Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-30
WHO WAS ADELE HUGO?
me Woman to Whom the Cable Says the
Poet Left SSOO,OOO.

]
some details of the romantic career of
Adele, daughter of Victor Hugo, to
whom as reported by the cable, he left
! 4,oOO,OO0 francs. The story in brief is that
Adele Hugo, when quite young gi,l and
HYlng with her parents in Bu.s r-H
madly in love with a young man u,oucd
Pierson, belonging to wealthy English
family then residing in that city. A Sc
cret marriage, as she thought, took place,
and. Pierson promised to make her his
wife publicly In due time. Meanwhile
his regiment in the British army was
ordered TO Halifax. Previous to this
he had written her to join him in London,
where they would be formally married,
Miss Hugo, accompanied bV her mother.
fastened to London, but found there that
Plerson had left with his regiment. Adele
came to New York, and thence went to
HALIFAX, where she lived three years. He
| repudlated her, but she persisted in fol-
/ lowing him, and, after consulting Mr..
Robert Nation, Q. c., of Halifax. and
relating the story of her wrongs, pre-
| vented his marriage with Miss johnson,
/ daughter OF the Premier of Nova Scotia
| Lieut.. PERSONS regiment having left for
the Barbados Adele followed him. being
enabled 20 maintain herself by continued
| remittances of 500 monthly from her
| father.
Another version of this sensational tale
says tlat Adele was married to Pierson.
who took her to the West Indies i'm the
| first place, and that, being abandoned by
her husband, she became suddenly insane.
| Inc story continues: In her rare lucid
moments she has been heard to say, "If
be had not abandoned me | should not
have lost my reason" She found herself
left without resources, and in her distress
she appealed to her illustriOus father.
The help he sent she placed upon the car
pet and told the trades-peOple to help
themselves. The first corners took all,
Whereupon the old negress servant adj
Vlsed her to write again to her father. In
the interval poverty and distre were
endured, which intensified the mania, and
| finally the poet sent tor ner to come home
Her insanity is mild and harmless. She
can reason we'll and her memory is good
but suddenly, while at the table, she will
put her food in her pocket. Her dress is
that OF young girl; her walk is very Pc
culiar; she fills her pockets with a host
OF things which she picks up out of the
road In her daily promenade, and one day
she collects the pebbles in her path, which
she replaces in her next walk. She is
proud OF her fathers reputation, and
knows his works by heart. Mile. Adele,
as she is called, is supplied with every
thing that can contribute to her physical
| comfort. She has her own servants, and
she spends most of her time walking in the
grounds. One day as she passed the
garden where the most afflicted patients
were walking, she remarked to her COM
panion: poor maniacs! how unhappy
they must be.'' Her father often visited
her, and the days of his visits were red
letter days to her and the other patients,
who knew him and thronged to him with
questions, to all of which he gave
answers. While the others were about
him the daughter would caress the
fathers face, eXclaiming: 81 have lost
my lite!' she speaks in a low tone, anC
as he was somewhat deaf her companions
would repeat. Can any one imagine a
more remarkable scene?
This romantic story bears intrinsic
evidences of Improbability," said the edi-
tor of the Courier deS EtdtS- Uris, when
the above facts were presented to him.
cit seems TO be as much product OF the
imagination as the most fanciful of HugO's
TOmances. If it is true, it is strange that
there is no allusiOn to the existence of this
girl to be found in any of Victor Hugo's
biographies. No alluson is made to it in
his Memories written by his wife and
dictated or revised by himself. The ubi-
quitous and gossipY reporters of the Paris
chatterbOXes of the boulevards and cafes
and salons never have mentioned it. There
is not trifle connected with Hugo's daily
life in Paris for the past fifteen years that
has not been topic of conversation with
the Parisians and chronicled in the press
Yet no allusion has been made to this sad
dest and most sensational of his family
affairs.
again, what could be more improba-
] lie
daughter to venture across the Atlantic
and then pursue her lover from Canada to
the Barbados. In France girls are not
accustomed to travel alOne they are not
/ allowed even to 20 shopping alone or to
/ appear on the street without an escort.
| In the matter Of travelling alone, young
French girl is about as helpless as "a babe.
And if Miss Hugo succeeded in leaving
home clandestnely and reaching Halifax,
/ Is it likely that fond father like Victor
| Hugo would leave his only daugh-
| ter helpless and alone in a far
| of Canadian garrison town.
Would he not have brought her
home instead of sending her a monthly
allowance? And if Hugo, suppOsing the
story true. should studi0usly refrain from
all allusiorf' to her in his writings. why
should he visit her so frequently and in
such an OstentatiOus manner that the
occasion of his visits should be a red
letter day to all the other patients of the
asylum Finally, as to the legacy Of
1900, coo francs. If she is living and in
sane, why should Hugo leave the enor-
nous sum of $500 600 to an incurable ma
MAC? If he did so he would be more in
sane than his daughter"
H. is alleged in this narrative that the
Hugo family were in Brussels at the time
Of The meeting Of Miss Adeleand PiersOn.
This is erroneous, as Victor Hugo was In
Guernsey and Jersey during all the years
covered by the story of his alleged
daughters misfOrtunes. IL Is said also
that Miss Hugo was I'm Halifax in 1867,
that she remained only three years In that
CITY and that she was visited by the
Prince dc JOinville when he was in
America. The Prince de Joinyille was
here IN 1861 and 1852, and consequently
could NOT have seen Miss Hugo if she was
in that city from 1864 TO 1867.
From the details and dehniteness Of the
story. however. and the character Of the
narratOrs, it seems unquestionable that
some person representing herself az Miss
Hugo was tn Halifax at The time. But 10
Is more likely that the lady IN person was
a clever adventures, or possibly an ille-
Ultimate daughter Of Hugo.
CHICAGO. ILL. May 2S.-Mr. Guy Man
nering, an ex-Ofhcer Of the British army,
now liyus IN this city, who years ago
served with Lieut.. Albert A. PiersOn, the
allpupd hptraVer of Victor Hugu's daugh-