John de la, a celebrated French author, was born at Dourdan in the year 1664. He wrote characters, describing the manners of his age, in imitation of Theophrastus: which characters were not always imaginary or general, but descriptive, as was well known, of persons of considerable rank. In the year 1693, he was by an order of the king chosen a member of the French Academy; and died in the year 1696.—"The characters of Bruyere (says Voltaire), may justly be ranked among the extraordinary productions of this age. Antiquity furnishes no examples of such a work. A style rapid, concise, and nervous; expression animated and picturesque; an use of language altogether new, without offending against its established rules, struck the public at first; and the allusions, which are crowded in almost every page, completed its success. When La Bruyere showed his work in manuscript to Malefieux, this last told him, that the book would have many readers, and its author many enemies. It somewhat sunk in the opinion of men, when that whole generation whose follies it attacked were passed away; yet as it contains many things applicable to all times and places, it is more than probable that it will never be forgotten."