst of selfishness and crime. She was brought up by her grandfather, who was in his dotage, and who tried to eke out a narrow living by selling curiosities. At length, through terror of Quilp, the old man and his grandchild stole away, and led a vagrant life.
Lochinvar (lock´in-var).—A young highlander, in the poem of Marmion, was much in love with a lady whose fate was decreed that she should marry a “laggard.” Young Lochinvar persuaded the too-willing lassie to be his partner in a dance; and, while the guests were intent on their amusements, swung her into his saddle and made off with her before the bridegroom could recover from his amazement.
Locksley.—So Robin Hood is sometimes called, from the village in which he was born.
Locksley Hall.—A poem by Tennyson, in which the hero, the lord of Locksley Hall, having been jilted by his cousin Amy for a rich boor, pours forth his feelings in a flood of scorn and indignation. The poem is understood to have been occasioned by a similar incident in the poet’s own life, but this has been questioned.