Part 3 (2/2)

The catholic spirit in which he looked upon public affairs wasthe position of the wise politician, he reive credit to the moderate party for the way in which they smooth over transitions; to the extreme parties for the activity hich they advance the circulation of ideas, which are the very life-blood of civilization; to lovers of the past for the care which they bestow on roots in which there is still life; to people zealous for the future, for their love of those beautiful flohich will some day produce fine fruits; tomen for their patience; to those for what they do, to those for what they desire to do; to all the difficulty of everything' So, some years later he stated that the airee with all parties in what is liberal and generous, but with none in what is illiberal and arded as a secondary affair; liberty and progress deht Herein, of course, he differed froreat questions not from the poet's point of view, but from the immediately personal and practical Many of his humanitarian ideas appeared Quixotic and chimerical to those who viewed politics as a matter of party, or as a means of personal triu in the ranks of the Republicans

Then there were soo with Victor Hugo in politics, but rejected his new literary ideas They clung to the old form of the drama, and found a new star in Ponsard, the author of _Lucrece_, a tragedy which had for its subject the expulsion of the Tarquins and the establishuiled by the nareat and useful ally in Rachel; and Hugo was contemned, in spite of such strictures as those of Thierry in _Le Messager_, who drew a comparison between the ostracism hich his countryo, and that of the Athenians, who punished people whose renown lasted too long

It was at this juncture that _Les Burgraves_ was produced, and even the genius of the writer himself added to the difficulties by which he was beset He had conceived three stupendous characters, Job, Otbert, and Barbarossa; and although the actors who sustained these characters, MM

Beauvallet, Geffroy, and Ligier, were undoubtedly men of dra tragedians could adequately set forth these epic creations In the y, the author has been not inaptly coedians, aeschylus, after he had long stirred the emotions of the Athenians, was finally deserted by them; they preferred Sophocles to hi, 'I dedicate my works to Tih he did not live to enjoy his triulorious Greek, for he lived to witness the repentance of the people

_Les Burgraves_ was ill received on the first night, but this was nothing compared with the opposition subsequentlyinterrupted the progress of the piece; but the led on and played the drahts Some of the most influential journals joined themselves to the enemy, and the time was marked by the defection of Lamartine to the side of Ponsard Theophile Gautier was one of the so's drama in the press 'In our day,' he asserted, 'there is no one except M Hugo who is capable of giving the epic tone to three great acts, or of

Every nificent verse that resounds like the stroke of an eagle's wing, and exalts us to the supreht of lyric poetry The play is diversified in tone, and displays a singular flexibility of rhyth its transitions from the tender to the terrible, from the smile to the tear, with a happy facility that no other author has attained'

With the production of this play dates Victor Hugo's final abandone fate this for a writer for who, after Rabelais and Moliere, one of the eniuses that French literature ever saw But the drausted with the literary hostility, the political insincerity, and the personal antipathy which abounded, and although he had a play, _Les Juive no e He was repeatedly pressed in after years to depart from this resolution, but in vain 'My decision is final,' he said on one occasion 'Under no pretext shall anymy life'

The poet wrote several plays not for publication after this time, and one of them, _Torquemada_, has been published Others, named respectively _L'epee_, _La Grand'mere_, and _Peut-etre Frere de Gavoche_, will only appear posthumously That there will be in them characters which will live, and that the plays theo's dramatic talents, are points upon which we have explicit assurances fro to the pieces as read by the late venerable author himself

CHAPTER VIII

THE FRENCH ACADEMY

A seat ah and honourable aiuished Frenchman But the chequered history of the Academy since its foro, furnishes another evidence of the truth that ain have men illustrious in letters been passed over, whilst those who had no claiard have snatched fortuitous honours by unworthy st those who knocked on more than one occasion at the doors of the French Acadeo That such a man must be ultimately successful was beyond a doubt; but it says little for the Acadenise his claims until its hostile attitude had becoy for, or defence of his career, in 1834 Hugo published his _Litterature et Philosophie Melees_ For those who could see nothing but tergiversation in the developarded from the Royalist standpoint of 1819 and the Revolutionary standpoint of 1834, these collected papers presented a series of progressive arguments orthy of study Nor was it merely from the personal point of view that the author issued this work; he believed that the gradual changes of thought which they revealed, all tending towards a fuller liberty in art, politics, and literature, were but typical of the states ofthinkers of his generation had passed That he did not spare the crudities and defects which marked his own period of literary adolescence will be apparent froe, in which he frankly discusses his early compositions: 'There were historical sketches and miscellaneous essays, there were criticism and poetry; but the criticism eak, the poetry weaker still; the verses were sorand; the declaicides were as furious as they were honest; the rams of 1754, a species of satire now obsolete, but very fashi+onable at the date at which they were published; next cae, and vows of loyalty to the State; every variety of style is represented; every branch of classical knowledge made subordinate to literary reforoverne or at school'

