(Francis de), the best French poet of his time, was born at Caen about the year 1556, of a noble and ancient family. He quitted Normandy at 17 years of age; and went into Provence, where he attached himself to the family of Henry Angoulême, the natural son of king Henry II. and was in the service of that prince till he was killed by Altoviti in 1586. At length cardinal de Perron, being informed of his merit and abilities, introduced him to Hen. IV. who took him into his service. After that monarch's death, queen Mary de Medicis settled a pension of 500 crowns upon our poet, who died at Paris in 1628. The best and most complete edition of his poetical works is that of 1666, with Menage's remarks. Malherbe so far excelled all the French poets who preceded him, that Boileau considers him as the father of French poetry: but he composed with great difficulty, and put his mind on the rack in correcting what he wrote. He was a man of a singular humour, blunt in his behaviour, and without religion. When the poor used to promise him, that they would pray to God for him, he answered them, that "he did not believe they could have any great interest in heaven, since they were left in such a bad condition upon earth; and that he should be better pleased if the duke de Luyn, or some other favourite, had made him the same promise." He would often say that "the religion of gentlemen was that of their prince." During his last sickness he had much ado to resolve to confess to a priest; for which he gave this facetious reason, that "he never used to confess but at Easter." And some few moments before his death, when he had been in a lethargy two hours, he awakened on a sudden to reprove his landlady, who waited on him, for using a word that was not good French; saying to his confessor, who reprimanded him for it, that "he could not help it, and he would defend the purity of the French language to the last moment of his life."