See Guillet de St Georges, Mém. inéd.; C. Blanc, Histoire des peintres; Vitet, Catalogue des tableaux du Louvre; d’Argenville, Vies des peintres.
LESUEUR, JEAN FRANÇOIS (1760 or 1763-1837), French musical composer, was born on the 15th of January 1760 (or 1763) at Drucat-Plessiel, near Abbeville. He was a choir boy in the cathedral of Amiens, and then became musical director at various churches. In 1786 he obtained by open competition the musical directorship of the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, where he gave successful performances of sacred music with a full orchestra. This place he resigned in 1787; and, after a retirement of five years in a friend’s country house, he produced La Caverne and two other operas at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris. At the foundation of the Paris Conservatoire (1795) Lesueur was appointed one of its inspectors of studies, but was dismissed in 1802, owing to his disagreements with Méhul. Lesueur succeeded G. Paisiello as Maestro di cappella to Napoleon, and produced (1804) his Ossian at the Opéra. He also composed for the emperor’s coronation a mass and a Te Deum. Louis XVIII., who had retained Lesueur in his court, appointed him (1818) professor of composition at the Conservatoire; and at this institution he had, among many other pupils, Hector Berlioz, Ambroise Thomas, Louis Désiré, Besozzi and Charles Gounod. He died on the 6th of October 1837. Lesueur composed eight operas and several masses, and other sacred music. All his works are written in a style of rigorous simplicity.
See Raoul Rochette, Les Ouvrages de M. Lesueur (Paris, 1839).
LE TELLIER, MICHEL (1603-1685), French statesman, was born in Paris on the 19th of April 1603. Having entered the public service he became maître des requêtes and in 1640 intendant of Piedmont; in 1643, owing to his friendship with Mazarin, he became secretary of state for military affairs, being an efficient administrator. In 1677 he was made chancellor of France and he was one of those who influenced Louis XIV. to revoke the Edict of Nantes. He died on the 30th of October 1685, a few days after the revocation had been signed. Le Tellier, who amassed great wealth, left two sons, one the famous statesman Louvois and another who became archbishop of Reims. His correspondence is in the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris.
See L. Caron, Michel Le Tellier, intendant d’armée au Piémont (Paris, 1881).
Another Michel le Tellier (1643-1719) Was confessor of the French king Louis XIV. Born at Vire on the 16th of December 1643 he entered the Society of Jesus and later became prominent in consequence of his violent attacks on the Jansenists. He was appointed provincial of his order in France, but it was not until 1709 that he became the king’s confessor. In this capacity all his influence was directed towards urging Louis to further persecutions of the Protestants. He was exiled by the regent Orleans, but he had returned to France when he died at La Flèche on the 2nd of September 1719.
LETHAL (Lat. lethalis, for letalis, deadly, from letum, death; the spelling is due to a confusion with Gr. λήθη, forgetfulness), an adjective meaning “deadly,” “fatal,” especially as applied to weapons, drugs, &c. A “lethal chamber” is a room or receptacle in which animals may be put to death painlessly, by the admission of poisonous gases.