JOUY, VICTOR JOSEPH ETIENNE DE, b. Jouy, near Versailles; at the age of thirteen accompanied the governor of French Guiana as sous lieut. to that colony; returning to Versailles studied two years, and went to the French East Indian posses sions as an officer in the Luxembourg regiment.- Returning to France he joined the revolutionary party, and was rapidly promoted; but during the reign of terror, being suspected, fled to Switzerland. After the fall of Robespierre iu July, 1754, he returned and was placed on the staff of the army of Paris, under gen. Menou. Soon afterwards he was arrested, then released and sent as commander to Lille; again arrested on a charge of holding communication with the English minister, but acquitted and restored to his functions. He abandoned the army at the age of thirty, in disgust, and devoted himself to literature. His first efforts were some vaudevilles with Delonchamp and Dieulafoy. But his first work that met with great success was the opera .L,a, Vestade, set to music by Spontini. This was very and gained him admission to the acad emy in 1815. This was followed by the operas Les Amazons, with music by Mehul, and Les Abencerrages, with music by Chertibini, which are still performed. He wrote com
iedies in prose and verse, which were successful, and also tragedies, of which Sylla was very popular. His greatest work was L'Hermite de la Chaussee d' Antin, a series of essays originally published in the Gazette de France, and afterwards issued in 5 vols. They were much admired in France, regarded as equal to the English Spectators, Guar dians, and Ramblers, and translated into English. These were followed by France Par ieur; L'Hermite de be Guyane; E Hermit; en Province. Under the restoration he engaged in politics, and for his attacks on the government was imprisoned. In prison he and M. Jay wrote Les Hermites en Prison, and Les Hermites en Libe•te, which were lima applauded by the liberal party in France. Jouy wrote also on political economy, and two novels, Cecil and Le Centenaire. He edited for a time the Journal des Arts, and contributed many articles to newspapers and journals. After the revolution of 1830 Louis Philippe appointed him librarian at the Louvre.