LEWIS, MATTHEW GREGORY, 1775-1318; often called monk Lewis; b. London; educated at Chrislchurch, Oxford; visited Germany for the purpose of acquiring the language of that country. and by the perusal of the drama and the wild fictions of the Germans, imbibed a taste for the mysterious and tragic. In 1795 he produced his novel the Honk, a work full of scenes of blood, cruelty, and impurity. It became very popular, but its licentiousness was so revolting that he was threatened with prosecution, to avert which lie agreed to recall the printed copies, and remove the objectionable parts in future editions. He obtained a seat in parliament. In 1796 appeared Village Virtues, a drama; in 1797 his Castle Specter, which was acted GO nights. In 1798 he visited Edinburgh, and had an interview with sir Walter Scott, who contributed several fine ballads to the Tatra of Winder, published by Lewis in 1801. The death of his father brought him a large
fortune consisting of an estate and slaves in the West Indies, which lie visited in 1815-16. On his homeward voyage the second tinge he died of fever. His novels and plays are all characterized by an extravagant taste for deeds of horror and mystery. His poetry, eon-isting chiefly of songs and ballads though pronounced deficient in passion and imagery, has a finished and nm