...capital. He made the acquaintance and secured the friendship of the gifted poet Alphonse de Lamartine, then becoming liberal in his political views; of Victor Hugo, then struggling into fame; of M. Alexis de Tocqueville , who had recently published the first part of his great work on Democracy in America; and of other well-known authors. Not a moment of his time was wasted. He attended the debates of the Chamber...