The reading of _Henri III._ at M. Villenave's and M. Roqueplan's--Another reading at Firmin's--Béranger is present--A few words about his influence and popularity--Effect produced by my drama--Reception by the Comédie-Française--Struggle for the distribution of parts--M. de Broval's ultimatum--Convicted of the crime of poetry I appeal to the Duc d'Orléans--His Royal Highness withholds my salary--M. Laffitte lends me three thousand francs--Condemnation of Béranger The execution of _Henri III._ was, relatively speaking, rapid; as soon as the plot was completely settled in my mind it scarcely took me two months to finish the work. I recollect that, in the interval between the composition of the plot and the execution of the piece, I went to Villers-Cotterets, to shoot, I believe; on my return, I started before the carriage, and my young friends, Saunier, Labarre and Duez, put me on my way as far as the village of Vauciennes. During our walk I told them the whole of _Henri III._ from beginning to end. _Henri III._ was completed directly the plot was completed. When I am busy working at one of my plays it is a help to me to tell the story; as I tell it I invent, and, at the conclusion of one of these recitals, some fine morning, there the play is, ready finished. But it often happens that this way of composing, namely, by not beginning the composition until I have finished the plot, is very slow. I kept _Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle_ nearly five years thus in my head, and since 1832 I have had the plot of a _Juif errant_ in my mind, waiting till I can get a moment's leisure to finish it; it will be one of my best pieces of work. I have only one fear, and that is that I shall die before I can get it done. When I had finished _Henri III._ I read it to a small circle of friends at Madame Waldor's. The play made a great impression; but the unanimous advice was that I ought to have _Christine_ produced first. They said that _Henri III._ was too daring for a first production. I need hardly say that M. Villenave thought all these new movements in literature monstrous aberrations of the human intellect. It was the period when an entirely fresh generation was springing up around us and with us. Several journals had just been begun by men of our age, full of the new ideas then afloat, in opposition to the views of the _Constitutionnel_, the _Courrier français_, the _Journal de Paris_ and the _Journal des Débats_, which from that time reserved the whole of its praise for Victor Hugo.