PORTSMOUTH (Louise Penhoet Keroual, duchess of) [?1652-?1725],
mistress of Charles II, king of England.

POTIER DE NOVION (Nicolas) [1618-1693], president in the Paris
parlement, played a disgraceful part during the Fronde.

PROCOPE (IIρоKÓπLOS) [?500-?561], one of the most eminent of the
Byzantine historians. "Successively composed the history, the panegyric
and the satire of his own times." (Gibbon.)

PUSSORT (Henri) [1615-1697], councillor at the board of finances, a
relative of Colbert, and one of Foucquet's bitterest enemies.

QUINAULT (Philippe) [1635-1688], one of Boileau's "victims," but
an agreeable and elegant writer, nevertheless. His operas Armide and
Atys are excellent of their kind.

"Le livre de Rabelais est

RABELAIS (François) [?1495-1553].
considéré avec justice comme le rêve de l'épopée en délire, comme l'orgie
de la raison et du génie.' (Vapereau.)

RACINE (Jean) [1639-1699], the well-known French tragic poet;
inferior to Corneille in genius, but unrivalled for the perfection of his
style. Andromaque and les Plaideurs [1668], Britannicus [1669], Phèdre
[1677], Athalie [1691].

RAPHAEL (Raffaelle Sanzio) [1483-1520], the greatest of Italian
painters.

RAPIN THOIRAS (Paul) [1661-1725]; his history of England is a
monument of industry and learning.

RÉAUMUR (René Antoine Ferchaud de) [1683-1757]; his memoirs on
the history of insects have established his reputation as a naturalist.
REGIS (Sylvain) [1632-1707], a Cartesian philosopher.

REGNIER (Mathurin) [1573-1613], a brilliant poet; he is extremely
picturesque in his descriptions, and has a vigour of style which we find
in few of his contemporaries.

REGNIER-DESMARAIS (François Séraphin) [1632-1713], secretary
to the duc de Créqui, ambassador at Rome [1662], took a great share
in the preparation of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française.

RENAUDOT (Eusèbe) [1646-1720], an eminent Oriental scholar,
grandson of the physician Théophraste Renaudot who founded the
Gazette de France.

*RETZ (Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de) [1614-1679], the
hero of the Fronde; coadjutor of Paris [1643], archbishop in partibus
of Corinth [1644], cardinal [1652]. Pithy maxims, anecdotes and
episodes related with humour, portraits skilfully drawn; all these ele-
ments of success, combined and heightened by terse and picturesque
language, make of de Retz's memoirs a model in that style of literature.

RIGAUD (Hyacinthe) [1659-1743]; may be called the portrait
painter of the Siècle de Louis XIV. In 1698 his gallery amounted to
upwards of 500 portraits.

RIQUET (Pierre-Paul), baron de BONREPAUX [1604-1680], the cele-
brated engineer who planned the canal of Languedoc.

ROBERVAL (Gilles Personne de) [1602-1675], professor of mathe-
matics at the Collége royal.

ROHAN (Louis, chevalier de) [1635-1674], beheaded in consequence

of a plot he had formed with the intention of giving up the town of
Quillebeuf to the Dutch.

*ROHAN (Henri, duc de) [1579-1638], a well-known Protestant
general; has left some valuable memoirs; was a peer of France.

ROLLIN (Charles) [1661-1741], rector of the University of Paris
[1694-1696]. Voltaire says of his historical work: "C'est encore la
meilleure compilation qu'on ait en aucune langue, parce que les compi-
lateurs sont rarement éloquents, et que Rollin l'était.”

RONSARD (Pierre de) [1524-1585], the greatest French poet of the
Renaissance period. The gracefulness which characterized his smaller
pieces forms a pleasant contrast to the tediousness of his longer works.
ROSE (Toussaint) [1611-1701], private secretary to Louis XIV,
president at the court of accounts.

ROUSSEAU (Jean Baptiste) [1670-1741]; if the graces of a polished
style could atone for want of feeling, he might be termed the first of
French lyric poets. His epigrams are perfect gems.

SACY (Louis de) [1654-1727], a distinguished barrister and an
elegant writer. His translation of Pliny's letters deserve, however, to
be called, like d'Ablancourt's works, les belles infidèles.

SAINT-AIGNAN (François de Beauvilliers, duc de) [1607-1679],
lieutenant-general, peer of France; was the intimate friend of Bussy-
Rabutin and of Madame de Scudéry. Has left a few indifferent poems.

SAINTE-AULAIRE (François Joseph de Beaupoil, marquis de)
[1643-1742]. "C'est une chose très-singulière que les plus jolis vers qu'on
ait de lui aient été faits lorsqu'il était plus que nonagénaire." (Voltaire.)
SAINT-ÉVREMONT (Charles de Saint Denys, sieur de) [1613-1703].
Something of the tendencies which characterized Voltaire and Montes-
quieu can be found in this writer's works.

SAINT-MARS, an officer who had under his care the mysterious man
with the iron mask.

SAINT-PIERRE (Charles Irénée Castel, abbé de) [1658-1743], a
philanthropist, author of the Polysynodie, or plan for settling by arbitra-
tion all international difficulties.

