(1844-1896)
French poet Paul Verlaine arrived in Brussels in July 1873 and wrote to his protégé Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) that he was planning to enlist in the Spanish army. Rimbaud arrived post haste and, in the course of frequenting several cafés, the two poets argued vociferously. Verlaine threatened to commit suicide. He bought a revolver in an armory in the Galeries Saint-Hubert and, on 10 July, he proceeded to fire two shots at Rimbaud in their lodging at rue des Brasseurs 1. Wounded in the wrist, Rimbaud lodged a formal complaint with the authorities and returned to Paris. Verlaine was arrested and incarcerated in the prison of the Petits Carmes. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment during which time he returned to the Roman Catholic faith of his childhood and wrote religious poetry, which later appeared in Sagesse (Wisdom [1881]).
Historical Dictionary of Brussels. Paul F. State.