, 1874-02-01
n9g na9s1ng failed IN this, set herself to m,.;n.

having failed in this, set herself n wat.
victor Hugo feel ridiculous by 4s5'ns
LAUGHING At BIS oDDLY-cH1sEIED vrnr.
One day, at a rehearsal. ehe looked $50 M ..
poet and said. laughing, "Yhv. hcrs 9p asth&
5nrd line, Monsieur Hugo You mako M NJ % s.l a.
Ernani: 1No lug say to
'ooa cues mon lion supesoe ct gene.eq.-
can never call that ac:or mon iioa.' : H.,
| Say mon selgneur." Pardon me- ,,si;s sns4
hugo; "'mon lion would be absurd m 1spned aannsd
applied TO your brother actor; but yon sra sat'
dressing brigand chief, and il Won canno 1e a.
yourself to remember this viii thsnI o. .s prlnss
hand over your part to some one else 'o4 ~ 20
Queen OF tue Theatre F1anca;s vas aa+,,.:aad Ia
ed that young author should talk in sns oo.sa- a1
to her; but Victor Hugo spoke so fr1nJr tt.I stsa
% %Woman.l.ko. che had the tact to penee;1, eaas
The first performance of ssErnsni to,l villa wlth
amidst tumultuous confusion, shouts of 1,pnaS p.So
ter, groan8 aud catcals from tho "class;ca n4so.
uproar.ous cheering from the Romantics xaa ~aa
Were. Tor the most part, tho writer's own 91en5N ~
u the eng these latter prevailed. Victor Tn1a
THE FIRST POET or TIE DAY
and tho . Romantic SCHOOL, ieua,i~La "a ova- A.
iand from that day fcr,h with aa.ly rcreaz;ns ;as
luxuriauce. -A~1eA7'occ
How Victor Hugo lowered above ali th. l;te,,
men OF LOUIS PalAppe's time, became the hncha,5.i
o:polishcd circles lie Grssaye pIancio r;a9So
sort of royal influence much like Vo|taircs ~ "a
last century, and was eventually pronoIe5 20 10:
the House Of Peers, ara fae<s we'll kna,rNo ~
There can be no doub. that he yas tho o,;a'
fnator OF that steady deterioration in Frans
literature which has been observable since iSso
Himself be was perfect, and 50 were h;s sss:i
imttato1s but having let at nauphk all thu 49,
whlch hao formerly kept writer's in subicctinni
to the principles Of good taste and sense ha W.
instrumental IN generating new school of IL
eraturc, not only 1aw!efs, 1''
but LIcEEuoCs
This has been chiefly noticeable IN stace )itc,
azure: FRENCH novels Of the modern rora,,t,c
school are wild enough, but French trareSiss
have gono beyond TIN furthcst confines of M
hess, and border Oh the burlcsque. Thav h.~at
even ceased to bear the name Of trade.v ~
tho term :. mclodraua" was coined for thc;r
benefit. The melodrama led to parody an1R
parody to extravaganza in which hstorr anc.nti sn4
and mcdern, religion, Kings, disuitaries-oyar.I
thing, In short, that is acknowledgements encros.
s!Vely turned into ridic1ue. For this Yictor!
Hugo is indirectly responsible.
But b!s theories in literature naturally pre-
pared his mind for conversion to ext7emn riowa
in politics. Tho revolution OF 1913 brought lin
into contact with II. Emile de Gira.iin, md thsI
famous journalist had the merit Of coarincne;
him that royalties we're as superannuatati ID
politics IS classic regulations wore Ga tie stare|
Great poets seldom so half way in tackinS, anI
Victor lingo, WIN had been rova.;ss fner III
January, 1873, 1eTealed himself in December ot
the cams year as
THE HulA.,1TAnIAS SOCIALIST
who waa strongly inclined 70 =i.lo with all ooDn.
lar movements, howe-cg reckless. There i. a
certain madness in his p}iil.n;hzop:c rsdcaliam
snd Louis Napoleon, who .sag 4 jadse Of uucn'
refused to coufer upon Victor Hugo tho roat al
Education Minister, which tho lat:er coveted
For this tho poet never fo-ga,o him. Having
under1atcd Louis Napoleor's capacities AZ =
statesman Ee WAS stung to find that he was him.
selI made Ighs Of as "dreamc-,"
and this explains how, after having ia-
bored with all his might to sccQro'
Louis Napoleoa's election to the Presidency, 10
vent into twentJ-years' exile after tho couo'
Ietat OF 1851. No doubt Victor Hugo abor-'
mated the coup Getat, for its own sake, aad It
would be unfair to ascrho hia eelfimpo5csl c1iiot
altogether to wounded ranity. But tho author
u - Notro Dame" was 4 man who might haTe
'oudoned good deal in tho WAY nj arbitrary
7insahip had he been ia thu confidence Of tho
lespos: He is one Of those p!,ilanttropists who
ather like to
AAKE PEoELE HAPPT nT SYSTEMS,
ven compulsory than to let them be happy IN
heir own way. Liberty, as he understands it. ID
he lib :cty to think and set as Hugo thinks and
cts, aud people WHO object to this formula be
egards, not ansrily. perhaps, bat pityin5!y and
mpatiently, rs imbecies. Such is the Victor
Iugo who after writing ''Les Orieutales,"
Ernani"- and "Notro Dsmc" has given u
Les Chatiments," "Nnpoloou le Petit" aud
Les Atiserablce" In 'sNinety- Three" he will
robably throw of bis last mask altogether and
reclaim himself Communicated because ht
kes disorder. but because Iawlessuess has be-
ome q sort Of religion with him.