Chapter Lemnian Earth to Lerna of L by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Leonard A real scholar, forced for daily bread to keep a common school. (Crabbe: Borough, letter xxiv.)
   St. Leonard is usually represented in a deacon's dress, and holding chains or broken fetters in his hand, in allusion to his untiring zeal in releasing prisoners. Contemporary with Clovis.

Leonidas of Modern Greece Marco Bozzaris, who with 1,200 men put to rout 4,000 Turco-Albanians, at Kerpenisi, but was killed in the attack (1823). He was buried at Missolonghi.

Leonine Contract A one-sided agreement; so called in allusion to the fable of The Lion and his Fellow Hunters. (See Glaucus.)

Leonine Verses, properly speaking, are either hexameter verses, or alternate hexameter and pentameter verses, rhyming at the middle and end of each respective line. These fancies were common in the 12th century, and were so called from Leoninus, a canon of the Church of St. Victor, in Paris, the inventor. In English verse, any metre which rhymes middle and end is called a Leonine verse. One of the most noted specimens celebrates the tale of a Jew, who fell into a pit on Saturday and refused to be helped out because it was his Sabbath. His comrade, being a Christian, refused to aid him the day following, because it was Sunday:-

“Tende manus, Salomon, ego te de stercore tollam.
Sabbata nostra colo, de stercore surgere nolo,
Sabbata nostra quidem Salomon celebrabis ibideri. '

   Hexameters and pentameters.

“Help for you out of this mire; here, give me your hand, Hezekiah.”
“Ho! tis the Sabbath, a time labour's accounted a crime.
If on the morrow you've leisure, your aid I'll accept with much pleasure.”
“That will be my Sabbath, so, here I will leave you and go.”
E. C. B.

Leonnoys, Leonnesse or Lyonesse. A mythical country, contiguous to Cornwall.

Leonora, wife of Fernando Florestan, a state prisoner in Seville. (Beethoven: Fidelio, an opera.) (See Fernando .)
   Leonora. A princess who fell in love with Manrico, the supposed son of Azucen'a the gipsy. The Conte di Luna was in love with her, and, happening to get Manrico and his reputed mother into his power, condemned them to death. Leonora interceded for Manrico, and promised the count if he would spare his life to “give herself to him.” The count consented, and went to the prison to fulfil his promise, when Leonora fell dead from the effect of poison which she had sucked from a ring. Manrico, perceiving this, died also. (Verdi: Il Trovatore, an opera.)
   Leonora de Guzman. The mistress or “favourite” of Alfonso XI. of Castile. Ferdinando, not knowing who she was, fell in love with her; and Alfonso, to save himself from excommunication and reward Ferdinando for services, gave them in marriage to each other. No sooner was this done than the bridegroom, hearing who his bride was, indignantly rejected her, and became a monk. Leonora entered the same monastery as a novice, made herself known to Ferdinando, obtained his forgiveness, and died. (Donizetti: La Favorita, an opera.)

Leontes (3 syl.), King of Sicilia, invited his friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia, to pay him a visit, and being seized with jealousy, ordered Camillo to poison him. Camillo told Polixenes of the king's jealousy, and fled with him to Bohemia. The flight of Polixenes increased the anger of Leontes against Hermione, his virtuous queen, whom he sent to prison, where she was confined of a daughter (Perdita), and it was reported that she had died in giving birth to the child. Perdita, by order of the jealous king, was put away that she might be no more heard of as his; but, being abandoned in Bohemia, she was discovered by a shepherd, who brought her up as his own child. In time, Florizel, the son and heir of Polixenes, under the assumed name of Doricles, fell in love with Perdita; but Polixenes, hearing of this attachment, sternly forbade the match. The two lovers, under the charge of Camillo, fled to Sicily, where the mystery was cleared up, Leontes and Hermione reunited, and all “went merry as a marriage bell.” (Shakespeare: Winter's Tale.)

Leopard, in Christian art, is employed to represent that beast spoken of in the Apocalypse with seven heads and ten horns; six of the horns bear a nimbus, but the seventh, being “wounded to death” lost its power, and consequently has no nimbus.
   Leopard, in heraldry, represents those brave and generous warriors who have performed some bold enterprise with force, courage, promptitude, and activity.