He was one of the very ablest as well as one of the worthiest successors of St. Peter. GIRARDON, FRANÇOIS. François Girardon, a celebrated French sculptor, born in 1628, died in 1715 (the same year as his patron and employer, Louis XIV.). From 1652 until his retirement in extreme old age he was employed, first in conjunction with Le Brun, and afterwards singly in directing the art work undertaken in Paris and at Versailles by Louis XIV. His greatest achievements were considered to be the _Bain d’Apollon_, the “Rape of Proserpine” at Versailles and the equestrian statue of Louis XIV., which, before its destruction during the Revolution, occupied the centre of the Place Vendôme. GRÉGOIRE, HENRI. Henri Grégoire, born near Lunéville, 1750, died in Paris, 1831, was _Curé_ of Embermesnil. Elected to the States-General as representative of the clergy of Lorraine he proceeded to Versailles, 1789. His liberal opinions were already well known by a book he had published, entitled “Regeneration of the Jews.” This book was in 1788 crowned by the Academy of Metz. At Versailles the Abbé Grégoire soon became intimate with the leading members of the _Tiers État_. He exercised an ever-increasing influence over those among the clerical members of the Assembly who, like himself, were drawn from the ranks of the people. At the very moment when the attack upon the Bastille was proceeding, and when a large proportion of the Deputies expressed apprehension, fear and alarm, Grégoire delivered a vehement oration in the Assembly in favour of the Revolution. His influence in the Constitutional Assembly was invariably directed towards the advancement of those reforms by which he hoped the enfranchisement of the people might be accelerated. He took an active part in the abolition of the privileges possessed by the nobility and clergy, voted against the law of primogeniture, and demanded that Jews and negroes should have equal civil rights with Christians and white men. When the Clerical Constitution was promulgated, Grégoire was the first priest who took the oath; and he accepted the Bishopric of Blois under the new _régime_. He represented the Department Loir et Cher (in which his episcopal see is situated) in the Convention, and on September 22 brought forward a motion in favour of the total abolition of Royalty and the proclamation of a Republic; his favourite axiom being, “The history of kings is the martyrology of the people.” He was not present at the trial of Louis XVI., but wrote from Chambery to the Convention, declaring his opposition to a death sentence upon the King. Grégoire became a prominent member of the Committee of Public Instruction, and by his efforts the _Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers_ was established. He persuaded the Assembly to vote for the political and civil emancipation of the Hebrew race in France, and to pass a law abolishing negro slavery in the French colonies.