in a humble apartment in the faubourg St. Denis.  For a time after this, his efforts were attended with poor success, but he had the good fortune to please the director-general of the theaters by a tragedy, and he promised him that it should be brought out.  Before this was done the director left for the east, and in his absence the man who took his place refused to bring out the play.  Dumas made loud complaint.  The censor asked him if he had money, and he replied that he had not a sou.  He demanded of him what he depended upon for his support, Dumas referred to his salary of twelve hundred francs, as secretary to the duke of Orleans.  The censor advised him to stick to his writing-desk.  This was not only cruel, but very unjust treatment of an author of great promise.  In this play, it is but right to state, Dumas exhibited the weakness which has almost uniformly characterized his career—­that of plagiarism.  His situations, and sometimes his language, were stolen from Goethe, Scott, etc., etc.  His next play was entitled Henry III., and was brought out under the protection of the duke of Orleans.  It was very successful, and he received for it the sum of fifty thousand francs.  It was, like the play which preceded it, filled with stolen passages and scenes, but this did not detract from its success.  He now left his humble lodgings and took up his residence in the Rue de l’University, where he lived in splendid style.  He was not a man to hoard his money, but to enjoy it as it was earned.

His life at this time was almost a ludicrous one.  He lived in the most luxurious manner, dressed fantastically, and loved a great number of women.  After the great success of Henry III., the play—­Christine—­which had previously been rejected, was brought forward with success.

In the revolution of July Dumas acted bravely, and has himself told the story of his conduct with not a little boasting.  He brought out the drama of Napoleon Bonaparte, and that of Charles VII., after Louis Phillippe was upon the throne.  These dramas he had the fame of writing, but other persons wrote largely in them.  He adopted the plan of employing good writers upon the different parts of a drama, and while himself superintending the whole and writing prominent parts, yet entrusting to his assistants a great portion of the composition.  It was his genius which arranged the plot and guided the selection of characters, but the glory should have often been divided with his humbler co-laborers.  Victor Hugo wrote a play which the censors would not allow to be brought out.  He read it to Dumas.  The latter soon issued a play which was so very like that of Hugo, that when sometime after the interdict was taken off from the play of Hugo, he was accused of stealing from Dumas.  But the truth was easily to be proved—­that Hugo’s play was first written—­and Dumas declared in the public newspapers that if there was any plagiarism in anybody, himself was the guilty party!  A new play now appeared which was principally written by assistants, and which was also defaced by plagiarisms.  Like some of those which preceded it, it made light, indeed glorified, vices of the darkest dye.