Autels, William Des

, a French and Latin poet, voluminous enough to require some notice, although his works are now perhaps but little known or valued even in his own couutry, was born at Charolles about the year 1529, the son of Syacre or Fiacre des Autels, a gentleman of the same couutry. He inherited little from this father, except, as he informs us, a chateau, rather noble than rich. For some time he studied law at Valencia, but it does not appear with what view poetry was his favourite pursuit, although he succeeded very seldom but what was wanting in genuine poetry was made up by an obtrusive display of Greek and Latin, in the manner of Ronsard, whom he called his friend. Like other poets, he affected to have a mistress for whom he cherished a Platonic affection, but it appears that he was married at the age of twenty-four. His death is said to have happened about 1580. MorerL enumerates many volumes of his poems, sonnets, elegies, pieces in imitation of Rabelais, Ronsard, &c. The following are of a different description, and respect a controversy on the orthography of the French language. 1. “Traite touchant Pancienne ecriture de la Langue Francoise, et de sa Poesie,” Lyons, 16 mo, published under the anagranmiatical name of Glaumalis de Vezelet. Louis Meigret, las opponent in the controversy, immediately published his “Defenses touchant son Ortographc Francoise centre les censures et calomnies de Glaumalis,” Paris, 1550, 4to. Autels followed this by “Repliqucs aux furicuses defenses de Louis Meigret,” 16mo, Lyons, 1551, which Meigret answered the same year. Griiter thought some | of his Latin poetry of sufficient merit to obtain a place in the “Deliciae poetarum Gallorum,” 1609. ¹