In 1894, while serving on the frigate "Iphigénie", he wrote to a friend that he missed music and if he had the means he would go to the Conservatoire de Paris. While still split between the life of a sailor and musician, he worked away on harmony. He took part in campaigns on board the "Forfait" in the South China Sea, then on the "Vinh-Long", where he witnessed the closing stages of the Sino-Japanese War. He brought back sketches that became the suite "Kakémonos", initially written for the piano, but later orchestrated and performed at the Concerts Poulet on 29 January 1923 ("Panorama, Geishas, Temple au Crépuscule, Fête").