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a vast theatre whereon he beheld the different movements and parts of the actors in the feveral revolutions, he determined to give a fpecimen of what paft in his own mind, and to reduce into the form of a regular drama, one of the periods of French hiftory, the reign of Francis II. which, though happy only by being short, appeared to him one of the moft important by its confequences, and most easy to be confined. within the stage bounds. His friend the chancellor highly approved the plan, and wifhed it to be printed. It accordingly went through five editions; the harmony of dates and facts is exactly obferved in it, and the paffions interested without offence to hiftoric truth.

In 1755 he was chofen an honorary member of the Academy of Belles Lettres, being then a member of the Academies of Nanci, Berlin, and Stockholm. The queen appointed him fuperintendant of her house. His natural fprightlinefs relieved her from the ferious attendance on his private morning lectures. The company of perfons most diftinguished by their wit and birth, a table more celebrated for the choice of the guests than its delicacies, the little comedies fuggefted by wit, and executed by reflections united, at his house, all the pleasures of an agreeable and innocent life. All the members of this ingenious fociety contributed to render it agreeable, and the prefident was not behind any. He compofed three delightful comedies: "La Petite Maison," "La Jaloux de Soi-meme," and "Le Reveil d' Epimenide." The fubject of the last was the Cretan philofopher, who is pretended to have flept 27 years. He is introduced fancying that he had flept but one night, and astonished at the change in the age of all around him he mistakes his mistress for his mother; but, discovering his niftake, offers to marry her, which the refuses, though he ftill continues to love her. The queen was particularly pleased with this piece. She ordered the prefident to reftore the philofopher's mistress to her former youth: he introduced Hebe, and this episode produced an agreeable entertainment.

He was now in fuch favour with her majefty, that, on the place of fuperintendant becoming vacant by the death of M. Bernard de Conbert, mafter of requefts, and the fum he had paid for it being loft to his family, Henault folicited it in favour of feveral perfons, till at laft the queen bestowed it on himself, and confented that he should divide the profits with his predeceffor's widow.-On the queen's death he held the fame place under the dauphinefs.

A deli

A delicate conftitution made him liable to much illness, which, however, did not interrupt the ferenity of his mind. He made feveral journies to the waters of Plombieres: in one of these he visited the deposed king Stanislaus at Luneville; and in another accompanied his friend the marquis de Pauliny, ambaffador to Switzerland.

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In 1763 he drew near his end. One morning, after a quiet night, he felt an oppreffion, which the faculty pronounced a fuffocating cough. His confeffor being fent to him, he formed his refolution without alarm. He has fince faid, that he recollected having then faid to himself, "What "do I regret?" and called to mind that faying of Madame de Sevigne," I leave here only dying creatures." He received the facraments. It was believed the next night would be his laft; but by noon next day he was out of danger. "Now," faid he, "I know what death is. It will not be new to me any more." He never forgot it during the following feven years of his life, which, like all the reft, were gentle and calm. Full of gratitude for the favours of Providence, refigned to its decrees, offering to the Author of his being a pure and fincere devotion; he felt his infirmities without complaining, and perceived a gradual decay with unabated firmnefs. He died Dec. 24, 1771, in his 86th year. He married, in 1714, a daughter of M. le Bas de Montargis, keeper of the royal treafure, &c. who died in 1728, without leaving any iffue. He treated as his own children, thofe of his fifter, who married, in 1713, the count de Jonsac, by whom she had three fons and two daughters: the two youngest fons were killed, one at Bruffels, the other at Lafelt, at the head of the regiment of which they were colonels; the eldeft, yet living, is lieutenant-general and governor of Collioure and Port Vendre in Rouffillon: the daughter married M. le Veneur, count de Tillieres, and died in 1757; the fecond married the marquis d'Aubetterre, ambaffador to Vienna, Madrid, and Rome.

HENAUT (JOHN D'), a French poet, was the son of a baker at Paris, and at firft a receiver of the taxes at Fores. Then he travelled into Holland and England, and was employed by the fuperintendant Fouquet, who was his patron. After his return to France, he foon became diftinguished as one of the fineft geniufes of his age; and gained a prodigious reputation by his poetry. His fonnet on the mifcarriage of Mad. de Guerchi is looked upon as a mafter-piece, though It is not written according to the rules of art, and though there

there happened to be a barbarism in it. He alfo wrote a fatirical poem against the minister Colbert, which is reckoned by Boileau among his beft pieces. This was written, by way of revenging the difgrace and ruin of his patron Fouquet, which Henaut afcribed to Colbert: but the minifter did not act upon this occafion as Richelieu would have done, but with more good fenfe and generofity. Being told of this See Art. fonnet, which made a great noife, he afked, "Whether there GRAN

were any fatirical strokes in it against the king?" and being informed there were not, "Then," faid he, "I fhall "not mind it, nor fhew the least resentment against the au"thor." Henaut was a man who loved to refine on pleafures, and to debauch with art and delicacy: and fo far, confidering him as a poet, proper allowances might be made. But he was ftrangely wrongheaded in one refpect; for he profeffed Atheism, and gloried in it with uncommon affectation. He went to Holland, on purpose to visit Spinoza, who nevertheless did not much efteem him. Spinoza confidered him probably as one of those fashionable gentry, which every country abounds with, who are ready to take up fingularities in religion, not from rational conviction, but from a profligate fpirit of vain-glory: and on this account might be led to defpife the man, whatever he might determine of his opinions. Spinoza did not mistake him, if he confidered him in this light; for when fickness and death came to stare him in the face, things took a very different turn. Henaut then became a convert, and was for carrying matters to the other extreme; for his confeffor was forced to prevent his receiving the Viaticum or Sacrament, with a halter about his neck, in the middle of his bed-chamber. This is almost always. the cafe men believe or difbelieve, have religion or none, without ever confulting reafon, but juft as conftitution and humour direct; and fo it is, that they ufually behave ridiculously in whichever ftate we view them. He died in 1682.

