Août. L'Anneau des Giges, with illustration. A Venise, Penetrante Penetranti, 1691. Septembre. L'Avortement, with illustration. Gerpines, chez Guillaume Desloge sur le Quai des Morfondus au Pistolet qui prend un Rat, 1691. Octobre. Le Jean de Retour, with illustration. A Loo, chez Guillaume Pie de Nez, rue Perdue au Bien Revenu, 1691. Novembre. Le Prothée, with illustration. Chez Pedre l'Endormy, 1691." Eustache le Noble, Baron of St. George and of Tenelière, the author of this work, was born at Troyes in 1643, of a good and ancient family. His natural abilities and attainments, combined with political influence, readily obtained for him, at an early age, the post of Procureur-Général to the Parliament at Metz. But a dissolute life soon brought on its consequent evils--duties neglected and discreditable debts--and he was compelled to sell his appointment. The proceeds were insufficient, and he had recourse to forgery to satisfy his creditors. To be successful in such a case, more than ability is required. Le Noble was suspected, arrested, confined in the Châtelet, and condemned to nine years' imprisonment. Upon his appeal, he was removed to the Conciergerie, a place destined to become another scene in his life of uniform villainy. Gabrielle Perreau, known under the name of "La Belle Epicière," was confined here at the instigation of her husband, who indulged in the hope of thus reforming her disorderly conduct. But a prison is hardly a school of reformation, and La Belle Epicière and Le Noble were not characters to receive, even in monastic seclusion, any such impression. He won her affections, or the mastery over her passions: the husband, frantic with jealous rage, obtained for himself the satisfaction of immuring her in a convent of his own selection. From this she escaped, and joined Le Noble, who had similarly evaded the vigilance of his keepers. By living in the vilest and least frequented quarters of Paris, by disguises, false names, and constant changes of residence, they succeeded in baffling the pursuit of the police for three years, when Le Noble was accidentally discovered; the judgment of the Châtelet was confirmed, and he was reconducted to prison. It was then that his great resources were displayed. He retained his gaiety, and assured his friends he still enjoyed "une parfaite tranquillité d'esprit, inséparable de l'innocence!" A man of this kind, with a venal and capacious intellect, and a heart utterly unconscious of the slightest moral feeling, could not with advantage be suffered to remain unemployed. There was work to be done for James II., and the hireling was worthy of his hire. It was simply to lie and libel with ability, with caution, with the appearance of loyalty, and an ardent zeal for religion. Le Noble was equal to the task. He had written histories burnt