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LEE 309 His own fortune had been almost entirely swept away during the war, and in October, 1865, he accepted the presidency of Washing- ton college at Lexington, Va., where in a short time the students numbered nearly 500. In March, 1866, he appeared as a witness be- fore the reconstruction committee of congress. His testimony was to the effect that, as far as he knew, the people of the south did not con- template any resistance or opposition to the government of the United States, and were in favor of the reconstruction policy of President Johnson ; that they expected to pay their por- tion of the national debt, and would probably, if able, be willing also to pay their share, of the confederate debt ; and that the people of Virginia looked upon the action of the state in withdrawing itself from the government of the United States as carrying the individuals of the state along with it ; that the state, not individuals, was responsible, and that the state was merely using a lawful reserved right. On the evening of Sept. 28, 1870, while apparently in his usual health, he was struck with paraly- sis, and never fully recovered, although he lived a fortnight longer. His wife, Mary Custis, great-granddaughter of Martha Custis (after- ward the wife of Washington), born at Arling- ton House in 1806, died at Lexington, Nov. 6, 1873. Gen. Lee had three sons and four daugh- ters. One of the daughters died during the war. His sons all served in the confederate army. G. W. CUSTIS LEE, born about 1833, graduated at West Point in 1854, resigned his commission as lieutenant of engineers in May, 1861, en- tered the confederate service, became aide-de- camp to President Davis, and subsequently a general of infantry, and succeeded his father as president of Washington college, now called Washington and Lee university. The second son, W. H. F. LEE, became a general of cav- alry; and the third, ROBEKT E. LEE, served as a member of the cavalry staff. A nephew, FITZHTJGH LEE, born about 1835, graduated at West Point in 1856, served as lieutenant of cavalry, mainly in Texas, till 1861, when he resigned his commission, entered the confed- erate service, and rose to be a general of caval- ry. See " Life of Robert E. Lee," by John Esten Cooke (New York, 1872); Le general Lee, by Edward Lee Childe (Paris, 1874) ; and "Personal Reminiscences of Gen. Robert E. Lee," by Rev. J. W. Jones (New York, 1874). LEE, Samuel, an English scholar, born at Long- nor, May 14, 1783, died at Barley, Dec. 16, 1852. He was educated at a charity school, and at the age of 12 was apprenticed to a carpenter. While laboring at his craft he mastered the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syriac languages. He subsequently acquired a knowl- edge of Arabic, Persian, French, German, and Italian, with the assistance of Archdeacon Cor- bett, who in 1810 procured his appointment to the mastership of a foundation school at Shrewsbury. He entered Queen's college, Cambridge, in 1813, graduated in due course, took orders, and in 1819 became professor of Arabic at his university. In 1831 he was elected regius professor of Hebrew in the uni- versity of Cambridge, which in 1833 conferred on him the degree of D. D., an honor received by him more than ten years before from the German university of Halle. His chief publi- cations were : " Hebrew Grammar " (1830) ; " The Travels of Ibn Batuta," translated from the Arabic (1833) ; a translation of Job (1837) ; a " Hebrew, Chaldaic, and English Lexicon " (1840); and "An Inquiry into the Nature, Progress, and End of Prophecy " (1849). LEE. I. Sophia, an English authoress, born in London in May, 1750, died at Clifton, near Bristol, March 13, 1824. She was the daugh- ter of an actor, who was originally a lawyer, and made her first appearance before the pub- lic in 1780 as the author of a comedy entitled " The Chapter of Accidents," which was brought out at the Haymarket theatre with great suc- cess. In the succeeding year she removed with her sisters to Bath, where she devoted the profits of her play to the establishment of a young ladies' seminary, over which she and her sister Harriet presided for many years. In 1785 she published " The Recess," a histori- cal tale of a rather sombre character, which at- tained considerable popularity, and which was followed by " Almeyda," a tragedy, performed with moderate success ; " The Life of a Lover," a novel in 6 vols. ; and an unsuccessful com- edy, "The Assignation." She also furnished " The Young Lady's Tale" and " The Clergy- man's Tale " to the series of " Canterbury Tales," written by her sister Harriet and her- self, which are considered her best produc- tions. She gave up her seminary in 1803, and passed the remainder of her life in retirement. Her conversational powers were remarkable. II. Harriet, sister of the preceding, born in London in 1756, died at Clifton, Aug. 1, 1851. Her first appearance as an authoress took place in 1786, when she published " The Errors of Innocence," a novel in 5 vols., succeeded by several others now forgotten. In 1797 ap- peared the first volume of the " Canterbury Tales," followed at intervals of a few years by four others under the same title, the con- tents of which were for the most part of her composition. They enjoyed a great popularity in the early part of the century ; and a new edition was published in New York in 1856-'7 (3 vols. 12mo). One of the most remarkable is "The German's Tale: Kruitzner," from which Lord Byron borrowed not merely the plot and the machinery down to the most trivial incidents, but in some instances the lan^ guage, of his " Werner." She also produced two dramas, " The New Peerage " and " The Three Strangers," the latter of which failed at Covent Garden in 1835. LEE, William, an Irish clergyman, born in 1815. He was educated at Trinity college, Dublin, of which he was elected fellow in 1839 ; appointed professor of ecclesiastical his-