He had printed at Paris, 1670, in 12mo. a small collection of his works, under the title of " Oeuvres Diverses,” “ Mis"cellanies:" containing fonnets, and letters in verse and profe to Sappho, who was probably the celebrated madam des Houlieres, to whom he had the honour to be preceptor. Among thefe is the following imitation from this paffage in the fecond act of Seneca's "Thyeftes :"

"Illi mors gravis incubat,

"Qui notus nimis omnibus,

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Ignotus moritur fibi."

" Heureux

DIER.

"Heureux eft l'inconnu, qui s'eft bien fù connoître :
"Il ne voit pas de mal à mourir plus qu'à naître :
"Il s'en va comme il eft venu.

"Mais helas! que la mort fait une horreur extrême :
"A qui meurt de tous trop connu,
"Et trop peu connu de foy-même !"

That is, "Happy is the obfcure man, who is well known to himself: he fees no more harm in dying, than in being "born: he leaves the world as he came into it. But alas! "how extremely horrible muft death be to that man, who "dies too much known to others, and too little to himself !" This fhews the philofopher as well as the poet, and is equally distant from atheism and fuperftition: "O, fi fic omnia dixiffet."-Henaut had tranflated three books of Lucretius but his confeffor having raised in him fcruples and fears, he burnt this work, fo that there remains nothing of it, but the first 100 lines, which had been copied by his friends. Voltaire fays, that " he would have gained great Louis XIV... reputation, had these books that were loft been preserved, "and been equal to what we have of this work."

Siécle de

Tom. II.

Perfons, 1712,

P. 531.

Memoirs of HENLEY (ANTHONY, Efq;), was the fon of Sir RoIlluftrious bert Henley, of the Grange in Hampfhire, defcended from the Henleys of Henley in Somersetshire; of whom Sir Andrew Henley was created a baronet in 1660. This Sir Andrew had a fon of the fame name, famous for his frolics and profufion. His feat, called Bramefley, near Hartley-row, in the county of Southampton, was very large and magnificent. He had a great estate in that and the other Western counties, which was reduced by him to a very fmall one, if any. Sir Robert Henley of the Grange, his uncle, was a man of good fenfe and economy. He held the master's place of the King's-bench court, on the pleas fide, many years; and by the profits of it, and good management, left his fon, our Anthony Henley, of the Grange, Efq; poffeffed of a very fine fortune, above 3000l. a year, part of which arose from the ground-rents of Lincoln's-inn-fields.

Anthony Henley was bred at Oxford, where he diftinguifhed himself by an early relifh of polite learning. He made a great proficiency in the ftudy of the claffics, and particularly the ancient poets, by whom he formed a good tafte for poetry, and practifed it with fuccefs. Upon his coming to London, he was prefently taken into the friendfhip and familiarity of perfons of the first rank, for quality

and

and wit, particularly the earls of Dorfet and Sunderland: the latter had especially a great efteem and affection for him; and every one knowing what a fecret influence he had on affairs in king William's court, it was thought ftrange that Mr. Henley, who had a genius for any thing great, as well as any thing gay, did not rife in the ftate, where he would have fhone as a politician, as much as he did at Will's and Tom's as a wit. But the Mufes and pleasure had engaged him. He had fomething of the character of Tibullus, and, except his extravagance, was poffeffed of all his other qualities; his indolence, his gallantry, his wit, his humanity, his generofity, his learning, his fhare of letters. There was hardly a contemporary author, who did not taste of his bounty. They foon found him out, and attacked him with their dedications; which, though he knew how to value as they deferved, were always received as well as the addreffers could wifh; and the returns he made, done fo handfomely, that the manner he did it in, was as grateful as the prefent.

There was, for a long time, a ftrict friendship between Mr. Henley and Richard Norton of Southwick in Hampfhire, Efq; who was often chofen knight of the fhire for the county of Southampton. This gentleman had the same paffion for the Mufes; and the femblance there was in their pleafures and ftudies, made that friendship the more firm and affectionate. They both lived to a good age before they married, and perhaps the breach that happened between them was one reafon of their entering both into the ftate of matrimony much about the fame time; Mr. Henley marrying Mary youngest daughter and co-heir of the Hon. Peregrine Bertie, fifter to the countefs Pawlet, with whom he had 30,000l. fortune, and by her he left feveral children; of whom Anthony, the eldeft, died in 1745; and Robert, the fecond fon, was created baron Henley and lord keeper of the great feal in 1760; became lord chancellor in 1761; and earl of Northington in 1764.

It was the change of Mr. Henley's condition, that altered that of his humour from the gay to the serious; and he confented to be chofen a member of parliament for Andover in 1698; after which he was conftantly the reprefentative for either Weymouth, or Melcomb Regis, in the county of Dorfet. He was always a zealous affertor of liberty in the houfe of commons, and on all other occafions conftant to that courfe which has furnished Britain with fo many patriots; the greatest inftance of which was, his moving in the house for

an

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