sentences:  Mahon became a barrister in 1834, but the following year, he left for Paris.There he associated with Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, becoming a favourite at Louis-Philippe's court and working as a journalist.He travelled the world, spending time in both Africa, where he befriended Ferdinand de Lesseps, engineer of the Suez Canal, and South America, before returning to Ireland in 1846.