king of Poland, was born at Lemberg, the capital of Red Russia, on the 20th of October 1677. His father was a Polish nobleman, distinguished by his rank and the important offices which he held, but still more by his firmness and courage. In 1704 Stanislas was sent ambassador, by the Assembly of Warsaw, to Charles XII. of Sweden, who had conquered Poland. He was at that time twenty-seven years old, was general of Great Poland, and had been ambassador extraordinary to the Grand Signior in 1699. Charles was so delighted with the frankness and sincerity of his deportment, and with the firmness and sweetness which appeared in his countenance, that he offered him the crown of Poland, and ordered him to be crowned at Warsaw in 1705. He accompanied Charles into Saxony, where a treaty was concluded with King Augustus in 1705, by which that prince resigned the crown, and acknowledged Stanislas king of Poland. The new monarch remained in Saxony with Charles till 1707, when they returned into Poland and attacked the Russians, who were obliged to evacuate that kingdom in 1708. But Charles being defeated by Peter the Great in 1709, Augustus returned into Poland, and being assisted by a Russian army, obliged Stanislas to retire first into Sweden, and afterwards into Turkey. Soon after, he took up his residence at Weissenburg, a town in Alsace. Augustus dispatched Sum his envoy to France to complain of this; but the duke of Orleans, who was then regent, returned this answer: "Tell your king, that France has always been the asylum of unhappy princes." Stanislas lived in obscurity till 1725, when Louis XV. espoused the princess Mary his daughter. Upon the death of King Augustus in 1733, he returned to Poland, in hopes of remounting the throne of that kingdom. A large party declared for him; but his competitor, the young elector of Saxony, being supported by the emperor Charles VI. and the empress of Russia, was declared king, though the majority was against him. Dantzig, to which Stanislas had retired, was quickly taken, and with great difficulty the unfortunate prince made his escape in disguise, after hearing that the Russians had set a price upon his head. In 1735, when peace was concluded between the emperor and France, it was agreed that Stanislas should abdicate the throne, but that he should be acknowledged king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, and continue to bear these titles during life; that all his effects and those of the queen his spouse should be restored; that an amnesty should be declared in Poland for all that was past, and that every person should be restored to his possessions, rights, and privileges; that the elector of Saxony should be acknowledged king of Poland by all the powers who acceded to the treaty; that Stanislas should be put in peaceable possession of the duchies of Lorraine and Bar, but that immediately after his death those duchies should be united forever to the crown of France. In Lorraine Stanislas succeeded a race of princes, who were beloved and regretted; and his subjects found their ancient sovereigns revived in him. He then tasted the pleasure which he had so long desired, the pleasure of making men happy. He assisted his new subjects; he embellished Nancy and Luneville; he formed useful establishments; he founded colleges, and built hospitals. He was engaged in these noble employments, when an accident occasioned his death. His night-gown caught fire, and burnt him so severely before it could be extinguished, that he was seized with a fever, and died the 23rd of February 1766. He was a protector of the arts and sciences. He wrote several works of philosophy, politics, and morality, which were collected and published at Paris in 1763, in 4 vols. 8vo., under the title of "Œuvres du Philosophe bienfaisant." An octavo volume, ornamented with engravings, was published in 1825, under the title of "Œuvres choisies de Stanislas, Roi de Pologne, Duc de Lorraine et de Bar;" to which an historical notice was prefixed by Madame de Saint-Ouen.