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LANDER LANDON 139 LANDER, Richard, an English traveller, the discoverer of the course of the river Niger in Africa, born in Truro, Cornwall, in 1804, died on the island of Fernando Po in February, 1834. He was brought up as a printer, but in 1825 accompanied Capt. Clapperton upon his second African expedition. After the death of Clap- perton he returned to England, and published " Records of Capt. Clapperton's Last Expedi- tion to Africa" (2 vols. 8vo, London, 1829-'30), prepared from Clapperton's papers and his own journal. In January, 1830, accompanied by his brother John, he sailed for Africa under government auspices to continue the explora- tions. Departing from Badagry near Cape Coast Castle, March 22, he reached Boossa on the Quorra, or Niger, June 17. Thence the brothers ascended the river 100 m. to Yaoorie, and re- turning to Boossa early in August, commenced the descent of the stream in canoes, Sept. 20. They reached the mouth of the river through its principal arm, the Nun, in the latter part of November, and in June, 1831, arrived in England. In the succeeding year a narrative of the expedition, prepared by Lieut. Becher from the account of the Landers, was pub- lished in 2 vols. with a map. They were the first to ascertain the confluence of the Niger with the Benoowe or Tchadda. In 1832 an expedition, consisting of a brig and two small steamers, organized by a company of Liverpool merchants for the purpose of opening a trade with the tribes along the Niger, and placed under the command of Richard Lander, ascend- ed that river to Boossa. The natives showed little disposition to trade with the Europeans, and Lander returned ill to the seacoast in the succeeding spring, with the loss of several of his men by sickness. In July he reascended the river ; but the expedition, as a commercial venture, was a failure. On this voyage he as- cended the Benoowe as far as the country .of Domah, 104 m. On Nov. 27 the expedition was again in motion up the river under the command of Dr. Oldfield. Richard Lander, following with supplies, was wounded, Jan. 20, 1834, in a conflict with the natives of the Eboe country. He escaped in a canoe, and reached Fernando Po, where he died soon after. In 1835 an account of his last voyage was pub- lished under the title of "Narrative of the Expedition into the Interior of Africa by the River Niger, in the Steam Vessels Quorra and Alburkah, in 1832, 1833, and 1834, by McGregor Laird and R. A. K. Oldfield, surviving officers of the expedition." LANDERNEAF, a seaport of Brittany, France, in the department of Finistere, 14 m. E. N, E. of Brest; pop. in 1866, 7,853. The town is built on both sides of the filorn or Lander- neau, near its entrance into the roadstead of Brest, and has a good harbor. It contains a fine Gothic church, a communal college, a large convent, and extensive marine barracks. Lin- en, leather, glazed hats, and refined wax are manufactured. The streets are narrow, but the quays are lined with fine buildings. About 700 vessels enter and clear annually. LANDES, Les, a S. W. department of France, in Gascony, bordering on the bay of Biscay and on the departments of Gironde, Lot-et- Garonne, Gers, and Basses - Pyrenees ; area, 3,597 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 300,528. The name is derived from the sandy and marshy plains which compose the greater part of its sur- face, and which prevail generally in the interi- or, and in many places are covered with thorny shrubs over which the shepherds stalk on stilts. The only crops which the landes yield are maize and barley. The coast district is studded with numerous lagoons ; but toward the south, where the spurs of the Pyrenees break the continuity of the plain, and the tributaries of the Adour irrigate the soil, the country is fer- tile, and abounds in corn, wine, and various kinds of fruit. The other productions of this department are timber, coal, iron, and marble. The climate is mild, but unhealthy. Among the principal manufactures are glass, porcelain, earthenware, paper, and leather, employing about 6,000 persons. The chief rivers are the Adour, Leyre, and Gave-de-Pau. The depart- ment is divided into the arrondissements of Dax, Mont-de-Marsan, and St. Sever. Capi- tal, Mont-de-Marsan. LANDON, Letitia Elizabeth (MACLEAN), an Eng- lish authoress, born in Old Brompton, a sub- urb of London, in 1802, died at Cape Coast Castle, Africa, Oct. 15, 1838. At the age of 13 she began to write poetry, and in 1820 she published in the "Literary Gazette" some short poems, signed " L. E. L.," which attracted considerable attention. She soon became a general contributor to the " Gazette " of re- views and miscellaneous articles, as well as original poems. Her father died in destitute circumstances when she was a child, and she became the chief support of her family, and for 15 years was a ready and prolific writer in prose and verse for the annuals and for a va- riety of periodicals. In 1821 she published a small collection entitled " The Fate of Adelaide, and other Poems," which was succeeded by "The Improvisatrice " (1824), "The Trouba- dour" (1825), "The Golden Violet" (1827), "The Venetian Bracelet" (1829), and "The Vow of the Peacock" (1835). Her poetry is mainly of the kind which is warmly admired by youthful readers, but is soon outgrown, full of sentiment and delicate fancies melodiously versified. She also published four novels. In June, 1838, she was married to George Maclean, governor of Cape Coast Castle in West Africa, and soon afterward sailed with him for her new home. She died in a few months after her arrival there, from an overdose of prussic acid, which she had been accustomed to take in small quantities for hysteric affections, and was discovered lying dead upon the floor of her chamber. " The Zenana, and Minor Po- ems," with a memoir, was published posthu- mously (1839). See "Life and Literary Re-