The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-11-25
THURSDAY MORNING, nov. 25.
Victor Hugo's New Poem.


Edward Kings Paris letter to the Boston Journal
What shall say to you of Hugos poem,
81 Ane, u" THE ASS" 1t is one of the poets
quaintest fancies, around which he has
grouped the most majestic and imposing
thoughts. He takes that poor, abused, much
scandalized and presumably ignorant animal,
the ass, and makes him speak and pass in re-
view all the contradictions, miseries and
wrongs of humanity. This wonderful ass is
represented as talkingto the philosopher Kant
and asking him what he makes out of nature
and man. promise you that Kant gets
very rough handling. The miraculous quad
ruped knows little of everything, and Draws
it forth most melodiously in Rants ear. No
enc but Hugo could save such concert from
becoming ridicuous-but he makes it sublime.
The wretched, beaten animals at which man.
kind has been wont to r,il turns upon man
and rails in his turn. He mocks at mans in
tolerance, at his eternal persecution or those
who urge him to progress. at his inclination to
make war upon Gail, Mesmer, Papin, Calico,
Gutenberg. Gulton, Giordano, bruno, Camp
amelia, Columbus, Harvey, Keplar, Vasco de
Cana, and all the majestic procession of
shades which the venerable poet coniures to
arise from the vaults of his matchless memory,
The ass satiriZes man and all his inconsistent
cies. Hugo has contrived splendid satire in
which he administers parting blow, at the
close of his career, at all the conventionalities.
stupdities. prejudces and follies which still
rear their ugly heads against the light of day
The asa is a Savant who has eaten1 from the
hand of Apuleius and has conversed in cor
ner with Bslaam. For him there are no mvs-
teri"s. with his huge ears he has heard every
thing; with his patient eyes he has seen all.
He protests against the absurdity of humanity,
bat at the same time is impressed with pro-
found pity. All classes of thinking people in
France are sure to find this poem one of HUI
COS greatest works. The journals VIII oh have
received advance she is already speak of it in
terms of extravagant praise. The verse is
splendidly musical, the movement passionate,
eloquent and the phrasing so exquisitely telic-
itous as TO make all. ordinary writers despair.
Who will find a translator for this poet-a
translator who shall give US in our own tongue
all the richness, the suggestiveness, the might
ami glory of Hugo's thoughts? Voltaire did no
such glorious work as this; the old cynic was
too dry IN his latter days to write satire so
delightfully."- lyrical-a satire through and
through every line of Will h there is an under
tone of infinite Compassion, tenderness, SYM
parhy and love-.
which the ass rails at the proclivity of man.
kind. primarily to treat all men of genius as
fools, or worse. The great artist, in the vol
canic grandeur of his thought, has broken up,
bent, shaped to his impassioned music this old,
afistocratic, formal French language, and has
made it pulsate with harmonies SO noble and
spiritual that they entrance alike the learned
and the unlearned. This work, according to
Hugo, has been slowly maturing in his brain
for more than fifteen years, and now it has
suddenly burst forth In bewil6ering beauty.