Second lieutenant in the red gendarmes, he was sent to the border at the time of the Spanish Civil War. He resigned in 1828. He began writing verse in 1815. He wrote prose, Cinq mars, Chatterton, etc. Became a member of the Académie française in 1845. Autograph letter signed “Alfred de Vigny” to a colleague. Dated April 27, 1856, 3 pp. in -8°.Very fine letter in which Vigny recommends "Maxime", Léon Duval, whose wishes, like Lindor in "The Barber of Seville", are those of a simple high school graduate who, the next day, must take his exam. The candidate is intelligent, studious and raised with the greatest distinction being the son of the first marriage of the Duchess of Saint-Simon; his stepfather loves him and asks that we take into consideration his youth, his weakness and his shyness.