New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-04-30

| in his attire. with nnbowed head. and with thick
white hair browning his unfurrowed brow, he COM
| mands involuntary admiration. Round his face IS
| n close white beard. which he has worn since tho
| later period of his soionrn in Gncrnsey a safe
| guard against throat. hut he shows no to-
| ken of infrnity. His couDtcnance may 10 said
| to have in it something both of the lion and
| of the eagle. yet his voice is grave and his man
| ncr singularly gentle. The writer Of this record
rccollects how. on one occasion. he great
maser denounced to him the realistic character Of
many modern romances. regarding them as
| INV ho'esome and degraded and how on another
| occasi H. he spoke with vehemcncc against the in
| consistency of the Rcpublic in admitting various
creatures of the Empire TO several public offices;
but neither his literary convc ions nor his political
parti lites ever really disturbed the calmness of
| his line of thought
As general rule, his personal enemies do not give
| odous should happen TO be mentioned. he usually
! finds words to exDress his aversion Tins on our
| incidentally abiding to Mcrimce, he broke out
| THAT man leaves Infamous memory behind
| him. He used his talent to decaim about what his
| heart was too barren to understand"
But such Outbursts never seriously affect Victor
| Hugo's habitual serenity his mind like his books,
would seem to be the simple, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| of humanity.
| stands mp for the rights of women and children
While Musset has dedicated his strOphcs to love as
| passion, Hugo has regarded love as a sacred duty
he speaks directly TO the maternal heart and IL cen
slant in his endeavor to reinstatc such as have fa-
le' victims TO misery or social laws lie is pathcuc
| over an infants cradle, he is delighted at child
hoods pratte, and in him the far-hared head of in
nocence is as full of interest as the glory of man.
| Thus beaming with affection for children in gen
era it is not in the least matter of surprise tha
| he should make his two grandchildren. Georges AMI
| Jeanne, the hero and heroine of Tart detre
| Grand PEREZ a work into which he has thrown the
fulness of his genius and the freshness OF his love
| Nor was the gIandfather-Doet ever weary OF de-
vising little schemes TO divert the young people, no
| one being more expert in Balancing fork on Il de
| canier-sOpper. carving pig out Of a piece OF
| bread, making lnclfer matches do duty Tor legs
| nor was any one more interested in arranging Ju-
| y"nlle entertainments, especially at the season OF
| the new year. II was a lWelth,nlght parry ihi
| young Jeanne showed how early she had imblb"d
| of the drawing of kings" which was the speciality
OF the OCCASION getting weary of hearing such con-
slant repetition of lie roll lie rOiW she mount ed ona
| chair and begin crying "Nive la Repubque!
While they were quite young his little grandclnld-
rem allowed to bring their cat INTO the salon
| before dinner. when the diversion in the way of
| man whom they called their papapa" would per
| NIT them to pull his fine white beard and TO roll
themselves over him, laughing heartily rs he called
| out: " All, see you know what a grandfather IS
made for; he Is made TO SIT upOnW AS an llluslra-
ton of his love for domestic JOYS we may instance
| his definition of Paradise as "a place where chill
| dren always little and parents are always
| young" Young IN his sympathy he has ever been
and II will be reckoncd no serious BETRAYAL of secret
condolences to say that he has been known to carry
OH pot of preserves 10 his little Jeanne when she
has been shut up in disgrace. and that he has made
point of rcfuslngtO touch his fruit at dessert TO
| show his grief at her havlngbeen naughty.
