FRANCOIS EDOUARD JOACHIM COPPEE was born in Paris, January 12, 1842. His father was a minor 'employe' in the French War Office; and, as the family consisted of six the parents, three daughters, and a son (the subject of this essay) the early years of the poet were not spent in great luxury. After the father's death, the young man himself entered the governmental office with its monotonous work