New-York tribune., 1896-10-25

the air which has been pointed out in the letter
to NJ. Louis Pavie; this it is which sets the tone
of the appeal which he sends to Paul Lacroix,
begging him to join body OF "claqueurs al one
of the performances of Hermann: I'VE must
not rest on our laurels The enemy Is on 'he
alert. The third performance must discourage
them. If possible. Therefore. IN the name OF OUT
cherished freedom. summon the whole clan OF
brave and faithful friends for Monday. look 10
you to help me in pulling out this last tooth OF the
old classic Pegasus To the rescue, and advance!
Tell your good brother that l count on
him for Monday although Hermann must pore
him terribly. The great cause Is at STAKE anu
not myself personally"
The concluding sentence Of this letter. IL may
be observed, is hardly exact. Hugo could eX-
hibit a certain sort of modesty. but in the long
run II 'moimeme' quite as mucn as 'he
cause fer which he fought. Within 1or'-
night Of the letter to Paul Lacroix ne wrote an
other to Armand Carrel in which he ailudes 10
his prescription by the Academy IN vein Oh
delightful compacency, and he takes pains 10 tell
his correspondent that his life has been one OF
solitude. Of conscientious devotion to art IN
age when everything Is done by salons ana
rewspapers.' he declares, 81 began and contin-
ued my career. without a single salon or news
the classic opposition to Hermann" shows that
he was not above fighting the eEemy with its
own weapon /. e.. personal influence. and there
is more than one letter in this collection which
points to the asking of favors or the antici-
patton of favors to come. The ring OF the let
ter written to King Joseph in 1881 is not alto
gether free from the harsh tang OF self-interest
Permit me- them sire, to offer Your Majesty, as
a personal compliment. copy Of my last work
| hope you will read it with indulgence.
You will see in it. in all my other works,
the name of the Emperor. | always alude to
him. because he is always in my mind. III Your
Majesty has honored me by reading what l
have hitherto written you will have noticed that
in each of my works my admiration for your
ustrious brother has grown deeper and deeper.
more and more heartfelt more and more free
from the royalist alloy Of my early days. Count
on me- sire: the little I can will do for the
heir of the greatest name in the world think
he can save France. l will say II, VIII write
it, and, please God. will print it,"
That sounds very loyal. and possibly fell upon
the Bonaparte ear with no suggestion of aught
but fidelity Certainly Hugo showed, on the
whole that he had a patriotic heart His rec
ord through the maze of the politics Of his time
is clear enough, even if his crown of exile is ig-
words fail to carry conviction. and the explana-
ton woud seem to be that he uttered too many
of them that he laid on his coloIs little too
layishly Writing to Mile Louise Bertin, who
WAS COMPOSING the music for opera founded
on "Notre Dame de Paris" he says: 81 know q
a good and happy family for which have
heartfelt affection, and that is yours. So far.
so good But when he continues and observes:
II would give the rest of the world Tor Lee
Roches. and the rest OF the people in II Tor your
family" the reader knows that the line De
tween truth and hyperbole has been passed. IL
is plausible to say that it is only the line be-
tween matter-of-fact prose and graceful gal-
lantry; but the style is too characteristic or
Hugo; one gets sick of his sugared compliments.
so sick Of them that all his fair words begin TO
seem false. Occasionally the note Is true and
dignified Read the brief letter IN which hugo
tells Merimte that he exonerates him from
all completely ir the suspension Of lie Roi
s'Amuse" The diction there Is simple ana
manly. But turn from this exceptional frag-
ment to the correspondence bearing upon What
would seem to have been a MISUNDERSTANDING
between himself and Saintc-Beuve. that in
vo,yed Nine Hugo. The ardent periods sug-
gest a maudlin sentimentaist and ii is amusing
10 think of what Sainte- Beuve himself must
have thought of them. Sainte-Beuve. with MS
serenity and his unerring sense OF measure
Victor Hugo never had sense OF measure.
He could advise Victor Pavie on questions or
rhythm and stand out for IAN internal regu-
larity in the arrangement of the metre. but.
curously he had such internal poise himself
This applies to his poetry. in spite OF the SWIM
burnian tradition; II applies to his novels, Which
are among the most amOrphous things in i1ction:
and il applies to the whole hfe and character
of their author. He was sentimentalist all ms
life: how much of one the reader may judge
from the following passage. If from no other. IN
this correspondence. 1t is enough To silence the
Hugolaters themselves: Il went to see Cham-
bord Yesterday. You cannot imagine how sngu-
larly beautiful it is Every enchantment every
kind Of poetry, every folly, even, Is represented
in the admirable quantness Of this palace or
knights and fairies cut my name on the top
of the highest tower: | took away a little stone
and moss from it, and a piece OF the framework
of the window o, which Francis 1 wrote the
two lines:
"'SOuvent femme vare.
Ben fol qui sly he.
/ value these two relics highly"
M dnuht the .'relics' were treasures