New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-04-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
AN APOSTLE OF LIBERTY.

whose
md life are admirable is found so seldom that
whom he does shine upon the world 1t NAV be ex-
cnsed for looking upon HIM as demigod II is IN
this light that Victor Hugo is regarded III France
and il is under its glamour that NJ. Barbon has
chanted the prose paan contained in this volume.
Victor Hugo the most persistent and loyal oil
repuhlicans was born of aristocrahc race OF
Iorrane-a race that included men OF letters as
we'll as soldiers. General Hugo. his father was
one of family of brothers, all soldiers anu
was himself as skilful with the pen as Win the
sword. He was an honest and intelligent ilan'
somewhat obstinate in his ways, ana 40 ue'o'ou "
Bonaparte that his political opinions lei nun "
separate from his wife when victor was '"o''o
wears old Madame Ilugos only fault was 'n"' ''
n trne Vendean. her soul was absorbed Ill ioSaiS
to her king and the traditions OF the ,hrouo'
Victor. the future worshpper of pollucaI hoelty'
was reared by this gentle mother IN her own i"''"'
while his father followed the fortunes of Bonaparte
in Italy and In Spain. the boy pursued his stuule'
pnder a kind old priest or played with his young
brothers in the garden of their quiet home in Paris
II was a life of sunshine roses books aud loving
maternal tcudance-ft nurture for poet.
Noaamo Hugo lived n retired life entertaining
,oue hnt \ few intimate friends anh devoting her
self TO her children. Strict vet tender, grave ye1
gentle CONSCIENTIOUS wei o inn nortance of her
maternal duties she was woman OF superior IN
tellect having. however. much OF that masculine
disnosition which Plato would nave uescIioeu rs
9 rovalv Tenderness, not unaccompanled by re-
serve discipline that was Systematic ahd nor 10 ne
disputed the SLIGHTEST nj all approaches 10 lainH-
artv and grave dscouTses replete with instruction.
were the principal features of the training whlch
she bestowed upon her children IN general upon
Victor in particular Altogether her teaon.ns VIZ
vigorous and wholesome. without a touch OF rnNsli
cism or of doubt and she did her part 10 make her
sons worthy OF the name ol men 1900 1;,,od 20
very word of Madame llugos was llstcneu 10
with respecf and every direction obeyed without
n murmur Though there were many rult-tTees III
the garden the boys were forbidden TO 1ouch inc
fruit v.
Leave II on the ground .,
And what II II Is getting rotteh'
Let il get rotten , H.
And n far as the children were concerned the
fruit on the ground wonid lie ana rot. .,o,,o
The owner of Madame lugos house was LaianlP'
the astronomer lie lived next door ana ms eaIuSh
was separated from that of the FeuillantlneS only
by some light trelis work. Fearing that ne shoud
lc ANNOYED bv the children, lie proposed To put up
You need not he afraid" said the mother; my
bows will not trespass upon your property. l have
No barrier of any kind was erected, yet neither of
tho three brothers ever known 10 set foot upon
the landlords ground
This quiet life was not without its romance
General Lahorie Victor's godfather, was implicated
IN Noreaus affair in 1901 and in danger of arrest
She nursed him curing a dangerous illness; and
When he recovered sheltered him for long time III
n ruined chanel IN her garden. The soldier shared
the family meals: he worked sometimes among the
flowers: he gave the. three young lugos lessons
and good advice; and above all, he implanted III
the little royalis his godson. an idea that was TO
bear great fruit in the future. "Chhd," he would
say while expatiating on the Roman Republic
"child everything must yield to liberty" Alter
several years Of safety the General was discovered
imprisoned and finally shot and his godson first
learned his fate in reading placard pinned on
church wall. The impression made on his mind was
bitter and lasting
When Victor was nine years old he went
with his mother and brothers to Spain, where
General Hugo had been made by King Joseph Gov
ernor of two provinces. Here in years residence
Victor acquired n thorough knowledge OF the Ian
cuace and something of the Castilian bearing, a
certain gravity of department, stability OF MIND
and irmness of sentiment ;-pcrhapS, 100, deeper
susceptibility to romance. For when the mother
and sons returned to their old home IN Paris, the
boy then first fell IN love with Adele foucher, the
little girl who afterward became his wife, and was
the one love of his manhood as of his childhood.
The story of this tender affection for his play1el0w
in the old garden Hugo has himself related IN " lie
Derpier Jour dun Condamne." He recalls the Joys
he remembers the appearance in the solitary garden
of the little AndalusIan girl, Peplta he sees her
in all her charms. just fourteen years OF age with
large lustrous eyes and luxuriant hair. with rich
yold-bIown skin and crimson lips; lie dwelis on the
proud emotion which he felt as she leaned npon his
srm; he recounts how they wandered, talking
softly. along the shady walks; he tells how he
p,cked up the handkerchief she had dropped, and
was conscious of her hands trcm bling as they
touched his own. and he recOllects how they
talked about the birds, the stars, and the golden
sunset; sometimes, too, about her schoolieliows,
her dresses and her ribbons
After the fall of The Empire General Hugo sent
lis sons to a boarding school where Victor tyran-
nized over his fellows and first began TO write
poetry and plays. of which he took in representa-
ton the principal character. All his recreation
hours were devoted to these dramatic pursuits, and
part of his nights ne spent in transating into
French verse the odcs of Horace and various frag
nents of Virgil. Tragedies alone did not suffice
he composed eleges, idyls fables, romanccs, CO.
nundrums madrgas, and even puns in verse. lie
sang of bards aud fair Canadians; he translated
Auscnius and perpetrated a comic opera In
those days Hugo thought of nothing beyond the
classics and in his early pieces the undercurrent OF
sentiment that tnges them all is his love of the
Bourbons. lie was but fourteen years DID, and he
believed III them with all sincerity.
To a cerfsn extent, all these youthful produc-
tons are the echoes of his mothers teaching and
the outcome of vcncratOn for her In lsl7 he
made up his mind without telling anyone TO com
pete for the poetical prize annually offered bS tho
Academic Franchise. He sent IN his poem On tic
advantages of study in every situation of hfe" il
won an honorable MENTION" and might have won
something more had not the judges refused to be
lieve that the writer was only fifteen. Madame
Hugo was indignant. Come with me- she said
come and let me show you to these unbelevers
who assert that you are a man. have the register
OF your birth in my pocket" Together they FASTENED