| The volume is illustrated by 12O drawings many
of them by Hugo himself. The most notable of
| these is a dramatic sketch of John Brown hanging
on the g;tllows in the blackness of chaos faint
| light Illuminating the dropping, munlcd head OF
| Hugo as an artist NJ. Barbon says:
OF course like other boys at school he taught
! to draw, but maniestly the pen had more charms
| Tor him than the pencil. There was nothing at that
time to indicate the power that he would sUbse-
| quenty develop. He says of himself:
| The first time that took sketch from nature
| was after had reached mans estate. was making
| an excursion in the enylrons of Paris travelling
| with "A lady IN diligence In n village near Meu-
| lam il | remember right, the vehicle stayed TO
| change horses. ! allghted. and as We happened 10
| be the church went inside, and was so much
| struck by the graceful beauty of the apse that |
made an attempt to copy some of the details My
| hat served for an easel. had only about ten mill
utes at my disposal, butwhcn was summoned back
| had 50 far finished my sketch that it very
fair souvenir OF the place. Then for the first time
| realized how bcnehciliy copying from nature might
| be cOmh1ned with my literary pursuits. he lady
| travelling with me asked me whether intended to
| be IN artist and laughed together at the sug
gcstion; but the incident was happy circumstance
for me, and have ever since delighte in sketching
architectural pccullauties OF iablcs that remain III
the org inal design and have not been improved
| by mOdern handling. Architecture is often wit
ness the llmaie Of district gabled roof tells
| of the prevalence of rain Hat root of sunshine;
and a roof weighted heavily with stones of WINE"
| But though drawing never became Victor tugOs
occupation, II grew more and more TO he his recre
atIom. By prrpctually scnbbling designs either TO
employ ms leisure m lnents, To X some Impression
on MS memory, or To amuSc children, the uerul DRY
draugh sman trained himself into striking artist
He has never had recourse to any patient and sys
| tematic teaching Often, a mere relaxation for
weary mind. he will scratch down few random
INES; soon they Will bear the outline of Il cloud;
below the cIodd a turret will appear. then castle
Will reveal itself, and the scene will begin to dc
| transformed into ruin IN "A landscape dark as Wal
purgis, dlmll mingled with hgnt and shade. For
| ihrse yagarles yihiug will serve for starting
point and "a chance blot of INK viii soon be subject
to &c most startling metamOrphOSes, art coming III
to finish what fancy mas began.
My inkStand," ne says " is generally my palette;
if want gh er SHADE glass OF water rs my only
requisite th5Hgn lew drops OF coffee are OCCASION
| ally very uSeiul,"
| so skful, however. Is his hand that in spite of
the simplicity OF his material. lie has produced much
upon winch the most ilustrous artists have avlshed
| their unqualified praise
| Many Ot his compositions attest his admiration
for the banks of the Rhine with their castles and
| runs anu their recollection seems continually to
| haunt him. lie has loving YeneratlOn for tIe
| Made ACES which III marvellous manner he has,
as were recalled to life; he takes IN evident de-
| light in the dllapidated fabrics the crumbllng
ceilings ana the broken mulOns. deprecating from
his very soul all modern attempts 10 r. store them.
1t has been ms hablt Tor some years past to send
| a water-colO drawing on New Years Day to some
| of his more intimate ire d.. hat which was re-
| ceived by Sanl-NictOr IN 1865 represented burnt
| down village. devastated by 'onbs ,talncl with
| blood-a conspicuous Obj ct III 1t being chlds
empty cradle IT mas the inscription VIII ten below
| " ORGANIZATION Mllltairc"
| AKIN to the subject of his drawing. although Of
somew hat Inferior interest, Is that OF he poets
| handwriting to whcn urict space may 10 here
| devoted Inns writing has undergone a consider
| able change. III his younger days it was very
| snail and close but by degrees it has become de-
| cidedly larger.
| Since 1910 he has been in the habit OF using
small foiio paper which he has purchased for MIN
| sell IN the ordinary way ana which not, has
! been reported, the gilt of generous and admrlng
| stauoner. lie sull continues 20 write with qull
| pens and his handwriting remains firm and we'll
| formed. Very few erasures found III his work.
l}y his will he has bcqueathcd ali his manuscripts
| To the Blbliothcque NatIOnac, where they Will uc
! preserved, and will torn u treasure OF priceless
value.
| M Barbon's book has little method, and in wan