The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1877-07-27
An Evening with Victor Hugo.

| 1t was Victor Hugos reception evening,
and as soon as he had finished his coffee we
all passed into the salon, where the people
soon began to arrive, including many dis
tinguished literary men and artists. Among
Others, came two tall, graceful young ladies,
evidently dear friends of the family, whom
Victor Hugo received very graciously, pres
sing their hands to his lips.
Now Victor Hugo is not, and never was,
lacking in gallantry but he is pure. He
never stained his pages by illusions girl or
a woman would blush to read, and of how
few French writers could you say that What
good angel stood by his side No matter (;
he was never licentous, that is enough.
| Open him anywhere, you feel there is no
sort of taint about him only 1--WE must con-
| fess) a certain constrained or overstrained
way of writing about love which has made
it bud and develop into the most extraordi-
nary stock of flowers and leaves that ever
love bore The conduct of his lovers reminds
one of dust adoring ashes, one star paying
court to another, metaphysics wooing poet
|
to village spinster, or the male and female
| figures in Ia sculptor's studio becoming en-
amored of each other in the nighttime when
the sculptor is asleep, but it suggests moth
ing of love such as we know it or dream of
it ourselves.
Nine. D, who in the absence of Nine.
Hugo, presided that evening, desiring, /
know, to see all her guests at ease and let nc
one lack for entertainment, came and sat
down by my side. She mentioned the names
of number of Americans she had met, and
quoted the saying of Charles Hugo, "Au
agreeable American is equivalent to two
delightful Englishmen,' so laughingly and
with such look, was afraid she didn't
think it could be true
Another lady member of the family, will
the same benevolent intentions, am sure
opened a conversation with me in English
"Siuce you are an admirer of Victor Hu
60" she said, 81 must ask you, 'fIave yol
ever read Last Day of condemned Man q
was obliged to answer in the negative.
"Then you must read it. | have read i
five times and / think it the finest thin
he has written. Have you ever read, Notr
Dame de Paris?'"
Here again was obliged to answer in tn
negative. | felt quite shame-faced, and has
tened to enumerate the books had read
including nearly all his other prose wri
tings. These we discussed while, playin
a sort of battledoor of conversation, unit
the childen attempted to hoist the house ca
into Victor ITugo's lap, when, diverted b
this incident, we talked of him.
''He is just as you see him here tonight,
she said, ,'quiet and good humored. He love
little children as you can plainly see by tn
gambols of those little ones. He loves hu
manty-the very dregs of it, do not be
lieve there was ever better or purer mar
He is to be classed with John Brown, whor
he tried to save, Garibaldi, Mazzini, job
Howard, Plimsoll, and Samuel G. Howe
if pronounce your English names arigh
He is one of natures children. lie love
flowers and the east wind, scorpions and tn
blue ..sky-whatever is nature. He love
criminals and poor people for just the sam
reason-they are all Gods children, he say
and always keeps tender side open
their woes. As for his style, you can judg
of it as well as but / must tell you O
anecdote We are talking CONFIDENTIAL
you know, and under cover of your Language
Once he prepared a letter to accompany tn
manuscript of new work The was about t
send to the publisher, and into that lettt
> he put nothing but huge point of interrc
: CATION. The publisher to be equally cut
and spiritual, replied in letter which COZ
, tanned nothing but a huge point of exclams
tion 1t was the same as saying on the on
hand, How do you like it? and on the 9th,
| admire it His stories are precisely lik
that correspondence, ingenious in the e,
treme, and if you do not read them too lor
time, very pleasing. But one chapter
day, and not more than one book year a.
enough for me. ."-7he GALAXY for August