The tier scope His ideas had expanded, and while not abandoning the life contemplative, he desired to becole in the literary and political conflicts going forward around hi the study of Nature, the poet replied that he still loved that holy mother, but in this century of adventure ahis political position, he felt that he had more than paid his debt to the fallen monarchy, while he could at the sae Louis Philippe The recollection of a pension was balanced by the confiscation of a drao, and he was now his own master to follow out his convictions In the adoption of a public career there were two courses nominally open to hi the Chamber of Deputies, he was met by an obstacle which completely disbarred him He was not a wealthy man, and by the electoral law of that day only wealthy men could become deputies Moreover, if he could have secured by some means a nominal qualification, the electors looked askance upon literary arded them asactivity of the tribune Lamartine was a deputy, it is true, but he was a rare exception

Abandoning all idea of the Chaht of the Chaain he was met by a practical difficulty In the selection of peers the King could only choose o's case election to the Acadenity that was open to hily he appealed The first vacancy occurred in 1836 But Victor Hugo had enene, who had considerable weight ast the Forty M Barbou states that 'the poet of the imperial era was sickly and astho simply for his robustness and power' When Dune in the interest of his friend, the author of _Notre-Dane replied armth that he would vote for Duo never The Academicians elected M

Dupaty, probably on the principle that his fame was of such a restricted character that it could not in the least detract froo said, 'I always thought the way to the Academie was across the Pont des Arts; I find that it is across the Pont Neuf'

Three years later there was another vacancy, and Hugo canvassed the Academicians in turn But the whole nature of his as opposed in spirit to the exclusives of the Academy, and it is not to be wondered at, from this standpoint, that he failed to meet with a favourable appreciation However brilliant a candidate e and liberal view Alexandre Duval was especially bitter against Hugo, and when the poet was asked what he had done to offend hi condition, Duval insisted upon being taken froo M Mole was elected In 1840 a third vacancy occurred, and although Hugo was again a candidate, the Acadeth, in 1841, on the occasion of his fourth candidature, Victor Hugo was successful Auished men who voted for hinet, Cousin, and Thiers In the list of those who opposed hine and Scribe One, M Viennet, voted for Hugo, though the a hiion of Honour, he said he should like to claie to read right through any work of a romantic, and the cross of an officer for everyone who had the wit to understand it!' Amidst much that is paltry in the jealousies of literary men, it deserves to be stated to the honour of Balzac that this eainst Victor Hugo

The new Acaderatulated upon his success, was received on the 3rd of June, 1841 According to custoium upon his predecessor, M

Nepoan with a description of the splendour and power of Napoleon Before his greatness, said the speaker, the whole universe bowed doith the exception of six contemplative poets 'Those poets were Ducis, Delille, Madame de Stael, Benjamin Constant, Chateaubriand, and Lemercier But what did their resistance mean? Europe was dazzled, and lay, as it were, vanquished and absorbed in the glory of France What did these six resentful spirits represent?

Why, they represented for Europe the only thing in which Europe had failed--they represented independence; and they represented for France the only thing in which France anting--they represented liberty'

Alluding still o related that he was on brotherly terms with Bonaparte the consul, but that when the consul becaer his friend Finally, the orator declared with much eloquence that it was the mission of every author to diffuse civilization; and avowed that for his own part it had ever been his aiood fellowshi+p, feeling it his duty to be unawed by the h he could not always sympathize with every form of liberty which was advocated, he was yet ever ready to hold out the hand of encourageh want of air and space, and whose future seeloom and despair To aenerous and thinkingfresh schemes of improvement; and libraries, studies, and schools should beto the advanceation of the love of law and liberty

Victor Hugo's address was enthusiastically received by the bulk of the enerally coed since the poet had first called upon M Royer-Collard to solicit his vote, when the latter professed his entire ignorance of Victor Hugo's na conversation took place: