He illustrates Mme. Adam’s social tact in the story he tells of a dinner-party at his father’s house. That evening the guests were the Duc d’Aumale, M. de Freycinet, the General de Gallifet, Magnard, editor of the _Figaro_, the ill-fated Calmette, who was to succeed him, and about twenty others. Henry James used to say that French dinner-parties always somewhat resemble a session of the Convention. And at this party the noise of debate waxed especially high, for the talk fell on a subject still delicate: the Commune. And the discussion might well have culminated in more than one of the invited sending his representatives next morning to some fellow-guest, had not Mme. Adam skilfully smoothed down the angles of controversy and finally led the conversation on to less dangerous ground. Fulfilled beyond her greatest expectations were Mme. Adam’s hopes that her review might serve young writers and French literature by revealing new talent. For it was in the pages of this magazine that French readers first became acquainted with many of _les jeunes_ who to-day occupy the very first rank. Pierre Loti, Paul Bourget, Marcelle Tinayre and Anatole France are some of those who in _La Nouvelle Revue_ first began to climb the ladder of fame. Here appeared Pierre Loti’s first novel, _Le Mariage de Loti_, followed by _Le Roman d’un Spahi_ and _Fleurs d’Ennui_. Those _Essais de Psychologie Contemporaine_, which many regard as Paul Bourget’s most valuable contribution to French letters, Mme. Adam had the honour of publishing in 1884, as well as several of the same author’s early novels: _L’Irréparable_, _Deuxième Amour_, _Cruelle Enigme_, _Crime d’Amour_, which all appeared in the early eighties. Many years later, in 1898, advised by Alphonse Daudet, who had read the manuscript, Mme. Adam introduced to her readers the first novel of that gifted woman writer, Marcelle Tinayre. One of Mme. Adam’s first meetings with Anatole France was in 1879, when they travelled together to a party given by La Société des Gens de Lettres in Edmond About’s park at Malabry. Then, as we may well imagine, Mme. Adam was so charmed by the gifted young French author that she enrolled him among _les jeunes_ of her review; and in the next year appeared in its pages _Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard_, followed two years later by _Le Petit Bonhomme_, which was to be published in volume under the title of _Pierre Nozière_.