SALLO (Denis de) [1626-1669], founded in 1665 the Journal des
Savants, under the pseudonym of the Sieur de Hédonville.

SANTERRE (Jean Baptiste) [1650-1717], distinguished as a painter.
SAUVEUR (Joseph) [1653-1716], was the first physicist who laid
down the laws of musical acoustics.

SAVOY (Charles Emmanuel 11), duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675.
SAVOY (Victor Amédée, duke of Savoy, afterwards king of Sardinia)
[1665-1732], son of the above, took an active part in the wars of the
coalition against Louis XIV.

SCARRON (Paul) [1610-1660], the first husband of Mme de Mainte-
non; was a clever writer of burlesques and parodies. His Roman comique,
however, is better than an amusing book; it deserves to be remembered,
and occupies a distinguished place amongst the productions of that time.

SCHOMBERG (Frédéric Armand, duc de) [1619-1689], left France at
the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and served abroad; William III
created him a peer.

SCUDERY (George de) [1601-1667] and his sister Madeleine [1607-

1701] were the two best known representatives of the Précieux style of
literature. Monsieur's tragedies are now quite forgotten; but Ma-
demoiselle's romances Clélie and le grand Cyrus interest us as pictures
of French society during the first half of the seventeenth century.

SEGRAIS (Jean) [1625-1701], his pastoral compositions have been
much praised by Boileau.

SEVIGNE (Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de) [1626-1696], one
of the most delightful of letter-writers; her correspondence is full of
trustworthy and valuable information on the reign of Louis XIV.

SILLERY (Fabio Brûlart de) [1655-1714], bishop of Avranches, then
of Soissons [1689], a member of the Académie Française.

SLOANE (Sir Hans) [1660-1752], celebrated as a naturalist and a
physician.

SOCRATES [B.C. 469-399], the founder of philosophy.

SOISSONS (Olympe Mancini, comtesse de) [1640-1708], niece of
Cardinal Mazarin, and most unjustly implicated in the famous poison-
ing cases described by Voltaire.

SOUBISE (Benjamin de Rohan, sieur de) [?1589-1641], brother of the
duke de Rohan, and like him a staunch Protestant general.

SOURDÉAC (Alexandre de Rieux, marquis de), died in 1695, was
associated with the abbé Perrin for the creation of the opera.

STROZZI (Palla) [1372-1462], a Florentine statesman and scholar, one
of the most eminent representatives of a distinguished family.

*SULLY (Maximilien de Béthune, baron de Rosny, duc de) [1559-
1641], the confidential adviser and minister of Henry IV. His
interesting memoirs (Economies royales) have often been printed.

SWIFT (Jonathan) [1667-1745], dean of Saint Patrick [1713]; The
Tale of a Tub, The Battle of the Books [1704], Drapier's letters [1724],
Gulliver [1726].

TALLEMANT (François) [? 1620-1663], one of Chapelain's protégés;
he translated Plutarch's lives into French, and brought down upon him-
self the sharp but deserved remark of Boileau: "et le sec traducteur
du français d'Amyot."

*TALLEMANT DES RÉAUX (Gédéon) [? 1619-1692]; his amusing
historiettes are an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes on the principal
personages of the 16th and early 17th centuries.

* TALON (Omer) [1595-1652], advocate general of the Parlement of
Paris. "Ses vertus et sa franchise lui donnaient une grande influence sur
les déterminations du parlement." Voltaire says of his memoirs that
they are "dignes d'un bon magistrat et d'un bon citoyen."

TASSO (Torquato) [1544-1595]. His Gerusalemme Liberata was pub-
lished in 1581.

TAVERNIER (Jean Baptiste) [1605-1689], a distinguished traveller.
Has left interesting accounts of his voyages to Turkey, Persia, &c.

TEMPLE (Sir William) [1628-1700], a well-known statesman and
diplomatist; was for some time resident minister at the Hague.

TESTELIN (Louis) [1615-1655], painter, engraver, architect, member
of the Académie [1648].

TESTU (Jacques) [1626-1706], an abbé of some reputation as a writer;
elected a member of the Académie Française [1688].

THEODOSIUS the Great [? 346-395], emperor of the East [378].
THEVENOT (Melchisedech) [? 1620-1692], a distinguished scholar and
traveller; appointed [1684] to the keepership of the king's library.

THIANGES (N. de Mortemart, marquise de), sister of Madame de
Montespan, and of the abbess of Fontevrault.

*THOU (Jacques Auguste de, baron de Meslay) [1553-1617]. A
critic has said of his Latin history that it is a work "d'une importance
sans égale pour l'étude du XVIe siècle."

TORRICELLI (Evangelista) [1608-1647]; science is indebted to him for
the invention of the barometer.

TOURNEFORT (Joseph Pitton de) [1656-1708]; his system of botani-
cal classification was founded upon the varieties of the petals of flowers
taken in conjunction with the fruit.

TOURREIL (Jacques de) [1656-1714], translated Demosthenes into
French. Member of the Académie des inscriptions [1691] and of the
Académie Française [1692].

