“ MENDÈS, CATULLE (1841–1909) , French poet and man of letters, of Jewish extraction, was born at Bordeaux on the 22nd of May 1841. He early established himself in Paris, attaining speedy notoriety by the publication in the Revue fantaisiste (1861) of his “Roman d’une nuit,” for which he was condemned to a month’s imprisonment and a fine of 500 francs. ”

“ He was allied with the Parnassians from the beginning of the movement, and displayed extraordinary metrical skill in his first volume of poems, Philoméla (1863) . In later volumes—Poésies, I ère série (1876) , which includes much of his earlier verse, “Soirs moroses,” Contes épiques, Philoméla, &c ”