Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-06-07

French society. He was pleading for
the unfortunates; for more humane
laws; he was pleading for a closer un-
on of the moral and civil laws.
Since his infancy he was a street
gamin who had never heard a kind
word, o received a friendly look.
When but a child he had to support a
little family of brothers and sisters. In
a moment of desperation. impelled by
the starving cries of his brothers and
sisters, ne stole a loaf of bread. for
which act he was imprisoned nineteen
years. As a result of this unjust SEN
tence n bitterness and a deep-seated
spirit of revenge arose in his heart
which was only dispelled by the kind
ness of the good Bishop Myriel. 'Tis
true he violated a civil law, but who
can say he violated an ethical law?
Had the courts looked into the soul of
their little culpTit; had they felt the
responsibility of the future of that
small child-would not the results
have been different? This boy, whose
only offense was the stealing of a loaf
of bread to satisfy the hunger of those
depending upon him. was hurled into
prison with criminals of the worst
class; lived for nineteen years-the
most plastic period of his life in an
atmosphere contaminated by the pres
ence of vilest degenerates. Could you
expect a plant, deprived of the sunlight
and the fresh air. nurtured in a poison
Gus atmosphere. to blossom forth into
a pure and fragrant Hover? Would 1t
not take some time to restore that
flower to its natural condition? Is not
a human life just as delicate in its
y,,al, YfgN, &c IN AtvA. nAaA st ,AN
eQuire just as careful nurture? Should
then we allow our youths to be put in
prison, where they come in contact
with evil men? This is a question
which Victor Hugo brings before the
public. This is the question which is be-
ing discussed by the sociological lead
ers of the day. In time, Jean. however,
through his own will power. turned out
to be a very good man. Yet had he
been a weaker brother, the environ
ments of his early lite would have
nodded a far different man.
One contemplates the study of Vic
tor Hugo's works with a certain degree
of fearfulness, so vast and so mighty
are they. The Critic" says Hugo,
has only to judge of the intrinsic
goodness of the book. and not of its
conformity to certain pre-established
ideas" In my remarks and criticisms
| shall attempt to follow as far as pos
sible this principle.
Victor Hugo is a master in the lit.
erary field. So nearly do the pages of
his novel touch upon all branches of
literary work that IL a be truthfully
said that Les Miserables" contains ex-
amples of the historical, the narrative,
the lyrical, the dramatic. and the real
istic. He has given rise to a style
which holds sway over the century.
As a rule, Hugo's paragraph arrange
ment is almost the perfection of clear
ness. The paragraph Is begun with
some indication of it's contents. it is
consecutive and keeps rigidly to the
point.
Victor Hugo's profusion of figurative
language is perhaps the most striking
monument of his originality and pow
err. Figures of contrast are a marked
feature in his style. AS a means of
special emphasis interrogation is a
large element in his mannerism.
Among all the writer's of mankind
Hugo is the one who has invented the
greatest number of SMILES, and those
the best carried out, the most striking,
the most magnificent" Most of them
go to the making of his vivid powers of
description. For the battlefield. for
the appearance of the individual, for
the description of character-for
everything in fact that needs describ-
ing he finds an animated similitude.
"As a satirist he is direct, trenchant,
terrible, a %swordsman whose weapon
draws blood at every stroke" There
was a certain amount of LONELINESS in
his satirical remarks.
His magnificent mastery of words
facilitate the giving of distinct fore
grounds and backgrounds to his paint
ings. Take for example what is con
sidered one of the finest descriptions
of its class ever written. his descrip-
ton of the battlefield of Waterloo.
In the book wherever description
lives, there the events move. We see
it all. Each scene is present to us. The
| characters live, too. Bishop Myriel,
apostolic as he may he, is no lay figure.
Jean Vatican is a man of very real
flesh and blood. Poor Fautine. one
seems to know; Cosette very well; and
Marius as a %"jeune premier" of a very
French type. The royalist %grandfath-
er of Marius, NJ. Gillenormand, is also
genuine enough, if somewhat carica-
tured. Javert, the ideal policeman,
and Gaveroche, the little street Arab,
the town sparrow of Paris. are two
characters which not only live as indi-
viduals but as types.
AS a narrator Hugo is singularly
lucid and striking, and possesses in
full the story-teller's gift of awakening
and retaining interest. "By turns sub.
lime and playful, roughly strong and
daintily delicate, full of love, passion
and a sweet, fatherly tenderness-he
seems I o touch at will all the organ
stops of our nature" His converse
tions are lively and affable and are of
the proper length not To be tiresome
and monotonous. The story does not
lag and so well is the enthusiasm kept
up that any defects in thought are lost
sight of.
Victor Hugo's power of genius is not
denied. Rare and facile mastery of the
resources of language was his. Power
of expression such as is given to hut
one or two in a generation-that was
mis-. also. FascinatiOn-raTest gift of
all-that. too, was his. He teaches