TOURVILLE (Anne Hilarion de Costentin, comte de) [1642-1701],
one of the most celebrated of French sailors. Marshal of France [1693].
TSCHIRNHAUSEN (Ehrenfried Walther von) [1651-1708], a German
naturalist and mathematician, discovered the "Epicycloid.

TURENNE (Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de) [1611-1675].
Marshal of France; his greatest campaign was that of 1653 in the
Netherlands; it terminated with the peace of the Pyrenees.

TURGOT (Anne Robert Jacques) [1727-1781]. Louis XVI said to him,
"Il n'y a que vous et moi qui aimions le peuple." Intendant of Limoges
[1761], comptroller general of the finances [1774]; dismissed [1776].

VALINCOUR (Jean Baptiste Henri du Trousset de) [1653-1730],
historiographer of France; the intimate friend of Boileau and Racine.

VANDERMEULEN (Adam Francis) [1634-1690], a well-known painter
of battles; besides the works of his which are to be seen at Versailles,
the Louvre collection has twenty-three of his pictures.

VANLOO; there have been several distinguished artists of that name;
the one alluded to by Voltaire is Jean Baptiste [1684-1745], elected
a member of the Académie in 1731.

VARDES (François René, marquis de), died in 1688, celebrated at the
court of Louis XIV for his wit and his love affairs.

VAUBAN (Sébastien le Prestre, marquis de) [1633-1707], distinguished
as an engineer, an officer and a political economist. Commissioner
general of fortifications [1678], governor of Douai [1680], lieutenant-
general [1688], marshal of France [1703].

VAUGELAS (Claude Favre de) [1585-1650], a well-known grammarian.
"Esprit minutieux, subtil et timide...purisme exagéré."

VENDÔME (Louis Joseph, duc de Penthièvre, then duc de) [1654-
1712], grandson of Henry iv, one of the most distinguished generals of
the reign of Louis XIV, covered himself with glory at Steinkirk [1692],
Marsaglia [1693], and Villaviciosa [1710].

VERTOT (René Auber, abbé de) [1655-1735], member of the Académie
des inscriptions [1703]; his historical works are elegantly written, but
extremely superficial, and are very little read now.

VILLEROI (François de Neufville, duc de) [1644-1730], a noteriously

incapable general. Defeated at Chiari, taken at Cremona [1702], com-
pletely beaten at Ramilies [1706].

VIVIANI (Vincentio) [1622-1703], a celebrated Italian mathematician,
pupil of Galileo and Torricelli.

VIVONNE (Louis Victor de Rochechouart, count, and afterwards
duc de Mortemart and de) [1636-1688], marshal of France [1675],
brother of Mesdames de Moatespan, de Thianges, and de Fontevrault.
"Aussi pourri de l'âme que du corps." (Mme de Sévigné.)

VOITURE (Vincent) [1598-1648], a celebrated writer of the early part
of the seventeenth century; but his style is spoilt by excessive affecta-
tion and straining after wit.

VOSSIUS (Isaac) [1618-1688], a well-known scholar, canon of
Windsor. "He is a strange man for a divine," said Charles II of him,
"for there is nothing which he refuses to believe, except the Bible.”

WALLER (Edmund), died in 1687, an agreeable and brilliant poet.
WALLIS (John) [1616-1713], Savilian professor at Oxford [1649], and
distinguished as a mathematician; was one of the earliest fellows of the
Royal society.

WILKINS (John) [1614-1672], bishop of Chester [1668], one of the
founders of the Royal society; a mathematician.

WINSLOW (Jacques Bénigne) [1699-1760], professor of anatomy and
physiology at the Jardin du Roi, in Paris.

ZANOTTI (Francesco Maria) [1692-1777], an Italian poet and mathe-
matician.

ZWINGLE (Ulrich) [1484-1531], the well-known Swiss reformer.

ABBEVILLE, a French town in Picardy, department of the Somme.
ALETH (L. Alecta), a small town in Brittary; now in ruins.
AUBUSSON (L. Albucio, Albucinum), a town of La Marche, in
central France, department of Anne.

BARÈGES (L. Aque Onesiorum), a French watering-town in the
province of Bigorre, department of Hautes-Pyrénées.

BATAVIA, a city and seaport on the north coast of the island of Java.
BEAUVAIS (L. Bellovacum, Belvacus), chief town of the department
of Oise, in France.

BELLE-ISLE-EN-MER (L. Calonesus, Vindili), an island off the
coast of Brittany (Morbihan).

BORDEAUX (L. Burdigala), capital, first of Aquitania secunda, then
of the province of Guyenne, now of the department of Gironde.

BREST (supposed to have been the Gesobricates of the Romans), a
fortified seaport town in Brittany (Finistère).

BRUXELLES, capital of the kingdom of Belgium, is a large, hand-
some, and rapidly improving city.

CABRIÈRES, a small town in Provence, Southern France.
CADIX, a well-known town in Spain, province of Andalusia.

CAMBRAI (L, Cameracum), capital of the district of Cambrésis, in
Northern France (department of Nord).

CAYENNE, an island of South America, in French Guiana.