JOUY

jouy, victor joseph etienne de (1764-1846), french dramatist, was born at jouy, near versailles, on the 12th of september 1764. at the age of eighteen he received a commission in the army, and sailed for south america in the company of the governor of guiana. he returned almost immediately to france to complete his studies, and re-entered the service two years later. he was sent to india, where he met with many romantic adventures which were afterwards turned to literary account. on the outbreak of the revolution he returned to france and served with distinction in the early campaigns, attaining the rank of adjutant-general. he drew suspicion on himself, however, by refusing to honour the toast of marat, and had to fly for his life. at the fall of the terror he resumed his commission but again fell under suspicion, being accused of treasonable correspondence with the english envoy, james harris, 1st earl of malmesbury who had been sent to france to negotiate terms of peace. he was acquitted of this charge, but, weary of repeated attacks, resigned his position on the pretext of his numerous wounds. jouy now turned his attention to literature, and produced in 1807 with immense success his opera _la vestale_ (music by spontini). the piece ran for a hundred nights, and was characterized by the institute of france as the best lyric drama of the day. other operas followed, but none obtained so great a success. he published in the _gazette de france_ a series of satirical sketches of parisian life, collected under the title of _l'ermite de la chaussee d'antin, ou observations sur les moeurs et les usages francais au commencement du xix^e siecle_ (1812-1814, 5 vols.), which was warmly received. in 1821 his tragedy of _sylla_ gained a triumph due in part to the genius of talma, who had studied the title-role from napoleon. under the restoration jouy consistently fought for the cause of freedom, and if his work was overrated by his contemporaries, they were probably influenced by their respect for the author himself. he died in rooms set apart for his use in the palace of st germain-en-laye on the 4th of september 1846. out of the long list of his operas, tragedies and miscellaneous writings may be mentioned, _fernand cortez_ (1809), opera, in collaboration with j. e. esmenard, music by spontini; _tippo saib_, tragedy (1813); _belisaire_, tragedy (1818); _les hermites en prison_ (1823), written in collaboration with antoine jay, like himself a political prisoner; _guillaume tell_ (1829), with hippolyte bis, for the music of rossini. jouy was also one of the founders of the _biographie nouvelle des contemporains_. jovellanos (or jove llanos), gaspar melchor de (1744-1811), spanish statesman and author, was born at gijon in asturias, spain, on the 5th of january 1744. selecting law as his profession, he studied at oviedo, avila, and alcala, and in 1767 became criminal judge at seville. his integrity and ability were rewarded in 1778 by a judgeship in madrid, and in 1780 by appointment to the council of military orders. in the capital jovellanos took a good place in the literary and scientific societies; for the society of friends of the country he wrote in 1787 his most valuable work, _informe sobre un proyecto de ley agraria_. involved in the disgrace of his friend, francois cabarrus, jovellanos spent the years 1790 to 1797 in a sort of banishment at gijon, engaged in literary work and in founding the asturian institution for agricultural, industrial, social and educational reform throughout his native province. this institution continued his darling project up to the latest hours of his life. summoned again to public life in 1797, jovellanos refused the post of ambassador to russia, but accepted that of minister of grace and justice, under "the prince of the peace," whose attention had been directed to him by cabarrus, then a favourite of godoy. displeased with godoy's policy and conduct jovellanos combined with his colleague saavedra to procure his dismissal. godoy returned to power in 1798; jovellanos was again sent to gijon, but in 1801 was thrown into prison in majorca. the revolution of 1808, and the advance of the french into spain, set him once more at liberty. joseph bonaparte, on mounting the spanish throne, made jovellanos the most brilliant offers; but the latter, sternly refusing them all, joined the patriotic party, became a member of the central junta, and contributed to reorganize the cortes. this accomplished, the junta at once fell under suspicion, and jovellanos was involved in its fall. to expose the conduct of the cortes, and to defend the junta and himself were the last labours of his pen. in 1811 he was enthusiastically welcomed to gijon; but the approach of the french drove him forth again. the vessel in which he sailed was compelled by stress of weather to put in at vega in asturias, and there he died on the 27th of november 1811. the poetical works of jovellanos comprise a tragedy _el pelayo_, the comedy _el delincuente honrado_, satires, and miscellaneous pieces, including a translation of the first book of _paradise lost_. his prose works, especially those on political and legislative economy, constitute his real title to literary fame. in them depth of thought and clear-sighted sagacity are couched in a certain ciceronian elegance and classical purity of style. besides the _ley agraria_ he wrote _elogios_; various political and other essays; and _memorias politicas_ (1801), suppressed in spain, and translated into french, 1825. an edition of his complete works was published at madrid (1831-1832) in 7 vols., and another at barcelona (1839). see _noticias historicas de don g. m. de jovellanos_ (1812), and _memorias para la vida del senor ... jovellanos_, by j. a. c. bermudez (1814).