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370 LESSEES LESSING the governments of France, Sardinia, the Two Sicilies, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Spain ; the chamber of commerce at Marseilles sent him a complimentary address, while that of Barcelona placed his bust in its hall. After the revolution of 1848 he was recalled to Pa- ris, but soon went to Madrid as minister (April 10, 1848). Having been displaced in favor of Prince Napoleon Joseph Bonaparte, Feb. 10, 1849, he was appointed to Switzerland, but was sent in May to Italy, where he was expected to fulfil in concert with MM. d'Harcourt and de Rayneval the delicate task of restoring order in the papal dominions, and preventing liberal excesses from interfering with the establish- ment of a regular government. His instruc- tions, it is asserted, were far from explicit ; but the liberalism which he evinced in stipulating that the Roman people should be free to choose their own government was not agreeable to the authorities at home, and he was recalled in June. In a report from the council of state he was severely blamed, but he defended himself with great ability. In October, 1854, he went to Egypt on the invitation of the new viceroy Said Pasha. Here he thoroughly examined the project of the canal across the isthmus of Suez, and drew up a memorial on the subject, entitled Percement de VistJime de Suez, expose et documents officiels (1856; 2d ed., 1858), giving full. details of the enterprise. The viceroy granted him a charter for 99 years (Nov. 30, 1854; confirmed Jan. 5, 1856) for the establishment of a stock company for the execution of the canal, to be called compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez. (See CANAL.) De Lesseps gave himself up entirely to the project, and by the force of energy and perseverance raised the necessary capital, and began the work in 1859. He was beset by many difficulties. Eminent English engineers, among them Robert Stephenson, questioned its practicability ; the British government re- garded it as a political project, and refused to give it encouragement ; and various complica- tions arose with both the Turkish and Egyptian governments. But De Lesseps triumphed over all, and on Aug. 15, 1869, had the satisfaction of seeing the waters of the Red sea and the Mediterranean mingled in the Bitter lakes. The canal was formally opened on Nov. 17, with grand ceremonies, in the presence of the empress of the French, the emperor of Austria, the crown prince of Prussia, Prince Amadeus of Italy, Prince William of Orange, and many other distinguished personages, who were en- tertained with magnificent hospitality by the khedive. De Lesseps has been decorated by almost all the sovereigns of Europe. In Feb- ruary, 1870, the Paris geographical society awarded him the empress's prize of 10,000 francs, and in July following the honorary freedom of the city of London was presented to him. Since the completion of the Suez canal, he has suggested the conversion of the desert of Sahara into an inland sea, and the cutting of a ship canal through the isthmus of Corinth to connect the gulfs of Lepanto and Egina. In 1874 he proposed a central Asian railway to unite directly the south of Europe with India. The project is not relished by some of the Anglo-Indian politicians, who wish to keep any overland railway out of the reach of Russian territory and Russian influence. But the British authorities are not unfavor- able to the scheme ; and De Lesseps visited British India to confer on the subject with the local authorities, who appointed a committee to take his project into consideration. LESSING, Gotthold Ephraim, a German author, born in Camenz, Jan. 22, 1729, died in Bruns- wick, Feb. 15, 1781. His father, a clergyman, desired him to embrace his own profession, and at the age of 17 he went with this inten- tion to the university of Leipsic. Already far advanced in the classics and mathematics, his restless and inquiring disposition soon diverted him from theology ; and he acquired a passion for the theatre, cultivated the friendship of actors, became familiar with dramatic litera- ture, and produced some dramatic pieces, in- cluding Der junge Gelehrte, Der Freigeist, and Die Juden. Toward the close of 1748 he fol- lowed his friend Mylius to Berlin, and there established a quarterly periodical devoted to the drama, which was continued for one year, and published a volume of poems under the title of KleinigTceiten. From 1752 to 1760 he lived either in Wittenberg, where he re- ceived the degree of master, in Potsdam, in Leipsic, or in Berlin, being in the last city in- timately associated with Moses Mendelssohn and F. Nicolai. He was constantly prosecuting literary projects during this period, translated from the Spanish Huarte's Exdmen de los in- genios, wrote literary and theatrical criticisms for the journals, published several volumes of minor writings, fables, epigrams, and songs, and completed the tragedy of Miss Sara Samp- son (1755), which contributed largely to free German literature from the prevalent imitation of that of France, and to give it a new and original character. To the same end he edited with Nicolai and Mendelssohn the BibliotJiek der sckonen Wissenschaften, a literary periodi- cal, and founded in conjunction with Nicolai the Literaturbriefe. In this he was the first to call attention to the genius of Kant, Ha- mann, and Winckelmann, while he opposed Klopstock and Wieland, striving to purge re- ligion from sentimentality and literature from frivolity. He began also a tragedy, of which the subject was the story of Virginia, which was completed in 1772 under the title of Emilia Galotti, the Roman Virginia being transferred into modern relations. This still remains one of the most admirable tragedies on the Ger- man stage. In 1760, after being elected to the Berlin academy of sciences, he went to Bres- lau as secretary to Gen. von Tauenzien, gover- nor of that capital. The best fruit of his resi- dence there, which continued till 1765, was his