My birthMy name is disputedExtracts from the official registers of Villers-CotteretsCorbeil ClubMy father's marriage certificateMy motherMy maternal grandfatherLouis-Philippe d'Orléans, father of Philippe-ÉgalitéMadame de MontessonM. de Noailles and the AcademyA morganatic marriage 1
My fatherHis birthThe arms of the familyThe serpents of JamaicaThe alligators of St. DomingoMy grandfatherA young man's adventureA first duelM. le duc de Richelieu acts as second for my fatherMy father enlists as a private soldierHe changes his nameDeath of my grandfatherHis death certificate 11
My father rejoins his regimentHis portraitHis strengthHis skillThe Nile serpentThe regiment of the King and the regiment of the QueenEarly days of the RevolutionDeclaration of PilnitzThe camp at MauldeThe thirteen Tyrolean chasseursMy father's name is mentioned in the order of the dayFrance under ProvidenceVoluntary enlistmentsSt.-Georges and BoyerMy father lieutenant-colonelThe camp of the MadeleineThe pistols of LepageMy father General of Brigade in the Army of the North 21
My father is sent to join KléberHe is nominated General-in-Chief in the Western PyreneesBouchotte's lettersInstructions of the ConventionThe Representatives of the People who sat at BayonneTheir proclamationIn spite of this proclamation my father remains at BayonneMonsieur de l'Humanité 33
My father is appointed General-in-Chief of the Army of the WestHis report on the state of La VendéeMy father is sent to the Army of the Alps as General-in-ChiefState of the armyCapture of Mont Valaisan and of the Little Saint-BernardCapture of Mont CenisMy father is recalled to render an account of his conductWhat he had doneHe is acquitted 43
The result of a sword-stroke across the headSt. Georges and the remountsThe quarrel he sought with my fatherMy father is transferred to the Army of Sambre-et-MeuseHe hands in his resignation and returns to Villers-CotteretsA retrospect over what had happened at home and abroad during the four years that had just elapsed 56
My father at Villers-CotteretsHe is called to Paris to carry out the 13th VendémiaireBonaparte takes his placeHe arrives the next dayBuonaparte's attestationMy father is sent into the district of BouillonHe goes to the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse and to the Army of the Rhine, and is appointed Commandant at LandauHe returns as Divisional General in the Army of the Alps, of which he had been Commander-in-ChiefEnglish blood and honourBonaparte's planBonaparte appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Army of ItalyThe campaign of 1796 69
My father in the Army of ItalyHe is received at Milan by Bonaparte and JoséphineBonaparte's troubles in ItalyScurvyThe campaign is resumedDiscouragementBattle of Arcole 82
The despatch is sent to BonaparteDermoncourt's receptionBerthier's open responseMilitary movements in consequence of the despatchCorrespondence between my father and Serrurier and DallemagneBattle of St.-Georges and La FavoriteCapture of MantuaMy father as a looker-on 90
My father's first breeze with BonaparteMy father is sent to Masséna's army corpsHe shares Joubert's command in the TyrolJoubertThe campaign in the Tyrol 109
The bridge of ClausenDermoncourt's reportsPrisoners on paroleLepage's pistolsThree generals-in-chief at the same table 119
Joubert's loyalty towards my father"Send me Dumas"The Horatius Codes of the TyrolMy father is appointed Governor of the TrévisanThe agent of the DirectoryMy father fêted at his departureThe treaty of Campo-FormioThe return to ParisThe flag of the Army of ItalyThe charnel-house of MoratCharles the BoldBonaparte is elected a member of the InstituteFirst thoughts of the expedition to EgyptToulonBonaparte and JoséphineWhat was going to happen in Egypt 135
The voyageThe landingThe taking of AlexandriaThe Chant du Départ and the Arabian concertThe respited prisonersThe march on CairoRum and biscuitMy father's melonsThe Scientific InstituteBattle of the PyramidsScene of the victoryMy father's letter establishing the truth 151
Admissions of General Dupuis and Adjutant-General BoyerThe malcontentsFinal discussion between Bonaparte and my fatherBattle of AboukirMy father finds treasureHis letter on this subject 161
