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A French poet and novelist; born at Moulins, March 14, 1823; died in Paris, March 13, 1891. He was the son of a naval officer, and came early in life to Paris, where he devoted himself exclusively to literature, contributed to many journals and reviews, and lived in close friendship with some of the foremost artists and men of letters of the day. First known as a poet through two volumes entitled "The Caryatides" (1842) and "The Stalactites" (1846), he established his reputation with the "Odes Funambulesques" (1857), a sort of great lyrical parody, published under the pseudonym "Bracquemond"; which immediately found great favor, and were followed by "New Odes Funambulesques" (1868, afterwards reprinted as "Occidentales"); "Russian Idyls" (1872); "Thirty-six Merry Ballads" (1873); etc. His dramatic efforts did not meet with equal success, only "Gringoire" (1866) holding the stage for some time. As a prose writer he is favorably known by a number of humorous and highly finished tales and sketches, like "The Poor Mountebanks" (1853); "The Parisians of Paris" (1866); "Tales for Women" (1881); "The Soul of Paris" (1890); etc. Of considerable literary interest are "My Recollections" (1882); "Marcelle Rabe" (1891).