The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-10

erAfy mon. Inc comrades met ~ dinner on the
fret day Of zach month. One Of their projects
was TO publish . collective volume Of short
novels. Victor promised to writo his IN q fort
nirht. The pledge was fulfilled in less than that
time. aud II was the only one fulfilled. His
romance was the well-known "Bua-Jargs,." an
ideslized story of . negro. A little later he won
the degree Of Master" In the celebrated Jeux
Floreaux OF Toulouse. It was at this time that
Chnteaubrisnd said Of him; "The child 10
sublime" All of vietor's efforts. however. TO
persuade his father. who was little Of q senti-
mentalist, TO abandon the idea Of forcing him
to enter the Polytschnioue, and TO lot him do.
vots himself to literature, were vain. When
the boy made mp his mind TO do without his
fathers consent, the General Withdrew the very
moderate allowance which had hitherto been
| made to him.. Nevertheless. after the holidays
in 1918, Victor declined to return to school.
and, having entered his nsmo on the list OF law
students. ho proceeded. in conjunction with his
elder brothers, TO found q periodical roview called
lie Conservatism LittSraire." 1t lasted from
1910 to 1921. Victor was the editor-in-c chief.
and TO him 10 attributed at least a third OF the
contents. These included q mixture OF prose
and verse. book reviews, dramatic criticism.
humorous letters, novels. and romances.
There 10 no doubt that these years Of jour
nalism formed n decisive period IN his life.
In them II was that he tested his powers. recog-
lied and made others recognize his Intellectual
strength. Lamartine. vigny. Emile Dcschamps.
tho Due de Rohan and Lamennais encouraged
him. Tho societS des BONES Lettres was
founded. and to his fellow members he read the
effusions of his genius. Having gained conf
denco In tho future. no permitted himself to
fall In love with Adele Foncher. tho daughter OF
an old friend Of his fathers. and was beloved by
her. Between them. however. they scarcely
reckoned more than thirty years, and when the
feeling that possessed them was noticed by their
parents they were separated for q time. In June.
1921, Nine. Hugo died, and the General
again offered to dcfray all tho expenses
Of his sons IL they would adopt another
profession than that of literature. Although
almost without resources. for the Review had
ceased to appear, victor's answer was n deter
mined refusal. He remained alone in his Door
lodgings, abandoned to himself. Unable to
support this isolation. he won't to NJ. Foucher
AMI requested tho hand Of his daughter. Nat
urally enough. NJ. Foucher put of the marriage
until the position of his future son-in-law
should be = little less precarious. Thereupon
the poet set to work with renewed energy. Pres
emily. although he looked like q child. he must
needs challenge q man. He had duel with IN
oficer OF the Rardes du corps. who tore out of
his hands . half-read newspaper In n cafe
ut Versailles. lie was wounded In tho left
bEm. III EtCuitbk HNh rtuHhtlOuu On tho OCCN-
sion. later. whom he created tho Didier OF
marion Delormc." Ho was not more fortunate.
indeed, at this time than was Marius In Les
Mlserables." He lived for n whole year on si4O.
We are told that the letters be then wrote
would At into tho framework OF the chapter
bearing tho caption a Heart Under a Stone"
He began Han d'Is,ande." the love passages
In which were intended for the eyes Of his
bstrothed. Under tho title "odes ct Poesies
dlverses." no collected a number of his verses
published in the CONSERVATORY" but he
had not the whcrewitbal to meet the ex-
penses of printing Thorn. His brother
Abel took tho manuscript without saying what
he intended to do with it. The volume appeared
In June. 1929: Its success was rapid and great.
Louis XVII read the Ode-, and also road an in-
tercepted letter In which the youthful poet had
offered an asylum to q friend of his childhood
implicated In Gen. Berton's conspiracy. The
King was touched. and allo wen the author
pension OF q thousand francs from his priyy
purse. Gen. Hugo now consented 10 his sons
marriage with Adele Foucher. and the wedding