Revolt at CairoMy father enters the Grand Mosque on horsebackHis home-sicknessHe leaves Egypt and lands at NaplesFerdinand and Caroline of NaplesEmma Lyon and NelsonFerdinand's manifestoComments of his minister, Belmonte-Pignatelli 172
Report presented to the French Government by Divisional-General Alexandre Dumas, on his captivity at Taranto and at Brindisi, ports in the Kingdom of Naples 181
My father is exchanged for General MackEvents during his captivityHe asks in vain for a share in the distribution of the 500,000 francs indemnity granted to the prisonersThe arrears of his pay also refused himHe is placed on the retired list, in spite of his energetic protests 197
Letter from my father to General Brune on my birthThe postscriptMy godfather and godmotherFirst recollections of infancyTopography of the château des Fossés and sketches of some of its inhabitantsThe snake and the frogWhy I asked Pierre if he could swimContinuation of Jocrisse 204
Mocquet's nightmareHis pipeMother DurandLes bêtes fausses et le piergeM. CollardMy father's remedyRadical cure of Mocquet 212
Who was Berlick?The fête of Villers-CotteretsFaust and PolichinelleThe sabotsJourney to ParisDolléManetteMadame de Mauclerc's pensionMadame de MontessonPaul and VirginiaMadame de Saint-Aubin 218
Brune and MuratThe return to Villers-CotteretsL'hôtel de l'ÉpéePrincess PaulineThe chaseThe chief forester's permissionMy father takes to his bed never to rise againDeliriumThe gold-headed caneDeath 225
My love for my fatherHis love for meI am taken away to my cousin Marianne'sPlan of the houseThe forgeThe apparitionI learn the death of my fatherI wish to go to heaven to kill GodOur situation at the death of my fatherHatred of Bonaparte 232
My mother and I take refuge with my grandfatherMadame Darcourt's houseMy first books and my first terrorsThe park at Villers-CotteretsM. Deviolaine and his familyThe swarm of beesThe old cloister 243
The two snakesM. de Valence and Madame de MontessonWho little Hermine wasGarnier the wheelwright and Madame de ValenceMadame LafargeFantastic apparition of Madame de Genlis 253
Mademoiselle PivertI make her read the Thousand and One Nights, or, rather, one story in that collectionOld Hiraux, my music-masterThe little worries of his lifeHe takes his revenge on his persecutors after the fashion of the Maréchal de MontlucHe is condemned to be flogged, and nearly loses the sight of his eyesWhat happened on Easter Day in the organ-loft at the monasteryHe becomes a grocer's ladHis vocation leads him to the study of musicI have little aptitude for the violin 259
The dog lantern-bearerDemoustier's epitaphMy first fencing-master"The king drinks"The fourth terror of my lifeThe tub of honey 277
My horror of great heightsThe Abbé ConseilMy opening at the SeminaryMy mother, much pressed, decides to enter me thereThe horn inkstandCécile at the grocer'sMy flight 285
The Abbé Grégoire's CollegeThe reception I got thereThe fountains play to celebrate my arrivalThe conspiracy against meBligny challenges me to single combatI win 295
The Abbé FortierThe jealous husband and the viaticumA pleasant visitVictor LetellierThe pocket-pistolI terrify the populationTournemolle is requisitionedHe disarms me 304
A political chronologyTrouble follows troubleThe fire at the farm at NoneDeath of Stanislas PicotThe hiding-place for the louis d'orThe CossacksThe haricot mutton 315
The quarryFrenchmen eat the haricot cooked for the CossacksThe Duc de TrevisoHe allows himself to be surprisedDucoudray the hosierTerrors 324
The return to Villers-Cotterets, and what we met on the wayThe box with the thirty louis in itThe leather-bagThe moleOur departureThe journeyThe arrival at Mensal and our sojourn theirKing JosephThe King of RomeWe leave MensalOur visit to Crispy in ValoisThe dead and woundedThe surrender of ParisThe isle of Elba 331
Am I to be called Davy de La Pailleterie or Alexandre Dumas?Deus dedit, Deus dabitThe tobacco-shopThe cause of the Emperor Napoleon's fall, as it appeared to my writing-masterMy first communionHow I prepared for it 345
BOOK IV
Auguste LafargeBird-snaring on a large scaleA wonderful catchAn epigramI wish to write French versesMy method of translating Virgil and TacitusMontananMy political opinions 355
The single-barrelled gunQuiot BicheBiche and Boudoux comparedI become a poacherIt is proposed to issue a writ against meMadame Darcourt as plenipotentiaryHow it happened that Cretan's writ caused me no bother 363
Bonaparte's landing at the Gulf of JuanProclamations and OrdonnancesLouis XVIII. and M. de VitrollesCornu the hatterNewspaper information 374
General ExelmansHis trialThe two brothers LallemandTheir conspiracyThey are arrested and led through Villers-CotteretsThe affronts to which they were subjected 382
My mother and I conspireThe secretM. RichardLa pistole and the pistolsThe offer made to the brothers Lallemand in order to save themThey refuseI meet one of them, twenty-eight years later, at the house of M. le duc de Cazes 389
Napoleon and the AlliesThe French army and the Emperor pass through Villers-CotteretsBearers of ill tidings 402
WaterlooThe ÉlyséeLa Malmaison 411
CæsarCharlemagneNapoleon 421
The routThe haricot mutton reappearsM. Picot the lawyerBy diplomatic means, he persuades my mother to let me go shooting with himI despise sleep, food and drink 427
Trapping larksI wax strong in the matter of my compositionsThe wounded partridgeI take the consequences whatever they areThe farm at BrassoireM. Deviolaine's sally at the accouchement of his wife 435
M. Moquet de BrassoireThe ambuscadeThree hares charge meWhat prevents me from being the king of the battueBecause I did not take the bull by the horns, I just escape being disembowelled by itSabine and her puppies 441
The second period of my youthForest-keepers and sailorsChoron, Moinat, Mildet, BerthelinLa Maison-Neuve 449
Choron and the mad dogNiquet, otherwise called BobinoHis mistressThe boar-huntThe killBobino's triumphHe is decoratedThe boar which he had killed rises again 456
Boars and keepersThe bullet of Robin-des-BoisThe pork-butcher 464
A wolf-huntSmall townsChoron's tragic death 474
My mother realises that I am fifteen years old, and that la marette and la pipée will not lead to a brilliant future for meI enter the office of Me. Mennesson, notary, as errand-boy, otherwise guttersnipeMe. Mennesson and his clerksLa Fontaine-Eau-Claire 483
Who the assassin was and who the assassinatedAuguste PicotEquality before the lawLast exploits of MarotHis execution 491
Spring at Villers-CotteretsWhitsuntideThe Abbé Grégoire invites me to dance with his nieceRed booksThe Chevalier de FaublasLaurence and VittoriaA dandy of 1818 499
I leap the HahaA slit followsThe two pairs of glovesThe quadrilleFourcade's triumphI pick up the crumbsThe waltzThe child becomes a man 508
An unpublished chapter from the Diable boiteuxHistory of Samud and the beautiful Doña Lorenza 1
The good my flouting at the hands of the two Parisians had done meThe young girls of Villers-CotteretsMy three friendsFirst love affairs 13
Adolphe de LeuvenHis familyUnpublished details concerning the death of Gustavus III.The Count de RibbingThe shoemakers of the château de Villers-Hellon 24
Adolphe's quatrainThe water-hen and King WilliamLunch in the woodThe irritant powder, the frogs and the cockThe doctor's spectreDe Leuven, Hippolyte Leroy and I are exiled from the drawing-roomUnfortunate result of a geographical errorM. Paroisse 34
Amédée de la PonceHe teaches me what work isM. Arnault and his two sonsA journey by diligenceA gentleman fights me with cough lozenges and I fight him with my fistsI learn the danger from which I escaped 48
First dramatic impressionsThe Hamlet of DucisThe Bourbons en 1815Quotations from it 57
The events of 1814 againMarmont, Duc de Raguse, Maubreuil and Roux-Laborie at M. de Talleyrand'sThe Journal des Débats and the Journal de ParisLyrics of the Bonapartists and enthusiasm of the BourbonsEnd of the Maubreuil affairPlot against the life of the EmperorThe Queen of Westphalia is robbed of her money and jewels 63
Account of the proceedings relative to the abstraction of the jewels of the Queen of Westphalia by the Sieur de MaubreuilChamber of the Court of AppealThe sitting of 17 April, 1817 88
