BOUILHET

bouilhet, louis hyacinthe (1822-1869), french poet and dramatist, was born at cany, seine inferieure, on the 27th of may 1822. he was a schoolfellow of gustave flaubert, to whom he dedicated his first work, _meloenis_ (1851), a narrative poem in five cantos, dealing with roman manners under the emperor commodus. his volume of poems entitled _fossiles_ attracted considerable attention, on account of the attempt therein to use science as a subject for poetry. these poems were included also in _festons et astragales_ (1859). as a dramatist he secured a success with his first play, _madame de montarcy_ (1856), which ran for seventy-eight nights at the odeon; and _helene peyron_ (1858) and _l'oncle million_ (1860) were also favourably received. but of his other plays, some of them of real merit, only the _conjuration d'amboise_ (1866) met with any great success. bouilhet died on the 18th of july 1869, at rouen. flaubert published his posthumous poems with a notice of the author, in 1872. see also maxime du camp, _souvenirs litteraires_ (1882); and h. de la ville de mirmont, _le poete louis bouilhet_ (1888).