(James), an eminent French writer on the subject of trade, was born at Done, in Anjou, in 1622. Being bred to merchandize, he continued in trade until 1658; when he left off the practice, to cultivate the theory. He had married in 1650; and in 1660, when the king declared a purpose of assigning privileges and pensions to such of his subjects as had twelve children alive, Mr Savary was not too rich to put in his claim to the royal bounty. He was afterwards admitted of the council for the reformation of commerce; and the orders which passed in 1670 were drawn up by his instructions and advice. He wrote Le Parfait Négociant, 4to; and, Avis et conseils sur les plus importantes matières du Commerce, in 4to. He died in 1690; and out of 17 children whom he had by one wife, left 11. Two of his sons, James and Philemon Lewis, laboured jointly on a great work, Dictionnaire Universelle du Commerce, 2 vols folio. This work was begun by James, who was inspector-general of the manufactures at the customhouse, Paris; who called in the assistance of his brother Philemon Lewis, although a canon of the royal church of St Maur; and by his death left him to finish it. This work appeared in 1723; and Philemon afterwards added a third supplemental volume to the former. Polletthwayte's English Dictionary of Trade and Commerce is a translation, with considerable improvements, from Savary.

an eminent French traveller and writer, was born at Vitre, in Brittany, about the year 1748. He studied with applause at Rennes, and in 1776 travelled into Egypt, where he remained almost three years. During this period he was wholly engaged in the study of the Arabian language, in searching out ancient monuments, and in examining the national manners. After making himself acquainted with the knowledge and philosophy of Egypt, he visited the islands in the Archipelago, where he spent 18 months. On his return to France, in 1781, he published, 1. A Translation of the Koran, with a short Life of Mahomet, in 1783, 2 vols 8vo. 2. The Morality of the Koran, or a collection of the most excellent maxims in the Koran; a work extracted from his translation, which is esteemed both elegant and faithful. 3. Letters on Egypt, in 3 vols 8vo, in 1785. In these the author makes his observations with accuracy, paints with vivacity, and renders interesting every thing he relates. His descriptions are in general faithful, but are perhaps in some instances too much ornamented. He has been justly censured for painting modern Egypt and its inhabitants in too high colours. These letters, however, were bought up by the curious public, and read with pleasure and advantage. Encouraged by this flattering reception, he prepared his letters upon Greece. He died soon. soon after at Paris of a malady contracted from too intense application. A sensible obstruction in the right lobe of the liver had made a decisive progress, which the return of summer, some simple medicines, a strict regimen, and travelling, seemed to remove.

On his return into the country adjacent to Paris, his health however was still doubtful; for it is well known that when the organization of one of the viscera has been much deranged, deep traces of it will ever remain. His active mind, however, made him regardless of his health, and he conceived it his duty to profit by those appearances of recovery which he experienced at the close of the summer and the beginning of autumn, to put into order his travels into the islands of the Archipelago, intended as a continuation of his letters on Egypt. His warmth of temper was exasperated by some lively criticisms which had been made on his former productions, and he gave himself up to study with a degree of activity of which the consequences were sufficiently obvious. An obstruction in the liver again took place, and made a new progress; his digestion became extremely languid; sleep quite forsook him, both by night and by day; a dry and troublesome cough came on; his face appeared bloated, and his legs more and more inflamed. The use of barley water and cream of tartar still however promoted, in some degree, the urinary secretions, and afforded some little glimmering of hope. In this situation he returned to Paris in the beginning of the year 1788, to attend to the publication of his new work concerning the islands of the Archipelago, particularly the isle of Candia. He had then all the symptoms of a dangerous dropsy, which became still more alarming from the very exhausted state of the viscera. The right lobe of the liver was extremely hard and sensible. The patient had shiverings without any regular returns, and his strength was undermined by a hectic fever. At the same time still more uneasy symptoms took place, those of a dropsy in the chest; but the circumstances which destroyed all hope, and announced his approaching dissolution, were a severe pain in the left side, with a very troublesome cough, and a copious and bloody expectoration (in hepatis, says Hippocrates, sputum cruentum mortiferum); his respiration became more and more difficult; his strength was exhausted, and his death took place on the 4th of February 1788, attended with every indication of the most copious overflowing in the chest, and of an abscess in the liver.

Thus was destroyed, in the vigour of his age, an author whose character and talents rendered him worthy of the happiest lot.

Mr Savary's genius was lively and well cultivated; his heart warm and benevolent; his imagination vigorous; his memory retentive. He was cheerful and open; and had so great a talent for telling a story, that his company was not less agreeable than instructive. He did not mingle much with the world, but was satisfied with performing well the duties of a son, of a brother, and of a friend.