The last shot of WaterlooTemper of the provinces in 1817, 1818 and 1819The MesséniennesThe Vêpres siciliennesLouis IX.Appreciation of these two tragediesA phrase of TerenceMy claim to a similar sentimentThree o'clock in the morningThe course of love-makingValeat res ludrica 96
Return of Adolphe de LeuvenHe shows me a corner of the artistic and literary worldThe death of Holbein and the death of OrcagnaEntrance into the green-roomsBürger's LénoreFirst thoughts of my vocation 103
The Cerberus of the rue de LargnyI tame itThe ambushMadame LebègueA confession 109
De Leuven makes me his collaboratorThe Major de StrasbourgMy first couplet-ChauvinThe Dîner d'amisThe Abencérages 117
Unrecorded stories concerning the assassination of the Duc de Berry. 123
Carbonarism 132
My hopesDisappointmentM. Deviolaine is appointed forest-ranger to the Duc d'OrléansHis coldness towards meHalf promisesFirst cloud on my love-affairsI go to spend three months with my brother-in-law at DreuxThe news waiting for me on my returnMuphtiWalls and hedgesThe summer-houseTennisWhy I gave up playing itThe wedding party in the wood 147
I leave Villers-Cotterets to be second or third clerk at CrespyM. LefèvreHis characterMy journeys to Villers-CotteretsThe Pélerinage d'ErmenonvilleAthénaïsNew matter sent to AdolpheAn uncontrollable desire to pay a visit to ParisHow this desire was accomplishedThe journeyHôtel des Vieux-AugustinsAdolpheSyllaTalma 155
The theatre ticketThe Café du RoiAuguste LafargeThéaulonRochefortFerdinand LangléPeople who dine and people who don'tCanarisFirst sight of TalmaAppreciation of Mars and RachelWhy Talma has no successorSylla and the CensorshipTalma's boxA cab-drive after midnightThe return to CrespyM. Lefèvre explains that a machine, in order to work well, needs all its wheelsI hand in my resignation as his third clerk 166
I return to my mother'sThe excuse I give concerning my returnThe calfs lightsPyramus and CartoucheThe intelligence of the fox more developed than that of the dogDeath of CartouchePyramus's various gluttonous habits 184
Hope in LaffitteA false hopeNew projectsM. LecomierHow and on what conditions I clothe myself anewBamps, tailor, 12 rue du HelderBamps at Villers-CotteretsI visit our estate along with himPyramus follows a butcher ladAn Englishman who loved gluttonous dogsI sell PyramusMy first hundred francsThe use to which they are putBamps departs for ParisOpen credit 191
My mother is obliged to sell her land and her houseThe residuThe PiranèsesAn architect at twelve hundred francs salaryI discount my first billGondonHow I was nearly killed at his houseThe fifty francsCartierThe game of billiardsHow six hundred small glasses of absinthe equalled twelve journeys to Paris 204
How I obtain a recommendation to General FoyM. Danré of Vouty advises my mother to let me go to ParisMy good-byesLaffitte and PerregauxThe three things which Maître Mennesson asks me not to forgetThe Abbé Grégoire's advice and the discussion with himI leave Villers-Cotterets 213
I find Adolphe againThe pastoral dramaFirst stepsThe Duc de BelluneGeneral SébastianiHis secretaries and his snuff-boxesThe fourth floor, small door to the leftThe general who painted battles 223
RégulusTalma and the playGeneral FoyThe letter of recommendation and the interviewThe Duc de Bellune's replyI obtain a place as temporary clerk with M. le Duc d'OrléansJourney to Villers-Cotterets to tell my mother the good newsNo. 9I gain a prize in a lottery 234
I find lodgingsHiraux's sonJournals and journalists in 1823By being saved the expense of a dinner I am enabled to go to the play at the Porte-Saint-MartinMy entry into the pitSensation caused by my hairI am turned outHow I am obliged to pay for three places in order to have oneA polite gentleman who reads Elzevirs 251
My neighbourHis portraitThe Pastissier françoisA course in bibliomaniaMadame Méchin and the governor of SoissonsCannons and Elzevirs 263
Prologue of the VampireThe style offends my neighbour's earFirst actIdealogyThe rotiferWhat the animal isIts conformation, its life, its death and its resurrection 272
Second act of the VampireAnalysisMy neighbour again objectsHe has seen a vampireWhere and howA statement which records the existence of vampiresNeroWhy he established the race of hired applaudersMy neighbour leaves the orchestra 284
