Young Sue found his old companion faring sumptuously, being attached to a liberal man named De Forges, who also supplied Sue occasionally with money.  Dr. Veron drove a fine horse and tilbury, and Sue was not content until he could do the same.  He applied to the Jewish money-lenders, who replied that if he would sell a lot of wines for them, they would allow him a handsome commission.  As a last resort he sold the wine, and procured a fine horse and phaeton.  Driving out one day very rapidly in the streets, he ran down a pedestrian, and looking at the unfortunate man he discovered that it was his own father!  The old man was exceedingly angry and caned him on the spot.  He demanded an explanation of his son for this apparent wealth, and commanded him at once to go to Toulon and enter the military hospital there, in the practice of his profession.  In Toulon his personal appearance was so fascinating that the women fell in love with him, and he carried on many shameful intrigues.

In 1825 he returned to Paris, and found an old friend of his the director of a little journal.  He commenced writing articles for this little journal, some of them light and others of a spirituel character, which were highly admired.  In Paris he was also given to intrigues with women.  In 1826 he made many aristocratic conquests, and frequented the home of a celebrated female novelist.  In his first romances, his high-born mistresses figure as his principal characters.  The elder Sue now formally declared that he would pay no more debts of his son, and he was again reduced to poverty.  He had recourse to the Jews, who lent him money upon his expectations from his grandfather.  He plunged again into extravagance, and this time his father placed him as surgeon in the navy, and in this capacity he made voyages round the world.  Soon after his return, his maternal grandfather died, and his father a little later left him a large fortune, and he commenced a life of gorgeous extravagance and sensuality, which has often been described.  From 1831 to 1833, he published a series of sea-romances, which had a great success, and the French critics called him the French Cooper.  He was very proud, frequented the most gay and fashionable circles, and assumed airs above his station.  He was, however, one day excessively mortified by the sarcastic allusion of one of his noble friends to the business or profession of his father.  He once more tried the pen to achieve a name for himself, and this time in history.  For the Naval History of France which he wrote, he received eighty thousand francs, an enormous price for a poor book.  The more renown he acquired, the less pains he took with his books, but he always made good any losses incurred by publishers in publishing his works.