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LEPIDUS. 145 LEPRACHAUN. ian (tutor regis). He was pontifex in 199, eedile in 192, priEtor in Sicily in 191, and consul in 187, when he helped to conquer the Ligurians; ponti- fex niaxinius in ISO, censor in 179, and consul again in 17.5. His death occurred in B.C. 152. — (2) il. .i^Miuus Lepidus, the triumvir ( ?-B.c. 13). On the outbreak of civil war between Coesar and Pompey, Lepidus took active sides v.ith the former, and was left if general control of aflairs in Rome during Caesar's absence (B.C. 49-48). He then was sent to Spain as proconsul, and enjoyed a triumpli on his return in 47. Cuesar, as dictator, made him his nuigister equi- Itim in tliis year, and again in 45 and 44, and he became consul with Ca'sar in 46. In tlie fatal year 44 C'sesar made him Governor of Gallia Xarbonensis; but before he had completed his preparations to leave Rome the great Dictator was assassinated. Lepidus. however, could at once rely on the army which he had been drill- ing, and with its help he was of great assist- ance to Antonius in his opposition to the aristo- cratic faction. He was made pontifex maximus, and soon left with his army for his pi-ovince. Here his military strength led both parties in Rome to struggle for his support by heaping honors upon him : but though he dallied with both, his real sentiments were with Antonius, who soon joined him in Gaul and formed a sort of coalition. Octavius in Rome also put himself in correspondence with them, and the Senate was left without a powerful friend. In the confer- ■ence that took place at Bononia (Bologna) in October, B.C. 43, the second triumvirate was formed. Antonius and Octavius set out for the East, while Lepidus remained in Italy. From now on he played only a subordinate part in the great affairs of the Republic, and was even de- prived of his province by his colleagues. He was consul, however, in B.C. 42, and Governor in Africa from 40 to 36. In 37 the triumvirate was renewed, with Lepidus still as a member, though little consulted in the questions of the day. This proved too galling for even Lepidus, and he made an attempt to gain control of Sicily with his army. Though Lepidus was at first suc- cessful, Octavius was soon able to alienate his troops, and the former was literally brought to his Icnees before the young conqueror (B.C. .36). He was dropped from the triumvirate, deprived of his army, and compelled to live in retirement. L'EPINE, la'pen', Ebxe.st Loos Victor •Jules (1826-93). A French author, bom in Paris. He studied painting and music; entered the Government service, and became secretary to the Duke de ilorny. He was referendary in the Court of Accounts from 1865 until he died. He Avrote for the Constitutionnel and the Vie Pari- sienne, among various journals. He collaborated with Alphonse Daiulet in La dcrnicre idole (1862); ViriUel Wane (1865): and Le frere nine (1867). Besides these plays, which were the most successful of his writings, his books in- clude: La Ugende de Croque-mitaine (1863) ; La prineesse ehlouissante (1869): Double face I 1S!M)' : ami ill an de ri'gne ( 1891 I. LE PLAY, le plS, PiSree GnLi..rME Yvit- DERic (1806-82). A French mining engineer, economist, and sociologist, born at La Rivi&re Saint Sauveur (Calvados). He studied at the Ecole Polytechnique, was appointed to the De- partment of Mines, became director of the labo- ratorv of the Ecole des Jlines and co-editor of the Annales des Mines in 1832, and in 1834 pub- lished the results of a geological and statistical investigation of the mineral resources of Spain made for the Spanish Government, He was sub- sequently placed in charge of the Commission of Mining Statistics, then newly established, and received the appointments of profes.sor of metal- lurgy at the Ecole des Mines (1840), inspector of mines (1848), a^id honorary inspector-general (1868). He was prominently connected with the various world fairs. In 1881 he began the publi- cation of the fortnightly periodical. La Reforme Sooiale, which serves as the joint organ of the society and the unions. He was for several years Senator of the Empire, but after 1870 with- drew from public life. In France he is considered the founder of social economy. He followed the inductive method, and applied to social .studies the process of scientific observation of phenomena employed in the natural sciences. He is opposed at once to socialism and to laissez-faire, and in such writings as La reforme sociale en France (1864) and L'organisation du travail (1870; in an English translation by G. Emerson, Philadel- phia, 1872) urges the necessity to the stability of the social order of sympathy on the part of em- ployer toward employed, which should count among its principal objects a thorough agreement upon the amount and method of payment of wages, and ready means for the investment of savings. His publications further include Les ouvriers europeens (1855). Consult the article by Higgs in volume iv. of the Quarterly Journal of Economics (Boston, 1890). LEPOBELLO, la'po-rel'lo. In Mozart's opera Do7i (,'ioranni, the cowardly valet and tool of the title character. LEPORIBE, lep'o-rld (from Lat. lepus, hare), A variety of European hare, now known in the L'nited States as the Belgian hare (q,v. under R.bbit), which was formerly so named be- cause wrongly believed to be a remarkably prolific hybrid between the common European hare and tile rabbit. It is extensively bred in France and Belgium, where it is highly esteemed for food, LEP'BA (Lat,, from Gk, irpa, from XnrpAs, lepras, scaly, from Xewls, lepis. scale). A dis- eased condition of plants during which their leaves are covered with scales. The term was formerh' applied also to cutaneous diseases that were accompanied by scaling of the skin. ^ il- lan and his followers use the term for psoriasis (q.v.), which is also called lepra alphos. Final- ly, the term has been applied to leprosy; this usage, however, is only an example of the con- fusion in the older terminology of skin diseases. See Leprost. LEPRACHAUN", lep'ra-knn, or LTTPRA- CHATJN. lup- dr. luchorpan. lucharbnn. pygmy sprite, little body, from lu. little, corpnn. diminu- tive of eorp. body, from Lat. cor/) i/s. body) . A familiar p.vgmy sprite peculiar to Irish supersti- tion. Sometimes the Leprachaun takes up his habitation in the farmhouse itself, and will make himself invaluable by rendering various household services. The Leprachaun is described as a man- nikin less than two feet in height, attired in cocked hat, laced coat, knee-breeches, and shoes with silver buckles. He is wont to infest wine- cellars, but his chosen occupation seems to he th.it of maker of brogans. The presence of the elf in some sequestered dell is frequently betrayed by