A parenthesisHariadan Barberousse at Villers-CotteretsI play the rôle of Don Ramire as an amateurMy costumeThe third act of the VampireMy friend the bibliomaniac whistles at the most critical momentHe is expelled from the theatreMadame Allan-DorvalHer family and her childhoodPhilippeHis death and his funeral 295
My beginning at the officeErnest BassetLassagneM. OudardI see M. DeviolaineM. le Chevalier de BrovalHis portraitFolded letters and oblong lettersHow I acquire a splendid reputation for sealing lettersI learn who was my neighbour the bibliomaniac and whistler 307
Illustrious contemporariesThe sentence written on my foundation stoneMy replyI settle down in the place des ItaliensM. de Leuven's tableM. Louis-Bonaparte's witty sayingLassagne gives me my first lesson in literature and history 323
Adolphe reads a play at the GymnaseM. DormeuilKenilworth CastleM. Warez and SouliéMademoiselle LévesqueThe Arnault familyThe FeuilleMarius à MinturnesDanton's epigramThe reversed passportThree fablesGermanicus Inscriptions and epigramsRamponneauThe young man and the tilburyExtra ecclesiam nulla est salusMadame Arnault 334
Frédéric Soulié, his character, his talentChoruses of the various plays, sung as prologues and epiloguesTransformation of the vaudevilleThe Gymnase and M. ScribeThe Folie de Waterloo 349
The Duc d'OrléansMy first interview with himMaria-Stella-ChiappiniHer attempts to gain rankHer historyThe statement of the Duc d'OrléansJudgment of the Ecclesiastical Court of FaenzaRectification of Maria-Stella's certificate of birth 360
The "year of trials"The case of Potier and the director of the theatre of the Porte-Saint-MartinTrial and condemnation of MagallonThe anonymous journalistBeaumarchais sent to Saint-LazareA few words on censorships in generalTrial of Benjamin ConstantTrial of M. de JouyA few words concerning the author of SyllaThree letters extracted from the Ermite de la Chaussée-d'AntinLouis XVIII. as author 375
The house in the rue ChaillotFour poets and a doctorCorneille and the CensorshipThings M. Faucher does not knowThings the President of the Republic ought to know 389
Chronology of the dramaMademoiselle Georges WeymerMademoiselle RaucourtLegouvé and his worksMarie-Joseph ChénierHis letter to the company of the Comédie-FrançaiseYoung boys perfectionnésDucisHis work 398
Bonaparte's attempts at discovering poetsLuce de LancivalBaour-LormianLebrun-PindareLucien Bonaparte, the authorDébut of Mademoiselle GeorgesThe Abbé Geoffroy's critiquePrince ZappiaHermione at Saint-Cloud 407
Imperial literatureThe Jeunesse de Henri IVMercier and Alexandre DuvalThe Templiers and their authorCésar DelrieuPerpignanMademoiselle Georges' rupture with the Théâtre-FrançaisHer flight to RussiaThe galaxy of kingsThe tragédienne acts as ambassador 420
The Comédie-Française at DresdenGeorges returns to the Théâtre-FrançaisThe Deux GendresMahomet II.Tippo-Saëb1814FontainebleauThe allied armies enter ParisLiliesReturn from the isle of ElbaVioletsAsparagus stalksGeorges returns to Paris 430
The drawbacks to theatres which have the monopoly of a great actorLafond takes the rôle of Pierre de Portugal upon Talma declining itLafondHis schoolHis sayingsMademoiselle DuchesnoisHer failings and her abilities-Pierre de Portugal succeeds 438
General RiégoHis attempted insurrectionHis escape and flightHe is betrayed by the brothers LaraHis trialHis execution 445
The inn of the Tête-NoireAuguste BalletCastaingHis trialHis attitude towards the audience and his words to the juryHis execution 452
Casimir DelavigneAn appreciation of the man and of the poetThe origin of the hatred of the old school of literature for the newSome reflections upon Marino Faliero and the Enfants d'ÉdouardWhy Casimir Delavigne was more a comedy writer than a tragic poetWhere he found the ideas for his chief plays 465
Talma in the École des VieillardsOne of his lettersOrigin of his name and of his familyTamerlan at the pension VerdierTalma's débutDugazon's adviceMore advice from ShakespeareOpinions of the critics of the day upon the débutantTalma's passion for his art 480