Dionysius was followed by Aristomenes, Cleopatra, and other tragedies, of which only Aristomenes was eminently successful. His wide-spread reputation at length gained for him the patronage of Madame de Pompadour, through whom he obtained the place of Secretary of the Royal Buildings, and a pension on the French Mercury. It was for the Mercury that he began those tales, which have been translated into English under the erroneous appellation of Moral Tales. On the death of Boissy in 1758, Marmontel, by the favour of Pompadour, received the patent of the Mercury; and, under his management, the work rose into high repute. He, however, enjoyed this lucrative employment for only two years. Cury, a wit, who had been deeply injured by the stupid and spiteful Duke d’Aumont, composed a satire on his titled enemy. He repeated the verses to Marmontel, and the latter, who had an excellent memory, repeated them to a company at Madame Geoffrin’s. This circumstance was instantly reported to the Duke d’Aumont, who lost not a moment in procuring a lettre de cachet, by virtue of which Marmontel was conveyed to the Bastile, charged with being the author of the satire. His confinement lasted only eleven days; but as he generously refused to betray the writer’s name, the patent of the Mercury was taken from him, and nothing was left to him except a pension payable out of the profits of the work. In 1763, Marmontel became a member of the French Academy, and, twenty years later, he was appointed its perpetual secretary. After he was deprived of the Mercury, he pursued his literary labours, for many years, with equal vigour and credit. Among the works which he produced during that period are Belisarius, the Incas, a translation of the Pharsalia, a new series of tales, various comic operas, miscellaneous pieces, a History of the Regency of the Duke of Orleans, Elements of Literature, and Memoirs of his own Life. During the fierce struggles between the republican parties, after the downfall of the throne, Marmontel lived in retirement, and in a state of penury which bordered upon poverty. He was elected a member of the council of elders, in 1797, but the revolution of the 18th Fructidor deprived him of his seat, and he withdrew to his cottage in Normandy, happy in not being exiled to another hemisphere, as was the case with many of his colleagues. Marmontel died of apoplexy, on the last day of 1799.