midnight
The influence of the Ducs de Maufrigneuse and de Rhetore , whom he knew in the society of actresses , procured him his employment under government in 1819 . On good terms with des Lupeaulx , with whom in society he stood on an equality , and intimate with du Bruel , he was a living proof of Rabourdin 's theory as to the steady deterioration of the administrative hierarchy in Paris through the personal importance which a government official may acquire outside of a government office . Short in stature but well-formed , with a delicate face remarkable for its vague likeness to Napoleon 's , thin lips , a straight chin , chestnut whiskers , twenty-seven years old , fair-skinned , with a piercing voice and sparkling eye , -- such was Bixiou ; a man , all sense and all wit , who abandoned himself to a mad pursuit of pleasure of every description , which threw him into a constant round of dissipation . Hunter of grisettes , smoker , jester , diner-out and frequenter of supper-parties , always tuned to the highest pitch , shining equally in the greenroom and at the balls given among the grisettes of the Allee des Veuves , he was just as surprisingly entertaining at table as at a picnic , as gay and lively at midnight on the streets as in the morning when he jumped out of bed , and yet at heart gloomy and melancholy , like most of the great comic players . Launched into the world of actors and actresses , writers , artists , and certain women of uncertain means , he lived well , went to the theatre without paying , gambled at Frascati , and often won . Artist by nature and really profound , though by flashes only , he swayed to and fro in life like a swing , without thinking or caring of a time when the cord would break . The liveliness of his wit and the prodigal flow of his ideas made him acceptable to all persons who took pleasure in the lights of intellect ; but none of his friends liked him .