Evening star., 1922-02-12
BY STERLING HEILIG.


I'm HE two greatest men of their day
wrote heart-to-heart letters to
each other, yet the fact that
they did so. remains COM.
fact that they did SO remains COM
pletely unknown. Every scrap Of
| their handwriting is religiously pre-
served on both sides Of the Atlantic.
Yet what has become of the corre-
spondence of Abraham Lincoln and
Victor Hugo? They were mental and
spiritual giants. and the letters were
private. Yet on neither side of the
Atlantic is page Of them acknowl-
edged to exist!
For the word acknowledged" 1
liberty to name. He Is thinking, of
course. Of the French end of it-what
would be the Lincoln letters.
But in a place OF honor of the Vic
tor Hugo Museum in the Place des
Vosges, Paris, hangs a quite large
sized photograph Of Lincoln which is
claimed to be unknown to the collec-
tions. and 1t bears y dedication which
| is exciting considerable interest. 1t is
the sole relic of the correspondence:
"Ab. Lincoln. To Victor Hugo"
l. 1t is known that the great French
poet and romanticist treasured photo
graph and autograph. They hung al
! ways beside his bed, between the por-
| traits Of his two great French CO.
| temporaries. Alexandra Dumas and
Georges Sand.
! But. first off, American visitors ask
the question: is the dedication an
! autograph of Lincoln"
Is there single other example of
Lincoln signing his name in print
script? A well-known citizen OF
Washington. in Paris today. tells me
that he has seen examples Of Lin
coins signature to military orders
| done in detached print letters. He is
Victor-Hugo DuraS, with the name
and cult of the great poet. But the
librarian of Congress is on the atten-
tive. He is going through the manu-
| script division. Meanwhile. G. Fitz-
patrick, assistant chief Of that divi-
sion, reports:
NO example Of Lincoln's name.
signed as military orders in detached
print letters are known to us. From
| the general principles of the identifi-
| cation of handwriting. it would be
| difficult. if not impossible. to satisfac-
| torily authenticate such. a printed
name as signatuve."
X X * X
DCT. wait Did Lincoln intend it as
- an autograph? Is it not, rather,
| dedication, in lapidary style. appro-
priately and almost necessarily in
scribed in print characters? There
are overwhelming considerations. as
well appear. why it is difficult to think
| that any but Lircoln could have
| done it.
But there is one other considera-
| tion, equally overwhelming. perhxps.
| why he could not have done it. l will
keep it for the end. You might try
a guess at 1t?
p, All of which is the outer edge Of
an enigma of impassioned interest in
| the lives. equally. of Abraham Lin
coin and Victor Hugo.
How is it supposed to have started
this correspondence which has
never been alluded to in any life of
the Great Emancipator: of which the
| librarian OF Congress had found no
vestige at last hearing: of which Rob-
ert T. Lincoln, in Washing ton. has no
data, and of which DR.. Gustave ST.
| mon. literary executor of Victor Hugo,
| in Paris, finds no trade-and consid-
! ers it mot surprising?
| 1t began. I am assured, by letter
which Victor Hugo certainly wrote to
President Buchanan on behalf of John
Brown John Brou'n's raid was the
\ affair of the hour. The giant ro-
manifest burned for the emancipa-
{ ton of his black brothers-Alexandre
Dumas was an octoroon-and John
! Brown became to him hero Of the
| antique mold. Flattered like den,i-
god at home and truly the world poet
| of the epoch, Victor Hugo had such
| touching. childish confidence that any
| Secretary of State would listen atten-
F.! lively to his plea.
On December 2. 1859, Victor Hugo
| addressed his impassioned letter to
| President Buchanan. Later. it was
published in the "Actes ct Paroles" as
"a Supplication to the American
i People" It's most striking sentence
I runs rs lOilO"S.
! There is something yet more ter
rible than Cain killing Abel-it is
Washington killing Spartacus.'
| On December 16, 1859, John Brown
was hanged
| There is no probability that the
letter sent to President Buchanan ar
| rived before the execution had
taken place. says courteous NJ.
Sueur, who shows visitors the Lin
coin photograph at the museun,-and
whom 1 now bring into the story for
the first and only time. 1T took
more than twelve days. then. for a
letter to cross the Atlantic. But the
first transatlantic cablegram had been
sent the year previous, from Ireland
to Newfoundland, and the news of
John Browns execution flashed
across it and was published in the
papers of Paris and London.
when Victor Hugo read the news
he retired to his bedroom. refused
food and worked feverishly on one of
those rough but powerful pen-and-
ink sketches for which he was Ia
nous. 1t showed a desolate gallows,
with it's victim swinging in gather
ing tempest, and inky clouds. whip
| -: