I knew Charles Nodier by name, but I was in complete ignorance as to what he had done. As I left the office, I entered a bookshop and asked for a novel by Nodier. They gave me _Jean Sbogar._ The reading of that book began to shake my faith in Pigault-Lebrun. CHAPTER II Illustrious contemporaries--The sentence written on my foundation stone--My reply--I settle down in the place des Italiens--M. de Leuven's table--M. Louis-Bonaparte's witty saying--Lassagne gives me my first lesson in literature and history When I came up to Paris, the men who held illustrious rank in literature, among whom I sought a place, were--MM. de Chateaubriand, Jouy, Lemercier, Arnault, Étienne, Baour-Lormian, de Béranger, Ch. Nodier, Viennet, Scribe, Théaulon, Soumet, Casimir Delavigne, Lucien Arnault, Ancelot, Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Désaugiers and Alfred de Vigny. It will, of course, be understood that I do not rank them in the order I have written down their names. Then follow men whose interests were half literary half political, such as--MM. Cousin, Salvandy, Villemain, Thiers, Augustin Thierry, Michelet, Mignet, Vitet, Cavé, Mérimée and Guizot. Then, finally, those who were not yet famous, but were gradually coming forward, such as Balzac, Soulié, de Musset, Sainte-Beuve, Auguste Barbier, Alphonse Karr, Théophile Gautier. The three women of the day were all poets--Mesdames Desbordes-Valmore, Amable Tastu, Delphine Gay. Madame Sand was still unknown, and did not reveal her powers until the production of _Indiana_, in 1828 or 1829, I believe.