The San Francisco call., 1897-01-03

tor Hugo was also TO 8 great extent be-
;llever in spiritualism. in Hugos Jour
nal of My Exile which has not yet been
published, there are several passages bear
ing on this point, says the New York
Herald. Some OF these, edited by the
poets daughter, Nile. Adele Hugo, have
been read by some OF his friends, and are a
convincing proof to them of his belief in
" occult powers.
Here follow the most notable passages,
as written by Mile. Hugo:
"March D. 1S54.-Jersey is an island full
of legends There is not a rock, not an
old ruin, which is not supposed to be
haunted. Some persons pretend that the
=. devil has appeared 20 them, and they
show with horror the footprints of this
eternal antagonist of the human race I;
others, more fortunate, are confident that
they have seen the Virgin, and they
piously point out the peak of the rock
where the mother of Christ appeared to
them.
zone night about three months ago a
young workingman was going toward the
Church Sainte-Sue. Suddenly he saw at
the end Of the road white and motion
less figure. 1t seemed, indeed, one mass
a moment terrified. Then making vio-
lent effort he dashed ahead and so got past
the flaming white specter.
This apparition appeared several times
afterward and finally became known as
the White Lady. The first time my father
heard OF the workingman's adventure he
smiled. Yet. strange to say, he began to
hear strange sounds in his bedroom every
night. At one time his papers would
rustic, though there was no wind; at an
other time some one would be heard
knocking at his wall. Ny brothers, who
slept in the adjoining rooms, heard the
same noises.
% "Other things equally strange also hap
pened. On the evening when Tapeur, the
incendiary, died my mother after locking
her bedroom door went to bed, forgetting
TO blow out the light. The night was very
calm and there was not the least breath
of air. Yet when my mother awoke the
room was dark. The candle though not
consumed had been extinguished. By
whom2
"On February % my father came home
at IL P. NJ, and as he passed through the
room facing the street he noticed that the
windows were quite dark. Yet, when my
brothers came home at P. NJ. the windows
were ablaze with light. Yesterday even
ing Charles was amusing himself by try
ing to make table talk. First he said to
the spirit who was present:
"'What is your name?'
. The spirit, or ghost, replied that its
name was the White Lady, and that it
could not talk to any one except in the
street and al "A N. Ny father came in Just
then, and, being informed of the hour
fixed for the interview, he concluded that
he would be more comfortable in bed than
chatting with ghost in a deserted street
at that hour in the morning. We all de-
cided to do the same and We went to bed
and were soon all sleeping soundly, ex-
cepr my father, who was working in bed,
as was his occasional custom. Suddenly
he heard bell ring loudly, and at once
he remembered the White Lady and the
rendezvous.
He lit his candle and looked at his
watch. 1t was exactly 8 o'clock. Would
the White Lady be on timer At the
thought horror seized my father, and he
dared not leave his bed. Weak souls be-
lieve blindly in mystery, strong souls
deny it. great souls become very grave
when confronting the unknown. They
have sacred horror of it, as my father
had, and they say with Hamlet, There
are more things in heaven and earth, Ro-
ratio, than are dreamed OF in your phi
losophy.'
In the future state" said Victor Hugo,
on another OCCASION, "the full meaning of
Liberty will be made clear. The laws reg.
ulating it will be revealed, and men will
then be free to do what they please and at
their own risk. So rauch the worse for
those who commit suicide and thus fling
themselves into a fire which they surely
know will consume them.
Excess of grief may be an excuse for
suicide, but it cannot serve as plea for
absolution. No person has a right to
shatter his fetters and go out of life, aban-
doning the house which God gave US when
he put US into this world. l believe that
. the crime of suicide will be punished in
another world. If, however, man COM
mits suicide under excessive provocation,
I believe that God will then make him
live again in this world, and under much
harder conditions than those from which
he hoped to set himself free"
In letter written to Nine. Girardin, in
1865 Victor Hugo says:
Tables indeed tell US surprising things.
We are living in mysterious horizon; the
tables command us TO keep silence and not
TO dlyulge any secret. You will find,
then, IN the 'ContemplatIons' nothing
which comes from the tables, with the
exception of two details. They are very
Important, and I have asked permission
to use them.'
Here again IS very curious note, writ
ten by the poet on the manuscript of the
"Legende des Siecles":
II have taken part several times re-
q" Gently in what is known as the phenom-
enon Of the antique tripod. A table with
:. three legs dictates verses by means OF
raps, and strophes come forth ont OF
shadow. 1 need hardly say that 7 nave
never placed among my own poems any
OF the verses that have come to me in this
mysterious fashion; these latter | have
reiigiously allowed to remain in posses.
sion of the Great Unknown, who is their
sole author. l have not even allowed
them TO influence me in the slightest de-
gree. The work OF the human brain
ought to be entirely its own, receiving
no aid from such phenomena.
The exterior manifestations of the in.
visible are fact, and the interior creations
of thought are another. The wall which
separates these two facts should be main
tanned in the interests of observation and