Charlevoix, Peter Francis Xavier De

, a learned and industrious French Jesuit, was born at St. Quintin in 1684, and died in 1761, aged 78. His fame rests chiefly on the histories of his travels, which were extensive, and his accounts, although diffuse, are in general reckoned very godd authority. They consist of: 1. “Histoire et description gene*rale du Japon,” 1738, 2 vols. 4to; and 1754, 6 vols. 12mo. 2. “Histoire de PIsle de St. Dominique,” 1720, 2 vols. 4to. 3. “Histoire generale de la Nouvelle France,” 1744, 3 vols. 4to, and 6 vols. 12mo. 4. “Histoire ge*ne>ale du Paraguay,” 1756, 6 vols. 12mo, and 3 vols. 4to. From these were translated into English, the “Journal of a Voyage to North America,” 1760, 2 vols. 8vo, abridged afterwards under the title of “Letters to the duchess of Lesdiguieres, giving an account of a voyage to Canada,” &c. 1763, 8vo; and “The History of | Paraguay,” 1769, 2 vols. 8vo. Charlevoix also published in 1724, “Vie de Mere Marie de l'Incarnation,” 12mo; and he was for twenty-four years employed on the “Journal de Trevoux,” which he enriched with many valuable articles. ¹